then is it that true and genuine longing, which, directing itself to the divine, is itself also of a celestial origin. Out of this root springs almost every thing that is intellectually beautiful and great even the love of scientific certainty itself, and of a profound knowledge of life and nature. Philosophy indeed has no other source, and we might in this respect call it, with much propriety, the doctrine or the science of longing. But even that youthful longing, already noticed, is oftentimes a genuine, or at least the first, foundation of the higher and truer species, although, unlike the latter, it is as yet neither purely evolved nor refined by the course of time.

"Could men's eyes be but once opened to seek it, how would they be amazed at the infinity which they have neglected, and might have attained to, and which generally in the world remains neglected and unattained! But, of the many thousands whom this remark concerns, how very few ever attain to a clear cognition of their real destination! And the reason of this is simply the fact, that the faith of men is all too weak; and, above all, that it is too vaguely general, too superficial, too little searching or profound — not sufficiently personal and childlike.

The longing after the eternal and divine which has been already described is the seeking of God; but this calm inward assent of the will, whenever, with a childlike faith and an enduring love, and in steadfast hope, it is carried through and maintained with unwavering fidelity throughout life, is the actual finding of Him within us, and a constant adherence to Him when once we have found Him. As the root and principle of all that is best and noblest in man, this divine longing cannot be too highly estimated; and nowhere is it so inimitably described, and its excellence so fully acknowledged, as in Holy Writ itself."a

The preceding reflections give us undoubted cause for the conviction, that not only is this contemplation of invisible Being attended by results beneficial in the highest degree to us all, but that it is in strict unison with the will of Him who has placed us here,—not that we may regard the things of earth, but that we may set our affections upon the things of heaven. That which has been enjoined is for our good; that which is for our good has been enjoined. "Man is evidently made for thinking; this is the whole Schlegel's Philosophy of Life, pp. 34. 111.

a

" a

of his dignity, and the whole of his merit. To think as he ought, is the whole of his duty; and the true order of thinking is to begin with himself, his Author, and his end. . . . Thus the whole of our dignity consists in thought. It is by this we are to elevate ourselves, and not by mere space and duration. Let us, then, labour to think well: this is the principle of morality.' "Reason is the light of the soul." "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good;" but "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God;" "and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you. Spare therefore no effort of the intellect. Seek earnestly to distinguish truth from falsehood, the just from the unjust.

Withdraw the thoughts unflinchingly from frivolous and temporary pursuits, and concentrate the utmost attention upon that which is spiritual and eternal. Penetrate unweariedly into the mysteries of creation, and search the Scriptures thoroughly that they may assist the light of reason in reconciling all things with the

a Blaise Pascal: Thoughts on Religion, pp. 50. 118.
b 1 Thess. v. 21.; 1 John, iv. 1.; 1 Peter, iii. 15.

с

marvellous attributes of infinite power, wisdom,

and goodness.

But as the material and temporary sun of heaven shines upon the just and the unjust, so must the light of reason bring before man's spiritual and eternal consciousness both good and evil; and the wider his thoughts expand, and the higher the realm in which they take their flight, the greater are their power and their means both for good and evil. Temperately, therefore, and with moderation, let us begin our course; and then, with the silver lamp of revelation in our hand, and the divine manifestations of peace, goodwill, and charity to all men, as unerring guides through every difficulty, we may surely, without presumption, entertain the hope that we are not about too rashly to traverse realms of inquiry which man in his present state will probably never be permitted thoroughly to explore.

THOUGHTS ON BEING.

ETERNITY.

What is Eternity? can aught
Paint its duration to the thought?

Tell all the sand the ocean laves,
Tell all its changes, all its waves,
Or tell, with more laborious pains,
The drops its mighty mass contains:
Be this astonishing account
Augmented with the full amount
Of all the drops the clouds have shed,
Where'er their wat'ry fleeces spread,
Thro' all Time's long-protracted tour,
From Adam to the present hour;
Still short the sum, nor can it vie
With the more num'rous years that lie
Embosom'd in Eternity.

Attend, O man, with awe divine,
For this Eternity is thine! a

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I I am that I am, which is, and which was, and which is to come." "b

am.

WITH the word Eternity are associated the earliest ideas of childhood. But this familiarity

a Gibbons.

b John, viii. 58.; Exod. iii. 14.; Rev. i. 8.