at length the mild radiant light of the divine Prince of Peace shone in the night of death from the cross upon the world.

"Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world" (Galat. iv. 1.)

"But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Galat. iv. 4.)

The advent of Christ on earth was not an event of chance, not a phenomenon of nature, but a long-determined revelation by God.

The New Covenant.

Having mentioned several of the most remarkable facts of the Old Covenant bearing on magic and magnetism, and referring to the process of human development through the divine will, it is necessary on more than one account to speak of the New Covenant, to examine those passages which refer to our subject most closely; because, especially in the New Covenant, the magical cures were so numerous, and almost in all cases so entirely without outward remedies, that there appears to be some ground for regarding these cures as nothing more nor less than magnetic in character. Extremes have been maintained by advocates on both sides of the question, to which we must devote some attention. At the end of this section we shall glance at the being and meaning of Christianity in general, as well as the connection it bears with magic in particular.

The men of God in the Old Testament, who performed such great and glorious miracles, were always more human than divine in nature; that is, they represented individual persons and perfections. The entire expression of these perfections was only seen in Christ; he it was who opened the new gate, burst the chains of human slavery, and showed the true image of perfection and wisdom in his glory. Christ again promised man immortality; he again elevated

his spiritual nature to be a temple of the sacred fire, a living altar and incense to eternal peace. In the "Magicon" we find as follows:-" As the first man Adam is the source of all evil, so could no one of his race be the saviour, weakness having no power against strength: it must be a being more than human. As there is none above man but God, this agent must be no other than one possessing the divine powers; having the divine character, to arouse in the soul of man the perception of that which is divine. Even the various opinions of men concerning him show that all powers, all gifts and perfections, were united in him."

"There are men for whom this Saviour has already come, others for whom he is coming, and others again for whom he will come in future times. Since his advent things are becoming more simple, and will continue to become more so, till all temporal things vanish. A great Sabbath of universal love and peace will, as it was in the creation, be the termination. He entered the holy of holies as the high priest, and revealed through his spirit to the chosen, not only the last words of the Old Testament, but also gave them a new and more comprehensive one still, to remove all evils and become invulnerable; for this the sacred exercise of prayer, convincing them that without this they could do nothing, but by him could draw around them all the principles of life. He did on earth that which is to be found above. He was, like the highest wisdom, unceasingly active in doing good, and united the two worlds. This, however, could only be attained to by his, upon the earth, remaining still united with the Godhead, as he had been through eternity. Lastly, he crowned his labours by imparting a spirit, which, through words of fire, awakened reason and life, such as had never before existed. He chose symbols to impart this power. Even man can transfer his weak powers to all things: how much more must these chosen mysteries (baptism by water, and the sacraments) contain a power which in themselves they did not possess! The sacrament is at once bodily, spiritual, and divine, and all in it must become life and soul, as its founder was himself."

"Every true Christian is an expression of this truth and a reflection of his master. He has enthusiasm enough to suppress everything evil in himself; his life is a daily sacrifice

in humility and fear of God: for God's secrets only are revealed to those who fear him: he keeps the commandments of his master in faith and simplicity. Such a man only can join the counsel of peace: whilst the highest human wisdom remains but insecure and perishable, a single ray of this sun makes the world purer and wiser than all the sages of the earth. As all religions have their mysteries, Christianity contains things of power and importance which are indescribable. As long as these sacred things were only known to the few, Christianity was at peace; but when the great ones of the earth began to trespass in this sanctity, wishing to behold everything though with unprepared eyes, and making it a machine of state, uncertainties and divisions followed. Then came high priests who departed from the truth, each one more than the other, till at length a perfectly unshapen mixture-a monster arose. Sophists, who flourished like weeds, now increased the evil through their subtleties, separating that which was united, and changing that which before was life and light into death and darkness. Although here and there traces of purity, zeal, and power, were still visible, yet these were unable to produce any effect, as the desolation was already too universal and too acceptable to the multitude; all these corruptions were the cause that in later ages the edifice of Christianity was shaken even in its very foundations. But one step from Deism to absolute ruin. Deism produced a still more dreadful successor, Materialism, which declares the connection of man with the higher powers as pure imagination, and believes in nothing but its own individual existence. Strange that the first races sinned through gigantic undertakings; that the latest, on the contrary, through nullity. But there is a truth whose sacredness can never be shaken, and which will endure with the earth."

If, however, man gains through his reconciliation and return to God, and his truly Christian life, the powers which our Saviour promised to all his followers,-namely, to "handle serpents, heal the sick, and cast out devils," and this in the same degree in which the Saviour did it himself (John, xiv. 12); and if such a true Christian really does greater wonders than man in his usual life of the senses

capable of performing, as we have seen in the Apostles and the Saints of all ages, we must still regard that man as human.

I have already spoken at length of the Christian manner of healing the sick, and I again revert to it from the fact that the actions of Christ and his Apostles bear peculiarly on our subject. They did not use secret medicines or miraculous essences, but the power was in themselves, and they cast out devils, raised the dead, healed the sick and lame, through the Divine aid and laying on of hands; and caused the blind to see and the dumb to speak. To prove this, though without any intention of calling them purely magnetic actions, but regarding them as divinely human miracles, I shall mention several cures by Christ and his Apostles, as they are revealed by the Evangelists and in the Acts.

"When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed" (Matthew, viii. 1.)

"And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. And Jesus said unto the centurion, go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour" (Matthew, viii. 5-13.)

"And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them" (Matthew, viii. 14; Mark, i. 29.)

"When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick" (Matthew, viii. 16; Mark, i. 32; Luke, iv. 20.)

And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee" (Matthew, ix. 2; Mark, ii. 3.)

A woman who had suffered under an issue of blood for twelve years touched the hem of his garment: "For she said within herself, if I may but touch his garment I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole" (Matthew, ix. 20-22.)

"And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise: he said unto them, give place; for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose" (Matthew, ix. 23-26.)

"And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, thou Son of David, have mercy on us. And Jesus saith unto them, believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, according to your faith be it unto you" (Matthew, ix. 27-29.)

The man with a withered hand was healed through the words, "Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole, like as the other" (Matthew, xii. 10-13.)

The daughter of the Canaanite woman, who was tormented by a devil, was cured according to her faith (Matthew, xv. 22, 28.) "And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others; and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them" (Matthew, xv. 13; Luke, vii. 22.)

The lunatic who fell into the fire and the water could not be healed by his disciples. "But when Jesus rebuked the devil he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour." Jesus said to his disciples they could not cast out the devil "Because of your unbelief: for I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible