Light from the spirit world / The pilgrimage of Thomas Paine and others to the seventh circle in the spirit world

After the conclusion of the lesson, the Master said, “Thomas, thou wilt go with the four and twenty elders, and see what remainest in the castle.”

The command was obeyed. When we reached the castle, we saw a dense cloud resting over the place, and there was a large number which no mind could count, wondering at the departure of the hundred and forty and four thousand. It was a day of fasting and prayer. The elders said, “They mourn without success. The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are thankful. We will listen to their lamentations.”

Presently, a mind descried us, and straightway he went to the citadel. I heard his report to the king, whom he met at the gate. “The four and twenty elders have returned, and have taken their position on the wall, where thou hast ordered thy servant to stand.”

K. What is their report?

M. They have just arrived—I heard no report.

K. Then take with thee thy guard, and bring me word what they may say unto thee.

M. They bear no arms.

K. Then go thou with thy company, and hear their report.

The centurion came, and said, “the king desireth a report from thee, and I am the messenger.”

The elder of the elders replied, “Tell the king we have found favor with God; for, verily, he dwelleth not in temples made with hands, and we are satisfied with all we have seen and heard.”

M. Dost thou wish to return to the fold again?

E. We have come to tarry only while we may do thee and thy fellow servants good, as our Master hath commanded us. Wilt thou say to the king, that the half was not told us before we left the castle. We have tidings of great good for all who obey the truth, and are faithful to the law of harmony and peace. We invite the king and his household to hear our report, which will end thy fasting, and soon change thy sadness into joy.

M. Then I will report thy wish to the king.

I went with him, but the elders remained. The messenger entered by the north gate, and when he approached the palace, the king’s servant required us to wait. Soon the king made his appearance, and said, “Bringest thou a report?”

M. I have a message for thee from the elders.

K. Thou mayest say to them, come where I am, that I may see them face to face.

M. Lo! they are waiting thy pleasure.

K. Invite them all to my council chamber.

We all went where he requested.

“I am now ready to hear the report of the elders,” said the king.

“May it please thee,” said the senior, “we have found favor with God, and grace and peace are multiplied unto us. We have washed in a stream, and thou seest our garments are white as snow. The circle will receive thee, when thou art willing to cast thy crowns into the treasury of good, and learn war no more. Thou wilt not regret the sacrifice, for what thou consecratest to the good of mind, will do thee more honor than all thy works of power. We saw a mystery unfolded to us, which will not do thee good, until thou shalt become acquainted with it also. The mystery of iniquity thou hast understood, from thy reception into the throne of power; but the mystery of godliness thou mayest yet learn. There are minds who can teach thee the mystery of mutual confidence. It will not be taught thee here; for now thou art surrounded with minds distrustful of each other. Thou distrustest them, and they distrust thee. But we have found a circle where no mind distrusts, because they know each other’s thoughts. The whole circle need no compulsion to do right, because right is their meat and drink. They delight in right, and wisdom is always with them. They worship God without fear, and love one another without dissimulation. There is a rainbow over their heads, and a cloud of fire by night to warm their hearts with love forever. There no iron rule becomes necessary to enforce obedience; for obedience is loved, and what is loved is not avoided. The Master is not a tyrant, but a father; and, when the father commands, his children delight to obey his commands. What is the wish of the father, is the wish of his children. Hence, no disorder or wrong can enter the circle we have found.”

K. Then, thou art satisfied with what thou hast seen and heard?

E. We are satisfied with what we have seen and heard. We will not return with thy permission to tarry here.

K. When wilt thou return to thy new friends?

E. When we can do no good here.

K. Thou wilt not expect to convert me?

E. We expect only thy pleasure. It is not our will to control thee, but to aid thee in the path of true wisdom and happiness.

