History and philosophy of creation and the human race ...

Front matter

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Table Of Contents

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Wonders of Creation, the first day 13

Second day of Creation 22

Preface

"We feel impressed with the conviction, that to the understanding of many, on first reading this work, the doctrine and ideas herein developed, will indeed, be obscured by mystery ; and, owing to this fact, we would most earnestly solicit the patience of the reader to weary not, but to give careful, deep, and unbiased thought and consideration to the whole volume, and especially to those subjects which may, for a time, seem enveloped in mystery, with the sure understanding that all things — every principle of science, every development of philosophy — was involved in deepest obscurity ere its germ was unfolded, developed, and explained to the juvenile mind. Nor is our system any more mystified respecting the steady unfolding order of creation, than were the sciences and all the principles of sound philosophy prior to their unfolding and clear development ; nor will it be attended with more difficulty or self-sacrifice, on the part of the reader, to become fully initiated into our order of philosopTiy, and in comprehending all presentations in this work which may seem in obscurity, and to become familiar with them, than to have compretended any other new phenomenon or principle in discovery, in science, or in philosophy. And, for your satisfaction and further conviction of the truths of our revelation, in the mysteries and wonders of the unfolding orders of creation and laws of development, we would refer the reader to the discoveries of science, to the chemist, who will clearly explain the principle, and the astonishing results of chemical action and force, the sublimation of mineral substances in the unfolding of vegetable matter; and in subjecting vegetable matter to chemical force and action, through the sublimation of which animal life is unfolded as the emanation and ultimate of the vegetable. Hence, the chain of connection, link by link, which pervades and runs through all departments of life and existence, as our work will clearly explain. And to the unwearied toils and labors of the geologist would we refer the reader for the revelation of fossil wonders, the remains of organic beings which have been exhumed and dragged to light from the mysterious galleries and hidden recesses of the subterranean chambers of the earth. The fossils, too, of orders of beings which had an existence upon the earth at the time, and even prior to those fearful catastrophies and wonderful breathings of internal heat from the igneous mass, or those subterranean fires of the earth's interior ; and long, yea, millions of ages before man made his appearance upon the earth; as, among all these wonders,

PREFACE. 7

these fossils, no clue to man, no trace of him is to be found. And upon the subject of the ravages of the law of extermination among the lower orders, among the different races of men, and that all animated beings are growing weaker and more diminutive, and that the races of men are vastly degenerated, and that every thing plainly declares the approach of evening, we would refer to the scientific, to the learned naturalists, anatomists, etc.

And that there are gradations among the different orders of human intelligence ; and that there are subordinates among the orders of mankind ; and that there are different races of men, that there is a highest and a lowest, we would refer the reader to the science of Anatomy, of Phrenology and Physiognomy, all of which will readily distinguish the different orders, races and types. And even should we be found somewhat in error in some smaller points relating to the unfolding order of creation, the laws of development, the chain of connection, ; the transfiguration of the bodies, the transmigration of life, the spirit or soul, of the identity of the human soul, and the manner of its immortality, and the non-existence of the lower orders, or their life or spirits after death, etc., it is no more than would be naturally expected, as we have no claims to inflexibility during our incarnation. And even should we chance to fall short of certainty in our prediction of the future condition of man and the nations of earth, of the final extermination of the weaker orders by the stronger, or that the lower or subordinate orders of the human race will disappear in regular order — the first, second, third, fourth, or Mongolian — and that there will then be remaining but one race, the highest type of human intelligence, perfection and beauty, and that this race will be the sole possessor and inhabitant of the globe, and that the millennial era will be as we have described and predicted; we say, should we even chance to fall short, we claim nothing higher than finite man. But, assuredly, from all the grave sublimity, the overwhelming eventful history of buried time through the moving and relentless tide of human events; the rise and fall of kingdoms, empires, nations; the long reign of superstition and mental darkness; the travel of the race of man, and of all the nations of the earth, through that dismal night ; and the train of human misery that flowed, like a river of blood, in its unrelenting tide; the rise out of that condition — there, emerging into the light of revelation, and the resplendent glare and beauty of the arts and sciences, after the invention of the printing-press, in the 14th century — the advanced condition of civilization, and the rapid progress of all things now, as we seem in the midst of every element of peace, prosperity and happiness — we say, upon all this, being sustained triumphantly by the facts and history of the past, and judging the future by principles deduced from

