INTELLECTUAL REPOSITORY, AND NEW JERUSALEM MAGAZINE. VOL. VI.-ENLARGED SERIES. 1859. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE NEW CHURCH, SIGNIFIED BY THE NEW JERUSALEM IN THE REVELATION: AND SOLD BY W. WHITE, AT THE SWEDENBORG SOCIETY'S HOUSE, 36, BLOOMSBURY STREET, On various occasions during the last twenty winters, at the commencement of a new year, the Editor has taken the liberty of addressing you, respecting the actual state and prospects of this Magazine. The existence of a Periodical to advocate, to extend, and to vindicate the holy cause of a genuine Christianity founded on the pure truths and doctrines of the everlasting Gospel of our Saviour God, has, from the very beginning, proved itself to be indispensable. The press is evidently, under the Lord's providence, the great engine of use, and of progress in the propagation of the doctrines of the New Dispensation. Swedenborg worked solely by the press, and the same medium, so wonderfully developed as to its resources, and the extension of its uses since his time, is still the great instrumentality by which the new ideas of Truth and of Goodness, arising from an enlightened understanding of God's Word, can be made known, confirmed, and vindicated amongst men. Since the Periodical was established, now nearly half a century ago (in 1812), great, indeed, have been the changes which have marked the progress of the age. It has been our lot, during the last thirty years, to labour in this field of usefulness, and to exert our feeble energies in behalf of the cause advocated by this Magazine. We have, therefore, had abundant opportunities to observe these changes in the horizon of the human mind, and, to a considerable extent, they stand recorded from time to time in the pages of this Periodical. As an historical document, therefore, of some importance as to the early periods of the church, it will, in future generations, be esteemed as possessing some [Enl. Series.-No. 61, vol. vi.] Α valuable information. The origination of all our useful institutionsof our Printing, Tract, Missionary, and School Societies, was first inaugurated, and their projects and plans of usefulness first developed, in its pages. Time has shown how well these institutions have, through the Lord's blessing, worked for the good of the holy cause we have endeavoured to maintain. When this Periodical commenced its career, education among the masses of the people had made but little progress. Literature and science were confined to a limited circle of students and readers. Ignorance, prejudice, and bigotry, as to the introduction of new ideas in theology, almost universally triumphed. The name of Swedenborg, in respect to theology, like that of Copernicus, or of Galileo, in respect to astronomy in their time, and in the subsequent generation, was either mentioned with contempt, or passed over in contemptuous silence. But now the name of Swedenborg is beginning to be respected in regard to the highest department of human knowledge, the truths of theology, as the names of Copernicus and of Galileo are now honoured in respect to the truths of astronomical science. We gratefully, however, acknowledge, in Swedenborg's behalf, an especial illumination, through the Lord's providence and mercy, to enable him to accomplish his mission. There were at that period but few writers who could contribute to Periodical literature. The burden rested upon the mental shoulders of a few. But how great is the change! Now nearly every individual has the ability to read and to express his ideas in writing, or with little exertion and at little expense he may acquire that ability. His mind is also enlarged by exercising the mental powers on the elements of science, and the abundant stores of knowledge applicable to all the uses of life are opened and displayed to his mind, and presented for his acceptance almost without money and without price. The system of teaching also, as one of the most useful of the arts, is immensely improved. The dignity was formerly confined to our universities and colleges, and higher academies, but now it is installed in our village schools, as it should be, with the honours of a profession. It is no longer considered that the man who has been unsuccessful in his business can now undertake the important duties of a teacher, irrespective of the qualifications and experience necessary for the office. The superior quality of books in every branch of knowledge, and the amazing cheapness of their cost, should also be considered. All other kinds of apparatus, as diagrams, maps, pictorial representations, &c., so necessary for effective teaching, are also abundantly and cheaply sup |
