- 1. ACOMPENDIUMOP TUBTHEOLOGICAL WRITINGS01"EMANUEL
SWEDENBORG.BY SAMUEL M. VARREN.SECOND AND REvISED EDITION,"WITH A
BIOGRAPHICAI~ INTRODUOTION,By HON. JOHN BIGELOW.THE NEW CHURCH
BOARD OF PUBLIOATION,NEW YORK: 20 COOPER UNION. ~._1880. ,/ ~t.tl/~
.~ ~,/~%~~y~~ . ,~ .L-6!.../ ..S~OF-qJ
2. Copyright, 1879, by J. B. LIPPIKOOrl et Co.iIl 3. C1..~;
::.S~~;JC PREFAOE.THIS volume is constntcted on the bnsis of the
"Compendium"compiled by the late Rev. W. 11. Fernald, which ie long
aineeout of print. The lalger proportion of the extracts
containedin tbat volume will be found also in this; together ,,~ith
manynew extracts, and a number of new subjects, added by thepresent
compiler; and tbe whole have been almost entirely re-arranged. The
book being made up of extracts, the reader willreasonably Dot
expect the salue continuity that vould be lookedfor in an original
and connected ,,ork. A constant effort basbeen made, however, in
the arrangement of the chapters, as well88 in the construction of
them, to give the volume as much ofthe character of a continued
treatise as was practicable. It ishoped that this .object will be
..found to have been 80 far attained,tbat the volume will not he
ill adapted to consecutive reading,by tbose who would obtain, in
briefer cornpass, a general view ofthe theology and ~piritual
philosophy embodied in the authorsvoluminous writings.The large
DUlner of volumes from which the extracts aretaken having been
translated from the original Latin by differentpersons, at videly
different times, it was deemed important,in such a work, that there
should he sorne attelnpt at uniformityof style and rendering,-apalt
from any consideration of the verygreat and acknowleged
itnperfections of Inost of the translations.The translation is
therefore for the most part new; and the com-parativcly slnall
number of ext.racts that have not been re-trans-late have been more
or less cacfully revised. 4. Iv PREFACE. Sorne word of apology may
be due to the reader who shaHmake his first acquailltallce with the
writings of Swedenbo~through this volunle, for the use of certain
unfamiliar termR.The present condit.ion of mankind being such that
interna!tbiugs are but diInly and generally perceived, the mind
does nottake cognizance of their plurality. It sees as an
individualthing what in realit:l is very multiple. And therefore we
havein cornlnon use in language only sillgular tenns for
manyinternaI things. Thus we commonly speak of good,
happiness,etc., which are of the will, and internaI, only in the
singularnunlber; while to corresponding things tllat are more
external,delights, jo)s, pleasures, enjoyments, etc., ,ve ascribe
plurality,-because we perceive theu pIurality. This is the Teason
why, tothe unaccustomed mind, there appears a certain oddity
ofexpression in the vritings of Syedenborg, ".here internaI
thingsare the constant theule, and are described as they really
are, andas they are discerned in heaven,-and, "itl~ less fulnes8,
bysorne on earth. To D10dify the authors language in orderto escape
the oddity uf unfamiliar expressions, would he to shutout from the
readers milld a large and Inost valuable part of thespiritual
philosophy his ,,ritings contain; and would at leastendanger his
falling into great misapprehensions. The import-ance of rendeling
the allthor iuto pleasant and pupular Englishas far as practicable
has, llovever, Dot been out of rnind; butthe translator has Dot
felt at liberty knowingly to sacrificeany s11ade of the authors
Dleaning on account of it. Thewritings of Syedenborg embody a
system of most profoundphilosophy, spiritual and natural; and, as
vith most philo-sopllical ~ritillgs, and pcrhaps more than most, it
requiresfor exact expression language in sorne degree its own;which
cannot he changed for more popular and currentphraseology vithout,
as was said, the 10ss of sorne part of theauthors meaning, and
while seeming to favour, really hinderingthe actual apprehension of
the profound 8ubjects treat.ed of. Whntvould be thollght of the
editor of any of the treatises onvhich systems of speculative
pllilosophy are founde~, if be 5. PREFAOE. vshould underlake to
adapt and popularize his autbor, hy doingaway with bis technical
and philosophical terms 1 But thesewritings contain a system of
philosophy more profonnd and vastthan any and ail systems of mans
devising. How much lessjustifiable would it" be, then, so to
attempt to popularize thestandard text of such a systeln. The place
to adapt and applythe teaching of an author, especial1y such an
author, is not in thetranslation of his writ.ings, but in books and
teachings in elucia-tion and exposition of them.It may Dot be out
of place to guard the reader against anysupposition that the title
"Compendium" is intended to involvethe idea of condensation, and
that the whole substance, or any-thing more than a general view,
and example, of the authorsteaching is here given. 80 far is this
from being the case, tbatthere are even very many topies of great
interest that could nuthe included in a volume like t.his. He who
is interested toknow the scope and depth of these teachings should
study thewritings themselves. Nor let. him he appallerl at the
lnagnitudeof the undertakiug. For tb~y are as full of varied and
mostinteresting matter everyVllere as in the extracts given in
tlliavolume; and he will come to rejoice, more and more, that
th~field is 80 wiJe before him.S. lI. W.Besides a 80mewhat
extensive revision, and correction oferrors that had escaped notice
in the former edition, thepresent volume is enriched by a
considerable number of im-portant additional extracts appcaring in
nearlyevery chapter ;by an interesting biographicnl sketch of
Svedenborg from thepen of the Hon. John Bigelow; and an admirable
likenes8,engraved in his best manner, by Mr. S. A. SchofF,
expresslyfor this work. 6. ABBREVIATED TITLES OF THE VORKS
REFERREDTO IN THIS VOLUME.Le.A.E.A. R.T. C. R. H. H.D. L. W.D. P.c.
L.E. u.D. L.D. W. in A. E.s. s.8. S. Post.LLire.Ob. F.H.
D.R.E.LJ.C. L.l.Inr.W.R.8. D.8. D. Kn11lSwed. Doc.AllCANA
CLESTIA.APOCALYPSE EXPLAINBD..-.rOCALYPSE J:lEVEALED.faux CHRISTIAN
RELIGION.BEAVEN AND HELL.DIVIN.E LOVE AND WI800K.DIVINE
PaOVIDBNCB.CONJUGIAL LOVE.EARTB8 IN THE UNIVEBU.DIVINE LoVE.DIVINE
WISDOJf, ApPENDED TO A. E.DOCTRINE CONCERNJ~OTHE SAORED
SCRIPI11BBII.P08THUJfOUS TRACT ON THB BACRRD SORIPTt71U1S.DOCTRINB
OP THE LORD.DOCTRINE OF LIPE.DOCTRINE 01 CHARITY.DOCTRINB OF
FAITH.THE NJtlv JERU8ALEX AND ITS HUVENLY DOOTRJNR.BRIEP EXPOSITION
OP THB DOOTiUNES 01 THE NEWJERUSALEK.LABT JUDQ)(ENT.CONTINUATION
OONCERNING fHB LA8T JUDOMBNT.NATURE OP lNPLUX BE1WEE~ SOUL AND
BODY.CONCERNINO THB WHITE HoRSE, Rev. %x.SPIRITUAL DIARY.THB
SMALLER SPIRITUAL nIARY.DOOl1lIENTS OONOBRNING 8WBDKNBOBO. Ed.
Man-chester 1842. 7. 1I-I 8. ..CONTENTS.BIOGRAPffiCAL
INTRODUCTION.CONCERNING GOD.Importnnce of a just Idea of God .God
is One God is very MonGod is not in 8pac~The very Divine Es@ence i8
Love and Wisdom The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom are Substance
and FormGod is Love itself and Life itsclf The Nature of the Divino
LoveTlle IDfinlty and Eternity of God The Omnipotenc.e of God .The
Omniscience of GodThe Omnipresen of God Knowledge Respooting God
only possible by RevelationPAnxxv1284:66781011121814CREArION.God
ereated the Universe from Himsclf, Dot out of Notbing 15AIl thingg
in the Universe Wtle created froln the Divine Love andthe Divine
Wistlom or GOffMan 15Two Worlds, the Spiritual aud the Nfttural
18Two Suns, by meftDS of which ail Thiugs in the two Worlds
werecreated 1GAtm08pheres, Waters, and Eartha, in the Spiritual and
NatnralWorlds 18The Orign of Matter 19The Divine Obje(~t in the
Crention of the Universe 20AIl Tbiugs of the Crtated Universe
viewed from Uses, represent1lan in an Image IlMAN.WWMan~ aWhat tbe
Interna] and External Man.. 2jThe very Inmost of Man 2The Lire of
Man 25The Origiu oC Vital H(!nt 26The Prinaitive Condition of Man
26 9. OONTENTS.PAOI:THE FALL OF MAN.The Nature of th~ FaU 7Loss of
InternaI Perception by the Fall 28The Image of God Dot actually
Destroyed in ?tIan . 29External Respiration, and the Origin of
Verbal Language by thehll ~The FaU wu GraduaI and Successiva 80The
Nature and Extent of Hereditary Erii 81THE DOCTRINE OF THE
I~ORD.The Divine Human from Etemity 82The Lords Appearance on Earth
bEfore the Incarnation, as anAngel 83The very Jnfinite cannot be
manifested otherwise tban by the DivineHuman 84The Incarnation
85Jehovah God descended A8 to Divine Trutb, and wu said to he Born
37Yet did Dot separate- the Divine Good 38Heasons for the
Incarnation 38Why it ie Mid that Jesus proceeded forth and came
fronl God, andwas sent 44The Lords Hereditary Evii 45The Lord made
His Human Divine by His own Might 46The Glorification 47The
Glorification was fully completed by the Passion of the Cross.
48The Lord, in Glorification, did not transmute or change His
HumanNature into" Divine, but put off the Human and put on
theDivine. 49The Lord did not acknowledge Mary as His llother,
because Heput off the H uman derived from her _ 49The Lord8 Whole
Lite wu a ContinuaI Temptation and Victory 51The Lord wu Tempted
even by Angels 52How ~be Lord bore the 1niquities of AIl 53The Use
of the Lords Temptations 55The Lords Glorification is imageFruits
of Faith and Capability of reeeiving lt in the other lire
24.9CHARITY AND GOOD WORKS.Who la the" Neighbourt 250The Degrees of
the Relationsbip of Neighbour 252What Chality is 254The Delights oC
Charity are according to the greatness andimportance oC the Use
performed 267A. Man is not of sound Mind unless Use he his
Affection orOccupation 258The Deligbt of doin~ Good without a
Recompense 259The InternaI Blesseness of Love and Charity
perceptible in thisLife 260The Angels appear in Heaven as Forms of
Charity 261The Criterion of Character 261A Man has neitber Faith
nor Charity before they exist in Work. 262Love, Life, and Works,
with every Alan, make One 263Love to the Lord and Love to the
leighbonr distingWshed 264Love the Foundation of aIl Harmony and
Order 264.Love to Enemi~s 265The Presence of the Lord with Man is
accordng to NeighbourlyLove or Charity 265SelfLove and Mutual Love
contrasted 266FREE WILL.General Doctrine 268What Free Vill is 269A
80mething analogons to Free Will in all Created Things 2i1How Man
is in Freedom from the Lord alone 272Why in Freedom 11an feels and
wills as o"r himklf, whep it is notof himself 272Kan ought to
compel himself, and in this compulsion is thehighest Freedom .
278Heavcnly Freedom and Infernal Freedom 276REPENTANCE,
REFORMATION, AND REGENERATION.Repentance. 280The Nature of Man
before Regeneration, or as to what is properlyhis own (Propnum)
280Mans grent teDdency to Evil 281Why Man is born in Ignorance
282Refonnation and Regeneration. i82 14. CONTENTS.A Sign of
Reformation and Non-ReformationThe CoU188 of Regeneration and of
Progreu to True WisdomThe Six States of RegenerationBegeneration
Progr~ through 8Uc~8Sive CyclesThe Cycles. of Regeneration are one
with the Cyclea of Mans LifeUnderstanding separate !rom the Will is
giVeD: to Man that hemay be regeneratedCorrespondence of Natural
Birth to SpirituJ BirthDuring Regeneration the Lord Governs Man by
means of Angela Regeneration is foreseen and llrovided for from
Etelnity Regeneration is effected by means of I{.emainsRegeneration
cannot he effected suddenly Everyone may he Regenerate, but each
ditrerentlyIn order to have Regeneration the Natural Man must he
entinaly8ubduedEven the Sensual Man must be RegeneratedAlI things
in Nature represent RegenerationRegeneration is etfected by combats
in TemptationOombat may be waged even from Tmth Dot genuineThe Use
of TemptationsHow Temptations are excited by Evil SpiritsEvil is
not extenninated by Regeneration, but ooly separated 10the
Circumferences, and remuins to Eternity Tcmporary Qaiescence of
Evi1sDifference betweeu tbe Rel{enerate and the Unlegenerate What
the Heavenly Proprium is:Man is first in True Freedom when he
becomes RegenerateIgnorance of the Cburch at the Present Day
concerning RegenerationIt is Dot difficult to Live a Goud LireA
Monkish Lire is not cOl18istent with RegenerationAMants Le an
Actions are Governe hy the End
propoeedIMPUTATION.xvPAO.284284:285285287288288289289290294
.29529629729829829929980180880804305306807308810811The common
Doctrine of Imputation 812The Origin of the Doctrine of Imputation
. 813Imputation not known in the Apostolc Church 314Imputation of
the Merits and Rightcollsness of Christ Impoasible 315The True
Docbine of Imputation 817THE CHURCH.The Cburch Universal 820Th~
Specifie Church, and ita relation to the Church Universal 820Where
the Specifie Church iL 822Who Constitute the Specifie Church 822The
Church is one thing and Religion another 322Who are meant by
Gentiles 823The Oood and Truth among the Gentiles is Dot
constituent of theChurch 328The Necessty that there sbould a1ways
he a Church 823 15. xvi OONTENTS.PAGBThe Church in Heaven could not
8ubeist without a Curch onthe Eartb 324When a Church is Dear its
End, a new Church is raised up 825The Church cannat he raised up
anew in any nation until it isentirely vastated S2.!)There have
been in general foor Churches on the Earth 32lJGeneral Character of
these four Churc~leB 326THE FIR8T, OR MOST ANCIENT CHUBCH.General
Character . 828The Worship of the Most Ancient Chureb 32UThe Most
Ancients performed Ho11 Worship in Tenta. 830The Most Ancient
Chu.rch comped ofseveral Different Churches 830Perception in the
Most Ancient Chureh . BStDignities and Riches amODI{ the Most
Aneient Men 332The Food of the Most Ancient Men 338A Remnant of th
Most Ancient Church in the Land of Canaan 888THE SECOND, OR ANCIENT
CHURCH.General Character 834The Ancient Church was in
Representatives and Significatives s.i5The Vorship of the Ancient
Church 836The Aneient Style of W riting 8;;7The Decline of the
Ancient Chureh 838The Second Aneient Churcb, called Eber, and
origin of So.eri-fielal Worship . . . 839 .Sacrifices were at flrst
o1rered to Jehovah, and afterwards ho-came Idolatrous &41AU
Nations which adopted Sacriflcial Worsbip, ealled Hebrewi 342Others
of the Ancient Church abominated Sacrifices, and abomineated the
Hebrew8 on Rccount of them . 842GraduaI Descent of the Hebrew
Church to Idolatry 843Idolatry of the House of Terab, white there
were other HebrewNations that retained the Worship of Jehovah 34The
Name and Worship of Jehovah agnin 108t by the Posterity ofJacob in
Egypt 87Why Sacrificial Vorship, in itself Dot acceptable to the
Lord, wuYtt commanded to the Children of Israel 348The Externa1s of
the Ancient Churches were Testored in the Ismel-itish Church
850When the Children of Israel first constituted a ChUfCh
85]Egylltian Hieroglyphics were perverted Representatives oC
thencient Chnrch 851mE THIRD, OR ISRAELITISH CHURCH.General
Character 852This was not a true Church but merely Representative,
or the Re-presentative of a Church 852The Difterence between a
Representative Church and the Represen.tative of a Church 858 16.