PREFACE. 9

certain knowledge, we feel that our judgment will, in most cases, be found coincident with plain common-sense views of things. ^Ahd though we do aver and claim that we have given the powers of our mind, and that earnest and laborious force of thought, and of our faculties in unraveling and explaining the final solutions of mysterious subjects of which we have treated in this volume, even beyond any thing that could be endured for a prolonged time; and in our earnest deliberations, while the soul and spirit were chained down to their labor, and absorbed by the sublimity and grandeur of those subjects, while almost lost in the mysterious labyrinth of wonder and astonishment, we do claim that in these moments many glaring revelations broke upon the spirit and mind that never before presented themselves, and which were the unfoldings or originals of the moment; yet, we have on record the account of many authors who do claim to have had strange revelations made to them during the hours of slumber, or somnambulism. It is said that there were truths and revelations presented to a well-known Grecian philosopher, during his hours of slumber; this was Aristotle. Also, a celebrated orator among the ancients professed the same supernatural impressions, and claimed that he received some of his best impressions during his hours of slumber. Also, the same phenomena occurred with a celebrated Swedish philosopher, who flourished within the last century, by the name of Swedenborg ; yet we are not fully acquainted or advised of this strange phenomena with these characters. It is claimed, by some, that these impressions, made during the hours of slumber, are a species of spiritualization ; and that the state of the mind or spirit at the time of receiving such impressions occupies a midway or intermediate sphere between somnambulism and clairvoyance, of which we know nothing.

It will be clearly seen that in the arrangement of this work we have been compelled to avoid any thing of an elaborate inclination, and have introduced and briefly hastened through the numerous subjects of which it treats; for, had we dwelt upon all the subjects which it embodies, each of itself would fill a volume as large as this ; nor did we design, in the beginning, that we would go beyond two or three hundred pages.

As we arc aware that the world is full of books and reading matter, we feel sure that many will be induced to read and give careful attention to a condensed work of this size, and embodying so many deep and important subjects, sooner than if we had dwelt lengthily upon each subject, and made a long, tedious, and elaborate work of it. And we know, too, that many who read wish to find the substance embodied in as short and condensed space as possible ; hence, the masses would cry out, Give us ^'■multum in parvo^

Many once magnificent and important cities,

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though very remote in antiquity, have we passed and not noticed. Others, like that of Nineveh, have we scarcely noticed. Damascus, which still exists, is the oldest city in the world. Tyre and Sidon have crumbled on the shore; Baalbec is a ruin; Palmyra is buried in the sand of the desert; Nineveh and Babylon have disappeared from the Tigris and Euphrates; Damascus remains what it was before the days of Abraham, 250 years after the deluge, a center of trade and travel — an island of verdure in a desert. The caravan comes and goes as it did a thousand years ago. , From Damascus came the Damson, or blue plum, and the delicious Apricot of Portugal, called Damasco; Damask, our beautiful fabric of cotton and silk; the Damask rose, introduced into England in the time of Henry VIII, and the Damascus blade, so famous the world over for its keen edge and wonderful elasticity, the secret of whose manufacture was lost when Tamerlane carried off the arts into Persia ; and the beautiful art of inlaying wood and steel with silver and gold — a kind of Mosaic engraving and sculpture united — called Damaskkeening, with which boxes and bureaus are ornamented. [Some of such work, or an imitation, is to be seen at this day, and is an employment of some of the tasty and artful ladies of the South, where numerous shells are to be obtained, of a thousand shades, hues and varieties, with which they ornament boxes, even in the formation of flowers, thus ornamenting ladies' work-boxes with great beauty and taste.

♦ In the arrangement of this work, we have passed through every known epoch, even from the Golden Era to the present time. Then our predictions go on through coming time; and we have sought to lift the veil of the hidden future, and read on the pages of coming time the eventful history of generations and nations yet unborn. Others may differ with us; be it so, we can not help it; nor can it be expected that all will agree upon every point of philosophy, nor all see alike, as the time has not yet come when universal knowledge shall cover the earth as the waters cover the deep. But where there is disagreement with us, we would appeal, as we have throughout this whole volume, for support, to Inspiration and to history. And, as we do claim that the creation of the globe, and the millions and myriads of beings that have, for all periods of time, inhabited it, were the unfolding work and energy of God; and that in the beginning it was God; that of himself he created, not only this earth and all things pertaining to it, but that of himself he built the universe; that he was the beginning of all creation, nay, more, both the beginning and the end. That he is the creative energy; from him all things proceeded or emanated; that he was the original embryo, and to him will all be returned. Hence our title, " God IN THE Ultimate, God in Embryo."

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AS APPLIED TO THE HUMAN RACE.

