-{t^.'^r 
 
 ^ 
 
 PROPERTY OF | 
 
 WMH SBMifMM iMSFABATEVS MSMfin. 
 
 \i 
 
 k 
 
 I The borrower of this book is allowed to 
 I retain it FOUR weeks, with the privilege of 
 \ one renewal, and subject to a fine of five cents 
 
 per week, for detention beyond the time 
 
 specified. 
 
 Books to be transferred, must be returned 
 \ to the Library 
 
 7795 
 
 
 Library 
 
 of 
 
 
 HIGH 
 
 STREET FRIENDS' 
 West Chester, Pa. 
 
 MEETING 
 
 Accession No. J. H^ Shelf No.lf^..... 
 
 * ^ -vv * 
 
CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 924 084 550 064 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924084550064 
 

 /^j 
 
 '^y Q}>^^a7^^^^i-^ 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 EUDEMON 
 
o3^ 
 
 ^^^^^^t/^ 
 
 U ^ '// 
 
 ^ 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 SPIRITUAL S^ RATIONAL 
 
 THE APOLOGY OF A PREACHER 
 FOR PREACHING 
 
 BY 
 
 DAVID NEWPORT 
 
 AUTHOR OF "indices, HISTORICAL AND RATIONAL," AND 
 "the PLEASURES OF HOME" 
 
 # 
 
 PHILADELPHIA & LONDON 
 J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 
 
 1901 
 
Copyright, igcx), 
 
 BY 
 
 David Newport. 
 
 PBJNTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY, PHILADELPHIA, U.S.A. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The title to this book — Eudemon — ^is used as a synonyme 
 to express its object and intent. The word is said to first 
 occur in the writings of Aristotle. His great master Socrates 
 used the term daemon, or oracle, to designate the power which 
 influenced him as a philosopher. The term daemon Chris- 
 oit&Ja-ii^.mea.n.mp- i n thp Crpp lf whiclLsisL-„ 
 
 ERRATA 
 
 Page 21, next to last line, change twenty-fifth to twenty-fourth. 
 
 Page 193, line 29, change hear to bear. 
 
 Page 433, line 31, change Creator to creature and creature to Creator. 
 
 of the gospel of Eudemon. "An "apbl^yj because all men 
 know of the angel of good in man, therefore they esteem 
 preaching " foolishness," to use the language of the Apostle ; 
 and, paradoxical as it may seem, they have persecuted unto 
 death the most eminent preachers of truth, notably Socrates, 
 Jesus, Bruno, and De Molionos. 
 
 My scriptural exegesis needs no apology since the ad- 
 mission of Charles A. Briggs as a minister in the Episcopal 
 Church. His exegesis is similar to mine as regards scrip- 
 tural compilation, and in what he terms " pseudonymous" 
 scriptures. 
 ■ He says, " Nearly every profound thinker, since the days 
 
 of Socrates, has been obliged to pause in his work and defend 
 
 5 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The title to this book — Eudemon — is used as a synonyme 
 to express its object and intent. The word is said to first 
 occur in the writings of Aristotle. His great master Socrates 
 used the term daemon, or oracle, to designate the power which 
 influenced him as a philosopher. The term daemon Chris- 
 tians wrested from its true meaning in the Greek, which sig- 
 nified good and amiable. Shakespeare understood this when 
 he said, — 
 
 " Thy daemon (that is, thy spirit which kept thee) is 
 Noble, courageous, high, unmatchable." 
 
 Thus, I have termed my book an autobiography, as herein. 
 I had not intended its publication during the term of my 
 natural life, but now having entered my seventy-eighth year, 
 standing upon the portals of a new century, have concluded 
 so to do, as an apology, to describe how I became a minister 
 of the gospel of Eudemon. An apology, because all men 
 know of the angel of good in man, therefore they esteem 
 preaching " foolishness," to use the language of the Apostle ; 
 and, paradoxical as it may seem, they have persecuted unto 
 death the most eminent preachers of truth, notably Socrates, 
 Jesus, Bruno, and De Molionos. 
 
 My scriptural exegesis needs no apology since the ad- 
 mission of Charles A. Briggs as a minister in the Episcopal 
 Church. His exegesis is similar to mine as regards scrip- 
 tural compilation, and in what he terms " pseudonymous" 
 scriptures. 
 
 He says, " Nearly every profound thinker, since the days 
 
 of Socrates, has been obliged to pause in his work and defend 
 
 s 
 
PREFACE 
 
 himself, like the Apostle Paul, against those ' dogs' and ' evil 
 workers who tormented him.'" Charles A. Briggs here 
 alludes no doubt to his ecclesiastical trial by the Presbyterian 
 Church. 
 
 No ; Truth needs no apology, for the Spirit of truth is her 
 eternal vindicator. 
 
 And this my book is an attempt to reconcile faith, not to 
 divide it, — so far as a description can meet the end in view, 
 as all books are only descriptions of a thing, and not the 
 thing itself. Its author has tried to set forth the thing itself 
 in a recorded experience of which all religions agree, — ^viz., 
 that we have within us an inward monitor which guides our 
 life correctly; in other words, that the human ego and in- 
 ward life — ^the " I am" of humanity — is capable of being in 
 correspondence with Infinite Intelligence, which is continu- 
 ally present and never absent from any one of us. Let no 
 one be afraid to read this description, because I have set aside 
 many trifles and redundancies, which have ever tended to 
 prevent men from agreeing upon the " one thing needful." 
 The author is now considerably past the age allotted by the 
 psalmist to men, and stands in full view of that supreme event 
 of life which men call death, and he thinks that he has as, 
 good a right to tell the spiritual world as material science 
 has to tell the material world. And to this Professor Hux- 
 ley, speaking for science, gives his assent. Now, science is 
 the knowledge or verification of things, — of what we do know 
 concerning them. So I have attempted to set forth in this 
 volume by way of description only, and not by way of life, — 
 for the letter killeth, — it is the spirit only which can give life. 
 I have attempted to set forth, I say, in this imperfect way, 
 my testimony to that " I am" principle in the human soul 
 which is the only way, the truth, and the life which will guide 
 men out of the various trifles, traditions, and et ceteras into 
 the peace and rest reserved for the children of God in this 
 life, as well as in the life to come. 
 
 There are only two factors in religion, — our mortal powers 
 
 6 
 
PREFACE 
 
 and the Infinite power. To assert the contrary of this is 
 clearly an impudence and an impertinence to both God and 
 man, the grand problem of life being to make these two fac- 
 tors ONE, as Pythagoras taught, in figures, — ^thus, that the 
 unit always accompanies its numerical ! Or as Tennyson has 
 expressed the same thought, in his beautiful rhyme, — 
 
 " Speak to Him thou for He hears, and spirit with spirit can meet — 
 Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet." 
 
 In the conclusion of this preface I will say that some one 
 in looking over the pages of this book may conclude that 
 its author is a mere emotionalist. Here I beg leave to say 
 that he is a practical and successful business man, whose 
 watchword is attention in all things. 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 At various times in my life I have kept memorandums of 
 various states and conditions of my mind, and in their perusal 
 in after years, even in worldly affairs, I have found consider- 
 able advantage. And now in the autumn of existence, when 
 I feel so great and so increasing a desire for divine life, which 
 alone can satisfy the wants and cravings of the immortal 
 nature, I again feel that it might be the means of strength- 
 ening me in the conflicts of time frequently to note down 
 thus the feelings and exercises of the soul, and also to nar- 
 rate some of the particulars of my life. 
 
 I was born on the i8th of 12th mo. 1822. My ancestors 
 for some two hundred years were members of the Society of 
 Friends, — the Newports, Woods, Ellisons, Rodmans, and 
 Barkers being immigrants some two centuries since from 
 England, settling mostly in the first place in New England and 
 New Jersey. My parents' names were Jesse W. and Eliza- 
 beth Newport.* The latter was a favored minister in the 
 Society of Friends, who received and was faithful to the vis- 
 itations of divine grace in early life, and is favored at this 
 time, though confined to a bed of sickness and suffering, with 
 that holy faith which is to her the evidence of immortal life. 
 
 I also in the morning of my days was the recipient of the 
 seed of the kingdom, but the seed fell as upon " the way side, 
 and the fowls came and devoured them up." The Heavenly 
 Husbandman, however, continued His gracious visitations to 
 my soul, and I was in a good degree preserved in what the 
 
 * For Genealogy, see page 512. 
 9 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 world calls morality; but this condition fell far short of the 
 divine requirements, though I can truly say that in the vari- 
 ous and many aberrations wherein I have erred I have ever 
 found the Eternal to be a tender and loving Father, a re- 
 prover for excess, and approver of faith and fidelity in His 
 reasonable requirements, and His inward law of light and of 
 love. 
 
 It was not, however, till my seventeenth year that I could 
 say, " I believe. 'Tis Thou, God, who gives, and I who re- 
 ceive. In Thy will alone is my power to believe." And thus 
 by His grace and favor was there a conjunction and connec- 
 tion formed between His word in my heart and intelligence 
 and Himself immediately and directly, and I could say from 
 knowledge, "Abba, Father." 
 
 On the 8th of 4th mo. 1847, I was united in marriage to 
 Susan, the daughter of Abel and Susan Satterthwaite, of 
 Abington, Pennsylvania, and engaged in the farming busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Upon the question of slavery I had ever felt a warm inter- 
 est, and in 1847 was one of seven who felt it right in Moore- 
 land township to vote at the Presidential election for the Free- 
 Soil candidate, and upon the success of Lincoln in i860, and 
 the commencement of the Rebellion, I received the appoint- 
 ment of collector of internal revenue for the counties of 
 Montgomery and Lehigh, which office I held till ist mo. 1866, 
 and during my official term, in which time I collected about 
 $2,500,000, I felt bound to discharge my duties in a con- 
 scientious manner. 
 
 In the spring of 1866 I removed from Norristown to my 
 farm in Abington Township. I had been in the habit of 
 attending the meetings of the Society of Friends when it 
 seemed convenient ; but about this time I felt constrained to 
 increased diligence in this respect, particularly on First-days 
 and Monthly Meetings, which I consider the most important 
 meetings of the Society. I also felt it my duty to occasionally 
 participate and to speak in business meetings, and especially 
 
 16 
 
THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 in the Yearly Meetings of 1870 and 1871, held at Phila- 
 delphia. In the latter I took a somewhat active and promi- 
 nent part, which gave, no doubt, some offence to many tender 
 minds, not only in the public meetings, but also in the com- 
 mittee on epistles, in consequence of the view that I took of 
 the Scriptures. 
 
 During the preceding winter I had written, from a sense of 
 duty, a small volume entitled " Indices Historical and Ra- 
 tional to a Revision of the Scriptures," which was published 
 during the ensuing spring. That work is before the public, 
 and I can see nothing in it particularly objectionable, and 
 can truly say that during the winter in which I was engaged 
 on it, I experienced a renewed flow of the Father's love; 
 this was particularly the case at meetings of worship, which 
 I now attended quite regularly, which reasonable duty I felt 
 incumbent upon me. In one of these, a meeting on Fifth- 
 day, I was most feelingly and encouragingly addressed by 
 my friend, Sarah T. Betts, though neither she nor any but 
 one other person knew that I was engaged upon or intended 
 the publicaition of any book, as I felt it right to keep this 
 subject to myself. There are several corrections in " In- 
 dices" that I would like to make, but as regards the general 
 conclusions in it I am disposed to think that I was correct, 
 and find that many enlightened minds are in unison with 
 my own. I have felt much encouraged by a letter received 
 from Benjamin Hallowell, in which he says, — 
 
 " There appears to me to be nothing in thy Book to disturb any mind 
 that is not under the influence of prejudice and superstition, and who 
 loves these more than the Truth. To me the general views thou ad- 
 vance are not new. They have been mine for years, as my Good Father 
 knows; and so far from condemning, He rewards me with an increased 
 flow of His Love, for accenting Truth in the place of Error and Super- 
 stition, and trusting the conviction which He has sealed upon my Con- 
 sciousness, as the highest authority for me." 
 
 In another letter to me he says, upon the subject of the 
 Scriptures, quoting a sentence that had been omitted by the 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 editors of the Friends' Intelligencer in an article to that paper, 
 page 370,— 
 
 " I repeat, emphatically, that any Scripture, or any interpretation of 
 Scripture, which comes in direct conflict with those truths, and that 
 reverential consciousness of Dietv and His attributes, which are im- 
 pressed, as I believe by God Himself, upon my spiritual being, I find it 
 to be not only my privilege, but my solemn duty wholly to reject, the 
 same that I would in a Treatise on Astronomy, or any other Natural 
 Science, which, althou'^'i it contains many valuable truths, there should 
 mingle some statement of things, as the speculations of Ptolemy, the 
 vortices of Boscovich, or the Systems of Tycho Brahe, which are now 
 known to be untrue. This I regard as fulfilling the wise and compre- 
 hensive injunction of George Fox, — ' Mind the Light.' " 
 
 This was also the view of Elias Hicks, as will be seen in 
 the following extract from a letter to Phebe Willis, dated 5th 
 mo. 19, 1818: 
 
 " Among subjects, I have been led, I trust carefully and candidly, to 
 investigate the effect produced by the book called the Scriptures since 
 it has borne that appellation, and it appears, from a comparative view, 
 to have been the cause of fourfold more harm than good to Christen- 
 dom, since the apostles' day, and which I think must be indubitably plain 
 to every faithful, honest mind that has investigated her history free from 
 the undue bias of education and tradition. When the professors of 
 Christianity began to quarrel with, and separate from, each other, it 
 all sprung from their different views and interpretations of Scriptures; 
 and to such a pitch did their quarrels rise that a recourse to the sword 
 was soon deemed necessary to settle their disputes." 
 
 Again, in the following extract of a letter written by Elias 
 Hicks, dated 2d mo. 16, 1825, he says,— 
 
 "There is certainly a very great inconsistency in the professed belief 
 of far the greater part of the inhabitants of Christendom, and indeed 
 many in our society, all which has been produced through blind tradi- 
 tion, in which they have been driven to believe that not one sentence in 
 the book called the Bible, however inconsistent with reason and truth, 
 is to be called in question, but to be taken on trust, right or wrong, 
 although if rightly examined under the guidance of truth and right 
 reason, many incongruities and errors would be discovered. 
 
 " And many very fatal ones, as respects the true interest of mankind, 
 for if it is not so, from whence has risen all the strife, different senti- 
 ments and opinions, animosities, quarrels, wars, bloodshed, and a flood 
 of other evils, all of which arise principally from the difiEerent views and 
 
 12 
 
REASON GOD'S GIFT 
 
 opinions that men have about what is contained in the -history of the 
 Bible, and which disturbances will never come to an end, until the Bible 
 is brought down to its right standard, as all other books, a mere history s. 
 of past events, and which every man has a right to read, and consider, j 
 and judge of, as he does other histories ; and when this comes to be the 
 case the Bible will be more generally read, and become more useful than 
 it ever has yet been." 
 
 In another letter to Moses Brown, dated 3d mo. 30, 1825, 
 he further explained, when he was accused of contradicting 
 himself. After expressing sentiments like those I have just 
 quoted, he says, — 
 
 " And yet, at the same time, may the Scriptures not be rightly used 
 under the guidance of the Holy Spirit? But if abused, like every other 
 blessing, thev become a curse. Therefore to those they always do more 
 hurt than good ; and thou knowest that these comprehend far the greater 
 part of Christendom." 
 
 " Thus the reverent and enlightened mind who receives 
 Him in the way of His coming can read the ancient concep- 
 tions of mankind, whether in the Scriptures of the Jew?, the 
 Christians, or the Vedas ; the Avesta, the writings of Seneca 
 or Plato, or on the monuments of Egypt or Babylon ; with a 
 grateful interest that they have been preserved from the tooth 
 of time. He will not, however, build his faith upon them, for 
 then his faith becomes as the faith of others; it becomes a 
 superstition, which in the end will but blind his spiritual vision 
 and blunt the perceptions of his soul."* 
 
 Reason and just criticism I do not find to be my province 
 to banish from the domain of theology. Reason is God's gift 
 to man, which it is his duty wisely to employ, ever remember- 
 ing that our feelings have their truths; but that spiritual 
 truths are demonstrated to us by reason becoming co-opera- 
 tive with the spiritual nature, or with the " spiritual body." 
 Thus reason's totality is divine, and when thus employed is 
 one of the pillars in the Lord's house. " The servant abideth 
 not in the house for ever : but the Son abideth ever. If the 
 Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." 
 
 * Indices, Historical and Rational, p. 213. 
 13 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 And thus, as Elias Hicks so justly observed, " Belief is no 
 virtue, and unbelief is no crime." That is, a mere outward 
 assent can avail us nothing, for we cannot truly believe un- 
 less it is through and by conviction through the divine light 
 operating in us. We then feel the truth; we are conscious 
 of it, and we therefore implicitly believe it. We understand 
 it, for it is impossible for us to believe anything which we 
 cannot comprehend, as Paul has so justly observed : " How 
 shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen 
 at the giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what 
 thou sayest? For thou verily givest thanks well, but the 
 other is not edified. ... I had rather speak five words with 
 my understanding, than ten thousand in an unknown tongue." 
 
 To-day, as I was employed in my daily concerns, the open- 
 ing presented itself to my mind : God does not diminish Him- 
 self as He repeats Himself. Thus, as in a flash of heavenly 
 light, was I again confirmed in my previous convictions, for 
 as Seneca has so wisely said, "A thing is never too often re- 
 peated which is never sufficiently learned." And I cannot be 
 too sufficiently thankful to the Good Father for the continual 
 evidences of His love to my soul, for I can truly say that 
 since I have yielded to truth's requirements, I have found 
 infinitely more pleasure in His service than in all else be- 
 sides ! 
 
 What is written herein I hope will be viewed not as de- 
 structive, but as eminently constructive of Scriptural truth. 
 " Believe," says Origen, the great teacher of Alexandria, — ^he 
 whose proper name is said to mean the " Son of Light," — 
 " and then thou shalt find beneath the imaginary offence a 
 full source of profit." He meaning that scriptural difficulties 
 may be useful intellectually as well as morally, and speaks 
 of " stumbling-blocks and stones of offence in the sacred 
 records," so that the divine sense may be discovered therein. 
 For, as he says, " Christ, the Word of God, was in Moses and 
 the Prophets, . . . and by His Spirit they spake and did all 
 things." He warns his readers against the corporeal mean- 
 
 14 
 
T. CLARKSON TAYLOR 
 
 ings, which he considers as often self-contradictory, useless, 
 and unworthy of God. 
 
 During the fore part of the summer of this year, 1871, I 
 was powerfully impressed that it would be my duty to speak 
 in meetings for worship. The demonstration was clear to my 
 feelings that the precious seasons of divine favor, which it 
 had been my lot to enjoy for many months past, would be 
 mine no more if I yielded not to the heavenly requirement; 
 but it was most humiliating to my feelings thus to appear 
 before my friends, and for several weeks I was alternately 
 covenanting and doubting, so that my health, not generally 
 good at this season of the year, became very much impaired, 
 and the flesh seemed to be literally leaving my bones. It ap- 
 peared that life itself would yield in the struggle between a 
 sense of duty and that slavish fear of man that had taken pos- 
 session of my mind. So great was this that it seemed that I 
 could not have arisen unassisted from my seat in the congre- 
 gation of the people, and on the occasion of my first appear- 
 ance as a minister I was, or seemed to be, literally raised 
 upon my feet by an influence that was beyond my control. 
 Not only on this occasion, but also subsequently, when I was 
 faithful to the Divine Anointing Power, which I believe can 
 only rightly qualify for truth's service in this capacity, I ex- 
 perienced a renewed feeling of the Father's love pouring the 
 balm, and the oil, into my afflicted soul. 
 
 1871. 
 
 II mo. 24. — By to-day's paper I received intelligence of the 
 death of T. Clarkson Taylor, from rupture of the splenic 
 artery, in the forty-seventh year of his age. This departure 
 to another sphere I feel to be a great loss to society, par- 
 ticularly to the Society of which he was so able a minister, 
 and so honest and fearless in the expression of his truly en- 
 lightened sentiments. The impression that his sudden de- 
 mise made on my mind was. Be thou faithful and watchful 
 in those things that are committed to thy charge, having faith 
 
 IS 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 in the ancient promise, " Thou wilt keep that man in perfect 
 peace whose heart is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in 
 Thee." 
 
 II mo. p.— The Quarterly Meeting held to-day was an en- 
 couraging one, and the presence and testimony of Daniel H. 
 Griffin, of New York, was particularly grateful to my feel- 
 ings, as also to Friends generally. I was led, as I believe 
 in the truth, to advert to the sentiment advanced by him en- 
 couraging Friends " to be that which the Father would have 
 them to be." 
 
 II mo. 12. — In to-day's meeting Anthony Livzey an- 
 nounced that at my request he desired the members who were 
 in the habit of neglecting the attendance of our meetings 
 be invited to meet with us on next First-day. I had a small 
 opening in reference to this subject, and in faith mentioned 
 the concern to him, to feel after it, and to speak of it, should 
 he see it right, to a few Friends, as I seemed to be directed 
 to him and to Jacob P. Tyson. He finding Friends uniting 
 in extending the invitation, so requested them as above stated. 
 
 II mo. i8. — I have felt, in view of to-morrow's meeting, a 
 great sense of weakness and a great fear " lest that by any 
 means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a 
 castaway." And I also felt the concern that Paul expressed 
 when he said that he kept under his body, and brought it into 
 subjection. To be truly temperate in all things, for plain and 
 simple diet, and abstemious even in that, tends to spiritual 
 elevation and clearness of perception. Oh, that in all things 
 I may realize the simple and comprehensive injunction of 
 Jesus, " Watch 1" For I can truly say that the solemn prayer 
 of Thomas a Kempis is also the greatest, the fondest, and the 
 nearest desire of my heart : 
 
 " O God I who art the Truth ! make me one with Thee in everlasting 
 love ! I am ofttimes weary of reading, and weary of hearing, and weary 
 of writing. In Thee alone is the sum of my desire ! Let every teacher 
 be silent! Let the whole creation be dumb before Thee: and do Thou 
 only speak to my soul I" 
 
 i6 
 
PRAYERFUL SILENCE 
 
 The dispensation and office of a minister of the Gospel is a 
 very humiHating one ; at least, it has been so to me, — to that 
 sense of pride that seemed engrafted in my hard nature. I 
 most sincerely hope that whatever may be my lot in life, I 
 may be preserved in humility, and that my dwelling-place 
 may be in the green grassy vales of religious experience, for, 
 as Job Scott says, on the lofty mountains often reign barren- 
 ness and desolation. And the trials and deep baptisms to 
 which I have been subject I plainly see have been calculated 
 to deepen my spirit at the root of life. For it was shown to 
 me that I must endeavor to so live as if each day was to be 
 my last in this sphere of action ; and my mind is altogether 
 in the dark as to whether time is to be measured to me in a 
 shorter or longer probation in this stage of existence. 
 
 II mo. 20. — To-day's meeting was a large one, in conse- 
 quence of the request and invitation given at last First-day's 
 meeting. My heartfelt desire was that my place might be in 
 silent travail of spirit ; but no sooner had I taken my seat than 
 I was introduced into a state of truly golden silence, and it 
 was made clearer to me than ever before that of all the states 
 and conditions of mind that can by any possibility be ours in 
 this state of existence, this state of silence before God is the 
 most desirable. To feel Him to be near to us as a living 
 presence is a state of blissful beatitude indeed ! And I was 
 led very unexpectedly to thus express myself, at considerable 
 length; and when I sat down I felt a great fear that I had 
 used too many words ; but directly there came the same feel- 
 ing that I felt before I arose, — a condition of mind in which 
 silence was indeed golden. ( I speak not of the form merely. ) 
 
 Thus I expressed myself that it was only out of a living 
 experience and through prayerful silence, that speech could 
 be evolved that could be helpful to either the speaker or to his 
 auditory in a religious meeting. I was encouraged by that 
 worthy elder Anthony Livzey acknowledging to me that I 
 had been rightly led in desiring Friends to attend the meet- 
 ing by the pointings of truth, and that it had been so demon- 
 2 17 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 strated to him in the meeting to-day. This testimony was 
 confirmatory and consoling to my soul, for I feel so low and 
 poor in spirit and so fearful of taking a wrong step in matters 
 of such deep concernment. 
 
 After I came home from meeting, and although I felt con- 
 scious of having kept very near to my Guide, yet I passed a 
 very uncomfortable evening. I awoke at an early hour in 
 the morning, when I discovered what it was that had so 
 influenced me, and that the baptism into which I had been 
 introduced was not so much on my own account, as I had 
 feared, but it was made manifest to my mind that the various 
 conditions of the meeting had exerted a depressing effect over 
 me, for " the spirits of the prophets are subject to the 
 prophets." 
 
 I plainly felt two conditions, one of indifference, unbelief, 
 and doubt, and that other condition which found voice in 
 the meeting of a traditional, historic, and second-hand faith, 
 which is of a mixed character, and I also clearly saw that if I 
 remain faithful, and if my life were spared, that I would have 
 to bear a testimony against that form of superstition which 
 would make obeisance before, and uplift the magic of, a 
 Name, as Peter the Hermit did the nails and remnants of the 
 true cross. This was not the spirit of the psalmist when he 
 said, " My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God ;" or of 
 Jesus when he said, " God is not the God of the dead, but of 
 the living." 
 
 But let me not give too great attention to mere theory, for 
 the times demand that our Society, the interests of which are 
 so near and dear to my heart, should rather disparage mere 
 dogma in the practical illustration and interest of that prin- 
 ciple and foundation which ever remain eternally beautiful, 
 true, and good; that faith which refers Jesus to his spiritual 
 manhood, and fully vindicates that blessed freedom which the 
 truth gives. At the same time I clearly see that great fallacy 
 of the Christian world which practically ignores the universal 
 and permanent, the germ of all things, and insists on names 
 
 i8 
 
JESUS OF NAZARETH 
 
 and forms and methods and plans, which subsist only through 
 the seed. Paul expresses this view when he said, " Therefore 
 leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on 
 to perfection ; not laying again the foundation of repentance 
 from dead works, and of faith toward God." It was illus- 
 trated by Jesus, as is recorded, when he said, " Upon this 
 rock I will build my church." That is his own spiritual 
 manhood, — viz., not the revelations of " flesh and blood," 
 " but [the revelations] of my Father which is in heaven." 
 Again, when he said to the tempter (i.e., the promptings of 
 ambition) , " Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every 
 word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Deut. viii. 
 3; Matt. iv. 4; Luke iv. 4.) 
 
 This faith can never be lost in any personal phenomenon 
 or historical application. Though Paul in the ebullition of 
 feeling may designate the power he felt by the name of Jesus 
 of Nazareth, or by Murat imitating the precedent of the cru- 
 saders of old, in thinking that the Virgin Mary was trans^ 
 figured before him as he rode into battle where death was 
 reaping so great a harvest around him. A counterfeit es- 
 tablishes the genuine! 
 
 " Change is of man ; the old and new 
 Belong to man alone ; 
 The Infinite alone is true, 
 Eternal truth is one !" 
 
 Much safer is it to follow the example of the Anointed Son 
 ■of God, Jesus of Nazareth, who ascribed all power, and all 
 dominion, to his and to "our Father, which is in heaven," 
 his truly divine thoughts, acts, " words," " doctrine," all to 
 Him, and to His Name; who, when physical death was 
 drawing near, piously commended his soul to the God of his 
 being, — " Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." 
 And who instructed his friends that " it is not ye that speak 
 [when under divine influence] , but the Spirit of your Father 
 which speaketh in you." Thus we can humbly say in truth 
 -with the prophet Isaiah, " Thou, O Lord, art our Father, 
 
 19 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 our Redeemer ; thy name is from everlasting." And we may- 
 come to know with Job that our Redeemer " liveth," and 
 experience that the thirst which David felt for the " Living 
 God," may be satisfied in the fountain of living waters ; thus 
 we can know redemption from our selfishness, and come to 
 understand that this is a daily work, for 
 
 " The manna gathered yesterday 
 Already savors of decay." 
 
 At the residence of my friend Henry W. Ridgway I met 
 with Cyrus Pierce, whom I took to his home in Bristol in my 
 conveyance. He is truly a wise man, and it is gratifying to 
 see the activity that he exhibits both in mind and body at such 
 an advanced age. 
 
 11 mo. sy. — Attended Bucks Quarterly Meeting. It being 
 Thanksgiving Day, a great concourse of people assembled, 
 and a considerable portion of the labor seemed allotted to me. 
 I was powerfully wrought upon, and felt an humbling sense 
 of my own insignificance. Self was utterly lost in that great 
 love of eternal goodness which filled my cup to overflowing. 
 
 12 mo. I. — Devoted a portion of the day in the study of 
 Paul's letters to the Thessalonians. Biblical scholars now 
 agree that these epistles were the first written of the New Tes- 
 tament literature. They exhibit the most exalted friendship, 
 though they appear to have been hastily yet not carelessly 
 written. They are very clear and lucid in statement, and 
 prove Paul to have been an extraordinary man, and that his 
 opinions are entitled to much consideration on many subjects ; 
 but they also show that he was greatly mistaken in his view 
 of the second advent of Jesus, of which he was as firm a be- 
 liever in A.D. S3 as was William Miller in 1840-41. His error 
 proves that he was not infallible, neither does he claim to 
 have been so. He was led into this opinion in common with 
 the early Christians, and from which they were slow to re- 
 cede; and not only from this delusion, but from all others, 
 must the true catholic church leave behind, progressing on 
 
 20 
 
THE SECOND ADVENT 
 
 towards that perfect faith, the standard of which is forever 
 high advancing. 
 
 The genuineness of the second of Paul's letters to the 
 Thessalonians has been questioned by some, pn account of 
 the view in ii. 2, 3, in which the second advent of Jesus seems 
 to have been postponed a little till " the man of sin" be first 
 revealed. But the evidences of the genuineness of both let- 
 ters is generally conceded, because of the style and the simi- 
 larity of the modes of thought and expression. Paul is 
 evidently comforting his friends in 2 Thess. ii. 2, " That ye 
 need not be soon shaken in mind or be troubled," etc. The 
 disagreement between these letters is to be set down to the 
 vague character of the second advent speculations into which 
 Paul was led, and also to the great unsteadiness of our im- 
 perfect natures as has been exhibited in the different epochs 
 in which millennium speculations have obtained credence. 
 
 The Ebionites, the Nazarenes, and the Cerinthians all 
 strongly advocated it. The early fathers of the church also 
 declared themselves in favor of this doctrine. From the fifth 
 century millenarianism began to die out. It was temporarily 
 revived at the close of the tenth century. The Reformation 
 in the tenth century gave a new impulse to these views. In 
 Germany and in England many sects advocated the speedy 
 advent of Jesus. The " catholic apostolic church" of Ed- 
 ward Irving laid great stress on the belief that the kingdom 
 of glory was very near. Such thoughts lie at the foundation 
 of Mormonism (the Latter Day Saints, as they call them- 
 selves). 
 
 As late as Jerome's time, who did not believe in this view 
 himself, yet did not dare to condemn it, in consideration of it 
 having been advocated by such men as Paul, Peter, Papias, 
 Justin, Irenaeus, and Tertullian, the same difficulty which ex- 
 isted in those ancient times continues to exist in these our 
 days likewise. If the great teacher of Nazareth is the au- 
 thor of the sayings in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, 
 and if the language there is to be literally interpreted, then, 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 of course, he was involved, as Ross Winans, in his " One 
 Religion: Many Creeds," p. 341, has pointed out, in the 
 limitations of the Second Adventists of the near-by day; 
 and the difficulty of understanding Matthew xvi. 28 meta- 
 phorically is, indeed, very great, as herein it is written that 
 there were those present who should not taste of death until 
 they witnessed the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. 
 
 The outward views of the disciples and apostles in Paul's 
 time are not wonderful when we consider that upon the last 
 night which Jesus spent on earth there was " a strife among 
 them, which of them should be accounted the greatest" in the 
 kingdom of heaven. How beautiful was the answer : " He 
 that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and 
 he that is chief, as he that doth serve." (Luke xxii. 24.) 
 
 In Matthew xx. 20-24 there is a somewhat different ver- 
 sion from that given in Luke. The mother of Zebedee's 
 children it was who desired that her sons should " sit, the 
 one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy king- 
 dom." To the query of Jesus they answered that they were 
 all able to drink of the cup, and be baptized with the baptism 
 which he was baptized with. The answer was very signifi- 
 cant : " Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized 
 with the baptism that I am baptized with : but to sit on my 
 right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall 
 be given to them for whom it is prepared by my Father." 
 
 Again, we find Peter, long after the demise of Jesus, after 
 having listened to the wonderful words of wisdom which 
 dropped from his lips; after the day of Pentecost; after the 
 martyrdom of Stephen and the conversion of Paul, still cling- 
 ing with great tenacity to the faith of his fathers, refusing 
 even to be convinced by " a voice" from heaven : " Not so. 
 Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or 
 unclean." And notwithstanding " the Voice spake unto him 
 again the second time. What God hath cleansed, that call 
 not thou common," yet we read " Peter doubted," and it re- 
 quired the instrumentality of " Cornelius, a centurion of the 
 
 22 
 
ABNEGATION OF SELF 
 
 band called the Italian band," to convince him of that self- 
 evident proposition and lead him to say, " Of a truth, I per- 
 ceive that God is no respecter of persons : But in every nation 
 he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted 
 with him." But such is the force of education and the power 
 of tradition, that fourteen years after this event we find Paul 
 in the Galatians speaking of the outward views of Peter, for 
 at Antioch he says, " I withstood him to the face, because he 
 was to be blamed." 
 
 That Jesus was misunderstood by his friends even during 
 his short ministry is very evident, and after he left them, in 
 the record which in part they left they had perpetuated many 
 of the errors into which they had fallen in relation to his 
 person, his teachings, and his mission. Yet, notwithstanding 
 these errors, the truth is plainly legible, and we can very 
 closely approach to an exact estimate as to what he really 
 taught, just as in physical science we can determine the rela- 
 tive and exact proportions of any compound in nature ; as the 
 comparative anatomist can demonstrate a structure by- a sin- 
 gle bone, so can we determine and sift by a careful and critical 
 analysis the proportions of historical truth in the four records 
 of the life of Jesus. In knowledge there is safety ever to be 
 found, so in ignorance is danger ever to be apprehended, even 
 though it be clothed in the angelic habiliments of radiant 
 white! "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and 
 instruction, and understanding." 
 
 In common with the ancient sages, and in accordance with 
 that divine principle which is given to every man to profit 
 withal, Jesus sought to impress on the minds of his friends 
 the necessity of an abnegation of self and a renunciation of 
 ambitious hopes and mutual jealousies. The truth was his 
 meat and his drink, for it he was born and for it would die. 
 "I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, 
 I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me : the 
 Father hath not left me alone; for I always do those things 
 that please him." 
 
 23 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Again, " The words that I speak unto you I speak not of 
 myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the 
 works." 
 
 " My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any 
 man will do his will, he will know of the doctrine, whether it 
 be of God, or whether I speak from myself. He that speak- 
 eth of himself seeketh his own glory : but he that seeketh his 
 glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness 
 is in him." 
 
 The more and more that we experience faith in the divine 
 principle as it is unfolded in the inner consciousness of our 
 being to illuminate the understanding, so that these elements 
 of our nature can become mutually reflective and co-operative, 
 the more and more will we come to understand the divine 
 mission of that faithful Son of the Highest. As we strive to 
 fulfil the will of our Good Father, we shall not only come to 
 understand the doctrine that Jesus taught, but also to com- 
 prehend that the relation which he bears to us is that of a 
 brother beloved, — " For whosoever shall do the will of God, 
 the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother." 
 
 12 mo. $. — ^Attended Germantown Meeting to-day, and 
 went home to dinner with Jonathan Rittenhouse ; he is much 
 experienced in the root of spiritual life, and is much pained 
 with those outward views which have their origin in a misun- 
 derstanding of the letter, and which to a considerable extent 
 seem to be gaining ground in our Society. 
 
 12 mo. 10. — Was led by the true Guide, as I believe, to 
 speak at meeting to-day of the simple nature of the religion 
 which Jesus taught, and which he illustrated in those beauti- 
 ful parables which, when they are understood, convey so 
 much instruction. The parable of the leaven, and that of the 
 sower, parables which must be accepted as a criterion, with 
 other statements, and which rightly and properly must be 
 taken thus as a test to determine the genuineness of the words 
 and thoughts which the New Testament writers have given to 
 us as the language and views of Jesus in reference to his 
 
 24 
 
THE FOUNDATION JESUS LAID 
 
 coming again personally in the clouds of heaven to establish 
 a visible kingdom. Such Jewish-Christian views were no 
 doubt attributed to him by authentic contemporaneous as well 
 as by later tradition. The Christianity which he taught is 
 a life, not an outward millennium or a creed. " The servant 
 abideth not in the house for ever : but the Son abideth ever." 
 This is a faith infinitely above and superior to that which 
 exists by and through the visible and miraculous as exhibited 
 in any historical presentation whatever. 
 
 12 mo. 14. — Hoped that my lot at mid-week meeting to-day 
 would be in silence, but soon after I had taken my seat felt a 
 flow of life towards the children, of which a large number 
 were present. Instanced the simile in Matthew of " the lilies 
 of the field," which were greater than Solomon in all his glory. 
 The lily was considered as having a sacred meaning in the 
 Hebrew, — i.e., as child of light: clad in white. It was ex- 
 plained that there was an inner significance in this comparison. 
 That with the Creator there was no little thing ; the grass of 
 the field was clad with a beauty comparable to the pure " word 
 of the kingdom," which is God working in us to will and 
 to do. That there was nothing greater than the develop- 
 ment in the inner man, for it was the divine nature seek- 
 ing to assimilate with us, "that the Father may be glori- 
 fied in the Son." The word glory in Hebrew signifies the 
 flashing of light; to shine brightly. Thus we may under- 
 stand that we truly glorify Him when we place ourselves in a 
 position in which we become the recipients of those rays of 
 spiritual light which emanate directly from Him. The rock 
 upon which Jesus founded his church, that is, his own spiritual 
 foundation, was the revelations of his Father's will to him. 
 This is the rock alluded to in Matt. xvi. 18. Faith must 
 spring spontaneously out of our own consciousness, and be 
 founded on the Personal One in every soul. This is truly a 
 rational faith, and there is no logical contradiction in it, for 
 just in proportion as we keep our natures single and turned 
 Godward, losing our personality in our individuality, or our 
 
 25 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 selfishness in the anointed principle in us, we become more 
 and more allied to the divine nature, and reason is not ob- 
 scured, becoming inactive or latent ; but is a co-worker with 
 faith, and is fitly and gracefully transferred as a column and 
 a pillar in the Lord's house ! 
 
 The simile in Gen i. i6 is a beautiful one, and those who 
 are the possessors of, and whose minds are illuminated by, 
 the greater light, should not unduly disparage those lesser 
 lights which are typified as the light of the moon, " to rule the 
 night and the stars which He made also ;" should despise not 
 " prophesyings," but " prove all things ;" and " hold fast that 
 which is good." 
 
 The lesser luminaries shine by reflected light. In the 
 moon's rays not one particle of heat can be found. Thus the 
 inductions of science, the Scriptures, the words of preachers, 
 can but illustrate the greater light which God has placed in 
 the firmament of the heavenly nature, "to give light upon 
 the earth." 
 
 12 mo. i8. — The First Epistle to the Corinthians is the 
 third in order of Paul's letters, and was written, the best critics 
 say, about a.d. 57 from Ephesus. It treats of unity, of the 
 private and peculiar relations of the church at Corinth, of the 
 public testimonies of that church, of the instruction, and con- 
 cludes with general exhortations in reference to the last day 
 (i Cor. XV. 52). The view in xv. 21 in regard to Adam is 
 different from that in the fifth chapter of Romans. 
 
 There is but little theology in this letter. Ethics, not doc- 
 trines, are taught, and his views have a many-sidedness and 
 breadth of scope. Party divisions are censured, and his 
 friends are besought to be united in the bonds of love. He 
 speaks of the manner in which he had preached among them, 
 — ^not in words of worldly wisdom, but in unadorned sim- 
 plicity; not thinking of himself, but of the great cause of 
 Christ. Critics have discussed very freely and have differed 
 very much in relation to the church and the different parties 
 alluded to (i. 12). The Petrine party would seem to be com- 
 
 26 
 
THE CHRIST PARTY 
 
 prehended in the Cephas and the Christ party; Paul and 
 Apollos holding substantially the same doctrines. The Christ 
 party were evidently Jewish Christians, who opposed Paul's 
 ideas and resisted them. The term " Christ's is God's" seems 
 to have been intended to cut off the basis of their pretensions. 
 Some have thought that there were three parties, and such 
 was Chrysostom's views, but there were evidently but two, — 
 those holding Pauline and Petrine sentiments. Apollos was 
 more eloquent than Paul, but he taught substantially the 
 same doctrine. The former was an Alexandrian Jew, but 
 their preaching of Christ was identical and the same. These 
 differences were evidently in an established society. 
 
 12 mo. ip. — ^There are very many panaceas for the physical 
 ills which afflict mankind, and as many for the healing of the 
 nations in a moral and spiritual point of view. The abolition 
 of slavery was considered the solus bonuin by some; others 
 are of the opinion that universal suffrage, the abolition of 
 capital punishment, the enactment of the golden rule in the 
 constitution, and the shortening of the hours of labor, etc., 
 would produce the great desideratum. Others, again, alarmed 
 at the spirit of the age, which is the spirit of free inquiry, and 
 which is evidently abroad in the world, would turn backward 
 the hands on time's dial, and truly in accordance with the 
 fashionable religion of the day, that justification and, conse- 
 quently, salvation come by faith in a Personal One, who ful- 
 filled the law in our stead, and that infinite justice is satisfied 
 thereby. This was not the religion of Jesus. He taught faith 
 in the Personal One in man, and this personality was not mir- 
 rored in himself alone, but also in those who reflected forth 
 " the face of the Father which is in heaven." Byron saw the 
 
 "... glorious mirror where the Almighty's form 
 Glasses itself in tempests." 
 
 But Jesus, feeling the divine nature within himself, recog- 
 nized it likewise in the most degraded of the race. " Go and 
 sin no more" is the spirit of the Father's love to humanity. 
 
 27 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 The religion that Jesus taught was a spiritual religion, and 
 was exemplified by a spirit of self-sacrifice and devotion to the 
 truth, and the more and more that we cultivate this spirit, the 
 more and more it becomes the great attractive principle of 
 thought and action, — the main-spring of the soul! 
 
 The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is the fourth in order 
 of Paul's letters, and according to the best critics it was writ- 
 ten at Macedonia, a.d. 57. The authenticity of this produc- 
 tion is attested by many early witnesses, as well as by internal 
 evidence. It is divisible into three parts, — i, i.-vii. ; 2, viii. ; 
 3, x.-xiii. 
 
 Part first has reference to the Apostle's feelings in regard 
 to his personality and experience, — the assertion of the dig- 
 nity of his office and standing, and of the disinterestedness 
 with which he had administered it, thanking God for the con- 
 soling evidences of his love. He does not need, "as some 
 others, epistles of commendation to you," for the epistle ad- 
 ministered " by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of 
 the living God ; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of 
 the heart." He announces that nothing but the pure rays of 
 gospel love have quickened him as a minister " of the new 
 testament ; not of the letter, but of the spirit : for the letter 
 killeth, but the spirit giveth life ;" for " where the Spirit of the 
 Lord is, there is liberty." He enjoins them to attach no im- 
 portance to the earthly conditions of men, or as to carnal 
 views of a Messiah : " Though we have known Christ after 
 the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more." 
 
 In the second part he solicits aid in behalf of the poor in 
 Judea, and that in their contributions to the " churches" they 
 give freely out of their abundance, that an equality may exist 
 among the brethren. 
 
 In the third part he claims their indulgence in " boasting" 
 of himself, for he thus speaks out of solicitude for them and 
 for the cause of Christ, and although he is deficient in oratory, 
 and his bodily presence weak, and his speech contemptible, yet 
 it is his duty to warn them against such as are " false apostles, 
 
 28 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS 
 
 deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles 
 of Christ." In conclusion, he enjoins them to faith and to 
 good deeds : " Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, 
 live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with 
 you." 
 
 This letter has no rhetorical arrangement, but it exhibits a 
 heart beating warm in love and intense in desires for the ad- 
 vancement of the truth. It has no allusion to the thoughts so 
 forcibly present in i Thessalonians of the speedy coming of 
 Jesus in the flesh, for in the four years that had elapsed since 
 he had penned that letter the apostle exhibits a more spiritual 
 conception of the divine mission of the Son of Man. His 
 thoughts were not clear, as he says (iv. 8), "We are per- 
 plexed, but not in despair." • Yet in this epistle he plainly 
 foreshadows those clearer views announced some seven years 
 later in his letter to the Colossians, of that " mystery which is 
 Christ within, the hope of glory." 
 
 The time in which Paul's epistle to the Galatians was writ- 
 ten has occasioned much discussion, not only in modern but 
 also in ancient times. It was first in order in Marcion's canon, 
 who was the first to publish, so, at least, Tertullian says ; but 
 we do not know that he attempted to arrange the list chrono- 
 logically. I shall place this letter as fifth in order, in accord- 
 ance with the internal evidence which it presents. It was 
 doubtless written after the apostle's second visit to the Gala- 
 tians (v. 21 ). The context plainly shows this, and the best 
 critics agree as to the date of this production, — a.d. 57. And 
 that iv. 16 should read, "Am I therefore hated by you be- 
 cause I tell you the truth ?" Again, " Ye know how through 
 infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the 
 first" (iv. 13), which text compare with (i Cor. ii. 3) : "And 
 I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trem- 
 bling." 
 
 By comparing this epistle with the Romans we cannot fail 
 to perceive a striking similarity of tone and feeling. Justifi- 
 cation by faith without the deeds of the law is the common 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 theme in opposition to the views prevailing among the heathen, 
 many of whom were his Judaizing opponents. There is like- 
 wise a very noticeable accordance of view on this subject 
 between the Galatians and the i Corinthians. 
 
 The apostle uses different reasoning, according to circum- 
 stances, and according to the tactics of the Petrine party. 
 Again, his persecutions and personal sufferings must be taken 
 into account, if we want to appreciate those frequent outbursts 
 of passionate sentiment and feeling which otherwise it were 
 difficult to understand. 
 
 His personal independence is exhibited in his spirited re- 
 buke to Peter at Antioch, who, in consequence of his fear of 
 the Judaizers, was disposed to betray the liberty of new con- 
 verts to the brotherhood. Paul's doctrine is plainly stated 
 that justification by faith in the law does not abrogate the free 
 grace of God, but establishes its necessity, for if justification 
 or salvation be throtigh Moses, the Messiah died in vain. 
 
 The apostle's mode of expression seems at times ambigu- 
 ous, and it was frequently shaped in consequence of the vio- 
 lent opposition that was so constantly waged among the 
 brethren to his free Christianity — in the established church 
 governments at Corinth, Galatia, Antioch, and Rome. For if 
 they insisted on the obligations of the old dispensation, — on 
 circumcision, baptism, and the observance of "days, and 
 months, and times, and years," — ^he therefore had to bring 
 into conspicuous prominence the efficacy of faith as the means 
 of freeing them from the bondage of " weak and beggarly ele- 
 ments." James says that we are justified through works. 
 Jesus taught that a man was justified by love to God and 
 love to man and by communion with them. 
 
 And herein theologians have mystified themselves by a 
 wax of words. By their metaphysics they have not only 
 darkened their own understandings, but also the minds of 
 their hearers and readers. They teach the doctrine of im- 
 puted righteousness, and that this righteousness and jus- 
 tification come by reason of belief in One who fulfilled his 
 
 30 
 
THE ANGELIC NATURE 
 
 Father's will for us, and that his righteousness is imputed to 
 us by reason of our faith in Him, — a doctrine and proposition 
 clearly antagonistic to reason and to common sense. 
 
 Jesus taught the elevation of the divine principle in man, — 
 a new life, the life of love, the right direction, and elevation of 
 the angelic nature, in the language of the mystical writer of 
 the fourth Gospel : " I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will 
 draw all men unto me." And the different expressions in the 
 writings of James and Paul convey the same idea, for justi- 
 fication, or salvation, by " hope," or " faith," or " grace," or 
 " works," imply this resurrection of the soul to a new life. 
 
 This epistle throws grave doubts upon the accuracy of the 
 history as narrated in the Acts in several particulars. The 
 strong personality which is delineated in the epistle is very 
 differently rendered in the Acts. In the former he opposes 
 circumcision as contrary to the spirit of the gospel, and as a 
 great impediment to its dissemination among the Gentiles. 
 In the latter, on the contrary, he is represented as a great ob- 
 server of the law, as were Peter, James, and John. His con- 
 version is also quite differently related in the epistle. He did 
 not consult with any man, nor visit Jerusalem till three years 
 afterwards, but went directly into Arabia. He says nothing 
 of his miraculous conversion, and of his being led blind into 
 Damascus, but expressly says that he went directly, in a con- 
 trary direction, " into Arabia." Neither does he yield to the 
 demand for the circumcision of Timothy and Titus, as com- 
 pare Acts xvi. 3 with Gal. ii. 3. The Acts evidently cannot 
 be depended upon as an accurate history, as they are clearly 
 compiled from different sources. This is shown in the three 
 different versions rendered of Paul's conversion. Compare 
 ix. 7, xxii., and xxvi. 14. The elements of history are found 
 in the Acts, but not accurate details, as will be seen when we 
 come to examine them. 
 
 The language in this epistle is more ambiguous and obscure 
 than in his other writings, and displays intense emotions as 
 well as a lack of unity — as some have thought — ^between the 
 
 31 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 beginning and the latter part, for, from being conciliatory 
 and mild, as he proceeds he becomes caustic and harsh. This 
 can be explained by the reason that he evidently had two dif- 
 ferent parties in view, for Petrine and Pauline sentiments in 
 the church at Galatia had produced dissension among the 
 brethren, and the former strove to resist and to calumniate 
 him. The letter was evidently written in haste, as is shown 
 by the diction and style, in which he betrays. roughness, loose- 
 ness, and excessive feelings. For his apostleship had been 
 assailed and he himself defamed. It was affirmed that he 
 was inferior to the primitive apostles, as he had not been 
 called immediately by the Master himself, but that he had 
 been commissioned by men. Jerome says that he referred to 
 Peter and James when he said that he sought not instruction 
 from "flesh and blood." 
 
 Paul's version of his conversion is clear enough. (Gal. 
 i. 12; I Cor. XV. 8; ix. i.) He had seen the power of Jesus, 
 as he says, " for the seal of mine apostleship." And he soon 
 found it necessary to cut loose from Judaism in order to re- 
 tain his consistency with the Gentiles, and this caused him to 
 be denounced and suspected by the Jew-Christian party. It 
 was in vain that they " taught the brethren, and said. Ex- 
 cept ye be circumcised, after the manner of Moses, ye can- 
 not be saved." (Acts xv. i.) Paul did not build again 
 the things which he had destroyed, thus making himself a 
 transgressor. (Gal. ii. 8.) But he fearlessly severed him- 
 self from the Jewish law as superfluous and obsolete, a hin- 
 derance and a "curse," thus teaching another gospel and 
 another Jesus from the Jew-Christians at Jerusalem. All 
 his epistles show him thus contending against another gospel 
 and another doctrine. His gospel, he says, he never learned 
 from man, that is, from the original apostles, and not until 
 the third year of his apostleship did he go up to Jerusalem. 
 No wonder they were amazed at his preaching Christ after 
 the Spirit, and not " after the flesh." (2 Cor. v. 16.) 
 
 12 mo. 27. — " Wisdom is ofttimes nearer when we stoop 
 
 32 
 
SENECA 
 
 than when we soar." So in religion : " Except a man receive 
 the kingdom of God as a little child, he can in no wise enter 
 therein." I expressed this thought at Horsham Monthly 
 Meeting to-day, feeling it applicable to states and conditions 
 which were present, as it is to all the sons and daughters of 
 men, as has been exemplified abundantly in the experience of 
 our lives, as well as in the experience of those who have gone 
 before us. 
 
 And who has learned this lesson perfectly ? It is therefore 
 necessary that there should be precept upon precept and line 
 upon line. For, as Seneca said, "A thing is never too often 
 repeated which is never sufficiently learned." 
 
 12 mo. 28. — Attended Gwynedd Monthly Meeting to-day, 
 and experienced the influence of bigotry on the part of a 
 simple-minded, good sort of a man, who in what he said was 
 quite personal in reference to the testimony which I bore, in 
 which I held that we should not go to the past for light ; that 
 there could not be a final revelation to one generation for all 
 subsequent generations, from the very nature of God's dis- 
 pensations and from the very nature of man's requirements. 
 The whole spirit of the religion which Jesus taught is in 
 behalf of progression : " I have yet many things to say unto 
 you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the 
 Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth: 
 for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall 
 hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to 
 come." 
 
 The same thought we find in Luke: "Let the dead bury 
 their dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God." 
 " God is not the God of the dead, but of the living : for all 
 live in Him." 
 
 12 mo. 2^. — Was at Quakertown Monthly Meeting to-day. 
 I had not attended this meeting for nearly thirty-two years, 
 when I resided there about six months. I was greatly affected 
 in the recollection of that youthful day, in which the Good 
 Father had visited me with the overflowings of His love, and 
 3 33 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 spoke of it in the meeting, inculcating the thought that " the 
 evening and the morning were the first day ;" that the law was 
 the same to the infant Samuel and to the prophet Eli. It was 
 the Eternal that spoke to them in both instances, and the 
 prophet so recognized it. That God speaks to us in little 
 things as well as in greater, and that obedience to the prompt- 
 ings of conscience in the matters of life was of as great mo- 
 ment to us as in those works and words which some esteem 
 as of " the higher l^w." 
 
 Our aim should be high, but we should not despise the day 
 of small things. A friend took umbrage, and was honest in 
 expressing his feeling, as he did not like the view of there 
 being but one dispensation, or that we cannot arrive at a con- 
 dition in which we cease to want. 
 
 I had a private opportunity with him, and explained my 
 view in reference to the gospel dispensation, which was one 
 of love, and which was the only one that I had ever known. 
 It was increase in the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of 
 love : " First the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the 
 ear." That our progress depended upon our obedience to the 
 law of development, and that God could teach us more in one 
 flash of heavenly light, if our condition was prepared for it, 
 than we could otherwise learn in a lifetime of study and toil ! 
 
 In reference to progression, if we cease to want we cannot 
 progress. The idea of our perfection leads to the worship of 
 imperfection, and hence we will receive imperfect gifts. Thus 
 Jesus answered the salutation of Good Master : " Why callest 
 thou me good? there is none good but One, that is, God." 
 
 " Existence came from want, for had not God wanted any- 
 think, how could anything have been ?"\ Desire is the law- 
 of our nature, and true wisdom consists in the proper limita- 
 tion and the right direction of our wants. " Be ye therefore 
 
 perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect," 
 
 that is, live up to His perfect law, which is a condition of de- 
 pendence on Him. This is a perfect standard. I held this 
 view in the meeting to-day, that it was a law which was for- 
 
 34 
 
EXCELSIOR 
 
 ever high advancing — upward and onward — Excelsior. Thus 
 an endless path is before us, like that of Jacob's ladder, " set 
 up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven : and be- 
 hold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And 
 behold, Jehovah stood above it." 
 
 In the Old Testament we do not perceive frequent indica- 
 tions of heavenly light as this quotation evinces, for the fre- 
 quent thought is that Jehovah is a jealous and wrathful God. 
 This idea, though essentially mitigated, is not entirely de- 
 stroyed by the more enlightened views of the later prophets. 
 But in the teachings of Jesus we find the contrast as between 
 the internal and external. This is particularly seen in the 
 Sermon on the Mount, in the opposition which is so plainly 
 evident to a pharisaic construction which refers to the exter- 
 nal act, and not to the internal law. Murder, adultery, and 
 profanity are forbidden in the inception, in the thought, — 
 murder in anger, adultery in impure desire, and profanity in 
 any deviation from the law of simple truthfulness. Thus 
 the axe is laid at the roots of the corrupt trees. 
 
 Our Good Father exhibits Himself in His works as the 
 personification of infinite benevolence, and we find this the 
 spirit of the religion that Jesus inculcated, in the saying, 
 "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in 
 heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the 
 good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." 
 
 This text we find near the close of the Sermon on the 
 Mount, wherein the means are pointed out by which one can 
 become His children and bring our spirits into harmony with 
 the spirit of universal benevolence, thus becoming brothers 
 with the whole human race, having God for Our Father! 
 Herein, and only herein, we can say with Jesus, " The Father 
 hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that 
 please him." And he continually enjoined by precept and 
 example upon his friends to prove themselves by their con- 
 duct to be the true and genuine sons of their Heavenly 
 Father. 
 
 35 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 As we come thus to realize this connection more and more, 
 we come also to realize that our relationship to one another 
 is that of brothers, and that an equality exists among us 
 which renders it our duty not to behave differently to another 
 than towards ourselves, and not to judge others severely and 
 ourselves leniently. We are to forgive our offending brother 
 not merely seven times, but seventy times seven. 
 
 The first three Gospels thus exhibit Jesus as a teacher of 
 the people, who opposed the pharisaic spirit of the age, in re- 
 lation to exterior observances, and who insisted on purity of 
 mind and thought, upon efforts to resemble and to assimilate 
 with the divine nature : " Love your enemies, bless them that 
 curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them 
 which despitefully use you, and persecute you ; that ye may 
 be the children of your Father which is in heaven." 
 
 These doctrines adapt themselves to the divine principle 
 in man, and demonstrate the divine principle in him, because 
 men of all classes recognize them as attractive, comprehensive, 
 productive of warmth of feeling and of newness and freshness 
 of spiritual life. We read that Jesus said unto his friends, 
 " Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the 
 baptism that I am baptized with." Now, what was the cup 
 and what the baptism which were here alluded to ? We find 
 it explained in the same chapter (Matt. xx. 27, 28) : " Who- 
 soever will be great among you, let him be your minister ; and 
 whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant." 
 Here true humihty and abnegation of self were not only taught 
 by precept, but also by the more powerful method of exem- 
 plification, that of example, for we read that he said, " I am 
 among you as he that serveth." Thus he lived, and thus he 
 died for the truth ! The highest pinnacle of human greatness 
 is for self to be swallowed up, and to be lost sight of in such 
 love as this. Here, and only here, is true humility to be 
 learned, — in love to the Supreme, — and, as a natural conse- 
 quence, this love becomes " as a river, making glad the whole 
 heritage of God." 
 
 36 
 
THE VOICE OF GOD 
 1872. 
 
 I mo. I. — Attended our First-day meeting yesterday; was 
 silent, but near the close felt a word to spring up, and was not 
 faithful in utterance ; but experienced no condemnation, for it 
 seemed to be a confirmatory evidence given me to be instant 
 in season serving the Eternal. 
 
 I mo. y. — Myself and wife were at the circular meeting at 
 Plymouth to-day, which was large. Several ministers were 
 in attendance ; at the close I felt it right to express a baptism 
 which had impressed my mind in reference to a condition 
 which I felt was present, and to encourage to faithfulness in 
 little things and to strive after an humble waiting state of 
 mind. Spent a very agreeable eveningf with Elias H. Corson 
 and family. 
 
 I mo. 8. — Was informed to-day on the cars by Lucretia" 
 Mott of the death of Benjamin Price, at the ripe age of 
 seventy-eight. 
 
 In pursuance of a concern which has for some time past 
 impressed my mind, I attended the Fourth-day meeting at 
 Race Street this morning, at which several hundred children 
 were present. My feelings were principally drawn towards 
 them in a baptism of love and tenderness, directing them to 
 rely alone on those impressions of duty which came from 
 their Heavenly Father. That "the morning and evening 
 were the first day," and that the voice of enlightened con- 
 science was the voice of God. I felt it my duty to illustrate 
 this by an application to the business relations of life, and to 
 encourage the young mind to faithfulness in the path of duty, 
 which was ever the pathway that led to the kingdom of God 
 and to its righteousness. After I had concluded, Rachel 
 Townsend arose and said that she must say amen to what had 
 been expressed. But at the close of the meeting a retired mer- 
 chant of large means seemed dissatisfied with my view in re- 
 lation to the close testimony uttered in regard to business 
 men. Verily, my path is a narrow one, and, like the prophets 
 of the olden time, stones are cast at me on every side. O 
 
 37 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 that I may be kept in the vales of humility, for here, and here 
 alone, charity, love, and tenderness truly dwell ! 
 
 I mo. II. — Was at West Chester to-day, and attended the 
 funeral of Benjamin Price. It was a solemn occasion. The 
 corpse was brought into the meeting-house, at which a large 
 concourse of the people of the town, irrespective of sect, was 
 gathered. For he was one who had demonstrated by a long 
 life of practical goodness the glory of the Christian character. 
 On such an occasion words seemed very weak in expressing 
 the feelings of the soul, but after a season of silence several 
 were led by the truth to express the deep emotions of their 
 hearts, and it was an occasion not soon to be forgotten by the 
 many persons there and then convened. 
 
 The deceased was a very enlightened, as well as a truly 
 humble man. He was opposed to that spirit of formalism 
 and asceticism which ever tends to wander away from the 
 moral and the spiritual to shadow and type. The last book 
 which he read was "Indices Historical and Rational," and 
 with which he expressed himself well pleased. The knowl- 
 edge of this was gratifying to my feelings, for the opinion of 
 such a mind is of value. 
 
 He appreciated the character of the real Jesus in contra- 
 distinction to the imaginary one which is so often drawn by 
 the evangelists. For in the accounts rendered there is to be 
 found the historical and poetical. The latter is the product 
 of ante-historical times. That period in which mythus and 
 mythi are produced, and which are clearly the foot of clay 
 in the history of Jesus. 
 
 This is shown in the last written of the accounts, the 
 fourth Gospel, in which the miraculous is intensified and ex- 
 tended, and hence, in an historical, and consequently in a the- 
 ological point of view, is the most unreliable, notwithstanding 
 so many dear friends of mine have a sentimental predilection 
 for this record, conceiving that it contains the most spiritual 
 conception of the Son of Man. 
 
 I am more arid more convinced, and am also encouraged 
 
BENJAMIN PRICE 
 
 in the view, that it was also the opinion of so wise a man as 
 Benjamin Price that the gospel narratives are in some meas- 
 ure a legendary deposit of contemporaneous Messianic ideas, 
 which have been blended and incorporated by degrees with 
 the sayings and discourses of Jesus, a considerable portion 
 of which, especially those in the fourth Gospel, which relate 
 to the exalted dignity of his person, are and have been 
 demonstrated to have been the product of later ideas and 
 modes of thought. 
 
 It may be inquired, should this view be accepted as correct, 
 does not the Christ as represented in the Gospels, whose life 
 and character the Christian world seems to have so clear a 
 conception of, fade away into a sort of misty obscurity and 
 become altogether a myth ? 
 
 To an examination of this question I have given many 
 years of thought and study, and can find in the records the 
 real Jesus often in distinct contravention to the imaginary and 
 poetic being described and devised by the theologian. 
 
 In the consideration of this subject, as I have before said in 
 " Indices," page 182, "A comprehensive view must be taken 
 of the century immediately preceding our era, as well as the 
 one succeeding it. Not only the four Gospels, but also the 
 Apocrypha, the fragments of history preserved by the fathers, 
 as well as the traditions of those whom they esteemed as 
 heretics; especially the views of the Ebionites, who were in 
 existence till the fourth century. 
 
 " But above all, some fixed, certain, and definite apprehen- 
 sion of his character and teachings must be established in the 
 mind. As the anatomist, by the examination of a single sec- 
 tion of a vertebra, can define the species, class, and order of 
 the animal, or the horticulturist, in passing through an or- 
 chard- of a thousand kinds of different fruits, can determine 
 from a cursory examination of the bud or blossom, or, in the 
 wintry season, by the twig alone, the proper fruit each tree 
 will bear, so we can form a just apprehension of the princi- 
 ples and doctrines that were inculcated in Galilee eighteen 
 
 39 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 hundred years ago. Having thus determined the status of 
 this great teacher, we must beheve nothing, though it mafy 
 be Paul, ApoUos, or Cephas that speaks, that is inconsistent 
 with the truths which we have established in our minds." 
 
 On page 175 in " Indices" I have presented some of the dif- 
 ficulties in supposing the Apostle John to have been the author 
 of the fourth Gospel. These difficulties are multiplied at 
 every step we take in the examination of this subject. The 
 Apostle John, as a man born in Palestine, must have been 
 acquainted with that country and its institutions. But this 
 was not the case with the writer of this Gospel. Take, for 
 instance, the expression, " High priest for that year" (xi. 51 ; 
 xviii. 13). Here no explanation or evasion will suffice. For 
 it is clear that the writer of this record held the idea that the 
 office of high priest was changed annually, and on this occa- 
 sion from Annas to Caiaphas. Now, John, as a native of 
 Palestine, must have had correct information on this point, 
 and especially to have remembered that Caiaphas had held 
 the office for a number of years. 
 
 So also on other points, as, for instance, the mention of 
 a Bethany on the Jordan (i. 28), of which there is no evi- 
 dence; the brook of cedars, instead of the brook Cedron 
 (xviii. I ) ; the fabulous description of the pool of Bethesda * 
 (v. 2) ; and the incorrect explanation of the name of Siloam 
 \ix. 7). 
 
 Again, John wrote the Apocalypse in Asia Minor in the 
 year 68, in which he exhibits no trace of Alexandrine philoso- 
 phy, and a tendency entirely foreign to the spirit of the Gospel 
 bearing his name. Now, it is incredible to suppose that he 
 could so late in life have identified himself with ideas so re- 
 mote and so far removed from the thoughts and views as ex- 
 pressed in the Apocalypse. Hence there is no reasonable 
 probability, scarcely the most remote semblance to a possi- 
 bility, that he wrote the fourth Gospel. 
 
 * See Appendix A. 
 40 
 
THE FOURTH GOSPEL 
 
 The discrepancy between John and the Gospel ascribed to 
 him, as I have iUustrated in brief in "Indices," page 174, is 
 such that of itself renders the supposition that he was the 
 author of the Gospel incredible. The dispute which broke out 
 between the Christian churches in Asia on the one hand, and 
 the Romish on the other, was in regard to the day of the cele- 
 bration of the festival of Easter, the Asiatics citing through 
 Polycrates, as Eusebius has shown, the example of the Apostle 
 John, in behalf of an observance to which the so-called Gospel 
 of John is in direct opposition. 
 
 The Asiatic churches desired that the Jewish passover, 
 which was celebrated on the 14th of the month Nisan (April), 
 might be kept as the commemorative feast-day. The west- 
 erns, on the contrary, wanted the celebration of the mystery 
 of the resurrection to be held on Easter Sunday. 
 
 Now, had the Roman church known of the fourth Gospel, 
 they would most certainly have produced it, for the usage of 
 John as attested by Polycarp, Polycrates, and their friends 
 points to the proceedings as given by the first evangelist. 
 When, on the contrary, according to the fourth Gospel, Jesus 
 did not eat the passover at all before his death, but prepared 
 the Last Supper the evening before, on the 13th. And noth- 
 ing is said of the institution of the Eucharist in this latter 
 record. Therefore the author of this Gospel had no ground 
 for attaching the Easter Supper to a day on which, according 
 to him, Jesus was crucified, and on a day in which he par- 
 took of no meal whatever. The Romish church would have 
 gladly availed themselves of this gospel had it been known, 
 as they held that Christians were not bound to observe 
 a particular day, which might fall on any day of the week, 
 but they insisted that the celebration of the Eucharist 
 should be held on Easter Sunday, as the day of the resur- 
 rection. 
 
 The crucifixion was on Fifth-day (Thursday) according to 
 John (xviii. 39 ; xix. 31). The Synoptics put it the day after, 
 A.D. 29, or u.c. 782. Justin agrees with the latter. His lan- 
 
 41 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 gTiage was : " Ye apprehended him on the day of the pass- 
 over." 
 
 The fourth Gospel appears to have been produced out of 
 this controversy, which lasted till about the beginning of the 
 third century.* For the Roman church desired the separa- 
 tion of Christianity from Judaism, and we find the first trace 
 of this Gospel through ApoUinaris, Bishop of Hierapolis. It 
 most certainly was not written by a Jew, as it indicates an 
 anti- Jewish feeling throughout. They are the children of 
 darkness all along. The logos theory runs through the book. 
 Two-thirds of the matter is new as compared with the Synop- 
 tics, and the variations are remarkable. 
 
 In the fourth Gospel the death of Lazarus was the immedi- 
 ate occasion of the death of Jesus. It is kept out of the Sy- 
 noptics by reason of the narrative. There is no place for it 
 after the entry into Jerusalem, for then follows a series of 
 incidents that necessarily exclude it.t 
 
 I mo. 14. — Attended Abington meeting in the morning, 
 and in the afternoon was at an appointed meeting at Horsham, 
 at which Nathan Page, of Massachusetts, an Orthodox Friend, 
 spoke at great length. The meeting was appointed in pur- 
 suance of concern of his, and he very freely illustrated the 
 outward view of his sect, and I never before heard such a 
 mass of scriptural quotations without connection with each 
 other or adaptation to this subject. He is, indeed, a blind 
 leader of the blind. I called on him the next morning, and 
 in the short conversation which we had together I found 
 that his view of religion was extremely simple and clear so 
 long as we conversed upon that theme which reaches the 
 hearts of all alike, — God in the soul ! This kingdom is an in- 
 ternal and not an external one, as he expressed himself ; but 
 
 *This period was one of the most intense excitement produced by 
 the rise of Gnosticism on the one hand, of Montanism on the other, and 
 the eflforts of the church to avoid the dissensions occasioned by the 
 contending elements. 
 
 t See Appendix B. 
 
 42 
 
JOHN JACKSON 
 
 had I touched the Scriptures it was very evident we should 
 not have agreed. How plain and simple is that catholic and 
 universal religion and creed upon which all men unite, and 
 how unnecessary and positively hurtful to the true welfare of 
 the soul are those redundancies and superfluities of faith and 
 belief whose tendency ever is to scatter and to divide. Oh, 
 hasten that day when all men can in truth say with the 
 prophet Isaiah, "Thou art our Father and our Redeemer, 
 and thy name is from everlasting, and there is no God else 
 beside thee; a just God and a Saviour; there is none else 
 beside thee." 
 
 I mo. id. — Myself and wife in the city to-day, and, as has 
 been our custom for some time past, called to see our dear 
 mother; she is weaker than when I saw her last. She can- 
 not live long, and expressed the great desire that she had felt 
 since I last saw her to pass away from mutability; but that 
 she was perfectly resigned, and though suffering so much with 
 a harassing cough, yet a holy calm and sweet serenity rested 
 upon her mind. Her soul, as she expressed the thought, was 
 in heavenly places, and all was "peace, peace," within and 
 around about her. Love seemed to encircle and radiate 
 around her as a halo of brightness. 
 
 / mo. i8. — Excused myself from attending mid-week meet- 
 ing to-day, as I wanted to receive the mail promptly from the 
 post-office, my dear mother being so very ill that I may be 
 summoned to the city at any time; but I feel increased 
 pleasure in meeting together at these now small mid-week 
 meetings. 
 
 "Though few in number, Father, Lord, 
 
 Still in Thy name we come, 
 To wait on Thy unspeaking word, 
 
 Though human lips be dumb." 
 
 In John Jackson's "Dissertation on the Christian Minis- 
 try," which I was looking over to-day, he says that " a new 
 translation of the Scriptures must be left to science." Thus 
 this enlightened minister of the gospel placed himself in a 
 
 43 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 position of impartial universality in relation to the different 
 religions of mankind. 
 
 The Christian world, however, is very willing to apply this 
 standard to the miraculous and the mythical in the Vedas or 
 Koran, holding that these accounts are incredible and im- 
 possible, and that the Egyptian and Greek mythology is 
 ridiculous and fabulous. 
 
 Now, this is contrary to the Christian faith, as it makes ap- 
 plicable, as a rule, to others that which we are not willing to 
 apply to ourselves; but science cannot recognize so narrow, 
 pretentious, and circumscribed a sphere; she must refuse all 
 intercessions in behalf of the different votaries of religion, and 
 must treat the sacred books of. the Christians, the Buddhists, 
 the Brahmin, or of Zoroaster all alike. The language must 
 be as the proverb of the Romans : "I cannot believe the story 
 though it were told by Cato." The solution of physical phe- 
 nomenon must be determined by her, or else our minds are 
 ever to be left in the mazes of conjecture, in which supersti- 
 tion is left free to bind the soul with those gyves and fetters 
 which mystery and priestcraft are so ready to forge, and again 
 may be lighted afresh the fires of the Inquisition, or again 
 enacted the tragedy of St. Bartholomew. 
 
 Miracle,* it is urged, is nothing supernatural, and that the 
 miraculous power attributed to Jesus was but a natural power 
 of a higher order, and that we must recognize it as within 
 human limitations. There is no question in my mind that he 
 possessed this gift in a wonderful degree, and I recognize the 
 gift of healing as a corporeal power, the law of which in time 
 may be understood. 
 
 But we must draw a line between the possible and the im- 
 possible, the credible and the incredible, between such mira- 
 cles as the healing of the child by Elijah ( i Kings xvii. 22, 
 23) ; the healing of Naaman (2 Kings v. 10, 14), and such as 
 those related of the sun and moon standing still ; the speak- 
 
 * See Appendix D. 
 44 
 
THE MESSIANIC IDEA 
 
 ing of Balaam's ass, the floating of iron, etc., the frequent 
 account of which we find in the Old Testament. And so in 
 the New Testament we must distinguish between the healing 
 of lepers and paralytics and such incidents as the star of the 
 wise men, the miraculous feeding of multitudes, the bringing 
 of the dead to life, etc. 
 
 It may be asked, are such stories the pure invention of con- 
 scious fiction? Not, I think, necessarily so, for the reason 
 that it has been clearly established that the gospels were of 
 gradual accumulation, and that sufficient time had elapsed for 
 the growth of the miraculous and legendary, when we con- 
 sider the expectation of the Messianic reign current at the 
 time of Jesus, and that the recognition was at first by very 
 few, and then by an increasing number of persons. Thus 
 gradually they came to see the fulfilment of the supposed 
 prophecies of the Old Testament in Jesus the Anointed. 
 And thus, though he was born in Nazareth, yet as the Mes- 
 siah his birthplace must have been at Bethlehem, because 
 Micah was so supposed to have foretold and predicted; and 
 because Moses and Elijah had wrought miracles, even to the 
 raising of the dead, so it was conceived that Jesus did greater 
 deeds than they ; and in the course of time these accumulated 
 into their present form. 
 
 According to Bauer the idea of the Messiah, as such, came 
 into existence about the time of John the Baptist, and not 
 sooner, and that it was not in its several features completed 
 even up to the time when our gospels were composed. But 
 there is no doubt that for some time prior to this event 
 wild and extravagant ideas existed in regard to an anointed 
 and consecrated person sent by God to effect the deliver- 
 ance of the Jewish people from the slavish yoke of Roman 
 power. Though it is plain that no clear or definite view 
 prevailed on the subject, for we see in the New Testament 
 different types of the Messianic idea exhibited. Thus an 
 issue from the genealogical stem of David is held in view 
 in the first and third Gospels, as well as the idea of Daniel 
 
 45 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 in reference to the second advent theory of the " Son of 
 Man." 
 
 In the Acts of the Apostles (iii. 22) a prophet of the type 
 of Moses was fulfilled in Jesus ; and also in Luke allusion is 
 made to Elias and Elijah in the same sense. Hence it is not 
 surprising that the wondrous deeds wrought by these two 
 great prophets are rivalled and surpassed in the history of 
 Jesus. 
 
 A considerable portion of the parables in the New Testa- 
 ment originated in the transferrence of thoughts and feelings 
 which were elicited during the excitement in reference to 
 the Messianic kingdom, and which were rife at and before 
 the time of Jesus. Thus thoughts, deeds, and sayings came 
 to be attributed to him which he would have most bitterly 
 repudiated, just as he ironically rebuked those who conceived 
 that the Messiah must be a descendant of David. 
 
 The relation and connection between Jesus and John the 
 Baptist must be comprehended in order to understand many 
 of those things which were problematical not only in ancient, 
 but are also in modern times. 
 
 It is very clear that much of the spiritual and moral force 
 which distinguished the prophets of the ancient day had 
 found its home in the hearts and minds of the members of 
 the Essenian order, and as religion becomes more and more 
 spiritual in its conception and growth, as a natural conse- 
 quence it becomes more and more free in its adaptations and 
 associations. 
 
 It was in this order that the Baptist was developed, and out 
 of which in some measure he grew. The point of divergence 
 between him and the sect of which he was a member was 
 that he was an enthusiast, while they were Quietists, and he 
 no doubt caused much concern in the minds of those whose 
 modes of life necessarily led to non-interference with the 
 Pharisaism of the age. Of baptism by water the Essenes 
 placed a high value, as we learn from Josephus, and that they 
 took the same view of those sacred ablutions as the Baptist 
 
 46 
 
JOHN THE BAPTIST 
 
 there is no doubt, regarding them as merely typical to a 
 change of heart. That upon the part of God their sins were 
 to be forgiven them, and also upon the part of men they were 
 "to bring forth fruits meet for repentance." 
 
 John, in his enthusiasm, may have ascribed to watery bap- 
 tisms a mysterious, purifying, and absolving power, but it 
 is evident that he principally held them of value as prepara- 
 tory to a higher and more spiritual development and condi- 
 tion. It was also in direct contravention to the prevailing 
 idea of the orthodox sects, that sacrificial sin-offerings were 
 necessary to satisfy the offended justice of the Deity, and in 
 opposing this view both John and Jesus incurred opposition 
 and persecution from the Scribes and Pharisees. 
 
 It is clear from what Josephus says that John gave a Mes- 
 sianic turn to his preaching ; that its tendency was to incite in 
 the Jewish mind such feelings as might lead to mutiny and 
 revolt; and this was no doubt Herod's motive in beheading 
 him. He may have been, and doubtless, as Jesus after him. 
 was misunderstood, but his preaching evidently led to tumult 
 and excitement on the part of the people; and this might 
 grow to insurrection and civic commotion. Policy, therefore, 
 dictated his imprisonment and death with the Roman power, 
 and to this course Herod was no doubt incited by the domi- 
 nant professors which the Baptist had so bitterly denounced. 
 
 The Gospels represent John, in his predictions of the coming 
 of the Messiah, to have recognized Jesus as that Messiah, but 
 this has no historic basis as a foundation, though the assump- 
 tion was a very natural one from the stand-point of the evan- 
 gelists. We see that he not only did not discontinue his typi- 
 cal ablutions and preaching and become one of the disciples 
 of Jesus, but that when in prison he sent two of his disciples 
 to him, not giving them directions for co-operation, but with 
 the query, "Art thou he that should come, or do we look for 
 another ?" And so in the Gospel according to John he main- 
 tains himself as the head of a separate school as having no 
 reference to a Superior Master. The same view is found in 
 
 47 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 the Synoptics, and also in the Acts, for ApoUos, the Alexan- 
 drian, whom Paul met at Ephesus, " knew only of the baptism 
 of John." The apostle also found certain other disciples of 
 John in the same vicinity who knew nothing of Jesus. 
 
 These followers of the Baptist were clearly of the eclectic 
 school of the Essenian order, and in the East they remain so 
 to this day, under the name of the Sabians or Christians of St. 
 John. In England he was formerly esteemed as the patron 
 of the architects, and was held in especial honor by the Free- 
 masons. 
 
 John was a genuine Essene of the eclectic order, and he 
 no doubt recognized in Jesus his superior as a reformer, — as 
 one whose range of view was wider and broader, whose cheer- 
 ful serenity of soul was infinitely above the ascetic sternness 
 and gloomy isolation which has so entirely incorporated itself 
 in the soul of the Baptist. 
 
 In the relationship which Jesus maintained towards the dif- 
 ferent sects among the Jews, we see evinced the clear convic- 
 tion which he held that reconciliation with the Supreme Father 
 was attainable only by purely inward means, and as his con- 
 ception of God was entirely spiritual and moral, he " adopted 
 Him into his will," and hence arose an inward blessedness 
 copipared with which external joys and sorrows lost their im- 
 portance. The relation of men to God being that of children 
 (Matt. V. 9-45), their relation to each other was that of 
 brethren. In his reply to the scribe as to the chief command- 
 ments, he explained this thought as the nucleus and essence 
 of the law, and that the kingdom of God was the kingdom of 
 love. 
 
 With the Baptist Jesus did not agree, as John's method was 
 contrary to the whole character of his mind, for according to 
 the first Gospel the latter hoped to attain his end by way of 
 austere rebuke and of threats of divine vengeance ; but with 
 Jesus the kingdom of heaven was to be found in the beati- 
 tudes of the blessed, in a condition of peaceableness, of purity, 
 of charitableness, of mercy, and of love. This inspiration 
 
 48 
 
JESUS AND THE SCRIBE 
 
 was not kindred to that of Elijah, with whom the Baptist 
 compared himself (Luke i. 17; ix. 54). Again, John consid- 
 ered it essential to the attainment of purification and sanctifica- 
 tion, that certain kinds of bodily mortification, such as pen- 
 ance and fasting, should be practised ; but Jesus saw in this 
 method only a new mode of formalizing religion, and he con- 
 sequently rejected it, as he did the systems of the Levitical 
 law, opposing the temple worship, which consisted of sacri- 
 fices and sin-offerings for errors and transgressions com- 
 mitted. According to Epiphanius the gospel of the Ebionites 
 (their Matthew) contained this expression: "I come to do 
 away with sacrifices, and if you do not cease to sacrifice, the 
 anger of God will not cease from you." Jesus evidently sym- 
 pathized with the Essenes in their horror of the bloody sacri- 
 fices of the temple. This view is strikingly depicted in the 
 parable of the self-righteous Pharisee. (Luke xviii. 11.) 
 
 I mo. ip. — What a very perilous service some who occupy 
 the position of teachers of the people do the cause of true re- 
 ligion ! This, I observed, was particularly the case with the 
 Orthodox Friend from Massachusetts who had been before 
 alluded to, as I have already said in " Indices." Instead of 
 offering one object to fix the thought upon, one Infinite Father 
 and only First Cause, one Being of beings, the mind is left to 
 wander about, and is degraded and depressed by mysteries 
 and conjectures which separate Him into the trinity of the 
 popular theology. Rival claims are set up in the heart. 
 Jesus of Nazareth is made an object of worship and adoration. 
 And at Rome the Virgin Mary is by human transport and 
 tenderness exalted into a like position. This may be pardon- 
 able to sentiment and feeling, but it certainly is not satisfac- 
 tory to reason, and is most evidently contrary to the simple 
 theism of Jesus. 
 
 It is noticeable that the only occasion related in the synop- 
 tic Gospels in which there seems to have been an entire accord 
 of feeling and sentiment between Jesus and the high professors 
 of his day was in the case of the Scribe, related in Mark: 
 4 49 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments 
 is, Hear, O Israel ; the Lord our God is one Lord." After 
 hearing the reply of the Scribe, we read : " When Jesus saw 
 that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not 
 far from the kingdom of God." 
 
 The natural uprising of our thoughts are in oneness to our 
 Good Father. We cannot serve two masters perfectly, and 
 any attempt to dissever the natural flow of our feelings and 
 aspirations cannot fail to produce disastrous effects to the best 
 interest of humanity. 
 
 I mo. 23. — Returned from the city to-day, and found my 
 dear mother resigned, patient, and waiting for the final sum- 
 mons, though she evinced some anxiety to be released from 
 this present state of mutability and suflfering, and inquiring of 
 me with her expressive eyes and now faltering voice, as though 
 I could give her some information on the subject. My heart- 
 felt prayer was that her request might be granted, and that 
 she might speedily be permitted to join the heavenly host with 
 which her soul seems to be in such harmonious accord. She 
 felt a wish to see her friend Lucretia Mott again, though she 
 expressed a fear that if she came, through bodily weakness she 
 might be unable to receive her, and added that she " felt they 
 would soon meet in heaven." 
 
 I mo. 24. — A friend inquired of me recently what I thought 
 of the account given of the resurrection of Jesus. As the ques- 
 tion was unexpected, and made in the presence of those before 
 whom I did not feel free to converse, I paused for some time 
 before expressing myself, feeling but free to say that I thought 
 that the manifestation to his friends was a spiritual one. I re- 
 joiced that another subject was introduced for conversation, 
 this being one which I had not examined, and was conse- 
 quently not prepared to give an opinion concerning. But 
 to-day I feel it right to note down a few thoughts on the 
 subject. 
 -— The earliest account of the resurrection of Jesus is that 
 given by Paul ( i Cor. xv. 3 ) . He relates that he " received" 
 
 so 
 
MtJLLER 
 
 this version of the matter from tradition, not being an eye- 
 witness with the apostles; but evidently alludes to what he 
 has related (Gal. i. i6) : That it pleased God to reveal His 
 Son in Him. In this and other passages in his epistle he 
 lays main stress on the internal and spiritual element, and in 
 regard to his many visions, he adds (2 Cor. xii. 2), " Whether 
 in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I can- 
 not tell: God knoweth." Judging from the language in 2 
 Cor. iv. 6, his meaning in reference to the resurrection may 
 be interpreted to have a symbolic meaning : " For God, who 
 commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in 
 our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of 
 God in the face [the manner] of Jesus Christ." 
 
 In many of his letters he speaks of Christ, in a subjective 
 sense, as the inward life of his soul, the " mystery among [in] 
 the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 
 i. 2y). The metaphorical has often been rendered into the 
 literal. " Miiller has most aptly illustrated this in some of 
 the myths of the Catholic Church. Bonaventura was asked 
 from whence he drew the inspiring thoughts for his many 
 works. He pointed to a crucifix suspended on the wall ; his 
 language was interpreted literally, and this saint is held to 
 have possessed a talking crucifix" (" Indices," p. 202). Thus 
 legend and poetic fiction are transferred to the domain of his- 
 tory, and the deep and inward meaning of the poets of old are 
 interpreted as having only an objective and outward sense, 
 and those things which were originally only types and sym- 
 bols are so construed as to darken the mind with idolatry and 
 superstition. 
 
 But if the apostle viewed the bodily resurrection of Jesus 
 as an historical verity,* as he " received" it only through tra- 
 dition, he is certainly not a safe witness, — not one on whom 
 we can rely. That he was under a delusion in reference to 
 
 * Heretics in the earliest times quoted i Cor. xv. 50 as denying the 
 resurrection of Jesus. 
 
 SI 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 his second advent views is patent to every honest inquirer; 
 he also held " that the saints shall judge the world" as well as 
 the "angels" (i Cor. vi. 2) ; and tells us that certain ecstatic 
 states of mind were common to him, of which, " were it expe- 
 dient for him to glory," he could gratify himself personally, 
 but as he had Christ the Spirit to preach, therefore he says, 
 "He that speaketh in a tongue edifieth himself," no doubt 
 alluding to the " thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to 
 bufifet me," he here referring to what he speaks of elsewhere, 
 that " his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contempti- 
 ble." Thus he alludes to what his enemies say of him, speak- 
 ing of conditions of mind and body, with which they were 
 acquainted. He also thanks God, "I speak with tongues 
 more than ye all" (i Cor. xiv. 18), which was an ecstatic 
 kind of language which he condemned in himself as well as in 
 others. 
 
 The apostle informs us not of any critical examination 
 which he made in reference to the different traditions of the 
 resurrection of Jesus, which were rife when he wrote, nor 
 would he have been a safe witness in regard to them, for he 
 was noted for the zealous precipitancy of his action as evinced 
 by his persecuting zeal in the case of Stephen. His nature 
 was an intensely emotional one, which evidently unfitted him 
 for calm and rational investigation, and not only his Chris- 
 tianity, but also his Pharisaism, partook of this character. 
 Such persons we know are particularly liable to go from one 
 extreme to another, and it was not wonderful that when he 
 was in a contrite state of mind, in consequence of the murder 
 of Stephen, being a full believer in the resurrection of the 
 body, as opposed to Sadduceeism, that he saw or felt, or 
 thought he saw or felt, the presence of the Crucified One ! 
 
 The only one of the New Testament books which the best 
 critics consider to have been the work of a disciple — the Rev- 
 elations of John — ^points to Jesus as having ended his life here, 
 and as now in the enjoyment of immortality, and says nothing 
 of the resurrection of the body, but speaks of him as one who 
 
 52 
 
THE RESURRECTION 
 
 " was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore." (Rev. i. 
 S-i8; ii. 8, etc.) 
 
 Now, had the Apostle John, or whoever wrote the Apoca- 
 lypse, believed in the corporeal resurrection, he would have 
 alluded to it in a prominent and conspicuous manner; and 
 this shows that the early church believed in the spiritual ap- 
 pearance of the Master. 
 
 In the Gospels the accounts are very conflicting, unsatisfac- 
 tory, and unintelligible. They contradict each other, as well 
 as the statement given by Paul. In the Acts of the Apostles 
 the presence of Jesus upon the earth is extended to forty days. 
 This is contrary to the account given in Luke by the same 
 author, who places the last appearance of Jesus on the day of 
 the resurrection itself. In the Acts, also, as is well known, is 
 to be found a detailed threefold contradictory description of 
 Paul's conversion, having reference to this subject (ix. 1-30; 
 xxii. 4-21 ; xxvi. 4-23). The latter says that Jesus appeared 
 to Cephas as the first one after his resurrection. Mark, on 
 the contrary, asserts that Mary Magdalene it was who was 
 thus first favored, and Matthew and John agree with Mark, 
 while Luke, on the contrary, coincides with Paul in opinion. 
 
 , Thus three of the records of the life of Jesus point to the 
 
 Mary from whom Jesus had driven the seven devils, which 
 were considered to have been a species of epileptic fits, which 
 evidently rendered her unsafe as a witness, though she may 
 have been sincere in her testimony and evidence. Matt, 
 xxviii. I, Mark xvi. i, and John xx. i all point to this woman 
 as being the first who saw the resurrected Jesus. The two 
 latter expressly so affirm, and John relates it was to her that 
 he said, " Touch me not." In Luke xxiv. 10 we find the 
 statement that Mary Magdalene it was, "and other women 
 that were with them, who told these things unto the apostles." 
 
 The fourth Gospel declares most distinctly that Jesus came 
 and stood in the middle of the room when the doors were 
 shut (xx. 19, 20). And as we know the impossibility of a 
 corporeal body possessing flesh and blood to do this, we may 
 
 53 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 conclude that the appearance was a spiritual and not a physi- 
 cal manifestation, which in the course of time was rendered in 
 the latter sense by those who became the historians of Jesus. 
 " The heart thinks and the hand brings." 
 
 Paul does not designate either time or place for the resur- 
 rection of Jesus, but only relates the tradition which was 
 current that he died, had been buried, and had risen again, 
 " according to the Scriptures;" that he had appeared to the 
 apostles collectively, and subsequently to himself several years 
 later, as we infer from his letters. 
 
 '"The evangelical writers represent that the appearance of 
 Jesus was upon the day of the resurrection. Luke, in the 
 Acts, informs us that the apostles did not come forward with 
 the announcement of the resurrection until the day of Pente- 
 cost, which did not occur before seven weeks after the day of 
 the resurrection. \The question arises. What caused this de- 
 lay, and why did they allow fifty days to thus expire ere they 
 publicly proclaimed the resurrection? The reason for this 
 evidently had a dogmatic and not an historical foundation, for 
 the first preaching of the gospel was decided in accordance 
 with, and had relation to, the giving of the law on Mount 
 Sinai.* 
 
 The idea of the resurrection probably has reference to the 
 Messianic theories which were current at and after the time 
 of Jesus, and were evidently dependent on the Old' Testament 
 prophecies, as, for instance, the typical relation of the number 
 three. In Hosea vi. 2 we read : " Jehovah will revive us after 
 two days, and on the third day he will raise us up, and we 
 shall live in his sight;" and Jonah remained in "the belly of 
 the fish three days and three nights." Hence this time was 
 the period which Jesus was to remain in the tomb, although 
 at variance with the evangelical narratives, for according to 
 them he only passed two nights and one day in the sepulchre. 
 
 * Pentecost, the fiftieth, a feast celebrated the fiftieth day after the 
 sixteenth day of Nisan. 
 
 54 
 
REPRESENTATIVE LANGUAGE 
 
 The different accounts make it plain that the body which 
 arose was the resurrection body, — a spiritual body. From 
 the account is it not clear that it was Mary's son? That 
 sonship was in the course of nature being continually put off; 
 and the Christ was and is continually returning to the divine 
 essence. Many are the circumstances narrated which point 
 in the direction of the twain. For instance, the manner in 
 which his mother is spoken of : " Woman, what have I to do 
 with thee?" denoting the transient. Again, "Behold thy 
 mother," said he to truth's disciple, and " he took her for his 
 own mother," pointing to " the Mother of us all," whom the 
 disciple found at the foot of the cross, — i.e., wisdom, under- 
 standing, and loving tenderness. 
 
 The language is likewise representative in reference to 
 transactions at and in the sepulchre : the stone was rolled 
 away, the linen cloths and napkins were unfolded and un- 
 disturbed, " wrapped together in a place by itself." The man- 
 ner of the resurrection is not defined. None saw him come 
 forth. Human language cannot describe without limitations 
 spiritual phenomenon, therefore the evangelists use represen- 
 tative images, after the manner of what was esteemed a di- 
 vine language, for the phenomenon cannot be adequately 
 described so that mankind as a part can understand. The 
 greater (the whole) comprehendeth the part, but the part 
 is divisible, and hence cannot understand the whole if de- 
 scribed. 
 
 I mo. 2§. — Attended mid-week meeting to-day, and though 
 the numbers were few, there was a glow and warmth of feel- 
 ing which found expression in words. Our form is not neces- 
 sarily prosaic or lacking in sentiment, as my sister-in-law, 
 who is a Methodist, expressed herself last summer when she 
 attended a Friend's meeting for the first time. The cause of 
 wonder with her seemed to be that so long a pause was made 
 before the speaking began. The society to which she belongs 
 makes religion so much a matter of sentiment and ardent emo- 
 tion that our form appears repulsive to their feelings, and they 
 
 ss 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 seem to think that it consists in the habit of giving outward 
 expression to their thoughts and sentiments; hence a test is 
 appHed to matters of faith which is an improper one, and, as 
 in the days of Jesus "the kingdom of heaven suffereth vio- 
 lence, and the violent take it by force." 
 
 Perhaps we err in veiling our emotions too much from 
 view, thus repelling those of an enthusiastic temperament and 
 feeling, and a system of repression is engendered which is un- 
 favorable to development. But at the same time it is doing 
 great injustice to those who are toiling in the fulfilment of 
 life's duties to make religion dependent on emotion altogether, 
 for the sound of the woodman's axe as it resounds through 
 the forest is more redolent of true religion than many Ave 
 Marias, however sweetly chanted within some sounding cathe- 
 dral or Gothic aisle, and the music of the carpenter's axe 
 and saw, or the rapid movement of the shuttle and loom, are 
 often more expressive of true devotion than the noisy shout 
 of the revivalist. 
 
 One of the sacred books of the Buddhist expresses the sen- 
 timent, " Use no perfumes but the sweetness of thy thoughts," 
 and if our souls be grounded in love we cannot help diffusing 
 its aroma and fragrance all around and about us, for " out of 
 the fulness of the heart the mouth speaketh," and when the 
 beatitudes of blessed thoughts and the uprisings of our spir- 
 itual nature seek for expression, we commit a great wrong in 
 repressing it, thus doing violence not only to our own being, 
 for it may also be withholding a luminous reflected light from 
 other minds, but at the same time it must not be forgotten 
 that the beatitude of righteousness cannot be separated from 
 moral purity and integrity of purpose. This is the heart of 
 Quakerism, as well as all true religion, and if the soul is 
 warmed by a living faith in God, thus expressed in the life 
 that now is, our meetings, silent though they may be, will 
 cease to be complained of as being prosaic, and our form as 
 lacking in the purity of true devotion, for our souls will go 
 forth in true sympathy one to another ; as Walter Scott wrote : 
 
 56 
 
THE REAL JESUS 
 
 " The race of mankind would perish did we cease to help each 
 other. From the time that the mother binds the child's head 
 till the moment some kind assistafice wipes the dews of death 
 from the brow of the dying, we cannot exist without mutual 
 help." Herein is the philosophy of social worship, that we 
 may be bound together in the bond of love, which is the 
 badge of true discipleship. 
 
 I mo. 26. — Read to-day a brief criticism of Henry W. 
 Beecher's "Life of Jesus." I have only looked over this 
 book, and therefore am not competent to form a correct 
 judgment of its contents, but from the examination I have 
 given it, I judge that the criticism is just, and that the mas- 
 culine character of Jesus is not satisfactorily portrayed. The 
 work contains an engraving from some ancient picture that is 
 weak, silly, and repulsive to one who receives his conception 
 of Him of Nazareth from the synoptic Gospels. The charac- 
 ter of the true Jesus is in clear contradistinction to the effem- 
 inate portrait of the monks. It is a combination of humility, 
 peaceableness, and Godlike strength. 
 
 Mildness, tenderness, mercy, and clemency were strength- 
 ened and fortified by earnestness and boldness, and when 
 necessary by a vehement zeal and righteous indignation, which 
 excited the Pharisaism of the age to that anger, bigotry, and 
 persecution which fully explains Calvary's tragedy! There 
 is great power in the words as recorded in Luke : " I say unto 
 you my friends. Be not afraid of them that kill the body." 
 Nothing but conscious greatness could have dictated them. 
 They have the ring of masculine robustness, which is the 
 synonym of that character and sturdiness which availed many 
 a martyr in death's trying hour. 
 
 The beatitudes must be taken as a whole, the first with the 
 last, and the last with the first. Dr, Hedge says that the 
 phrase " poor in spirit" should read the " unchurched" of that 
 day, that the Greek has been misapprehended, the sense being 
 objective, not subjective. 
 
 " Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' 
 
 57 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad : for great is your re- 
 ward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which 
 were before you." This has the same import as that above 
 quoted. 
 
 The religion which Jesus taught was correctly and most 
 touchingly delineated by John Woolman: 
 
 " There is a principle which is pure which is placed in the human 
 mind, which in different places and ages hath had different names; it 
 is, however, pure, and proceeds from God. It is deep and inward, con- 
 fined to no form of religion, nor excluded from any, when the heart 
 stands in perfect sincerity. In whomsoever this takes root and grows, 
 they become brethren." 
 
 Very few have comprehended more clearly the spirit of the 
 religion which was inculcated by the Galilean than John 
 Woolman, and, what was better, he endeavored with great 
 sincerity and in great simplicity to put it into practice. He 
 certainly more intelligently appreciated the thought of Jesus 
 than his immediate disciples, for their minds were so overlaid 
 with a thick stratum of Jewish prejudices, which consequently 
 unfitted them from conceiving a pure apprehension of the 
 Messianic idea, and this obstacle was by no means removed 
 by the removal of their Master. 
 
 In the most ancient of the New Testament writings, the 
 epistles of Paul, he manifests great indifference as to obtaining 
 correct information concerning the life of Jesus, for he lets 
 three whole years elapse before he sought the acquaintance 
 of the elder apostles. (Gal. i. i8. ) He cared but little for ac- 
 curate historical knowledge as derived from them, and Jerome, 
 in the fourth century, says that he had reference to Peter and 
 James when he says that he sought not instruction from 
 " flesh and blood." The real Christ of history was of entirely 
 subordinate importance, in comparison with the idea he had 
 formed of Jesus, for we find him relying on tradition as to 
 the important facts of the crucifixion and the resurrection. 
 And from the Revelation of John, which is more ancient than 
 the Gospel of Matthew, it is very plainly seen that the ear- 
 
 S8 
 
THE LOGIA 
 
 liest church which professed the name of Jesus had a ten- 
 dency to look ahogether in a contrary direction from that 
 " deep and inward" view which so imbued the soul of a Wool- 
 man or a Hicks. 
 
 During his short earthly career, which had so violently 
 ended, their expectation had not been fulfilled. The hope of 
 the Jewish people was not answered, and the less this was the 
 case the more anxiously and impatiently did they anticipate 
 the second advent of " the Son of Man coming in the clouds 
 with power and great glory." Hence in the earliest literature, 
 as in the Apocalypse, but little importance is referred to the 
 crucifixion or the resurrection, and in these books of later 
 compilation the poetic images which so wrought in the minds 
 of the ancient prophets, as to the glorious future of the 
 people of God, are transferred, and often with great violence, 
 as having reference to what is said to have transpired on the 
 plains of Galilee and in the streets of Jerusalem now nearly 
 two thousand years ago. 
 
 The " Logia" or sayings of which Papias had testified was 
 of too prosaic a character to suit the imaginary conception of 
 an imaginative age, and a history, the general outlines of 
 which had only been preserved, was of too meagre and un- 
 satisfactory a nature to satisfy such emotional and fanciful 
 characters as the writer of the Apocalypse. And poetry, 
 which ever moves on the lightest wing, being governed by 
 these laws of association and contrast, which are sometimes 
 arbitrary and sometimes capricious, was found ready with 
 flashes of imagery to fill up and embellish such scenes and 
 conceptions as the angelic appearance to Zacharias and Mary, 
 — the Temptation, the Transfiguration, and the Resurrection. 
 Thus conscious and unconscious fiction were mixed in the 
 process of time with philosophical combination, as in the case 
 of the fourth Gospel. And in order to discover the truth of 
 history in the four records of the life and times of Jesus, it 
 is only necessary to use that power of rational discrimination 
 and that spirit of intuitive perception which our Good Father 
 
 59 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 in His wisdom has so abundantly furnished to His rational 
 and intelligent creature, man. 
 
 The evangelical narratives appear to the careless observer 
 very much as the different stratas of the geological periods, 
 either as a chaotic mass of ruins in which no method or order 
 is discernible, or, as in the case of the blind non-observer, only 
 as so much clay, sand, and rock from which habitations are to 
 be reared, and on which vegetables are to be grown for the 
 human family, with no thought beyond the blindest utilita- 
 rianism. But by that common-sense analysis which is available 
 to any person of the plainest intelligence, the truth is clearly 
 discernible. The historical verity of the life of Jesus is found 
 as the kernel beneath the rind, and we discover that he did 
 nothing beyond the common order of nature, — nothing super- 
 natural at all. By the exercise of a little critical precision of 
 thought we can separate the historic from the unhistoric ele- 
 ment, and lo the truth appears, " for there is nothing covered, 
 that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be 
 known." 
 
 We must boldly and fearlessly use the pruning-knife in 
 cutting off those numerous unhistoric and unprq:fitable shoots 
 and branches which disfigure the history of the evangelists 
 and render the narrative of Jesus a strange anomaly. For 
 "every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, 
 shall be rooted up." And our minds will be afresh inspired 
 by that Spirit of Truth which anointed the mind, heart, and 
 soul of Him of Nazareth, and we shall see how that true Son 
 of God became a son without a father, and finally, late in the 
 second century, was transformed into the creative word by 
 which worlds were called into existence. How the wonderful 
 healer of diseases, the counsellor of wisdom, the benefactor of 
 his race, the clear-seeing prophet, and inspired preacher of 
 righteousness, peace, and glad tidings was by degrees trans- 
 muted into the Omniscient God, or into One whose being 
 was co-existent and co-equal with Him. Verily synonomy 
 and orientalism can run wild, as read Rom. iii. 7. 
 
 60 
 
ELIZABETH NEWPORT 
 
 In the course of this journal I feel it right to attempt, as the 
 way seems to open, availing myself of the best lights and au- 
 thors, to point out the means by which dangerous errors may 
 be discovered and brought to light, not only on my own ac- 
 count, but that it may also be productive under the divine 
 blessing, and become as one of the stepping-stones of truth, 
 by which the dangerous stream of error and superstition may 
 be more safely forded by some honest inquirer, or some for- 
 lorn and shipwrecked brother. 
 
 I mo. 2'/. — Received information to-day by a messenger of 
 the demise of our precious mother in the seventy-sixth year 
 of her age. She passed sweetly away to another sphere of 
 existence at about half-past five o'clock this morning, was 
 apparently, better for the last few days, and only last evening 
 addressed many words of comfort to her devoted friend, 
 Sarah Bringhurst, as she expressed it, to her unspeakable joy. 
 And she merited them as compensation for her devotion as 
 a friend and nurse. 
 
 I mo. 28. — At home to-day ; did not feel that I could attend 
 meeting, and so enlployed myself with books and pen. 
 
 I mo. 30. — To-day we buried the remains of our dear 
 mother at Fair Hill. The corpse was conveyed to Green 
 Street Meeting-House, where there was an impressive and 
 solemn opportunity, and many testimonies were delivered as 
 to the character of her life and ministry. The remarks of 
 Thomas McClintock and Dr. Henry T. Childs were particu- 
 larly fitting. The latter quoted the text : " They that turn 
 many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and 
 ever." 
 
 Thus her life was spent, ministering to the necessities of 
 others, and under a divine call she was concerned to turn 
 them to righteousness. Thus influenced she had frequently 
 to leave her home and its loved ones, and though of a nat- 
 urally fragile constitution, she patiently submitted to the 
 many hardships of travel in distant parts of the country, and 
 in the course of her ministry visited most of the States of the 
 
 61 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Union from the great lakes of the North to the great gulf of 
 the South. At some future time I hope to relate in this jour- 
 nal some of the particulars of her life, as well as a few of the 
 most striking incidents of her ministry. 
 
 Before leaving the dwelling-house I was impressed with the 
 appropriateness of the text, Luke xx. 36 : " Neither can they 
 die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are 
 the children of God, being the children of the resurrection;" 
 but in consequence of the length of other testimonies I sup- 
 pressed its utterance, and felt condemned therefor. 
 
 2 mo. 6. — ^Attended the Quarterly Meeting held at Phila- 
 delphia to-day, and felt it to be my duty to occupy a short 
 time in the early part of the meeting to speak of, and to en- 
 deavor to impress upon the minds of my auditory, the impor- 
 tance of a triunity of thought in reference to the Supreme 
 Mind, — of His oneness. His goodness, and His nearness to 
 the souls of the rational creatures which He has called into 
 existence, and upon whom He has expended the lavishment 
 of His love and His kind regard. In order to occupy but 
 little time in the meeting, I was compened to condense as 
 much as possible, and to use great plainness in the illustration 
 of these great thoughts, for which I had cause of rejoicing, as 
 a Friend followed who occupied, I judge, more than an hour 
 in what he had to say, and if he had curtailed in" redundancy 
 of expression two-thirds, it would have been more profitable 
 to his hearers. It was very evident that they seemed so to 
 think, for the paucity of his thoughts and the exuberance and 
 expansiveness of his mode of expressing them were very bur- 
 thensome. There is great truth in the saying, "True elo- 
 quence consists in saying all that is necessary, and nothing 
 more." 
 
 This Friend was much exercised on the subject of non- 
 belief in respect to the Scriptures and the " Holy Scriptures," 
 as he termed them, but did not designate the form of this dis- 
 belief, and it was very evident, as he admitted in the course of 
 his remarks, that his knowledge of the Scriptures was very 
 
 62 
 
EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS 
 
 limited, though he extolled them so highly, and that conse- 
 quently in this particular he was but a blind leader of the 
 blind. 
 
 2 mo. 7. — Paul's Epistle to the Colossians is generally con- 
 sidered the seventh in order of his writings, and the connec- 
 tion between this production and the Epistle to the Ephesians 
 has caused many commentaries to have been written both in 
 ancient and in modern times, owing to the striking resemblance 
 between them not only in thought but also in expression. 
 There are points of divergence, though these are less prom- 
 inent than the many striking agreements. De Wette, in his 
 table of parallels, has exhibited these coincidences very clearly. 
 The celebrated Tiibingen scholar, Baur, rejects both epistles 
 as unauthentic, and finds Gnostic and Montanistic ideas and 
 references in them which places the time of their origination 
 contemporaneous with the fourth Gospel, — i.e., the middle or 
 latter part of the second century, — holding them to be the pro- 
 duction of some speculative Christian who was inspired by the 
 incipient Gnosticism of that period, and who wrote in the 
 name of the aposfle, as was frequently done by writers of 
 that age, prompted by what they esteemed the best of mo- 
 tives. 
 
 According to Baur, the Christology of these letters differs 
 in character and in degree from the acknowledged writings of 
 Paul, — his four larger epistles : that the Pauline Messiah is 
 human, — is a spiritual man, but is still a man, as well as 
 spirit, the principal or ideal Christ having existed before Jesus 
 in the reflected form of typified humanity, and that this spir- 
 itual effulgence was manifested to the world in "the man 
 Christ Jesus." This critic discovers an affinity between the 
 views of the Gnostics and the Epistle to the Colossians, as well 
 as that to the Ephesians, in the fact that Christ presides 
 over angels, who are divided into separate classifications, as 
 "thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers." (Col. 
 i. 16.) Baur points to the fact that Irenseus states that to the 
 paraclete of the Valentinians all power was given, — all things 
 
 63 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 visible and invisible were created in him, and sent down to 
 wisdom or achamoth by Christ; that the thrones, dominions, 
 principalities, and powers mean angels in the epistle, and 
 hence our critic argues that such sentiments were foreign to 
 the views of Paul as rendered in his larger epistles, and con- 
 sequently transfers both the Colossians and Ephesians to a 
 later period of time when Gnostic speculations and vocabulary 
 prevailed. 
 
 The determination of the apostle's Christology is, however, 
 not an easy task.* He is so illogical, so entirely regardless 
 of exactitude of expression, for it is evident when he took his 
 pen in hand that he wrote with rapidity and was not careful 
 concerning word or style. His ardent and impulsive tempera- 
 ment necessarily led him into a diversified phraseology. He 
 does not condescend to reason or argue with those he esteems 
 as teachers of false doctrine, but unfolds his views as un- 
 doubted truisms, as aphorisms and apothegms. His mind 
 was of a positive cast, and he wrote according to the emotions 
 or frame of mine which influenced him. Power and force of 
 expression, not consistency of thought or adherence to reason, 
 distinguish his writings. Hence the diversity which are their 
 characteristics, and hence the diverse views which prevail in 
 the Christian world in regard to them. 
 
 His first reference to the redemptive office of Christ is 
 found in Col. i. 20: "And having made peace through the 
 blood [the life] of his cross, by him to reconcile all things 
 unto himself ; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, 
 or things in heaven." 
 
 This idea is not found in the apostle's larger epistles, but 
 from the fact we must not necessarily infer that the one under 
 consideration is unauthorized, for Paul was an eclectic in feel- 
 ing, and his mind was therefore influenced by the law of growth 
 and development, and he may have imbibed and adopted 
 in a modified form the Christology of the Gnostic, for Gnos- 
 
 * See Appendix C. 
 64 
 
GNOSTICISM 
 
 ticism was anterior to Christianity, and the age was peculiar 
 for its speculations and definitions concerning " the fulness of 
 the Godhead." The Gnostic vocabulary is similar to that of 
 our epistle in the use of such terms as pleroma, or fulness; 
 (Bonsophia, or wisdom, mystery ; gnosis, or knowledge. Now, 
 the apostle may have known that the brethren at Colosse had 
 imbibed errors which he thought might imperil their faith, 
 and hence he set forth Christ as "the mystery which hath 
 been hid from ages and from generations, but now is manifest 
 to his saints. To whom God would make known what is 
 the riches of the glory of this mystery among [in] the Gen- 
 tiles ; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." 
 
 Judging from this epistle, the false teachers among the be- 
 lievers at Colosse delighted in theorizing concerning the 
 Eternal Mind in reference to the condition of angels, and 
 the manner in which our world was created by beings of an 
 intermediate state, — ^by aeons, who emanated from God's cen- 
 tral fulness, and who embodied His divine attributes. To 
 meet such speculations as these the apostle became also meta- 
 physical, and hence his view concerning the nature of Christ 
 as "the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every 
 creature." He warns them against the vagaries of spiritual- 
 ism and " the worshipping of angels," directing them to that 
 inward power which will free the soul from "the rudiments 
 of the world," and enable " Christ, who is our life," to appear, 
 bringing us into that unity and fellowship in which there is 
 oneness, for sad is our condition when our finite natures be- 
 come weaned from that singleness of aspiration which de- 
 scends to us in a focus of heavenly light from the Eternal 
 Mind, leading to that oneness of vision and conception which 
 filled to overflowing Jesus of Nazareth, and has warmed the 
 nature, quickened to a divine glow the susceptibilities of all 
 who have opened the portals of their souls to receive the unity 
 of that great love which ever flows in fulness from the Father 
 of lights and spirits. 
 
 2 mo. 7. — Attended our Quarterly Meeting at Abington to- 
 S 6s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 day. It was a favored opportunity, and love seemed to cover 
 us as a canopy. 
 
 2 mo. 8. — The funeral of Charles Mitchener occurred to- 
 day. I had a service at the house, and the query seemed to 
 be, " What kind of seed did this man sow ?" The reply was, 
 that he sowed that kind which will spring up into everlasting 
 life and peace. Those beautiful lines by an anonymous au- 
 thor, "As we Sow," are full of deep meaning : 
 
 " Are we sowing seeds of kindness ? 
 
 They shall blossom bright ere long ; 
 Are- we sowing seeds of discord? 
 
 They shall ripen into wrong. 
 Are we sowing seeds of honor? 
 
 They shall bring forth golden grain ; 
 Are we sowing seeds of falsehood? 
 
 We shall yet reap bitter pain. 
 Whatsoe'er our sowing be, 
 Reaping, we its fruit shall see. 
 Can we ever be too careful 
 
 What the seed our hands shall sow? 
 Love from love is sure to open, 
 
 Hate from hate is sure to grow." 
 
 2 mo. II, First-Day. — We had an interesting meeting. I 
 had hoped to be excused from expression, but in the latter 
 part of the sitting thoughts sprung up which seemed to de- 
 mand utterance in relation to the advantages of our form in 
 that we are not compelled to utter insincere words, as cer- 
 tainly must be the case among other denominations, in which, 
 at stated times, words must be expressed in compliance there- 
 with. Utterance is a sacred thing on the subject of religion, 
 and in a public meeting should only flow from the lips as if 
 at the soul's peril. But the view generally taken of the sub- 
 ject is that the minister of the gospel is always ready; whereas 
 the deep and inward flow of the soul's emotions are not al- 
 ways at our command. It is God's gift gushing up from 
 the depths of the heart's living experience; thus and only 
 thus, it seems to me, can we minister to the necessities of 
 others, raising holy aspirations in their souls, for the spirit of 
 
 66 
 
LUCRETIA MOTT 
 
 the prophets is subject to the prophets. A well-attuned spir- 
 itual ear can detect discordant and inharmonious sounds, 
 and all should remember, too, that our Father is one of our 
 hearers : "In the multitude of words- there wanteth not sin : 
 but he that refraineth his lips is wise." 
 
 Received a letter from sister Martha querying of me con- 
 cerning my use of the word " mystical" at the Philadelphia 
 Quarterly Meeting. She expresses unity with what I said ex- 
 cept the use of this word. It was used in relation to John xii. 
 32 : "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men 
 unto me." Now William Penn says, " Here they (the Scrip- 
 tures) are proper; there, metaphorical ; in one place literal, in 
 another, mystically to be understood." But if we should infer 
 that the evangelist used this language as having reference to 
 the crucifixion, we probably err. It has a sacred signification, 
 for the moral power of this event of his death, for the truth's 
 sake, has exerted, and will exert, an ever-powerful influence 
 on the human mind for good. The blood of Him the great- 
 est of truth's martyrs, has a redeeming power, and the sacri- 
 fice which he made has tended, and will tend, to lift the human 
 mind " up from the earth." Thus his sacrifice is an efficient 
 and beneficial atonement for us when the same spirit of self- 
 sacrifice is reproduced in us. 
 
 2 mo. II. — I spent the morning in conversation with my 
 friend Lucretia Mott. The brightness and spirituality of her 
 mind at her advanced age is extremely interesting. The 
 crown and diadem of her character, as in all truly great minds, 
 is beautifully evinced in the simplicity and humility of her 
 life and conversation. A mind. of the very highest order is 
 united with a courage and moral heroism which has enabled 
 her to fulfil the duties of that high position which nature has 
 assigned her in times of trial, which are now happily past, in 
 which public favor and personal esteem were lost sight of 
 when truth and duty were in the scale. These high traits of 
 character are blended with an artless single-mindedness which 
 renders her companionable and accessible to all. 
 
 67 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 I could not help comparing her with a correspondent who 
 occupies a high position in our Society. He, in a recent letter, 
 spoke lightly of her, because of her liberal views, and dis- 
 played that weakness of poor humanity in which a high en- 
 dowment of imagined spiritual fulness leads to supercilious- 
 ness, shallowness, and vainglory. 
 
 I know of no writer who is more instructive on this sub- 
 ject than the apostle Paul ; and the thirteenth chapter of First 
 Corinthians deserves a place in the memory of every professor 
 of the name of Jesus. His cautions to the brethren at Philippi 
 in his epistles to that church are particularly edifying: ii. 3, 4, 
 
 is; iv. 5- 
 
 I read Lucretia several pages of this journal, and found that 
 she united with me in the thought that until the Scriptures 
 are better understood and appreciated, such reactional ten- 
 dencies to the dead past must necessarily exhibit themselves, 
 as are now so painfully evinced in our Society. 
 
 In reference to the authenticity of the Epistle to the Philip- 
 pians, the best critics are divided in opinion. External testi- 
 monies, as is also the case with the Colossians, are abundant 
 as to the authorship of the apostle. Though these authorities 
 are not sooner than the middle of the second century, yet 
 there was general unanimity among the fathers that this epis- 
 tle was written by Paul. 
 
 As to the internal evidences presented, the Tiibingen school 
 place our epistle much later that the apostle's time, and urge 
 that Gnostic ideas and expressions are to be found corre- 
 sponding with the later date. Baur urges that this is partic- 
 ularly observable in the mystical passage, ii. 5-8. The sixth 
 verse, " Who, being in the form of God, thought it not rob- 
 bery to be equal with God," he insists, can only be explained 
 by the Gnosticism which was rife in the latter part of the 
 second century. Other critics, and De Wette and Davenport 
 are among the number, date this production at Rome, about 
 A.D. 63, considering Paul as its author. The radius of 
 
 68 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 
 
 thought is certainly not the same as that to be found in many 
 parts of the larger epistles, but, as has been already expressed 
 in regard to the Colossians, the apostle's mind was of a highly 
 speculative turn, and his eclectic tendency is very clearly ex- 
 hibited in the letter under consideration (iv. 8). 
 
 If Baur could establish Paul's consistency in regard to his 
 Christology, as delineated in the larger epistles, his reasoning 
 would have more demonstrative force ; but we find in 2 Cor. 
 iv. 4, and 2 Cor. viii. 9, analogous thoughts with those ex- 
 pressed in the Philippians. The term " likeness" has a sym- 
 bolical application, and is so rendered in the text 2 Cor. 
 iv. 6. 
 
 In the twelfth chapter of First Corinthians, in reference to 
 spiritual gifts, is a very intelligible view as to the anointing 
 power as manifested in Jesus : " Now ye are the body of 
 Christ, and members in particular." "The Christ" is in this 
 chapter held as the synthesis and embodiment of spiritual 
 truth, — is a universal individuality. The oneness of God in 
 humanity is evidently Paul's main thought in the particular 
 passage under consideration, and I would rejoice if Baur or 
 any other critic could explain the inconsistencies so plainly 
 apparent in the apostle's acknowledged epistles. It may be 
 that they have been interpolated and corrupted at a later pe- 
 riod by other authors who have foisted their opinions in the 
 original writings of the apostle. For very clearly there is in 
 this life of ours, above and beyond all present attainment, a 
 spirit in man which one of the Old Testament writers calls 
 " the candle of the Lord." As Paul says, " the head of Christ 
 is God," so in every soul is to be found an "ideal," which 
 reaches into the future life, and is dissatisfied with present 
 attainment, ever urging us upward, onward, towards what we 
 may become. This spirit of humanity is of universal indi- 
 viduality, in contradistinction to mere personality: "Ye are 
 the body of Christ," and " the head of Christ is God." Here 
 a union is taught, of man with God, and God with man, which 
 union is symbolized by the indwelling spirit in a truly noble 
 
 69 
 
. EUDEMON 
 
 character : " For God, who commanded the light to shine out 
 of darkness, hath shined into our hearts, to give the Hght of 
 the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 
 Here the oneness of the universal mind and humanity is 
 clearly taught by the apostle. As is also the case in the text, 
 Phil. ii. 5: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in 
 Christ Jesus." This view seems to be true Pauline doctrine. 
 
 Second advent views are to be found in this epistle (iv. 
 5, 6). The latter text seems unpauline and is inconsistent 
 with his repeated expressions as to providence and careful- 
 ness in regard to the things of this life. But Paul was now 
 under restraint at Rome, and his future looked gloomy as 
 to temporalities ; hence the sombre tinge of feeling so plainly 
 apparent in this letter. It is also possible that the many 
 millenarian expressions found in the apostle's various writings 
 are interpolations of a later period, and that the real resurrec- 
 tion which he taught was the conviction that Jesus, notwith- 
 standing his departure from this life, was still victorious, as 
 in spirit he had suffered no defeat, having triumphed over 
 " hell, death, and the grave." 
 
 The tone of sadness which is evident in this epistle is min- 
 gled with feelings of hopefulness, and grateful acknowledg- 
 ment to the church at Philippi, which had relieved the neces- 
 sities of the apostle on other occasions than this. His 
 language on this subject, though full of affectionate interest, 
 is couched in dignified terms, and refers to his well-known 
 practice of supporting himself by his own hands; but now, 
 being in bonds, his heart was touched by their attentions: 
 "Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may 
 abound to your account." 
 
 This is considered as his last letter, and may be dated very 
 near the close of his life, for, like his Master before him, he 
 sealed his testimony with his blood. 
 
 The church at Philippi was evidently not a recently estab- 
 lished one, but, as is denoted in the salutation, had " bishops 
 and deacons" as its officers. Different parties are also al- 
 
 70 
 
GEORGE FOX 
 
 luded to, and the apostle is very harsh in his language in regard 
 to the Judaizing brethren, describing them as " enemies of the 
 cross of Christ" and "dogs," having reference to those who 
 were attempting to undermine his doctrine and teaching. 
 They evidently objected to Paul's universalism as hostile to 
 the ecclesiastical life of the church; this church had clearly 
 been a long-established one. 
 
 2 mo. 75. — George Fox held that " opinions and religions 
 are to be tried" and tested not by science or the Scriptures, 
 but by that deep and inward principle which comes from 
 God. The inductive system of philosophy which Bacon ap- 
 plied to physics he applied to religion and ethics. His first 
 imprisonment at Nottinghamshire was caused by his denial of 
 the Scriptures as the " sure word of prophecy." At that early 
 day Quakerism was considered as a protest against Protest- 
 antism, and the greater part of George Fox's life was spent in 
 prison. He taught that God was an impartial being ; that in 
 His administration of divine justice abundant light is given to 
 each rational mind, which, if rightly used, is all-sufficient to 
 save, redeem, and elevate the soul ; that those who give heed 
 to this shining light are progressively illuminated, and thereby 
 prepared for heavenly happiness. And that those who vio- 
 late this divine principle within wander from light and knowl- 
 edge, thereby rejecting the counsel of God, placing them- 
 selves by their own volition in opposition to the divine 
 mind. 
 
 George Fox and his co-workers were much in advance of 
 the age in which they lived, and no doubt lived up to the 
 measure of that light of which they were the recipients, and 
 because they were not logical and consistent in their thoughts 
 and opinions was not because the nature of truth is subject 
 to oscillations and variations, but for the reason that our hu- 
 manity is frail and defective. Truth is perfect. One gener- 
 ation cannot fix her boundaries or determine her periphery 
 for succeeding generations, because man is progressive in 
 all the powers and faculties of his nature. We should labor, 
 
 71 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 therefore, only in the light of truth, for if we labor in the 
 darkness and obscurity of error, we labor in vain. 
 
 More than eighteen centuries have passed since it was said 
 the kingdom of God cometh not with observation, and this 
 great truth has been abundantly confirmed by the living ex- 
 perience of all travellers thitherward. Scientists of the school 
 of Darwin and Spencer, in approaching the consideration of 
 this subject, "from the side of natural history," can only find 
 in the present status of humanity development from the lowest 
 grades of created things. That the sense of the sacred obli- 
 gations of righteousness is not innate, but has been acquired 
 " through inheritance, in which the experiences of utility, or- 
 ganized and consolidated through all past generations of the 
 human race, have produced in us certain faculties responding 
 to right and wrong conduct, wTiich have no apparent basis, 
 but in the individual experiences of utility." 
 
 Thus "star-eyed science" seeks to degrade the being for 
 which the worlds were made. How dififerent this cold utili- 
 tarianism from the philosophy which warmed the souls of 
 Newton and Kepler, causing the latter to exclaim : " O God, 
 I think thy thoughts after Thee !" Time once was when the 
 undevout scientist was considered " mad ;" but we have lived 
 to see again revived the theories of Hobbes and Manderville, 
 who vigorously denied to man any other spring of. action than 
 self-interest. 
 
 The utilitarian can find no other ground to stand upon. 
 For him duty is only " the greatest good to the greatest num- 
 ber," a theory surely above the ken of the savage ancestors 
 to which Darwin assigns us, and from which conscience has 
 been slowly acquired by the process of transmission, which in 
 itself is such a paradox that the latter is forced to admit " that 
 no instance is known of an arbitrary or superstitious practice, 
 though pursued for ages, leaving hereditary tendencies of the 
 nature of a moral sense." 
 
 To explain that sentiment of repentance and that feeling of 
 remorse which occasions such dread terror and alarm in those 
 
 72 
 
FAITH 
 
 guilty of crimes against their fellow-men, our theorists have 
 exercised all their ingenuity and skill, and have utterly failed 
 to account for that sense of conscious guilt which causes such 
 soul-shaking terrors and remorse. Though no human eye 
 may have seen, no human ear may have heard, yet the guilty 
 fleeth though no man pursueth him. This feeling is far differ- 
 ent from a feeling of compassion for the injured one, as well 
 as quite irrespective of all human tribunals and all human 
 retribution. 
 
 In regard to those most sacred of all feelings by which the 
 conscious soul measures the nearness of its approach and com- 
 munion with the Infinite One, lifting our natures above and 
 beyond the things of this life, making us amenable to Him 
 alone in reference to those convictions which have been sealed 
 upon the inner consciousness of our being, causing us to rec- 
 ognize the voice of the Highest in the voice of an enlightened 
 conscience and inward sense of feeling, these holy, heavenly, 
 and endearing ties have, of course, no place in the sympathies 
 and affections of those who approach the consideration of this 
 great theme " from the side of natural history." God never 
 has been and never will be comprehended by those who ap- 
 proach Him in this manner. 
 
 A faith such as that which inspired the souls of Zoroaster, 
 Job, Pythagoras, Fenelon, Woolman, and Hicks can never be 
 acquired in the study of natural history. It can only be 
 learned in the school of a living experience. Outward things 
 but deepen, corroborate, and confirm the vital and inward 
 truths of the soul. In the vast arcana of created things, to 
 the well-attuned ear and attentive mind, these are not lack- 
 ing: 
 
 " He looks abroad into the varied field 
 Of nature, and though poor, perhaps, compared 
 With those whose mansions glitter in his sight, 
 Calls the delightful scen'ry all his own. 
 His are the mountains and the valleys his, 
 And the resplendent rivers. His to enjoy 
 With a propriety that none can feel 
 73 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 But who, with filial confidence inspired, 
 Can lift to heaven an uhpresumptuous eye, 
 And smiling say, ' My Father made them all.' " 
 
 A large proportion of the doubts which disturb the popular 
 mind are traceable to the outward views inculcated by the re- 
 ligionists of the present and past ages. This must be evident 
 to every reflective mind. How true the apothegm of George 
 Fox: "They are seducers and antichrists who draw your 
 minds out from the teachings within you." 
 
 As in his day, the seductive speculations of a vain theology 
 lead the mind without instead of within, and as a natural con- 
 sequence the scientist is led to adopt a like method of investi- 
 gation as to the subject of religion and morals, and hence an 
 hypothesis which tends to revolutionize ethics, and dethrone 
 that inward sense of right and wrong, a measure of which is 
 implanted in every human soul. 'For God has furnished with- 
 out stint His Holy Spirit as a comforter, which can fathom 
 all our depths and sorrows, brightening our darkness with His 
 marvellous light. The spiritual gift He will not confer upon 
 the careless, the indifferent, or the full. To accept it our 
 souls must be fitted with a strong desire and a deep craving. 
 This condition of receptivity, and this alone, can fit and pre- 
 pare us to receive Him in the way of His coming. 
 
 2 mo. i8, First-Day. — Was at Horsham this morning. In 
 the afternoon attended the funeral of a young man, the son of 
 a friend, and had a very painful experience, for I was at first 
 impressed in relation to him unpleasantly, and then came a 
 powerful scene of the admirable mercy of Our Father to the 
 souls of the children of men. I could no more repress the 
 utterance of my feelings than the earth can help obeying the 
 law of gravitation ; was wonderfully wrought upon, but after- 
 wards did not feel altogether easy in my mind, and was fear- 
 ful that I was not rightly understood. My thought was that 
 this young man's spirit had been admitted into a mansion 
 adapted to his condition, through the mercy of God, and not 
 into that higher state which had been alluded to. The bap- 
 
 74 
 
EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS 
 
 tism into which I was introduced may have been caused by 
 my not having been sufficiently clear in my own feehngs, — 
 by not sufficiently discriminating between thing and thing. 
 May I ever remember the pious ejaculation of the psalmist: 
 " I waited patiently for the Lord ; and he inclined unto me, 
 and heard my cry." 
 
 2 mo. 20. — For some time past I have been giving consid- 
 erable attention and study to Paul's Epistle to the Romans. 
 It is a remarkable document, containing, as it does, so much 
 that is deeply instructive and edifying. It is considered the 
 sixth in the order of his letters, and it is thought, judging 
 from the Acts, to have been written at Corinth a.d. 58. Few 
 critics question its authenticity, though its integrity has been 
 the subject of grave doubts. The whole of the last chapter 
 is, no doubt, spurious; thus it is viewed by many eminent 
 critics; the doxology (xvi. 25-27) is clearly so. It was want- 
 ing in the ancient copies alluded to by Jerome, and it is 
 thought was not read by Tertullian. Marcion had not the 
 last two chapters, but there is an intimate connection between 
 the fourteenth and fifteenth. 
 
 The epistle proves that the church at Rome was of Jewish 
 origin. It evidently had not been newly established at the 
 time Paul addressed it. The Clementine homilies inculcate 
 the idea that the seed of the gospel was carried to Rome during 
 the life of Jesus, for the Jewish population was large, as we 
 learn from Philo and Josephus, and the Essene element says 
 Davidson had penetrated into the ecclesiastical life of the 
 church, as is alluded to in chapter xiv. The apostle incul- 
 cates charity towards its asceticism, that all minor differences 
 might be merged in the common opposition to heathenism 
 and a common love for Christ. The Acts of the Apostles, 
 xxviii. 13, 15, informs us that Paul met the "brethren" at 
 Puteoli, and that "they came to rqeet us as far as Appii 
 Forum, and the Three Taverns." The name of Jesus was, 
 no doubt, first heard at Rome in a Jewish-Essene synagogue, 
 into which the Gentile element had penetrated (xi. 13). 
 
 75 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 The reasoning in this epistle implies a thorough acquaint- 
 ance on the part of the " Romans" with the Mosaic law and 
 its observances. Hence that portion of the brethren who were 
 more Jewish in feeling resisted the more advanced eclectic 
 views of the Gentile converts whose tendencies and sentiments 
 were of an anti- Jewish type. 
 
 Some have attempted the division of this letter into formal 
 parts, — doctrinal and practical; but its writer develops his 
 views therein without reference to a particular system, often 
 unfolding thoughts before expressed, partly doctrinal and 
 partly practical, without plan or pause. Of the latter, the 
 most marked is at the end of the eighth chapter. The ter- 
 mination of the epistle might also have been at xv. 33. Its 
 Christology is voiced as in Paul's other writings. In the 
 twelfth chapter we have the same view as is rendered in the 
 same chapter of First Corinthians : " So we, being many, are 
 one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." 
 In this divinely anointing power the apostle states, as in the 
 Corinthians, there are different gifts and different manifesta- 
 tions by the same spirit: "For as we have many members 
 in one body, and all members have not the same office." 
 Whether in prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, ruling, 
 or giving, all is to be done with simplicity, diligence, and 
 cheerfulness, with a " love without dissimulation, preferring 
 one another." 
 
