methods of generation which have been collected; for whether the method be gemmiparous, the growth of the young from buds upon the body of its parent, like a shoot upon a tree, whence it is afterwards detached; or fissiparous, propagated by spontaneous subdivision, every piece of the original creature becoming, when separated, a distinct individual; or oviparous, propagated by means of eggs extruded from the female; or viviparous, the progeny nourished within the body of the mother, and expelled alive; whether the means of propagation be by hermaphrodite animals, both sexes existing in the same individual, as in bivalve shell fish; or by reciprocal fertilization, each animal performing the double sexual function, as with snails, and some molluscs, or by the marvellous process known as alternate generation, as with some insects, or by distinct sexes in distinct individuals, the problem remains altogether unaffected as to the origin of such species. The study of the variety of the arrangements by which the Creator has chosen to illustrate the infinitude of His wisdom enlarges our conception of His adaptive skill; but the question of the origin of each species, and the source of that spiritual force which we call life, is still unsolved. We may accept with gratitude every natural fact which these discoveries have verified, and every conclusion which those facts demonstrate, yet, while rejecting some of the theories which they seek to base upon their facts, we may superadd to them Swedenborg's explanation of the origin of life. The point of the argument is therefore simple, so far as we have gone, the facts discovered do not assail Swedenborg's doctrine on this subject, however much the latter may conflict with the theories of many scientific explorers.

We come now to what I conceive to be the most important of all this series of questions, that which refers to man. Without entering too minutely into the numerous and varied lines of evidence which have been resolutely investigated, I may summarize what seems to me to be the best established of the results of modern researches into the matter.

(1) While it is evident that there was a time when man did not exist, yet it is clear that man has existed for many thousands of years upon the earth.

(2) Notwithstanding the convulsions to which every part of the earth has been subject since the advent of man, there are evidences of the continued existence of man on various portions of the earth before, and after, and sometimes during, those disturbances.

(3) The discoveries connected with what is called the regular

gradation of the bone, flint, bronze, and iron periods of human existence, seem to show that primeval man everywhere existed in a comparatively low state as to intellectual power, or mastery over natural elements; and that in most places, there has taken place in these matters a gradual intellectual development in the human race,

or races.

(4) The examinations of the crania of some now extinct tribes of man, and of different tribes widely separated as to locality but still existing, seem to indicate that there have been, and, it may be, that there still exist distinct species of mankind,—that the differences are more than those which may be regarded as varieties; that, consequently, the human races may have sprung from different centres,-that there have been different creations of men.

(5) The researches of Dr. Lepsius, Gliddon, and others, in Egypt, have resulted in the discovery of historic monuments, paintings, and statuary, to which a very high antiquity must be assigned, and in which are to be seen imaged the four prevailing types of men,—the white, red, yellow, and black types; thus showing that these differences are at least many thousands of years old, and that many thousands of years ago the distinct types were just as distinctly marked as they are to-day.

(6) The wide reaching generalization of Agassiz, and others, seem to warrant the conclusion, that unless we are prepared to believe that the creation of all animal and vegetable forms took place in one centre, and that they were thence distributed all over the world, it is just as unreasonable to conclude that this was the way in which the creation and consequent distribution of man took place: that it is no more difficult to believe in the local creation of types of men in their various habitats than in the local creation of the fauna and flora of each zone; that indeed we are in this matter placed "between the horns of the following dilemma :—1st. Either mankind originated from a common stock, and all the different races with their peculiarities, in their present distribution, are to be ascribed to subsequent changes,-an assumption for which there is no evidence whatever, and which leads at once to the admission that the diversity among animals is not an original one, nor their distribution determined by a general plan, established in the beginning of the creation;-or, 2nd, We must acknowledge that the diversity among animals is a fact determined by the will of the Creator, and their general distribution a part of the general plan, which unites all organized beings into one great organic conception: whence it

follows that what are called human races down to their specialization as nations, are distinct primordial forms of the type of man."

The consequences of the first alternative run inevitably into the Lamarkian development theory, defended in the "Vestiges of Creation," and maintained with slight modifications by Darwin; but which is opposed to almost all the results of modern scientific research.

How far does such a view of species of man accord with Swedenborg's doctrine of the origin of life, and the conclusions legitimately drawn therefrom? It is evident that Swedenborg's doctrine implies the creation of types and species where they exist, and does not at all imply the creation of all species in one locality, and their subsequent distribution. Wherever the requisite natural conditions were present, there life could flow in and ultimate itself in correspondent forms. But the presence of the requisite natural conditions may be limited to zones, or exist within some other wide general boundaries: only in the rarest cases could it be limited to any particular number of square acres or miles. Hence the zone theory of organic types receives indirect confirmation from Swedenborg. Inasmuch as homogeneous conditions can be found within certain zones, and not out of them, so a homogeneous influx of life can take place within such general limits, and the faunæ and floræ thence resulting will be harmonious in type. We could not expect to find lions on icebergs in the Arctic zone, nor the white bear in the tropics. The requisite natural conditions are so different between these two zones that the organic forms which are the ultimations of life-forces must proportionately differ. Again: inasmuch as preservation is really a continued act of creation, so the relation between the inflowing life and the habitats of species must remain generally unchanged. But if such a relation exists between the continued influx of life and the conditions of the habitat of each species, we may presume that such a relation ever has existed; and, therefore, that species began to exist in the same habitats, and under the same general conditions, as those in and under which we now find them. This again tends to show the greater reasonableness of the theory of there being different centres of creation.