Chapter I. Wonders Of Creation

Under the sublimest emotions of the human soul, and the contemplation of Nature's or the Eternal Deity's energies, would we explore the periods of past duration, and trace the sublime and stupendous energies of Omnipotence in the creation or development of all things and forms that now are, that have been, or will be. And we would begin at the beginning, or at a point which we conceive to be the beginning ; or as near as the finite mind or human and mental energy can range back. This would be prior to the formation of the planetary system, and before the energies of Omnipotence interspersed through the voids of immensity those shining orbs, unnumbered suns, and mighty worlds that run their solemn rounds.

At this beginning, then, nothing appeared in the firmament above. We are taught that there was a time when all was without form and void; but not a time when Omnipotent energy did not exist, iGod, the Almiglity, is a living and eternal principle, that fills immensity and pervades all existing things. From him, then, flowed all existing substances, moving and rolling worlds.! He was the things, beginning from which emanated all things, forms, and bodies. The period to which we refer, when all was without form and void, we may conceive was the time when there existed one inseparable and undivided whole ; a liquid mass or vortex whose elements were light, heat, and fire. And this answered to the Great Eternal Omnipotent Creator, or ruling principle, from which emanated all subordinate forms (we mean worlds as first subordinate to the igneous mass or vortex). From this stupendous energy, then, he being the vortex or the living and actuating principle, was thrown off a detached particle which, by the laws of centripetal and centrifugal forces, and by his eternal law that controls and actuates the universe, it was made to sustain itself at a great distance from the living vortex from which it emanated. It here acquired, or is assigned, two distinct motions — one upon its axis, the other in its orbit, or revolution round the great vortex as its common center. Again: from this body, which is our luminary or sun, are thrown off, in a similar way, other detached bodies, comprising the sun's satellites or attendants, which we term the twelve planets. These, likewise, are set in motion — a rotary motion upon their axis, and, at the same time, revolving

WONDERS OP CREATION. 15

in their described orbits round the sun, from which they emanated. Again : other detached particles or bodies are thrown off from these planets, forming revolving worlds as satellites or attendants of the primary planets, from which they proceeded. These, likewise, revolve round the planets as their common center.

In this example we now have the solar system of revolving worlds. First, the subordinates or smaller class round the primary planets, from which they were evolved as their common center ; the twelve primary planets round the sun, which gave them birth as their <3ommon center; the sun itself, around the great vortex, or living principle, or Godhead, from which they all emanated. And thus we have the common center of liquid flame, of light, heat, and fire, whose intensity is beyond the power of finite mind to conceive of; and the sun, with its retinue of revolving worlds, passing swiftly round it. And thus we conceive the order of creation, and that other suns innumerable were, in like manner, thrown off from the same great fountain, till ail the numerous suns and systems of suns were created, w' th all their millions upon millions of satellites and revolving worlds, that now decorate the voids of immensity throughout infinitude and God's universal empire. Nor has this work of creation ceased, nor this fountain become exhausted, more than the Great Eternal himself is exhausted, as he is the living fountain, inexhaustible. Though this process of creative development has thus been going on throughout the lapse of undefined ages and bygones and buried eternity, it is as ceaseless as in the beginning.

Our earth, then, is one of the sun's satellites, or one of the twelve planets which emanated from it. And as we are its inhabitants, and dwell on its surface, and have a better chance to know and comprehend the laws that govern and control it than we have to know what is going on upon those other distant orbs, we, of course, will confine our philosophy generally to it, and to its revolutions, cooling process, condensation, the primitive inhabitants of its surface, the laws of progression and development, the difi"erent changes of substances, composition, decomposition and recomposition, death and reproduction, etc.

That man now inhabits the earth, and has for several thousands of years, is a matter easily to be understood ; but at* what period of time or of the world's history he made his appearance here, and how he was developed — whether impulsively, by sudden and miraculous interposition of Almighty power, as some suppose, or by the steady development and progression from lower to higher, through all the series of subordinate forms, till he was finally unfolded, his germ first being of the earth, and even in the essence of the first liquid vortex from which the earth emanated — we say that his germ was thus remote, and that he is the unfold-

WONDERS OP CREATION. 17

ing, or blossom. It does seem that "he is tlie development of subordinates, through the wonders of the laws of development, an understanding of which we will erect in the contemplation of the laws of development through subordinates to ultimates. It would be a sad thing, indeed, to array argument against the truthful and magnificent doctrine of progressive development; for if this be overthrown, that very moment all laws and principles become annihilated, and cause and effect can no longer be considered as the agents of breathing into being the grand and sublime manifestations that beautify the bosom of tender and caressing nature. Upon the innumerable foundations of this law of progression rests all conclusions that can be legitimately drawn from any material or external substance.

