of our transient society, and took the place of justice, friendship, and the love of order, which unite the heavenly spirits..

Divers other changes happen'd in this mortal abode, suitable to the state of souls who suffer, & deserve to suffer, & are to be cur'd by their sufferings.

In the end, the great Prophet, whom we call the Messiah, will come & restore order in the universe. It is he who is the head, & the conductor of all intelligent natures. He is the first born of all creatures. The deity has united him to himself in an intimate manner, from the beginning of time. It is he who convers'd with our fathers under a human form. It is he who appear'd to our lawgiver upon the holy mount. It is he who spoke to the Prophets under a visible appearan

nuestra sociedad pasagera, y ocupáron el lugar de la justicia, la amistad, y el amor del órden que reunen los espíri

tus celestes.

Sucedieron muchas otras mudanzas en este mortal descanso: mudanzas con

formes al estado de las almas que pa→ decen, que merecen padecer, y que de ben ser curadas por sus padeceres.

En fin, el gran Profeta que nosotros llamamos el Mesias, vendrá á restablecer el órden en el universo: él es el que es xefe y conductor de todas las inteligencias: él es el primogénito de todas las criaturas: la divinidad se le ha unido de una forma intima desde el principio de los tiempos: él es el que venia á conversar con nuestros prime ros padres baxo una humana forma: él es el que se apareció en el monte santo á nuestro legislador: él es el que ha hablado á los Profetas baxo una

figura visible: él es el que se llama en todas partes el deseado de las naciones, porque le han conocido, aunque impērfectamente, por una tradicion antigua, de la que ignoran el origen: él es en fin el que vendrá triunfante sobre las nubes para restablecer el universo en su esplendor y su felicidad primitiva.

Ved aquí el plano general de la Providencia: el fundamento de toda la ley y de todas las profecías es la idea de una pura naturaleza desde su orígen, de una naturaleza corrompida por el pecado, y de una naturaleza que debe ser renovada algun dia. Estas tres grandes verdades nos son pintadas en nuestros sagrados libros baxo muchas imágenes diversas. La cautividad de los Israelitas en Egipto, su viage por el desierto, y su arribo á la tierra de promision, nos representan la

ce. It is he who is call'd every where the desire of nations; because he has been known to them, tho imperfectly, by an ancient tradition, with the origin of which they are unacquainted. To conclude, it is he who will come in triumph upon the clouds, to restore the universe to its primitive splendor & felicity.

You see here the general plan of Providence: the foundation of the whole law, & of all the prophecies, is the idea of a nature, pure in its original, corrupted by sin, and to be one day restor'd. These three fundamental truths are represented in our sacred books under various images. The bondage of the Israelites in Egypt, their journey through the desart, and their arrival in the promiss'd land, represent to us the fall of souls, the sufferings in this mortal life, and their re

TOMO III.

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turn to the heavenly country from whence they came.

Cyrus, almost transported with hearing this account, wou'd by no means interrupt the philosopher; but seeing that he had done speaking, he said: You give me a much higher idea of the divinity than the philosophers of other nations. They have represented the first principle to me, only as a sovereign intellect, who separated & reduc'd to order, the chaos of eternal matter. But you teach me that he who is, has not only regularly dispos'd that matter, but produc'd it; that he has given its being, as well as motion; & has filled his immensity with new substances, as well as new forms. The Amilictes, Jyngas, Cosmogoges, all the genii which inhabit the empyreum, & all the subordinate