respecting the discovery and revelation of every mysterious truth; for the heifer here spoken of has relation to affection, and to plough with it denotes a preparation of the mind accordingly; and truth is always manifested in proportion as there is a sincere and affectionate love towards it, and a consequent application to the study of it.
92. Jesus Christ says, (John xii. 31,) I, if I be lifted up, will draw all unto Me, whence it is manifest, that in His ascension-glory He exercises an attractive power on the minds of men to bring them to Himself. This attractive power, if it be supposed to operate without resistance, must of necessity draw all human minds into itself, so as to absorb them totally in itself, and thus annihilate their own proper life and action. To prevent this mischief, it is wonderfully provided that the proprium (or selfhood) of man should possess a repelling power, whereby it is capable of co-operating with the Divine attraction in such a manner, as still to preserve a life and activity proper to itself, whilst at the same time it can be the subject of the reception of the Divine life and activity. This case may be illustrated by that of the sun and the planets, for if the latter did not possess a power of repulsion, they would inevitably be drawn into the sun’s vortex and consumed; whereas by virtue of the combined powers of attraction and repulsion, they are preserved in the perpetual order and regularity of their revolutions. In like manner, man becomes a subject of revolution in the Divine order, whensoever he yields himself up to the Divine attraction, in such a manner, that the repel-