 In regard to the apostle's Christology, the inconsistencies 
 may be owing to the mistakes, errors, and interpolations of 
 transcribers and translators, as Elias Hicks intimated in a 
 sermon reported by Gould in the " Quaker," vol. i. p. 222 : 
 
 " Very probably the translators have not given it right to us, because 
 the outward Christ never could be or can be in us. No doubt it was 
 meant that the life or spirit of life in the soul is in every one of us, which 
 is the anointing of the Lord, and that if we are not disobedient, we shall 
 profit by it; but that is not the outward Christ. Christ means the 
 anomtmg of the Lord, as Jesus was called Christ because he was anointed 
 of the Lord." 
 
 76 
 
ELIAS HICKS 
 
 This quotation is in relation to 2 Cor. xiii. 5, Elias Hicks 
 objecting to the word Jesus in the text, which objection was, 
 no doubt, well founded, as will be seen by comparing this text 
 with the third verse of the same chapter. This seems the 
 apostle's view when he said, " Wherefore henceforth know we 
 no man after the flesh : yea, though we have known Christ 
 after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. 
 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : old 
 things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 
 If we make the Christology of Paul consistent with this view 
 of that enlightened servant of God, Elias Hicks, much in his 
 writings will have to be ruled out as unauthentic and as the 
 interpolations of later writers.* This is the view of several 
 eminent critics, and when we consider the condition of text of 
 Scripture in Jerome's time, "the barbarous monkish Latin" 
 in which he found it, in which " every one had added or sub- 
 tracted according to his own caprice as he saw fit;"t when 
 we consider that this father, to whom we owe the basis of our 
 present translation, " had to be assisted by a special providence 
 from above f and when we consider the tendency of his 
 thoughts, the nature of his works, J and the monkish asceticism 
 of his character, it is very clear that in the revision, transcrip- 
 tion, and translation of writings in such an uncertain condition 
 as different texts of Scripture are acknowledged to have been 
 when he was commissioned by the Pope to revise them, so they 
 most naturally therefore have been moulded and fashioned, 
 sensibly or insensibly, after and in accordance with those doc- 
 trines and opinions which found such a powerful advocate in 
 this reverend father of the church. 
 
 The fifth chapter, 12-19, of o^i" epistle has been construed 
 by theologians to comfort them in their diverse dogmas, the 
 highly metaphorical language of its writer having been tor- 
 
 ♦ De Wette, vol. i. p. 185. 
 t These could find authority in Rom. iii. 7. 
 
 X One of his books was on the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin 
 Mary. 
 
 77 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 tured into a literalism which is very foreign from his thought, 
 the terms Adam and Christ signifying type and antitype, 
 sinning in the former sense having only a figurative meaning, 
 — a "similitude " as the apostle says, he having no thought 
 that the doctrine of original sin would be deduced from his 
 expressions. The great truth which he meant to convey was 
 that God's free grace is much more abounding in its nature 
 and far exceeds the reign of sin. This great thought is 
 graphically delineated in the seventh and eighth chapters, the 
 " I" being an imaginary person, with no view to a law or 
 gospel state. Paul meant not to enunciate propositions or 
 tenets to be inserted into creeds, but was simply giving vent 
 to the full flowing feelings of his heart, without exactitude 
 of syntax, language, or expression, unmindful of that careful 
 construction of sentence and consequent perspicuity of mean- 
 ing which theologians delight in. 
 
 Pressing such phraseology as his into such doubtful ser- 
 vice is doing great injustice to him and a great injury to the 
 cause of truth, causing clouds and shadows to obscure her 
 pure rays. 
 
 In these two chapters are depicted in strong colors those 
 two states which all persons more or less experienced in the 
 progress of heavenly life, — conflict in the former and victory 
 in the latter chapter: "What shall we then say to these 
 things?" exclaims the apostle. "If God be for us, who can 
 be against us?" 
 
 2 mo. 23. — " Canst thou by searching find out God ? Canst 
 thou find out the Almighty to perfection?" This totality 
 man is never to comprehend ; but by searching we can learn of 
 Him continually, for inquiry is the law of our nature : " Give 
 thy son no teacher," spoke the oracle to the father of Soc- 
 rates, " for within him is a voice better than a thousand in- 
 structors." By minding this inward voice we can become in 
 some degree proficients and learners in the school of a living 
 experience, and herein it is not wisdoin to reject the experi- 
 ence of past ages. "These," says Kant, "are not a deceit; 
 
 78 
 
ELIAS HICKS 
 
 the human understanding has its fixed laws, and those laws 
 are true." 
 
 The past assures us of the great law of progress, and of this 
 law many fears are manifested, for the age is one of inquiry 
 and research ; its apparent scepticism is but the manifestation 
 of this " seed of the kingdom," which can only ripen into de- 
 velopment by " minding the light." For want of this wisdom 
 how many, like the disciples, relations and townsmen of Jesus, 
 comprehended not that kingdom of God which he proclaimed ! 
 He was but the carpenter's son to them, and was without 
 honor among his own people and kindred. So with the 
 present age. The staid conservatism of the past regards the 
 radicalism of the period in which we live. It has always been 
 considered infidelity to march upward and onward to higher 
 truths. Socrates, Jesus, George Fox, and Elias Hicks were 
 great infidels to the religion of their day. 
 
 Distance has been decreased in the material world by the 
 application of steam and magnetism to machinery. Men con- 
 verse beneath oceans and across continents, and are being 
 dissatisfied with former conceptions of the Deity. Henry 
 Ward Beecher's definition of Him as an " Impalpable Efflu- 
 ence" is not satisfactory to the age in which we live. The 
 soul, impelled by its natural affinities, is seeking a nearer 
 communion and relationship with the Creator of that soul. 
 In attempting this men are but illustrating the wisdom of the 
 past: "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: 
 thereby good shall come unto thee. Receive, I pray thee, the 
 law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart." 
 Herein is the whole circle of truth, the attentive mind per- 
 ceiving the eternal fitness of all things, that the shadows of 
 the past beautifully harmonize with the light of the present, 
 as Aristotle said more than two thousand years ago : " Error 
 does not arise from the senses being false media, but from 
 the wrong interpretation we put on their testimony." Con- 
 servatism has its proper sphere in the mental and moral 
 economy; the mists and fogs of the morning blend most 
 
 79 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 usefully with the luminous light of advancing day. In nature 
 there is no conflict between the present and the past. The 
 glory of the former state is not enshrouded, bedimmed, or 
 obscured by the vapors of the latter condition. Thus it 
 would be with the human family were they but mindful of 
 the law of their being; they would "know that all things 
 work together for good to them that love God, to them who 
 are the called according to his purpose." 
 
 2 mo. 26. — To-day was our monthly meeting. It seemed 
 as if heavenly love was poured upon us. How unlike the 
 meeting of yesterday, when, in consequence of a dependence 
 upon instrumental means, even that food was in a measure 
 withheld ! For our spirits are in some degree subject to sur- 
 rounding influences. In to-day's meeting, however, the spirit 
 of supplication descended upon us as an angelic presence, and 
 all minds were solemnized by His holy power. 
 
 2 mo. 2J. — Many authorships have been assigned to the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews, both in ancient and in modern times. 
 TertuUian favors Barnabas as its author. Others ascribe it to 
 Clement and Apollos. The latter opinion was held by Luther. 
 Marcion did not include it in his canon. The Peshito or old 
 Syriac version does not favor the Pauline authorship, neither 
 does the author of the fragment of the canon published by 
 Muratori enumerate it as such, the Eastern and Western 
 church being divided on the subject. The mass of evidence 
 before the fourth century is against its apostolicity. After 
 that period it came to be gradually ascribed to the apostle, as 
 Jerome and Augustine favored that opinion, although in some 
 of the writings of the former he seems to have expressed a 
 lingering doubt on the subject. In a letter to Dardanus he 
 states that the epistle " is received as the apostle Paul's, not 
 only by the churches of the East, but, on the other hand, by 
 all the Greek ecclesiastical writers, though most ascribe it 
 to Barnabas or Clement ; and it makes no difiference whose it 
 is, since it belongs to an ecclesiastical man, and is read daily 
 in the churches. But if the Latins do not commonly receive 
 
 80 
 
EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 
 
 it among the canonical Scriptures, the Greek churches do the 
 same with the Apocalypse of John. We, however, receive 
 both, not following the usage of the present time, but the 
 authority of ancient writers, who for the most part quote 
 both, not as they are wont sometimes to quote apocryphal 
 books as canonical." 
 
 Augustine is also ambiguous at times on this subject; his 
 orthodoxy might be suspected. Like divines in our day, he 
 husbanded his reputation. The truth might have injured it 
 had he dealt in freedom of expression. 
 
 Origen favors the idea that the epistle proceeded from the 
 apostle, though in his homilies he says, "God alone knows 
 who wrote it." He evidently was double-minded on the sub- 
 ject, as was Eusebius, who says that " the sentiments are the 
 apostle's, but the language and composition belong to some 
 one who committed to writing what the apostle said." 
 
 In the Eastern church tradition was early and uniform in 
 favor of the Pauline authorship, with very few exceptions to 
 the contrary. Among the Westerns the mass of evidence is 
 to the opposite of this, and it was not until the fourth century 
 that it obtained a canonical position. The Arian controversy 
 kept establishing its apostolicity, as it was useful to the ortho- 
 dox interest. 
 
 In reference to the internal evidence, there is much to 
 invalidate the apostolicity of our epistle. It has no title or 
 inscription, and, as Eusebius says, its phraseology and style 
 are very diflferent from Paul's. The manner in which the Old 
 Testament is cited also differs from his acknowledged writings. 
 He quotes the Hebrew version, whereas our author is only 
 acquainted with the Septuagint, uniformly following after 
 the Alexandrian copy. Critics find many verbal disagree- 
 ments. He is deficient in his knowledge of the temple and 
 its appurtenances. He quotes the Old Testament evidently 
 from memory, i. 10-12, 13. The first two verses refer to 
 Psalm cii. 25-27, in which the address is to Jehovah, but by 
 our writer its application is directly to Christ. The last 
 6 81 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 verse is from Psalm ex. i, having the same reference in the 
 apphed to Christ in the time of the apostles." The last Psalm 
 bility by the term Kbpie in the LXX., which was commonly 
 applied to Christ in the time of the apostles." The last Psalm 
 is not David's, but " contains an oracle spoken to him when 
 he was preparing to fight against powerful foes." In the 
 Hebrew the words cited are addressed to him, whereas in the 
 epistle they are considered as having reference to Christ. 
 Critics consider that Paul would have made no such gross 
 errors, judging from his acknowledged writings. 
 
 In chapter ii. 3 the writer does not claim to be an apostle, 
 but to have received the testimony of others, occupying the 
 same relation to the immediate successors of Jesus as Luke. 
 Our author follows after Philo rather than Paul in his manner 
 of allegorizing the Old Testament, symbolizing it after the 
 manner of the Alexandrian Essenian brotherhood. 
 
 The doctrinal relation of Judaism to Christianity, as well as 
 its Christology, are not Pauline. The view taken of Judaism 
 is objective; the thought of the apostle is opposite to this. 
 He looks upon it as a priesthood, but in a subjective sense, 
 considering that it is incompetent to bring man into accept- 
 ance with his Maker by reason of his inability to fulfil it. 
 Herein is a very important signification, and, as has been 
 stated in this journal, Paul's mind was of a progressive cast, 
 and he may have seen reason to have modified his views with 
 advancing years, — may have indited or have given his assent 
 to this thought. For in our epistle the main-spring of the 
 Old Testament religion is its priesthood, its temple, their 
 symbols and ceremonials. There is much truth in this view, 
 for no doubt its high professors looked upon the unanointed 
 and unconsecrated Jesus and his disciples as impostors, as 
 lacking in all dignity as the priests of Jehovah. 
 
 The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews views Christ as 
 an unchanging high priest for ever and ever, eternally the 
 same, the law being but a shadow of the good that was in the 
 fulness of time. This view may have been adopted by Paul 
 
 82 
 
EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS 
 
 after the conclusion of his acknowledged writings, in which he 
 dwells on the thought that the promise was given before the 
 law, and was not invalidated by it. In chapter viii. in our 
 epistle is a very different idea ; the signification is altogether 
 objective. The apostle held that the contrast is between the 
 law and the gospel, between the letter and the spirit, bondage 
 and freedom, vassalage and sonship. He does not institute 
 the similitudes and comparisons which so frequently occur in 
 this epistle, — of this state and the future, heaven and earth, 
 type and antitype, imperfect intimation, and blessed con- 
 summation. According to its writer, Christianity is not sub- 
 jectively new as a religion of itself, but containing nothing 
 except what is to be found in the Old Testament. It is a 
 "spiritual kernel of a sensuous shell," and the promise was 
 given after the law (chapter vii.). 
 
 The Christology of Paul differs from that of the writer of 
 this epistle, which approaches the thought indicated by the 
 writer of the fourth Gospel, without representing the Son in 
 Johannian light. Paul says that all things were created by 
 the Son and consist in him. The writer of our epistle holds 
 that God created the world by him. But the Son is not held 
 to be the word in the sense expressed by the writer of the 
 fourth Gospel. The advance is, however, beyond the Pauline 
 idea, as indicated : i Cor. xv. 28, in which the dominion of 
 the Son is limited, "that God may be all in all." In our 
 epistle, on the contrary, his dominion is to be everlasting. 
 
 The idea expressed in i Cor. xv. 45; 2 Cor. iii. 17, that 
 Christ is a " quickening spirit," is not in the epistle under 
 examination. Paul brings into consideration the fact of the 
 resurrection as efficacious in the work of redemption ; but this 
 is not the case with our author. He attaches no importance 
 to it, the ascension being brought into prominence, the Spirit 
 being considered as an indwelling principle, the same in es- 
 sence with the Father. Herein there seems an agreement with 
 the Epistles to the Colossians and Philippians; but in the 
 larger of Paul's epistles the thought is that Christ is the first 
 
 83 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 member of a renewed humanity, — the second Adam. The 
 fifteenth chapter of the Corinthians was, no doubt, intended 
 by its author to convey a psychological significance, the first 
 man having reference to the earthly and the second to 
 the heavenly nature. Its sense is subjective, not objective. 
 Christ is in us, a life-giving spirit, not for us, as in our 
 epistle. 
 
 The view of reconciliation is different from Paul's, as is 
 also faith and justification diversely set forth. With the 
 latter Grod is the justifier, but in the former believers are 
 sanctified, sprinkled, and purged by Christ. 
 
 In the writings of the apostle the Father is the infinite, 
 invisible, and perfect one, our humanity being a reflection of 
 Himself, He working in and upon us. The Pauline dualism 
 is only temporary and transient, while that of our epistle is 
 absolute and enduring. 
 
 A merely superficial reader cannot fail to perceive that the 
 circle of doctrinal ideas is different from that in the four 
 large epistles of Paul, and it is evident that if he wrote or 
 suggested its thoughts, his mind must have undergone a radi- 
 cal change at a late period of his life, which is very unlikely, 
 to say the least of it, and the best critics are of tlie opinion 
 that it is the work of some independent mind of the Alex- 
 andrian school, who wrote with great care, studying the con- 
 formation of his sentences, and having in view a rhetorical 
 effect. It is a finished treatise on religion, the language being 
 pure and lofty, and cheering to the devout mind. Distin- 
 guished scholars are of the opinion that Apollos was its 
 author. Many of its expressions are Philonian ; the peculiar 
 phrases, "Father of Spirits," "High Priest of our profession," 
 etc., are the same that Philo used. 
 
 The last three chapters are principally devoted to practical 
 and encouraging precepts, which are spiritually edifying and 
 comforting to the believer. The apothegm in regard to faith, 
 xi. I, is particularly so; its author's view, however, is con- 
 sidered a departure from the Pauline thought on this subject. 
 
 84 
 
THOU ART IMMORTAL 
 
 With the former, faith is an entire trust and confidence in God 
 without reservation; it is general and indefinite. 
 
 In the writings of the apostle, faith is circumscribed and 
 defined with more exactitude and precision, " having for its 
 object the promise already fulfilled by Christ." Herein 
 theologians have found food for endless speculation, and 
 theoretical believers find much comfort in the Pauline view, 
 having misconstrued his highly metaphorical expressions in an 
 objective sense. " The mysterious personal union" which he 
 taught was Christ in us, — " Christ, the power of God, and the 
 wisdom of God ;" an individuality, not a mere personality. 
 " Know thyself," said Proclus, repeating the Delphine inscrip- 
 tion, " that thou mayst know the essence from whose source 
 thou art derived. Know that of the Divine One thy soul is 
 but a ray." Herein is " the mystery of godliness : . . . mani- 
 fest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached 
 unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into 
 glory." 
 
 God was manifested in Moses, in Confucius, in Isaiah, in 
 Jesus, as the apostle says, " One God and Father of all, who 
 is above all, and through all, and in you all." " It is not sac- 
 rilege," says a recent author, " thus to associate ourselves, our 
 souls J with whence we came." I go much farther than this 
 and say that it is our solemn duty, for it is our only " hope of 
 glory." For in this affinity, this deep yearning, that can be 
 felt but not described, is the guarantee and fulfilment of our 
 immortality. Herein we can sing pseans and rejoice, ascribing 
 praises unto Him alone, for through faith in Him as our 
 Father and our Friend, our little barks, laden with immortal 
 hopes and fruitions, will enter into the haven of eternal rest 
 and peace forever more. " The earth cannot and God will 
 not destroy thee. Thou art immortal!"* 
 
 2 mo. 2p. — Received, to-day, a social visit from my friend 
 Charles Kirk. He is deeply experienced in the truth, and re- 
 
 * Charles Linton. 
 8S 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 lated many interesting incidents in relation to my mother, 
 whom he accompanied in many of her religious visits, not 
 only to families in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, but also 
 to the far West. On one occasion they went as far as Ken- 
 tucky in a carriage from Philadelphia, where they underwent 
 and were subject to many of the incidents and hardships of 
 travel. Many times, he said, she would, under Divine Provi- 
 dence, be led to point out to others the deep secrets of their 
 souls, and that such was the feeling on this subject, particu- 
 larly on the occasion of a visit to the families of Makefield 
 meeting, that she even repeated the words that entire strangers 
 had used in regard to her ministry ; that they would not re- 
 ceive her visits, etc. 
 
 Catharine Foulke related to me some time since the cir- 
 cumstance of a religious visit to her in which mother was led 
 to speak of her future as a minister. Catharine mentally ex- 
 claimed against this, on which there was an immediate silence 
 for about five minutes, and the language addressed to her 
 was : " Canst thou doubt ?" As was foretold, afterwards she 
 was called to the ministry and had to speak to others of the 
 good things of the kingdom. 
 
 Many, indeed, do I find to whom the remembrance of my 
 mother's labors in the truth is very precious. Many can 
 with truth say, — 
 
 " Kind and gentle was her soul, 
 Yet it had a glorious might ; 
 Clouded minds it filled with light, 
 Wounded spirits it made whole. 
 
 " All that led to human good. 
 
 Freedom, righteousness, and truth, 
 These, the objects of her youth. 
 Unto age she still pursued. 
 
 " Widowed hearts with anguish pressed, 
 Homes where death had darkly passed, 
 Beds where suffering breathed its last, ' 
 These she sought, and soothed and blessed 
 86 
 
BENJAMIN HALLOWELL 
 
 " Memories all too bright for tears 
 Crowd around us from the past ; 
 She was faithful to the last. 
 Faithful through long toilsome years." 
 
 J mo. I. — As my friend Benjamin Hallowell recently ex- 
 pressed himself, " In astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, and 
 all sciences certainty prevails; but in spiritual realities, the 
 most important of them all, there are uncertainty and mys- 
 tery, bigotry, and superstition." 
 
 The trouble is, in this domain truth is considered stereo- 
 typed; but such is not the case; from her press are being 
 issued continually new editions, improved and revised. God 
 is the Author of all truth, and His gifts are free to all alike. 
 Man can lay no special claim to His glorious dispensations,^ — 
 to the fresh displays of His heavenly revealments: these are 
 blessed donations, ministering spirits, repeated assurances, 
 comforting promises in the heavenly path. They all go to 
 re-establish, to demonstrate anew, the sum total of those glori- 
 ous fruitions and heaven-born hopes, the verities and joys of 
 which " it is written. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
 have entered into the heart of man, the things which God 
 hath prepared for them that love him." 
 
 As new discoveries in outward phenomena tend to increase 
 and comfort in the physical relations of life, so will new 
 realizations, fresh outpourings of the spiritual truths, go to 
 buoy up the soul on the living current of that beautiful 
 " river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God." 
 As Diogenes said, " When men's souls are deeply and fre- 
 quently employed in spiritual retirement, and waiting for 
 Divine strength, and are often exercised in meditations upon 
 the divine mind, holy revelations or illuminations will occur 
 which enlighten the soul and enable it the better to live and 
 to act virtuously." 
 
 Herein we lean not upon an " arm of flesh," nor upon " the 
 letter that killeth," but implicitly trust in that "Wonderful 
 Counsellor,* The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The 
 
 87 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Prince of Peace," and herein again we will not dare to alienate 
 the divine influence, for, having tasted of the good things of 
 life, having experienced the ministrations of His love, we 
 will value these blessed treasures too highly to slight Him 
 who giveth wisdom to the wise and understanding to the 
 prudent. 
 
 How applicable is the epistle which George Fox addressed 
 to our Society in 1669, to the present conditions of things 
 among us : 
 
 " Friends, dwell in the living spirit, and quench not the motions of it 
 in yourselves nor the movings of it in others ; though many have run out 
 and gone beyond these measures, yet many more have quenched the 
 measure of the spirit of God, and have become dead and dull, and have 
 questioned through a false fear ; so there hath been hurt both ways. . . 
 Friends, do not quench the spirit, nor abuse the power; when it moves 
 and stirs in you, be obedient; but do not go beyond nor add to it, nor 
 take from it; for if you do, you are reproved, either for going beyond or 
 taking from it." 
 
 J mo. 2. — The genuineness of the pastoral epistles — the two 
 to Timothy and that to Titus — have been the subject of con- 
 troversy from very early times. In the earliest canon of the 
 New Testament — ^that of Marcion — ^they were excluded. His 
 reasons for rejecting them we cannot tell ; they may not have 
 been in existence, or he may not have been acquainted with 
 them. TertuUian and Jerome consider that he discarded 
 these letters, but Eichhorn thinks he could not have done so 
 for doctrinal reasons. Baur is, however, of the opinion that 
 Marcion and his adherents are alluded to, and dates the epis- 
 tles after the middle of the second century. To prove this he 
 refers to i Tim. i. 7, 8; Titus iii. 9; i Tim. iv. 3, in conjunc- 
 tion with Titus i. 14; i Tim. vi. 21 ; and i Tim. iii. 16. 
 
 As to external evidence, the Gnostics and anti-Essenes 
 generally rejected our epistles. Tatian did the first two, 
 though he received the one to Titus'. Basilides considered 
 them as anti-Pauline productions. 
 
 The fathers of the Church, however, seem to have prized 
 them as the productions of the apostle, and by a.D. 150 they 
 
 88 
 
THE PASTORAL EPISTLES 
 
 were generally known as such. Before 130 there is, David- 
 son says, " no evidence respecting them. They were received 
 as Paul's without opposition, not only because the age was un- 
 critical, but because they were justly thought to be useful 
 and edifying letters with a Pauline stamp." 
 
 Among modern critics the weight of evidence is against 
 their authenticity. De Wette, Baur, and Davidson urge that 
 Paul, in his acknowledged epistles and in the account given in 
 the proceedings of the apostles, acts and speaks in a manner 
 which is "adverse to his authorship of the epistles." These 
 eminent scholars consider them to have been written by au- 
 thors who personated the apostle and wrote in his name 
 against the heresies of the day and concerning unity and 
 sound doctrine, these, in the author's opinion, being so impor- 
 tant that he considered it a justifiable device for the purpose 
 of advancing the truth against pernicious and dangerous 
 errors, such a laudable end being thought in that age com- 
 mendable, and the contrivance not a reprehensible one. The 
 question is not of theological importance, but simply critical in 
 its character, and, as has been said, " Paul's glory is not 
 lessened by its settlement either way." On the contrary, his 
 consistency would evidently be greatly enhanced should the 
 views of Baur obtain and his authorship be confined to the 
 four larger epistles. 
 
 These letters evidently lay between the Pauline and Johan- 
 nian schools, with a tendency to the latter, and are considered 
 to have been written in the forepart of the second century, 
 being directed against Gnostic views more in a practical than 
 in a doctrinal sense. The first to Timothy is conceded to 
 have been the last written of the three, and is much inferior 
 to the others. Titus bears marks of ability, but is not equal 
 to Second Timothy. All three contain evidences of being 
 the work of the same author, the first being the same in 
 thought, but inferior in style. Having declared against false 
 teachers in the latter two, he repeats himself, expressing the 
 same ideas, and at times using the same phraseology, the part 
 
 89 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 which he had assumed causing embarrassment in that he was 
 writing in the name of a master mind. 
 
 Church officers are alluded to, — elders, deacons, and bishop, 
 the latter in the singular number. These are spoken of in a 
 manner which has been thought to imply the institution of 
 an episcopacy, much more stress being laid upon disciplinary 
 matters than in the acknowledged letters of Paul, a fixed creed 
 and common faith being denoted, and a community bound 
 together with theological ties, the latter being clearly indi- 
 cated. Now, Paul did not give heed to such minutia. His 
 mind was occupied with matters of higher concernment; but 
 in these letters there is much that displays a disposition to 
 purge the church in reference to doctrinal disputations. Con- 
 fessions of faith, our critics think, did not exist in Paul's time. 
 
 This view is, no doubt, in part true, but I cannot accept it 
 in full, for, as I have already indicated in " Indices," it is very 
 clear that the apostle was a reformer laboring in an established 
 church, the tendency of which was progressive and eclectic, 
 and he was laboring in that church for the overthrow of usages 
 of long standing. The Epistle to the Romans clearly estab- 
 lishes this fact. It is also evident from his other writings. 
 " It was against orthodox observance that he was contending, 
 — against creeds, ceremonies, and superstitions. He was 
 urging the community of which he was a member, with all 
 the powers of his vigorous understanding, to come out of 
 their dead forms, such as circumcision, baptism, priestly as- 
 ceticism, and the observance of peculiarities of diet, etc.," 
 which he considered of little importance; but on account of 
 which he recommended charity, toleration, and forbearance. 
 To induce the brethren to receive Jesus, Paul was willing to 
 " please all men in all things." " Unto the Jews I became as a 
 Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the 
 law as under the law." Thus he exercised prudence, dex- 
 terity, and management, exhibiting considerable skill as a 
 tactician in the advocacy of his cause. In Acts xxi. and xxiii. 
 his ability as a strategist is shown in a conspicuous manner. 
 
 go 
 
TIMOTHY AND TITUS 
 
 As a general thing Paul acted on the defensive. He as- 
 sumes the aggressive at times ; but it is evident that the bur- 
 den and onus were on him as a reformer in the organization 
 (which was of a homogeneous character) in which he wrought 
 with such power and success. " Josephus informs us that the 
 Essenes were very careful in the initiation of new members 
 into their community, and that they had much of that Judaical 
 exclusiveness so characteristic of the whole race." * 
 
 That Paul was looked upon with suspicion by James and 
 the elders at Jerusalem is beyond all doubt. When on the 
 occasion of his journey thitherward from Caesarea, he was by 
 his friends " besought not to go up to that city," and no dan- 
 ger could have been apprehended. from the orthodox Jews, as 
 James, John, and the elders were in peace and quietness re- 
 siding there. On the apostle's arrival he was, we read, quickly 
 arraigned before them : "And they are informed of thee, that 
 thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to 
 forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their 
 children, neither to walk after the customs?" 
 
 Not only in Jerusalem, but also in the different branches of 
 the church which were located in various parts of the Medi- 
 terranean was the apostle held as one who advocated reforma- 
 tory measures : thus necessarily was he regarded with mistrust, 
 jealousy, and doubt. The free Christianity which he incul- 
 cated in contradiction to Essenian exclusiveness led him into 
 collision with Peter, James, John, and Barnabas. 
 
 This being the fact, it seems almost incredible that he 
 could have written such letters as those to Timothy and Titus, 
 surcharged as they are with details relative to church govern- 
 ment, — ^the consolidation of ecclesiastical organization, and 
 the qualification of the various offices of bishop, elders, dea- 
 cons, deaconesses, widows, etc. These things seem to point 
 to another and a later author than the apostle. 
 
 The manner in which Timothy and Titus are spoken of is 
 
 * Indices, p. 162. 
 91 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 considered inconsistent with a Pauline authorship. The for- 
 mer is alluded to as a novice in religious thought, and not as 
 an established and well-tried friend. He is enjoined to flee 
 youthful lusts, to be an example of the believers, to drink 
 no longer water, to refuse profane and old wives' fables, etc. 
 Now it is claimed that these letters were edited after a second 
 captivity, in consequence of the exegetical difficulties against 
 the idea that they were written before that period, as is proved 
 by the Acts and Paul's own letters. If this theory be correct, 
 then Timothy was an experienced brother of twelve to fifteen 
 years' standing, and clearly the apostle would not have writ- 
 ten to him as a mere probationer, — as one unskilled in spiritual 
 gifts. 
 
 Again, the manner in which the " Holy Scriptures" — the 
 Old Testament — is spoken of is not Pauline, as he held to the 
 contrary, — that they were the basis of the Christian religion, 
 " able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith, which 
 is in Christ Jesus." And the general tone and scope of these 
 epistles in regard to faith and good works are different from 
 Paul's view. There is also a general vagueness of outline as 
 to the precepts enjoined, the term faith being used in a dog- 
 matic sense, and does not imply that deep inward and subjec- 
 tive meaning that we find inculcated in Paul's acknowledged 
 writings, but is held as a fixed dogma, binding a community 
 together in ecclesiastical union. 
 
 Very many are the proofs of the post-apostolic origin of the 
 three pastoral epistles, as will be seen by consulting the works 
 of those eminent scholars, De Wette, Schleiermacher, Baur, 
 and Davidson. 
 
 S mo. .?. — Our circular meeting was held at Abington to- 
 day. There was much said. I felt it right to arise upon my 
 feet ; but I had proceeded only a short time when the gospel 
 stream ceased to flow, and I took my seat without underr 
 standing the why or the wherefore of the sudden reflux of the 
 tide. Oh, that I may continue in faithfulness, ever mindful 
 of the ebbings and flowings of the divine current. 
 
 92 
 
THE EPISTLE OF JAMES 
 
 3 mo. 5. — Since First-day many doubts have assailed my 
 soul, and I have experienced depression of body and mind, 
 feeling the necessity of renewed and continual daily evidence 
 within myself of the exercise of my gift and calling, that I 
 may make full proof of my ministry, demonstrating it in the 
 power of the everlasting gospel of God. The baptism through 
 which I am passing may be for the purpose of humbling me. 
 Eloquent speech is, I feel, dangerous to its possessor unless 
 humility is abode in. There is great wisdom in the precept, 
 " Take no thought how or what ye shall speak : for it shall 
 be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it 
 is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which 
 speaketh in you." 
 
 After a short period of solemn waiting, the prayer that has 
 ascended from the altar of my heart is, that I may be more 
 and more purified from the dross and defilements of the earthy 
 nature, and more and more experience that abnegation of self, 
 in which all fear of man and all ambition to please him by 
 eloquent words may be transmuted by the divine alchemy of 
 heavenly love into the pure gold of that word which issues 
 from the unseen but ever flowing fountains which God has 
 instituted in the human soul, by which, and by which alone, 
 he that thirsteth can find all his spiritual wants satisfied. 
 
 J mo. 6. — The Epistle of James belongs to that class of let- 
 ters which, with the alleged writings of Peter, John, and Jude, 
 were in ancient times called catholic. The reasons for this 
 title are not now understood^ except that they were considered 
 distinct from those of Paul. 
 
 Apollonius, Clement, and Origen gave them this appella- 
 tion, and the latter thus designates the epistle of Barnabas. 
 The epistles thus called formed a distinct collection, and were 
 publicly read in the churches. It seems probable that they 
 were thus contradistinguished from those of Paul, because his 
 were understood as not being so generally received or so 
 orthodox as those of the other apostles. 
 
 In distinctly designating the author of the Epistle of James 
 
 93 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 difficulty was experienced in ancient times, and three different 
 persons of that name were sometimes blended together. The 
 identity of the " Lord's brother," the " son of Alpheus," and 
 of " James the Less" not being clear. Hegesippus, Eusebius, 
 and Gregory, however, separate them, as also did the Clem- 
 entines and the majority of the fathers. 
 
 Whether the brother of Jesus was his full brother or half- 
 brother some consider uncertain. In Matt. i. 25 and Luke ii. 7 
 Jesus is spoken of as Mary's first-born son. Herein we infer 
 that the brethren of Jesus were the sons of Joseph and Mary, 
 and that James, the Lord's brother, was a different person 
 from the son of Alpheus. Tischendorf has erased the above 
 text from the Greek of Matthew ; but Davidson says that it 
 should stand, and it certainly corresponds with I^uke ii. 7. 
 
 Several allusions in the Acts and the epistles of Paul are 
 made to James, the Lord's brother. Some hold that the son 
 of Alpheus was at the head of the Jerusalem church, but the 
 force of tradition is to the contrary of this, and ascribes the 
 authorship of our epistle to the former, which view seems con- 
 firmed by the letter itself, in which the author calls himself 
 " a servant of God," and not an apostle. 
 
 It appears to have been written before the fall of Jerusalem. 
 Hug thinks that certain internal evidence points to Palestine, 
 and James, judging from the extract from Hegesippus, was a 
 constant resident in the city of Jerusalem, for it was there that 
 he was killed by the Jews. 
 
 As with several other books of the New Testament, so with 
 our epistle was there a diversity of sentiment in ancient times 
 in regard to its authenticity. Irenseus seems to have known 
 of it, but the extract from Hermas is uncertain in its reference. 
 Origen is the first to speak of James as its author. Tertullian, 
 on the contrary, never mentions this epistle, though he cites 
 Peter, John, and Paul. Eusebius considers it doubtful, and 
 says, "Thus far concerning James, who is said to be the 
 author of the first of the seven epistles called catholic. . . . 
 It should be observed, however, that it is reckoned spuri- 
 
 94 
 
LUTHER 
 
 ous; at least, not many of the ancients have mentioned 
 it," etc. 
 
 Jerome clearly favors its authenticity. It is included in the 
 Peshite or old Syriac version, though it is not in the Mura- 
 torian fragment. Hippolytus quotes it, but it was rejected by 
 Theodore of Mopsuestia, and its reception was not universal 
 till the fourth century, when the synod of Carthage, a.d. 397, 
 put it into the canon. 
 
 Thus it was sustained by external evidence. In regard to 
 the internal view presented, many of the best modern writers 
 reject it as the production of James. Luther thus speaks 
 of it: 
 
 " In comparison with the best books of the New Testament, it is a 
 downright strawy epistle, is not an apostolic production, ascribes directly 
 justification to works, contrary to Paul and all other Scripture, makes no 
 mention of the sufferings, resurrection, and spirit of Christ, and throws 
 one thing into another without order." 
 
 We must remember, however, that Luther had great pre- 
 dilections for the Pauline view of faith, and consequently 
 allowed his prejudices to influence his judgment, as, no doubt, 
 was also the case with ancient writers, for the spirit of the 
 epistle is eminently sound and in harmony with the faith that 
 Jesus taught, all power and wisdom being ascribed to God : 
 " Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and 
 Cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no 
 variableness, neither shadow of turning." 
 
 That the doctrine of justification by faith in Divine grace, 
 revealed in the atoning death of Jesus, is denied and objected 
 to by James is very clear : " Ye see then how that by works a 
 man is justified, and not by faith only." 
 
 It is conceded that this epistle was not translated from an 
 Aramaean original, but was composed in Greek, and for this 
 reason, in part, several critics are of the opinion that James 
 was not its author, but that this valuable letter was written in 
 his name by some Jewish Christian a short time prior to the 
 destruction of Jerusalem. The most probable view, however, 
 
 95 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 is that a Greek translator has taken great liberties with an 
 Aramaean original by James, as was the case with the Hebrew 
 of Matthew. From the account of James given by Hegesip- 
 pus, he certainly could not have written the pure Greek of this 
 epistle,* for Josephus says Hellenic culture was very rare in 
 Judea, and if this was the case with the Palestinian doctors, 
 it is not rational to suppose that a son of Joseph the carpenter 
 could have composed a letter in the flowing and elegant Greek 
 of our epistle. But few Hebrewisms are to be found in it, 
 the style being poetical, nervous, and weighty, often of the 
 oratorical order, interspersed with lively metaphors and com- 
 parisons. 
 
 The substantial idea is Christian, but it is that of a Jewish 
 Christian, and points to a time in which the precepts of Jesus 
 were not developed in a written form, but were known only 
 by oral tradition, and a plain, practical, spiritualized view of 
 religious thought is inculcated, which is entirely foreign to the 
 dogmatic and doctrinal system of after years, which view was 
 evidently combated by the writer of this epistle. It ex- 
 hibits a healthy and simple train of thought, breathing a pure 
 spirit of morality and goodness, conveying a just rebuke and 
 check to that more theoretic faith which exalts belief at the 
 expense of justice, mercy, and truth. 
 
 2 mo. 7. — Our mid-week meeting was held to-day, in which 
 the clouds which have rested on my spirit since last Seventh- 
 day were in an admirable manner lifted, and my soul was 
 again permitted to have a glimpse of the promised land. O 
 that I may ever remember that this glorious condition is an 
 internal one ! That it is " not by might, nor by power, but 
 by my spirit, saith the Lord." As I wrote many years ago,— 
 
 The promised land within thee lies, 
 
 Look thou to font within ; 
 The way that leads to Paradise 
 
 Is conquest over sin. 
 
 * See Appendix E. 
 96 
 
LUTHER 
 
 J mo. p. — In a letter of to-day's Friends' Intelligencer I find 
 the following extract: 
 
 " I understand thee, in allusion to thyself, as holding by the ancient 
 declaration that the preparation of the heart is of the Lord, and that for 
 every new service there is its own peculiar preparation. I do not know 
 what to make of this doctrine. I know it is Quaker, and I have at times 
 thought it true, but if we are in the love of God, — love Him with all our 
 heart, mind, and strength, — we will love our neighbor as ourself, and can- 
 not need such a secondary dispensation." 
 
 To the contrary of this view, I find it necessary in my small 
 measure of experience to seek after a renewed preparation for 
 each new service in the ministry, that a continued recurrence 
 to the Source and Centre of air souls is a necessity for my 
 peace of mind. There is great wisdom in the aphorism of 
 George Fox : " Friends, wait on that which convinced you." 
 
 Nimrod was a mighty hunter before Jehovah ; but this will 
 not do for me; all spiritual discernment would soon vanish 
 and darkness ensue. It may be for want of faith. It may be 
 a " Quaker tradition," to use the language of the writer cited, 
 yet still will I pray, "O send out thy light and thy truth: 
 let them lead me ; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and 
 to thy tabernacles." And let this be not a mere tradition, but 
 living and vitalized experience. 
 
 During the time in which I have been employed in the con- 
 sideration of the various Scriptural books my faith has been 
 increased in the infinite flow of the Father's love to His chil- 
 dren in the different ages of the world, and I may truthfully 
 say that it is in the prayerful hope that a like feeling may be 
 inspired in the minds of those who may possibly be the read- 
 ers of this book in after-times that has induced the effort, labor, 
 and research herein exhibited. That truth may be exalted is 
 my only desire, and in the hope that I may do something to 
 promote an intelligent appreciation of the Old and of the New 
 Testament, I proceed to the consideration of the book of 
 Revelations. 
 
 The external testimony presented strongly favors the au- 
 7 97 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 thorship of the apostle John. We have the testimony of 
 Papias to its credibility and authenticity, and Justin Martyr 
 specially ascribes the work to the apostle John at Ephesus. 
 Melito, bishop of Sardis, agrees with him in opinion, Euse- 
 bius, in his history, informing us that he wrote a book " about 
 the devil and the Apocalypse of John." The fact that Melito 
 was bishop of one of the cities addressed in the Revelations 
 is strong evidence in behalf of its apostolicity. 
 
 Eusebius, whose prejudices against the millenarian views 
 of the author of this book are well known, states that Apollo- 
 nius cited it against the Montanists. 
 
 The testimony of Irenseus in behalf of the apostle's author- 
 ship possesses great weight, appealing, as he did, to ancient 
 manuscripts as to the number 666. In the epistle given to us 
 by Eusebius of the churches of Lyons and Vienne, the Apoca- 
 lypse is cited. The Muratorian fragment attributes it to 
 John, and Theophilus accepted it as apostolic, as did also 
 Clement, Origen, and the early fathers of the church gen- 
 erally. 
 
 On the other hand, we find Marcion * excluded this book 
 from his canon, and Caus, of Rome, and the Alogi ascribed it 
 to Cerinthus. The Council of Laodicea omits it, and C3rtil, 
 of Jerusalem (581), likewise excludes it from the canon. It 
 is not included in the old Syriac translation (the Peshito), 
 for the reason, no doubt, of the spirit of criticism that had 
 been inspired by the non-fulfilment of the millenarian pre- 
 dictions and the consequent prejudices prevailing in many 
 minds against the book under consideration. 
 
 Hence Dionysius of Alexandria ascribes its authorship to 
 John the Presbyter, not to the apostle, arguing against it for 
 internal reasons mainly, urging that the same writer could not 
 have produced the Apocalypse, the fourth Gospel, and the 
 epistles bearing the name of John. But the testimony of this 
 
 * Marcion's reason is explained because of the anti-Pauline sentiments 
 of this work. John was a Jew-Christian, and denounced the views of 
 such as Paul as "of Balaam" (Rev. ii. 14). 
 
EUSEBIUS 
 
 father is controverted by the whole tenor of ecclesiastical his- 
 tory, and was principally based on a subjective view, of which 
 we of this age are as competent judges as he, for we can ap- 
 preciate the reasons which induced Dionysius to point out the 
 incongruities existing in the different works ascribed to the 
 same author. Such testimony, as well as that of subsequent 
 writers, however, belongs more properly to the history of the 
 canon, for it is very clear that the indecision manifested by 
 Eusebius was from the internal test which he applied to the 
 canonicity of the book, the external evidence in its favor being 
 more positive than that of any other of the different works 
 which constitute the canon of the New Testament. The stock 
 of ecclesiastical history was very meagre when Eusebius 
 wrote, and if we reject the little which existed in his time 
 in behalf of the genuineness of the Revelations, the balance 
 of the canon rests upon very insecure foundations indeed. 
 
 The value of the book is, however, not to be determined by 
 its canonicity, but by its contents, and herein Luther, Erasmus, 
 and Zwingli agreed in opinion respecting it. The former 
 says, in his preface to the Revelations, — 
 
 " More than one thing presents itself in this book as a reason why I 
 hold it to be neither apostolic nor prophetic. First, and most of all, 
 that the prophets do not concern themselves with visions, but with 
 prophecy, in clear, plain words, as Peter, Paul, and Christ do; for it 
 belbngs to the apostolic office, clearly, and without image or vision, to 
 speak about Christ and his work. Moreover, there is no prophet in the 
 Old Testament, not to speak of the New, who is occupied with visions 
 throughout; .so that I almost imagine to myself a fourth book of Esdras 
 before me, and certainly can find no reason for believing that it was set 
 forth by the Holy Spirit. Besides, it seems to me far too arrogant in 
 him to enjoin it upon his readers to regard his own as of more impor- 
 tance than any other sacred book, and to threaten that if any one shall 
 take aught away from it, God will take away from him his part in the 
 book of life. Moreover, even were it a blessed thing to believe what is 
 contained in it, no man knows what that is. . . . But let every man think 
 of it as his spirit prompts him. My spirit cannot adapt itself to this pro- 
 duction; and this is reason enough for me that I should not highly 
 esteem it, that Christ is neither thought nor perceived in it, which is the 
 great business of an apostle." 
 
 99 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Erasmus and Zwingli agree with Luther in opinion. The 
 latter would not accept passages from the Revelations in proof 
 of doctrine. The principal reason which has induced many 
 to reject it, as in the case of De Wette, was the impossibility 
 of ascribing to the same author both the Apocalypse and the 
 fourth Gospel. And no wise and just criticism can reconcile 
 the wide differences that appear on every page of these two 
 different books. For the central idea of the former is that 
 the second advent of Jesus " is at hand." And believers were 
 encouraged to endure present and impending calamities in the 
 hope of a speedy consummation of their desires, for the 
 brethren were looking for a certain revolution in earthly 
 things, and firm was the faith of many in the early establish- 
 ment of the Messianic kingdom, the resurrection of the dead, 
 the judgment of the world, and the downfall of ApoUyon. 
 
 Hence John's exhortation to steadfastness in their many 
 trials and disappointments, for the mission of Jesus had been 
 misunderstood and misinterpreted. The manifestation which 
 had been exhibited in the lowliness and humility of his claims 
 and personality has occasioned much disappointment and 
 much disbelief, and the Essenian brotherhood of the seven 
 churches were longing for a more kingly reign, wherein the 
 saints would be exalted in the downfall of their enemies and 
 in the establishment of the New Jerusalem. 
 
 Far different was the heavenly kingdom that Jesus taught 
 from the sensuous view as depicted by the apostle in the book 
 under consideration, which, however, well accords with his 
 character as rendered in the first Gospel as having desired the 
 first place in the kingdom of God. No wonder, " when the 
 ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the 
 two brethren." 
 
 It is considered by the best critics that the Apocalypse bears 
 marks of having been written before the entire destruction of 
 Jerusalem. The temple is supposed to have been standing. 
 In chapter xvii. lo the time in which John wrote seems desig- 
 nated : "And there are seven kings : five are fallen, and one is. 
 
THE REVELATIONS 
 
 and the other is not yet come" (Vespasianus). When the 
 apostle wrote in Galba's reign (69 a.d.) five emperors had 
 fallen, — i.e., Augustus, Tiberius, Caius, Claudius, and Nero, 
 the latter being expected to again return, as appears from xiii. 
 3-14. Galba is the sixth, — "the king that is." The author 
 is understood as explaining who the beast is, and not as en- 
 deavoring to penetrate the future with the spirit of prophecy. 
 This view accords with xvii. 8 : " The beast that was, and is 
 not, and yet is." Nero * is the antichrist. The Roman power 
 is embodied and personified in him who was expected to re- 
 appear. The number of the beast is said to be the number of 
 a man, 666 (xiii. 18), which in Hebrew makes up the numeri- 
 cal letters in Caesar Nero. According to Irenaeus, the an- 
 cient reading for 666, the shorter form of Nero, would make 
 616. 
 
 The Lord's sudden advent is considered identical with the 
 third woe : " Behold, I come as a thief," xvi. 15 ; and in chap- 
 ter xvii. ID the time is thought to have been designated. 
 
 The figures, symbols, and coloring of the Revelations are 
 taken from Daniel, Zechariah, and Ezekiel. The Second 
 Esdras and the book of Enoch have evidently been drawn 
 upon, the whole being consolidated and adapted to the apoca- 
 lyptic conceptions of the times in which the writer lived. 
 This was the atmosphere in which he breathed. It was this 
 that inspired him when he wrote the Apocalypse. The ideas 
 and imagery in the last two chapters are taken from Isaiah, 
 and much of the rhetorical embellishment of the work be- 
 longs to the domain of poetry, and should be left to its 
 indeterminate and vague significance, as no mystical mean- 
 ing of a soul-sustaining character is to be found in those 
 details which were intended but as adornments in its com- 
 position. 
 
 Its Christology is apostolic. It is very dififerent, however, 
 from the spiritual and highly mystical view which prevails in 
 
 *T) — too;lO — 6o; T— 200; J— so; T — 200; 1 — 6; I — 50,— z.^., Tnj1Dp = 6S6. 
 
 lOI 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 the fourth Gospel. The objective predominates in the Apoca- 
 l)^se, and its writer is impelled by a fanciful and lively imagi- 
 nation. But the Gospel is the work of a mind cast in a very 
 different mould, the vein of his thought running in a deep 
 channel, with calmness on its surface and a gracious reliance 
 and loving spirit in its depths. Spiritual-mindedness of a 
 metaphysical order is the characteristic of the fourth Gospel. 
 
 Very different from this is the apocalyptic penman. Stem 
 and vengeful was his mind, and the fiery character of his 
 nature is depicted on every page of his work. The Messianic 
 kingdom was an outward reign.* " The righteous pray for 
 vengeance,! and are restored to life in the first resurrection, 
 that they may reign with Christ a thousand years," who is 
 victorious over all his enemies, and who conquers more by his 
 external power than by his redeeming and saving grace. 
 The nature of the evangelist is permeated by a philosophical 
 idealism, which bespeaks a mind skilled in the science of 
 morals and nature, and trained in a school of philosophy and 
 refinement. The sway of the Messiah is inward and spiritual. 
 His reign is in the heart and the affections. His kingdom is 
 a present possession to all believers, with no thought what- 
 ever of the millennium in the chilastic % view of the apostle as 
 rendered in the Revelations, whose animated and ardent spirit 
 is evinced in the manner in which he invokes vengeance on 
 imbelievers, pouring vials of wrath upon the despisers of 
 divine things, clothing his imagery with dragons, demoniacal 
 and lion-headed horses, scorpions with fire and smoke and 
 brimstone issuing from their mouths, all evidencing a ten- 
 dency of mind and thought altogether foreign to the sub- 
 jective symbolism of the evangelist. 
 
 In regard to the time of the Messianic kingdom a difference 
 exists between the book under examination and the other 
 apostolic writings as to the expected advent. John fixes the 
 space of a thousand years between the harvest of the earth 
 
 * Rev. XX. 4. t Rev. vi. 10. J Rev. xx. 7. 
 
 102 
 
THE BOOK OF JOB 
 
 and the full manifestation of Messianic reign. Paul pro- 
 claims Maran-atha, — " the day of the Lord is at hand ;" and 
 James counsels fortitude and patience, declaring that his 
 coming is near. The Epistle to the Hebrews and those of 
 Peter and Jude all place the reign of the Messiah in close 
 proximity to the final judgment. 
 
 J mo. 10. — Was wonderfully favored at meeting to-day 
 with a feeling sense of the condition of those present, and 
 by keeping close to the heavenly word was impelled to hand 
 forth in the power of truth the good things of life, counsel- 
 ling others 
 
 " To make that larger faith our own, 
 We must depend on God alone." 
 
 J mo. id. — In a careful perusal of the various Scriptures of 
 mankind we perceive the subjective often in strong contrast 
 to the objective view, as the spiritual kernel is to the sensuous 
 rind. We see in the oldest book of the Old Testament — the 
 book of Job — those frequent flashes of descriptive divine light 
 and wisdom. We read in Genesis that Enoch " walked with 
 God," and that when his years were ripe "God took him." 
 This is all that is told concerning Enoch. It is enough, for 
 we can fill up the interstices of such a perfect walk. We can 
 imagine the beginning and the end of such a life : 
 
 " Victorious he who walks with God ; 
 'Twas in this path that Enoch trod." 
 
 And herein, no doubt, he had his trials, as Jesus had his. 
 Our Saviour is often a man of sorrows. When we can say. 
 Thy will be done, then and only then a holy calm breaks in 
 upon the soul, and all is light. From over the centuries comes 
 the assuring language, " Be of good cheer, I have overcome 
 the world." In our tribulations, imperfections, and temp- 
 tations such thoughts as we find in the various books of the 
 Bible are soul-sustaining and comforting. And amid so much 
 that is outward and external in the book last criticised in 
 this journal — the Revelations — we find the deep and inward 
 
 103 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 gleams of heavenly good : " He that overcometh shall inherit 
 all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." 
 Here we doubtless have the words of Jesus that were treasured 
 up in the apostle's memory, which he has transmitted to us 
 as from the "Alpha and Omega" of the heavenly kingdom. 
 In this overcoming, strive, O my soul, amid the many hin- 
 dering things of time, ever remembering, — 
 
 " 'Tis alone of his appointing 
 
 That our feet on thorns have trod ; 
 Suffering, pain, renunciation 
 Only bring us nearer God. 
 
 " Strength sublime may arise from weakness, 
 Groans be turned to songs of praise ; 
 Nor are life's divinest labors 
 Only told by songs of praise." 
 
 3 mo. I/, First-Day. — Confined to the house to-day in con- 
 sequence of indisposition. 
 
 3 mo. i8. — Blessed the man who follows after the True 
 Light, for there are many false lights, and great is the danger 
 of being misled by them. We should therefore "watch," 
 and that continually; should so live in that inward and spir- 
 itual life that our souls may be attracted towards the highest 
 good. A prayerful desire is the wing upon which we can be 
 lifted unto Him. 
 
 Diverse and many are the means which He employs ; these 
 are as pointers upon roads which at times seem to cross each 
 other, all pointing unto Him. Many, indeed, are the mes- 
 sengers which are sent unto us, and how great the folly of 
 worshipping these messenger words, instead of directing all 
 our thoughts and all our aspirations unto the Giver of every 
 perfect gift. Herein has man in all ages so greatly erred, 
 prostrating himself so continually before the effect, instead of 
 directing his mind to the cause of all things. "He who 
 bathes in the stream should not forget the fountain." 
 
 Our Father has given us faculties for which we are re- 
 sponsible, — spiritual eyes to perceive spiritual truths. For 
 
 104 
 
WISDOM'S WAYS 
 
 these good gifts we are accountable unto Him, true peace of 
 mind only being found in that law of aflfinity in which He 
 alone is the great centre of attraction. Here is satisfaction 
 to be obtained for all the cravings of the immortal mind. 
 Follow not, then, after any spirit, no matter how high its 
 soarings may have been. Even though it may profess to 
 have come from the "seventh heavens," believe it not, if it 
 should seek to divert thy attention to itself and away from 
 the teachings of thy Father within thee. That spirit or that 
 man who interposes a shadow between thy soul and thy God 
 is not from Him. Be assured of this, for this would be inter- 
 cepting that perfect good which flows from the fountains 
 of eternal wisdom and truth unto thee. 
 
 Worship, then, Him alone as thy Lord and thy God, for 
 the human mind is so constituted that it must have an object 
 of adoration. Rely not, therefore, upon false lights, imperfect 
 truths, or bending reeds* How beautiful the faith of the 
 writer of the twenty-third Psalm: "Thy rod and thy staff 
 they comfort me." 
 
 And how useless it is to gather together for spiritual sus- 
 tenance that kind of food which perishes with the using. 
 Surely, a dependence upon the sensuous shells, perishing 
 creeds, and empty forms of religion but trammels the mind 
 and detracts the attention from that blessed communion 
 which illumines our pathway through the tribulations of this 
 imperfect state, raising the soul into the purer atmosphere of 
 heavenly love. 
 
 Herein wisdom's ways " are ways of pleasantness, and all 
 her paths are peace." To the single-eyed the path is a straight 
 and a plain one, nothing tortuous, devious, or mysterious in 
 truth's simple paths : " The way of holiness ; the unclean 
 shall not pass over it ; but it shall be for those : the way- 
 faring men, though fools, shall not err therein." 
 
 Thorns and briers may pierce and wound, but " instead of 
 thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall 
 come up the myrtle-tree." The road may lead over desolate 
 
 los 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 mountains, through dreary wastes, but at last the greenest of 
 valleys appear, wherein fountains of living water pour forth 
 their abundant supplies. These greet the eye and make glad 
 the heart. In the desert shall blossom " the rose of Sharon 
 and the lily of the valley." 
 
 Storms may prevail and clouds may gather together, ob- 
 scuring for a time the brightness of the blessed sunshine, for 
 
 " The power is with you in the night 
 That makes the darkness and the light, 
 And dwells not in the light alone." 
 
 The night seasons of the soul have their divine uses in the 
 heavenly economy. Amid storms and tempests the giant oak 
 deepens at the root. In the sevenfold heated furnace of afflic- 
 tion we learn patience and passivity. 
 
 But we should be passive only in the hands of the Heav- 
 enly Potter, and to no spirit but to His Holy Spirit should 
 we surrender the control of our spiritual being, for when 
 this is done the eye of the spiritual body becomes dimmed. 
 We cease to be single-eyed, our vision is clouded and double. 
 If occupying the position of leaders, we become as blind 
 leaders of the blind, and if in the leading-strings of faith, we 
 fall into the ditch of error. 
 
 If, however, we " patiently wait upon Jehovah," and abide 
 in that humility which true wisdom dictates, submitting to 
 His chastening dispensations, light will in due season break 
 forth, and we will be overshadowed by its glorious bright- 
 ness. Feeling the truth, we will rely upon it with all the 
 implicit confidence of a little child. 
 
 3 mo. 20. — I have been interested recently in reading the 
 articles of I. H. Dillingham, in the Friends' Review (Ortho- 
 dox), on the subject of New Testament literature, in which 
 he, as well as such writers as Tischendorf and Stowe, attempt 
 to throw Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, in the shade, and seem 
 to know more concerning him than the historian Eusebius, 
 writing about fourteen hundred years ago, and who quoted 
 
 io6 
 
PAPIAS 
 
 all he could find which was applicable to his history from the 
 work of Papias, calling it "An Exposition of the Oracles of 
 the Lord," in which were collected the traditions of trust- 
 worthy elders respecting the apostles and their writings. 
 Therein he states what he knew concerning Matthew and 
 Mark, but says naught concerning the writings of Luke or 
 John, except that the latter was the author of the Apocalypse, 
 from which he drew his millenarian ideas. And because 
 this early penman of the church cannot be made to prove the 
 fourth Gospel and the present status of the Synoptics, such 
 evangelical critics as I have cited would quietly dispose of 
 him, and set his " oracles," which Eusebius read, aside, treat- 
 ing his testimony very lightly, although the great church 
 historian states that Papias inquired accurately, " what John 
 said, or Matthew, or any of the Lord's disciples." Hence it 
 is impossible to conceive that if a gospel of an apostle of an 
 Asiatic church had been in existence it would have been 
 unnoticed by Papias, or, if noticed by him, would not have 
 been alluded to by Eusebius, especially as he passes by the 
 testimony of Papias, and cites a tradition of Clement Alex- 
 andrius in respect to John's Gospel, with the uncertain appel- 
 lation, " they say." 
 
 Much importance is assigned to Polycarp and Irenseus in 
 the article in the Review as witnesses for the present status of 
 gospel narrative. But, says Tischendorf, these distinguished 
 fathers were unacquainted with each other before a.d. 150, 
 and the epistle was not published till about 160, it being 
 written against the Marcionites, whose head flourished during 
 the latter half of the second century. 
 
 If the epistle ascribed to Polycarp be a genuine one, and it 
 is admitted on all hands to have been much mutilated and 
 corrupted, there is no allusion to the fourth Gospel in it, 
 which certainly could not have been the case had he known 
 of that w^ork, professing, as it does, to have been written by 
 his master. He may have cited i John iv. 3, but he cannot 
 be made a witness of a gospel by his old tutor, especially as 
 
 107 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 he is cited afterwards by Polycrates as authority for an 
 opinion directly at variance with this book. 
 
 The writer in the Review, as is common with our evangeli- 
 cal brethren generally, is loath to give up Justin Martyr as a 
 witness for the fourth Gospel, and, as I have said in "In- 
 dices," p. 67, in reference to his citations from the Gospels, 
 " In quoting from these writings, Justin refers to them as * the 
 records of the apostles,' and makes no mention of Matthew, 
 Mark, Luke, or John. From the first three he frequently 
 quotes passages familiar to us all, but refers to no text that 
 can be recognized as coming from the Gospel according to 
 John." He refers to the Apocalypse by the latter author, but 
 not to the fourth Gospel. The above quotation was penned 
 after a careful examination of Justin's works, in which he is 
 said to have cited the evangelists over four hundred times. 
 Since then I have read the works of the ablest and most con- 
 scientious of critics, and^find that they agree with my view. 
 
 It is alleged that there are several allusions to the fourth 
 Gospel by Justin. First, " For Christ himself said. Unless ye 
 be regenerated, ye .shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
 And that it is impossible for such as have been once born to 
 enter the wombs of their mothers is manifest to all" (John iii. 
 3-5)- 
 
 The coincidence is not verbal, neither in this citation nor 
 in any other. The ideas are the same, but the language is 
 different. The text in Matt, xviii. 3 is similar, the term 
 kingdom of heaven corresponding with that, instead of the 
 Johannine phrase, the kingdom of God. The fragments of 
 the different books which have come down to us, as well as 
 our gospels, prove a common source from which this thought 
 was derived. The Clementine homilies point to the gospel 
 according to the Hebrews. The phrase in the fourth Gospel 
 denotes more elaboration, — a higher development, a later re- 
 flectiveness, and that contemplative cast of thought , which 
 distinguishes its writer. He is spiritual, while Justin is sen- 
 suous in his view of regeneration. The former speaks of the 
 
 108 
 
JUSTIN 
 
 spirit, the latter of flesh. Had Justin patterned after the 
 evangelist, he would have been less objective in his view of 
 Christianity. 
 
 " We are called and are the true children of God" (John i. 
 12). There is nothing in this expression to warrant its as- 
 cription to the gospel, as the term " children of God" is a very 
 common scriptural phrase. 
 
 "As his blood did not arise from human seed, but from the 
 will of God" (John i. 13). Justin here alludes to Jesus, and 
 the evangelist to " the sons of God." The idea and the lan- 
 guage are different. 
 
 " For I say that he himself never did anything but what He 
 that made the world, above whom there is no other God, in- 
 tended that he should do and associate with" (John xii. 49). 
 The comparison in this text has the same analogy as in the 
 last extract quoted. 
 
 "And he suffered them to feel him, and showed them the 
 places of the nails in his hands." Luke xxiv. 39 : " Behold 
 my hand and my feet, that it is myself : handle me, and see," 
 etc. Jvistin may have had this text before him in the " Me- 
 moirs" from which he cited. 
 
 " Wishing to show this also (as he said, our habitation is in 
 heaven), that it is not impossible even for flesh to ascend into 
 heaven" (John xiv. 2). 
 
 " I am not Christ, but the voice of one crying," etc. By 
 consulting John i. 20-23 ^"^ Luke iii. 15 it will be seen that 
 the context points to the latter rather than the former, as the 
 language in Justin is used in reference to the general expecta- 
 tion of the people, and is it doing very doubtful service to the 
 cause of truth to assume that these words were taken from the 
 fourth Gospel when the language of Justin in all other places 
 is in direct contradiction to this assumption? 
 
 " He was an only-begotten Son of the Father of the uni- 
 verse, sprung from Him by a special act as His word and 
 power, and afterwards born a man through the virgin, as we 
 have learned from the records." The first and third "rec- 
 
 109 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 ords" are here alluded to. The title "only-begotten" is 
 synonymous with the language used by the Old Testament 
 writers, and the term "word" (Logos) was used long before 
 Justin, as he has shoivn. 
 
 There are other passages in his works which are claimed 
 to be derived from the fourth Gospel, but they are obscure 
 and never literal. The coincidence is very different. The 
 citations of this " father" from the " records" point to the 
 Synoptics; and from these "records" and the Apocalypse it 
 was that Justin received the opinion that Christ would return 
 and reign a thousand years in Jerusalem. Now, had he read 
 the fourth Gospel, he would have shown some of its peculiar 
 phases of thought, but though he appeals to John for his mil- 
 lenarian views, he never refers a sentiment to a gospel by the 
 same apostle. 
 
 That some of the views in Justin's works find an echo in 
 the fourth Gospel is not denied. They were the common 
 property of the age in which he lived. At the same time 
 there is an idiosyncrasy of thought and expression in that 
 production which stamps its individuality and characteristics 
 on the mind of every reader, — a well of deep thought, flowing 
 from a prolific fountain of metaphysical disquisition, which 
 has been, and is to-day, one great source of that dogma wor- 
 ship which exalts belief as the one needful thing. The 
 idiosyncrasy and peculiarity of this book is not found in 
 Justin's works. The inference, then, is a just one, that the 
 " records" which he had before him did not comprehend or 
 contain the fourth Gospel. 
 
 Again, as his knowledge of Jesus and apostolic times was 
 derived from these " records," and as these have been shown 
 to contain matter altogether different from the synoptic ac- 
 count, hence the certain evidence, patent to every inquirer, 
 that he drew from documents unlike any now existing. He 
 may have drawn information from one of the sources from 
 which the fourth Gospel was derived, for there is much in it 
 which is, doubtless, not only apostolic, but also truly edifying, 
 
 no 
 
JUSTIN'S LOGOS IDEA 
 
 spiritual, and exalting in sentiment and feeling, and contains 
 likewise much from Jesus. 
 
 Many are the reasons which tend to demonstrate and sup- 
 port the conclusion that Justin had no knowledge of the 
 fourth Gospel. 
 
 His ignorance of the remarkable signs there recorded is 
 very evident, for he has not cited them. His version of the 
 cleansing of the temple does not agree with the fourth, but 
 with the first Gospel. The status which he assigns to Jesus is 
 as that depicted by the Synoptists. He is " a carpenter when 
 among men, making ploughs and yokes, by which he taught 
 both the tokens of righteousness and activity of life." Thus 
 he has growth, as other men, and John baptizes him. Very 
 different this view from that in the fourth Gospel, in which he 
 is developed into the idealised Logos "proceeding from" 
 heaven, and clad in the habiliments of flesh, a doctrine not 
 found in Justin, his Logos idea being an entirely different 
 conception, as is evident to the most casual reader. His 
 thought is more in accordance with the Synoptics, and he 
 does not adduce from the prologue of the fourth Gospel a 
 single sentence in support of his view. 
 
 He seems to have had no acquaintance with the extended 
 discourses of Jesus, which are one of the peculiarities of that 
 GriDspel. The words of Jesus, he says, " were short and con- 
 cise, for he was not a sophist" clearly alluding to the terse 
 and compact sayings recorded by the Synoptists. He also 
 follows after these in his view of the one year's duration of the 
 ministry. Neither does he allude to the marked and peculiar 
 phraseology of "the Gospel according to John," in reference 
 to the Paraclete or Comforter, or to that most truthful and 
 most significant saying, " God is a spirit : and they that wor- 
 ship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Justin had 
 evidently imbibed the Old Testament idea, and speaks of the 
 " shape of God." He clearly feasted on shells, symbols, and 
 types, his soul had not penetrated the arcanum of truth, and 
 for his Christology he drew not on the last evangelical writer, 
 
 III 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 or he would have mentioned him. Especially as he was ad- 
 dressing Gentiles in the hope of converting them; and this 
 gospel would have been very appropriate to the class among 
 whom he was seeking proselytes, in consequence of its uni- 
 versality. Justin also, with the Synoptists, places the cruci- 
 fixion on the isth of Nisan in opposition to the fourth Gospel. 
 
 This book would have commended itself to such minds as 
 Marcion and Justin. And had they known of it, they would 
 have undoubtedly cited it. Their not doing so, is very clear 
 proof that it did not exist in their time, — i.e., from 140 to 150; 
 or that it was a secret book, not yet published, and still in 
 the archives of the Essenian brotherhood. 
 
 The article in the Friends' Review cites Celsus, Valentinus, 
 Basilides, and the apocryphal gospels of the infancy and the 
 protevangel of James as witnesses for the fourth Gospel. 
 
 Of Celsus we know nothing, except through Origen. Bret- 
 schneider points out that the passages in Origen's works are 
 doubtful as to a certain allusion to John's gospel and Liicke 
 says Davidson candidly allows that Celsus may not have read 
 the gospel. " Let him," he says (Origen here speaks of Cel- 
 sus as a contemporary, in the present tense), "first give 
 grounds for his assumption." 
 
 Valentinus (a.d. 140) is also alluded to as a witness by the 
 writer in the Review, although he gives no reason therefor. 
 His gospel was called the gospel of truth, and we have naught 
 but a few quotations from works ascribed to him. Hippol3?tus 
 is relied upon in stating the doctrine of this sect : " Therefore, 
 he says, the Saviour says, 'All that came before me are 
 thieves and robbers.' " (John x. 8.) Now the author does 
 not profess that Valentinus used this citation himself, or say 
 that he found it in any of his works. Hence he cannot be em- 
 ployed as available evidence for the existence of the fourth 
 Gospel in his day, and the most enlightened critics are of the 
 opinion that there is no valid reason for the belief that this 
 " heretic," as he was styled by that great heretic-maker, Epi- 
 phanius, had any knowledge of a gospel by John. 
 
 112 
 
D. T. MOODY 
 
 For what we know of Basilides we are principally indebted 
 to the Philosophoumena, or " Refutation of all Heresies," the 
 discovery of which is of recent times (1842, in Greece) and is 
 so vague in its character as not to be relied on in reference to 
 phraseology. It seems that Basilides had a gospel of his own. 
 He held it to be beneath the dignity of God to create the 
 world, — i.e., evil, — and that it was accomplished by angels. 
 
 The citations from him in the Philosophoumena as to the 
 fourth Gospel are based upon an indefinite " he says," which 
 is used in relation to the Basilidian sect, who were following 
 him when Hippolytus wrote. This is the view of the best 
 critics. 
 
 J mo. 21. — To-day our mid-week meeting was held. I tried 
 to feel that I could remain at home, as the day was very 
 blitstery, the distance considerable (about four and a half 
 miles), and I had not entirely recovered my health. But just 
 before the hour for getting ready arrived, I was impressed 
 that it was my duty to attend, and again had additional con- 
 firmation that such impressions are divine in their character. 
 
 The meeting was quite a large one, in consequence of D. 
 T. Moody, the great revivalist, of Chicago, one of the leaders 
 of the Young Men's Christian Association, having desired 
 last First-day to have the privilege to sit with Friends, which 
 request was granted. Both he and John Wanamaker ad- 
 dressed the meeting. I also had considerable to communicate 
 in reference to the spirituality of true religion, and was won- 
 derfully favored, so thought my friends, and so also it seemed 
 to me. Thus confirmation upon confirmation is furnished to 
 my soul that God has called me to speak in His Holy Name. 
 O that I may never be tempted to utterance in the assemblies 
 of the people only as the divine life is brought forth, " not of 
 blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but 
 of God!" 
 
 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is 
 stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." Again, we 
 read that Ruth was " steadfastly minded." , I hope that our 
 8 113 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 liberality in listeiiing to what our Kethian brethren have to 
 say may not prove a stumbling-block to any mind among us. 
 We are evideritly doing unto them as they would not do uiito 
 us, in thus opening our doors to their ministry. 
 
 J mo. 2j. — In reference to the treatise of Hippolytus, who 
 iivas a contemporary and friend of Origen, it in itself is valid 
 evidence that the fourth Gospel was introduced into Rome in 
 the time in which he wrote, about a.d. 230, for in the dispute 
 which arose in that city the majority sided with their bishop, 
 Callistus, and hereticated the Logos doctrine of that gospel of 
 a God of a God. This was resisted as an innovation by the 
 brethren, — considered as bitheism* — and Hippolytus fell into 
 disfavor with the Roman bishops, Callistus and Zephyrinus. 
 
 In his church history, Schafif considers that he headed a dis- 
 affected party, and tradition relates that he returned to the 
 Communion again and finally suffered martyrdom about a.d. 
 236. 
 
 Buiisen says, in reference to the Philosophoumena, "In 
 many articles of the sixth, seventh, and eighth books, in par- 
 ticular, we have an abstract only of the text of Hippolytus." 
 He also speaks of "the incomplete state of some other ar- 
 ticles." Davidson considers it surprising that this estimable 
 scholar should have been so blinded in his view of the books 
 concerning Basilides and Valentihus, as if they were complete, 
 falstely "resting upon the precariousness of a he says, loosely 
 employed throughout." 
 
 Although Valentinus and Basilides had not the fourth Gos- 
 pel, yet thieir disciples seemed to have been much pleased 
 with it, and some critics are of the opinion that it was pro- 
 duced by some follower of the former, and that Heracleon, 
 who wrote a commentary on it (fragments of which Origen 
 preserved), for the purpose of introducing the gospel to the 
 orthodox church, thus resorted to an artifice to effect the 
 object he had in view. 
 
 * Philosophoumena, p. 422. 
 114 
 
PROFESSOR FISKE 
 
 The time in which this treatise was published has occa- 
 sioned much discussion. Davidson says Tischendorf's date 
 has been disproved by Schotten and Volkmar. He was prob- 
 ably a contemporary of Origen. Ptolemy, a Gnostic also, 
 who wrote an epistle to Flora, according to Epiphanius, cites 
 the words of John i. 2, 3 as the apostle's. But it seems the 
 latter text is very corrupt in the place in which the epistle is 
 mentioned, and that it is uncertain whether the words in pa- 
 rentheses are Epiphanius's or Ptolemy's. It is noticeable that 
 the name of John does not occur in Origen's fragments con- 
 cerning Heracleon. 
 
 Valentinus, Basilides, and their immediate school did not 
 use the fourth Gospel to prove their theory of ceons, Logos, 
 grace, truth, life, only-begotten, etc. They used the Pauline 
 epistles, and the traditions written and otherwise current at 
 their time. They had gospels of their own. Both Jerome 
 and Ambrose speak of such, considering them to be apocry- 
 phal. Thus it was in the early church that the different sects 
 considered themselves at liberty to accept or reject the 
 " many" * lives of Jesus that were in circulation, some, as 
 the Carpocratians, rejecting them all, holding Jesus to have 
 been the son of Joseph; that the traditions concerning him 
 were uncertain, and that the essentials of salvation which he 
 taught were " faith, love, and charity." 
 
 In regard to the fourth Gospel, says Professor Fiske, of 
 Harvard College,! " If there is any one conclusion concerning 
 the New Testament literature which must be regarded as in- 
 controvertibly established by the labors of a whole generation 
 of scholars, it is this, that this gospel was utterly unknown till 
 about A.D. 170; that it was written by some one who pos- 
 sessed very little direct knowledge of Palestine," etc. Not- 
 withstanding this fact, we have free citations from it in our 
 own Society, and, among others, for the purpose of expound- 
 ing dogma, definition, and creed. The truths there illustrated 
 
 * Luke i. I and John xxi. 25. t Indices, p. 66. 
 
 IIS 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 are God's truths, and it matters not who uttered them; but 
 let the truth be told, and let history be vindicated, that no un- 
 due authority may shackle any mind. I have thought that 
 the text John vii. i8 pointed to the authorship of this book: 
 "He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but 
 he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, 
 and no unrighteousness is in him." The sentiment is not 
 only renunciatory, but also apologetic. The author's motive 
 was a good one; virtuous and equitable were his intentions. 
 The lives of Jesus were many. Our author, no doubt, drew 
 from memoranda left by the apostle. And tradition to this 
 efifect was in circulation in ancient times. " No unrighteous- 
 ness" was therefore in him, because he told what he esteemed 
 to be elevating and ennobling in sentiment, calculated to meet 
 the wants of the times, and to reconcile the various parties in 
 the church. Its author's object was fulfilled, his work was 
 appreciated, and all parties became in a short time after 
 its publication reconciled to its exalting and purifying senti- 
 ments. In chapter xvi. 25 John speaks of himself : " These 
 things have I spoken unto you in parables,"- — i.e., closed 
 words. 
 
 The Gnostics could not object to its mysterious spiritualism 
 illuminating, as it did, the theosophy of the divine nature by 
 its metaphysical attractiveness. Its promise of the paraclete 
 who would lead into all truth satisfied the Montanists, and it 
 soon grew into favor with the catholic church, because it was 
 spiritual, and at the same time tangible and objective in its 
 application: " But these are written, that ye might believe that 
 Jesus is the Christ, thfe Son of God; and that believing ye 
 might have life through his name." 
 
 The Valentinian system of (Eons and syzygies could not ob- 
 ject to its Logos theory, and its anti- Jewish feeling exhibited 
 a conciliatory tone towards the Quartodecimans in that it har- 
 monized theory with their practice. As a compromise, it was 
 welcomed by all the conflicting elements of the now more 
 widely extended brotherhood, and Paulinism again went re- 
 
 116 
 
AN EXPERIENCE 
 
 joicing on its way in that universalism which was to extend 
 the gospel to all nations and to all people. 
 
 3 mo. 24. — First-day's meeting was a large and highly 
 favored one. I received a letter from the wife of a much re- 
 spected Friend, which contained such wholesome and feeling 
 counsel that I give an extract place herein that I may the 
 more remember the sentiments its writer expressed : 
 
 "As I have been busily employed over my butter, my mind was so 
 deeply and earpejtly engaged in heartfelt desire for thy growth and en- 
 couragement in the great work thou hast entered upon, that I felt that I 
 could scarcely refrain from expressing a few more words in addition to 
 what I said yesterday, for, as I told thee, I was so engaged in thy behalf 
 that my own soul seemed to be lifted in a purer air, and my whole being 
 flowed in thankfulness to the Great Author in the full faith that in pro- 
 portion as he had at times blessed me with a deeper and more sensible 
 feeling of His love when my mind was earnestly engaged for the good 
 of others, although they knew it not, in that same proportion thou must 
 know of this blessing when thou art humble enough to carry food of the 
 Master's giving in its purity. As I have looked at thy God-given abili- 
 ties this morning, I have rejoiced that thou wast willing to employ them 
 in this cause. There are teachers abroad, but they are blind, bigoted, 
 and narrow. Eye thy Leader, and when thou receives! a message, 
 give it in its freshness. It will be as dew upon the parched grass, and 
 none can measure the deep feeling of thankfulness that will flow in on 
 thy own spirit." 
 
 3 mo. 25. — In our monthly meeting to-day the desires of 
 my precious friend seemed in regard to myself to have been 
 answered in a marvellous degree, and heavenly good was 
 poured in upon my soul, and I was enabled to minister to 
 states and conditions in the humility of a little child. With 
 many of the olden time I can say, " My soul doth magnify the 
 Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." 
 
 3 mo. 26. — Received through sister Mary the copy of an 
 essay which I wrote for their lyceum some twenty-four years 
 ago, and, as an evidence of the condition of my mind at that 
 time, I give it place in this journal. For many years I was a 
 worshipper at the shrine of nature, and herein I was faithful 
 in a degree to the light which I had received, but dwelling 
 too much on outward things, my mind was necessarily not 
 
 117 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 sufficiently centred on that inward teacher, God in the soul, 
 from which I can trace all the follies and errata of my life. 
 And to-day I have again fallen and again sinned against light 
 and knowledge, and I, who have been called to be a witness 
 and servant of others, am again in danger of becoming a 
 castaway. The following is my essay, — viz. : 
 
 " The contemplation and observation of nature is one of the 
 most ennobling and exalting subjects which can occupy the 
 attention and engross the mind of a rational intelligent being. 
 
 " In considering this theme the thought presents itself. 
 What is nature? We answer. The workmanship of God. 
 His thoughts. His works transcribed, not on parchment, 
 written not on paper, but transcribed on a universe and 
 written on everything therein contained. 
 
 " To study nature, in the words of a distinguished author, 
 ' is to seek for the will of God in a book written by the very 
 hand of God. There no errors, no falsifications are possible, 
 the verification is universal, and the book which contains it 
 opens itself resplendent with glory beneath the eyes of the 
 human race.' 
 
 " How strangely, how perversely have men neglected this 
 great and important study in the fulfilment of their various re- 
 lations of life, in their theology, in their practical relations, 
 and in their treatment of themselves ! And as a consequence 
 of this violation of nature's laws, — for to neglect to study her 
 laws is a violation of those laws, — they have built up for 
 themselves systems, false systems, which are as blind leaders 
 of the blind. Ah ! how little faith men place in nature and 
 nature's laws ! This is evident in their various systems, as 
 see the dogmas, the mysteries, the absurdities with which they 
 have enveloped that plainest of all God's requirements, re- 
 ligion. 
 
 "In the structure of their government, too, their efforts 
 seem mainly directed towards the lower feelings of our na- 
 ture, neglecting almost entirely those higher powers which 
 distinguish us from the brute. Look again, and we behold 
 
 ii8 
 
"THE BODY OF CHRIST" 
 
 war, slavery, aristocratic distinctions, and many other enor- 
 mities, which are perpetuated under the name of ' necessity.' 
 And in the treatment of themselves physically, how little faith 
 they evince in the curative power of nature, — ^the ' vis medi- 
 catrix nature!' True it is, that 
 
 "All things are weighed in custom's falsest scale, 
 
 Opinion, an omnipotence, whose veil 
 Mantles the earth with darkness, until right 
 
 And wrong are accidents and men grow pale 
 Lest their own judgments should beam too bright. 
 And their free thoughts be crimes, and earth have too much light." 
 
 At our late monthly meeting in a marked degree did spir- 
 itual songs and heavenly anthems ascend unto the paradise 
 of God. 
 
 " Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." 
 This body of believers is a spiritual body, and all forms of 
 religion into which this does not enter, on which it is not 
 engrafted, are but as dead forms, from which the vital spark 
 has fled. 
 
 Our souls must be fed upon spiritual food, must be grati- 
 fied with spiritual sensations and spiritual communion; and, 
 in order that this may be experienced, it is absolutely neces- 
 sary that worldly associations and affiliations for the time 
 being have no place in the mind. For if a mixed multitude 
 of thoughts intrtide, God is not present with us in the inner 
 spiritual relation. There is no communion with Him while 
 the mind is in such a condition, and, consequently, no com- 
 munion of spirit one with another. 
 
 It has been proved by the experience of thousands that 
 though this converse can be held between God and the human 
 soul while engaged in the busy pursuits of life, yet the enjoy- 
 ment and transports are greatly heightened and increased 
 when those who have spiritual affinity and spiritual attraction 
 one with another are assembled together, having mind and 
 thought centred upon the great source of all spiritual being 
 and sustainment. 
 
 119 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Thus we become as helpmates one to another, love in our 
 hearts, and heaven in our aspirations, for as mind can hold 
 loving intercourse with mind, even so can soul with soul. 
 And thus we can assist in building one another up in those 
 things that pertain to our eternal welfare. Though not one 
 word may have been uttered, virtue has " gone out," as in the 
 case of the woman who touched the clothing of Jesus; but 
 our souls will be again replenished by those unseen but 
 ever-flowing fountains of divine love which are our Father's 
 peculiar gift to all His obedient and loving children. 
 
 J mo. 28. — Since Third-day morning my spirit has been in 
 a depressed condition, in which divine favor has been in a de- 
 gree withheld, and I might ignorantly say with Naomi of old, 
 " I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again 
 empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath 
 testified against me, and the Almighty hath afHicted me?" 
 But in my case the observation is caused by my having given 
 v/ay to my impetuous feelings, sinning against light and 
 knowledge. Thus my own folly has produced a partial 
 eclipse of the inshining light of divine grace, and I must, 
 as Job Scott has recorded in his journal, strive after the 
 condition to which James Thornton alluded when he said, 
 " True patience is a divine succor, a gift, a thing to be felt, 
 supporting the mind." 
 
 Before I arose from my bed this morning my conviction 
 was renewed in the belief that " God is light, and in him is 
 no darkness at all," and that the temporary or permanent 
 eclipse of this light is by reason of our placing our own im- 
 perfections between the soul and its divine Author. And it 
 makes no difference whether this is done wilfully or igno- 
 rantly. If in the latter case, the fault is still our own, because 
 the neglect to study the laws of creative wisdom is a violation 
 of those laws, either in the physical or spiritual revelation. 
 By inattention to the inner word of life, whether acquainted 
 with its laws of operation or the contrary, we produce a 
 shadow, — a depression over our own spirits. We cause an 
 
THE PROVIDENCE OF LOVE 
 
 obstruction in the current of the love and the life of God in 
 the soul, and herein let no man charge Him foolishly. " Doth 
 a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and 
 bitter?" 
 
 It matters not what it is that we intrude between Him and 
 the soul which He has created. If it be superstition in any of 
 its forms, it is evil and evil only in its effects, as Isaac Pen- 
 ington has so forcibly expressed the thought : " Poor man, 
 having lost the life, what should he do ? He can do no other, 
 but cry up the letter, and make as good shift with it as he 
 can, though his soul the meanwhile is starved, and lies in 
 famine and death for want of the bread of life, and a wrong 
 thing is fed." 
 
 " Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to deso- 
 lation; and a house divided against a house falleth." Two 
 opposite and incongruous elements cannot be commingled to- 
 gether without affecting the nature of each constituent. 
 
 J mo. 31, First-Day. — ^At home. In the afternoon attended 
 the funeral of a neighbor, who had been intemperate. The 
 day was stormy, and as I stood at the grave two of the 
 stanzas of Whittier's " Psalm of Life" seemed to well up in 
 the mind, but'I felt doubtful as to giving expression to them, 
 mainly for the reason that I had thought of them before I 
 came to the funeral, and therefore hesitated until too late, and 
 herein I erred. They are beautiful and significant : 
 
 " The more and more the providence 
 Of love is understood, 
 Making the springs of life and sense 
 Sweet with eternal good. 
 
 " That death seems but a covered way 
 Which leadeth unto life, 
 Wherein no erring child can stray 
 Beyond his Father's sight." 
 
 4 mo. 4. — Mid-week meeting to-day. Was silent therein, 
 and though filled with a sense of my great unworthiness, yet 
 felt the circulation of the life and love of God as from vessel 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 to vessel. A beautiful sunset this evening. " One sun by 
 day; by night ten thousand shine, to light us to infinity." 
 Innumerable are the glories and splendors with which we are 
 surrounded in the outward creation, in the heavens above, and 
 in the earth beneath our feet. But enrapturing and elevating 
 as are these, still more so is that inward joy and felicity which 
 is the happy experience of every soul that is devoted to God 
 and to the enlargement of His kingdom. The desire of my 
 heart has been this day that I may become more and more 
 dedicated to Him. To be His servant, living in and enjoying 
 His world, with no thought of self-glorification, but simply to 
 do His will, thus, and thus only, can we become instrumental 
 in the great cause of righteousness in the world. For I am 
 renewedly convinced that of ourselves we can do nothing. 
 We should never think that we can live in God by our efforts 
 or strength, but should always look to Him, depending on 
 Him for assistance and beatitude in time of trouble as in time 
 of joy. Thus we will find that His grace is sufficient, yea, in 
 its fulness much more than sufficient for all mortal ills, trials, 
 and tribulations. 
 
 4 mo. 5. — While engaged in sowing grass-seed this morning 
 my soul was melted in tenderness in the consideration of 
 God's great love, and under a holy covering of feeling and 
 revealment of spirit all doubts in relation to the ultimate sal- 
 vation and happiness of the human family passed away from 
 my mind,* and I lamented my want of faith at the funeral last 
 First-day in not giving expression to my belief in this saving 
 power and infinite providence of Almighty Goodness to the 
 souls of His children, in that He will allot to each of them a 
 mansion suited to their condition, tending towards their ad- 
 vancement in a future state of existence. 
 
 I also saw that we could only dwell in God whilst we dwelt 
 in love, and that this was the touchstone and the test wherein 
 all professors of religion could determine their respective 
 
 * See George Fox's Journal, vol. i. p. 98. 
 
DR. WATTS 
 
 states and conditions : " If we could love one another, God 
 dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us." Again, 
 " God is love ; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, 
 and God in him." 
 
 How monstrous is the creed of Christendom' in that it 
 transforms Him into a God of wrath. Undei; this; delusion 
 Dr. Watts, who has composed so many beautiful hymns, 
 could say, — 
 
 " His nostrils breathe forth fiery streams, 
 He's a consuming fire ; 
 His jealous eyes his wrath inflame, 
 And raise his vengeance higher." 
 
 Influenced by this iniquitous creed, David Brainerd, the 
 missionary to the Indians, tormented himself, and also the 
 poor Indians, as we read in that most admirable and edifying 
 spiritual journal which he kept for many years, and which 
 after his demise was edited by Jonathan Edwards, the great 
 theologian of New England. How many evidences there 
 are in this journal of God's great love and light, tenderly 
 drawing him away from the delusions of a false theology ! 
 
 Under the date of July 12, 1739, is recorded a remarkable 
 experience : 
 
 " Having been thus endeavoring to pray — though, as I thought, very 
 stupid and senseless — for near half an hour; then, as I was walking 
 in a dark, thick grove, unspeakable glory seemed to open to the view 
 and apprehension of my soul. I do not mean any external brightness, 
 for I saw no such thing; nor do I intend any imagination of a body of 
 light, somewhere in the third heavens, or anything of that nature. But 
 it was a new inward apprehension or view that I had of God, such as I 
 never had before, nor anything which had the least resemblance of it. 
 I stood still, wondered, and admired! I knew that I never had seen 
 before anything comparable to it for excellency and beauty. It was 
 widely different from all conceptions that I had of God or things divine. 
 I had no particular apprehensions of any one person in the Trinity, either 
 the F^her, the Son, or the Holy Ghost; but it appeared to be divine 
 GLORY. My, soul rejoiced with joy unspeakable to see such a God, such 
 a glorious divine Being, and I was inwardly pleased and satisfied that 
 He should be God over all for ever and ever. My soul was so captivated 
 and delighted with the excellency, loveliness, greatness, and other per- 
 
 123 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 fection of God, that I had no thought (as I remember) at first about my 
 own salvation, and scarce recollected that there was such a creature as 
 myself." 
 
 Notwithstanding this most wonderful illumination, wherein 
 God was most lovingly leading this most sincere and self- 
 denying man to the appreciation of the oneness of His nature 
 and the universality of His love, yet we find him several years 
 later, after his ordination, wherein he was examined as to his 
 "acquaintance zvith Christianity," worrying himself that 
 " there are no words in the Indian language to answer to our 
 English words ' Lord, Saviour, salvation, sinner, justice, con- 
 demnation, faith, repentance, justification, adoption, sanctift- 
 catidn,' " etc. And instead of speaking of the Great Spirit, 
 and His great love to His red and His white children, he 
 propounded catechisms, in which it was taught that "we 
 are sinners by nature." To convince them of this, to which 
 they objected, he called their attention to the little childish 
 ways of their children. While he was thus attempting to 
 pervert their minds, he complains that their little ones " fre- 
 quently cried to such a degree that I could scarcely be heard, 
 and their pagan mothers would take no manner of care to 
 quiet them." 
 
 In his diary he speaks of the trouble which he had with 
 
 " several of the Indians newly come here, who had frequently lived among 
 Quakers, and being more civilized and conformed to English manners 
 than the generality of the Indians, they had imbibed some of the Quakers' 
 errors, especially this fundamental one, — viz., that if men will but live 
 soberly and honestly, according to the dictates of their own consciences, 
 or light within, there is then no danger or doubt of their salvation. These 
 persons I found much worse to deal with than those wholly under pagan 
 darkness." 
 
 This eminently good man, in his diary, complains much of 
 his "barrenness, want of holy confidence in God, stupidity, 
 wanderings of mind," etc., a condition evidently partly in- 
 duced by the gloomy " Calvinistic scheme" which Edwards, in 
 his " Memoirs of Brainerd," says that " he applied to his 
 heart," and in which he contrasts his " Christian devotion 
 
 124 
 
MEMOIRS OF BRAINERD 
 
 with Arminian conversion or repentance," challenging them 
 to " produce an instance within this age of such a reformation, 
 such a transformation of a man to Scriptural devotion," 
 etc. 
 
 Brainerd's death was a triumphant one, and in a letter to 
 his brother John, written a short time before that event, he 
 gives him admirable counsel on the subject of " heat without 
 light" in religion, stigmatizing this as a "fiend of hell, that 
 always springs up with every revival of religion, and stabs 
 and murders the cause of God, while it passes current with 
 multitudes of well-meaning people for the height of religion." 
 
 President Edwards, in his " Memoirs of Brainerd," p. 434, 
 makes this remarkable statement concerning him : " Nor do I 
 find any one instance in all the records which he has left of 
 his own life, from beginning to end, of joy excited from a sup- 
 posed immediate witness of the Spirit. . . . No new objective 
 revelations, no sudden, strong suggestions of secret facts." 
 This learned theologian seems to rejoice in that he could 
 discover in the diary which he edited no evidence of the im- 
 mediate revelations of God's free grace to Brainerd's soul, 
 considering that all such communication from God to man 
 had ceased eighteen hundred years ago, or when the canon of 
 Scriptures was closed. 
 
 I do not, however, so read the diary, especially before his 
 ordination, in which his ejaculation and desires are frequent 
 for communion with God: 
 
 " My soul," he says, " breathed after God, and pleaded with Him 
 that a double portion of that spirit which was given to Elijah might rest 
 on me. . . . Had but little sensible communion with God. This world 
 is a dark and cloudy mansion. Oh, when will the Sun of Righteousness 
 shine on my soul without intermission !" 
 
 He often complains of having to preach at stated times 
 wherein the truths he uttered were unfelt truths, and a tenable 
 system and form of religion it is that renders this compulsory. 
 In the course of his journal he often notes when the contrary 
 of this was the case, as, for instance, p. 165 : 
 
 125 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " I was much assisted in preaching. I know not that ever God helped 
 me to preach in a more close and distinguished manner for the trial of 
 men's state. Through infinite goodness / felt what I spoke." 
 
 Brainerd was much persecuted before his ordination, and 
 his 'degree was for a considerable time withheld from him. 
 He evidently had cause to complain when he said, — 
 
 " Oh, the pride, selfishness, hypocrisy, ignorance, bitterness, party zeal, 
 and the want of love, candor, meekness, and gentleness that have attended 
 my attempts to promote religion and virtue ; and this when I had reason 
 to hope that I had real assistance from above and some sweet intercourse 
 with heaven." 
 
 Had his degree been finally withheld, it would, no doubt, 
 have greatly tended to deepen his growth in that spiritual 
 kingdom which he so much desired, and to have weaned his 
 mind from that Calvinistic scheme of salvation which was evi- 
 dently the bane of his life, and thus his free spirit might have 
 soared in that blessed liberty in which we read is the spirit of 
 the Lord. 
 
 4 mo. /. — ^Attended the circular meeting held at Quaker- 
 town to-day, whither I felt it right to go, though much in the 
 cross. After speaking a short time therein, the life was sud- 
 denly withdrawn, and I took my seat in confusion and great 
 suffering, which I thought at the time was caused by my not 
 doing so in the midst of an incomplete sentence; but I was 
 soon introduced into sympathy with a condition which was 
 present in the meeting, and had again to stand upon my feet, 
 and was enabled with much feeling and power to address the 
 individual state of a young man who was visited by heavenly 
 grace. Thus was demonstrated also to my mind with great 
 clearness the reason why I was led to attend the circular 
 meeting, and can testify that, though such baptisms are 
 humiliating to the natural man, yet can ascribe unto my good 
 and kind Father praises and thanksgiving for evermore. 
 that I may be willing to render unto Him all that I possess, 
 mind, will, thought, word, and works, all, all unto the great 
 Giver of every good and perfect gift! 
 
 126 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 4ino. 8. — Twenty-five years ago to-day since we were mar- 
 ried. How many dear friends who were present on that oc- 
 casion have passed away from this state of mutabihty, and 
 are now, doubtless, in a condition wherein they can more 
 perfectly fulfil and comprehend the object and design of ex- 
 istence ! 
 
 4 mo. II. — At mid-week meeting had a close testimony to 
 deliver on the subject of love. Instanced the different offer- 
 ings of Cain and Abel, both offerings of value, — the firstlings 
 of the flock and the fruit of the ground, — and yet the first was 
 accepted and the latter rejected, because evil was in Cain's 
 heart, and this soon ripened into murder. Love and love 
 only was in the heart of Abel. This He who discerns the 
 secret movements of the mind accepted as a perfect offering ; 
 and unless our souls are attuned to the heavenly symphony of 
 divine love, we cannot expect His blessing to rest upon us. 
 
 4 mo. 12. — At Media to-day on a painful errand. Terrible, 
 terrible is the vice of intemperance! How difficult are its 
 victims to control, and how mischievous is the idea that sub- 
 stantial, reliable strength is derived from aught besides the 
 perfect digestion of plain, nutritious food ! all else is but ficti- 
 tious and transient. Much worse than useless is that form of 
 strength and temporary power which is found in alcoholic 
 beverages in any of their forms. 
 
 4 mo. 14. — Was led at meeting to-day to illustrate the evils 
 of a paid ministry, but, I trust, in that spirit of charity which 
 thinketh not evil of a brother. The system is a bad one, and 
 much better would it be if those who feel called to minister to 
 the condition of others earned their living at some honest 
 trade or business. 
 
 I felt called to address an individual state on this subject, 
 which I felt was present, and after meeting was encouraged 
 by a person, who owned the testimony as adapted to him, and 
 that he felt strengthened in relation to doubts which had pre- 
 vailed with him on this subject. 
 
 4 mo. 20. — " I^et patience have her perfect work" is an in- 
 
 127 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 junction which I have had cause to-day to desire may more 
 and more be remembered each day of my hfe, and that faith 
 may work patience in my mind and heart, giving not too 
 much thought to the unrecallable past, as Campbell has so 
 beautifully said : 
 
 " That they awake not the sigh of remembrance again ; 
 To bear is to conquer our fate." 
 
 This great virtue is necessary not only in the considerations 
 of errors of the past in ourselves or others, but also in the 
 trials and conflicts with which each passing moment may be 
 teeming and full of momentous considerations and conse- 
 quences to the welfare of body and soul. To faithfully fulfil 
 the duties of the present is all that can be required of us, 
 leaving the consequences entirely in the hands of Him who 
 ruleth all things aright. 
 
 4 mo. 21, First-Day. — Was silent in this morning's meeting. 
 The gospel was preached by my friend Mary Lewis. After 
 meeting she said that she felt that I had something to say 
 which was kept back. This was true. But the cause seemed 
 to be not unfaithfulness on my part, but the great desire on 
 the part of the people to call me out in expression, and this 
 desire seemed to check the flow of the gospel current and to 
 cause depression of spirit, though my soul was filled with love 
 and peace. In the afternoon attended the circular meeting at 
 Byberry, where a very large concourse of people had assem- 
 bled, and had taken my seat but a very short time before I 
 felt it my duty to arise, and the divine life of the blessed truth 
 seemed to prevail in an extraordinary manner. Great free- 
 dom was experienced in commenting on the first chapter of 
 the fourth Gospel : " In the beginning was the Word,* and the 
 Word was with God, and the Word was God ;" that secondary 
 means were as " a man sent from God, whose name was John," 
 and that the reason why the first dispensation was not efifect- 
 ual was because " the darkness comprehended it not." We 
 
 * Logos. 
 128 
 
PHILO 
 
 read that John bore witness that " He that cometh after me is 
 preferred before me; for he was before me." 
 
 The fourth Gospel is clearly a similitude, and was never 
 intended by its author as a biography, and hence he pays so 
 little regard to the line of history as developed by the Synop- 
 tics. He evidently alludes to them (iv. 44) : " For Jesus him- 
 self testified, that a prophet hath no honor in his own coun- 
 try." But he follows not after them as to the historical de- 
 tails as rendered by them, as they are not adapted to his 
 purpose, which it is very clear to my mind was mainly to 
 represent the progress of truth in the individual and in the 
 world. 
 
 " The Spirit of truth," or that spiritual life which is Christ, 
 is personified by the principle in which Jesus dwelt, and which 
 is clearly not confined to him : "And I will pray the Father, 
 and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide 
 with you for ever ; even the Spirit of truth ; whom the world 
 cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : 
 but ye know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in 
 you." 
 
 The evangelist's theme is foreshadowed by the prologue 
 (i. 1-18), and its substance is denoted in xviii. 37: "To this 
 end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that 
 I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of 
 the truth heareth my voice," — i.e., " the Spirit of truth." 
 
 The blessedness of belief in the word of God which was 
 in the beginning is most significantly pointed to in xx. 29: 
 " Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." 
 
 The evangelist evidently belonged to the school described 
 
 by Philo : * 
 
 "They expound the sacred writings by obscure, allegorical, and fig- 
 urative expressions ; for the whole law appears to these persons like an 
 animal, of which the literal expressions are the body, but the invisible 
 sense lies enveloped in the expressions of the soul. This sense was 
 studied first pre-eminently by this sect, discerning, as through a mirror 
 of names, the admirable beauties of the thoughts reflected." 
 
 * Eusebius, chap, xvii., respecting the Ascetics of Egypt. 
 9 129 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 The fourth Gospel, as also many other portions of the 
 Scriptures, especially the first few chapters of Genesis, the 
 Apocalypse, the account in Matthew and Luke of the miracu- 
 lous conception, etc., abound in a form of speech which 
 schoolmen call metonymy. And thus we often find Jesus 
 speaking metonymically in the records of the evangelists. 
 Thus: 
 
 " They have Moses and the prophets ; let them hear them." 
 
 "Verily, verily, I say unto you. Before Abraham was, I 
 am." 
 
 " It is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go not 
 away, the Comforter will not come unto you." 
 
 In other words, spiritualism was dead in the minds and 
 hearts of the disciples, and it was expedient, therefore, that 
 the outward should vanish from the mind in order that the 
 spiritual should be accepted in the fulness of the grace of 
 God. 
 
 4 mo. 23. — Attended the funeral of Nathaniel Richardson, 
 Sr., to-day. At the ground a friend informed me that what 
 I had said in regard to the system of a paid ministry at the 
 circular meeting had been the cause of much comment and 
 discussion, and considerable censure, and because the meeting 
 was of a mixed character, that therefore I should have with- 
 held the testimony which our Society has borne for two cen- 
 turies, and which was opened with such clearness to my mind. 
 Oh, how the pure gold has become dimmed ! I much doubt 
 the propriety of thus informing ministers in regard to how 
 their testimonies have been received, particularly in mention- 
 ing names and the purport of conversation, and I must confess 
 that it had a depressing effect on my spirits, though I was 
 clear in my view, but felt humbled and astonished at the re- 
 marks of some friends holding conspicuous positions in the 
 church as to Policy versus Principle. May I be faithful to the 
 light, watchful against mere imagination, remembering that I 
 stand as upon a " sea of glass mingled with fire," though we 
 read in the same chapter that " them that had gotten the vic- 
 
 130 
 
LUCRETIA MOTT 
 
 tory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, 
 and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, 
 having the harps of God. 
 
 "And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and 
 the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy 
 works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou 
 King of saints." 
 
 4 mo. 2^. — Was silent, but was preserved in a waiting con- 
 dition, at meeting to-day, though dull and heavy in conse- 
 quence of physical indisposition. Two offerings were made 
 in public, the first having much life, but the latter was wordy 
 and, to me, lifeless, though eloquent and edifying, so far as 
 speech went, and full of zeal, but too much like the burnt- 
 offering of Abraham prepared beforehand, for we read that he 
 " took the Hre in his hand, and a knife." He was preserved, 
 however, in sufficient watchfulness to perceive his error: 
 "And behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his 
 horns [a figure of his headstrong will and tradition] : and 
 offered him up for a burnt-offering in the stead of his son," 
 who, under the influence of tradition and imagination, Abra- 
 ham was willing to sacrifice in accordance with the usage of 
 that age, as evinced in Lev. xviii. 21 and xx. 2, 3, and Deut. 
 xii. 31, which the late prophets, particularly Jeremiah and 
 Ezekiel, denounced. The former says, " They have built also 
 the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt- 
 offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, 
 neither came it into my mind." 
 
 4 mo. 28. — We had a spirited meeting to-day, in which, 
 after a small offering of my own, Lucretia Mott, who was 
 present, was led most interestingly and largely to comment 
 upon what I had said, which was an illustration of the thought, 
 "Whatever disunites man from God disunites man from 
 man ;" that out of the feeling of union with Him and of our 
 dependence upon one another springs the necessity of social 
 religious worship. An extract from Whittier's poem, " The 
 Meeting," was quoted : 
 
 131 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " When farmer-folk in silence meet, 
 I turn my bell-unsummoned feet ; 
 I lay my critic's glass aside, 
 I tread upon my lettered pride, 
 And lowest-seated testify 
 To the oneness of humanity; 
 Confess the universal want. 
 And share whatever heaven may grant. 
 He findeth not who seeks his own. 
 The soul is lost that's saved alone." 
 
 Lucretia enlarged upon this thought most feelingly and 
 eloquently, and the whole meeting was in a measure intro- 
 duced into that feeling of which Jesus spoke when he said, 
 " I have a baptism to be baptized with ; and how am I strait- 
 ened till it be accomplished !" 
 
 4 mo. 2g. — Monthly meeting to-day, and I had again much 
 to do in the way of deep feeling, and also of considerable 
 expression upon the necessity of faith as the great essential 
 to spiritual progress, — as the alpha and omega of the soul's 
 advancement. That unless God's laws are observed in this 
 particular, our highest faculties must remain in embryo, un- 
 developed, as is exemplified in the parable of the sower : " The 
 care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the 
 word, and he becometh unfruitful." 
 
 In the afternoon I attended and spoke at the funeral of a 
 poor inebriate, who died at the poor-house and was buried at 
 Abington. 
 
 4 mo. JO. — Prostrated to-day by physical disability, pro- 
 duced by exertions and exercises of the past few days. I 
 must learn to take things easier, though it is very difficult 
 with my naturally ardent temperament. 
 
 5 m,o. 4. — Dr. Newman said thirty-three years ago that in 
 religion " mystiness is the mother of wisdom." This thought 
 has been exemplified in two letters recently received from 
 female correspondents, in answering which, had I been "wise," 
 I would have been mysty; but I preferred being honest, and 
 therefore have, doubtless, been considered unwise. 
 
 Had Bishop Colenso preferred mysticism to honesty, he 
 
 132 
 
ISAAC PENINGTON 
 
 might have escaped much censure and persecution; but, al- 
 though educated on the false basis of the priestly class, yet he 
 dealt with and solved the question before him with the severe 
 accuracy of truth, and with some minds it requires a vast 
 display of learning and research to dispel the clouds of ig- 
 norance and prejudice. 
 
 The early Friends, of whom Robert Barclay spoke in his 
 "Apology," determined this matter by a much shorter 
 method, affirming, " The Spirit of God never said so, and that 
 it was certainly wrong." And they were fully justified by the 
 productions of an age later than the Pentateuch, for Jeremiah 
 said, " I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them 
 in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, 
 concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices : but this thing I com- 
 manded them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, 
 and ye shall be my people." 
 
 It is, indeed, surprising to understand why intelligent men 
 seem so much interested in attempting to demonstrate the 
 divine character of the elaborate and absurd provisions of the 
 Levitical law, against which the later prophets protested most 
 distinctly and emphatically. Such, however, seemed the con- 
 dition of some minds in Isaac Penington's day, of whom he 
 said, — 
 
 " But poor man, having lost the life, what should he do ? He can do 
 no other, but cry up the letter, and make as good shift with it as he can, 
 though his soul the meanwhile is starved, and lies in famine and death 
 for want of the bread of life, and a wrong thing is fed." 
 
 5 mo. 5. — Had a word of encouragement to hand forth to 
 others at meeting to-day, first feeling in myself the flow of 
 gospel love, gushing up spontaneously from the spring of life 
 in the soul, and thus communicating and causing a quicken- 
 ing and accelerated action of the divirie current in the mem- 
 bers of the body under the government of the Head thereof, 
 to whom I ascribe all honor and praise. 
 
 5 mo. 6. — Attended Buckingham Monthly Meeting to-day, 
 whither I went in pursuance of a concern which has for sev- 
 
 133 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 eral months past been pressing upon my mind. John Parrish 
 was present, and had much to communicate. My feehngs 
 were again directed to individual states, who had been un- 
 faithful in the non-expression of thought and sentiment, thus 
 withholding God's light from other minds by a criminal 
 silence in meetings of worship, causing deadness and barren- 
 ness in the body of the church, a lack of life and feeling, 
 wherein our form of silent worship becomes a mere supersti- 
 tion, instead of a means of imparting spiritual fervor and 
 glow, feeding the hungry and watering thirsty souls. Oh, 
 for a deeper baptism into that spiritual life, whereby growth 
 and progress are only to be known and experienced, and 
 wherein we can feel and sympathize with the joys and sor- 
 rows one of another. 
 
 After meeting an individual privately acknowledged to me 
 that he had been unfaithful for many years in the matter de- 
 noted in the meeting; and so I felt, as he sat near to me, I 
 could have laid my hand on him and have said, " Thou art the 
 man." Such confirmation of one's feelings is encouraging, 
 particularly as it is so humiliating to be thus led in public, 
 producing, as it does, alienation, or rather causing a feeling 
 of fear or dread, as was plainly evidenced after meeting to- 
 day on the part of some; but blessed, forever blessed, be the 
 Father, He doth repay. May I be humble enough to ever sit 
 at His feet, waiting for the gracious words of wisdom which 
 proceed from Him. Safety is only to be found in waiting 
 upon and being obedient to the divine oracle within. 
 
 5 mo. p. — At our Quarterly Meeting to-day I had again to 
 address an individual who was in danger from the intoxicating 
 cup. I felt whilst the query concerning temperance was being 
 considered a clear evidence on the subject; but for want of 
 confidence was not faithful, and was compelled to introduce 
 the subject during the consideration of the succeeding query, 
 thus violating good order. 
 
 5 mo. 10. — Felt to-day the great necessity of that inward 
 stillness and true silence of which John Woolman spoke, " in 
 
 134 
 
THE RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS 
 
 which the strength is renewed and the mind is weaned from 
 all things, save as they may be enjoyed in the divine will." 
 Herein alone is safety to the servant of the Eternal in the 
 administration of His oracles in the assemblies of the people, 
 where it is, as Pythagoras said, " requisite to he silent or to say 
 something better than silence." And, oh, in the ensuing 
 Yearly Meeting may I be permitted to enjoy this condition 
 of soul wherein all creaturely activity, all will of my own, 
 may be brought into entire subjection unto Thee, O God of 
 my being. 
 
 5 mo. 12. — This morning ere I arose from my bed a heav- 
 enly and sweet influence pervaded my mind, which seemed 
 attended with the presence of my angel mother, and that pas- 
 sage of Paul's which at times has occasioned much considera- 
 tion seemed very clear to my apprehension, and with great 
 freshness it was unfolded to my understanding, that the " body 
 of Christ/' the head of whom was God, according to the apos- 
 tle, included not only Him of Nazareth, but also all the sons 
 and daughters of God who are faithful to His eternal word, 
 who by a dedication of soul add to the common stock of 
 spiritual life, which is the synthesis and embodiment of eter- 
 nal divine life, in a renewed humanity, reaching not only 
 through time, but also into eternity. That the effect of good 
 sentiments and good actions are never lost; that the obe- 
 dience and martyrdom of those faithful ones, for example, 
 William Robinson, Marmaduke Stevenson, Mary Dyer, and 
 William Leddra, who were hanged on Boston Common by 
 the Puritan fathers, produced in their measure as great an in- 
 fluence upon this " body of Christ," — the anointing power of 
 God, — as the offering of Jesus at Calvary, and thus obedience 
 is saving, having influences reaching into the eternal world, 
 adding to the common stock of the spiritual wealth of the en- 
 tire spiritual body, which body cannot be separated into parts 
 or confined to time, though composed of different members 
 having different gifts and different offices. 
 
 There is a beautiful confirmation of this thought in Luke 
 
 I3S 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 XV. lo : " Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence 
 of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." 
 
 5 mo. 77. — Returned home to-day from attendance of the 
 Yearly Meeting, which was a highly favored one. I was pre- 
 served in obedience, except on one occasion, wherein errata 
 must be herein noted, for remembrance and preservation on 
 like occasions in the future. 
 
 5 mo. ip. — ^An experience occurred to me on the night of 
 the 1 6th inst., which, by the Spirit of God, as I most firmly 
 believe, I was led to narrate in the Yearly Meeting. 
 
 On the night in question I awoke at about twelve o'clock, 
 which was very unusual with me. I was most profoundly 
 awake. All my faculties were brisk and watchful, and I won- 
 dered at it. In a short time I was introduced into a deep 
 baptism of suffering, — a baptism as if for the dead, in which 
 my will was utterly slain. I was nothing, God was all in all. 
 I seemed near the shores of the eternal world, all dread of 
 death disappeared, and I was made willing to do the will of 
 the All- Wise and Infinite One as it might be- made known 
 unto me. 
 
 Herein a sweet and loving presence visited me, which I 
 felt to be the spirit of my angel mother accompanied and 
 surrounded by the love and power of God, and it was made 
 manifest that I was to deliver a message of affection to the 
 Yearly Meeting. 
 
 Now came the terrible trial in the conflict of the emotions 
 which convulsed my mind, joy and the feeling of blessedness 
 in thus being saluted by the love of an angel of God, and the 
 dread of exposing myself before so many persons, many of 
 whom would no doubt deem me as a madman. 
 
 I was in a state of no common excitement till I took my 
 seat in the morning meeting, when a holy and heavenly calm 
 pervaded my mind, and it seemed as if the burden was re- 
 moved. Thus I felt when I again took my seat in the last 
 session of the meeting, and at the time, which was clearly 
 designated, I was with great calmness and simplicity enabled 
 
 136 
 
JOHN WOOLMAN 
 
 to address my friends, producing a marked solemnity to spread 
 over the meeting, and at the same time causing in my own 
 mind when I took my seat a holy joy and a serene condition 
 of soul, which seemed as a foretaste of the fruition of the 
 heavenly kingdom. 
 
 And thus now, on the third day thereafter, I feel, for angels 
 have truly visited and ministered unto me. My will has again 
 been slain ; I have known the crucifixion, and also the resur- 
 rection into a renewed life, wherein I feel nearer and closer to 
 my heavenly Father than ever before, though I must have 
 appeared as a fool before my fellow-men. 
 
 The purport of the message was that the Society was how 
 to go forward on its way rejoicing, living in and drinking of 
 that spiritual life which is " hid with Christ in God." That 
 each individual was to be passive unto Him alone as their 
 teacher and heavenly guide, and that by living in this spiritual 
 life they would be mighty through God in pulling down the 
 strongholds of spiritual wickedness in high places. That 
 those who were called to minister and to hand forth the word 
 of good tidings were to speak in this spiritual life and not out 
 of it ; that as they had received freely, they were freely to give 
 forth of the word of the kingdom. 
 
 That the eternal truth of God was the same in all ages. 
 The same in the Bible as in John Woolman's journal, or in 
 those truths which had been so freely declared in the several 
 sessions of the Yearly Meeting. 
 
 That we were not to judge one another in regard to food, 
 raiment, or tobacco ; but that by living in this spiritual life we 
 would become new creatures, old things would be done away, 
 and all things would be new, and all things of God ; and that 
 as a necessary consequence the outward life would conform to 
 the cleansing of the heart from all defilements. 
 
 5 mo. 26, First-Day. — At home to-day in consequence of 
 indisposition. Passed a very painful night. My old com- 
 plaint, which generally culminates at this season of the year, 
 is much more formidable than ever before, and seems compli- 
 
 137 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 cated and difficult to manage. May I be perfectly calm and 
 resigned to nature's course and laws, for I feel that the physi- 
 cal is very weak and frail, and my long continuance in this 
 state of being very uncertain. Unto Thee, unto Thee, O 
 Father, into Thy hands, I place with entire confidence my 
 being now and for evermore. Amen. 
 
 5 mo. 2^. — Our monthly meeting to-day was an eminently 
 interesting one. My sister, Martha E. Travilla, a minister, 
 was present, with a minute of approval from her meeting to 
 visit the families of our monthly meeting, which met with 
 much sympathy and support from our friends. 
 
 5" wo. 28. — ^Am now in the regular receipt of the Man- 
 chester Friend, an English periodical, of which Joseph B. 
 Foster is editor. It is an interesting journal, tending to pro- 
 mote living truth, calling attention to that Christianity which 
 is expressed in the words, " God in us," in the human soul 
 wherein He dwells, and wherein He denotes His will con- 
 cerning us. 
 
 How cheering it is to find the evidences of His Spirit 
 moving upon the face of the waters in different parts of the 
 world, quickening the minds and souls of His faithful ones, 
 so that they can perceive that He is with us now, as formerly, 
 as our Father and Friend ! In the sunshine and the storm, in 
 the sweet influences of nature, in the lilies of the field, in the 
 sun by day and the stars by night. Yes, Orion and Pleiades 
 reveal themselves to us as beneficently as to the friends of 
 Job upon the plains of Chaldea, and even more so, because 
 we can appreciate them more understandingly and intelli- 
 gently, for the reason that we are the inheritors and posses- 
 sors of more light and knowledge than the age in which they 
 lived. 
 
 6 mo. 2, First-Day. — ^We had baptizing time at meeting to- 
 day. My sister Martha has a wonderful gift in the ministry, 
 and in her visit of love to the different families of Friends she 
 is stirring up the pure seed of the kingdom, and awakening, I 
 trust, in the minds of those who are dwelling in a false security 
 
 138 
 
RACHEL HICKS 
 
 a sense of their danger in thus living in sealed houses wherein 
 they think that they may be saved alone; but though Paul 
 may " have planted and Apollos watered, God giveth the in- 
 crease." 
 
 Two new voices joined in the chorus of joy and love, though 
 terribly in the cross to them, as was evident. We have now 
 nine persons members of our monthly meeting who have 
 spoken in meetings of worship. May the Spirit know no 
 check among us, saith my soul, for I am not, I trust, of the 
 disposition of Joshua, the son of Nun, who went to Moses and 
 said, " My Lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto 
 him, Enviest thou for my sake ? would God that all the Lord's 
 people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit 
 upon them." 
 
 6 mo. J. — In the past few months several letters have ap- 
 peared in the Friends' Intelligencer in relation to the mission 
 of Jesus of Nazareth. Of the different views presented 
 therein, I prefer that of Rachel Hicks, and can agree with 
 her, except when she speaks of "that body miraculously 
 brought forth." This I can never assent to if she interprets 
 the account objectively, which, judging from the tenor of 
 her letter, is uncertain. 
 
 In the first place, it paralyzes my rational and spiritual 
 nature to believe that the Creator of that spiritual and ra- 
 tional nature could, by any possibility, assent to a violation 
 of His own laws against chastity. In such matters I affirm, 
 with Paul, " Let God be true, but every man a liar." Who- 
 ever denies the unchangeable order in the dispensations of 
 Providence denies his own intuitions, and thereby violates his 
 own manhood. 
 
 And, secondly, the account is contrary to the gist of the 
 evidence as presented in the Scriptures* themselves, and is 
 against the contemporaneous testimony of many of the early 
 believers. The Ebionites, the Carpocratians, the Hebrews, as 
 
 * The fourth Gospel calls " Jestis of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."— 
 John i. 45 ; vi. 42. 
 
 139 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 well as Cerinthus and his followers, held that Jesus was the 
 son of Joseph. And Epiphanius testifies that the first two 
 chapters of the Gospel according to Matthew were wanting in 
 the Ebionite copy of the " Gospel according to the Hebrews." 
 Marcion, whose canon was the earliest of which we have any 
 account, commenced his copy of Luke with the third chapter. 
 Thus in Matthew and Luke is great doubt thrown over the 
 genuineness of the account as narrated of the miraculous con- 
 ception. And neither James nor Peter nor John nor the 
 fourth evangelist gives us any record thereof. The latter 
 speaks of "the sons of God, . . . which were horn, not of 
 blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, hut 
 of God." 
 
 Paul in his epistle to the Romans agrees with the genealo- 
 gies in Matthew and Luke, which ascribe unto Joseph the pa- 
 rentage of Jesus. The apostle expressly says (Romans i. 3) 
 that Jesus " was made of the seed of David according to the 
 flesh ; and declared to be the Son of God with power, accord- 
 ing to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the 
 dead." 
 
 It may be that some such details are referred to in i Timo- 
 thy iv. 7: "But refuse profane and old wives' fables-, and 
 exercise thyself rather unto godliness." 
 
 Unquestionably this circumstance, as others of like charac- 
 ter which have been narrated by the evangelists, was the crea- 
 tion of a later date than the time in which Paul penned his 
 epistles or John wrote the Apocalypse, or they would have 
 made some reference to them ; but at the time in which Justin 
 dictated his "Apology to Antonius," a.d. 150, sufficient time 
 had elapsed for such metonomys to have become consolidated 
 and crystallized into the form of parahle, as the following ex- 
 tract exhibits : 
 
 "And when we say that the Word, who is the first begotten of God, 
 our Master Jesus Christ, was born without sexual union, and that he was 
 crucified, and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, we intro- 
 duce nothing different from that which you say of those whom you call 
 sons of Jupiter." 
 
 140 
 
MARTHA E. TRA VILLA 
 
 Thus this father of the church admits the mythological 
 character of this account of the birth of Jesus, an account 
 which the Jewish Christians did not allow or believe. 
 
 6 mo. 5. — This morning Sister M. E. Travilla and her com- 
 panions, Charles Kirk and Martha Dodson, had an opportu- 
 nity in my family. The occasion will not soon be forgottten 
 by myself, wife, or children, as my sister was most wonder- 
 fully favored to mirror unto each of us our separate spiritual 
 gifts and failings as though she knew the secrets of our hearts 
 and the springs of individual action. It was a searching time. 
 Her advice to myself was most pertinent, directing me to rely 
 entirely upon inspiration in ministering to the people, — that 
 this, and this alone, would bring blessings upon my efforts 
 in that direction. 
 
 I never appreciated Sister M. E. T.'s gift so fully before. 
 It is wonderful, as Charles Kirk informs me; as also have 
 different members of our monthly meeting, how, in going 
 among entire strangers, she is enabled to delineate the life- 
 lines of the characters of each, pointing out their various vir- 
 tues and secret failings. 
 
 On inquiry, she states that she knows nothing, and is per- 
 mitted to see naught, till her spirit enters into sympathy and 
 feeling on the occasion of each sitting, when in an instant is 
 daguerrotyped upon her spirit's eye the impressions which 
 she is certainly enabled to portray with taste, eloquence, pro- 
 priety, and judgment. What confirming evidence has been 
 afforded to our minds of the Great Spirit's inspiring power to 
 the attentive and willing soul, and how small and humble 
 seems the gift which has been conferred upon me! May I 
 be watchful and ever dwell in the valley of humility. There, 
 and there alone, can God's servants and ministers be preserved 
 in safety and security. 
 
 6 mo. p. — Our meeting to-day was largely attended. M. E. 
 T.'s visits to the families of Friends seem to have aroused "a 
 great feeling of interest in the neighborhood. She was again 
 largely led in addressing individual states among us. Towards 
 
 141 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 the close of the meeting I felt it my duty to appear in solemn 
 supplication, giving thanks unto the Giver of all good gifts for 
 His many favors to His children, individually and collectively. 
 It was a time to be remembered, and another voice was to- 
 day added to the many who have appeared in the ministry 
 among us. 
 
 6 mo. 12. — Since our Yearly Meeting I have been in the 
 receipt of a newspaper published in the interest of spiritual- 
 ism, sent to me by my friend H. T. C. He has also loaned 
 me R. D. Owen's new work, " The Debatable Land," which I 
 have in part read. I see nothing in it to change or affect the 
 opinion which I expressed in the Yearly Meeting as to the 
 vagaries of modern spiritualism, but, on the contrary, much 
 to confirm that view, especially in the newspaper received from 
 Chicago. 
 
 Friend Owen's work (page 224), in treating of the phase 
 of spiritualism as exhibited in the rise and progress of our 
 Society, states, " It fell, in a measure, into the old error of the 
 infallible; for it held that the light within, guided by which 
 the evangelists and apostles wrote, and which comes to-day 
 to every man who will seek and receive, is a direct revelation 
 from God." 
 
 On page 152 in the same book we read, " Right and wrong 
 are eternal, and must be judged by that which is eternal as 
 themselves. God has provided for this. His kingdom is 
 within us. The nearest approach to the infallible upon earth 
 is the still, small voice of the human conscience." Again, 
 page 537, our author says, " The kingdom of God is within 
 you, — is within us. The light within. The divine, indwell- 
 ing Spirit of truth. How far — passing by Christ's words — 
 do we wander, seeking that which is in our own hearts ?" 
 
 Here is certainly agreement with the philosophical Emer- 
 son that the phase of spiritualism as denoted by Quakerism 
 is the true phase after all, for it is admitted that confusion 
 prevails as to the objective evidence presented by modem 
 spiritualism, that the spirits differ, and that we must come at 
 
 142 
 
GOD IS THE TEACHER OF HIS PEOPLE HIMSELF 
 
 last to the subjective test of the apostle ( i Cor. ii. 9) : " But 
 as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have 
 entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath 
 prepared for them that love him. 
 
 " But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit : for the 
 Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 
 
 " For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the 
 spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God 
 knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." 
 
 The Author of our being reveals the arcanum of spiritual 
 knowledge to us by law, and, precisely as physical and intel- 
 lectual truths are imparted, we must comply with His con- 
 ditions, — must receive Him in the way of His coming. This 
 is inwardly, by and through established and unchangeable 
 law. God's laws are not affected for the reason that man may 
 deny their existence. Many refused to accept for the time 
 belief in the physical laws which were illustrated, not discov- 
 ered, by Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Daguerre, and Morse ; and 
 so also do the masses of mankind refuse to accept the great 
 cardinal principle of Quakerism, — " God is the Teacher of 
 His people Himself." Not only as a personality, but as a 
 boundless being of infinite beneficence. 
 
 Thus, negation on the part of man does not check the Aow 
 of divine love to any mind, but it may and does prevent reci- 
 procity upon the part of the unbeliever, and hence the wisdom 
 of the aphorism of Epictetus : " Know that the main founda- 
 tion of piety is this : ' To have right opinions and apprehen- 
 sions of God.' " For if we labor in the darkness of error we 
 labor in vain. While our minds are filled with erroneous con- 
 ceptions of Him we clearly cannot receive those spiritual gifts 
 and treasures which otherwise might be poured in glorious 
 fulness into the human soul, and which are, in fact, its birth- 
 right and heritage! 
 
 Now, the only possible foundation of true spiritual religion 
 is the identity in essence and nature of the human and the 
 divine spirit, — that the eternal in us is related in degree to the 
 
 143 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 eternal in Him. Hence spiritual communion is possible; is 
 the glorious consummation of all religious experience ; the 
 response to all prayer; the goal and ultimatum of all our 
 hopes, as it should be the chief end of our being. All else 
 should be subordinated to this : we should seek first the king- 
 dom of God and His righteousness, and rest in faith, and in 
 duty, that all things else will be added thereunto. 
 
 This afternoon attended the funeral of a friend of long 
 standing, who was a Jew in race and faith. At the house the 
 desire was very evident that I should give expression to my 
 feelings in words on the part of those convened, but I felt no 
 liberty. Though when we met at the open grave the Spirit 
 there constrained me to speak of the many virtues of the 
 deceased, of her peaceful and happy passage into the spirit 
 world. 
 
 The remains were buried in Friends' grounds at Horsham, 
 with no ceremonies but our simple form ; and the few words 
 which I had for them were most gratefully received, for the 
 reason, I suppose, in part, that man has been educated to at- 
 tach such importance to expression on such solemnities, and 
 it is natural, too, when the heart is tendered by the severance 
 of earthly ties to desire the expression" of sympathy and af- 
 fection. A great wrong is done in suppressing these, when 
 the Spirit demands utterance on such solemn occasions. 
 
 6 mo. 13. — Attended an appointed meeting at Abington, at 
 which the Friend at whose instance the meeting was held gave 
 abundant expression to her views and feelings; and though 
 my mind was, I think, divested of all prejudice in regard to 
 her, yet I could not travail with her concern and exercise, 
 but in very small degree. I hope it may have been for others 
 and adapted to their conditions. 
 
 This Friend takes an extremely outward and literal view of 
 the Scriptures, dwelling so much on the historical phase of 
 religion, thus committing a great injury to her own nature, 
 causing blindness and obtuseness of those delicate spiritual 
 perceptions which should ever characterize the servant of the 
 
 144 
 
JOB SCOTT'S JOURNAL 
 
 Most High among a spiritually minded people. Her minis- 
 trations are adapted to outwardness, and therefore cannot 
 meet and minister to that inward condition that dwells and 
 centres not in types and shadows. 
 
 But I do hope that this Friend, who seems so earnest and 
 zealous in her ministry, is made useful to many minds. It 
 may be that she is directed to that condition to which Paul 
 alluded ( i Cor. iii. i ) : "And I, brethren, could not speak 
 unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto 
 babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not meat: 
 for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are 
 ye able." 
 
 6 mo. i6, First-Day . — At home, under a cloud, both physi- 
 cally and spiritually; read a little in Job Scott's journal, and 
 find that this faithful servant of God experienced like trials 
 and baptisms. May I, like him, wait in patience, hope, and 
 humility, for the arising of the day-star, having faith in the 
 great Author of all good, hoping that in the right season I 
 may again have a view of the promised land. 
 
 6 mo. If. — ^A glorious rain last night, after, it is said, the 
 most severe drought at this season of the year since 1826. 
 All nature seems to feel the quickening and reviving influences 
 of the new condition in the exhibition of renewed growth and 
 vigor. At the same time my poor soul is suffering famine 
 and heaviness, — still in the depths. O that a holy calmness 
 may be my portion ! — ^to endure and suffer, if need be, that 
 T may be more and more purified in the furnace of affliction, 
 physically, mentally, and spiritually, till I can say, in truth 
 and verity, " Thy will be done." "A broken and a contrite 
 heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." 
 
 6 mo. 22. — For the last three days quietness of mind has 
 been my portion. No exaltation or elevation or clear vision, 
 but have experienced calmness and patience. As to my 
 future labors in the ministry, I do not know that I shall ever 
 be called upon to again speak in the congregation of the peo- 
 ple; but I feel it to be renewedly incumbent upon me to be 
 10 14s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 very quiet and very humble, taking no thought for the future. 
 Watching and waiting for divine life, striving to live in this, 
 reading, thinking, and studying very little. Thus not at- 
 tempting to exist contrary to the order of Divine Providence 
 for the satisfaction of spiritual cravings, — i.e., " commanding 
 stones be made bread." 
 
 Some may think that the recent dark and cloudy state 
 through which I have passed, and from which I trust and 
 devoutly hope I am now slowly emerging, was solely in con- 
 sequence of physical indisposition; but I do not so view it. 
 On the contrarj'^, it seems to me to have been a dispensation 
 meted unto my soul for the purpose of teaching me to rely 
 more implicitly upon the Spirit for illumination in spiritual 
 things. 
 
 6 mo. 22. — Several hours after the above was penned of this 
 date, the impression was made upon my consciousness that if 
 I would be faithful and watchful in all things, keeping my 
 mind in an entirely passive state to heavenly influences, and 
 free from a zeal of my own begetting, that my sight in the 
 future field to which I may be called would be much more 
 clear and distinct in relation to my mission and calling. This 
 need I feel to be a pressing necessity for my spiritual being, 
 and the aspiration ascending therefrom to the Great Author 
 and centre of all souls, is, grant, O Father, if it be thy 
 pleasure, that this may be measured out tmto my poor and 
 hungry soul, for great, indeed, is my want of divine aid and 
 succor. Naught else, naught else, availeth me ! 
 
 6 mo. 22. — ^Again on the same date as above, I feel it right 
 to make another entry. I have been trying to read a little in 
 my friend Charles Linton's " Healing of the Nations." But 
 the great faith therein exhibited brings now no comfort to me 
 in the dispensation which is my portion at the present time. 
 Can only wait, — ^wait upon that which convinced me, hoping 
 in time that faith may again dawn upon my mind. What 
 an anchor is faith to the soul ! This afternoon my patience 
 gave way in consequence of a trial in a little matter of busi- 
 
 146 
 
EXPERIENCES 
 
 ness on the farm, and again I was all at sea. Doubts, dark 
 doubts, encompassed my being, and despair, dark despair, 
 seemed not afar off. Patience is the daughter of faith, and 
 faith is the gift of God. Oh, when will this jewel, this price- 
 less gem, again be my portion? All I can do is to wait, wait, 
 wait, for I am in a truly wilderness state of mind ; but though 
 this may continue even forty days, as we read was the case of 
 that blessed example, he of Nazareth, may I, as he was, be 
 preserved in a fasting condition. That in " those days," like 
 him, I may " eat nothing." Thus I now feel, for the best of 
 books seem nauseous and loathsome to me. I plainly see that 
 I must refrain from all spiritual food, except that of which 
 Jesus spoke when he said, " It is written, That man shall not 
 live by bread alone, but by every word of God." 
 
 6 mo. 23. — Went to meeting to-day. My friend Edith 
 Atlee spoke directly to my condition; felt a little life under 
 her ministry, but soon again all was blank. 
 
