the contrary always manifest that they are doing something either bold, or violent and I say that the circumstance of this conjoint traditional and experimental prestige, is a fact that is grossly neglected in works like that I am reviewing. How comes it that the World's Nations believe in an outward Revelation of God to man, and in servants chosen to make it known not as other servants are chosen? How comes it that the first ploughman you meet will be insulted in his heart's heart, if you liken his own land's Shakespear to Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, and will bless himself that he is not far learned when he hears you thus degrade the Evangelists? There is a fact here diffused as the air we breathe, and which the philosophers have yet to observe.

(To be concluded in our next.)

FREE-WILL, OR THE FREE CHOICE OF MORAL GOOD AND EVIL.

(Concluded from page 370.)

16. There are, in the rational mind, diverse loves, which all endeavour to attract each other to their own side; but let us pass over this phalanx of loves, and distinctly penetrate the subject [in question]. To this end we will only consider, that in general there are superior and inferior loves, the superior are spiritual, but the inferior are natural and corporeal. These being concentrated in the rational mind, are wont to contend against each other. The superior loves, because they are spiritual, are more perfect; but the inferior loves are imperfect. The former are constant and perpetual; but the latter are inconstant, and in a short time they terminate altogether. From experience it is abundantly evident that these loves continually reign and divide the mind between them, and that whilst one governs, another yields, and is, as it were, extinguished. In order to see this, we have only to attend to ourselves, when our mind is deeply and long engaged in a subject of meditation which has been enkindled by some corporeal love; in which state, if we desire to recall spiritual and purer things into the mind, we find it to be impossible, before the former love, with its meditation, is expelled. Thus when we wish to call upon God in prayer, the thought can never come forth in its purity and clearness, but is, as it were, clouded and dark, until the merely natural thought is expelled and dispersed: as

when we desire to penetrate into a purer region of thought, or to arise from nature into spirit, it is as though the thought emerged through a cloud into the light of the sun, which cannot be done before the cloud is dispersed; but as soon as the clouds are dissipated, a certain solar light shines forth upon the mind. Thus it is precisely when corporeal and worldly loves obsess the mind, and when the mind, whilst in that state, desires to penetrate into spiritual things.

17. From this description it appears as though these loves were contrary to one another, because they are in conflict together, or as though the affections of the animal mind are, as it were, waging constant warfare with the loves of the purer mind; when, nevertheless, the soul has associated nature to itself when it adjoined itself to a body; and it is evident that God did not join spiritual things with natural that they should be in war with each other, but that they should be mutually conjoined. But it must be well considered that the animal mind, with all its affections, is associated to the body, inasmuch as without it the body could not live, nor could any rational mind exist, and that there is no affection which, [in itself,] is not lawful, and which does not spring from the universal love which is in the soul [as its actuating principle]. But the reason why they are at war, is because the inferior loves desire to govern in the court of the mind, and to exterminate the more perfect loves, and thus to govern the soul itself, which is contrary to the very order of nature,—namely, that that which in itself is inconstant and imperfect, should govern that which is constant and perfect; for in this manner universal nature, as to its order, would be ruined and destroyed. Another reason also is, because the animal mind, with its peculiar affections, since it is devoid of reason, knows no moderation, and rushes whithersoever cupidity carries it along, and thus [if not restrained], to the destruction of the body, and even to the soul (anima) itself, as we shall demonstrate below. For thus the affections of the animal mind are always tending to excess, and know no bounds or moderation. This is the reason why the rational mind, furnished with intellect, is set as president over these affections of the animal mind, and that there is a perpetual battle [between them]; for the soul well knows that such a liberty would endanger her entire kingdom, and cast her down from her throne; wherefore she combats as much as possible [against these lower affections], until she at length triumphs or gives up the battle in despair. For the soul, from its own nature, resists every force and every assault by which the economy of its body is destroyed, and by which its spiritual loves are extinguished, or if not extinguished, are changed into such as are contrary to truths. If, however, the loves of the animal

mind subject themselves entirely to the loves of the soul,* there would then be no warfare, but the man would live in a most happy state ;— that is, he would live as in his primeval golden age, or as in his first infancy; but then there would be no intellect, which [as is the case now] must be formed and instructed by the senses and the affections of the animal mind; and, that it may be free, it must know what is good and evil, which it would not know if all things proceeded according to their order. Wherefore, all the passions are so many warm emotions and excitements of the corporeal life, which are all allowable provided they be made subservient in moderation to the uses [of what is rational and spiritual].

senses.