As the earth, then, emanated from the sun, and the sun from the vortex of which we have spoken, whose heat and intensity was so great, of course in its primitive state it was a liquid mass of fire, and was set in motion on its axis. And in its orbit round the sun, traveling the enormous distance of six hundred millions of miles in three hundred and sixty-five and one-fourth days, or one year, of course a cooling process commences; and thus it continued to revolve and cool the external and upper surface first. And the duration of time that wasted away during this cooling process, till its surface was in a condition to serve as an abode for vegetable and animal life, is unknown and incon- 2 ceivable to finite mind ; but suffice it to say that undefined periods of time rolled back in the dim vista of departed time before out of the essence of the earth was developed the first race or order of the vegetable kingdom, as the ultimate of developed earth. After cooling and condensing to a considerable depth, and thus to unfold on its surface the gross vegetable development as the former essence of its interior and inherent principle, it will be understood that the first grand change of the earth from a liquid state was its consolidation, thus forming the earthy substance. Then came the formation of the difi"erent strata formed in the condensed upper crust, such as the primary rocks, limestone, shale, slate, sandstone, stone-coal, etc.

We come now to speculate upon a theory that is most immediately connected with the curiosity and interest of every intelligent mind, and of which an incalculable amount of thought and speculation has been conceived. It is a subject that has excited the wonder and inquiry of the generations of all ages, and of the inhabitants of every portion of the earth; it is a subject in respect to which philosophical and psychological minds have put forth all their powers of investigation. Philosophy has endeavored to account for the origin and formation of this globe on principles of nature and reason. Scientific philosophy does indisputably demonstrate the immutability of natural laws, the immortality of truth, and the unchangable nature of all principies governing the Universe, and thouglit has partially lifted the vail that has so long concealed the truth from the minds of the world. This has been done by the most exalted faculty belonging to the human mind and the revelation of science, and thus we approach the truth by the light of reason and the unchangeable laws of nature ; and when we arrive at truth, we find ourselves surrounded with grandeur and magnificence that can be conceived of and appreciated by those who have the supreme love of true science dwelling within them.

And thus it is that the nineteenth century only unfolds a true conception of the change of previously prevailing opinions by its contrasts of truth, light, and knowledge with the ignorance and superstition of the extreme ages of antiquity. Some have ignorantly supposed that the world assumed its present form and condition in an instant of time, and that it was supported in its present position by gigantic beings, each of which was supported by others still more powerful, until supposition lost the foundation upon which they all stood amid the realms of imagination. And this prevailed universally until a mind became enlightened through the exercise of reason, and discovered the true position and figure of the earth and its relation to other planetary bodies. And having demonstrated his position, he ventured to reveal it to the minds of the world. The light that he thus presented was so far above the darkness which prevailed that the human mind was dazzled with its brightness. The darkness was impenetrable, therefore the light was repulsed.

And now the question arises how the materials and essences that compose the world were produced, and how they were formed into their present condition. This has not been, heretofore, solved ; and as it so agreeable to the aspirations of every inquiring mind, it is necessary that the reader should carefully follow us through the forthcoming labyrinth of wonder and the laws of development, in order to reach and comprehend the solution, having a large conception of the physical laws of the universe; for this world has given birth to all the thoughts that have been conceived by man, here existing, concerning the constitution of things. It is the theater of human action ; it is the habitation of pain and pleasure, of life and death, of knowledge and ignorance. And it is this world that has given birth to all the beautiful and variegated flowers and foliage that adorn the vegetable kingdom. It is the birthplace of the innumerable animal existences which come into being and sink into repose before the eyes of man. And thus it seems the earth and nature, and her laws, have given existence to man, the ultimate of material perfection.

We speak of the progressed condition of the earth so far as to have developed an imperfect race or order of vegetable life. This order of things flourished for a long time, till the surrounding elements could no longer support it upon its surface ; consequently there were seeming evidences of the approach of evening, or close of the first day. Soon all things began quietly sinking into repose. It was now evident that inherent forces were moving upon the waters — that is, upon the waters of the primitive ocean, which, no doubt, at that time, covered far the greater portion of the earth's surface. These internal forces or internal heat caused inconceivable excitement, no doubt, to abound throughout their domain. The water and atmosphere were unequal in pressure to the interior expansion of the igneous mass within the earth, and a change must inevitably ensue ; consequently the igneous fluid assumed impetuous motions at various parts of the earth's crust. Violent tremblings and paroxysms occurred, followed by wonderful breathings of lava from various parts of the earth. The equilibrium having been destroyed, the internal elements continued to rush together and recede with inconceivable agitation. The result was an expansion of interior particles that, no doubt, shook the earth in some parts to its very center, upheaving the rocks primarily formed, together with carboniferous formations.

