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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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( 96 )
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A PARABLE .
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In the depths of a cave young Life awoke as if from sleep . . And because she knew not whence she was , or whose hand had awakened her , she gazed intently towards the darkness behind her , and softly said , " Whence am I ?•» When none answered , she lifted up her voice and cried aloud , " Whence am I ?•»
The cry resounded through the depths of the cave , and was heard in lower depths , and lower , till it died away into silence . Yet was there no reply . Then the spirit turned towards the mouth of the cave . Roses hung around it , and the vine put forth its clusters among the roses . One stood without , watching till young Life should come forth into the sunshine . When she saw the angel , she marvelled at the beauty of his countenance , and said , " Comest thou from the depths even as I ?" And the angel answered , « Thou hast arisen out of darkness , but I dwell in the midst of light . Thou art but now awakened ; but I have gone to and fro for ages of ages . I am from Him who awakened thee , and my name is Love . Fear nothing , for I can guard thee whithersoever thou goest . Call on me , and I will be nigh . " Then seeing that the spirit looked on the flowers and fruits that hung around , he smiled , and laid aside the palm-rod that he bore , and gathered of the roses as many as she would : and the fruits which hung aloft he held within her reach .
When , she went forward , at length , the whole earth was fair before her . She roved the meadows , and bounded over the hills , and trod the paths of the groves till she was wearied and a thirst . Then she looked around for the angel , but she beheld him not . Remembering that he had promised to come when she had need , she called on his name ; and he was there . And he rebuked her , saying , " Are there not messengers sent unto thee from above and from beneath , and thou regardesl them not ? Wherefore art thou faint , when they are around thee who shall renew thy strength ?" Then Life gazed steadfastly , and saw that a multitude of spirits was near . They uprose from the flowers of the field , and thronged the thickets of the forest . They issued from the abyss , and came down from among the stars . They sang amid the clouds on the mountain-top , and their music floated on the still lake .
When the young spirit held out her arms , they came unto her , and ministered unto her more and more continually . The angel Love also blessed her . When her path lay through the sultry desert , he made a shade for her with his wings . He opened a way for her in the tangled wilderness , and soothed her when the tempest burst around her head . When she asked , " Shall there be always snares , and burning heats , and tempests ? " he replied , 44 ; but for a while . When thou art on yonder summit , a cloud shall bear thee where such things are not . "
As she drew nigh the mountain , they that thronged around her went
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1831, page 96, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2594/page/24/
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