If this be the case with all animal and all vegetable forms, and if there is as evident a harmony between the type of man and the floral and faunal types inhabiting each district as there is between the types of the fauna and those of the flora of each district, it is, thence, reasonable to infer the like creation of diverse human types in different centres.

Swedenborg distinctly intimates the existence of man for ages upon the earth, though always asserting that man is discretely distinct from all other species of animals.

He also intimates that primeval man occupied a very low plane of intellectual life, in which, indeed, his natural mind was "without form and void," and "darkness was upon the face of the deep;" capacities being stored up within him, but of the range, and even of the existence, of which he then had no knowledge. He asserts that primarily men had "lived like wild beasts" (qui sicut feræ vixerunt), but "at length became spiritual men," some of whom "became celestial men and constituted the most Ancient Church." (A. C. 286.)

He nowhere implies that all men were of one race, sprung from one centre, and thence distributed over the earth.

He nowhere implies that all those men who were living at any one time passed through the stages of spiritual development representatively described in Gen. i. and ii., or that all human tribes and types were included in the most Ancient Church. On the contrary, the only reasonable conclusion to be formed from his statements is, that the most Ancient Church had its seat chiefly in Asia, while, consentaneous with the existence of men in that locality, it is only reasonable to believe that other types and tribes of men existed on other portions of the earth. I am aware of the many so called "religious questions" which will be suggested by this large admission, and am not disposed to shirk them. But we cannot now and here enter upon their full discussion. By thus nowhere limiting the varieties or types of the human race, by not restricting the human period of the world's history, by not circumscribing human existence within definite local boundaries, Swedenborg leaves ample room for any number or variety of explanations of the five conclusions previously deduced from his direct statements.

We cannot tell how long man has existed on the earth, nor therefore how long there has been an actual, objective, and inhabited spiritual world. But can we not see that the early inhabitants of that world must have been in states of strange confusion, merely natural, although not degeneratedly natural? May we not thence be able to understand how confused, wild, and relatively chaotic, must have been the influx of life into the natural world, at once harmonious with the states of men in the spiritual world, and consistent with the crude conditions furnished by the earth; and how, from the combinations of such elements, strange, ponderous, ungainly forms of life would be manifested on the earth? Has there not been something like a struggle towards order in the

development of animal types, and likewise in the types of man? I dare not dogmatize on such topics. I repeat, this essay is only tenta tive; I can do no more than inquire.

Of one thing I think we may feel assured-whatever may be the demonstrated results of scientific research, they will not be found to conflict with Swedenborg's doctrines concerning life in its origin and forms. They may indicate questions which he has not answered, and supply facts of which he was ignorant-they may provoke discussions as to his meaning, or reveal the breadth of his wisdom, by showing how wonderfully he has avoided limitations once believed in by almost all investigators, but since proved to be untenable; yet the progress of a century has certainly demonstrated nothing which may not be adopted into the system of theosophy which he taught, and which may not serve as an illustration, or an evidence, of the doctrines on the nature and phenomena of life which he so luminously sets forth.1

MANCHESTER.

J. H.

THE TEACHINGS OF SWEDENBORG IN THEIR BEARINGS ON GEOLOGY AND THE EARLY HISTORY OF OUR RACE. No. II. A SECOND INSPIRED ACCOUNT OF CREATION, THE PLACING OF MAN IN PARADISE, AND THE FORMATION OF WOMAN (CONCLUDED).

IN the course of this outline it has been necessary occasionally to refer to the peculiarities of the record to which it relates, as evidencing that it was not intended to be accepted as a literal narrative, and that all attempts to explain it as such have, in consequence, failed. It will be requisite also to detain the reader at this stage for the purpose of briefly pointing out some of the additional evidences afforded by the portion about to be brought under his consideration.

Allusion was made in the last paper to the distinct recitals bearing on creation in the two opening chapters of Genesis. In no feature are they more divergent than in what respects the creation of woman According to the first chapter the two sexes were created simultaneously; but, according to what is stated in this, man was first created, and the creation of woman seems to have been an after-thought. The

1 This paper was in the hands of the printers prior to the meeting of the British Association; hence the writer has not been able to refer therein to the able and comprehensive address of the President, Prof. Huxley, or to the discussions as to "spontaneous generation." The argument of Dr. Child, based on zymotic diseases, deserves thoughtful consideration, and it is strikingly confirmatory of Swedenborg's doctrine of the production of living forms by influx from the spiritual world into correspondent natural conditions.