 6 mo. 24. — Attended monthly meeting. Still a night sea- 
 son of the soul to me, though I felt in the meeting of business, 
 after a Friend had spoken in a feeling manner of the advan- 
 tage he had received from Sister M. E. T.'s visit to his family, 
 I felt it right to simply quote the text, " I have planted, 
 ApoUos watered; but God gave the increase." Felt peace 
 after this expression to the close of the meeting. It seemed 
 like a gleam of light amid the darkness which has prevailed 
 for the past ten days. But have in a good degree been pre- 
 served in that true waiting condition wherein I look alone 
 to Him and His sent ones to " roll away the stone from the 
 door of the sepulchre," feeling it to be " very great." 
 
 6 mo. 25. — A rainy day seems setting in after the long 
 drought; it is refreshing, indeed, to the parched vegetation. 
 My soul has also been visited in a small degree with moist- 
 ure and greenness, for which I am most thankful, living in 
 hope that I am not utterly forsaken by the Good Husband- 
 man, but experience great encouragement, and can feel as 
 Habakkuk of old : " The vision is yet for an appointed time, 
 
 147 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 but at the end it shall speak, and not lie : though it tarry, wait 
 for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." 
 
 Encouraging and beautiful are many testimonies in the Old 
 Testament. My friend Edith Atlee last First-day partially 
 quoted Isaiah xli. lo, which seemed so adapted to my con- 
 dition : " Fear thou not ; for I am with thee : be not dis- 
 mayed ; for I am thy God : I will strengthen thee ; yea, I will 
 uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." 
 
 6 mo. 26. — In the city to-day on business. Whilst walking 
 through the streets, a feeling of great joy saluted my soul. 
 I am afraid that I ran too much out after it, and like the 
 prodigal of old, " who wasted his substance in riotous living," 
 a revulsion of feeling took place, — a sudden subsidence of the 
 divine current, and doubts again set in. This will not do for 
 me ; I must wait for, and not run after, concerns of a spiritual 
 character, or thus, as is related in that incomparable simile in 
 Luke XV. 14: "And when he had spent all, there arose a 
 mighty famine in that land ; and he began to be in want." 
 
 Non-conscious imagination is a great foe and a deadly 
 enemy to true spiritual religion. Under its influence the mind 
 is apt to wander away from the true guide and shepherd of 
 souls, and thus strength is not renewed, as would have been the 
 case had true watchfulness and waiting been maintained. My 
 dear mother once advised me to beware of enthusiasm : it was 
 advice founded in true wisdom. Much better is it to sit at the 
 Master's feet and hear His word than, like Martha, to be 
 "cumbered about much serving, . . . careful and troubled 
 about many things." Poor policy that in spiritual concern- 
 ments, as of ourselves we can do nothing, only as we keep in 
 and under the government of that divine principle which is 
 pure, peaceable, and perfect. 
 
 7 mo. I. — ^We had an interesting meeting to-day. Lucretia 
 Mott was present. She was clear, cogent, convincing. I fol- 
 lowed, pursuing an opening which seemed to be made for me 
 in reference to the duty of man, — that it lay within the range 
 of the knowable and experimental; that we must "live by 
 
 148 
 
THE LIVING CHRIST 
 
 every word of God," as did Jesus, — every impression made 
 upon our consciousness, every appearance and phenomena 
 which we by experience feel to be the divine in us. Thus 
 nurtured, our growth will be exogenous from within out- 
 ward. 
 
 In my search for the Infinite One, wherein I have been led 
 as through the wilderness during the last few weeks, I find 
 that the only place of safety is an internal one,' — that what 
 is known of God is manifest in man. Clearly this is the 
 ground that I must occupy. 
 
 One year ago yesterday, for the first time, I arose in my 
 place in a meeting, after a violent struggle for several weeks, 
 quoting and commenting briefly upon the above text of the 
 apostles in regard to this knowledge of God thus innately and 
 inherently acquired, and I return again with renewed convic- 
 tion, nourished and sustained by a trust and a hope which I 
 earnestly desire may prove an unfaltering one, that this is the 
 true and sure foundation upon which my spiritual structure 
 must be reared. 
 
 Here I feel to be an idealj which, if faithfully adhered to, 
 will draw all men upward. Herein is the body of a Christ 
 which is not a dead one, but ever living and growing and 
 unfolding, blossoming and blooming even unto eternal life. 
 
 Each one of us can do no better than act out and live up 
 to our highest ideal. Jesus did thus and found the kingdom 
 of God. 
 
 This I feel to be the meaning of my recent painful experi- 
 ence and deep baptism of suffering pointing me to be more 
 charitable in reference to the doubts and trials of others, 
 seeing that my own have been so poignant and so keenly felt. 
 In the spiritual life for the servant and minister thereof are 
 many trials, many provings. Jesus had his. We cannot 
 hope to escape unscathed, but must bow submissively, — ^bow 
 to the laws which govern our being, and which are no doubt 
 intended for our purification and refinement. 
 
 "He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee 
 
 . 149 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 in all thy ways. . . . Thou shalt tread upon the lion and 
 adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample 
 under foot. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore 
 will I deliver him." 
 
 The several different persons who spoke to-day in the latter 
 part of the meeting displayed not uniformity but diversity of 
 gifts in their ministrations. This is as it should be, and is 
 allowable under our form of worship, which is clearly mod- 
 elled after the apostolic church : " If anything be revealed to 
 another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye 
 may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may 
 be comforted." 
 
 And herein the many baptisms under the spiritual law are 
 of great utility, wherein the servant is brought into a condi- 
 tion of mind and spirit to comprehend and understand the 
 different states which he or she may be called upon to address. 
 Hence there are constant ebbings and Rowings of the tide of 
 feeling in the soul. For if there were no ebb there would be 
 no flow. Stagnation would be the result, self-consciousness 
 being the highest development. Necessarily we are "ac- 
 quainted with grief." What Isaiah said probably of some 
 contemporary can be said of thousands : 
 
 "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was 
 bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was 
 upon him; and with his stripes are we healed." 
 
 This world is a school, a mansion in which we are being 
 educated for another and a higher state ; and suffering is one 
 of the means by which we are thus educated. We have also 
 many joys here ; great gratification is experienced in the ful- 
 filment of the duties of life. But an equivalent is clearly not 
 experienced in many cases commensurate to the suffering, — 
 suffering, too, which is brought about by obedience to a sense 
 of duty. 
 
 I have been recently reading a book in which its author 
 desires the demonstration of logic as to a future state of being. 
 Herein, it seems to me, by strictly following the science of 
 * ISO 
 
MARY DYER 
 
 ratiocination and continuity, a convincing argumait might be 
 established by tracing effects to the Great Final and Intelligent 
 First Cause. 
 
 Taking the sense of duty as the stand-point, the divine 
 origin of which our author admits, and considering compen- 
 sation as a law of universal application in its adaptation to 
 mind, in the case of Mary Dyer, for instance, it certainly will 
 not be said that compensation was felt by her, or, in fact, 
 experienced at all commensurate to the trials which she 
 underwent. 
 
 But, perhaps, here our author would say that fanaticism 
 was the inducing cause which led not only to her first, but also 
 to her second, visit to the city of Boston, where she was finally 
 executed for protesting against the bigotry of the founders. 
 However this may have been, she clearly did great service to 
 the cause of humanity, and one of utility, too, in that her 
 death called the attention of the home government to the 
 cruelty of Endicott and led to his restraint. To the low stand- 
 ard of the mere utilitarian, then, this devoted soul proved her 
 calling in that her sufferings subserved to the worldly inter- 
 ests of mankind. And herein is an argument which points 
 to a divine call. 
 
 If it be urged that right and wrong are mere environments, 
 and that custom is the true test; that our intuitions are a 
 delusion and a snare, then, in that case, there is an end to all 
 reason, and consequently to all argument. A first great 
 cause is disproved, and cannot be discerned, — a position which 
 all nature denies. 
 
 Assuming, however, the premises granted in the volume 
 under consideration, the law of compensation and continuity 
 proves the immortality of the soul, provided a reward is not 
 experienced as a requital for sufferings in a single case in this 
 state of being. Cases of non-requital are in the experience 
 of all. It is not necessary to rehearse them, and the excep- 
 tion proves the rule. 
 
 7 mo. 7, First-Day. — Felt constrained to-day again to speak 
 
 iSi 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 in the assembled congregation, though my great desire was 
 that some other Friend would be thus led instead of myself; 
 and hence, after the Master's customary signal for me to 
 arise, I turned the fleece again and again, partly because the 
 subject was one on which I had been meditating for several 
 days previously, and I have not heretofore found much life 
 except in those concerns which have sprung up spontaneously 
 when assembled with others for the purpose of divine wor- 
 ship. And hence I weighed the subject presented very care- 
 fully, but found no peace in silent meditation, and had to 
 arise and give expression to my feelings. 
 
 I also find the inward demonstration thus to speak much 
 quieter; the internal knocking — I can compare it with 
 nothing else — is more calm since my late painful experience. 
 There is occasion of rejoicing in this, as there is less per- 
 turbation of feeling, and consequently a greater command 
 over thought and utterance. 
 
 How deep and heartfelt should be my gratitude to my Good 
 Master for His many mercies to my soul 1 How considerate 
 and how kind has He been to one so unworthy as myself! 
 With great tenderness, with infinite thoughtfulness, has our 
 God framed His spiritual law whereby His servants who 
 preach His gospel can live by the same. And I feel to say 
 with the Psalmist, " I trust in the mercy of God for ever and 
 ever. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it : 
 and I will wait on thy name ; for it is good before thy saints." 
 Yea, with Job of old, can I truly say, this summer morning, 
 " Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." 
 
 7 mo. p. — I recently obtained from the library Bishop Pot- 
 ter's "Religious Philosophy; or the Three Witnesses," in 
 which he adduced nature, man, and the Bible as evidences of 
 religious truth. And as this seemed an exhaustive work by 
 an eminently able man, I expected much pleasure and profit 
 in its perusal. But, to my astonishment, after reading a few 
 pages, I was impelled by the witness within to close the vol- 
 ume; and, after a few moments, the same power influenced 
 
 1 52 
 
THE ONE POSITIVE GOOD 
 
 me to write a letter to a friend. At the time I thought, per- 
 haps, that this was the reason why I was not permitted to read 
 the book, as the letter was clearly one which it was needful to 
 write. But this morning, after carefully perusing a few of 
 the most important chapters of this most interesting and 
 edifying work, I found my mind growing darker and my 
 spiritual condition growing weaker, and felt best satisfied to 
 refrain from reading the book at all. The impression was 
 that it was necessary for me to be restrained from dabbling 
 in questions of a metaphysical character, and to keep my 
 understanding clear of other men's thoughts, — ^to depend 
 more and more upon that which may be sealed upon my own 
 consciousness. God is, and He is a rewarder of them that dili- 
 gently seek Him. And I find it necessary, in this search after 
 Him, reverently to wait upon His witness in the soul. In 
 His own good time, and in the rightly appointed way, I have 
 faith to believe the day-star will again arise with renewed 
 brightness. 
 
 7 mo. 12. — In the newspaper sent me by my friend H. T. C. 
 discussions pro and con are being had as to the nature of the 
 Supreme Being. The perusal of these are unpleasant to me, 
 and must awaken unprofitable thoughts in the minds of the 
 readers of the paper. It certainly has in mine. 
 
 A leading correspondent of the journal in question, reason- 
 ing from the stand-point of evil and imperfection, urges these 
 against the perfection of the divine nature, and, judging from 
 some of his conclusions, he would seem to infer an evil intel- 
 ligence as well as an All Good. 
 
 Some eighteen months since, while engaged in pursuits on 
 the farm, I was meditating on this subject, in reference to a 
 hail-storm which had caused much destruction to the crops of 
 an adjacent township. Whilst thus occupied, the thought 
 suddenly presented itself to my understanding with the en- 
 ergy of inspiration, causing at the time a profound impression 
 on my mind. 
 
 It was to this effect, that there was One Positive Good, all 
 
 153 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 else beiilg derived, and that we could form no just opinion of 
 finality from the insignificance of our own natures, or from 
 the comparative insignificance of the earth on which we reside, 
 these being but conditions, or links in the chain of events. 
 Conditions affording our imperfect natures but a clew of that 
 which, as yet, is not developed! Being then but on the mere 
 threshold of existence, we can but trust the power which 
 called us into that existence. For this earth was not intended 
 as a paradise, but as a temporary abiding-place for man, and 
 in it he finds a counterpart and correspondence to the imper- 
 fections of his own nature. If it was a paradise to him, 
 he would be satisfied with it and would seek no higher con- 
 dition. 
 
 Our duty clearly is to trust, worship, and adore, not to 
 speculate as to whence we came, or to whither we shall 
 go. Herein consists our happiness and consequently our 
 duty. 
 
 If this be a just inference, then all such speculations are 
 not only unpr<Dfitable, but they also savor of sedition, mutiny, 
 and turbulence against not only the intelligence which created 
 us, but also are as rebellion against our own nature, because 
 antagonistic to that nature, whose highest ideal is obedience 
 to an inwardly revealed law, which in best wisdom was in- 
 tended to be the main-spring of the soul. 
 
 Herein is heaven's first law, — Orber. Suppose an orb of 
 the planetary system was to stop in its course, inquiring, 
 Whence am I? Who created me? Whither shall I go? 
 The whole universe would be affected by such action. No 
 longer could the astronomer, with the unerring certainty of 
 a hair's breadth, predict those wondrous results which we find 
 recorded in that little book the Almanac. Instead of this, 
 chaos would rule rampant amidst the ruins of a universe of 
 worlds. 
 
 There is wisdom as well as inspiration in those lines of 
 Cowper, wherein he says, — 
 
 154 
 
THE TRUE SOURCE AND CENTRE 
 
 " Thou art the source and centre of all minds, eternal soul, 
 Their only point of rest ; from Thee departing we are lost. 
 And roam at random without honor, hope, or peace ; 
 From Thee is all that soothes the life of man, 
 His high endeavor, and his glad success. 
 His strength to suffer, and his will to serve." 
 
 Man is an epitome of all that is beneath him. There is not 
 a noxious weed, a noxious reptile, or a ferocious beast of the 
 jungle that has not its counterpart on some of the diversi- 
 fied pages of his history. In his passions he has reaped a 
 plenteous harvest of bad results. Consider his abnormal 
 appetites and propensities : to what depths have they led him ! 
 He brews liquid fire from the food which nature has assigned 
 him, and quaffs the same as though it were innoxious to his 
 being. Deadly poisons, such as arsenic, mercury, and opium, 
 he uses as stimulants, remedies, and narcotics. 
 
 This wondrous being, who has thus the power to abuse the 
 best gifts which have been conferred upon him, has, however, 
 WITHIN him a reflex of all that is above him, and herein is his 
 true Lord and Master. A monitor is here who points out* 
 those things which are essentially evil unto him. Nay, which 
 creates evil unto him by means of those experiences which 
 constitute a flaming sword, turning every way to keep the 
 way of the tree of life. 
 
 7 mo. 14, First-Day. — ^At meeting to-day, and felt not the 
 least premonition to speak, no more than as though I had 
 never spoken therein. Several short but interesting testi- 
 monies were borne by others. I was much impressed by the 
 citation of the text, John x. 33 : " For a good work we stone 
 thee not ; but for blasphemy ; and because that thou, being a 
 man, makest thyself God." The subjective meaning of the 
 author is very clear, although it was not developed by the 
 speaker. Stones have been thrown at Quakerism for now 
 nearly two and a quarter centuries. Blasphemy has been again 
 and again alleged against us because we have refused to ac- 
 cept authority in religion, insisting that God is not to be wor- 
 shipped by deputy; but that, as the record states, Jesus said, 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 "I and my Father are one." That the divinity which the 
 All-Wise has placed in the human soul is one with Him. All 
 that we can ever know of Him is by and through the mani- 
 festations of His Spirit within us. 
 
 Very clear to my mind is it that the " Gospel according to 
 John" was intended but as a " Similitude" to represent God 
 in man. In this subjective sense it is deeply instructive; 
 but when interpreted according to the letter it " killeth." In 
 the chapter under consideration the text (x. 39) contains an 
 anti-material view pointing as an index to this thought. 
 
 7 mo. 16. — Diarrhcetic symptoms have been affecting me 
 recently, producing extreme weakness of the physical. So 
 weak has the flame of life been with me at many times that 
 I have felt, if that were all, it would be soon snuffed out. 
 But I also feel that the individuality is not confined to the 
 personality, — ^the soul to the body. The former we know not, 
 except by its manifestations. If I were to lose an arm, 
 I would clearly not lose a part of myself, only the power of 
 ■expressing myself. The same can also be said of any physi- 
 cal demonstration. Palsy may forever still the power of 
 utterance, but it cannot affect the spiritual nature as a dis- 
 ease of the body. In old age the power of memory some- 
 times deserts us, but, as in the case of an old person with 
 whom I recently conversed, the image is soon reproduced. 
 I inquired concerning a circumstance which happened many 
 years since. She replied that she had no knowledge what- 
 ever of it, but upon my calling her attention to a collateral 
 incident, all was almost instantly present to her recollection, 
 and she detailed the minutiae of the matter. 
 
 Thus, in so-called second childhood, certain faculties have 
 suspended action only in consequence of the loss of the re- 
 quired power in producing the required manifestations. That 
 is all. It is only a slumbering state of the mind. It is not 
 lost, as it is frequently said ; it is only the power of expres- 
 sion that is defective. Just as the loss of an arm renders 
 negative the manifestation of that part. 
 
 156 
 
THE TRUE ATONEMENT 
 
 How important it is, then, that we so Hve that if by acci- 
 dent or disease the physical may be impaired or weakened, 
 the spiritual energies of the soul may not be crippled, palsied, 
 or benumbed. " For what is a man advantaged, if he gain 
 the whole world, and lose himself ^ or be cast away?" Or, 
 as we have, in the context of the same idea, in Matthew, 
 " What shall a man give in exchange for his soul ?" What 
 atonement can worldly treasures or worldly ambition make 
 for injuries inflicted on the spiritual nature? Ah! had I but 
 understood this earlier in life, I now feel that I would have 
 been more anxious after heavenly treasures, and would con- 
 sequently now experience more of that inward tranquillity, 
 joy, and rest which are the portion and allotment of the heri- 
 tage of God. I clearly see that every violation of heavenly 
 wisdom inflicts an injury, and is a disadvantage to the inward 
 man, for which he must suffer, for which he must atone; 
 and I now feel, too, that I am passing through a portion of 
 this suffering to render some of this expatiation and propi- 
 tiation ; and this is due, for I can truly say with Job of old, 
 " Let him not spare" till a full atonement is rendered either 
 for what I have or have not done, — either for errors of com- 
 mission or of omission. It is clear that excess or deficiency 
 must be settled for by a full and entire experience of con- 
 sequences proportionate to its nature and extent. 
 
 7 mo. 20. — The following letter was received from Benja- 
 min Hallowell, and, being so full of instructive wisdom, I feel 
 it right to insert it herein. Had he sent it to me on the date 
 on which it was written it would have been very appropriate 
 and peculiarly adapted to the condition of mind under which 
 I was then suffering, as I find by reference to this journal. 
 
 " Sandy Spring, Maryland, 6 mo. 15, 1872. 
 "My dear Friend, — Owing to my having been from home more 
 than a month, and since my return had the pleasure of the company of 
 a number of Quarterly Meeting Friends, that I have not been able even 
 to read thy kind and interesting letter of the 3d ult. until this morning. 
 " I feel near sympathy and unity with thee, my friend, in the state of 
 feeling thou describes in thy letter, as I did also in the exercises and 
 
 157 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 vocal testimonies in the Yearly Meeting at Philadelphia. It is evident 
 to my understanding that thou art under the forming hand of the Most 
 High, whose will it is that thou shalt be a 'vessel of honor' and an 
 instrument of usefulness. In this condition it appears to me of the ut- 
 most importance that we recognize our own spiritual constitution and 
 receptive capabilities, as also the mode by which the Good Father com- 
 municates with His rational creatures. I am, therefore, made willing, 
 although I may tell thee nothing new, to express to thee some of the 
 thoughts that have arisen in my mind, believing thou wilt not misunder- 
 stand my motives, which are to endeavor to encourage and strengthen 
 th^e. 
 
 " Every reasonable being possesses in his constitution what may be 
 likened to both Moses and Aaron,— Moses, the spiritual part, to receive 
 instruction immediately from Deity, and Aaron, the power of reason, 
 to adapt those instructions practically to the necessities and interests 
 of the people for whom they are intended. These must go together. 
 They must both be alive, active, and in harmony. There is thus a ne- 
 cessity that a steady and close watch be maintained to preserve a proper 
 balance. Deity does not at any time speak to man with a voice of 
 words. God is a spirit, and He speaks to His creatures in spiritual 
 language, — ^the language of impression, — impressing upon the soul a 
 knowledge of the fact or truth that He would impart. This impression 
 the recipient of it must interpret. These two truths are manifest: ist. 
 No individual can give a more advanced, elevated, refined, and spirit- 
 ual interpretation to a received impression than accords with the highest 
 conceptions he is capable of forming of spiritual realities in that direc- 
 tion. And, 2d. That the right interpretation of an impression upon 
 the mind of an individual must harmonize with the highest conceptions 
 he can form of the attributes of Deity, and also with his unbiassed 
 reason. Truth and reason are both God-given, and must always har- 
 monize. They are the Moses and Aaron in our constitution. When 
 Moses left Aaron to go up into the mount, Aaron got the Israelites into 
 trouble. 
 
 " I was instructed many years ago, when reading Hawkesworth's 
 translation of Fenelon's ' Telemaque,' with the remark made when 
 Calypso, who was herself a goddess, according to heathen mythology, 
 saw Minerva and Telemachus approaching. Miiierva had assumed the 
 form of Mentor, and Calypso, though a goddess, was unable to discover 
 who he was ; for, says Fenelon, it is given to the gods to know an infe- 
 rior deity, but they cannot know one who is superior to themselves. The 
 lesser cannot comprehend the greater. 
 
 " This truth is peculiarly applicable to spiritual conditions. The soul 
 that has experienced in its travels Zionward the dangers, the struggles, 
 the besetments, the escapes, and the ultimate deliverances on different 
 parts of the journey, and in every such conflict knowing an advancement 
 of spiritual condition higher and more refined, will be at|le, under re- 
 
 IS8 
 
BENJAMIN HALLOWELL 
 
 membrance of his own experiences, to portray what a person in that 
 condition and stage of progress must pass through; and any persons in 
 a congregation of which there may be several who are in that stage of 
 progress will recognize with encouragement and instruction the picture 
 of their own spiritual condition; and the final triumph to which the 
 speaker can bear testimony will stimulate them to hold fast their faith 
 without wavering and know their deliverance and the power of God. 
 
 "The more advanced and elevated the spiritual condition of the 
 speaker is, the greater variety of conditions he must have experienced, 
 the larger number of states he can experimentally and profitably de- 
 scribe. But he can describe no state that is still above him, — which he 
 has not yet experienced, — nor can he with anything more than words, 
 which never will reach the souls of his hearers and profit them, picture 
 a state which he has not himself passed through. The basis of profit- 
 able speaking to the state of the people must be the spiritual expe- 
 riences of the speaker, with the abiding conviction that to those in a 
 similar condition the Good Father in His love and mercy will extend a 
 like help and strength. Then the speaker will speak with the under- 
 standing with which Paul declares he would ' rather speak five words 
 . . . than ten thousand in an unknown tongue.' 
 
 " Now, my dear friend, in feelings of near affection, I have been led 
 to express these things as they have arisen in my mind for thy consid- 
 eration, nothing more. Just accept them for what they are worth, as a 
 token of friendship and the interest I feel in thee, which was increased 
 by the contents of thy letter. 
 
 " Thy Sincere Friend, 
 
 "Benjamin Hallowell. 
 
 "7 mo. 15. — P.S. : I wrote the preceding just one month ago to-day, 
 and concluded it was not worth sending, for thee knew it all. On pick- 
 ing it up since meeting, and reading it over, I have concluded to send 
 
 it, trusting it will do no harm at least. 
 
 "B. H." 
 
 7 mo. 21. — First-Day. — We had several short testimonies, 
 and one that was very lengthy and somewhat elaborate. The 
 individual was properly impelled to speak, but so wordy as to 
 be tiresome to the audience, offering but little food for 
 thought. Silence, golden silence, would have been preferable 
 to most of it. Oh, what a precious benefit thou art, O Si- 
 lence, to the soul that would commune with itself and be still ! 
 And, O Eloquent Speech, how doubtful often are thy out- 
 pourings! how often dost thou interrupt and intercept rev- 
 eries and teachings that are profitable to the heart! How 
 
 IS9 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 often have we longed that thou wouldst cease thy empty din 
 and leave us in the house of worship to those holy thoughts 
 which the season and occasion so frequently inspire ! 
 
 " Silence, awful living word, 
 Behind all sound, behind all thought. 
 Whose speech is Nature-yet-to-be, 
 The poem yet unwrought !" 
 
 But at the same time " a word," as the proverb says, " fitly 
 spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." And may 
 I be impressed with the thought that it is much better and 
 often more effective in a meeting of worship to give expres- 
 sion to a sentence, as it were, that may develop, augment 
 itself, spread itself as a volume in the minds of my hearers. 
 And may I never unauthorised seek to inject my thoughts 
 into the minds of others to the interruption of inflowings of 
 the Spirit to their souls. And when authorized to stand upon 
 my feet in the house of worship, may I properly interpret the 
 impressions received, and in taking possession of the con- 
 sciousness of others, in consequence of the power that I may 
 possess as a speaker, or which may be conferred upon me by 
 the Spirit, may best wisdom direct tongue, utterance, and 
 mind aright, so that speech, words, may not be a burden to 
 my friends. 
 
 7 mo. 22. — I appear still to be as in the outer courts of the 
 temple. A veil seems drawn between myself and Deity. 
 Faith in Him is lacking to my spirit. Oh, may light beam 
 forth, as it seemed formerly to shine through the veil, to my 
 aching and longing soul ! 
 
 Was encouraged yesterday by my friend Edith Atlee when 
 on a social visit to us. Said that she had known seasons in 
 which she had "no Heavenly Father." And George Fox 
 relates in his journal that, " One morning, as I was sitting by 
 the fire, a great cloud came over me, a temptation beset me, 
 and I sat still." It was said "All things come by nature," 
 but, as he says, by keeping still, " a true voice arose in me, 
 
 i6o 
 
THE PERFECTION OF JESUS 
 
 which said, ' There is a living God, who made all things.' " 
 And his heart was made glad. Afterwards, he says, he met 
 a people who had a notion that there was no God, " but that 
 all things come by nature." " Then I saw," he relates, " it 
 was good for me that I had gone through that exercise." 
 
 Thus it may be profitable for me to continue somewhat 
 in the depths, and to know a baptism into the doubts of the 
 age. It may be for a good purpose; I know not. But I 
 do know from experimental knowledge that I cannot in the 
 smallest degree help myself. Faith will not come from 
 study and striving. Reading and pondering over other men's 
 th6ughts . lighten not the load which weighs upon my spirit. 
 But I am willing to wait, — willing to bear my burden. 
 Jesus, we read, bore his, and was made " perfect through 
 sufferings." 
 
 " For in that he himself hath suffereth being tempted, he is 
 able to succor them that are tempted." We also read that in 
 a season of extreme need he exclaimed, quoting the psalm- 
 ist before him, " My God, my God", why hast thou forsaken 
 me?" 
 
 May it not be that sometimes, in consequence of our im- 
 perfect natures. Deity seems afar off when He is in reality 
 very near to our spirits, as He certainly was to this beloved 
 Son in the hour of his greatest want and direst necessity? 
 The world had deserted him, his countrymen were clamorous 
 for his death, his disciples and relations were afar off, and it 
 seemed to his humanity that his God had also abandoned 
 him. This could not, however, have been; it was only an 
 expression which denotes the weakness of the flesh, — the 
 weakness and the frailties of our common humanity. 
 
 7 mo. 2^. — Yesterday and to-day I have experienced greater 
 quietness and fixedness of feeling and faith than I have felt 
 for the same length of time since the entry herein, 6 mo. i6th, 
 ultimo, and I feel it right to transcribe an extract from a let- 
 ter to Sister Martha, of the present date : 
 
 II i6i 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " Since thee was here I have passed through several deep baptisms 
 of suffering ; hive had many painful doubts to contend with ; have been 
 in the wilderness indeed. But light dawns at last, I hope, in a degree; 
 though I must be very watchful and not indulge in 'riotous living.' 
 Keeping very humble and little. 
 
 " I have even now no God but the inward mentor ; am not permitted 
 to speculate as to the origin of this power, only to obey its voice. I 
 hope that my present condition may not pass away, and I be again left 
 to myself. Very plainly have I been shown that no words of man, no 
 book, no outward manifestation, though such might be adapted to other 
 minds, could avail me. I tried to read the most edifying works, but 
 they were loathsome to me; it was impossible to read them. 
 
 " In times past I have felt somewhat akin to boasting perhaps of my 
 faith in the Highest. This was all taken from me. I can scarcely use 
 the term ' Heavenly Father,' can only obey the power, the principle, 
 the spirit within. And my happiness is great, — that is, comparatively so, 
 with my past state. I feel content with what I possess. 
 
 " Confucius is called an unbeliever in the Deity ; but he very plainly 
 distinguished between 'the me and the not me,' or, as the Apostle Paul 
 illustrated the idea, ' what I would, that do I not.' The Chinese phi- 
 losopher inculcated obedience to the Heavenly Man, — 'the not me,' the 
 Divine Me, — in contradistinction to our selfishness and in denial of our 
 abnormal appetites and propensities. This is not atheism. It is the 
 highest form of virtue, — that of obedience. Of this it was that Jesus 
 spoke when he said that man should live ' by every word of God.' 
 
 " I feel that I must rest entirely on the ground occupied by John 
 Woolman, which I have heretofore cited in this journal. ' There is,' 
 he says, ' a Principle * which is pure placed in the human mind. In 
 different places and ages it hath had different names; it is, however, 
 pure, and proceeds from God. It is deep and inward, confined to no 
 form of religion, nor excluded from any, when the heart stands in per- 
 fect sincerity. In whomsoever this takes root and grows, they become 
 brethren.' " 
 
 7 mo. 28, First-Day. — At meeting to-day I experienced 
 greater quietness than for many weeks past. The mind was 
 
 * This Principle is God manifest in man ; thus no longer the invisible 
 or the unknown I Am, but the indwelling God. And when the conscious- 
 ness is awakened and enlightened with the knowledge of Him thus in- 
 wardly experienced, then, and only then, such a man is consciously 
 "born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of 
 man, but of God." Thus saith Hosea, "Hear the Eternal," and he 
 saw, and said, " My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (this 
 knowledge) : "because thou hast rejected knowledge I will also reject 
 thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten 
 the law of thy God." 
 
 162 
 
EXPERIENCES 
 
 more centred upon the divine gift of consciousness in the soul, 
 and hence I experienced a greater degree of inward stillness 
 and true silence than at any meeting for now nearly six weeks. 
 May this continue, saith my soul, for it is indeed a feast and 
 an enjoyment. Out of that silence speech was evolved bear- 
 ing witness in other minds of truth's teachings. 
 
 7 mo. 2Q. — Our monthly meeting was held to-day, and 
 again I was permitted to experience a truly divine glow and 
 light to radiate around about me. The sensations and enjoy- 
 ment were very grateful after so great a fast. It was truly 
 a spiritual feast wherein the soul was nourished and fed. 
 Many were the testimonies borne to the efficacy of the inward 
 word and baptism which constitutes the doctrine of doc- 
 trines. 
 
 Another lesson which I have experimentally received by 
 my recent experiences is that His name is His power, and that 
 it makes little difference as to the name that may be used, 
 but that it is the spirit that quickeneth. As the apostle says, 
 " The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." 
 
 7 mo. SI. — Went with father, who is on a visit with us, to 
 Horsham Monthly Meeting. John Parrish was present, and 
 father says that we had one of the best meetings he has 
 attended for a long time. I had considerable service, and 
 again was favored with a heavenly serenity of soul. May 
 it continue is the desire of my heart. 
 
 8 mo. 6. — Attended Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting at the 
 new meeting-house at the valley. It was indeed a season of 
 spiritual refreshment, — an outpouring of the soul. Early in 
 the meeting I was called upon to address an individual con- 
 dition in relation to unfaithfulness in the ministry, and after- 
 wards was influenced by the spirit of supplication to approach 
 the throne of grace. - 
 
 8 mo. 8. — Abington Quarterly Meeting was held to-day. 
 It was very largely attended, and again I was led in an indi- 
 vidual direction, as in the last meeting. So frequently am 
 I thus impelled by the Master's voice of late that I no longer 
 
 163 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 think it strange; and in relation to to-day's testimony and 
 that delivered at the valley meeting I have had confirmatory 
 outward evidence in the appearance in public testimony of a 
 young man who was in attendance at both meetings. May 
 he be faithful, for the Master has gifted him with talents 
 of the highest order. I did not know of his presence till at 
 the close of the former meeting, when my spirit recognized 
 him as the individual addressed, and it strengthened my faith 
 not a little. May this outward evidence not exalt me, saith 
 my soul, but, on the contrary, may I be more and more hum- 
 bled, and more and more rely upon those truths which are 
 thus sealed upon my consciousness ; and very different from 
 this is the mere effervescence of feeling. Oh, that I may ever 
 be able to distinguish between these, for there is an antagonism 
 between them from their very nature ; and I now see that had 
 I been less fearful of the face of clay and more faithful to 
 my Guide at the Abington Quarterly Meeting, I would have 
 been instrumental early in the meeting in turning the atten- 
 tion of exercised minds from the letter to the spirit. For the 
 former exerted a somewhat depressing influence over us on 
 that occasion, and I suffered my spirit to be too much in- 
 fluenced by it, and lapsed into a condition of unwatchfulness. 
 It is much better when testimonies of a mere wordy character 
 are being delivered to strive to so retire upon the centre as 
 to keep in a state of stillness before God. 
 
 8 mo. p. — In reading the above entry in this journal I have 
 felt a great desire that I may so guard the portals, the mind, 
 that naught approaching to spiritual pride may be found a 
 visitant therein. Much instruction is there in the account 
 narrated in Luke x. 17-20, when the seventy returned to 
 Jesus with boasting on their lips, — ^that even " devils are sub- 
 ject unto us." We read that he saw the appearance of spirit- 
 ual pride in their hearts. "And he said unto them, I beheld 
 Satan as lightning fall from heaven. . . . Notwithstanding 
 in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but 
 rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." 
 
 164 
 
SAMUEL FOTHERGILL 
 
 May my late deep baptism be ever present to my recollection 
 when anything like " boasting of great things" may be found 
 in my heart and upon my tongue, and I feel a caution as to 
 whom I may in conversation communicate my experiences. 
 It is wise to be very watchful here, particularly when these 
 experiences are connected with others than myself. 
 
 8 mo. II. — Enoch Hanmon and Joseph Livzey attended 
 our First-day meeting to-day. It was an interesting occa- 
 sion. Indeed, of late the Spirit seems poured out upon us; 
 and upon this occasion many short but impressive testimonies 
 were borne. I had a service to render at the close of the 
 meeting, and was favored in testimony ; which was, however, 
 of a very close and searching character in relation to the 
 practical duties of life. 
 
 Though thus favored with life and power, I feel no elation ; 
 on the contrary, much depression; and was encouraged this 
 morning in reading the following extract from a letter of 
 Sarah Grubb. She says, — 
 
 " I remember to have heard that Samuel Fothergill, in the last 
 journey he took, was often so exceedingly stripped and tried, particu- 
 larly after his public appearances, that the unity or approbation of 
 the least child in the family would have revived him. This led him to 
 acknowledge he was never more weak and apt to doubt the rectitude 
 of his ministry ; yet a Friend of much religious worth and spiritual dis- 
 cernment, who was often with him, told me that it was never more pure 
 and baptizing." 
 
 8 mo. IS- — In a social gathering recently a minister of con- 
 siderable eminence stated that " it was an evidence of self- 
 denial on the part of a minister in refraining from addressing 
 an assembly wherein there were many exercised minds present 
 and many persons gathered together." I have thought much 
 of this remark, and feel it right to speak to the individual on 
 the subject when the opportunity shall occur. 
 
 This view I cannot understand in the light of my own ex- 
 perience, — for I can say that I am not conscious of arising 
 upon my feet in a meeting of worship except when expressly 
 
 163 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 ordered, but on one occasion, when permission was given me 
 to gratify a desire which I felt to preach what I esteemed 
 sound doctrine. And it is very clear to my mind now, that 
 upon that occasion I preached myself, and not Christ. I felt 
 no condemnation for this at the time, neither do I now. I 
 believe it to have been an experience vouchsafed unto me, in 
 order for me to see that it is not safe ground to stand upon. 
 My gift clearly is of a nature that in its proper exercise I 
 must feel the " necessity" and the " woe" which Paul speaks 
 of on each occasion, not only in arising upon my feet, but 
 also to be maintained throughout the whole discourse; and 
 herein I may have erred unconsciously, as I see others have, 
 in not being sufficiently watchful in regard to the length of 
 communications. 
 
 In reference to this subject, Dillwyn Parrish informed me 
 recently that he heard the late John Cox say that he seldom 
 listened to a communication that was prolonged beyond 
 twenty minutes in which the life was maintained throughout. 
 I have heard that Dr. Franklin once said that the subject must 
 be of great magnitude which warranted a longer speech than 
 about fifteen minutes. 
 
 The manner in which messages are communicated from the 
 spiritual to the material world, so far as I have experienced 
 them, are pictorial sketches upon the retina of the conscious- 
 ness. Now, the finite cannot comprehend the infinite. Our 
 capacity being so limited that there is necessity for our being 
 continually instructed, if capable; and we are capable of 
 learning much through our lesser or greater failures in com- 
 prehending the impression that may be made upon the under- 
 Standing. Thus the watchful mind can learn as it is recorded 
 Jesus did, by the things he suffered. 
 
 8 mo. 14. — Attended a meeting appointed by the Friends 
 last mentioned. In the afternoon I had a very interesting 
 conversation with Enoch Hanmon. His mind is an enlight- 
 ened one, and is permeated with a spirituality which consti- 
 tutes him a powerful advocate for the truth. I gave him an 
 
 166 
 
SUPREME INTELLIGENCE 
 
 idea of the wilderness condition which it has been my lot 
 lately to experience, and inquired his opinion concerning it. 
 He replied that it was most certainly to point me to the divine 
 power within the soul, and that he had been the recipient of 
 like baptisms. Such testimony is corroborative and comfort- 
 ing in its character. All things within and without to the 
 diligent inquirer are only as so much accumulative evidence 
 establishing the great fact that God is correlative with man; 
 that man is an important part of divine nature, and that the 
 great end of his being is to become more and more en rapport 
 to — or, to use the language of Scripture, acquainted with — 
 that great diffusive principle and power, that supreme intelli- 
 gence, which we call by the name of God. 
 
 We read in the Scriptures that God is love. He is also 
 LAW. And as we come to live in law, we come to live in Him 
 and He in us. When this divine _influence comes to permeate 
 our souls, comes to be an indwelling power. w us, we come 
 to be law-abiding citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem ; and the 
 more we live under the control and in harmony with the 
 source of all wisdom, which is all-powerful and omniscient 
 from its very nature, we of a necessity, as certainly as effect 
 follows cause, must progress upward and onward in the dif- 
 ferent phases of being and experience. 
 
 As children of God, passive and obedient unto Him, how 
 glorious is the destiny of man, forever and forever ascending 
 the ladder of life ! 
 
 Supreme intelligence takes cognizance of all things. In it 
 we live and move and have our being. In view of this great 
 truth, then, what supreme importance attaches itself to the 
 duties of life to which we as rational, accountable beings are 
 subject! And how important it is that we rightly com- 
 prehend these duties, and properly estimate our responsi- 
 bilities to our own nature, for within that nature are pains 
 and penalties attached to the violation of law. Herein we 
 make or mar our destiny in time and in eternity. And 
 herein is that beautiful law so well delineated by the poet : 
 
 167 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " Heaven formed each on other to depend, 
 A master, or a servant, or a friend ; 
 Bids each on other for assistance call, 
 Till one man's weakness grows the strength of all." 
 
 God works by instrumentalities, and these are not confined 
 to time, to mortals. These are spiritual, and they often come 
 to us from the eternal world. They come to us in love. 
 Ministering spirits are they that come to cheer, to comfort, 
 and to warn. Not alone are we in time. The spirit-world 
 looks down upon us. In the langxiage of Scripture, He 
 " maketh his angels spirits ; his ministers a flaming fire." 
 
 8 mo. I/. — Various circumstances occurred to-day that 
 were calculated to produce in an unwatchful condition of 
 mind irritation and discontent. To guard against the former 
 it is necessary to labor with, serenity and calmness. And; in 
 reference to the latter most undesirable state, let the wants be 
 circumscribed and curtailed. " It is the property of God to 
 need nothing," said Socrates; "and they that need and are 
 contented with least come nearest to God." False wants are 
 the bane of our civilization. Our real wants are simple and 
 easily supplied. " Corporeal delicacies," said one of olden 
 time, " dull the mind and hinder from noble living." 
 
 True contentment is the philosopher's stone ; and this is to 
 be found in simplicity of life and habit. Many notes of 
 sweetness are to be found herein; and terrible indeed is the 
 unrest of the pomp and- pride of fashion, which are but the 
 glitter and varnish of existence, beneath which much cor- 
 ruption may exist. Fine clothes, splendid equipage, and their 
 accoutrements, may cover, but cannot entirely conceal, their 
 many deformities. For the condition is an unnatural one; 
 and to enjoy life we must be natural. The many artificial 
 restrictions of society debar its votaries from a profitable 
 kinship and communion with nature. "He is the freeman 
 whom the truth makes free, and all are slaves beside." A 
 slave is a slave, and fashion and show are hard task-masters. 
 
 i68 
 
THE MISSION OF JESUS 
 
 Beautiful indeed is the simplicity of plainness and true con- 
 tentment. 
 
 8 mo. 2^, First-Day. — Was led at meeting to-day to briefly 
 comment on the text, John iv. 23, "But the hour cometh, 
 and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the 
 Father in spirit and in truth : for the Father seeketh such to 
 worship him." This was the chief merit of the mission of 
 Jesus to lead nien to the Father, to point them unto God; 
 to feel the boundlessness of His love, the certainty of His pro- 
 tection and care. This assurance of an intimate relation with 
 God seems to me more valuable than any other idea or state- 
 ment. It is calculated to elevate the soul and to bring to it 
 calmness and quietness under the greatest trials, — to that 
 peace which passeth the understanding. 
 
 Whilst speaking, I plainly felt the spirit of opposition 
 among some of the audience, which was of a mixed char- 
 acter, and in a slight degree this found voice in the meeting. 
 Afterwards my friend Sarah Betts was wonderfully favored 
 in commenting upon the divine mission of Jesus ; and at the 
 close of the meeting the mantle of supplication fell upon my 
 shoulders, and we were all baptized by the one spirit into the 
 one body. But, notwithstanding I was thus favored in a 
 good degree to-day, I feel that a great need exists on my part 
 to dwell in a waiting and passive state for the growth of the 
 good seed, and not to impatiently attempt plucking the fruit 
 ere it ripens and matures. There is much truth in the say- 
 ing, " How slow the growth of what is excellent !" May I be 
 favored to patiently remain in the condition of this growth in 
 the root of life. In this state there is calmness and serenity, 
 and out of it a feeling of unrest and disquietude. I feel that 
 I must renewedly wait for the growth of the divine seed of 
 faith and trust, keeping very humble and little, bearing in 
 remembrance my recent wilderness condition, and that faith 
 is the Father's gift to the obedient soul. Let me be content 
 with the condition given, resting in the belief that more and 
 more light will be vouchsafed, as by faithfulness and diligence 
 
 169 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 the divine will is wrought in me. Thus I perceive that I 
 must learn and labor for the bread of life, and that we re- 
 ceive an equivalent for our earnings, — nothing more, noth- 
 ing less. 
 
 8 mo. 26. — Our monthly meeting to-day was a favored 
 one, and greatly in the cross was I led to speak of the great 
 law of love, and of its binding and cementing influences. 
 And this afternoon and evening my mind has been greatly 
 illuminated by this overshadowing love of the Good Father, 
 and it has been made manifest to me in the plainest manner 
 that I must live more and more under its influence and power, 
 from hour to hour and from, day to day; and the promise 
 seems to be, if I am thus concerned, that from time to time 
 more and more light will be vouchsafed and greater progress 
 experienced in that faith by and through which the soul can 
 be built up and established in divine and heavenly gifts. 
 
 8 mo. 2Q. — Think purely, speak purely, act purely, is the 
 substance of the revelation of Ormuzd through Zoroaster, 
 according to the traditions of the Persians. Thus in all re- 
 ligions there is a correspondence in essentials which is 
 founded on the great spiritual law which is binding on all 
 humanity. Mere appellations are widely diffused. Those 
 having significance to the Divine Being are traceable to an- 
 cient root, — Dio meaning to shine. The Sanscrit Devas, 
 the Zend Daeva, the Greek Zeus, Jupiter (from Diespiter), 
 the Latin Deus, the German Zio, are all derived from this 
 root, say the best authorities. 
 
 There is a deep moral element in the system of Zoroaster, 
 which, like that of Buddha, was a revolt from the Pantheism 
 of India. Zoroaster bases his revelations upon the eternal 
 distinction between right and wrong. His and Sakya Muni's 
 laws appear to differ ; but the difference seems to have been 
 but in terms and signs, — all their oppositions have their ori- 
 gin and connection in a single root. They both recognize a 
 morality from a moral source. It is the same in all spirit- 
 ualistic religions, — ^the tendency has ever been to the abstract, 
 
 170 
 
ZOROASTER AND MOHAMMED 
 
 to the infinite, and to ignore personalities. " The soul," says 
 Emerson, "knows no persons." Tradition is ever on the 
 search for mere personalities; but the eternal spirit soars 
 upon a higher flight than this and seeks to connect Deity with 
 humanity. 
 
 Tradition recognizes finality. And thus the different sys- 
 tems of the great masters have this pointing. It is the same 
 in each. In Confucius, Buddha, Zoroaster, Moses, Jesus, 
 and Mohammed the different systems revolve around their 
 different " founders." But were the truth established, its 
 pointings would doubtless be that each of these great re- 
 formers sought to ignore mere personalities, denying, as 
 Jesus unquestionably did over and over again, that he was 
 a finality. Zoroaster, as Jesus (according to Sprenger) 
 prays for truth, declares himself the faithful servant of 
 Ormuzd the Wise One, and therefore begs to know the best 
 thing to do. As the Hebrew prophets endeavored to escape 
 the "burden" of their mission, so the Persian seer says, 
 " When it came to me through your prayer, I thought that 
 the spreading abroad of your law through men was something 
 difficult." 
 
 It is now impossible to estimate correctly the time in which 
 Zoroaster lived. Aristotle places it at about six thousand 
 years before his time. Others have considered him a co- 
 temporary of Abraham. 
 
 Many are the points of contact evinced in the Jewish 
 scriptures of attachment and affinity to the Persian faith. 
 It was not till after the captivity that the Jews cease to be 
 idolaters, — after their return, their constant tendency to idol- 
 atry entirely disappears. 
 
 With respect to Mohammed all is very clear; there is no 
 myth, no legend, to trouble the inquirer; and Dr. Sprenger 
 tells us that authentic history exists as to even the details of 
 his life. The first volume of the Iqaba contains the names 
 and biographies of eight thousand individuals who were in 
 person acquainted with him. 
 
 171 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Untainted by vice or crime, he passed his youth as a tender 
 of flocks and herds, and by common consent the title of 
 II Amin, "the faithful," was conferred upon him. His ha- 
 bitual frame of mind was serious, thoughtful, and devout; 
 and it was not till mature life that the visions of the angeHc 
 world were unfolded to his view. " Inspiration descends," 
 said the prophet, " on me in two ways. Sometimes Gabriel 
 cometh and communicateth the revelation, as one man to 
 another. This is easy. But sometimes it is a ringing of a 
 bell, which rends me in pieces and grievously afflicts me." 
 Afterwards he seems to possess more control over his feel- 
 ings. His sincerity is undoubted, and his earliest converts 
 were his friends and companions, who were nearly intimate 
 with his domestic life. 
 
 In mature years he conceived his mission. Ambition did 
 not beckon him on, but persecutions, contumely, and hatred 
 were his constant companions. Through many long and 
 trying years an intense reality of his mission could only have 
 supported him; during the first twelve years of his public 
 preaching, wherein none of the precursors and harbingers 
 of his after triumph attended him, for those years of failure, 
 loneliness, and contempt were better and more heroically 
 borne by the prophet than the full tide of his prosperity. 
 As many before and as many since his time, his charac- 
 ter degenerates as his fortunes rise. Up to the time when 
 the Mohammedan, era begins, a.d. 622, with patience and 
 faith in the manifestations of divine light in the individual 
 conscience, did Mohammed teach God's truth and oneness 
 to such as might hearken to him as a prophet of glad tidings. 
 But now his fortunes change, and with them change the 
 character of his revelations, adapting themselves to his needs 
 and wants as the leader and champion of a rising party. 
 His ends were the same, but his means were very different. 
 
 It is charitable to believe that his great error grew in great 
 part out of his conception of the divine character ; and to-day 
 we find it to be a fundamental principle of Mohammedan 
 
 172 
 
GOETHE'S VIEW OF ISLAM 
 
 theology that God is pure will, not wisdom, not love, but 
 force. It says to its votaries, submit to God, and hence the 
 religion of Islam is hard, cold, and cruel. It teaches the 
 divine unity of pure will. This is the main idea of the sys- 
 tem as inculcated in the Koran, and it was this idea indwell- 
 ing in the prophet's mind which incited him to those deeds 
 of cold-blooded cruelty against the enemies of Islam, of which 
 there are so many full pages in the Mohammedan records. 
 Islam's essential doctrine is the absolute unity and supremacy 
 of God as opposed to the old Arab polytheism on the one 
 side, and also is in antagonism to Trinitarianism in the 
 Christian system on the other. In its mythology, angels 
 and spirits form an important part. Gabriel, Michael, 
 Azriel, Eblis, or Satan have each important duties assigned 
 them. By deed is the Moslem judged! To the angel 
 Gabriel are assigned the weights and measures of judgment. 
 He holds the balance, and as the scale inclines is the future 
 destiny of all believers. 
 
 How auspicious for good might have been the labors of 
 this great reformer had he patiently lived in the measure 
 of his early growth, for then he accepted the idea of one 
 universal faith, and recognized all the essential truths of 
 Judaism and Christianity, — ^taught love and trust in God 
 and good-will to His creatures. But, alas ! the pure gold 
 became dim ; and as that great thinker, Goethe, said, " What 
 in his character is earthly increases and develops itself; the 
 divine retires and is obscured ; his doctrine becomes a means 
 rather than an end. All kinds of practices are employed, 
 nor are horrors wanting." 
 
 p mo. I. — ^\¥as silent at meeting this morning; but at the 
 circular meeting held this afternoon attempted, in a concise 
 manner, to explain the thought of the fourth evangelist in 
 relation to some of those texts which, having an objective 
 form, have also a subjective significance and meaning. " My 
 words," we read Jesus said, " they are spirit, and they are 
 life." And thus we are to interpret such texts as John vi. 
 
 173 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 53 by the spirit, and comprehend them by that life which was 
 hid with " Christ in God." The Apostle Paul, with signifi- 
 cance, says, " and as is the heavenly, such are they also that 
 are heavenly," having the same purport as Phil, ii, 5, "Let 
 this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." He 
 is a fitting representative of the Heavenly Man in every true 
 believer, " preached to every creature which is under heaven, 
 whereof I Paul am made a minister." 
 
 Thus, also, in the text, John iv. 31, is related a conversa- 
 tion, which is. doubtless authentic, in which Jesus strove to 
 impress upon his disciples' minds the necessity of an abnega- 
 tion of self : " Master, eat," they said ; " but he said unto 
 them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore 
 said the disciples one to another. Hath any man brought 
 him aught to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to 
 do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." 
 And then instancing the work immediately at hand, he went 
 on to say, "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for 
 they are white already to harvest." 
 
 Here is an explanation of such texts as John vi, 35, 54, 
 and 58 : " This is that bread which came down from heaven ; 
 not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead : he that 
 eateth of this bread shall live for ever." The same thought 
 is evinced in John xiv. 6 : " I am the way, the truth, and the 
 life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." That 
 is by the Divine Me in contradistinction to the selfish me, 
 or by the way in which I, Jesus, came unto the eternal source 
 and fountain of truth. 
 
 And so, also, when " Philip saith unto him. Lord, show 
 us the Father, and it sufficeth us, Jesus saith unto him, 
 Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not 
 known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the 
 Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? 
 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father 
 in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of my- 
 self ; but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." 
 
 174 
 
GOD'S UNSPEAKABLE GIFT 
 
 And it is further explained that this radiant light which the 
 pure in heart shall see, and which is God, is a universal light, 
 not confined to Jesus, for we read that he said " the works 
 that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these 
 shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatso- 
 ever ye shall ask in my name" (that is, in my power and the 
 life in which I live) " that will I do, that the Father may be 
 glorified in the Son." 
 
 After meeting, this morning, I informed Anthony Livzey 
 that I had a prospect of attending the ensuing Quarterly 
 Meeting to be held at Salem, and thought of his accompany- 
 ing me, requesting him to turn the subject over in his mind, 
 and to inform me of his conclusion by the afternoon meet- 
 ing. At which time he said that during the week previous 
 he had told his wife that he been several times impressed with 
 the belief that some one would desire him to attend a meeting 
 in New Jersey. Such outward corroborative evidence 
 seemed to strengthen him. 
 
 p mo. 5. — Salem Quarterly Meeting was held to-day. 
 Soon after we had been quietly seated therein, it was shown 
 me that Watson Tomlinson, from our quarter, would soon 
 speak, and that I was to follow him. I was greatly strength- 
 ened and confirmed in our glorious faith by his soon there- 
 after arising ; and the text of my discourse was drawn from 
 his communication, as I was impressed it would be, during 
 the time of his speaking. It was to this purport, that no 
 human mind had ever conceived or tongue depicted the glory 
 of God's unspeakable gift. How grateful I am, and how 
 humble I feel in the wonderful display of Infinite goodness 
 to my mind ; truly it is as Whittier has declared, — 
 
 " By inward sense, by outward signs, 
 God's presence still the heart divines." 
 
 p mo. 6. — Friend returned with us on our way home 
 
 to-day as far as Camden. He possesses a wonderful fund 
 of knowledge as to the statistics of our religious Society, 
 
 175 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 with which I was much interested, particularly at that in 
 relation to the ministry. He says that he has observed that in 
 meetings wherein habitually traditionary and doctrinal theol- 
 ogy are held up to view, or a dark or discouraging view of life 
 depicted, that such meetings dwindle invariably away. And 
 this is a natural consequence, too, for a house divided against 
 itself cannot stand. Our Society is called to the Light, to the 
 Spirit, to experimental religion. Dry formalism is ever an- 
 tagonistic to this. It will soon scatter; it will ever divide. 
 " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre- 
 pared for you. from the foundation of the world," is much 
 more attractive than the reverse of this, and the Infinite One 
 has blessed and is showering His blessings down in unmerited 
 profusion upon us all. Blessings upon the poor in spirit, 
 upon the mourners, the meek, upon those which do hunger 
 and thirst after righteousness, upon the merciful, the peace- 
 makers ; upon those who are reviled for righteousness' sake, 
 and upon the pure in heart, for they shall " see God." 
 blessed assurance ! Not blessed alone because that divine son 
 of God realized it, but forever blessed, also, because every 
 faithful child of God can realize it too. " For certain," as 
 Theodore Parker says, " as the open eye drinks in the light 
 do the pure in heart see God, and he that lives truly feels him 
 as a presence not to be put by." 
 
 " To him no high, no low, no great, no small ; 
 He fills, he bound's, connects, and equals all." 
 
 The clerk of the Quarterly Meeting, David Petit, in- 
 formed me how highly the memory of my precious mother 
 was cherished at Salem, and narrated a circumstance which 
 he esteemed most wonderful. That when on a visit to the 
 family of a friend of his, she unfolded to him what had trans- 
 pired in his youth, which he had concealed from every living 
 person; but that the Great Revealer had disclosed through 
 her the secrets of his heart and laid bare the intent of his 
 mind. Wherever I go among Friends I almost invariably 
 
 176 
 
JOB SCOTT 
 
 meet with such testimony concerning my dear- mother, and 
 find many a welcome on her account. 
 
 p mo. 8, First-Day. — Was silent at meeting to-day, though 
 an exercise sprang up in my mind before the same, and I 
 felt it right to refresh my memory by looking up a text of 
 Scripture in regard thereto ; but I felt no command, though 
 a liberty, to express my feelings. Clearly, I must experience 
 a fresh anointing for each service in the ministry. May I be 
 preserved herein is the desire of my heart. 
 
 Before we went into the house, a concerned Friend in- 
 formed me that he had been in deep exercise on my behalf 
 through the past week, and during the meeting my spirit was 
 much tendered thereby. Divine love from human hearts 
 seemed radiating around and circling about us in our silent 
 waiting upon God. This waiting state seemed the true and 
 living state, and a beautiful figure was presented to my mind 
 in regard to silent worship. In some parts of California they 
 have aqueducts conveying water from some common foun- 
 tain or fountains, conducting it from thence over the hills 
 and through plantations, in which each of the planters can 
 have their share for the purpose of irrigation, on complying 
 with certain conditions and the payment of a certain price. 
 Just so will the divine current of feeling and sympathy ebb 
 and flow in a religious gathering of the people, — ^filling every 
 soul with its refreshing tide of love and grace, though not 
 one word may be spoken. Yet at the same time there are 
 workmen and servants necessary whose duty it may be to see 
 that the waters are properly divided, disseminated, and dis- 
 tributed to all. And this labor may be performed among 
 us in due form of worship by ministers and servants ; some- 
 times by silent sympathy and sometimes by earnest expres- 
 sion. Great care and skilful labor are necessary on their part 
 to divide the work aright, so that speech may not divert the 
 streams of sympathy into improper channels. 
 
 Job Scott, in his journal, evinces much concern on this 
 subject, and when in England he was often led by the Spirit 
 12 177 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 to testify by silence in large meetings against a dry and formal 
 ministry. He says, page 436, vol. i., "They are so full of 
 themselves, under the profession of the spirit, that they often 
 expose themselves to the more discerning of other societies, 
 inducing them to think lightly of the profession of being led 
 by the Holy Spirit." 
 
 p mo. II. — Near the conclusion of my remarks at the 
 Salem Quarterly Meeting I made use of the following ex- 
 pression : " We are here in spirit." It seemed an involuntary 
 ejaculation, such as I find myself sometimes led to utter when 
 under exercise in public. Last night sleep fled from my eye- 
 lids, and the subject, which elicited but little thought since its 
 declaration, came fresh before my mind. 
 
 In the fourteenth chapter of John this thought is most 
 certainly denoted by the evangelist, as we read Jesus said to 
 his friends, " If ye had known me, ye should have known my 
 Father also." Clearly he did not allude to the flesh, — ^they 
 being well acquainted with the beloved form and features of 
 their Master. It was the spiritual which they had not as yet 
 apprehended, the realization of which Jesus saw was not afar 
 off, — the comforter was to come, bringing all things to their 
 remembrance. Their abode was not yet in that spiritual life 
 of which he was so truly a perfect representative. For the 
 great concernment of his life was to do the Father's will and 
 to finish his work. Living daily with him, they recognized 
 not the kingdom of which he spoke ; they read not his gospel, 
 because they lacked the cipher which was to be the key to 
 that exceeding great possession. His condition being above 
 theirs, they understood it not. 
 
 Jesus looked upon the body as the servant which should 
 abide for a time, " but the Son abideth ever." And this was 
 also the view of the writer (i John iii. 2) : " Beloved, now 
 are we the sons of God." " And every man that hath this 
 hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." And Paul 
 says, " There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." 
 With this view he no longer looked upon death as something 
 
 178 
 
IMMORTALITY 
 
 to be feared and dreaded, and was led to query : " O death, 
 where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?' 
 
 Death, then, means only "shuffling off this mortal coil," 
 with its encumbrances, its many wants, its hunger, and its 
 thirst. The ego — the soul— is a creation of divine intelli- 
 gence, is related to Him ; if is, and shall be. 
 
 " I cannot persuade myself," said King Cyrus, whom Isaiah 
 called " the Anointed," " to think that the soul of a man, after 
 having sustained itself in a mortal body, should perish when 
 delivered out of it for want of it." 
 
 Anonymously in the German is the thought : " Man is God, 
 and God is man." This is not sacrilegious in that higher 
 sense in which Jesus spoke, when he said, " I am in the Father, 
 and the Father in me." " Know ye not," said Paul, " that ye 
 are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in 
 you?" 
 
 Again (i Cor. vi. 19), "What? know ye not that your 
 body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which 
 ye have of God, and ye are not your own ? 
 
 " For ye are bought with a price : therefore glorify God in 
 your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 
 
 Clearly this present life is but a phase of the spirit's exist- 
 ence wherein there is space and time. Disencumbered of the 
 earthly nature, neither of these can exist. The soul being, 
 then, not an inhabitant of a place, but of a condition, a state. 
 Thought cannot be confined to space, neither can the soul, it 
 being a part of divine nature. 
 
 It has pleased God to ally us to the earth, thereby rendering 
 us imperfect; but He has also implanted in our nature the 
 deathless desire to be perfect, to commune with Him ; and in 
 this eternal yearning this immortal longing is its own guar- 
 antee. " Perfect goodness requiring of itself a redemption 
 of its promises." 
 
 p mo. 12. — Was silent at meeting to-day, — felt the blessed- 
 ness of true poverty of spirit. 
 p mo. 13. — Awoke about midnight last night with spirit 
 
 179 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 much under exercise in behalf of some of my friends in the 
 ministry, whom it was impressed on my mind were in danger 
 from some source which was not clear to my vision. But this 
 morning it seems that their enemy is the letter, — a literal 
 form and manner of preaching. 
 
 May I be preserved from this is the earnest desire of my 
 soul. Last night the pointing seemed to be to a service in 
 this respect; but to-day the impression is to leave them en- 
 tirely in the Master's hand, to his correction and reproof. 
 To bear truth's burden in silence is my part. Oh, what 
 danger there is in words without life, the letter without the 
 spirit! Let, oh, let my place be in wisdom and forbear- 
 ance. 
 
 Received a social visit from Jane and Lydia Price. The 
 former is still very bright and spiritual, though past eighty 
 years of age; is a minister of many years' standing in the 
 society. The latter is a very interesting character ; is a min- 
 ister of much promise, having many rich gifts. 
 
 p mo. i6. — Attended the circular meeting at Gwynedd 
 yesterday, staying overnight with a Friend, whose son, my 
 guide informs me, has had a call to come up higher. In the 
 course of the evening's conversation the father stated that 
 my precious mother visited his family in 1862, and during 
 that interview expressed the belief that some one then pres- 
 ent would become a servant of God in the ministry. Such 
 confirmation of my feelings on the subject was assuring. I 
 felt no liberty to speak in private on the subject; but now 
 felt that I must write to him, encouraging him to mind the 
 light. 
 
 Received intelligence of the demise of Edward Parrish at 
 Fort Sill, whither he was attending' to some special duties as 
 commissioner and agent among the Indians. But a few 
 months have passed since I had a most interesting conversa- 
 tion with him in regard to a call which I felt that he had to 
 the ministry, and which likewise he informed me others had 
 also discerned. He did not at the time admit the call, but he 
 
 180 
 
SOCRATES 
 
 subsequently obeyed it; and his obedience in this respect 
 doubtless soothed his dying moments. 
 
 p mo. I/. — A circumstance transpired at the circular meet- 
 ing on First-day which enjoined charity. | Our happiness is 
 increased by our thinking leniently of the faults of others, 
 and never well of our own. > Herein is continual sentinel duty 
 — on the watch — to keep the enemy out of the camp. 
 
 In many things right and wrong are relative terms. The 
 former is not always an abstract proposition. Right to the 
 individual consists in minding the light, — i.e.^ living up to 
 the highest intelligence. The kingdom of God is an increase, 
 and love its higher development. 
 
 Diverse doctrine is sometimes preached in Friends' meet- 
 ings; and herein are different minds fed, and herein, too, is 
 charity enjoined, care being taken against all clashing. For 
 true harmony and love may be maintained through con- 
 trariety of opinion. This is true civilization and refinement, 
 and the world is moving towards it. 
 
 The light leads not amiss. " With me," says Socrates, " it 
 has always been a guide which has not failed to direct me, 
 even in the most simple of my outgoings and incomings. 
 To-day, when I left my house to come into this court, which 
 has condemned me to death, it warned not against coming: 
 thus I may be sure that my dying shall profit more than my 
 living." 
 
 In the flickering of the lamp of life, and as the closing 
 scene is approaching, often does the brightest light enter. 
 " Let not the Persians," said Cyrus, " lament at my funeral 
 as if I were really dead ; let them rather rejoice that I have 
 passed to a something higher and better." 
 
 The more we " mind the light" the greater is its glow, the 
 greater its brightness. May I keep this beacon ever bright, 
 ever letting it shine out as an example unto others; so that 
 when the end of time comes I may say with the good Bishop 
 of Poictiers, " Go out, soul, go out ! Of what canst thou be 
 afraid ? Hast thou not studied duty for seventy years ?" 
 
 i8t 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " Men live in deeds, not years ; in thoughts, not breath ; 
 In feelings, not in figures on a dial. 
 We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives 
 Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best ; 
 And he whose heart beats quickest lives the longest." 
 
 p mo. i8. — The newspapers state that the Council at 
 Geneva has closed, and that they have awarded the United 
 States fifteen million five hundred thousand dolllars as dam- 
 ages. The London Times of the 14th instant contains an 
 article giving cheerful assent to the arhitrum. This is joy- 
 ful news, over which my heart rejoices. May it be a pre- 
 cursor, a harbinger of a higher civilization which may usher 
 in the anthem of peace on earth and good-will to men. A 
 triumph this of the faith of the Eudemonists. 
 
 p mo. IQ. — At mid-week meeting to-day I was largely led 
 before a very small audience to comment upon the text, Luke 
 xii. 57, " Why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?" 
 The numbers of adults present were few, the children of the 
 school constituting most of the congregation; and, though 
 very empty on taking my seat, the demonstration was very 
 powerful, and I was certainly much favored with heavenly 
 assistance as a servant. Not elated, but humbled, by the 
 Father's great love. In the true growth there can be no 
 spiritual pride, because upon the heavenly ladder, as each 
 round is surmounted, there will ever be enough yet to be 
 attained to keep the mind humble and childlike. 
 
 Spent the afternoon in paying visits of a social religious 
 nature. Received a letter of my friend David Petit, in which 
 he states that he has three copies of "Indices," which he 
 keeps in circulation ; and, as he is an elder of Salem Weekly 
 Meeting and clerk of the Quarterly, it is certainly assuring. 
 
 p mo. 22. — Our meeting was largely attended to-day, the 
 weather being very fine. My line of exercise was mainly 
 doctrinal and the subject one that occupied my thoughts 
 before entering the house. I turned the fleece over and over 
 agafin, but the necessity seemed urgent. It is much more 
 
 182 
 
SAMUEL JEANES 
 
 productive of comfortable sensations to speak from the emo- 
 tional, but I had no choice. 
 
 The theme was the fourteenth chapter of John, explain- 
 ing the metonymical character of the words used by the 
 evangelist, — that he regarded Jesus as the representative 
 divine man, and that the words " I" and " me" in the chapter 
 have that significance. Such texts as "I do nothing of 
 myself," " The words that I speak unto you I speak not of 
 myself," were intended by the writer of the fourth Gospel as 
 a key to the apparent egotism therein exhibited. Samuel 
 Jeanes informed me, after meeting, that he had heard the late 
 John Comly express the same thought from the gallery ; and 
 Lucretia Mott recently informed me that John told her he 
 could not conscientiously use the term " Our Lord" as applied 
 to Jesus. And yet some of our ministers can use such 
 "carnal" language; for if the Apostle Paul made use of 
 such, he no doubt used them in the sense denoted in i 
 Cor. iii. i ; " And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as 
 unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in 
 Christ." 
 
 p mo. 23. — My soul has been greatly tendered to-day at 
 many times while engaged in my daily duties under a mani- 
 fest sense of the Father's love and regard, — feeling very sensi- 
 bly the angel of His presence. Duties in the future seemed 
 foreshadowed, and the metaphysical and metonymical char- 
 acter of the New Testament literature was made clear in 
 several respects. And this evening, in looking over Job 
 Scott's journal, my eye fell upon page 136, vol. i., in which 
 he speaks of what has been gradually "opened and sealed" 
 upon his mind in relation thereto, — " that a great part of the 
 Scriptures" are thus to be understood, and "that real out- 
 ward acts and occurrences" have this significance. 
 
 I feel persuaded and convinced that had this much-tried 
 servant of God adhered to this thought more his mind would 
 have been cleared and his vision less clouded ; and that con- 
 sequently some of his writings, especially in the second vot- 
 
 183 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 ume of his journal, would be freed of the literal and be more 
 subjective in their tone. 
 
 p mo. 28. — Was much encouraged to-day by the receipt of 
 a letter from a dear young friend, acknowledging mine of the 
 17th instant, saying, that I was not misled, but that he had 
 many times felt impressed that it was his duty to speak to the 
 people, yet fearing " that the impressions were not sufficiently 
 clear" that he had foreborne ; but that he was now convinced 
 that he erred therein. This letter was a great strength to me, 
 particularly as the burden of attending the meeting at Ger- 
 mantown to-morrow had been laid upon me. Had he in- 
 formed me in his letter that my guide had misled me as 
 respecting him, the weight of to-morrow's duty would have 
 been onerous indeed. 
 
 In answer to this letter, I stated that my soul seemed knit 
 unto his for time and eternity. His is a precious spirit. 
 May he be faithful to the heavenly vision, saith my soul. 
 The Lord, indeed, " doeth great things past finding out ; yea, 
 and wonders without number." 
 
 ' p mo. 2g>. — At Germantown meeting to-dav I had a close 
 testimony to deliver, which was, however, well received. 
 Was accompanied by Anthony Livzey, with whom we dined 
 at Dr. Charles Noble's. 
 
 p mo. JO. — Our monthly meeting was held to-day, at which 
 several testimonies of an encouraging character were deliv- 
 ered. During the past month I have happily been preserved 
 in many respects, particularly in patience and tenderness of 
 feeling. But I feel very sensibly the great need of improve- 
 ment in these as in many other respects, especially that I may 
 keep a guard over that troublesome member, the tongue. 
 That I may be preserved here is my earnest desire, — that in 
 speaking of my neighbors to be very circumspect, carefully 
 avoiding the least tendency to detraction, and that in relating 
 my religious experiences, even to very intimate friends, self 
 may be kept under, and the least appearance of boasting 
 or of the undue exhibition of spiritual gifts and attainments 
 
THE GOSPEL OF TO-DAY 
 
 may not be experienced, for there are " many manifestations 
 by the same spirit." We are not all led alike ; though I am 
 convinced that if those who are called to the work of the 
 ministry would keep strictly in the increase of the spirit they 
 would be more preserved from literalism of thought and 
 expression. For very clearly do I see that many have begun 
 in the spirit and have sought to be made perfect " after the 
 flesh." Oh, that the ministers of our much-loved society 
 were more actuated by the sentiments of a recent writer in the 
 Manchester Friend: 
 
 " Seeing to-day- 
 Fresh advents of beauty, 
 What man of yesterday 
 
 Knoweth thy duty? 
 Let the Seed's voice be heard ; 
 This is the Living Word ; 
 This is the Holy Ghost, whom men blaspheme ; 
 This was the prophets' guide, — 
 Tried, tempted, crucified ; 
 This was glory of Jesus, his stay and his theme. 
 
 " Living to-day 
 
 With God's book before thee, 
 What book of yesterday 
 
 Shall rule o'er thee? 
 Let the Soul's voice be heard ; 
 This is the Living Word ; 
 This is the Holy Ghost, whom men blaspheme ; 
 This was the prophets' guide,— 
 Tried, tempted, crucified ; 
 This was glory of Jesus, his stay and his theme. 
 
 " Waiting to-day 
 A new revelation 
 What creed of yesterday 
 Brings thee salvation. 
 Let the Seed's voice be heard ; 
 This is the Living Word ; 
 This is the Holy Ghost, whom men blaspheme ; 
 This was the prophets' guide,— 
 Tried, tempted, crucified ; 
 This was glory of Jesus, his stay and his theme." 
 i8s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 10 mo. 2. — ^Attended a funeral, at which I was impressed 
 to speak, but put it off till it was almost time to close the 
 opportunity, when I was absolutely enjoined to say a word 
 of encouragement and sympathy to those gathered. It was 
 much in the cross that I obeyed, as many of my old political 
 friends were present, and they seemed in the way ; but I now 
 feel that my loss would have been grievous had I been un- 
 faithful to the Master's voice. 
 
 My great unworthiness is so clear that I wonder at the 
 power of the manifestation ; but am willing — ^nay, desirous — 
 that the vessel may be cleansed, that the streams of inspiring 
 power which may be given forth through me may be received 
 by the people less mixed with earth and its sediment. It is, I 
 know, impossible for man to hand forth divine inspiration in 
 its purity, for the cup is not a pure one; * and hence the many 
 vagaries and erroneous notions which man has taught in the 
 different ages of the world. The records of the past are full 
 of these. And in view of the task which has in some measure 
 been imposed upon me in pointing these out, sifting for my- 
 self and others the pure ore from the dross, though I often 
 feel depressed in view of the many stones which have been 
 cast, and which I feel will be yet cast at me, yet I have this 
 day experienced much comfort, remembering the ancient tes- 
 timony, " If God be for us, who can be against us ?" 
 
 10 mo. J. — Was visited to-day by Joseph Bancroft, who 
 feels a concern to call upon all " concerned" Friends of all the 
 different branches of our society in this country, with a view 
 to promote unity, that all may be again brought together as 
 one, holding the common title Friends. 
 
 I felt to extend to him the right hand of fellow-feeling in 
 his weighty concern, and found him to agree with me in sen- 
 timent that a high and holy civilization would lead men to 
 that unity of spirit wherein "neither circumcision availeth 
 
 * I Cor. xiii. g, " For we know in part, and we prophesy in part." 
 
 i86 
 
PATIENCE 
 
 anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by 
 love." 
 
 10 mo. 6. — Before going to meeting to-day I thought I 
 would be excused from words therein, in consequence of in- 
 disposition, but felt it incumbent to speak twice, feeling at 
 the time and since meeting "the foolishness of preaching." 
 My earnest desire is not to speak in the spirit of man, but 
 after thy spirit, O my Father. Oh, that I may be preserved 
 herein! And, as I had much to say upon the subject of 
 patience, may this angelic virtue find a resting-place in my 
 heart, that, having preached it unto others, I may not be- 
 come myself a castaway. 
 
 10 mo. 14. — During the past week I have been several days 
 from home. I have attended, in company with my friend A. 
 Livzey, religious meetings held at Middletown, Fallsington, 
 and Bristol, in which, though humbled by the sense of my 
 own imperfections, was yet enabled to feel the inshinings of 
 His light, which is His presence. Returned to my home 
 strengthened and refreshed in spirit, having met with many 
 tender and congenial minds, and having also experienced that 
 it is needful for us to feel the consciousness of sympathizing 
 hearts in our warfare against evil. 
 
 70 mo. 16. — Confined at home by indisposition, which is in 
 part induced by the strain upon my nervous system during 
 the past week, in which I had much hard work to do in re- 
 lation to others, and also much spiritual self-questioning in 
 relation to myself. 
 
 Had I been more faithful in early life, and submitted in a 
 healthful spirit to the heavenly guide, much of this strain 
 might have been avoided ; but I now hope that a more cheer- 
 ful serenity of soul may henceforth be my portion and a 
 greater confidence experienced in the divine growth of God's 
 kingdom ; and that I may also know more exemption through 
 a greater dedication, and consequent assurance in the voca- 
 tion in which I am called, thus causing less stress upon the 
 physical, which in my case is weak and frail. I feel that I 
 
 187 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 must be more careful here, so that future drafts may be duly 
 honored; for, if I live, I plainly see a field of labor open- 
 ing to the eye, and that the physical must be husbanded and 
 properly cared for in view of this future. " Your Fa- 
 ther knoweth," said Jesus, "that ye have need of these 
 things." 
 
 10 mo. 17. — During my late absence from home I spent 
 considerable time with my friend Cyrus Pierce, who is now in 
 his eighty-sixth year. I was much interested and edified in 
 listening to the wisdom of this aged Friend and his spirit- 
 ually-minded wife. Cyrus read and inquired my opinion of 
 some writings which he had intended leaving behind him for 
 the perusal of his children. I have great unity with them and 
 with his persistent effort in breaking down superstition and 
 idolatry; and in reference to the spiritual ignorance which 
 prevails at this time, I believe that the language of the 
 prophet Hosea is applicable: "My people are destroyed for 
 lack of knowledge : because thou hast rejected knowledge, I 
 will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me : seeing 
 thou hast forgotten the law of thy God." 
 
 Very clear it is to my understanding that one great cause 
 of the spiritual darkness now prevailing is the refusal on the 
 part of many, even in the Society of Friends, to mind the 
 light. That is, God's light; and this light is no rejecter of 
 knowledge. It is not in accordance with our Father's wisdom 
 that we should seek the living among the dead ; that we should 
 be pinioned to the past. Light, even outward light, cometh 
 from above. God's language to His children is the language 
 of freedom, not of bondage. It is not in accordance with 
 man's progressive nature to allow superstition and tradition 
 to bind him to the things which are behind him. 
 
 10 mo. 18. — Not sufficiently careful in speaking of a po- 
 litical opponent. The system of politics seems to be a system 
 of defamation and slander, and in the present time of political 
 excitement it is much better for me to think and say but little 
 on the subject. I also lost my patience to-day in speaking to 
 
 188 
 
AN EXOTERIC 
 
 a member of my family, and likewise in the treatment of an 
 olifending animal, for which I stand reproved and feel de- 
 sirous of amendment in these respects. Those who preach 
 heavenly patience to others must be very guarded them- 
 selves. 
 
 10 mo. 20. — Was silent at meeting this morning. In the 
 afternoon a meeting was appointed at our meeting-house by 
 David Bennett, and, after he had concluded, I felt it right 
 to make a few remarks upon the subject of charity and love, 
 with which friend Bennett did not seem pleased, and stated, 
 just before the conclusion of the meeting, " They have taken 
 away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him." 
 This Friend belongs to theGurney branch of the orthodox 
 Friends, holding extremely outward views; and I thought 
 the text quoted, if it was an evidence of his state of feeling, 
 did not betoken a mind founded upon a broad and generous, 
 foundation; but, on the contrary, one like that of Ephraim 
 of old, "joined unto idols;" a'nd here I will have "to let 
 him alone." 
 
 10 mo. 21. — Woke at an early hour this morning with un- 
 pleasant reminiscences on my mind in relation to yesterday 
 afternoon's meeting. And oh, saith my soul, may the angel 
 of love instead of the demon of uncharitable theology find 
 a resting-place in my heart, and in that future condition 
 towards which I am so rapidly tending may the mansion 
 allotted to me not be the mansion of theological disquisition, 
 for this is a state diametrically opposed to the heavenly vir- 
 tues of love, charity, and toleration. 
 
 This was prominently exhibited yesterday in friend Ben- 
 nett's discourse, as well as in the feeling attending it, in 
 which he made no allusion whatever to the great funda- 
 mental principle of our society or to those cardinal virtues 
 which distinguish the religion of Jesus. 
 
 How very unlike the sermon of his great Master of whom 
 he outwardly makes so great an idol, and of whom he spoke 
 
 i8g 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 so much. The Sermon on the Mount contains not one senti- 
 ment of theology.* 
 
 ********* 
 
 Such an enlightened writer as De Wette relinquished as 
 untenable the account of the birth and infancy, considering 
 them as a remnant of primeval legends and fictions. It 
 seems highly probable, however, that they were originally 
 intended as figurative of the " Power of the Highest" which 
 the pure in heart experience as " overshadowing" them, from 
 which is born of them that which " shall be called the Son 
 of God." 
 
 Unquestionably much of the New Testament narratives 
 have this figurative significance and symbolism, and thus 
 the fathers of the church viewed and interpreted miraculous 
 occurrences recorded therein. Hieronymus thus considers 
 the number 153 (John xxi. 11) as symbolical, representing 
 the different species of fish, i.e., all kinds of men are to be 
 caught in the gospel net, the breaking of the net being thought 
 to signify the divisions in the church. (Luke v. 6.) 
 
 The fourth Evangelist denotes the true church as entire 
 and complete in all its parts, in speaking of the raiment which 
 Jesus wore, as the "coat without a seam, woven from the 
 top throughout." 
 
 We see frequent evidences in the Records of the extreme 
 tendency of the evangelists to hyperbolize, and by such means 
 the idea of Jesus as the opener of the eyes of the spiritually 
 blind in a measure disappeared under the sensuous concep- 
 tion of a material miracle. In John, miracle is permeated 
 in all its varying shades by the ideal spirit, and he may have 
 viewed the miracles as entirely symbolical occurrences, " ex- 
 plaining spiritual things by spiritual words." ( i Cor. ii. 13.) 
 See Thompson's translation. 
 
 * Pages 193 to 200 inclusive of the manuscript were lost in the dis- 
 astrous fire which caused the complete destruction of the large' plant of the 
 J. B. Lippincott Company, which occurred November 29, 1899, and not 
 having a duplicate copy of the manuscript, we are forced to omit it. 
 
 igo 
 
THE BOOKS OF WISDOM 
 
 The Old Testament is largely drawn upon by all the evan^ 
 gelists, particularly so as to the parables of the birth and 
 infancy, as, for instance, Pharaoh's murderous command, 
 served as the type of ?Ierod's cruelty, and the precocious 
 development of Moses and Samuel are reproduced in the 
 child Jesus. Samuel was an infant when brought to Shiloh 
 and introduced into the Tabernacle, and Josephus says that 
 he began to prophesy at his twelfth year, — the period, accord- 
 ing to the Talmud, a boy was considered as of the age of 
 discretion. Jesus, as Samuel before him, travelled with his 
 parents to the Passover at Jerusalem, and like the latter in- 
 creased in wisdom and stature. (Luke ii. 52 compared with 
 I Sam. ii. 26.) 
 
 The citations of Jesus from the Old Testament point to 
 a familiarity with the beautiful and subjective therein, and 
 some of the evangelical parables seem drawn from thoughts 
 suggested in the ancient records of the Jews, as compare 
 Proverbs ix. with Matt. xxii. and Luke xiv. The Wisdom 
 of Jesus, son of Sirach, contains much corresponding with the 
 gospel writings, as compared (xxiv.) with the thoughts that 
 we find in John (iii. 30, 36; v. 25). In Sirach, a Divine 
 Ideal is personified, and the expression therein, " Wisdom 
 shall praise herself and shall glory in the midst of her peo- 
 ple," as an attribute of the Deity, was evidently in the mind 
 of the Evangelist in the transference of this thought to a 
 personality in a metonymical sense. The vine and its 
 branches (John xv.) has its original in Sirach xxiv. 16. 
 In John (vi. 27, 35; iv. 14) the contrast is inverted in a 
 subjective sense. In Sirach, he who has eaten and drunk 
 of wisdom will ever hunger and thirst, while in John he finds 
 all his desires satisfied, and in him a well of living water 
 springing up unto eternal life. 
 
 12 mo. 8. — We had an interesting meeting to-day, with 
 considerable expression. Just before the close, I had a 
 short and encouraging testimony to deliver, which was alto- 
 gether different from my train of thought for the past few 
 
 191 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 days, and which in some degree occupied my mind on taking 
 my seat in the meeting. On such themes I found no hberty 
 of expression, but was led in an individual direction, much to 
 my surprise. 
 
 12 mo. p. — " Prayer," says Plato, " is the ardent turning 
 of the soul towards God; not to ask any particular good, 
 but good itself, — the universal supreme good. We often mis- 
 take what is pernicious and dangerous for what is useful 
 and desirable. Therefore remain silent before God till He 
 removes the clouds from thy eyes, and enables thee to see 
 by this light, not what appears good to thyself, but what is 
 really good." The thought it expresses does not accord with 
 what is taught in our modern prayer-meetings, that the Su- 
 preme Mind is to be operated upon and influenced by the 
 wishes and caprice of our finite natures. His infinite wisdom 
 is not pledged to His power to the accomplishment of what- 
 ever even pious and well-meaning men may desire. 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding the many absurd and disreputable 
 ideas which are taught concerning the Divine Mind on this 
 subject, there is a rational and spiritual law herein, and Plato 
 and Jesus are in harmony if we judge from Matt. 7, 8, and 
 not from such texts as our Evangelical friends are prone to 
 cite (Matt. xxi. 22 and Mark xi. 22, 24). For it is emi- 
 nently reasonable to suppose that our Heavenly Parent is 
 always very near to the mind and soul of His devoted chil- 
 dren, and in His infinite goodness He has bound and con- 
 nected them together by so many ties, necessities, and sym- 
 pathies that harmonious communication between them and 
 Him are indispensably necessary to man's spirituality. 
 
 Prayer, then, is the wing by which the soul is lifted into 
 the atmosphere of harmonious development, in which the 
 Infinite is not brought down to a level with the finite, but the 
 soul ascends to a position wherein God not only hears but 
 also sympathizes with His creature man. Upon our part there 
 is reciprocity and faith. On His there is assistance in trials 
 and temptation. Thus we learn to confide in His laws as 
 
 192 
 
LUCRETIA MOTT 
 
 being established in best wisdom, and to say in all life's ex- 
 igencies, " Thy will be done." 
 
 12 mo. 10. — Yesterday afternoon, after writing the above, 
 in consequence of an occurrence which was calculated to dis- 
 turb the mind and ruffle the temper, my patience gave way, 
 and I behaved in a very unseemly manner, utterly incon- 
 sistent with my profession, for which, last night, 1 was brought 
 into much suffering. But towards morning, after having 
 been in deep water, life revived, with much tenderness of 
 feeling, and future labors in Truth's service were fore- 
 shadowed. The desire was most lovingly awakened within 
 me, — oh, that I could always so live that the light might 
 shine before me, so that, like Enoch of the olden time, I 
 might humbly walk therein. 
 
 12 mo. 12. — Attended our mid-week meeting, and was 
 favored therein a Friend informed me after meeting; but 
 when I ceased speaking I felt much poverty and spiritual des- 
 titution ; though what I had to say on the subject of prayer 
 seemed to exert a baptizing effect on minds present. We read, 
 " God left him to try him," and that under the divine law 
 ?uch tests are allowed I have no doubt, and in my weakness 
 and unworthiness I can but say, " Thy will be done." 
 
 Dined and spent the afternoon with Lucretia Mott. How 
 joyous and beautiful is the evening of her well-spent life. 
 Bright and clear is her memory; and I was much cheered 
 and comforted by her sympathy and counsel. She, too, has 
 had much to endure in the way of persecution in the past,-^ 
 but has lived the most of it down, thus she admonished me 
 to hear all things for Truth's sake, and I left her presence 
 strengthened and encouraged. 
 
 12 mo. i6. — Our meeting was a large one yesterday, and 
 soon after it was settled 1 arose in fear and trembling, in 
 consequence of last Fifth-day's experience, but by keeping 
 very close to the Master was, in great weakness and tender- 
 ness, enabled to reach the witness 'in many minds, and on 
 taking my seat felt the inflowings of heavenly joy. After 
 13 193 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 meeting, A. L. informed me that his mind went forth with 
 great force to a stranger present, who proved to be a Method- 
 ist minister from the West on a visit to his friends. An- 
 thony informed me that his feelings settled on myself to 
 address this stranger. Thus was he impressed whilst I sat 
 in great doubt, turning and returning the fleece; but by faith 
 was led in a manner wonderfully adapted to the condition 
 of those present, illustrating that true orthodoxy consisted 
 in pristine simplicity and breadth of view; that Truth is of 
 Grod, first, primary ; and by the Scriptures is it elucidated by 
 the query propounded to Cain, " If thou doest well, art thou 
 not accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the 
 door." That superstition, like sin, often closed the door of 
 the spiritual sense, and left the mind in darkness. Thus the 
 superfluities and exuberances of religion are in direct antag- 
 onism to the Spirit of truth. By keeping close to my Guide, 
 I was preserved from the mixture, was brief and concise in 
 expression, and sat down when there was liberty to say much 
 more, nay, pointings that way, but my fear was so great 
 that I withheld, and experienced the incomes of divine good 
 to my poor tried and burdened spirit. 
 
 In the afternoon attended the circular meeting at Upper 
 Dublin, at which there was much said. " I saw a man whose 
 name was * Talkative," the " son of Say-well." 
 
 Though what is above written may savor of egotism, yet I 
 felt it right, this morning, thus to transcribe my feelings and 
 experience, though I know not that any other eye may read 
 what I have indited. I now see very clearly that my 
 experience last Fifth-day, after I had spoken with much satis- 
 faction to my friends, was to keep me in humility and little- 
 ness, and out of the mixture. Great preachers are some- 
 times like great and spreading trees, and by their wordiness 
 keep down the tender growth in tender minds. How great 
 
 * Pilgrim's Progress, p. 103. 
 194 
 
INSPIRATION 
 
 is our Father's wisdom. O that I may ever be a constant 
 learner in the school of His Christ. And I am confirmed in 
 the view before expressed (page 120) as to the meaning of 
 the deep experiences of Job Scott, that, by the language of 
 impression, God was teaching him the one needful thing 
 of entire reliance upon His Word written upon the tablet of 
 the soul. 
 
 12 mo. 22. — In regard to the nature of the impressions 
 which are made upon the inner consciousness, and which 
 have to some extent been described in this journal, they are 
 somewhat difificult to portray. The pure impression is, I 
 believe, divine; but their expression will necessarily partake 
 of the mind and character of the media through whom they 
 may pass. The purer the mind, the less mixed with the 
 sediment of self or traditionary knowledge, the purer will be 
 the result. Hence, in all ages they who have been called to 
 minister to the people have had trials of a peculiar nature to 
 which they have been subjected for the purpose of discipline, 
 to cleanse and purify the vessel through which the message 
 may be conveyed to other minds. 
 
 The original impression may convey a different signifi- 
 cance in consequence of the different conditions of the chan- 
 nels through which the communication flows. Imperfect in 
 some degree it must of necessity always he, because of the 
 fallible nature of finite man, just as the pure raindrops per- 
 colating through the different stratas of the earth partake 
 more or less of their substratum. 
 
 There are, however, varied gifts by the same spirit, — some 
 are endowed by nature with rarer qualifications, and speak 
 with a wisdom and judgment based upon an extended and 
 purified experience ; sore trials and higher ascent in the spir- 
 itual scale of being are more subjective and sympathising in 
 their ministrations, and deeper in their views of the life of 
 the soul ; hence exert a more elevating and refining influence, 
 quickening the pure life and tending to produce a healthful 
 excitement, improving the character and lifting the soul into 
 
 195 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 a purer atmosphere, wherein the love of God is a continual 
 visitant to the mind. 
 
 Others minister from a more objective cast of mind, and 
 coarser-grained; less intuitive in their perceptions, and con- 
 sequently more liable to mix and mingle the inner life with 
 the elements of traditional knowledge and belief. They speak 
 from memory and imagination, thus exciting the passions, 
 warming the heart, but producing a condition which exerts 
 no lasting influence upon the life, being evanescent and 
 ephemeral in its character, because its springs are not from 
 a catholic spirit. 
 
 Many mistake their calling altogether, having confused and 
 erroneous perceptions of the " Gift of God." They are con- 
 sequently always in a state of " mixture," to use an expression 
 of my dear mother, are uncertain and not to be depended 
 upon, liable to be " carried about with every wind of doctrine ;" 
 blind leaders of the blind, frequently leading others and fall- 
 ing themselves into the ditch of error and confusion. Herein, 
 however, we must all have charity. " Though I speak with 
 the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity, I am 
 become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." Or, as 
 Whittier, in speaking of the great preacher Whitefield, said, — 
 
 " He erred : Shall we count his gifts as naught? 
 Was the work of God in him unwrought ? 
 The servant may through his deafness err, 
 And blind may be God's messenger !" 
 
 1873, 
 
 / mo. 2. — During the last ten days my mind has been in a 
 varying condition, wherein I have very frequently been in 
 deep water. Both in our monthly meeting as well as that 
 held the day before, and at a funeral on First-day, I had 
 offerings to make under much exercise. This was especially 
 the case on Second-day, when a flood of tenderness was 
 poured into my spirit, and, after a most touching and living 
 testimony from my dear friend Sarah Betts, I saw divine 
 
 196 
 
RESIGNATION 
 
 light to shine as a consolation and guarantee amidst so many 
 deep provings. Yet at the same time I felt the increased 
 necessity of a more resigned spirit, wherein I may forbear 
 judging in my own cause: casting all burdens upon the 
 Eternal, accepting every permitted trial and tribulation, for 
 these may be evidences of divine favor — ^blessings in dis- 
 guise. 
 
 for a greater resignation of mind, thought, purpose, and 
 will, a greater willingness to be little or nothing in the vine- 
 yard of the Lord, that this blessed gift of His may be mine 
 more and more. This is what I crave and need, that, like 
 Mary of old, I may covet only the one needful thing, feeling 
 the ground whereupon I stand to be holy ground, for in this 
 waiting posture alone will the angel of resignation come as 
 a solace for every ill, a comforter, and a requital for all the 
 trials incident to this probationary state of being. 
 
 1 mo. 5. — Received a letter recently from a minister of high 
 standing, who, it seems, has received a shock from reading 
 my little book, " Indices Historical and Rational. " In writing 
 it, I often felt a tender regard as to unsettling or overthrow- 
 ing the faith of others, and when it was in the hands of the 
 printer this was especially the case; Such thoughts occa- 
 sioned much feeling and much reluctance, also, in thus ap- 
 pearing before the public. 
 
 As a recent writer has well said, " The pursuit of truth 
 is easy to a man of no human sympathies; whose vision is 
 impaired by no fond partialities; whose heart is torn by no 
 divided allegiance. To him the renunciation of error pre- 
 sents few difficulties. But to the searcher whose affections 
 are strong the case is different. To such a man the pursuit 
 of Truth is a daily martyrdom — how hard and bitter let the 
 martyr tell." 
 
 But to the Friend above mentioned and also to some others 
 
 who are disposed to persecute me for thus not attempting to 
 
 ■judge how much light the eyes of others can bear, I feel 
 
 but little consideration, for they should know better; should 
 
 197 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 know that in this daily life of ours is daily unfolded some 
 new truth of which we were before ignorant. That religious 
 truth must of necessity be progressive ; that increase is alike 
 our destiny and our duty, and that this law is of necessity 
 fatal to all positive dogma. 
 
 In the journal of James Cockburn is narrated a case in 
 point. He was educated in- the Calvinistic Church of Scot- 
 land, and afterwards became a minister in the Society of 
 Friends. About his twentieth year, he says, certain investi- 
 gations " shook my educational structure of theology, and 
 eventually laid it in ruins. To clear away the rubbish has 
 been a task through life." This good man found this icono- 
 clastic process a purifying one, for purity can learn nothing 
 which is hurtful, nothing which is injurious; and surely 
 it is wise for us to contemplate the harmonious action of 
 the Divine Mind in His works and in the history of His 
 creature man. And so if my little book " Indices" is worth- 
 less it will come to naught. If there be errors let them be 
 overlooked; they are of the head, not of the heart. If the 
 sentiments be sound, let them be as a contribution and quota 
 to that building which the age is quietly but painfully up- 
 rearing. Its foundations are sure! Its progress may seem 
 slow, but it is steadily increasing year by year. The faith of 
 the workmen may sometimes fail them, and they may with 
 Tennyson say, — 
 
 " Perplexed in faith, but pure in deeds, 
 At last he beat his music out; 
 There lives more faith in honest doubt. 
 Believe me, than in half the creeds. 
 
 " He fought his doubts and gathered strength ; 
 He would not make his judgment blind, 
 He faced the spectres of the mind, 
 And laid them ; thus he came at length 
 
 " To find a stronger faith his own." 
 
 198 
 
LADY GUION 
 
 I mo. i6. — Since my last entry herein, my mind has been 
 frequently refreshed by a sense of divine regard, and have 
 at times felt the communion of kindred spirits. Was much 
 impressed with the sentiment of Lady Guion, — 
 
 " Thou art my bliss, the light by which I move ; 
 In thee alone dwells all that I can love." 
 
 The desire of my soul has renewedly been raised in humble 
 petition this day that I may more and more experience the 
 gracious nearness of Infinite Goodness, not expecting too great 
 exhibitions of divine light, but in quietness, in peace, in 
 joy, in love, in the Holy Spirit. And especially in my labors 
 in the public ministry that I may more clearly distinguish 
 between that travail and necessary response which the soul 
 feels for the good of all, and that special burden, exercise, 
 and baptism which it is essential for the servant to experience 
 in the public ministration of the Word. Herein I fear I 
 have sometimes erred in introducing that which was in- 
 tended for my own particular discipline. Great care, I per- 
 ceive, must be exercised herein, that no parade be made of 
 particular crosses ; that, on the contrary, the cassock and cowl 
 may be worn beneath a garb of cheerfulness and serenity, 
 that none may be repelled, by the matter or manner of the 
 servant, from the table of the Lord. 
 
 . — I mo. 21. — Since the present month came in I have at- 
 tended two meetings in Philadelphia and one at Camden. 
 At the Girard Avenue meeting, which originated in an in- 
 dulged meeting granted through a concern of my dear mother, 
 and held under the jurisdiction of Green Street Monthly 
 Meeting, my mind was deeply dipped in travail for the true 
 seed of God, and, after a communication from Amos Jones 
 and others, my exercise was in vocal supplication for the 
 good of all. 
 
 Although this house has been for many months used as 
 a place of worship, I had not before felt at liberty to attend 
 it, but now feel in the future that my lot may be united 
 
 199 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 more closely with the congregation who convene therein. 
 Being desirous of doing the divine will, I can truly say 
 that my happiness is in God alone. He being infinitely 
 beneficent and good, as a natural consequence the mind that 
 is centred in Him experiences and knows of a joy and 
 happiness reaching through time into the eternal world ; and 
 herein is a law wherein there are ministrations of angels 
 and the communion of saints. And thus in a particular man- 
 ner was my spirit united yesterday morning when I arose 
 at the house of my dear friends Asahel and Myrib Troth 
 at Camden, and there was a precious season of rejoicing in 
 spirit and communion of soul both with those that remain 
 here and those who have passed the shores of time in that 
 theme and those anthems which make glad the city of our 
 God! 
 
 I mo. 24. — The Bhagavad Gita, or " Divine Lay" of the 
 Hindoo, contains this thought: — 
 
 " When thy mind shall have worked through the snares of illusion, 
 thou wilt become indifferent to traditionary belief. When thy mind is 
 liberated from the Vedas and shall abide fixed in contemplation, thou shalt 
 then attain real worship." 
 
 " Thou shalt find it in due time spontaneously within thyself." 
 
 In this dialogue or revelation by Krishna, Deity is not 
 viewed as an abstraction, but as a Saviour, Redeemer, and 
 Friend. "The science of the Vedas" is declared to be in- 
 ferior "to the science of the soul." In the books of the 
 Hindus, the Bhagavad Gita, which is considered to have 
 been written before the New Testament, it is said, — 
 
 "As great as is the use of a well when it is surrounded by overflowing 
 waters, so great, and no greater, is the use of the Vedas to a Brahman 
 endowed with knowledge." 
 
 In these books, as in the Old and New Testaments, the 
 mind is directed to the All-Good : 
 
 " Forsake all other reliance, ^nd fly to Me alone. I will deliver thee 
 from all thy transgressions." 
 
 200 
 
SWARTHMORE COLLEGE 
 
 " They who seek the immortal food of religion, even as I have said, 
 and serve Me faithfully, are dearest of all." 
 
 " They who worship Me dwell in Me and I in them.'' 
 
 " By them who constantly seek Me, without wandering of mind, I am 
 easily found." 
 
 " Though thou wert the greatest of offenders, thou shalt cross the sea 
 of sin in this bark of spiritual wisdom. He who hath faith shall find this ; 
 and having found it, shall speedily attain rest for his soul. No bond of 
 action holds the mind which hath cut asunder the bonds of doubt. Son 
 of Bharata, sever thy doubt in worship and arise." 
 
 At the funeral of my friend John C. Lester, and at our 
 own meeting yesterday, I endeavored, and was enabled in 
 word and deep feeling, to call others to this severance of the 
 bonds of doubt in true spiritual worship, and experienced 
 the truth of the ancient promise, " The soul that watereth, 
 shall be watered again." 
 
 2 mo. 8. — Since my last entry herein I have been favored 
 in a measure with a modicum of heavenly love, and at the 
 different meetings which I have attended have felt it right 
 to express my feelings in words, and have been favored but 
 in one instance to withhold and sit in silence. Last First- 
 day attended a religious meeting at Swarthmore College, and 
 was drawn out in much tenderness to its students and 
 teachers, and to-day, at a funeral, was in like manner exer- 
 cised in supplication for the good of all. But after I had 
 taken my seat, judging from the poverty which I experienced, 
 thought I had better have been silent, or at least have dwelt 
 longer under the exercise before expression. Oh, that I may 
 be preserved from sparks of my own kindling. 
 
 2 mo. 10. — My earnest desire was granted at meeting to- 
 day, and, though favored with a feeling sense of my own 
 and other conditions present, yet was a silent laborer in the field 
 of offering. It is my earnest desire that this labor may con- 
 tinue, and that I may be kept in a waiting condition, and never 
 rise upon my feet in the assemblies of the people, but upon 
 a clear sense of constraint. In this I believe my safety as 
 God's servant consists. Therein is humility and passivity to 
 
 201 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 the divine will. The poverty which I experienced at the 
 funeral last Seventh-day I now see was in part caused by 
 the want of spiritual life of those convened, — thus the poor 
 servant is sometimes "baptized for the dead." 
 
 2 mo. 24. — Four meeting days have passed, and not till 
 at our First-day meeting yesterday, and our monthly meet- 
 ing to-day, have I been called out in expression, for which 
 favor I feel thankful, esteeming silent travail and communion 
 of spirit a great blessing. On First-day my soul was deeply 
 dipped into suffering on account of the unwatchfulness of 
 some who have given way to a spirit of strife and detraction, 
 thereby causing the whole body to suffer. After meeting, 
 a friend told me that he hoped I would often be found in 
 that position. But I do not think that he fully comprehended 
 the deeps into which I was introduced. Herein, however, 
 I am a learner, and never before apprehended so fully the 
 truth and beauty of the apostolic sentiment, " So we, being 
 many, and one body in Christ, and every one members one 
 of another." 
 
 Heretofore I have felt a hesitancy in vocal public prayer, 
 mainly, to do other than to give thanks, hesitating to ask 
 for those things wherein I thought divine wisdom knew 
 what was best adapted to our best interests. It is now, how- 
 ever, clear to my mind that prayer is the natural language 
 of the soul ; that when our spirits are lifted by the influence 
 of constraining love, we may be instrumental in raising the 
 divine life and energy in the souls of others. 
 
 Thus prayer, either secret or vocal, may be the medium 
 of awakening the Godlike nature, — i.e., the spiritual nature, 
 — to activity and effort. We pray not that God will change 
 or vary His laws; we pray not to a vain abstraction, an 
 " impalpable effluence," an unknown God, but we pray, we 
 sympathize, we travail, we suffer, for the divine life of the 
 soul in the whole body of Christ. Thus, as the Apostle says, 
 "we are laborers together with God," "we pray with the 
 spirit and with the understanding also." 
 
 202 
 
BENJAMIN HALLOWELL 
 
 S mo. 4. — During the last few months I have been in the 
 receipt of several valuable letters from Benjamin Hallowell. 
 In one of them he says, — 
 
 " My view is, the ' conception' of Jesus was no more miraculous than 
 that of all the rest of mankind. It is all miraculous. 'All we behold is 
 miracle.' My confidence in the unchangeableness and invariableness of 
 Deity, as well as in His wisdom, goodness, and power, is so great that I 
 cannot believe that any of His laws, or modes of action, have been altered, 
 suspended, or modified from the beginning, or that they ever will be. As 
 declared in Scripture, and still more emphatically in the Book of Nature, 
 ' with Him is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' " 
 
 S mo. J/. — Since 2d mo. 24th I have striven after dili- 
 gence in my vocation and calling, and have attended meet- 
 ings at Bristol' and Trenton, as well as our own in their 
 due order. At our circular meeting at Gwynedd yesterday, 
 after taking my seat, I attempted by outward vision to dis- 
 cover whether a young man was present who had written 
 and had also personally communicated with me in relation to 
 his spiritual condition. In thus looking over the assembled 
 congregation, I was actuated by an earnest desire and tra- 
 vail on his account. But in so doing my meeting was com- 
 pletely spoiled, and although, during the latter part of the 
 sitting, I had a testimony to bear which a Friend informed 
 me had a savor of life, yet it was a cold and lifeless offering 
 to me, all in consequence of my outwardness during the early 
 part of the meeting. Thus, as a natural consequence, the 
 inward spiritual vision is closed or obscured when we seek 
 to judge unrighteous judgment, for outwardness is blindness 
 and darkness to the spiritual sense. May I seek to walk by 
 faith and not by sight in such weighty concernments. 
 
 S mo. 2p. — I feel a great desire for more and more of that 
 sense of feeling which is evidence, and which we can no more 
 command than we can command the winds to blow, or the 
 rain to descend; but which is sometimes wanting in con- 
 sequence of a lack of patient waiting for the incomes of 
 divine grace which are the soul's sustainment. 
 
 203 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Just before the demise of Daniel Webster, he expressed an 
 earnest wish for this evidence. " Yes," he said, " Thy rod, 
 Thy stafif" (repeating the words of his physician after him), 
 " but the fact, the fact I want." My faith is more and more 
 increased that our God will confer and seal upon the con- 
 sciousness of His obedient and waiting children this blessed 
 evidence of Himself, provided we are willing to know His 
 kingdom and reign in mind, heart, conscience, and soul. 
 Piety of the intellect is but a fragmentary piety, and must 
 combine with justice, mercy, and faith. Thus, practice will 
 walk hand in hand with a consciousness of God, and that 
 life which is hid with humanity in Him, which he will vouch- 
 safe, to develop in His faithful ones, as they are concerned 
 to draw nigh unto Him. And hereby and herein we will 
 love truth, love justice, love love, and love God, with mind, 
 heart, and soul. Understandingly and consciously, with all 
 the wealth of our affections, in the family, in the social rela- 
 tion, in the world at large, recognizing all as members of that 
 great family of which our God is the Everlasting Head, 
 for He is the Master Guide and Monarch of that spiritual 
 nature which is correlative and homogeneous with Him. The 
 spirit then cometh as a bridegroom, the veil is rent from the 
 soul's calm eyes, and all, " with open face, beholding as in a 
 glass the glory of the Eternal, are changed into the same 
 image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord." 
 
 J mo. JO. — At our First-day meeting held to-day my wish 
 was granted me, and almost immediately after taking my 
 seat, without any effort on my part, my mind was introduced 
 into the most delicious stillness and heavenly calm, in which 
 more joy was felt than I think I ever before experienced on 
 a like occasion, wherein both body and soul were strengthened 
 by a power which was not of man, and thus I was enabled to 
 minister unto other hearts of the good word of life and sal- 
 vation. 
 
 4 mo. 15. — To-day, my only daughter, Emma, was mar- 
 ried, according to the order of Friends, to Camby S. Tyson, 
 
 204 
 
JOHN COMLY'S JOURNAL 
 
 of Abington. The desire of my heart has been, and is, they 
 may know and experience an increase of those heavenly riches 
 which moth and rust cannot corrupt or thieves break through 
 and steal. 
 
 4 mo. sg. — I was much pleased this morning, in reading 
 the view of John Comly, in his journal, page 396, of the res- 
 urrection of the body, in which he clearly designates his 
 understanding of the metonymical language of the Scrip- 
 tures, and of the "clouded" state of many thereunto, and 
 says, " It was the spirit of Christ and not the body that went 
 up into heaven." Oh, the deadness and dulness of percep- 
 tion and feeling that are induced from an adherence to the 
 letter. It truly killeth, and ever seeketh to persecute the 
 true seed of God. It has been my lot to feel most acutely 
 the influence of this desolating and benumbing spirit even 
 among the professed people of God, and my mind has been 
 unduly depressed thereby. During the last few weeks I have 
 been much favored with renewed visitations from "the day- 
 spring from on high." Yea, I could have said with the 
 Psalmist, " All my springs are in Thee." But since yesterday 
 I have suffered my spirits to become damped and dismayed 
 because of the persecution which the spirit of formalism has 
 in readiness to inflict, and which I have desired might " pass 
 from me ;" but the Spirit has this day made intercession and 
 mediation for me that I might renewedly from day to day 
 asseverate in truth and verity, "Thy will, O Father, not 
 mine, be done." Not that I believe that it is His purpose 
 that the spirit of persecution shall prevail, but that He has 
 placed us in a condition of trial and probation wherein we 
 are subject to states and conditions consequent thereunto. 
 
 " God's priest and prophet stands. The martyr's pain 
 Is not alone from scourge and cell and chain, 
 And who shall guess his bitter grief who lends 
 His life to some great cause, and finds his friends 
 Shame or betray it for their private ends ? 
 Who make this echo of his truth a lie.'' 
 205 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 5 mo. JO. — Yesterday my only son, William C. Newport, 
 was married to Anna Briggs; the solemnization was very 
 impressive and " the presence of the Lord" seemed a realiza- 
 tion. At the wedding received a message from a dear friend 
 expressing concern at my having testified against the dis- 
 illusions and vagaries of modern spiritualism during the late 
 Yearly Meeting. Never before did I feel prompted to pub- 
 licly testify in this manner ; but it has been made manifest to 
 me very clearly that anything which tends to distract the 
 mind from its true centre is scattering and not gathering, 
 is not promotive of the soul's true peace and happiness, and 
 hence I have no doubt that I will be led to conflict with the 
 vagaries not only of ancient but also of modern spiritualism. 
 A branch of the " Spiritualists," it seems, can discover no 
 God ; and thus it is with the laws of best wisdom, that when 
 we wander from Him, as a natural consequence we be- 
 come a prey to " strong delusions, that they should believe 
 a lie." 
 
 6 mo. 15. — Received a copy of the Friends' Intelligencer 
 containing the memorial adopted at the late Yearly Meeting 
 concerning my dear mother Elizabeth Newport, towards the 
 conclusion of which it said, " With the feeling that she had 
 'left nothing undone" that had been required of her, she 
 passed away on the 27th of the First month, 1872, in the 
 seventy-sixth year of her age." This was in allusion to some 
 of her last expressions. Such can never be my happy ex- 
 perience as to my entire past; but I feel convinced, this 
 day, that I can be sure of the love of the Infinite God, and 
 being sure of this all other good things cannot be a great 
 way off. 
 
 During the present month I have attended Sandy Spring 
 Quarterly Meeting, Maryland, at which I had to testify 
 against a merely intellectual faith. On First-day attended 
 and addressed a meeting of the colored people at their church, 
 and never before was favored to speak more effectively. The 
 emotional nature of these children of the sun reacted most 
 
 206 
 
THE FAITH OF JESUS 
 
 happily in warming up my own feelings, and we had, as my 
 friend William Wood, of Baltimore, expressed himself, a 
 wonderfully favored meeting. 
 
 6 mo. i8. — What faith Jesus exhibited in the native sense 
 of right in his appeals to the people, submitting divine gov- 
 ernment to human judgment, memorable in the parables of 
 the Prodigal Son, the lost sheep, and the lost piece of money. 
 
 " If ye, being evil [imperfect] know how to give good gifts 
 to your children, how much more shall your Father who is 
 in heaven give his own blessed spirit to them that ask it." 
 And again, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him 
 much will be required; and to whom men have committed 
 much, of him they will ask the more." How effectively did 
 he silence his opposers by appealing to the teachings of hu- 
 manity. " What man of you, having an ox or an ass fallen 
 into a pit, will not instantly pull him out on the Sabbath- 
 day?" How much more valuable is a man than these? 
 The age in which we live has not grown up to the thought, 
 " The Sabbath zvas made for man, and not man for the Sab- 
 bath. The heavenly Man is lord of the Sabbath." 
 
 It has been well 'said, " There can be no faith in God unless 
 there is faith in man." Religion ceases to be of any value 
 when we lose confidence in human virtue, in human nature. 
 The outlook is often discouraging when we view the evil 
 existing among men; but, blessed be our God, His grace 
 still more abounds. His infinite love shines upon us through 
 man, or it shines not at aH, and though marred, scarred, and 
 blemished with infirmities and transgressions, still is man the 
 child of God. Humanity is sacred or there is nothing sacred. 
 "When faith in man is gone, farewell to faith in God, fare- 
 well to the hospitality of religion." My faith has been much 
 strengthened by my late visit to my old teacher and friend, 
 Benjamin Hallowell. Such a beautiful trust he exhibits in 
 the Good Father and His immediate instructions, and this 
 unclouded faith, which has been developed in such as he 
 by obedience and faithfulness only tend to prove the capa- 
 
 207 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 bility of human nature. The same faculty by which the 
 Hottentot counts his two thumbs, or at most his ten fingers, 
 it is that makes a Newton or a Kepler a possibility. And 
 so the spiritual realizations of such minds as Enoch, Socrates, 
 or Jesus, crown humanity, with all its shortcomings as the 
 offspring of Infinite love! The triumphs of such souls are 
 a final pledge and earnest to all, auspicious of good cheer that 
 all may overcome ! 
 
 6 mo. 22. — ^All human pain and suffering are of a merciful 
 and educational character, the necessary result being brought 
 about with the minimum of means; and are produced for 
 the same cause and for the same purpose as pain is educed 
 when the child thrusts its fingers into the fire. The educa- 
 tional process of a single average individual bearing a rela- 
 tive proportion to the consciousness of the whole race in its 
 development and onward march, — 
 
 " From seeming evil still educing good, 
 And better thence again, and better still 
 In infinite progression." 
 
 A progression not limited to this life, else compensation 
 were not meted out to sufferers who had no part in the pro- 
 duction of the evils endured. This life is but a fraction of 
 a fraction of the eternal whole. Compensation will be meted 
 to each individual by the Infinite One. We can trust to His 
 Providence the ultimate well-being and happiness of all. 
 " Eternity is His time." And it were unmanly and unwise 
 to think to avoid the purifying processes which God's wisdom 
 has devised to bring about so grand a consummation. 
 
 7 mo. 4. — The demand for more light in reference to the 
 early history of the church has at last induced the translation 
 for the popular use of the writings of the early " Fathers," 
 and the " De Principiis" of Origen is now in the hands of the 
 public, and they can judge, by his mode of commentary, of 
 the great liberties which were taken with the originals, and 
 of the great latitude of interpretation indulged in. 
 
 208 
 
ORIGEN 
 
 " The Scriptures [says he] were written by the Spirit of God, and have 
 a meaning, not such only as is apparent at first sight, but also another 
 which escapes the notice of most, for those words which are written are 
 the forms of certain mysteries and images of divine things. Respecting 
 which there is one opinion throughout the whole church." * [In illus- 
 trating this idea he quotes Proverbs ii. s as reading in his day, " You will 
 find a divine sense." Very different this from the common version.] 
 " What need is there to say more [he says] since those who are not alto- 
 gether blind can collect countless instances of similar kind recorded as 
 having occurred, but which did not literally take place? Nay, the Gospels 
 themselves are filled with the same kind of narratives; e.g., the devil 
 leading Jesus up into a high mountain in order to show him from thence 
 the kingdoms of the world. . . . And the attentive reader may notice in 
 the Gospels innumerable other passages like these, so that he will be con- 
 vinced that in the histories that are literally recorded, circumstances that 
 did not occur f are inserted. For so long as any one is not converted to 
 a spiritual understanding, a veil is placed over his heart, with which veil, 
 — i.e., a gross understanding, — Scripture itself is said or thought to be 
 covered. 
 
 " Since, therefore, it will be clear to those who read, the connection 
 taken literally is impossible;^ while the sense preferred is not impossible, 
 but even the true one. It must be our object to grasp the whole meaning 
 which connects the account with what is not impossible, but historically 
 true, and which is allegorically understood, in respect to its not having 
 literally occurred. For, with respect to Holy Scripture, our opinion is 
 that the whole of it has a ' spiritual,' but not the whole a ' bodily" meaning, 
 because the bodily meaning is in many places proved to be impossible. 
 'All the glory of the King is within,' and that the treasure of divine 
 meaning is enclosed within the frail vessel of the common letter. . . . 
 Such things being sometimes not true in their literal acceptation, but 
 absurd and impossible, but certain things have been introduced into the 
 actual history and into legislation that are useful in their literal sense.'' 
 
 Origeii's view of Jesus is not easy to determine, for the 
 reason that the Hnes which he draws between fact and simili- 
 tude are so obscure. In his famous reply to Celsus, who, 
 he says, " does not appear to have read the Gospel narratives," 
 and whom he speaks of as a cotemporary in the present tense. 
 Finding fault with him that while he separates, in the nar- 
 
 * No doubt, as I have denoted in Appendix D, Origen knew all con- 
 cerning the latter insertion of these histories, or similitudes. 
 
 t He is honest and plain here. 
 
 t So we are left without excuse, if we believe in the incredible and the 
 impossible. Thus violating the reason God has given us. 
 14 209 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 ratives of the Greeks and the Trojans, " the story of CEdipus 
 and Jocasta, and of their two sons, Eteocles and Polynices," 
 from "the Sphinx, a kind of half-virgin fictions." That 
 while he deals candidly with the writings of the ancient 
 Greeks, not denying *'that there never had been a Trojan 
 war, chiefly on account of the impossible narrative interwoven 
 therewith about a certain Achilles being the son of the sea- 
 goddess Thetis and of a man Peleus, or Sarpedon, being the 
 son of Zeus," that while he draws the line of demarcation 
 in such histories, he does not deal in a like spirit of fair- 
 ness with the then new religion, concluding. Chapter xlii., 
 Book I., as follows: 
 
 "And we have said this by way of anticipation respecting the whole 
 history related in the Gospel concerning Jesus, not inviting men of acute- 
 ness to a simple and unreasoning faith, but wishing to show that there is 
 need of candor in tliose who are to read and of much investigation, and, 
 so to speak, of insight into the meaning of the writers, that the object 
 with each event has been recorded may be discovered." 
 
 In illustrating in his " De Principiis," the Divine Son of 
 God, he says : 
 
 " But this soul which was in Jesus, before it knew the ■evil, selected the 
 good ; and because he loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore God 
 anointed him with the oil of gladness above his fellows. He is anointed, 
 then, with the oil of gladness when he is united to the ' Word' of God in 
 a stainless union." 
 
 The view of Origen as to the allegorical meaning to be at- 
 tached to the New Testament literature is entitled to great 
 weight when we consider his great eminence in the church 
 of his day as Bishop of Csesarea, and as also one of the most 
 voluminous writers of antiquity. Most of the MS. was 
 destroyed by the Arabs in 653 at the capture of Caesarea, 
 which it is said cost him twenty-eight years in its prepara- 
 tion. By reason of his position as a scholar and theologian, 
 he had more to do in determining, compiling, and emending 
 the text of the Scripture than perhaps any other individual. 
 Though in respect to his emendations of the New Testament, 
 which were very generally received in consequence of his 
 
 210 
 
ORIGEN 
 
 great authority in the church, they were, as he himself ad- 
 mitted, says Bishop Marsh, of the Church of England, " sup- 
 ported by the evidence of no manuscript." Origen was born 
 in Alexandria in 185, died in 254. At the age of eighteen 
 he succeeded Clement in the catechetical school at that city. 
 His knowledge of the Hebrew and proficiency as a scholar 
 is said to have been " above all living men." Yet after get- 
 ting his school he refused pay for his teachings, wore but one 
 garment, lived on fivepence a day, and suffered untold hard- 
 ships and persecutions, working incessantly, and teaching 
 from house to house. On meeting the Emperor Helio- 
 gabalus at Antioch, he made such an impression, by his 
 learning and accomplishments, that the persecutions against 
 the Christians declined. Speaking of Origen, Addison says 
 "he was the miracle of the age for industry, learning, and 
 philosophy, and was looked upon as the great champion of 
 Christianity." 
 
 Origen's view, in plain English, is that the " Gospel nar- 
 ratives" are a species of poetic parabola founded upon fact. 
 The rational status of Jesus as a man * was understood by 
 those who wrote concerning him ; but " certain things," this 
 Father says, "have been introduced into the actual history 
 that are useful in a literal sense," i.e., "useful" to the car- 
 nally-minded. "Respecting which there is but one opinion 
 throughout the whole church," e.g., the select brotherhood, 
 the Essenian Fraternity, thus becoming all things to all men, 
 to " the profit of many, that they might be saved." To the 
 brotherhood it was understood that the "absurd and im- 
 possible" belonged to the domain of parable, though repre- 
 senting the actual life and times of Jesus. Thus the writer 
 of "John's Gospel" says, "It is the Spirit that quickeneth, 
 the flesh profiteth nothing." Or, to quote Origen, "a gross 
 understanding' is of no advantage to the spiritual minded, 
 but to the outward Greeks and Romans it is needful; and 
 
 * Indices, p. 57. 
 211 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 "he that winneth souls is wise." Thus the Alexandrian 
 school carried the gospel to all nations and peoples, even to 
 that final triumph of the conversion of Constantine. And 
 thus it became " an instructor of the foolish." 
 
 The fathers were not alone in this view ; it was the thought 
 of Plato and of the Eclectic school, whose chief establish- 
 ment was in Alexandria.* Plato held that it was lawful 
 and proper to use deception and craft in the dissemination 
 of right principles, that the common people were benefited 
 thereby. 
 
 The " Gospel narratives" will ever prove a stumbling- 
 block in the way of the honest inquirer till it becomes thor- 
 oughly understood that they were written after the time 
 of Jesus, compiled from oral and written traditions concern- 
 ing him. For sometime past I have been convinced that the 
 author of the fourth Gospel had reference to himself (John 
 vii. i8) : "He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own 
 glory; but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same 
 is true, and no unrighteousness is in him." In other words, 
 the writer considered himself imbued with the apostolic 
 spirit, that his motives were pure and praiseworthy, and 
 that he renounced his own fame and " glory" and that hence 
 "no unrighteousness" could be attached to his motives in 
 attributing his authorship to another. Such being, indeed, 
 the practice of the age in which he lived. 
 
 f mo. i6. — Received from Sister Martha E. Travilla a 
 detailed account of her late journey into Canada, where she 
 attended the Genesee Yearly Meeting and also visited the 
 families of Rochester Monthly Meeting. She left New York, 
 Sixth month 4th, in company with Martha Dodson and Sam- 
 uel Willets, and after visiting Niagara proceeded to Yar- 
 mouth and attended the meeting of ministers and elders held 
 on the 7th inst, and at once, she narrates, " entered into 
 labor." 
 
 * Indices, p. 58. 
 212 
 
MARTHA E. TRAVILLA 
 
 ■" Finding there was trouble in some neighborhoods, among the select 
 members in particular, was introduced into deep suffering and spoke to 
 several states,— one a minister I had never heard of, but whom I felt had 
 lost his integrity and had fallen. Oh, it was a wonderful time to some 
 of us never to be forgotten, for here was positive evidence of the power 
 of inspiration, as I had left home blind, knowing nothing, and during 
 the meeting a true sense was given me of many things. After meeting 
 I looked for this man with my outward eye, having a clear impression 
 that as soon as I saw him I would know him ; but he was not to be seen. 
 Oh, I was humbled under a sense of my utter unworthiness when old 
 men and women came and took me in their arms and said, ' Oh, thy 
 voice reminded me so of thy dear mother !' One dear old man kissed 
 me and said, ' Dear child, thy mother's mantle has fallen upon thee.' 
 Another burst into tears and said, ' Oh, what a wonderful woman thy 
 mother was ; we can never forget her !' " 
 
 Mother had visited the meetings and families of this 
 Yearly Meeting quite extensively in 1857. 
 
 After the Yearly Meeting, Sister M. proceeded in her con- 
 cern and visited, in company with Rowland Brown, the fami- 
 lies alluded to, in which she had many deep baptisms, and was 
 enabled by the power of faith to declare the plain, unvar- 
 nished truth. Mother's visit was clear in the memory of 
 many. " I used to say," continues the narrative, " to Row- 
 land, 'Don't tell the people that I am Elizabeth Newport's 
 child; they will expect too much.' One place, after speak- 
 ing to the husband and wife, she turned to me and said, 
 'Thee has told me the same as Elizabeth Newport did in 
 1857; did thee ever hear of her?' (She had not been to 
 meeting the day previous.) I said, ' Yes, I am her daughter.' 
 She took me in her arms and blessed me over and over." 
 
 Before leaving for home she (sister) visited the family 
 of the minister before alluded to, and in relation to this visit 
 says, — 
 
 " It was truly the most bitter cup I had to drink ; after I was through, 
 I asked for the children, and it was refreshing to get near to their pure, 
 tender spirits, and the gospel flowed freely. It was my practice to say 
 farewell and to almost run to the carriage. I wanted no words, but to 
 get away from the people as soon as possible. Well, after we were all 
 seated, the minister came to my side and said, 'Martha, I cannot let 
 
 213 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 thee go without telling thee thy plain testimony is true. I have fallen; 
 I am a transgressor ; the Lord has sent thee.' I wept, and put my arms 
 around his neck, and kissed him. And for a full mile Rowland, M., and 
 self never said one word ; then R. turned to me and said, ' Dear child, 
 the Lord has truly anointed thee for this work. I was also a stranger 
 to the state of things here, but thee is opening my eyes, and I see each 
 hour renewed evidences that thee has been sent.' " 
 
 Sister's letter, she says, is " sacred and private," but I have 
 felt at liberty to copy the above in my journal. True it is 
 that God's Word is a book written in the soul of all men, 
 though all cannot read it. God's kingdom is truly within. 
 His likeness, His divine image, is there! The pure ideal 
 which all possess is from Him. Is His manifestation in the 
 flesh, so to speak, of all His children ; and when we come to 
 this mark of the prize of the high calling of God, like Paul, 
 we will know Christ formed within us, and, like Jesus, we 
 can come to Him directly, knowing and serving him without 
 the aid of any mediator, becoming one with Him. Without 
 this union we are as a vessel without a compass upon an 
 unknown sea, uncertainty and doubts, lack of evidence, are 
 the rocks upon which at any time our frail bark may become 
 a wreck. Butjivith this joyful union we are heirs of God 
 and joint-heirs of Christ. Man has lost none of his likeness 
 to the Infinite One, is still His child, created in' His image. 
 He has endowed us with conscience, faith and hope are His 
 gifts, and love never faileth! The Comforter is ever pres- 
 ent to that soul which maintains its integrity, its trust, its 
 reliance in its God, and the ideal Christ once formed in the 
 heart will remain throughout the eternal ages, to be per- 
 fected in the perfections of " Our Father" who is ever near 
 as a present helper in every time of need. Upon this rock, 
 O my soul, mayst thou ever build, making religion a daily 
 work, a common life, not impoverished by success, but en- 
 riched by trials and affection. Ever learning obedience not 
 only by these, but also by the joys and blessings of life. 
 
 7 mo. //.^To-day, as well as last First-day, had to testify 
 against that Christianity which rests upon the personal au- 
 
 214 
 
TRUE AUTHORITY 
 
 thority of Jesus, and not on the eternal truth itself, — on the 
 authority of God, who sent Jesus into the world as the organ 
 by whom He spoke. Evidences are not wanting among our 
 favored Society wherein authority is taken for truth and not 
 truth for authority; and this seems a lack of sincerity, as 
 though the Infinite God needed support ! An entire reliance 
 on Him will not lead us to discard any outward help. It 
 will teach us to profit by these, making the Scriptures our 
 servant, not our master; inculcating reverence for the holy 
 truths declared by " godly men" of the olden and the latter 
 time; but to revere incalculably more God's Word spoken 
 in the soul, wherein light becomes transferable, — permeating 
 conscience, reason, hope, and affection, lighting up the whole 
 mind, making God our all in all. Thus arriving at the 
 same kind and degree of union which Jesus attained, — having 
 God for our Father and Jesus for our brother, as Martin 
 Luther said, "Every Christian may enjoy this birth of 
 Christ not less than if he also, like Jesus, were born bodily 
 of the Virgin Mary. Whoso disbelieves or doubts this, the 
 same is no Christian." 
 
 8 mo. 4. — Returned home last week after ^n absence of 
 near two weeks at the sea^shore and at Salem, New Jersey, 
 whither I went on a matter of religious concernment, and 
 wherein I had to speak at the circular meeting of truths which 
 were not welcomed by some of the audience. In relation 
 thereto, my friend David Petit, a most worthy elder of that 
 meeting, says, in a letter of the 28th ult., — 
 
 " Well, I am not surprised that they should be hurt to think thee had 
 treated their darling idols discourteously, calling that murder which 
 wrought their sanctification. I have often thought of the comparison 
 drawn by Edward Hicks between the seven churches of Asia and the 
 seven yearly meetings of Friends on the continent of America, page 96 : 
 ' That those churches established a great synod or council. It was in- 
 geniously proposed, and carried through, as such innovations generally 
 are, by chicanery and cunning, for when opposition to influential char- 
 acters is attended with danger, the timid are too often silent, the multi- 
 tude believe, and imposition triumphs.' So he says in 1827 a proposition 
 
 215 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 of like nature was made and the multitude were about believing, when 
 one of the most imprudent ministers arose and said, ' If the proposition to 
 establish this head of Aristocracy is united with it will ruin the Society of 
 Friends.' This is the form in which the antichristian spirit no doubt 
 has always gained its way into religious bodies, and, unless some ' impru- 
 denf ministers arise in time, as Edward says, the multitude believe and 
 imposition triumphs. Well, I look upon thee as the ' imprudenf minis- 
 ter, to expose the absurd and false rests of some in their darling dogmas, 
 even though they do believe or assent to their belief, without seeing their 
 absurdity. I would approve of more such." 
 
 Though much encouraged by the many evidences such as 
 the above indicates, yet I have been much cast down since 
 my return home, with renewed health and spirits, in con- 
 sequence of the rebellious part of my nature again asserting 
 its claim to government and dominion. There is always 
 danger of a relapse, and always safety in the school of ceasing 
 to do evil and learning to do well. Our Father's discipline 
 subjects us to trial and temptation, and His grace is sufficient 
 for us herein, provided we flee unto Him for assistance and 
 counsel. Aristotle has traced the progress of the man who 
 has no self-control to the state of the man whom no reme- 
 dies can amen,^. Pythagoras took the letter Y as the sym- 
 bol of human existence. The stem of the letter denoting 
 that part of human life during the process of earlier de- 
 velopment; the right-hand branch, the finer of the two, 
 represents the path of virtue, the other of vice. I was struck 
 with the significance of this symbol in its relationship to the 
 welfare and progress of my own soul; that inasmuch as 
 I have been called as a witness to the eternal truth of Gk)d, 
 it behooves me in an especial manner to keep my house swept 
 and garnished so that the unclean spirit, seeking a return, 
 may find naught to feed upon. May I be enabled to keep 
 the laws and principles of my being inviolate. Stringent, 
 indeed, I find them, designed thus in Infinite wisdom, and 
 self-control in my case is to be found only in a state of watch- 
 fulness and prayer, for I see that I could soon become a 
 prey and a base slave to vice and passion. We are told by 
 
 216 
 
XENOPHON 
 
 Thucydides that during the plague at Athens other diseases 
 ceased or ran into the prevalent type. So a master vice may, 
 Gadarenes like, " enter into the swine," and though their name 
 was " Legion," it may become as one, finally " perishing in 
 the waters." 
 
 8 mo. 8. — On Second-day attended the funeral of Elizabeth 
 Foulke, and yesterday was at our Quarterly Meeting at 
 Gwynedd, and on both occasions was favored in testimony, 
 especially was this the case at the funeral, wherein in a marked 
 degree did a Divine glow salute my soul ere I arose to speak. 
 O may I ever wait for God's anointing power. I cannot 
 always expect to experience such delightful sensations as 
 upon this occasion, but I can wait for it, well knowing that 
 of myself I can do nothing, that the preparation of the heart 
 and the answer of the word is from the Lord alone, and my 
 earnest desire is that I may be preserved herein, in symplicity 
 and sincerity of heart. 
 
