170 On the Mystical Poetry of 



** tufe, love, enchanting and fublime, is a myfterious pledge for the affur- 

 * 4 ance of thofe hopes j fince love, by difingaging us from ourfelves, by 

 *'■ tranfpordng us beyond the limits of our own being, is the firft ftep in 

 " our progrefs to a joyful immortality ; and, by affording both the notion 

 f. and example of a cherifhed object diftindt from our own fouls, may be 

 •* confidered as an interpreter to our hearts of fomething, which our intel- 

 *• lects cannot conceive. We may feem even to hear the Supreme Intelli- 

 i\ gence and eternal foul of all nature, give this eommimon to the fpirits, 

 " which emansd from him : Go ; admire a fmall portion of my works, and 

 V '' fludy them; make your firjl trial of happinefs, and learn to love him, who 

 *' beftowed it ; butfek not to remove the veil f pre ad over the fee ret of your ex- 

 " /fence; your nature is compofed of 'thofe divine particles, ■which, at an infinite 

 " difiance, conjlitute my own effence ; but you would be too near me, were you 

 " permitted to penetrate the myfery of our feparathn and union ; wait the ?no- 

 46 meht ordained by my wifdom; and, until that moment come, hope to approach 

 46 me only by adoration and gratitude." 



If thefe two paflages were tranflatsd into Sanfcrit and Perfan, I am con- 

 fident, that the Veddntis and Sufis would confider them as an epitome of 

 their common fyflem j for they concur in believing, that the fouls of 

 men differ infinitely in degree, but not at all in kind, from the- divine. 

 Ipirit, of which they are particles, and in whieh they will ultimately be 

 abforbedj that the fpirit of God pervades the univerfe, always immedi- 

 ately prefent to his work, and confequently always in fubftance, that he 

 alone is perfect benevolence, perfect truth, perfect beauty ; that the love 

 of him alone is real and genuine love, while that of all other objects is 

 abfurd and illufory, that the beauties of nature are faint refemblances, 

 like images in a mlrror 9 of the divine charms j that, from eternity with- 