Thus the face of the earth was greatly changed, and all that had previously existed upon its surface, being involved in this wonderful catastrophe, was overwhelmed, and nature was clothed in a somber mantle; and thus it was "the evening and the morning were the first day." The previous energies of the earth, with the first race of vegetable existence, were now sunk into repose ; and now all nature awaits some new energies to set in motion those paralyzed substances, and again to reanimate the surface of the earth. But now all was hushed upon the earth; all slumbered in the darkness of one of nature's fearful nights. Soon it was, however, that new energies called into existence new beauties in the vegetable kingdom, and nature began to awaken from her long sleep; and a new order of vegetable liiPe now appears to greater perfection upon the surface — the developed essence and substance embodied in the previous order — and from the vegetable kingdom flowed the first principles of animal life.

And thus it was that living beings now appeared on the earth, the development of the vegetable kingdom. And this is the dawn of the new era, or second day. This race of living beings was, indeed, very imperfect, as also was the vegetable ; yet an improvement on the first, as this is now in order with the law of development and progression. All now dwelt and flourished, till they passed their meridian, noontide, or highest state of perfection; and thus having passed their highest degree in this day, age, or period, they, of course, were thrown upon a retrograde movement, and began slowly to decline, diminish, and grow weaker. The external elements no longer add to their previous energies.

All now seems stricken with some unseen, fatal, and withering blast. Their day is well-nigh passed; they grow still weaker and diminutive ; every thing begins to declare the close of their period. Now is the second day of creation. Soon they lose their physical energies and quietly sink into repose. The earth has again lost its equilibrium ; the external elements are now insujBBcient or inadequate to the expansion of the igneous mass within; consequently another revolution must take place. Again the upper crust and strata are broken, and the inter Dal heat breathes forth masses of lava, fire, and melted rocks and earth. Again all living beings and vegetable matter are involved in this fearful catastrophe, are overwhelmed and swept from existence ; and this is the close of another (the second) of nature's days.

Gradually the earth and all nature again assumes a quiescent state ; the water now seeks a level, and the mutilated surface formed by the recent explosion and the revolution caused by volcanic action. Of course the beds of the seas have now become changed, the earth having become elevated, and mountains raised where oceans previously existed; and other portions are depressed, the beds of the seas changed. Thus it is the geologist traces the organic or fossil remains of sea monsters, inland and even on the tops of the mountains. Not only 80, but at the time of the breathing forth of internal heat, we must rationally conclude that the water was greatly heated; so much so, that it arose to a great height, and assumed a greater depth than in its cooled or natural state — as we all know, by heating, water expands. Thus it arose up the mountain sides, carrying with it the bodies of many species of sea animals, and in this way were they deposited in the mountains; and now the geologist is searching out their remains, and the whole world is curious to know how they ever came on dry land, and even in the mountains, as they belong to the watery elements, and can only be classed with the monsters of the deep.

But now, as we said before, all things that existed upon the earth during the second day or period, being involved in this catastrophe, are gone, are extinct; and the disturbed equilibrium of the earth being again restored, all nature once more settled down in quietude. A somber mantle is again drawn over the face of nature, and all have sunk into sleep, to pass one (the second) of nature's periods of night. The face of the earth at this time would, no doubt, have appeared to the eye of man as if nature were clothed in a mantle of darkness, and had sunk into death-like sleep. No busy insects would have diverted the mind with their musical hum ; no birds would have been flitting through the air or perching upon the branches, and all nature would have looked disconsolate and forsaken. No human being could have been found with which communication and pleasurable emotions could "have been exchanged. There was nothing existing which the mind of man would not have looked upon as being altogether uncongenial, desolate, and forlorn. But new energies soon spring to life, and new beings to unfold the beauties and to verify this wonderful law of development and progression — physical organization, composition, decomposition, recomposition, death, and reproduction — as from the same essence and substance of those previously existing beings, vegetable and animal, are now unfolded, a new order of things, a more perfect race of the vegetable kingdom, and a more perfect and beautiful race and order of organic beings, but which were typified in the preceding order of the previous day, and, indeed, the same races of beings, only changed and modified and perfected by ascending the scale of gradual progression through the wonders of the law of progression, by previous life, death, and reproduction.