 8 mo. p. — ^Was at the sea-shore much interested and in- 
 structed in reading the Bishop of Hereford's sketch of the 
 Greek Fathers; in very many of his teachings Socrates re- 
 sembled Jesus. His mission, he held, was from Deity, — ^to 
 call men to exercise their own judgment, to think for them- 
 selves, and that all should patiently wait to be informed by 
 God himself, and not to depend upon authority and tradition, 
 agreeing with Paul : " The invisible things of him are clearly 
 seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his 
 eternal power and divinity ; so that they are without excuse." 
 It was the Divinity, Xenophon says, that gave signs to him. 
 This profession awakened the jealousy of the priests of the 
 popular divination, and he was accused of introducing " new 
 divinities;" whilst public opinion tolerated the grossest pre- 
 tensions, and a system of mercenary imposture founded 
 thereon. The inquiries of Socrates tended to the exposition 
 of these, which, under the veil of symbol, had all along been 
 venerated in mystic silence. The men of Athens, as so many 
 in this our day, rested their belief on tradition and authority, 
 
 217 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 omitting to explore the witness for God in their own nature, 
 and the world around them, and were, as a natural conse- 
 quence, left to "their own imaginations, and their foolish 
 hearts were darkened." 
 
 Socrates prepared no defence; twice had he essayed (he 
 observed to Hermogenes) to thus prepare himself, but as 
 often had he been prevented by divine intimation, his Eude- 
 mon, which was the leading star of his life; neither would 
 he allow the orator Lysias to plead in his behalf; he conde- 
 scended to no arts of persuasion, agreeing not that his friends 
 or his family should supplicate for his life, but comforting 
 himself with the thought that it was in accord with the divine 
 will that he should suffer, and with serenity and cheerfulness 
 he emptied the prepared cup of hemlock, drinking it to the 
 dregs. 
 
 Before his demise, in those remarkable conversations re- 
 corded by Plato and Xenophon, like Jesus after him, he 
 cautioned his friends against looking to him instead of to 
 the truth, and that truth, like goodness, was an essential 
 principle descending from above. He held that vice was the 
 result of mistaken judgment, i.e., perverted judgment. Among 
 his last reported sayings was an answer to an inquiry in 
 reference to his children, that by " attending to themselves" 
 they would best please him, his, and themselves. He com- 
 forted his friends, too, with the expression of his certain 
 faith and assurance that he should go to a happier world 
 and condition, more favorable for ultimate perfection and 
 discipline, wherein the hinderances and frailties of the body 
 would impose no bar. The soul, he taught, was a simple 
 and not a compound substance, illustrating this the better 
 by the calmness and composure of his demise. 
 
 The soul, both Socrates and his disciple Plato taught, is 
 framed after the pattern of the eternal ideas of the good and 
 the true. This innate idea constituting its moral power, 
 nature, and ability. The soul's true desires, therefore, natu- 
 rally tend after the true and the good. What these qualities 
 
 3l8 • 
 
IMMORTALITY 
 
 are the soul would be. The restless life of man is phe- 
 nomenal; each desire and its gratification passing away are 
 succeeded by others in endless flow. Not that reality is ab- 
 sent even in the limited and the evanescent. Perverted 
 activity, in which no rest is found, may be the means of 
 directing the mind to good itself. With mere sensual pleas- 
 ures the heart of man is secretly dissatisfied, for the soul, 
 originally formed in the likeness of the Deity, can never 
 separate its ideal from its divine origin, and in the midst of 
 its greatest departures and its wildest aberrations, it feels the 
 attraction of like to like, urging, and at the same time seek- 
 ing, its reclamation. 
 
 They also taught the pre-existence of the soul, grounding 
 this, as well as its immortality, on the theory of ideas. No 
 man can tell when ideas first appeared in his mind. They 
 were consequently born with us, and, therefore, must have 
 existed prior to our birth, — must belong to our being, and 
 no limit can be placed to their existence. They must have 
 existed from all eternity, and who, then, shall proscribe a 
 termination to this being in any future condition? Suc- 
 cinctly this is the train of reasoning employed in the Phsedo by 
 Plato to establish the immortality of the soul. 
 
 8 mo. II. — Attended Germantown meeting yesterday in 
 company with my friend Jervis Elliot, and was led, as at the 
 Quarterly Meeting, in an individual direction, much to my 
 surprise, being distinctly impressed that an individual present 
 was called to minister to the people, repeating the text, " Thy 
 day has come; the glory of the Lord has arisen upon thee." 
 "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." After meet- 
 ing I had a private opportunity with this friend, and he said 
 that he had been afraid for years that this requirement would 
 be made upon him. This kind of individual and pointed 
 preaching is very humiliating to the intellectual man, and I 
 praise the Good Father that He has given me evidence of 
 being led in right direction, not only on this occasion, but 
 also at the late Quarterly Meeting, when two individuals 
 • 219 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 came to me after meeting with such corroborative testimony 
 as tended to confirm faith and trust in these divine impres- 
 sions as proceeding from best wisdom. And I can, using the 
 language of John Woolman, say, " My mind hath indeed been 
 bowed under a sense of divine goodness manifested among 
 us," and that the " white stone and new name is only rightly 
 known by such as receive it." 
 
 8 mo. 14. — What we call death has been cutting quite a 
 wide swath lately among friends and acquaintances. But 
 tendrils cling so closely to the life that now is, that we have 
 need to be constantly reminded that we are but pilgrims and 
 sojourners here. And is it not a truth that when the time 
 of departure draweth nigh that the soul demonstrateth more 
 urgently her energies and that her spiritual intuitions and 
 ratiocinations are fresher, clearer, and more distinct? In 
 many instances this is the case even when the demise was 
 unlooked for, — the cord being suddenly snapped and parted 
 asunder, as though the heavenly man within us had an appre- 
 hension and presentiment of the change, even when the pul- 
 sation and the countenance designated it not! That the 
 spiritual man hath a language that is not dependent upon the 
 physical and rational is very clear to my apprehension. 
 
 " But it matters little at what hour o' the day 
 The righteous falls asleep. Death cannot come 
 To him untimely who has learned to die. 
 The less of this brief life the more of heaven ; 
 The shorter time the longer immortality." 
 
 8 mo. 23. — Have been reading some to-day in " De Imita- 
 tione Christi," a treatise generally ascribed to Thomas a 
 Kempis, though the order of Benedictines and many dis- 
 tinguished French scholars have pronounced in favor of Ger- 
 son, a famous ecclesiastic who lived in the thirteenth century. 
 The author of the " Imitation" expressed a hope that his 
 name should be known to God alone ; and this is the thought 
 which prevails throughout the work. In the chapter on com- 
 munion with God he says, " The children of Israel once said 
 
BISHOP COLENSO 
 
 to Moses, ' Speak thou with us, and we will hear ; let not God 
 speak with us, lest we die.' I pray not in this manner. No, 
 Lord, I pray not so, but, with the prophet Samuel, humbly 
 and ardently entreat, ' Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.' 
 Let not Moses speak to me, nor any of the prophets, but 
 speak Thou, O Lord God, the inspirer and enlightener 
 of all the prophets, for Thou alone, without their intervention, 
 canst perfectly instruct me; but without Thee, they can 
 profit me nothing." In chapter iii. he says, " Blessed is the 
 man whom eternal Truth teaches, not by obscure figures and 
 transient sounds, but by direct and full communication!" 
 Such testimonies are encouraging in the various records of 
 mankind, all tending to prove God's exceeding goodness to 
 His family the wide, wide world over. 
 
 8 mo. 2p. — At the late Quarterly Meeting, a friend, in 
 illustrating his subject, quoted Gen. vi. 3, as in our version. 
 I deemed it my duty, in the course of the remarks which I 
 made afterwards, to inform the meeting of the mistranslation 
 of this text, and of its correction by Bishop Colenso; and 
 to-day, in reading a translation from TertuUianus on " Mo- 
 nogamy" — a treatise written, it is thought, nearly sixteen 
 hundred years ago, he gives the received version of the text 
 as reading in his day, "My spirit shall not permanently 
 abide in these men eternally, for that they are flesh." How 
 many evidences there are to confirm the view of Barclay 
 in his "Apology :" " The translators do not give us the genu- 
 ine signification of the words, as they strain them to express 
 that which comes nearest to that opinion or notion they had 
 of the truth." " Blessed," indeed, " is the man whom eternal 
 Truth teaches, not by obscure Hgures and transient sounds, 
 but by direct and full communication !" And blessed be His 
 holy name that I can in very truth say that, through the re- 
 newings of His Holy Spirit and the washings of many deep 
 baptisms, I have realized of late in an especial manner the 
 Angel of His blessed Presence very near to my soul, making 
 manifest to me in the clearest manner that in public services 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 before the people I must look to no book, no man, — no ob- 
 jective evidence whatever, — ^but depend entirely upon those 
 impressions which are His language to the obedient and 
 humble soul. We cannot hope for a full realization of our 
 subjective ideal here, for though the spirit is willing, yet the 
 flesh is weak. In this world we must ever remain in some 
 degree under the dominion of sense. Divine virtue can only 
 be realized in the endless duration of the soul — in a state of 
 existence wherein nature and virtue shall harmonize, wherein, 
 too, the realization of entire and complete happiness shall be 
 attained. The Infinite God is the power who is above all 
 laws of mind and of matter. He alone can connect the two 
 together ; and, as we seek continually to reside in Him, as the 
 great stimulant to goodness and virtue, the greatly sought 
 for coincidence will be arranged in that manner best pleas- 
 ing to Him, and at the same time most conducive to our 
 own ultimate good. The soul cannot be satisfied here. Its 
 longings are for a heaven " wherein dwelleth righteous- 
 ness." 
 
 p mo. I. — Yesterday, in company with my friend J. E., 
 attended the meeting for worship at Norristown. On ar- 
 riving found a large concourse of people assembled, previous 
 notice of our coming hiaving been given. On taking my 
 seat felt great nervousness and trepidation in the presence 
 of so many of my old friends and associates in former politi- 
 cal life, but, happily, this soon passed away, and a measure 
 of inward stillness was experienced, under which I rose, as 
 was pointed out to me, but did not experience that blessed 
 "fulness" which it is sometimes my portion to feel, either 
 whilst speaking or after I had taken my seat. When this 
 is not the case, I arii disposed to question the rectitude of my 
 ministrations ; though it may be for the purpose of keeping 
 me in greater humility, for ability in using fitting words and 
 dexterity in their application are calculated to exalt the earthly 
 man, and therefore it may be well, nay, I am sure it is well, 
 to keep back that price which it is said is the laborer's due. 
 
 222 
 
EXPERIENCES 
 
 And can truly say that I am thankful to the great Paymaster 
 for what was dispensed. 
 
 p mo. 6. — ^Attended and had service at the funeral of a 
 neighbor, for which faithfulness I received the reward of 
 peace. Was with him a short time before his demise, in 
 which he evinced a desire to pass away. A few days pre- 
 viously he said to me that " he was at peace with his Maker 
 and had no fear." Most desirable condition this to experi- 
 ence when we come to bid adieu to all that is mortal and tran- 
 sient. 
 
 p mo. 8. — Attended and spoke to our meeting this morn- 
 ing, keeping in a measure close to the openings of the book 
 of life. But at the circular meeting, which was a large one, 
 in the afternoon allowed my mind to be carried away from 
 the spring of feeling in the soul. O what a disposition there 
 is on the part of some to hear words, and how necessary it 
 is for God's servant and minister to patiently watch and wait 
 for the flow of life, keeping close to this blessed feeling, 
 guarding against all creaturely activity and zeal of one's own 
 kindling. Always experiencing that holy and expressive 
 silence which is the earnest, the first fruit, the pledge, giving 
 an assurance in advance, affording an evidence and ground 
 of reliance wherein safety alone is to be found. Herein I 
 erred, partly from the desire, on the part of the people, to 
 draw me out, and partly, too, from a wish on my own part 
 to preach sound doctrine ; and a few moments before I closed, 
 the gospel power entirely left me, and I concluded in con- 
 fusion, which was perhaps known to my Divine Master and 
 myself alone, as evidently many in the audience were pleased 
 with well-chosen words fitted together with strength and 
 coherence. And it was not until this morning, after an 
 uncomfortable night, that it pleased Almighty Goodness to 
 reveal unto my soul the nature of my error, and words can- 
 not express the sense of my contrition, my heartfelt thank- 
 fulness to Him in that He has made me sensible of the nature 
 of my transgression. After meeting, I inquired of an ex- 
 
 223 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 perienced brother in the Truth as to my communication. He 
 administered consolation to me; thought it all right. But 
 blessed be our God, who knows us as we really are, that He 
 has not permitted me to remain in delusion and error where 
 darkness might be the result, but has administered His chas- 
 tening rod, under the administration of which I have seen in 
 the clearest manner the cause of His displeasure. We read 
 that it "became Him, by whom are all things, to make the 
 captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." May 
 we learn obedience as he did, and thus in time can hope that 
 the Father will likewise be ever with us also, because we do 
 those things which please Him. Jesus, we read, declared 
 that he was " an example, that ye should do as I have done." 
 He was therefore not of a nature above our imitation, for, 
 if so, he could not be an example to us. And the more the 
 Christ-like nature is " lifted up" in us the more and more do 
 we perceive in the language of the writer of the Epistle to 
 the Hebrews : " Therefore it behove him in all things to 
 be made like unto his brethren," " for verily he took not 
 on him the nature of angels." " We have had a very narrow 
 apprehension of the glory of Christ; limiting it only to one 
 man, when the truth is, that Christ and all the saints make 
 up but one Christ." So says Thomas Collier, one of our 
 early Friends, quoted page 107, Gibbon's review, a work 
 issued under the auspices of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 
 Sixth month 13, 1846, fortunately committing Friends to 
 the enlightened opinions of that great-hearted apostle of 
 Truth, Elias Hicks. 
 
 p mo. II. — Was favored at our mid-week meeting to-day 
 to sit at the king's gate, a much safer place this than to ride 
 on the king's horse. O the excellency of the rebukes of 
 heavenly wisdom. All the Lord's servants can with Paul 
 say, " We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the ex- 
 cellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." Feed 
 me, O Lord, with food convenient for me, lest, being full, I 
 deny Thee ! 
 
 224 
 
THE GOSPEL GIFT 
 
 It was Moses, I think, who said to ancient Israel, " The 
 Lord thy God goeth before thee as a consuming fire;" and 
 Jesus, we read, said, " His angels shall sever the wicked from 
 the just, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire." The 
 desire of my mind is that this purging process may con- 
 tinually take place, so that the heavenly seed may be gathered 
 into the garner. 
 
 p mo. i6. — ^Attended the funeral of my mother's old friend, 
 Mary B. Shomaker, yesterday. For sometime before we 
 went to the house, during the morning and the night before, 
 my mind was under exercise, and seemed to foreshadow much 
 labor thereat, but, on arriving at the house and sitting down 
 in the quiet, I realized the thought of the prophet Jeremiah, 
 " It is good for a man to both hope and quietly wait for the 
 salvation of Jehovah." For I felt not the slightest move- 
 ment of the Spirit denoting speech, though there was a desire 
 on the part of the audience assembled to hear words, and the 
 son of man could have gratified this with an appropriate 
 expression, but the Divine Son of God would not have uttered 
 one word. O there is a qualification to preach the gospel; 
 it is God's gift, and can only be known and evolved out of 
 a state of golden silence before Him, a " silence of all flesh," 
 wherein thought enters not, nor meditation, nor revery, nor 
 musings as to what we shall say, — ^no premeditation. Naught 
 known but an introversion of spirit on Truth's opening to 
 the soul. This is, I am persuaded, the perfection of the gift, 
 and I feel called to be satisfied with naught else but this one 
 needful thing to a proclaimer of the gospel of God ! 
 
 It is right and proper that we should think and reason, and 
 cultivate thought; cultivation in its most enlarged sense is 
 right and proper for a preacher of the gospel, though it may 
 not be necessary to any great extent. But when we come 
 to be assembled together, a renewed qualification must be 
 experienced, adapted to the states and conditions to which 
 we may be called upon to minister. This is very humiliating 
 to creaturely activity, to the intellectual man. " If Christ be 
 
 15 225 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 in you," said the apostle, "the body is dead because of sin; 
 but the spirit is life because of righteousness." And herein, 
 O my soul, let me stand in perfect integrity before my Maker, 
 thinking not to please " uncircumcised hearts or ears." 
 
 p mo. ip. — ^Attended Green Street Monthly Meeting yester- 
 day, and had a hard personal testimony to deliver, and expe- 
 rienced, after taking my seat, a most wonderful experimental 
 evidence of divine regard mingled with a slight feeling of 
 reproof. The cause of this was not shown me till I awoke 
 at an early hour this morning, when it was explained that 
 my expression in reference to the future condition of the dis- 
 obedient was one that should be handled with great care. 
 What renewed cause of gratitude I have to my Divine Father 
 for the continued proofs of His mercies, which are new each 
 day of my life. 
 
 This afternoon my attention was called, in reading Bar- 
 clay's " Apology," to John vi. 44 : " No man can come to me, 
 except the Father which hath sent me draw him ; and I will 
 raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 
 And they shall be all taught of God." When we view this 
 and similar passages according to the meaning of the evan- 
 gelist, who was clearly not an apostle, but one who wrote in 
 his name, living several generations after the time of Jesus, 
 and who had livingly experienced the saving power of Divine 
 Good, and who in that metonymical language^ which was the 
 custom of the age, personified the manifestation of the High- 
 est, just as the ancient Greeks did Zeus Ammon, as human 
 being with the head of a ram, denoting that Ammon stood 
 in the same relation to man as the ram does to the flock; that 
 he was the guide, governor, and protector of the people. 
 
 The meaning of the above text plainly is, that the Father 
 and His manifestation are one and the same ; that the Sent, 
 the Son, the Word, are the evidences of drawings of Divine 
 IvOve, by and through which we can alone experience the 
 resurrection and life of the soul. Recently I have had re- 
 newed occasion to mourn over this disposition in those who 
 
 226 
 
BE NOT SUBJECT TO ORDINANCES 
 
 have received " the word of the kingdom on the wayside" to 
 contend about words and symbols. O when will men come 
 to understand that "the life is more than the raiment" ? And 
 renewedly convinced I am by a very painful experience that 
 we cannot come to know the fulness of this precious life till 
 we come to know the "blotting out of handwriting of ordi- 
 nances that was against us, which was contrary to us." Yes, 
 we must come to experience the Sent of the Father to us, 
 " taking it out of the way, nailing it to his cross ;" in other 
 words, establishing a precedent in us whereby we are not 
 " subject to ordinances," and can say, with Paul, " Touch 
 not, taste not, handle not ; which are to perish with the using, 
 after the commandments and doctrines of men." This en- 
 lightened apostle saw in his day that "their minds were 
 blinded in the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is 
 done away in Christ." And if at the time in which the 
 Epistle to the Hebrews was written, the flesh of Jesus was 
 a veil (Heb. x. 20), how much more is it a veil at this day? 
 How true it is that that which is born of the flesh is flesh, 
 and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit ; the flesh indeed 
 profiteth nothing! 
 
 Paul saw that the " covenant from Mount Sinai gendereth 
 to bondage ;" that it had made him a persecutor of the breth- 
 ren ; that as he told the Galatians, " He that was born after 
 the flesh persecuted him that was born after the, Spirit, even 
 so it is now." And hence, by a painful experience, he sol- 
 emnly enjoined upon them, "Cast out the bondwoman and 
 her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with 
 the son of the free woman. Stand fast, therefore, in the 
 liberty wherewith Christ has made you free, and be not 
 entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Afresh per- 
 suaded am I that if we walk by the Spirit, we must " be dead 
 with Christ from the rudiments of the world." 
 
 10 mo. 25. — During the past month I have endeavored to 
 live after the mind of Truth, and have erred mainly for lack 
 of faith in the sense of feeling in the soul and of obedience 
 
 227 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 thereto. He who calls others by the gift of utterance has 
 a very narrow path to walk in. This I experienced a short 
 time since at a mid-week meeting wherein I felt called to 
 express a brief sentiment, seeing very clearly the stopping- 
 place, but passed over it only to illustrate the thought in a 
 short sentence which was perfectly germane to the subject, 
 wherefore I experienced condemnation, my presumption 
 being pointed out in the clearest manner. Since then I have 
 been very cautious as to Truth's stepping-stones, adopt- 
 ing a more deliberate manner of speaking, to thus avoid 
 undue heat and zeal; and thankful am I, indeed, that I am 
 deemed worthy thus to be brought under the discipline of 
 Eternal Love and made sensible of errors of omission. But 
 while enduring and remembering this, I have again rushed 
 beneath the sword which turns every way to guard the way 
 of the tree of life, forgetful of past experiences, again letting 
 in the doubter, and neglecting a commission to attend the 
 late Quarterly Meeting at London Grove. In consequence 
 of which I have for several days past suffered for want of 
 bread in mine house. Yea, have justly felt, and am now 
 feeling, a sense of partial bewilderment and lack of clear- 
 ness of vision because of this want of faith in the Master's 
 requirement. And have clearly seen that I could soon lose 
 what little I have gained by such hard labor in this respect; 
 at the same time all within me has been tendered in great 
 admiration of Truth's simple ways. 
 
 10 mo. 28. — In addition to the above, I feel this morning 
 to say that I have never before experienced blood-guiltiness 
 in relation to errors of commission as in the case of the non- 
 attendance of the late Western Quarterly Meeting. And 
 the humble petition has been raised that I may be led in such 
 a manner that I may say with one of olden time, " I am pure 
 from the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare 
 unto you all the counsel of God." And feel this morning, 
 for the first time since this day a week since, other concerns 
 and labors in Truth's service springing up in my mind, 
 
 228 
 
THE HOLY SPIRIT 
 
 wherein there is a renewal of the Divine Image, and whereby 
 there is a blotting out of the sense of former transgressions 
 in the " blood of the Lamb," which is a similitude of the 
 innocent life of the soul. O the glory, the beauty, the gran- 
 deur of a life dedicated to God, to the cause of purity and 
 holiness, wherein self is lost, is merged, is swallowed up 
 in the chastened desire to do His will. Wherein there is 
 zeal qualified by knowledge, — experimental knowledge of 
 the marvellous workings of Infinite Goodness in the secret 
 chambers of the soul. And this can only be known but as 
 we allow Him whose only right it is, independent of all 
 external and objective evidence, to reign. The soul must 
 be quickened and made alive in the living sense of His holy 
 presence as the great subjective fact thereof. He must be 
 our all in all; we must be nothing. This is the crown and 
 the diadem of an immortal made in the image and the like- 
 ness of the Eternal God. Even here, however, the best of 
 us are liable to err. The priest formerly was to make an 
 atonement "concerning his ignorance wherein he erred, and 
 wist not; and it shall be forgiven him." Holiness in man 
 consists not in absence from error, but in uprightness in 
 life. We read that men of old spake as they were moved 
 by the Holy Spirit, and herein they differed. Paul did not 
 agree with James or Peter; the latter separated from the 
 former. The Holy Spirit is a holy union wherein there 
 are twain. God on His part is unchangeable; man holds 
 his treasure in an earthen vessel and is liable to err, and 
 belongs to God's family only when tenderness and love and 
 charity are the occupants of his soul. Oftentimes we can 
 only pray for one another as Jesus prayed for Peter, " I have 
 prayed for thee that thy faith fail not; and w-hen thou art 
 converted strengthen thy brethren." Peter here made a high 
 profession, but with the divine gift Jesus saw his weakness, 
 and said to them who had been engaged in strife on the last 
 night which he spent upon earth, "He that hath no sword, 
 let him sell his garment and buy one," — that is, part with an 
 
 229 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 empty profession, procuring " the sword of the Spirit, which 
 is the word of God!" 
 
 II mo. 29. — In my mother's memorial adopted at the late 
 Yearly Meeting, it was stated that she was endowed with 
 prophetic power. Some friends privately objected to this 
 idea; and I may say that in the past it has been a stumbling- 
 block to my own understanding how any mortal could have 
 a sense of an event which may be in the future. But when 
 we come to consider that the Infinite God is at once "first, 
 last, midst, and without end," that with Him is one eternal 
 present, and that when we speak of the future as to Him it 
 is to limit Him by distinctions which cannot belong to an 
 Infinite nature. We can have our probabilities as to the 
 weather, our certainties as to the movements of the heavenly 
 bodies wherein we calculate and correctly foretell their phases 
 and results. God has placed us in the midst of change and 
 time, but He has not thereby involved Himself in our limita- 
 tions. These are distinctions which belong to us, as does 
 space also; they correspond not with the attributes of an 
 Infinite Creator. He has not involved Himself in the limita- 
 tions of His creature man. As compared with Him, no 
 similitude can be employed as applied to time. With God 
 there can be no such limitations. He is the omnipresent 
 and omniscient One, embracing the past and the future in 
 one eternal present. 
 
 But it has pleased Him to model man in some degree after 
 His own similitude, and what is called the gift of prophecy 
 is but being baptized into a modicum and measure of that 
 I Am power which He has freely dispensed unto His faithful 
 ones during all ages and among all people. Prophetic power 
 is but an increase of God's power in man, wherein for a 
 time and for a particular purpose a transcendent and all- 
 creating Providence dispenses the measure of an attribute 
 which belongs to Himself alone, wherein a glimpse may be 
 had of that eternal scene of felicity and enjoyment which 
 awaits the ransomed and redeemed who have been quickened 
 
 230 
 
FOREKNOWLEDGE 
 
 and transformed by the renewal of their minds, having passed 
 from death unto life, for " in his favor there is life." 
 
 So, also, can we reconcile what is called the foreknowledge 
 of God wherein incompatibility is alleged to the free agency 
 of man. Foreknowledge being not a divine but a human 
 characteristic, belonging to creatures inhabiting space and 
 being clothed with the habiliments of mutation, change, and 
 time. With God all things must be present. There can be 
 no futurity as to Him; the term foreknowledge, therefore, 
 when thus applied, is to bring Him within the limitations of 
 mortal man, wherein there are parts and shapes, and not one 
 indivisible whole. We can ascribe such terms to matter 
 which is clearly divisible, but to employ them to that which 
 is immaterial is clearly to commit a violence to the immortal 
 in its relative and correlative sense. For instance, consider 
 the nature of God's wondrous love as it is poured into the 
 human soul through the conduits and portals thereof; how 
 marvellous is its transforming, transmuting power. Clearly 
 it admits of no divisibility. It comes from the fountains 
 of Eternal life and love. It is of God, and can never — never 
 die. How important it is, therefore, that the soul be kept 
 pure and spotless; that it be bathed continually in those 
 regenerative streams of heavenly love which proceed from 
 that ever-flowing river of life directly into the soul prepared to 
 receive it. And as nothing impure can possibly enter into His 
 presence, how unspeakably important it is that we employ 
 all the opportunities vouchsafed to acquaint ourselves with 
 Him and be at peace, for herein are conditions which are 
 full of unspeakable joy and bliss, — conditions wherein there 
 are infinite increase and advancement. The soul hungers 
 and thirsts after the righteousness of God, thus demon- 
 strating at once her divine right and her divine destiny. 
 "Divine things please her." 
 
 Herein, too, " all things" are in addition to God's king- 
 dom and government,^-not temporal enjoyments and pleas- 
 ures necessarily, — but the capacity of enjoying what may be 
 
 231 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 dispensed. Content is inculcated, and from it is harmony 
 evolved. The glittering mansions of wealth elicit not the 
 sigh of envy, for " all things" belong to him who can truly 
 say my Father made them all. They are his without the 
 care, trouble, and perturbation which they may have caused. 
 The beautiful and skilfully cultivated landscape belonging 
 to others is rendered more beautiful to the mind who prefers 
 another to himself, a condition only to be arrived at when 
 we seek God for the sake of goodness, and esteem His king- 
 dom as our richest inheritance! In other words, when He 
 becomes our " all in all," and we become, according to the 
 grace vouchsafed, one with His transcendent and infinite love, 
 Then, if trouble, pain, and privations be our allotment,^ — a 
 portion of His blessed Spirit is dispensed all sufficient "to 
 wipe every tear away," and our God and His Christ, His 
 manifestation, the angel of His Presence, all radiant with 
 golden light, comes between us and our grief or trouble, and 
 we can say with very truth, in all life's accidents and emer- 
 gencies, Thy will be done. 
 
 12 mo. i8. — ^Fifty-one years old to-day ; do not, however, 
 feel old ; indeed, I do not feel any older than I did ten years 
 ago, when I was living too much for myself. Since then 
 I have made some sensible progress in the right direction, 
 in that, particularly of late, I have been made willing to 
 allow Infinite wisdom to come in and regulate thought and 
 action, and by His purifying process in the inner temple, 
 making it a fit receptacle for His dwelling-place. The more 
 advance I make in the highway of holiness, the more neces- 
 sity I feel to co-operate with Him in the building He would 
 erect; that under His immediate superintendence there may 
 be but " little noise of hammer, or axe, or tool of iron, heard 
 in the house." Some resistance have I made to the necessary 
 polishing processes of the stones thereof; while the spirit 
 has been ready, the flesh has been weak, still is weak. I 
 hope, however, that no evil will be imputed to the immortal 
 nature on account thereof. Indeed, in my ministerial labors 
 
 232 
 
IMMORTALITY 
 
 at home and abroad, wherein I have attended meetings at 
 Philadelphia, Crosswicks, Attleborough, and Bristol, I have 
 been most signally blessed with the anointing qualification 
 to preach the gospel, and wherein, too, I have had evidence 
 that the witness has been reached in other minds. At the 
 recent funeral of a little child this was most wonderfully 
 the case, — though but few persons were present. The mani- 
 festation vouchsafed before I arose was most demonstrative 
 as to the entrance of the deceased into the immortal paradise 
 of our God, so that I could experimentally speak of what 
 mine eyes had seen of the good word of life. Indeed, I was 
 astonished at the enlargement exhibited before so few, wherein 
 there was nothing to exalt but so much to " tender in a bap- 
 tizing thought the whole." Upon the subject of immor- 
 tality, I was largely opened in an encouraging testimony, 
 and could have laid my hand on the person for whom it 
 seemed fitted; was also much encouraged myself in the 
 fresh evidence rendered of God's revealing power to the 
 soul, and at the open grave felt to say that I considered it 
 an era of my life never to be forgotten, and hoped it might 
 prove so to others present. 
 
 12 mo. 22. — At our meeting yesterday, which was largely 
 attended, I had much to say, for me, in the way of testimony, 
 and was also faithful in the way of rendering public thanks 
 to Almighty God for His many good gifts, — the chiefest of 
 which I felt to express was this wondrous sense of account- 
 ability unto Him. In the afternoon attended and spoke at 
 the circular meeting at Upper Dublin. Though thus favored 
 with the smooth current of heavenly joy, wherein the cup 
 was handed to other minds, yet to-day am made to feel bar- 
 renness and want, but was much comforted in reading a 
 letter from my dear mother published in the memoir now 
 being edited by A. A. Townsend. It is dated Guyandotte, 
 Va., 6th mo. 28, 1854., whither she was stopping on the way 
 to New Orleans. She says, — 
 
 233 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " We are anxious to reach Maysville, where we expect letters. This 
 has been a long day, and there has been ample opportunity for reflection. 
 But for an all-absorbing sense that I know nothing as I ought, I should 
 suspect that a state of indifference was closing the avenue of feeling ; but 
 I believe this sense of nothingness, if properly understood, will direct to 
 a source whence a sufficiency will be derived to sustain life. Paul declared 
 that in all states he was content ; he ' knew how to be abased and how 
 to abound.' " 
 
 12 mo. 26. — ^Yesterday attended the wedding festivity of 
 ■ to . Before the marriage ceremony was completed, 
 
 I felt it incumbent to break the silence by the expression of 
 a few words upon the indivisible nature of love. Thought 
 and utterance were spontaneous, and never did I more sensi- 
 bly feel the compulsory influence of the gospel gift. The 
 teachings of the Holy Spirit are not delusive in its pure 
 spring. And great is the responsibility of the recipient 
 thereof who refuses expressions of love, cheer, and experi- 
 ence, by the gift of utterance, to flow to other minds. Indeed, 
 I felt on this occasion that a "sin against the Holy Ghost" 
 would have been committed had I withheld expression, a 
 sin which necessarily would have to be expiated by the fire 
 of the Lord burning up and consuming that fear of man 
 and dread of appearing singular which came so near para- 
 lyzing the utterance of the simple thought furnished on this 
 interesting occasion. The difficulty of obedience I find in- 
 creased herein when among the audience there are many 
 who may be near to the flesh, and yet may be in a condition 
 wherein there is fearfulness of demonstrative evidence upon 
 the subject of spiritual assurances. How great is the diffi- 
 culty of reaching that class of minds who proclaim law 
 without a Lawgiver; certain of nothing are these, notwith- 
 standing actual science and rational observation aver the ab- 
 surdity of such thinking — wherein, too, divine corroborative 
 evidences come to the mind and will prepared to receive them. 
 To the children of our God comes upon angelic wings, — ^the 
 absolute — the ultimate of the soul, which requires no other 
 evidence but conscious feeling wherein there is no room for 
 
 234 
 
SPIRITUAL WORSHIP 
 
 doubt. The heavenly man, the divine Ego, having become 
 emancipated from the blindness of matter, is awakened to 
 the consciousness of spiritual existence, wherein there is an 
 affirmation of the soul's immortality as a necessary conse- 
 quence, and since every mind is a reflection and exemplar 
 of the Divine One, therefore by intervention of spirit can 
 we learn the processes of divine development in us. We 
 can also, by " comparing spiritual with spiritual," behold the 
 Divine Image in each other ; and here is a beautiful and con- 
 solatory bond, and hence the utility of meeting together for 
 the purpose of social worship when we see the reflection of 
 the Holy of Holies. My spirit has been refreshed upon the 
 occasion of these marriage festivities, where many young and 
 joyous hearts were gathered together. We are social beings 
 and need the society of each other; we need the frequent 
 exercise of those faculties by which we collectively take in 
 the conception of a self-sustaining Lawgiver. Faculties 
 which belong to the higher nature, and as feeling and exist- 
 ence are identical, these not only prove Him, but also demon- 
 strate the phenomenon of spiritual realities, wherein eternal 
 life is assured! 
 
 1874. 
 
 / mo. I. — In reading over the above entry in this journal, 
 great faith is seemingly exhibited, and yet on this first day 
 of the new year, though calm in feeling, am weak, very weak, 
 in all that concerns myself. Went yesterday to accompany 
 a friend to Horsham Monthly Meeting, wherein I was most 
 unexpectedly led in testimony, stating that I felt that obstruc- 
 tions existed to the performance of spiritual worship, and 
 when the petitions were about being closed prior to entering 
 upon the business meeting, I felt it right to interrupt this 
 procedure, and to state that I now felt that the obstruction 
 had been removed, by a covenant having been made by the 
 individual or individuals who were at fault, wherein they 
 
 235 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 had said, Thy will be done ! These were commended to the 
 Good Father, whose power was alone able to confer the 
 necessary ability to fulfil the requirement. Such exercises 
 " straighten" me much, and to-day am much cast down ; not, 
 I trust, in faith and hope, but in all dependence upon creat- 
 urely activity, though I have felt much encouragement in 
 reading in John x. 17, as a declaration of Jesus : " Therefore 
 doth my Father love me, because I. lay down my life that I 
 might take it again." And fervently have desires been raised 
 in my soul this day, particularly in view of attending meet- 
 ings the ensuing week at Doylestown and Buckingham, that 
 I may be preserved in great littleness and lowliness. That 
 the selfish life may be slain, so that thereby the Divine life 
 may be triumphant over the powers of hell, death, and the 
 grave. 
 
 / mo. 7. — Am in the receipt of a letter from my valued 
 friend and correspondent, Alfred Eddy, a Presbyterian min- 
 ister at Niles, Michigan, wherein he underscores the word 
 personal as it relates to God, and exhibits fear of what he calls 
 " rationalism" as a negation thereof. If the so-called ration- 
 alists only live up to the ideal of Good which they discover 
 in their minds, and which they acknowledge, they will in time 
 find that this ideal will expand into the conception of a Per- 
 fect Being, leading and guiding them towards the All-Good. 
 
 The great trouble with many is to reconcile the suffering 
 and injustice existing in such a world as ours with the attri- 
 butes of a Being absolute in power and perfect in goodness. 
 Thus troubling themselves by going outside of themselves, 
 from the certainty of spiritual realities and assurances, to 
 the blindness of matter and to the uncertainty of historical 
 evidences. The truth as it is in Jesus cannot be improved 
 on ; that the kingdom of God, or Good, is within, because it 
 is an ever present truth, just as demonstrable as the multi- 
 plication table. Science assures us that our little earth is 
 but as an atom in the realm of matter ; and herein we make 
 many mistakes as to the index of happiness. In a recent 
 
 236 
 
THE ESSENE BROTHERHOOD 
 
 visit to a neighboring city, its grandest residence was pointed 
 out to me as containing its most miserable citizen. True 
 it is 
 
 " Honor and shame from no condition rise, 
 
 Act well your part, there all the honor lies ; 
 
 Know then this truth, enough for man to know. 
 
 Virtue alone is happiness below." 
 
 / mo. 10. — Our meeting was largely attended to-day, and 
 I had much in the way of testimony, illustrating in part the 
 declaration, "With many such parables spake he the word 
 unto them; and when alone, he expounded all these things 
 to the disciples," in that Jesus told them " I have many things 
 to say unto you, but you cannot understand them now, etc." 
 That when we are brought into a retired state of mind 
 out of the mixed multitude, our spiritual Guide will expound 
 all things necessary for us to know. I am more and more 
 convinced that in such symbolical and allegorical style of 
 writing did the Essene Brotherhood seek to convey their 
 meaning in such language as should conceal their opinions 
 from the profane or ignorant, deeming them incompetent 
 and unprepared to receive the word of life. Thus the New 
 Testament literature is replete with condensed thought in 
 which the Divine Principle is personified in the Son of Man, 
 to whom had been revealed such a vivid sense of the good- 
 ness of the Infinite God. Beneath the veil of symbol is thus 
 hid the ideal Christ ! 
 
 In the autobiography of John Stuart Mill the author says, 
 speaking of his father's peculiar opinions, "He resembled 
 most Englishmen in being ashamed of the signs of feeling, 
 and by absence of demonstration starved the feelings them- 
 selves." Let this not be said with truth of our people I 
 Satisfied I am, if the Divine Spirit be yielded to, that more 
 flow and circulation will exist among us in which public 
 utterance will be given to the feelings of the soul in humble 
 thanksgiving to Almighty God. A spiritual religion neces- 
 sarily baptizes its disciples into a feeling sense of the states 
 
 2Z7 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 and afflictions of others. The truth as it is in Jesus hghts 
 a fire upon the altar of the heart that can no more go out. 
 
 The emotional nature we want, not as the soul's master, 
 but as the soul's servant. Hence we will not pause at mere 
 emotion and go no farther, but reverence for Grod, love of 
 God, and prayer to Him will influence in healthful and nor- 
 mal action the whole moral being, tending to bring us into 
 the music and rhythm of true harmony, evolving abstract 
 thought into a warm, living life. 
 
 / mo. 14. — For some time past, although I have had fre- 
 quently to testify to others of the good word of Life, yet I 
 have had to deprecate the limitations and obstructions which 
 seem as hinderances and discouragements to the soul's ad- 
 vancement. Yesterday, soon after I awoke in the morning 
 with freshness, the language came, " The work is His." 
 Herein I have renewedly felt that He understands His own 
 plans better than I can ; that there must be something in my 
 nature which requires my being kept in so low a condition. 
 Last First-day, both my friends Anthony Livzey and Jervis 
 Elliot thought me much favored in what I had to offer in 
 the ministry, but so weak and dependent did I feel that had 
 the whole of the audience told me the same it would not 
 have exalted me, I think, in the least, because so small an 
 allotment from the Divine Treasury was vouchsafed, so small 
 a realization of the ideal was experienced! This was the 
 harder to bear because so different a measure was dispensed 
 last First-day at Doylestown, when after service angels' food 
 seemed my portion. O that I may ever remember that " the 
 work is His !" By faith are we saved and that not of our- 
 selves; it is the gift of God. Resting here in this glorious 
 hope which works by love to the purification of the heart, 
 I may come in time to realize 
 
 " My blindness is my sight, 
 The shadows which o'erhung so long 
 Are all alive with light." 
 
 238 
 
WESTERN QUARTERLY MEETING 
 
 I mo. 15. — ^At meeting to-day (mid-week), the above was 
 realized, and after a simple address to the school children 
 upon the plain duties of life, all seemed truly alive with 
 Light! This is the Lord's doings, and is marvellous in my 
 sight. "Feed me with food convenient for me, least I be 
 full and deny thee." 
 
 I mo. 23. — Accompanied by my dear friend Anthony 
 Livzey, attended Western Quarterly Meeting, and therein 
 received spiritual tuition which I hope never to forget. My 
 mind was bowed and humbled before the Most High, and 
 the renewed desire was begotten in my spirit that I might 
 be preserved from literalism in the ministry. I saw that a 
 spiritually minded people need not a ministry of mere words, 
 but one of life and power, wherein the instrument is lost sight 
 of, and the blessed truth alone exalted. "He that seeketh 
 his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unright- 
 eousness is in him." I saw that an infatuation might pos- 
 sess the mind, in which the true perception and limitation 
 could be in a great measure lost sight of, and the professed 
 servant of the truth become for the time, at least, the servant 
 of self. Thus George Whitefield was obliged to acknowl- 
 edge in his later days, " I have carried high sail while run- 
 ning through a torrent of popularity and contempt. I may 
 have mistaken nature for grace, imagination for revelation, 
 and the fire of my own temper for the flame of holy zeal; 
 and I find that I have frequently written and spoken in my 
 own spirit when I thought I was assisted entirely by God." 
 The only place of safety for God's minister and servant is 
 a condition of mind like that of John Woolman, wherein 
 there is humility and " inward stillness" before the Lord ! 
 
 In a letter received yesterday from Benjamin Hallowell, 
 he concludes thus : " I sympathize with thy exercised condi- 
 tion of mind ; but from the lines thou quoted, ' My blindness 
 is my sight,' etc., it is evident that the clouds were lifting, 
 and it would soon be brightness to thee. The promise is 
 sure. ' Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is 
 
 239 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.' " I plainly see 
 that the only way in which I can realize this prediction of 
 this dear friend is by quietness and inward stillness. "Be 
 silent, O all flesh, before the Lord ; for He is raised up out 
 of His holy habitation." So much cause, however, there is 
 for mourning on account of suffering humanity, that the full 
 compensation of being " comforted" can be realized only in 
 the providence of Infinite Love. 
 
 " For God hath marked each sorrowing day, 
 And numbered every secret tear ; 
 And heaven's long years of bliss shall pay 
 For all His children suffer here." 
 
 2 mo. 2. — George Trueman attended our meeting yester- 
 day, after which I went to take dinner with him at the house 
 of a friend whose great wealth has enabled him to furnish it 
 in great luxury. And herein I can truly say that I had not 
 the slightest desire to possess a single article in this beautiful 
 mansion. I desired for myself and its much-loved inmates 
 naught but those heavenly riches which it may please Eternal 
 Good to dispense. 
 
 " O God within, so near to us, 
 Let every thought be plain ; 
 Be Judge, be Friend, be Father still. 
 And in Thy heaven reign. 
 
 " Thy heaven be mine, my very soul ! 
 Thy word be swift and strong, 
 And fill my inward silences 
 With spiritual song!" 
 
 From a somewhat varied experience, I can bear witness 
 that true contentment is to be found only in a firm trust and 
 reliance on the providence of God; in an entire dependence 
 on Him as the only Ark of Safety; as a refuge in time of 
 danger and darkness, and a solace in time of brightness and 
 joy. Prosperity we may desire on account of its benefits, 
 but, as Seneca has said, adversity has its uses, wherein we 
 
 240 
 
LIFE CANNOT DIE 
 
 deepen at the root of life and feeling, and increase in that 
 Best Wisdom which should constitute the palladium of the 
 soul. That true contentment which is a continual feast to 
 that mind which is prepared to receive it, cannot be found 
 in ambition and strife. It can only be realized as we are 
 daily concerned to know and to do the will of the All-Father, 
 wherein our truth becomes the Spirit of truth, our cause 
 His cause! Most difficult is this attainment. And herein, 
 O my soul, mayst thou know an increase of those true riches 
 wherein no envious feeling intrudes, because nothing exists 
 whereon it can feed. 
 
 J mo. 10. — In this journal I have written several times 
 very freely on the subject of " the Gospel according to John," 
 and on a re-examination of what I have said, on mature re- 
 flection, moved by that spirit which is ever impersonal and 
 free, I find naught to condemn, but see more and more to 
 convince me of the truth which was so impressively sealed 
 upon my understanding when the word was received about a 
 year since. " It is a Similitude, and its author never intended 
 it but as such." Among the last conversations which I had 
 with my sainted mother while in this life were upon this 
 subject, and the above seemed to come from an intelligence 
 of which she was cognizant. 
 
 Life cannot die, the phenomenal man does ; that is not life, 
 — " they all live to Him !" Immortality conceives, but can- 
 not be conceived in the ordinary meaning of the phrase — 
 " the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee : therefore, 
 also, that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be 
 called the Son of God." This same thought is most pro- 
 foundly indicated (John x. 17, 18) as the life hid from the 
 wise and prudent (the exoteric) to be revealed to those 
 " within" who are given to understand the things of the king- 
 dom of God and of His Christ. This is "the better part" 
 of Mary, that invisible life which cannot die, which walks 
 unharmed in the " midst" of fire " like unto the Son of God." 
 As a phenomenal being man cannot take it up or lay it down 
 16 241 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 again, but as the cliild of the Father, he who hath received 
 it knoweth it; he can lay it down and take it up again ! 'Tis 
 hid from the wisdom of the carnal mind, which is at enmity 
 with God, but exalted in that individualized life wherein 
 we act well " the part" given us to perform. The Truth is 
 accessible to those of whom it can be said, " Behold an Israel- 
 ite in whom there is no guile," hid only to all others. (2 
 Cor. iv. 3.) " But when the fulness of time was come, God 
 sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the 
 law." 
 
 Herein is the poetic language of symbol! "A woman" 
 used in this sense the apostle applies to the church, i.e., the 
 Truth, the heavenly Jerusalem, "who is our Mother." He 
 speaks of "the great mystery concerning Christ and the 
 Church" as at once the mother and. the wife of the disciple 
 of the Spirit of truth, " Who is, after the order of Melchis- 
 edec. King of Salem, which is. King of peace; without 
 father, without mother, without descent, having neither be- 
 ginning of days, nor end of life, but made like unto the Son 
 of God, abideth a priest continually." The Son of the Father 
 ever has for His beloved the ever blessed Truth in which there 
 is no bondage. In which, in lieu thereof, is the son of the 
 free woman, and the mother is taken " home" and cherished 
 by the disciple, now " no more a servant but a son." " Sing 
 and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for, lo, I come, and will dwell 
 in the midst of thee, saith the Lord." 
 
 Should this journal ever meet any other eye than my own, 
 I may perhaps be considered an infidel and heretic because, 
 as above denoted, I do not believe such impossible stories as 
 a carnal intercourse of the Infinite God with a mortal woman. 
 To such I can but say that I have prayerfully and watchfully 
 sought to perpetuate in my soul the Eternal Idea of the eternal 
 Christ of God. O when will men in reading the blessed 
 words of the seers of the olden time discover in the circle of 
 the concrete the epitome and abstract thereof,^ In the " Re- 
 public" of Plato is an account of a supposititious child who 
 
 242 
 
THE "REPUBLIC" OF PLATO 
 
 was brought up, trained, and educated, by fictitious parents, 
 taught to believe that these were bone of his bone, and flesh of 
 his flesh. On the discovery of the deception practised he had 
 lost respect for them, but had not yet found his true parents ! 
 How many analogous cases may be found in this Christian 
 land ? How many, in losing all respect for " the crutch of 
 tradition" in consequence of the cheat which has been prac- 
 tised upon them, have concluded that the greatest and grandest 
 of all truths are but the dream of the mystic and transcendent- 
 alist ! Not knowing, not perceiving, that the spiritual is just 
 as demonstrable and self-evident as that the three angles of 
 a triangle are equal to two right angles. 
 
 My soul is often moved with compassion for these as sheep 
 without a shepherd ; but still the kingdom of doubt is prefer- 
 able to the kingdom of error, with its sensuous view of that 
 external religion which so often culminates in " scribes and 
 Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and 
 for a pretence make long prayer; therefore ye shall receive 
 the greater damnation." 
 
 J mo. 12. — We recently had a very painful meeting at 
 Abington, wherein there was a long and painful discourse and 
 prayer by a Friend from another meeting. O when will those 
 who baptize " on the other side of Jordan, whose meat is lo- 
 custs and wild honey," see themselves as they really are? 
 After meeting, a Friend told me that he could scarcely keep 
 his seat. This savors of impatience where the door is not 
 closed to that spirit of disputation in which we were minis- 
 tered to. O when will vain jangling concerning the letter 
 cease? The Friend's communication reminded me of the 
 simile of the lunatic child falling. first into the water and then 
 into the fire! Such a lack of true moderation and consist- 
 ency, like an unsteady pendulum, first excess, then deficiency ! 
 Truly the letter killeth, and though the Friend seemed to 
 fear that it was not sufficiently regarded among us, thus 
 falling into the water and quenching the warming, glowing 
 heat of the spirit of life. Blindness in this respect will never 
 
 243 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 be restored to sight till the ignorance which prevails among 
 our people is removed by a clearer knowledge of the history 
 of the letter, and men thus come to see the truth as it is in 
 Jesus. 
 
 " We have known Christ after the flesh ; henceforth know 
 we him no more," proclaimed Paul, having reference to the 
 literal Christ, finding him as "the law of sin and death." 
 But, thanks be unto God, in every pious soul is the mountain 
 of the Eternal wherein Moses and Aaron "kissed" each 
 other (Ex. iv. 27). "And Moses told Aaron all the words 
 of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which he 
 had commanded him." The spiritual and rational, "whom 
 God therefore hath joined together, let not man put asun- 
 der," " they twain shall be one flesh !" " For this cause 
 shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave unto his 
 wife." 
 
 In the New Testament, " St." Hilary says, " There is much 
 contrary to sense and reason, and therefore there is a neces- 
 sity of a mystical interpretation." According to " St." 
 Augustine, "There are hidden mysteries in the works and 
 miracles of our Saviour, which, if we incautiously and liter- 
 ally interpret, we shall run into errors and make grievous 
 blunders." And Origen says, " There are things inserted in 
 the history which never were transacted, and which were 
 impossible to be transacted." If, however, I should men- 
 tion these sayings of these Fathers of the church to the Friend 
 to whom I have alluded, she would most probably know 
 better, in the blindness of her egotism. " Ephraim is joined 
 to his idols, let him alone." 
 
 George Fox said that he did not receive the Spirit from 
 man or the Bible ; but by searching he found it in the Scrip- 
 tures. So thousands can say that a witness of the " free" 
 Spirit is to be found in the Scriptures, which " was before" 
 them. 
 
 The Gospels are the product of the experience of ages, 
 borne witness to by the spiritually-minded Essenes of whom 
 
 244 
 
ONENESS 
 
 we have an undoubted history through Philo and Josephus. 
 The particular object of the "brethren" was the exhibition 
 in a symbohc form of a perfect life, a righteous end (in the 
 death of the righteous) " whom the vulture's eye hath not 
 seen, nor the lion's whelp trod," alluding to the phenomenal 
 man, to the man of lordly life and mien! Such cannot see 
 " the Lord is our defence, and the Holy One of Israel is our 
 king." 
 
 The figurative language in the Scriptures often repels the 
 spiritually-minded from its study. This is, however, the 
 case in other literature where the spirit of poetry often moves 
 upon the circle of the concrete, and, with the lightest wing, 
 lifts unto its own atmosphere. So when it is understood that 
 such terms as My Angel, Prophet, Word, Still small voice, 
 Holy One, Holy Thing, Logos, Christ, The Grace of God, 
 etc., all point but to One, as we read Jesus said to the scribes 
 that the first commandment was " Hear, O Israel, the Eternal, 
 thy God, is one God," then the Scriptures will be better ap- 
 preciated because better understood. His attributes are One; 
 we cannot separate wisdom from virtue or virtue from wis- 
 dom. The discovery of this Oneness is the " Seventh gov- 
 ernment" of Plato, which he says is most difficult to know. 
 John and Paul had no doubt read the " Phsedrus" of Plato, 
 and understood its esoteric significance. 
 
 Speaking of a Mediator, Paul says, " Now a mediator is 
 not a mediator of one ; but God is One." This same thought 
 is found in the umpire of Plato, the ever-present mediator 
 between the "great and the little" — ^between Infinite power 
 and finite weakness. The mind is not satisfied with behold- 
 ing God's power ; it desires to feel the evidence of His love, 
 which in the Scriptures is spoken of as Christ the quickening 
 Spirit. 
 
 Not as something distinct from God, but as a part of His 
 eternal oneness. To enter upon this idea is to be born again, 
 and when the soul is prepared fully to receive it, responsive 
 answers come from the spiritual to the spiritual ! 
 
 245 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 The Scriptures are "within and without," "water and 
 spirit," "bread and blood." They must be "eaten and 
 drunk" (understood and digested) to be appreciated. In 
 the midst of all contrarieties, this Oneness is discovered 
 when the principle is made known in the school of verifica- 
 tion. He being the One living, positive truth of the uni- 
 verse, and when we come to understand this we come to the 
 "one thing needful." 
 
 " Whatever God doeth shall be done forever." He is for- 
 ever doing! And in vain we seek a passage to Him as a 
 phenomenal being. We need not wait for a hereafter; we 
 are now in the noumenal and no " gulf" interposes between 
 us and the " forever." There is no negation in Him ! nothing 
 but infinite affirmation. This great truth is abundantly set 
 forth in the Scriptures, in the law, the prophets, and in the 
 Gospels; through all of which a golden thread of Oneness 
 is to be found; not because of any plenary inspiration, not 
 as a limitation to particulars, wherein the Eternal is lost 
 sight of. For the spirit is ever impersonal, bringing into 
 action the latent and invisible principles of the soul. The 
 Bible is not the father but the son of religion, and it is re- 
 freshing that upon its pages are so frequently seen evidences 
 of man's spiritual nature, — of that spiritual blood of which 
 He hath made every nation, kindred, tongue, and people ! 
 
 But it must ever be remembered that the spiritual must 
 interpret the spiritual, always transcending the literal, being 
 both before and after it. Otherwise we will carry some- 
 thing into the soul from without. Thus the servant becomes 
 greater than his master, for the spirit ever remains free, 
 refusing to be enclosed in words. A lifeless theology may 
 be ministered to by a rigid adherence to the letter, but pure 
 religion, undefiled before the Father, cannot be increased by 
 such a superstition. If we seek to enclose God in the com- 
 pass of human expression, we deny His Oneness, the " one 
 thing needful." 
 
 A writing, says Socrates, can remind one who knows al- 
 
 246 
 
PLATO ON VIRTUE 
 
 ready of what the subject treats. In the " Phsedrus" it is 
 said they give one and the same answer. Thus Plato and 
 John taught the superiority of the Spirit. 
 
 What is virtue? Plato inquires in " Meno," but gives no 
 answer. All virtue being comprised in the one needful thing, 
 that one is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren. 
 
 How many fish in the deep sea of Truth in the "night 
 season"? Vain "toil," except upon the suggestion of the 
 Spirit of truth, then a blessing always crowns enlightened 
 effort. 
 
 J mo. 22. — We had a large meeting to-day, with several 
 lively testimonies. My part was in silence, as at our last 
 gathering. The intellectual man was full of teeming 
 thoughts, the spiritual at the Master's feet! This I esteem 
 a great blessing to be thus kept in silent waiting at the foot 
 of the cross, "lest the cross [the example] of Christ should 
 be made of none effect with the wisdom of words." 
 
 Our friend Edith Atlee was present and engaged in testi- 
 mony, after having been confined to the house the most of 
 the winter. Her concern was that Pharisaical righteousness, 
 and its consequent lukewarmness and indifference, might find 
 no place in our souls, wherein there might be a show of re- 
 ligion without the spirit of it. And the desire was raised 
 in my heart that notions of superior virtue or superior wis- 
 dom might not possess my spirit with shadows without that 
 substance and heart of religion, in which tenderness and con- 
 cern fqr the bodies and souls of men are an ever present 
 reality. 
 
 J mo. 2^. — Renewedly of late have I seen the great im- 
 portance of the servant waiting upon the Master, — Aaron 
 upon Moses. "And thou shalt make holy garments for 
 Aaron thy brother, for glory and for beauty." Very plainly 
 yesterday did I feel the desire of some for words. " Make 
 us gods, which shall go before us ; for as for this Moses, the 
 man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot 
 not what has become of him." 
 
 247 
 
EUDEMON . 
 
 May I ever wait for the "Urim and Thummim," that 
 these may be " upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before 
 the Lord; and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the chil- 
 dren of Israel [that is, be baptized into their conditions] 
 upon his heart [feelings of tenderness and sincerity] before 
 the Lord continually." "But the flesh of the bullock, and 
 his skin and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the 
 camp: it is a sin offering." "The fat that covered the 
 inwards," as spoken of, having allusion to the Spirit. Thus 
 there is nothing new under the sun, God having made of one 
 spiritual blood all the nations of the earth. 
 
 In Webster's dictionary, under the head of "Thummim," 
 he says, " what they were has never been satisfactorily ascer- 
 tained," — ^alluding to the Urim and the Thummim! To 
 read of these " holy garments" merely is to suffer a veil to 
 obscure the vision; "but for beauty and for glory" they 
 constitute the essence of " the true Light which lighteth 
 every man that cometh into the world." 
 
 J mo. JO. — Not long since a Friend, whom I much love, 
 in public testimony at a funeral, stated that the Old Testa- 
 ment was not a witness to the immortality of the soul; and 
 recently in public print a letter of his had been published 
 to the same effect. And in " Indices," in a quotation from 
 Bishop Warburton, I may have perpetuated the same error. 
 On examination, I find the following literal texts among those 
 directly bearing upon the subject, although the firm trust in 
 Deity displayed by the different writers in the oldei;! times 
 unmistakably denote to my understanding that God's " like- 
 ness," the human soul, was understood by them as having 
 collateral relations with Him. 
 
 " The tree of life [eternal life] also in the midst of the 
 garden." That is the human soul. (Gen. ii. 9.) 
 
 The covenant with Abram was to " all the land of Canaan, 
 for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." 
 (Gren. xvii. 8 and xlvii. 4.) 
 
 248 
 
IMMORTALITY 
 
 The meaning herein is clearly spiritual. " Which things," 
 as Paul says, " are an allegory." 
 
 "For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for- 
 ever." (Deut. xxxii. 40.) The eternal nature of the soul 
 is here denoted, for what is known of God is manifest within ! 
 
 "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the 
 everlasting arms." (Deut. xxxiii. 27.) 
 
 " He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length 
 of days for ever and ever." (Ps. xxi. 4.) 
 
 " The meek shall eat and be satisfied : they shall praise the 
 Lord that seek him: your heart shall live forever." (Ps. 
 xxii. 26.) 
 
 " Thou wilt shew me the path of life : in thy presence is 
 fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for 
 evermore." (Ps. xvi. 11.) 
 
 " Showeth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his 
 seed for evermore." (Ps. xviii. 50.) 
 
 "Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for ever- 
 more." (Ps. xxxvii. 27.) 
 
 " God will redeem .my soul from the power of the grave : 
 for he shall receive me." (Ps. xlix. 15.) 
 
 "My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength 
 of my heart, and my portion forever." (Ps. Ixxiii. 26.) 
 
 " Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land 
 that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever." (Jer. 
 vii. 7) 
 
 " The effect of righteousness, quietness, and assurance for 
 ever." (Isa. xxxii. 17.) 
 
 In Isaiah, chapters xxxiv. and xxxv., are denoted in the 
 language of symbolism the condition of darkness and the 
 condition of light. The first is described as " for ever and 
 ever," and the latter as "everlasting." Also in chapter 
 xxxiii. 14 and 15 is the same thought. 
 
 " They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the 
 stars for ever and ever." (Dan. xii. 3.) 
 
 "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall 
 
 249 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and ever- 
 lasting contempt." (Dan. xii. 2.) 
 
 4 mo. 75. — Have been much interested in the perusal of 
 Dr. Frederick Bleek's " Introduction to the New Testament." 
 As "professor extraordinary" of the University of Bonn, 
 he stood among the first of the Evangelical church in Ger- 
 many. I am pleased in finding the view which I have taken 
 in " Indices, Historical and Rational," sustained by this emi- 
 nent scholar as to the formation of first three Gospels. He 
 supposes a " Primitive Gospel" which was the foundation of 
 Matthew and Luke, and which was soon followed by other 
 connected treatises according to the condition of the differ- 
 ent circles of readers. This " Ur-evangelum" * he thinks 
 contained those discourses and narrations which our Matthew 
 and Luke have in common, showing that the same Greek 
 original formed the basis of both. And that Luke has ad- 
 hered more closely to the original account, and has scattered 
 the declarations here and there, as, for instance, the Sermon 
 on the Mount, as spoken on different occasions. "These 
 Matthew has collected on account of ^ certain affinity be- 
 tween them, for he seems, he says, to have had comparatively 
 less regard to the special circumstances which evoked the 
 Lord's words and their chronological order, than for the 
 similarity and affinity characterizing the subject-matter of 
 them." The discourses to which this remark applies are 
 the Sermon on the Mount, Matt, v.-viii., Luke vi. 20-49, ^^^^ 
 Matt. X., xi., xiii., xviii. ; the discourses against the Phari- 
 sees, Matt, xxiii. ; the escatological discourses. Matt, xxiv., 
 
 XXV. 
 
 Our author honestly admits the variation existing between 
 the Synoptics and John's Gospel ; and in relation to the day 
 of the crucifixion, which has occasioned so much trouble in 
 the theological world, he adhering to the time pointed out 
 by John, the fourteenth day of Nisan (Fifth-day). Thus 
 
 * See Appendix F. 
 250 
 
MANY GOSPELS 
 
 rejecting the Synoptics as a standard whereby to judge John, 
 whom he argues was the author of the Gospel ascribed to 
 him. 
 
 The different Gospels which were in circulation in early 
 times were treated more honestly than is common among 
 Evangelical writers. That these were "many," Luke has 
 denoted; and Bleek points out that Origen asserted (Homil. 
 in Luc. i.) that the Gospel according to the Egyptians was 
 one of the works referred to in Luke i. i. 
 
 Between the mystical schools of Judea, India, and Egypt, 
 there was undoubted communication and communion at the 
 time of and long before our era. " The Gospel of Bartholo- 
 mew" mentioned by Jerome alone proves this, which it was 
 said he " left behind him in Aramaean among the Indians." 
 I am aware that this thought to many is not pleasant, who 
 seek to individualize and personify that spirit of Christ which 
 is to all peoples. 
 
 Our author points out the Pauline tendency of Luke, and 
 the Judaizing limitations of Matthew, which are so clear to 
 the careful reader. In the former the genealogy of Jesus 
 dates from Adam, in the latter from Abraham, who also 
 gives especial prominence to Old Testament prophecies, and 
 who prohibits the twelve " from going into the way of the 
 Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not." 
 Luke, on the contrary, agrees with Paul as to the universal- 
 ity of God's grace, and that the Jewish standard is not suffi- 
 ciently high for the kingdom of God. He also speaks of 
 the mission of the seventy more fully than the twelve. The 
 seventy nations being referred to (Gen. x.). Luke also 
 records the words spoken concerning the prophets Elijah and 
 Elisha (iv. 25-27), having the same thought in view. He 
 moreover strikingly distinguishes from Matthew in the man- 
 ner in which Jesus treated the Samaritans in the rebuke given 
 to James and John, who would have called down fire from 
 heaven on the inhospitable Samaritan village. In this and 
 many other particulars does Luke agree with Paul, and most 
 
 251 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 probably had the Epistles of the latter before him when he 
 wrote, as. for instance, compare Luke xxii. 17-20 with i Cor. 
 xi. 23-25, and Luke xxiv. 34 with i Cor. xv. 5 ; also Luke 
 X. 8 with I Cor. x. 27. 
 
 Tn his " Introduction," F. Bleek abandons as untenable the 
 idea that the first Gospel was the work of a disciple of Jesus 
 of the first generations of Christians. 
 
 " I would remind the reader of the facts, he says, which, as we have 
 already seen, militate against this, (o) Our Gospel was certainly orig- 
 inally composed in Greek. (6) It could hardly have been composed by 
 an apostle, for the course of the whole history is against such a suppo- 
 sition. The Gospel itself nowhere claims to have been the work of an 
 apostle, nor of the apostle Matthew.* The writer never speaks of him- 
 self as an immediate disciple of Jesus, nor does he ever claim to have 
 been an eye-witness of the events which he records. In his call of the 
 apostle Matthew in particular (Matt. ix. 9) , he does not give the slightest 
 hint that he, the writer, is this publican Matthew; the account is quite 
 different from what we should expect in such a case. . . . We cannot 
 refer to the title as if it were a part of the Gospel itself, for it does not 
 accord therewith; and there is no evidence whatever to show that it pro- 
 ceeded from the writer himself. The probability is that this super- 
 scription, like the postscript to the Gospel which occurs in various manu- 
 scripts, was added afterwards." 
 
 Mark is placed by our author after the two other Synop- 
 tics. In " Indices" I have indicated this view for reasons 
 which seemed plain to my mind, and, as F. Bleek says, — 
 
 " The matter is so clear and obvious, as not for a moment to admit 
 of a doubt as to the priority of Matthew and Luke. This is very manifest 
 in those passages which all three evangelists have in common, where 
 Mark blends, in a manner peculiar to himself, what Matthew and Luke 
 respectively say. Take, for instance, Mark i. 34, as compared with Matt, 
 viii. 10 and Luke iv. 40." 
 
 A Friend who esteems himself a pillar in the church, and 
 no doubt is one, recently, in all sincerity, paid me a visit in 
 regard to the publication of "Indices," which it seems he 
 
 * That the Synoptics are not original is being admitted by evangelical 
 writers such as Rev. W. Sanday, who writes in the employ of the Chris- 
 tian Evidence Society. 
 
 252 
 
" ONE THING NEEDFUL" 
 
 obtained from the public library. His manner was excited, 
 and he seemed to consider me an offender against the dis- 
 cipline of our people in reference to this matter. I felt sorry 
 for him, but no temporary convenience or imaginary satis- 
 faction can compensate for adopting error as the substantial 
 truth. Though, as I told him, I regretted the publication 
 of "Indices," now three years since, considering that the 
 truths therein portrayed and somewhat unskilfully set forth, 
 I did not then see, as I now plainly do, that the truth of 
 history, in the evangelists' minds, was not by any means a 
 primary consideration. Indeed, in the case of John he does 
 intentional violence herein, thereby indicating the poetic char- 
 acteristics of his Gospel. Hence his disagreement with the 
 Synoptics as to the later * journeys to Jerusalem, the raising 
 of Lazarus, the opening the eyes of the one born blind, and his 
 most pointed denial of the day of the crucifixion, as denoted 
 by them, thus intentionally wrapping the closing scenes of 
 the life of Jesus with the mantle of mystery, seeking thus 
 to point the minds of his esoteric readers to the unhistorical 
 character of his Gospel. 
 
 In speaking of the New Testament literature, Job Scott 
 says ("Journal," vol. i., p. 249), "which have their whole 
 life and meaning inward and spiritual." " The true ground 
 and mystery of this is Christ in man; Christ our Life" 
 Ibid., p. 250. I am satisfied that the "one thing needful" 
 cannot be fully appreciated till the mind comes to this true 
 life experimentally. " The world does not know me, because 
 it loves not me, but mine," said an ancient writer personify- 
 ing the power which he felt in his soul. And the celestial 
 state is to rely upon this, the lowest condition (a child) being 
 to depend upon mere authority. The letter speaks, but the 
 spirit interprets; and our Father will not leave us in dark- 
 ness in respect to any writing if we look to Him alone, to 
 that Divine Principle in us which is the principle of reason 
 
 * See Appendix B. 
 253 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 itself. When we enter into the house we become acquainted 
 with its inside arrangements, become domiciled in it, not 
 standing in the entry, or at the door. Swedenborg, I think, 
 says, "Angels can see men, but men cannot see angels ;" that 
 the lower cannot comprehend the higher, and no man can 
 be elevated into this state except by his own nature, that is, 
 his real nature. Wherein we refer all good to God as the 
 cause, thus becoming co-operative with Him. Positive, not 
 passive, in the sense of receiving evil or error, but active 
 in the sense of rejecting them. The evangelist has elucidated 
 this thought (John viii. 40) as a declaration of Jesus in rela- 
 tion to the bondage of error : " But now ye seek to kill me, 
 a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of 
 God; this did not Abraham." 
 
 It is only when we become the disciples of the Truth, of 
 the Spirit of truth, that the language is applicable to us: 
 "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make 
 you free." 
 
 5 mo. 23. — Have been much interested in reading matters 
 of interest concerning the Brahmo Somaj movement in India, 
 and the reception of Keshab Chunder Sen in England. What 
 a lesson of the unity of the faith and true knowledge of 
 the Son of God has this devoted theist taught professed 
 Christians. He truly says "Jesus is not a proposition to 
 be believed, nor an outward figure to be seen and adored, 
 but simply a spirit to be loved, a spirit of obedience to God 
 that must be incorporated into our spiritual being." 
 
 The addresses of this enlightened Hindoo clearly bespeak 
 one who has been baptized by the fire of our Father's love 
 into that spiritual life which constitutes salvation from error 
 and evil, wherein there is no estrangement, but perpetual 
 union and communion with the Highest. "The Lord," he 
 says, " is my light and my life ; he is my creed and my salva- 
 tion ; I need nothing else." ..." He who does not under- 
 stand Him cannot understand Christ. How then can Christ 
 be known ? Not through a book, not through doctrines, not 
 
 254 
 
KESHAB CHUNDER SEN 
 
 by having recourse to ministers or priests, but by having 
 recourse to the Spirit of God." My soul has been made to 
 rejoice in the many evidences and assurances that among all 
 peoples is spreading a knowrledge of the paternity of God 
 and the fraternity of man. Particularly was I impressed 
 with Keshab's affecting remarks on the efficacy of prayer, 
 and what "genuine and earnest prayer" had wrought for 
 his soul. " I went to Him," he says, " sat at His feet in an 
 humble attitude, and opened my heart to Him, and He heard 
 me; and since then He has always heard me." I was also 
 impressed with Keshab's spiritual experience, and its simi- 
 larity to my own. He seems to have begun afresh, anew 
 as it were, his mind having been disentangled from his pre- 
 vious inherited and traditional beliefs; and herein, as with 
 myself, he was severely tried, and his weakness perfected 
 in the strength of the Almighty One ! In Him who sendeth 
 floods of doubt to wash away the wrecks of tradition and 
 error, in order that the foot may be planted upon the Rock 
 Eternal, against which all the efforts of darkness are power- 
 less. Innumerable are the experiences which go to prove 
 the natural affinity between the human soul and its Creator ; 
 and it is a blessed thing to be reassured, as I have been in 
 perusing the experience of this Hindoo, that when we are 
 prepared to look to God only, and humbly submit to His 
 purifying processes, that He will meet us as a son and heir 
 of His everlasting heritage, and will confer upon us a tender 
 love and saintly trust in Him. And it is surely enough to 
 feel, and therefore to know, that "the eternal God is thy 
 refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." 
 
 5 mo. 28. — Attended Byberry Monthly Meeting this week, 
 and spent some time with my dear friend Nathaniel Richard- 
 son, who has given himself up now to be a witness for God's 
 church in the ministry, to which he has for a long time past 
 been called. We had sweet counsel together in comparing 
 spiritual with spiritual. Like myself, he seems to be kept 
 in the valley of humility and lowliness, both as to matter as 
 
 2S5 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 well as length of communications. The liberty which some 
 Friends seem to have as to diiifuseness and verbosity in the 
 ministry is the cause of astonishment to me. Last First- 
 day, after I had been favored and reached the close, I added 
 a few words by way of appendix, and immediately felt re- 
 proved therefor; but upon earnest entreaty at the footstool 
 of the Lord was forgiven, and the light of His countenance 
 again beamed radiantly upon my soul. O that I may be 
 kept in the green pastures of His love, though I may be 
 despised therefor, as is evidently the case with some, for we 
 live in an age when fine sentiments and prepared discourses 
 are in demand. 
 
 6 mo. 3. — Have been struck in reading the " Dialogues" 
 of Plato with the similarity of many of them to the writings 
 of the evangelists and Paul's epistles. The account of the 
 young man who came to Jesus inquiring concerning eternal 
 life, as narrated by Matthew and Mark, — Luke calls him " a 
 certain ruler," — is strikingly like Meno, a young man of 
 high rank who came to Socrates with a similar query, and 
 was directed to the indivisible fountain of all virtue. " Then, 
 Meno," said the sage, "the conclusion is that virtue comes 
 to the virtuous by the gift of God." A distinction is made 
 between knowledge and right opinion, the latter being 
 founded in wisdom. "It is," says Socrates, "an instinct 
 given by God to the virtuous." 
 
 There are many parallel passages in the Phaedo and the 
 New Testament literature, its different writers no doubt 
 being familiar with Plato. "I am," says Socrates, "very 
 far from admitting that he who contemplates existences sees 
 them ' through a glass darkly.' " Here is the same language 
 used by the apostle, i Cor. xiii, 12, Plato enclosing it in 
 brackets, as being a quotation. The sentiments are the same 
 in many instances. As, for example, Socrates says, " the seen 
 is changing, and the unseen is unchanging." Compare with 
 2 Cor. iv. 18. 
 
 No student of ancient literature can fail in the discovery 
 
 256 
 
SOCRATES AND JESUS 
 
 that the writers of the New Testament were not in advance 
 of contemporaneous thought and opinion either as to their 
 sealed style of writing or their enlightened view. The 
 " Dialogues" of Plato clearly prove this, and from a careful 
 survey of the field I am convinced that the evangelists had 
 these in view when they wrote, thinking to improve on them, 
 making Jesus their hero as Plato did Socrates before them. 
 In regard to the immortality of the soul and forgiveness of 
 enemies, Socrates is as clear as Jesus. As, for instance, the 
 former says, " The soul is in the likeness of the divine, and 
 immortal, and intelligible, and uniform, and indissoluble, and 
 unchangeable; and the body is in the very likeness of the 
 human, and mortal, and unintelligible, and multiform, and 
 dissoluble, and changeable. Can this, my dear Cebes, be 
 denied ?" " Whence come wars, and fightings, and fac- 
 tions?" queries Socrates. "Whence but from the body 
 and the lusts of the body? For wars are occasioned by the 
 love of money." . . . "When she, the body, ceases from 
 her erring ways, and being in communion with the un- 
 changing is unchanging." 
 
 True it is that wisdom is the product of no age or clime. 
 It comes from heaven. Inspiration is His gift to the faith- 
 ful and obedient soul. Leaving, then, Socrates and Jesus 
 to their spiritual manhood, press on thou, O my Zion, and 
 let thy God become thy all in all. 
 
 6 mo. 21. — ^The Friends' Review (Orthodox) of the pres- 
 ent month contains an article on "the above subject, and says, 
 
 "It is evident, however, that the moral law enunciated by Christ in 
 the Sermon on the Mount was not new to mankind, even in its most 
 refined details." ..." That the Sermon on the Mount does not express 
 the distinctive features of Christianity." 
 
 This conclusion is arrived at after an examination of Plato 
 and Buddhism, quoting the "Dialogues" of the former, 
 wherein Socrates says, " We ought not to retaliate nor ren- 
 der evil for evil to any one, whatever evil we may have 
 suffered from him." These " Dialogues," and also the sys- 
 17 257 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 tem of Sivartha, or Buddha, are cited in support of the 
 writer's views that "a system of morals alone is not a re- 
 ligion." 
 
 The same paper contains another article on "the worship 
 of Mary," showing that in the middle ages " Christ was 
 only an awful judge, whom Michael Angelo painted in his 
 terrific picture dealing damnation on the lost, while his piti- 
 ful mother hides her eyes from the sight." 
 
 Mariolatry is looked upon as a great superstition; and it 
 is shown how at last there came to be " no God but Mary." 
 But when we look at the Oneness of Divine Goodness, is 
 not the thought of the first writer whom I have quoted 
 quite as much an attempt to rend the seamless garment of 
 Eternal Truth as Mariolatry? How beautiful is the view 
 of Addison, "That no sincere effort is unassisted." Heav- 
 enly truths are always full and complete ; no half truths with 
 Him ! I have sometimes thought that Truth in the way of 
 its coming to the receptive soul is, as Milton has depicted 
 it, " The scale of Nature set from centre to circumference." 
 It comes in its eternal fitness, the full periphery of one circle 
 rounding one after another " in deep, circumfluent waves." 
 What a great wrong, therefore, we do to our natures, then, 
 by any attempt to divide the indivisible essence of All Good, 
 "none good but One, that is God." Hence, Truth, Good, 
 is from Him whether revealed to the mind of the untutored 
 Indian or to the sage like Socrates, who said, according to 
 Plato, " It is an instinct given by God to the virtuous." 
 ^ No man can think a good thought, do a good deed, with- 
 out being the better for them, and just in proportion as he 
 allows the good to permeate his heart, soul, and conscience, 
 just in that proportion is he becoming regenerated, experi- 
 encing increase in spiritual things. So that finally he casts 
 aside not only this vice and that evil trait of character, but a 
 new life is begotten in him, — the old man is altogether put 
 away as the soul enters God's holy kingdom ; and while our 
 bodies are on earth our spirits hold communion with our 
 
 258 
 
CHUNDER SEN 
 
 Heavenly Father. Salvation is thus experienced in the 
 healthful progress of the soul, and none but a physiologist 
 can view the Sermon on the Mount as non-expressive of the 
 distinctive features of Christianity. " Jesus is not," says the 
 profound thinker Chunder Sen, "a proposition to be be- 
 lieved, now an outward form to be seen and adored, but 
 simply a spirit to be loved, a spirit of obedience to God that 
 must be incorporated into our spiritual being." 
 
 "And what is Christ?" queries this devoted Theist. "By 
 Christ I understand," says he, " one who said, ' Thy will be 
 done ;' and when I talk of Christ, I mean simply the spirit 
 of loyalty to God, the spirit of absolute determinedness and 
 preparedness to say at all times and under all circumstances, 
 'Thy will be done, not mine.'" 
 
 6 mo. 25. — Attended our mid-week meeting to-day, and 
 was silent therein, as on the two previous occasions, which 
 I esteem a favor. My condition was clearly spoken to, how- 
 ever, by my friend Jervis Elliot, — he ministering to a state 
 that had been overcome by the world, — such having been 
 my case during the present week, wherein I compromised 
 for worldly advantage in a certain particular, and have reaped 
 the wages of disloyalty, and will have to suffer and make 
 atonement therefor. In order to maintain a healthful con- 
 dition of mind, constant watchfulness in my case must be the 
 rule, and not the exception. O when will I learn to live by 
 every word of God? 
 
 7 mo. 5. — " The Lord is exalted and dwelleth on high : lie 
 hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness." In this 
 text, Zion represents a condition where the valleys are ex- 
 alted and the hills laid low, and where the judgments of 
 our God are constantly sought upon every word and deed. 
 Towards this most desirable of all conditions, be thou dili- 
 gent, O thou my Zion, of attainment ; be earnest, and thought- 
 ful, and studious, and desirous in the pathway of duty, 
 thinking oiily of pleasing Infinite Goodness and of walking 
 
 259 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 with Him. Thus Zion will be filled with judgment, and 
 consequently with righteousness. 
 
 "Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; ... the 
 holy city : for henceforth there shall no more come into thee 
 the uncircumcised and the unclean." 
 
 Thus, this summer morning, when all nature is blithe and 
 jubilant in the delightful change of atmosphere so common 
 in our climate, may I, though so indisposed in body as to 
 feel excused from attending meeting to-day, may I dwell 
 more constantly in the Holy City, putting on Zion's strength 
 in the midst of physical weakness and of spiritual infirmities, 
 that these may be triumphed over in the feeling of entire 
 trust in the providence of that love which is eternal and 
 abiding, and which experimentally encircles and environs all 
 those who put their confidence and reliance in the loving- 
 kindness of our most merciful and watchful Father, Friend, 
 and Judge, who regardeth us even in infinitesimal things. 
 
 Very many are my blessings, not the least of these is the 
 darling little grand-daughter who is now so constantly my 
 companion. In all things may I be thankful and regardful, 
 and thus, as I feel concerned to live a life of love and trust 
 in the unseen and the unchangeable, and as I centre all my 
 hopes in Him, an increasing sense of enjoyment and happi- 
 ness is experienced in terrestrial things. I am satisfied that 
 this is the only true philosophy of living, — ^to live to God! 
 Then, if deprived of worldly possessions, if the links of fra- 
 ternal or paternal love are severed, why, then, if the mind has 
 been kept centred upon Him, then what is called death is 
 not the king of terrors to us, for we know, and are assured, 
 that His provision is the providence of an inexhaustible 
 love. 
 
 1 mo. 2"/. — On several recent public occasions I have been 
 constrained to bear witness to the Truth, with but very little 
 inward demonstration of spiritual life either before or after 
 I had ceased speaking; and yet I think I have been in the 
 life, though in the receipt of such meagre compensation. 
 
 260 
 
JACOB P. TYSON 
 
 But at the close of our Monthly Meeting, to-day, my spirit 
 was clothed with all that I could desire of the divine aroma. 
 Verily, " an ounce of life is better than a ton of knowledge." 
 The life of the Highest in the soul — a union of the human 
 spirit with the Divine Father! thus realizing the sublime 
 prayer of Jesus, " I in thee, thou in me, they in us." This 
 life which constitutes the soul and being of a man, of which 
 the intellect is but the servant, the purveyor, taking a daily 
 survey of the facts and intuitions which go to sustain the 
 inner and the outer life. This spiritual life is what I now 
 hunger and thirst after daily; at the same time I trust my 
 . constant desire may be, " feed me with food convenient for 
 me, lest I be full and deny thee." Humble resignation of 
 spirit is the true place of waiting. 
 
 In a recent visit to my dear friend Jacob P. Tyson, who 
 has lately been so near the eternal world, he informed me 
 of the peaceful and serene feelings he had experienced in 
 the midst of the paroxysms of severe pain, wherein the soul 
 was lifted into the atmosphere of heavenly love. How the 
 mystery of death tenders the spirit, eliminating vanity and 
 egotism, making the philosopher a little child. I have felt 
 that this dear friend's illness was not a mortal one, though 
 calculated to deepen his spiritual life, bearing him nearer the 
 infinite tljirone. 
 
 7 mo. JO. — Spent a portion of this afternoon with my 
 dear friend Jacob P. Tyson. He is still very weak, though 
 his recovery now seems assured. He inquired concerning 
 last First-day's meeting, and said that he was much impressed 
 shortly after the time of gathering, and that his mind seemed 
 turned towards myself with much solemnity of feeling. That 
 he felt that I was engaged in testimony and was alluding to 
 his condition and to what he had mentioned concerning him- 
 self. And thus it was, for, after but a short'period of still- 
 ness, I was constrained to arise upon my feet, having for 
 my text, " God was in Christ, reconciling the world to him- 
 self ;" and in the course of my remarks felt it right to allude 
 
 261 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 to my friend and to his testimony, that we needed no priest 
 or Bible for consolation in life's most trying hour. Jacob 
 said that he thanked our God for this evidence of His con- 
 descending confirmation of his feelings, for it was a clear 
 proof that spiritual converse could be had though distance 
 might intervene. 
 
 p mo. ip.— As forming a chapter in the history of my ex- 
 periences, it seems proper for me to insert the following 
 letters : 
 
 "Abington, 9 mo. 3, 1874. 
 "Anthony Livzey. 
 
 " My dear P'riend, — Thy letter was the first and only personal in- 
 formation which I have received that the select preparative meeting had 
 in contemplation for the purpose of registration my name as an acknowl- 
 edged minister of our Society. Thy note also informs me that a book 
 published by me some years since is considered by some as a bar to such 
 action; and under the circumstances I feel it right to state that it was 
 not until about a month previous to my first appearance in public utter- 
 ance, in a meeting of worship which was on the ist of 6th month, 1871, 
 that I ever felt the slightest motion to a call to the ministry. And at 
 the time in which I yielded to that call, I little expected now being in 
 this state of existence. The language addressed to my soul was, Wilt 
 thou go out of time refusing this thing? 
 
 ■' During the previous winter I had written and published ' Indices 
 Rational and Historical,' and it is proper for you to consider my life 
 prior to the eventful call to which I have alluded. That as well as the 
 past three years of public service are before you. It is for you to judge, 
 and not for me. I can but say that many things have occurred in the 
 past which I could wish were otherwise. The public office which I held 
 during the late rebellion I could not now hold. Neither could I write 
 so literal a book as ' Indices' now. With some degree of truth I think 
 I can say, with Jacob Ritter, that a more spiritual understanding of the 
 Scriptures has been given me, and were I to write a book now it might 
 be 'Indices Spiritual and Experimental.' Like others of the human 
 family, I have been born into mistakes. 
 
 "As to a reference to the Representative Committee, I had not read 
 the Discipline then, and such men as John Jackson and J. J. White had 
 published books without consulting them. 
 
 "And now as to the proposed action of your meeting, that is your 
 responsibility, not mine, though it was cheering to me to hear, as I 
 have felt, that an agreement prevailed among you as to the call; and 
 in its exercise, wherein I most earnestly desire great lowliness and 
 littleness so becoming one called to be a servant of all, may thou and 
 
 262 
 
ELIAS HICKS'S VIEW OF THE BIBLE 
 
 thy friends deal in perfect freedom and frankness with me. Deal with 
 me as you would have it meted out unto you. 
 
 "Very affectionately, 
 
 "David Newport." 
 
 "Abington, 9 mo. 19, 1874. 
 " Cyrus Pierce. 
 
 " My dear Friend, — In looking over the ' Journal of Elias Hicks' 
 yesterday, I found a slip which I had placed therein, and which I had 
 received from thee, entitled ' Extract of a letter written by Elias Hicks 
 
 to , 2 mo. 16, 1825.' I should like to know its history, so that in the 
 
 future I may identify it, if necessary. 
 
 " I fully believe with Elias Hicks that the Bible, to be useful, must 
 be brought to Truth's standard, and herein, when not ' blinded by the 
 reading of Moses,' we can more fully realize, I think, the spiritual Moses, 
 where the thing typified becomes a realization. This is denoted in Num- 
 bers xii. 8 with much power and beauty. Blessed be God, it is possible 
 for ' mouth to speak unto mouth.' As I said to thee when at your house 
 last, I am not afraid of thought and investigation, and have hence read 
 the sketch of Professor Tyndall's address with much interest, for he is 
 an honest seeker after Truth, wherein he finds, as he says, behind Nature, 
 'the manifestations of a power wholly inscrutable to the intellect of 
 man.' He also says, in speaking of the emotional nature, that it has 
 claims ' which the understanding can never satisfy !' Herein the Truth 
 of Truths are admitted; nothing but God and His infinite goodness can 
 satisfy the yearnings and cravings of that which is the imperishable 
 part, wherein we can, as Socrates says, ' Hymn the true life which is lived 
 by immortals or men blessed by heaven.' 
 
 " How desirable it is to have a place for every thing and every thing 
 in its place, to live an orderly life, wherein the servant shall not usurp 
 the master's place, for the intellect of man, grand and glorious though 
 it is in its varied manifestations, yet it still is but a faculty of the soul, 
 of that Ego of which Milton spoke when he said, — 
 
 " ' Who reigns within himself and rules 
 
 Passions, desires, and fears, is more than king.' 
 
 "In order to govern here, I find it necessary to rely implicitly upon 
 that power in nature and in the mind of man which it has been shown 
 me to be, as Paul has said, strength ' with might, by His Spirit, in the 
 inner man.' Oh, yes, herein is a ' new man, which after God is created 
 in righteousness and true holiness.' 
 
 "A sample and pattern has God shown to each obedient and watchful 
 spirit in the mount of transfiguration, as in the figure it is written, 
 ' His face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as 'the light.' 
 Yes, ' it is good for us to be here' oftener than the returning morning, 
 
 363 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 notwithstanding frailties in us, like Peter, may thus query. That thus 
 we may witness a transformation of the earthly into the heavenly man, 
 wherein we, too, can hear a voice in us, saying, ' This is my beloved 
 Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.' 
 
 "I began this note with a simple query, and have thus been led with 
 the open Bible before me to write to thee and to thine, and can truly 
 say that though, with thyself, I am considered by some, and so an- 
 nounced myself in public at our last First-day meeting, as a heretic, and 
 desired to be considered as such to the ways of man and to the accepted 
 interpretations of the world ; yet still I love the Bible, and can say with 
 Theodore Parker, ' You cannot open this book anywhere, but from 
 between its older and newer leaves there issues forth words that burn 
 even now, though they are three thousand years old.' 
 
 " The Bible has a place. Man was not made for the Sabbath ; but 
 as it is written, ' The Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath,' — that is 
 the product of the Heavenly Man, even Christ the Lord, the first-born of 
 every man, the head of every spiritual creation. With much affection, 
 in the bonds of gospel love, I am thy friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 p mo. 21. — With the exception of attending Bucks Quar- 
 terly and a First-day's meeting at Bristol, I have been gener- 
 ally at home during the past two months, and in regular at- 
 tendance at our own meeting, wherein I have been frequently 
 preserved in silence, though yesterday, after a time of deep 
 wading, I was much assisted in testimony and' thanksgiving. 
 Most earnestly do I desire to be kept at the Master's feet, 
 learning meekness and lowliness of heart ; and most especially 
 do I crave to be kept out of that literal kind of preaching 
 wherein a true sight is lost in the oldness of the letter. As 
 dear Job Scott says, " Oh ! how the literal Quaker, the zeal- 
 ous disciplinarian, as well as people of other names, would 
 spurn to be told that they fight against the life of the Son of 
 God, and will not receive his gospel." Though earnestly 
 desirous to be kept out of all censoriousness, yet there is 
 most certainly a true judgment in that Light which light- 
 eth every man who cometh into that spiritual world and 
 family of which our Infinite Father is the head, for, as the 
 apostle has testified, "God is the head of Christ." The 
 head of all true anointing, the life of all true ministry, 
 
 264 
 
JOSEPH BANCROFT 
 
 wherein the soul, thus called, is baptized into suffering for 
 the suffering seed. This was most especially the case 
 at the late Bucks Quarterly Meeting, where there were 
 those from other meetings who did not wait for that suffi- 
 ciency which is of heavenly wisdom. How necessary it is 
 for Zion to clothe herself with the garments of great humil- 
 ity and watchfulness herein, so that she may come out of the 
 wilderness leaning upon the breast of her beloved, even the 
 bride, the Lamb's wife, for every virgin soul must feel the 
 dread of intruding advice in spiritual concernments upon 
 another. And when we pronounce censure and judgment, 
 when, like Moses in the desert of Zin, we may be commanded 
 to "speak unto the rock" only, we judge in our own suffi- 
 ciency, and "smite the rock;" though "the congregation 
 drank and their beasts also," yet still the waters of Meribah, 
 signifying strife and rebellion, bringeth death unto Aaron, 
 and preventeth Moses from entering the promised land. 
 Whom God hath joined, therefore, let not man divide. 
 
 10 mo. 13. — In company with my friend Jervis Elliot 
 attended the meeting at Wilmington, Delaware, last First- 
 day; it was a solemn opportunity. We stayed at the hos- 
 pitable home of Joseph Bancroft, who is so much concerned 
 for the gathering of all by the name of " Friends" into the 
 same outward and visible body, and towards this end has 
 travelled many hundreds of miles, and has also published a 
 recent book, as well as many pamphlets, for the purpose of 
 advancing this cause. 
 
 10 mo. p. — As usual attended our mid-week meeting yester- 
 day, but received not one scintillation of heavenly light, was 
 dull and sluggish throughout. After meeting we met in a 
 committee appointed to consider the state of society, and here 
 it was altogether different with me ; how true it is that " the 
 Lord commandeth the blessing, even life for evermore." 
 We sat, indeed, in heavenly places, and my soul was filled 
 with thanksgiving to the Great Giver for His unspeakable 
 gift, by means of which the weakness of the flesh can be 
 
 26s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 overcome in the manifold manifestations of the Spirit! 
 How my soul goes out to all, especially to the dear youth, 
 in prayerful desires for their everlasting good, and herein 
 beautiful is the admonition of "the Preacher," "Remember 
 thy Creator jn the days of thy youth, while the evil days 
 come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I 
 have no pleasure in them." 
 
 10 mo. 14. — ^Attended a funeral this morning, to which 
 special invitation had been given me, and at which I was 
 evidently expected to speak by the friends of the deceased 
 and those gathered. Before proceeding to the house, I was 
 under considerable exercise, seemingly to foreshadow labor 
 thereat; but after getting in the stillness, I found that I had 
 nothing to communicate, and notwithstanding the doors were 
 opened by those standing in the yard, so that they might hear 
 what might be said, — T being the only one present from 
 whom speech was expected, — yet all availed not. Notwith- 
 standing I was perfectly willing to accommodate in the way 
 anticipated, still I had not the slightest signal from the Mas- 
 ter, and of course had to acquiesce. Now here is a phe- 
 nomenon frequently witnessed among Friends, which admits 
 of no explanation short of that power which Tyndall in his 
 late address before the Royal Society on the subject of mate- 
 rialism admits to be a Power existing behind Nature, and 
 which he says is " wholly inscrutable to the intellect of man." 
 And herein I can say that I have been in the habit of speak- 
 ing in public for thirty years, before I. was called to the gos- 
 pel ministry, on political and scientific subjects, and always 
 have been ready to fulfil expectation therein. But now how 
 different, for I know not 'what I may be led to say in the 
 least degree, or whether to communicate anything whatever. 
 All special preparation is therefore useless in reference to 
 any set occasion. I do not mean to say that the intellectual 
 should lie dormant and uncultivated; that would be unnat- 
 ural, and therefore wrong. What I desire to imply is that 
 the spiritual in such cases should have the masterhood, the 
 
 266 
 
A HYDRA OF VICE 
 
 supremacy. " Take no thought how or what ye shall speak," 
 said Jesus ; " it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your 
 Father which speaketh in you." Here I find is the only 
 ground for me in behalf of the testimony of the word of the 
 Most High. Well do I know, as Paul has said, " We hold 
 this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the 
 power may be of God, not of us," and therefore it becomes 
 the creature to always call men to the Creator, to the fountain 
 in its purity. All that man can do, and all that is expected 
 of him in this direction by his Creator, is to bear witness to 
 the Truth" as he or she has experienced it, and to thus stir 
 up the pure mind by way of remembrance. 
 
 10 mo. 24. — Called a few days since on the widow of the 
 deceased one above mentioned, and my heart bled for her in 
 much sympathy of feeling. O what a " Hydra of Vice" is 
 that monster Intemperance! what anguish, sorrow, crime, 
 and want flow from the use of spirituous liquors as a drink. 
 In this case a strong and great-hearted young man was cut 
 off in the prime of life, leaving those behind him to suffer 
 in consequence of his prodigal wastefulness. I could impart 
 but little comfort to this widowed heart in reference to the 
 deceased one; not that I felt like judgment. Oh, no. 
 
 " Let not this weak, unknowing hand 
 Presume thy bolts to throw, 
 And deal damnation round the land 
 On all I deem thy foe." 
 
 Her Aunt Jane Logan, who is staying with her, informed 
 me that it was as I had felt at the funeral, that there was 
 disappointment expressed because of the lack of a funeral 
 sermon at the house, and that one of the "without" volun- 
 teered to go and request me to speak; and that he only de- 
 sisted on her informing him that Friends were not always 
 ready to preach the gospel, or words to that effect. 
 
 My friend Edith Atlee has loaned me the diary of her 
 grandfather to read in manuscript, and I was much, and I 
 trust profitably, interested in its perusal, my attention being 
 
 267 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 particularly arrested with the entry : " Fourth month 24, i8i i. 
 — A thought just strikes with force upon my mind, which I 
 think will be profitably preserved. He who can keep a re- 
 ligious diary and remain free from ostentation, is like a 
 ■ virtuous woman,' — a rare jewel, — whose price is far above 
 rubies." And I have been exercised herein that I may watch 
 and pray against the appearance of evil. Such a journal 
 must necessarily treat of the Ego according to the letter; 
 but notwithstanding this, I trust the spirit may be preserved 
 in meekness through the divine favor, for I do believe it is 
 possible for us even here to love from His love, to conceive 
 from His wisdom, and to live from His power. All that is 
 contrary and opposed to this is perverted activity, not in the 
 divine life and harmony, for there is no life or truth that is 
 not referable to the Eternal Mind. 
 
 10 mo. 30. — Swedenborg saw an inner significance in the 
 Scriptures, which in relation to the outward sense has been 
 called the Science of Correspondences, and herein he is not 
 alone, for to our early Friends was revealed a spiritual under- 
 standing. " The language of Scripture," says William Penn, 
 " is often hyperbolical ;" and George Fox says, " Christ is 
 the substance of all figures ; and his flesh is a figure ;*for every 
 one passeth through the same way as he did who comes to 
 know Christ in the flesh." And in one of his addresses to 
 Oliver Cromwell he says, " I am moved to give forth for the 
 truth's sake from him whom the world calls George Fox, 
 who is the son of God," * thus illustrating the beautiful doc- 
 trine of sonship. "All who are led by the Spirit of God 
 are sons of God." likewise on his trial at Lancaster he 
 exclaimed, "The saints are all one in the Father and the 
 Son; they are of his bone and his flesh." And William 
 Penn, in his writings, quotes and comments upon a declara- 
 tion of George Fox the younger, who says, " I am the light 
 which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, am the 
 
 * Fisher's Review, p. 40. 
 268 
 
THE DIVINE SENSE 
 
 true eternal God; by me all things are apparent." (He that 
 readeth let him understand!) 
 
 The early Fathers frequently speak of the " Divine Sense," 
 and that great orthodox champion, "St." Athanasius says, 
 "that should we understand sacred writ according to the 
 letter, we should fall into the most enormous blasphemies." 
 Likewise speaks " St." Augustine, " In all things that God 
 hath spoken, in His written word, we must seek for a spiritual 
 meaning." Origen commiserates those who construe the 
 account of creation in Genesis corporeally. " No man," says 
 he, " can doubt that these things are to be taken figuratively 
 and not literally." Again he says, "They who find fault 
 with the allegorical expositions of Scripture, and maintain 
 that it has no other meaning than that which the texts show, 
 take away the key of knowledge." This is not exceptional 
 language on the part of the great lights of the early church 
 who were "within" (Rev. xxii. 14). Those who were 
 " without," the apostle characterizes (Rev. xxii. 15) as " dogs, 
 and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idol-' 
 aters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." The whole 
 history of the church shows that the wise and the prudent 
 of this world have rended and trampled under their feet 
 " your pearls," that is, the " Divine Sense" of which Origin 
 speaks. Tertullian calls these the "disciples of the letter 
 alone," and explains that the Son of God hath no mother, 
 no, not in pure wedlock. " Every ray put forth by the sun," 
 he .says, " is a part of the whole." 
 
 This hieroglyphic mode of writing is not confined to the 
 literature of the Old and New Testament, but is common 
 among Oriental peoples, and in reading it we require an 
 interpreter to understand its deep meaning. The founder 
 of ancient Rome, it is said, was brought up by a wolf, and 
 herein is the language of metonymy and symbol, and thus 
 veiled often do we find ancient writings. Though doubtless 
 Oriental literature contains much more wisdom that is com- 
 monly attributed to it, early history clearly shows that this 
 
 269 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 kind of language was used and understood by the learned 
 Hermes, the Egj'ptian philosopher, legislator, and priest, who 
 acquired the surname of the Thrice Great, and who is thought 
 to have lived about the time of Moses, says, " This visible 
 world is but a picture of the invisible, wherein is seen, as 
 in a portraiture, counterfeit forms of more real substances 
 in the invisible fabric." And Philo, a.d. 40, says, "The 
 whole law of Moses is like a living creature, whose body is 
 the literal sense, but whose soul, the more hidden meaning, 
 is covered under the sense of the letter." * 
 
 This evident hidden significance has caused much trouble 
 to many tender minds, and Drs. Adam Clark and Watts 
 have feelingly expressed their difficulties in relation to such 
 terms as the fall, the rock, the serpent, the resurrection, etc. 
 " Who knows," said the latter, " but God may raise up some 
 man to expound these mysteries," thus looking to man in- 
 stead of to that true interpreter, whom I believe will not 
 suffer us to remain in darkness if we ask Him according to 
 His laws and His providence concerning any needful and 
 necessary thing. But this knowledge will not be communi- 
 cated to us in the condition of carelessness or of serfdom. 
 
 " For Jove fixed it certain that whatever day 
 Makes man a slave takes half his worth away." 
 
 We must come to know that the Spirit of our God is the 
 spirit of liberty, for herein are the depths of individual ex- 
 perience, — much meditation, and much secret communion 
 with Him. A perfect love comes to be known which casts 
 out all fear; least of all do we fear an investigation of the 
 books, language, and literature of man. 
 
 Now, for instance, if we explain the book of Genesis as 
 being in the language of symbol^ or, as Swedenborg says, the 
 
 * Scripture is to be interpreted by Scripture, as in Rom. iii. 7, instead of 
 " my lie," read my orientalism, in substituting the name of Jesus, as he 
 did, for the religious sentiment in man. 
 
 270 
 
THE FLOOD 
 
 language of correspondence, many difficulties are cleared 
 away, many mists, and much fog, disappear. We can read 
 our Bibles and retain our reason ! Science and faith " kiss 
 each other in the mount of God," and thus we can reconcile 
 the Scriptures with God's works around us and above us. 
 
 Biblical scholars universally now agree with Swedenborg 
 that Genesis has been compiled from some former author, 
 the latter says from the book of Jasher, and holds that the 
 first historical allusion is the call of Abram, and that the 
 portion of the Bible before that time is much older than the 
 rest, and belongs to the purely hieroglyphic age. Such is 
 the Swedenborgian view, — that it was transcribed by Moses, 
 divinely illuminated from the records of a more ancient peo- 
 ple, and that the account rendered of the deluge is like the 
 rest, to be spiritually understood and interpreted. Sweden- 
 borgians point out the incomprehensible and contradictory 
 nature of this account. Says the Rev. Abiel Silver, of New 
 York: 
 
 " In the first place, it declares that it rained ' forty days and forty 
 nights,' and that the ' flood was forty days upon the earth ;' which is 
 a plain indication that the deluge then ceaSed to prevail. It next avers 
 that the waters continued to rise for one hundred and fifty days, which 
 are one hundred and ten days after it had done raining, and longer than 
 it is affirmed that the flood was upon the earth. We are next told that 
 at the end of one hundred and fifty days the ark rested on Ararat. This 
 resting of the ark, being just at the time when the water had done 
 rising, would show that the water rose just high enough to set the 
 ark upon the mountain and no more. And from this time, we are told, 
 that the waters returned from off the earth continually; and yet, that it 
 was not until seventy-three days after the ark had rested that the tops 
 of the mountains were seen. This would not only make Ararat the 
 highest mountain upon the earth, but even so much higher than the rest 
 that the waters had to fall continually for seventy-three days in order 
 to bring the other mountains in sight. We are next told that on the 
 fortieth day after the tops of the mountains were seen, Noah sent forth 
 a dove to see if the waters had abated. This certainly was a very 
 singular step for Noah to take at this time. Had he forgotten that the 
 ark had been resting on dry land for months, and that the mountains 
 had been in sight for forty days? But what is more remarkable still, 
 the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, for the waters were on 
 
 271 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 the face of the whole earth. ' These,' our author says, ' are strange 
 discrepancies. By the literal sense alone they cannot be reconciled. 
 Nobody has successfully attempted it. The commentators wisely pass 
 them by in silence.' " 
 
 And herein the Egyptian records tell us naught of a cata- 
 clysmal deluge, and science assures us, too, that the land 
 was never visited otherwise than by its annual -beneficent over- 
 flow. 
 
 " The deposits of that overflow," says Professor Richard Owen, who 
 has recently visited Egypt in company with the Prince of Wales, " which 
 would have been swept out of the valley, which the Nile has excavated 
 by a diluvial wave, testify as strongly as the volcanoes of Auvergne and 
 the cataract of Niagara against the operations of any such geological 
 dynamic at the Septuagintal date or any earlier period. The instructive 
 layers of a grand old book, in part read by Horner and Henekyan Bey, 
 have since been displayed throughout their extent by later engineering 
 operations. They testify to as great a duration of time past for these 
 successive depositions as the mythical period of Mantho, anterior to his 
 historical period, would require." 
 
 Such being the language of the Spirit of truth, it is be- 
 coming a serious inquiry with many tender minds what shall 
 we do with the Bible ? Shall we lay it by as of but little value 
 in the light of the analysis and of the scrutiny of the age? 
 For one, I would say not so. Read the Bible intelligently 
 and soberly, and the account even of the deluge is not 
 without a divine meaning, the letter itself pointing to the 
 moral. The narrative says, " Fifteen cubits upward did the 
 waters prevail, and the mountains were covered." Now the 
 diiiference between the height of a mountain and that of the 
 " hills" mentioned is only twenty-two and one-half feet, thus 
 directing the mind to the impossibility of a literal, and to the 
 necessity of the symbolic sense, for humanity is denoted 
 in the history. Man being a microcosm, an epitome, an 
 ark, wherein he finds the birds that fly in the air, the fish 
 that swim in the waters, and the animals that roam upon the 
 face of the earth. Over all these he should have dominion, 
 and when the floods come, of which the Psalmist speaks 
 
 272 
 
NOAH'S FLOOD 
 
 when he says, "Save me, O God; for the waters are come 
 in unto my soul." "Let not the waterflood overflow me, 
 neither let the deep swallow me up." Then in such a time 
 to the ark of safety doth the watchful soul flee. The 
 window at the top points to that light which lighteth the 
 understanding of the spiritual man; the door at the side 
 denotes a condition of receptivity to Truth, and the three 
 stories illustrate the trinal nature of mind. Noah and his 
 family represent God's salvation and regeneration, wherein 
 all is harmony. Thus the lion lies down with the lamb and 
 the leopard with the kid, and a little child doth lead them, 
 and the ark doth rest upon God's "holy mountain," the 
 Ararat of safety. In the midst of want and destitution, that 
 which is comparable to the small and the few, as Noah's 
 family, these can be gathered together into the true church 
 and sanctuary of the soul, bringing under its benign and 
 heavenly influence all wayward thoughts, feelings, and pro- 
 pensities; all living creatures being brought into oneness 
 and harmony. The mind having found its Zion, its divine 
 and heavenly good, the ark rides safely above the flood-tide 
 of error and superstition, even though they were as the 
 mountains of Sin, seemingly to overshadow the mount of 
 God. But slowly the waters of deception recede, and then 
 the ark rests in safety upon the top of the mountain. Herein 
 is purification and conversion and regeneration. The desire 
 is begotten in the mind, and ability is given to " strengthen 
 the brethren." And the innocent and inquiring dove goeth 
 forth; but, O, she findeth no rest for the sole of her foot. 
 None are ready to receive faith, love, and charity; all yet 
 in the oldness of the letter, not willing to dwell in the new- 
 ness of the Spirit, and so the dove returneth to the ark of 
 safety; here she waiteth and abideth her time, and again, 
 after a season of patient waiting, she goeth forth and cometh 
 back to the 'ark, and " Lo, in her mouth was an olive- 
 leaf plucked oflf." None willing yet to receive the Truth in 
 its entireness, and lo, again the ark is sought and found, 
 1 8 273 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 and after waiting a third time for the commands of the 
 spiritual head, the Spirit of truth is received into the midst 
 of those prepared for its reception. 
 
 The number forty is a very peculiar number, and is fre- 
 quently used in the Scriptures to denote a full period of 
 temptations. In the book of Numbers it is written, "Ye 
 shall bear your iniquity forty years; ye shall search the 
 land forty days." Thus Ezekiel was commanded to lie upon 
 his right side forty days. Moses abode in the mount forty 
 days and forty nights, and Jesus was for the same period 
 in the wilderness. Four is the square of two, and ten de- 
 notes all we have. We enumerate ten and then begin again. 
 Forty seems to be in the Scriptures a peculiar number, having 
 a significant symbolic meaning. 
 
 All readers of the Scriptures see that many names are 
 used to denote the One Thing. Paul speaks of being in 
 Christ and of Christ being in him, and thus Noah was in 
 the ark and the ark was also in him. " I in thee, thou in 
 me." Herein is harmony and heaven. 
 
 II mo. zj. — Have been much interested and instructed in 
 reading some of the sermons of " St." Augustine as to his 
 interpretation of the New Testament. Many things he con- 
 strues which have a seeming literal sense as a symbol of the 
 spritual and internal. In speaking of the miracle of the 
 barren fig-tree, " If ye are thinking of trees and mountains 
 in their ordinary and familiar sense," he says, "it has not 
 been done." He speaks of the action of Jesus in reference 
 to this miracle as not to have been mistaken in finding 
 "no fruit on it," but as making "a pretence of seeking," 
 "a fiction therefore worthy of praise, not of blame," this 
 father says. 
 
 Augustine's sermon on the parable of the ten virgins is 
 very edifying. The cry at midnight signifies ignorance; 
 the precious oil is the gift of God, " an inward oil, with the 
 assurance of a good conscience, with an inner glory, with 
 an inmost charity." "The foolish virgins sought for what 
 
 274 
 
AN EXPERIENCE 
 
 they had been wont to seek for, to shine with others' oil, 
 to walk after others' praises." Those "who sold you oil," 
 he symbolizes as meaning those who sold praises and flat- 
 teries, quoting the Psalmist: "The righteous shall correct 
 me in mercy, and reprove me ; but the oil of the sinner shall 
 not fatten my head." 
 
 II mo. 14. — I have had much service in the ministry lately, 
 often in fear, in trembling, and in great dread. Was largely 
 made use of at our late Quarterly Meeting. I felt to the edi- 
 fication of many minds. It is really wonderful how the 
 Lord is making a way for me; to Him alone I accord all 
 the honor and praise. Yesterday, at a funeral to which I 
 was especially invited, I had a most painful experience. The 
 deceased was one who used intoxicating liquors much too 
 freely, though otherwise a kind-hearted and useful man, and 
 he lived in the same neighborhood wherein the experience 
 narrated on page 267 was had. As a special invitation was 
 again extended to me to speak when at the house, and as 
 freedom was felt, I was dipped into suffering for the suffer- 
 ing seed, and had considerable to say in deep sympathy of 
 feeling for the afflicted ones, and also much admonition in 
 respect to the use and sale of intoxicants ; and as the friends 
 of the deceased of that class were largely present they were 
 offended. I spoke kindly to them after the opportunity. 
 One of them, a dealer, said to me that he had been told that 
 I was expected to speak, and that he had been assured by 
 the one who invited him, who was a good customer of his, 
 that I would not be offensive. And thus it was I had to 
 disappoint not only this man but also myself, for I never 
 was so plain on this subject before in public. I was much 
 pained, however, thus to hurt men's feelings whom I have 
 long known. I would so much rather have their good will, 
 but was comforted in what that deeply experienced dweller 
 in the truth, Anthony • Livzey, said to me in the way of 
 encouragement. Indeed, my hands have been ready, like 
 those of Moses, to hang down in the thought that perhaps 
 
 27s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 I was unskilful in the division of the word, for I was very 
 severe, but perhaps not too much so, considering the terrible 
 nature of the iniquities of this monster scourge. The sur- 
 geon's skill is sometimes the truest tenderness. 
 
 // mo. 24. — My experience at our last First-day's meeting 
 quite strikingly illustrated the miracle. Matt. xx. 32, 33, as 
 explained by the interpretation of Augustine near fifteen 
 hundred years since. "What, is Jesus passeth by?" que- 
 ries this father'. "Jesus does things which pass by," he 
 explains. "Mark and see how many things of his have 
 passed by," he continues. "Even the very miracles which 
 he did are passed by when they are being done. In a word, 
 not to dwell on this, he was crucified, he is hanging to the 
 cross always. He was buried, he rose again, he ascended 
 to heaven; now he dieth no more, death shall have no more 
 dominion over him." (Rom. vi. 9.) 
 
 The two blind men, Augustine explains, symbolize states 
 and conditions of antagonism, and that Christ ever teacheth 
 oneness. He is the corner-stone who made both one. (Eph. 
 ii. 14-20.) "There is no corner in a building," he says, 
 " except when the walls coming together from different direc- 
 tions meet. The two blind men then crying out unto the 
 Lord were these two walls according to the figure !" 
 
 Thus it is Jesus passeth by, and Jesus standeth " still" " and 
 calleth them," illustrating the temporary and the unchanging. 
 In man's blindness he " cries out" unto that which is typified 
 as David's son; but it is God's son who "immediately" 
 giveth sight unto blindness. 
 
 The different accounts given of this miracle by the evan- 
 gelists illustrate the freedom of their different compilations 
 and compositions. That of Matthew's is to be preferred 
 in that he has much the better preserved the esoteric sense 
 of the twain made one. 
 
 276 
 
THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 1875. 
 
 I mo. 28. — At our late monthly meeting my name was 
 brought forward by the preparative meeting of ministers and 
 elders, acknowledging me as a minister of our Society. At 
 the suggestion of Anthony Livzey, the partitions were re- 
 moved, and the united men's and women's meeting consid- 
 ered and unanimously concurred in the expression of the 
 belief that a gift in the ministry had been bestowed upon poor 
 unworthy me. After the clerk had made a minute directed 
 to the Quarterly Meeting, I felt it right to make a few re- 
 marks concerning the manner in which, in the first instance, 
 I had been called to this service. Also, I alluded to some of 
 the objections which had been urged against me by some, 
 particularly to my having held office under the national 
 government during the late rebellion, and in regard to the 
 publication of "Indices." And herein I have reason to re- 
 joice that I have maintained my integrity, having left the 
 result to the guidance of best wisdom, feeling, as I publicly 
 expressed in the meting, that it was marvellous in mine 
 eyes. 
 
 In respect to the Scripture, I stated that I considered it as 
 the product of the human mind and spirit, and as therefore 
 one of the trees of the garden of which man should freely 
 judge. I also further stated that I saw, as I have said on 
 page 253 of this journal, that, as the scriptural writers were 
 intent in the illustration of eternal principles, they were not 
 particular as respects history and fact ; and I might also have 
 added of agreement with each other. I also said that if 
 "Indices" had caused a lack of appreciation of the Scrip- 
 tures, I sorrowed over it. Watson Tomlinson, who dined 
 with us, said that my remarks were well timed. I certainly 
 have not taken aught back of fact or truth, though, as I have 
 stated in this journal, I have explained to some friends that 
 I now see some things differently from when I published 
 
 277 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " Indices." This is particularly the case with " the Gospel 
 according to John." This work I did not then appreciate, in 
 that I did not do justice to its internal sense. I now view 
 it as one of the finest poems and allegories on record, con- 
 taining in pictures descriptions of spiritual things. 
 
 It is indeed wonderful that one like myself should in a 
 large meeting be acknowledged as a minister of a Society, 
 such as Friends, I having adopted none of their peculiarities 
 in costume, either in dress or beard; and also holding and 
 openly avowing disbelief in the gods of popular Christianity 
 in such a work as "Indices." I have sometimes thought 
 that Eternal Wisdom may design me as an illustration that 
 a so-called " heretic" may by watchfulness and prayer be made 
 an instrument of advancing man and of lifting up the ideal 
 of the true, the good, and the beautiful. And herein I hum- 
 bly desire, this day, that in my efiforts as an iconoclast, in 
 full view of the responsibilities resting upon me, that I may 
 in all things be under the immediate teachings of Heavenly 
 Wisdom ; and that especially in directing men's attention to 
 the distortions of true religion which so prevail in the Chris- 
 tian world, that true charity may govern life and word, 
 wherein the truth may be made manifest in the power of 
 God. 
 
 / mo. 30. — Called to-day to see Lucretia Mott, who has 
 been quite ill, though now happily convalescent. Many days 
 in time for her do not seem denoted, though her mind and 
 memory are wonderfully preserved. She narrated much of 
 interest concerning the separation in 1827, and stated that 
 when a member of Twelfth Street Meeting, prior to that 
 event, some of the elders called on her on account of a 
 communication in which she cited William Penn without 
 naming him as authority, that " Christians should be judged 
 more by their likeness to Christ than by their notions of 
 Christ." 
 
 I was also much interested in respect to what she said con- 
 cerning Hannah Bennard, who was disowned by the London 
 
 278 
 
LUCRETIA MOTT 
 
 Meeting, while travelling in England with a certificate from 
 her Friends in New York, because of her views concerning 
 the Scriptures. Lucretia stated that she was a woman of 
 a high order of mind and gift, and that she lived till after 
 1827, — lived to see, as she said to a friend, her views en- 
 dorsed by thousands. L. also said that there was no truth 
 in the reports that were circulated by the orthodox party 
 concerning her subsequent life. She further stated that 
 obtained of her in a surreptitious manner documen- 
 tary matter concerning Hannah Bennard, which he neglected 
 to account for, after the manner, Lucretia said, of a " pious 
 fraud." 
 
 In reference to the sifting times of 1827, is not the decla- 
 ration in Gen. 1. 20 applicable to our Society ? " God meant 
 it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much 
 people alive." 
 
 2 mo. 4. — Read carefully to-day the Archbishop of Can- 
 terbury's address before the Margate Church Institute on 
 the subject of the controversies now being carried on be- 
 tween prominent scientists and theologians. I was pleased 
 with it, and feel to commend the true subjective method 
 adopted by the archbishop in the larger part of his address; 
 but the latter part of it is entirely unfitted to the body of 
 his argument, in that it is foreign to its method, seeking to 
 tie the living spirit of faith to the dead body of ancient 
 dogma. 
 
 Now, true religion and undefiled before the Father rests 
 upon no doubtful authority. It does not depend upon the 
 conclusions of science nor the methods of the theologian. It 
 exists as a fixed fact more solid than this solid earth, having 
 had its being in the human spirit before the study of the 
 methods of science and theology began; just as human lan- 
 guage existed ere the science of ethnology pointed out the 
 unbroken continuity of its relationship, wherein is proven, 
 as Max Miiller has denoted, names representing faith, law, 
 spirit, prayer, sacrifice, as clearly coming from the same root, 
 
 279 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 and expressive of the same thought, being found in widely 
 different languages and people. Its spring and seed are in 
 the native constitution of the human soul. This is its ger- 
 minal source, and the science that does not so recognize it 
 is not a true science. Now, in order to prove any external 
 thing, we first recognize the internal evidence of the work- 
 ings of our minds. And in our researches into material 
 objects we rely on experimental evidence. But the internal 
 sense is fundamental and primary, is first, therefore greater; 
 and herein internal evidence of internal things, or trust in 
 the veracity of the inward faculties and workings of the 
 human mind, is the condition of belief in external things. 
 Only an insane person refuses credence and trust herein. 
 Faith is therefore simply loyalty to this interior sense, or 
 light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 
 It is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of a con- 
 dition of mental sanity in which, as obedience is abode in, 
 discoveries are made in " that power which makes for right- 
 eousness," and which would become self-conscious in us. 
 We know, because it informs us of its attributes and designs 
 concerning us. Herein we bow in homage and loyalty to 
 that which we recognize as the great central cause of all 
 things. To a revealing power and love, which, as we yield 
 to the manifestations of its kindly and fatherly sway, will 
 guide us by an inward feeling that truly has no fellow to 
 the fulfilment of righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy 
 Spirit. 
 
 Now, whatever the form may be, this is the eternal sub- 
 stance of all true religion. The same formative principle 
 which exists in the tree, the crystal, and the star, making 
 them what they are, also exist in man, seeking to guide, to 
 govern, and to bless him, and finally to become self-conscious 
 in him, with a self-consciousness that exists in no created 
 thing. Here is a guiding force inherent in his organism 
 attracting him to the true, the good, and the beautiful. 
 
 To this almighty self-sustaining power man is intimately 
 
 280 
 
MAX MtJLLER 
 
 related, and in this relationship is the only promise of im- 
 mortal life; in that the human mind and spirit take cogni- 
 tion of virtue, truth, and goodness. These attributes, ideas, 
 and principles being inherent in Deity can never die; and 
 in man these are brought into personal manifestation of 
 conscious affinity, kindred, and connection with Him, being 
 conferred out of the infinite plenitude of almighty energy 
 and goodness upon man by Him who remains to be the 
 Author and Endower of the august privileges of this rela- 
 tionship. These elements of being and individual conscious- 
 ness in man are indestructible, because of their correlation 
 to their Infinite Source, and because of the constant increase 
 of a normal condition to a higher manifestation and conscious 
 development within man, and are grounded and founded in 
 a substance which cannot possibly pass out of existence. 
 
 I have alluded to illustrative testimony of which there is 
 much concerning the link which binds the human soul to its 
 Great Original, of which a poet has said, — 
 
 " Religion, what treasures untold 
 Reside in that heavenly word, 
 More precious than silver or gold. 
 Or all that this earth can afford." 
 
 And I know of nothing more touching as respects this most 
 sacred relationship than the conclusions of ethnology, as 
 Max Miiller has pointed out as having clearly established 
 as a historical verity, that the words Heavenly Father were 
 among the earliest utterances of humanity. 
 
 " We have," says he, " in the Veda the invocation, Dyaus- 
 pitar, the Greek Zeu-pater, the Latin Ju-piter ; and that means 
 in all three languages what it meant before those three lan- 
 guages were torn asunder ; it means Heaven-Father ! These 
 two words are not mere words; they are to my mind the 
 oldest poem, the oldest prayer, of mankind, or at least of that 
 pure branch of it to which we belong; and I am as firmly 
 convinced that this prayer was uttered, that this name was 
 given to the unknown God before Sanscrit was Sanscrit, 
 
 281 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 and Greek was Greek, as when I see the Lord's Prayer in 
 the languages of Polynesia and Melanasia, I feel certain that 
 it was first uttered in the language of Jerusalem." 
 
 The recent declaration of Professor Tyndall is also as- 
 suring that science does not undertake to comprehend the 
 Infinite; and that a comprehension of Him and His attri- 
 butes belongs by right to the domain of Feeling. Thus the 
 deductions of science, and the everlasting Rock of Ages 
 upon which the true Quaker or Friend feels humbly called to 
 build. These are»one and the same. As Isaac Penington 
 said two centuries ago, "that which is not experimental is 
 doubtful." As in the natural so in the spiritual sphere, — 
 it is the creative law wherein, by diligence and obedience, 
 we discover that " God is the life of the soul." 
 
 2 mo. 15. — Yesterday, in company with a friend of intel- 
 ligence and cultivation, he took occasion to introduce his 
 thoughts in a somewhat controversial mood, having in part 
 adopted the Darwinian theory, and expressed his doubts of 
 design in the creation, as well as of the immortality of the 
 soul. I pointed out to him the character of my hope, and 
 also the nature of the argument of design, in which man is 
 the end of the complex mechanism of material things, and 
 in whom they are crowned with design ; and that in him alone 
 is disclosed Nature's arcanum. That coal, iron, gold, and 
 oil deposits, or mere vegetable life in which there is no con- 
 sciousness, cannot satisfy our rationality as to an intelligent 
 purpose in the creation. But that in man alone is the solu- 
 tion of all that is enigmatical in Nature, he being, in a 
 material point of view, the epitome and abstract of all that 
 is beneath him. We must therefore look to and appreciate 
 him as Nature's embodiment in order to comprehend the 
 great argument. 
 
 Now, we find in all created things something of the nature 
 of an opposing force. A case was never so clearly stated, 
 but that something can be said on the other side. This 
 phenomenon grows out of the condition in which we reside. 
 
 282 
 
INFINITE DESIGN 
 
 This clearly was never intended to be a paradisiacal state. 
 It is one of development from type to type, and has been 
 built up in a chain of endless being. 
 
 Now, if we admit a Great First Cause as proven, it is not 
 at all wonderful that He should work on a different plan 
 from that which some of our philosophers consider would 
 have been most consonant with their ideas of chaos or cos- 
 mos! 
 
 The argument against design is not a new one, and must 
 have occurred to every intelligent observer. It is the argu- 
 ment of negation, in that malformations and abnormal growth 
 are clearly visible in created things. A certain writer in- 
 stances the fact of " a land salamander having aquatic gills," 
 as against the idea of Nature having an intelligent author, 
 and herein adduces proof of " tentative acts and after-correc- 
 tion." Nature repeating the same tentatives is the charge, 
 and the same corrections for centuries. Now this is no 
 argument against design, it is only appreciable as evincing 
 a doubt as to the manner of His procedure on this little speck 
 of a world which we inhabit. 
 
 Common sense assumes the Eternal Mind. These facts 
 simply prove, if they prove anything, that His ways are not 
 our ways, and that the world comes out of a mysterious 
 plan which we cannot comprehend. If tentation be proven 
 in Nature's plan, still the end is plain. If God proves His 
 work by germinal processes, in which there are corrections, 
 does this not establish a fixed intention of a uniform pur- 
 pose? The exception here clearly proves the rule. Darwin 
 "freely confesses as absurd in the highest degree possible 
 the supposition that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances 
 could have been formed by natural selection." 
 
 Now, if Infinite Design be perspicuous in grand results, 
 then that which is enigmatical in elementary digits wherein 
 tentation is shown, it is only still further proof that Nature 
 by and through established law retains that which is ser- 
 viceable to her great pui-pose, and rejects all abnormal and 
 
 283 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 exceptional efforts and growth as contrary to and against 
 the end and purpose of creation. 
 
 And here certainly is proof of a beneficent Being and of 
 an Infinite purpose of a positive character, in which negation, 
 tentation, and abortion, seek not to undo, but to further the 
 object and plan so clearly designed. 
 
 This then being established, does it not follow, as the 
 absolute inference of a sane mind, that as man is the end 
 of a harmonious purpose as exhibited in this world, that he 
 is a more proper object for the study of a rational intelligent 
 creation in his search after Deity than a " land salamander" 
 or an " embryo Nudibranch" ? For in him is the ontological 
 fact, wherein is the conscious being of a man, by whom, and 
 in whom, is not only God proven, but also is the immortality 
 of the soul demonstrated. 
 
 Now there are certain things established, — that of being 
 is one of them. Its proof depending upon consciousness. 
 But herein my friend, to whom I have alluded, queried: 
 "As life was motion, was not death the extinction of both 
 of them?" I reply that matter in its changing forms is in- 
 destructible. The crucial test of science proves this, though 
 contrary to appearances, for in the process of combustion 
 the fuel seems destroyed. May not, then, the phenomena 
 which we call death, wherein motion seems forever stilled, 
 be also only in appearance? And here let us go back to the 
 position already established that man is creation's crown, — 
 the chiefest even of the material world. But if death be the 
 close of the conscious entity of a man, then matter, the 
 lesser, is of more consequence than mind, the greater,* — the 
 servant is of more importance than his Lord and Master. A 
 position clearly absurd, as the greater always transcends and 
 involves the lesser. And here, keeping in mind the inde- 
 
 * Mental force is not a correlated force. When my body is dissolved, 
 the power goes to enrich the soil, and the spiritual-intellectual force goes 
 to God in heaven. 
 
 284 
 
IMMORTALITY 
 
 structibility of matter, let us look at that other established 
 deduction of science, that between each and every of its 
 particles there is an affinity and attraction. But here also 
 has science established a paradox, if it seeks to make mind 
 the inferior of matter, and does not allow that conscious 
 being has an attraction of kind to kind, and nature to nature. 
 We need, however, but to refer to the science of the soul, 
 a science just as true, and founded and grounded just as cer- 
 tainly upon fact and experience, as that which relates to the 
 physical world, to know, and to thank God in the knowl- 
 edge that there is a spiritual power and agency, and that He 
 is that power and agency, who hath neither beginning of 
 days nor end of years, but who endureth from eternity to 
 eternity. And that in Him is the only hope of the fulfil- 
 ment of that indestructible; universal, and innate desire 
 which He hath begotten in that form of conscious motion 
 and being called man, upon whom He hath conferred an 
 immortal nature capable of cognition and communion with 
 Him. And that that nature hath an affinity and conscious 
 attraction unto its Maker ahd its God. Herein is the proof 
 of its immortality! 
 
 As to its beginning, ultimate facts are not to be found 
 in God's economy. The ultimate is enveloped in the infinite 
 and incomprehensible. The microscope as well as the tele- 
 scope each disclose this wonderful revelation. If the mi- 
 nutest visible specks of matter be examined, they will be 
 found in turn to contain complexities. "The blue color of 
 the atmosphere is caused by myriads of spores or germs of 
 vegetable and animal life filling the air, but quite invisible 
 under the highest power of the microscope." Thus the in- 
 finitely little is quite as wonderful as the infinitely great! 
 All matter is in motion,* and its units oscillate with unim- 
 agined speed, varying with the surrounding temperature. 
 
 * Expansion and contraction by reason of different phases of tempera- 
 ture prove this. 
 
 28s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Within each molecule are systems within systems. The eye 
 cannot reach them, nor the microscope explore them. Be- 
 yond their scrutiny, for instance, is the scent of the rose or 
 the violet. A profound writer has said: "Atoms combine 
 system within system in such ways that each atom, each 
 system, each compound system, each doubly -compound sys- 
 tem, has its motion in relation to the rest, and is capable of 
 perturbating the rest, and of being disturbed by them, while 
 molecules of each kind are specially affected by molecules of 
 the same kind existing in the furthest regions of space. 
 Units of sodium, on which the sunlight falls, beat in unison 
 with their kindred units more than ninety million miles off, 
 by which the yellow rays of the sun are produced." 
 
 2 mo. s'j. — Illustrative of the above, or rather in analogy 
 to it, was an experience which I had yesterday at the funeral 
 of a child to which I had been specially invited. I sat still 
 in the house till about the time fixed for starting to the place 
 of interment, when, entirely independent of mine own con- 
 scious volition, came the Divine Spirit, with words of con- 
 solation and healing to the afflictfed parents and friends. My 
 own condition was clearly a negative one. I wa*> in a cold 
 and doubtful mood. But never was I more assisted in testi- 
 mony and with sympathetic feeling, too, by a power which 
 moved en rapport and in rhythm with the occasion. We 
 certainly can safely affirm that if matter beats in unison with 
 matter, millions of miles away, that also the great heart and 
 being of all things is not lacking in responsive attraction and 
 afifiliation to kindred beings, though He may seem a great 
 way off to conditions of negation in which there is for a 
 time defection and doubt. And under such a dispensation 
 I am grateful for this evidence of divine energy that was 
 nearer to me than I was to myself; thus again proving a 
 conscious being moved and governed by an invisible Intelli- 
 gence above and beyond itself. Divine nature is the object, 
 man the subject, and the difference between them cannot be 
 in substance because of the unity of all kindred things. Man 
 
 286 
 
OPENINGS AND SHUTTINGS 
 
 may become a form of expression of Deity, by desiring to 
 know the divine nature in himself and himself in the divine 
 nature; and herein our states of consciousness vary. We 
 cannot fathom the unfathomable and infinite. Monotony is 
 not suited to our nature. " The darkness of night links to- 
 gether the light of two days." We are debarred from ulti- 
 mate knowledge, — that would imply omniscience, — relative * 
 knowledge only being ours. All that we can do is to humbly 
 trust in that form and power to which we are consciously 
 related. Greater knowledge may in time be vouchsafed to 
 desire. Desire may open the portals wider! 
 
 S mo. I. — I was silent at our meeting yesterday, as I have 
 been on several successive occasions recently, and consider it 
 a favor thus to be a silent burden-bearer. My friend, A. L., 
 queried of me in relation thereto. I answered that utterance 
 was not required of me. An exercised mind is not a sufficient 
 warrant for utterance on such occasions, and herein many 
 err and thereby burden the living. How necessary it is to 
 know ourselves ! No better looking-glass can we have than 
 our own minds if we study them aright. And here I desire 
 to be preserved from all arrogance or assumption in respect 
 to others, considering it, however, a wonderful phenomenon 
 to sit silently in an audience who desire speech, and with a 
 mind full of teeming thoughts, of which utterance is pro- 
 hibited by a power outside and above one's own conscious- 
 ness. Great instruction is there not only in the openings, but 
 also in the shuttings of the tide of gospel love and feeling. 
 