K. Hast thou not been flattered with new things?

E. We have seen, and do testify, that new things have been discovered to us.

K. When new things have been found, is it not prudent to test them by experience before we trust too implicitly in them?

E. Thou wilt not test them, we apprehend, even as we have done.

K. When thou hast tested them, I will hear thee again.

E. Would it not be better for thee to test them by thy own experience?

K. It would not be better, if I disliked the experience.

E. True; but thou wilt have no experience without a trial of them.

K. I will wait thy tests.

E. We will wait thy pleasure.

When he had concluded, we departed to a mind who was not unwilling to hear, because he had no authority to rule over others. He was wholly depressed in his mind about relieving himself from his fears.

“Thy fears disturb thy quiet,” said the elder.

M. My fears not only disturb my quiet, but the quiet of others.

E. Why dost thou fear?

M. How can I help my fears, when every thing makes me fear?

E. Thou mayest be aided, so that thy fears will not control thee.

M. Thy confidence I do not realize.

E. My confidence will be thine, when thy fears are removed.

M. That will not soon be realized.

E. I know thy condition, and thou knowest that as thou art, even so I once was. Dost thou remember me?

M. I have seen thee, but thou dost not wear the same garments? Why didst thou change?

E. I was with thee, when thou didst first enter within these walls. I was thy teacher, when thou wast where thou wouldst not return. I saw thee, when thou wast in a condition that elicited my sympathy. Dost thou wish farther relief?

M. I would not refuse what thy kindness has to bestow.

E. Thy fears will not be removed without instruction. What thou fearest is what should be overcome. I will aid thee to see that thy fears are not true to thee, nor true to thy progress.

M. Thou wilt not say, my sincerity is not true?

E. Thy sincerity is no proof of thy faith.

M. What is well I believe.

E. Thou believest what is not well.

M. What do I believe, which is not well?

E. That which thou fearest is not well.

M. Thou wouldst not banish all fear.

E. He who fearest is not made wise in love; because what is feared is not hoped for, but dreaded as an evil. I would remove all fear, for thou canst not fear and be free. When thou fearest, thou art in bonds, and when thou art in bonds, thy heart is unreconciled to thy condition. It is not satisfactory to thyself. Thy unreconciliation is dissatisfaction with thy condition. Thou wouldst hope for better things, but thy mind hath been instructed in many errors which remain to disturb thee.

M. Thou hast said, in thy pilgrimage with us, that what I believe was true.

E. I said, as I believed; but thou wilt understand that belief is not always correct. Thou canst believe because of my saying; but thou canst not know without investigation and tangible facts. The circle, which bids me labor for thy good, walk not by faith but by wisdom. They are not controlled by opinions or faiths, but by actual experiments. It is not actual experiments and demonstrations of facts which weary thy mind, and paralyze thy industry, but it is thy opinions and doubts. They are the messengers of discontent and trouble. If thou wouldst distrust thy distrust, and doubt thy doubts, thy mind would feel the inspiration of hope. When thy mind hopest for good, thy confidence is superior to thy doubts. Then the despondency of thy condition vanishes.

M. But what have I to hope for?

E. Thou wilt ask, what is there which I may not hope for? There is no good, which thou mayest not attain. The wisdom of circles, whose glory thou hast not seen, may be thine by receiving it. But thy doubts cause thee to reject thy own good. When the prize is offered thee, thou refusest, because of thy unbelief. Thy doubts distrust and reject the best good. They rob thee by thy own consent. It is, indeed, no wonder to me now, why thou shouldst not advance, and become more happy. I would advise thee, but thy wisdom apprehends mischief from me. Now, I am not of thy circle, thou fearest some evil intention is with me. The worst evil thou canst suffer, is the evil of resisting wisdom.

M. I would not resist what is wise and good, but I would know that it is wise and good before I receive it.

E. How canst thou know what thy wisdom rejects? When thou askest aid, how canst thou be benefited, so long as the aid is rejected? Must not the aid be received to help thee? Wouldst thou require tangible evidence, or demonstrations of its usefulness before thou wouldst accept what thy necessities demand? Thou askest for the proof of a thing, when thou rejectest the only means which can give thee the required satisfaction. As well might the ignorant say, “I will receive instruction when I am satisfied by experience that it will be for my advantage, and not before,” as for thee to demand knowledge of a subject before thou receivest the lessons, which will make thee know the truth of the subject.

