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1
SECT.
1lí.1
THE HAPPINESS
OF
SEPARATE
SPIRITS.
4U
the
affairs
of past ages and past worlds, as
well as
the
present
regions
of
light and happiness
where
they
dwell,
may give
them new themes of dialogue
and
mutual
in-
tercourse.
And though
we are
very
little
'acquainted
whilst
we
are
on
earth,
with
any
of
the
planetary worlds besides
that
which
we
inhabit,
yet who
knows how our
acquaint-
ance
may be
extended
hereafter, amongst the
inhabitants
of
the various and
distant
globes
?
And what frequent
and
swift
journies
we may
take thither,
when
we are
disencumbered
of this
load
of
flesh
and blood,
or
when
our
bodies are raised
again, active and
swift
as
sun-
beams
?
Sometimes we
may
entertain
our
holy
curiosity
there,
and
find
millions
of new
discoveries
of divine
power
and
divine
contrivance
in
those
unknown
regions;
and
bring back
from
thence new lectures of divine
wis-
dom,
or
tidings of
the
affairs
of
those
provinces,
to
en-
tertain our
fellow
-
spirits, and
to give
new
honours to
God
the Creator and the Sovereign.
So a
pious
traveler
in our
lower world
visits
Africa
or both
the
Indies
:
At
his
return
he
sits
in
a
circle
of attentive admirers, and re-
counts
to
them
the
wondrous
products of
those
climates,
and the customs and manners of
those
distant
countries;
He
gratifies
their curiosity with
some foreign
varieties,
and
feasts
their
eyes
and their
ears
at
once
:
Then
at
at
the end of every
story
he
breaks
out into
holy
language,
and
adores the various riches
and
wisdom
of
God
the
Creator.
To
proceed
yet one
step farther. Since there are
dif-
ferent degrees of
glory, we may infer
a
variety
of honours
as well
as
delights prepared
for
the spirits of the
just
made perfect.
Some
part
of
the
happiness
of heaven
is
described
in
scripture
by
crowns and thrones,
by royalty
and
kingly
honours
:
Why
may we
not
then suppose
that such
souls,
whose sublimer graces have prepared them
for
such
dig-
nity and
ounce,
may rule
the nations,
even
in a
literal
sense
?
Why
may
not
those spirits
that
have past
their
trials
in
flesh
and blood, and come
off
conquerors,
why
may
they not
sometimes be
appointed
visitors and
super
-
intendants
over
whole provinces
of intelligent beings
in
lower regions, who
are yet
labouring
in
their
state
of
probation?
or
perhaps they
may be
exalted
to a
presi-