 5 mo. p. — Our meeting on First-day was a highly favored 
 one, not only during its silent part but also in that those who 
 were moved in testimony moved in the light of the Lord, 
 and this was felt by all. After meeting, my friend, A. L., 
 "for my encouragement," as he said, informed me "that 
 the Master was with me in thought and word." So, also, 
 
 * Our knowledge is relative,- however ; not in the sense that we do not 
 know things as well as the impressions of things, it being absolute though 
 not ultimate knowledge. 
 
 287 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 it felt with me that I never was more en rapport with 
 my own soul and the audience. Probably all extempore 
 speakers have more or less felt this bond with their hearers, 
 when perfect accord was established between them. Often 
 a remarkable feeling springs up that seems not of nature, 
 or of self, but of God; and so it was on this occasion, — 
 all present seemed blended and transfigured as in one spir- 
 itual body. 
 
 Per contra to all this, however, was the circular meeting 
 in the afternoon. On that occasion we had four discourses 
 from ministers not members of our monthly meeting, and 
 three of them were burdensome in whole or in part, were 
 prolix, tame, and spiritless, lacking in that soul inspiring 
 energy which comes from the fountain-head. In this judg- 
 ment I am not alone. A minister who spoke on the occasion 
 informed me, this morning, that he so felt, and that he was 
 also misled by the current improperly into expression. How 
 watchful those who minister at the altar should be, and how 
 applicable to the spiritual traveller is the admonition in Eccl. 
 V. 1,2. And as the apostle has said, " If Christ be not risen, 
 then is our preaching vain." He who would minister in the 
 spirit must wait upon the Spirit. "Now the Lord is that 
 Spirit," says Paul. Him we must know to arise in newness 
 of life, as a spiritual Saviour and Redeemer. Clearly, there 
 is a feeling which has no fellow, and while we desire all to 
 be kept in perfect humility, yet therein is a judgment which 
 we should not waive when in counsel with our own souls 1 
 
 S mo. ly. — My heart has this day been made to hunger 
 and thirst after that holy and self-denying life so becoming 
 the profession of the spirit, and can say, though much cast 
 down by the knowledge of mine own deficiencies and mani- 
 fold weaknesses, that I have this day felt the consolations 
 of the heavenly King, in which divine harmony has in a small 
 measure been experienced, and an increase greatly desired, in 
 which His reign may be known in mind, heart, and con- 
 science. 
 
 288 
 
POVERTY OF SPIRIT 
 
 I have been much encouraged, too, in the perusal of the 
 journal of Samuel Scott, a public Friend, who wrote during 
 the latter part of the last century. Many are the evidences 
 in the contents of this book in which are exhibited the mani- 
 fold operations of the divine Spirit, wherein humility and 
 abasement in the selfhood of the creature were made the 
 measure of the resurrection and the life of the Creator ex- 
 perimentally in this good man's soul. 
 
 Those deep and inward evidences which he relied upon 
 were often withheld in their brightness. " My paths," says 
 he, " are often obstructed with walls of brass, and my ways 
 circumscribed with an enclosure of thorns." He further says 
 that from his youth he has been proved at Massah, and striven 
 with as "at the waters of Meribah;" and queries in his 
 low estate, " is there yet in the valley of Achor a door of 
 hope"? 
 
 Thus I find that the Lord's servants, in all ages, have been 
 proven in weakness of self and in poverty of spirit. And 
 my desire is that I may be patient and resigned under the 
 dispensations of heavenly wisdom, finding my daily bread 
 in every word of God," in those pure and holy impressions 
 which proceed from Him. Thus alone can deep answer unto 
 deep. 
 
 J mo. 20. — The lines of my life do not seem of late cast 
 in pleasant places, in that not much spiritual life is dispensed 
 for daily food. Each day do I experience a deep sense of 
 poverty and want; and when I feel constrained to minister 
 unto others, as I have on the occasion of a recent marriage, 
 and also at a funeral, and at a house of sickness and distress, 
 I most distinctly felt it to be another and not myself who 
 moved my spirit to words of sympathy and cheer, after 
 which a greater sense of destitution has been my portion. 
 This is no doubt all for the best, and with the Psalmist can 
 I sing, " O give thanks unto the Lord ; for he is good ; for 
 his mercy endureth forever." 
 
 19 289 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " Grijod when He gives, supremely good, 
 Nor less when He denies; 
 Ev'n crosses from His sovereign hand 
 Are blessings in disguise." 
 
 4 mo. II. — " O blessed be the Lord, who stripped us of 
 our own, and made us bare, that He might clothe us with 
 His light." 
 
 The above I find in an epistle sent by William Bennett, from 
 Bury Gaol, to his friends in 1668, and I was much struck with 
 its appropriateness to my own condition and cravings. These 
 have been renewed to the Father of all our mercies, that I 
 might be stripped of all righteousness of mine own conceits 
 and strivings, that I may know that my righteousness is 
 wholly of the Eternal. That thou, most holy Father, may 
 turn and overturn by the power of Thy just judgment, till 
 Thy right may be known and felt in mind, heart, and will, 
 that Thou, O God, may be my only centre ! 
 
 Thy power and mercy hast in a measure redeemed me from 
 the earth and the fruit thereof; and my renewed desire this 
 day is that I may be preserved in humility and in a truly 
 waiting state of mind in and under the just chastisements 
 of Thy most wholesome discipline, wherein my spirit may be 
 preserved from the defilements of selfish indulgence in un- 
 lawful things. That I thus may become a fit recipient of 
 brighter illuminations of Thy most marvellous light. This 
 most especially do I crave in the work to which Thou hast 
 called me, even of speaking of Thy Name in the assemblies 
 of the people. 
 
 O most gracious Father, vouchsafe herein to be unto me 
 mouth, tongue, and utterance, that my race may be run with 
 rejoicings, ascribing unto Thee power, mercy, and renown, 
 now and forevermore. Amen. ' 
 
 4 mo. 16. — Want, deep want, often my portion at home, 
 and also when in attendance at our religious meetings. At 
 which silent waiting alone is my frequent portion, and recently 
 travelled some thirty miles to attend a circular meeting, having 
 
 290 
 
SUFFERINGS 
 
 nothing to communicate therein, bearing company, however, 
 with my friend Nathaniel Richardson, who comforted me 
 with the admonition which he felt was for me, " My sheep 
 hear my voice; but the voice of a stranger they will not 
 follow." Precious evidence was this, especially when the 
 people's ears were itching for words. 
 
 4 mo. 21. — In company with my friend J. Elliot attended 
 Byberry Meeting last First-day. We had the company of 
 Mary Lippincott in the morning meeting, who was enlarged 
 in gospel love. It was with me a somewhat low time until 
 towards the close of the meeting, when an exercise of an in- 
 dividual character was denoted, and much peace experienced 
 after the expression of a few words. 
 
 The circular meeting in the afternoon was a very large 
 one. Samuel Levick was favored in testimony. In the early 
 part of the meeting, the gospel spring was unsealed in my 
 mind in relation to the nature of God's salvation. After 
 expression, I fully realized the experience of Paul, that they 
 who preach the gospel shall live by the gospel. But at the 
 same time have been made' to experience deeps of suffering 
 on account of the suffering seed, and can say with the prophet, 
 " I am hurt for the hurt of the daughter of my people." And 
 have proven that some of the discouraging sensations through 
 which I have had to pass are only as clouds which He maketh 
 His chariot, and the dispensations of afHiction, as the means 
 and messengers by which sanctification is wrought by and 
 through His truth, " for thy word is truth." 
 
 5 mo. y. — Attended our Quarterly Meeting to-day, and 
 dined with Charles Teas. After dinner Sarah Hunt said that 
 she had a word for me, viz., " Hold that .fast which thou hast, 
 that no man take thy crown." These words of this dear 
 mother of our Israel were as balm and consolation to a 
 wounded spirit, and have this day desired that I may truth- 
 fully adopt the Apostolic language as the language of my 
 soul, " Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, 
 
 291 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 in necessities, in persecutions, in distress for Christ's sake: 
 for when I am weak, then am I strong." 
 
 For, blessed be the Infinite God, He hath of late manifested 
 Himself sufficiently for the purpose and preparation which 
 He hath in view, and herein I seem not behind the very 
 chiefest apostle among us, though esteemed, doubtless, a very 
 fool, on account of these very revealments of His power in 
 the assemblies of the people. But, oh, let me rejoice in the 
 infirmities given me, "the messenger of Satan to bufifet me 
 lest I should be exalted above measure." 
 
 We read, " in that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, 
 I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that 
 thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and 
 hast revealed them unto babes; even so. Father, for so it 
 seemed good in thy sight." And thus it is the child of God 
 should be as dependent upon Him as the babe upon its 
 mother's breast, and infinitely more so, for no substitute can 
 suffice. 
 
 6 mo. I. — At our monthly meeting, yesterday, I was led 
 to comment on (John xiv. 12) "Verily, verily, I say unto 
 you. He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do 
 also ; and greater works than these shall he do also ; because 
 I go unto my Father." The explanation of this text, which 
 has caused so much trouble with so many minds, is very sim- 
 ple when we turn to the experimental workings of the Spirit 
 of truth, which is undefinable, unspeakable, and illimitable. 
 The heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, neither, as I 
 explained, could the finite soul of Jesus, though filled to its 
 capacity with " the fulness of the Godhead bodily." 
 
 If we believe experimentally in the energizing power by 
 which Jesus wrought, symbolically represented in the record 
 as cures of blindness and of leprosy, we shall do, that is, we 
 shall understand, the works and power of Jesus, and even 
 greater works, for these works are symbolical representations 
 of the spiritual body, of its leprosy, of its blindness, and of 
 its darkness. 
 
 292 
 
THE UNSPEAKABLE NAME 
 
 He, therefore, that believeth shall do and see greater works 
 than that which any record or mere hearsay evidence can 
 bear witness of. " Because I (the ego) go unto my Father." 
 Being is herein en rapport with being, and heavenly things 
 are spiritually discerned. 
 
 6 mo. i8. — The pronunciation and etymological origin of 
 the word Jehovah have been the cause of much conflict of 
 opinion. Some critical writers suppose its derivation to have 
 been from the Egyptian tongue; but let this be as it will, 
 its evident germinal significance undoubtedly is, " The Being," 
 " The Everlasting." Thus we see the reason in the Hebrew 
 of the substitution of the word Adonai, translated my Lord 
 in the English version, holding in the original the true name, 
 unpronounceable and unspeakable. 
 
 It was evidently in this sense that Solomon queried when 
 he said, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, 
 the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how 
 much less this house which I have builded?" 
 
 Thus also the wise Greeks held that God was nowhere in 
 any particular sense, meaning that He was everywhere. That 
 the description of " the house which King Solomon built for 
 Jehovah" has a mystical meaning is evident. " The widow's 
 son," Hiram, and King Solomon, they two made a league 
 together. "And the king commanded, and they brought 
 great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones." " So that 
 there was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron 
 heard in the house while it was in building." 
 
 The twain were made one new man, all controversy was 
 stilled (not heard) in the house while it was building, be- 
 cause of the league together. Thus " the mind and strength" 
 of the one became " the heart and soul" of the other, each 
 blending in unison and concert in the erection of God's mystic 
 temple. 
 
 My heart and best sympathies are often pained in witness- 
 ing the unwise attempts of " the without" to confine the High 
 and Holy One, who inhabiteth eternity, to certain set and 
 
 293 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 pet phrases of speech. How contrary is this to the wisdom 
 of Jesus : " It is the Spirit that quickeneth ; the flesh profiteth 
 nothing." And all who have felt and experienced the all- 
 powerfulness of God's salvation know full well that it is 
 " an unspeakable gift." O, saith my soul, when will the sword 
 of contention cease to devour? When will the professors of 
 the Christian name understand that " it is not meet to take 
 the children's bread and cast it to the dogs"? But thus it 
 is that this precious manna oftentimes seems to become the 
 food of contention and strife. 
 
 These reflections were caused in part by the recent funeral 
 ceremonies of mjj^ wife's mother, in which our "orthodox" 
 friends took a part, and in what they said thereat, exhibiting 
 the skill of the phraseologist in the attempt to confine wisdom 
 to certain forms of speech. Thus doubtless unknowingly dis- 
 seminating the " false doctrine which teaches men should 
 divide in the seeking of good." How much wiser was the 
 wisdom of Jesus, which constantly refers all to the One Good. 
 "The Son can do nothing of himself." All, all is referred 
 to the " indwelling" spirit of the Highest, whose name is His 
 power. 
 
 The fault of our friends seemed to be that we do' not be- 
 lieve enough in Jesus? Now, I would inquire what is it to 
 believe in Jesus ? Is it not to have a proper and just appre- 
 ciation of the anointing which he received from the Divine 
 Father, of drinking of the same cup, and being baptized with 
 the same baptism with which he was baptized, and with which 
 alone he wrought the will of Him who sent him? This 
 certainly is the abstract name of the one thing needful. Why, 
 then, worry ourselves and our neighbors with the concrete 
 names so often used by the Biblical penman in a metonymical 
 sense? The name Jesus being to them a synonym express- 
 ive of the same meaning in different terms. Why substitute 
 the sign for the thing signified ? Why seek " the name that 
 is called Babel" ? It is not in the spirit of unkindness that 
 I query of the many subdivisions among our orthodox 
 
 294 
 
OBEDIENCE 
 
 Friends, Why ? Does not the recent book of WiUiam Hodg- 
 son demonstrate that the decree of eternal justice is moving 
 upon the face of the waters? " Go to, let us go down, and 
 therein confound their language, that they may not under- 
 stand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them 
 abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth ; and they 
 left off to build the city." 
 
 I recently awoke at an early hour in the morning, after 
 having had some painful thoughts on the above subject, and 
 suddenly it was presented to my mind that Obedience was the 
 name of the Son of God. 
 
 Obedience, simple obedience and faithfulness to the regis- 
 trations upon the purposely prepared consciousness, are, I am 
 convinced, the alone means designed by Deity for us to 
 maintain harmonious relations with Him in the life which 
 now is, and wherein, too, there are monitions and consola- 
 tions upon that tablet which presents to us mementoes of the 
 most solemn truths with which we are concerned. And times 
 there are in our experience when the influences of earthly 
 things are diminished, and we feel that we have held com- 
 munion with the Highest. Let thou, O my soul, then re- 
 solve, ift the strength vouchsafed, to let no human extraneous 
 agency, past, present, or in the future time, tamper with this 
 consciousness, and then the doors of the immortal and of the 
 imperishable will be open unto thee. 
 
 7 mo. 2y. — Our meeting on First-day was a large one. 
 Our dear friends Mary Levis, S. T. Betts, and Edith Atlee 
 were much favored in testimony. My text was from James 
 Martineau's essay, " Religion first reaches its true ground 
 when, leaving the problem of what has happened, it takes its 
 stand on what forever is." This thought I illustrated by 
 Matt. xxii. 41, 42, "While the Pharisees were gathered 
 together, Jesus asked them, saying. What think ye of Christ? 
 whose son is he? They say unto him. The son of David. 
 He saith unto them. How then doth David in spirit call him 
 Lord, saying. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my 
 
 29s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool ? If David 
 then call him Lord, how is he his son?" 
 
 I pointed out that in the original text it reads, "Adon said 
 unto Adonai," etc. Or the Being and Unchangeable (Ehyeh- 
 asher-ehyeh), I Am that I Am, said unto my Being, etc. 
 Herein it is written (Mark xii. 37), "And the common people 
 heard him gladly," because it was in accordance with that 
 common sense view of religion which looks to the First Great 
 Cause as the prompter and promoter of spiritual communion, 
 and that the scriptural view of being seated upon His right 
 hand is to live in unison and in harmony with Him, wherein, 
 as is written (Exodus xxiii, 22), "But if thou shalt indeed 
 obey his voice [Mine Angel], and do all that I speak, then 
 I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto 
 thine adversaries." 
 
 7 mo. jj. — Last week's Friends' Intelligencer contains an 
 extract from the journal of the late William Dorsey, viz. : 
 
 " For some time past I have been confined at home on account of 
 indisposition, during which time my dearly loved friend Elizabeth New- 
 port has died. Gone, sweet, sainted mother, to thy eternal rest. She 
 was one of the most spiritually gifted Friends I ever knew. It has been 
 at times my privilege to travel with her in the ministry, and. precious 
 seasons they were." 
 
 The subject of " Spiritual Gifts" has been in a degree 
 for some time past claiming my attention as to what con- 
 stitutes these. Now that my mother was gifted thus is the 
 concurrent testimony of many minds, and she was a woman 
 of strong common sense in practical things pertaining to life. 
 Her spirituality consisted in self -consciousness which has not 
 its origin in material things. She had realized the truth, 
 in a great degree that the more we are dazzled with the with- 
 out, the less conscious are we of the within, and understood 
 that "the things that are seen are temporal, and how the 
 things that are unseen are eternal." And in the Spirit she 
 rested and grounded her faith in the unseen and the univer- 
 sal, and hence was a clear seer, even to the reading of men's 
 
 296 
 
GOD AND MAN 
 
 hearts and understandings. The more we become grounded 
 in our true selfhood, wherein is our responsibility, for without 
 self-consciousness there can be no such thing as responsibility, 
 — the better we are preserved from too much self-dependence 
 or non-self-dependence. Now, Deity must be infinitely self- 
 conscious and self-dependent, and He has gifted us in a 
 measure like unto Himself herein, and the higher the being 
 in the scale of existence the more knowing is that being, — 
 the more gifted with understanding it becomes, comprehend- 
 ing its partial self-dependency, and the vast interval between 
 its being that Being who is absolute, infinite, and All- 
 Mighty! Still, is it not clear that God has given us a dis- 
 tinct individuality wherein we can wander from His provi- 
 dence and His law, and wherein our personality is distinctly 
 evidenced ? 
 
 And here seems to me to be the happy medium or true 
 spirituality (Plato's moderator), to properly designate and 
 apprehend our self-dependence and non-self-dependence. For 
 God is the only being who knows thoroughly of His own being 
 all that can be known, and He also knows thoroughly all that 
 can be known of the external. He is perfectly self-conscious, 
 and therefore omniscient ; is of infinite individuality, therefore, 
 too, not only intimately knowing Himself, but also intimately 
 knowing all that transpires in infinite space. Now, man is 
 not such a being, though endowed with partial self-con- 
 sciousness and individuality, wherein I repeat he is self- 
 dependent and non-self-dependent, and in his measure gifted 
 to know and realize the internal and the external, the within 
 and the without ! And as he experiences life and increase in 
 the gift of being,* which is God's gift to him, he becomes 
 endowed with spiritual-mindedness. He lives to God, and 
 becomes partially omniscient, and in proportion to the devel- 
 opment of his being becomes identified with that power which 
 
 * Which can become degenerate, though " wholly a right seed," be- 
 gotten by the Eternal, when it does not progress in the right direction, 
 I.e., in His likeness. 
 
 297 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 dwelt in Jesus of Nazareth, which is the eternal Christ of 
 God. And as we live here there is no danger of negation 
 as to the outward, as some seem to fear, for to be spiritually- 
 minded is to increase from within. 
 
 In man thus happily constituted, the two worlds meet ; he 
 is now a representative of both, and becomes acquainted 
 with the narrow way and straight gate that leads unto that 
 life of which the man Christ Jesus symbolized the way. It 
 was over this want of spiritual vision that Jesus wept, and 
 on account of which " he went up into a mountain apart to 
 pray; and when evening was come, he was there alone." 
 He prayed with unutterable prayers that the eyes of these 
 souls might be opened that they might realize Christ within. 
 
 To be blessed with spiritual-mindedness, then, is to be 
 Christlike, to have the mind of Christ. " Yea, rather, blessed 
 are they that hear the word of God, and keep it," said he 
 to those who were blessing a condition in which he was born. 
 And herein was she of whom W. D. in his journal alludes to 
 as blessed in that she was a hearer and also a doer of the word 
 of God from early childhood to the green age of more than 
 threescore and ten. Her "spiritual giftedness" consisted 
 in her spiritual and intellectual mindedness, wherein there 
 was self -consciousness realized for and in herself. And al- 
 though she knew perfectly well that this was incommunicable, 
 yet, under the divine anointing she was an able instrument 
 in demonstrating unto others that eternal truth of the High- 
 est, that " in His favor there is Life !" 
 
 8 mo. 6. — The entry of the previous date may be deemed 
 somewhat cloudy in its relation to the human mind; and it 
 is an abstruse subject, but one upon which all who have 
 written have taken as their stand-point the being of man, 
 and diverse have been the speculations of able minds thereto. 
 
 I have used the terms mind and consciousness; but these 
 can only be the indicators of the invisible life which exists 
 as an indivisible substance behind its expression, wherein it 
 dwells as producer calling into being, not something from 
 
 298 
 
GOOD AND EVIL 
 
 nothing, as Hume has said, for that idea is an impossibility, 
 something always existing in the idea of nothing. Experi- 
 mentally in " the midst of thee," therefore, it dwells, beget- 
 ting and manifesting ideas after the likeness, or pattern, to 
 use a Socratic terpi, of the eternally good, true, and beautiful. 
 Herein are many jewels of immortal value, often wholly 
 latent and invisible, but which may be called as that inherent 
 life which constitutes the production, property, or soil of the 
 soul. And in relation to ethics and spiritual things, its 
 product, expression, or mind, are as the soul is, for the stream 
 can rise no higher than its fountain. As it is written, 
 "Blessed are the pure in heart [soul], for they shall see 
 [apprehend] God." And the spirit being a production of 
 God, He has in turn conferred upon it an individuality in 
 which there is productive power. 
 
 In its normal, pure, and enlightened condition, purity and 
 pure ideas originate and increase in strength and vigor; but 
 when in a negative and abnormal state, impure creations 
 spring up as ill weeds from its soil, thus originating what 
 is called evil, which is a pure negation, being the absence of 
 good. And because of the spirit's individuality herein, it 
 may become a wanderer, a prodigal son, in that it does not 
 " mind the Light," and God is the light of the soul. Dark- 
 ness thus may become its portion and allotment, and it may 
 be dwarfed and diminished as to the stature of its true des- 
 tiny and attainment ; and if it " enters into life," to use the 
 language of Jesus, it enters " halt and maimed." Although 
 in this state it is still true that the doctrine and law of 
 responsibility will defend itself, even though, as the Psalmist 
 has said, we descend into hell, even therein is asserted man's 
 latent capacity to realize himself as God's son and heir. 
 Such cannot help seeing what they have lost, and would even, 
 as we read, testify unto their brethren, " lest they also come 
 into this place of torment." (Luke xvi. 28.) 
 
 The realization of "the spirit," or that the kingdom of 
 God is within, may be difficult, the most difficult of aught 
 
 299 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 else, yet it has been realized, and therefore can be realized 
 again; for what man has done man can do. The mere ma- 
 terialist sees that the unknown exists in material things, the 
 ultimate of matter in its contraction, for instance, forever 
 evades his grasp ; the microscope proves this beyond a doubt. 
 As to the soul's existence, all that we can know is of its being, 
 that it is! And the proof here is more unquestionable in 
 the latter than in the former proposition, because it is not 
 the eye that sees, but that which uses the eye as the instru- 
 ment of outward sight (feeling). The power which we 
 call soul (any other name would do just as well as a sym- 
 bol, if it was understood) is unknown, save that it exists in 
 the region of the unseen and immaterial, and herein is the 
 demonstration of what was opened to my mind and men- 
 tioned on page 178 of this journal, viz., "that we are here 
 in spirit." For just as we know that we are here in the 
 form, so do we know that we are here in the spirit. The 
 proof existing in the law of Being — the I Am principle in 
 the soul. And we can walk herein rejoicingly, with glad- 
 ness of spirit, knowing that " the Eternal is nigh unto all 
 them that call upon Him, and to all that call upon Him in 
 truth." We can realize that in His time, if we use the means 
 vouchsafed to us, we cannot only know ourselves redeemed 
 negatively from an undue gratification of the animal, but also 
 that we may achieve a positive emancipation by a realization 
 that " there is a spiritual body." For unless this redemption 
 from the chains of earth is accomplished, we are but chil- 
 dren, though we may have all the outward appearance of 
 mature life. 
 
 And the realization of this redemption (the new birth — 
 Life) is important before the body begins to decay, so that 
 we may not mistake the so-called decay of the mind for a 
 decay of the spirit, the mind being but a manifestation of 
 the spirit ; for the soul may be bright and joyous, when be- 
 cause of the decay of the body, gradual or otherwise, there 
 is a negation of the power of visible manifestation. 
 
 300 
 
THE GOSPEL SPRING 
 
 8 mo. 9 — Attended the recent Quarterly Meeting held at 
 Gwynedd. In the meeting of worship I was favored to be 
 a silent traveller, being permitted to more perfectly see and 
 understand the means in which the gospel spring of utterance 
 is unsealed, and that a sweet and soothing silence may be 
 experienced in which our consciousness becomes in a meas- 
 ure stilled before the Most High in a state of dependence 
 upon that life which is deep and inward, wherein His will 
 is communicated as a positive force to a condition which 
 may be likened unto the negative, comparatively so at least 
 to the One Good. 
 
 Thus our consciousness in impiateriality of expression re- 
 ceives a manifestation or reaction from the soul, wherein is 
 conveyed experience and knowledge from our having fur- 
 nished the necessary condition.* Here we may be giving 
 and receiving at the same time, as all things in nature are, 
 we giving to God dominion, praise, and power, and He giving 
 to us out of the great treasury of the abundance of His good 
 gifts, and from which all the faculties of the heart, mind, and 
 imagination are quickened and enlivened, simultaneously, by 
 and through that power in which the soul embodies, clothes, 
 and expresses itself; for the spiritual requires elements of 
 expression as a language, and consciousness is thus made the 
 internal reaction of the expression upon the mind. Man's 
 spirit thus hath an understanding of what it hath received, 
 and thus is preserved the proper degree of self-dependence 
 and non-self-dependence. This being the perfection of the 
 gospel gift. In the exercise of which, as was evidenced at 
 the meeting alluded to, the baptism of John was in contra- 
 distinction to that of Christ, in which, when the former hath 
 his eyes opened, he saith, " He it is, who coming after me 
 is preferred before me, whose shoe's-latchet I am not worthy 
 to unloose." 
 
 Second-Day. — In corroboration of the above was an ex- 
 
 i" Of which the Virgin Mary is the type. 
 301 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 perience at our meeting yesterday. I arose with a subject 
 in which seemed a considerable opening to my mind, but after 
 laying the premises of the theme, and when I was proceeding 
 with unusual quietness of feeling therewith, most suddenly 
 and unexpectedly was the power withdrawn. I could do 
 naught else than abruptly conclude my remarks, when almost 
 immediately Edith Atlee arose upon her feet with very much 
 the same train of thought which was opening upon my mind. 
 It was wonderful to me, and entirely in corroboration of what 
 had been manifested, that we should beware of false heat 
 and zeal in the ministry, else we may not be able to see the 
 right stopping-place in our communication in the solemn 
 assembly, and thus burden the living. And most abun- 
 dantly was I repaid for simple obedience on this occasion, 
 by reason of the heavenly and serene silence which saluted 
 my spirit, so that in my measure I could realize the declara- 
 tion, " Therefore doth my father love me, because I lay down 
 my life, that I might take it again." The life of Jesus as a 
 phenomenal man he laid down, and hence he experienced 
 that which he alluded to when he said, "The Father that 
 dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." This divine life 
 is spoken of in the Scriptures in diverse language, beauti- 
 fully in Zech. ii. 5. "For I, saith Jehovah, will be unto 
 her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the 
 midst of her" (that is, in the midst of Zion). 
 
 8 mo. 2^. — I am in the receipt from its publisher, of a 
 book favoring the idea of materialism, upon the margin of 
 which I have made some notes for its author's consideration 
 as a memorandum, which I transcribe herein with some al- 
 terations and additions. 
 
 .1 do not object to doubt. We must even doubt ourselves, 
 or lose ourselves to find ourselves, must know the not-me to 
 find the Me. Must doubt our existence to find, as Franklin 
 says, that we are spirit! 
 
 Our author is a man who is trying to prove that he is 
 not, or rather that he exists only as an animal, that can know 
 
 302 
 
PROFESSOR TYNDALL 
 
 nothing, not even that it exists. True to his work, he has 
 proven a life, — a life of thought, — an ideal life; and I would 
 inquire, whence his ideas ? Whence their emanation ? They 
 certainly spring not from that animal life which exists in 
 the beating of the heart or in the heaving of the chest, else 
 the new-born child would have ideas. Or he, our author, 
 would have ideas when asleep (so-called). But this is other- 
 wise the case, proving that ideas do not come from any 
 combination of the animal.* They must come, then, from 
 a combination of some other life with the animal life as a 
 manifestation, seeing that the animal is incapable of pro- 
 ducing them.f And we tread here upon firm ground, for the 
 animal life goes on the same in the infant as in the natural 
 man, and goes on the same in our author when he is asleep 
 as when he is awake. We are certain, then, that the animal 
 life is not the originator of ideas. They must be from some 
 other being. Idea, therefore, cannot be, as is asserted, from 
 a " material effect," because it is disconnected with the animal 
 as in sleep, and in the infant, as they are unconscious that 
 they exist even as animals; if it were otherwise we would 
 be conscious when asleep as when awake. And the infant 
 would have ideas as in maturity. Ideas and consciousness 
 are then inseparable. 
 
 Reason, imagination, invention, etc., are but the faculties 
 of the spirit of a man, exhibited fully when he is said to be 
 awake (enlightened), and partially when he is said to dream: 
 he is then partially awake. Our author is like thousands 
 of others, he is only partially alive in expression at least: 
 " Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know 
 me, Philip ?" Man as an animal doth not know, he doth not 
 consider. 
 
 The difference between an animal (an automaton) and a 
 man is that the former has not the power to realize a re- 
 
 * Appendix G. 
 
 t Says Professor Tyndall, " The problem of body and soul is as in- 
 soluble in its modern form as it was in the prescientific ages." 
 
 303 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 demption from the animal. A horse can see a beautiful sun- 
 set, but he cannot realize a sense of the beautiful. None 
 but " the Son of Man," who is but a little lower than Deity, 
 can have a perception or idea of an emancipation from mere 
 materiality. And life eternal is so balanced in great wisdom 
 in this sphere of existence, that we no sooner find it than we 
 lose it. Herein is an equilibrium maintained, and the posi- 
 tive and negative forces are kept in healthful rhythmic action. 
 
 Mind is therefore a manifestation from the internal to 
 the external, and back again in endless ebb and flow, whilst 
 the spirit remains attached to a world of sense. Still it is 
 perfectly normal and healthful to know of the soul,* for 
 our happiness (stability) consists at times to be associated 
 from whence we came. And it is an illusion, a cheat, and a 
 sham, as in the case of our author, to lose ourselves entirely 
 in materiality, for he has come to but a phase of the " power" 
 which he recognizes in his "Analyses" as an " inherent" 
 something which exists in " the physical construction of the 
 brain." He does not tell us what this " power or force" is, 
 and even denies an Intelligence as a Designer, although our 
 author is a designer, though a very material one, himself. 
 If he had reasoned wisely, could he not have reasoned from 
 a finite designer and creator to the Infinite Designer and 
 Originator of all things? 
 
 Thoughtjt also, he considers to be evolved from certain 
 physical combinations of mind and matter, though he can 
 see but one being — the animal. Now, I would inquire, didst 
 thou ever see the mind? And the answer to this query is 
 of course in the negative, for the reason that the mind is 
 the indicator of the spirit. Man evidently cannot even re- 
 
 * We are conscious of the solidarity of our thoughts and feelings by 
 and through our individual existence as a positive entity, which has the 
 power of thinking and feeling. 
 
 t How certain motions of atoms in the brain should generate con- 
 sciousness, and love, and thought, and bliss, say the most eminent physi- 
 ologists, is utterly unthinkable. 
 
 304 
 
THE CONSCIOUS SPIRIT 
 
 fleet upon ethics unless he has ethical perceptions or ideas 
 to reflect -upon. And here two beings are displayed and 
 uncovered,, life behind matter and soul behind mind; for 
 clearly ideas or perceptions originate from life. And they 
 cannot originate from animal life, as has been shown, for 
 they require self-consciousness in their evolvement. There- 
 fore, they must originate from some other life, wherein are 
 displayed two beings or lives, for consciousness is of the 
 soul. It being conscious of mind and matter; and is con- 
 scious, too, of becoming conscious. It alone it is that can be 
 conscious of mind and of its analysis. It is the conscious 
 soul alone that knows itself in degree, at least, knowing of 
 the animal, and of the mind, as a faculty or faculties in ex- 
 pression in materiality and in immateriality of form. 
 
 Superiority in man therefore does not altogether depend, 
 as our author asserts, on the culture of mind in the external. 
 If I will to take up the subject of mathematics, I use the 
 faculty for demonstrating figures; but that is not the me. 
 It is only a faculty by which I express myself. And my 
 body, the animal, may decay either gradual or immediate, 
 so that in materiality I can but poorly express myself, or not 
 at all. Speech may be denied me, or may be much impaired, 
 for instance. But this is not the percipient power. 
 
 To the inquiry as to whether the soul is a " positive entity," 
 our author devotes considerable attention in his book. And 
 of course, like those of his class, although they pronounce 
 matter eternal and enduring, yet they assign to utter extinc- 
 tion the human soul as a nonentity. And herein our author 
 queries, "What is it?" "Will any one answer?" I might 
 reply and say that he lives in two worlds as a materialist, — 
 the known and the unknown. And the latter is much the 
 larger of the two, as he will readily admit; and the reason 
 of this I would ask, receiving answer, as a matter of course, 
 that it was by reason of his being so little self-conscious. 
 Still, we know more than a mineral, a tree, or a lower ani- 
 mal. And why is this ? Because we are more self-conscious 
 20 305 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 than they, would be a ready admission upon his part. Knowl- 
 edge, therefore, either in the external or the internal, depends 
 upon consciousness: they are inseparable. Nothing with- 
 out a man, for instance, I repeat, can create the perception of 
 the idea of the good, the true, and the beautiful. 
 
 And here I would inquire who is the self-conscious " posi- 
 tive entity"? It certainly is the being who possesses the 
 knowledge. And this cannot be from the external world of 
 matter, as that is of the known. Neither can it be, as has 
 been shown, from the animal, who is non-self-conscious, as 
 in the case of the man asleep, and of the infant, beings of the 
 highest development, and endowed with life and sensation, 
 and yet non-conscious and unknowing. 
 
 Is consciousness then from the mind, as it is hot from the 
 animal or from the external world? 
 
 Now our author says that mind consists in certain " facul- 
 ties and material conditions, five senses, a perfect brain, with 
 its corresponding nerves, etc." But these are known, and 
 external to the being who knows, as anything that is known 
 is to that which knows. It therefore follows that there must 
 be a positive entity, called soul ; and, as our author seems to 
 dislike such terms, some other term might be employed to 
 suit him and his fellow materialists better. This positive 
 and immortal entity might be called matter invisible; any 
 term would do as a symbol, so as to illustrate the fact that 
 a certain invisible substance exists, "deep and inward," in 
 the midst of thee who knows * of the mind. Being more 
 conscious of it than of the pure external in the animal or in 
 the world. This living entity it is which analyzes and ex- 
 plores and knows of what our author asserts concerning 
 "the twelve pairs of nerves connected with the brain that 
 run out to the different parts of the body, acting as electric 
 
 * Feeling and thought are much more real than anything else ; they 
 are the only things which we know directly to be real." — John Stuart 
 Mill, Theism, p. 202. 
 
 306 
 
THE GREAT LAWGIVER 
 
 wires and conveying sensation to the seat of intelligence, 
 etc. It knows in the intelligence and enlightenment of its 
 expression, in its animal nature, and in its mind, which are 
 both external to it; and it knows, too, in its pure instincts, 
 uprisings, and ratiocinations, in the measure of its self-con- 
 sciousness, of its author and originator. The more and 
 more the soul realizes of itself in the without (immateriality) 
 and in the within (in intuitive perception) of the laws which 
 adapt themselves to its being, the more and more does it 
 recognize and realize its Great Lawgiver who has endowed 
 it with a measure * of His infinite capacity of self-conscious- 
 ness and creative power in the material and in the ideal 
 world. 
 
 Our author also contends that if an infant were brought 
 up in a condition of confinement, as with an animal, for in- 
 stance, without the opportunities of development, that it 
 would become much debased. And here I would ask what 
 does this prove? The child would still have soul or life, 
 though but in the germ. As he, our author, was once in the 
 germ, without consciousness, and yet having an existence 
 as an infant, and knew it not, thus proving existence without 
 consciousness, again showing two beings. But the world 
 of intelligence knows that the babe exists, proving an exist- 
 ence without the knowledge of an existence, in the highest 
 form of development in the germ. And if the materialist 
 denies his existence as a soul (life) of positive entity, what 
 does this evince ? It only shows a lack of self-consciousness,, 
 wherein, as in the case of the infant, there is an existence 
 unrealized ; for the body is yoked to the spirit through con- 
 sciousness. 
 
 Of course, in the work upon which I have been comment- 
 ing, there is considerable said upon the vast antiquity of the 
 
 * The soul in its scintilla is well called a seed or spark created by God, 
 capable of assimilation through affinity, by means of the " Virgin" in its 
 essence or " soul centre." 
 
 307 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 race, and its origin, as well as much assumption in reference 
 to primordial types and species as is common in such essays. 
 Now supposing that the condition of man in Europe, some 
 one hundred thousand years ago, was as the relics found 
 certainly denote. It does not by any means follow that a 
 like condition was that of the Aryan race in India, which 
 seems to have been the cradle of that family of man which 
 afterwards overran and settled the continent of Europe. But 
 admitting the origin of the human family to have been as 
 is asserted by recent writers^ it only proves the vast capacity 
 of man's spirit to arise from a low and degraded condition 
 to an incomparably higher one. Our race having its counter- 
 part in the individual, from the germ (the infant) to mature 
 development. 
 
 And in respect to the " unfounded assertions" of the evo- 
 lutionists, for thus Agassiz characterized them in his last 
 published essay, they seem as a class to have but little re- 
 spect for the established facts of science, and our author 
 speaks of "old types having been invariably supplanted by 
 new and more highly developed ones." 
 
 Upon this subject, Agassiz says, "the weight of aphor- 
 isms pass for principles, when they may be but unfounded 
 assertions." He also says, "it has never been known that 
 acquired qualities, even though retained through success- 
 ive generations, have led to the production of new species, 
 and whatever be the means of preserving and transmitting 
 properties, the primitive types have remained permanent and 
 unchanged." Again he further says in respect to the type 
 to which we are connected, that " the Myzonts, fishes which 
 are structurally inferior to all others, came in during the 
 latest period of our world's history, which is called the 
 present period, to which we ourselves belong." 
 
 Towards the conclusion of Louis Agassiz's last essay is a 
 sentiment which I would like every materialist to ponder 
 upon, in which he regrets the tendency of young and ardent 
 spirits to accept hypothesis and assumption for established 
 
 308 
 
LOUIS AGASSIZ 
 
 fact, and argues in favor of the intervention of an intellectual 
 power in the diversity which prevails in nature. 
 
 "Have those," says he, "who object to repeated acts of 
 creation ever considered that no progress can be made in 
 knowledge without repeated acts of thinking? And what 
 are thoughts but specific acts of the mind?" 
 
 Whilst I would recommend the reperusal of the last paper 
 of this great man to the thoughtful mind, I at the same time 
 well know that the incommunicable and undemonstrable I 
 Am must be realized, and that all proof in the external is 
 merely reflective. And my prayerful desire is that all who 
 in their personalities have wandered so wide of the mark as 
 to adopt material theories of creation, that they may allow 
 those tentative processes of divine nature wherein cosmos 
 is produced from the chaos of abnormal growth to clothe their 
 minds with the garment of heavenly wisdom and divine love. 
 That thus they may come to a realization of their true origin 
 and capacity as spirits in the land of spirits ! 
 
 p mo. 6. — Yesterday was our circular meeting at Abing- 
 ton. It was largely attended, and much labor fell to my 
 share, and painful labor, too, in which power passed from 
 me and the physical man was depleted of strength, I much 
 prefer, as has been much my lot of late in our meetings, to 
 remain a silent traveller in the Zion of love and light. 
 
 Development as the law of our being was the subject- 
 matter of my concern as against settling down in a state of 
 ease or content, in which our powers become dwarfed and 
 maimed unto life eternal. Doubtless some staid, conservative 
 minds were quite startled, who were in a condition of self- 
 content, which is a condition fatal to all true development, 
 and in which a birth and increase in the Son of God are not 
 experienced " in wisdom and stature," as was the case, we 
 read, with Jesus. Consequently strong men and strong 
 women are not developed among us as they should be. This 
 new birth I understand is the demonstration and realization 
 of the twain becoming one new man, which after God is 
 
 309 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 created in righteousness and true holiness. Our reason is 
 convinced and our feelings are satisfied in the realization of 
 man's individual spiritual being, and a point of increase is 
 experienced much beyond all other paths of advancement. 
 This path I felt to call my hearers on the occasion alluded to, 
 as being the narrow path which leadeth unto life, and of 
 which it is written " few there be that find it." And one 
 reason why many wander from the straight gate, I in sub- 
 stance tried to explain, was that this way was looked upon 
 so much as a historical event, or person, when it is the Eternal 
 Word, ever present, never absent, and never a thing belong- 
 ing especially to any particular period of the world's his- 
 tory. 
 
 p mo. 12. — Soon after our meeting convened to-day, I was 
 opened in testimony upon the inward law of Christ and of its 
 relation to the different trees of the garden which are " pleas- 
 ant to the sight, and good for food." These I explained 
 were the intelligences, propensities, and emotions of the mind, 
 all good in their proper places, but from which as personali- 
 ties we should not ground a progression in and from. That 
 we should develop from the tree of life, which is also the 
 tree of death, if we forsake the germinal influences thereof, 
 and partake of the fruit, for the fruit is the most perfect part 
 of a tree, and hence we should seek to grow to the fruit, 
 and not from the fruit, for in so doing we invert the whole 
 order of the spiritual economy, and live beyond our means, 
 or live dishonestly. 
 
 We must "dress it (Eden) and keep it," and when thou 
 seekest knowledge in the spiritual relation and bond, ere 
 thou hast realized it thyself, then thou must "eat bread in 
 sorrow," " till thou returnest again unto the ground." That 
 is unto the substance or the soil of the soul " from whence 
 he (man) was taken." 
 
 And of the consequences of disobedience it is written: 
 " So he drove out the man : and he placed at the east (towards 
 the light) of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming 
 
 310 
 
THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL 
 
 sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree 
 of life." 
 
 Thus we cannot know of the tree (eternal life) but as we 
 abide in it, and it in us. Its fruit, that is, its ultimate, we 
 cannot know because of the vast interval between the finite 
 and the infinite. We must therefore be satisfied in the 
 measure of our increase, and we will be kept humble in the 
 development of the divine economy in which we are placed, 
 and thus we can continue in Eden, dressing, keeping, and 
 tilling the trees of the garden with perceptions turned towards 
 the Light, having in remembrance our experiences, and in 
 consequence of attention to these they become as a flaming 
 sword turning every way to guard the way of the tree of 
 life. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil stands as 
 a type for something more than the Almighty, and when we 
 partake of this desire, then are our minds open to the recep- 
 tion of all manner of delusions. 
 
 10 mo. J J. — Our meeting, to-day, was a full one, with 
 many inquiring minds attending it. In my testimony I 
 quoted that of William Penn in respect to the ministry of 
 his co-laborers : " The bent and stress of their ministry was 
 conversion to God, regeneration and holiness; not schemes 
 of doctrines and verbal creeds or new forms of worship, 
 but leaving ofif in religion the superfluous, and reducing the 
 ~ ceremonial and formal part, and pressing earnestly the sub- 
 stantial, the necessary, and profitable part." 
 
 I was, however, less favored with quietness of feeling 
 than has been my experience of late; this may be because I 
 desire too great a manifestation of gospel power, and fervent 
 have been my prayers unto the Infinite Father, " Lead me by 
 Thy Light, keep me in the way Thou wouldst have me to 
 walk, preserve me from mine own desires, that my will may 
 be merged more and more into a state of passivity and true 
 waiting before Thee, who ever remains to be thought, tongue, 
 and utterance to the servant whom Thou hast called into the 
 vineyard of labor. Thus keep me, O holy Father, by and 
 
 311 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 through that strength and power which come from a de- 
 sire to do Thy will in all things, that thus I may be com- 
 passed by that holy fear which is truly the beginning of 
 wisdom's ways. Thus and thus alone can I be kept in pas- 
 sivity unto Thy forming hand, and the work be made profit- 
 able unto the seed of the kingdom." 
 
 11 mo. 8. — ^Attended morning and evening meeting in 
 Philadelphia with my dear friend Sunderland P. Gardner, of 
 New York, and also we had two meetings at the penitentiary 
 in the afternoon with the prisoners. He is a wonderfully 
 gifted man, and so lucid and clear in his views of Jesus, 
 having " come to Jesus" by an appreciation of his spiritual 
 manhood, through obedience to the same power by and through 
 which he wrought the will of the Divine Father. Sunder- 
 land's friendship I esteem most highly, and in the future I 
 hope that it may become as a bond of love uniting our souls 
 together in the bond of true brotherhood. The sympathy 
 of this devoted soldier of the cross is more than an offset 
 to the buffetings which I have lately received from some of 
 " the without." " Many are the afflictions of the righteous ; 
 but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth 
 all his bones, not one of them is broken." 
 
 12 mo. 7. — In a recent reading of a most able and learned 
 work on the authorship and character of the fourth Gospel, 
 I find its author makes it quite evident that it is of an un- 
 historical character, and, after a most laborious and exhaust- 
 ive inquiry into its origin, says " that it must be rejected as 
 an historical work," and that the first who makes mention 
 of it was Theophilus of Antioch, a.d. 180. 
 
 Upon this subject I have given much thought and study 
 for years past, and at one time I rejected " the Gospel accord- 
 ing to John" because of its variance with the historic Jesus as 
 developed in the Synoptics, and as given by the early Fathers. 
 But since its parabolic and spiritual meaning has been de- 
 veloped to my understanding, I recognize its great beauty 
 and power, and it makes but little difference to me whether 
 
 312 
 
THE FOURTH CECUMENICAL COUNCIL 
 
 it was written by the Apostle John or not, for it evidently 
 is the work of a man of deep insight, who, in imitation of 
 his Master, taught in parables. Our author objects to the 
 text, John vi. 28, 29, which he compares unfavorably with 
 Luke X. 25-28 and Matt. xix. 16. In this text the evangelist 
 develops a spiritual meaning which lies at the very foundation 
 of the Christ life and character. In this Gospel Jesus replies 
 to the query, " What shall we do, that we might work the 
 works of God?" and says, " This is the work of God, that ye 
 believe on him whom he hath sent." Now throughout this 
 Gospel there is, unlike the first Gospel, a studied continuity 
 of thought, and the first fourteen verses of the first chapter 
 are the key to the whole in its symbolical allegorical sense. 
 
 "As many as received him" (the eternal Son of God,*) 
 " to them gave he the right to become the sons of God, even 
 to them that believe on his name." And these, we read, were 
 " born of God," that is, educated, prompted, formed by Him. 
 "The sent of God" is represented by the synonym Jesus 
 Christ. Thus the writer was understood by the enlightened 
 Fathers of the early church, and in this sense the Council of 
 Chalcedon (a.d. 451) no doubt affirmed, in opposition to the 
 "robber council" of Ephesus (a.d. 431), that the two wills 
 were united in Jesus without schism and without confusion, 
 " the human invariably subject to the divine." As my dear 
 mother explained a short time before her demise, " The Father 
 hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that 
 please Him." 
 
 The decision of this council (fourth oecumenical, a.d. 451) 
 has never been reversed, and it is to this day orthodox doc- 
 trine; very different, however, from the Monophysite doc- 
 trine of " the without" of ancient and also of modern times. 
 This it is that robs the truth of its glory, and the real and 
 pure "man Christ Jesus" becomes no example to humanity^ 
 when we separate him from that humanity! 
 
 * John i. I, Heb. vii. 3, and Ecclesiasticus xxiv. Barclay's Catechism, 
 p. 16. 
 
 313 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 The doctrine of Arius was that Jesus was neither man 
 nor God, but a being between both. That of the old Docetic 
 and of the modern pseudo-orthodox view was and is that 
 he was God Himself, thus mutilating and misunderstanding 
 the highly-wrought language of the inspired penmen. How 
 clearly did the apostle see the spirit in the letter when he 
 said, " Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law 
 of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in 
 himself of twain one new man, so making peace." Herein 
 the twain subsist together in Christ without division, for 
 Christ is not divided, and in him man and God become one 
 in the self-consciousness of the Spirit. The evident meaning 
 of the apostolic age was that the unity of the human and the 
 divine which was realized by Jesus Christ was the unity of 
 the Spirit which is the bond of peace, " born of the will of 
 God." This is the Spirit of truth which "maketh alive." 
 And this was the work and intent of the fourth Evangelist, 
 wherein he endeavored to portray, in the language of simili- 
 tude, the birth, the life, and the resurrection of the Son of the 
 Highest in the human soul. 
 
 1876. 
 
 / mo. 7. — During the past few months I have been fre- 
 quently engaged in the field of offering, and have attended 
 in their order not only our own meetings, but also some in 
 more distant parts of the country, and have received the 
 answer of peace. This was particularly the case at the cir- 
 cular meeting at Plymouth last First-day, at which I was 
 present in silent exercise, and great peace has issued there- 
 from. Anthony Livzey accompanied me, and we spent the 
 night with Chalkley and Sarah Styer. Many kind friends 
 do I find, and the prejudices of some have fallen to the ground, 
 and I feel now united in the bonds of the Brotherhood with 
 some such whom it is not expedient to name. 
 
 / mo. 23. — I recently attended the First-day meeting at 
 West Chester, which is now the largest meeting in our State, 
 
 314 
 
WORK, PRIVILEGE, AND FREEDOM 
 
 outside of Philadelphia, and in which I had much to say 
 upon the text, " This is the work of God, that ye believe on 
 him whom he hath sent." Persuaded I am that our duty as 
 a people and a society consists in reliance and trust upon the 
 inward law of Christ in the soul, and that this alone can 
 redeem man from materiality in faith and practice, and elect 
 him for work, privilege, and freedom. Thus man may be- 
 come by attention to' the inward light, God's agent and factor, 
 wherein alone there is freedom, because herein he is redeemed 
 from the servitude of egotism and vanity, and is no longer 
 a hired servant, but is elected unto all the privileges, duties, 
 and accountabilities of sonship. How beautiful is the lan- 
 guage of Paul herein : " Brethren, ye have been called unto 
 liberty ; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but 
 by love serve one another." 
 
 2 mo. 5. — Attended two funerals in a neighboring village 
 recently, and at each of which I had something to express 
 in testimony of that higher and- better way which leadeth 
 unto eternal life. To the invitation to the first was appended 
 the following, "We would like thee to speak at the house, 
 if convenient." Of course, they were not Friends. At yes- 
 terday's funeral, after the conclusion of church service, I felt 
 to express a few words in relation to our high calling, that 
 it was to sonship, and not to servitude, and quoted the scrip- 
 tural testimony, " He that overcometh shall inherit all things : 
 I will be his God, and he shall be my son." 
 
 2 mo. 14. — Our Quarterly Meeting was held last week, and 
 it was an interesting and profitable opportunity. We had 
 the company of several friends from other meetings, and were 
 favored to travail together for the growth of Zion and the 
 enlargement of her borders. Whilst this was the case in a 
 good degree, I have seen the great necessity there is for those 
 who are exercised in the ministry among us for a deeper 
 growth of life and feeling, and last evening I penned the fol- 
 lowing to a friend : 
 
 31S 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " Evergreen, 2 mo. 13, 1876. 
 
 " Dear Friend, — I have not heard concerning the meeting on Fourth- 
 day, except what thou told me, and a little from J. E., but have not been 
 in the least cast down, for I have been praying for an abrogation of 
 self-love. Lady Guion, in her ' Memoirs,' quotes the words of an ex- 
 perienced saint : ' When I would possess nothing through self-love, every- 
 thing was given me without going after it. The soul then,' she says, 
 ' becomes passive, disposed to receive from the hand of God either good 
 or evil. It receives both the one and the other without any selfish emo- 
 tion, letting them flow and be lost as they come. They pass away as if 
 they did not touch us.' O blessed condition like that of Paul when he 
 said, ' I bear about with me the dying of the Lord Jesus.' A death to 
 the motions of self-love. How I desire it more and more for myself, 
 and under the baptisms of the Spirit I am made to desire it for others 
 also, for then comes, as a beautiful river of peace, the wondrous love of 
 the Infinite Father, and this cannot come as a conscious possession until 
 the fire and hammer of the Lord have been known to purify and mould 
 anew the life and character, wherein are the various refining processes 
 in which the soul's voice is known, and the gift of the Holy Spirit real- 
 ized, and this is the Lord's gift to the obedient heart, for the heart be- 
 lieveth as well as the intellectual man. 
 
 " I have seen, as that dear saint of God, Lady Guion saw, the absolute 
 necessity there is in order that the quality of life be maintained, and the 
 pure gift realized, that all self-love be completely swallowed up in the 
 desire and aspirations after the higher good. And it is to this that we 
 are called with a high and holy calling, for God can then operate when 
 we are emptied of self-love. O how I have desired this for the ministry 
 among us; and I see that if I live and keep in the littleness of a very 
 little child (a new creature), that I may be useful in the meetings of 
 ministers and elders. And oh for you that are as elders in the church, 
 how deep the necessity for honesty and humility, — that you may be 
 enabled to travail in the deep things of the Spirit, for herein deep calleth 
 unto deep. And for those who are called unto the ministry, how clearly 
 have I seen the leaven of self-love; how it blights and withers every 
 green thing, even under the guise of sincere devotion. For self-love so 
 blinds the mind's eye, and closes the inward perception, that its votaries 
 are deceived with gross deception, as when we are under the motions of 
 self-love we are always deceived. The deception is not partial; it is 
 entire and complete, for we cannot serve two masters under the heavenly 
 calling; that is impossible, is it not? I have written this afternoon just 
 what has arisen in my mind under a deep travail for truth's advance- 
 ment. 
 
 "Give my best love to thy dear wife, and tell her that I do not think 
 that a day has passed since I was with you that I have not thought of her 
 with the deepest interest and affection, for I enter into sympathy with 
 
 316 
 
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD 
 
 her in her secret aspirations after the better and higher life for her own 
 soul, and for the souls of others ; and thus it is, when we are concerned 
 for our own good, we are desirous also, under the pure gift, that we may 
 be the means of bearing up other souls, lifting them up in the scale of life 
 and duty, and thus it has been with me, my dear friend, thou hast thus 
 been unto my soul as a ministering spirit ! 
 
 " Very affectionately, 
 
 "^David Newport." 
 
 a mo. 23. — During the past week I have attended five 
 funerals as well as several religious meetings, and have been 
 exercised in expression on these occasions generally ; but this 
 evening, after attending the funeral of a person not in 
 membership with Friends, I have been deeply exercised with 
 a jealous fear in respect to the integrity of my ministry, that 
 it may be maintained pure and unsullied from contaminations 
 and mixtures, and that its vital spring may be in the Holy 
 Spirit, which has been shown me to be a holy union wherein 
 the human is invariably subject to the divine. And the 
 earnest and sincere desire has arisen in my mind to the All- 
 Father for more gospel light and life, " lest that by any 
 means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be 
 a castaway." For the insidious wiles of self-love are so tor- 
 tuous and winding that we are apt to be deceived by the 
 turbulent and restless spirit of the world, even in preaching 
 the word of life and salvation. And herein great is my de- 
 sire that I may realize the thought of the apostle, "If any 
 man's work be burnt, he shall suffer loss; but he himself 
 shall be saved, yet so as by fire." Thus, as Lady Guion has 
 observed in her " Method of Prayer," God is said "to ex- 
 amine and judge our righteousness" (Ps. xiv. 3, Vulgate), 
 because that " by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh 
 be justified." It is the " Righteousness of God" alone which 
 can justify in the weighty work of the ministry. And as I may, 
 and in all probability will, be called upon much by persons, 
 not Friends by profession, on the occasion of funeral solem- 
 nities, may I be enabled to wait in deep humility for that 
 golden silence in which the voice of the Holy Spirit is known 
 
 317 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 and felt, and " the Righteousness of God" is experienced to 
 justify the expression of words fitted and suited to the minds 
 and hearts of those who may be present on such occasions. 
 " For man is so enamored of selfhood, and so averse to its 
 destruction, that, did not God act upon him powerfully and 
 with authority, he would forever resist." 
 
 " The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak," and I have 
 been humbled in finding in my spirit a selfhood which has 
 been gratified at these frequent special invitations to funerals ; 
 but my earnest prayer is that I may "enter into the holiest 
 by the blood (life) of Jesus, by a new and living way, which 
 he has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, 
 his flesh (his example)." And that the mind of self-abnega- 
 tion which was in him may be in my spirit. 
 
 2 mo. 2g. — At our Monthly Meeting to-day, as for several 
 days past, I have been dull and dry in spiritual good ; but 
 in the latter part of the meeting, on the occasion of a " pass- 
 ing in marriage," an exercise sprang up in my mind in which 
 there was a stream of life on the subject of the sacredness of 
 the marriage covenant, and in my remarks I alluded to the 
 figure of the apostle, of the marriage of Christ and the church. 
 For he "loved the church, and gave himself for it" (Eph. 
 V. 25), which union he speaks of as a "great mystery," and 
 which we can never understand till the twain become one 
 in us in a stainless union. I could but admire the great 
 condescension of Israel's Grod who gave me such an evidence 
 of His love, and in which I was clothed to speak of His name. 
 O may I wait, patiently wait, for His power and authority 
 in the congregations of the people. And this power is so 
 easily distinguished from man's life, is so transcendently 
 pure and perfect, that it has in it no room for will worship. 
 O what a flood of this blessed life saluted my soul on this 
 occasion; and I bless the Father for the chastening and 
 purifying dispensation of His love which for several days 
 past I have been experiencing, in which the axe has been laid 
 at the root of self-love and self-sufficiency in such a manner 
 
 318 
 
DIVINE ILLUMINATION 
 
 that I hope I may ever remember the reproofs of instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 S mo. 7. — Last First-day attended a funeral, and at the 
 house, at which there was a large collection of people, I was 
 a silent traveller for Zion's sake ; but when we had assembled 
 around the freshly made grave, I had a short but an arousing 
 testimony to deliver, concerning which I feel the answer of 
 peace. In the afternoon the circular meeting was held, and 
 at which what I had to say was no doubt considered by some 
 pertinent, forcible, and eloquent; yet, notwithstanding this, 
 I did not come up to the pattern which has been shown unto 
 me in the mount to be a condition of silence, of action, and 
 of thought. In these large and mixed assemblies of the 
 people there is great danger that the desire upon the part 
 of those assembled may afifect the sensitive mind of God's 
 servant, wherein he may not be as "a brother and com- 
 panion in tribulation and the kingdom and patience in 
 Jesus." 
 
 J mo. IS- — Our meeting yesterday (First-day) was held in 
 silence, and it was a relief to my mind, as I have desired a 
 " silent meeting" among us on that day. In the afternoon I 
 attended by invitation the funeral of a young man who had, 
 it was thought, incurred the seeds of the disease which caused 
 his demise at the Andersonville prison during the late re- 
 bellion. I had considerable to offer in the ministry, for which 
 the answer has been peace. 
 
 I have been much instructed by recent experiences wherein 
 I have seen the folly of desiring more light than is sufficient 
 for all the purposes of illumination. This was the case at 
 the late circular meeting to which I have alluded herein. 
 Sufficient light was vouchsafed, but after I had appeared in 
 testimony, I doubted, and so was led to inquire of my ex- 
 perienced brother, A. Livzey. He replied that he could have 
 taken me in his arms, in that I was so favored in what I had 
 to say. 
 
 In all life's dispensations the happy medium is trust, sim- 
 
 319 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 pie, childlike trust in the Almighty Father's love. His teach- 
 ings are perfect and infallible, and to err in their interpreta- 
 tion is human. This necessarily belongs to our imperfect 
 natures, and herein is the necessity for humility in respect to 
 that humanity, and of trust and strength in the divine con- 
 sciousness in which are manifest life's simple duties. " My 
 grace is sufficient for thee, for strength is made perfect in 
 weakness." 
 
 J mo. 2^. — ^At our meeting last First-day and at the circular 
 meeting in the afternoon, I can say with John Fothergill, on 
 a like occasion, that I was enabled " to declare the Truth, in 
 its own ability and wisdom, to the help and comfort of the 
 upright." I was nothing, Christ was all. 
 
 4 mo. J. — ^At our meeting on First-day, I had considerable 
 to say upon the great law of rectitude, and instanced the case 
 of my dear friend David Petit, of Salem, whose funeral I 
 attended last week. He was a man who walked uprightly, 
 and whose memory was honored in his demise by his fellow- 
 citizens of Salem, without distinction of name, in a remark- 
 able manner. At the house on that occasion was experienced 
 a most precious feeling of solemnity, in the midst of which 
 v--ere many testimonies borne to the virtues of the dear de- 
 ceased. 
 
 The second choice of all sects is now as when Cicero pro- 
 posed ascertaining a perfect system of philosophy. It is, as 
 it was then, wherein he found them all having a preference 
 for the Academic as their second choice, a sect who held in 
 prominence the great law of rectitude and right. 
 
 David Petit was a man whom the truth had made free. 
 He did not subscribe to or believe in the Deity of Jesus, 
 the personality of the Holy Spirit, the doctrine of imputed 
 righteousness, or of the Trinity; but instead thereof his 
 soul was in concert and harmony with the great fount of 
 truth and wisdom. He recognized the fulness of Christ as 
 the great opportunity vouchsafed unto all, thus he became 
 cognizant of the Holy Spirit as a holy union wherein the 
 
 320 
 
ISAAC PENINGTON 
 
 twain became one new man, and he could say to his children 
 who were gathered around him, " I am going home." 
 
 5 mo. 6. — At our recent Quarterly Meeting I had to testify 
 against that tradition that maketh of none effect the word 
 of God, and alluded to the experience of Isaac Penington, 
 how that he had a faith in which he could teach and write 
 and read, but in which he says " the Lord confounded me in 
 my worship, confounded in my knowledge, stripped of all in 
 one day (which it is hard to utter), and was a matter of 
 amazement to all that beheld me." And thus the Lord led 
 him through the wilderness that He might reveal the seed of 
 the kingdom, and " caused," he says, " His holy power to fall 
 upon me, and gave me such an inward demonstration and 
 feeling of the Seed of life, that I cried out in spirit, This is 
 He, this is He, there is not another, there never was another." 
 
 I felt it right to quote in the meeting what this good man 
 said concerning his condition in which he knew Christ ac- 
 cording to the flesh, viz. : " I looked upon the Scriptures, says 
 he, to be my rule, and would weigh the inward appearances 
 of God to me, by what was outwardly written; and durst 
 not receive anything from God immediately as it sprang from 
 the fountain, but only in that mediate way. Herein did I 
 limit the Holy One of Israel, and exceedingly hurt my own 
 soul, as I afterwards felt, and came to understand." Thus 
 he was established in Christ according to the Spirit, and what 
 was written concerning Him was opened in Truth's light. 
 " For," says he, " the Scriptures of the New Testament were 
 written to the saints, and cannot be truly or rightly under- 
 stood or made use of but as men come into their spirit and 
 state." 
 
 6 mo. I. — I was much favored in testimony last First-day 
 on the subject of trust, showing the nature of distrust, and 
 that if we rely upon the suspension of God's laws instead of 
 their fulfilment, that that would be non-trust under the pre- 
 tence of trust. Implicit faith can only be experienced as we 
 fulfil the righteous law of the Divine Creator. Sin in its 
 
 21 321 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 manifold manifestations being lack of trust. It is a condition 
 which must be burnt and purged away by the regenerative 
 influences of those ordeals of the Spirit which cleanse and 
 purify, so that we can be changed into His image and likeness. 
 A state which Lady Guion says is more rare than can be set 
 forth or expressed. Hence liberation should be the chief end 
 of man's existence ; for while the Spirit is under the illusion 
 of sense, it is subject to conditions or qualities, and hence, 
 while in bonds, we cannot come unto the unconditional and 
 unqualified. 
 
 The key of knowledge is therefore the way of salvation, — 
 knowledge being the instrument, and mediation the means, 
 by which we escape from the desires of sense. If we lack 
 vision, we lack the one thing needful (Matt. vi. 22) because 
 we lack trust, and in lacking this we lack singleness of sight, 
 the eye of the soul is closed, and we cannot be one with the 
 divine Spirit. 
 
 7 mo. 12. — I have recently received the following from 
 Mary Levis, who is esteemed a prophetess among us. It 
 may seem somewhat like egotism in alluding to it, but I do 
 not esteem it such, for if I am made instrumental in rebuilding 
 the Lord's house, unto Him belongeth the praise, not unto 
 me. God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of 
 Christ. 
 
 " 7 mo. 6, 1876. 
 
 " Esteemed Friend, — Since thy visit to me, I was looking over some 
 of my letters, and I found this that I send thee to read. Whilst sitting 
 alone, it was a sight that I saw with my spiritual eye, near the time the 
 last war commenced, and whilst reading over a copy of it, when I came 
 to the part where the large pieces of new timber were brought in to 
 rebuild this great building, it struck my feelings very forcibly that thou 
 was one of those new pieces. I sincerely desire that thee will, my pre- 
 cious son, be obedient and faithful to the light of that star of Bethlehem 
 which led thy dear sainted mother so safely through life. I often felt 
 her to be my spiritual director, such as Madam Guion speaks of in her 
 writings. I have ofttimes felt her the nearest' of any one of whom I 
 ever had acquaintance. To me she was one of the most deeply experi- 
 enced Christians we have an account of. They were led by the Spirit in 
 all their ways and work, and I have seen within a short time the Foxes, 
 
 322 
 
MARY LEVIS 
 
 the Barclays, and- the Penns coming up, one here and there, through 
 different parts of the land. I see you will have to suffer persecution, 
 but you will have nothing to fear, for the strong Arm of Power will be 
 underneath to support and sustain you through all your trials. Oh, my 
 desires are that you will prosper in the work as Nehemiah did by and 
 through the direction of the Lord. Fare thee well. I feel weak and 
 frail this warm weather. « tu r • j 
 
 Thyfnend, " Mary Levis." 
 
 The following was enclosed in the letter : 
 
 "I was sitting alone in my home, when it came before me that the 
 time was drawing near when we should be again called to our Annual 
 Meeting. There seemed a dread to come over my mind that I had 
 never felt, and I knew not why it was so. Then there passed before 
 ray spiritual eye a sense which alarmed me. I saw a very large frame 
 building that had been strongly built, but on viewing it closely I dis- 
 covered it was leaning over to one side, so much that it appeared in 
 great danger of falling. It seemed to have slidden off the foundation. 
 I then was permitted to see with great clearness, with my mental sight, 
 the Rock upon which it had stood for generations. Such a sight I never 
 beheld, for beauty and strength, with my outward eye, so strong was the 
 foundation. It was built upon that which all the powers on earth com- 
 bined could never weaken nor mar in the least degree. I then saw that 
 through neglect it had become in a dilapidated state, so much so that it 
 could not be repaired, for the new timber would not adhere to the old; 
 therefore I saw that it would have to be taken down to the foundation, 
 and be rebuilt again. I saw that there would be much labor needed to 
 remove all the decayed timber; but if the laborers would be willing to 
 work in the strength and ability which the Lord would give unto them, 
 and work carefully, that all would be taken away and removed. 
 
 "And then I was comforted when I saw large pieces of new timber 
 prepared and brought there to build up anew. Then I heard the lan- 
 guage sounded in my mental ear, ' Return, O Israel, unto Me, and I will 
 pardon all thine iniquities ; I will heal all thy backslidings and love thee 
 freely, saith the Lord.' 
 
 "The interpretation was then made known to me, that we as a people, 
 for want of faithfulness and obedience to the Spirit of Christ, have be- 
 come imperceptible, wandering away after the lo heres and the lo 
 theres. We have left our first love, and have been decoyed away by 
 false lovers, whereby we have lost our health and strength, and being 
 deceived and deluded by these, the church has lost its purity and is left 
 to wander into the wilderness." 
 
 8 mo. JJ. — Our meeting on First-day was a favored one, 
 I had something to say in respect to the text, " The law of 
 the Lord is perfect, converting the soul," and entered some- 
 
 323 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 what into the distinctions of body, soul, and spirit, explaining 
 that the spirit of man could become corrupt and alienated 
 from the pure law and spirit of God which accompanies us 
 through life's journey, and which returns unto Him that 
 gave it as the uncorruptible seed of life. And that the great 
 desideratum of life is a state of oneness (or harmony) with 
 the Divine Essence, wherein is eternal life and peace. Ex- 
 plaining, further, that darkness must be the portion of that 
 condition which is in a state of discord, because there can be 
 no affinity between opposites. 
 
 Mary Levis followed in an address to a state of unfaithful- 
 ness, and alluded to the simile in Matt. viii. 23-27, wherein 
 it is said, " He was asleep." That when in a state of dis- 
 obedience, likened unto " a great tempest at sea," Gk)d is 
 not known to man's spirit; but when we have arrived at our 
 true condition, and see that we " perish" without Him, then 
 doth He arise in His might and " rebuke the winds and the 
 sea, and there was a great calm." How true is the declara- 
 tion. " Without a parable he spake not unto them." To 
 understand it literally would be to understand that Jesus 
 rebuked the laws of creative wisdom, which would be absurd. 
 And the text, too, " Without parable he spake not," is in itself 
 a great parable ; but it is added, " when they were alone, he 
 expounded all things unto his disciples." When our spirits 
 are hushed into stillness, alone with the Spirit of truth, then 
 are we led into all truth. 
 
 10 mo. 8. — At our meeting last First-day I had considera- 
 ble to say upon the subject of regeneration, and am afraid 
 that I was somewhat too mystical for some of my hearers, 
 for I desire to keep clear of that enigmatic trifling which in 
 the past has led into mjrthological absurdities. I tried to 
 explain that regeneration meant the increase of the truth of 
 God. I also alluded to the dogma of Swedenborg that " God 
 is man," explaining that the Swede did not mean any par- 
 ticular man, but that such expressions are to be interpreted 
 as meaning that what is known of God is manifest in man. 
 
 324 
 
SWEDENBORG 
 
 Man being God's representative, hence the divine is mirrored 
 forth in man, is manifested, made visible in him as the ulti- 
 mate of Deity. I felt that some of my hearers were in dan- 
 ger of interpreting the Swedish philosopher literally, as so 
 many of his followers are doing to their great perplexity, 
 hampering not only their own, but also the understandings 
 of others, thus raising a cloud of impenetrable obscurity which 
 rests as a nightmare upon many a heart. That the Swede 
 was a hermatic philosopher is, I think, established beyond 
 a doubt. His manner of interpreting Scripture is identical 
 with that of Origen. The letter he calls " appearances of 
 truth," and says, " There are many things accommodated to 
 the capacity of the simple who do not elevate their thought 
 above such things as they see before their eyes." "The 
 letter is rarely naked, but clothed," he says, and thus he 
 clothes his thought. To understand him, he must be inter- 
 preted by the same spirit by which he interprets the Scrip- 
 tures, for he penetrated the arcanum of "the Father," and 
 it was a sorrowful thing that he did not seek to unravel in a 
 clear manner its mysterious phraseology instead of mixing 
 with its clearest system the most incomprehensible jargon 
 and construction that ever was penned by man. 
 
 The doctrine of the indwelling God seems clear to his 
 mind, and hence his leading dogma " that God is man." But 
 he had in view, as the Fathers before him, what he calls " the 
 common herd of mankind, from which he says this must be 
 veiled, because they would accede to it as a sensual idea." 
 His favorite term Lord he explains, and says, " by the Lord 
 we mean Jehovah in His Human. He descended as the 
 Divine Truth, which is the Word." This term he uses in an 
 exceeding generic manner. He speaks of "the universal 
 idea," and when this is attained we can afterwards look down 
 thence into the lower region, which is the natural thought. 
 This is the celestial state, or the " Grand Man;" is heaven, 
 as he explains. 
 
 10 mo. 12. — At our meeting to-day I took for my text 
 
 32s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 an extract from James Bellanger's journal, in which he ex- 
 plained the views of Friends to a Baptist audience at Hights- 
 town, N. J. "We get our religion," he told them, "from 
 the Spirit of God, which is Christ within, the way, the truth, 
 and the life." From the evidence furnished me upon this 
 occasion, this not only seemed sufficient, but also as the true 
 meaning of Jesus and his friends, in which when realized 
 is "the universal idea." 
 
 10 mo. 23. — Our meeting yesterday was more than an 
 average one in point of numbers, composed in part of visitors 
 to the Centennial exhibition, now in progress. I had much 
 to say upon the reasonableness of faith in the Infinite Father 
 as the thinkable and the knowable, and as one on whom we 
 could not help believing in a stage of healthful and normal 
 progression unto Him as the indwelling spirit. And I cau- 
 tioned my hearers that we should beware of " the mixture," 
 and that we should apply the science of thinking to the sub- 
 ject of religion, as becomeis God's rational, intelligent chil- 
 dren. I spoke of the great law of thought which affirms that 
 every object thought about must be conceived of itself, and 
 not by some other thing, as, for instance, a house is a house, 
 and not the occupants of the house, or " A is A and x = x." 
 Thus affirmation and negation expresses itself in all truth, 
 for as A is A so is A not A. The negative is not a thought, 
 and that being limited by the quality which it is not. 
 
 I affirmed, also, that believers in divine revelation should 
 never deny the oneness of intelligence, for if revealed truth 
 is relative and incomplete, then all talk of being inspired is 
 arrant foolishness or insanity. It takes, however, a prophet 
 to discern a prophet, and I cautioned my hearers that I claimed 
 no higher revelation than they themselves possessed ; that if 
 I asserted an error, I desired them to reject it at once as 
 untrue, unpalatable, and unsuitable to the soul's life ! I called 
 them to that Fountain to which all have access, to the call 
 of duty and of God. How beautiful was the vision that in- 
 spired the lines of Wordsworth: 
 
 326 
 
DUTY 
 
 " What are things eternal ? Powers depart, 
 Possessions vanish, and opinions change, 
 And passions hold a fluctuating seat; 
 But by the storms of circumstance unshaken, 
 And subject neither to eclipse or wane. 
 Duty exists ; immutably survive 
 For our support, the measures and the forms 
 Which an abstract intelligence supplies, 
 Whose kingdom is where time and space are not." 
 
 There is no difficulty concerning " the Spirit of truth;" the 
 sane reason cannot reject it, and I rejoice that men's minds 
 are being shaken by the doubts of the age in the progress of 
 science to mathematical verity, for when the soul is once 
 founded and grounded upon the Rock of Ages, it may be 
 never thereafter alienated if faithful to those 
 
 " Transcendent truths 
 Of the pure intellect, that stand as laws 
 Even to Thy Being's infinite majesty." 
 
 This was the religion of Jesus I urged upon my auditory, 
 an absolute and permanent religion, clear in its truth of that 
 anthropomorphism which makes God in the image of man, 
 thus dishonoring and belittling Divinity to a creature of pas- 
 sions and caprices. It is a religion that was as clear as when 
 it issued from the lips of Jesus, free from pantheism, which 
 increases God at the expense of man. Jesus taught God as 
 the knowable in His manifold wisdom, as the Father and 
 Friend of His children whom He has created in His image 
 and seeks to endow with His likeness. How clear was his 
 mind from that negation of the absolute which we hear of 
 at the present day, which would destroy and deny the re- 
 ligious sentiment in man, and substitute material comfort 
 for the great central truth of the idea of personal survival. 
 That Jesus gave a powerful impulse to the religious thought 
 of his time on this subject is clear and plain. In holding 
 up the idea of the Infinite Creator of wisdom and purity, 
 and the doctrine that the thinking part of man survives his 
 
 327 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 physical change, he taught the permanent and absolute in 
 religion, and, though "heaven and earth may pass away," 
 yet his sayings ( TuoyoL ) will not fail. He made no allusion 
 here to historical narrative and synthetic terms, for he said 
 that it was expedient these should pass away (John xvi. 7). 
 We have the authority of Jesus, then, for dropping historic 
 truth as a claim of itself for recognition, and of relying upon 
 that inspiring wisdom which is of immediate perception, and 
 which will never fail. And as God's ministers keep alto- 
 gether to the subjective, there can be no incompatibility and 
 contradictory doctrines taught by them in and under the gift 
 of inspiration, when directed to the moral and spiritual im- 
 provement of the individual. But when directed to the facts 
 of history on questions of science, even exegetic science, the 
 case is different, proving that we must place truth in ideas, 
 not in fact. That profound writer, W. von Humboldt, truly 
 said that "religion was altogether subjective, and rests solely 
 on the conceptive powers of the individual." If we say that 
 our conception is defective, and that all truth is relative, then 
 we attack our own verity, and all things become uncertain. 
 It is true that in material images alone the Infinite cannot 
 be known; but in pure thought (wisdom), symbolized in 
 man. He is the knowable, and pure truth must be true to every 
 intelligence, real or possible. Reason, therefore, is ubiquitous 
 in its purity, and partakes of the same nature as pure mathe- 
 matics, such as the relation of an abscissa to an ordinate, or 
 of the diameter to the circumference. That that which 
 Cometh by observation is untrustworthy, and that the experi- 
 ence of the senses is fallacious, is well known in every-day 
 life. The ultimate in nature is everywhere hidden from 
 our view. This is the nature of phenomenal manifestations. 
 These in themselves, and of themselves, pointing as an index 
 to a sphere of thought from which all limits are withdrawn, 
 in which truth is Truth as the essence of reason and the law 
 of all thought. The norm of wisdom is wisdom itself wholly 
 indivisible, being in unity with itself. Pythagoras expressed 
 
 328 
 
BLAISE PASCAL 
 
 this in the symbol One, Two. Take the number twenty, for 
 instance ; it is twenty by virtue of its being one, one twenty ; 
 thus he symbolized abstract truth as always accompanying 
 its correlate, being a part of it. The ancients held to this 
 kind of symbolic teaching as tending to stimulate the intellect, 
 by leaving so much unexplained ; and pure truth, it is certain, 
 can be well expressed in this way "without any mixture 
 of error," if the symbol be not taken for the thing itself. 
 It has been said related symbols have always been most agree- 
 able to the religious sentiment. However this may be, there 
 is no danger that we will not know the truth when we see it, 
 however it may be expressed, and it will set us free ; for neces- 
 sity and servitude come not from correct thinking, but through 
 that which is fallacious and untrustworthy; hence right 
 thinking will not confine the religious sentiment to any one 
 phase of expression. The Lutheran reformation was a pro- 
 test against its subjection to a moral code. When the re- 
 ligion of pure thought and feeling becomes to be understood 
 and practised, it will not be a mere " affair of the feelings ;" 
 or, as Tyndall has said, be " confined to the emotions." * But 
 it will depend for its existence and expression upon the essen- 
 tial nature of reason ; and this will not be denoted " in con- 
 duct" only, as M. Arnold has observed, but in every phase 
 of life. In all things will the disciple of pure thought seek 
 to do the will of God. " Fervent in spirit ; serving the Lord ; 
 rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant 
 in prayer." Every phase of truth will be "the marks of a 
 true religion," to use a phrase of Blaise Pascal. And as he 
 has so well denoted, the new faith will ground its foundations 
 "on love and submission to God," and, as I would add, a 
 recognition of His will as unfolded and disclosed deep in 
 the nature of man. 
 Herein I felt to warn my hearers, on the occasion above 
 
 * The philosophical Hegel not flippantly replied to this when he said 
 that then an affectionate dog is the best Christian. 
 
 329 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 alluded to, against false reasoning upon divine things, for in 
 so doing we necessarily act unwisely, as from thought proceed 
 deed and word. I also alluded to the forces which guide 
 sensation and emotion, as bearing the same in relation to 
 the mind as to the body. For as pain is the precursor of dis- 
 ease and death, so is the untrue destructive and dangerous, 
 causing uneasiness to its subjfect, suffering and penalties, as 
 the corrective and redemptive process of disenthralment. 
 
 It seems difficult for some persons to recognize a good and 
 sufficient reason, as I felt was the case with some of my 
 audience in the opportunity to which I have referred. This 
 is seen in the case of children who frequently do not rest 
 satisfied with an entirely clear explanation, showing that 
 every man's reason knows not when it is convinced. The 
 more imperfect our development, the more distant we are 
 from the truth, and the means of arriving at it. 
 
 True knowledge may also be lost to us by our assuming 
 contraries when they do not exist, as by elevating privatives 
 into contraries. For instance, at the funeral of a neighbor 
 recently, I stated that I looked upon death as but an event 
 in the life of the individual, for life and death are not true 
 contraries any more than heat and cold. Cold is simply a 
 diminution of heat or force; so death is not anything real. 
 It is a mere privative, as darkness, for example; a relative 
 or qualitative decrease, or change of life, just as cold is of 
 heat. The force is not lost in either case. In the former it 
 is correlate to life, just as heat is correlate to chemical affinity; 
 and here is a true analogy in the conservation and correlation 
 of force, as "spiritual men and spiritual things are correla- 
 tions." 
 
 All true contraries are universals, — as spirit * and matter, 
 
 * Spirit has none of the properties of matter. It is indivisible, there- 
 fore it is not material ; matter has dimensions ; it fills space ; it is capable 
 of division. It possesses a nature which is known as magnitude and 
 divisibility, and can bestow only that which it possesses. The brain is 
 an assemblage of organs and parts; but spirit is one undivided con- 
 
 330 
 
THE ABSOLUTE 
 
 time and space, subject and object, absolute and relative, 
 body and consciousness. When any one of these are cog- 
 nizable, the other is assumed. Their separation is complete. 
 Thus absolute truth cannot be relative truth. If we affirm 
 the contrary, we nullify our reason. This is clear in the simi- 
 lar case of mind and matter. If we assert that all mind is 
 • a property of matter, we conceive an idea distinct from mat- 
 ter, and thus vitiate our understandings to error and delusion, 
 as is the case with those who say that all knowledge is rela- 
 tive. They assume the absolute when they affirm the rela- 
 tive, and thus falsifying their own position. In all true con- 
 traries, each of them has an absolute entity, as a positive, and 
 therefore each cannot be lost in the zero of the other, as in 
 the case of the abstraction of heat by the diminution of 
 force. 
 
 All true religion is the child of reason and intelligence. 
 Herodotus makes the derivation of the Greek word for God 
 {Be6g), from the root which means to set in order. This 
 postulation is the rock upon which its foundations were es- 
 tablished, and against which all errorists struggle in vain. 
 The passion and effort for the highest attainable truth is 
 fraught with holy fervor and patient waiting, ever prompting 
 to that effort which worketh hitherto, and now worketh from 
 everlasting to everlasting. Mere feeling is evanescent when 
 it lacks conjunction with pure thought. The highest and 
 purest faith which cometh and now is, depends for its exist- 
 ence and is founded upon the nature of reason itself, and 
 which to all intelligences it is an essential unity of the same 
 kind. For such terms as the Infinite and Incomprehensible 
 are not a thought, only an element of a thought, being in their 
 nature privative. God's ways should be our ways, they being 
 only a matter of development in our thoughts. Thus we can 
 
 sciousness. It is known just as matter is known, by itself and not by its 
 contrary. It is to be known by its own nature and properties, and it takes 
 its denomination from these. 
 
 331 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 say, when pure thought is our possession, with the great 
 Kepler, " O God, I think Thy thoughts after Thee." And 
 thought is relative only in degree in its relation to truth. We 
 say that one and one make two. This truth being just as 
 true as either of " Kepler's laws." Thus all truth is of the 
 nature of One. 
 
 II mo. ij. — At our recent Quarterly Meeting I had con- 
 siderable to say upon the subject of the conception of deity 
 in the human soul by and through a recognition of the great 
 idea " that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of 
 God dwelleth in you." Insisting upon the all sufficiency of 
 that which every man has within himself for his right direc- 
 tion in divine things, wherein he can experience the conjunc- 
 tion of the good and the true, and thus an expulsion of the 
 false and the evil from his mind. Thereby realizing Paul's 
 prayer, "that ye may all be filled with the fulness of God," and 
 thus the knowledge of Deity would be conceived by Himself, 
 and not by any creed or book. 
 
 I urged that by such negation, the soul, in the language of 
 Scripture, is " drawn away to worship other gods and serve 
 them" (Deut. xxx. 17). I alluded to the saying of Spinoza, 
 " that the will of God is the refuge of ignorance, the true will 
 being the spirit of right reasoning," and instanced those 
 pages in the history of religion red with the blood of the vic- 
 tims of bigotry and priestcraft, who in the spirit of unreason 
 claimed the will of God as authority for their crimes and in- 
 justice. 
 
 II mo. 23. — Frequently of late have I been with my sick 
 friend, J. P. Tyson. After spending a few hours with him 
 recently, I was most forcibly reminded of the lines of Cowper 
 and of their applicability to him : 
 
 " O Thou bounteous giver of all good, 
 Thou art of all Thy gifts Thyself the crown ! 
 Give what Thou canst, without Thee we are poor, 
 And with Thee rich, take what Thou wilt away." 
 
 332 
 
THE MANY MERCIES OF HEAVEN 
 
 The Divine Father has evidently given Himself to this dear 
 friend ; and what a lesson and teaching are conveyed by his 
 life and example, a life of practical goodness and great use- 
 fulness in civil and religious society. And though Jacob is 
 a practical unbeliever in the gods of pseudo-Christianity, 
 yet his soul is beyond all doubt a temple of God, wherein the 
 Good Father, by His omnipotence, doth dwell, having cleansed 
 it of falsities and evils — ^by the union of the good and the 
 true. And this dear friend well says he needs no books or 
 creeds to strengthen him, such fleshly things being passed 
 away, the Comforter having come with His consolations 
 and blessed assurances. 
 
 13 mo. I. — Attended Bucks Quarterly and a neighboring 
 Monthly Meeting during the past week, in company with my 
 friend Samuel Noble, which were the first meetings from 
 home that I have specially felt called to attend, excepting 
 a circular meeting at Stroudsburg, for nearly one year. 
 Many pressing invitations have I had to attend dififerent 
 meetings, in dififerent parts of the country, from many dear 
 friends, but feel it to be my place to wait for right direction 
 upon the Supreme Being, through His language of impres- 
 sion upon the tablet of the heart, and not to be running hither 
 and thither in mine own will and strength. For if the " per- 
 fect man" said and felt " I can of mine own self do nothing" 
 in such matters of divine concernment, how much less can 
 one like unto myself effect or accomplish ? " Behold, all souls 
 are mine, saith the Lord God." 
 
 1877. 
 
 / mo. 20. — For the many mercies of our God, I have been 
 made this day to praise His high and holy name. And I can 
 truly say with Job, " Thou hast granted me life and favor, 
 and hast preserved my spirit by thy visitations." 
 
 I feel this day thankful and grateful in an especial manner 
 to the Infinite Father, in whom are all my springs, for that 
 contented and happy mind which He has vouchsafed unto 
 
 333 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 me as the gift of faith in Him as the almighty preserver and 
 creator of all things. And this strong faith that has been 
 conferred is for the reason of no merit that I can discover 
 on my part, for what I am I can in great humility say I am 
 by the grace of God. Blessed, forever blessed, be His holy 
 name; my soul doth praise His mercies, and rejoice in His 
 almighty salvation. These will endure, I will trust, forever 
 and ever. Amen. 
 
 2 mo. 10. — The recent Quarterly Meeting of ministers and 
 elders has removed all obstructions to my travelling in the 
 regular order of our Society. Thus, when so engaged, I 
 will have the ^privilege of appointing meetings among the 
 people in pursuance of the custom among Friends. It is 
 wonderful to me how the prejudices of some have melted 
 away. For, like Paul, a few among our friends have viewed 
 my free and rational manner of expression when engaged in 
 gospel labor with some concern, and suspicion, too, " lest that 
 by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself 
 should be a castaway." And I greatly desire that I may be 
 preserved in tenderness of feeling in respect to even men's 
 superstitions, and of their fetish devotion to the Bible, and to 
 the gloomy consequences of that faith which takes it as God's 
 last and best expression of His will to His creature man. 
 Tenderness and charity we must have unto all, and I mostly 
 find it much better to affirm the goodness and wisdom of 
 God by an appeal to the Scriptures and to the innate religious 
 sentiment in the soul, thus leaving the negation of error to 
 the sober second thought. It is often better to affirm than 
 to dissent and deny when prejudice may interpose a bar to 
 the reception of truth. Much wisdom is there in the saying, 
 " I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear 
 them now." 
 
 J wo. 2. — On my arrival home from the attendance at 
 Burlington Quarterly Meeting, I found a letter from Benja- 
 min Hallowell, containing the following: 
 
 334 
 
REGENERATION 
 
 " In the calculus it becomes sometimes necessary, in the solution of a 
 problem, to integrate between limits, but in the search for truth, or the 
 expression of a truth, there must be no limits, the mind must be free. 
 What we need, even our religious society, is general enlightenment. 
 This is a state that must be individually as well as collectively labored 
 for. The apostle enjoins emphatically and truly, 'To your faith add 
 virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, 
 and charity,' in Divine Love the crown of all. These seven principles 
 are figuratively employed in Scripture to represent the pillars on which 
 the house of wisdom rests. Wisdom hath builded her house. She hath 
 hewn her seven pillars, and the possessor of these principles, by diligence 
 and perseverance, gradually becomes 'the enlightened.' The term em- 
 ployed by some of the Eastern nations, of which thou writes in thy 
 ' Indices,' to represent the highest condition of humanity." 
 
 J mo. 4. — I was vocal at our meeting to-day on the sub- 
 ject of the new birth (regeneration), which I explained was 
 the knowledge of God which brings peace to the mind, He 
 being the life of the soul. Hereby we become receptive and 
 influenced not only to do right (morality) by the innate law 
 of our nature through conjunction, but we experience born 
 unto us the eternal Son of God, and know of that holy faith 
 by which we are quickened into the divine life, which is the 
 heavenly gift in God, and which belongs not unto us as 
 man and creatures after the flesh. I know, says the prophet, 
 " that the way of man is not of himself; it is not in man that 
 walketh to direct his steps aright." Herein is the righteous- 
 ness of God, which is not a maimed or incomplete righteous- 
 ness, dominant to-day and deposed to-morrow, as is the char- 
 acter of that self-righteousness which walketh of itself, and 
 which is at perpetual enmity with God, seemingly effective 
 at one point, but is faulty and maimed in the great sum of 
 duty and of life. Bringing not that harmony and peace 
 which constitute the mark and test of that One living faith 
 which works by love to the purifying of the heart. The 
 pivotal thought of Jesus on the subject of regeneration is 
 indicated in the last verse of his conversation with Nicodemus 
 on that subject (John iii. 21). And in Matt. xix. 28 he 
 makes what was personal in himself herein universal to hu- 
 
 33S 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 manity. So also in Mark iii. 35, in respect to the brother- 
 hood. 
 
 3 mo. 27. — At the late Haddonfield Quarterly Meeting I 
 had a somewhat close personal testimony to deliver as a part 
 of my communication. A friend evidently alluded to it as 
 having a discouraging tendency, but certainly an evil course 
 should not be encouraged. At a recent meeting I felt to 
 thus speak in an individual direction, and I had clear objective 
 proof that I was rightly led in a manner marvellous in mine 
 eyes. 
 
 4 mo. II. — Attended during the past week in company, in 
 part, with my dear young Brother Caleb E. Shrieve, some of 
 the meetings of Burlington Quarterly, and see a field of labor 
 there, and hope to have Caleb's company in the endeavor to 
 stir up the lukewarm and worldly mind to greater faith in 
 the Eternal Father, and consequently to greater diligence in 
 the maintenance of truth's testimonies. 
 
 5 mo. 22. — During the last several weeks I have been dili- 
 gently engaged in the work of the ministry, as I have felt 
 called, and have attended meetings in Chester and Burlington 
 Counties, as well as in Philadelphia. The prominent impor- 
 tance which I have given to the doctrine of regeneration,* 
 ;and to the renunciation of all self-assertion in spiritual things, 
 has caused on the part of some of the exoteric a feeling of 
 coolness towards me. Perhaps I have not been as clear in 
 statement as I might have been, though I have endeavored 
 to be rational and sensible on these momentous subjects. 
 Certainly the analogy holds in the physical relation as in the 
 brain and all the organs of the body. They all die that we 
 may live. " We must all be born again, atom by atom, from 
 hour to hour, or perish all at once beyond repair. Every 
 meal is the rescue from one death and lays up for another ; and 
 
 * Born of " the incorruptible seed, the Word of God that liveth and 
 abideth for ever," or, more plainly speaking, the immanency of the divine 
 in the human soul. 
 
 336 
 
PAUL'S STYLE ESOTERIC 
 
 while we think a thought we die." Thus we live by dying 
 daily. So in the spiritual life we must live as Jesus did, 
 "by every word of God." We must assimilate through 
 affinity with the All Good each day and each hour of our 
 lives. Herein is the increase of the divine government in 
 us; we coming to realize the declaration of the apostle, 
 " I know nothing by myself ; yet am I not hereby justified, 
 for he that judgeth me is the Lord." And herein, too, we 
 will realize, as I said in the late Yearly Meeting of ministers 
 and elders, and which gave offence to some, that our progress 
 and our righteousness will be deemed but as filthy rags, " for 
 these may become unto us as substitutes for the righteousness 
 of God." Or, in other words, we may take upon ourselves 
 that work which is alone His work. True progress is in 
 dying daily, thus we may realize the declaration, " They who 
 are joined to the Eternal are one spirit." We must be noth- 
 ing that He may be all in all. The apostle has most forcibly 
 illustrated this thought in his esoteric style (i Cor. xv. 
 28), "And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then 
 shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put 
 all things under him, that God may be all in all." By 
 the Son, Paul evidently intended, judging from his meaning 
 and his context, that God shall be known by Himself, and that 
 this manifestation of spirit, or Son in man, is of Himself and 
 not of another. 
 
 In relation to perfection, we cannot say that we are perfect 
 in any other sense than in the sense of dependence upon the 
 providence of His fatherly provision for us, that this will 
 be for the best with respect to time or eternity. We resign 
 all to His government who is immanent in a rightly ordered 
 life. A government which we know is not within the circle 
 or ordering of our own spirits, but one which is an inherent 
 energy in all men for righteousness and godliness the wide 
 world over. As the apostle has said (Col. i. 29), " Where- 
 unto I also labor, striving according to his working, which 
 worketh in me mightily." Herein we are justified by our 
 
 22 337 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 dependence upon Him, and do not seek to make a saviour 
 of our duties in qualification, to deck and adorn ourselves 
 with God's jevi^els. But there is a resignation of ourselves 
 to the will of God, as in the case of Jesus and every other 
 child of God. Our harsh, censorious judgment is taken 
 away, and His loving-kindness is manifest unto our souls. 
 Herein Said Isaiah, Ixi. lo, " I will greatly rejoice in the 
 Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has 
 clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered 
 me with the robe of righteousness." There is but one per- 
 fection. God did not create, man to usurp His own powers, 
 hence two perfections cannot exist. His infinite perfection 
 being our safety and our salvation, our strength being in 
 humble dependence upon the Eternal Arm. Herein do we 
 feel weak? Then our strength is increasing, for He is our 
 strength. Hence learn to distrust thy own strength, and 
 to depend upon God's, for He is not only thy Maker, but also 
 thy teacher and thy inspirer. Acknowledge His providence, 
 trust in His guidance, though the rationale at the time-being 
 thou canst not fathom. For it is feeling, often, and not 
 science that informs us of the extent of powers conferred and 
 duties enjoined. And this sense of dependence we learn 
 mostly in adversity, as I attempted to illustrate at a funeral 
 to-day. 'Tis then we feel our great need, or, as William 
 Law says, our hunger or desire. Thus adversity feeds the 
 flame of worship unto the Father. For if we could maintain 
 ourselves without His aid and assistance, then prayer would 
 vanish, for prayer is the child's cry. Thus adversity tends 
 to keep alive directly in men's hearts the idea of God and 
 of His providence in life, and also in the casualties of life. 
 For the power which is from its likeness in life cannot be 
 isolated from created things, though its phases we may not 
 comprehend. 
 
 In adversity we learn our necessities, and want is in all 
 things a power and a potency. We also define ourselves and 
 our aims more perfectly, and thus are on the road to accom- 
 
 338 
 
OUR REAL NEED 
 
 plishment. Our real want is made apparent as well as our 
 destiny. Our weakness is revealed unto us, and conscious 
 want has its claims. And herein are prayers addressed unto 
 a prayer-hearing God, and the salutary thought is kept alive 
 that our real need is deeper than any transient want. Thus 
 we trust in God, for all increase is from Him, as Elihu the 
 Buzite said : " Days should speak, and multitude of years 
 should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man ; and the 
 inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." 
 
 After a recent visit to Maryland, where I had considerable 
 service, I indited the following, which will explain itself. 
 
 " Evergreen, 6 mo. 9, 1877. 
 
 " My DEAR Friend, — Although I arrived at my home with the answer 
 of peace, yet I felt that I would have been better satisfied had I been able 
 to have called again at thy father's and Joseph Lincoln's, and also on 
 Hulda Headly. I can only say that the spirit was willing and that the 
 fault was with the poor body. It is now nearly six years since I yielded, * 
 after but a very short time for preparation, to a call in the ministry, and 
 during that time I have frequently been engaged in visiting different 
 parts of the heritage, but never have I felt so much travail and concern 
 begotten in my soul on account of the word of the kingdom in any place 
 which I ever visited as I have experienced on behalf of the little flock 
 and family composing your monthly meeting. In the vision that my soul 
 hath seen is a fair prospect, a noble vineyard, wholly of the right seed, 
 planted by the Heavenly Husbandman. A centre from which will radiate 
 light and warmth as from a city set upon a hill. But it is also written 
 concerning this same noble vine, 'Thou art turned into a degenerate 
 plant of a strange vine unto me.' How many have I known to begin in 
 the spirit, and then seek to make perfect in the flesh. And I could tell of 
 a dear friend of mine, who has fallen a victim to ' the letter that killeth.' 
 Now what is the true test of spiritual birth? It is not zeal, else the 
 Pharisees would have had it. It is hot simply the development of the 
 natural man. These may belong to the spirit of a man without the 
 divine influence being breathed upon him. Paul saw it when he said, 
 ' Though I have faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not 
 charity [divine love], I am nothing.' 
 
 "The truth is, God hath placed us in a world wherein we are sub- 
 jected to a high ordeal. He who would be spiritual must be subject to 
 spiritual temptations, and these we cannot make any more than we can 
 make our feelings. Ah! we often know a reversal of human judgment, 
 ' that the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.' Since I returned 
 home I wrote a letter to thy sister, in which I detailed an experience, 
 which letter thou may read. Well, soon after that ordeal had passed, 
 
 339 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 it pleased eternal wisdom to veil Himself from me in a wonderful man- 
 ner, and for nearly six weeks I had no Heavenly Father. O the suffer- 
 ing of that wilderness state, in which (I speak without boasting) there 
 were fasting and waiting ! The language present with me was, ' If it 
 tarry, wait for it; it will surely come.' That was about all the comfort 
 that I had. But now that the issue of that terrible ordeal hath passed 
 and gone, how I bless the Infinite one for its penetrating severity, for 
 out of its result I have been stripped in a great measure of the profession, 
 gifts, and talents of the spirit of a man. This I do know, and can testify 
 of unto others; for this I will give glory unto God, and magnify His 
 marvellous name. Grateful, grateful unto Him is my soul this day, 
 that He hath revealed Himself unto me by and through His judgments. 
 Yes, I bless Him ' for the severe,' and that He hath taught me that I 
 'know nothing as I ought to know.' 
 
 " In all of us there is some peculiar frailty in our nature, whose hold 
 seems only loosened, but which does not yet move entirely before the 
 divine influence. Often in the most favored servants of God it remains 
 as a thorn in the flesh, to buffet them, impeding the value of their service, 
 and making them somewhat of a stiimbling-block unto others. Thus 
 Jesus declared there is but one fountain-head of good from which he 
 in common with all God's children drew his strength and inspiration, 
 saying, ' of mine own self I can do nothing,' that is of the things of God. 
 But I must bring this somewhat long letter to a close. Thou may let thy 
 sister Anna read it. O how my best sympathies go out unto every 
 member of thy father's family; and unto thy sister in an especial manner 
 has my soul been drawn, for t recognize in her the Lord's anointing. 
 But in all of us is much to be removed ere the foundation of the building 
 can be laid strong and enduring. How much which we thought was pure 
 gold has had to be cast aside before the wise Master-builder cometh unto 
 the eternal foundation ! Let us then, we three, earnestly beseech Him 
 that He will permit nothing but genuine material to remain. That He 
 will kindly bear away and remove all that is of a crumbling nature, so 
 that He may take His abode in the temple, which He so lovingly and 
 kindly will help us to rear for His worship and praise. Thus we may 
 tntly say of all Thy gifts. Thou art Thyself the crown. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 7 mo. 10. — At our meeting yesterday I had considerable 
 to communicate to the effect that creduhty was a greater sin 
 than ;inbelief, and instanced the fact of persecution in the 
 history of reHgion as being caused by the abnegation of 
 reason and causation as the corner-stone of all human intelli- 
 gence. In speaking of Jesus, I made clear the distinction 
 between the spirit and the flesh, quoting his saying that as a 
 
 340 
 
CHRIST WITHIN 
 
 man his mission was " but unto the lost sheep of the house 
 of Israel," and that this mission, " as a minister to the cir- 
 cumcision for the truth of God," was in contradistinction 
 to the Christ, " Who is the image of the invisible God, the 
 first-born of every creature." I urged that the soul was 
 moulded after the eternal idea of the good, the true, and the 
 beautiful, and that in every man was to be found the ideal 
 of all excellency, and that therefore man could not be a 
 creature of development only, because he would then only 
 have states of feeling, but no knowledge of realities. The 
 principle of causation being inherent in his being, he reasons 
 from effect to cause, and distinguishes between the real and 
 the ideal world. Conceptual thought and reason in their 
 highest type being but the increase of wisdom and knowledge, 
 learned in the school of experimental teaching. To the 
 school of faith and reason I cited my hearers, not as twain 
 but as one unassailable fortress to which all can retire. Faith 
 in God was the faith which Jesus taught,* and this is a faith 
 with which reason is in full accord and harmony. Credulity 
 may create complexities and manifold requirements, "in- 
 truding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly 
 puffed up by his fleshly mind," as the apostle has declared; 
 but faith the consoler doth remain to all the children of the 
 Eternal, as Her own interpreter and expounder, making plain 
 the wisdom of the Almighty. 
 
 7 mo. 2S. — At a meeting at Green Street, Philadelphia, 
 which I attended yesterday, I was led to speak in continuance 
 on the above subject, and instanced the epistle to the Colos- 
 sians as a treatise of " Christ within." The apostle personi- 
 fies this power which he had experienced, and which is of a 
 transcendental or a prior nature, as "the image of the in- 
 visible God, the first-born of every creature." This is not 
 the result of repeated perceptions. The development theory 
 therefore falls to the ground. It is the law of our spirits, 
 
 * Galatians ii. i6. 
 341 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 after which we are imaged, and in which the Great Original 
 stands reflected. Increase therefore of the knowledge of God 
 depends upon the a priori law of causality acting within us 
 as the law of our being and intellect, and depends not alto- 
 gether on experience, because as a law or principle it pre- 
 cedes all experience. It is subjective, belongs essentially to 
 the God-mind as the within, and to which the man-mind 
 stands related as the without, but to which also it has fixed 
 relationship by and through the attractive power of love 
 eternal. It is this power and principle to which the apostle 
 alluded as One in whom " dwelleth all the fulness of the God- 
 head bodily," and who when known as the eternal Son of 
 God, by the power of His revealing love changes all dull 
 and unmeaning sensations from the realm of the unknowable 
 to the knowable and the experimental. 
 
 8 mo. IS- — Our meeting yesterday was a large one, at 
 which a dear friend of mine delivered a long discourse full 
 of interest, pathos, and earnestness, but which would have 
 been much more efficient and powerful had it been seasoned 
 with a better understanding of the philosophy of biology. 
 Jesus taught in the parable of the sower, " When any one 
 heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, 
 then Cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which is 
 sown in his heart." Now the understanding is both intui- 
 tional and conceptual. It is the mediator (or likeness) to the 
 divine original, ever standing between (reconciling) truth 
 and faith on the one hand, and love and charity on the other. 
 
 If we depend altogether on the intuitional, or presentative, 
 we enter the condition of speechless children again, and come 
 not unto the oneness of the understanding, for man is one 
 as a life, or conscious Ego. He is an organized being, and 
 his mind is his manifestation, — his body being his garment, 
 which with him soon becomes non est in respect to this world. 
 His life then receives a new habiliment, and if prepared, is 
 rejuvenized with an organization suited to its condition. The 
 end of true ministry is then not, as our speaker taught, con- 
 
 342 
 
ALTRUISM 
 
 cerning man being of a threefold nature, but on the con- 
 trary to seek to bring to that which his true intuitions and 
 concepts both prove, that he is essentially one in his being 
 and nature as a man. The language of our speaker also par- 
 took too much of the inter jectional and of the emotional' for 
 a long discourse, and consequently there was but little food 
 for thought. She also seemed to interpret the precept, " love 
 thy neighbor as thyself," in too literal a manner, not making 
 the distinction between true self-love as the desire for happi- 
 ness and that selfish love of self which is a vice utterly at 
 variance with our own happiness and the happiness and well- 
 being of others. We should love ourselves wisely and with 
 understanding, and then we will not seek our own advance- 
 ment, power, and interest without regard to the happiness of 
 others. On the contrary, we will love ourselves wisely and 
 well, as also we will love our neighbor with an understanding 
 mind ; and herein as ministers of the Word we will preach the 
 Word in great humility, seeking for that wisdom which 
 " binds not heavy burdens, grievous to be borne, and lay them 
 on men's shoulders; but of which they themselves will not 
 move theiji with one of their fingers." The minister of an 
 understanding mind will distinguish between the normal and 
 the abnormal in man's nature, and not confound self-love, 
 " the spring of motion," with selfishness, a condition which 
 denotes a very different state of mind and manifestation. 
 
 True self-love is from the spring eternal, for God must 
 love Himself in His own infinite consciousness, and His 
 eternal power and love work in man to will and to do. It 
 is therefore when we come to the oneness of our nature that 
 we come face to face with the great I Am Himself. ■ As has 
 been said, that " when we turn the face soulward we turn it 
 Godward." Evil being a condition of reliance upon the 
 senses, " wherein he is tempted, drawn away of his own lust, 
 and enticed." Or in other language he depends and leans 
 not upon the law of his being, which is true self-love or pre- 
 servation, but is " enticed" by a false presentiment or mani- 
 
 343 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 festation which is not of the spirit of God. God is, and 
 His law is vitally implanted in man's spirit, and this is " the 
 enabling power, not ourselves, which makes for righteousness." 
 
 p mo. 5. — Of late I have frequently held forth the neces- 
 sity of more faith in God and dependence upon Him, a quality 
 of spirit described by Jesus as poverty of spirit, which " is the 
 kingdom of heaven." " I know," saith the prophet, " that it 
 is not in man that walketh to direct his steps aright." Now 
 God is the Father of all and is in all; He is in all men by 
 reason of His omnipresence ; but all do not abide in Him, and 
 hence many wither away as branches of the true vine or the 
 true life, and the order of God, for He is Order, and man 
 is created in the likeness of heavenly order ; and as he abides 
 in this, he abides in God, and loves truth supremely. Hence 
 harmony is the true rest of the soul, and as it is conceived 
 aright it becomes the mediator, drawing even those who seem 
 to be at contraries into unison unto it and to each other. 
 
 I have objected to the term growth,* as it has a material 
 significance, and tends to give the exoteric a still more exalted 
 opinion of themselves. It is a proper term as applied to a 
 tree, or other phenomenal existence; but the soul is a form 
 of life itself, and stands related as a recipient to the one Good, 
 which is manifest in all men, and is life and love, and truth 
 and order itself. Last First-day I quoted that beautiful pas- 
 sage (Rex. xxi. 11) as an illustration: "Having the glory 
 of God ; and her light was like unto a stone most precious." 
 Thus there are different qualities of soul, — some reflect light 
 as the diamond. These different qualities are admirably de- 
 scribed (Rev. xxi. 19,20)," as all manner of precious stones." 
 Portraying the different " foundations" as jasper, sapphire, 
 chalcedony, emerald, etc. But the spirit may lose its original 
 lustrp and become dark and dull, and as of the earth, earthy. 
 
 * The growth is the birth or formation of Christ in man ; he is quick- 
 ened, and is the son of " the woman,'' " made of a woman," the church, 
 of which God is the Father, and man the mother, and in Christ we are 
 complete. 
 
 344 
 
THE DIVINE ORDER 
 
 It is the Spirit that quickeneth, and as the soul abides 
 (trusts) in Him it is quickened by the Spirit of truth, and 
 is kept alive to God, and becomes thus receptive or co-opera- 
 tive; for a state of receptivity in heavenly things is co-opera- 
 tive and promotive of divine good; the difiference being 
 between life and death, harmony and discord. The flesh 
 profiteth nothing, and the letter killeth. These of themselves 
 hinder that conjunction which is not possible unless it be 
 reciprocal and co-operative. Herein we become consecrated 
 through a new and living way, " through the veil, that is to 
 say, his flesh." We understand this fleshly veil, that it profit- 
 eth nothing. That in our weakness is His strength perfected, 
 and that the perfection of the creature is in abiding in the 
 divine order, harmony, and government. 
 
 God's love is as real in the sinner as in the saint; in each 
 it is a positive force and ceaseless energy for good. It at- 
 tracts and repels, — attracts the good and the true and repels 
 the evil and the false. It justifies or reconciles the upright 
 and condemns through its righteous judgments the prodigal 
 soul. He is thus in all men, but not in all in the same degree 
 or quality. He is a " consuming fire" to all that is false and 
 unrighteous in all men, of all conditions, and is graciousness 
 and infinite consolation unto the truthful and virtuous heart 
 everywhere. The spirit of adoption is his who can truly 
 say Abba, Father, and this is the Holy Spirit. It is a quality 
 of spirit in which God is in us, metonymically and metaphor- 
 ically speaking, as in the Scriptures it is declared, it " is 
 the mystery of godliness, who was manifest in the flesh, 
 justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gen- 
 tiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." 
 
 As respects growth, it is "being fruitful in every good 
 work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." * In other 
 words, He descends in us and manifests Himself to us, — the 
 
 * In the divine life there are ebbings and flowings, action and reaction. 
 The golden mean being " between the cherubim." Away from all ex- 
 tremes it is we read God is to be found. (Ps. xc. i.) 
 
 34S 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Infinite to the finite, — and we realize the prayer of Paul for 
 the Ephesians : " that ye might be filled with all the fulness 
 of God." And this word is thus used in the Scriptures not 
 infrequently to designate the descent of the Spirit, as we 
 read that Jesus was filled with wisdom, and that Paul and 
 Peter were " filled with the Holy Ghost !" 
 
 And as regards man's volition in the good that he does, 
 it should always be from the likeness after which hp is 
 modelled, — the good, the true, and the beautiful. Herein he 
 is preserved from all vanity and egotism, and attributes neither 
 good nor truth to his own proprium as a man; but on the 
 contrary, obeying the law of causation, which is first-born 
 of every rational creature, he ascribes wisdom and truth and 
 purity unto the fountain-head in which all life and all good- 
 ness exists. Thus " we work the works of Him that sent 
 us while it is day, for the night cometh wherein no man can 
 work." The principal cause and the individual cause acting 
 together as one cause, in harmony and in assimilation, and 
 man's peace is assured in the continual increase of the knowl- 
 edge of God, not only by and through presentative intui- 
 tion, but also by and through conceptual reason, whereby 
 wisdom is evolved in the divine order and economy in accord- 
 ance with the law that we are members one cf another, and 
 were intended to be the helpmates of each other even in the 
 things of heavenly harmony, doing good and communicating 
 one unto another, giving the glory and the honor unto Him 
 who hath conferred His graciousness unto all who avail them- 
 selves of the means offered and the benefits bequeathed ! 
 
 10 mo. I. — During the past two months I have appointed 
 several meetings among those of other societies, and have 
 frequently had to testify against that plan of imputation 
 which makes " Christ the minister of sin," and against which 
 Paul protested, saying, "God forbid!" The apostle's doc- 
 trine of justification is indissolubly connected with the idea 
 of Christ's indwelling and imparting life and power. And 
 as it is well said, "the original meaning of ^txaida is to 
 
 346 
 
INNER RIGHTEOUSNESS 
 
 make righteous." Thus Paul is frequently misrepresented 
 by reason of theological prepossesions, for he did not 
 teach that Christ's righteousness was a substitute for a lack 
 of righteousness, but that the gospel is the power of God unto 
 salvation, and it is such a power because it is " God's right- 
 eousness revealed from faith to faith." The apostle, it is true, 
 treats of imputation in a subsidiary manner by way of illus- 
 trating particular portions of the Old Testament, as, for in- 
 stance , concerning the Paschal Lamb,* whose blood was to be 
 sprinkled on the door-posts to save the Israelites from de- 
 struction, for "almost all things by the law are purged by 
 blood, and without the shedding of blood is no remission." 
 The apostle was a Jew, and was writing ^o the Jews who 
 had settled at Rome, calling them to the life of Christ, wherein 
 henceforth a man is " dead to sin and living to God," through 
 an inner righteousness flowing from Himself in a new crea- 
 tion in Christ. To the Romans he speaks "of the gift of 
 God being eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." The force 
 of Paul's doctrine is often lost in our version, ev not being 
 rightly rendered, as in the above it is translated " through."t 
 Thus conventional ideas attached to words are often a great 
 hinderance to a right understanding of the apostolic writings, 
 as, for instance, salvation means safety as much from sin 
 as from anything else. 
 
 The apostle held that faith must produce likeness to God, 
 and hence was the enabling power by which men were justi- 
 fied or made righteous, through His life flowing into their 
 hearts as the efficient and operating cause. Paul and the 
 fourth evangelist inform us of the nature of this inner prin- 
 ciple clearer than the Synoptists do. To the exoteric, Christ 
 was preached as " crucified ;" they, " requiring a sign," were 
 " not able to bear strong meat," but unto them that were called 
 
 * Ex. xii. 7, 13. 
 
 t Through being retained, with the understanding that it means 
 through the mind and faith and obedience of Jesus manifest in us. 
 
 347 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 (esoteric), " Christ the power of God, and the wisdom 
 OF God," was freely declared. 
 
 Our aged sister Mary Levis, in a discourse at Abington 
 Meeting yesterday, in speaking of the scriptural phrase, " Our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," explained this phrase as 
 but a synonym of the inward law of light in the soul. This 
 was unquestionably Paul's meaning and intent, as he says to 
 the Romans by way of explanation that "Jesus Christ was 
 a minister to the circumcision for the truth of God." And 
 pre-eminent was he (Jesus) in faith, in virtue, and in life; 
 so much so that the brethren used his name as but another 
 name for the Light. In him dwelt the Christ in fulness 
 and in oneness with the Father, but not exclusively in him did 
 the apostle teach that God's anointing dwelt, for he says, 
 " I live, but not I, Christ liveth in me." 
 
 So in the Old Testament is Wisdom personified. " I loved 
 HER, and sought her out from my youth ; I desired to make 
 HER my spouse, and I was a lover of her beauty." And in 
 Mark ix. 50, the arcana of the gospel is also fully pointed 
 to : " Salt is good ; but if the salt have lost his saltness, 
 wherewith will you season it. Have salt in yourselves, and 
 have peace one with another." Also John xiv. 17 designates 
 the Spirit of truth as " He that may abide with you for ever; 
 whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, 
 neither knoweth Him ; but ye know Him ; for He dwelleth 
 in you, and shall be in you." 
 
 Herein is a rational and sensible explanation suited to 
 the positive nature of man, for his spirit delights not in 
 empty negations. " The world," that is the uninitiated, can- 
 not receive the Divine sense which Jesus came to fulfil (to 
 restore) to the Scriptures. They search them in the letter, 
 which killeth sense and reason; but ye will not come to Me 
 to be quickened by the Spirit of truth, that ye may under- 
 stand them as they were written by the pen of truth, for with- 
 out a parable spake I not unto you. 
 
 10 mo. 6. — 'We had a wonderfully favored meeting at 
 
 348 
 
TRUE FAITH 
 
 Abington to-day, at which I had considerable to communicate, 
 and never did I experience more clearly the constraining 
 power of the gospel ! It has been for days past the wintry 
 season with me, and the tide of feeling has indeed been ebb- 
 tide. An experienced friend said that I was much favored 
 in the ministry, but abasement and not aboundings it is for 
 me to feel! May I be patient and watchful in this wintry 
 season of the soul, ever maintaining my trust and faith, that 
 in His own good time the Infinite One may again lighten my 
 darkness by the light of His love. 
 
 10 mo. 10. — The momentousness of God's will and word 
 pulsating in the spiritual heart of humanity is the doctrine 
 upon which and in which I must ground all my hopes and 
 aspirations for happiness, peace, and assurance, both in this 
 life as well as in the life to come. Simple and beautiful is 
 this faith, and it stands in correlation, I am persuaded, with 
 divine love and wisdom, and is the very essence of the re- 
 ligion which Jesus enjoined, " living by every word that pro- 
 ceeds out of the mouth of God." 
 
 This is a condition which is to be waited for as well as 
 labored after. It is continual ceasing to do evil and learning 
 to do well, and a faith in something else than this is irrelevant. 
 It is a faith in which there is no conscience; correspondingly 
 with it there is nothing good or wise, and the common sense of 
 mankind rejects it as vain juggling at best. But that faith 
 which WORKS by love, and which is conjoined to wisdom's 
 ways,' is a faith the end of which is a heaven more transcend- 
 ent than the heart of man can conceive. Herein the Infinite 
 One deals out the largeness of salvation so as not to spoil 
 even His angels, and to His servants in the flesh, they are 
 often beggars for light, hence the beatitude, " Blessed are 
 the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 
 Herein, O my soul, wait thou and trust, desiring neither 
 aboundings nor abasement ; but trust thou in the dispensations 
 of either the fire or the flood, that these may be for the best. 
 Live thou, then, upon that which is convenient for thee, de- 
 
 349 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 siring not great things, but be willing to live in humble 
 dependence upon the All-Father's will, on that kind of food 
 which makes thee little and poor and lowly among men. 
 
 10 mo. 13. — Attended to-day a large funeral at one of our 
 neighboring meeting-houses, and at which I was favored to 
 be a silent traveller, which I esteem a great favor, the answer 
 being great peace unto my spirit. All true ministry is moved 
 and animated by God, and it gathers unto Him. 
 
 10 mo. 75. — I am a man of sorrows and acquainted with 
 
 grief ; but if it be needful for me to drink the cup of penury, 
 
 " if it will not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will 
 
 be done." 
 
 " Keep me little, keep me low, 
 Lead me, Lord, where'er I go !" 
 
 10 mo. 16. — I was much interested in reading (Heb. v. 
 7) : " Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up 
 prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto 
 him that was able to save him from death, and was heard 
 in that he feared." Herein has the offering been made, and 
 this great fear (reverence) experienced, the fear of offending 
 Him who is alone able to save, and peace, sweet peace, has 
 been the answer. The called of God have many baptisms 
 to endure, many trials to encounter, many temptations to 
 overcome, that they may not be exalted, but be kept in a state 
 of constant watchfulness and humility. May I ever bear in 
 remembrance the trials of the wintry season which I have had 
 to endure for some weeks past, and may they enable me to 
 live more to God and less to the world ! 
 
 10 mo. 24. — Was wonderfully helped in the ministry last 
 First-day, and was rewarded by the great Paymaster. 
 My subject was that the primal spring of all true religion 
 was in the feeling of need and want, and is founded and 
 grounded in a sense of dependence, which nothing in man 
 as man, or nothing in this world can satisfy. It is an abso- 
 lute want, which implies and affirms the absolute and the 
 Infinite to satisfy its need. 
 
 350 
 
EXPERIENCES 
 
 Notwithstanding this bright inspiration unto my spirit, 
 still my soul is in the midst of want. A need that naught 
 can satisfy, but Thou, O Infinite One. Naught but a sense of 
 Thy helping hand can suffice. Nothing but the continued 
 consciousness of Thy presence can fill the aching void in this 
 the wintry season of my soul. Amen. 
 
 11 mo. IS- — Returned home from Baltimore Yearly Meet- 
 ing, at the closing session of which I had to declare that I 
 was renewedly convinced of the truth that man knew nothing 
 of himself of the Gift of God; and that it was only by the 
 spirit of God that he knew the things of God. The call made 
 to humility and holiness did not please some, but I was con- 
 soled with the unity and travail of such minds as my dear 
 companion Anthony Livzey, as well as Chalkly Gillingham, 
 Darlington Hoopes, and others. 
 
 Yesterday I attended the funeral of Elias H. Corson, at 
 which I had to testify " that ye are complete in Christ." This 
 thought brought unto my soul precious evidence in the 
 peace afforded, as well as the manifestation attending, 
 that the witness was met in minds whereunto the word was 
 sent. 
 
 I was much encouraged, in view of my contemplated visit 
 to Virginia, by a letter received from my dear sister in Christ, 
 Anna A. Reynolds, containing this sentiment: "Although 
 the hills should melt, and the mountains be removed, yet the 
 covenant of my peace shall not be broken, nor my kindness 
 depart from thee, saith the Lord, that hath shown mercy on 
 thee." May I take no counsel but of the Eternal, or seek 
 any covering but of His Spirit. If I do, the " woe" the 
 prophet knew will be unto me. 
 
 12 mo. 4. — At my home again after an absence from our 
 meeting of some five weeks, having travelled near twelve 
 hundred miles in pursuance of a concern for which a certifi- 
 cate was granted me last spring by my friends, which I hope 
 now to return. I have attended or appointed meetings in 
 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Wash- 
 
 3SI 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 ington City, sometimes with great comfort and sometimes in 
 affliction. 
 
 I called yesterday on a friend who is sick in body and 
 mind. Troubled is he also because men do not believe in 
 Jesus enough. I tried to comfort him, felt sorrow for him, 
 as I do for those who are wedded unto a superstitious love of 
 Jesus as a God, and see him not as a Helper, a Friend, and 
 Brother, — " Meek and lowly of heart." In this sense I can 
 say, — 
 
 " Jesus, there is no dearer name than Thine, 
 
 Which time has blazoned on his mighty scroll; 
 No wreaths nor garlands ever did entwine 
 So fair a temple of so vast a soul." 
 
 The tide of divinity rose high in his spirit, few have com- 
 prehended his thought, because they have not applied it to 
 life. Their meat has not been, as his was, to do the will 
 of the All-Father and to finish His work, and hence have not 
 felt his presence as a pure influence flowing into their 
 souls. Men have indeed parted his raiment and cast lots for 
 the seamless garment of eternal truth. But, alas, many have 
 read the lesson amiss, and see not reflected the brightness 
 of his glory, the image of his presence ; in a word, the like- 
 ness of God in which "the Son of man" is created. They 
 understand not his speech because they hear not his word. 
 And yet we read as a saying of his, " Whoso doeth the will 
 of God, the same is my mother, my sister and my brother." 
 " For which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren." 
 Also, his message through the woman was " to my brethren." 
 This is the tender relation which he now bears unto hu- 
 manity the wide world over, — ^A Saviour, A Friend, and a 
 Brother. 
 
 12 mo. 5. — In reading over the above, its truth was sealed 
 upon mine understanding in the flow of heavenly love to my 
 soul ; for since it was written, I have had access in an unusual 
 degree unto the presence chamber of divine grace, and can 
 
 352 
 
THE RESTITUTIONIST 
 
 truly speak of Jesus as " lover of my soul." And hence I 
 can teach the doctrine to others feelingly, — 
 
 " That he on whom Madonna smiled 
 Shared his own birthright with each mother's child." 
 
 1878. 
 
 I mo. 7. — During the past month I have had considerable 
 to communicate in the ministry. This was especially the 
 case yesterday, at a meeting to which Friends and friendly 
 people had been invited. On which occasion the sovereignty 
 of God was vindicated, and the best means set forth by which 
 He gives the increase. That we by our own volition should 
 seek Him still as Creator and Maker of our lives, working in 
 us, and we working out our salvation in accordance with the 
 divine harmony and order. It was stated that the gospel 
 was His ordinance of preservation from sin and transgression, 
 and that they that pro.sper love Him, and asking aright receive 
 not amiss. 
 
 Allusion was made to the recent discussion on retribution 
 by Canon Farrar and others, in which I stated that I hoped 
 that the idea of the restitutionist was the true doctrine. 
 There is certainly reason and Scripture for it, viz., "The 
 dead live not again till a thousand years." (Rev. xx. 5.) 
 And I can say that this " dead" state has been revealed to me 
 as one not beyond the hope of a final resurrection. 
 
 The state of disinclination to love and worship God was 
 feelingly addressed, and a common-sense view of the iden- 
 tity of man's interest was held up in that we were intended to 
 be helpers one unto another, and that the Father aideth such 
 to worship Him aright in spirit and in truth. I was made a 
 sharp threshing instrument towards the indifferent and luke- 
 warm, who were neither hot nor cold. They were shown 
 that the nature of the carnal mind was one of enmity to God, 
 and that this accusation of the apostle was the sum of all 
 that could be brought as a charge against the impenitent and 
 unregenerate. 
 
 23 3S3 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Brainerd said "my soul breathed after God for a double 
 portion of His Spirit, and I saw that He was the same as 
 in the days of EUjah." FeeUng this same desire, and know- 
 ing that if the unction of the Holy Spirit be not in a sermon, 
 it falls to the ground. My great desire is that He may 
 continue to be as of late unto me mouth, tongue, and utter- 
 ance to the people. And that I may cease from my own la- 
 bors. He working in me to will and to do, and that as an 
 instrumental cause I shall merely react as an agency by and 
 through whom the divine anointing may flow to others. 
 Thus that I may minister to His glory and honor without 
 one thought of self while thus engaged, and thus that I may 
 not seek to please either the people or mine own self while 
 preaching, but Thou only who art the truth. 
 
 I mo. ly. — I spent last Third-day with my friend Lucretia 
 Mott and family, bringing home with me Lord Amberly's 
 new book. Lucretia related to me the details of his acquaint- 
 ance with her. On their return to England they named their 
 daughter after her. The following extract impressed me 
 as very truthful : 
 
 " Moreover, as the religious sentiment in the mind perceives its object, 
 the ultimate being, so that being is conceived as making itself known to 
 the mind of man through the religious sentiment. A reciprocal relation 
 is thus established; the unknowable causing a peculiar intuition, the 
 mind of man receiving it. We need not discard such feelings as idle 
 delusions. In form they are fanciful and erroneous; in substance they 
 are genuine and true. And in a higher sense the adherent of the universal 
 religion may himself admit their title to a place in his nature. To use 
 the words of a great philosopher, ' he, like every other man, may con- 
 sider himself as one of the myriad agencies through whom the unknown 
 cause works;' he, too, may feel that when the unknown cause produces 
 in him a certain belief, he is thereby authorized to profess and act out 
 that belief." (Spencer's " First Principles," second edition, 34, p. 123.) 
 
 Amberly also, on page 707, in speaking on the same theme 
 of direct relation between subject and object, further says, 
 "The sense of an intuitional perception of that object, the 
 sense of undefinable similarity thereto, the sense of inspiration 
 
 354 
 
"LORD" AMBERLY 
 
 and of guidance thereby, are included under and rendered 
 intelligible by the actual identity in their ultimate natures 
 of the subject and object of religious feeling." 
 
 Lord Amberly's book is an exhaustive history and exam- 
 ination of the different manifestations of the religious senti- 
 ment, chiefly as to external phases among mankind, and 1 
 arise from a perusal of his work again convinced that, not- 
 withstanding the many delusions of frail humanity, the truth 
 is clear and bright, and feel willing to subscribe the following 
 as my creed : The Unconditional Good is ever manifest to the 
 souls of His rational intelligent beings, as Maker of right- 
 eousness, peace, or immortality, and that this is pure faith 
 and undefiled in its true internal and subjective phase. That as 
 water is impelled onward by the normal force of gravitation, 
 that even so is man being attracted and influenced to a life of 
 harmony, virtue, and truth by an ultimate and inherent ele- 
 ment which is ever correlate with all that is good, and pure, 
 and beautiful. And that in this faith is ever to be found the 
 unity of the spirit which is the perfect bond of peace; that 
 all those who live in it are drawn one towards the other by 
 the power and influence of the One Good, whose workings 
 are internal and subjective. Purifying and cleansing in their 
 operations, always tending to harmony and oneness as be- 
 tween the fountain and source of light and life, and all the 
 streams and currents thereof. And, further, that all the strife, 
 contention, bigotry, and persecutions which have caused such 
 gloomy and fearful consequences to man have ever been cor- 
 relate with that which is useless, fruitless, and deleterious 
 to the cause of true religion, having originated in that element 
 and form which is outward and objective in its character 
 and aim, tending always to separate and alienate between the 
 human and the divine, because spiritual things have kindred 
 and reciprocal relations with spiritual things, and necessarily 
 cannot infringe, pass over, and become a part of that which 
 is of an alien nature and character. Hence it is written, " It 
 is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing." 
 
 355 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 2 mo. 2. — In view of future labors in the ministry, I can 
 say with Hugh Judge that this afternoon a living spring was 
 opened within me of gospel love while sitting by my quiet 
 fireside to them that are afar off, and have seen that my 
 strength will be found " in quietness and in confidence." In 
 knowing and realizing, as the prophet has written, that " the 
 Eternal is a God of judgment; blessed are all they that wait 
 for Him." 
 
 2 mo. 12. — During the past week I have attended Phila- 
 delphia Quarterly Meeting, our own, and also the funeral 
 of my friend Cyrus Pierce, who lived in this life over ninety 
 years. At our Quarterly (Abington), S. P. Gardener and 
 J. J. Cornell were in attendance. It was a meeting to be 
 remembered. Yesterday I attended Race Street Meeting, 
 and, although my testimony was by some rejected, yet on 
 my way home in the cars the ministry of the Spirit was unto 
 my soul in a peculiar manner, with comfort, peace, and 
 melody, utterly beyond the power of man to produce. Like 
 Pythagoras, I heard "the harmony of the spheres." En- 
 couragement was given to proceed in the concern for which 
 a minute was granted me by my friends at our last Monthly 
 Meeting as truth may direct. 
 
 The spirit of man can become correlate with the spirit of 
 God by and through the establishment of harmonious rela- 
 tions with Him. 
 
 3 mo. 28. — In pursuance of the above-mentioned concern, 
 I have recently attended meetings in Philadelphia and other 
 places, have held nine at the penitentiary and in the city prison. 
 They were considered by the friends who were with me as 
 favored opportunities. I have had encouiraging testimonies 
 to declare, and the gospel of glad tidings to proclaim to 
 the prisoners, being blessed with a feeling sense of their con- 
 ditions. What I had to communicate was received with 
 attention, respect, and interest, for which my mind has been 
 clothed with thankfulness and peace, and the desire in- 
 creasingly felt that more faith in the power of the word of 
 
 3S6 
 
THEODORE PARKER 
 
 life may be exhibited. At the recent Haddonfield Quarterly 
 
 I was not instant in season, on account of which erratum must 
 
 be recorded. May the fear of man never again daunt me 
 
 when the word of faith is given, being ever willing to humble 
 
 myself before the exoteric, becoming of " no reputation" to 
 
 them, becoming " obedient unto death, even the death of the 
 
 cross." This is my humble desire this evening, that thus 
 
 the Eternal may be my exceeding joy, and that our God 
 
 may be my all in all. As dear Theodore Parker said, may 
 
 I " lie low in the hand of the Father, smiling with the delight 
 
 of the most triumphant trust." 
 
 "These surface troubles come and go 
 Like rufflings of the sea ; 
 The deeper depth is out of reach 
 To all, my God, but Thee." 
 
 4 mo. 4. — Our meeting was to-day a silent one as regards 
 outward speech. In it I was encouraged with a feeling 
 remembrance of Luke xi. 28, wherein we read Jesus said, 
 " Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." 
 Encouragement was given me to go forward in the work 
 assigned unto me, — preaching the gospel of glad tidings unto 
 the poor and needy without fear, favor, or affection, resting 
 entirely on Him " that bringeth forth an instrument for his 
 work; and I have created the waste to destroy: no weapon 
 that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue 
 that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn; 
 this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their 
 righteousness is of me, saith the Eternal." 
 
 ^ mo. 31.— At our late Monthly Meeting I returned the 
 certificate granted me last First month with the information 
 that I had accomplished the object which I had in view, to 
 the peace and satisfaction of mind and thought. In this 
 concern I have labored to call men's spirits to divine or per- 
 manent knowledge, and to the subordination of the objective 
 and temporary, to the subjective and spiritual. Or in other 
 language, have called men to faith, which is but a synoflym 
 
 357 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 for enlightened reason, a tendency to make all things tribu- 
 tary to the ever advancing glory of God. Thus the soul is 
 fed with objects commensurate to and with the faculties 
 with which it is endowed. Many teachers are abroad on 
 the earth whose philosophy has been so well designated by 
 Emerson : 
 
 " The horseman serves the horse, 
 The neat-herd serves the neat, 
 The merchant serves the purse, 
 
 The eater serves his meat; 
 'Tis the day of the chattel, 
 
 Web to weave, corn to grind; 
 Things are in the saddle. 
 And ride mankind." 
 
 Mighty and irrepressible is the conflict between object 
 and subject. Though as between Goethe and Schiller, a 
 harmonious and productive alliance should be concluded, as 
 Goethe wrote to his friend, " which remained unbroken, and 
 resulted in much profit to ourselves and others." 
 
 p mo. II. — At our meeting on the 8th inst. my text was 
 " God is present in every human spirit," as the substance of 
 the teaching of George Fox. In illustrating this, I quoted 
 (John X. 34, 35), "Ye are gods. If he called them gods, 
 unto whom the word of God came," etc., which contains the 
 same idea as that expressed by Goethe : 
 
 " Were not the eye itself a sun, no sun for it could ever shine. 
 By nothing noble could the heart be won were not the heart divine.'' 
 
 I distinguished between the spirit of man that loves, hates, 
 fears, designs, contrives, and adapts means to ends, and that 
 substrate, called soul (life), to which the word of God comes. 
 That it is only as the mind or spirit of man becomes still, or 
 "poor" (Matt. v. 3), that it can hear the true voice of wis- 
 dom (that this is the divinity, or Son of God), which hears 
 its Father's voice. And that the great work of man is to 
 bring his mind into a condition of passivity to distinguish, 
 so that his spirit can rejoice in God his Saviour, through 
 
 358 
 
SOCRATES 
 
 " the overshadowing of the power of the Highest." (Luke 
 '• 35- ) 
 
 Thus he comes to be born of the "incorruptible seed," in 
 which he receives new powers, new perceptions, new senses,— 
 m a word, the new birth or new life he lives to God. 
 
 Herein is worship unto the Father, and, as Sarah Grubb 
 has written, " The brotherhood can salute each other in spirit 
 and in word; and hail all those who like Mary are bearing 
 precious seed." 
 
 The prayer of Jesus for his " friends" was that they might 
 be one, " even as we are one." And the great work of the 
 spirit of man is to know and to find the Holy Spirit, in which . 
 his mind and manifestations become one with the pure seed 
 of life, or substrate, or Son of God, in him, having received 
 dominion in oneness with the Everlasting Father and the 
 Prince of Peace. 
 
 The pure soul's * mode of existence we cannot comprehend, 
 neither can we the essence or mode of the existence of matter; 
 but we know of their different properties, and that they can 
 only exist in connection with the principle from which they 
 result, for the quality of a substance must bear strict relation 
 to the substance itself. And in order for the soul to be a 
 "partaker of the Divine Nature," as it is affirmed in the Scrip- 
 tures, it must be itself divine (as a capacity or seed), point- 
 ing to the substance in which it inheres, and to which it is 
 correlative. Thus the soul, as Socrates taught, " will never 
 receive that which is contrary to what it carries in its bosom." 
 It is pure from the presence of Purity, and immortal from 
 the presence of the Eternal, as life cannot receive its contrary, 
 which is death, or purity its opposite, which is vice. Thus 
 the soul, while perfectly a soul, is not capable of sin, for the 
 things participating in their nature take their denomination 
 from them. And thus the seed's voice (Christ) is ever 
 "without sin unto salvation." Though while in the flesh the 
 
 * Psuche, life. See revised edition of New Testament. 
 359 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 sensuous nature often crucifies the son of God (apparently) 
 among thieves. From this the wilHng mind may learn what 
 the crucifixion of Christ's flesh stands for, and thus that man's 
 spirit may become obedient, and be made perfect through 
 sufiferings, learning even of those thieves (excess and defi- 
 ciency) who steal and rob us of peace and happiness. And 
 thus he (Christ) may become the author of eternal salvation 
 unto all them that obey Him. 
 
 " But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even 
 the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world 
 unto our glory." (i Cor. ii. 7.) 
 
 p mo. 17. — In view of the travail and labor which seem to 
 be my lot as a servant of Jesus, I am greatly desirous that 
 his gracious presence may lead me more and more to know 
 of the hidden manna, and to depend entirely upon the 
 movings of the key of David, — His shuttings as well as His 
 openings as the only way of safety. 
 
 **^ 12 mo. p. — ^Attended the Doylestown Meeting yesterday, 
 at which the friends of Henry T. Darlington, recently de- 
 mised, had been affectionately invited. It was a large and 
 satisfactory meeting, at which doctrine and counsel flowed 
 without obstruction. 
 
 A few months since I had a clear opening to attend the 
 meetings in Bucks Quarter, after notice had been given on 
 alternate First-days; but after attending three of them the 
 way suddenly closed up, much to my wonder and edification. 
 Herein being instructed and admonished to watch and mind 
 Christ in his appearing: 
 
 " Who listens to his inward voice 
 Alone of him shall know." 
 
 1879. 
 
 I mo. 2. — I have been reading " Ecce Homo," and though 
 it contains many good things, yet I do not agree with its 
 author's view that Jesus " assumed inexpressible personal 
 rank and dignity, requiring of his disciples personal devo- 
 
 360 
 
ISAAC PENINGTON 
 
 tion," etc. Nor do I think that such texts as he adduces at 
 all sustain his position. Take Mark xii. 35, 36, for instance, 
 which he brings forward. It clearly alludes to " Christ the 
 wisdom and the power of God" as the true Messianic idea. 
 I am satisfied that "the secret of the Eternal" is only re- 
 vealed to them who wait upon Him ; " by feeling and know- 
 ing," as I. Penington says, "the Lamb in our vessels, we 
 know also what was the Lamb in his vessel." Elias Hicks 
 was right when he said that "Jesus never directed to him- 
 self," and this clearly is the case as in John xii. 49; xiv. 
 16, 17 and xvi. 7. In the first text it is written, " I have 
 not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me." In 
 the second, another Comforter is allucied to, "that he may 
 be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth whom the 
 world cannot receive, because it seeth him not." And in 
 the last text quoted, the "expediency" of his (Jesus) passing 
 away is with great emphasis pointed out, for if " I go not away, 
 the Comforter will not come unto you." Human language 
 cannot be stronger or be more emphatic than this, — that the 
 Holy Spirit, which is used as an interchangeable term in the 
 text with that of the Comforter, — cannot be received by the 
 world who looketh outwardly. Whittier, in his recent poem, 
 has very clearly pointed to this : 
 
 " For the dead Christ, not the living, ye watch an empty grave. 
 Whose life alone writhin you has power to bless and save." 
 
 At the close of a meeting of worship in New York, Lu- 
 cretia Mott relates that Elias Hicks thus dismissed the large 
 audience after Anna Brathwaite, an English Friend, had tired 
 its patience : " To the Christ who was never crucified, to the ' 
 Christ that was never slain, to the Christ who can never die, 
 I commend yoii with my own soul." 
 
 Jesus clearly taught that man was a representative of the 
 Eternal, " unto whom the word of God came." * The evan- 
 
 * John X. 35. 
 361 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 gelist has clearly preserved here a genuine saying of Jesus, 
 and it is the soul of his method and secret in which is a spe- 
 cial call and opportunity to each and to all men. And herein 
 it is written, "Thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of 
 gladness above thy fellows." This Jesus unquestionably felt 
 and knew. The difference, however, in the degree of his 
 anointing and that of his disciples he taught them was the 
 difference of faith ; because of their " little faith" * it was that 
 they were deficient in power. And so in the parable of the 
 fig-tree that was cursed, the lesson inculcated was : " Have 
 faith in God." This is the sum and substance of the truth 
 as it is in Jesus, and which is but another name for absolute 
 truth. 
 
 Faith in the kingdom of God, which is within the soul, 
 was the test and call by which all were to be tried: "I 
 came not to judge the world, but to save the world." " The 
 word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him." What 
 was this but "the righteousness that is by faith"? It was 
 not conventional goodness which was the root of the matter ; 
 that might be mere easiness of temper, and the other virtues 
 mere forms of pedantry and culture. These were not the 
 tests he inculcated. It was faith in God to which all the 
 virtues were to be trained, as the bean to the pole, and the 
 ivy to the wall. Faith was the word Jesus introduced into 
 the vocabulary of the world in a prominent manner, and with- 
 out which we cannot be Christ's disciples. And this faith 
 was living, operative, fealty, — not a dead faith, — not mere 
 outward observances, but a fidelity which worked by love 
 to the purification of the heart. 
 
 And thus there was an irrepressible conflict, an irrecon- 
 cilable difference, between the Jew that was outward and 
 the meek and lowly Jesus ; so in this day he comes " to bring 
 fire upon earth." Their understanding of the Messiah and 
 his created an antagonism, and that antagonism must con- 
 
 * Matt. xvii. 20. 
 362 
 
SENECA'S POSTULATE 
 
 tinue till all things are subject unto Him whose right it is 
 to reign. 
 
 What Jesus did in the power and dignity of his man- 
 hood was to assert the office to which he was elected, 
 " Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchis- 
 edec." And this is the heritage of all God's servants,— 
 poor and still dependent in spirit upon Him, but well know- 
 ing and asserting, too, "that no weapon that is formed 
 against thee shall prosper, and that every tongue that is 
 raised against thee thou shalt condemn." 
 
 I mo. 12.— We had a full meeting to-day, notice having 
 been given of my desire to see our members at last First- 
 day's meeting. My text was from Seneca, " that there is a 
 Holy Spirit throned in man as observer and guardian, and 
 as we draw near unto Him, that He will draw near unto us." 
 
 This I illustrated in a variety of ways, showing the differ- 
 ence between exact and physical science. That we knew of 
 the difference between right and wrong, as we knew of the 
 difference between a straight and a crooked line, by intuition, 
 which is God's tuition ; that we knew * of this without the 
 aid of eyes, or ears, or tongue, or pen. I pointed out the 
 difference between the kind of knowledge we possessed as 
 to the truth of this postulate of Seneca's, and the knowledge 
 we might possess concerning Seneca himself, as to whether 
 such a person ever lived; that this we only knew through 
 hearsay information, but that we might know of the truth 
 of the text by absolute and exact knowledge being postulated 
 in the mind by God Himself. 
 
 We had an interesting meeting, though I felt some- 
 what oppressed with a worldly f and doubting mind, and I 
 thought of the saying of Hobbes that " Men would doubt 
 the demonstrations of Euclid did they interfere with their 
 
 * Thus we are capable of knowing, and what we know is a reality. 
 t With the worldly mind there exists a universal disposition to pervert 
 and degrade the divine nature and character. 
 
 363 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 interests." Thus the worldly mind may doubt those neces- 
 sary and universal truths which do not depend upon con- 
 tingency, but upon consciousness, through that carnal per- 
 ception wherein passion and interest are dominant for the 
 time, for we must will the good before the understanding 
 can apprehend the true. The love of God is the gift of God, 
 and until this love finds an echo in the soul, we are enchained 
 in the concatenations of impulse and solicitation, and herein 
 we need not impeach the holiness of God to account for 
 erroneous conduct in sentiment. All is easily explained by 
 the wrong direction of the will, and I pointed out to my 
 hearers that man was not made for enjoyment or for sorrow, 
 but to will the will of God in all things, and to finish His 
 work while it is to-day; that our souls may be perfected by 
 the special means adapted to each and every condition by 
 Him who- seeth us as we are ; that we may thus advance in 
 the path of endless assimilation unto Himself. 
 
 I go forth from this time more consecrated to God and 
 to man in the preaching of the word; but more than ever 
 persuaded that the love of God is incommunicable; that no 
 man can be quickened by instrumental means except the 
 Father draw him. What need, then, of the method of Jesus 
 in the mind of the servant: He that will save his life shall 
 lose it ; he that will lose his life shall save it. 
 
 At the late Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting, as directed, 
 I gave voice to the following vision, which is rendered as 
 near verbatim as may be: I saw two reefs mid-ocean upon 
 which many a gallant ship had been wrecked, and I saw be- 
 neath the shining waters that these two had a common ori- 
 gin in one parentage, being an issue from the same deadly 
 rock. And I saw that these two reefs were a similitude 
 of dead works and dead faith, having a source in the same 
 original, viz., self-righteousness, and that dead works were 
 external observances and forms and creeds without the in- 
 ward life, and that dead faith was intellectual soundness of 
 belief separated from intrinsic and genuine spiritual activity 
 
 364 
 
FAITH IN GOD 
 
 spontaneously emanating from vital faith and abiding in it. 
 Except ye abide in me, you have no life in you. 
 
 And I saw the two branches of the Society of Friends which 
 separated fifty years ago, called Orthodox and Friends,— the 
 first largely abiding in " orthodox" opinions and in outward 
 peculiarities concerning the raiment of religion, and the latter 
 living considerably in dead faith consisting of intellectual 
 belief, having pride in sound morals and in innocency of 
 life. And I queried which was the better and which was 
 the worse of the twain? and I could not determine, for 
 "except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the 
 Scribeg and Pharisees, ye can in no case enter into the king- 
 dom of heaven." 
 
 And I saw that "faith in God" (Mark ii. 22) was what 
 was wanted to remove the mountains of doubt into the sea. 
 so that he "shall believe that those things which he saith 
 shall come to pass." That this was "faith as a grain of 
 mustard seed," a faith to which all our virtues should be 
 trained, without which they are nugatory and negptive. 
 That to these. Faith is what the wall is to the ivy, the trellis 
 to the vine, and the pole to the bean. It alone can support 
 and sustain them all. Certain writers tell us that Jesus on 
 one occasion lost patience with his disciples on their essaying 
 and failing in the cure of that lunacy which "ofttimes falleth 
 into the fire and oft into the water." Because of "little 
 faith" it is that maketh " a faithless and perverse generation," 
 even now as in the days of Jesus. And I care not what your 
 gifts, your culture in your attainments may be, if you have 
 not vital faith in the Eternal, you can never inherit the prom- 
 ise of that overcoming wherein " He will be our God, and 
 we shall be his sons," inheritors of the tree of life situated 
 in the midst of the paradise of God. It is not innocence 
 which is called for, but overcoming; we must be tried, and 
 we must be proved. 
 
 "Then know this truth, enough for man to know, 
 Virtue is the only happiness below.'' 
 36s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 As regards the raiment of religion, it is not unimportant 
 that the outside of the cup and platter be cleansed, and that 
 the garment thereof be seamless and without a rent. All 
 this will be vitalized by intrinsic moral quality and sentiment 
 if we abide in the true vine and root of life. Then we shall 
 realize alone the height and the depth attached as a mighty 
 meaning and vision to the first beatitude, which is the first 
 article in the constitution of the Christian's faith. Blessed 
 are the poor in spirit (the dependent on the Eternal), for 
 theirs is the kingdom (government) of heaven. 
 
 As the following letter relates to important doctrine, I 
 herewith insert it: 
 
 " EVERGREEK, 2 mO. 2S, 1879. 
 
 " My dear Friend, — I regret that personal communion is not more 
 frequently ours, but, though absent in the body, we can commune in spirit, 
 and also in this way. I was glad to receive the ' Stages of Faith' in the 
 more permanent form in which thou sent it. I put it with its fellow, the 
 ' Three Home Talks,' and read it over again with much interest, feeling 
 its spirit to be a bond of membership, ' one of another,' according as 
 thou sayest to the degree of insight, which means to me faith in the 
 Eternal to whom we come. I speak as it has been opened to me by the 
 ' Son,' or ' the water,' a type of the universal, signifying the opportunity, 
 ' blood' being typical of the Holy Spirit, in the Spirit of truth (John xiv. 
 16, 17), whom Jesus here calls ' another Comforter,' who has the property 
 of ' abiding with you for ever,' figuratively denoting the Holy Ghost, 
 (John xiv. 26), 'He shall teach you all things.' 
 
 "And coming here the ' servant may justify' or baptize many into the 
 name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, understandingly. 
 But we cannot come to the Son, except the Father draw us, and I hold 
 that this is the order in which men come, if ever, to God: they begin 
 in the Spirit as the Galatians, but often neglecting the opportunity of 
 increase, or the inbreathing of the Almighty (Gen. ii. 7), they become 
 foolish. The subtle serpent, a type of the multiform, in contradistinc- 
 tion to oneness or singleness of spirit and mind, ' said unto the woman. 
 Ye shall not surely die.' 
 
 " We have all sooner or later to go into the wilderness ; how remark- 
 able is Mark i. 12 herein. Now this was after hearing the voice (Mark 
 i. 11) : 'And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness,' 
 What a lesson to thee, O Proteus-shaped self-sufficiency, and herein, my 
 friend, many can cry, Peace, Peace, but to the contrary it is my lot to 
 declare, as I did at your meeting by the sea-side, ' days should speak, 
 and multitude of years should teach wisdom' (Job xxxii. 7), 'but out of 
 the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise.' 
 
 366 
 
INFINITE POWER 
 
 " Now the wisdom and the goodness of our God are manifold, but 
 with these are manifold presentations (i Peter i. 6), so that when we 
 issue from the wilderness, we have the pinnacle of the temple and the 
 high mountain to contend with. 
 
 "The path to me is a rugged one, and thus I have to declare, as 
 Euclid did to the king in respect to geometry, that there is no royal road 
 to heaven. I plainly see that we are all learners in the school of Christ, 
 — none of us learned, none of us wise, ' none good but One.' And ' when 
 the marriage of the Lamb is come' (the Spirit of Truth), 'and his wife 
 hath made herself ready,' it is, as thou hast truly said, by subordination 
 and submission that this oneness is accomplished, and in this sense it was 
 that our early friends saw that Paul wrote ' it is a shame for woman to 
 speak in the church.' 
 
 " The Holy Spirit I understand to denote the holy union of the twain 
 spoken of by Isaiah thus : ' Thy maker is thy husband ; the Lord of 
 hosts is his name.' This is the happy and joyful consummation pointed 
 to so largely in the Scriptures under the figure of marriage. And thus I 
 understand the Father as the fountain, the Son as the opportunity, and 
 the Holy Spirit as the consummation of that by which the ' Man Christ 
 Jesus' is symbolized as the mediator or the way to the Eternal, not as a 
 God afar off, but as one nigh at hand. 
 
 " In rereading the ' Stages of Faith,' I see that thou and I very nearly 
 agree in the view of the ' three witnesses,' — the Spirit signifying a direct 
 surrender of the human to the Divine. The summons, ' Come to the 
 waters,' being the ' divinely ordered march of mind.' 
 
 "As respects ' the blood,' thou hast given the inverted order, the neo- 
 phyte view, who layeth hold 'by violence,' in contradistinction of him 
 who eateth the flesh and drinketh the blood of the Son of Man. The 
 water being 'living' (spiritual) water (John iv. ii and 23), a well of 
 water springing up into everlasting life. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport.'' 
 
 An effort must be commensurate to its cause, and God 
 being Infinite and Eternal He is the producing cause of all 
 things; and so all things are the display of infinite power 
 in infinite variety, including infinite space. Hence, as there 
 cannot be another infinite space, so there cannot be another 
 infinite variety, — the idea Infinite and Eternal being a pure 
 thought, which admits of the conception but of one In- 
 finite and one Eternal. And as infinite power is as per- 
 fectly thinkable as is infinite space, so does infinite intelli- 
 gence denote one intelligence, by means of which we can 
 
 367 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 conceive infinite space, infinite power, and infinite intelligence, 
 infinite power including infinite intelligence as its producer. 
 Power as a productive cause being the highest evidence of 
 intelligence, either physical or mental, even in what we call 
 finite things. 
 
 But infinite productiveness presupposes infinite variety and 
 increase; and, as it is impossible to think of infinite cause 
 apart from infinite effect, it is apparent that finite intelligence 
 in its variety is related to infinite intelligence, being an effect 
 commensurate to its cause; there being no intelligence or 
 power apart or external to infinite intelligence* and power, 
 as there can be no space apart and distinct from infinite 
 space. 
 
 Now the particles of matter which constitute our bodies 
 are parts of the infinite variety existing in infinite space 
 These are eternal and indestructible, as are all things which 
 God has produced. But thought — mind — has no space re- 
 lations, and to think the thought eternal we must think be- 
 yond time and space relations of the Ever Existing and never- 
 ending (of which the circle is the symbol) as cause and effect, 
 because there can be no commencement to the production of 
 an effect from an Infinite Cause, and as a consequence there 
 never was a time when cause was and effect was not. This 
 being true in relation to the particles which compose our 
 bodies, it must be the case also with that living entity called 
 soul, which "proceedeth" (John viii. 42 and xv. 26) from 
 God as a living intelligence and power, as light proceeds 
 from the sun. 
 
 And as the human soul possesses a nature to increase and 
 to progress as a living intelligence and conscious entity, it 
 has an eternity to increase and to progress in its recipient 
 and productive capacity. And as there is but One Intelli- 
 gence as a principle, then Infinite Intelligence must be pres- 
 
 *The universe is infinitely intelligible; hence its origin must exist 
 in Infinite Intelligence. 
 
 368 
 
PURE INTELLIGENCE 
 
 ent as a "light," or "seed," as Jesus taught infinite intelli- 
 gence, because infinite intelligence must be infinite in con- 
 sciousness.* 
 
 Likewise the idea of Infinite and Eternal must be the 
 product of Pure Intelligence in us, because all other ideas are 
 more or less mixed with what the five senses cognize, and 
 can be traced to them as a result. This, however, has no ori- 
 gin but by the spirit of God, and hence the human soul pos- 
 sesses a consciousness of accountability. But there can be 
 no accountability without freedom, which freedom, with its 
 consequent reactionary power, is a product of Infinite In- 
 telligence. 
 
 Our souls knowing as a reality that we can stand in the 
 counsels and consequent freedom of pure intelligence, and 
 that in consequence of the reactionary power conferred that 
 we can become wanderers and aliens from the pure seed and 
 light, thus becoming separated from God and from the 
 Truth. Or, on the contrary, that we can become united 
 with Him, and live to Him, as a consciousness and a reality. 
 Realizing the moving power of His righteousness, drawing, 
 willing, impelling, contrary, often, to our feelings, prejudices, 
 and inclinations. Wherein we can say we work the works 
 of Him who sent us while it is to-day. 
 
 But suppose that man refuses to become " perfect in One" 
 (John xvii. 23), by and through his reactionary power as 
 a finite intelligence? What is the consequence of such a 
 procedure ? 
 
 Now, man is an organized being, having a body com- 
 posed of " the dust of the ground," possessing finite relations, 
 and an innermost Ego which is conscious of the mind and 
 the body, and therefore as an organization they are external 
 to it, as that which is known is external to that which knows. 
 And the question arises herein, if man is not at one with 
 
 ♦All intelligence with which we are acquainted is concious that it 
 knows. 
 
 24 369 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 God at the period of the demise of his body, what is the 
 state of his soul? He has passed through the condition of 
 change, of probation, and of tentation, having used his free- 
 dom and his intelligence in violation of the counsels of pure 
 intelligence, and in this condition he is left naked, and is thus 
 separated by his own volition from God and from the society 
 of enlightened spirits, which shall be for " a time, times and 
 a half." " Thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou 
 hast paid the uttermost farthing." 
 
 4 mo. 14. — Have been enabled of late, particularly yester- 
 day, to preach the gospel with great comfort unto my soul, 
 in the ability vouchsafed, by watching the stepping-stones, 
 keeping in the littleness, and striving after " few words." 
 At yesterday's meeting I was dull and oppressed with bodily 
 infirmity when I took my seat, but was made alive by the 
 quickening power of the Eternal and in that which proceeded 
 from Him, was given ability in a few words to touch other 
 minds with the gospel spirit, and was lead to declare that the 
 perfection of the gospel gift was as taught by Jesus, " Take 
 no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye 
 premeditate : but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, 
 that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy 
 Ghost." "^ Hence premeditation and study are in contraven- 
 tion to the gospel of Jesus, for it comes, if at all, as God's 
 gift immediately conferred, suited to those unto whom it is 
 sent. And I can speak in confirmation of Job Scott's ex- 
 perience (Vol. i., pages 224 and 227) of the " joy unspeak- 
 able and full of glory" which has followed faithfulness in 
 this respect. 
 
 " Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves 
 about with sparks : walk in the light of your fire, and in the 
 sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine 
 hand : ye shall lie down in sorrow." (Isa. 1. 11.) 
 
 4 mo. 21. — Attended the funeral of my beloved friend, 
 
 * Mark xiii. 11. 
 370 
 
THE ROCK 
 
 John J. White. It was a solemn occasion, "the peace of 
 God was in his looks." Our close friendship was a proof 
 that men can form a church one with the other and yet not 
 agree intellectually upon minor points concerning the law, 
 finding their agreement in the gospel of faith and good 
 works. 
 
 6 mo. I/. — Returned to my home with a peaceful mind 
 from New York, whither I went with a certificate from our 
 Monthly and Quarterly Meetings. I see much labor in that 
 State, and some in New England, if health and life are vouch- 
 safed in the future. The late Yearly Meeting in New York 
 was an edifying one, and with many dear friends was my soul 
 united in the gospel of love, notably with Samuel Willits, 
 Nathaniel S. Merrit, Hannah Haddock, Moses Pierce, Samuel 
 Haines, and many other precious friends. James W. Haines, 
 of Ohio, also attended the meeting. How greatly is he gifted, 
 even with the fire of genius and esprit, as much as any minis- 
 ter that I have ever met with. Nature has done much for 
 him with her gifts, and how ardent have been my desires 
 on his behalf, that he may be preserved in his glorious youth 
 from his many embarrassments, and become more firmly 
 fixed upon the rock eternal, which is a quality of mind 
 without spots or opaqueness, light shining through and 
 through, bringing every deed and every sentiment to bear 
 witness to the Truth. 
 
 8 mo. I. — After an absence of nearly three weeks in eastern 
 New Jersey and Long Island, it is delightful to be again at 
 home, notwithstanding the great attention and considera- 
 tion of kind friends. I have attended meetings at Shrews- 
 bury Square, Westfield, and Jericho. In all of these places 
 Friends seem prosperous, happy, and concerned for Truth's 
 advancement. 
 
 As the following letter contains that which has been made 
 known to me concerniiig important doctrine, I herewith in- 
 sert it. 
 
 371 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " Willow Grove, Pa., 8 mo. 1879. 
 " Stimusson Powell. 
 
 " My DEAR Friend, — My visit to thy home was a pleasant one indeed, 
 and I read the publication thou gave me on my way hither with atten- 
 tion. Thy inquiry, ' What is the soul ?' reminds me of the practice of 
 the students of the University of Paris, centuries ago, when they wished 
 to learn the learnings of a new professor, they at once desired him to 
 lecture on the soul, so favorite and so fruitful a topic was it at that time 
 for discussion. 
 
 " To what thou knowest I fear I can add but little, thou and I can say 
 that we know of the soul and that it is finite or imperfect. There being 
 but One who is Infinite or perfect, and from Him has the soul proceeded 
 as an entity and a consciousness. We know that we live, that we move, 
 and that we have a being, but how we live, how we move, how we think, 
 and wherein we have a being, we do not know. This being also true 
 in respect to all things, as of a grain of sand or of a drop of water. No 
 ultimate fact are we capable of comprehending. Our consciousness 
 being limited by our imperfect faculties, and herein we are all upon one 
 common equality, — 'no high, no low, no great, no small.' For in respect 
 to ultimate Truth we can but trust, worship, and adore. 
 
 " In regard to the future condition of the soul, it must have a body in 
 which to express or manifest itself; and herein is the statement of the 
 apostle : ' There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.' There- 
 fore as the soul is so is the spiritual body both here and hereafter, therein 
 being the same Lawgiver, and consequently the same law in this life 
 as in the life to come. If we are materially minded here, our mode 
 of manifestation is gross and sensuous; or, in other words, we are 
 not spiritually minded. Thou wilt perceive that I discriminate between 
 the mind and the soul,* as I did at your Quarterly Meeting. The soul 
 being the performer, and the mind and the body the instruments, and 
 because of the condition of the latter thou or I may not be able to express 
 or manifest ourselves. The fault not being with the performer, but 
 with the instrument. 
 
 " On the demise of the body there remains therefore the soul and the 
 spiritual body, and as the soul and its affinities are so is the spiritual 
 body or mansion bestowed. Some souls will doubtless be clothed with 
 'white raiment' and 'are as the angels which are in heaven.' As such 
 my dear mother has appeared to me. But with others the fruits of 
 worldly transgressions may not be forever removed, although the power 
 of animal transgression has vanished. Hence the vision of God may be 
 clouded over or obscured; therefore what concerns us most is that the 
 soul may be ' saved alive.' And that ' living to God' here, we may con- 
 
 * The difference is herein as between a sense and faculties. Con- 
 sciousness is a sense, and as such is indivisible. 
 
 372 
 
IMPROPER AFFINITIES 
 
 sequently live to Him hereafter, thus that we may be filled with the in- 
 crease of God forever is the chief end of our being. 
 
 " The increase of wisdom * may be slow both here and hereafter 
 because of improper affinities, not that the pure soul is capable of sin; 
 but it may have been dominated and subordinated by the lesser, not being 
 subject to the greater, and hence is not an enlightened spirit. 
 
 " Now the soul was made for perpetual increase in wisdom ; it being 
 in its mode finite or imperfect; and, in order to know an increase, it 
 must maintain its centre, thus becoming single-minded, and thus the 
 spiritual body will be filled with light. 
 
 "The converse of this proposition is also true, that the light may 
 become darkness, then how 'great is that darkness.' And hence the 
 necessity of ' able ministers of the new testament ; not of the letter, but 
 of the spirit.' Thus becoming more and more competent (because of 
 increase), and thus feeling the necessity 'to testify unto them' that they 
 defile not their garments, but walk worthy of the vocation unto which all 
 are called, even that of the Holy Spirit, in which all is subordinated to 
 the voice of God in the soul. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, r 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 8 mo. 14. — Attended the funeral of a little child, at which 
 I quoted the following lines as my text: 
 
 " There is no death ; the stars go down, 
 To rise upon some fairer shore. 
 And shine in heaven's eternal crown 
 Forevermore." 
 
 The occasion was one blessed with a feeling sense of that 
 blessed immortality which awaits the children of the resur- 
 rection. 
 
 8 mo. 77. — At a funeral, to-day, I stated that if this life 
 was all that was, it was not worth living. On my return 
 home I found these words, no doubt much as Jesus uttered 
 them: "He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that 
 hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal" 
 (John xii. 25). Thus the Heavenly Man looked to the 
 eternal world to mature what time had begun. How won- 
 derful and deep is his wisdom ; and how paradoxical, too, to 
 
 ""Wisdom relates to invisible things (philosophy), and knowledge to 
 visible things (science). 
 
 373 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 the worldly mind :. " He that is least shall be greatest." And 
 in thinking over what I have said or written in times that 
 are past, I hope that no mind may be led into indifference 
 or coldness in respect to those wonderful books, especially 
 the Fourth Gospel, for, notwithstanding the many errors 
 and glosses in them, they contain the expressions of a wisdom 
 and a portraiture too, not only above the age in which he 
 lived, but also point therein to an ideal, the beauty of which 
 can be realized in its high aesthetic sense only as our human- 
 ity becomes quickened by the vision of a beautiful life, and 
 of that union which makes an atonement for all human de- 
 formity. 
 
 And the ideal of Christ as recorded in these books had its 
 origin, has its spring, in a reality ever imparting a fresh 
 vitality in the manifestation of higher power, and introducing 
 a standard of heroism which will cause every valley to be 
 exalted and every mountain to be laid low. 
 
 What I have attempted to enforce in what I have written 
 and spoken is, that the spirit of Christ is the only guidance 
 worthy of the name. John G. Whittier, in a recent pub- 
 lished letter, clearly illustrates my thought wherein he says, 
 " If the light given immediately by the Holy Spirit is dim, 
 what must be that which comes through the medium of 
 human writers in an obsolete tongue ? Is the Bible more and 
 better than the Spirit which inspired it? Shall the stream 
 deny the fountain? 
 
 The horrible child murder in Pocasset shows the danger 
 of Bibliolatry." 
 
 p mo. 2- — At our last First-day meeting my text was from 
 Luke xii, 36, the meaning of which I pointed out was deep 
 and subjective, illustrative of the union of theory and practice 
 of the spiritual and rational. In which the former should 
 "serve" (Luke xii. 37), the latter in that they should be 
 one, having all things in common. This I illustrated in a 
 variety of ways, designating man as the embodiment of the 
 spiritual forces in our world, particularly as the possessor 
 
 374 
 
" THE INCOMPREHENSIBLE" 
 
 of consciousness, free will, and accountability, and that every 
 effort of his will was spiritual and supernatural when directed 
 against nature, as in the tillage and subjugation of the earth. 
 Herein I pointed out that the analogy held true in the in- 
 ward as in the outward warfare and battle of life, and that 
 nature and grace were in antagonism, as was man and the 
 earth on which he resides. 
 
 In allusion to the divorce which was so painfully prevalent 
 between religion and righteousness in the conduct of men, 
 I stated that God had made the law of righteousness even 
 clearer than He had exhibited Himself to human conscious- 
 ness, and that unless we knew righteousness better than we 
 know God, we do not know God at all. 
 
 I also alluded to the dilemma of science in leaving the 
 domain of physical process and attempting to solve the prob- 
 lem of life while dwelling in and dealing with its phenome- 
 nal conditions. Herein I cited the apostolic sentiment that 
 " the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of 
 God, . . . because they are spiritually discerned." And I 
 also alluded to the admissions of such men as Tyndall who 
 now say that science stands in the presence of " the Incom- 
 prehensible" in the fact of human consciousness as a " thing 
 eluding all mental presentation." And God is not, as in the 
 days of Job, accessible to human scrutiny, but He is acces- 
 sible to faith, and faith is correlate to morals. Thus, and 
 thus alone, theory and practice can harmonize by " men wait- 
 ing for their Lord when he returns from the wedding." 
 Such servants are blessed, and he "will come forth and 
 
 serve them." 
 
 II mo. i6. — Have recently visited friends in New York 
 State, and attended meetings at Chippagua, Amawalk, Os- 
 wego, and Peekskill. Many dear friends have I met with 
 on this visit, memorably Moses Pierce and family, at whose 
 hospitable home I was so kindly entertained; as also at the 
 home of Daniel H. Griffin. This friend is a deeply experi- 
 enced minister of the gospel, and it was indeed cheermg to 
 
 375 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 have the unity of his spirit. Many precious spirits did I 
 meet during this visit which Infinite wisdom called for at 
 my hands. 
 
 // mo. i8. — Our late Quarterly Meeting was held at By- 
 berry, the house being filled with an attentive audience, to 
 whom much was communicated by way of vocal utterance 
 of gospel truth. I was led briefly to comment upon what 
 constitutes " the sin against the Holy Ghost," explaining that 
 Jesus meant by this expression to designate the superlative 
 and absolute nature of the teachings of the Holy Spirit. 
 That between this and aught else there exists all the difference 
 as between true contraries, as between the absolute and the 
 relative, as between time and space. That God is His own 
 interpreter ; that all that man can do by way of gospel utter- 
 ance is by bearing witness of God's truth as it is interpreted 
 to him. I further pointed out that Jesus designated this 
 sin as the only possible blasphemy of which man was capa- 
 ble, the only blasphemy worthy of the name. 
 
 The sin against the " Father" representing the natural law, 
 in which God's light exists, the " Son" being the gospel 
 covenant of instrumentalities, while that of the " Holy Ghost" 
 illustrates the culmination of all that can be done consistent 
 with the gift of free will with which man has been endowed 
 by his Creator. It is the last and crowning manifestation 
 of God to man, in which the Father and the Son come forth 
 as a fire to melt and a hammer to break all that which is 
 of a contrary nature to the covenant of grace and truth. 
 Nothing more can come after the visitation of the Holy 
 Spirit, therefore the sin remains unpardonable, because it 
 has not been burnt and purged away by God's love and 
 power. 
 
 Of latter time I have been led quite frequently to distin- 
 guish between the natural and the spiritual man as in human- 
 ity. That to the former is given all liberty to satisfy his 
 intelligences — in "all the trees of the garden." He can 
 gratify the wants of his heart and intellect to the full in 
 
 376 
 
INCREASE 
 
 those things which belong to the spirit of a man in culture 
 and in growth. But herein he must not neglect those gra- 
 cious movements of the soul, of piety, thanksgiving, and of 
 adoration ! those things which belong to the " Spirit of 
 God," and in respect to which Jesus said, " I can of myself 
 do nothing." In which man's increase consists in the poverty 
 and humility of Christ Jesus. 
 
 As between the two conditions there is nothing in com- 
 mon — the healthfulness of the one consisting in activity and 
 self-dependence, while the life of the other is in agree- 
 ment and conformity only in passivity and non-self-depen- 
 dence ! " Trust in the Lord Eternal, for in the Lord Eternal 
 is everlasting strength." This is the sacred affirmative of 
 the Spirit of truth in all ages. The word increase is the 
 right word in spiritual things, and this is an increase of 
 the poverty of the spirit of a man in respect to the things 
 of God.* Herein, while therein is evolution and progress in 
 science and in art, the contrary is the case in " eternal life," — 
 the first being relative, while the latter is absolute, as God 
 is infinite and man is finite. The spiritual life was before 
 Abraham, and in entering therein, whether at the first or at 
 the eleventh hour, the recompense is the same. Under the 
 natural law it is evident the contrary is the case. God is 
 the life of " the spiritual man" in each and every soul, such 
 soul "living by every word of God." Hence it was that 
 Samuel, though but a "babe," was enabled to instruct Eli 
 in the counsels of wisdom. And Eli was prepared to receive 
 it : " It is from the Eternal ; let Him do what seemeth Him 
 good." There is no room for self-righteousness in the king- 
 dom of heaven! "The last shall be first, and the first shall 
 be last." That is, all shall be equal in the call, and this 
 call simply quickeneth the faithful soul. Such soul asking 
 not for growth, that belongeth unto the exoteric. The 
 prayer as of old is "Quicken me according to thy word." 
 
 *This is a parable; he that readeth let him understand. 
 377 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " The Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them." 
 And thus they have Hfe more abundantly. 
 
 Several times in my experience, after writing to my friends, 
 having felt a check in my mind, I have thought it best to 
 defer sending the letter which I had written. This was the 
 
 case with the following addressed to my friend , 
 
 an " Orthodox" Friend. Though written about a year since, 
 I feel to-day to be the right time to send it to him. 
 
 " Abington, I mo. 9, 1879. 
 
 " My dear Friend, — The citation from William Penn which I at- 
 tempted to quote to thee the other day reads thus : ' The bent and stress 
 of their ministry was conversion to God, regeneration and holiness; not 
 schemes of doctrines and verbal creeds, or new forms of worship, but 
 leaving off in religion the superfluous, and reducing the ceremonial and 
 formal part, and pressing earnestly the substantial, — the necessary and 
 profitable part.' This was written in relation to the ministry of Friends, 
 and the world needs pre-eminently such a ministry to-day. Earnestly to 
 press that universal and necessary and salient truth which dates its origin, 
 not from contingent, but from exact datum. J. J. Gurney, who did so 
 much to debauch Quakerism, was very much afraid of the idea of Christ 
 as a principle ; but not so was the Yearly Meeting in 1816 in respect to 
 the testimony concerning Deborah, wife of William Evans, as thou can 
 see by her memorial in collection of 1821, for she and they testified to the 
 ' Saviour as a principle.' And so also did John Woolman, who says, 
 ' There is a principle in the human mind which is pure, and which iii 
 different ages hath had different names; it is, however, pure, and pro- 
 ceeds from God. It is deep and inward, confined to no form of religion, 
 nor excluded from any, when the heart stands in perfect sincerity. In 
 whomsoever this takes root and grows, they become as brethren.' And 
 so George Fox in his ' Great Mystery,' p. 150, and in many other places, 
 speaks : ' Many may have the four books, but deny the power, and so 
 deny the gospel, which is the power of God.' 
 
 " Yes, the world needs to be called to the principle, to firsts, as the 
 method and secret of Jesus, without which, as Robert Barclay well says, 
 the four books are of but little value. 
 
 " I have spoken of what thou well knowest, but feel to say that I have 
 seen in the pure Light that if thou keep to the pure opening of truth, that 
 thou, as a worker of His will while it is to-day, will have to undergo, as 
 Pjrthagoras, Socrates, Jesus, and Seneca, crucifixion; all these history 
 says met with a violent death. 
 
 " I have seen those who are disposed to make a king of thee, and these 
 may turn against thee when they see that they cannot use thee for their 
 ends. 
 
 378 
 
AN EXPERIENCE 
 
 " I have seen thee, my dear friend, by the sight of inward vision, walk- 
 ing that straight path in which there is no crookedness, in which thou 
 wilt be suspected of heresy, and that even in terminology, too, that thou 
 wilt not be able to call Jesus Lord save only by the Holy Ghost. 
 
 " I once held that the chief end of man was happiness, but I now think 
 that it is to do good, and to be a friend of Good, because it is right. ' I 
 work the will of Him that sent me,' said Jesus ; here is the instrumental 
 cause acting in harmony ('one') with the principal cause; and this is 
 the chief end of man, to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. 
 
 "As it is not a dowry which influences pure earthly love, so it is not 
 reward or punishment that influences pure religion. It is the love of 
 God which is the life of religion ; reverence for His holy attributes, con- 
 sciousness of His eternal love, vouchsafing a communion wherein the 
 anthem and prayer are ' Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee.' Thus 
 forever advancing in holiness, not that the finite (imperfect) can ever 
 become impeccable, or incapable of virtue, for that would be at once like 
 making a geometrical form a circle and a triangle at the same time. 
 Angels, we read, are capable of becoming fallen angels, and that ' God 
 spared not the angels that sinned.' In other words, He did not deprive 
 them of freedom, without which there would be no such thing as the 
 perfecting of souls by the increase of godliness by faith in Him. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 1880. 
 
 I mo. I/. — As a wonderful experience, I narrate the fol- 
 lowing : Some months since, one day I said to my wife that 
 it was about time to visit a friend, whom I named, proposing 
 the present as a suitable time for the visit. She demurred 
 at the suggestion, and immediately the language (spiritual) 
 to me was, " It is not the right time yet to go and see him; 
 when thou shalt meet him the next time in communion it 
 will be at a funeral ;" and a member of his family was denoted 
 by the feeling which pervaded my mind, though no particular 
 one was- pointed to. The impression was so clear that 1 
 had no doubt in reference to it. 
 
 In a short time a much loved grandchild of the individual 
 was taken ill and removed to the eternal world. During 
 the somewhat tedious illness, I hoped that I was mistaken 
 in my impression, so greatly did I sympathize with the 
 
 afflicted parents. 
 
 379 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 1 mention this subject just as it occurred; it seemed as 
 an evidence of that sure word of prophecy which I must fol- 
 low in full faith ! 
 
 2 mo. 8. — Darlington Hoopes attended our Quarterly 
 Meeting, much to our comfort and satisfaction. He spent 
 a night with me, and I was pleased to find him one who 
 separates opinion from sentiment and conviction. 
 
 Opinions clearly are temporary, but conviction and senti- 
 ment possess a pathos and an enduring power, and it is wise 
 to ignore much of that which we reject, dwelling upon those 
 great affirmations which, when they once become the con- 
 victions of the soul, eliminate all false and unworthy opin- 
 ions, or at least separate them as non-essential to the spiritual 
 life. 
 
 2 mo. p. — At pur late Quarterly Meeting of ministers and 
 elders considerable difference of mind was elicited; and, 
 as at this meeting I warmly advocated the idea of passivity 
 in divine things, great have been my desires that I may be 
 preserved herein, in more reverential quietude upon the gra- 
 cious fountain of Infinite mercy and love, especially when 
 ministering at the altar thereof. 
 
 2 mo. 22. — Unusual liberty was given me, to-day, at our 
 meeting in speaking from the text, John xiv. 12. In my 
 discourse I stated that Jesus never wrote a word as we read 
 in the Gospels, except " on the ground ;" and that there was 
 a considerable lapse of time before the " Gospels" were 
 written, and that the titles of the Gospels were, as in the 
 oldest manuscript, " after John, etc.," that is, after the man- 
 ner of John. I alluded to the tradition certified to by Clement 
 of Alexandria that John wrote late in life, assisted by his 
 friends, "a spiritual gospel," and that the canon of Mura- 
 tori * certifies to the same tradition, as do also others of 
 the' Fathers. That " these things" of Jesus, which were to 
 be excelled by " greater things," were only descriptive things 
 
 * See Appendix H. 
 380 
 
" THE FATHER IS GREATER THAN ALL" 
 
 therefore— the difference being between experimental things 
 and descriptive things, and that, as they related to spiritual 
 things, they possessed an unlimited nature and character: 
 " The Father is greater than all." 
 
 Also I alluded to the text, John vii. 15, in which the Jews, 
 marvelling at his doctrine, queried, " How knoweth this man 
 letters, having never learned?" And explained that Jesus 
 had not neglected to add to faith knowledge and culture, 
 but that the evangelist meant to convey the idea that he was 
 not a Bibliolater, explaining in the context that it was the 
 doer of the will of God that should "know of the doc- 
 trine." 
 
 I pointed to the fact related by Luke of his "taking the 
 book out of the hand of the minister" and that he handed 
 it back again, not reading the text relating to the vengeance 
 of God. 
 
 The text in John x. 29 and xiv. 28 evidently alludes to 
 "the greater" baptism of the Holy Ghost, in which "He 
 shall put all things under him, that God may be all in all." 
 Even the baptism of the Son shall be superseded or "sub- 
 ject" to the finished work of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 Thus the seventh degree of inspiration is attained in the 
 " sounding of the seventh trumpet," " the voice of the seventh 
 angel!" In this "the mystery of God should be finished, 
 as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." And 
 herein there is no egotism, no self-righteousness. "In the 
 Eternal have I righteousness and strength," said the prophet 
 alluding to the poverty and the humility of Jesus, and which 
 is likewise the riches of the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 2 mo. 29. — My text at meeting to-day was from John xvi. 
 14, " He shall glorify me ; for he shall receive of mine, and 
 shall show it unto you." I stated that the difference between 
 the false and the true meaning of the Scriptures was as the 
 difference between matter and spirit. That the true meaning 
 was antithetical to the obvious sense, and contrary to it often, 
 the objective and subjective being set forth particularly in 
 
 381 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 the Gospel of John. And that in the text the Spirit of 
 truth was alluded to as he who should supplement the Gos- 
 pels with the gospel of truth. Receiving "of mine" and 
 asking in " my name" meaning a reception of the spirit of 
 Christ, and asking consistently with the order of His provi- 
 dence and the increase of the Spirit. This being manifested 
 to the friends of truth by the Spirit of truth, in harmony 
 with the law of Christ, which means an orderly procession 
 from the Father to the Father through the Son; for God, 
 as the supreme cause, is assumed by the human mind; but 
 the knowledge of Himself as in the Holy Spirit is the result 
 in the march of mind and the increase of the spirit of wis- 
 dom. Regeneration being a birth into the Divine Life and 
 Order, as is pointed to in the first beatitude, — a condition 
 of absolute dependence upon the Eternal. Thus we receive 
 love and wisdom from Him, and are redeemed from the idea 
 that the life of man is from himself, from which false trust 
 proceed darkness and destruction. The contrary needs to 
 be born into us, viz., that the life of man is of God; and 
 when this becomes understood through a sense of absolute 
 dependence in the things of non-self-dependence, it becomes 
 likewise understood and united within that other correlative 
 feeling of a sense of absolute moral allegiance is unto the All 
 Good. Herein is Christ Jesus the Redeemer if we stand 
 thus redeemed by the law of the spirit of his life, and the 
 beatitudes are revealed to us in their sublimity. " The poor 
 in spirit" as the dependent upon the Holy Spirit for poverty 
 of spirit is the Holy Spirit come to teach us to mourn for 
 transgressions; to teach us that meekness which was the 
 poverty and the humility of Jesus, who, being rich, for our 
 sakes became poor. By this blessed Spirit we are inducted 
 into the great law of righteousness, of mercy, of purity of 
 heart, of the offices of the peacemaker, and of the spirit of 
 patience under persecution, and of gladness and joy in the 
 communion of heavenly peace. This is the Church, and 
 these are its ordinances, which are as a city set on a hill, 
 
 382 
 
RETRIBUTION 
 
 and which is the light of the world, into which, when we 
 become initiated, we live by and through a right understand- 
 ing of life and of being. 
 
 3 mo. 15. — ^At a funeral which I recently attended, a friend 
 expressed disappointment that I had so little to say in re- 
 spect to the deceased. I also would have been pleased to 
 have spoken words of satisfaction as to his condition, but 
 no evidence was furnished me in that direction. Jesus had 
 such confidence in the Divine anointing that it is left on record 
 that that which was bound in heaven should be revealed to 
 God's children, and that they should have a sense of the 
 condition of those who are " loosed" or " bound." To this 
 I can set my seal, as the states of deceased persons have 
 been distinctly revealed to my soul. My faith is that there 
 are many "mansions" hereafter, and that the end of crea- 
 tion is not merely reward and punishment, but that it is also 
 the perfecting of souls, in the finishing of faith, and that 
 hence Divine love and Infinite mercy will eventually "sub- 
 due all things unto Him, that God may be all in all." The 
 prodigal son was still a son notwithstanding his idiosyn- 
 crasies, and when he "came to himself," he came to the 
 precious doctrine of sonship, and God was truly his loving 
 Father. We know that in the eternal law there is such a 
 principle as retribution, that transgression of law must be 
 purged and burned away in the fires of repentance and amend- 
 ment of life. 
 
 Retribution is here, it is also hereafter, because it is the 
 same God, therefore it is the same law. This law we can- 
 not escape in its result and final accomplishment; and though 
 it may take what to us would be an eternity, yet purgation 
 may be accomplished, and the soul may come out from thence 
 when it has paid "the uttermost farthing." This seemed 
 to me the condition of the person above alluded to ; he was 
 what the world calls a moral man, and an obituary notice 
 in the papers called him " a good man." But he was not 
 a spiritual moral man, and therefore cannot enter blessedness 
 
 383 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 and love till " a time, times and a half" shall pass over him. 
 Thus the soul may "enter into life," and yet enter as "halt 
 and maimed"! 
 
 S mo. 24. — A Friend whom I much love, in a recent com- 
 munication in the " Journal," queried, " Who will assert that 
 without Jesus we should have had a knowledge of the 
 Christ?" As well might we say that the spirit of geometry 
 would not have been revealed to man without Euclid, Christ 
 representing a certain divine life, which as a seed or capacity 
 is in all men and which proceeds from God. I look upon the 
 above thought of my friend as a great encumbrance, because 
 it makes the coming of the Christ dependent upon contin- 
 gencies, and not as being an eternal verity in the soul in 
 which, to be realized, we must be " lifted up from the earth." 
 (John xii. 32.) 
 
 Jesus exalted this Christ spirit in a pre-eminent degree 
 as an eternal principle of life, of conduct, and of thought, 
 thus becoming a great moral, social, and also a great intel- 
 lectual teacher of men. He came, in the language of Scrip- 
 ture, to " bring us to God," " who hath abolished death, and 
 hath brought life and immortality to light through the 
 gospel ;" this is the glad tidings concerning the " Holy 
 One of Israel," which Israel is the church, " the bride of 
 Christ." 
 
 Christ is that " Light which lighteth every man that cometh 
 into the world," therefore it is a universal principle, was 
 therefore before Jesus, and is not by any means dependent 
 upon him historically. Though that era has exerted through 
 the Father's " drawing" (John vi. 44) a powerful influence 
 to bring men to Him, Christ has been written about and 
 spoken about in reference to a special period of time, but 
 there is therefore nothing special concerning it, otherwise he 
 could not be a universal spirit knocking for recognition at 
 the hearts of all mankind. 
 
 The prophet spoke of the outpouring of the Eternal Spirit 
 upon "all flesh," and Jesus was "sent to bear witness" to 
 
 384 
 
THE TRUTH AS IT IS IN JESUS 
 
 this "Eternal excellency, a joy of many generations." 
 (Isaiah Ix. 15.) 
 
 Christ is the "only begotten" of the Father; Jesus was 
 not thus, even accepting the metaphor of his generation in 
 the usual manner, for Adam had no human father. On 
 page 16 of Barclay's "Catechism" the true idea is in the 
 query, "After what manner doth the Scriptures assert the 
 conjunction and unity of the Eternal Son of God in and 
 with the man Christ Jesus ?" The solution of this " mystery" 
 being only in that endowment wherein we can "call Jesus 
 Lord by the Holy Ghost," which endowment consists in the 
 unselfish and enlightened working of the will of " our Father 
 which is in heaven." Because Jesus was obedient to the 
 Light, he was in an especial degree " filled" with it. He " be- 
 came obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (Phil, 
 ii. 8. ) As he " renounced himself," so must we humble our- 
 selves in order to work the will of God, and no man ever 
 did His will in any other manner, hence Paul wrote that " no 
 man can call Jesus Lord" (Kurios) other than by the secret 
 of Jesus (John xii. 25). Thus its superiority and authority 
 become evident in the revealment of the Holy Spirit, and the 
 name of Jesus is glorified, which glorification cannot occur 
 except " He be lifted up from the earth." (He that readeth 
 let him understand.) 
 
 " The truth as it is in Jesus," when all ambiguity and verbal 
 confusion are removed " out of the way," brings man to the 
 kingdom of God here, face to face with the Eternal, thereby 
 superseding blind authority, "blotting out the handwriting 
 of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to 
 us." Removing every wall of partition by the principle of 
 every individual's immediate relation and accountability to 
 God, which principle is the Spirit of Christ revealed as the 
 Holy Spirit. 
 
 Jesus does not say, "Look on me and ye shall see God," 
 but his doctrine is, " The pure" (unmixed) " in heart shall 
 see God." Conditions of grace and truth being denoted 
 
 25 38s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 which in no way are dependent upon his person, his cause 
 being advanced without his name as a symbol, and, indeed, 
 much the better if the symbol be substituted for the thing 
 symbolized, and hence he taught that " he that is not against 
 us is on our part," symbolizing on the same occasion this 
 power by the name of salt : " Salt is good ; but if the salt 
 have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it ?" Further- 
 more, he warned his friends that anti-Christ would assume 
 his name and " deceive many." If, therefore, the Infinite per- 
 fections of our God, as the Ideal of the soul, are to be limited 
 and realized only by a historical name, then that name as- 
 sumes the name of anti-Christ (Matt. xxiv. 5). For when 
 the Spirit of truth shall not have cast out this deference to 
 tradition, we are still in bondage to the latter, and understand 
 not the expediency (John xvi. 7) of it vanishing out of the 
 way. 
 
 " I am come in my Father's name" is the truth as it is in 
 Jesus. He was a mighty instrumentality, in whom and with 
 whom the Principal Cause dwelt. " Him hath God exalted 
 with his right hand to be a prince and a saviour," " The God 
 of our fathers raised him up" as the Ideal Man, who is per- 
 petually beckoning to humanity, " Friend, come up higher," 
 and is therefore Lord of the Church of God. " To us there 
 is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and 
 we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all 
 things, and we by him." The Apostle herein denoting first 
 and secondary causes, "that God was in Christ," the prin- 
 cipal cause and the instrumental cause acting together as 
 one cause, " and we by him," and also " we in Him," if 
 we are in the Divine order. For God and Christ form a 
 harmonious one, "and God is the head of Christ." Thus 
 He reveals Himself through Christ as a principle of affirma- 
 tion and definition, " the eternal stillness reveals itself in 
 the word." In Himself being the eternal substance, and 
 " we in Him," by becoming more and more rapt in still com- 
 munion, as an identity and consciousness proceeding from 
 
 386 
 
GOD THE TEACHER OF HIS PEOPLE HIMSELF 
 
 and returning to Him. Thus living in this world we may 
 know a holy glow of love saluting us, while environed in 
 nature, and by nature, with those degrees of negation wherein 
 frailty and limitation dwell. 
 
 5 mo. 10. — I returned home yesterday from the Yearly 
 Meeting. It was well attended, but to me was not so satis- 
 factory, as is usually the case; and this was caused in part 
 by attempting to mingle incongruous things together. Our 
 Society is not a great moral reform association; such matters 
 as temperance, the care of the Indians, and educational mat- 
 ters, etc., should be left mainly to the care of committees. 
 They belong to what Friends classify as "creaturely activi- 
 ties," and, as in physical science, or in intellectual and moral 
 advancement, these " activities" are in harmony with progress 
 and development. And we should be diligent and exertive 
 in " the things of man," as belonging to " the spirit of 
 man" (i Cor. ii. ii), but the things of God.knoweth no man, 
 but which the Holy Spirit teacheth; "comparing spiritual 
 with spiritual." 
 
 In the former there is development and growth, because 
 there is rightly self-dependence, but in the spiritual there 
 is non-self-dependence, therefore there can be no growth 
 except we call " poverty (dependence) of spirit" growth and 
 development. The Society of Friends is mainly called to 
 advance the great idea that God is the Teacher of His 
 People Himself, and hence a free ministry, free from all 
 bargain or understanding between the minister and his au- 
 dience, and that worship is entirely independent of all minis- 
 try of a vocal nature, except as God draws, moves, and 
 inspires. Herein is the main-spring. Therefore the moral 
 or spiritual good of souls cannot be the right impulse of 
 the ministry in its true relation; whichever remains to be 
 "not my will, but thine be done." The mission of Jesus, 
 as he said, wes "to bear witness to the truth," and as ex- 
 plained by the apostle, "that he might bring us to God." 
 Hence it is that all instrumental ministry is of an imperfect 
 
 387 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 character. Rapt, still communion transcending it, and these 
 twain cannot be co-ordinated except by "poverty of spirit" 
 on the part of the minister, combined with that purity of 
 heart which recognizes God; being clearly an unmixed con- 
 dition, out and away from all " desire of the heart ;" unmixed 
 with all tradition, and thus in and under the operation of 
 the cross ! " For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward; 
 but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is com- 
 mitted unto me" (i Cor. ix. 17). The gaining of souls is 
 not the primary matter in Paul's thought; it is the call, 
 " woe unto me if I preach not the gospel." 
 
 The gift of discernment is the cause of much suffering, 
 for it has been given me to see the spring of the ministry, 
 to see that he who " gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." 
 That which proceeds from God can alone gather to Him. 
 We had too much zeal and enthusiasm at the Yearly Meeting 
 among our ministers, and much of this being from man, it 
 can only gather to man. God alone giveth the increase. 
 Fervent have been my desires that I may be preserved in 
 rapt, still communion of spirit with the All Father. Loving 
 this worship as the perfect, the higher manifestation, there- 
 fore realizing the lower as the imperfect, which it is ever 
 expedient should pass away. Great have been my desires, 
 if it be His will, that I may set an example of silence in our 
 meetings of worship and discipline, in the spirit of patience 
 and charity! 
 
 II mo. 27. — Have recently attended the funeral of Lucretia 
 Mott, and also that of Mary Levis, both eminent ministers 
 of our Society, though differing in their gifts. The former 
 was eminently moral and intellectual, and the latter spiritual. 
 That is, the latter possessed a greater consciousness of the 
 invisible world than the former. Now, consciousness is a 
 sense and not a faculty; it is the sense of realization. And 
 Lucretia, though so highly gifted and endowed in strictly 
 intellectual things, was not by nature endowed with the 
 spiritual-mindedness of my dear mother or of Mary Levis. 
 
 388 
 
HUMAN GREATNESS 
 
 I knew her intimately well, and am competent therefore to 
 judge. 
 
 What the world calls greatness is often miscalled and 
 misunderstood. Persons possessing the ratiocinative faculty 
 m a high degree may be deficient in other faculties which 
 tend to constitute true greatness. Thus it is that so great 
 an inequality does not exist among men after all. 
 
 Consciousness is a sense, and, like all other things, is 
 double, or, as Ezekiel has written it, is " within and without;" 
 and it is because men will not see this that there is, as he 
 has written, "lamentations and mourning and woe." The 
 letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 
 
 By the sense of consciousness it is that we realize the 
 world of matter without us and the kingdom of heaven 
 within us. When we attempt to prove either of these by 
 ratiocination, we fail. In respect to the former. Sir William 
 Hamilton, after writing five hundred pages, places himself 
 by the side of Hume, who says, "There is no evidence of 
 an external world, but we cannot help believing in its ex- 
 istence." Hamilton says, " We philosophize to escape igno- 
 rance, and the consummation of our philosophy is ignorance ; 
 we start from the one, we repose on the other." 
 
 I answer the question, "How does man come by his 
 knowledge?" with the reply that he knows by his sense of 
 realization and verification, which is consciousness.* And 
 as it takes all men to constitute the body of humanity, we are 
 wisely therefore members one of another. 
 
 True belief, which is faith, is not the result of what the 
 world calls evidence, but of consciousness, that is, conscious- 
 ness is evidence. And consciousness truly developed within 
 and without, that is, by ratiocination, intuition, and in- 
 spiration, it is which constitutes the sum of human great- 
 ness. 
 I clip the following from a newspaper and insert it herein : 
 
 * Natural supernaturalism is here meant. 
 389 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 "At Lucretia Mott's funeral, David Newport, of Abington, said: Our 
 dear friend, Lucretia Mott, was a minister of the gospel of Christ for 
 near seventy years. Her first appearance, as she informed me, was at 
 a funeral, when in about her eighteenth year. She was called as Aaron 
 was, that is, she was specially called. Upon this subject, in order to 
 remove all doubt, I took occasion, when on a visit at her house within 
 the last year, to query of her whether she recognized a special call on 
 each occasion as a minister, as is queried after in our discipline : ' Do 
 our ministers minister in the ability which God gives ? ' I made this 
 inquiry, not that I had any doubt on the subject, but that the occasion 
 might arise in some future time that I might testify that I had this 
 information from her own lips; and her answer was in the strongest 
 manner confirmatory. 
 
 " Our deceased sister, then, was not a minister of the philosophy of 
 naturalism, but of the gospel of supernaturalism,* — that is, she recognized 
 the Power Eternal, who makes for righteousness, peace, and immortality, 
 — often for righteousness against our volition, and counter to our own 
 wills. 
 
 " She was an able minister of that inward Christ which some of us 
 may have crucified, but only, apparently, as by a figure of speech, for 
 he hath a resurrection and a life in every soul, — a quickening virtue, so 
 that he is a Christ who truly was never crucified, never slain, and who 
 can never die, and whom, if we would know him as our dear, deceased 
 friend knew him, we must also ' listen to his inward voice.' 
 
 " It is very encouraging to know that one so gifted as Lucretia Mott 
 was an adherent and follower of that light which lighteth every man who 
 cometh into the world, — a light which often shineth into the darkness, 
 and which the darkness comprehendeth not. 
 
 " The work of God, Pythagoras taught, was immortality, eternal life. 
 Can we doubt the work of the Eternal? Science has tested things ma- 
 terial, and in its crucible the smallest molecule is found to be indestructi- 
 ble. All things material and immaterial proceeded forth and came from 
 the Eternal. 
 
 " Can we doubt, then, that that intellectual force, that blessed con- 
 sciousness which dwelt in that dome of thought, surmounted by such a 
 halo of beauty, can perish? No; the work of God is immortality, 
 eternal life in all things which He hath produced." 
 
 * I was not aware at the time that I was sustained by so able a thinker 
 as Herbert Spencer, who says that " Phenomenon without noumenon is 
 unthinkable; and yet noumenon cannot be thought about in the true 
 sense of thinking" (that is, in consequence of our limitations and fini- 
 tude) . " We are at once obliged to be conscious of a reality behind 
 appearances, and yet can neither bring this consciousness of reality into 
 any shape, nor can bring into any shape its connection with appearance." 
 . . . " We have no choice," he further says, " hut to accept a formless 
 consciousness of the Inscrutable." 
 
 390 
 
INFINITE INTELLIGENCE 
 
 My friend, Edward M. Davis, Lucretia Mott's son-in-law, 
 informed me that among the last words of the deceased one, 
 with the greatest pathos and intensity, was the following: 
 "Oh, let this little standard-bearer go." And as we had 
 some conversation on the subject of immortality, and as he 
 desires it, I will pen a few thoughts thereon. 
 
 Immortality is demonstrable from the idea contained in 
 this expression of our friend. Now, what was it she spoke 
 of? Clearly of her individuality and consciousness as a 
 force distinct from all other forces. She had lived in her 
 body for eighty-eight years, and, according to the latest sci- 
 ence, had used up eighty-eight such bodies in the tenancy 
 thereof ! 
 
 Now, if our individuality is a part of Infinite Intelli- 
 gence and power, then our immortality is assured. But how 
 can this be, as we are originating and progressive beings, 
 capable of increase and advancement; which cannot be the 
 case with Infinite Intelligence, He being absolute in the sense 
 of being the ever existing and who therefore is non-pro- 
 gressive and non-originating; being, in fact, the Great Non- 
 Original. 
 
 Infinite power demonstrates Infinite Intelligence, because 
 originality is relative, — relative as in man, — a being having 
 a capacity of increase and enlightenment; but absolute in 
 Deity as the source of all intelligence and light. 
 
 Finite power is endowed with this capacity in a wonderful 
 degree, and in man produces that which is ever new to him 
 through a susceptibility for increase and enlightenment, being 
 operated upon by a Power not himself. 
 
 Man's individuality is an effect which must be commen- 
 surate with its cause, being therefore without commence- 
 ment, is indestructible, as the matter which composes his 
 body is indestructible, though in a higher sense than that, 
 as matter is divisible, and is correlate with that which is 
 divisible again. 
 
 Intelligence in man, having no space relations, is indivis- 
 
 391 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 ible, and therefore must be correlate with intelligence alone. 
 Our bodies are composed of what Kant called limitation of 
 space. Our consciousness, varying from this, possesses a 
 capacity altogether different, being limited by no such rela- 
 tions. 
 
 Now, as Infinite power does not admit of another power, 
 so Infinite Intelligence does not admit of another intelligence, 
 therefore man's intelligence must be a part of Infinite Intelli- 
 gence, and therefore he is immortal. But he is a part of 
 Infinite Intelligence only approximately; he is finite and de- 
 rivative, with a capacity for increase. In other words, he is 
 a part of the infinite variety which infinite power has pro- 
 duced. He is as Jesus defined him (John x. 35, 36), when 
 quoting the Psalm : " Ye are gods ; and all of you are children 
 of the Most High." " If he called them gods unto whom the 
 word of God came, etc.," alluding to that capacity in man 
 which is capable of assimilation with the Divine Mind, this 
 capacity or " seed/' being the son or product of God, which 
 is commanded to be perfect as God is perfect. Herein, again, 
 is proof of man's immortality, because that perfection pre- 
 supposes and demands an opportunity for its fulfilment ! 
 
 The manner of the soul'sjjre-existence or subsequent exist- 
 ence we do not know. ("It doth not now appear.") My 
 consciousness is new to me in this life, though my individual- 
 ity has pre-existed from the foetus in being only me, and still 
 persists through many changes of the bodily form. 
 
 Consciousness is the capacity, therefore, of this life. And 
 the question arises, Can we lose this susceptibility? Our 
 individuality we can never lose, any more than the matter 
 which composes our bodies can be lost, because that matter 
 pre-existed in another form before we came into this life. 
 
 A capacity for progression as regards man's individuality 
 must then have always existed in whatever pre-existent state 
 he may have passed through. 
 
 Consciousness is the great matter now and here. Consider 
 how many men are unconscious, or unenlightened. 
 
 392 
 
THE TRUE DIVINITY 
 
 I have been using the term consciousness for years in con- 
 nection with faith in public testimony, and many complain 
 that they do not understand me. 
 
 Jesus called consciousness a new birth, called it regenera- 
 tion, and he was not understood. His mission was to teach 
 men to cultivate consciousness (spirit).* 
 
 If we do not acquire it here while we have the opportunity, 
 we may lose it ; that is, we may lose our opportunity " for 
 time, times, and half a time." Our individuality we can 
 never lose as an identity correlate with Individuality. 
 
 Finite consciousness is correlate with infinite consciousness. 
 And by receptivity we can become more and more conscious ; 
 for there are different degrees of consciousness. We may 
 be conscious of becoming conscious. 
 
 Thus, consciousness once acquired in its twofold sense puts 
 on the conscious garment of enlightenment, of immortality, 
 of eternal life through inspiration, and man becomes a " par- 
 taker of the Divine nature." 
 
 As the Psalmist declares : " Thou hast put all things be- 
 neath his feet." In other words, as every rational man well 
 knows, there is nothing in all the powers of earth combined 
 capable of producing his identity and consciousness. His 
 kingdom is not exclusively of this world. 
 
 12 mo. 10. — At a funeral of a young woman to-day, whom 
 I had known from the cradle, I spoke of the true Divinity 
 as a gift, capacity, or substance in man. It is certainly spirit 
 which constitutes this original substance; or, to use an ex- 
 pression of Sir William Hamilton, who speaks of " the pri- 
 mordial facts of our intelligent nature." In this sense I 
 would speak of our spiritual constitution as one in substance 
 or correlate with Deity, being spirit, — spirit in man and spirit 
 in Deity. Finite and relative in the one and infinite and 
 absolute in the other. It is in this sense that Jesus is spoken 
 of as being one with God, through assimilation with Him. 
 
 * Or life. 
 393 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Thus man as a part has a relation to the whole by likeness 
 to and reflection from the centre to the circumference. This 
 is the scale of his being and the line of beauty. There is a 
 unity in all kindred natures. 
 
 "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister 
 the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold 
 grace of God." " Thus the Spirit is one and manifold, and 
 his unity doth not preclude his multiplicity." 
 
 1881. 
 
 2 mo. 10. — During the last few months I have attended 
 several meetings in our State with a certificate of concurrence 
 from my friends at home, and have been concerned to hold 
 up the law of Christ (the anointing) as the law whereby 
 we draw near unto God. A law just as certain as the law 
 of gravitation in the outward relation. It is called in the 
 Scriptures the hidden manna, — hidden from the wisdom of 
 this world. But as Whittier says in that most admirable 
 poem of his, the " Vision of Echard" : 
 
 " The world will have its idols, 
 And flesh and sense their sign; 
 But the blinded eyes shall open. 
 And the gross ear be fine. 
 
 " What if the vision tarry ? 
 God's time is always best; 
 The true Light shall be witnessed. 
 The Christ within confessed. 
 
 " In mercy and in judgment 
 He shall turn and overturn, 
 Till the heart shall be His temple. 
 And all from Him shall learn." 
 
 J mo. 26. — Last First-day attended at Newtown the funeral 
 of E. Y. Linton. For some time past I have been dry and 
 lifeless as to a sensible feeling of heavenly things (necessarily 
 much occupied with business cares and duties), and I won- 
 
 394 
 
BISHOP STEVENS 
 
 dered whether, when I received the invitation to attend this 
 funeral, and especially when I took my seat in the meeting- 
 house, if it were possible for these " dry bones to live." But, 
 to my admiration, I was enabled to preach the gospel of 
 Jesus with consolation and with power, and can this sing : 
 
 " Thus far the Lord hath led me on, 
 
 Thus far His power prolongs my days, 
 And every evening shall make known 
 Some fresh memorial of His grace. 
 
 " Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings, 
 Thy better portion trace ; 
 Rise from transitory things 
 To heaven, thy native place." 
 
 5 mo. 2. — I recently attended the funeral of my dear aged 
 friend Thomas Paxon with a somewhat similar experience 
 to that last recorded, with the exception that, on my way 
 to the house of interment, I was wonderfully favored with 
 a sense of the rest and peace into which this aged brother 
 had entered. This heavenly quiet cannot be described; it 
 is, indeed, unspeakable, and must be experienced to be known, 
 and hence I was enabled to preach to those assembled con- 
 cerning " the unsearchable riches of Christ." 
 
 5 mo. II. — In the press of this date I find the following 
 sentiment of Bishop Stevens as given to the Episcopal con- 
 vention now sitting in Philadelphia: "The less we resort 
 to human authority, the more we go to the Divine; the less 
 we teach for doctrines the commandments of men, the more 
 we teach vigorously the mighty truths of the gospel." 
 
 In what I have written herein, this has been my chief 
 thought, as in my vocal utterances as a minister of the gospel 
 of Truth, to call men to those mighty truths of the soul and 
 practical reason which are self-evident and self-sustaining, and 
 in respect to which, therefore, there can be no self-sufficiency. 
 Just as when a knowledge of the properties of the circle are 
 once acquired, we know that it is round, and that is all there 
 
 S9S 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 is of it, and all rational beings are upon an equality con- 
 cerning it. So in respect to spiritual truth, it is the common 
 property of all, and there is no room for the empiric ; " pov- 
 erty of spirit" is the quality of spirit which is herein commend- 
 able, or, in other language (for this is a great parable), an 
 humble, modest, reverent, and waiting dependence upon the 
 Divine Principle in the soul for illumination, an illumination 
 which is always requisite, and always ready, too, as a light 
 and a power to its possessor. 
 
 What I have attempted herein is to reconcile reverence 
 with clearness, the importance of the right application of 
 revealed truth by the intellect, so that spiritual truth may 
 be correlated by intellectual truth; or, to use the beautiful 
 language of Scripture, "prepared as a bride adorned for 
 her husband." This is the narrow portal through which 
 we pass when we enter into the paradise of love and of peace. 
 
 7 nlo. 6. — I have recently returned from a visit to New 
 England much instructed and edified by what I have seen 
 and heard therein, and hope that I return to my home with 
 greater faith in the gospel of the grace of God. Much de- 
 siring that this glorious gospel may become as a light to 
 guide my pathway, assisting me to overcome, overcome, over- 
 come in all things, even in little things, so that more patience 
 and less irritability may be felt and exhibited in daily life 
 in respect to the little annoyances which are daily consequent 
 to this present existence. 
 
 10 mo. i8. — We had the grandest sunset this evening which 
 I ever witnessed, that I remember. It has its drawback, as 
 in all things mutable, in the parched and woful condition of 
 vegetable life, we having been without rain, except quite light 
 showers, since the latter part of the Sixth month. It is the 
 greatest drought since 1838, exceeding that, however, in that 
 our pastures are literally dried up, and the winter grain in 
 such a suffering condition. We have been nearly four months 
 without rain, except light surface showers; consequently, 
 much suffering exists for want of water in many neighbor- 
 
 396 
 
CREATION 
 
 hoods. Our springs are dry, but the wells still hold out. 
 One remarkable fact attending the showers which we have 
 had, all from the west, is that they have been without thun- 
 der and lightning. 
 
 1882. 
 
 2 mo. 28. — I had recently a conversation with a friend who 
 has conceived doubts concerning the existence of Deity. His 
 view was, if there is a God, there must be another, querying 
 who made God? 
 
 Doubtless we have often been asked this question by chil- 
 dren, as well as by our own scepticism, for it grows out of 
 the popular idea of " Creation." But the Spirit of truth is 
 now teaching us the lesson of the Great Non-Original, as in 
 matter or force we see the Eternal. In other words, that 
 there is no commencement to the productive energies of 
 the universe. As, for instance, take matter, life, or mind. 
 These are indestructible; there being no life without ante- 
 cedent life, and no antecedent life without subsequent life. 
 The like being the case with mind and matter. 
 
 We speak of man as possessing an "original mind;" but 
 would not thus speak of Deity, He being the ever-existing 
 or non-original. And in the same way we speak of man 
 as a progressive being ; but we would not thus speak concern- 
 ing Deity. 
 
 The commencement of a force or effect is an absurdity; 
 that idea carrying with it the thought of something being 
 created out of nothing. This being absurd, so likewise is 
 absurd the idea of power as being eternally creative power 
 in the sense of being original power. For God is the great 
 non-original, being, in fact, infinite intelligence and infinite 
 power. Is one, as there is but one infinite space, or but one 
 infinite or eternal order which all men cognize a priori and 
 which science has demonstrated a posteriori. 
 
 Now, every effect must inhere in its cause, and we see ex- 
 hibited in nature the display of infinite mind, wealth, order, 
 
 397 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 utility, and beauty. In a word, an infinite variety is exhib- 
 ited ; no two things being alike or nothing original, no crea- 
 tive, but an infinitely productive power. " My Father work- 
 eth hitherto, and I work." So, my friend's " atheism" may 
 be but a negation of the popular idea of Deity. 
 
 Now, mind, life, and matter must have always been in ex- 
 istence; the idea of the commencement of the Eternal being 
 absurd. He being the Infinite, and thus being, therefore is, 
 non-originating and non-progressive. And as infinite space 
 does not admit of another space external to it, so does not 
 infinite intelligence and infinite power admit of another power 
 external to them. Herein we perceive the order of man as 
 an intelligence and power. Man is not an alien, but is kin- 
 dred to Deity, being approximately part of the Eternal. But 
 He is an originating and progressive being (an immortal 
 being), has "original ideas," they being but a part of the 
 infinite variety which exists in the universe. It has been 
 shown that there cannot be an absolutely original idea, be- 
 cause infinite power presupposes an entirety. Oneness, and 
 cannot be limited, unless we call self-limit a limitation. 
 
 The intelligence of man is progressive; that is, he is find- 
 ing out things in the infinite variety which prevails, — ia- 
 finite variety precluding the idea of another variety, and 
 in the infinite variety which prevails, embryo forms exist. 
 In fact, there is a common mode of existence. As the 
 acorn is an oak in embryo, so is man an embryo intelligence. 
 Jesus taught that man was a god in embryo : " Ye are gods; 
 and all of you are children of the Most High." The Jews 
 (the exoterics) took up stones against him as a blasphemer. 
 
 Jesus also taught that " God is a spirit," that is, infinite 
 spirit ; and as there cannot be another space external to infinite 
 space, so there cannot be another spirit external to infinite 
 spirit. Hence the decree of Jesus is true : " the Father, who 
 dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." Herein is man's possi- 
 bility, his reserved power, and upon this possibility can build 
 a stately edifice, but no philosophy can be reared upon his 
 
 398 
 
CHARLES STOKES 
 
 limitations (scepticism), and all attempts herein must and will 
 ever prove abortive. 
 
 Many names have been given to the Eternal. He has 
 been called Life and also Intelligence. But let it not be 
 forgotten that His other name is Existence, and that in Him, 
 therefore, w^e live and move and have our being, remember- 
 ing, also, that this is true in a hidden or esoteric sense — in 
 the sense that Jesus taught his friends. " Not my will, but 
 thine, O righteous Father, be done !" 
 
 Acquaintanceship with God is said to bring peace to man. 
 To be thus acquainted is simply the " awakening" of a prin- 
 ciple said to be dormant. Though all men deny this prin- 
 ciple, it matters not. It remaineth a quickening spirit, which 
 bringeth life and immortality to light. 
 
 2 mo. 4. — I attended yesterday the funeral of my venerable 
 friend, Charles Stokes, who died at the age of ninety-one. 
 It was the largest funeral I ever attended in the country. 
 Many were the testimonies borne to his many virtues. I 
 spoke of him as one who in his religion exemplified reverence 
 and clearness. One who did not kill the spirit with letter, 
 by transforming a metaphor into a creed! His mind was 
 wonderfully clear to the end. A few days before that event, 
 he sent for a minister of a sect who had said some forty years 
 before to him in a conversation that his religion might do 
 to live by, but that it would not do to die by. The minister 
 was much affected, and at parting they embraced each other, 
 Charles telling him that that same "All-Wise Power" who 
 had been with him all his days, was with him now in minis- 
 trations of peace at the close of this life. 
 
 5 mo. 23. — Our late Yearly Meeting was one of the best 
 that we have had for several years. I had to speak plainly 
 on the query in relation to the reading of the Scriptures, and 
 endeavored to reconcile the language of metaphor and parable 
 with the simplicity of the gospel, and also attempted to 
 illustrate the fact that the New Testament was compiled by 
 the authority of the Church, and thus postdated "After 
 
 399 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Matthew, after Mark, after Luke, after John." This being 
 the ancient title found on Codex Sinaitic and Vatican. The 
 New Testament hterature is none the worse because it is 
 compiled and illustrated from the " Sayings of Jesus." 
 Wisdom did not die with the apostles ! 
 
 I regretted the terminology of our circular letter to the 
 different Yearly Meetings. Many are the definitions of re- 
 ligion. Many there were in ancient, and many there are in 
 modern times, but it is best to keep to the simplicity of Jesus. 
 He defined it being led by '' the Spirit of truth," and personi- 
 fied it as "salt." Upon problems of the soul the church 
 should give no uncertain sound, so that the charge cannot 
 be made, — 
 
 " What have been thy answers, what but dark, 
 Ambiguous, and with double sense deluding." 
 
 The following letter was sent to The Journal, and will ex- 
 plain itself: 
 
 " Friend Editor, — In the report in The Journal of what I said on the 
 subject of the Scriptures in the Yearly Meeting, much injustice is done 
 me and also the subject upon which I treated. I spoke twice in relation 
 to the Scriptures. First, upon the second query, in regard to intellectual 
 unity and agreement in relation to the Bible, and pointed out what a 
 lapse this bond had created. That unnumbered woes had been caused 
 herein. That cruel wars had been waged between kindred peoples, that 
 our Society had been rent in twain, and the Christian world is largely 
 divided upon the meaning of Scriptural phrases. I attempted to point 
 out the means by which these differences could be reconciled, so that we 
 could be of one mind in relation thereto, and alluded to the many cita- 
 tions of ' the Fathers' that these things were parables and similitudes, 
 and only to be understood as such! I again spoke upon this subject 
 when the third query was under consideration, but I did not speak in 
 relation to the epistles, as I am reported to have done. I alluded to 
 the liberty which Luther took with the epistle of James, calling it 'an 
 epistle of straw,' also to what he says concerning the Apocalypse. 
 
 " I did not speak of the epistles but in this way, for I well know that 
 the four great epistles of Paul are universally admitted to have been the 
 production of his pen. 
 
 " I spoke of the revisers of the New Testament as not having been 
 candid in relation to the titles of ' the Gk>spels,' and that in the originals 
 
 400 
 
ALAN W. CORSON 
 
 they read 'after Matthew,' 'after Mark,' etc. And that it was now 
 being admitted by church authorities that this title was the correct one, 
 and that ' the Gospels' had passed through stages of oral tradition and 
 of several written accounts before they reached their present status. 
 This is founded upon irrefragable evidence, and is now generally being 
 admitted by the 'church.' In fact, the 'church' is the author of our 
 present revised record. And so far as the real church is recognized, all 
 its members should find in it a bond of unity and not a cause of division, 
 as I attempted to point out when I spoke concerning spiritual and in- 
 tellectual unity, which is a necessity when we come to the one thing 
 needful, ' that which cannot be shaken !' 
 
 "David Newport." 
 
 The following discourses having been reported in The 
 Journal, and as they bear witness concerning two justly dis- 
 tinguished men, I insert them here. 
 
 DISCOURSE AT THE FUNERAL OF ALAN W. CORSON, WHO 
 DIED SIXTH MONTH 21, 1882. By David Newport. 
 
 " ' Know ye not that there is a prince and a great man fallen this day 
 in Israel ?' If this was applicable in ancient times to one of illustrious 
 descent, how much more is it applicable to-day on the occasion of the 
 present solemnities ; . for truly a great and a good man hath entered into 
 the rest and peace prepared for him. 
 
 " Our dear deceased friend was a man of erudition — a scientist — 
 acquainted with the laws of nature; but this did not prevent his being 
 also a man of faith. For what is nature but an infinite multitude of 
 effects? Hence our brother was truly a philosopher, a lover of truth, 
 one who frequently in his mental vision ascended by means of these 
 manifold effects from nature up to the Great Eternal. If he was a 
 man of profound erudition, and a lover of the beautiful and curious in 
 nature's ways, he was also a man of profound reverence. He recognized 
 the nature of that new birth which the poet-philosopher of Germany 
 alluded to when he said that a man without reverence is not truly a 
 man. That is, he is not a man truly awakened to the divine germ of 
 light latent within him. For we have within us all a celestial spark 
 of divinity wherein and whereby we can become partakers of the Divine 
 Nature. And Goethe was right when he wrote— perhaps wiser than he 
 knew — 
 
 " ' Were not the eye itself a sun, 
 No sun for it could ever shine.' 
 
 " It being now demonstrated that the world is really in darkness, and 
 that light as proceeding from the sun is but the undulations of that 
 26 401 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 luminiferous medium which bounds all space. That the mere motion 
 of an exceedingly subtle ether beating upon the retina, and the ganglia 
 of nerve matter behind it deep in the brain, is that which causes the mar- 
 vellous and mysterious product which we call by the name light. But 
 let us complete and connect Goethe's stanza, — 
 
 " ' By nothing noble could the heart be won. 
 Were not the heart divine.' 
 
 " For it is, my friends, by reason of this inward light in each one of 
 us that we can this day appreciate and apply the lessons of these solem- 
 nities. It is by this that we can read with edification the different pages 
 and chapters in the volume of the life now before us. As I left my 
 horses just now in the beautiful grove which Alan W. Corson's hands have 
 planted, I was reminded of the grand and beautiful life which, with its 
 pages of ninety-five years, is spread out before us. And I remembered 
 what the philosophical Franklin said (whom the deceased largely re- 
 sembled), that finis was not written at the close of the chapter of this 
 life's mystery, but that the volume was to be completed and amended 
 and revised by its Author. 
 
 " Yes, my friends, it is even so, as that great philosopher, Benjamin 
 Franklin declared : ' We are spirits now, and here is the land of spirits.' 
 This present life is life eternal. Why does not that science which our 
 dear demised brother loved so well affirm that the Great Eternal hath 
 in His producing energies caused in matter a property whereby it is in- 
 destructible and eternal? Thus the infinite effects which we see around 
 us inhere in their cause. 
 
 "Another lesson, which if tractable and truthful, we can learn on 
 the present occasion is that of contentment. Our brother was a great 
 man by reason of nature's gift, and by reason of culture and of study. 
 He was a man fitted to occupy well the highest stations of honor and of 
 trust in our land; but he sought them not, for he found health, compe- 
 tence, peace, and happiness in the rural walks of life. 
 
 " ' Ye great and exalted, when ye tread the sweet leas. 
 Do ye look with contempt on such pleasures as these?' 
 
 " Why, when the famous aesthete visited Whitman he wrote that he 
 found over the river, in the home of the Camden poet, the perfection of 
 beauty in a square whitewashed room, with a centre table containing 
 on it books and flowers. 
 
 " I am not underrating the possibilities and the opportunities of wealth, 
 and of its consequent leisure and culture. But I insist that the long life 
 of this our beloved friend proves to us that such things are unnecessary 
 to our well-being and happiness in this life, for he was one who drank 
 deeply of the joys and consolations of communion with nature and with 
 
 402 
 
JUSTIN MARTYR 
 
 nature's God. I will now conclude by repeating the following lines, 
 which I learned in my youth, as being most applicable to the present 
 occasion : 
 
 " ' Remote from cities lived a swain, 
 Unvexed by all the cares of gain ; 
 His head was silvered o'er with age, 
 And long experience made him sage. 
 In summer's heat and winter's cold. 
 He fed his flock and penn'd the fold ; 
 His hours in cheerful labor flew. 
 Nor envy nor ambition knew.' " 
 
 SERMON OF DAVID NEWPORT, DELIVERED ON FIRST- 
 DAY, FIFTH MONTH 14, 1882. 
 
 " We are not called by the world by the name of Orthodox, yet we 
 profess to be one' of the most, if not of the most, orthodox bodies on 
 earth. That is, in the true sense of the word 'orthodox,' that we hold 
 and are actuated by right sentiments and opinions. And in respect to 
 these, we are willing to be tried by the Scriptures, or at the bar of right 
 reason. 
 
 " Take the declaration of the apostle in respect to the usages of the 
 ancient church. ' If a revelation be made to another sitting by, let the 
 first keep silence. For ye all can prophesy one by one, that all may 
 learn, and all may be comforted.' Now, plainly, it was not the ancient 
 practice for particular persons (one man) being set apart and educated 
 for the ministry; but they met as we meet, that all may learn and that 
 all may be ' exhorted.' Jesus of Nazareth was ' the carpenter's son,' 
 and he worked at his father's trade. Justin Martyr being a witness that 
 in his day some of the product of his handiwork (ox-yokes) was still 
 extant. And he chose for his friends fishermen and tent-makers, as fully 
 competent to disseminate the truths of the gospel; Paul declaring that 
 he ministered with his own hands to his own necessities and the neces- 
 sities of those with him. We have therefore no salaried ministers, yet 
 this does not prevent us from helping those upon whom the burthen 
 of the word is laid ; on the contrary, it is our duty so to do. 
 
 "Again it is written concerning the ancient ministry, 'that he was 
 tempted, that he might succor those who are in temptation.' Now, if 
 ministers are salaried and set apart for the work, being placed above the 
 common needs of their fellows, they are necessarily unfitted to enter into 
 and minister to those every-day temptations and circumstances which 
 are the universal lot of mankind. "Thus our practice is founded on 
 Scripture testimony, as well as having the authority of right reason. 
 
 " Women also preach among us, ' there being neither male nor female 
 in Christ.' When the apostle spoke of woman's voice not being heard 
 in the churches, he used an oriental expression. As he speaks of certain 
 of the sisterhood to whom a gospel gift had been bestowed, so we in our 
 
 403 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 time well know that it is bestowed, they giving proof of their calling as 
 ministers of the Most High. 
 
 " Thus the highly figurative types in the Scripture have been trans- 
 formed from their true meaning and framed into creeds. 
 
 " Hyperbolical expressions concerning the womanly nature have been 
 wrenched from their original significance; and, counter to sense and 
 reason, woman is not suffered to speak in the congregations of the 
 people. It is not the tj-pe which we follow after, but that heavenly anti- 
 type which is Christ the Lord, who is alive forevermore. 
 
 " As the inspired Whittier has well said, — 
 
 " ' For the dead Christ, not the living. 
 Ye seek an empty grave. 
 Whose life alone within you. 
 Hath power to bless and save.' 
 
 " We therefore profess the ministry of the Spirit, agreeably to the 
 declaration : ' It is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which 
 speaketh in you.' And herein I feel for one that I ' often walk as upon a 
 sea of glass mingled with fire,' and ' I tremble often, that, having preached 
 unto others, I may become myself a castaway.' The doctrine of the 
 Spirit in contradistinction to that of the letter which killeth, is certainly 
 orthodox, that is, it is in accord with revelation and with right reason. 
 What a beautiful revelation is the sun-light, palpitating through that 
 luminous medium which fills all space, clothing anew the earth in this 
 the spring-time with verdure and greenness. Well, behind the sunlight 
 is the great infinite and productive cause of all things. And what Soc- 
 rates called ' those eternal ideas, after which the soul is modelled, — the 
 true, the good, and the beautiful,' Behind all the grandeur of the human 
 soul is that eternal Excellency which is forever and forever! Thus we 
 come directly and logically to the sentiment and doctrine of universal 
 revelation, and here hence we take our stand upon a foundation which 
 cannot be shaken. 
 
 " Well did Matthew Arnold say that that man who denied the power 
 not ourselves that makes for righteousness, is unworthy to be argued 
 with. Such must be let alone, like Ephraim of old ; they are wedded to 
 their idols. 
 
 " It has been said that we do not believe in the divinity of Christ. I 
 almost might say that we believe in nothing else than the divinity of 
 Christ. We subscribe fully to the sentiments of the apostle, that ' God 
 anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who 
 went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the 
 devil ; for God was with him J Therefore we do not erect upon a pedestal 
 of ancient heathenism Jesus of Nazareth. We do not deify the person 
 of Jesus, but we deify the Spirit that dwelt in him. 
 
 " The inward Christ is our consolation. It remains even to this day 
 
 404 
 
TOTAL DEPRAVITY 
 
 as a stumbling-block to the Jewish— the traditional— mind, and a mystery 
 to the Grecian— the intellectual— mind ; but as it was to the apostle, it 
 still remains with us to be ' the power of God and the wisdom of God.' 
 It is, my Friends, by coming to the voice of God in the soul that we 
 come to the joys and consolations of religion. Well did the poet 
 sing: 
 
 Religion, what treasures untold 
 
 Reside in that heavenly word, 
 More precious than silver or gold, 
 
 Or all that this earth can afford.' 
 
 " We might alter Cowper's first line, and read, ' Religion, what beauty 
 untold resides in that heavenly word.' But how unlovely, I might say 
 what ugly and hideous features has it worn for hundreds of years to 
 the spiritual, intellectual man. How revolting is the doctrine of total 
 depravity, through Adam's transgression. Contrary to the Scripture, 
 all this, the apostle declares, ' as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall 
 all be made alive.' In the present tense he speaks: Verily, the literal 
 sense killeth. 
 
 "A minister of a so-called orthodox society said to me in private 
 not long since, ' I regard substituted righteousness as substituted non- 
 sense.' I was glad to hear him thus speak. 
 
 " The church is coming out of the wilderness. And yet this unlovely 
 creed is still taught in Sabbath schools to little children, by teachers 
 who have never come to that wisdom which is justified in her children. 
 
 " Great is the narrowness of those who, knowing a little truth, imagine 
 that they have discovered the whole truth. The truth, like all things 
 which God hath produced, is infinite and eternal. Hence the more we 
 know the more modest and humble we are. This modesty was shown 
 by Darwin, the scientist, now deceased. When he said that what he 
 discovered was but a mite of the great truth of nature, admitting ' that 
 it is absurd in the highest degree possible, the supposition that the eye, 
 with its inimitable contrivances, could have been formed by natural 
 selection.' 
 
 " This body is only a garment which has been before worn by myriads 
 of creatures in the countless ages of time, and like all things which 
 the Infinite hath produced, ' it is eternal, for all effects must inhere in 
 their cause.' Thus He hath produced in material^ things a property so 
 strong and lasting that matter is found to be eternal. Its forms change, 
 but in existence it is the same. 
 
 " So also of the soul, it can be said, ' I proceeded and came forth 
 from God.' The principle of God in us is to live forever, and in all ages 
 prophets and seers have been raised up to testify concerning it. 
 
 " I now feel it right to conclude by attempting to illustrate the sub- 
 ject upon which I have spoken by reference to the long and peaceful 
 life and the triumphant demise of one who has recently passed away 
 
 40s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 from our midst. I allude to that venerated elder of the church, Charles 
 Stokes, who lived among us to the age of ninety-three years. We re- 
 member how bright and joyful he was at our last Yearly Meeting. The 
 incident to which I would refer was narrated to me by his daughter. 
 She stated that some thirty years ago, when she was a girl at home, 
 a friend of her father's, who was a minister of an evangelical denomina- 
 tion, called to see him and desired to converse with him upon the sub- 
 ject of religion. They entered into argument, and she thought that her 
 father had much the best of it. Upon the minister taking leave of them, 
 he remarked to Charles, saying, ' Mr. Stokes, your religion may do to 
 live by, but it will not do to die by. I should like to see you die.' 
 
 " In his last illness Charles sent for this neighbor (now also an old 
 man) somewhat against the wishes of the family, they desiring that he 
 should be kept quiet and free from all agitating causes. When he came, 
 our dear friend said to him, after an exchange of salutation: 'Dost 
 thou remember a conversation which we had in this house many years 
 since ?' ' I do very well,' was the reply. ' Dost thou remember what 
 thou saidst on taking leave of me ?' ' I remember that, too, very well, Mr. 
 Stokes.' ' Well,' said Charles, ' I hold the same views now as I did then, 
 and that same All-Wise Power who was with me in my youth, who has 
 been with me through life, is with me now as a joy and a consolation, 
 and I am not afraid to die.' The man was so affected that he could 
 do but little more than weep. And they embraced each other on part- 
 ing with much emotion. 
 
 " My Friends, we are called a peculiar people. For upwards of two 
 hundred years, through good report and through evil report, we have 
 endeavored to bear aloft the simplicity of the gospel. Its greatness and 
 beauty are illustrated in the Sermon on the Mount. Consider the differ- 
 ent beatitudes, and compare them with the opposites and contraries. 
 How great the comparison. And now, in conclusion, in great poverty of 
 self and humility of spirit, I tell you that I am favored to know some- 
 thing of the consolations of our faith; they are my morning and my 
 evening song. Live near the Eternal, and that self-same All- Wise 
 Power that was a comfort to this dear aged Friend in his youth, in 
 middle life, and in his green and beautiful old age, will be to you as 
 your comfort and your stay. To the Power Eternal I commend you 
 with my own soul." 
 
 CRITiaSM OF DR. OSWALD'S VIEWS. 
 
 " Editors of ' The Index.' — Dr. Oswald's comments upon ' The Secret 
 of the East,' though able in a rhetorical point of view, are unfortunate 
 in point of perception. Our critic does not comprehend the secret of 
 Jesus. 
 
 " We read, on the occasion of his handing back to the minister the 
 book, that he stated what was not in the book, — that his mission was 
 ' for the restoration of sight to the blind' ; and I most earnestly hope 
 
 406 
 
FIDELITY 
 
 that the eyes of such zealous advocates as Dr. Oswald may be opened 
 to see 'the truth as it is in Jesus' in its beauty and simplicity. In 
 regard to antinaturalism, what would this earth produce but for the 
 farmer's art in this respect? His whole effort is given in that direction, 
 not only in the cultivation of the earth, but also in the raising and in the 
 breeding of stock. The finest and most beautiful flowers of the garden 
 and the most luscious fruits of the field are all eminently antinatural- 
 istic. 
 
 " Man has been likened to a ' garden enclosed,' and, like a garden, he 
 naturally throws up brambles and briers and noxious weeds. These 
 need subjugation by tillage. The soil thereof, to receive the heavenly 
 seed, must be of a generous and liberal and of a responsive character, 
 else the seed of the kingdom will not increase and bring forth some ten- 
 and some one-hundred-fold. 
 
 " Now, what is the secret of Jesus ? Is it not self-denial ? And did 
 any man ever arrive at any degree of perfectedness without living on 
 the watch-tower of the mind? All men know that Jesus eminently 
 taught these things, and taught them by means of parables, in order 
 to stimulate the minds of his hearers to inquiry and verification. He, 
 however, taught self-denial only as a means to an end; and this won- 
 drous end it is which constitutes his method and his secret. 
 
 " Humanity is wonderful and fruitful in its suggestion of its origin 
 and of its destiny. Jesus taught that its true destiny was in rightly 
 formulating the Spirit of truth. And he called this by various names. 
 He called it ' salt,' and personified it as such. He spoke of being freed 
 by the truth, or by the Son : ' If the Son shall make you free, then are 
 ye free indeed.' And yet, in the face of such teaching, such men as our 
 critic find that he sought the bondage and servitude of the human mind, 
 and not its emancipation and liberation from useless forms and cere- 
 monies. 
 
 " He certainly taught faith, and that without faith we could do nothing 
 to effect this very self-same emancipation and liberation. Now, I per- 
 ceive that Dr. Oswald, instead of being a freeman, is a bondman and a 
 servant to error and to servitude. Disclaiming against antinaturalistic 
 tendencies, he is himself unredeemed and unemancipated ; for the Son 
 has not made him free. 
 
 " In the first place, in order to discover the secret of Jesus, we must 
 possess faith (fidelity) ; and that faith must be free. It especially must 
 be liberated from the bondage of the letter, and herein such minds as 
 our critic most grievously err. They largely err in the spiritual aesthetic 
 perception of the mind. Being seduced by the devil, they yield to his 
 seductions. Now, the first temptation of Jesus was on this wise; and 
 he resisted the Satanic influence with the citation, ' It is written that man 
 shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of 
 the mouth of God.' 
 
 " Many have been the formulas as to the origin of the New Testament. 
 
 407 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 I have mine, and some ten years since published a book on the subject, 
 entitled 'Indices, Historical and Rational.' And my formula in it was 
 partly right and partly wrong. The truth is the New Testament was 
 written by the Church, whatever that may mean. The early Fathers 
 clearly denote it. Origen hath declared it, and none of them deny 
 it. It is unquestioned that Paul knew nothing of the Four Books, else 
 he would have quoted them. And he, more than any of the rest, fath- 
 omed the mystery, even 'Christ within, the hope of glory.' Oh, how 
 absurd is the thought that the man who discovers this great idea can 
 be a pessimist! Did not Paul say, 'Rejoice in the Lord always; and 
 again I say, Rejoice'? Did he not say, 'For ye have not received the 
 spirit of bondage again to fear ; but ye have received the Spirit of adop- 
 tion, whereby we cry, Abba, Father' ? Did he not say, ' Because ye are 
 sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, 
 Abba, Father'? 
 
 " Lucretia Mott once said to me, in view of the fact of the denial 
 by some of the historical Jesus, that it did not matter to her if such 
 denial was founded upon fact ; and herein did not Paul say, ' We have 
 known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more' ? 
 And, again, ' No man can call Jesus Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.' 
 And is it not written, ' No man can come unto the Father but by the 
 Son,' — i.e., by Sonship or God-reliance? 
 
 " Is the high estimate which Jesus placed upon the character and 
 destiny of man an irrational one? Is he not created but little lower than 
 the angels ? Is the estimate in ' Hamlet' overdrawn ? ' How noble in 
 reason ! how infinite in faculties ! in form and moving, how express and 
 admirable ! in action, how like an angel ! in apprehension, how like a 
 god!' Is this all poetry? Well, blot out all the poetry of life and emo- 
 tion, and do we not all become pessimists? But is the formula of Jesus 
 an irrational one ? — ' Ye are all the children of the Most High.' — ' He 
 called them gods to whom the word of God came.' 
 
 " I query of our critic, Can he conceive Infinite Wisdom conferring 
 sonship or grace upon a being more highly endowed than man, when 
 he considers his capacity as involving life eternal? Consider him as 
 the ' heir of all the ages,' consider his wondrous capacity for enjoy- 
 ment of sunshine and of starlight, ' for summer's stores and winter's 
 healthful snow, for the radiant earth and the solemn sea, for fruits 
 and flowers, brutes and birds, for our own wondrous frames of flesh, 
 for sight and hearing, taste and smell and feeling, for sleep, for lan- 
 guage, for human love, for intellect and memory, for all the wondrous 
 powers which permit the child of yesterday to converse with the 
 dead of all the ages, and to soar in thought through the realms of 
 boundless space, — for these blessings, what liturgy pours its long strain 
 of thanksgiving before the throne of the merciful Benefactor' ? * And 
 
 * Frances Power Cobbe, " Religious Duty." 
 408 
 
JESUS A FREE RELIGIONIST 
 
 also, I would add, for that sentiment and capacity of communion and 
 correspondence with the infinite and the eternal Mind. Our critic may 
 deny all this, but he cannot deny that this was the secret and the method 
 of Jesus. He was the most eminent Free Religionist of whom we have 
 any account, supreme among the children of men for spiritual genius 
 and percipient power. How absurd, then, it is to confound the beautiful 
 religion which he taught with the absurdities which we find in civil and 
 ecclesiastic history, and which have been falsely classified with his 
 system and taught in his name! 
 
 " D. N." 
 
 THE SCIENTIFIC INTELLECT. 
 
 "Friend Editor, — I was much interested in the perusal of Emerson's 
 essay in the last number of The Index, as well as with thy editorial in 
 respect to it. Now true religion never did propose to limit the ' scientific 
 intellect.' ' Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat ; but 
 of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.' Here is the fullest room 
 for all the powers of the spirit of a man to which the things of a man 
 belong. But the things of God belong to the Spirit of God. This is 
 the Socratic as well as the Pauline philosophy, and hence Jesus said, 
 'Of myself I can do nothing.' That is, I will not eat of that fruit of 
 which Adam partook. In other words, by searching (by the scientific 
 intellect alone) I cannot find out God, and will not attempt it. 
 
 "And now what is the fact as to the ' scientific intellect' ? Has it 
 found out God in the ultimate in its inquiries from the time of Lucre- 
 tius to that of Spencer? Let the acknowledged agnosticism of the age 
 answer. It has failed, and ever will fail, in every and in all attempts to 
 discover the ultimate in one single atom. 
 
 " The truth is, natural truth and spiritual truth belong to separate 
 and distinct spheres. ' An animal man knoweth not the things of 
 the Spirit of God, because they are spiritually discerned.' Or, in other 
 words, to know the things of God, we must live to God, i. e., He is to be 
 known by and of Himself, as Socrates and Jesus did, by faith, which 
 means by fidelity, by fealty, and by righteousness ! Thus we are justi- 
 fied before the Eternal, or, as the apostle said, we are 'justified by the 
 faith of Jesus Christ.' 
 
 " D. N." 
 
 Having been a frequent contributor to the Boston Index, 
 I insert the following written upon a current topic discussed 
 in that paper. 
 
 MEDLEY. 
 " Editors of ' The Index',— The medley which exists in the so-called 
 religious world is now certainly equalled by the different forms of belief 
 which many persons are now erecting as something stable and trust- 
 
 409 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 worthy. And these many different attempts at 'philosophy' (?) grow 
 out of what all men at times feel, and which the Nazarene prayed against, 
 — 'lead us not into temptation,' namely, the limitations (doubts) to 
 which we are subject; and herein, the more we know, the greater is the 
 ignorance which we feel in respect to phenomenal objects. Still, I hold 
 it to be a truism that the mind of man was made to know, and in practical 
 reason what he knows is a reality. If we assert that all truth is relative, 
 we attack our verity, and assume the absolute also when we alBrm the 
 relative. Herein, how often we find a low type of agnostics (the un- 
 initiated) falsifying their own position, when they assert with great 
 positiveness- concerning man's origin, especially his connection with all 
 that is beneath him, while they deny with scorn his relationship to all that 
 is above him. And, as they scout all a priori evidence of the infinite 
 (the light in them having become darkness), I have a few words to say 
 in respect to what is called a posteriori proof. 
 
 " Now, I assert that we cannot think without thinking something, 
 and that that something is God. Evidently, we cannot think of nothing, 
 something being always present in such an attempt at thought. All order 
 of thought assumes the Eternal. If I think of matter, knowing all that 
 I can know of the properties of matter, I necessarily think of the Eternal, 
 because matter is eternal. If I conceive the idea of Life, the same process 
 takes place in my mind, and I think of Life Eternal. And I also think 
 of something distinct from matter. Now, the property of matter may 
 be defined as gravitation (motion) ; but the property of life is counter 
 to all this, as the plant is lifted up counter to gravitation. Herbert 
 Spencer, an agnostic, defines life as ' the continual adjustment of internal 
 relations to external relations.' Now, here something very transcendental 
 is affirmed, and it can be none other than the Eternal. Thus, in Him we 
 live and move and have our being. And, as there is no life without 
 antecedent life, there can be no life without subsequent life; and here 
 is the ■ seed' that was queried after by M. D. Conway in a late Index, 
 which is to live forever. Somewhere, somehow, our relation will be 
 adjusted in the future as in the past. Somehow we have been born 
 into consciousness into this life, and somehow this consciousness will 
 be adjusted to Life Eternal. 
 
 " Again, if I think of mind, I cannot but think of Eternal Intelligence, 
 and as an intelligence, moreover, which is one. Just as there can be 
 but one infinite space, so there can be but one Infinite Intelligence ; and 
 the correspondence between human mind and the Supreme Mind is 
 becoming more clear, the more we meditate concerning it. Every ad- 
 vance in science is affirming it. Every discovery affirming in life an 
 infinite endowment in the infinite variety disclosed, and a teleology is 
 revealed in which an intelligence like unto man's, either as an instru- 
 mental or as a principal cause, is evolved in us. 
 
 " Take Charles Darwin's recent publication on the earthworm. Here 
 is disclosed a creature which for ' millions of jrears' has been at work 
 
 410 
 
THE DIVINE PRINCIPLE 
 
 preparing and adjusting the surface of the earth for man. The creature 
 itself not advantaged 1 Query, Is Darwinism sure of Darwin, in view 
 of his recent book, and of his confession ' that it is absurd in the highest 
 degree possible, the supposition that the eye with its inimitable con- 
 trivances could have been formed by natural selection'? 
 
 " If it be true that what is known of God is manifest in man, then 
 it is not of our earthly limitations which we should inquire concerning 
 Him, but rather to that which is highest and greatest and holiest in us. 
 Thus, and thus alone, can His image be disclosed in us through our 
 possibilities and reserved power.' 
 
 " ' I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.' 
 Now, as all religious fact is practical reason, such sayings as these must 
 relate to self-evident truth. The ' I' meaning simply the ego * in us 
 to be exalted in a proximate degree, thus man can become a partaker 
 of the Divine nature, one with the Eternal as regards intelligence, utility, 
 and goodness. The water in the spring is of the same quality as that 
 in the fountain, but in all other respects how different,— in measure, in 
 power, in supply, how very different. 
 
 " D. N." 
 
 THE LETTER AND THE SPIRIT. 
 
 "There have been two schisms in the Society of Friends, mainly 
 concerning ' the man Jesus Christ,' — one in 1680 and the other in 1827 ; 
 and these divisions of sentiment may be considered an epitome of those 
 which have agitated the Church during the last eighteen hundred years. 
 We read that ' there was division because of him' in early times ; and 
 these divisions, ' the Fathers' tell us, were caused by a literal rendering 
 of the Scriptures. Origen, Athanasius, and Augustine warned most em- 
 phatically the people against this. Says Athanasius, ' If you understand 
 sacred writ according to the letter, you will fall into the most enormous 
 blasphemies.' 
 
 " Notwith,standing this, and the declaration ' that the letter killeth,' 
 we find in ancient and in modern times orthodox and liberal erring in 
 this respect ; and in The Index they are frequently to be seen ! 
 
 " The Friends are now united in holding Christ to be an inward 
 principle of light and power in the soul, — first of life and light, and 
 then of life and power! John Woolman says, 'There is a principle in 
 the human mind which hath in different ages and different places been 
 called by different names: it is, however, pure, and proceeds from God.' 
 No student of the Scriptures need be told of the many names by which 
 Christ is called. Jesus uses ' the Spirit of truth' and ' the Son' as inter- 
 changeable terms; and that by a realization of this principle we are 
 'to be set free,' — herein 'being baptized into Christ we have put on 
 
 * Galatians iv. 6. 
 411 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Christ.' And we Friends claim that this is the true 'Messianic idea' 
 which Jesus taught, and which was not a personality, but a principle, 
 a ' seed' in the human mind ; and that this was so much his stay and 
 his theme that his friends, when they came to write about him, used his 
 name as a synonyme to denote it and to express it. 
 
 " Now take Acts x. 43, to which my friend, ' C. K. W.,' objected in 
 No. 512 in The Index. ' ' To him give all the prophets witness, that 
 through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission 
 of sins.' This is a discourse of Peter's, and he is speaking concerning 
 this principle, as in verse thirty-seven we read, ' That word, I say, ye 
 know,' or in verse thirty-eight it is written that ' God anointed Jesus 
 of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost,' which again is but a synonyme for 
 'the Spirit of truth.' 
 
 " My desire is, as God's servant, that we Free Religionists may be 
 baptized into this principle, immersed into it, and the letter of Scripture 
 will not then kill a proper understanding of the text. 
 
 " D. N." 
 
 THE SUPERNATURAL. 
 
 " Editors of ' The Index', — I am unable to understand why so many 
 writers in The Index object to the term ' supernatural.' This is notably 
 the case in the book notice of the ' Memoir of Elizabeth Newport.' It 
 speaks of ' those fanciful promptings which she called the " Inward 
 light." ' Now, what is nature but outward phenomena automatically 
 arranged? And, in the contemplation of its various parts, its vastness 
 impresses us with the sentiment of wonder. The more we investigate 
 these parts, as parts or in conjunction with the infinite whole, we see 
 that that mighty framework and mechanism which we call ' nature' oper- 
 ates upon an automatic principle. And we perceive, too, that our bodies 
 operate also upon this same plan, — circulation, respiration, digestion, 
 and assimilation, etc., all animals being also automatons. But man is 
 a self-conscious creature, and stands alone in all the world herein. His 
 consciousness, — who can limit it ? Who can define his limitations ? Man 
 is, then, certainly above nature, is therefore gifted with the supernatural 
 power of consciousness, — is conscious, too, of becoming conscious. The 
 term ' supernatural,' then, is a proper term, when we speak of man and 
 of his orbit, of the sphere of his thought and of the law of his being. 
 The proper study of mankind is said to be man ; and, in the study of 
 ourselves, we should not apply our individual limitations to the race, 
 for we are members one of another. Herein, the experience of one of 
 our ablest Philadelphia lawyers is apropos. Daniel Webster and he 
 were attorneys in a very important suit at Trenton. He had given the 
 subject much study and thought. When Webster came on from Wash- 
 ington, they spent much of the night in the consideration of the details 
 of the case; but, when it came to trial, he found that Webster was 
 master of all the generals and particulars of the case. And his con- 
 
 412 
 
THE SUPERNATURAL 
 
 elusion was that the workings of his mind as compared to that of Web- 
 ster's were as twenty-four hours is to one hour. We diflfer widely in 
 our capacities, and each is the complement of another. Thus is the 
 consensus competent established, and thus alone, no one man being 
 omnipotent. 
 
 "In respect to science, was not Goethe correct when he said that 
 all that was really worth knowing, which he had ever studied, would all 
 go into one small envelope? Effects can only be known in their cause, 
 and can only thus be explained. Socrates said that the study of the 
 sciences nearly destroyed his eyesight, — i.e., his spiritual vision. 
 
 " When we speak of science, we speak of matter. And when we 
 inquire of scientists whether they have any book on science as a standard, 
 we are told that ' a text-book on geology is out of date as soon as 
 printed; and, on the doctrine of organic cells and living tissues, no 
 book over fifteen years old but is largely worthless.' Thus, science can 
 have no church, no Bible, no bond of union, because of scepticism and 
 doubt in all its departments, — in geology, in biology, and in physical 
 science generally. Do the devotees of evolution agree? No: because 
 all is yet unsettled. And a recent writer seriously informs us that about 
 the year igoo certain questions concerning spirit will be satisfactorily 
 known. The intellectual giddiness of such men as the late President 
 of the British Association is surprising. He (M. Spottiswood) sets 
 forth a world wherein our commonest axioms and verities are as 
 naught; that even the axiom that things equal to one another are equal 
 to the same thing may not only be disputable, but false. Thus it is 
 with a man when he becomes entangled in the outward phenomena called 
 ' nature' : he becomes blinded as to his true nature and capacity, and, 
 partaking of mere phenomena, he grows into its likeness, and becomes 
 automatic, too. 
 
 " In the article of F. M. Holland, in a late Index, the formula of 
 the Free Religionist is ably set forth. No scepticism has, he thinks, 
 shaken these four principles : ' i. The positive existence of a transcendent 
 Reality, which reveals itself in consciousness, but is above all definition; 
 2. Our continual dependence on this Reality, in which we live and move 
 and have our being; 3. The certainty that it acts through fixed and 
 general laws; and, 4. Some sort of connection between this action and 
 the tendency which leads us to do right.' Now, when we come to dwell 
 in this Reality, we become philosophers, and have a real existence as 
 such. And a philosopher is not an automaton: he is a Reality-reliant 
 man in real things, and a self-reliant man in phenomenal things. In fact, 
 a man is as he lives or dwells; for the quality of a substance must be 
 in strict relation to the substance itself. 
 
 "Now, in the article to which I have in part alluded, the Society of 
 Friends are objected to, because of their belief in the supernatural. I 
 would inquire. Can a man receive any good thing, unless he relies upon 
 it or has faith in it? Take human love as an example. Clearly, Melity 
 
 413 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 is the condition to receive all good gifts. In order to receive God-power, 
 we must be God-reliant, we must trust in Him, and thus know that 
 He is. Then comes the reward as an effect which follows its cause. 
 
 " F. M. Holland says, ' I agree with Count d'Alviella that Herbert 
 Spencer's great Unknowable has not such attributes as can attract 
 strong and permanent religious feeling.' But Spencer says, in ' First 
 Principles,' ' Moreover, as the religious sentiment in the mind perceives 
 its object, the Ultimate Being, so that Being is conceived as making 
 itself known to the mind of man through the religious sentiment. A 
 reciprocal relation is thus established, the Unknowable causing a peculiar 
 intuition, the mind of man receiving it. We need not discard such feel- 
 ings as idle delusions,' etc. 
 
 " This is the faith of the Friend ; and this the basis of his dependence 
 or faith, — a reliance which demands his perfection (sonship), hence is 
 the postulate of eternal life. ' Be ye therefore perfect, even as your 
 Father which is in heaven is perfect.' 
 
 " Now, all this seems very rational and very reasonable to me, as 
 Spencer further says, ' He, too, may feel that, when the Unknown Cause 
 produces in him a certain belief, he is thereby authorized to profess and 
 act out that belief.' 
 
 " The philosophy of the Friend has for its exponent the ' man Christ 
 Jesus.' * He was and he is the profoundest spiritual man that the Eter- 
 nal has raised up, ' whose words and works,' says Theodore Parker, ' help 
 us to form and develop the idea of the complete religious man.' Now, 
 the mission of Jesus ' was to bring us to God.' ' Whosoever shall do 
 the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.' 
 Thus, we esteem him as our " elder brother;' t and herein we are justified 
 ' by,' as Paul says, ' the faith of Jesus Christ.' Jesus's words were, as 
 reported by the evangelist, ' I have declared unto them thy name, and 
 will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in 
 them, and I in them.' That is, my Spirit and my doctrine are to be in 
 them. 
 
 " Can we not, then, advance another principle in addition to Count 
 d'Alviella's four, and, using Spencer's language in part, say that a 
 reciprocal relation can .be established between the Ultimate Being and 
 man? Or, as readjustments are the order of the day, can we not 
 shorten the formula thus : One infinite and Ultimate Being upon 
 whom we are dependent, to whom we are related, and with whom we 
 can become acquainted? 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 * It is a great impertinence, however, to apply the name of Jesus 
 as it generally is applied in the limitation of the religious sentiment 
 to him. Paul calls it " my lie" — an orientalism in Romans iii. 7. He 
 here denotes the secret of the brotherhood ! 
 
 t Romans viii. 29. 
 
 414 
 
THE GREAT MYSTERY 
 
 II mo. 21.— At our late Quarterly Meeting, held at By- 
 berry, my dear friend Morris Crosdale was the first speaker. 
 He treated of the " marriage in Cana of Galilee." I felt to 
 follow him, attempting to point out who the mother of Jesus 
 was. Querying as to what we knew of the Son through the 
 mother, or through that condition of maternity out of which 
 the Son is born. And that thus we can understand the say- 
 ing, " Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." Because his 
 Father's spirit is in him, and being the mother of the Son, 
 we know this great truth in the spirit of maternal love and 
 joy! Thus we experience salvation through the baptism of 
 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit through a knowledge 
 of the Father through the Son by means of a holy union with 
 Him. 
 
 Herein is great joy, and peace, and blessedness. Herein 
 is exemplified the declaration, " That ye might be filled with 
 all the fulness of God." Herein, too, is the knowledge of 
 the beloved of souls, as " a pure influence flowing from the 
 glory of the Almighty." 
 
 " With the bread of understanding shall she feed him and 
 give him the water of wisdom to drink." 
 
 " But foolish men shall not attain unto her, and sinners 
 shall not see her." 
 
 The end and aim of life should be so ordered that celestial 
 joy and peace should be experienced; thus, that we may 
 fulfil the thought of Jesus, " and my Father will love him, and 
 we will come unto him, and make our abode with him," 
 being the " Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit," which the 
 Father will send in the name of the Son (John xiv. 26). 
 We knowing him by that name because he hath been brought 
 forth in us by means of the sorrows and the joys of maternity. 
 Thus becoming, by means of a close and intimate union, not 
 only as a beloved son, but also a wonderful counsellor, with 
 whom there is the sweetest fellowship. " This is a great 
 mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the church." 
 For it is also, as the apostle has expressed it, of the na- 
 
 41S 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 ture of the marriage covenant, signifying union and com- 
 munion. 
 
 Thus many different terms are employed to express the 
 beatitude of man when he hath received that heavenly gift 
 in which all limitations (doubts) are removed, and heavenly 
 joy and bliss are experienced in the one thing needful. And 
 having been the recipient of many good gifts in the outward 
 relation of life, I can truly say that that inward consciousness 
 of maternal joy in the heart of the indescribable and in- 
 communicable Son of God is above and beyond all that 
 this world can confer, and that he will abide with me as a 
 continuity is what I greatly desire. Many, many have been 
 and are the blessings of life to me, but the uninterrupted joy 
 which is my portion as an humble member of the Church of 
 God is the chiefest of all my blessings, and the greatest of all 
 my possessions ! 
 
 And this great treasure is to be. found by means of the 
 way, the truth, and the life, and not by means of descriptions 
 concerning it, for, as Isaac Penington truly says, " the letter, 
 or a description of things, is not the way." No, that way 
 is abolished in his flesh (example), the enmity, even the law 
 of commandments, contained in ordinances. Of this latter 
 religion Isaac Penington says, "At length the Lord greatly 
 distressed me, and brought me to a full sense of my want of 
 His Spirit and power, and dashed all my religion to pieces." 
 
 Thus Infinite Wisdom imbues His ministers with the 
 iconoclastic spirit, bearing testimony to His judgments. 
 " And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over 
 her ; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more." 
 
 If I have been made thus subject to this ministerial dis- 
 pensation of condemnation, it has not been to please myself, 
 but rather, as it is written, " to please my neighbor, for his 
 good and edification." Herein I know full well the realiza- 
 tion as it is written, " The reproaches of them that reproached 
 thee fell upon me !" 
 
 12 mo.- 4. — Yesterday, the two hundredth anniversary of 
 
 416 
 
ABINGTON MONTHLY MEETING 
 
 dur Monthly Meeting was celebrated at our meeting house 
 at Abingtou. It was estimated that over five hundred per- 
 sons were present. A historical sketch of our meeting, com- 
 piled from the books, was read by Charles Linton, and an 
 address was delivered by John M. Broomal. I read an 
 original poem entitled " William Penn's Holy Experiment." 
 It was considered an interesting occasion. Our records go 
 back antecedent to the arrival of Penn, and speak of a time 
 " when Governor William Penn and a multitude of Friends 
 arrived and erected a city called Philadelphia, about half a 
 mile from Shackamaxon, where meetings were established." 
 The meeting at Shackamaxon was removed to Philadelphia. 
 With the former our Monthly Meeting was clearly connected, 
 and Thomas Fairman and his friends evidently kept the book 
 of record as containing the accounts of the Tacony and Po- 
 quessing Meeting, which were afterwards embraced in Abing- 
 ton Monthly Meeting. 
 
 12 mo. 5. — In the Divine life there are abasements and 
 aboundings. I have had,. I hope, my full portion of the 
 former; but for some time past — ever since I attended the 
 funeral of my ancient friend John M. Ogden — the voice of 
 my Beloved has been an ever present realization of joy and 
 consolation, more so than ever before, so that I can truly 
 say, " My beloved is mine, and I am his : he feedeth 
 among the lilies." This I ascribed to the adorable mercy 
 of God, for unto me belongeth weakness and poverty of 
 spirit. 
 
 I am fully of the mind that through patience under suf- 
 fering we can have verified to our consciousness and ex- 
 perience the power of the Highest to overshadow us, thus 
 becoming the mother of " that holy thing which shall be born 
 of thee shall be called the Son of God." Being thus united 
 to the very life of Jesus, knowing of his " brother, and my 
 sister, and mother," knowing our beloved not only as a son, 
 but also that " a garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a 
 spring shut up, a fountain sealed." 
 27 417 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 May this present condition of lucidity and of harmony 
 continue to be mine, saith all that is best within me, thus real- 
 izing the peace of Jesus, " That my joy might remain in 
 you, and that your joy might be full." 
 
 MY BELOVED. 
 " I send an Angel before thee." — Exodus xxiii. 20-23. 
 
 My cup of peace, and sweet content. 
 
 Through mercy from aboye, 
 Are present now as blessings sent 
 
 With finished joy and love. 
 
 Though trials keen and sorrows deep 
 
 In path of life I've seen, 
 Yet joyful thought is in my heart, 
 
 And thus I pen the theme. 
 
 Not moral sense is it alone 
 
 That tunes the heavenly lyre, 
 But love as mother's for her child, 
 
 That bids my soul aspire ! 
 
 And, O Beloved, Angel Friend, 
 
 Leave thou no vacant place. 
 But fill the Heart and Reason, too. 
 
 With calm and tranquil grace. 
 
 Make this, O thou beloved Guest, 
 
 The best of all my years ; 
 Commune with me, O Presence dear. 
 
 And silence all my fears. 
 
 'Tis age is coming now apace. 
 
 My locks are fringed with white; 
 
 For winter's season cold and drear 
 Bespeak the coming night. 
 
 And now with troop of loving friends, 
 
 With wife and children dear, 
 With blessings in the outward life, 
 
 With comfort and with cheer, 
 
 Let constant voice of God's own Son 
 
 Be felt as daily need ; 
 Let faith and practice be enwrought 
 
 With loving word and deed. 
 418 
 
SORROW AND AFFLICTION 
 
 Continue thus, O Lucid Calm, 
 
 Make melody within ; 
 , That twain no longer be as twain. 
 And thus the victory win! 
 
 1883. 
 
 8 mo. 15. — Since the above was written as a minister of 
 the Most High, I have frequently known of " the sufferings 
 of Christ and the glory which should follow them," and am 
 made to rejoice, " choosing rather to suffer affliction with the 
 people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a sea- 
 son." 
 
 For the present time these things are grievous — ^misun- 
 derstandings and misrepresentations even by the brethren. 
 These bring sorrow and affection in their train, but they 
 work an exceeding amount of good to the soul, even praises, 
 thanksgivings, rejoicings, yes, exceeding joy, "unspeakable, 
 and full of glory." It is all right that God's apostles are 
 buffeted, and mortified, and despised, so that " being reviled, 
 we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it." 
 
 " Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you ! 
 for so did their fathers to the false prophets." 
 
 p mo. i£. — Have been and am engaged in visiting the 
 meetings of Bucks Quarterly Meeting with a minute expres- 
 sion of the unity and concurrence of my friends at home, 
 and therein have been earnestly engaged to call men to faith 
 as the higher life of the soul, as the source of every virtue, 
 and as the perfecter of the heavenly nature. Man was not 
 made for earth alone, but the end and design of Infinite 
 Intelligence is that he shall enter into the paradise of God. 
 " Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his 
 son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Thus morality, 
 I have taught, is not enough ; that being the necessity of our 
 ordinary life, we need faith as the necessity of eternal life, 
 here, now, and forevermore. Thus the Son of Man is lifted 
 up and ennobled, becoming the Son of God. Morality directs 
 
 419 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 us, but presupposes a force, cause, and energy inherent in ac- 
 tion, appealing to our understanding in furnishing the means 
 of self-contro4 and of personal righteousness. 
 
 Conscience, or the moral sense, has been called the throne 
 of God, but He, may not be enthroned through lack of faith 
 and of allegiance in him, hence we may have a morality in 
 which there is no joy, no hope, no consciousness of God, 
 no realization of Him as our Father, Helper, and Friend. 
 " Blessed are the poor in spirit [the dependent on the Al- 
 mighty] ; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Faith is a 
 sense of dependence absolutely induced.* A sense in which 
 we hunger and thirst after the righteousness of God, and 
 consequently are not satisfied with our own righteousness 
 (morality), because we are conscious that of ourselves we 
 can do no good thing in the sense of a positive good; our 
 negation can only be neutralized by that which brings us 
 into direct communion with Deity. Therefore the necessity 
 of faith, for as " many as are led by the Spirit of God, they 
 are the sons of God," and if sons, then " heirs with Christ," 
 through His mercies and through His fatherly prevision 
 and providence of His children. Thus we become justified : 
 " Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed 
 upon us, that we should be called children of God:' and 
 such we are." When a man hath been born of God by the 
 revelation of sonship in him, he then hath the doctrine of 
 Jesus in him, " an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the 
 righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not 
 for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." 
 Thus, and thus alone, we become perfect in the fulfilment 
 of the high ideal : " Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your 
 heavenly Father which is in heaven is perfect." Herein we 
 realize the prayer of Jesus for oneness : " That they may 
 have my joy fulfilled in themselves," for " I made known 
 
 * This condition is a productive cause, and from it issues a sense of 
 our relation to the Infinite. Luke i. 35. 
 
 420 
 
OUR SUFFICIENCY IS FROM GOD 
 
 unto them thy name, and will make it known; that the 
 love wherewith thou lovedst me may be in them, and I in 
 them." 
 
 When His name is disclosed to us, then we are lifted out 
 of the fear of God into the love of God. " Every man that 
 hath this hope purifieth himself, even as he' is pure !" 
 
 12 mo. 10. — My time has been much engrossed, during the 
 past two months, in visiting different meetings in Philadel- 
 phia and Bucks Counties, and in my labors therein I have 
 been earnestly engaged in preaching the Word, but have 
 been afraid, as Edward Hicks has written in his memoir, 
 p. 152, that " some ministers preach too willingly." Such, 
 Paul says, " have their reward;" " but if against my will, a 
 dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me." And have 
 felt much concern for myself herein, for fear of speaking 
 words in mine own will on occasions of divine worship. 
 
 Honesty of purpose is not enough; we must feel, "Woe 
 is unto me if I preach not the gospel." For the work is of 
 Jehovah, and the preparation of each heart must be of Him. 
 That I may be entirely God-reliant in this great work is the 
 great concern which I feel on my behalf. 
 
 1884. 
 
 / mo. I. — There is no greatness among the children of 
 God, His kingdom being the kingdom of love ! May I ever 
 esteem myself as the very least of these His children, for I 
 see that it is only thus that I can preach the gospel with 
 baptizing power ! " I am among you as he that serveth," 
 must ever be the credential and passport of the messenger 
 in God's great work among the children of men. May I 
 abhor myself, in dust and ashes, in my gospel labors among 
 the people, so that my intellectual gifts may be subservient 
 to the gift of God ! 
 
 "Our sufficiency is from God; who also made us suffi- 
 cient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but 
 
 of the spirit." 
 
 421 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 That which was " revealed" justified speech on occasions 
 of divine worship in the church (i Cor. xiv. 30). Clearly, 
 ministry is justified only as it is inspired and put forth by 
 the head of the church; then it is to the edification of all, 
 and if it be not by " revelation," then let him " keep silence !" 
 Ministry is often too much of a didactic character. This 
 may be all very well as " a teaching," and may have its place 
 and its " reward." But when a gift of the gospel is con- 
 ferred, then it is "against my will," a condition of emptiness 
 being denoted. 
 
 When I was about eighteen years old, the ministry of 
 George F. White produced a powerful impression on my 
 mind, and yet I was moral and benevolent in my life and 
 feelings. The call, however, was to become a child of God, 
 and herein I was much misled by subsequent teachings; by 
 the cry of " works" and of " duty," instead of justification 
 through faith in the Son of God. " The spirit of bondage" 
 is too much inculcated among the people, and hence religion 
 is not so much a joy as a duty and a servitude. It is " the 
 Spirit of adoption" that justifies us, " whereby we cry, Abba, 
 Father." Then, and only then, can the work be perfected in 
 us, and we truly say, we " work the works of him that sent 
 us, while it is day!" 
 
 I mo. 5. — Was introduced last week to the distinguished 
 litterateur, Matthew Arnold, who is travelling in this coun- 
 try. I was familiar with his works, particularly " Literature 
 and Dogma" and " God and the Bible," and agreed in 
 part with his sentiment in respect to religion, though, as I 
 pointed out to him, I thought my formula an improvement 
 on his, although perhaps we are not so very far apart. I 
 formulate my creed thus : One Infinite and Ultimate Being, 
 upon whom we are dependent, to whom we are related, and 
 with whom we can become acquainted. 
 