()()NfENTS. ~viip~.lIae Representative of a Chureh could Dot he
Mtablished till a11Knowledge of Intemal Things had been 10st .
355The Jewish Chureh, with all Things appertaining to it, wu
Repr-sentative of aIl Things oC the Church in Heaven and on Earth
356mustraton of what a Representative Chureh is, .and why it is
858What it is for the Lord to be present Representatively 860What
the Kingdoma of Judgea, Priests, and Kinga sigoified, andwhy the
Jews were divided into two Kingdoms 362Why the Jen above aIl othera
eould Ret as a representativeChurch 862vby it ia belie"ed that the
Jewa were chosen above others for theirgoodnesa 364The Jen were Dot
chosen, but were urgent to he & Church, fromthe Love of
PJe-eminence .865Why the Jews are callehysical experiments and
~bserv!tions, m~de by the HonorableAS8C88or Polhem and otber
Ingenlous men ln Sweden, and whichwill be made public from time to
time for the general good. Up-Bal, 1716-1718, six numbers, 154
pa~es 4to.8. Information coneerning the finware of StieIisund, its
ueeand the method of tinning. Stockhohn, 1717, 4 pages, 4to.9. The
Importance of establishing an Astrononlicai Observa-tory in Sweden,
with a plan by which this may be carried out.4 pnges MS. large
folio, 1717.10. On the Oanses of Things, 4 pag-es MS. 4to, 1717.Il.
A new Theory concerniBg the End of the Barth, MS. frag.ment of 38
~ge8, 1717.12. On a Mode of assisting Commerce and Manufactures,
MS.Upsge8, 400, 1717.13. A Memorial on the establishment of
Saltworks in Sweden.MS. 4 pages folio, 1717.l~. The Nature of Fire
and Oolore, MS. 6 pages folio, 1717.15. Algcbra, edited in ten
books, UpSlIa, 135 pages, 16mo,1718.16. Contributions to Geometry
and Algebra. liS. 169 pages,400, 1718.17. An Attempt to find the
East and West Longi!ude bv theMoon, set forth for the judgment of
the learned. Upsala, i718,38 pages 8vo.18. On the Motion and Repose
()f the Earth and the Planets,f. e. sorne 3rguments showing that
the earth slackens its speed.more than heretofore, causing winter
and 8ummer nights and daysto he longer, in respect to time, tban
formerly. Scata, 1718, 40pa.ges, 16 mo.19. Rcspecting the great
Depths of Water, and of stron~Tidesin the primeval world ; proofs
from Sweden. Upsala., 1719, 40pages, 16mo.20. A Description of
Swedish iron fnrnaces, and of the pro-cesses for smelting iron, 84
pages 4to, 1719.21. Anatomy of onr most sobtle Natnr, showin~ that
ourrnoving and our living force consists of vibrations. MS. 48
pages,4:to, 1719.22. New Directions for diBcovering Metallic Veine,
Or SOmehints hitherto unknown for the discovery of mineral veins
andtrea8nr~8 deeply hidden in the earth. 1.18. 14 pages 4to.23.
Information concerning Docks, Canal-Iocks, and Salt-worka.
Stockholm, 1719, 8 pages 4to. 38. BIOflBAPHICAL lNTROD UGTION.
xxxix:u. ProposaI for regulating our Conage and Measnres, bywhich
our computation is facilitated and fractions are
abolished.Stockholm, 1719, SP~ 400.25. Conceming the Riee and FaU
of Lake Wenner, and howfar this is due to tbe tlow of water into
it, and the oarrying oil ofwater by streams. MS. 7 pap:ea folio,
1720.26. First Principles of Natural Things, deduced from
experi-ence and geometry, or a posteriori and a priori. MS. 560
pages,4:to, 1120.27. Latter of Emanuel Swedenborg to Jacob Melle.
luActa Literaria Sueci for 1721, 4 pages (192 to 196).28. A
ForerUDner of the First Principles of Natural Things, orof new
attempts to expIain Chemistry and experimental
Physiesgeometrieally. Amsterdam, 1721, 199 pages, 16mo. .29. New
Observations alld Discoveries respecting Iron, andFire, and
particnlarly respecting the elementary nature of fire,together wlth
a new constractioD of Stoves. Amsterdam, 1721,56 pages, 16mo.
illustrated.30. A new Method of finding the Longitudes of Places,
onland and at sea, by Lunar Observations. Amsterdam, 1721, 29pages,
Svo.31. A new Mechanical Plan for constructing Docks andDykes; and
a mode of discovering the powers of VessaIs by theapplication of
Mechanical Principles. Amsterdam, 1721, 21 pp.8vo, (second edition,
1727).32. New Rules for maintaining Heat in Booms. In Acta
Lit.~ueci for 1722, 3 pages.33. Miscellaneou8 Observations on the
thin~ of Nature, and~cially on MineraIs, Fire and the Strata. of
Mountains. Part1. to III. Leipzig, 164 pages, 16mo. Part IV.,
Sohiffbeck nearHambQ~g, 56 pages 16mo, 1722.34. Fable of the Love
and Metamorphosis of the Muse Uraniainto a man and servant of
Apollo, addressed to the most illustri-ons and excellent Senator,
Count Maurioe Wellingk, SchiftbeckDeal Hamburg, 1722, S pages,
400.. 35. An Eluoidation of 8 Law of Hydrostatios, demoDstratingthe
Power of the deepelt Waterl of the. Deluge and their Actionon the
Rocks and other Substances at the bottom of the Sea. InActa Lit.
Sueci for 1722, pp. 353 to 356.36. Frank View8 on the FaU and Bise
in the V&lue of SwedishMoney. Stockholm, 1722, 20 pages,
400.37. The Magnet and its Qualities. MSS. 299 pp. 400. 1722.3S. On
the right Treatment of Metall. MS. 1723. 1481pages, 4to.39. The
Motion of the Elements in GeneraL MS. 5 pages,4ta. (1724 to
1733.).40. Papers belonging to the Principia, etc. MS. 18 pages4to.
(1724 to 1733.) 39. xi BIOGBAPHICAL INTROD UOTION.41. The Mechanism
of the Soul and Body. MS. 16 pages 4ta.(1724 to 1733.). 42. A
Comparison of ~hr~st.ian Wolfs Ontology and Cosmologywlth
Swedenborgs "Pr1,nctp&a ReTum Naturalium." MS. 49pages 4to.
(1724: to 1733.)43. Anatomical Observations. MS. 6 pages 4to. (1724
to 1733.)44. Journal of lravels for the Years 1733, and 1734. MS.
80pages 4to.45. Philosophical and Mettlllurgical Works. By
EnlanuelSwedenborg, 3 vols., Dresden and Leipzig, 1134. First vol.,
432pp. folio, 2d vol. ~ 386 pages, 3d vol., 534 pages.46. Outlines
of a Philosophical Argument on the Infinite andthe Final Cause of
Oreation, and on the Mechanism of the Opora-tion of Soul and Body.
Dresden and Leipzig, 1734. pp. 270, Svo.47. An Abstract of the York
entitled Pr;1l,cipia Reru,m Nat-uralium. MS. 27 pp. 4to, 1734.48.
Fragments of three Treatises on the Brain, MS. 1004: pages4to,
1734-1738.49. Description of my Journeys. MS. 40 pages, 4to. 1136
to1739.50. Tho Wa.y to a Knowledge of the Soul. MS. 5 pages
4to.1738.51. Faith and Good Works. MS. 10 pp. 4to. 1738.52. Economy
of the Animal Kingdom. London and Amsterdam. Part 1., 1740, pp.
