consciences, that think the temporal interests of their children not otherwise secure. We hope no society of ours, will omit the adoption of the practice set forth in the above resolution.

Minute 69, is concerning a point about which we also have heard some objecting. It is respecting the following clause in the Ordination Service in the New Liturgy: " And I do further promise and declare, that I will submit myself to be ordered and governed by such laws, rules, and regulations, as the General Conference has adopted, or shall hereafter adopt, for the ordering of the concerns of the said New Church;"" Resolved unanimously, That in the opinion of this Conference, a declaration to the above effect is necessary for the preservation of that Order in the New Church of the Lord, which its heavenly doctrines so continually insist upon; and that the form of it as contained in the Ordination Service, is approved by this Conference as incapable of admitting any improper sense; it being one of the first principles of morals, that no engagement made by or to men can oblige any person to the observance of any regulation incompatible with the prior engagement which every one is under to observe the laws of God; consequently the above declaration cannot be justly understood as involving any such improper obligation."

In addition to the above, it may be stated in favour of suchdeclaration, viz. that the candidate will, in consequence of making this declaration and others, &c. be ever after entitled to a seat in the General Conference, by virtue of his ordination and obedience, and consequently will have a right to take part in making all future regulations and laws. He is a free peer among his fellows, and may claim a seat in every Session of Conference as a matter of right.

The Reports, &c. at the end of the Minutes, are generally speaking of some interest. They tend much to throw light on the present and prospective state of the church. But what we would, with no small degree of earnestness, recommend to the notice of all our societies is, the code of "General Rules” for their government. This code meets with our cordial approbation. It is not particular, but general. We like it much better on that account. Being general, it will likely be adopted; if it had been particular, it could not but be objectionable to some. A few broad principles are laid down as a general groundwork, and every society is left to make its own by-laws: this is a just and prudent measure. Conference could never make particular laws to suit all societies, and all states of societies. It is sufficient if all our societies be brought to adopt one general basis or foundation. The rules in the above code seem adapted to the state

of all societies whether large or small, and as such we recommend them to their particular notice.

On the whole, we rejoice much, to see the gradual, steady, and substantial progress of the church, and we hope, yea, believe, each year will add something to its maturation.

These remarks are made from a free principle, at once candid and open; and if we differ at all from our fellows in any opinion of minor import, we think it is better to express our ideas, and still to co-operate with our brethren, than to conceal our views, and withdraw our endeavours from the common cause in which we all are engaged. Freedom of communication, when conducted under the influence of a proper spirit, tends to expand and enlarge our ideas; and to promote, as well as to correct, our measures. Magnanimity, in both giving and receiving, ought to characterise our church, Taking leave of our esteemed Conference for the present, we subscribe ourselves,

Γ και Δ.

EXTRACT FROM THE WRITINGS OF SWEDENBORG.

Of Love in general.

THE very life of man is his love, aud such as the love is, such is the life, yea, such is the whole man: this is to be understood of the ruling or reigning love, which is what makes the man. That love has many other loves subordinate to it, which are derivations from it. These appear under another form, but still they are all contained in the ruling love, and constitute, with it, one kingdom. The ruling love is as their king and head; it directs them, and by them, as mediate ends, it regards and intends its own end, which is the primary and ultimate end of them all; and this it does both directly and indirectly. The object of the ruling love is what is loved above all things.

That which man loves above all things, is continually present in his thought, and also in his will, and constitutes his most essential life. As for example; he who loves riches above all things, whether in money, or possessions, is continually turning in his mind how he may obtain them; he rejoices exceedingly when he acquires them, he grieves deeply when he loses them, his heart is in them. He who loves himself above all things is mindful of himself in every thing, he thinks of himself, he speaks of himself, he acts for the sake of himself; for his life is the life of self.

That which man loves above all things is the end which he

always intends; he regards it in all and every particular of his conduct; it lurks in his will like the latent current of a river, which draws and bears him away, even when he is doing something else; for it is this which animates him, it is of such a quality, that one man explores and discovers it in another, and either leads him, or regulates his dealings with him according to it.

Man is altogether of such a quality as the ruling principle of his life is by this he is distinguished from others; his heaven, if he be good, and his hell, if he be evil, is adapted thereto; it is his will itself, his proprium, and his nature, for it is the very esse of his life this connot be changed after death, because it is the man himself.

All the delight, pleasure, and happiness which every one enjoys, is derived from his ruling love, and is according to it; for man calls that delightful which he loves, because he feels it; but that which he thinks and does not love, he may also call delightful, but it is not the delight of his life. That which is delightful to his love, is what man esteems good, and that which is undelightful, is what he esteems evil.

There are two loves, from which, as from their fountains, all goods and truths exist; and there are two loves, from which all evils and falses exist. The two loves, from which all goods and truths exist, are love to the Lord, and love towards the neighbour; and the two loves, from which all evils and falses exist, are the love of self and the love of the world. These two loves are in direct opposition to the former.

