call upon him for an open and public avowal of those reasons. It is easy to conceive that in many cases the most effectual declaration of sentiment is made by the silent but expressive language of life—a life prompted and ruled by the convictions which may have established themselves in the mind. The case, however, is palpably altered when one has previously sustained a more public relation—when he has become somewhat known as the advocate of a different and opposite class of opinions—when he has occupied, in a sphere, however humble, the post of a public teacher—when he has written books that have obtained a circulation more or less extensive, and which embody sentiments that have been modified by subsequent inquiries. In a case of this kind, it can scarcely be deemed an impeachment of the decorous and modest estimate which every man is reasonably expected to entertain of his own influence or standing in the community if he presumes to satisfy the natural curiosity to become acquainted with the reasons that have led to a decided change in his views on important subjects, especially on the subject of his religious belief. The fact of such an avowed change is a virtual appeal to those who are still resting in his former opinions to institute an inquiry into their grounds, as the reasons which have weighed with him, if sound, are entitled to weigh with them also; and it may safely be presumed that a portion at least of his former readers and approvers will be wiling to bestow a candid consideration upon the arguments he has to proffer in behalf of his course.
I venture, therefore, to avail myself of the above considerations, by way of apology, for presenting, through the present medium, somewhat of a formal and detailed exposition of the grounds on which I have been induced, after long, dilligent, and serious investigation, to profess an unhesitating adoption of the system of religious doctrine and spiritual disclosure propounded to the world by Emanuel Swedenborg. I am