388, 4to, Part II., 1741, pp. 194. 400.53. A Oharacteristic and
Mathematical Philosophv of Univer-salse MS. 5 pa~es folio, 1740.
0154. On the Bones of the Skull, and Ossification, and the
DurMater. MS. 49 p. fol., 1740.55. A ~ummary of Corpuscular.
Philosophy. MS. 1 page,folio, 1740.56. Anatomy of aIl the Parts of
the Larger and Lesser Brains;of the Medulla Oblongata and
8pinalis., together with the Dis-eases of the Head. ~IS. 636 pp.
fol.. 1740.57. Introduction to n. Rational Psychology, the first
part ofwhich treats of the 6bre, the arachnoid tunie, and the
diseases ofthe fibres. MS. 366 pp. 400. 1740 and 1741.58. On the
Declination of the Magnetic Needle; 8 Contro-versy betveen E.
Swedenborg and Prof. A. Celsius of Upsal.Read and discnsscd before
the Academy of Scienco st Stockholmin 1740 and 1749.59.
Introduction to a Rational Psychology, Part II, trcatingof the
Doctrine of Oorrespondences and Representations. MS.9 pages folio.
1741. .60. A Hieroglyphic Key to Natnral and Spiritnu,l
Hysteries,by way of Representations and Correspondences. MS. 48
pages4to. 1741.61. Comparison of the Three Theories concerning the
inter 40. BIOGBAPRIVAL INTROD UOTION. xlicourse between tbe SonI
and the Body. MS. 44 pages 4to.1741.62. The Red Blood. MS. 24 pages
4to. 1741.63. The Aninlal Spirit. MS. 24 pages 4to. 1741.64.
Sensation, or Passion of the Body. MS. Il pages 4to. 1741.65.
Ori~in and Propagation of the SouI. MS. 6 pages 4to. 1741.66.
ActIon. lIS. 30 pages 4to. 1741.67. Ru.tional Psychology. MS. 234
rages folio. 1741 and 1742.68. Signification of Philosophical
lerma, or Olltology. MS.21 pages folio. 1742.69. fhe AnatoolY of
the Human Body. MS. 269 pages folio.70. Digest of Swammerdams
Biblia Nator. MS. 79 pagesfolio. 1743.71. The Animal Kingdom
considered Anatomically, Physi-cally and Philosophically. Hague,
1744. Part 1., pp. 438. PartII., pp. 286, 4to.72. Swedenborgs
Private Diary for 1743 and 1744. MS. 101pages, 16mo.73. On Sense in
generaI, its influx into the Soul, and thereaction of the latter.
MS. 200 pages folio. 1744.74. The ~Iuscles of the Fuce and Abdomen.
MS. pages 13folio. 1744.75. Physicul and Optical Experimenta. MS.
pp. 6 folio. 1744.76. On the Bruin. bIS. 43 pages folio. 1744.77.
The Animal Kingdom, considered Anatomically, etc.Part III, 169
pages 4to. London, 1745.The ability to treat 8nch a variety of
topics, and most oftheln, 1 may add, npon the authority of
perfectly competenttestimony,. as no other man of the tiIne could
have treatedthem, is due to qnalities of mind and character which
have Dotreceived from his biographers the attention they merit.
ThereW8S no kind of knowlcdge ,vhich conld be made useful to
hiafel10w creatures that he thOllght it beneath him to master,
orwhich he neglected an opportunity of mastering. He Dot onlywhile
in London visited the best mathelnaticians and astrono-mers, but in
one of his lettera from there he says:. ."During my stay here, l
have acql1ired the manual art ofbinding books; for we have a
bookbinder with U8; 1 have al.ready displayed my skillupon two
books, which 1 bound inhalf-lllorocco." 41. BIOGRAPBreAL
lN1.BODUOTION.On the 6th of March following he writes that he
hadadded another accomplishmcnt to that of book-binding :"1 have
little desire to remnin here much longer," hesays, "for 1 am
wasting most of my time. Still, 1 have madesuch progress in music,
that 1 have been ablc severa! tilDes totake the place of our
organist."Swedenborg could never see anything done exhibiting
in.genuity, or skill, and usefulness combined, that he did Dot
expo-riance what he described 88 an "iUltnoderate desire," to
11188-ter its secret. Writing afterwards from London, he ~id:"1
al80 turn 111Y lodgings to sorne use, and change themolten; st
first ~ was at a watchlnakcrs, and nov 1 am at a mathematical
instrnment makers; froln them 1 take the.. trade,which som~ day
will be of use to me. 1 have recentl}9 cornpllted, for my own
pleasure, severai useful tables for the lati-tude st Upsal, and ali
the solar and lunar eclipses which willtake place between 1712 and
1721 ; 1 am willing to communi-cate theln if it he desired. In
llridertaking, in astronomy, tofacilitate the calculation of
eclipscs, and the motion of themoon outside those of the syzygies,
and also in undertaking tocorrect the tables 80 as to agree with
the Dew observations, 1ahall have enough to do."Writing to his
brother-in-Iaw in 1712, about some globes thathe had been
instructed to procure for the Royal Library, he 8&)8 :" It is
almost impossible to get the paper for the globes;for they are
afraid they will he copied. Those that aremounted are, on the other
band, very dear. 1 have thereforethought of engraving a couple
nlyself, with my own hands,-but only of the ordinary size, il of a
Swedish foot,-&nd afterthey are done 1 will sand both the
drawing and the plates toSweden. Aftor my return 1 may perhaps make
sorne of morevaIne. 1 have already perfected mJself so much in the
art ofengraving that 1 consider Inyself capable of it. A specitnen
ofmy art 1 enclose in my fathers latter; this, which
illustratesBOme of my inventions, wu the first thing 1 took in
hand. Atl f: 42. JJIOGBAPHIOAL INTRODUOTiON. xlithe same time 1
have learned 80 much from my Iandlord, in thean of making bras8
instruments, that 1 have manufacturedmany for my own use. Ware l in
Sweden, 1 should Dot need-ta apply 10 any one to make the meridians
for the globe, anditB other appurtenances."With the little oa,nera
o1Jacura, which yon bAd the kindDe88 to send me, 1 havo already
leamed perspective drawing tomy own satisfaotion. 1 have practiced
on churches, honses, etc.If 1 were alJJOng the lifting mRchines, in
Fablun or elsewhere,1 conld make drawinge Gf them &8 well as
aoy one cise, by meanaof this little instrnment."Rere we have a
1nan perfectIy eqnipped foremincnt 8uccesain the highe&t range
of philosophiesl inqniry, who, in the shortapace of five or six
years, makes himsell practically acquaintedwith sevan of the
industrial arts,-book-binding, music, themanufacture of watches,
fnrnitore, and mathematicfll instrn-ments, engraving, and
perspective drawing; no one of whichin the days of Plato would have
been, and scarcely DOW istbought a desirable acquisition for a
gentlctnau. At the corn-paratively early age when these lettera
were writtcn, Sweden-borg W&S ooming, nnoonsciously, perhaps,
under the dominionof the great principle which he lived afterwArds
to illustratewith singnlar efBcacJ, both by precept and example,
that theonly genune happiness this life or any ~ther CRD yied,
resoltsfrom efforts to promote the welfare of others.When he
pl1blished his" Op81l1J Philo8ophica et N.ilteralia,,"in which he
gave with considerable detail the theoreticAI andpractical
processes of copper and iron lnelting, Ile was taken to.Bk by
others in the business for revoaling its Inysteries to thepublio.