M. Then, I must receive what thou sayest as truth, and test it by my experience.

E. Thou wilt test it in no other way than by thy experience. All thou knowest to be good or bad, thou knowest by thy experience.

M. May I not know from others’ experience?

E. Thou mayest believe, but thou canst not know. To know is to understand by the test of thy experience. The test of experience will not deceive thee. By it thou mayest try the philosophy which we teach. Thy mind will not doubt what it knows; but it will doubt what minds say; because thou hast already found many errors in the sayings of thy friends, but never one in the counsels of thy experience. Experience is true. However bitter it may be from the errors of thy life, yet it is true. Falsehoods even are true, as are facts; but there is this distinction, which experience has established. Falsehoods are wrongs, facts are not. Nevertheless, thou must see that wrongs are true to falsehoods, and falsehood to wrongs. The cause is true to its effect. If the cause be inharmonious with good, the wretchedness must ensue. If the cause be harmonious with mind, the effect can not be wrong. Therefore, falsehood, being a cause, and that cause not being in harmony with the progress and happiness of mind, must beget its true effect when received. That effect is wrong, and wrong because an evil is inflicted. All evil is true to the effect it produces. When a mind is in harmony with error, the error is true to that mind. The error is true to its effect. It is sure to produce its own likeness—to stamp its own image, when received by the mind. No effect, disagreeing with the cause, can ever exist in nature. Consequently, all things are causes of other things, and the cause and effect are true to each other. This is what we may call truth.

M. Then truth is the relation of cause and effect?

E. It is the relation which will disclose a truth to thee. The things, being true to each other, will not be false to each other; so with mind. The things which are in harmony with mind, are true to that mind, and the things which are otherwise, are false. Thou knowest that, when thou hast entertained that which was incongenial with thy mind, it was productive only of evil. It was false to thy peace. It was untrue to thy happiness, because the relation was not true to thy wants. Error is error, only because thy mind is disappointed. Truth is truth when no disappointment occurs. Thou hast sought for peace and happiness in things which bear no relation to thy seeking. Thou hast not learned the philosophy of cause and effect. When thou receivest the sayings of mind, thou hast been sometimes deceived; and thou believest when they tell thee what is for thy good. They, too, will not satisfy thy mind without adapting their instruction to thy understanding. Error has been taught thee, or things have been offered thee which disturb the sympathy of thy mind. They are false to thy wants. Thou seekest happiness. They destroy it. That is false to thee and thy good. Thou shouldst not trust in thorns to produce grapes, nor in thistles to produce figs; but thou shouldst know that nothing is, or ever can be true to thy good, which is, or shall be, incongenial with the sympathy that makes thee a child of God.

M. I see that thy philosophy makes no relation eternal; because, when a thing changes, it disturbs the relation which it has sustained to another thing.

E. The relation is eternal to things which are eternal. But thy errors are not eternal things. I see they will soon be destroyed in thee. When thou hast an affinity, or holdest a relation to things which disturb thee, the connection, thus formed, will be true to itself so long as it remaineth, but when the error is destroyed by the philosophy we teach, the relation is broken, and the effect of that relation must cease. The error will disturb no longer than it remaineth.

