Page:God Manifest.djvu/141

Rh this. Thus will the landscapes of heaven be diversified with every beauty; under that beaming Sun, the soil of spiritual mould will bring forth exquisite fruits and flowers; and Eden, in more than its primitive loveliness, will again appear.

But now the question may be asked, where is that heaven? where is that spiritual world? Is it above the sun—beyond the stars? That cannot be; for the stars, as astronomy makes known to us, are all around the earth, below as well as above, and on every side of us. In fact, the terms above and beneath, considered exactly and scientifically, mean simply off from the earth and towards the earth's centre, respectively. No! the spiritual world is within, rather than above; it is an inner sphere, rather than a distant upper sphere. What is interior is called higher, from a spiritual idea of its being of a higher nature, that is, more perfect; as God Himself is called "Most High," not as being most high in space, but most high in character, in nature—most interior, most perfect. To see that the spiritual world is in a manner within the natural, we have only to consider man's own soul or spirit, and its position in relation to the material body. We feel the spirit as within the body. When we press the hand upon the forehead in the effort of deep thought, we have a consciousness that the thinking principle is there within. When the heart is touched with feelings of pity and compassion, or deeply affected with grief, we press our hands upon our bosoms, with a distinct perception that the meltings of tenderness or the pangs of sorrow are within us. When the whole spirit is excited in the moment of great action, it is the inner man that is stirred, and its emotion is communicated in a thrill 9*