Speaking of these cenBON in one of his lettera, hewrteB :-" There
are some who love to hold knowledge forthemeelves alone, and to be
repnted p088e88OrB and gusrdians ofsecrets. People of this kind
gludge tho public everything;lnd if any discovery by which Art and
Science will he henefitedcornes to light, they look at i~ 8skanco
with scowling visage, and 43. xliv BIOGRAPllIOAL
INTRODUOTION.probably denounce the discoverer as a babbler, who
iets out.secrets. Why should secrets be grudged to the public 1Why
withheld frOID this cnlightened age j Whatever isworth knowing
should by aIl menns be brought into the.COlnmon market of the
world. Unless this be done we caoneither grow ",iser nor happier
wit.h tInc."It W8.S this early direction of his character aud life
whichIllade hitn one of the earliest and IIIost enlightened
apostlesof popnlar sovereignty. For his ovn and his excellent
fatherspublic serviceEl, his fanliIJ ,vas cnnobled in 1718, and it
thentook the llame of Scdelluorg. This gave hilll a seat inthe
house of Pecrs or upper honse of the Swedish Parliament,where he
exhibited a capaeity for st..tttesmanship scarcelyinterior to that
which Inade him tlDons 8S a philosopher.He was one of the Inost
cnt)picuous chalnpions of a constitu-tional government for Sgeden,
that should set bounds tothe whims of a capricious sovereign, and
his too unrcstrictedpo~er. He boldly took the stand to which
Hampden andRussell only a few years before had been Inartyrs,-and
1hichi t required great courage, sagaeity and virtlle to maintain,
inany legislative body in the eighteellth century,-that govern-ment
shollld be organized and conducted for the good of thegoverned, and
that no man was fit to be cntrusted ,vit.h absolutepower. "oN0
one," he. said in one of his memorials to theDiet, involving the
question of enlarging the prerogatives of. the Cro"Il, "No one has
the right to leave hislife and propertyin the absolute po,,er of
any individual; for of thesc GodaJonc ]S lllaster, and ,ve are
merely His stc,vards in this vorld. . 1 shndder hen 1 refiect hat
may happen and probably,vill happen, if private intercsts, by which
the public good ieshovcd into the background, shonld gain the
ascendency here.Besides, l cannot see any difference between a king
of Sweden""ho possesses absolute power and an idol; for aIl turn
theln-selves heart and soul as weIl to the one as to the othcr;
theyobey his ""Hl, and worship what passs flom his mouth." 44.
BIOGRAPHIOAL INl"ROD UOTION. xlvDnri~g his youth Swedenborg had
witnessed the misfortunesinto which an unlimited monarchy had
precipitated his conntry,-the misery and distrcRs of eighteen years
of ""Rr, with its dearlybought victories and its bloody defeats,
its declnated armics,followed bJ a bankrnpt treasurJ, pestilence
and fanJine,-811dthough alwa)8 a favorite of th king, he never
rclaxed his ef-forts, from the day he WBe clothed with the
responsibilities of alegislator, to bring the power and
prerogatives of the crownunder the supervision and control of the
people, or their repre-sentatives. So snccessful were he and his
colleagnes in curtail-ing the royal anthority, that when, in 1756,
the king J"cfusedbis signature to me8sures resolved npon by the
Privy Execn-tive Couneil, he W8S one of the memoers of the Diet who
eln-powered the ConDeil to put the royal signature to the bill
witha Stamp. Pllusing at Rotterdnnl.in 1736, while on one of his
conti-nental excursions,. he made a record of his adrniration of
the,Republican institutions of Rolland, in which he discovercd "
thesorest gnarantee of civil and religions liberty, Rnd a tortu
ofgovernment Dlore pleasing in the sight of God than that
ofabsolute empire." "In 8 Repnblic," he adds, " no undue
vene-ration and hornage is paid to any nlan, but the hi~11e8t and
thelowcst deems bimself the equal of kings or emperors. . The only
being "hOln they venerate is God. And vhere HeaJone is wOfshipped,
and men are not, is the country most ac-ceptable to Rim. . . They
do Dot shase themselves underthe influence of shalne or fear, hut
may alwaJs preserve ft firm, sound mind; and with a free spirit and
erect air mllY com-mit themselves and their concerns to God, who
alone elaims togovemal1 things. Far otherwisc," he continueR, "ie
the caseunder absolntc govemments, where men are trained to
simnla-tion and deceit; where they learn to have one thing in
theirthoughts and another on their tongne ; and where, by long
habit,they become so inured to ,vhat is fictitious and
cOllnterfeit. thateven in divine worship they say one thing and
think :tnother. 45. xlvi BIOGBAPHIOAL INTBODUOTION.and try to palm
011 Opol1 God thcir falsity and. adulation."This was strong
language to use at a time nen all Europe, savethe amall @tate8 of
Holland and Switzerland, were onder tbe .mie, praotically, of
absolute monarchs.At a period, 000, when eery country wu trying to
pay itsdebts with a cheaper money than that by which thcy wel-e
in.curred, Swedenborg wu an impassiooed champion of speoie
pay-menti, a sound commey and aD hoo~ maintenance of aU pb-lie
engagements. The Connt A. J. VOD Hpken, for manyyears prime
ministor of Sweden while Swedenborg sat in theHonse of Peen, in a
letter to a friend, said of Swedenborg:"He psesaed ft sound
jodgment upon aIl oooasions; heMW everything clearly, and expressed
bim&elf weIl on ail sub-jects. The most solid, and the best
written meJDorials present-ed to the Diet of 1761 on matters of
finance were from bis pen."Two or three appeals on this subjece
have been preserved.One of them closes with the following paragraph
:"If any country could exist by means of a paper CQJTency,which ie
a anbstitute for, but is Dot mone"~ it would he a COUD-try without
a paraneI."Swedenborg also labored earnestly in the Diet 10 check
in-temperance. On the fty-leaf of one of his books wu found
thefollowing, in his hand-writing: cc The immoderate use of
spir-ituous liquors will be the ruin of the Swedish people."
