Page:The New View of Hell.djvu/53

 and its health renewed, it will find rest and comfort in no place however beautiful.

Both hell and heaven, according to the New Theology, are within men. They are not places but states of life. But in the other world, these states project themselves outwardly, making all the surroundings of each spirit a perfect mirror, as it were, of himself;—reflecting with mathematical precision his own affections and thoughts. Heaven is a state the very opposite of hell as opposite as day is to night, light to darkness, health to sickness, love to hate, good to evil. The essential life of heaven, is the life of disinterested love—love to the Lord and the neighbor. The essential life of hell, is the life of self-love; and this is real hatred of the neighbor. Heaven is a state in which the understanding is illumined by the light of truth; hell is a state in which it is obscured by the darkness of falsity. Heaven is a state of spiritual health, order, peace and joy unutterable; hell is a state of spiritual sickness, disorder, unrest and comparative sorrow. In the most exalted heavenly state, every one loves others even more than he loves himself; in hell, and in all hellish states, every one hates others in comparison with himself. Heaven is a state of humility, self-forgetfulness, and of sweet and serene trust in the Lord; hell is a state of pride, self-seeking, and inward alienation from and opposition to the Lord. Heaven is a state of the most delightful freedom, in which every one finds his highest gratification in the