M. Is it not even so with the truth?

E. It is.

M. Why may not minds, then, lose the truth, and sink into utter hopelessness and despair?

E. Minds may not lose the truth, when they never have found it. Thou hast not yet found the truth. Thou hast learned some facts. Facts are the wisdom of nature as revealed to mind in parts. The truth is the infinite whole, and is incapable of being divided into parts. Minds sometimes call facts truths; but we teach that truth, which is infinite, so far, and no father, as it has been made known to us. Thou hast been taught the truth in part, and what remainest for thee to learn, is what thou hast no knowledge of. It is ignorance in thee, as it is in us. This truth is the infinite harmony and wisdom of God in the universe. All revelation of that wisdom, is true to thy happiness; because thy mind is not discordant with nature, only as thy ignorance, or education, hath perverted it. Thus, the revelation of wisdom, agreeing with thy happiness, is true to thee, and what is true to thee, as cause and effect, will never be false, because it is governed by an immutable law.

M. Then, thou wouldst teach that truth is eternal and error not.

E. Truth is true to the good of mind eternally, because it is in harmony with the relation of cause and effect. Error is in harmony only with ignorance. Ignorance is the absence of knowledge. It is the mere thing of childhood—the infancy of mind in its eternal progress. But when the infant becomes the philosopher, it puts away childish things. The swaddling clothes of the babe will not truly cover the grown man. They are true to the infant, like the Mosaic covenant of forms to the Jewish people; but they cover not the wants of enlarged sympathy for the great brotherhood of mind. The infant people required protection, and their wants were supplied. They asked only what they received. The minds of this circle have sought for no more than they have found. They have sought to establish their own wisdom, in opposition to the wisdom of a higher circle; and they have found, by experience, the avails of their search.

M. Then minds can find what they seek for?

E. They can find the degree of wisdom which they seek for. They can generally find whatever opinion they prefer, because they will prefer only an opinion agreeing with their measure of wisdom. All which disagree with their degree of reform in wisdom is wrong. Nothing to them is right, but the righteousness in them. They seek for nothing more.

M. How, then, can they progress in wisdom.

E. As others influence them by instruction, as we have sought to do unto thee.

M. Then thou wilt go on; I like thy philosophy.

E. Thou wilt see a philosophy in thy progress which will satisfy thee, that thy errors are of no service to thee.

M. I am now satisfied of that, but what are my errors?

E. Thou wilt not receive all we wish thee to hear alone. When thou wilt call thy friends together, who sympathize with thee, and who have no opposition to wisdom, nor fear of instruction, we will visit thee, and say unto all what thou mayest apply unto thyself.

M. I will call my friends now. They hear my voice, and will respond to my wish.

The multitude assembled, and the elder proceeded to address them. “Thou hast a work to do, my friends. The wisdom of a superior circle hath delegated to me the duty of undoing the errors I have inculcated among the minds of those with whom I have labored. Nothing is more sincerely regretted, than my wrongs. It has been my honest endeavor to do away wrong; but I find many errors, which I have taught, and now it becomes my pleasing duty to correct them. Among those errors, none stand more prominent than the doctrine of imputed righteousness, and the fears and selfishness which it has encouraged. The principle, which imputes to another what he never had, or will possess, is fatal to the idea of impartial justice, and wrong in its effect upon individual responsibility. I have found that wisdom, which discloses the fact, that thy wrongs can not be justly imputed to another. Neither is it just for another to assume thy wrongs without thy practice. Indeed, thy wrongs are thy own, and no one can make them his own without adopting them. When they are adopted by another, that mind is as criminal as he who first practiced them. So, will it be seen, that no mind can claim happiness because another is virtuous. The virtues of the wise must become our own, or they will not promote our enjoyment. Thou knowest I have taught thee to hope for good, because thy Savior was righteous. As well might mind hope for good, because God is good. There never was a time when God was not good, but what availeth his goodness, until it becomes thy own; and to become thy own, it must become thy practice. Because one mind is good, or just, or right, it is not true that all are so. And yet the doctrine I taught thee, encouraged the expectation that, because thy Master was good, he would impute his righteousness unto thee. As well might the claim of thy righteousness be maintained, because another was exalted to a circle of purity. Thou hast no lessons in nature to sustain the doctrine of imputed righteousness. All law, which recognizes equity and justice, repudiates the slander upon the name of Jesus. He transfers no good to thee, which thy condition will not receive as thy own inheritance. Thou shouldst not depend on being saved from thy wrongs, otherwise than by forsaking them. No good can come unto thee in wrong; and so long as thy wrongs remain, the good of thy Master availeth thee nothing. To be saved, thou shouldst not depend on the good of another, but on the good thou mayest attain by seeking wisdom, and forsaking folly. What, therefore, I have taught thee, inconsistent with this sentiment, I would ask thee to abandon; for no good can arise to thee from any source, without thy wisdom shall control thee to make it thy own. And, when it is thy own, it is not another’s. Read thy lesson of wrong no more, and forsake the teaching which would flatter thee with hopes of bliss, because another is more holy than thyself. Thy Savior is he who saves. No mind is thy Savior, unless he saves. To save is to make thee wise, and when thou hast become wise, thou wilt put away wrongs and errors. No mind is wise in the wisdom of my circle, who refuses instruction in wisdom, or who neglects to practice its requirements.

