to explain all phenomena, but to show how they are produced, because the ideas there developed in a universal form constitute the ground of all production. In order that we should show this, we shall have to anticipate somewhat the statement of our conceptions of these three great ideas, and also some of the results of these conceptions, which will hereafter be explained, illustrated, and demonstrated.

In realizing our conception of Tri-Personality in God, we posit Infinite and Finite as opposite, self-subsisting, Universal Spheres of Indefinite Being, from which we realize a twofold sphere of Definite Being, which with the Infinite constitute God, as a tri-personality of Holy Ghost, Father, and Son, related as Spirit, Soul, and Body. In realizing our conception of Creation, we posit the tri-personal God as Creator, and infinite and finite phenomenal substances as the material for Creation; conceiving that this is first developed in a natural condition, as a dual, discordant, unreal, natural appearance, representing Infinite and Finite Principles, operated upon by infinite and finite material forces in a continuous destruction and reproduction of its forms, and animated by a natural life that is opposite to God. We realize our conception of the salvation and regeneration of the soul through the incarnation of God by conceiving the assumption of Human Nature by the Son of God, and the realization by Him of a mediating principle uniting the divine and the human, through which divine things could be brought down into a form communicable to the soul, and through which it could become inspired with a divine-human principle, and regenerated into a divine-human form. From these conceptions we realize the following facts: that, in Creation, growth is from below, upwards; while development is from within, outwards,—so that the highest forms come to be represented in the lowest sphere of consciousness; that all natural forms which represent Absolute Cause appear in a threefold form, representing the Finite, the Infinite, and the Divine Creator; that all natural forms which represent Creation appear in a discordant dualistic form as "two and two, one against the other,”—this being the form of the square, which is the symbol of Nature, first as the internal and external of good, and next as the internal and external of truth; and that all natural representations of Divine Humanity appear in a form representing Marriage, or Spiritual Life through the union of opposites.

In applying these conceptions and facts, in connection with

those already recognized, for the purpose of realizing the form in which Philosophy must be developed, the following demands are made: Philosophy must take its departure from the Church, and become developed successively in three entire spheres; the first being Ontological, as representing Absolute Being, and describing the development of Absolute Substance; the second being Psychological, as representing Creation, and describing the development of Human Nature; and the third being Eclectical, and representing Spiritual Life through Marriage, or the union of opposites through sacrifice, and also representing the realization of Philosophy as Absolute Science. With regard to the ONTOLOGICAL SPHERE, our science demands that it should take its departure from the Church, and represent, first, the production of all things from Finite Substance; next, the production of all things from Infinite Substance; and, finally, the production of all things by a Personal God, or Divine Creator, who, as the Alpha and Omega, combines in Himself both Infinite and Finite as Jehovah God. With regard to the PSYCHOLOGICAL SPHERE, our science demands that it should take its departure from the Church, and become realized, first, as Ontology, commencing with the development of finite substance, and ending with the development of infinite substance, in the forms of the Universe; next, as Psychology, commencing with internal and external moral schools as the exponents of Good, and ending with internal and external intellectual schools as the exponents of Truth, these being divided and antagonized as "two and two, one against the other;" and finally as Eclecticism, first from a supernatural and mystical, and next from a natural and intellectual point of view, by which the representation of spiritual life through marriage shall be realized on the one hand, and the union of opposite philosophical ideas and systems of thought shall be attempted upon the other, by which a chaotic condition of philosophy shall be produced. With regard to the ECLECTICAL SPHERE, our science demands that it should take its departure from the Church, and become developed, first, as Ontological, in opposite forms representative in a more internal and intellectual manner of infinite and finite principles in idealistic and sensualistic systems; next, as Psychological, in opposite moral and in opposite intellectual systems corresponding with those realized in the psychological sphere, and in the same order; and, finally, as Eclectical, in opposite systems, first from the ground of religious mysticism corresponding with a supernatural order of thought and expe

rience, and next from the ground of intellectualism corresponding with a natural order of thought and of experience.

We will now proceed to show, by quotations from the best historians of Philosophy, among whom are Cudworth, Brucker, Ritter, Chalybäus, Hegel, and Cousin, that this is the precise order in which philosophy has been developed; and also to show, from these quotations and in other ways, the character of each system, and the relation that it bears to other systems. With regard to the three spheres of philosophical development demanded by our science, history informs us that the first was realized in the East, and the second in Greece, while the third has been confined to the nations of Christian Europe; and we will therefore describe them in this order.