18. The rational mind is therefore constituted in the middle between inferior and superior loves, which combat against each other, and endeavour to possess that mind. Thus the rational mind is, as it were, a balance, and the intellect, with its liberty, holds the beam from which the two scales depend. One scale belongs to the body, the other to the soul; or the one belongs to the animal mind, and the other to the purely rational mind. Into the scale belonging to the body there constantly flow powers like so many weights, which affect and occupy the rational mind; for they enter in through the doors of the senses from the world, and from the body itself and its blood, so that the mind can never be exempt from their operation; yea, it is formed by these things so as to be a mind; for we must be informed and instructed by the way of the But the loves of the soul, or the pure loves, do not enter by any way of the senses, but are insinuated in a most secret manner from within; nor do they come to the consciousness of our mind, because they are too pure for its purest ideas to comprehend; but they are like so many forces which insensibly occupy [the mind], for they had been operatively present [insederant] from the first stamen of its existence. even to its birth, although no rational mind then appears to exist. Hence it may be easily judged that the loves of the body would prevail, and that the loves of the soul could not be conceived as to their quality by our mind, except by an idea fixed in those things which are obvious to our senses, and with which a comparison may be established. For the soul itself cannot instruct us; nothing belonging to it is allied to the expressions of speech, nor can it be expressed; thus it cannot sensibly flow into the consciousness of the mind. From this cause it follows that the rational mind can but with difficulty enjoy the gift of its liberty; but is, as it were, carried away like a captive, by the scale

* See in our former paper the distinction between the animus and the anima, page 362-note.

of the body. We therefore now inquire, what is the nature of liberty in natural and corporeal things, and what is its nature in spiritual and divine things; and how, from natural liberty we may be led into spiritual liberty?

19. Liberty purely natural does not exist; for liberty without a spiritual principle cannot be called liberty; but liberty can be predicated of the rational mind, because that mind can determine itself from what is natural to what is spiritual, and vice versâ; for except there was a scale which could be raised or depressed, there would be no equilibration, and consequently no balance. There is indeed a certain libration between various affections which are purely natural; for that which prevails bears down the scale, and one affection is ejected, whilst another succeeds; but these are like weights of various material and magnitude which are placed in the same balance; for one kind of natural affection as well as another equally depresses or averts the mind, and prevents it from being raised to superior things. Liberty, therefore, in natural things, or the power of betaking ourselves from one natural love to another, is not liberty, but is rather servitude; because the mind, which ought to choose that which is best, is, in that case, either drawn into an apparent good, or into an absolute evil. For the liberty of exercising savage rage against enemies, even when conquered, of defrauding friends of their goods, of living sumptuously, and of aspiring at preeminence over others, is not liberty, but servitude; for, as was stated above, to conquer oneself, that is essential liberty. In the mean time the mind has full liberty of removing itself from spiritual and divine things, and of determining itself to corporeal loves. But it is provided by the forms of government, by established laws, and by penalties imposed upon crimes and the abuse of liberty, that this total immersion in corporeal loves, and in consequent crimes and vices, may not occur. As another preventive, there is also the dread of losing one's earthly enjoyments.

20. There is also no [purely] spiritual liberty in the rational mind; because the rational mind can understand nothing of any superior love; that is, of those things which are above itself. For that which is superior can judge of inferior things, but not contrariwise. Nor can the mind perceive that it is in any spiritual love, because it cannot form an idea of it, except this idea be affixed to something natural, that it may, by comparison, understand of what nature it is; consequently it cannot experience any sensible delight when it is in a spiritual love, except that it can imagine it to be something more perfect, more stable, more illimitable, something, as it were, infinite, perpetual, immortal, and something incomparable in respect to that which it perceives to be inconstant,

limited, finite, and something mortal and to have an end. Nevertheless, that the mind may turn itself from those things which are perceived and felt to be something, and likewise present, faith is required; for the mind cannot, of itself, perceive that such things exist, since the mind, when it directs its attention hither, perishes, as it were, in a kind of abyss. This faith is either intellectual or divine. Intellectual faith can be acquired by an inmost reflection and intuition of things; it is, however, easily extinguished when material ideas come over the mind. But faith from a divine origin [the Word] is the only faith which can persuade the mind about spiritual things, otherwise not capable of perceiving them. Moreover, since the rational mind cannot, of itself, acquire such [spiritual] ideas, neither is it gifted* with the liberty of putting on those states which agree with spiritual loves.

21. We therefore now inquire,-in what does liberty really consist; since there is none in purely natural things, and none in [purely] spiritual things, and since the mind cannot, of itself, turn itself from natural to spiritual things? But if we thoroughly examine and investigate the essence of human liberty, we shall find that it especially consists in this, that our mind can shake off natural loves, or withdraw and deliver itself from them, and retain only so much as is requisite for the support of the body; for to put off all natural things would be to put off the man himself, or to deprive him of animal life. The mind can perceive that whilst it is immersed in corporeal affections, it cannot possibly direct itself to spiritual things. Hence Liberty in natural things consists, in the first place, in the ability of withdrawing the mind from corporeal things, and in considering them only as means instrumental and subservient to spiritual things; precisely as the universal body is only an organ or instrument of the soul, so the animal mind should be the instrument of the spiritual mind. Liberty, in the second place, consists in this, that the mind can be instructed both by the Sacred Scripture and by other writings, and also from one's own reflection, that there is a Spiritual and Divine principle, which is superior, and thus acquire a certain intellectual faith; by which, when acquired, the mind can be kept in the thought of such things, and be fed and nourished by them. From this capability of thinking about spiritual things, when corporeal cupidities are removed, the mind can be led into ideas which harmonize with spiritual loves; which loves, since they are perpetually present, flow in of themselves, and thus, as it were, vivify and induce changes of state on the intellect, until, at length, it is imbued with some sense and

* That is, in and of itself, without the influx of a superior power. See above, page 370-note.