cts from Behmen himself, in support of his right to be
in my list.]

"_Jacob Behmen._--That Prof. De Morgan classes Jacob Behmen among
paradoxers can only be attributed to the fact of his being avowedly
unacquainted with the writings {319} of that author. Perhaps you may think
a few words from one who knows them well of sufficient interest to the
learned Professor, and your readers in general, to be worthy of space in
your columns. The metaphysical system of Behmen--the most perfect and only
true one--still awaits a qualified commentator. Behmen's countryman,
Dionysius Andreas Freher,[596] who spent the greater part of his life in
this country, and whose exposition of Behmen exists only in MS., filling
many volumes, written in English, with the exception of two, written in
German, with numerous beautiful, highly ingenious, and elaborate
illustrations,--copies of some of which are in the British Museum, but all
the originals of which are in the possession of the gentleman who is the
editor of the two works alluded to by Professor De Morgan,--this Freher was
the first to philosophically expound Behmen's system, which was afterwards,
with the help of these MSS., as it were, popularized by William Law; but
both Freher and Law confined themselves chiefly to its theological aspect.
In Behmen, however, is to be found, not only the true ground of all
theology, but also that of all physical science. He demonstrated with a
fullness, accuracy, completeness and certainty that leave nothing to be
desired, the innermost ground of Deity and Nature; and, confining myself to
the latter, I can from my own knowledge assert, that in Behmen's writings
is to be found the true and clear demonstration of every physical fact that
has been discovered since his day. Thus, the science of electricity, which
was not yet in existence when he wrote, is there anticipated; and not only
does Behmen describe all the now known phenomena of that force, but he even
gives us the origin, generation and birth of electricity itself. Again,
positive evidence can be adduced that Newton derived all his knowledge of
gravitation and its {320} laws from Behmen, with whom gravitation or
attraction is, and very properly so, as he shows us, the first of the seven
properties of Nature. The theory defended by Mr. Grove,[597] at the
Nottingham meeting of last year, that all the apparently distinct causes of
moral and physical phenomena are but so many manifestations of one ce