 J mo. 18. — It is edifying to ministers sometimes to dwell 
 in silence in their meetings, as with myself on last First-day. 
 I had an elevating theme for meditation, but no signal and 
 
 422 
 
GEORGE FOX'S APOTHEGM 
 
 motion to comment thereon. This motion I can no more 
 create, myself, than I can do any other impossible thing. 
 How important to ministers of the spirit is the apothegm 
 of George Fox: "Friends, wait on that which convinced 
 you." I was much comforted and encouraged by the with- 
 holding, on the occasion alluded to, with the assurance that 
 the gift to speak to the people is a divine gift to me ; and felt 
 that there was a like feeling in other minds in the congrega- 
 tion. The profession of the spirit is true, though all men 
 forsake it. Inspiration is the gift of God to all His adopted 
 children. 
 
 6 mo. 6. — Our meeting yesterday was a very edifying one. 
 It was made evident to us that the ability to worship God is 
 a derived ability, just as the ability to preach the gospel is 
 a derived ability, all religious obligation and service being of 
 a non-self-dependent character. And it was made clear in 
 this meeting that withholdings have often this profitable end 
 in view. 
 
 " Sometimes Thou seem'st Thy face to hide, 
 
 As one who has his love withdrawn from me ; 
 'Tis that my faith may to the full be tried, 
 That I thereby may better see 
 How weak I am when not upheld by Thee." 
 
 II mo. i6. — God is not served by men's hands, as though 
 He needeth anything; but union with Him through depen- 
 dence upon Him meaneth a condition which increases man's 
 happiness, enlightens his heart, ennobles his spirit, and en- 
 larges his knowledge with the wisdom of love, — a knowledge 
 which holds, as Herbert Spencer has it, " that the conscious 
 soul is not the collocation of material particles, but in ,its 
 deepest sense a divine effluence of the Ultimate Reality." 
 
 1885. 
 
 J fno, J. — Have been engaged considerably, this winter 
 (having a minute of my friends for the purpose), in visiting 
 Christ in sorrow and in prison, in the city of Philadelphia; 
 
 423 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 and have found him thus in captivity not only in those con- 
 fined in a felon's cell, but also among our own people, 
 " pressed down as a cart beneath sheaves." 
 
 2 mo. 10. — I am not a popular preacher, as I have so much 
 to declare against self-satisfaction and mere conventionalities. 
 Many who are seeking after peace and content of mind do 
 not like the idea of being " led up of the Spirit into the wil- 
 derness to be tempted by the devil." The prayer of Jesus 
 was, " Lead us not into temptation." This is a parable, like 
 others of his sayings. For Gk)d proves every man's work. 
 Without temptation — ^proving — ^we cannot enter into and ob- 
 tain possession of the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 In view of these things, the human heart prays (for we 
 do not like trial), " Lead us not into temptation" — neipaanov. 
 And yet the experience of God's children is as it is written: 
 " I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone 1" And 
 Peter speaks of " grief in manifold temptations, that the proof 
 of your faith." As gold is subjected to a fiery ordeal, so is 
 the work of all seekers after truth tried and proven. By a 
 conventional righteousness many escape this, and are thus in 
 the possession of an untried faith ; but what is that worth? 
 
 2 mo. 20. — I am more and more convinced that " the faith" 
 is the gift of God, as Jesus and Paul taught, and when a 
 man hath this gift, then all unbelief and superstition passeth 
 by that man as an idle wind which he regardeth not, for he 
 knoweth of Him in whom he trusteth, and his mind is stayed 
 on Him ; and notwithstanding the evil and the wrong that is 
 in the world, which causeth grief to that man's heart, yet he 
 is at peace — a peace lifted above all the tumult and disquie- 
 tude of this life. 
 
 And this peace is the common heritage of all God's chil- 
 dren, in which there are reciprocal relations and interests, 
 and a common sense of dependence, not only upon Him as the 
 Father of all, but also towards one another. 
 
 This feeling and sense is not by nature but by grace, or 
 by privilege and realization. In a word, it is the gift of God 
 
 424 
 
PARABLES 
 
 to those whom He has adopted into His family; in which 
 there is a mutual fellowship and sense of this privilege and 
 right, even " the right to become the sons of God." Herein 
 is always the great law of order, which is in contradistinction 
 to independence in respect to one another; because we are 
 members one of another, and hence we bear one another's 
 burdens, and thus fulfil the law of Christ ; and have an under- 
 standing mind, too, so that he speaks " no more unto you 
 in parables, but shall tell you plainly of the Father." " But 
 unto them that are without [exoteric], all things [spiritual 
 things] are done in parables." 
 
 6 mo. 2. — I attended the last session of the late New York 
 Yearly Meeting, having been detained at home till then by 
 secular and religious duties, and I felt to hold up the vital 
 importance of the Divine Birth as a germ, and as an increase, 
 too, in the human soul. I spoke of the spreading of the 
 knowledge of this gospel as the great mission of the Society 
 of Friends — ^to teach and to cultivate divinity among men; 
 that this idea would do more than aught else combined to 
 elevate man and to declare the truth of Jesus, viz. : " I have 
 declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the 
 love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in 
 them." 
 
 This high ideal as an endowment will not only confer the 
 necessary power, but it will also supply the only interpreter 
 of divinity in others — in Socrates, in Jesus, and in Job Scott. 
 It will remove all doubt of the eternal welfare of the soul 
 in which a state of sonship is disclosed, because union and 
 oneness with the Eternal are likewise revealed and disclosed. 
 The eternal co-existence of the Christ formed in you, now 
 as a beloved son, was and is from the Everlasting Father 
 Himself. 
 
 7 mo. 20. — Great are my desires now, in the winter season 
 of my life, for tranquillity, out of all perturbation; and hence 
 let me frequently retire within myself, upon that divine prin- 
 ciple which Marcus Antoninus says : " Zeus hath given to 
 
 425 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 every man for his guardian and guide a portion of himself, 
 and this is every man's understanding and reason." . . . 
 " These two things are common to the soul of Zeus and 
 to the soul of man, and to the soul of every rational being, 
 not to be hindered by another; and hold good to consist 
 in the disposition to justice and the practice of it, and in this 
 to let thy desire find its termination." 
 
 TRANQUILLITY. 
 
 Tranquillity ! Tranquillity ! O come with thy grace ! 
 Enfold with thy power, with thy presence embrace, 
 That my soul may be still when engaged in the strife, 
 In the conflict for faith, in the struggles of life ; 
 That the truth may go forth, with beauty and zest. 
 To comfort the seeker with a sense of sweet rest. 
 With power, then, O Father, which 'tis Thine to confer. 
 Clothe the words of Thy servant so that none may demur; 
 Give him grace to withstand, give him power to withhold. 
 Make him strong in Thy spirit, make him fearless and bold; 
 And teach him, O teach him, to suffer and bear 
 With patience, forbearance, with calmness and prayer; 
 And, whate'er be his lot, may he look but to Thee; 
 As the son of Thy love, may his faith be as free. 
 
 8 mo. 24. — I have felt it right of late, in my public services, 
 to speak of the gospel of to-day, and of its wonderful opera- 
 tion in the production of harmony among religionists. And 
 herein have alluded very freely, in many different meetings, 
 to its cause being found in the fact that the high dignitaries 
 of the Church of England have decided in favor of a free 
 Bible. 
 
 The following communication, which I sent to the Friends' 
 Intelligencer, and which was published in that periodical, will 
 explain the enlightened view now taken by many distin- 
 guished members of " The Establishment." 
 
 THE ORIGINAL TRADITION OF THE GOSPELS. 
 " I have recently been much interested in a work by two scholars 
 of the Church of England, 'The Common Tradition of the Synoptic 
 Gospels,'* by Edwin A. Abbott, D.D., and W. G. Rushbrooke, M.D., 
 
 * So called because they can and ought to be viewed together. 
 
 426 
 
"THE COMMON TRADITION" 
 
 of Cambridge, England. (My copy I procured at the Episcopal book- 
 store in Philadelphia.) The book affords very full evidence of the 
 progress, even among the most orthodox teachers and writers, for the 
 results of enlightened Scriptural exegesis, and of the disposition, also, 
 to treat the whole subject more reasonably. 
 
 " The ' Common Tradition' of the Gospels which is presented by 
 the book is that which was common to them as we have them now pre- 
 served. The authors hold that it is ' a tradition earlier than any of our 
 existing Gospels.' They assert that 'Mark contains the whole of a 
 tradition from which Matthew and Luke borrowed parts,' but that all of 
 the tradition is to be now found in the three — Mark, Matthew, and Luke. 
 Hence the book is made up mostly of these in three columns, to produce 
 a ' Harmony of the Synoptic Gospels.' ' The reader will at once,' these 
 authors say, ' notice a number of words in black type. On examination 
 he will find that the same, or nearly the same, black type recurs in each 
 of the three columns representing Mark, Matthew, and Luke; or, in 
 other words, that this black type exhibits the matter common to the first 
 three evangelists.' Thus these authors attempt to reproduce the long 
 lost ' primitive Gospel,' concerning which so much has been written in 
 ancient and modern times, and which Dr. F. Bleek, Professor of the 
 University of Bonn, calls the Ur-evangelium. 
 
 " Of course, the ' original tradition' of these authors is very different 
 from what they call the ' amplified' gospels as we have them. Concern- 
 ing which they quote an ancient writing in Chrysostom's time, as saying : 
 'the final ascription added by the holy luminaries and masters of the 
 church.' (The italics are our author's.) 
 
 " It is believed at first there was an oral Gospel, as see ' The Mishna 
 as illustrating the Gospels,' by W. H. Bennett, B.A. (M.A., London), 
 an eminent Orthodox authority. ' The language of the Mishna, although 
 pure, was concise and terse.' The Ur-evangelium was no doubt as these 
 authors point out in this second stage of embryo, and then ' the elliptical 
 style' of the earliest Gospel notes and memoirs, which needed to be 
 expanded before they could be used for the purpose of teaching, and 
 which might naturally be expanded with various and sometimes divergent 
 amplifications. Thus our authors speak of the manner in which the 
 original memoirs became ' expanded.' And they quote instances of this 
 as in Luke x. 2-4. (See marginaal notes of the revisers.) And the 
 appendix to Mark xvi. 9-20, for which there is no authority. 
 
 " Our authors' ' Synopticon,' or new Gospel, thus reduced from the 
 Synoptic Gospels, has the merit of brevity, simplicity, and rationality, 
 and although somewhat disconnected as the Mishna is, yet it has a con- 
 tinuity and close union throughout. It has another great advantage which 
 I would recommend to those wHo by their teachings, and I speak not 
 only of preachers, but also of teachers, who are turning honest inquirers 
 away from ' the Faith' by irrational and unwise expositions of the Bible. 
 The new Gospel, which was the old also, discloses no superhuman Jesus. 
 
 427 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 He is born as other men are born and lives a life wherein he exalted the 
 Christ principle. This was his thought and his theme. This anointing 
 he received from his Father just as we receive it. This was the 'Lord' 
 of whom Paul spoke, when he said : ' No man can call Jesus Lord 
 but by the Holy Spirit.' This divinity, however, no man can take of 
 himself. It is given to us, as it was given to Jesus, from heaven. 
 
 "This little book I would recommend to First-day school teachers. 
 It will show them the folly of seeking to implant in dear little children's 
 minds credulity and superstition which may ripen into germs of in- 
 fidelity and unfaith." 
 
 I have in this article emphasized, as I have also in my 
 ministry, the high clerical position of different authorities all 
 bearing witness to the fact that we have now a free Bible.* 
 
 It is sorrowful that this is necessary, but thus it is, that 
 through the recent effort to resuscitate the Society of Friends 
 by means of the letter, I fear that we are falling into what 
 Elias Hicks called " an abominable idol-worship of a thing 
 without any life." 
 
 To warn our people herein, I have been and am very much 
 in earnest, though I do not expect to be persecuted as dear 
 John Jackson and Rachel Townsend were, for they could in 
 their day but adduce as witnesses such men as Theodore 
 Parker and certain German critics who were not much known 
 or esteemed in evangelical circles ; whereas I can quote such 
 eminent authorities as the late Arthur Stanley, dean of West- 
 minster, and also the late, as well as the present, Archbishop 
 of Canterbury, who recently said, in a published discourse 
 to the clergy, " that what infidels ridicule and attack is not 
 Christianity at all, but its caricature, which all repudiate." 
 
 We live in an age when the dogmas which were formerly 
 regarded as essential to salvation are now considered, to use 
 the language of a clerical friend of mine, as mere " meta- 
 phorical salvation." It is thus a matter of pleasantry, now, 
 but in the past how many thousands have suffered by man's 
 
 * Canon Farrar, in speakmg of modern orthodoxy, says, " that it has 
 been understood and explained in a manner of which the ancient church 
 never so much as dreamt." 
 
 428 
 
THE PAULICIANS 
 
 ignorance and superstition ! Consider, for instance, the wick- 
 edness of the interpolation, Mark xvi. i6, which was made 
 in the fourth century : 
 
 " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he 
 that believeth not shall be damned." 
 
 Consider that under the reign of Theodora one hundred 
 thousand Paulicians were put to death, and it is believed that 
 this text was thus foisted upon Jesus about this time, for the 
 atrocious purpose of persecution. The Paulicians held very 
 enlightened views — very much the same as Friends in regard 
 to baptism, the sacrament, priestly dignity, the person of the 
 man Jesus, and simplicity of customs, and consequently 
 awakened the enmity of Rome, who finally succeeded in 
 driving them from the territory of the empire, to find pro- 
 tection from the Saracens. The principles of the Paulicians 
 were afterwards perpetuated, in part, by the Euchites, the 
 Cathari, and the Albigenses. 
 
 p mo. s- — I attended Burlington Quarterly Meeting on the 
 1st inst. Our dear friend Sunderland P. Gardner was pres- 
 ent, and had considerable to communicate. In the meeting 
 for business, I explained in brief (for it can be stated, as 
 Matthew Arnold has so well said, in a sentence, and proved 
 in a page) the decision of the learned world on the Bible 
 canon. That the " Gospels," as we have them, were not 
 known till more than a century after the time of Jesus. " The 
 very names," says Dr. Sanday (one of the most distinguished 
 ecclesiastical authorities), "of the first two evangelists are 
 not mentioned before a date that may be from 120-166 
 (or 155) A.D., and the third and fourth not before 170- 
 175 A.D." 
 
 I gave this as the leading cause of the tolerant feeling ex- 
 isting at present in the Christian world. So much was this 
 the case, particularly in England, I explained to Sunderland, 
 that such enlightened views as , he held were now openly 
 preached in Westminster Hall. Thus a Nemesis follows in 
 the footsteps of evil-doing, and the memory of many mar- 
 
 429 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 tyrs are vindicated, at what a fearful cost, however, the blood- 
 stained pages of history attest! 
 
 My remarks in the Quarterly Meeting were well received, 
 as was to be expected in a meeting to which Henry W. Ridg- 
 way was so long a member. At Concord Quarterly Meeting, 
 last month, I made like statements in respect to the results 
 of biblical criticism, whereupon an ignorant man made a most 
 violent attack upon me. I greatly rejoiced that I was pre- 
 served from all reply. William Way, a minister from Not- 
 tingham, was present, and stated that he was much encour- 
 aged by the information I had given them. 
 
 I feel it my duty to enlighten the people on this subject, and 
 of course expect, where ignorance prevails, that I will re- 
 ceive no better treatment than those who have preceded me. 
 Ignorance, credulity, and delusion cannot now touch the body, 
 neither can they sentence men, as formerly, to everlasting pun- 
 ishment, for now no sensible people believe that Jesus ever said 
 to those who neglected to visit impecunious saints in prison, 
 " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared 
 for the devil and his angels." Such language was no doubt 
 ascribed to him " by the holy luminaries and masters of the 
 Church." To use the language of an ancient Latin com- 
 mentator quoted by Edwin A. Abbott, D.D., in his book en- 
 titled the " Common Tradition of the Synoptic Gospels." 
 Thus, ironically, a learned dignitary of the Church of Eng- 
 land writes concerning errors " attributed to our Lord,' and 
 to repeat, as his, words which were innocently added by later 
 scribes." He quotes Irenseus as saying, " Since God hath 
 made all things of an orderly and compact structure, it needs 
 must have been that the form of the Gospel also should be 
 well ordered and well harmonized" (iii. 9, 11). The same 
 father very frankly sets forth another criterion of truth by 
 no means uncommon in these days, viz., that it is " neces- 
 sary." 
 
 I have been long satisfied that Irenseus knew all about the 
 compilation of the Gospels. The religion of Jesus was be- 
 
 430 
 
THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD 
 
 coming of more and more consequence in the world, and it 
 was necessary to have "well ordered and harmonized ac- 
 counts of his life." And they did not say that these records 
 were by Matthew and Mark, etc., but after them, that being 
 the title of the most ancient manuscripts. 
 
 p mo. 5. — Our meeting at Abington to-day was a full one, 
 but not a very satisfactory one. A personal friend, whom 
 I much esteem, from another meeting, spoke. He is not a 
 minister, although a public Friend unacknowledged. I made 
 way for him, as I had heard him speak before, much to my 
 satisfaction. He spoke of the knowledge of God in a nega- 
 tive manner, and, under the plea that some held anthropo- 
 morphite views of Him, he spoke of Him as love, and as 
 light, etc., leaving us to infer that He is not a consciousness 
 and an individuality. 
 
 Now, the knowledge of God is different from all other 
 forms of knowledge, as it is not conceived apart and dis- 
 tinct from a conception of it. Other knowledge comes by 
 sense and by sight, etc. But God cannot be represented to 
 us by any imagery whatever, mental or physical. All things 
 are known by themselves, and Deity is known by Himself 
 alone. Our souls are of the same divine nature in the par- 
 ticipation thereof, as we cannot conceive of the soul's life 
 apart from life itself in oneness and expression. Our minds 
 are divisible, composed of faculties, of memory, of reason, 
 and of imagination. We have perceptions of color, size, 
 weight, etc. But these are only phases of life, not life itself. 
 The soul has as Deity its expression in immateriality of form, 
 and is therefore immaterial. The differentiations of mind 
 are only different phases of life, not life itself. Matter is 
 known to us by the laws of matter, and spirit is revealed by 
 the laws of spirit in immateriality of expression. 
 
 "Abington, 10 mo. 15, 1885. 
 
 "My dear Friend,— Thanks for 'the two lay sermons.' I have read 
 them this evening with much interest. Our life lines seem to run in 
 parallel directions. Glad to know of the extract from Pemngton : It is 
 
 431 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 not the owning of the light as it is shown in the foregoing ages which 
 will now commend any man to God, but the knowing and subjection to 
 the light of the present age.' 
 
 " During our last Yearly Meeting I visited the women's meeting with 
 a similar message. Words of much encouragement were given, after I 
 had spoken both publicly and afterwards privately, to me as to my 
 having been so much favored among them. I was depressed, notwith- 
 standing all this, though I did not then see the cause; but now I see 
 that it was the foreshadowing of what I would have to hear in proclaim- 
 ing the glory of the light of the present age, and that the foundations 
 of faith first reach the true rock, when, leaving the facts of foregoing 
 ages, it grounds itself upon that which forever is. In preaching the 
 gospel of Infinite Intelligence, I find, even among a people such as our 
 branch of the Society of Friends, many fearful and timid souls, who are 
 afraid of the light of the present age, and thus their minds are blinded to 
 the multitudinous truths of immortal faith. How wonderful have been, 
 and continually are, the openings and the revealings of heavenly har- 
 mony! The descent of these into the understanding in the form of wis- 
 dom and into the will in the form of love and good. 
 
 " I have also seen that the polarity of truth is the primary considera- 
 tion; that all else is negative, — even good and love when not conjoined 
 to truth, wisdom, and faith! These are the great positive forces of the 
 Eternal Mind. To the harmonizing power of truth we must look for 
 the endowment of freedom, and this glorious endowment is the franchise 
 and immunity from all onerous duty and service. All that we can do in 
 bringing about this desired consummation is to labor on the side of 
 humanity in its human and its divine semblance. We can do ' nothing.' 
 (John V. 30) on the side of absolute knowledge because of the inviola- 
 bility and sacredness of the interior relationship between Deity and the 
 human soul. We can only seek to remove obstructions in the form of 
 superstition and scepticism, thus becoming ' coworkers together with 
 God' in opening the way for the message of Divine Truth and Love to 
 mankind. 
 
 " I agree with thee in respect to what thou sayest as to the retro- 
 spective morbidness which shrinks from the joyful acceptance of the 
 ever-growing light of the present age. 
 
 " In regard to the reign of Oriental hyperbolism, it has weighed as 
 an incubus and a nightmare upon the conscience and understanding of 
 Christendom for many centuries. Is it not about time that the abuse of 
 such metaphors should cease and instead thereof that practical reason 
 and common sense should assume its proper control? As Bishop Butler 
 has said, ' Reason is the only faculty we have wherewith to judge con- 
 cerning anything, — even Revelation itself.' To explain. I attended a 
 funeral yesterday, at which the minister stated ' that the innocent life 
 was not enough, but that we should rely upon the merits of the eternal 
 Son of God for salvation.' Now, he evidently did not understand the 
 
 432 
 
SPIRITUAL INSANITY 
 
 metaphor,— that we come to God through the idea of sonship, and thus 
 to a consciousness of Him as our Father! But our preacher was evi- 
 dently exoteric; clearly a seducer and antichrist, and yet knew it not. 
 I quote from George Fox, who says, ' He is a seducer and antichrist who 
 calls men away from the teachings within them.' But I must bring this 
 long letter to a close. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 "David Newport." 
 
 "Abington, ii mo. 13, 1885. 
 "Dear William Way, — I hope that our correspondence may be 
 mutually edifying. Thy last letter was so to me. In respect to my little 
 book, ' Indices,' neither that nor aught that we ministers can do can 
 directly enlighten man on the divine side of life, that being the preroga- 
 tive and privilege of Infinite Intelligence alone. But we can do much, 
 under the heavenly anointing, in removing obstructions out of the way, 
 so that old things may become new and all things of God. And herein, 
 as thou hast so well said, we must be very humble in the ability given. 
 In my view, we are laborers upon the highway of eternal life, diligently 
 engaged in repairing the road and in removing obstructions out of the 
 traveller's way, saying all the time, 'This is the way, walk thou in it; 
 herein thou shalt find the Infinite God as thy Father and Friend giving 
 thee the assurance of thy eternal peace and rest.' 
 
 "The moment we attempt to know anything except by the thing 
 itself in material things, we are rightly treated as insane. So in spiritual 
 things, if we say and think that the knowledge of Infinite Intelligence 
 is to be conveyed by the traditions of men, or that faith in Him is pivotal 
 upon some event which may or may not have happened in man's history, 
 upon some contingency, then we are upon the high road to that condi- 
 tion which was denoted by the apostle when he austerely said, ' God 
 gave them over to a reprobate mind, because they worship and serve the 
 Creator instead of the creature, and exchange the truth of God for a lie.' 
 God reveals Himself to the finite mind by Himself alone, and not by 
 another, and hence we. His sons and ministers, must be passive and lay 
 low in His hand. Spiritual insanity is the outcome of that monstrous 
 delusion that God is to be known by a description written in some old 
 document. To my mind, it is nothing short of blasphemy, as it in effect 
 affirms that He has exhausted Himself, and that the human soul is ex- 
 hausted. Thus we can be instrumental on the human side of life mainly 
 as iconoclasts in enlightening the people. And the minister who does 
 not thus seek to enlighten the people is either an ignoramus, a hypocrite, 
 or a hireling. We will be persecuted and maltreated if faithful, but Infi- 
 nite Intelligence will be near us to sustain and to comfort us. His prom- 
 ises and, what is better than mere pr mises. His fulfilments will be with 
 us to bless and to sustain us. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 "David Newport." 
 
 28 433 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 II mo. 12. — Our meeting was a silent one to-day, except 
 the few words spoken by our friend, Hannah W. Linton. 
 Spiritual enlightenment was the subject of my meditations. 
 I saw that it consisted in the soul being frequently turned 
 towards its origin and its destiny, for God is the light of the 
 soul. Thus by conjunction it is constantly being regenerated 
 through the necessary discipline of trial, of sorrow, and of 
 joy. Thus we learn obedience; thus we cease to do evil and 
 learn to do well. Thus through faith we are justified, and 
 thus she becomes a constantly ascending star, nearer and 
 nearer to the zenith and to the meridian of her glory ! 
 
 II mo. 22. — In our " after meeting" yesterday, I read the 
 following letter, which I received from Solomon Schindler, 
 an eminent Jewish rabbi of Boston. It was in reply to 
 queries of mine, as I desired thus to reply efifectually to the 
 false teaching issued by some First-day school teachers to 
 our " after meeting." 
 
 This letter, conjoined to the remarks which I made on 
 the subject of mistaking parable for fact in the Scriptures, 
 was effective. We have at Abington, no doubt, the freest 
 Monthly Meeting in the Society of Friends; but sometimes 
 the exoteric from without make an onslaught on us which 
 shakes some of our timid souls for the time. 
 
 " Boston^ November ii, 1885. 
 " David Newport. 
 
 " Respected Friend, — In answer to thy note, I wish to say that I teach 
 biblical history in my Sabbath-school as it ought to be taught. I teach 
 the history of our nation as it is, and separate truth from fiction. In the 
 same way as I would teach Roman history, and tell of the legend that a 
 she wolf had given suck to Romulus and Remus. Thus I teach that a 
 legend tells of Moses seeing a thorn-bush burning without being con- 
 sumed. In regard to Jonah, I explain that the story has been written at 
 the time when a controversy arose about sending the foreign wines away 
 at the time of Esras and Nehemias. It was to show the principle that 
 before God all human beings are alike, and that Jew and Gentile are His 
 children. 
 
 " Very truly, 
 
 "S. Schindler." 
 434 
 
REBECCA IREDELL 
 
 12 mo. 12. — ^Last First-day I attended Bristol Meeting, 
 and after I had concluded what I had to say, my dear friend 
 Rebecca Iredell arose and spoke very encouragingly as to my 
 work and mission as an evangelist of common sense and 
 right reason upon the subject of faith, and quoted the fol- 
 lowing from I Chronicles xii. i8, which I thought very re- 
 markable upon point of memory for so old a person : " Thine 
 are we, David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, 
 peace be unto thee ; and peace be to thine helpers ; for thy 
 God helpeth thee." 
 
 12 mo. SI- — During the past several months I have been 
 frequently engaged in visiting the heritage in different parts 
 of the country with a minute of concurrence on the part of 
 our Monthly Meeting, and have been concerned to adapt my 
 remarks to the condition of my hearers. I have witnessed 
 some selfishness herein, especially among those whose interior. 
 consciousness may be said to have been awakened and de- 
 veloped. These, in their desire to be ministered unto or to 
 judge of the ministry, overlook the exterior conditions 
 among the people, and thus are tempted into a condition of 
 spiritual exclusiveness, forgetting or not understanding that 
 
 " He seeks in vain who seeks his own ; 
 The soul is lost that's saved alone." 
 
 In fact, I have seen much selfishness among our ministers 
 and elders and other " concerned friends ;" in the " interior 
 relation," I mean. And hence it is that those who consider 
 that they have arrived at this condition of mind have been 
 persecutors of men of science and of knowledge in the exter- 
 nal relation in the different ages of the world. There is dan- 
 ger always of excess and of deficiency, especially when we 
 understand not that the chief end of man is the perfection of 
 souls, and herein our souls are often saved or advanced when 
 we are concerned for the welfare of others. Theire is also a 
 blessed medium as to the interior and the exterior relation, 
 as between science and faith. These can only be reconcile(| 
 
 435 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 by truth in the within and in the without. This is beautifully- 
 expressed by Metastasio : 
 
 "I see Thee in Thy works, 
 I meet Thee in my heart." 
 
 I have been endeavoring, especially of late, to declare 
 the gospel of reconciliation in all things ; and' although not 
 a disciple of the letter, yet it is the easiest thing in the world 
 to reconcile the letter and the spirit by the subordina,tion of 
 the former to the latter. Thus, and thus alone, " the en- 
 mity" of which Paul speaks is " removed out of the way." 
 Herein I have incurred the displeasure of some minds who 
 are in darkness in this respect, and are in the state which the 
 apostle defines as the " ministry of death." I am willing, 
 however, to make sacrifices herein, believing, as Augustine 
 has said, " A true sacrifice is whatever work is done with 
 the view of establishing a holy fellowship between man and 
 God," being fully convinced, however, herein, that this fel- 
 lowship is to be established through co-operation, we furnish- 
 ing the necessary condition for the reception of spiritual 
 truth, having an ear to hear and an understanding to com- 
 prehend. 
 
 Man cannot create truth, that being no part of the cove- 
 nant or fellowship on his part; his capacity consisting in 
 inquiring, seeking, and investigation, — a recipient and pas- 
 sive condition. Reciprocity on his part consisting more in 
 the recovering of an action ! 
 
 1886. 
 
 "Abington, I mo. 14, 1886. 
 " My DEAR FmenD; — The historian Liicke, in his Middle Ages, says, 
 ' Not truth only, but the very love of truth, seemed obliterated from the 
 human heart.' How fortunate it is with thou and me that we were not 
 endued with life at that period, else, no doubt, we would have graced 
 some auto da fe, that characteristic ceremony by which the religious 
 people of that day attested the sincerity of their devotion ! The friends 
 of which thee speaks belong to the same category — not yet fully canon- 
 
 436 
 
"THIS MAN WAS A LOVER OF TRUTH" 
 
 ized. But notwithstanding all this, thou and I may enjoy ourselves in 
 these our times in loving the truth. Thus we entertain a guest who will 
 be a great solace and comfort to us so long as we are the denizens of 
 this present sphere. And just here I will say, if thou should survive me, 
 I desire that thou may attend my funeral, and thus bear witness of me : 
 ' This man was a lover of the truth,' and I will reciprocate should I sur- 
 vive thy clay. I have thought much of what thy H. said when I last 
 saw her concerning the naturalness of death. 
 
 "Had thee listened to a funeral discourse which I heard the other 
 day, I would have been pleased. The preacher distinctly said that it 
 mattered not whether a man was a thief or an honest man, as regards 
 his justification in the sight of God. All that he, the preacher, wanted 
 to know was the nature of the formula in a man's mouth at the time of 
 his demise, as it was that which rendered him acceptable to Deity. For 
 this teaching the speaker, of course, found plenty of authority in the 
 Scriptures, from which he quoted abundantly. He cited Luke xxiii. 43, 
 concerning the thief on the cross, etc. Herein did thee ever examine 
 this matter? Thee will find that Matthew and Mark are not in harmony 
 with Luke. The latter says, ' One rebuked him' ; whereas the two for- 
 mer speak of both of them ' reproaching' him. This shows, in common 
 with other texts, the Pauline tendency of Luke, as also in the case of the 
 Prodigal Son, of the Samaritan and the Levite, and of the villagers of 
 the Samaritans, etc. Luke foreshadows the universal church in contra- 
 distinction to the narrower view of the Jewish Christians. Thus ten- 
 dency writing is seen in its various shades in most of the New Testament 
 Scriptures, and was so understood by ' the Fathers of the Church.' The 
 New Testament is mostly controversial in its differentiations. 
 
 "I was specially invited to this funeral, and, after a time of silence 
 subsequent to the above-mentioned sermon, I made a few remarks, al- 
 luding to the many virtues of the deceased,— to his upright life, honest 
 deeds, etc. James Ogden was his name, and he was over eighty years of 
 age at the time of his demise. 
 
 " The ignorance which is induced by lack of a right understanding of 
 the Bible is truly wonderful, even now in this boasted era of light and 
 intelligence. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 "David Newport." 
 
 "Abington, 2 mo. 11, 1886. 
 
 "Jacob Armitage. 
 
 " Beloved Friend,— I received thy note last evening, and, as I did not 
 feel like reading it at the time, I put it by until this morning. In the inter- 
 val the subject to which thou refers was opened to my understanding m 
 an unusually clear and feeling manner. 
 
 " Now, there can be but one Infinite Intelligence, as there is but one 
 infinite space or infinite power, and as Infinite Intelligence does not 
 
 437 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 violate the law of His own being, He is therefore self-limited; and as 
 Infinite Wisdom and Love does not seek to undo the undoable or to ac- 
 complish that which is inherently impossible, therefore it is that man 
 is a derivative being, and being thus, in the nature of things he cannot 
 be or become other than of a finite nature and being. The pressure, 
 therefore, of his finitude he will always feel in a measure and degree. 
 Can we not say that in the order of heaven there were but two possibili- 
 ties, finite being and non-being, and that thus, without the finitude which 
 we all feel, finite beings could not be? The pressure and burden of ex- 
 istence, then, is the fiecessary consequence of being. It is the quality and 
 condition, I will not say penalty, annexed to the wondrous endowment 
 of life and being, which a gracious God has conferred upon His creature 
 man. With the gift of existence, then, necessarily comes the inevitable 
 burden and pressure which it is right that all men should feel and ex- 
 perience, for without this we could not realize that hunger and thirst 
 which fill and satisfy the heart and intellect of man. As without the 
 sensation of hunger, as in the outward, there is neither the satisfaction 
 of appetite nor the assimilation of nutrition. 
 
 " I was much impressed to-day with the description which Paul gives 
 in I Cor. xv. 24 to 29, of what he had experienced as truth. He speaks 
 of all things being in subjection, ' and when all things have been sub- 
 jected unto him,' that is, when God as the Holy Spirit. is come, 'then 
 shall the Son also be subjected to him that did subject all unto him, 
 that God may be all in all.' 
 
 " Thus it is as I understand. We first come to God as cause, ■ or 
 ' Father,' and then to Him, in this same relation, furthermore, as chil- 
 dren (sonship) ; and then finally He comes to be unto us as all in all! 
 Or, in other language, we come to be in harmony with and experience 
 what Jesus called oneness ! We see Him in His works and meet Hitn 
 in our hearts. And thus we read our title clear, and the burden of our 
 finitude is lifted. For He doth reign, and hath put all enemies under 
 His feet, and the last enemy which shall be abolished is death. 
 
 " And now, my dear Friend, I can speak to thee in this way in entire 
 freedom and without the possibility of being misunderstood, or of being 
 considered boastful of my experiences, for I feel it right to say that the 
 Divine Being has been very gracious in His visitations unto my soul, and 
 has also permitted as an angel visitant the spirit of my dear mother, of 
 whom thou speaks in thy note, to manifest herself unto me, so that she 
 spoke unto me as in the flesh, face to face, and gave me a message of love 
 to communicate unto others. And last winter, when I was engaged in 
 visiting the prisons in Philadelphia, the spirit of the grandchild of a 
 friend, whose photograph I send thee, likewise visited me several times, 
 greatly to my comfort and edification. 
 
 " Such manifestation I look upon as a great privilege and favor, and 
 before I commenced to write this note, the lines of Addison came this 
 morning with much feeling to my mind : 
 
 438 
 
THE BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT 
 
 " ' When all Thy mercies, O my God, 
 My rising soul surveys. 
 Transported by the view, I'm lost 
 In wonder, love, and praise.' 
 
 " With much and tender love to thee and to all thy family, I am thy 
 friend, 
 
 " David Newport/' 
 
 " Willow Grove, 3 mo. 10, 1886. 
 
 " Dear Darlington,— I had a sense, before I met you together yester- 
 day at Baltimore, that I would meet a congregation wherein we would 
 be baptized together into the same spirit, into the superior baptism of 
 fellowship with one another, and of harmony with the Eternal. And on 
 my way home, yesterday, I experienced much comfort in view of my 
 visit among you, and feel to say that I have seen that if thou and I are 
 faithful that we will be made instrumental causes in bringing souls into 
 that state wherein 'all things shall be subject to Him who putteth all 
 things under Him, that God may be all in all.' The apostle says, I think 
 to the Corinthians, 'Then shall the Son also himself be subjected to 
 him that did subject all things unto him.' 
 
 "If we are faithful, though heretofore we may have baptized men 
 into the name of the Father (cause), and into the name of the Son (op- 
 portunity), we shall hereafter baptize them into the name (power) of 
 the Spirit (harmony). And herein we shall see the 'expediency' of all 
 else vanishing out of the way, that all types and all symbols shall pass 
 away, because all of them contain in their very nature ' the enmity,' all 
 of them being by their very nature antitypical to all being, description, 
 and representation. Unspeakable, unutterable, ineffable is the baptism 
 of the Spirit ! It is the fulness of God. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 "David Newport." 
 
 " Abington, 4 mo. 10, 1886. 
 " E. M. Davis. 
 
 " My DEAR Friend, — Our talk yesterday in the cars was a widely ex- 
 tended one, all the way from thy one hundred and twenty thousand acres 
 of land in Kentucky to the immortality of the soul. 
 
 " I am much obliged to thee for thy concern that I should teach noth- 
 ing at our meeting which I do not know. I would have thee to read the 
 first part of M. D. Conway's essay, ' Our Armageddon,' in the Index of 
 the 2Sth ulto., as to what he says of the Heart of Religion being Love. 
 This is what I try to teach, the truth of Love as being the sum of all 
 truth! Note what he says William Law told John Wesley when he 
 wanted a philosophy as a religion : ' I see,' said Law, ' where your mistake 
 lies. You would have a philosophical religion ; but there can be no such 
 
 439 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 thing. Religion is the most plain, simple thing in the world ; it is only, 
 " We loved Him because He first loved us." So far as you add philoso- 
 phy you spoil it.' 
 
 "My religion, then, is nothing but the truth of love (wisdom), and 
 this all men know when it is revealed to them, and we know nothing but 
 by revelation. We all know the nature of Love, and its teaching can 
 never become obsolete: 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, 
 do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully 
 use you, and persecute you ; that ye may be the children of your Father 
 which is in heaven.' 
 
 " In respect to immortality, it is a question, as Conway says, quoting 
 what Strauss said to him as they walked beside the Neckar, ' It is a ques- 
 tion of anthropology.' 
 
 " Now, there is nothing in Nature, per se, that can put into our being 
 the active sentiment of Love. It has been unquestionably placed there 
 by a Higher Power. And if we know that that Infinite Power loves us, 
 then our immortality is assured, because it is an infinite and almighty 
 love. 
 
 " I send thee a copy of my poems. In my address to an agnostic 
 friend I have enlarged on the subject of love. I am well aware that my 
 poems are deficient in technics. Most of them were written many years 
 ago. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 " Abington, s mo. 21, 1886. 
 
 " My dear Friend, — In respect to what thou said in our late meeting 
 •f ministers and elders concerning the title ' Our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ,' one would suppose that it was a frequent and authoritative phrase, 
 instead of being found but twice in the New Testament, and then only in 
 the second epistle of Peter, which epistle is the most doubtful of all the 
 books therein as to genuineness and authenticity, and in respect to which 
 Canon Farrar says in his ' Early Days of Christianity :' ' Neither Poly- 
 carp, nor Ignatius, nor Barnabas, nor Clement of Rome, nor Justin Mar- 
 tyr, nor Theophilus, nor Cyprian, nor the Vetus Itala, nor the Muratori 
 Canon can be proven to even allude to it. It was one of the last books 
 of the New Testament admitted into the canon.' Farrar further says, 
 page 118, 'Erasmus, Luther, and Calvin freely express their doubts, 
 shared by Cajetan, Grotius, Scaliger, and Salmasius. In modern times, 
 since the days of Semler, an increased number of critics have decided 
 against the genuineness of the epistle, including not only Bauer, Scha- 
 legler, Hungenfeld, Myerhoft, Bluk, Davidson, Messner, Weiss, etc' 
 
 "Now, Jesus is not called 'Our Saviour' in the Gospels nor in the 
 Acts. He is referred to as ' o Saviour' a few times in them. In Paul's 
 acknowledged epistles he is not thus mentioned. 'No man,' says he, 
 ' can call Jesus Kurios (master, lord, or sir) but by the Holy Spirit.' 
 
 440 
 
"GOD IS THE HEAD OF CHRIST" 
 
 "In Second Timothy, Jesus is called 'Our Saviour' once, and in 
 Titus four times; and both of these epistles are somewhat in the same 
 category as that of Second Peter, not ranking with the universally 
 acknowledged epistles of the great apostles. No doubt he viewed Jesus 
 as it is written in the Old Testament, ' He sent them saviours to deliver 
 them from the power of their enemies.' Thus, Jesus is a Saviour to thee 
 and to me, and in no other sense is he a Saviour; 'the Father who 
 dwelleth within me, he doeth the works.' This God power is the saviour 
 in whomsoever it may be found. I regret very much, my dear friend, that 
 thee is attempting to get up 'a Christ party' among us. To such the 
 apostle said in his day, ' God is the head of Christ' And so I will say to 
 thee; thou art engaged in a futile undertaking; it will come to naught. 
 The common sense and the intellectual conscience of mankind are now 
 steadily set in an overwhelming tide against any such idea. It is an idea 
 which belongs to the cast-off clothing of pseudo-orthodoxy! 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 " Abington, 6 mo. 24, 1886. 
 
 " My dear Friend, — ^We do not, I think, disagree much, certainly not 
 upon the one thing needful. Should we differ concerning the Bible, it 
 would only be a difference concerning art, concerning the letter which 
 killeth. Art is the work of men's hands. Now, take the title-page of the 
 two translations of the New Testament, the old and the revised. We 
 read in the former, ' translated out of the original Greek.' In the latter 
 this is omitted. Why? Clearly because the former title is untrue, as 
 every Greek scholar knows. Thus is the truth vindicated ! 
 
 "In this morning's paper I see that Matthew Arnold is on his way 
 again to the United States, and in an article on his Irish affairs I see 
 his old word — ' lucidity,' and I thought of his work, ' God and the Bible,' 
 in connection with thy letter. I well know that thee is a busy man, as I 
 am also very much occupied ; but after dinner I took up this book, and 
 I would have thee to read from pages 193 to 225. Thee could easily read 
 this in one hour, and this would not be so very vexatious as to ' scholarly 
 reference to authorities.' M. A. in this book, and in ' Literature and 
 Dogma' also, sums up the matter as between Professor Seeley and Pro- 
 fessor Sandy, taking conservative ground. I will take the trouble to 
 quote his last paragraph : ' The upshot of this for the readers of litera- 
 ture and dogma is that our original short sentence about the life and 
 record of Jesus holds good. The record, we said, when we first got it, 
 had passed through at least a half a century or more of oral tradition, 
 and through more than one written account.' Now, take the admission 
 of Dr. Sandy in ' The Gospel in the Second Century,' and remember that 
 he represents the orthodox of the orthodox : ' Yet,' says he, ' the process 
 had been of course gradual. The canonical gospels had to compete with 
 several others before they became canonical. They had to make good 
 
 441 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 their own claims, and to displace rival documents; and they succeeded. 
 It is a striking instance of the survival of the fittest,' adds our D.D., 
 facetiously and ironically. 
 
 " My dear friend, I happen to know that these men are laughing in 
 their sleeves at ' salvation by Jesus Christ' as they have formerly taught 
 it. They call it ' metaphorical salvation.' He, Professor Sandy, admits 
 that Arnold was right when he said ' that it might be stated in a sentence 
 and proved in a page.' 
 
 " Now turn to my little book ' Indices,' written fifteen years ago, and 
 read the short chapter viii., and see how wonderfully I am vindicated. I 
 say ' that the records gradually accumulated, for in Justin's time no 
 special authorship was attached to them; but they now began to assume 
 form and authority, for the religion that was taught in the name of 
 Jesus now seemed of more importance to the world, and the end of all 
 things did not seem so near.' 
 
 " Paul frequently hints at the secret which they had in common, and 
 nowhere more plainly than in Galatians iii. i : ' O foolish Galatians, who 
 hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes 
 Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?' 
 
 " I alluded to this secret in the late Yearly Meeting, when I quoted 
 those beautiful lines written by, I believe, an English Friend : 
 
 " ' Living to-day 
 
 With God's Book before thee, 
 What book of yesterday 
 
 Shall have rule o'er thee? 
 Let the Seed's voice be heard, 
 This is the living word. 
 This is the Holy Ghost whom men blaspheme; 
 
 This was the prophets' guide. 
 
 Tried, tempted, crucified; 
 This was the glory of Jesus, his stay and his theme.' 
 
 " The light of life was so exemplified in the ' man Christ Jesus,' con- 
 cerning whom Irenaeus (a.d. 190-230) appeals to the testimony of the 
 elders of Asia Minor, to show that Jesus was about fifty years of age at 
 the time when he entered on his public ministry, also citing John viii. 57> 
 to the same end (Adv. Haeres, ii. 22). See Samuel Davidson's ' Studies 
 of the New Testament,' p. 425, second volume. 
 
 "The truth is patent to all inquirers that so great was -this light in 
 Jesus, that his friends, when they came to write about him (he wrote 
 nothing), that, imitating the Buddhist, — the Brahmin and the Parsees 
 before them, — they used his name as a synonyme to express his great 
 theme i Take the Fourth Gospel as an example. Now, it is not to the 
 many with whom I can speak on so sacred a theme; but I will mention 
 the matter as it occurred. Before my dear mother's demise, and she 
 
 442 
 
GOVERNOR THOMAS LLOYD 
 
 sympathized with me entirely in my view of a free Bible, we frequently 
 conversed concerning the ' Spiritual Gospel.' I talked to her about its 
 wonderful depth of meaning and of its disregard of historical verity. 
 Well, after her demise, she appeared to me one day and ' opened to me 
 these scriptures' (Luke xxiv. 32), and said to me in respect to John's 
 gospel : ' It is a similitude, and its author never intended it but as such.' 
 This was a fresh revelation to me. Now it is as clear as sunlight. The 
 Fathers tell us the same thing ; says Athanasius : ' If ye understand the 
 Scriptures according to the letter, ye will fall into the most enormous 
 blasphemies.' Such manner of writing was the style and the fashion of 
 the age and time. 
 
 " In respect to Jesus, the apostle says that he ' was a minister to the 
 circumcision for the truth of God.' And the Scriptures, rightly under- 
 stood, reveal him thus as our brother man. Though I can say, with the 
 estimable deputy Governor Thomas Lloyd, who openly avowed ' I know 
 no man Christ Jesus without me, but by the grace of God within me.' 
 Thus he spoke to the schismatic George Keith. 
 
 " In order to understand George Fox we must have the key. He is 
 often very plain, as in his ' Beatitudes,' he says, 'All language is to me no 
 more than dust, who was before language was.' He here alludes to ' the 
 Seed,' and to the Seed's voice." 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 "David Newport." 
 
 " Abington, 6 mo. i, 1886. 
 
 " My dear Friend, — It is right for me this morning to attempt putting 
 down in letters a fresh revelation of the Almighty to me. Last Seventh- 
 day, on my way home from attending your Quarterly Meeting at Deer 
 Creek, Maryland, immediately on taking the cars at Perrysville, Infinite 
 Love saluted me in a most wonderful manner, filling my soul to over- 
 flowing, humbling me greatly by the glory of the manifestation. He was 
 all, and I was nothing in mine own estimation. Mine eyes were filled to 
 overflowing, and my whole nature was touched with the emotion of 
 Divine love. So long did this continue that I inquired, 'Why is it, O 
 Father, this manifestation of Thy love?' And the answer was, 'Thou 
 hast done many things thou ought not to have done; but thou hast not 
 committed spiritual adultery, hast not in an adulterous manner gone out 
 after the language descriptions and literature of men. 
 
 "'Know thou, henceforth, that Sanscrit, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and 
 the Saxon tongues are but as dust compared with that pure language 
 with which I speak to my children, and with which they converse and 
 commune with each other, when they are in their right mind. 
 
 "'Thou lovest my son Jesus, and thou doest well; but thou doest 
 better in that thou dost distinguish between the Father and the Son; 
 between Me, the principal cause of all things, and mere instrumental 
 causes. For I am the true centre and source of all minds, and in Me 
 
 443 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 alone shall they find their true peace and their true rest. All wandering^ 
 among men consists in leaving their Centre. 
 
 " ' Thou shalt tell this fresh revelation in the congregations of the 
 people. Thou shalt lift up thy voice and testify against all idolatry; 
 against the worship of the letter; against the worship of my son Jesus, 
 for he is thy brother man, born of the same mother and of the same 
 Father. The description is right : " For whosoever shall do the will of 
 God, the same is niy brother, and my sister, and mother." 
 
 " ' Thou shalt obey this fresh revelation, and I will love thee with an 
 Almighty love.' 
 
 " I write to thee, my dear friend, just as the Infinite One communi- 
 cated His will to me. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 " Abington, 7 mo. 4, 1886. 
 
 " Beloved Friend, — Always glad to hear from thee, and this morn- 
 ing, feeling excused from attending meeting in consequence of indisposi- 
 tion, I will attempt to reply to thy note of the second instant. It is clear 
 that thou and I are led much alike, and have to contend against very 
 much the same outward influences. 
 
 " The knowledge of the Gift of God, to use the original scriptural 
 word gnosis, is the source of great inward consolation and fellowship, 
 wherein we cultivate peace in the brotherhood of Jesus ; at the same time 
 this gift brings with it a considerable amount of suffering, as we must 
 testify and bear witness to the all-sufficiency of the Gift as 'the one 
 thing needful,' being constrained by the Spirit to bear witness of this as 
 Jesus did, as we read in Luke x. 42 ; and herein we find that this thought 
 is displeasing to many, and in a note in the Revised Version is added, 
 'Many ancient authorities read but few things are needful.' Such is the 
 disposition of the exoteric to get into the mixture and out of the one- 
 ness ! As it was in ancient times, so it remains to this day ; and because 
 of this ' we must demolish reasonings, and every height rearing itself up 
 against the knowledge of God, and leading captive every mind to the 
 obedience of the Anointed One.' And in effecting this, or as much as 
 may be, great skill must often be used; and then again great boldness, 
 and always infinite love, or as much of it as the Father may dispense to 
 us. Or, as thou so well sayest, that in the manifestation of the Gift to us, 
 ' to let God be the author of all good to us and in us.'* I am indeed glad 
 that thou penned this sentiment in thy letter, as I need — the common 
 need of all — ^to be reminded of its truthfulness, for that alone, as dear 
 Job Scott says, ' which proceeds from God can gather to Him.' As I 
 realize these great thoughts in thus concluding these few lines in answer 
 
 * " The principle of good in us is of God, and is His measure in us." 
 
 444 
 
DEITY AND THE DIVINE HUMANITY 
 
 to thy favor, I am almost oppressed with a sense of my great responsi- 
 bility as a minister of the Most High, and clearly see that I can be pre- 
 served in the necessary humility only as I cherish and seek the cultiva- 
 tion of that great idea, ' I am among you as he who serves.' 
 
 " Most affectionately thy friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 " Abington, 7 mo. 30, 1886. 
 "A. L. S. 
 
 "Respected Friend,— In reply to thy question, 'What is the soul?' I 
 would answer that it is the innermost Ego of humanity, the I Am prin- 
 ciple that ' dwelleth in the midst of thee,' to know which constitutes ' the 
 knowledge.' 
 
 "Thou mayest inquire why the mass of mankind seems so ignorant 
 on this subject. I reply, that they have been so generally taught to rely 
 upon their sensuous and not upon their spiritual perceptions, to rely 
 upon men's descriptions and not upon knowledge. And hence it is that 
 while there has been so vast a conversion of the unknown into the 
 known in the former condition, there is comparatively little in the 
 latter sphere of mind and thought. 
 
 " The soul is the Divine life or germ in man, and the only diflference 
 between it and the Being whom we call God is that He is Infinite and 
 Eternal, whilst we are derivative and finite souls. We can say of the 
 soul that it proceeded and came forth from God, and that this is the 
 manner of its previous as well as its subsequent existence, in which the 
 gift of consciousness has been confirmed; wherein, too, if we are alive, 
 we are conscious of becoming conscious also. God stands in the same 
 relation to us that the sun stands to our earth. He being at once source 
 and centre also. 
 
 " Thou mayest inquire, ' What is the great office of the soul ?' I an- 
 swer that its great office is expansion, so that it may witness a conver- 
 sion from the unknown unto the known ; or, in other words, that it may 
 increase in the knowledge of God, and become thus a partaker of the 
 Divine Nature, and witness an expansion and an increase of immortality 
 and eternal life, being filled with the fulness of God continually, and 
 knowing also that the principle of good in us is of God and is His measure 
 in us. 
 
 " This is the whole duty of man, ' the one thing needful' of Jesus, of 
 which we should know a participation experimentally and perpetually, 
 and thus feel an ability to realize his prayer for us : 'And I made known 
 unto them thy name, and will make it known; that the love wherewith 
 thou lovedst me may be in them, and I in them.' 
 
 "Thus and herein we may witness a reception of the Holy Spirit, 
 which is a condition of union and harmony with God and with the divine 
 humanity. 
 
 44S 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " ' What blessings Thy free bounty gives 
 Let me not cast away ; 
 For God is paid when man receives, 
 To enjoy is to obey.' 
 
 " Thy aflectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 CHARLES LINTON'S "HEALING OF THE NATIONS." 
 
 " If I were limited to four books on religious subjects, I would select 
 the Bible, Job Scott's 'Journal,' E. A. Hitchcock's 'Christ the Spirit,' 
 and Charles Linton's ' Healing of the Nations,' second series. It is not 
 creditable to our society that a second edition of Job Scott's 'Journal' 
 has not been published. That the book is in demand is shown by the 
 fact that second-hand copies are now selling at as high a price as ten 
 dollars for the two volumes. ' Christ the Spirit' is a remarkable work, 
 and has had several editions, the last one being published at the expense 
 of the late Benjamin Rodman, many volumes of which were gratuitously 
 distributed by him. He chose Benjamin Hallowell as his almoner, and 
 many of the friends of the latter were the recipients of Benjamin Rod- 
 man's kind offices. To show the estimate which Benjamin Hallowell 
 placed upon the book, I quote the following from a letter which he wrote 
 to me on the subject: 'Through the liberality of my kind and good 
 friend Benjamin Rodman, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, I have been 
 presented for distribution a number of copies of a very remarkable work 
 entitled " Christ the Spirit," by General E. Allen Hitchcock, now de- 
 ceased, one copy of which I have directed the publishers to send to thy 
 address by mail, which I wish thee to please to accept. Benjamin Rod- 
 man is now in his eightieth year.' 
 
 " From Charles Linton's ' Healing of the Nations' I have already 
 given a few extracts. This book was written by Charles when quite a 
 young man. His educational advantages were very limited. He was un- 
 acquainted at the time with the Scriptures, or any work upon philosophy, 
 and yet there is nothing in Plato, nothing in Kant, nothing in Descartes, 
 nothing in any philosopher of any age or clime with whom I am ac- 
 quainted that is not equalled, and in fact surpassed, in clearness of 
 statement and in purity of diction by this work. The fact that an un- 
 learned farmer's boy of Pennsylvania should have written so wonderful 
 a book as the ' Healing of the Nations' is to me one of the most wonder- 
 ful facts of this wonderful age. I will close this communication by 
 giving what I consider a few of his choicest gems. 
 
 " ' Keep thy own spirit humble before God ; ask continually His 
 counsel ; be willing to be guided by His light within thee, and thou can- 
 not be deceived. 
 
 "'All faith is perverted that does not cling unto God, for !^e is the 
 cause of all things, producing faith in the spirit of His children. 
 
 " ' God's Word produces no discord between man and man, for it 
 
 446 
 
CHARLES LINTON 
 
 prompts to love, peace, and good-will. No man can write God's Word, 
 neither can any man read it, for it cannot be reduced to anything which 
 is perishable. 
 
 " ' All we can know of God is manifest in ourselves, for we are His 
 highest witnesses on earth. 
 
 " ' Be free and fearless in thy researches. How silly must seem the 
 fears of some seekers; afraid lest they should find something God would 
 rather they did not know. 
 
 "'The mass of mankind have far more confidence in their animal 
 sense than in their spiritual perceptions. 
 
 " ' Every man is forgiven when his suffering has paid the debt of his 
 transgressions. Sins cannot endure forever, but their fruits last long 
 enough to very much retard the spirit's progress. 
 
 Animal nature doth not progress. There is a distinct line dividing 
 spirit from matter. 
 
 " ' So soon as imperfection worships anything bi^t perfection, then it 
 becomes still more imperfect. 
 
 " ' Separate from God there is no immortality. In His great good- 
 ness He gave unto man all power save creation and annihilation. These 
 powers Himself controUeth. All is vacant where wisdom doth not fill. 
 
 " ' If man can receive direct counsel from the Most High by cultivating 
 affinity for Him and His wisdom, why should he seek and obtain wisdom 
 from those whose wisdom is at least imperfect? 
 
 "'Didst thou depend upon any one or aught else save Him whom 
 thou hopest to see, thou wouldst have to constantly change, and would 
 have thy dependence ever varying.' 
 
 " D. N." 
 
 " In the demise of Charles Linton, Abington Monthly Meeting has 
 lost one of its most valued members. For a number of years he has been 
 its clerk, and was also the assistant clerk of our Quarterly Meeting. Not 
 only was he by nature, but also by grace, highly gifted as a spiritual man, 
 and was likewise a good business man, having sound practical judgment 
 in the affairs of life. 
 
 "He was the author of three books, entitled 'The Healing of the 
 Nations,' which were written when he was a young man, the first and 
 second series of which have been published, the third being yet in manu- 
 script The first series had a very large edition, some two thousand five 
 hundred copies having been sold. The second series was published with 
 the view of its general circulation among the Society of Friends; but 
 the expectation of its author was not realized, and, as a consequence, the 
 family have a considerable number of this series still on hand at the 
 present time. It is a book of three hundred and sixty-three pages, and 
 is written in the form of apothegms, aphorisms, or sayings. It is not a 
 book to be read as books are generally read; for, after reading but a 
 few sentences, you want to lay it down, and to think over what you have 
 
 447 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 read. It is, in a word, a book calculated to promote thought, and its 
 author believed himself inspired by the Holy Spirit when engaged in its 
 production, the condition which he sought when so engaged being a 
 prayerful and a quiet condition of spirit. 
 
 " His manuscripts, which are in the possession of his family, are very 
 remarkable, and are now as when they were first written, without 
 erasure, correction, or interlineation. 
 
 " Charles Linton lived very close to his ideal, which can be best desig- 
 nated by a citation from the title-page of the book above mentioned. 
 
 " ' There is a noble manhood which can mingle in every action of 
 daily life and never be defiled. There is a guard which God doth place 
 around the faithful stronger than steel and brighter than gold.' 
 
 " I will close this tribute to the memory of our Friend by giving a 
 citation from chapter xxii., ' Healing of the Nations,' second series. 
 
 " ' The child of God and the child of man dwell in the same house. 
 The one subject unto the law, and the other above all law, a perfect child 
 of freedom. 
 
 " ' They dwell together. They begin together. They can begin no 
 other way, for this was God's good will towards them. He placed His 
 son in flesh that flesh might teach it of those sufferings which all flesh 
 is heir to. He allotted a time for the indwelling, and placed trials and 
 temptations in the way that it imight know the glory of goodness, the 
 sweetness of overcoming. 
 
 " ' This is the experience of every son of Gtod ever created. Therein 
 is continual temptation, but temptation cannot prevail when the son of 
 God doeth its duty. Now, this is to me rendered plain. I seem to see 
 two children dwelling together. One pure and spotless, of high aspira- 
 tion; the other partaking of beasts and animals of all descriptions. The 
 one striveth to mount upward, the other sinketh downward. . . . 
 
 " ' Now, after dwelling thus together so long as the Father desires, 
 the pure one seems to absorb the very life of the other, and yet lose none 
 of its transparency, and finally there dwelleth but one in the house which 
 is not of earth, and of the other is but a shell, which soon is lost in 
 earth. 
 
 ********** 
 
 " ' This son is my highest self. My holy individuality, my knowledge 
 of divinity, my conception of heavenly things. All have it. God favors 
 no man.' " 
 
 TRANSLATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 
 
 " Friends Editors, — In the last issue of your paper (Sixth month 12) 
 the following point is well taken in Scriptural lesson No. 24 : 'In the 
 further consideration of this lesson we will find instruction in the study 
 of the expressions " the Son," " the Son of God," which so often occur 
 in these discourses of Jesus as related by John,' etc. These differences 
 are greater, however, in truth than is apparent even in the Revised Ver- 
 sion, as the revisers, though fair in many things, yet in many others have 
 
 448 
 
UNCERTAINTIES OF THE GREEK 
 
 shown that even they were not clear of the charge which Robert Barclay 
 over two hundred years ago alleged against King James's translators. 
 He said of them that they ' do not give us the genuine significance of the 
 words, as they strain them to express that which comes nearest to that 
 opinion or notion they have of the truth.' 
 
 " Now, in the lesson in view, in the text cited, John x. 36, it should 
 read, ' Because I said I am o Son of God,' and not ' the Son of God,' as 
 in the text, and also in the lesson. A literal translation of the Greek 
 would read thus : ' That thou blasphemest, because I said a son of the 
 God I am,' the Greek word Huos meaning son, child, and this is in 
 accord with the chapter under consideration as well as in the citation 
 from Psalm Ixxxii. 6, which reads, ' Ye are gods ; and all of you are 
 children of the Most High.' Jesus evidently was trying to inculcate the 
 lesson that the true dignity of humanity is sonship. I quote again liter- 
 ally from the Greek text : ' I said, gods you are.' ' If them he called 
 gods to whom the word of God came,' etc. 
 
 " In John xvii. l, if the reader will compare the revised edition with 
 the old one, he will perceive a difference, the text reading in the former 
 ' that the Son may glorify thee,' which is different from the latter read- 
 ing; and it is the reading from the Vatican manuscript as adopted by 
 the revisers. And this distinction is preserved throughout the ' spiritual 
 Gospel,' which is clearly a similitude, the distinction between the ' spirit' 
 and the ' flesh' being preserved throughout ; though translators and tran- 
 scribers have often endeavored to mislead their readers. 
 
 " Now, in the best translations of the New Testament, the original 
 word Logos is preserved, and John i. i we should read : ' In the begin- 
 ning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was 
 God.' Upon this subject Dr. A. Clarke remarks, ' This term should be 
 left untranslated, for the same reason why the names Jesus and Christ 
 are left untranslated.' ' The epithet Logos,' says Dr. Clarke, ' which sig- 
 nifies a word spoken, speech, eloquence, doctrine, reason, or the faculty 
 of reasoning, is very properly applied to Him.' 
 
 " In John xvi. 7, the contrast is obvious to all : ' It is expedient for 
 you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come 
 unto you.' Again in John xiv. 9 is the same distinction. 
 
 " In respect to these things the clear-cut words of the ancient ' Fathers 
 of the Church' are very suggestive. Says Origen in reference to the out- 
 ward sense : ' There are things contained in them which are falsities.' 
 And says St. Athanasius, ' Should we understand sacred writ according 
 to the letter, we shall fall into the most enormous blasphemies.' 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 UNCERTAINTIES OF THE GREEK; CERTAINTIES OF THE 
 
 SPIRIT. .... 
 
 "Friends Editors,— After the Tauchnitz edition of the New Testa- 
 ment was published under the editorship of C. Tischendorf, in 1870, 
 29 449 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 wherein was given the various readings from the three most celebrated 
 ancient manuscripts of the Greek text, a revision of the authorized Eng- 
 lish version became immediately necessary; and in the same year the 
 Convocation of Canterbury adopted a resolution ' that it is desirable that 
 a revision of the Authorized Version of the Holy Scriptures be under- 
 taken.' The subject had been mooted in ' The Church' for many years, 
 as is pointed out by John Jackson in his ' Dissertation on the Christian 
 Ministry.' 
 
 " Shortly before the present Revision was published, I was con- 
 versing with the late John J. White on the subject, and particularly 
 as to the text Philippians ii. 6. He remarked that we as a society would 
 be the gainers by the proposed revision ; and that our views of ' the sim- 
 plicity that is in Christ' would be vindicated. These were not his exact 
 words, but it was the substance of them. I was explaining to him (and 
 he was a man who knew that reason consisted in the perception of differ- 
 ence) the variety of translations which had been given to the above 
 text, and of the probability that right reason would triumph in the con- 
 troversy; and that a reading like the present one in the new version 
 would be adopted by the revisers. The well-known reading in the old 
 version has long been a stumbling-block to the honest inquirer, and reads 
 as follows : ' Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to 
 be equal with God.' 
 
 " Commentators have often pointed out the dishonesty of this trans- 
 lation, and, in order to render clearer the great dilBculty there is in the 
 Greek, I will give some of the different renderings : The word Harpag- 
 mon is a word of very rare occurrence, and a great variety of translations 
 have been given. The following will serve as examples: 
 
 " ' Who . . . did not think it a matter to be earnestly desired' — 
 Clarke. 
 
 " ' Did not earnestly effect.'— ^Cji^n'oM. 
 
 " ' Did not think of eagerly retaining.' — Wakefield. 
 
 " ' Did not regard ... as an object of solicitous desire.' — Stuard. 
 
 " ' Thought not a thing to be seized.' — Sharpe. 
 
 " ' Did not eagerly grasp.' — Kneeland. • 
 
 " ' Did not meditate a usurpation.' — Turnbull. 
 
 " The text as rendered in the Revision was the result of a compro- 
 mise, and is thus : ' Counted it not a prize to be on an equality with 
 God.' 
 
 " It was in reference to such things that Robert Barclay wrote two 
 hundred years ago: 'AH these things, and much more which might be 
 alleged, put the minds even of the learned into infinite doubts, scruples, 
 and inextricable difficulties.' Hence there is according to Benjamin 
 Hallowell, 'A manifestation of the spirit of God graciously imparted 
 to the soul of every rational, accountable being, which, if humbly and 
 faithfully regarded and obeyed, will lead such soul into all truth neces- 
 sary for its present well-being and its everlasting salvation.' Or again, 
 
 4S0 
 
"THE SPIRITUAL GOSPEL" 
 
 to quote from Barclay, 'A Principal Guide (is given) which neither moths 
 nor time can wear out, nor transcribers nor translators corrupt; which 
 none are too young, none so illiterate, none in so remote a place, but they 
 may come to be reached and rightly informed by it.' 
 
 "D. N." 
 " THE SPIRITUAL GOSPEL." 
 
 "When our early Friends called the Fourth Gospel 'the Spiritual 
 Gospel, some of them being eminent scholars, they were no doubt aware 
 that It was designated thus in ancient times by 'the Fathers' In a 
 standard biblical dictionary published by the American Tract Society it 
 IS spoken of thus: ' it is a spiritual rather than a historical gospel;' and 
 the eminent orthodox writer Luthardt says, ' One must make up his mind 
 to take the Johannine question not as a historical question, but as a 
 psychological one.' The tradition certified to by Clement of Alexandria 
 was that John at the call of the Holy Ghost wrote the spiritual gospel. 
 Bodily things, says Clement, had been made clear. ' Without a parable 
 spake he not' is the key of knowledge. The disciple that Jesus loved 
 was a follower of the blessed truth. Luthardt says, when speaking of 
 the great liberty the evangelist took with history, ' We must acknowledge 
 that in John we are indeed to refer the contents, but not the form of 
 discourses, to Jesus himself.' Again he writes: 'The harmony of the 
 picture of Jesus stood before him in the visions of his soul.' 
 
 " Perhaps no book ever writtfen has caused more comment than the 
 work of the fourth evangelist. Within the present generation more than 
 fifty leading works have been published in regard to it. Harmonists 
 in ancient and in modern times have had great difficulty, and have now 
 generally arrived at the conclusion of the author of the above mentioned 
 dictionary 'that it is a spiritual rather than a historical gospel.' I will 
 mention a few of the historical difficulties: Jesus did not manifest his 
 power at first at Capernaum, but at Cana ; and according to the first three 
 evangelists the immediate cause of hostilities against Jesus seems to have 
 been ' the overthrowing of the tables of the money changers ;' * but John, 
 contrary to all this, places this event almost at the very opening of his 
 ministry (John ii. 14) ; the evangelist being so intent and absorbed in 
 his great theme — Christ within — that he was careless of mere historical 
 accuracy, and so has narrated in his account and recital of the doings of 
 the Spirit : ' But thus spake he of the Spirit' (John vii. 39) ; that he 
 placed these doings and sayings, of which he has written, even subsequent 
 to the records of the other evangelists. He was writing of philosophy, 
 and not history ; as Keim and other orthodox authorities have well said : 
 ' The Fourth Gospel gives a religious philosophy only a historical dress.' 
 If such commentators as Doddridge had understood this, their wonder 
 
 * See Note B. The doings of the Spirit are denoted by the Fourth 
 Gospel, and, in order to understand its writer, we must not seek to know 
 Christ after the flesh. 
 
 4SI 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 need not have been so much excited at the entire silence of Josephus and 
 other Jewish historians in respect to the pool of Bethesda, or of such 
 metonymies as are given in the last verse of the Gospel, wherein it is 
 said : ' I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books 
 that should be written.' Or as we read in John x. 8, ' All that came 
 before me are thieves and robbers.' Such sayings have given commen- 
 tators a world of trouble. And it so happens here that the Greek word 
 ponta cannot be strained so as to mean many, or anything else than ' all.' 
 And this fact has made commentators very unhappy; and one of them 
 writes thus : ' Our Saviour cannot here mean Moses and the prophets 
 who were commissioned to speak in the name of Jehovah,' etc. 
 
 " Now the solution of this is very plain if we look to the ' door of the 
 sheep,' ' for whoso doeth the will of God he shall know of the doctrine' 
 — i.e., of the Spirit. He will know that all right beginnings are in and 
 of the Spirit ; and knowing of the Eternal Spirit, he knows that ' When 
 he hath put forth all his own, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow 
 him : for they know his voice.' 
 
 " ' Verily, I say unto you. He that entereth not by the door into the 
 fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief 
 and a robber.' 
 
 " In the evangelist's work he calls this door by many names ; he calls 
 it ' Jesus,' ' the Spirit of truth,' ' the Son,' and by many other names. As 
 in the Book of Wisdom it is spoken of thus : ' For wisdom is more 
 moving than any motion. She passeth and goeth through all things by 
 reason of her pureness. For she is the breath of the power of God, and 
 a pure influence flowing from the glory of the Almighty; therefore can 
 no defiled thing fall into her.' 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 "Abington, II mo. 26, 1886. 
 
 "Dear Annie Packer, — I have frequently remembered thee, since we 
 met at Salem last spring, with much interest and affection, and thou art 
 no doubt now at thy home in the enjoyment of that peace which is the 
 reward of that condition of receptivity wherein we are prepared to re- 
 ceive the heavenly influx of divine light and love. 
 
 " When the revised edition of the New Testament was issued, I looked 
 first to see whether the revisers had been honest enough to render the 
 true titles to the ' Gospels,' and, secondly, I turned to Revelation iii. 20, 
 to see whether they had given the translation as it is found in one of the 
 oldest MSS., the Sinaitic, which the translators consider so authoritative, 
 but found, to my disappointment, that they had disregarded it. 
 
 "According to this document, the texts should read thus, ' Behold, I 
 stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, I will both 
 open the door and come in and sup with him, and he with me.' And 
 this reading agrees with the context in verse 7 in the same chapter ; and 
 agrees, also, with our own living experience. It reads thus, 'He that 
 
 452 
 
"THE CREED" 
 
 hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shut- 
 teth, and no man openeth.' 
 
 "Pope, when he penned 'the Universal prayer,' was truly inspired; 
 the fifth verse being especially clear and sound. 
 
 "'What blessings Thy free bounty gives 
 Let me not cast away; 
 For God is paid when man receives. 
 To enjoy is to obey.' 
 
 " The minute I had with me when at Salem I have also returned to 
 our Monthly Meeting. I visited many meetings in Pennsylvania and 
 Maryland. 
 
 "Yesterday I attended Bucks Quarterly Meeting, which was quite 
 large, notwithstanding the rain. I dined at John Wildman's, and we 
 had the pleasure of the company of Elisha Bassett and wife. I have 
 often remembered the remarks when we were together at their pleasant 
 home at Salem, and was much pleased that thee spoke out so openly 
 in respect to the article in our discipline called ' The Creed,' page lOO. 
 As thou expressed, it is indeed a matter of regret that this stumbling- 
 block of offence should be there. Lucretia Mott told me that Emmer 
 Kimber told her that Jonathan Evans was instrumental in its insertion 
 from an extract of a London epistle somewhat about the year 1784. 
 
 "If thee will refer to the margin, page 200 of the revised New Testa- 
 ment, thee will read in a foot-note, viz., ' Some ancient authorities read 
 the birth of the Christ was on this wise, etc' And doubtless herein was 
 the original metonymical and parabolic sense which was so eminently 
 the style of expression among the authors of that day. The writer in 
 Luke speaks of ' the holy thing which is to be born shall be called the 
 Son of God.' 
 
 " Luke ii. 33, in the revised edition, reads, 'And his father and his 
 mother,' etc., instead of ' Joseph and his mother' ; verse 41, reading 
 ' his parents.' The revisers tell us in their ' Companion,'* the substitu- 
 tion (in the old version) was made in the presumed interest of a very 
 vital doctrine, that of the miraculous conception. Now this doctrine 
 was not alluded to by any writer for more than one hundred years after 
 Jesus. Paul says that ' he (Jesus) was born of the seed of David, after 
 the flesh,' and both the genealogies point to Joseph as his father; and in 
 the Fourth Gospel he is distinctly recognized as 'Jesus of Nazareth, the 
 son of Joseph.' From this it is evident that what is written in Mat- 
 thew and Luke was intended to convey in the language of metonymy and 
 parable an idea of that birth which is indeed Holy! Holy! A genera- 
 tion and genesis which knoweth not man, ' born not of blood, nor of the 
 
 * Page 14, Companion to the Revised Edition of the English New 
 Testament. 
 
 4S3 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.' And when we 
 experience this birth, we indeed possess and obtain the key of knowl- 
 edge. Upon this subject says Martin Luther, ' Every Christian may 
 enjoy this birth of Christ not less than if he also, like Jesus, were born 
 bodily of the Virgin Mary. Whoso disbelieves or doubts this,' he says, 
 ' is no Christian.' 
 
 " I send by this mail a copy of a little book which I published sixteen 
 years ago, which in the main is sustained and vindicated by the most 
 eminent ' Church authorities.' We live now in a day in which it is 
 becoming fashionable for so-called ' divines' to tell the truth concerning 
 the Scriptures. Notably is this with the new Encyclopaedia (Britannica) 
 in the articles entitled ' Jesus,' ' Paul,' ' Gospels,' ' Bible,' etc., all written 
 by eminent evangelical authorities. 
 
 " What I desire is a right knowledge and understanding of the Bible, 
 so that we may be kept out of all deficiency and all excess, and I do 
 most heartily rejoice that thou art not a rejecter of knowledge, and that 
 the language of old is therefore not applicable to thee, viz., ' He that 
 rejecteth knowledge, him will I reject ; he shall be no priest of mine.' 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport.'' 
 
 "Abington, 12 mo. 2, 1886. 
 
 " My dear Friend, — It was refreshing to hear from thee, particularly 
 as I am in a measure confined to the house with sciatica; and it was a 
 matter of rejoicing to likewise hear that you were so highly favored with 
 the baptism of the Divine Spirit at your late Yearly Meeting. All that 
 is needful in order to experience this heavenly consolation is the con- 
 dition of receptivity, for man is not a giver or dispenser of good ; he is a 
 finite being, and is continually subject, therefore, to be drawn aside and 
 enticed by strong delusions. And the greatest of these is that he is a 
 good in and of himself, for the reason that when he becomes possessed 
 of this idea, then as a matter of course herein he comes to look unto 
 man as the dispenser of light and of life, — if not in the present tense, 
 then retrospectively; and right, naturally here he soon begins to speak 
 of ' holy men,' ' holy books,' ' holy water,' etc. 
 
 " Daniel H. GrifBn, in testimony last fall at our meeting, spoke of the 
 All- Wise as having done all that He could do for man in the creation; 
 now that had likewise thus been opened to me, but I never felt a free- 
 dom clearly to express myself plainly, ' for fear,' I suppose, ' of the 
 Jews.' 
 
 " Clearly, we cannot limit God except by His own nature. It is dear 
 that there cannot be but one infinite space and but one infinite power, 
 and yet, in saying this, we express just what friend Griffin expressed. 
 This being true, then of necessity man is a finite being, ' modelled after,' 
 as Socrates taught, 'the eternal idea of the good, the true, and the 
 beautiful ;' or, as it is written in Genesis v. i, ' In the day that God 
 
 454 
 
THE CENTRE 
 
 created man, in the likeness of God made he him.' And herein all the 
 philosophy of religion centres ; as Jesus taught, ' there is none good but 
 one, that is God ;' or, as it is written in Revelation xv. 4, ' Thou only art 
 holy.' And I was indeed glad for what thou said on this subject at our 
 last Yearly Meeting. In the Hebrew language the equivalent word for 
 holy is one of the names of Deity, Isaiah Ivii. 15. 
 
 Thou art the source and centre of all minds, 
 
 Their only source of rest, 
 
 From Thee departing we are lost.' 
 
 " Herein thou and I, as witnesses of God, have no choice ; we must 
 call men to Him as the centre and source of all good. Even though 
 the exoteric may say to the seers, ' See not,' and to the prophets, 
 ' Prophesy not right things ; speak unto us smooth things,' yet we must 
 declare what is given us to declare in the spirit of love, and under the 
 sense of the burden and pressure of our finitude. 
 
 " Separate from the Centre, I would be led into strong delusions ; 
 would be led to transpose the living truth into a lie; and what is true 
 of me and of thee, also, herein, is likewise true of the whole human 
 family. Clearly did Isaiah see this. ' Yea,' says he, ' they have chosen 
 their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.' He 
 saw that ' delusions' would necessarily come upon them, ' because when 
 I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear; but they 
 did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.' 
 
 " I have spoken, my dear friend, of what thou well knowest, and that 
 we may be preserved herein in the Spirit of love and of a sound mind 
 is the desire of thy 
 
 "Affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 " Evergreen, 12 mo. 30, 1886. 
 " My dear Friend, — Certainly it is truth, as I said at thy house the 
 other day, and again repeat, that thy agnostic views cannot interrupt our 
 friendly intercourse. I have many agnostic friends whom I very highly 
 esteem. Agnosticism is no new thing, and many recent scientists have 
 observed that the process of tentation is applied in the production of 
 natural things, and it is also applied to man. We must all go into the 
 wilderness, as Jesus did, ' to be tempted [tried] by the devil.' Strange 
 as it may seem, the Infinite tries the finite; we must be proven. I ex- 
 plained to thee, the other day, a little of what I know of the wilderness 
 condition. In that ever-to-be-remembered six weeks of the most intense 
 suffering, the Infinite was revealed to me by absolute knowledge, by ex- 
 perience, and by feeling to such a degree and certainty that doubt of Him 
 is simply an impossibility. I thought that I knew Him before this pamful 
 experience. I certainly did not desire to go down into suffering; but I 
 have rejoiced more over this period of temptation, this leading of the 
 
 4S5 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Spirit, this baptism into the doubts and the unbelief of the age in which 
 we live, than in any blessing that I ever received. 
 
 "And this is an additional bond which unites us together. In all my 
 experience, I never had a clear, unquestioned, and actual visitation of but 
 two incorporeal finite spirits whom I had known ere they passed from 
 earth to heaven. One of these was from the spirit of my dear mother, 
 the other being from the spirit of thy angel grandchild. 
 
 " The first manifes_tation was exceedingly clear on two different occa- 
 sions. In one of which a former conversation which we had on the sub- 
 ject of the enigmatic nature of the fourth gospel was alluded to thus: 
 ' It is a similitude, and its author never intended it but as such.' This 
 was the exact language, and thee will agree with me that it was a very 
 sensible and truthful view. It was new to me, and cleared up all doubt 
 on a subject on which I had expended considerable thought and study. 
 
 " And in regard to your wonderful child, — for all who knew her must 
 regard her as such, — the manifestation was wonderfully encouraging. 
 So clear was it, that scarcely a day passes that I do not think of it. Her 
 nature as manifested to me was of such angelic brightness and beauty, 
 so superior even in her heavenly home. Her concern seemed to be — 
 though nothing disturbed her peace — love to you all in your beautiful 
 home. Love to father, mother, and sister, and to grandfather and to 
 grandmother. 
 
 " Two years have passed since this angelic visitation to my con- 
 sciousness ; it brought a brightness to my mind which still lingers with 
 me as a beatification. And I can say with truthfulness that the com- 
 panionship of her spirit is even with me now. Thee will remember that 
 I alluded to it on the occasion of our visit to those poor women in the 
 prison. 
 
 " I spoke to thy H. of this, just a little, and she seemed to believe it 
 in her large heart; and it is impossible to conceive of a consciousness 
 so heavenly and so beautiful as that child's as having passed into uncon- 
 sciousness. It is a thing incredible, most monstrous, and shocking; and 
 it is contrary to the universal voice of the human heart. 
 
 " The first time I ever saw the child, I felt the incomparable beauty 
 of her nature. Clearly she was not born to tarry long on the earth. I 
 had a sister who died thus young who was much like her. Such spirits 
 there are, — 
 
 " ' Like thoughts whose very sweetness yieldeth proof 
 That they were born for immortality.' 
 
 " When our souls cease to be wandering spirits, when the finite finds 
 its centre in the Infinite, when we become converted to God and to the 
 Word of His grace, then, and only then, our consciousness is upon the 
 line of its development and increase. We have by our nature (finitude) 
 a faculty of cognition which ordinarily divides, unites, compares, and 
 forms ideas. This faculty is objective. We also have a capacity which 
 
 456 
 
SHIBBOLETH AND SIBBOLETH 
 
 is capable, through increase and development, of becoming a conscious- 
 ness. George Fox called this, in its latent power and condition, 'the 
 Seed.' And this endowment, even in its latent state, has the power of 
 internal sensation; it is entirely subjective, either as a seed or as a devel- 
 opment George Fox called it the Inward Light, for by its illuminating 
 capacity we have the power of perceiving spiritual objects when pre- 
 sented by and through a proper medium. Without minding this Light 
 and adhering to this Centre, every soul is a wandering soul; but the 
 instant such soul asks, seeks, and knocks, subjectively, that moment it 
 turns towards its true centre, and allows, by its own volition, the beams 
 of Divine Light to shine upon it; thus, and thus, alone, it becomes an 
 enlightened spirit. And this is no new natural capacity added, but it is 
 the soul's own normal power quickened with life and brought into the 
 line of eternal development. 
 
 " This NEW LIFE has been called by many different names, and largely 
 because of the feebleness and inadequacy of human speech; and hence a 
 various language has been employed in its expression. And the cause of 
 much bigotry is in seeking to limit the soul's mode of expression. 
 
 " ' In even savage bosoms 
 There are longings, yearnings, strivings 
 For the good they comprehend not; 
 That the feeble hands and helpless, 
 Groping blindly in the darkness, 
 Touch God's right hand in that darkness 
 And are lifted up and strengthened.' 
 
 "We are all prone to have our shibboleth and our sibboleth; and 
 at a recent funeral in our neighborhood I stated that all the differences 
 and disputes between men on the subject of religion were only as the 
 difference is between these words. For after all, 'but one thing is 
 needful,' and this is that the sense of dependence which all mankind 
 feel may find its true object! This is our heritage, and should be our 
 greatest joy! Phenomenon we know at least in part, and because there 
 is phenomenon there likewise must be a noumenon. The universe is 
 infinitely intelligible, and it must also be infinitely intelligent, but only 
 as just above classified and denoted. We exist amidst an infinite organ- 
 ism; in it there is an infinite universe, and in it there is disappearance 
 and reappearance, denoted in the stars and upon the earth. Continuity 
 is the law ! How wonderful it all is, and how passing wonder He who 
 
 made them such ! 
 
 " ' I see Thee in Thy works, 
 I meet Thee in my heart.' 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 To T. E. Longshore. 
 
 457 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 ELISHA BATES AND THE WESTERN "ORTHODOX" 
 FRIENDS. 
 
 " Editors Intelligencer and Journal, — ^Judging from the changes 
 which our Western ' Orthodox' Friends are making, the views of Elisha 
 Bates seem to survive and assert themselves in a remarkable manner. 
 It was he who in the controversies of 1827 was the most conspicuous 
 opponent in Ohio of Elias Hicks, and may be said to have led the move- 
 ment by which the Orthodox became a separate body in that section. 
 Yet he did not long remain with them, being testified against by his own 
 Monthly Meeting, and disowned. After his disownment he published, in 
 1837, his book, a somewhat well-known controversial work entitled 'An 
 Examination,' in which, in order to sustain himself in the changes which 
 he had advocated, he undertakes to prove that the early Friends were 
 ' Hicksites.' He quotes from them freely, and the views of Robert Bar- 
 clay, William Penn, Samuel Fisher, and Isaac Penington are especially 
 obnoxious to him. The distinction which they made between the body 
 of the man Jesus and the Christ of God he severely anathematizes, and 
 declares that ' the Hicksites have the fairest claims to the character of 
 the early Quakers' — an averment which it might seem the advocates of 
 the present innovations, such as David B. Updegraff, had come to believe 
 true. He charges that the early Friends all held with William Penn, 
 who said : ' But that the outward person which suffered was properly the 
 Son of God we utterly deny,' and he (E. B.) ridicules what Barclay 
 says concerning the Vehiculum Dei, calling attention to the identity of 
 the language of Elias Hicks and Penington. From the latter's works he 
 quotes largely, and strongly denounces as ' Hicksite' this among other ex- 
 pressions, viz. : ' This we certainly know, and can never call the bodily 
 garment Christ, but that which appeared and dwelt in that body.' He 
 makes numerous and copious extracts from the writings of other early 
 Friends to show that this view of the Christ was the thought which pre- 
 vailed among them. 
 
 " Stating his own position, as opposed to those who had disowned 
 him, he says:' 'After the Separation [from the 'Hicksite' body, so 
 called], I continued to preach the same doctrine which I maintained in 
 that controversy.' But the Ohio ' Orthodox Friends' seem to have then 
 become tired of his repetitions, and to have especially observed and con- 
 demned his denunciation of the doctrine of ' a universal saving light.' 
 And he notes that on the occasion of his second visit to England, at a 
 large meeting at Newington, ' an individual in the youths' gallery made 
 a violent objection' to his preaching, exclaiming ' that they had heard 
 much of an outward Christ, but nothing of the Christ within, the Hope 
 of glory.' 
 
 " He was baptized, he says, in 1836, at Homerton, near London, and 
 soon after his return to Ohio he was disowned. 
 
 " The chief cause of difficulty between E. Bates and his Ohio friends 
 seems to have been what he calls ' A Rule.' He maintained, with the 
 
 4S8 
 
ELISHA BATES 
 
 ' Beacon' party in England, that ' the Holy Spirit cannot in any proper 
 sense be denominated a Rule,' and contends that the Bible is the rule. 
 He, soon after 1827, began to speak freely of there being, as he con- 
 ceived, ' Hicksism' still among the Orthodox, and was much shocked at 
 a prayer which was delivered in a meeting of ministers and elders, that 
 ' that book called the Bible might not be made an idol.' 
 " Fifty years have passed away, and lo ! 
 
 " ' Ev'n in his ashes live their wonted fires.' 
 
 " Certain it is that the influence of men's lives survives them, and the 
 tendency to Batesism is still at work. Palpable evidence of it we have in 
 the baptism of those twenty ' Friends' at Alum Creek. And the manner 
 in which those people speak of our early Friends as having set aside the 
 Scriptures is all a piece of the same garment. They are of the same 
 thought as Elisha Bates in reference to our ancient worthies, as witness 
 the manner of his criticisms of Samuel Fisher. He especially attacked 
 the following passage from S. F.'s works (p. 397) : ' Shall we think, be- 
 cause J. O. thinks so strangely, that so corruptible and so corrupted a' 
 stream as the letter now is, since vitiated and interpolated, can be judged 
 a fit measure to judge the Fountain by (i.e.. The Light, Word, and Spirit 
 it came from), and a fit measure to correct and examine and determine 
 those originals by?' 
 
 " E. Bates further quotes from Samuel Fisher's work, p. 494 : ' When 
 synods and councils, doting doctors, infatuated ghostly fathers, and such 
 as- admire their persons, as they did the persons of the apostles and 
 primitive disciples, began to bundle together what they could get out of 
 the writings of such as were coetaneous with Christ and the apos- 
 tles, and without any order from either Christ or the apostles to canonize 
 what in their conceits might be useful to others, as they had found them, 
 'tis like themselves, into a rule or canon, and stated them into a common 
 standard for all to have their sole recourse to in soul cases and matters 
 of Christian faith and holy life, and to run a-whoring after some remnant 
 of writings that dropped from them in the whole world now called Chris- 
 tendom, instead of an apostolic spouse of Christ, as Christians were at 
 first, presented a chaste virgin to himself by them, there stands up an 
 apostolic strumpet that had the letter and good words written there,' etc. 
 
 "Elisha Bates quotes largely from the writings of early Friends to 
 show • that the doctrine was,' as he says, ' as arising from inward revela- 
 tion to them, and not from the Scriptures, but merely corroborated by 
 the Scriptures.' In other words, they tested the apostolic usage upon 
 the subject of baptism, and women's preaching, by trial and proof, by 
 utility! Are these usages intellectually serious? and no^ being such, 
 they condemned them. In the Scriptures they found the non-use of ordi- 
 nance thus justified in the plainest manner. 
 
 "Our author also speaks very disparagingly of some of the sehti- 
 
 459 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 merits in George Fox's ' Journal,' not only of his published, but also of 
 his unpublished manuscripts, which he had access to when in England. 
 He quotes from ' Journal,' p. 109, vol. i., and speaks of it as a piece of the 
 same thought which Thomas EUwood suppressed, and which George Fox 
 intended for publication, as, for instance, the letters of his wife and her son 
 which had been retained for many years, and copied in his own hand 
 ready for publication. ' Why,' says E. B., ' the case of George Fox and 
 his friends was of the same character with that of Naylor and his de- 
 luded followers.' 
 
 " Unquestionably the primal thought of Quakerism is God in man. 
 Not only was He in Jesus, but He was also in George Fox and in James 
 Naylor. It is true, just as Fox declares in his 'Journal,' as above de- 
 noted, p. 109. Yes, true it is, notwithstanding E. B. so strongly repro- 
 bates it. Such literal souls cannot see the living truth as Fox saw it 
 when he wrote : ' Moreover the Lord God let me see, when I was brought 
 up into His image in righteousness and holiness, and into the paradise 
 of God, the state, how Adam was made a living soul ; and also the stature 
 of Christ, the mystery that had been hid from ages and generations, 
 which things are hard to be uttered, and cannot be borne by many.' 
 Why, in the new version of the Old Testament it is written, Psalm viii. S, 
 ' that man was made but little lower than God,' ' which exactly conforms,' 
 say the revisers, ' to the Hebrew.' The Authorized Version's ' lower 
 than the angels' was taken from the LXX. (who were copied from the 
 Vulgate), whose words are quoted in the epistle to the Hebrews (ii. 7), 
 where they fully answer the needs of the writer's argument. 
 
 " God did the best He could for man when He thus made him but 
 little lower than Himself, or, as the poet whom Paul quoted at Athens 
 says, 
 
 " ' For we are Thy offspring, and we alone of all 
 
 That live and creep on the earth have powers of imitative speech.' 
 
 " Or as a greater than Cleanthes has it : ' What a piece of work is a 
 man ! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty ! in form and moving 
 how express and admirable ! in action how like an angel ! in apprehen- 
 sion how like a god !' 
 
 " The reader will remember that Samuel Fisher was one of the most 
 distinguished of our early Friends. He was also a Hebrew and Greek 
 scholar. He ' sealed his testimony with his blood,' dying in a prison's 
 cell. 
 
 "D. N.", 
 
 " Evergreen, i mo. 26, 1887. 
 " My dear Friend, — I have not acknowledged thy favor of the 13th 
 inst, as I should have done, as I had expected e'er this to have seen thee, 
 but have been kept at home mainly. Did have some drawing to attend 
 
 460 
 
MYTHOLOGY 
 
 the Quarterly Meeting at New York to-day, but have given out. Last 
 First-day I attended Horsham Meeting, and, as notice had been given, 
 there was quite a congregation present. E. spoke first on the subject 
 of divine worship, and I followed him in a somewhat extended com- 
 munication upon the subject of the knowledge of God. E. says that 
 there was an 'unbeliever' present (what the term may mean I leave), 
 but will attempt rendering thee a sketch of what I treated upon as 
 being germane to the theme alluded to in thy letter. 
 
 " I stated that the knowledge of God was like, and at the same time 
 unlike, all other kinds of knowledge in that He had placed Himself in 
 the category of things known, and was herein known by Himself, and 
 not by another, as all things are each known by themselves and not by 
 something else. Secondly, I stated that the knowledge of God was 
 different from all other forms of knowledge, in that it was not realized 
 apart from the conception, birth, and development in itself and of itself. 
 I used as illustration an extensive house which I visited last summer, 
 that I could open all the doors and enter every room in the house by 
 my own volition, and thus become acquainted with the building by sen- 
 sation, as a thing made by the device of man; but in regard to the 
 knowledge of the Eternal, I could only ask, seek, and knock, taking the 
 sense of dependence, which is absolutely induced, as the stand-point; 
 that we could only herein, by taking this as an object, find the true sub- 
 ject. I alluded to this as the Socratic mode of rendering unto Csesar 
 the things which are Csesar's, and unto God the things which are 
 God's. 
 
 " I spoke of knowledge by the five senses, and of knowledge by the 
 Ego, or by the understanding. Now my senses are the servants of my 
 understanding, and not my masters, as thou sayest. I render unto them 
 their due; but life is not linked in the concatenation of sense; and I 
 thus alluded to life ; and herein I suppose is the point of our departure, 
 judging from thy last letter. And the question arises. What is life? 
 Thou and I have read no doubt many definitions of learned men in 
 answer to this query. On the occasion above alluded to, I spoke of 
 God's two witnesses. First, the spirit of man, and, second, of His 
 works, which are His types in the world about us and above us. His 
 highest type and witness, however, being the spirit and life of man; 
 hence life is spirit, and in man conscious spirit. Herein being our like- 
 ness to Deity. 
 
 " ' Lives though all life extends through extent. 
 Spreads undivided, operates unspent.' 
 
 " I am, as thou knowest, a spiritualist in contradistinction to a mate- 
 rialist or a mythologist. I do not go to men's types for spiritual informa- 
 tion What religion I have comes from within. Mythology comes 
 wholly from without, as see Max Muller, 'Mythology,' p. 294- You 
 
 461 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 agnostics, or whatever you may denote yourselves, are in a state of 
 mixture. Thou and I agree, as I understand it, as to many negations, 
 but when we come to affirmation, there is the line of our departure. I 
 affirm, as did Benjamin Franklin, that we are spirits, and that we are 
 endowed with spiritual perceptions. Thus thou affirmest in thy letter 
 that man is a mere sensuous being, and instance a child as without 
 consciousness; but I know that the child has an existence in the germ, 
 which proves that an agnostic has an unrealized existence also. Now, 
 man is more certain of his consciousness than he is of aught else. 
 ' Have I been so long with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip ?' 
 Jesus here alluding to ' the spirit of man, which is the light of Jehovah.' 
 I speak thus of man's t3rpes, but hold them as naught unless they can 
 be realized, just as we can realize the truth in Euclid concerning the 
 triangle. Authority becomes subservient to truth only when it becomes 
 the servant and type of truth. I use men's types only as such. 
 
 " Thee knows as well as I that all the great forces of nature are in- 
 visible; life and gravitation, and all the molecular activities, are all 
 invisible to our five senses. The How of God's types are all incompre- 
 hensible in their ultimate, whereas the Why is often plainly seen. The 
 business and work of our life is to rise from the visible to the invisible; 
 as witness the law wherein is the conversion of the unknown unto the 
 known. From what we observe by sensuous perception, we must rise 
 to what we know by the understanding and the reason. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 "Abington, 3 mo. 3, 1887. 
 
 " Dear Friend : — Man was made upright and endowed by the Infinite 
 Mind with a capacity of becoming acquainted with Him, and of being 
 at peace, of having rest instead of perturbation and disquietude of spirit. 
 It is also true, as the apostle has said, ' An animal man [psuchikos] 
 knoweth not the things of God, neither can he know them, because they 
 are spiritually disowned.'- 
 
 " The seed or germ of divine life is naturally quickened and made 
 alive to God, but in quite early life we can, through passion, ignorance, 
 or bad training, ' quench' this inward and divine life. I speak of what 
 I know. Then comes the animal man, and he seeks out ' many inventions.' 
 This constitutes the fall, and the spirit and mind of man become a 
 wandering spirit, and loving the material so exclusively, 'he loseth his 
 life.' The germ of divine life not having been quickened and devel- 
 oped, it pines and sickens for want of its native air in which it was de- 
 signed to live, and for which it was designed to enjoy, 'for to be car- 
 nally minded is death.' The germ must be quickened, the religious 
 consciousness must be exercised and developed, else it loses its true 
 object and right direction, which is always towards its centre and its 
 source. 
 
 462 
 
SCIENCE OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 " I have thus given my philosophy in brief, and the question arises, 
 Is It true? I reply that it is true to my own experience; but is it a uni- 
 versal truth, a philosophy? The old ground of faith (Authority) is 
 given up, and the new ground of faith (Verification) has not yet taken 
 Its place, and the consequence is there are, as in the time of Jesus, many 
 Lo heres and lo theres,' and what we now want is knowledge. ' My 
 people are perishing for lack of knowledge.' And the question here is 
 germane, 'What do we know?' Why, we certainly know the difference 
 between the inorganic and the organic world; for we know that the 
 word biogenesis has been coined to represent that knowledge. Spon- 
 taneous_ generation having been given up in the light of the Law, ' No 
 life without antecedent life.' After a great controversy so much is now 
 settled and definitely known. Man as an animal possesses much more 
 life than the life below him ; he is a noble animal of exalted powers and 
 endowments, very wonderful, indeed. His adjustments and environments 
 and correspondences are very diversified. Even in the condition which 
 Jesus and Paul called 'Death,' that is, death to his superior adjustments 
 and environments, his superiority, eminence, and genius are very great. 
 But I hold with these distinguished men that ' the Spirit giveth life, the 
 flesh profiteth nothing.' 
 
 " Let us, however, keep to Science, as she is thy goddess ; and herein 
 Herbert Spencer, the great high-priest thereof, says that to the man of 
 science, ' amid the mysteries which become the more mysterious the more 
 they are thought about, there will remain the one absolute certainty, that 
 he is ever in the presence of an Infinite and Eternal Energy, from which 
 all things proceed.' 
 
 " We now know that the organic world is no mere development from 
 the "inorganic world, and also that the spiritual world is no mere devel- 
 opment from the natural world, and thy ' negationism,' as thou terms it, 
 will avail thee nothing here, as biogenesis is now accepted by all scien- 
 tific authority. The broad and definite line in Nature is established, and 
 biogenesis is the law of the Almighty. It was His prerogative to say 
 to the natural world, ' Let there be life, and life was born into the 
 world.' And just so is it His prerogative to-day to say to the human 
 soul, ' Let there be life,' and life is born into that soul immediately and 
 directly ; and, furthermore, the man into whose soul divine life is created 
 knows it, and knows that it is ' from above ;' that it is from the same 
 Infinite and Eternal Energy and mystery which moves the planets, and 
 holds the spheres in their places. And herein I, with Hegel, disregard 
 the distinction between finite thought and Infinite thought, and hold that 
 the latter creates, while the former finds, its object. So I know that 
 thy assertion, 'That the finite and the Infinite are so opposite and in- 
 communicable in their attributes that it would be impossible for the finite 
 to ever understand a message or purpose of the Infinite,' is incorrect. 
 William Penn would call thy view ' a great impertinence.' It certainly 
 is contrary to the voice of enlightened reason; and herein I will quote 
 
 463 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 from Herbert Spencer's ' First Principles,' he often speaking of ' the 
 unknowable causing a peculiar intuition in the mind of man, he receiving 
 it.' He goes on to say, 'And in a higher sense the adherent of the uni- 
 versal religion may himself admit their title to a place in his nature. 
 To use the words of a great philosopher, he, like every other man, may 
 consider himself as one of the myriad agencies through which the 
 Unknown Cause works; he, too, may feel that when the Unknown 
 Cause produces in him a certain belief, he is authorized to profess and 
 act out that belief.' I quote from Spencer thus because those of thy 
 school rate him so very high as a philosopher. Frederick Harrison 
 acknowledges him as the only man of this generation to whom such a 
 title can of right be awarded. 
 
 " To my mind, it is clear that the man who does not find his adjust- 
 ments and environment in the spiritual life, ' loses his life, even though 
 he may gain a world of wealth, of intelligence, and of culture,' that 
 without that blessed Aconian life such a man, though a noble being 
 and of ethical correctness, is yet but a very superior animal, because he 
 ' knoweth not the things of the Spirit of God,' ' the carnal mind being at 
 enmity with God.' 
 
 " No doubt thou wilt say that I am dealing in ' authority.' So let 
 us turn to Science again, and inquire of her what she knows, and she 
 will say that she knows of the inorganic and of the organic kingdom, 
 and of the reign of mystery; for the scientist tells us the more that the 
 latter is thought about the more mysterious it remains ; and yet he feels 
 compelled to think, writes Herbert Spencer, that 'there must be an 
 explanation;' and this distinguished man gives this as a partial expla- 
 nation, that he, the scientist, is ever in the presence of an Infinite and 
 Eternal Energy from which all things proceed. And, further, with 
 crushing irony, he writes, ' To say that, because the Infinite Energy from 
 which all things proceed cannot in any way be brought within the limits 
 of human consciousness, it therefore approaches a nonentity, seems to 
 me like one who says of a vast number that, because it passes all possi- 
 bility of enumeration, it is like nothing, which is innumerable.' I know 
 that a portion of the above citation seems like supporting thy position, 
 but Spencer further says that ' There must ever survive those which are 
 appreciable to the consciousness of a mystery which can never be 
 fathomed, and a power that is omnipresent.' He speaks as a man of 
 science, to men of science, of what science knows. And he also thinks 
 'that there must be an explanation' to this most wonderful mystery; 
 but the mystery is a reality, for, says he, ' an indestructible consciousness 
 of a reality lies at the very basis of our intelligence.' And this reality 
 supplements and complements the material man with additional life, 
 the term Life being but a relative term, as an animal has more life than 
 a tree, and a man more life than an animal. The mystery simply becomes 
 transformed into a reality with an explanation, and with it the material 
 man becomes transformed into the spiritual man;' he is converted, re- 
 
 464 
 
SCIENCE AND RELIGION 
 
 generated, 'born again;' new life has been conferred. The mystery 
 still remains, and the reality also. He knows not whence it cometh or 
 whither It goeth; but in the process of scientific verification he knows 
 that he had gained ' Life more abundantly.' A new life has been added 
 to his old life. Paul calls this, with the vocabulary which he had at his 
 command, ' Christ within, the hope of glory.' It has been called by many 
 names, for it is a reality, a real possession, and has been, and is being, 
 continually known to all of God's obedient and dedicated children as 
 His power, and His gift to them : ' The secret which was concealed from 
 ages and from generations, but now made manifest to his saints, whom 
 God wished to make known what is the glorious wealth of this mystery 
 among the nations; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; whom 
 we announce, admonishing every man with all wisdom, that we may pre- 
 sent every man perfect in Christ; for which I labor, ardently contending 
 according to that energy of His which operates in me with Power.' 
 
 " Man has clearly a twofold nature, and I again quote from Spencer : 
 'Unlike the ordinary consciousness,' says he, 'the religious conscious- 
 ness is concerned with that which lies beyond the sphere of science.' 
 And the religious consciousness relates to the things of non-self-depen- 
 dence. . This was beautifully expressed by one of old, ' As the hart thirst- 
 eth after the water-brook, so doth my soul, O God, thirst after Thee.' 
 That is ' the one thing needful' on the divine sifle of our nature next to 
 the Eternal, wherein there is a sense of dependence, absolutely induced, 
 of trust in Him; and in this there has been no improvement since we 
 know aught concerning man. Upon a papyrus roll found in an ancient 
 tomb in Egypt, supposed to be the oldest writing in the world, 2000 b.c, 
 we read : ' What we say in secret is known to Him who made our in- 
 terior nature. He who made us is present with us, though we are alone.' 
 Our religious consciousness needs but ' one thing,' as it is of the nature 
 of One, for in its right direction, subject and object harmonize perfectly 
 in One. On the other side of man's nature, he needs ' many things,' — 
 much instruction, much knowledge, and mutual edification in the har- 
 mony and sociology of our common humanity. We have undoubtedly an 
 interior and an exterior nature, and these should blend and harmonize 
 together as truth and beauty. They should dwell thus, and be perfected, 
 each finding its true complement in the other. 
 
 " Very truly, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 SCIENCE AND RELIGION. 
 
 " Editors Intelligencer and Journal, — The letter below was written 
 in reply to one which I received from a friend, who seems to be somewhat 
 in the wilderness of thought and feeling, and I thought that I would pub- 
 lish it in that it may possibly give information to some as to a more 
 enlightened sense of the relationship of science and religion. 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 30 46s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " Man finds himself ' ever in the presence of an Infinite and Eternal 
 Energy, from which all things proceed,' says Herbert Spencer. He also 
 tells us that ' amid the .mysteries which become the more mysterious the 
 more they are thought about' there will remain what he calls ' the abso- 
 lute certainty" mentioned above, which I again repeat, — that he (man) 
 is ' ever in the presence of an Infinite and Eternal Energy, from which 
 all things proceed !' 
 
 " And as I think that I have heard thee intimate that Spencer has 
 changed in view, I will quote the following from ' First Principles,' sec- 
 pnd edition, 34, p. 123 : ' Moreover, as the religious sentiment in the 
 mind perceives its object, the Ultimate Being, so that Being is conceived 
 as making itself known to the mind of man through the religious senti- 
 ment. A reciprocal relation is thus established, the Unknowable causing 
 a peculiar intuition, the mind of man receiving it. We need not discard 
 such feelings as idle delusions.' Furthermore, in speaking on the same 
 theme, he says: 'The sense of an intuitional perception of that object, 
 the sense of undefinable similarity thereto, the sense of inspiration and 
 guidance thereby, are included under and rendered intelligible by the 
 actual identity of their ultimate natures of the subject and object of 
 religious feelings.' 
 
 " Herbert Spencer has been greatly misrepresented and misunderstood, 
 not only by religious, but also by irreligious people, just as Darwin has 
 also been greatly misunderstood, for by accurate definition Darwinism is 
 not a theory of the Origin of Species at all, but is only an attempt at 
 designating the causes which may lead to the relative success or failure 
 of such varieties and forms as may come into existence. He says that 
 he ' plainly acknowledges' our ' ignorance of the cause of each particular 
 variation,' Again, ' our ignorance of the laws of variation is profound.' 
 And again he says, ' I believe in no law of necessary development.' 
 
 " Natural selection can originate nothing ; it is only a theory in regard 
 to how certain forms survive or perish in the world; and this Darwin's 
 able coadjutor, W. Wallace, confesses, and says that all such theories 
 are, and can only be, ' simply questions of how the Creator worked.' 
 Darwinism simply accounts, so far as it goes, for the success and estab- 
 lishment and variety of- certain forms after they have been called into 
 existence ! As a theory it is also strictly utilitarian, and as a ' law' its 
 range is very limited; for instance, he denies that beauty for its own 
 sake can be an object or end in organic forms. He says, 'This doctrine, 
 if true, would be absolutely fatal to my theory.' The Duke of Argyll, in 
 his ' Reign of Law,' shows how Darwin forgets himself when he under- 
 takes to affirm his theory as a universal process in nature, and not a mere 
 ' struggle for existence' in particular organisms. ' It does not account 
 for the preservation of only a certain number.' As a theory it is very 
 incomplete. In fact, science can only observe the types of the Infinite 
 and Eternal Mind, — can only form some idea of the why and wherefore 
 of things ; but as to the ' how' of things, to quote Herbert Spencer 
 
 466 
 
HERBERT SPENCER 
 
 again, all such attempts ' show the imbecility of human intelligence when 
 brought to bear on the ultimate question.' The writings of this distin- 
 guished man show— especially his later works— that science and religion 
 should, as Jethro and Moses, unite and agree: 'And Moses went out to 
 meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they 
 asked each other of their welfare ; and they came into the tent.' 
 
 " The agnosticism of Herbert Spencer is very different from that of 
 the smatterers in neoscience, or ' science falsely so called.' And when he 
 speaks of Deity as 'Unknowable,' he is speaking strictly within the 
 terms of human limitation and finitude. ' Phenomenon without noume- 
 non,' he says, ' is unthinkable ; and yet noumenon cannot be thought of 
 in the true sense of thinking. We are at once obliged to be conscious of 
 a reality behind appearances, and yet can neither bring this consciousness 
 of reality into any shape, nor bring into any shape its connection with 
 appearance. The forms of our thought, moulded on experience of phe- 
 nomena, as well as the connotations of our words formed to express 
 relations of phenomena, involve us in contradictions when we try to 
 think of that which is beyond phenomena; and yet the existence of that 
 which is beyond phenomena is a necessary datum alike of our thoughts 
 and our words.' 
 
 "In other language, Spencer here says that existence, motion, and 
 life are always present in thought and speech. We know that phenomena 
 are self-acting and automatic within limitations, and we are obliged to 
 be conscious of a reality behind nature. We ' cannot find Him out to 
 perfection,' that is, we cannot bring the Absolute within the sphere of 
 relative thought, because of our finite faculties. 
 
 " Spencer holds that Deity postulates Himself in the human mind as 
 non-relatiye, — as existence itself! We know Him, therefore, by con- 
 sciousness, and not by attempting to prove His existence by ratiocination. 
 To explain more fully, when we Friends meet for His worship, we do 
 not meet to speculate or dispute concerning His mode of existence, or 
 even to think concerning Him in the sphere of relative thought, but to 
 worship Him in that ' He is' — and that He operates ! 
 
 " ' A brute,' says Spencer, ' thinks only of things which can be touched, 
 seen, heard, tasted, etc. ; and the like is true of the untaught child and the 
 deaf-mute and the lowest savage.' Unlike the ordinary consciousness, 
 the religious consciousness, he further says, 'is concerned with that 
 which is beyond the sphere of sense.' 
 
 " The agnosticism of Herbert Spencer is the wise agnosticism of the 
 Friend; for the Friend says 'that the carnal mind is at enmity with 
 God.' The true Friend further says that He is to be known only by His 
 spirit, not by the ' ordinary consciousness ;' but that He is to the spir- 
 itually minded in that 'He is, and He is a rewarder of all them that 
 diligently seek Him.' 
 
 " There is another species of agnosticism which is very unwise, in fact, 
 it is foolishness, and arises, I think, quite frequently from a misunder- 
 
 467 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 standing of certain terras employed by certain writers to which I have 
 endeavored to call thy attention. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 " Evergreen, 3 mo. 22, 1887. 
 
 " My dear Friend, — The feeling expressed in my letter of Third 
 month IS, and to which thou refers in thine of the 3d instant, was from 
 the Infinite Father. I wondered at it at the time when the revelation 
 was made to me. I did not understand what it meant; but since then 
 my understanding has been opened, and the message to me is in this 
 wise : ' I love my son Samuel with an infinite love, but one thing he 
 has not received in fulness, and that is the spirit of truth and a sound 
 understanding.' 
 
 " Thou belongest to, and art an influential member of, a.' branch of 
 the Society of Friends, a people who were raised up by the Almighty to 
 make open declaration of and to live by this great truth, — ' God is present 
 in every human spirit.' 
 
 " The life of this people is now being struck at and most seriously 
 threatened by a high tide of Outwardism, of which the Spirit doth com- 
 mand us ' To handle not, nor taste, nor touch (all which things are to 
 perish with the using), after the precepts and doctrines of men. Which 
 things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and 
 severity to the body; but are not of any value against the indulgence 
 of the flesh.' 
 
 " In your branch, as in ours, is the same common danger — Outward- 
 ism. Says Whittier on this subject (I quote from memory) : 
 
 " ' For the dead Christ, not the living, 
 Ye search an empty grave ; 
 
 His life alone within you hath power to bless and save. 
 O blind ones outward groping, 
 Your idle quest forego ; 
 Who listens to His inward voice 
 Alone of Him shall know !' 
 
 " Or to quote from George Fox, ' He who calls men away from their 
 inward teachings is a seducer and an antichrist.' 
 
 " I see this outward wave of exotericism (to use a scriptural Greek 
 word) , the followers of which were anathematized by John as ' dogs, 
 and idolaters, . . . and as every one that loveth and maketh a lie.' 
 
 " Nothing but the spirit of truth can save our beloved society in this 
 the hour of a great common danger, wherein submersion may be our 
 common fate. The same specious plea is applied and urged by the 
 common enemy, ' We are dying, we are decreasing in numbers,' is the 
 cry, and, like Joab, the son of Zeruiah, we have ' begun to number,' to 
 
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA 
 
 estimate Truth by the number of her followers. May we ' finish it not,' 
 as we read Joab did not, ' because there fell wrath for it against Israel.' 
 
 "In a recent number of the Friends' Review, a prominent writer 
 warns Friends of the great danger of the teaching ' Christ within,' and at 
 a late Yearly Meeting in London a very prominent minister spoke against 
 Barclay's ' Apolog/ as tending to rationalism. Alluding, I suppose, in 
 part, to what is written on p. 8i of the ' Apology' in respect to the Scrip- 
 tures, of which Barclay says, ' The learned have infinite doubts, scruples, 
 and inextricable difficulties.' 
 
 "Now, what if I should tell thee that one of the means of the sal- 
 vation of your branch is Scriptural exegesis, the truth concerning the 
 Bible, and of which in common with some of our people you seem to 
 exhibit such a fear? As proof of which see your library, in which I 
 spent considerable time this winter when visiting my children in your 
 town. I observed the exceeding care you have exercised in excluding all 
 books of exegetical and critical inquiry as to the nature of those ' infinite 
 doubts of the learned ;' of course, the ignorant have no doubts ! And 
 I also noted the impossibility of such exclusion, as you could not help 
 admitting the ' Encyclopaedia Britannica' to a place on your shelves ; and 
 I observed herein that, before the whole series of this great work is com- 
 plete, some of the books with you are so worn with use that the binding 
 is much damaged. 
 
 " These volumes are the first ever published of the kind in our lan- 
 guage that have freely admitted the truth being told in relation to the 
 Bible; and in which, also, the truth is told by such orthodox authori- 
 ties as Samuel Davidson and Edwin A. Abbott, both evangelical clergy- 
 men and editors of the articles in the ' Encyclopaedia,' ' Bible,' and 
 'the Gospels.' Davidson, not being satisfied with the room allowed 
 him in the work, has since published a volume entitled 'The Canons of 
 the Bible,' which has passed through three editions. 
 
 " My dear friend. Scriptural exegesis has ' shaken those things which 
 can be shaken,' and lo ! that which cannot be shaken remains, viz., ' the 
 simplicity there is in Christ.' Now, we have recently received visits 
 from two of your ministers at Abington, and the burden of their song 
 seemed to be the Apotheosis of Jesus of Nazareth. ' Our Lord Jesus 
 Christ' was their thought and their theme; and not once did either of 
 them call Jesus Lord by the Holy Spirit; and of him who hath not an 
 understanding mind herein, what shall be said? Is he not, according to 
 the apostle, a blasphemer? The query arises. What did Paul here mean? 
 He did not say no man can call Jesus Theos, but Kurios, the latter 
 Greek term meaning simply ' authority,' as see ' Companion to the Re- 
 vision of the Old Testament,' p. 170. Or, as Thomas Fitzwater said to 
 the separatist George Keith, two hundred years ago, ' I know no man 
 Christ Jesus without me, but by the grace of God within me.' Keith's 
 outwardism took great offence at this saying; but it was precisely what 
 Paul said in other language. 
 
 469 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " Quakerism means Verification much more than Authority. ' That 
 which is experimental is not doubtful,' said Penington. And herein 
 what a blessed creation is the New Creation, the heavenly life; the life 
 of God in the soul ! So impressed was Paul with its importance, that 
 he subordinated all things to it. ' We have known,' says he, ' Christ after 
 the flesh, but henceforth know we him no more ; if any man is in Christ, 
 he is a new creation; old things are done away, and all things are new, 
 and all things of God.' 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 " Dear Friend, — What thou sayest concerning the ' elder* who ex- 
 pressed the thought that he had no idea ' that there ever was such a 
 person as Jesus of Nazareth, but that the history is all mythical, con- 
 taining the delineation of a true character, in which various instructive 
 truths were woven in a fictitious manner.' This reminds me of what is 
 related of the visit of Napoleon, and of his query to the learned Herder, 
 when he asked him whether Jesus Christ had really lived. 
 
 " Paul defines the personality of Jesus very clearly when he says in 
 explanation 'that Jesus Christ was a minister to the circumcision for 
 the truth of God,' ' that he was born of the seed of David according to 
 the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God according to the spirit of 
 holiness and the resurrection from the dead.' 
 
 " Other than by such testimony as this, we have great difiSculty in 
 determining the personality of the Son of man. We find, for instance, 
 Irenseus contending in the second century ' that Jesus possessed mature 
 years,' and naming John as his authority, speaking of the ' other apostles 
 also, and heard the very same account from them, and bearing testi- 
 mony as to the validity of the statement.' He speaks of Luke's version 
 as to the age of Jesus as merely allegorical, and evidently prefers the 
 testimony of John viii. 57 as to the fact of history. 
 
 "As to the personal appearance of Jesus, Origen's reply to Celsus, 
 who reported that he was 'little, ill-favored, and ignoble,' is remark- 
 able. Origen admitted that Jesus was ' ill-favored,' but denied that he 
 was ignoble, and says that therein is no certain evidence that he was 
 ' little.' But the only proof which he adduces is from Isaiah liii, 2, 3, 
 which is also to be understood as allegorical. 
 
 " The discovery of Edwin A. Abbott, D.D., of the ' Common tradi- 
 tion of the Synoptic gospels,' the book to which I alluded in my last 
 letter, is one of the most powerful evidences to my mind of historical 
 Christianity, in respect to its claim to the personality of Jesus. (Though 
 as to the real fact of the truth of Christ, the word explains itself.) 
 Take the testimony of Theophilus of Antioch (a.d. 168-188), wherein 
 he speaks of what it is 'to be anointed with the oil of God.' Or take 
 the declaration of Jesus himself : ' The spirit of the Eternal God is upon 
 me, because He hath anointed me.' This is the whole secret, and is 
 
 470 
 
CHRIST, CHRISTIANITY 
 
 spoken of thus as ' the mystery' and ' secret' of the gospel, ' which is 
 Christ in you, the hope of glory,' to which Paul adds, it 'worketh in 
 me mightily.' And it is likewise alluded to in the Old Testament as 
 ' the secret of the Almighty.' 
 
 "Thus thy friend's thought may be justified by asserting that the 
 prevailing idea of Christ is a negation ' of the truth as it is in Jesus,' 
 and is the reason why so many thoughtful souls are unchurched at the 
 present day. 
 
 " Christianity is simply what the word denotes, Chrisma * or Christos; 
 and it had no other foundation in Jesus, but the simple fact that his 
 name was used as a synonyme to represent his thought and his theme. 
 This is plainly expressed in the Records in various terras and ways. 
 It is the claim that 'but one thing is needful,' and that 'this same 
 anointing" is this ' one thing needful,' and that he who hath the Son hath 
 the life. Furthermore, the abstract thought is denoted as the explana- 
 tion of the concrete terms used by the fourth evangelist, as we read John 
 vii. 39. ' Thus spake he of the Spirit.' This is the Key to the evangel- 
 ist's meaning in regard to such sayings, ' I am the resurrection and 
 the life,' ' I am the light of the world,' ' I am the way, the truth, and 
 the life, etc' And there can be in right reason no other explanation 
 given in respect to such thoughts but this self-same explanation.t 
 
 "And this is the real historical fact of Christianity, but none can 
 know it in its fulness until he himself receives it as the gift of God. 
 Then he has knowledge of it in the self-same God Power which dwelt 
 in the Son of Man. 
 
 " The name Christian was first given as a term of reproach, and 
 was so regarded by the Fathers down to the close of the second cen- 
 tury, and hence in their 'Apologies' they play upon the words ' Chrestos' 
 and ' Christos.' The Jewish Septuagint had Christos, and the term in 
 the third century was finally adopted. Isaiah xiv. i speaks of Cyrus 
 as Jehovah's Christ. It was, in fact, a common term and a common 
 idea among the esoteric, and Jesus was one of these. 
 
 " That Christianity was very small in its beginnings is as clear as 
 
 ♦Suetonius speaks of " Chrestus," or " Chrestians," or excellent; 
 and Tertullian says, " if you thus designate us you testify to the blame- 
 lessness of our lives." 
 
 t In John v. 19, and also in the same chapter, third verse, it is written, 
 " The Son can do nothing of himself ;" and again, " I can of myself do 
 nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because 
 I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." Now here 
 is a plain statement that the evangelist used the name of Jesus as a 
 synonyme in such passages as " I am the resurrection and the life," and 
 that " I am the way, the truth, and the life, etc." And no other mean- 
 ing can be assigned to them. 
 
 471 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 sunshine. Consider the fact of the silence of Josephus,* Justin.t and 
 Philo; and also the fact that Josephus and Paul were both dwellers 
 in the city of Rome in the years a.d. 6i and 62; and yet the former 
 tells nothing of Paul or of Christianity whatever. He knows nothing 
 of any of the apostles, or of the religion of which they were champions. 
 He tells us, too, that he went to Rome to intercede for certain priests 
 sent by Felix to be tried before Cassar. 
 
 " In testimony, the week of your Yearly Meeting, Fifth month last, 
 I spoke of the words ' Lord,' and ' Christ,' as used in the Scriptures, as 
 misleading words, and I find that the American revisers in their ' Com- 
 panion to the Old Testament,' page 171, speak of the retention of the 
 word Lord as 'nothing but superstition.' And explain that the Greek 
 word which Paul used was 'Kurios,' for Lord (Kurios), they say, merely 
 conveys the idea of authority, power, etc. The apostle simply means, 
 as he explains, that ' the Lord is the Spirit ;' and it is in this sense 
 that he speaks ' of one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, etc' It would 
 have ministered much more to correct thinking had the revisers re- 
 tained the Greek word Kurios, as they have retained the word Christ; 
 but logical and correct thinking is just what priestcraft does not want. 
 The revisers have, however, corrected the old version, which reads, 
 the ' Lord is that Spirit.' As corrected, it now reads the ' Lord is the 
 Spirit.' Paul meaning that the Church had but the authority of the 
 Spirit. But notwithstanding this fact, to-day, exoteric Christianity holds 
 that the ancients vested their authority in 'The man Christ Jesus.' 
 Herein Paul further says, ' No man can call Jesus Lord but by the Holy 
 Spirit,' that is, by inspiration; simply meaning that we must drink at 
 the same fountain and be anointed with the same God strength with which 
 Jesus was anointed, in order to cite him so as to understand his status 
 in the fulness of the power and the life of the Spirit. ' Let that mind 
 which was in Christ Jesus be in you,' is the gist of the apostle's mean- 
 ing. But it is time to bring this long letter to a close ; and I have written 
 of those things of which thou knowest well. It indeed seems like a work 
 of supererogation to allude to them to thee. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 THE APPENDIX TO MARK. 
 
 " Friends Editors, — The last twelve verses in the last chapter in 
 Mark are attached in the revised version as an appendix, with a foot- 
 note, thus: 
 
 " ' The two oldest Greek manuscripts, and some other authorities, omit 
 from verse nine to the end.' With this fact, students of the New Testa- 
 
 * The allusion in Ant. xviii. 33 being a forgery. 
 t The Latin historian. 
 
 472 
 
THE APPENDIX TO MARK 
 
 ment have been very familiar, as Jerome, 410 a.d., and other fathers, 
 declared that Mark ended abruptly with the words, ' for they were afraid.' 
 And Edwin A. Abbott, D.D., of Cambridge, in a most remarkable little 
 book, entitled 'The Common Tradition of the Synoptic Gospels,' calls 
 attention to the fact that Codex L, ascribed by scholars to the eighth cen- 
 tury, has another appendix which he gives in his book. The appendix, 
 as it now stands, came in first, in Latin versions of the New Testament, 
 and was unquestionably placed there for controversial reasons. It was 
 not used, says Professor Abbott, before the fourth century: 'Neither 
 Cyril of Jerusalem (a.d. 350), in his exhaustive quotations of passages 
 concerning the sitting at the right hand of God, nor Tertullian (a.d. 
 200), nor Cyprian (a.d. 250), in their controversies concerning the neces- 
 sity of baptism, makes any reference to any passage in the longer ap- 
 pendix.' 
 
 " It is beyond all doubt that verse sixteen in the appendix— namely, 
 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbe- 
 lieveth shall be condemned' — was placed there as a saying of Jesus, some 
 time from the fourth to the fifth century, for the purpose of having au- 
 thority to put down by force such heretics as the Manichaeans and the 
 Paulicians.* The latter sect agreed with the former in many respects. 
 
 * " In Mosheim's ' Church History,' vol. ii. p. 582, it is demonstrated 
 most clearly that the various sects of ' Mystics,' which had an open or 
 clandestine existence either before or after the ninth century, resembled, 
 in some particulars, the ancient Manichaeans, in that they, as Mosheim 
 says, ' rejected all rites and ceremonies, and even the Christian sacra- 
 ments, as destitute of any, even the least, spiritual efficacy or virtue, 
 placing the whole of religion in the internal contemplation of God and the 
 elevation of the soul to divine and celestial things.' They all rejected 
 baptism, and more especially the baptism of infants. 
 
 " They were called by many names, says Mosheim, in different coun- 
 tries. The title of Palerini was given to them in Italy. In France, 
 that of Albigenses. Our historian cites the ' Codex Inquisitionis Tolo- 
 fanae' to prove the distinctions between the sect last mentioned and the 
 Waldenses, though afterwards the title Albigenses gradually extended to 
 all heretics. The appellation of 'Boni Homines,' or 'Los bos Homes,' 
 as in the Southern French spoken at the time, was a title which the 
 Paulicians attributed to themselves. Various were the devices they used 
 to escape from the terrible eye and zeal of the Inquisition. If they re- 
 fused to listen to the voice of ' Reason,' but one fate was meted out to 
 them, says our historian, summarily, they were 'condemned to be burnt 
 alive.' 
 
 "Imagination sickens in the consideration of the details of the per- 
 secutions to which these different sects were subjected. ' Suffice it to say 
 that the hardships and penalties to which the Church was subjected pale 
 away into utter insignificance in comparison therewith, as Gibbon has 
 
 473 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 They each had no temples, neither did they baptize with water, and did 
 not recognize a visible head to their church. Worship consisted, with 
 them, in a dedication of the heart to God; and faith without works was 
 dead. Both Photius and Gibbon, as does the writer of the article 
 ' Paulicians,' in the American ' Cyclopaedia,' also favor the theory that 
 the latter sect derived the name from the Apostle Paul. 
 
 " Mosheim says they obstinately rejected the institution of baptism, 
 the Lord's Supper, and the divine authority of the Old Testament. 
 Photius, in his first book against the Manichseans, p. 29, expressly asserts 
 that the Paulicians treated baptism as a mere allegorical ceremony. 
 They seem to have been rationalists, and treated the ceremonies of the 
 church with, says Mosheim, ' contempt and reproach.' They denied that 
 Christ was really nailed to the cross, or that he expired, in effect, upon 
 the ignominious tree; and hence naturally arose that treatment of the 
 cross of which the Greeks accused them. They were evidently not 
 Manichseans, though they held many views in common with them. 
 
 " Like George Fox, they looked upon the use of church bells as an 
 intolerable superstition, as likewise did they the use of incense and 
 consecrated oil in religious services, and condemned the use of instru- 
 mental music in religious worship. They refused all acts of adoration 
 to the images of Christ and of the saints, and were shocked at the sub- 
 ordination and distinctions established among the clergy. All these 
 things, and especially their rejection of baptism, and more especially the 
 baptism of infants, were enough to cause the most violent persecution 
 against them and their successors; and in one crusade, in the reign of 
 the Empress Theodora alone, one hundred thousand of them were de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 " That there were violent controversies on the subject of baptism 
 in the second century is beyond all doubt. It was denied that Jesus ever 
 submitted to the baptism of John, and the Ciospel according to the 
 Hebrews was adduced to support this view. It was written in that 
 Gospel, according to Jerome : ' Behold the mother of the Lord, and his 
 brethren said to him, John the Baptist is baptizing for the remission of 
 sins: let us go and be baptized by him. But he said to them. What 
 have I sinned, that I should go and be baptized by him?' 
 
 " In Samuel M. Janne/s ' Middle Ages' he gives an extended account 
 of the Paulicians, and says that ' for one hundred and fifty years this 
 people sustained with patience all the sufferings that the most relentless 
 bigotry could inflict.' He also speaks of Dr. Mosheim's strange incon- 
 sistency in calling them a ' pernicious sect.' And that this learned D.D. 
 
 abundantly shown, and Samuel M. Janney, in his ' Middle Ages,' quotes 
 authorities to prove that in the twelfth century, ' for a period of twenty 
 years it has been estimated that a million of persons, bearing the name 
 of heretics, were put to death.' " 
 
 474 
 
EXISTENCE 
 
 also alludes similarly to early Friends in that they, with the Paulicians, 
 rejected the ' Christian sacraments as not possessing any vital or intrinsic 
 power or truth.' 
 
 " We live in an age when a Nemesis is engaged in bringing to light 
 the evil deeds of men, and all lovers of veracity must accept the senti- 
 ment sooner or later which was voiced by Archdeacon Farrar in his late 
 farewell address in Philadelphia: 'That that religion is no better than 
 irreligion which refuses to see facts.' And that ' the religion of the coun- 
 try must be freed from fetish worship, and from priestcraft and false 
 types of goodness.' 
 
 " We know that Paul rejoiced in the fact that he had baptized so few, 
 and expressly says that he was sent, not to baptize, but to preach the 
 gospel, and speaks of being 'baptized into Christ,' as the saving bap- 
 tism. There is no doubt that the authorities which I have adduced are 
 right; that the Paulicians derived their name from the apostle Paul; 
 and that the text in the appendix, Mark xvi. i6, was devised and in- 
 serted by the Church, for the wicked purpose of persecuting those who 
 rejected the rite of baptism. Thus, in the New Testament is to be found 
 one of the most disgraceful and impious pieces of deception in the whole 
 history of mankind. And, in view of this fact, what shall we say of 
 those who were parties in the late revision of the New Testament, who, 
 knowing all these facts, have allowed the record to remain with simply 
 a blank space between the fifteenth and sixteenth verses? But is not 
 this on a par with the explanation given in the preface, page xx., note 
 (e), in respect to 'titles'? They state that 'the titles found in the most 
 ancient manuscripts are of too short a form to be convenient for use,' 
 thus falsifying the record. The titles in ancient manuscripts being 
 ' after,' * and not ' according to,' Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John ; that 
 is, after the apostolic time and era, or after the apostolic manner of 
 writing, is all these books profess to be. It is in relation to such things 
 that Professor Abbott well says, 'Another criterion of truth is set forth, 
 by no means uncommon even in these days; viz., that it is " necessary," ' 
 — t.?., it is convenient to deceive the people ; and, sorrowful is the fact, 
 
 many of them still love to have it so ! 
 
 " D. N." 
 
 EXISTENCE. 
 
 "As is to be expected, there is to be found in The Truth Seeker 
 much which savors of the neophytic views of nature and of man, and 
 this condition is in the necessary evolution from immaturity to maturity, 
 as from the acorn to the mighty oak. This is to be expected in nature 
 and in art as well as in philosophy. 
 
 " Still, as a starting-point, we must not forget the self-evident, and I 
 would recommend to some of the correspondents of The Truth Seeker 
 
 *The meaning of the Greek word Kata is always post,-after. 
 
 475 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 that existence is that self-evident starting-point; and, as some of your 
 correspondents seem unable to find the being who is called by the name 
 of God, I would suggest the above word, ' existence,' as denoting the 
 starting-point of search, and would quote herein from Thomas Paine, 
 whom the New York World has recently discovered to be a very religious 
 man. He answers the Bible interrogation, ' Canst thou by searching find 
 out God ?' in the affirmative. ' Yes,' says he, ' because, in the first place, 
 I know I did not make myself, and yet I have an existence, and by search- 
 ing into the nature of other things I find that no other thing could make 
 itself, and yet millions of other things exist. Therefore it is that I 
 know, by positive conclusion resulting from this search, that there is a 
 power superior to all these things, and that power is God.' 
 