“I have seen thy ways, and I have watched thy mourning with solicitude. Thou hast waited in hope for the redemption, because another was good. Thou hast waited for another to do what thou shouldst have done thyself. It is this which has wronged thee. Hadst thou felt the necessity for thy own exertions, and depended less on the doctrine of imputed righteousness, as thou hast been taught, I would not now need to correct the wrong I have done. But, when thou hopest for good because another is wise, thou art prone to security in indolence. Thou seest that it is mischievous to encourage indolence, and yet, when thou waitest for another to do thy work, thy indolence is apparent. Be wise, then, and be active to be wise.”

The circle said, “Who then can be saved? If we have no righteousness of our own, and are not permitted to hope for it in another, who among us will be saved?”

E. Those with thee who seek and find wisdom, and who will not neglect the good of mind.

C. Then there is no need of a Savior, if we can save ourselves.

E. There is no need of hoping for the righteousness of another to be placed to thy credit; because no such injustice will be manifest to thee. There is need of a teacher to instruct thee in the truth of divine wisdom; and he who instructs saves, when his instruction is received, and as it is received. The ignorance of mind is removed by instruction, and as it is removed, the mind instructed is saved from its ignorance. When a mind errs, it errs not because it naturally prefers the error, but because its ignorance prevented the reception of wisdom. The evils, which mind practices, are not practiced because the mind loves the evil, in preference to good, but because, through ignorance, it misjudged. The ignorant mind is liable to misjudge, but the wise are instructed. Mind must love, and prefer for itself that which is good, or that which it supposes is best adapted to promote its own enjoyment. But very many find their judgments in error. They do wrong to do themselves good. True wisdom, however, reveals the ignorance of their judgment. Good can never come out of evil, nor evil out of good. Temporary advantage may be taken of another’s opinion, whereby wrong may ensue to him; and when the mind has received what it has sought and obtained at the expense of another, it is not satisfied, because the wrong never can satisfy what God has made right and good. And the greater the wrong, the greater the dissatisfaction; because right and wrong can never agree, but must from their disagreement war with each other. The mind, therefore, acting wrong, encourages contention in itself, and where there is a conflict, the law of harmony is disturbed, and with it the peace of him whose enjoyment is dependent upon it. He who saves is, therefore, a deliverer from these evils of ignorance.

C. Thou makest every teacher then a Savior.

E. I would teach thee, that every one who saves is a savior. He who teaches wisdom and inculcates principles of righteousness in the minds of others, saves them from their ignorance and folly. Is it not so?

C. It so appears; but why should any mind hope for salvation by the aid of Jesus?

E. The aid which Jesus brings thee, is the aid we bring. Jesus comes not to thee, except through the circles interlinking him to thee.

