The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-10-30
MANS PLICE CREATION.
A swedeuborsian View of the Cbaructeris-
tics that My him TO God.


The subject of the Rev. Chaunccy Giles's
discourse IN the Swedenboreian Church yester-
day morning was Mans Place in tue Creation I;
how he is related to God on one side OF his ma
ture and is different from amin ais ON the other"
lie said that the doctrines Of the New Church
make entirely new disclosures to man concern
ing himself. They do not confound him with
God or angels OH one side or nature on the
other. Man Is the GROWING work OF the Lord.
He is the most variously and perfectly organ
ized: the planes OF his being run through all the
degrees OF the creation. from the highest to tho
lowest He Is a mineral he Is a vegetable, be IL
an animal, he Is a spirit, he Is an angel. All
forms, all qualities. all motions, all activities
are centred In him. lie is "a microcosm: the
klngd ON Of God is within him so he Ia ma
terial and a spiritual universe. His mind Is
ca2tcious enough to receive all its forms, and
powerful enough to weigh all It's qualities. lie
has capabilities which are impossible to the
whole material universe: he Will outlive them
all, aud he is worth more than oil worlds. hut,
notwithstanding man is so great and precious
in his capabilities, we are In danger OF mis- aklng
some of the acJuuct- OF "A man, or some Of the
means by which tue distinctly human Is formed
for the man himself.
Man L. In the human form, the noblest and
most beautiful form that the LORD has ever
created; but II Is not the form which DIS
constitutes tue human In him. Some beasts
approach SO near to man In tuis respect that
sayants conclude That man Is nothing but a
more largely developed brute. But II IS not so.
The human does not consist In tue outward
form. 1t does not consist in the ABILITY to see
ana hear, to eat and feel, aud to enjoy the
pleasures Of the senses Beasts have minds aud
souls. Man u not diferenced from them by the
fact that he can know think. reason and love.
What We call the material plane OF his faculties
he holds Ia common with them. 1t Is true theHe
faculties exist In him In much larger, more
varied, aud nobier forms; but N he possessed
them all in perfection, 1t would not make him u
man.
Mans spiritual nature, or man as a spirit, con-
si-ts VI three degrees or pinnes Of organic
forms. entirely distinct from each other, called
natural spiritual. aud celesttal. these planes
OF cuilies are so distinct that the lower may
be developed while the two Liner remain as
mere germs, as possibilities. 1 he natural and
toe spiritual may be- developed while the highes {
remains as "A mere germ. he natural plane OF
MS mind, man possesses In common with ami
mails. However largely the faculties of thAt de-
gree of his nature may Ito developed, he only
becomes by u anobler animal
The human dis inctly as such. begins In the
RATIONAL, which Is tue CONNECTING link between
the natural ana the spiritual. partak,ug OF the
nature OF both. All mans power Of perceving
what ~ equitable and Just. OF what Is true and
good, also all 81 ritual affections, belong TO this
degree II his mind. 1t Is in these qualities that
the natural. They begin where the .tural fac
ulties end ana from them, as oasis, they rise
to the spiritual. and, u man develops nis'n-ture
so far, into the celestial.
Perhaps we cannot define the human quality
OF mans mind In ny better way than by the
goluen rule. doing TO otners IS we would have
them 10 to US. aud Of loving to do so. We have
no evidence that brute can have any concep-
ton oi sucn "a mOtive for action. Keeping tnis
simple rnle In mind, We IN y be aUle 10 see
wnere We begin TO he distinctly AID essentially
human. 1t Is when we discover our relation 10
other, when We oelin to feel the sense Of obi
cation, ana 10 act from love to OH, n, tuat h,
To place their Interests on ala equality wi h our
own. We are not human until We begin To do
III I. We may be men in the making, but We
have not yet teen born from above. We are not
human until We begin to TO formed into tho
In age OF God. The ini ge OF Coo does no. con-
blsi IN Onward puNslcM contour nlOne. It's es-
sentlI features are tue very slemsals OF tue
Divine CHI. racter.