Heproposoo several measurea to the Diet intended to lessen
thecoDaumption of spirits, and the waste of grain in their
distillatioD.In order to diminish the nomber of drunkards, he
reoom-mended, in one of bis memorials to the Diet, that "ail
publichouses in town shonld be likc bakenl shops, with an opeoiog
inthe window tbrol1gh which tbose who desired nlight
pnrchaaewbiskey or brandy, without being allowed 10 onter the
hOUle,and lounge about in the tap-room."Another of his
propositions, which wu adopted hy theDiet, was to limit the
distillation of whiskey, and ta mise it inpriee by farming ont the
right of distilling it. "If the diatil- 46. BlOORAPHIOAL
INTBODUOTION. xlviiBug of wbiskey," he says in bis memorial to the
Diet, "werefanned ont in every judit-ial district, and al$o in the
towns, tothe highest bidder, 8 considerable revenue roight be
obtained forthe country, and the consumption of grain might al80 he
ra-dueed; that ie, if the consomption of w4iskey cannat be doneaway
with altogether, wbich wonld be more desimble for theconntrys
welfare and morality than aIl the iDcome which conldhe realized
from so pemicioRS a drink."III.1743-1712. BUORB the last important
scientific work of Swedenborghad come from the press, he had an
experience 80 unusoal 88 tohe almost unique, that changed the
direction and character ofhie studies for the rest of his Hfe. What
this experience wu,is best described in his OWIl words. In a brief
Autobiographywhich he prep~, near the close of his eighty-second
year, hesays:" Bat aIl that 1 have thus far related, 1 consider of
compar-atively little importance; for it is far transoonded by the
cir., cnmstance that 1 have been called to a holy office by the
LordHimself, who most mercifully appeared before me, His servant,in
the year 1743, when He opened my sight into the spiritualworld, and
enabled me to converse with spirits and angels; inwbich state l
have continned np to the present day. Fromthat time l began to
print and publisb the varions arcana~ thatwere seen by me or
revealed to nle, conr.erning Heaven andHell, the 8t~te of man after
death, the true worship of God,the spiritual sense of the Word, and
many other important mat-tara condncive to salvation and
wiadom."The same year that he wrote the foregoing, one of
theSwedish bishops had given orders for the confiscation or hi,work
Pe mON OonjugiaU. Swedenborg addressed a memorialta the king npon
the 811bject, in which he complained, among 47. xlviii BIOGBAPHICAL
INTRODUOTION.other things, that he had been treated as no one had
ever beentreated before in Sweden sinee the introduction of
Christian-ity; and in the coursc of bis remonstrance he gives a
moredetailed account of what he regarded as his illumination."1
humbly bcg,". he says, "to make the following state-ment :-That our
Saviour visibly revealed Rimself beforeme, and comlnanded me to do
what 1 have done and ""batl have still to do. And that therenpon He
pelmittcd me tohave intercourse with Angels and Spirits, l have
declared be-fore the whole ofChristendom; in England, Rolland,
Germany,and Denmark, in France and Spain, and 81so on yarions
.occa-sions in this country before their RoyaItnajesties,-and
especial1ywhen 1 enjoyed the grace to est st their tables, in the
prcseueeof the whole Ro):!l family, and also of five senators and
others;at which time my mission cODstitnted the sole topic of
conver-sation. Subsequently, l made this known a180 to many
sen-ators; aud among these, Connt Tessin 1, Count Bonde 2 andConnt
Hopken S have found it in truth to be 80, nnd Connt Hop-ken, a
gentleman of enlightened understanding, st~ll continnesto believe;
Dot to mention many others, both at home andabroad. nmong whom are
kings and princes. AlI this, hov-ever, the Chancellor of Justice,
if public rnmor is correct,declares to he false. Should he reply
that the thing ie inconceiv-able to him, L cannot gainsay it, since
1 am unablc to pnt thestate of nlY sight and speech into his head;
neither am l ableto canse angels and spirits to converse with him;
nor domiracles happen now. Bnt his very rcason ",ill enable him
tosee this when he has thonghtfnlly read my writings,-whereinmnch
may he fOllUd which has never before been revealed,.andwhich could
only be discovered by aetual vision, and intercoursewith those who
are in the Spiritual WorId. In order that reasonJ Prefddent of the
House of Nobles and minister plenipotentiary to Paris;foundtr of
the Swedish Academy of Fine Arts.t President of the Vollege of
MineB, nnd Chancellor of the University. Minieter of Foreign
A1faire, and President of the Court of ChanceryofUpsala. 48.
BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTiON. xlixmay see and acknowledge this, l heg
that your Majesty mayperuse hat bas been Mid on this subject in my
book .De .Amor8Conjugiali, in a nlcnlorable relation on pages 314
to 316. . .If any donbt should still remain, 1 am ready to testify
with them08t solelnn oath that may be prescribed to me, that it is
en-tirely true, a reality without the least fal1acy, that our
Saviourpermits me to cxperience this. It ie Dot on my own
acconnt,bot for His interest in the eternal weltare of aU
Christians.Snch being the facta it is wrong to proDonncc them
faIse, thoughthey may he prononnced incolnprehen~ibIe."In a letter
addressed in 17~1 to Fhe Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, Svedenborg
assigns the reason for his selectionas the channel of this new
reve1ation :-" In yonr gracious letter yon ask how 1 came to have
intcr-eonrse with angels and spirits, and whether this 8tate
couldbe inlparted by one to another. Please accept the
followingreply:" The Lord our ~aviour forctold that He wonld come
againinto the world" and institute a New Chnrch. He predicted
thisin Revelation XXI and XXII, and a180 in several places in
theGospels. Bnt as He cannot come again iuto the world in per-SOO,
it was necessary that He should do it by means of a man,who ShOllId
not on1y receive the doctrine of that church in hisunderstanding,
but should also publish it by th~ press; andas the Lord had
prepared me for this from my childhood, Ifemanifsted Hloself in
person before me nis servant and sentIDe to do this work. This took
place in the J"ear 1743; andafterwards He opened the sight of my
spirit and thus introducedme ioto the spiritual world, granting lne
to aee the heavens,and many wonderflll things there, and also the
hells, and totalk with angels and spirits,-and this continually for
twenty-seven years. This took place with me on accollnt of the
churchWhich 1 mention above, the doctrine of which is contailled
inmy books. The gift of conversing with Spirits and Angels can-not
be transierred from one person to another; as in my case,4: 49. 1
BIOGRAPHIO,AL INTRODUCTION.the Lord Himself opens the sight of the
spirit of the person.1t is sometirnes granted to a spirit to enter
and communicatewith a man; but leave is not given the man to speak
with himmouth to mouth."But there is n more remarkable nor more
satisfactory ex-planation of his special titness for his mission,
if his own allega-tions may be accepted in a11 thcir length and
breadth, than thepeculiar and strange competence of his respiratory
functions.Wc are not aare that the faculty of conscious interna] 8S
dis-tinct from extcrnal respiration, which Swedenhorg attributedto
himself, was ever before po~sessed by any man. ln a diaryof his
spiritual cxperiences, which Swedenborg was accus--torned to keep
after "the opening of his spiritual vision," occnrthe folloing
passages:-" l 11180 conversed ,vith thelD respccting the nature of
theirspeech; and in order that 1 rnight perceive. it the
peculiarityof their breathing was shown to Ine, and 1 was informed
thatthe breathing of the lungs varies sl1ccessivel.r, according
tothe 8tate of their Iaith. This was llnknovn to me before, andyet
l can perccive and believe it, becallsc Iny breathing has been60
foruled by the Lord that for : considerable timc 1 couldhrcathe
inwardly, without the aid of the external air, and Jetthe extcrnal
senses continue in their vigor. This facnlty can-Dot he posse8sed
by any bnt those who are 80 fOflned by theLord, and, it is said,
not otherwise than rniracnlously. 1 wasinfornlcd a180 that Iny
breathing ie 50 directed, withont myknovledge, in order that 1 may
be with spirits and speak withthem. . . l was accnstomed to breathe
in this way first inmy childhood, when praying my morning and
evening praycrs ;soluetimes a180 afterwards, when 1 was exploring
the concord-ance of the lUDgs and the heart; and especially ,,hen 1
waswriting from Iny rnind the things which ha,e beeu publishedfor
many Jears. 1 obscrved, constantly, that there was a
tacitbreathing, hardly sensiblc,-ahout which it was afterwardsgiven
me to think, and th~n to write. Thus was 1 introdllced 50.
BIOGR,APHIO,AL INTRODUOTION. liinto sneh brcathings froni infaney
oDvard through manyyears; and afterwards, when heaven vas opened to
me, so that1 might converse with spirits, 1 scarcely inhaled at aIl
for nlorethan an hour,-only just enongh air to enable me to think.
Sol was introduced ioto interior respiration by the Lord."If, as
Swedenborg asserts, this facnlty of internaI respira-tion for a
time without the aid of the external air, can ooly bepossessed by
those who are so formed by the Lord, and, as he was told,-he does
not aver the fact of his own knowledge,- .miraculoosly, it is a
matter which hnman science necessarilyhas diflicnlty in takillg
jl1risdictioll of. It has, however, pro-voked some very interesting
and striking reftectioDs from Dr.Vilkinson, an eOlinent physician
of London, author of an elo-quent biography of Swedenborg, and
translator of SOlDe of hismost important scientific works. We need
oirer no excuse fOl-Inaking a few extracts from them." As we
breathe, so ,ve are. Inward thoughts have inwardbreaths, and pllrer
spiritual thoughts, have spiritual breathshardly mixed with
material. Death is breathlessness. Fullyto breathe the external
atmosphere is equivalent, cteris pari-bus, to living in pienary
enjoyment of the senses and the mus-cnlar powers." On the other
hand, the condition of trances or death-life iethe persistence of
the inner breath of thought, or the 80u1s sen-sation, while the
breath of the body is annnlled. It is onlyth08e in wholn this can
have place, that may still live in thisworld and yet be
consciolu~ly associated with the persons andevents in the other.
Jlybernation and other phenomena comein support of these remarks.