C. Does he exercise direct control over thy circle?

E. He exercises control over all circles of less wisdom than himself; but we have been taught by others, and they by others, and so on to the circle in which Jesus resides. The wisdom taught us is the wisdom he would teach, were he our direct instructor; because it would be unwise to undertake to develop mind, only as mind is developed to receive instruction. The circle of wisdom, which instructs us, could not comprehend the degree of Jesus, until wisdom improved them by successive degrees, so that they would be capable of receiving it. Soon will thy wisdom unite with my circle, for I see thou art ready to receive the truth without fear.

C. I have not many fears, but I have some further inquiries, which my mind is not fully settled upon.

E. Proceed.

C. Thou hast taught us, that imputed righteousness was unjust. How can that be unjust, which is freely offered on condition of our acceptance, or bestowed without our wish?

E. The injustice consists in the wrong. All is wrong which is not good. It is not good to deceive thee with wrong. The wrong is not right, and what is not right is unjust. The wrong of deceiving thee, leads thee wrong, and encourages thee to hope for another’s wisdom without having the principles and works, which will be found important to thy progress. The imputed righteousness of Jesus will never benefit thee, until that righteousness becomes thy own by practice. No good can come to thee, unless the good be received and adopted. When it is adopted, it is thine, and not before.

C. Thou wouldst not teach, that all evils are unjust.

E. Thou wouldst not reject what is well, when thou understandest it. The well is not evil. The good is not evil. The just is not evil. Evils are not evils absolutely. The worst evil is ignorance. Ignorance will not live forever in any mind—I would say, the ignorance of right and wrong as I understand right and wrong. Therefore, it is not an absolute evil. It is even so with all other evils; they are temporary, not eternal.

C. The evil of wretchedness is worse than ignorance.

E. Wretchedness is the effect of ignorance. The effect can not exceed the cause.

C. Yea; but it may be more lasting.

E. How can the effect of ignorance be more lasting than the cause?

C. When minds do wrong, their wrongs remain, as thou hast said, till they are corrected. Thou sayest that thy mission here is to correct thy wrongs, and yet thou claimest wisdom unknown to thee, when thy wrongs were done.

E. My wrongs were the wrongs of thee, and those with thee. When I taught thee wrong, thy wrongs justified my teaching. Thy sympathies were as mine; but what was my wrong, was not thine, nor thine mine. When I came here, I came to undo my wrongs, which thou hast adopted, and by adoption made them thine. I was wrong as thou art; but what I would do, thou wilt not undo. I would undo what thou canst not do. That thou mayest understand me, I taught thee what thou didst receive and adopt. I taught thee wrong. My wrong was in teaching. Thou didst receive and adopt, and thy wrong was in receiving and adopting, when thou shouldst have weighed my saying in the balance of impartial justice and truth. My mission is to undo my teaching, when I was with thee. Thy duty is to undo what thou hast adopted without weight. I told thee wrong. I now correct that wrong. I was in error. I would now make thee to know it. And when thou seest my folly as I see it, thy wisdom will be increased.