From the best accounts we have of the philosophy of the East, it appears that it not only took its departure from the Church, but maintained at its commencement an intimate relation with it, the philosophers being at this time the priests; that two opposite developments were there realized, the first by the Egyptians, and the second by the Persians; and that the philosophical systems of Egypt, where philosophy originated, and which has therefore been termed "the mother of philosophy," represented Creation from a finite absolute substance by describing the development of a feminine substance, which they symbolized by Water; while the Persian systems represented Creation from an infinite absolute substance by describing the development of a masculine substance, which they symbolized by Fire. These are legitimate representatives of Infinite and Finite, because they are opposite substances, which exclude each other; and because they are relatively spiritual and material, which are the ideas. associated by the ancient philosophers with Infinite and Finite : and they are used in a manner to represent Creation from opposite absolute substances, because, in one, Creation is realized through development; and, in the other, through emanation. These are the only distinctions that can be made in representing creation from infinite and finite substances in this external sphere; because here every thing must be brought down into the region of sensation, and represented through physical symbols, precisely as the ideas of Christianity must be brought down into physical symbolic forms in being represented by the most external Church. Neither of these theories is to be regarded as simply material, because a vital, intellectual power is recognized by both; by one as being contained in, and by the

other as constituting, the substance out of which the Universe is formed.

With regard to the Egyptians, Brucker remarks, "Concerning the esoteric or philosophical doctrine of the Egyptians, it seems evident, in the first place, that they conceived Matter to be the first principle of things; and that, before the regular forms of nature arose, an eternal chaos had existed, which contained, in a state of darkness and confusion, all the materials of future beings. This Chaos, which was also called Night, was, in the most ancient times, worshipped. as one of the superior divinities. Aristotle speaks of Chaos and Night as one and the same, and as the first principle, from which, in the ancient cosmogonies, all things are derived. It is probable that the Egyptians worshipped the material principle Chaos, or Night, under the name of Athor; a word which in the Coptic language signifies Night. Besides the material principle, it seems capable of satisfactory proof, that the Egyptians admitted an active principle, or intelligent power, eternally united with the chaotic mass, by whose energy the elements were separated, and bodies were formed; and who continually presides over the universe, and is the efficient cause of all effects."

From this it will be seen that the philosophies of Egypt represented, as we have said, Creation from finite substance through a process of growth from below upwards, or by the evolution of Natural Life from Matter. This was symbolized by the Egyptians in the form of the Sphinx, which was their great national emblem. In his philosophy of history, Hegel says, "The Sphinx may be regarded as a symbol of the Egyptian spirit. The human head looking out from the brute body exhibits Spirit as it begins to emerge from the merely Natural, — to tear itself loose therefrom, and already to look more freely around it; without, however, entirely freeing itself from the fetters Nature had imposed. The innumerable edifices of the Egyptians are half below the ground, and half rise above it into the air. The whole land is divided into a kingdom of life and a kingdom of death. The colossal statue of Memnon resounds at the first glance of the morning sun, though it is not yet the free life of Spirit with which it vibrates. Written language is still a hieroglyphic; and its basis is only the sensuous image, not the letter itself. Thus the memorials of Egypt themselves give us a multitude of forms and images that express its character: we recognize a spirit in them which feels itself compressed; which utters itself, but only in a sensuous mode."

Egypt was not only the exponent of the idea of Creation from finite substance, but represented the Female Principle, and thus the destructive side of the human constitution, from a universal point of view; and she is therefore used in the Scriptures to represent what is destructive, and what is natural, as opposite to the supernatural. She therefore became the great representative of Natural Life; and consequently the natural understanding, combined with the affectional powers, predominated in her mental constitution. It was for this reason that she so much excelled in material science and in the political economies of life; for Hegel informs us, that, "on account of its judicious economy, Egypt was regarded by the ancients as the pattern of a morally regulated condition of things." This feminine condition is strikingly illustrated in the fact, that "the women were engaged in out-door occupations, while the men remained at home to weave: " and the accompanying devotion to good is shown in the fact, that "the law required that every Egyptian should present himself at a time appointed before the superintendent under whom he lived, and state from what resources he obtained his livelihood; and that, if he could not refer to any, he was punished with death."† It is therefore, also, that the female principle, or the principle of fecundity, was worshipped, not only in the goddess Isis, but under a great variety of animal forms, among which the cat is conspicuous; which if a man killed designedly, he was punished with death. It is for the same reason that oxen were held to be so sacred, that, after death, they were embalmed, and pyramids were erected over their remains; for the ox is the symbol of natural good, as we shall hereafter have occasion to show, as this animal is a very important emblem in the symbolism of the Scriptures.

The Sphinx, however, is not the highest symbol of the Egyptian Idea, which is not simply the evolution of Natural Life from Matter, because it recognized an active power corresponding with Spirit by which this evolution is produced. This threefold idea, which we see represented in their philosophy, was also represented by them in artistic creations, in which the material sublime was a predominant element. These we find in the pyramids, and in those enormous masses of architecture and sculpture with which Egypt is covered. Even in the pyramids, however, the evolution of the natural from the material is the predominant idea represented; for although we have here the form of the triangle,