The two loves from which all goods and truths are derived, which are, as was said, love to the Lord, and love towards the neighbour, constitute heaven with man, wherefore also they reign in heaven; and forasmuch as they constitute heaven with man, they also constitute the church with him. The two loves from which all evils and falses are derived, as was said, the love of self and the love of the world, constitute hell with man, wherefore also they reign in hell.

The two loves from which all goods and truths are derived, which, as was said, are the loves of heaven, open and form the internal spiritual man, because they reside therein: but the two loves from which all evils and falses are derived, when they have the dominion, shut and destroy the internal spiritual man, and render man natural and sensual, according to the extent and quality of their dominion.

THE GLEANER.

Gather up the fragments that remain that nothing be lost.-John vi. 12.

THEY who are inclined to deal in censure, should always begin at home. The heathens were very sensible of the common failing of human nature to censure others, and represented it in the following manner: Every man (say they) carries a wallet, or two bags with him; the one hanging before him, the other behind him; into that before, he puts the faults of others; into that behind, his own; by which means he never sees his own failings, whilst he has those of others before his eyes.

We see the wallet of the man before:

But see not that which loads ourselves behind.

When one asked Diogenes how he might be avenged of his enemies, he replied, "To be yourself a good and honest man." A good man shines amiably through all the obscurity of his low fortune; and a wicked man is a poor little wretch in the midst of all his grandeur.

Pigmies are pigmies still, though plac'd in alps;
And pyramids are pyramids in vales.

Golden Verses of Pythagoras.

Let not your eyes the sweets of slumber taste,
Till keen, severe reflections you have pass'd
On the day's actions, thrice from first to last.
What done have I? wherein have I trangress'd ?
What virtue cherished, and what vice repress'd?
And if, on search, your actions ill you find,
Let grief; if good, let joy possess your mind.
This do, this think, to this your heart incline,
This way will lead you to the life divine.

A friend exaggerates a man's virtues; an enemy inflames his crimes. A wise man should give a just attention to both of them, so far as it may tend to the improvement of the one, and the diminution of the other.

A man that is resolved never to be in the wrong, is in a fair way never to be in the right.

It is more merit, and an argument of a more excellent mind, for a man freely to retract when he is in the wrong, than to be overbearing and positive when he is in the right.

Miscellanea.

CHRISTMAS CUSTOMS IN THE NETHERLANDS.

Many singular customs are observed in the Netherlands at Christmas, and as they materially differ from those known in England, a brief notice of one of them may probably prove acceptible to the readers of the Magazine. In almost every Dutch town, and in every considerable village, the following custom prevails:-At a little after two o'clock in the morning of Christmas-day, a number of young man assemble in the market-place, and sing some verses suited to the occasion. One of the young men bears an artificial star, which is fixed to a pole, and elevated above the heads of the people; it is very large, and is rendered beautifully transparent when a light is placed in the inside. This artificial luminary is intended to represent the star of the east, which directed the wise men to Bethlehem, the birth-place of Christ. At a little distance, the appearance is exceedingly brilliant, for there is no other light among the populace to diminish its lustre, and the whole scene is singularly picturesque. The resplendent light issuing from the star strikes powerfully upon the countenances of the principal actors, while those more remote receive only a faint and subdued gleam. The silvery effulgence of the moon, the sombre and deserted look of the buildings around, and the general stillness that pervades every object, save the scene of action, might inspire the mind of a Rembrandt, or introduce to the mere casual beholder feelings at once new and poetical.

After parading through the town, the youths repair in a body to the residence of some opulent inhabitant, where their arrival is welcomed with shouts and clapping of hands, and where they are entertained with a plentiful repast.

WHITFIELD.

Remarkable instances are related of the manner in which Whitfield impressed his hearers, A man at Exeter stood with stones in his pocket, and one in his hand, ready to throw at him; but he dropped it before the sermon was far advanced, and going up to him after the preaching was over, he said, "Sir, I came to hear you with an intention to break your head; but God, through your ministry, has given me a broken heart." A shipbuilder was once asked what he thought of him. "Think!" he replied, "I tell you, sir, every Sunday that I go to my parish church, I can build a ship from stem to stern under the sermon; but, were it to save my soul, under Mr. Whitfield I could not lay a single plank." Hume pronounced him the most ingenious preacher he had ever heard; and said, it was worth while to go twenty miles to hear him. But, perhaps, the greatest proof of his persuasive powers was, when he drew from Franklin's pocket, the money which that clear, cool reasoner had determined not to give; it was for the orphan-house at Savannah. "I did not," says the American philosopher, disapprove of the design; but as Georgia was then destitute of materials and workmen, and it was proposed to send them from Philadelphia at a great expense, I thought it would have been better to have built the house at Philadelphia, and brought the children to it. This I advised; but he was resolute in his first project, rejected my counsel, and I therefore refu. sed to contribute. I happened, soon after, to attend one of his sermons, in the course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars, and five pistoles in gold. As he proceeded I began to soften, and concluded to give the copper; another stroke of his oratory made me ashamed of that, and determined me to give the silver; and he finished so admirably, that I emptied my pocket wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all.

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"At this sermon," continues Franklin, "there was also one of our club, who, being of my sentiments respecting the building in Georgia, and sus