C. Then wisdom consists in seeing our own faults.

E. It consists not only in seeing them, but forsaking them. The wisdom is in forsaking follies.

C. Have we follies that wisdom does not approve?

E. Thy works must show.

C. What works?

E. Thy reform will show thee thy follies.

C. What follies?

E. The folly of depending on others to do what thou shouldst do thyself.

C. What should we do ourselves?

E. Put away all wrong.

C. What wrongs should we put away?

E. The wrong of ignorance.

C. Of what are we ignorant?

E. Of that which thou knowest not.

C. What is that?

E. The wisdom of God.

C. How may we know the wisdom of God?

E. By instruction in righteousness.

C. Who will instruct us?

E. A circle whom we have seen. Wouldst thou be introduced to that circle?

C. Thy circle will not receive such minds as we are.

E. My circle will prepare thy mind, and receive thee when prepared.

C. Why doth thy circle not worship as we do?

E. Because it is not in accordance with our wisdom. Thou wilt worship with new light, when thou seest the wisdom which will be unfolded to thee. Now, thou seest with fear and trembling; but when the pure wisdom shines upon thee from the throne of goodness, the doubts and fears of thy mind will be dissipated with the rising glory of eternal day. The vain imaginings of a misguided mind, will be corrected, and the beautiful harmonies of nature will control thy mind, and give thee peace, that transcends thy longing soul. The voice of kindness will rekindle thy devotions, and the sweet influence of welcome associates, will touch the soft emotions of gratitude and praise. Thou hast not seen wisdom so pure, goodness so great, hope so unclouded, life so sweet, and society so agreeable, as that to which I propose to introduce thee and thy friends with thee. Thou wilt learn thy lessons of love with pleasure, thy lessons of peace with content, and no lash of fear will urge thee, when thou understandest the joy of the blessed.

C. But why may I not receive the same instruction in this castle?

E. Thou wilt receive thy instruction only where it is to be found. Thou knowest such only can instruct thee as are competent. They can not instruct thee without removing the veil from thy face, so that thou canst see, as well as hear, wisdom in mercy.

C. I would not object to leaving the castle, if my associates would accompany me.

E. Thy associates are even waiting for thee to say, “I will go.”

C. How dost thou know?

E. I know with a sight you have not obtained.

C. Canst thou tell my intention?

E. I can tell thee, that thy mind is to go.

C. How may I know this, and see as thou dost?

E. By doing as I require thee. When thou shalt see the light of the temple, thy vision will be so increased as to discern the thoughts of mind, and when thou seest the thoughts of mind, thou wilt no longer walk by faith, but by sight. In this consists the wisdom of the circle to which I now belong. They have no doubts or fears, because doubts are the results of blindness. What thou seest, thou canst not doubt or fear, because the truth is not to be feared, but dispels doubts and sorrows.

C. Is there no fact, which ought to be feared?

E. The most fearful thing, which spirits need to avoid, is their neglect of wisdom. Their opposition to improvement is the most dangerous thing which they need fear. It is what they should overcome. Thy fears will vanish with the light of wisdom. They will not mar thy joy, nor disturb thy quiet, when the wisdom of our circle teaches thee the folly of fear. Not every one of thy companions will go with us. I see a mind in yonder palace, who is waiting for my experience to aid him. He will not be aided in that manner. He wishes me to test the realities of my circle for him, but thou canst now see, that my test will not be a test for him. When indolence asketh another to do what belongeth to him who is controlled by it should do, the improvement will be procrastinated until indolence is satisfied. There will be no reform in the hands of indolence, and where there is no reform, there is but little wisdom. I have seen much indolence in this castle. I have seen much indifference to progress, and I am satisfied that no wisdom can improve the condition of minds here, unless that wisdom be received, to give vitality to the works of righteousness. I wait thy response.

C. I will try thy circle.

E. Thou wilt not receive what is given thee without trying it, because the trying is what will introduce thee into it.

C. Then, I can try it here.

E. Not till thou hast received it.

C. But, may I not receive it here, as elsewhere?

E. Thou mayest receive what thou canst here, and practice it; but what thou lackest is sight. Now, thou only believest, because of my saying; but when thou seest, thou wilt know, not because of my saying, but because what thou seest will make thee know the wisdom which I now declare unto thee. Thou wouldst prefer facts for faiths, realities for doubts, and stability for uncertainty.

C. I will go with thee.

E. Who else?

The whole company were of one mind. They all said, “I will go.” I recorded their names in the book of life, and found a thousand times ten thousand, who sung a new song on the walls of scorn, and were received into the temple not made with hands, as were the hundred and forty and four thousand. They were made free from the bondage of fear and doubt; and, when they were free, they said, “Glory, glory, to the Lord God Almighty, who art from everlasting to everlasting, Supreme over the works which he hath made; and who suffereth no unclean thing to frustrate the immutable counsel of his wisdom and pleasure.” And the voice of the temple was one voice; for joy was increased, when reform was effectual in reclaiming so great a multitude.