Thus we have COlnmon experi-ence on oor side in asserting, that the
capacities of the inwardlife, whether thought, meditation,
contemplation or trance, de-pend npon those of the respiration.,-
Sorne analogons power over the breath, a power to lireand think
without respiring,-for it is the bodily respiration thatdraw8 down
the rnind 8t the same time that it draw8 l1p the air, 51. Iii
BIOGRAPHIOAL INTRonltoTION.and thl18 canses mankin to he cOin
pound, or spiritual andmaterial b~ing8,-solne analogou8 poer, we
say, haB Iain atthe basis of the ~ift8 of many other seers besides
Swedenborg."It ie quite apparent that the Hindn Yogi were eapableof
similar states; and in our day, tlJC phcnotnena of hypnotislDhave
tanght U8 nlueh in a scientific manner of these ancientconditioJ18
and sempiternal laws_ Take away or suspend thatwhich drav8 yon to
thi8 world, and the spirit by its own light-lless lloats upwards
into the other. There is, however, 8 difIer-ence betwecn
Swcdenborgs atate, as he reports itt and themodern instances,
iosslnuch as the latter are artifici:l and in-duced by external
effort, whereas Svedenborg-s was Daturaland we may BaY congenital;
was the cOIJ.bined r~inle ofbis aspirations and his respirations;
did not engender sleep, butwas accolnpanied by full waking and open
eyes; and "9as DotcOlllted in the first instance for the trances
and the visions thatit brought. Other cases, moroover, are
occasional, whereasSwedenborgs appears ta have becn
llninterrllptcd, or nearly 80,for twenty-seven Jears.""To show hov
intelligent Swedenborg W8S of these dccpthings, we have only ta
exarnine his anatomical works "andmannscripts, which present a
regul,lf progress of ideas on thesubject of respiration. If we
carefnlly attend to profolludthought, says he, we shaH find that
vhen we draw breatha host of ideas rush froul hencath, as throngh
8U open door, intothe sphere of thought; "hereas when te hold the
breath andslovly let it out, wo deeply keep the vllile in the tenor
of Olll-thonght, and COlillmllnicate as it were vith the higher
faCll]tyof the SOll],-as I hnve observed in my ovn person tlnes ont
ofnlllnher. Retaining or holding back the breath is eqnivnlentto
having intercourse with the Boul; attracting or drawing
it,arnollnts to interconrse with the bodJ." This indeed is a fact
80 common that we never think aboutit; so near to natural life that
its axiolns are aIrnost too suh-stantial for knovledge. Not to go
80 profound as to the intel- 52. BIOGBAPHIOAL INTRODUOTION.
liii1ectus1 sphere, we IDay remark that aIl fineness of bodily
work,-all that in art which cornes out of the infinite delicacy of
lnaD-bood RB contrasted with anitnality, reqnires a
correspondingbreathlessness and expiring. Tu listen attentively to
the fincstand least obtrusivc sounds, as with the stethoscope to
the mur.murs in the breast, or with mouth and ear to distant
sonnds,needs a hush that breathing disturbs; the oolnmon ear has
todie and he born again to exercise th~se delicate attentions."To
takc an sim at a rapidly flJin~ orminute object, requireain like
manner a breathlcs8 time and ft, steady ACt. The verypulse lnnst
receive from the stopped 111ng3 a pressure of calm.To adjust the
exqnisitc machinery of watches, or other instrnements, requirc8 in
the Inanipnlator a motionless power of his owncentT~l springs. Even
to see and observe, with an eye liko themind itself, necessitates a
radiant panse. Again, for the nega-tivc proof; we see that the
first actions and attelnpts of childrenare l1nsllccessfll], being
too qnick, and full Inoroover of confu-sing breaths; the life has
Dot tixed aeriil space to play the gaIne,but the scene itsclf flaps
and flutt~rs with alien wishes andthonghts. In short, the whole
reverence of relllark and deeddepeuds llpon the ab-ove conditions,
and we lay it down AS agcneral trnth, that every man requires to
edl1ca.te his breath forhis business. Bodily strength, Dlental
strength, cven wsdotn,alllean llpon our respirations; and
Swedenborgs case ie bllt astriking in~tance, raising to & very
visible size a fact which,like the air, is felt and wanted, but for
the most part Dot per-ceived."The respect which 80 acnte and
aceotnplished a physiologistas Dr. Wilkinson testifies for this
pretensioll of Swedenborg,encourages me to add a relnark which may
find ample confir-mation in every ones experience; it is, that
those whose habitsand vocation in life in"olve the most active
elnployment ofwhat Svedenborg tenns the external respiratory
organs, are as~ rule least disposed to the study and contemplation
of spiritualforces. 53. liv.BIOGBAPHIOAL INTRODUOTION.Swedenborg
believcd that his studies in NatoraI Sciencehad been one of the
important agencics by which he had beenprepared for his sacred
office."What the acts of lny life involved," he wrote, " 1 couldDot
distinguish at the tlne they happened, but by the Divinemercy of
God-Messiah l was after,ards informed with regardto sorne, even
many, particl1lars. From these I was at last ableto see that the
Divine Providence imlnediately goerned theacts of Iny life from my
youth, and so directed theln that bymeans of knowledge of natural
things l was enabled to reach astate of intelligence, and thus, by
the Divine mercy of God-Messiah, to serve as an instrlllDent for
laying open the thingswhich are hidden interiorly in the Vord of
God-Messiah.These things are therefore now nlade manifest, ~hich
hithertowere not manifest." 1When asked the qnestion, "Why did the
Lord revea!the long list of arcana which yon have just ennmerated
toyou, 110 are a laYlnan, and Dot to one of the clergy~" he
re-plied: ." This was in the good pleasl1re of the Lord, who had
pre-pared me for this office fronl rnJ" earliest youth. But let me
askyou a question: Why did the Lord when He was on earthchoose
fisllerlnen for flis disciples, and Dot SOlne of the
lawyers,scribes, priests or rabbis ~ Consider this ,vell, draw your
con-clusions correctly, and you will discover the reason."From the
tinle Swedenborg claims to have bcen in directcommunication with
the spiritual world, he abandoned hisstudyof Natural Science and
dev?ted himself, for the remsin-ing thirty years of his life,
exclusively to the work of writing,arranging and publishing the
truths which he believed he re-ceived directly frOID the Lord, and
tho promulgation of whichhe understood to mark the advent of the
New Church fore-told in the Apocalypse.2 Finding his duties as
Assessor incoln-patible with the work to which he felt himself
called, he ap..1 Adversaria, Part Il., No. 839. l " See Revelation
Chap. XXI." 54. BIOGBAPHIOAL INTRODU01ION. Ivplied to the king to
he relieved from tbem. The immediateoccasion for this application
vas the death of Councillor Bergen-stierna, and a unanimous
recornmendation froln the College ofMines that Assessor Swedenborg
should be promoted to hispl~e. In a letter to the king he praJ8 his
Majesty to makeanother selection, and most graciously release him
from officealtogether. He then goes on to add .another request :"
But as 1 have beeu for Inore than thirty years an Assessorin your
Royal Majesty"s College of Mincs, and have at my ovnexpense made
several journeys abroad, to visit mines and otherplaces, and as 1
have printed there several works for the benentof my country, for
which 1 ha"e never yet asked the least rec-ompense from the public,
but, on the contrary,-that 1 rnight heable to devote .mysclf
uninterrnptedly to these objects,-havegiven up half my salary,
,,hich during the last eleveu years,has amounted to upwards of
20,000 rix-dollars in copper, ltherefore cntertain the hope that
yonwill graciously grant myrequest, and allow me to continue to
draw the half of my 8al-ary, as l have been doing. l have less
doubt that you will grantthis reqoest, because l have performed the
duties of an Assessorfor more than thirty years, and as weIl as 1
can renlember, nofavor has ever been denied me."lt is, therefore,
my humble wish, that you gracionsly re-lease orne froID office, but
withollt bestoving upon me anyhigher rank, which 1 most earnestly
beseech yon Dot to do. 1Curther pray, that l may receive half of my
salary, and that youwill graciously grant me leave to go abroad, to
sorne placewhere l may finish the important work on which 1 aln DOW
en-gaged., Stockholm, J one 2, 1747."The king, by rOJal decree,
acceded to both reqnests, and inthe most flattering terms.