 " And from the same stand-point, existence ; and, in obedience to the 
 rule, ' seek and ye shall find,' our author discourses as follows, viz. : ' I 
 trouble not myself about the manner of future existence. I content 
 myself with believing, even to positive conviction, that the power that 
 gave me existence is able to continue it in any form and manner He 
 pleases, either with or without this body, and it appears more probable 
 to me that I shall continue to exist hereafter than that I should have had 
 an existence, as I now have, before that existence began.' Also herein a 
 very ancient document says existence is one of the titles of Deity, — ' I 
 am that I am !' 
 
 " ' Lives through all life, extends through all extent. 
 Spreads undivided, operates unspent. 
 Breathes in our soul, informs our moral part, 
 As full, as perfect, in a hair as heart; 
 As full, as perfect, in vile man that mourns 
 As the rapt seraph that adores and burns. 
 In Him no high, no low, no great, no small ; 
 He fills. He bounds, connects, and equals all.' 
 
 " I would recommend to some of your correspondents a greater cult- 
 ure of the aesthetic element. Socrates said that the prosaic nearly de- 
 stroyed his vision, and came to the conclusion, when he overcame the 
 neophytic view of things, that ' the soul was modelled after the eternal 
 idea of the true, the good, and the beautiful.' 
 
 " Paine cultivated the astronomic in order to elevate his vision, and 
 ihic is well. Now, we are all astronomers — star-gazers — and we all daily 
 consult that most wonderful book, the almanac. And, I would inquire. 
 What is the most wonderful fact in this most wonderful book? Is it 
 not that we are the denizens of two worlds, the known and the un- 
 known, of the visible and the invisible universe, and that an interchange 
 and conversion is constantly taking place between these? 
 
 " Take the objective fact, for instance, now universally recognized as 
 true, that the world is bounded and surrounded by an infinitely luminif- 
 
 476 
 
THE FOLLY OF LIMITING DEITY 
 
 erous, magnetic, and electric medium provisionally called ether, and that 
 this wonderful medium, as a vehicle of energy (and an invisible vehicle, 
 too), consumes all the light and heat which are radiated by the suns 
 mto space, independent of that which enters into and is absorbed by the 
 atmosphere of the diflferent planets. 
 
 " Verily it is true that the things in the heavens and upon earth are 
 wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. In comparison with these our little 
 systems are very small, indeed; still, in the process of the suns, these 
 have their day — they have their day and cease to be 1 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 "Abington, II mo. 15, 1887. 
 
 "My dear Friend,— Does thee know what a terrible mistake thee 
 made last Fifth-day, at Quarterly Meeting, when thee spoke of Jesus 
 (Mark x. 19) as having mentioned love to God and love to man as not 
 enough for man to love? Thou stated that these were alluded to in the 
 account concerning the young man who came to Jesus with the saluta- 
 tion ' Good Master.' Such is not the case, however, as in the three ac- 
 counts neither of them speaks of love to God ; Matthew alone speaks of 
 ' the love of the neighbor.' The others do not refer to aught but the ten 
 commandments ; they all refer evidently to these, which say naught of 
 ' love.' These things thou should know, so as not to lay on the people's 
 necks burdens which they cannot bear, and which the Father puts upon 
 no man. The lesson to the young man was to be 'poor' (dependent in 
 spirit). He was rich and full; that was the lesson, and which we can 
 only learn by the judgment of heavenly love and life, in which our own 
 life is parted with, and in lieu thereof we receive heavenly life and love. 
 
 " I write these things in love, and, too, as one who is liable to err, for 
 to err is human, and to forgive divine. We serve in love, and rejoicingly 
 receive His judgments as such, herein becoming acquainted with re- 
 storing love. The word redemption should not be in the New Testa- 
 ment, as the Greek word apolutrosis means deliverance, — thus Jesus 
 ' came to preach deliverance,' and ' no man can redeem his brother." The 
 Hebrew word gaal also means deliver. 
 
 "Thou also undertook to limit God's mercy, and quoted from the 
 Old Testament, which I could also quote in favor of all evil, and say 
 ' thou shalt swear in my name,' etc. Could quote in favor of intemper- 
 ance; but does God bid man 'to drink and forget his poverty, and re- 
 member his misery no more.' Was the writer inspired when he advised 
 to 'give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto 
 those that be of heavy heart' ? I thought that we were under the dispen- 
 sation of the idea ' that every one who asketh receiveth.' 
 
 " Neither can Genesis vi. 2 bear the old construction, so says a dis- 
 tinguished ' bishop of the church,' death being alluded to in the text, and 
 the word 'strive' should read 'preside,' says the bishop, the Hebrew 
 word dun meaning judgment. 
 
 477 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " It is a difficult thing for a man to see, I know, that the Infinite did 
 the best He could in the production of the finite. There can, however, 
 be but one Infinite, and hence the burden of finitude rests of necessity 
 upon man, and upon all things which God hath produced. And to man 
 this burden can only be made ' easy' but as he becomes dependent upon 
 the Infinite, as Jesus recommended, ' learn of me, for I am meek and 
 lowly of heart.' Thus through faith, which means fidelity, man becomes 
 endowed with a measure of heavenly life and love. 
 
 " Thy loving friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 " Abington, 12 mo. 6, 1887. 
 
 "Dear Mary Lightfoot, — I have not been unmindful of thy request 
 as to remembering my communication at the funeral of dear Mary At- 
 kinson, but I find it to be irrecoverably lost. What I said I felt at the 
 time concerning her beautiful nature and gifts. I was not acquainted 
 with her in the way of any intimacy whatever, in fact, I never met her 
 but casually; but whenever I did so I was impressed with her as one 
 who possessed traits of character and temperament calculated to diffuse 
 happiness to all who came within the reach of her influence. 
 
 " I first saw her to know her some few years since, when I called to 
 see James on business. She was engaged in her home duties, and came 
 out of the house to greet me. I did not know then, nor did I know at 
 the time of the funeral, that she was a daughter of my highly valued 
 friend Nathan Cleaver. But I thought at the time above alluded to what 
 a favored man was her husband to possess such a companion, and how 
 greatly blessed were her children in having such a mother ! 
 
 " I expect next Seventh-day to again turn my face southward in the 
 continuance of my concern in visiting some of the meetings of Baltimore 
 Yearly Meeting, and expect to attend the Washington meeting next 
 First-day, and hope to close up my concern in this direction in visiting 
 Fairfax and Goose Creek Monthly Meetings. What good can come of 
 my travelling so far I cannot see; but this I do know, that the Good 
 Father hath put it into my heart to visit the remnant who still are con- 
 cerned to meet together in the name of Infinite Love. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 " My dear Friend, — I never left a neighborhood in my religious labors 
 for which I felt a greater travail and concern for Christ's sake, than 
 since I returned home from being among you at Lincoln; and this, 
 too, not without much edification to mine own self in the midst of suffer- 
 ing for the Seed's sake, for I have seen clearer than ever before that 
 God's Spirit, before it can be in any instrumentality to us or for us ex- 
 perimentally and savingly, must be in us! To explain, His Spirit was not 
 in Judas thus,- and hence he therefore could not see the Christ power in 
 
 478 
 
RIGHT CONDUCT TOWARDS DEITY 
 
 Jesus; and it was the same with the Jews who were of the without (the 
 exoteric) ; and this was likewise the case, too, with the persecutors of 
 our early Friends ; and bear in mind herein that these persecutors were 
 great in the Scriptures. Now, God dwells in all men by reason of His 
 omnipotence, but He does not dwell in all men by reason of reciprocity. 
 Religion being conduct towards God and morality conduct towards man ; 
 and herein to be in unity with God, we must dwell in Him, for ' God is 
 love, and they who dwell in God dwell in love, and God dwelleth in 
 them.' Now, without the indwelling spirit of heavenly love consciously 
 in us, the Scriptures are without any life or meaning to us, as the apostle 
 says no man can call Jesus Lord but by inspiration. That is, he cannot 
 be cited as authority but by the Holy Spirit. We cannot hear his word 
 any more than the Jews could, unless we are endowed with the same 
 God power with which he was endowed. 'The Father who dwelleth in 
 me, he doeth the works,' is the truth which was in Jesus ; but this great 
 truth we can only see as we come into the spirit of Jesus, which is the 
 spirit of dependence and trust in the Infinite Source and Centre of all 
 consolation. The apostolic thought was, ' Let that mind which was in 
 Christ Jesus be in you,' for it is only as we become anointed with the 
 wealth of the glory of ' Christ within' that we become possessed of the 
 Christ mind and the Christ spirit, and thus become the true friends of 
 Jesus, the anointed one. 
 
 " Right conduct towards our Heavenly Father is certainly to have 
 our minds stayed by trust on Him, and this must be without any ' and, 
 if, or but, about it;' for it is just these senseless qualifications, carica- 
 tures, and descriptions which cause men to divide in His worship. 
 
 " Take, for instance, ' the fall of man,' upon which ' the plan of re- 
 demption, depends. Now, there is not one word of truth in all this, from 
 the universally acknowledged fact that our ancestors thousands of years 
 ago were ' cave men,' in a mere savage state of life and manners — there- 
 fore the race has not fallen. Paul speaks of ' the similitude of Adam's 
 transgression,' and this is all there is about it. We fall as Adam fell 
 when we fail to discriminate between ' the one thing, needful' and ' the 
 many things,' ' the trees of the garden,' those things which we need upon 
 the side of self-dependence and concerning which it is written 'our 
 Heavenly Father knoweth that we stand in need of all these things ;' but 
 upon the side next to Him it is also written, and truly written, that ' but 
 one thing is needful' 1 And all His children realize that this is known 
 only as the apostle has said, ' by the Spirit of God.' There was only one 
 thing which Adam should not do, and that which he should not do, that 
 he did, and hence he fell. Now, what was this but the violation of the 
 law of dependence and trust in God,— a law to which there can be no ex- 
 ception upon the side of our non-self-reliance, wherein there is always 
 an illuminating display of Divine love, life, and truth, producing the 
 peaceable fruits of the Spirit towards our fellow-men? 
 
 "Is dependence upon 'the little systems' of men, I inquire, good 
 
 479 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 and honorable conduct towards God? Can we expect pleasurable rela- 
 tions to exist between Him and us if we violate the law of life? Can 
 we expect to consciously live and move and have our being in Him 
 unless we look to Him alone? 
 
 " And herein I well know that we must be tried and proven ; that that 
 which can be shaken must be shaken, so that that which cannot be shaken 
 may remain. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 " Abington, I mo. 4, 
 " Dear Jesse Hoge, — It gave me much pleasure to hear from thee. It 
 is true that I have felt a deep travail and concern on behalf of some of 
 the flock among you. Thou spakest of my return to Virginia, but at 
 present attention to home duties and cares seems to be all that is re- 
 quired of me. Am glad that thee thought my epistle* was suited to the 
 condition of your meeting. I also note the extract from a letterf pub- 
 
 * " To the Friends who assemble at Lincoln, Virginia.' 
 " Beloved Friends, — My heart's best sympathies continue to remain 
 with you for your establishment upon the foundation of the ' one thing 
 needful.' On that side of our nature which is next to the world we need 
 many things, and our Heavenly Father knoweth that we stand in need 
 of ail these things; but upon that side of our nature which is angelic 
 and divine, — upon that side which is pre-eminently next to God, — it is 
 the cause of great thanksgiving that but ' one thing is needful,' and that 
 this one thing is the knowledge that He loved us before we loved Him; 
 and the prayerful desire of your brother's heart is that ye may all be 
 fully established in this knowledge, which is the knowledge of God, and 
 of His son Jesus, whom He so greatly anointed with the power of His 
 infinite love and grace. And unto this grace and wondrous love I com- 
 mend you all in that it is entirely sufficient to build you up in the estab- 
 lishment of quietness of spirit and of confidence towards Him." 
 
 t " A correspondent in Baltimore sends us an extract from a private 
 letter written by a Friend at Goose Creek Meeting (Lincoln, Virginia), 
 speaking of a recent visit of David Newport there as very acceptable. 
 In his communication at that Monthly Meeting, upon the theme of Love, 
 he spoke of the great simplicity of our faith, and of true religion under 
 any name. He had no idea of a decline of Quakerism ; on the contrary, 
 he thought the day of its acceptance had come, and that its grand doc- 
 trine was illuminating the darkness everywhere. He felt himself called 
 to speak in the women's meeting after separating for business. In 
 this discourse he told us in a feeling and forcible way that he was 
 impressed that some were called upon to preach the word of the Lord, 
 and such he implored to be faithful to the trust of the holy duty laid 
 upon them. Nearly every one was in tears, and several spoke a few 
 words after he left. It was a very solemn time.' " 
 
 480 
 
RELIGION THE SPIRIT OF LOVE 
 
 lished in the FrM Intelligencer. Now, I did not, before I read this, 
 know that the few words which I spoke in the women's meeting were so 
 ettective. And herein, dear Jesse, many no doubt think that such words 
 of commendation exalt and flatter; but these do not perceive that the 
 poor servant knows that the power is not of himself. These cannot 
 know that we give all the glory to the Great Giver of every good and 
 perfect gift. With much love to all, 
 
 " I am thy friend and brother, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 " My dear Friend,— Thy acceptable note was received to-day. I was 
 impressed as to what thou sayest in respect to the unfortunate division 
 in the Society of Friends in 1827, for, like thee, I am a mourner herein. 
 Its cause, however, is very clear to my mind. It grew out of the fact 
 that so many had wandered from the 'Rock,' which is the one thing 
 needful ; for when men forsake this they become prone to separate even 
 in the worship of the Almighty. Many things we need in a worldly 
 sense, but only ' one thing* in a spiritual sense ; and the moment that we 
 desire for ourselves, or desire for others, anything else in spirituals 
 than this 'one thing,' then we run into what the apostle speaks of as 
 'the wickedness of superfluity.' We forsake the condition wherein we 
 receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your 
 souls (James x. 21). I clearly see that when we leave this one founda- 
 tion which is alluded to in the Scriptures under many types, we are ready 
 then to become not only at enmity with God, but also with our brother 
 man, and finally may be easily led into the condition of Saul the perse- 
 cutor, when he thus acted this part in the synagogues of Damascus, and 
 like him, be so blinded to the truth herein as to believe that we were 
 doing God service. 
 
 " I understand that our Orthodox Friends are agitating the repeal of 
 the clause in the Philadelphia Discipline, p. 76, adopted in 1833, wherein 
 they anathematize our meetings. This I view as a favorable indication, 
 for I do not know, in modern literature, a greater exhibition of antichrist 
 than is found thus in the rules of a people who claim to be led by the 
 Spirit of God. 
 
 " Religion is the spirit of love ; it breathes peace on earth and good- 
 will to man; and from the contrary of this may thou and I, my dear 
 sister, pray to be delivered. For all else than the one thing needful in 
 spirituals is a sham, a counterfeit, a caricature, and an imposition. I 
 have learned, my 'dear friend, in this my old age, to spell my creed with 
 a word of four letters, and that word is love ! 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 " Abington, I mo. 10, 1888. 
 "My dear Friends,— I have, my dear friends, in common with so 
 many others, felt such great sympathy in your bereavement, that I felt 
 31 481 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 like thus expressing myself to you ; and this may be largely on my own 
 account, in that I too may be blessed, in that I also mourn with those 
 who mourn, and thus likewise become comforted. 
 
 " I was this morning counting my own many blessings, and among 
 the greatest of these I found was the wondrous fact and knowledge 
 which the Infinite Father has given me concerning the immortality of 
 the soul. To use the beautiful language of Whittier: 
 
 " ' I know not where His islands lift 
 Their fronded palms in air ; 
 I only know I cannot drift 
 Beyond His love and care.' 
 
 " And so it is, dear friends, with your beloved child. God will do 
 the best that He can for her; for to think otherwise than this would 
 be not only to distrust His love, but also His wisdom and His power, 
 
 " Your friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 " Abington, 2 mo. 24, 
 
 " Dear Samuel Emlen, — I read a piece of thine to-day in the Friends' 
 Intelligencer, taken from The Interchange, with much emotion. Ahl 
 how well thou describest the true spring of the ministry. What a won- 
 derful secret power and motion it hath its issue in us ; well might Bar- 
 clay term it the 'Vebiculum Dei.' 
 
 " One thing has recently been opened to me as is illustrated by the 
 text, ' No man can come unto me except the Father draw him.' That is, 
 it cannot be in instrumental means to any except it (the drawing power) 
 be in the person ministered unto. As in the case of Jesus with the Jews, 
 or of Judas, the power was not consciously in them because of their 
 obtuse and blind condition. Or, as we cannot rea-d the Scriptures with 
 edification without His Spirit act consciously in us with its opening 
 power. It is true, as dear Job Scott has written, ' that that alone can 
 gather to God which proceeds from Him.' 
 
 " Ah ! how much I desire that that which thou describest as ' any 
 selfish object in view' may not be in me as a poor finite servant, but that 
 I may be kept low and small in His hand. 
 
 " I do not know whether thou receivest the Friend^ Intelligencer or 
 not, so I send thee a leaf from the last number, containing an article 
 upon what grew out of a letter of John G. Whittier tQ the editor on the 
 subject of the unfortunate division in 1827. 
 
 " Did thee ever read the memorial of Deborah Evans, published in 
 the book of memorials in 1821, and written by Jonathan Evans in 1818? 
 All seems to have been harmonious then in the society, as evidenced by 
 the sweet simplicity seen in this document. Lucretia Mott was acknowl- 
 edged as a minister of Twelfth Street Meeting in 1821. Whittier, in his 
 letter, says that the separation was ' unnecessary.' It certainly was 
 
 482 
 
A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE MINISTRY 
 
 cruel, whether necessary or not; but I hope that all things may work 
 together for good; and certainly We can be as branches of the Vine, and 
 thus continue in the Vineyard, to increase and bring forth fruit to the 
 honor and glory of the Husbandman. 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 " David Newport." 
 
 The following are the articles alluded to in the above letter : 
 
 A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE MINISTRY. 
 
 " The ministry Friends covet is not the outcome merely of a willing- 
 ness to serve the Lord, and ' to bring souls to CSirist,' although these are 
 always the accompaniments of a true ministry; but it is a ministry 
 which has for its authority a clear and indisputable call from the Lord 
 for us to that special line of service; a call so certain that in the exer- 
 cise of the gift bestowed, it is made to appear even to others that The 
 Lord has called: a certain unction accompanied the words spoken that 
 reaches the witness for Christ in the hearts of those who hear. I think, 
 when a child, I could tell the difference between a God-appointed and a 
 man-appointed minister, — betweem one able through holy help to bring 
 iorth things new and old out of the heavenly treasury, and one depend- 
 ing on his own native ability and training, however entertaining this 
 might be. The true ministry usually has small beginnings ; it commences 
 prostrate before God and continues in the same humble, dependent state, 
 growing thereby; it waits upon God for His direction, both as to time 
 and matter, and thus escapes the danger of disturbing the worship of the 
 congregation. It does not work with any selfish object in view, and by 
 itself, but co-operates with God; and thus, if it be not from unfaithful- 
 ness or from some secret disqualifying sin, the true minister may find 
 peace in silence as in speech, both exercises being alike his Master's will. 
 
 " The true minister lays every faculty of his mind at the disposal of 
 Him who called — he wants to be used and it is a great joy to him to be 
 thus honored — yet the zeal stirred up in him, he wants to be a zeal of 
 God. He sees the dangers attendant upon the acquisition, through prac- 
 tice, of fluency and self-confidence, and of a habit 'of preadiing; be 
 passes much time in meditation, in communion with his Heavenly 
 Father — he is apt to be known as a quiet man — he is a student of the 
 Bible, but not after the manner of men; rather is he a diligent and 
 devout reader of the Bible, looking to God for instruction thereia— he 
 prefers this to commentaries. Being under the direction of the Most 
 High, and knowing the essence of His keeping, the true minister of Jesus 
 Christ desires no training but that which can be obtained in his school ; 
 he is slow to give advice to his fellow-workers as to how they should 
 prepare themselves ior the work, and do this and that to keep themselves 
 ' abreast of the times ;' he will not enter into bargains of any kind with 
 those he is to preach to; praise will pain him, while ' the reproof of the 
 
 483 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 righteous will be unto him as an excellent oil.' Christ will be known as 
 a faithful, unflattering, and unfaltering Elder, close by all the time, en- 
 couraging the humbled, and restraining the forward servant. A pure 
 gospel minister is always a reaching minister to some. ' Lord, send out 
 thy light and thy truth and let them lead me.' 
 
 " Samuel Emlen." 
 
 REMARKS ON " A PLEA FOR UNITY." 
 
 " In the contribution " A Plea for Unity,' published in your paper of 
 the 4th inst., considerable stress is laid upon the term used by an ' Ortho- 
 dox' Friend, in his book, ' Old-Fashioned Quakerism' (which the author 
 of the article quotes with much satisfaction), 'God manifested in the 
 flesh,' It was shown long ago by Sir Isaac Newton that this was an un- 
 scriptural term, and in the revision of the Scriptures the phrase has been 
 therefore corrected. 
 
 " Our friend, F. T. H., in the article alluded to, does not state which 
 branch or party among our Orthodox Friends he would have us to unite 
 with ; it would certainly not be those whom Whittier, a few years since, 
 characterized as having ' abandoned the one distinctive root doctrine of 
 our Religious Society — that from which it 'erives all that is peculiar to 
 it in doctrine and testimony and which alone gives it a right to exist.' 
 Our friend has, no doubt, Philadelphia Friends in view in the union 
 which he proposes as between us and them of religious fellowship. Now, 
 let us inquire whether such a union is within the possibilities of the 
 present or of the future time. In the first place, we must have a Disci- 
 pline, — a code of rules to govern us, — and hence it cannot be expected 
 that our Friends would consent to accept our Orthodox Friends' present 
 law which speaks of their members ' attending our meetings as of evil 
 tendency, as though they were meetings of Friends,' and advises their 
 ' Monthly Meetings to testify against them,' — ^that is, such of their mem- 
 bers as attend our meetings. They have inserted in their Discipline, 
 page 124, upon the subject of the Scriptures, as an evidence of their faith 
 upon the subject of the Trinity, the text formerly found in John v. 7, 
 which text has been found to be a perversion of the Scriptures, and is 
 left out in the Revision. They have also altered their Discipline in very 
 many respects since 1827, — notably the increase of power and authority 
 given to the elders, and to the Meetings of ministers and elders, and the 
 Meeting for Sufferings, and have eyen given to quarterly meetings the 
 power of laying down monthly meetings, so that monthly meetings can 
 be dissolved at the pleasure of the quarterly meeting. And upon the 
 subject of the publication of books by members of the Society, the Meet- 
 ing for Sufferings is invested with a supervisory power over the members 
 of the yearly meeting, and of the quarterly meeting also. 
 
 " I mention these things in the feeling of love and tenderness to our 
 friend F. T. H., as well as towards our Orthodox brethren, among whom 
 I number many dear friends." 
 
 484 
 
THE PROCESS OF PROGRESS 
 
 " Abington, I mo. 25, 1888. 
 " The Open Court* 
 
 " Friend Editor,— Judging from the title of the article, ' Process of 
 Progress,' in the last Open Court, and of its application to humanity, I 
 anticipated reading it with edification and satisfaction; and its prelude, 
 too, raised my expectations from its author's quotations from Jesus, Paul, 
 Longfellow, and Tennyson; so I expected something entirely different 
 upon the subject of Immortality than the assignment of the human soul 
 to the ' loss of all identity,' and of ' rest, sweet rest,' as being its final 
 portion. 
 
 " Our author reasoned well as to human progress from the cradle to 
 the grave, but with the latter he stops and quotes i Corinthians xv. 55, 
 very unmeaningly, as though the apostle had in his mind this life only, 
 when he says with great emphasis, I Corinthians xv. 19 : 'If in this 
 life only we have hoped in the anointed, we are the most miserable of 
 all men.' 
 
 " Now, had friend Weyler reasoned better he might have reasoned 
 quite differently — might have reasoned from infinite intelligence to the 
 immortality of the soul, for, as the former is demonstrable, so likewise 
 is the latter. As there can be no commencement in the production of 
 an effect, and as every effect must inhere in its cause, so must every 
 issue from that which is infinite and eternal be of the same kind in like- 
 ness and degree. But infinite intelligence is eternally the same, and is 
 therefore non-progressive and non-originative, and hence the likeness 
 between infinite intelligence and finite intelligence is only in degree and 
 similitude, and therefore finite intelligence is progressive and evolving. 
 This being the relation between the infinite and the finite! And just 
 here comes in the doctrine of Evolution, which proves that there has 
 never been a commencement to an effect — infinite cause never having 
 had a beginning! Absolutely, then, the All is non-original, and self- 
 evolving, and self-sustaining, too, so that all progress and increase be- 
 longs entirely to the relative and to the finite ; and being thus, it is absurd 
 to speak of the commencement of an effect. So, likewise, it is absurd to 
 speak of God, the All, as having originated anything. He being complete 
 and entire in Himself ! 
 
 " Now, our friend Weyler, as I have said, traces man from the cradle 
 to the grave, and there stops with ' rest, sweet rest.' But this can never 
 be, if there is an eternal cause, which all men admit to be self-evident. 
 The All being infinitely intelligent, and infinitely productive, too, as 
 infinite cause unceasingly producing .'—the All Father, to whom and from 
 whom there is nothing distinct or external ! And here I would inquire : 
 Does not All intelligence include finite intelligence? And is not finite 
 
 * The Open Court is the successor of the Boston Index, and is pub- 
 lished in Chicago. 
 
 48s 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 intelligence a part of infinite intelligence? Relatively, and in the germ; 
 but» nevertheless, in the possibilities of progress and evolution, pros- 
 pectively, forever and forever persisting and dwelling in its first great 
 cause ! 
 
 " Finite intelligence,, then, paroceeds fron» and is evolved by infinite 
 intelligence,^ and this evolution,, increase, and unfolding, it is which 
 constitutes our iminiortality, for distinct and separate from God there is 
 no immortality ! 
 
 " Finite intelligence proceeds from, and comes forth from, infinite mi- 
 te!ligence» and the law of its nature is increase, progress^, and evolution — 
 immortality ; for immortality is but another word for evolution. And as 
 we cannot think of progress or evolution as. of something ceasing ta be in 
 and for a conscious intelUgence — ^this being utterly unthinkable — then, 
 it follows in. right and correct thinking, and expression, too, that herein 
 is 'the process, of progress' — even immioirtal'ity and eternal life. 
 
 " And of this heaven Whittier writes thus comceirning its attainfflient : 
 ' Long sought without, but found within.' It is a question, as this, grea* 
 poet of the Inward Light truly say«, of ' feeling;' and the query arises : 
 Is the process of Evolution continual, and unceasingly taking place in 
 us? The unfolding of Light,, bringing life and immortality to Ught 
 through progress, increase, and overcoming; and herein imitating tht 
 good example of friend Weyler in quoting Scripture, I will also con- 
 clude with the quotation of a favorite text : ' He that oveccometh. shall 
 inherit all things ; I will be his God, and he shall be my son.' 
 
 " D. N." 
 
 " I sent the Open. Court an article last week elucidating more fully 
 my argument in regard to Infinite Intelligence, and, as thee will receive 
 it probably in the next paper, I will not enter much into that subject, 
 and will attempt only a reply to thy abjection to ' a first great cause,' 
 of which thou speaks in thy letter of the i6th inst., wherein thee states 
 that thee will "^ venture to dispute this as to time, space, matter, force, 
 etc' ' The mind,' thou says, ' can think only of these by measurement ;' 
 and just here I will remark that we have, before us the circle, always 
 about us, which is unending, so that by absolute ' measurement' the 
 mind can realize that which is unending and eternaL 
 
 " But in order to consider this question properly, the mind must tran- 
 scend the boundaries of time, as, absolutely speaking, there is no such 
 thing as time. Thee will agree that there is no such thing as absolute 
 originality,, but that it exiists only relatively; and thus relativity is the 
 better word to apply to what we call time, for it is thus that we as finite 
 beings subsist (in a condition of finitude), as originality requires time 
 in which to produce that which is new to ourselves. 
 
 " We live in a world of appearances. The sun does not set, it only 
 appears to ; we do not see with our eyes ; we feel with our nerves, — 
 though this does not appear to be the case. During sleep we have 
 
 486 
 
TIME AND ETERNITY 
 
 visions, to which we give a reality and consistency. On awakening* we 
 a^e aware that we have been deceived by appearances. We appear ta 
 be in a condition of relativity merely, and we speak thus of originality 
 and of time, when in reality these exist only in appearance, not abso- 
 lutely. Time may then be defined as the interval between the production 
 of the old and the development of the new. And there being no such 
 thing as originality, then, absolutely speaking, time does not exist, as it 
 requires time to produce what we call originality; and it matters not 
 how much interval or lapse has existed, or may exist, no addition can 
 be made to the ever-existing and eternal. It can be no other than it 
 always has been and always will be. All things are spherical, and noth- 
 ing since has been original or new ; and hence all change, g^'owth, audi 
 progress, all new forms, exist in appearance only ; they are apparent and 
 not real. Relatively, time, change, death, evil exist ; but they exist only 
 in appearance, — they are not real, absolutely. 
 
 " ' All are but parts of one stupendous whole. 
 Whose body mature is, and God the soul.' 
 
 " There is but one absolute, all-inclusive abstract, and that is Infinite 
 Intelligence. 
 
 " ' Lives through all life, extends through all extent, 
 Spreads undivided, operates unspent!' 
 
 " There being but one all-inclusive substance or Intelligence, then 
 finite intelligence must exist in power, will, liberty, obligation, and duty 
 in, and is a part of, Infinite Intelligence. Thus man is potentially, though 
 never actually, infinite, as he never ceases to progress. In substance he 
 must be and is related to Infinite Intelligence, and is hence immortal'. 
 
 " Eternity is that which is unending ; its emblem is always before 
 us in the circle, as I have before said. Its truth is a self-evident propo- 
 sition, and it is seen in the same manner in which intelligent beings are 
 seen and known by themselves and not by another. Thou thyself, in thy 
 note, says that ' the principle which governs matter is eternal.' And I 
 thank thee for the word 'principle'; it means primordial, self-evident. 
 It answers thy query: 'What constitutes intelligence?' 
 
 " Thee says, ' For my part I have no conception of intelligence aside 
 from organized matter,' etc. Thee here speaks of effects, as farther on 
 thee says, ' to matter, force, protoplasmic cell or in aggregation of them.* 
 I answer that the universe is Infinitely Intelligible, intelligence being 
 self-evident in it, and in the energies which inhere in it. Infinite energy 
 
 "■ Cannot another and higher condition present itself which will be to 
 our awakened state that which our awakened state is now to sleep; so 
 that our awaking is but sleep? 
 
 487 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 and power we see each day of our lives asserted in the universe, and we 
 cannot think of this energy and power as something temporary and 
 finite; it is infinite and eternal, and all things inhere in it. Not that 
 which it produces, as thou says, ' matter,' but in itself as principal cause. 
 It will not do to confuse cause and effect, and to assert, as some do, 
 'that Nature is the true and living God;' as what we call Nature is but 
 a name for a vast multitude of effects. We know of the laws of nature, 
 and thus in common parlance we acknowledge an Infinite Lawgiver! 
 All this is self-evident, and requires no proof. And there being no power 
 or intelligence separate or apart from Infinite Intelligence and power, 
 we are parts therefore approximately of Infinite Intelligence and power; 
 and we are being evolved (if we are in our right sphere of thought) by 
 Him who is eternal and who makes not only for righteousness, but also 
 for consciousness, increase, and development, — in a word, for Intelligence. 
 Intelligence being the universal divine law of Infinite Wisdom, it per- 
 meates all natural phenomenon, being an issue from the noumenon or 
 thing-in-itself ; and the fact that man or matter know not why or how 
 they are being evolved and governed cannot make infinite power the 
 less. Though I will observe here that the consciousness which Infinite 
 Wisdom hath revealed to me is the source of the greatest happiness and 
 enjoyment, so much so that without it I would be a miserable man. 
 
 " Thy friend, 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 THE RELIGION OF THE FRIEND. 
 
 " To THE Editor of The Open Court, — The religion of the Friend is 
 so greatly diflerentiated from Religion as generally understood, that 
 Isaac Penington, a distinguished Friend, two hundred years ago de- 
 clared : ' Our religion stands in the opposite of yours.' And I thought 
 I would explain a little to the readers of The Open Court of what are 
 called ' Friends' principles.' 
 
 " In the first place, when we meet together for worship, we meet in 
 silence, that the phenomenal man may be still and silent before the Eter- 
 nal; thus we recognize the Socratic as well as the Pauline doctrine, 
 ' That the things of man know no man but by the spirit of man that is 
 in him; and so the things of God know no man but by the Spirit of 
 God.' Recognizing herein also with Spencer the difference between 
 what he calls ' the religious consciousness and the common conscious- 
 ness.' The common (phenomenal) affairs of life we seek to lay aside 
 for the time being, knowing that spiritual things are correlate with 
 spiritual things, and that we can worship God in spirit and truth only 
 as we receive ability directly and immediately from Him so to do. And 
 likewise also in the ministry, we hold that that which gathers to God 
 proceeds alone from Him ! The ministry with us is free — ' without 
 money and without price,' and without distinction of sex — ' neither male 
 nor female in Christ!' ' The Bible we view as a description of man's 
 
THE SELF-EVIDENT 
 
 conception of his Creator ; and not as a description of His dealings with 
 His creature man! The truths of the Scriptures, 'either on Christian 
 or on heathen ground,' we estimate highly, holding with Paul that 'all 
 Scriptures given by the inspiration of God are profitable, that the man of 
 God may be thoroughly furnished unto good works.' And William 
 Penn herein was the first of his time to quote from distinguished heathen 
 writers as correlate with Christian thought. 
 
 " We hold to the universality of Divine illumination, and that ' Christ 
 is the head of every man and first born of every creature.' And we dis- 
 tinguish, as Isaac Penington also did, between the 'outward garment' 
 (the man Jesus) and the heavenly anointing; holding with the apostle 
 John: 'Ye have all received an anointing (Christ), and need not that 
 any man teach you, but as this self-same anointing teach you which is 
 truth and no lie.' 
 
 " We do not put the man Jesus upon the pedestal of some overthrown 
 heathen divinity, but esteem him, as did the apostles likewise, as 'our 
 Elder Brother.' And this was a very common mode of expression con- 
 cerning him among our early Friends; as he himself said, as we read, 
 ' Whoso doeth the will of God the same is my brother, my sister, and my 
 mother.' 
 
 " We bear an open testimony against all intemperance ; neither excess 
 nor deficiency in anything; and Friends were among the first to testify 
 against the evils of their time and day. 
 
 " We can also believe in monism as the highest phase and plane of 
 human thought — Oneness — ' That they may be one, even as we are one, 
 I in Thee, Thou in me, that they may be one in us,' as we read in the 
 Similitude, for the Fourth Gospel we hold as such, ' the Spiritual Gospel,' 
 as our early Friends termed it. We hold that we can become one with 
 God as Jesus was, being the same in substance, or inner ' likeness,' we 
 can assimilate with Him — ^be at-one in harmony and purpose and thus ex- 
 perience the at-one-ment. 
 
 " This is in a few words the faith of the Friend, and it does not take 
 many words to describe * ' the one thing needful.' And herein I would 
 inquire of the readers of The Open Court whether there is any reason 
 why they cannot unite with us in our esoteric association. Huxley has 
 said that ' the Religion of the future is to be of the silent sort.' Pythago- 
 ras taught the same truth three thousand years ago, and it remains the 
 same ' one thing' in substance to-day. 
 
 "D. N." 
 THE SELF-EVIDENT. 
 
 " The new translation of the Old Testament has restored the Hebrew 
 reading of Psalm vii. 5, 'Thou hast made him (man) but little lower 
 than God, and has crowned him with glory and honor,' and the Scrip- 
 
 * We object to the idea that thought can be materialized in a book by 
 
 means of type. 
 
 489 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 tures largely treat of 'the angel of the Eternal' as the sout~life posited 
 in man, and of all contrary to this as being of the adversary. Jesus 
 speaks, we read,, of the divine nature in man as something which 
 is correlate, in ' continual' correspondence with Deity, ' Their angels 
 do continually behold the face of the Heavenly Father.' This dloc- 
 trine I hold to be the quintessence, of the thought of Jesus, and wowW 
 inquire whether it is not somethioog which we can apply to our experi- 
 ence, and know that what the great Artist has said is true : ' There is a 
 divinity which shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will.' 
 
 " Now, the consensus of finite intelligence is so constituted that it 
 regards as a waste of effort all attempts- to demonstrate that which is 
 self-evident; and Infinite Power is one of those self-evident facts whicbi 
 all intelligent men perceive, — infinite energy asserting itself in all things 
 each day of our lives ! It is also evident that there can be no increase 
 to infinite power, and that the only limit which can be assigned to it is 
 self-limit. In other words, that there cannot be two infinite powers, as 
 that would imply what in the nature of ini.telligen.ce is self-contradictory, 
 and therefore is absurd and unthinkable. Infinite power must hence be 
 withouit ' variableness or shadow of turning,' and is eternally the same 
 in itself, and in all its effects. But finite or derivative power, and intelli- 
 gence, is CQSiscious of increase in knowledge and ia intelligence. Man 
 is constantly converting the unknown into the known — ^bas a wonderful 
 facility for progress, increase, and evolution; he is continually finding 
 out that which in phenomena is new (original) to himself. Among his 
 faculties is the faculty of awareness,, wherein he knows that all bis 
 powers and faculties are derived powers and faculties ; consciousness in 
 him not only proves that he is aa intelligence, but also that he is an. Hi- 
 habitant of a universe of infinite intelligibility, in which he is being de- 
 veloped! He knows that he is not a first cause, but that he is an effect 
 from an infinite cause and power: he knows something of his genesis, 
 and of the impact of the two instrumental causes which called him into 
 conscious physical being, and is aware of the persistency of that being, — 
 that through the annual total changes of his animal body, that he persists 
 in being only himself! 
 
 " He knows of the possession of a common consciousness, and of a 
 religious (spiritual) consciousness,, and he is aware herein of being 
 evolved (developed), by a power not himself, which makes for con- 
 sciousness as well as for righteousness ; and thus he knows that he pos- 
 sesses a moral nature as well as a spiritual nature. And herein let us 
 apply a criterion of that great and good man, John Woolman, who wrote 
 thus one hundred years ago : ' There is a Principle, which is pure, placed 
 in the human mind, which in different ages and places hath been called 
 by different names; it is, however, pure, and proceeds from God. It is 
 deep and inward, confined to no form of religion, nor excluded from any, 
 where the heart stands in perfect sincerity. In whomsoever this takes 
 root and grows, they become brethren.* It may be objected that in this 
 
 490 
 
DIVINE POWER 
 
 citation I am wandering away from the self-evident; but if this be the 
 case, this IS one of those truths which comes to man by reason of devel- 
 opment and evohition, and hence belongs to his capacity and nature by 
 reason of affinity and assimilation, and a man is as his affinities aref 
 But let us keep to what Herbert Spencer calls the 'common conscious- 
 ness' or what the apostle calls ' an animal man,' which man needs devel- 
 opment and evolution, in order that he may become a ' spiritual man,' 
 and thus come to that condition of awareness wherein he knows of a 
 ' pure principle' within himself which ' proceeds from Gad.' 
 
 "We have seen that infinite power comprises all power, and therefore 
 admits of no power operating upon it, or external to it. Infinite space 
 proves this, as it comprises all space ; and as a portion of space is a part 
 of infinite space, so is the finite a part of the infinite, or of the AtL t 
 
 "Infinite power, then, includes all finite power and its issue, because 
 every efifect must inhere in its cause; therefore the process of evolution 
 — unfolding ! — is but the action of infinite power upon the derivative and 
 finite — man's ideas and discoveries not being original, — as he is only 
 finding out more and more of the infinite and of the eternal. This 
 being true, therefore infinite power must also be infinite intelligence, 
 because of the reason just assigned, that infinite power includes all 
 power,, and therefore all intelligence; InAnite Intelligence being thus 
 self-evident to finite intelligence! He being revealed by Himself, as are 
 all things which He has produced, each thing by itself, to intelligent, 
 conscious man ! 
 
 " And when we get rid of the idea of a Creator in the sense that there 
 ever could have been a time when cause was and effect was not, then we 
 come to the true idea of Infinite Intelligence, from whom we derive im- 
 press, likeness, and being. When we come to this through what Herbert 
 Spencer calls ' the religious consciousness' (which is a self-evident power 
 in man) ; when subject and object coalesce through affinity: then man 
 becomes endowed with spiritual-mindedness. He lives to God, and thus 
 he becomes possessed of God-power, and receives thus an endowment, 
 and becomes identified with that principle which dwelt in Jesus of Naza- 
 reth, which is the eternal Christ of God. In such a man the two worlds 
 meet, he is now representative of both, and becomes acquainted with the 
 narrow way and strait gate which lead unto that life which the man 
 Christ Jesus symbolized as ' the Way.' It was over this lack of spiritual 
 vision that Jesus wept,* and on account of which 'he went up into a 
 mountain apart to pray; and when evening was come he was there alone.' 
 He prayed unutterable prayers that the eyes of their souls might be 
 opened so that they might realize Christ within, and thus, experimentally, 
 through development, become acquainted with that power which dwelt 
 so richly in him of Nazareth ! And this power is divine power, or divine 
 
 * " And he groaned deeply in his spirit, he says, Why does this gen- 
 eration seek a Sign?" Mark viii. 12. 
 
 491 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 inspiration, and is as universal as man is universal, and is a self-evident 
 fact to all men who live in Infinite Intelligence. Suppose that this power 
 in man as a finite and derivative being is in embryo only? What does 
 this prove? Why, it only proves his possibilities, his capacity, his nature 
 for increase and evolution, and that he is thus what the All is, abso- 
 lutely. 
 
 " Latent and invisible the divine seed may be, yet it never ceases to 
 progress, to evolve, to unfold, and therefore it is immortal, and survives 
 that appearance which men call death ! 
 
 " Jesus told the Jews, ' Ye understand not the scriptures or the power 
 of God.' And one great cause of the irreligion which exists, is in thus 
 misunderstanding Infinite Power; expecting it to do for us that which 
 is inherently impossible, as God is self-limited, for the reason, as we 
 have seen, that there can be but one infinite. The old idea makes him a 
 very poor workman — ' making man and then repenting of having made 
 him,' etc. Now, as there can only be one infinite, all things have, of 
 necessity, to be finite and derivative, and to suppose that it could be 
 otherwise, is to be absurd. How much man has perplexed himself over 
 the enigma of evil, as to how it came into the world? Now, all things 
 which proceed from the Infinite are simply minus the infinite, and in this 
 sense only they are imperfect; for perfection alone is the attribute of 
 the Infinite. In the infinite variety of effects which flow from the infinite 
 cause, from eternity to eternity, all are good in the sense of the ' restora- 
 tion of all things' ; finite beings seeing only in part — the All they cannot 
 seel 
 
 " ' God loves from whole to parts ; but human soul 
 Must rise from individual to the whole.' 
 
 " To the mind of the All, evil cannot be an end ; it is simply an inci- 
 dent in the endless variety which flows from the Eternal Mind. Man 
 is so constituted as to feel keenly the evil to which he is subjected in 
 this world; and death is the sum of all evil to him. And he becomes 
 victorious here only when he sees in this ' the restoration of all things,' 
 — when death becomes a passport to a higher and better life, — when he 
 possesses the knowledge to believe that he is being perfected in the end- 
 less processes of Infinite Intelligence; then, and only then, can the 
 problem of evil be solved to him in an endless ' restoration of all things,' 
 which in other language means that man has an unending and an immor- 
 tal capacity for increase, progress, and evolution, and never ceasing to 
 progress, he of course survives the grave, and is immortal. 
 
 " The Philosopher (the Friend) is a Phenomonist and a Noumenonist 
 also, and hence he sees not only with his eyes but with his soul also; 
 and above all he is an Optimist, — he perceives that our nature it is that 
 makes us what we are, and that if we were different from what we are 
 we should be other beings. Man is as he is; if he were different he 
 would not be man! And his progress proves that remedial means are 
 
 492 
 
THE SUPERIOR MAN 
 
 being constantly applied to his environments to correct them,— that he 
 may outgrow them (error and wrong), and thus be constantly putting 
 off inferior conditions, and putting on superior— thus to become in time 
 what Confucius called 'The Superior Man'! And the superior man 
 does not foolishly charge Deity with not having done the best He could 
 in the production of man, and of all things which have ' come forth and 
 proceeded from Him;' on the contrary he co-operates with Him, and 
 with His divine order, in its evolutionary processes for the elevation of 
 man and for his immortal unfolding. 
 
 " Socrates, in speaking of the divinity in man, the Soul, said that it 
 was ' modelled after the eternal idea of the good, the true, and the beau- 
 tiful.' And that wonderful man of the Elizabethan age thus discourses 
 concerning him. ' How noble in reason ! how infinite in faculties ! in 
 form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an 
 angel ! in apprehension, how like a God !' After a period of depression 
 and ' inward sufferings,' the prophet George Fox ' saw the infinite love 
 of God.' ' I saw also,' he writes in his jour.nal, ' that there was an ocean 
 of darkness and death; but an infinite ocean of light and love which 
 flowed over the ocean of darkness. In that I saw the infinite love of 
 God, and had great openings.' And Whittier, discoursing upon this 
 theme, thus sings: 
 
 " ' O Beauty, old yet ever new ! 
 
 Eternal voice and Inward word. 
 The Logos of the Greek and Jew, 
 The old sphere-music which the Samian heard! 
 
 " ' Truth which the sage and prophet saw. 
 Long sought without, but found within. 
 The law of Love beyond all law. 
 The Life o'erflowing mortal death and sin ! 
 
 " ' Shine on us with the light which glowed 
 Upon the trance-bound shepherd's way. 
 Who saw the Darkness overflowed 
 
 And drowned by tides of everlasting day.' 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 ARTICLES IN THE "ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA." 
 "The latest edition of the 'Encyclopedia Britannica'-confessedly 
 the chief work of its kind in our language-presents the results of 
 modern biblical information in many articles, but especially m those on 
 ' Canon of the Bible' and ' Gospels.' The former is by Samuel Davidson 
 the latter by Edwin A. Abbott, both of them distinguished scholars and 
 writers of the highest standing. In regard to the study of the New 
 
 493 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 Testament, both of them agree wiik Matthew Arnold that tliis is a sub- 
 ject of intellectual seriousness, and that when ' the Bible is read aright, 
 it will be found to deal, in a way incomparabte for effectiveness, with 
 facts of experience most pr€ssing, momentous, and real.' 
 
 " Now, some persons are possessed with the idea that because the 
 authorship of the different books of the Bible is not such as they have 
 supposed it to be, that therefore the negation of this favorite view oper- 
 ates against the truth therein set forth. But no Friend can surely be 
 troubled herein, as all such must know that truth is the product of no 
 particular age or clime. Take here, for instance, the declaration of the 
 distinguished l^ate Monsignor Capei, who was sent to this country on 
 a mission a few years since by the Church of Rome. ' He argued,' says 
 the despatch published in all our public prints, ' that Christianity does 
 not depend alone on reading the Bible. During the first three centuries 
 there was no New Testament. The Catholic Church says read the Scrip- 
 tures, but do not put your own interpretation on them. In conclusion 
 he begged his hearers to look at the matter in the light of history and 
 reason, and not blindly follow the shibboleths of prejudice repeated 
 during four centuries.' 
 
 " The authors above alluded to in the ' Encyclopaedia,' agree with the 
 following summing up of Matthew Arnold : ' The upshot of all tiiis for 
 the reader of Literature and Dogma is that our original short sentence 
 about the record of the words and life of Jesus holds good. The record, 
 we said, when we first got it, had passed through at least half a century, 
 or more, of oral tradition, and through more than one written account.' 
 (' God and the Bible,' p. .225.) 
 
 " Edwin A. Abbott claims that ' the original tradition,' as he calls it, 
 of the record, is to be found in the Synoptic Gospels, and that that of 
 Mark is the earliest of the three. For instance, he compares Mark i. 
 32-34, with Matthew viii. 16, and Luke iv. 40, 41, and finds the ' Original 
 Gospel,' and ' Triple Gospel,' herein ; ' They brought unto him all that 
 were sick. . . . And he healed many,' etc. But Matthew says all were 
 treated, and Luke has it ' every one of them.' 
 
 " As it may not be in the power of some of the readers of the Intelli- 
 gencer and Journal to examine the Encyclopaedia, I will state that Samuel 
 Davidson's ' Canon of the Bible,' which contains the substance of the 
 Encyclopaedia article, can be had at the book stores, having passed 
 through several editions ; as also can E. A. Abbott's ' Common Tradition 
 of the Synoptic Gospels' be obtained in like manner. 
 
 "In regard to the Fourth Gospel, Dr. Abbott does not believe that 
 Justin Martyr quoted it verbally, though he agrees with Dr. Sanday 
 '(' Gospels,' p. 276) ' in an association of ideas.' Further, on this subject. 
 Dr. Abbott says, ' Evidence has been drawn from the epistle of Barnabas, 
 the " Shepherd of Hermas," the Ignatian letters, the epistle of Polycatp-, 
 the works of Justin, and the Clementine Homilies, to show that the 
 authors of these writings used the Fourth Gospel ; and no candid mind 
 
 494 
 
MILLENARISM 
 
 can resist the proof that some of them knew and were influenced by the 
 tihoughts of the Fourth Gospel, while some even used its language. But 
 it is by no means certain, indeed it is improbable, that they knew of it 
 as a Gospel written by "the disciple whom Jesus loved." Else, how 
 • comes it that Justin quotes Matthew about fifty times and the Fourth 
 Gospel once, or not at all ?' 
 
 "Upon thi« subject Matthew Arnold v(nrites thus: 'For at least fifty 
 years the Johannine Gospel remained, like our other three gospels, liable 
 to changes, interpretations, additions; until at last, like them, towards 
 the close of the second century, by ever-increasing use and veneration, 
 it passed into the settled state of Holy Scripture.' 
 
 "' The earliest tradition, that of the Canon of Muratari, has this frag- 
 ment : ' The fourth of the Gospels is by the disciple John. He was 
 pressed by his fellow disciples and fellow hishops, and he said : " Fast 
 with me this day, and for three days; and whatsoever shall be revealed 
 to each one of us, let us relate it to the rest." In the same night it was 
 revealed to the apostle Andrew that John should write the whole in his 
 name, and all the rest should revise it.' In like manner is the tradition 
 related by Qement of Alexandria, who died a.d. 220. ' John wrote 
 last,' says Clement, ' aware that in the other Gospels were declared the 
 things of flesh and blood, being moved by his acquaintance, and being 
 inspired by the Spirit, composed a spiritual Gospel.' To the like effect, 
 Ejpiphanius, in the latter part of the fourth century, says that 'John 
 wrote last, wrote reluctantly, wrote because he was constrained to write, 
 wrote in Asia at the age of ninety.' 
 
 "D. N." 
 MILLENARISM. 
 
 "Ever since the lesson leaf concerning 'the coming of the Son of 
 Man' was xmder consideration, I have heen intending to write a short 
 article upon the subject of Millenarism. To some it may seem strange 
 for me to assert that the second coming of Jesus in the flesh was con- 
 sidered as a very essential part of the Christian religion in the first and 
 second centuries, yet sucli is an unquestioned fact, as all authorities 
 agree. Before our era the Jewish mind at diilerent times was much 
 excited upon this subject, and the belief was generally founded upon 
 Psalm xc. 4, according to which one thousand years before Jehovah are 
 as one day, compared with the accottnt of creation as rendered in Gene- 
 sis, designating six thousand years of toil, and the subsequent Sabhath, 
 as representing one thousand years of quietness and rest. This idea, 
 like the whole eschatology of the primitive church, had its roots in the 
 Jewish apocalyptic literature. At first it was assumed that the Messianic 
 kingdom would last forever. (See the Prophets: Jeremiah xxiv. 6; 
 Tlzekiel xxxvii. 25; Joel iii. 20; Daniel vi. 26; Enoch xii. 14*), and this 
 
 * The book of Enoch was brought from Abyssinia by Bruce the trav- 
 eller, and appeared in an English version in 1826, and immediately pro- 
 
 495 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 view is clearly alluded to in John xii. 34. But subsequently a limited 
 period was assigned to the Messianic kingdom, though in Matthew viii. 
 2, Luke xxii. 16, or in Matthew xix. 28, no such limit is designated, 
 neither is there in the apostolic epistles any trace of the millennium 
 view being held in them.* In the Revelation of John, however (chapter. 
 XX.) there is a tremendous portraiture of the feeling of the age in which 
 it was written. After the Christ has appeared from heaven in the guise 
 of a warrior, and vanquished the anti-Christian power, the wisdom of 
 the world, and the devil, those who have been steadfast in the time of 
 the last catastrophe, and have given up their lives for their faith, shall 
 be raised up, and shall reign with Christ on this earth one thousand 
 years as a royal priesthood. At the end of this time Satan is to be 
 loosed again for a short season; he will then prepare a new onslaught, 
 but God will miraculously destroy him and his hosts. Then there will 
 be a general resurrection of the dead, the last judgment, and the crea- 
 tion of a new heaven and a new earth, etc. 
 
 " The history of the reception and of the ilon-reception of the Apoca- 
 lypse of John is in itself quite a history of the millennium controversy in 
 the early church. The apostolic fathers manifest no acquaintance with 
 this work in their writings, but Justin, a.d. 160, speaks of it and of its 
 chiliasm as the necessary part of a complete orthodoxy, although he 
 knows Christians who do not accept it. In time the Greek Church utterly 
 discredited the chiliastic views of the Revelation, and through the efforts 
 of Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, it was removed from the Greek 
 Canon in the fourth century, he insisting that the allegorical interpreta- 
 tion was the true exegesis. For many centuries the Greek Church kept 
 the Johannine Apocalypse out of its canon, and thus the spiritualizing 
 eschatology of Origen and his school was preserved intact in the East. 
 
 " The Western church, however, clung to the orthodox idea of the 
 millennium, together with the sensuous view in the Apocalypse, and en- 
 tertained no doubt as to its apostolic authorship ; indeed, an Apocalypse 
 of Peter was retained in the canon in the third century, and the Apoca- 
 lypse of Hermas was much read, and kept its place in some Bibles in the 
 Middle Ages. The millennium delusion continued to have powerful sup- 
 port in the West. In the fifth century, however, it began to die out, but 
 towards the close of the tenth century there was a great revival, and the 
 popular belief was that the end of the one thousand years was approach- 
 ing which had been foretold by John and that ' the time was at hand.' 
 
 " The Western church was more conservative than the East ; this was 
 in part her reason for clinging to chiliasm; but the church had another 
 reason in the fact that Marcion and the Gnostics would have nothing to 
 
 duced great interest in Europe. The book was supposed to have been 
 originally composed about the time of the Christian era. 
 
 ♦James v. 3-8; 2 Peter iii. 7-10; i Thessalonians iv. 16; 2 Thessalo- 
 nians ii. 1-3; Revelation entire. 
 
 496 
 
PORPHYRY 
 
 do with it. The early Fathers believed in chiliasm simply because it was 
 part of the traditions of the church, and Irenaeus, Hippolytus, and Ter- 
 tullian believed it as the apostolic fathers did. 
 
 "The mind of the West was modified by Greek theology which 
 reached it through the labors of Jerome, Rufinus, and Ambrose. It was, 
 however, to Augustine on whom the great task devolved of giving a 
 direction to Western theology which finally carried it clear of millenar- 
 ism. At one period of his life he himself had believed in it; but the 
 times were now more auspicious for the church, and a position of su- 
 premacy upon the earth seemed now to be her portion, and he was led 
 to elaborate the idea of the kingdom of Christ and the city of God. 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 "Evergreen, 7 mo. 21, 1891. 
 " My dear Fwend, — I have received thy letter, and also the newspaper 
 containing thy ' creed.' In regard to the former, I think that thy doubts 
 as to the historic verity of the personal existence of Jesus of Nazareth, 
 and that he lived in Judea and taught there about eighteen hundred years 
 ago, are not well founded. The testimony of the philosopher Porphyry, 
 220 A.D., too, who wrote in his book against Christianity of him as 
 'That noble soul who has ascended unto heaven and who has by a certain 
 fatality become an occasion of error.' In respect to thy ' creed,' mine 
 is shorter, though, as I understand what thee has written, I like it gen- 
 erally. I hold, however, that the intelligent soul of man is correlate with 
 the Infinite Soul, from whom we proceed, and unto whom we will, if 
 faithful to the Light, become more and more intimately and familiarly 
 
 associated in time and in eternity. ,, _, 
 
 Thy friend as ever, 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 " Home, 10 mo. 2, 1891. 
 
 " My dear Friend, — I fear, as thou dost, that our Society, as a whole, is 
 in its decadence. I was brought up at the feet, so to speak, of such great 
 souls as Elias Hicks, Thomas Wetherall, Edward Stabler, Jesse Kersey, 
 and Jacob Ritter; At the times of the Yearly Meeting in Philadelphia, 
 seated in a little chair, when a boy, with what love and admiratiori I used 
 to listen to their conversation! And Lucretia Mott, George Truman, 
 Benjamin Hallo well, and Henry W. Ridgway were my intimate friends. 
 I see as thou dost that our lot has fallen among the unwise, ' who are 
 seeking to make perfect in the flesh.' George Fox expressed his glad- 
 ness that he was sent to call men ' to the Light, Life, and Spirit,' and no 
 intelligent man can deny that the Society of Friends were called, and 
 are called, tP be blind to aught else than the light which lighteth every 
 man who cometh into the world. 
 
 " The cause of the decadence which has come upon us as a pall js 
 for the reason that the infinite power and light of Eternal Wisdom is 
 not now with us as much as those who are alive desire. We have as a 
 32 497 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 whole largely left the Fountain and have been engaged in ' hewing out 
 unto ourselves cisterns, broken cisterns, which hold no living water.' 
 Whittier's stanza in his recent poem reads thus : 
 
 " ' With deeper voice than any speech 
 Of mortal lips from man to man. 
 What earth's unwisdom cannot teach, 
 The Spirit only can.' 
 
 " As there has been much dispute as to George Fox's formulation of 
 Scriptural terminology, and had Thomas Elwood and the Friends who 
 prepared his ' Journal' for publication, been honest enough to have pub- 
 lished his letter to Oliver Cromwell, wherein he used the term ' the son 
 of God' as applying to himself, that is, to the inner seed, light, life, rea- 
 son, and grace which is the Spirit's gift, as a capacity to every human 
 soul, it would have then been seen. I say, had this letter and other such 
 original documents been printed which he had left with his other papers 
 for publication, it would have then been clearly seen that he understood 
 the commentaries in the Fourth Gospel which explain such sayings as ' I 
 am the resurrection and the life,' etc. And such glosses and commen- 
 taries are very frequent in the New Testament ; as in John, ' I have not 
 spoken of myself,' ' I speak not of myself,' ' of myself I can do nothing,' 
 'the son of himself can do nothing.' Again, by way of explanation, it is 
 added, ' He spake of the Spirit,' and so throughout the book ' it is the 
 Spirit which quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing.' So in the Synoptics 
 he said it was a wicked and an adulterous generation that sought after 
 signs and wonders, and none should be given them. Now, was not Jesus 
 consistent in this most explicit declaration, which is not only in the 
 first three Gospels, but also in the original logi? The answer is ready in 
 the gloss in relation to these alleged signs and wonders, — ' all these 
 things are done in parables!' 
 
 " Thy friend, 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 " Editors Intelligencer and Journal, — One would suppose from 
 what our friend ' I. R.' has written in a recent article in your paper, that 
 the expression ' Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ' was a frequently 
 used and authoritative phrase of the Scriptures. It is, on the contrary, 
 found but twice in the New Testament as a phrase, and both times in the 
 Second Epistle of Peter. And the genuineness of this epistle is ques- 
 tioned by many authorities. Canon Farrar, in his ' Early Days of Chris- 
 tianity,' says : ' Neither Polycarp, nor Ignatius, nor Barnabas, nor Clem- 
 ent of Rome, nor Justin Martyr, nor Theophilus, nor Cyprian, nor the 
 Vetus Itala, nor the Muratorian Canon, can be proven to even allude to 
 it. Erasmus, Luther, and Calvin freely express their doubts [concerning 
 it], shared by Cajetan, Grotius, Scaliger and Schalegler, Hugenfeld, Bluk, 
 Davidson, Messner, Weiss, Hather, etc' 
 
 498 
 
THE SAVIOUR 
 
 "Further, in relation to the subject of a Saviour, I will quote from 
 the memorial of Deborah Evans, the (first) wife of William Evans, in 
 the collection of memorials published in 1821. It was understood to 
 have been written by her father-in-law, Jonathan Evans. The extract is 
 as follows : 
 
 '"At another season she said that some tiitie back, upon hearing 
 some parts of the New Testament read respecting our Saviour, the 
 query occurred, "What do I know of a Saviour?" and it was presently 
 followed by the evidence that she had felt a principle in her own mind 
 which had shown her what was wrong, and that as she attended to it it 
 would prove a Saviour to her.' 
 
 " Do we Friends, I would in great love inquire, want anything more 
 than that blessed Light and Life which enlighteneth every man that 
 coraeth into the world? Do we desire to join hands with that multitude 
 which Jesus denounced as a wicked and adulterous generation who 
 were seeking after a sign? In relation to this subject I will quote, in 
 conclusion, from the recent beautiful poem of Whittier, 'Between the 
 Gates,' and thus leave the subject: 
 
 " ' With deeper voice than any speech 
 Of mortal lips from man to man. 
 What earth's unwisdom cannot teach. 
 The Spirit only can.' 
 
 "D. N." 
 THE USE OF THE NAME " LORD." 
 
 " Very good books are the ' Companions' to the Revision of the Old 
 and of the New Testament, the first prepared by the American, and the 
 second by the English Committee of Revisers. The American committee 
 desired to have the name Jehovah restored to the Old Testament, and in 
 reference to the term Lord, which is used instead, they query, ' Why 
 should a habit, originating in nothing but a superstition, be retained?' 
 They speak of the Greek translators as not transferring the Hebrew 
 word, but uniformly rendering the Greek word Kurios instead. Now, 
 this word is simply the correlative of Master, abbreviated Mr. with us, 
 or of Herr, in German, the word Theos being the Greek term for the 
 Supreme Deity. But the English revisers rejected this sensible sugges- 
 tion of the Americans, and hence the Jewish ' superstition' was not cor- 
 rected in the revised copy of the Old Testament. 
 
 " Now, the above Greek word, Kurios, seems to have been applied to 
 Jesus by Paul in the first instance, as his writings are the first in order 
 of time in the New Testament. And the question arises. Why did he 
 do this? and in order to understand his reasons for so doing we must 
 remember that he was addressing Greeks, in the Greek language, and 
 that these people were in the habit of addressing their ' masters' by this 
 term Kurios, as for instance, ' Kurios Socrates,' and ' Kurios Plato,' and 
 at this very time, if Mr. Jones or Mr. Smith, a 'gentleman,' were to go 
 
 499 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 to Greece, he would be thus addressed. But Paul says that no man can 
 call Jesus Kurios (or Lord) but by the Spirit, and he further explains, 
 'that the Lord is the Spirit.' Now, he had no authority for using the 
 word Kurios thus, by the Greek language, but Paul, like George Fox, 
 could say, 'before language was I am,' and hence he used this term in 
 this arbitrary manner, — the word Psuche being the Greek term for 
 Spirit, — ^but herein he was careful to add, too, by way of comment, 
 ' Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty.' * 
 
 " On page 170 of the ' Companion of the Revised Old Testament' all 
 this is alluded to, and it is stated that the word Lord simply conveys the 
 idea of authority, power, and majesty, etc. And here we see what be- 
 comes of the reasoning of E. E. H. in a recent issue of the Intelligencer, 
 that because the apostle applied such terms to Jesus, therefore he (Jesus) 
 must be the Almighty. 
 
 " Now, D. N. knew very well that Jesus was called Saviour, other 
 than in the Epistiie of Peter, a few times in the New Testament; but he 
 stated that the exact phrase, 'Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,' was 
 only to be found in the Second Epistle of Peter. And in respect to this 
 term 'Our Saviour,' I would inquire what is its Scriptural meaning? 
 Now, hei'ein we find in the Old Testament this language (I quote from 
 memory) , ' He sent them saviours to deliver them from the power of 
 their enemies,' and that ' God raised up Jesus to be a prince and a Sa- 
 viour;' and Paul, explaining to the Romans who Jesus was, says: 'I 
 affirm that Jesus the Anointed was a minister of the circumcision for the 
 truth of God.' And here in conclusion I will but add that if we read our 
 Bibles by the light of Divine Intelligence, and by the commentaries 
 thereof, that they will be found to be ' profitable' reading, and that good 
 commentaries, too, will be found in the Scriptures themselves. For in- 
 stance, in the Fourth Gospel, after Jesus is spoken of as ' the resurrec- 
 tion and the life,' and ' the way, the truth, and the life,' it is explained ' I 
 have not spoken of myself;' and over and over again it is reiterated 
 ' Of mine own self I can do nothing.' The secret being that the word 
 Jesus stands as a synonyme. 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 " Evergreen, 3 mo. 32, 1892. 
 " To T. Elwood Longshore. 
 
 " My dear Friend, — Thou asks me to criticise thy book. Well, there 
 is much in it with which I unite and commend; but thou knows very 
 well that thy philosophy and mine of the world and of man do not agree. 
 In the world of human nature I see a moral order, and in him (man) I 
 find a law which is eternal and enduring; and in this law I find and 
 feel, and find because I feel, an inexorable Nemesis with an irresistible 
 
 * " Lord or Sir." See foot-note, p. 149, Revised New Testament. 
 John iv. II. 
 
 500 
 
WILLIAM PENN 
 
 power to enforce a certain kind of conduct. This moral and spiritual 
 entity is Infinite in energy, in potentiality, and existence, ever urging 
 man forward and onward as a feeling, thinking, and a progressive being. 
 This living power and entity I call by the name of Infinite Intelligence. 
 Now, this God-idea I do not find in thy book; and this is the Alpha 
 and Omega of my philosophy ; therefore, to me thy book is negative of 
 the higher Wisdom and of the higher Good. And here I will just remark 
 that I do not find that the consensus competent agrees with thy etymology 
 as to the word God, as they date it back to a Sanscrit root having the 
 meaning 'to call on,' 'invoke,' 'thing invoked,' 'object prayed to.' So 
 the word signifies much more than thou hast it, ' good.' 
 
 " We live in a world infinitely intelligible ; therefore it proceeds from 
 a something infinitely intelligent, and infinitely wise, and infinitely good 
 also. 
 
 " What thou says concerning superstition, credulity, and creeds, I in 
 the main unite with. The great idea, Infinite Intelligence, however, 
 clears the mind and heart of these effectually as nothing else will I It 
 is a sorrowful fact, nevertheless, that the religion of the world is but 
 little more- than the creed of credulity. And I find myself very much alone 
 among men in my faith in the Infinite, in that I do not limit Him, and 
 thus insult Him, by positing Him in the past ages of the Vorld so ex- 
 clusively, as many do, instead of finding and enjoying Him now and 
 here in this present time, as I now do each and every day of my life as 
 an Almighty Friend and an ever-present counsellor. ' The Lord,' said 
 Isaac Penington, ' hath judged me for that which many to this day wear 
 in their crown.' So it is in this day also; they wear those baubles 
 which Penington calls carnal wisdom, ' of which many,' he says, ' cannot 
 bear to hear.' So it is with us in our warfare against these demons which 
 lay waste and destroy the pure seed of truth. There is wisdom in what 
 J. P. says herein as to his experience. ' For all the souls of mankind, 
 how my mind hath been bowed in unutterable breathings of spirit before 
 my God, and could not be silenced until He quieted my spirit in the 
 righteousness and excellence of His will, and bid me leave it to Him.' 
 
 " Thy affectionate friend, 
 
 "D. N." 
 
 THE UNIVERSALITY OF INWARD LIGHT. 
 " ' There is no great and no small 
 To the Soul that maketh all : 
 And where it cometh all things are ; 
 And it cometh everywhere.' — Emerson. 
 
 " If the author of the article taken from the Outlook, and published 
 in the Intelligencer and Journal of Seventh month 7th, had examined 
 William Penn's ' Christian Quaker,' a copy of which I have before me, 
 published in 1674, he would not have written as he did, limiting Divine 
 Grace and Truth to a special time and people. William Penn, under the 
 
 SOI 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 heading styled ' The Antiquity of the Light Within,' gives very many 
 quotations from ancient Grecian philosophers to show that ' Glory to 
 God in the highest, peace on earth and good-will to men,' is not a new 
 idea. So have G. B. Stebbins and Lydia Maria Child, in their works, 
 ' The Bible of Ages,' and ' Aspirations of the World,' proved conclusively 
 that the idea of ' the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man' was 
 in the thought of many ancient peoples. Surely our author knew it was 
 from the Old Testament that Jesus took some of his fittest illustrations. 
 He quoted with approval from the Psalms that most exalted thought: 
 ' Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.' So, also, 
 he alluded to ' all the Prophets' as having taught concerning the near- 
 ness of the Almighty to His creature man. 
 
 " The name Father is largely applied to Deity in the Old Testament, 
 — so frequently that it seems to be a superfluity to quote more than a 
 few texts. ' Thou art my Father and my God, and the Rock of my Sal- 
 vation.' (Psalm Ixxxix. 26.) 'When my father and my mother forsake 
 me then the Lord will take me up.' (Psalm xxvi. 10.) 'A father of the 
 fatherless.' (Psalm Ixviii. 5.) ' The mighty God, the everlasting Father.' 
 (Isaiah ix. 6.) ' O Lord, thou art our Father, our Redeemer, thy name 
 is from everlasting.' (Isaiah Ixiii. 16.) 'Have we not all one Father? 
 And hath nof one God created us?' (Malachi ii. 10.) It seems useless 
 to quote farther; this idea permeates the book. 
 
 " In fact, the idea of the fatherhood of Deity was the property of all 
 peoples, as Max Miiller has established, Dyn-pire, in Sanscrit, being 
 ' Father in Heaven,' and from it, Jupiter. And so Homer sang : 
 
 " ' O first and greatest ; God by gods adored. 
 We own Thy might, our Father and our Lord.' 
 
 " Also, it was the poet Cleanthes whom Paul quoted at Athens : 
 
 " ' Since we are Thy offspring, and we alone of all 
 
 That live and creep on the earth have power of imitative speech, 
 Therefore will I praise Thee and hymn forever Thy power.' 
 
 " The poet concludes his verse thus : 
 
 " ' Poor fools ! who long for happiness, 
 
 But will not see nor hear the divine commands.' 
 
 "The ancients seemed to understand their own heredity better than 
 we ! The idea of a loving Father originated with the first lispings of the 
 human race. In fact, we cannot give it an origin. It proclaimed itself 
 to the rough-hewn and infant mind of man from within; it proclaimed 
 itself from without, from the earth, the sky, and the stars; from the 
 trees and flowers, and from all nature, and just as strongly and divinely 
 does it now. As far back as 1500 B.C. this deep thought was sung : 
 
 502 
 
HERMES TRISMEGISTUS 
 
 " ' On that Effulgent Power which is God himself, and is called the 
 light of the radiant sun, do I meditate; governed by the mysterious 
 light which resides in me for purposes of thought. I myself am an irra- 
 diated manifestation of the Supreme Being. There is only one Deity; 
 He is the Great Soul. He is called the Sun, for He is the Soul of 
 all beings. Poets make Him manifold by their words, though He is 
 one. There is only One God, omnipotent, eternal, omnipresent. He is 
 the Great Soul of which other gods are but parts.' 
 
 " The author of the article in the Outlook says : ' Although in Pagan 
 literature you will find sometimes the word " Father" applied to God, it 
 is always to God as the author of our being, not as the kindly guardian, 
 the personal counsellor, the individual friend, the protector.' He is en- 
 tirely mistaken. In the Shu-king, a sacred book of the Chinese of ex- 
 tremely ancient origin, probably two thousand years before Christ, is 
 this : ' God is the parent of men. He is compassionate and unwearied 
 in blessing, and clear-seeing and intelligent; He dwells with men in all 
 their actions.' 
 
 "Again, by Hermes Trismegistus, Egyptian, also of exceedingly 
 ancient day, was this song sung : ' Thou art what I am ; Thou art what 
 I do; Thou art what I say. Thou art all things and there is nothing 
 which Thou art not. Thou art all that is made and all that is not made. 
 Thou art the Good that doeth all things. Thou art the Father. O All ! 
 receive a rational homage from all things. Thou art God. Thy man 
 crieth these things unto Thee, by the fire, by the air, by the earth, by 
 the water, by the spirit, by all beings.' 
 
 " In another place the author of the Outlook makes another bold as- 
 sertion, that ' Primitive Buddhism knew no God.' Listen to this Buddhist 
 prayer most ancient : ' O Thou Eternal One, Thou Perfection of Time, 
 Thou truest Truth, Thou Changeless essence of all change. Thou most 
 excellent radiance of mercy, I take refuge in Thee.' 
 
 " Again, our author says, ' Mohammedanism knows nothing but in- 
 carnate Law.' Does this verify that assertion : ' God is the light of the 
 heavens and the earth. Hast thou not seen how all in the heavens and 
 in the earth uttereth the praise of God? The very birds as they spread 
 their wings, every creature, knoweth its prayer and its praise. The East 
 and the West are God's; therefore whichever way ye turn there is the 
 face of God. He will guide unto Himself all who turn to Him; those 
 who believe and whose hearts rest securely on the thought of God.' And 
 does that sound as though He were not revered as the guardian, the per- 
 sonal counsellor, the individual friend, the protector? For thus spake 
 Mohammed himself, the founder of the Mohammedan religion. Again, 
 the same idea of the Love, the Goodness, the Mercy of God is expressed 
 in the Sabaean Litany, written long centuries before the Christian era: 
 ' Thou art the King of Mankind, the Protector of the Universe. From 
 Thee all light cometh. Thou art the Ordainer of all good things, who 
 givest inspiration and guidance unto all. O Thou Merciful One, who 
 
 S03 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 art exalted above all imperfections, descend into our intellects and purge 
 us from every ill. Thou art the Helper of Mankind one and all.' 
 
 " The soul only can see the soul, and by bringing ourselves in har- 
 mony with that pure essence only can we see its eternal source, which 
 flows through all nature and through each man, one perpetual guiding 
 stream of wisdom, beauty, and love.'' 
 
 " My DEAR FrienDj — I have been intending to reply to thy beautifully 
 type-written letter of First monthj but the time has been much occupied 
 with the diverse affairs of life in its varied aspects. Thy first query as 
 to my statement at the funeral of our friend Samuel Jeanes. 
 
 " Thee is perhaps aware that he was a distinguished Orientalist, and 
 in the line of resemblances of our world's religions he was like William 
 Penn, a great inquirer ahd student, and herein he found, as I stated, 
 that in India there were very many thousands of people whose form of 
 Worship and life was as that of Friends, or rather that which we Friends 
 profess — ^VERIFICATION ! by the Spirit of God. For is not that beautiful 
 picture of thought frequently presented in our religious assemblages? 
 ' As many as are led by the Spirit of God are the heirs of God,- and joint 
 heirs with Jesus Christ.' 
 
 " Some years ago, when the late John Stokes and I were travelling 
 together, after considerable conversation, silence sealed our lips, and as 
 we approached the station where he would leave me, he said, ' David, I 
 have been thinking of what I should commend thee to, and I cart think 
 of nothing else than the Spirit of truth.' And in remembrance of this I 
 have written the following lines. 
 
 " Thy affectionatfe friend, 
 
 " David Newport. 
 
 " To Joseph Elkinton." 
 
 THE NEW DISPENSATION. 
 
 " I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, 
 that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth." — 
 John xiv. i6. 
 
 Another dispensation all others above. 
 
 The highest and noblest, as Jesus has said; 
 
 As the stars in their brightness, 'tis the sunshine of love, 
 Giving light to the living and life to the dead ! 
 
 O Spirit of truth, may we ever serve Thee 
 
 As Saviour, as Friend, and as Lord; 
 May Thy promptings be clear to follow and love, 
 
 To serve and to honor in thought and in word. 
 504 
 
THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH 
 
 May Thy constant abiding ever be near, 
 
 To comfort with joy and in our endeavor 
 To please only Thee, and to witness Thy favor. 
 
 Which we know must continue for ever and ever. 
 
 For harmony eternal Thy promise has been. 
 To Thy lovers and kindred who liveth in Thee, 
 
 Ah ! the joy which Thou giv'st, O " Mother"* adored. 
 Is the truth of the Spirit which makes the mind free. 
 
 From bondage Thou freest, from symbol, and type. 
 From figure and scroll Thou lift'st the soul, 
 
 From priests and from idols Thy children are free. 
 No script can confine them, no credo control ! 
 
 Then fear not the truth, O thou doubtef of God ! 
 
 'Tis "the mixture"t thou seest which leadeth away, 
 'Tis the letter that killeth, that causeth the strife. 
 
 Directing, O brother, thy reason astray 1 
 
 In the place, then, of r^cOtds, " describing"t the past ; 
 
 Be thou led by the spirit, be steadfast of mind. 
 Be honest and brave in the battle of life. 
 
 Be loving and courteous to thy humankind. 
 
 WITCHCRAFT, DEMONOLOGY, AND SORCERY. 
 
 " Editors Intelligencer and Journal, — I do not wonder at the aston- 
 ishment expressed by N. C. at the figures furnished by me in a former 
 article on the above subject. They are the figures and estimates of a 
 very accurate and careful historian. I was likewise astonished at their 
 extent; but in the examination of his authorities, which consist prin- 
 cipally in the admissions and boastings of old writers, they may not be 
 so much out of the way as our friend N. C. thinks them. Now, let us 
 consider the panic in New England on this subject as late as 1692, in 
 which so many lost their lives, — one being a man upward of eighty, who 
 was tortured before execution; and let us spread in imagination such 
 a panic over Christian and Mahometan Europe and Asia, for the space 
 of three hundred years; keeping in mind the then universal belief of 
 
 * Ecclesiastes xxiv. 18 and Galatians iv. 26. 
 
 t The term " in the mixture" was often used by early Friends, signifi- 
 cant of the EXOTERIC. 
 
 t Says Penington : " The letter or descriptions of things is not the 
 way; the Spirit is the way, the life is the way, the power is the way." 
 
 The text in John xiv. 16, reads in the Greek, literally, " The Spirit of 
 truth." 
 
 SOS 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 all men in a personal devil, who was ' prince of the air,' and an enemy 
 and an opponent to the Almighty; who not only had power and do- 
 minion over the elements in Nature, being the cause of all the disturb- 
 ances thereof, but was also the direct agent and cause of all the afflic- 
 tions, diseases, disasters, epidemics, wars, tumults, unbeliefs, and heresy 
 among men. During the period under consideration, a belief in the 
 doctrine of the devil was a universal belief; and just as prevailing was 
 the idea that he took possession of men's minds, and influenced their 
 thoughts and their being ; that the cause of all evil and all sin was that 
 mankind could become possessed and ' afflicted with the devil !' (Acts 
 X. 38.) Lecky, in his History, devotes some one hundred and fifty 
 pages in volume i to this subject, to which I would refer my friend 
 N. C. He says, page 112, that Montaigne 'ventured to judge all ques- 
 tions by a secular standard, by the light of common sense, by the meas- 
 ure of probability that is furnished by daily experience.' He seems to 
 be the first of his age to even suspect that witchcraft might be a delu- 
 sion. Writing at the close of the sixteenth century, our historian says, 
 it flashed like a revelation upon France, and the minds of men seemed 
 prepared for its reception. And when we consider that the Hebrew 
 and Christian Scriptures, ' the laws of Plato, the twelve tables, of the 
 consuls, of the emperors, and of all legislators, — Persian, Hebrew, Greek, 
 German, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, English, — had decreed capital 
 punishment against sorcerers; that prophets, theologians, doctors, judges, 
 and magistrates had elucidated the reality of the crime by many thousand 
 violent presumptions, accusations, testimonies, convictions, repentances, 
 and voluntary confessions, persisted in to death,' we begin to see the 
 extent of the subject. Montaigne (1589), says our historian, seems to 
 have been among the first to question and to smile unto laughter at the 
 idea of interventions of the devil in all things here below ! 
 
 " Now although this intervention was of universal belief, yet it was 
 not until the twelfth century that the idea of a person entering into a 
 deliberate compact with Satan took the form and shape of a reality. 
 ' The panic in men's minds was created at first slowly, but after a time 
 with a fearfully accelerated rapidity.' And finally the Christian and the 
 Mahometan world went absolutely mad on the subject! Three of the 
 Popes issued bulls in regard to the suppression of sorcery, and its 
 consequent infidelity. Ecclesiastical councils and committees, bishops 
 both Catholic and Protestant, scoured every corner of Europe to find 
 fresh victims. Every country became stricken with the wildest panic. 
 The inquisitors travelled the land, proclaiming that the devil was freshly 
 and actively operating on all sides. And so late as 1780 was a person 
 executed for sorcery. Now, suppose in these ages of darkness that any 
 person had attempted to smile unto incredulity at this delusion, as 
 Montaigne afterwards did, what would have been the consequence? 
 Would he not have been annihilated by a Scriptural text, and subse- 
 quently burned at the stake, in all probability, as an imp of the evil one? 
 
 S06 
 
JOHN WESLEY 
 
 Plenty of texts there are in the Old Testament that could have been 
 found against him; and in the New Testament demonology has the 
 highest of authority to sanction it. In it we read of Satan leading Jesus 
 'up' (Luke iv. s), and tempting him. And much is written concerning 
 being 'possessed' with or of devils. (Matt. iv. 24, etc.) And in a 
 recently published sermon, De Witt Talmage, illustrating his late visit 
 to Palestine, spoke of the story concerning the devils and the swine 
 (Matt. viii. 32) as an actual fact. 
 
 " Of modern times such men as John Wesley sorrowed over the dis- 
 belief in witchcraft as eminently unscriptural and dangerous; and some 
 of our early writers speak of witchcraft and of its penalties, but I do 
 not know of a single instance of their denial of the existence of such a 
 thing. William J. Buck, in his history of William Penn in America, 
 shows very conclusively that he presided in council in two trials of 
 alleged witches; and as late as 1718 the old English law of 1562 was 
 made to apply to Pennsylvania. Our discipline, too, has a law against 
 sorcery or witchcraft. Why, when I was a boy in Philadelphia, many 
 houses were said to be haunted, and it would have required some courage 
 to deny the existence of demonology. It was quite a prominent charge 
 against Elias Hicks by the other branch of the Society that he did not 
 believe in the time-hallowed doctrine of the devil. 
 
 " Now, as to any estimate of the actual number of persons who were 
 executed because of being possessed of the devil, or in compact with 
 him, all figures must, as a matter of course, be only approximate. We 
 know that in Protestant Geneva five hundred witches were burned 
 at the stake in three months; and that one thousand were executed in 
 one year in the diocese of Couro. In Toulouse four hundred perished 
 at a single execution for sorcery; and Remy, a judge of Nancy, boasted 
 that he had put to death eight hundred in a single year. At Treves 
 seven thousand were executed, six hundred in a single year by the 
 Bishop of Bamberry, and eight hundred in the same time in the bishopric 
 of Martzburg. In Paris, those executed in a few months, to use the 
 language of an old writer, 'were almost infinite.' In England, judging 
 from the figures given in Chambers's Cyclopaedia from the returns of 
 two counties, the number executed must have been enormously large. 
 The zeal of the ecclesiastics, Lecky says, was unflagging. It was dis- 
 played alike in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Flanders, Sweden, Eng- 
 land, Scotland, and Ireland. An old writer, who cordially unites with 
 this rigor, tells us that in the province of Como alone, eight or ten in- 
 quisitors were constantly employed; and he adds that in one year the 
 number of persons they condemned amounted to one thousand. Fools, 
 deformed persons, the blind, and the dumb were regarded as possessed 
 by devils. Luther was particularly hard on such, and advised the burn- 
 ing of all witches ; and the language of John Wesley, mentioned above, 
 was in 1768 in regard to the girl Elizabeth Hibson, 'that they well 
 know [that is, unbelievers] whether Christians know it or not, that the 
 
 S07 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 giving up of witchcraft was in effect giving up the Bible.' Those whom 
 we consider the best and the wisest of men seem to have been mad on 
 this subject. Sir Thomas Browne declared that those who denied the 
 existence of witchcraft were by implication not only infidels but atheists. 
 And the eminent Thomas Aquinas, who was the ablest writer of the 
 fourteenth century, assures us that diseases and tempests were the direct 
 acts of the devil; that he (Satan) could transport men at pleasure 
 through the air; and that he could transform them into any shape he 
 desired. 
 
 "D. N." 
 THE DIVINE NAME. 
 
 " The etymology of the names given to the Divine Being is a very 
 difficult subject, though the origins of the Greek, theos, and the Latin, 
 deus, are more satisfactory than the word ' God.' When Webster ex- 
 pressed doubts as to derivation which has been common with lexicog- 
 raphers from Bailey down to Webster, who was the first to doubt the 
 etymology which had been copied by Dr. Johnson from Bailey, Webster's 
 comment as far back as 1832 was that the idea of naming ' God' from 
 goodness was probably " remote from the rude conceptions of men in 
 early ages.' 
 
 "The scholarship of the present day is with Webster's etymology, 
 from the fact that the words ' God' and ' good' are never identical, the 
 former having a short vowel originally, and the latter a long one. This 
 was considered an ' accidental variation' by Bailey, but not so by the 
 scholarship of to-day, which recognizes the fact that 'Art is short and 
 time is long.' 
 
 " The word ' God' is a Teutonic word, says the great German au- 
 thority Kluge, and has no cognate of similar meaning in the Latin, Greek, 
 Sanscrit, or any other Indo-European language. Now, how the word 
 gude which was first Worked out by the Greek philosophers and was 
 taken from their language into the Greek of the New Testament, as in 
 John X. 34, ' Ik gath gude siguth,' (' I said, ye are gods,') is quite won- 
 derful when any of the older Hebrew names were at hand,'— Jehovah, 
 Adonai, Elohim, terms used in the Old Testament. We observe what 
 they did was to take their neuter noun guth and treat it as a masculine. 
 
 " As to the meaning of the word originally, it is obscured by its great 
 antiquity, though it would seem to correspond to an ideal Indo-European 
 ghu-to'-m. In Sanscrit the root hu means ' to pour out.' Hut-am 
 means ' oblation,' and we find the root hu in Sanscrit also, meaning to 
 'call on,' 'invoke;' hufam meaning 'object prayed to.' This is about 
 all scholars seem to know of the origin of the word ' God.' 
 
 " As to the Greek theos, and the Latin deus, the latter is considered 
 as the same word in Sanscrit, deva, a ' god,' and to come from dki, the 
 sky. As for theos, it has no satisfactory etymological connection with 
 deus. 
 
 "D. N." 
 SOS 
 
POVERTY 
 
 TWO FRIENDS. 
 
 "Jonathan W. Gillam and John L. Griffen, who have lately died, 
 were two Friends very much alike, in that had they lived among the 
 Arabs, they would have called them Godmen, as they called Gordon a 
 Godman,' because he lived to Allah, they thought, as a man, a gentle- 
 man, and a commander of men. 
 
 " In a conversation with Jonathan, some years since, he spoke of true 
 and vital religion as being an effort on the part of man to realize the 
 light and life of the Divine Immanence, and the indwelling of the Highest 
 in humanity, wherein human reason effects a conjunction with divine 
 reason, thus becoming 'acquainted with God,' and living to him in 
 harmony and oneness. 
 
 "And the beauty of it was that each of these dear Friends gave 
 evidence of inward and spiritual grace, by their lives and conversation 
 as practical business men, and of an interior life as religious men, to the 
 world about them, evincing the high ideal which permeated their char- 
 acters, and influenced their conduct in society. 
 
 " They therefore lived not in vain in this world, but have left precious 
 memorials as memories and legacies to us their survivors. 
 
 " D. N." 
 
 POVERTY. 
 
 " To be poor is in many cases to be miserable, and I often think of the 
 lines : 
 
 " ' Whene'er I take my walk abroad 
 How many poor I see; 
 What shall I render to the Lord 
 For all His gifts to me?' 
 
 " My grandfather, David Newport, was often in the way of speaking 
 of the poverty of the country after the Revolutionary War. His father 
 lived in Delaware, and was a neighbor and friend of Warner MifBin. 
 He had ten children, all of whom lived to an advanced age. During 
 the war they bought nothing except salt and iron, — he like his friend 
 Mifflin being opposed to all war-like contention, they suffered, in com- 
 mon with their friends, very many privations. In fact, poverty and 
 great privation were the general lot of that time, prosperity beginning 
 for the country at large only after the wars and contentions growing out 
 of the French Revolution. 
 
 " Well, it is a sad thought to think and to tell, that poverty with 
 all its accompanying and concomitant train of evils is now largely on the 
 increase in this our country; and this sad thought increases when we 
 consider that it is our friends and neighbors, wha but some two decades 
 ago were in comfortable circumstances, who are now being reduced to 
 comparative penury and want, by no fault of their own, but by that 
 most remarkable phenomenon of our time, the fall of prices, and the 
 
 509 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 shrinkage of the values of land and of its productions. A most esti- 
 mable friend, a man of years and of honor, from an adjoining State, re- 
 cently gavCj when on a visit to his relations in our neighborhood, some 
 facts illustrating this. He went to his present residence some fifty years 
 ago and bought some two hundred acres of improved land at about 
 twenty dollars per acre, which by his care and industry and economy 
 he had brought into a high state of improvement. As his family was 
 large, he concluded to purchase, some twenty years since, an adjoining 
 tract of one hundred acres at about one hundred dollars per acre, for 
 which he went into debt. Such were the low prices of land now, that 
 he was afraid, he said, that in the event of his demise his beautiful farms 
 would not bring him enough to pay the debt against them. Such in- 
 stances as these are now being most sorrowfully repeated all over our 
 country. Take, for instance, the fact that the ordinary wheat crop of 
 Pennsylvania is about eighteen million bushels a year, and that in 1877 
 it was valued at twenty-four million seven hundred and fifty thousand 
 dollars, and that the same amount of wheat brought our farmers but 
 about the sum of nine million dollars last year, thus showing a loss 
 upon a single crop in a single State of more than fifteen million dollars. 
 And such facts as these are being repeated in all their distressing de- 
 tails all over the land ! When I was young, I was willing to be counted 
 with ' the two or three' who were earnest and faithful in seeking to 
 liberate the black man from the thraldom of slavery and want, and now 
 that old age has come I desire to be consecrated, and dedicated too, in 
 a contention which may tend to liberate both the black man and the 
 white man also from the governmental and monetary conditions of 
 values and exchanges which have been tending for this twenty years 
 past most iniquitously to create millionaires among us. 
 
 " D. N." 
 
 EGYPT AND EGYPTIAN DISCOVERY. 
 
 " Editors Intelligencer and Journal, — I enjoy the paper, especially 
 some of the recent numbers. The poem on the first page, entitled ' Dedi- 
 cation,' in the issue of First month 27, bespeaks a condition that I love; 
 and now, approaching the second mile-stone in the eighth decade of 
 life, I can affirm that the one essential state in spirituals is to be ' Thine,' 
 — for the mortal one the effort to approach nearer and nearer to the 
 Great First Cause! 
 
 " ' God loves from whole to parts, but human Soul 
 Must rise from individual to the whole.' 
 
 "Although I own the book containing the 'Journal of John Comly,' 
 yet your extracts are as a portraiture very edifying, especially in that 
 they exhibit to those who are ' without,' and exoteric, the deep humilia- 
 tions and baptism of suffering into which the witness is introduced when 
 in travail for the suffering seed. 
 
 Sio 
 
EGYPT 
 
 'An extract from Scribner's Magazine is instructive, in relation to 
 that perpetual Sphinx, Egypt, and, although it is true that sculptures 
 and monuments there give us ' no direcct information' upon the subject 
 of the Exodus, as A. L. Lewis says, yet Egyptologists infer that this 
 event took place during the time of Rameses II. A recent extract I have 
 seen from the proceedings of the ' Society of Biblical Archaeology' con- 
 tains a caution as follows: 'The early histories of Israel and Egypt, 
 so far as the records are known to us, are so absolutely independent of 
 each other, and so deficient in positive synchronisms that the date of the 
 Exodus and of the Egyptian king who is connected with it may be 
 assigned to any year we fancy,' etc. I have taken the trouble to add up 
 the time which the eight different authorities (eminent Egyptologists), 
 as given in Professor A. H. Sayce's recent work on Egypt, 'The An- 
 cient Empires of the East,' regard the time in which the great king 
 Menes reigned. The above-mentioned sum I divided by eight, and the 
 result up to the present date is 6060 years. Menes, after many wars 
 and contests, finally ' established himself in the new neighborhood of the 
 Sphinx,' says our author, ' which may possibly record his deeds and 
 features,' he adds. 
 
 " Professor Sayce also gives an account of what has been called ' the 
 oldest book in the world,' the ' Papyrus Prisse,' for they had libraries 
 in that day, as the tombs of Gizeh show, and those too bearing the titles 
 of ' Governor of the house of books.' Think of a book written some 
 six thousand years ago containing what the ' governor Ptah-Hoteh' in- 
 dited in the ' Papyrus Prisse,' — viz. : ' If thou art become great after 
 thou hast been lowly, and if thou hast heaped up riches after poverty, 
 being because of that the chiefest in thy city; if thou art known for 
 thy wealth and art become a great lord, let not thy heart be puffed up 
 because of thy riches, for God it is who hast given them unto thee. De- 
 spise not another who is as thou wast : be towards him as towards thy 
 equal.' 
 
 " The vast antiquity of Egypt was a wonder to the historians Manetho 
 and Herodotus, who wrote so many centuries ago, and the great excel- 
 lency of the earliest monuments of which we know are the vouchers of 
 a high civilization preceding them, implying ages of development and 
 progression, and beneath their ruins and debris we find, as in other parts 
 of the world, evidences of palaeolithic implements which speak of the 
 prehistoric man, as well as of various geological changes to which he 
 and his successor, the man of the neolithic age, were subjected. In the 
 great revolution as respects chronology which has taken place since my 
 schoolboy days, I draw one comfort,— viz., that man, even though we 
 place him in the early tertiary age, was still a man; not the least title 
 of evidence in any fossil remains has been found of a progress in the 
 succession of species to those in a higher organization leading to higher 
 types of life. The earliest Silurian trilobite exhibits in the structure 
 of that most delicate organ, the eye, the same complexity and wonder- 
 working power as that exhibited in the present time and era of our day. 
 
 S" 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 SAMUEL JEANES. 
 
 " At Yearly Meeting time, those of us who gather together cannot 
 fail to mourn the absence of many familiar forms of dear friends whom 
 we have been accustomed to meet at the time of these annual gatherings. 
 
 " ' But it matters little at what hour o' the day 
 The righteous fall asleep. Death cannot come 
 To him untimely who has learned to die. 
 The less of this brief life the more of heaven ; 
 The shorter time the longer immortality.' 
 
 " The late Samuel Jeanes was an honest man in every sense of the 
 word; he was likewise an enlightened man, and his philosophy led him 
 in the faith that the knowledge of a Divine Principle in man was the 
 verification of the truth that Human Nature has received the stamp of 
 sonship to God ! Hence, as an Orientalist, — for his knowledge was very 
 large therein, — he sought for resemblances in the religions of the world 
 and found them described in substance in the different Bibles of man- 
 kind. Few English scholars were better informed than he in regard 
 to Buddhism, Brahminism, Mohammedanism, etc. Jn his reading he 
 found described a sect of very many thousands of people in India, who, 
 like the Society of Friends, meet together in stillness and silence of 
 thought, seeking thus for a knowledge of the spirit of the Highest. 
 Such a life as our beloved friend lived, and such a faith as he possessed, 
 are as the high thoughts which men think, and the deeds which they do 
 that live after them. 
 
 " Samuel Jeanes was one who sought to assist in the attainment of 
 the material good of our humankind, but he did not stop here, as he 
 was also deeply concerned in behalf of man's enlightenment in those 
 things which pertain to his eternal harmony, advancement, and salvation. 
 
 " D. N." 
 
 GENEALOGY. 
 
 It is said to be difficult to name the eight different great-grandparents 
 of an individual. The following are mine : 
 Jesse Newport and Mary Long. 
 Thomas Wood and Sarah Yerkes. 
 John Barker and Elizabeth Rodman. 
 John Ellison, 3d, and Elizabeth Doughty. 
 My wife's (Susan S. Newport) great-grandparents were: 
 William Satterthwaite and Pleasant Mead. 
 William Claypoole and Elizabeth Hall. 
 Samuel Griscom and Rebecca James. 
 Giles Knight and Elizabeth James. 
 
 512 
 
GENEALOGY 
 
 Jesse Newport was the son of Thomas Newport, of London, the 
 immigrant. 
 
 Thomas Wood, who was a soldier under Washington, was the grand- 
 son of Thomas Wood. (See "Book of Memorials of Deceased Minis- 
 ters," 1787.) He died 1795, i" his ninety-fourth year. He was a minister 
 of Abington Meeting for forty-five years. He married Martha Lloyd, 
 10 mo. 24, 1713. 
 
 Elizabeth Rodman was the fifth descendant from John Rodman, the 
 immigrant. (See " Rodman Genealogy.") Her father, Thomas, married 
 Elizabeth Pearson, who it is supposed was the Pearson who came over 
 in the " Welcome" with William Penn. 
 
 John Ellison married Hannah Boyd, a grand-daughter of Griffith 
 App Griffith, who was a lineal descendant of Lewellyn App Griffith, 
 who was the last Prince of Wales. So the family record says. 
 
 The Satterthwaite family, which was my wife's name, have a family 
 record from Clement Satterthwaite, the father of William, who married 
 Agnes Brathwaite in 1674. They were the parents of William, who 
 settled in Bucks County ; he was born in 1709. His son William married 
 May, the grand-daughter of Giles Knight, who came over in the ship 
 "Welcome" with William Penn. 
 
 William Claypoole* was the grandson of the immigrant James 
 Claypool, the friend of William Penn. ( See Graff's " Claypool Family," 
 which work goes back to James Claypool in 1571.) William's son John 
 married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Griscom. She was the distin- 
 guished " Betsy Ross," who died in 1836, in her eighty-fifth year. My 
 wife remembers her well. 
 
 Among my ancestors who have been largely members of the Society 
 of Friends since George Fox's time, several of them were called to 
 the ministry of the Word, among the most notable of whom was John 
 Rodman, 2d, of New York, of whom mention is made on page 4 in the 
 " Discipline of the New York Yearly Meeting." The records of the 
 Society of Friends at Flushing, Long Island, contain the following note 
 of his death : 
 
 "John Rodman, an eminent doctor, did abundance of good in that 
 practice, and was also a worthy minister of the gospel in this town 
 about forty years, a man beloved by all sorts of people, lived to a good 
 old age, about seventy-eight years, died ye lo^^ of 7 mo., 1731. His 
 wife, Mary, survived him, and died 1748, aged eighty-five years." The 
 account adds "they had twelve children!" 
 
 D. N. 
 
 ♦James Claypool's brother John married Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Cromwell. 
 
 33 S13 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 MINE ANGEL. 
 
 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to 
 bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 
 
 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not 
 pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. 
 
 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak, then 
 I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine 
 adversaries, for mine Angel shall go before thee. — Exodus xxiii. 20-23. 
 
 I KNOW thee, O thou "Angel of the Lord," 
 
 I know His name is in thee; 
 
 Blessed knowledge this to me. 
 The knowledge of thy heavenly word! 
 
 That these glad tidings may obtain. 
 
 May spread as beams of morning light. 
 
 As purest rays of truth and right. 
 Thus quickening every heart and brain! 
 
 These are our aspirations, prayers to thee. 
 
 To Thee, our Father and our God; 
 
 O spare not thy restraining and correcting rod. 
 Redeeming thus our frail humanity! 
 
 D.N. 
 
 PASSING. 
 
 When I shall pass from life to death. 
 With feeble pulse and labored breath; 
 When earth shall claim its own again. 
 And spirit leave this world of pain, 
 In Thee, Our Father, will I trust. 
 Thou didst not make the soul of dust; 
 Thou niadest man to love and trust, 
 To seek perfection in Thy will. 
 And thus all duty to fulfill ! 
 Thus to advance and thus achieve. 
 Thus to adore and thus receive, 
 And in Thy Power thus to believe ! 
 
 S14 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 If the existence of such a wonderful medicated pool, the properties 
 of which depended upon the visitation of an angel, were a literal truth, 
 would it not have been recorded by Josephus or some other Jewish his- 
 torian? They delighted to dwell upon the marvellous, especially upon 
 that connected with the Holy City. Their silence has excited the wonder 
 of such a commentator as Doddridge. This pool has never been found, 
 and never will be, for it belongs to the domain of the unhistorical. It is 
 the language of parable (" without a parable he spake not unto them") ; 
 and it presents that great spiritual truth tliat we are "blind, halt, and 
 withered," unless the "angel" (of His Presence) descends at a certain 
 season into the "pool" (Man). If we find, and dwell in a true "wait- 
 ing" condition, then "Jesus" (the One Spirit) " saith unto him. Rise, 
 take up thy bed" (false rest), "and walk." 
 
 B 
 
 Ptolem.«;us asserted that the time of the ministry of Jesus was lim- 
 ited to one year. This Irenaeus combated, and also asserted that " All 
 the elders who in Asia met with John, the disciple of the Lord, testify 
 that John handed this down that Jesus was between forty and fifty years 
 old." Ptolemaeus doubtless wrote before the Fourth Gospel appeared, 
 thus agreeing with the Synoptics as to the period of the public ministry 
 of Jesus. According to Matthew, after the temptation in the wilderness, 
 he returned to Galilee, " and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in 
 Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast. . . . From that time Jesus 
 began to preach, and to say. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
 hand." "And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was 
 with power." This is considered to have occurred soon after the Pass- 
 over, and at the following festival Jesus was put to death by the Jews. 
 He came to Jerusalem a stranger, according to Matthew xxi. lo : " And 
 when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who 
 is this?" Thus one year's ministry is plainly denoted by the Synoptics, 
 as but one Passover is indicated by them during his ministry, and but 
 one visit to Jerusalem. It was at Caesarea Philippi that he decided to 
 go thither. We trace him from Capernaum through Galilee, then over 
 the sea to the country of the Gadarenes, from thence recrossing the sea 
 to Nazareth, again he preached in Galilee. On the shores of Tiberias he 
 
 S15 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 taught the parable of the Sower, returning again to " his own country 
 and taught them in their synagogue." After the death of the Baptist he 
 crossed the sea and " came into the land of the Gennesaret," and departed 
 into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, returning again unto the sea of Gali- 
 lee ; he went up into a mountain, healing the multitude. Then " he 
 came into the coast of Magdala," where he rebuked the wicked and 
 adulterous generation that seeketh after a sign. From that place he 
 went by Csesarea Philippi, finally up to Jerusalem!* And judging from 
 the narrative given by the first three evangelists, it is not possible for 
 him to have been at Jerusalem before, as he had not been in Judea 
 during his ministry. 
 
 In opposition to this is the Fourth Gospel, and it cannot be harmo- 
 nized with it. The truth is stated in a standard Biblical dictionary pub- 
 lished by the American Tract Society. It says that " it is a spiritual 
 rather than a historical gospel." This is very clearly denoted by its 
 author, for, according to him, Jesus did not manifest his power at Caper- 
 naum but at Cana. This waj near the fast of the Passover, for he went 
 from Cana to Capernaum, where he remained not many days, but went 
 up to Jerusalem to the Passover. Now, John and the Synoptics have 
 Jesus attending the first festival after the commencement of his minis- 
 try, and according to John the " beginning" was in Cana after the de- 
 scending of the Spirit, being the time that the Baptist bore record " that 
 this is the Son of God." But according to the first three evangelists, 
 his work was on the eve of accomplishment, as he had come to Jerusa- 
 lem to meet his martyrdom. The Fourth Gospel has Jesus to make 
 three specific visits to Jerusalem; first, soon after the miracle at Cana; 
 and in this visit John agrees with Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But in the 
 two subsequent visits, at his second Passover and at the festival of the 
 tabernacles, in all three Passovers, as is denoted by Dr. Robinson in his 
 " Harmony of the Gospels." Thus it follows, then, as a necessary deduc- 
 tion, that if the first three Gospels be taken literally, then the prin- 
 cipal works of Jesus were performed after his demise, as according to 
 John. 
 
 An eminent orthodox writer, Luthardt, says, " One must make up his 
 mind to take the Johannine question not as a historical, but as a psycho- 
 logical question." The tradition certified to by Clement, of Alexandria, 
 was " that John, at the call of his friends, filled by the Holy Ghost, wrote 
 the Spiritual Gospel." " Bodily things," said Clement, " had been made 
 clear." " Without a parable he spake not" is the key of understanding. 
 The disciple that Jesus loved was the follower of the blessed truth. 
 Luthardt says, when speaking of the great liberty the evangelist took 
 with history, " We must acknowledge that in John we are indeed to 
 
 * The IMMEDIATE CAUSE of hostility against Jesus, as given by the 
 Synoptics, seems to have been the " overthrow of the tables of the 
 money-changers." (Matthew xxi. 12; Mark xi. 15; Luke xix. 45.) 
 
 S16 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 refer the contents, but not the form of the discourses, to Jesus himself." 
 Agam he writes, " The harmony of the picture of Jesus stood before 
 him m the vision of his soul." Keim and other writers are correct in 
 saying. The Fourth Gospel gives a religious philosophy only a histori- 
 cal dress." And as regards the author himself, I am inclined to think 
 Schweizer (1841) may be correct in saying this Gospel had two authors. 
 John wrote the original, the interpretations being written after his death, 
 but before the original was published, and are partially as reliable, and 
 partially less reliable, than the Synoptics. The compiler, however, I 
 would say, wrote freely from the Christian consciousness and experience 
 of himself and of his surroundings, for no one can be independent of 
 these. Herein the plural is denoted, " We know that his testimony is 
 true," etc. (John xxi. 24.) Thus, as Zeller so well says, "After Justin 
 Martyr's time, finally the fourth evangelist, who, unmoved by all oppo- 
 sition, wished to solve and reconcile all contrariety in the comprehensive 
 totality of the Christian principle of holding firmly as a centre* to 
 Christ." Bretschneider's view (1820) was that this Gospel was the 
 work of an Alexandrian, who introduced it,t according to John (and 
 that is all it professes), at Rome during the time of the Easter contro- 
 versy, which caused so much trouble in the Church. 
 
 The form of the plan has been noted as evincing free construction of 
 history. Keim counts thus: "Jesus three times in Galilee, three times 
 in Judea, three Passover feasts, three miracles in Galilee, three in Jeru- 
 salem. Jesus moves about the Baptist twice three days; three days 
 covers the story of Lazarus, six days covers the death Passover; three 
 words on the cross, and three appearances of the risen one." This num- 
 ber certainly appears to play a certain part in this Gospel. The first 
 three sentences denote this, though it may be in part the rhythm of its 
 writer's thought ; but it also shows free adaptation of history. And this 
 style is not unlike that of the Old Testament. " It was written within 
 and without," says Ezekiel ii. 10. This is the secret of the brotherhood 
 to which doubtless the fourth evangelist belonged. Herein is the enigma 
 of the Age, and it is the language of Nature, too, and we cannot alter it. 
 Pearls must not be cast before swine. As Ulnman has denoted, " There 
 is no real beginning of life, in nature, or in the world of mind, which has 
 not something mysterious and unexplained about it." 
 
 The soul of the book under consideration, its topic, and its theme, is 
 " Christ within.'' And it may be that John's original account was emi- 
 nently subjective in its illustrations; but that some later writer, in one 
 
 *A centre mystically defined, which was of a non-committal charac- 
 ter, and hence its general reception, as it tended to reconciliation. As 
 see the different terms given to the Paraclete in John, and herein is the 
 wisdom of Jesus. 
 
 t The title in MS.. V. and S., is " after John," according to Tischen- 
 dorf. See Tauchnitz edition, 1870. 
 
 S17 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 mould, using the single genuine pieces of John, cast anew (for the with- 
 out in part), in a mingled objective and subjective sense, the Logos doc- 
 trine of the true church, seeking to elevate to a higher unity existing 
 differences, and thereby found the church universal. 
 
 The diflSculty of determining the Apostle's Christology would be 
 much diminished if we could trace the forgeries with which his epistles 
 are interlarded. We know, however, that great interpolations have been 
 made by comparing our present edition with Codex Sinaiticus, Vati- 
 canus, and Alexandrinus. For instance, the words " by Jesus* Christ," 
 in Ephesians iii. 9, are an interpolation. Thus, Paul is made to say that 
 the Infinite God created all things " by Jesus Christ." An absurdity of 
 which Paul was never guilty, for he held that Jesus was begotten of 
 earthly parents, the son of man, and from this he doubtless never wa- 
 vered; and it may be that a wholesale interpolation of his epistles took 
 place between the period "of his death, a.d. 66, and the time in which he 
 again rose into favor with the Church in the third century. His influence 
 having suffered an eclipse in the second century, during which, after 
 Hadrian's time, a.d. 117, he was scarcely spoken of. And it may be that 
 they were subjected, as a certain writer says, "to the most glaring for- 
 geries in order to make them conform to the Philo-Alexandrian ideas 
 which in the mean time prevailed." Still, Paul held to the sentiment of 
 Philo, that " the Logos is the foundation of all wisdom," for he says 
 that " Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom of God." Concerning 
 Jesus he says (Romans i. 3, 4), "Made of the seed of David according 
 to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to 
 the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." This is plain 
 and simple, that the Logos, or Christ, descended and abode in a pre- 
 eminent manner in the man Jesus, " according to the spirit of holiness." 
 This I take to be Paul's Christology, and that he never accepted the 
 hypostasis attributed to John, which was a change from the Logos of 
 Philo, a change suddenly made to harmonize with the theology of Plato, 
 of a divine man. " Wherefore, come all ye together as to one temple of 
 God, as to one altar, as to one Jesus Christ, who proceeds from One 
 Father, and exists in One, and is returned to One." (Ignatius to Mag- 
 nesians, Sec. 7.) 
 
 The Gnostics and Sabellians spoke of seons and emanations, or virtues 
 of God; but Paul held with Jesus to the Oneness of the Divine Mind, 
 in His manifold wisdom. " Christ in you the hope of glory.'' The term 
 pleroma was a favorite one with the Gnostics; but Paul's desire to the 
 Ephesians was " that ye might all be filled with the fulness of God." 
 Again, we find the same thought (Hebrews xi. 6), "God is, and he is a 
 
 * The word Jesus is the form assumed in Latin by the Greek Jesous, 
 which is the translated form of the Hebrew Joshua. 
 
 S18 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Thus, the apostle taught that 
 God was in Christ, that all power is of the Infinite Father (Romans 
 xui. I). The distmction between Paul and these errorists is very clear, 
 as he bore witness to "the simplicity that is in Christ" (2 Corinthians 
 XI. 3), "whilst they presume to reason on spiritual generation, and from 
 negative ideas to draw positive conclusions." And thus issued that " little 
 spark" of which an ancient writer speaks as between Arius and Alexan- 
 der, and from which a large fire was kindled, which has disturbed the 
 peace of the world for more than a thousand years, and which remains 
 unsettled to this present era in so many minds, but which can be easily 
 settled, by each one realizing for themselves and in themselves that God 
 is, that is, that He operates in the world of matter, and on the world of 
 mind. 
 
 D 
 The idea of an unchangeable order belongs to the nature and char- 
 acter of an Infinite Being of adorable perfection, and this immutability 
 is confirmed to us by observation and experience. To prove the contrary 
 of this would be to prove Deity a finite being. It would be a libel on 
 His character and nature, and would unsettle or destroy all proof what- 
 ever. But as men often reason in a circle, and infer the power to sus- 
 pend from the power to create, let us in the consideration of this ques- 
 tion admit as a failure all efforts to demonstrate the impossibility of 
 miracles even by the hand of such reasoners as Hume and others. Still, 
 we must demand full and adequate proof of the exercise of creative 
 energy in this direction, so that we may not believe that which is con- 
 trary to sense and reason. And we may ask very properly. Is it possible 
 that, if the wonderful prodigies, portents, and marvels narrated by the 
 evangelists are to be literally understood, would Paul, James, and Peter 
 in their epistles have remained silent about them? especially when two 
 of these are stated in the Acts to have wrought some of the greatest of 
 these wonders and miracles. Again, the writers of the age from a.d. 33 
 to A.D. 140 are silent also concerning acts and deeds of this character 
 narrated by the evangelists as having been the work of Jesus or his dis- 
 ciples. The Epistle of Barnabas, too, says naught on this subject, though 
 this production is entitled to much credit, and bears much less evidence 
 of manipulation than contemporaneous productions, and yet he says 
 naught of the miracles ascribed to Jesus. Neither he nor Ignatius nor 
 Polycarp nor the profane writers of the age, such as Josephus or Tacitus, 
 give us any evidence or account of the greatest marvels that have hap- 
 pened in the history of our globe. The silence of Justin Martyr on this 
 subject, when he has written so much upon the prophecies, points, with 
 the great mass of subjoined evidence that can be adduced, to the fact 
 that the miracles were inserted at a later day, as fig^ures or parables, 
 doubtless for the purpose of influencing the " without," and carrying the 
 Gospel to the heathen.* 
 
 * See p. 221, Origen's View. 
 S19 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 The truth of history points with unerring certainty to the fact, that 
 the personality of Jesus in the Augustine age was not widely known, 
 but that he was as he has said, " I am meek and lowly of heart." 
 His public ministry was a short one, as the Synoptics denote. The word 
 of the prophet was fulfilled : " Behold my servant, whom I have chosen. 
 ... He shall not strive, nor cry, neither shall any man hear his 
 voice in the streets." Because of this it was that Josephus and Philo 
 wrote naught concerning him. The extract from Josephus being an 
 admitted forgery of the fourth century. Dr. Lardner gives nine -rea- 
 sons for this fact, when but the one is sufficient that it was never quoted 
 or referred to by any writer previous to Eusebius, who wrote his history 
 in the fourth century. Jesus died a martyr for the Truth as thousands 
 have done, " being born again," as Peter says, " not of corruptible seed, 
 but of uncorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for 
 ever." . . . "Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again: when he 
 suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth 
 righteously." (i Peter ii. 23.) His hypostasis* was an after-thought, the 
 growth of more than two centuries, of which Peter, James, or Paul knew 
 nothing ! Jesus was, as the latter has said, " a minister of the circum- 
 cision for the truth of God." (Romans xv. 8.) And in his compara- 
 tively humble mission and ministry, he so illustrated the " gift of grace" 
 (Romans v. 17) by a righteous life, that he brings at-one-ment to many. 
 " So that by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.'' 
 (Romans v. 19.) 
 
 " Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus :t who, 
 being in the form [likeness] of God, thought it not robbery to be equal 
 with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the 
 form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." (Philippians 
 
 ii. S-7-) 
 
 The life and the character of Jesus of Nazareth depend not upon the 
 genuineness of the Four Gospels ; without these we have the epistles of 
 Paul, of Peter, and of Barnabas. We have the writings of the Fathers 
 of the first and of the second century. We have the evidence, also, of 
 the great fact of the growth of the pure seed among the many primitive 
 sects, each of which seems to have had its gospel. We have the testi- 
 mony, too, of the Ebionites, and of the Gnostic and Ophitic sects, of 
 Basilides, Marcion, and many others. Let none, then, fear that .the real 
 Jesus will vanish away under the scrutiny of the age, for that wonderful 
 personality is an immortal personality. 
 
 We can hold fast, also, to that ideal Christ who is not born, not 
 
 * The Council of Antioch condemned the expression homoousios 
 ("consubstantial"), which became ever afterwards the very watchword 
 of Nicene orthodoxy. The controversy as to Arianism being concerning 
 homoiousios and homoousios, two Greek terms. 
 
 fThis is the correct rendering. 
 
 520 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 baptized, who does not struggle, and who suffers not. Of such the evan- 
 gehst has discoursed in that immortal poem that bears the name of John: 
 
 " Strong son of- God, immortal Love, 
 
 Whom we that have not seen Thy face, 
 By faith, and faith alone embrace. 
 Believing where we cannot prove." 
 
 Many were the letters, we are informed in the " Memoirs of Ten- 
 nyson," which he received as to the meaning which attached to the above 
 lines, and as to his interpretation of the New Testament literature. He 
 generally answered these by referring, his son says, to the lines below : 
 
 " For Wisdom dealt with mortal powers 
 
 Where truth in closest words shall fail 
 When truth embodied in a tale 
 Shall enter in at homely doors. 
 
 And thus the Word took breath and wrought 
 With human hand the creed of creeds 
 In loveliness of perfect deeds 
 
 More strong than all poetic thought." 
 
 E 
 
 This epistle is directed to the "twelve tribes which are scattered 
 abroad," and was no doubt widely circulated, and was kept in a state of 
 doctrinal purity, and was doubtless well guarded by its friends, and has 
 descended to us in a state of genuineness very much as the Apostle 
 James wrote it. That its author was a Jew is denoted (James ii. 21). 
 It was written at an early date, and, like First Peter, makes no allusion 
 to the disputed dogmas of the second century. Like it, too, it breathes 
 that pure and simple faith which bespeaks an acquaintance with him of 
 Nazareth. It is noticeable, though, that, like Peter, he makes no refer- 
 ence to the prodigies of the Gospels, or of the miraculous conception. 
 He is also silent on the subject of the resurrection.* He speaks of the 
 cruel death of "the just," but mentions not his outward resurrection. 
 The Epistle of James and the First Peter I prize highly, for, like the 
 spirit of Jesus, they are full of the spirit of Divine love and of Christian 
 charity. 
 
 F 
 
 The Primitive Gospel, or the Evangelum, was probably the Gospel 
 according to the Hebrews, to which the Christians in Judea clung so 
 closely, through great sufferings and persecutions. 
 
 * Paul was quoted in very early times as denying the resurrection of 
 the body, (i Corinthians xv. 50.) 
 
 521 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 They were called Ebionites. The great heresy-hunter, Epiphanius, 
 charged them with the mutilation of Matthew. Eusebius states that they 
 considered Jesus " a plain and common man, and justified in his advances 
 in virtue, and that he was born of the Virgin Mary by natural gestation." 
 These views were considered derived from the Gospel of Matthew, and 
 were directly learned from the apostles. The Ebionites suffered much; 
 some traces of them existed as late as the fourth century, "when they 
 insensibly melted away, either into the church or into the synagogue." 
 (Gibbon, ch. xv., vol. i, p. 255.) The present version of Matthew was 
 written in Greek, whilst the original was published in Hebrew, as seems 
 well established, and it was no doubt destroyed, root and branch, by the 
 Roman Church, thus inflicting a great loss upon mankind. The Gospel 
 according to the Hebrews* was highly esteemed, and Papias, Hegesippus, 
 Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome seem to have had 
 it in their hands. Its extent it is impossible to estimate, as it varied; 
 but we know from the stichometry of Nicephorus that a Greek transla- 
 tion of it had two thousand two hundred stichoi. He does not put it 
 among the apocryphal books of the New Testament, but among the Anti- 
 legomena, as Eusebius also does. Thus it was one of the forms of the 
 canonical Gospels, though our Matthew and Mark cannot be identified 
 with the Logia of Matthew that is mentioned by Papias. That writer 
 does not himself identify them, and it is noteworthy that he puts oral 
 tradition above written documents. (Davidson, vol. i., p. 520.) He 
 speaks " of those who told about strange commands." " I did not," he 
 says, " think that the things out of the books did me so much good as 
 those from a voice that was alive and remained." Thus, doubtless, the 
 record which Papias speaks of as by Matthew was one of the forms of 
 the Primitive Gospel; and, as he calls them logia (or sayings) in the 
 original Hebrew (for he does not regard the Greek translation as au- 
 thentic), the record which he speaks of was doubtless a collection of the 
 sayings of Jesus, and of simple narrative. His language is, " everybody 
 translated as he was able," which indicates directly, and implies para- 
 phrases rather than translations. Hieronymus says it was not known 
 who translated the Hebrew into Greek. 
 
 Now, Papias is our earliest authority, and the terms he employs, 
 oracles, or loga, denote a collection of sayings; and we find in our 
 Matthew that such an element is the more important part in his history. 
 In Luke they are subordinate; in Mark they are shortened and the nar- 
 rative lengthened. 
 
 Orthodox critics, writing in the interest of the Christian Evidence 
 Society, are now writing in agreement that the Synoptic records are not 
 original documents, but are such as our oldest church historian, Papias, 
 describes them in his positive and negative testimony in respect to Mat- 
 
 * The section, Matthew i. l8-ii. 23, concerning the miraculous concep- 
 tion, was not included in the Gospel according to the Hebrews. 
 
 522 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 thew and Mark. W. Sanday, A.M., a learned divine, writing in the in- 
 terest of the Christian Evidence Society, in common with other of his 
 evangelical brethren, says, in speaking of the work to which Papias 
 referred as a summary of the sayings of Jesus, as short and brief as a 
 collection in the whole, and that " investigation shows that our present 
 St. Mark was not the original;" and this "tells," he says, "with in- 
 creased force against St. Matthew," because the latter has differed from 
 Mark and Luke " on as many as nine hundred and forty-four separate 
 points ;" hence that it has deviated greatly from the original document 
 of which Papias has borne testimony. And here I would add that if the 
 evangelists had access to a common authoritative document, why would 
 they have incorporated its material in their own Gospels in so many dif- 
 ferent ways? But herein we have Luke's answer ready at hand, that 
 they were " many'' lives and accounts of the life and times of Jesus. 
 And this fact also denotes a later compilation of the present evangelical 
 records than the time in which Papias wrote. Our canonical Gospels 
 had to make good their claim, and thus displaced their simpler, truer, 
 and more original rival documents. And herein a fact is patent to all 
 investigators, that in the latter part of the second, or rather at the be- 
 ginning of the third, century we came out of obscurity into the broad 
 blaze of day in respect to the status of our canonical records. To my 
 mind, the answer to this is clear ; there was concerted action and agree- 
 ment upon the part of such men as Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement, and 
 Origen, and such concert was a necessity in their opinion, because the 
 Errorists (heretics) threatened to overwhelm the Church, and hence, 
 as Irenseus says, the Gospel was limited to "four," giving as a reason 
 that there are " four cardinal points, etc." ! Our author whom I have 
 quoted felicitously suggests that it was a " survival of the fittest !" Our 
 canonical records may date back to the first quarter of the second cen- 
 tury, notwithstanding the amount of negative testimony against such a 
 theory; particularly the fact that Justin mentions them not as such; 
 but if they date their origin from thence, they cannot have been con- 
 sidered by such writers as Hegesippus and Papias as authoritative docu- 
 ments, or they would have treated them as such. 
 
 For some time past I have clearly seen that our canonical Gospels 
 are " far from being the artless, guileless, unstudied compositions they 
 have passed for; they are imbued with the atmosphere of reflection, 
 are ingeniously elaborated, and in parts painfully studied. They are 
 meditated biographies, in which the biographical material is selected 
 and qualified by speculative motives." As O. B. Frothingham well says, 
 " The period that Paul's ministry supposes must be searched for in these 
 after-minded books." True criticism will forbid us, in reading them to 
 consider them as genuine histories, other than as founded upon the fact 
 of a great life and character whose name and image were used as a 
 synonyme to express what is great and true in humanity. Paul pointed 
 to this clearly when he said, "Now I say that Jesus Christ was a min- 
 
 523 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 ister of the circumcision for the truth of God." He makes that distinc- 
 tion which Irenasus informs us was made by early Christians between 
 " the human instrument and the Divine Spirit." 
 
 Even such an orthodox writer as B. F. Westcott, D.D., of Trinity Col- 
 lege, speaks of the Fourth Gospel as a " poem" and an " epic," and as- 
 sumes the ground which I took in " Indices" of an oral Gospel, and says 
 that " the knowledge of the teaching of Christ, and the details of his 
 life were generally derived from tradition and not from writings." And 
 Mark, he says, " observed the limits of the first oral Gospel" in respect 
 to the nativity and infancy. He also speaks of the Hebrew (Aramaic) 
 ancient form, which the Nazarenes and Ebionites used, and that " the 
 Ebionites had nothing to answer to the first two chapters of our present 
 text" (Matthew's). "That the first Gospel was an oral message and not 
 a written record." And this author also points to the fact that the apos- 
 tles in their writings have no knowledge of a written gospel, though 
 they allude to the scenes of trial and suffering connected with the life of 
 Jesus in their various epistles. The substance of the Gospels is recog- 
 nized by them as a history, but, as Stanley has said, no miracles are 
 alluded to; and, although their style is generally esoteric and subjective, 
 yet they tell naught concerning the incarnation, as respects a miraculous 
 birth. This and other details of like character belong to the domain of 
 poetry and embellishment, as Origen and other Fathers have clearly im- 
 plied. Says St. Hilary, " There are many historical passages of the New 
 Testament that, if they are literally taken, are contrary to sense and 
 reason; and therefore there is a necessity of a mythical interpretation." 
 The clear-cut words of Origen are, " We do not invite the more able 
 and vigorous inquirers to a simple and irrational faith when dealing 
 with the history of Jesus presented in the Gospels; we wish to prove 
 that those who are to study it need careful and candid judgment and 
 the spirit of assiduous investigation, and, so to speak, an entrance into 
 the design of the writers, that so the purpose of each recorded fact may' 
 be discovered." 
 
 G 
 
 Molar and molecular motion dynamically considered consists of 
 change of position relatively to objects, such motion being in no way 
 connected with consciousness in space-relations. My body is bounded 
 by such relations as north and south, above and below; but thought 
 consciousness is not thus located. Its power and action are a living 
 entity, and are not limited by the body or local in the body. The ante- 
 cedents and subsequents of physical movements correlate not with the 
 mind, but with sequence and consequent, which belong to and are a part 
 of their own phenomena. Hence no state of consciousness can pass into 
 molecular action. The converse being also true, as is demonstrated by 
 the doctrine of the Persistence of Force. States of consciousness being 
 connected with each other by simple sequence and are correlate, as each 
 one can determine for itself in the train of sequence of thought. They 
 
 524 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 do not originate de novo with an alien nature, having no appreciable con- 
 nection with them. 
 
 That matter can become sensation is utterly inconceivable; the dif- 
 ference not being in development, but in nature and kind. Between 
 that which feels and reasons and that which is felt and reasoned about 
 there can be no homogeneity. No series of mental actions can infringe 
 upon or pass over into a series of physical movements; and this dis- 
 tinction is ultimate in the order of thought. To man their relations are 
 forever twain. To the Infinite, in His indiscoverable relation, they are, 
 of course, one, as He is one ; but to us most wisely He has made them 
 twain, and hence to us no assignable antecedent of a material nature can 
 we introduce as a subsequent to produce sensation, though the two are 
 but varied manifestations of Ultimate Power. The first being related 
 to each other in space and in space only, as the latter is in time and in 
 time alone as regards states of consciousness and feeling. Respecting 
 spirit, it can have neither space nor time relations in its abstract immor- 
 tal self. In asserting it we assert the Unconditional Reality which is 
 correlate with the True, the Beautiful, the Good, and the Eternal. 
 
 H 
 
 I HAVE written freely of what are called sacred books, concerning 
 their genuineness, but the fact of the anonymous authorship of the his- 
 torical part of the Old Testament, the Four Gospels, the Acts of the 
 Apostles, and the Epistle to the Hebrews need not, with any well-bal- 
 anced mind, detract from their merits or virtue. It is merely the char- 
 acteristic of the spirit in which such works were written as the Vedic 
 Hymns and the Avesta. Such books were not the voice of an individual 
 mind alone, but of an epoch and a people, and hence the disappearance 
 of authorship into communities and brotherhoods of believers. The 
 Fourth Gospel is of this character, and pre-eminently so. It was the 
 conception of many minds, and much deep experience of the Essenian 
 brotherhood concerning the Spiritual Christ! Hence it is written (John 
 xxi. 24), " We know that his testimony is true," and hence the individual 
 disappeared in the grandeur of the subject. Its author is evidently 
 alluding to this (John vii. 18) : " And he that speaketh of himself seek- 
 eth his own glory; but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same 
 is true, and no unrighteousness is in him," His pseudonyme being self- 
 renunciatory. 
 
 The earliest tradition is from the Canon of the Muratori, about the 
 year 175. This fragment says, "The fourth of the Gospels is by the 
 disciple John. He was being pressed by his fellow disciples and fellow 
 bishops, and he said, ' Fast with me this day, and for three days ; and 
 whatever shall be revealed to each of us, let us relate it to the rest.' In 
 the same night it was revealed to the apostle Andrew that John should 
 write the whole in his own name, and all the rest should revise it." 
 
 Clement, of Alexandria, who died 220, also relates the same tradition. 
 
 525 
 
EUDEMON 
 
 " John last," says Clement, " aware that in the other Gospels were de- 
 clared the things of flesh and blood, being moved thereto by his acquaint- 
 ances, and being inspired by the Spirit, composed a spiritual gospel." In 
 the same manner, Epiphanius, in the latter part of the fourth century, 
 says that John wrote last, wrote reluctantly, wrote because he was con- 
 strained to write, wrote in Asia at the age of ninety. 
 
 All this points to a revision of what John had done; his friends de- 
 sired his " remembrances ;" his friends having <i hand in the production 
 of the Gospel, giving these a guarantee as to its genuineness, " This is 
 the disciple who testified to these things, and who wrote these things: 
 and we know that his testimony is true." 
 
 Thus John's logia, " sayings of the Lord," were used, and blended in 
 one mould by a disciple, a man of talent, of soul, and of deep experi- 
 ence in the Christ life, seeking not his own glory, but that the truth 
 might be exalted, and his name be written in the book of life. And thus 
 we have the genuine logion of Jesus intermingled with much allegorical 
 theology by his editor as a necessary setting and connection, here in 
 juxtaposition, there articulating them. 
 
 Says Justin, " Short and concise are the sayings that came from him," 
 agreeing with the Clementine Homilies concerning the sayings of Jesus : 
 " His wont was to make concise utterance touching the things of con- 
 cernment to the truth." And thus also the editor, a trained writer of the 
 Greek language and acquirements, whose style was as of his era, an 
 archaic one, framed his matter into continuous discourses, joining his 
 sentences by articulations, so different from Matthew, who uses the form 
 of the Semitic people, the gnomic form, in a perfectly natural manner, 
 delivering his thoughts in detached sentences as Jesus doubtless spoke 
 them. 
 
 We know the change which befell the Gospel text between the fourth 
 and the tenth century, as, for instance, the Vatican and Sinaitic contain 
 neither the story of the woman taken in adultery nor the account of the 
 angel troubling the water in the pool Bethesda, and also later manu- 
 scripts make Peter say, " Thou art the Son of the Living God," when the 
 Vatican and Sinaitic have it, " Thou art the holy one of God." And the 
 query arises very justly, If such liberties were taken with the text after 
 it had been received by the church, how much more liable to. additions 
 and interpolations was it before the time, say, of Irenseus, when the 
 canon of Holy Scripture was not settled? 
 
 And herein the author of " Supernatural Religion" has proved by his 
 diligence and accuracy in this respect that there is no evidence of the 
 establishment of a Gospel Canon before the time of Irenseus, in the last 
 quarter of the second century. His details are very exhaustive, showing 
 that while such writers as Clement and Justin quote the Old Testament 
 with accuracy, that their wording and order are entirely different 
 when they quote the corresponding sayings as authority. Take the 
 famous sentence, " Render unto Csesar," etc, as quoted by Justin ; yet 
 
 526 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 herein he differs from our record, and so it is universally; and the 
 author of " Supernatural Religion" has established that before Irenseus 
 not one passage was quoted exactly as from our record, and by bringing 
 the alleged quotations forward from the Old as from the New Testa- 
 ment, he has proved that while authors previous to the time above men- 
 tioned quote often literally and unmistakably from the first, as from a 
 body of Canonical Scriptures, that the contrary is the case universally 
 with the New Testament literature, establishing the fact that there was 
 much oral testimony, and " many" written accounts of the life and times 
 of Jesus from which all were at liberty to draw and to choose at that 
 time! 
 
 THE END. 
 
 S27 
 

 IsJlj^-'i^^r 
 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 BORROWERS NAME 
 
 JltY^H 
 
 H'f