"Althoogh," he said, " ve wouldgladly Bee him continue at home the
faithful services he hashitherto rendered to us and to his country,
still, we can theless oppose his wish, as we feel assured that the
work on which 55. Ivi BIOGRAPBIOAL INTBOD UOTlON.he is engn~d will,
in titne, contribute to the public good, DotJess than the other
valnable works written and pnblished byhim have contributed to the
nse and honor of bis country, asweIl as of himself. As a token of
the satisfaction withwhich we look npon his long and faithfnl
services, we 3180 mostgraciously permit him to retain for the rest
of his life the halfof bis salary as an Assessor."This left
Swedenborg tinancially independent, and com-pletely rnaster of his
time; a conditiOl.l fatal to the usefl1]nessof a large portion of
mankind, but one which is indispensableto the highest order of
hnman achievement. No one caudo the gleatest things who does his
be8t in working for hitn-self.The human nlind is, no doubt
pro"identially, eql1ipped witha wise mistrust of aIl pretensions to
snpernatnral, or to anyexclusive knowledges of. any sort. lt is 8
mistrnst which pro-tects us from the appropriation ofmuch that is
absnrd ftndpernicions. This mistrust, however, like aIl our
facultiesof llloral selection, if abused, conducts to errOfB as
grave BSthose from which it is designed to protect us. Reckless
scepti-cism is as rnisleading as reckless crednlity. Whet.her
Sweden-borg was actnally called to the exalted mission to ,,,,hich
heprfessed and no doubt believed hitnself to have been called, isa
question which therc is no occasion here to discuss,"hut itis
proper to say that his pretensions are Dot to be rejected uponany
presnrnptive impossibility.Why one man is made a vessel of bonor
and another of dis-. honor is a question which is best answered,
perhaps, in thelanguage of St. Gregory. Qui in factis .Dei rationem
nonVidet illjirmitatem auam consideran~ Mn videat, rationemnon
videt.1Has any BpeciaItnessenger of Di~ine trnth of whom thereis
any record ever been received by the children of men with1He who
does Dot see the reaRon for the acts of Gad, becaus8 of his
D.flrmity, does Dot see the reason for his Dot leeing ft. 56.
BIOGRAPHIOAL INTROD UOTION. lvless mistrust, denounced with less
violence, or endnred less per-secution than he ~ Moses, the
prophets, Christ, and Ris apostIes, ,vere aIl in turn treated more
or less 8S public eneolies,whose teachings threatened the peace of
society. Divine truthalways briugs 10 the average man Dot peace bnt
the s,,ord.Every stage of our spiritual glowth is the frui t of a
cOIn-bat and a victory over sonle prejudice, passion, or
unhal-lowed provensity. If Moses WRS denounced by his followerfor
leading theIn into the wilderness to starve; if the prophetswere
stoned; if Paul and P~tcr ,vere iDlprisoned and Christcnlcified for
teaching strange doctrines, it s Dot to he pre-811med that any new
torch-bcarer of spiritual light would bewelcomed by those who are
accustolned to d,,ell in the dark.ness which such a light was
designed to dispel. On tbe con-trary a prolnpt, cheerful, popnlar
acceptancc of what purportedto be a new revelation froul heaven,
would be tolerably conclu-sive evidence that it was spurions. Nor
is there any morereason to suppose that aIl the light from heaven
thnt ,,a&designed for the children of men had reached them
before thebirth of Swedenborg, than that it had rcached thenl
before thebirth of the Apostles. It is the Christian belief that
God hasrevealed and will continue to reveal Rimself to Ilis
childrenaccordipg to their necessities. "The apostolical fathers 1
Bar-nabas, Clement and Rerinas (",hose writings were reverenced88
of canonical authority for four hundred years, and were readwith
the canonical 8criptures in many of the churches) confirlnthe
trllth that prophccy, divine visions, and mir2L.cnlou8 gifts
con-tinued in the Church after the Apostolic Age, both hy
theirtcstimony and cxpericnce; and to pass over many other
venera-ble names (among whom Tertnllian and Origen are witnessesto
the Barne truth afterwards) Eusebius, Cyprian, Lactantil1S,1
Preface to Dr. Hartleys translation of Swedenborgs treatise on
Heaven,nd Bell 57. Iviii BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION.still 10wer
down, declare that extraordinary divine manifesta-.tions werc Dot
ullcommon in their days. Cyprian is very expresson this subject,
praising God on that hehalf, Oith respect tohirnself, to divers of
thc clergy and many of the people, usingthese words: "The
discipline of God over us ncvcr ceasesby night and by day to
correct and reprove; for not on1J hyvisions of the night, but a180
hy day, even the innocent age ofchildren amo11g US i8 jled with the
Roly Spirit, and the!! seeand lLear and 8peak in ee8tasy, 8uch
tltings a8 tlte Lord vouelli-8afes to admon8h and instruct U8 by:"
Epist. R01n. 16." Whcre there is no vision," saya the Vise tnau,
"the peo-ple perish." And therefore it is pronlised in Joel that
theLords Spirit shan be "pon aIl fiesh in the latter days:
"Your80D~ and your daughters shall prophesy, your old lDen
shaHdream dreams, and your young men shaH see visions. Anda180 upon
the servants and upon the handmaids in those daJsvill l pour out my
Spirit." What else did Joseph mean orclairn for himself, when he
said to his hunliliated brethren:" Wot ye Dot that sneh a Dlan as l
cao eertain1y divine ~ "No evidence as to personal character of the
author couldestablish a ncv sJystem of theologJ, thongh it Inight
go a longway towards overthroving onc. Nor ,vill it he pretcllded
thatthe average clergy of any sect or denomination have
f~rnishedany higoher cvidenee of thcir calI to be the specil
iuterpretersof Gods love to men than we find in the Hie and work
ofSwedenborg. But it is pertinent to the subject in hand to
say,that of the vast arroy of Christian clergy thronghont the
vorldthere are comparatively few who on taking ordcrs have not
sol-elnnly proclaimed their conviction that ther were "called tothe
order and ministry of the priesthood by the will of ourLord Jesus
Christ." This lan~l1agc may, to a certain extent,have degenerated
into a fortDula, but it once expresscd a dog-matie conviction, that
the ministers of Christs church were 58. BIOGRAPBreAL INTROD
UOTION. Iix, called in the sarne way, to the samo uses, and by the
sarne voiccsas the apostles had been C!lled. Whether Swedenborg did
hcarthe Savioul"s knock and open the door, whether he did holdthe
commission and receivc the instructions he profe~ses tohave
reccived, are questions ,,?hich cannot be determined bythe
testimony of Svedenborg; for though there was neverprobably a more
truthful man, nor one who lived more exclu-sively to the honor and
glory of God, he was human andtherefore Hable to illusions; neither
can they be deterluinedby other witnesses, becallse, from the
nature of the cnse, therewere and could have becn none.. It must he
deterrnined by the charscter ofthe communications.If they seern to
he of sufficient importance to justify their al-leg~d divine
origin; if tbey harlllonize st al1 points with therecord which all
Christians accept as the genuine Word 01Go.d ;if they make the Word
plainer; if -they reconcile tbings in theW ord which before seemed
inconsistent, and tend to unite those1who bcfore were divided in
regard to its teachings, then itwould be unreasonable to suppose
Swedenborg was the victimof illusions, and did not enjoy the
intercourse with onr Lordand the angels which he professed and
believed he enjoycd.From the pcriod of his alleged illntnination in
1743-5 to hisdenth in 1772, a period of nearly thirty years,
Swedenborgwrote very volnminously. Apart from one or two
scientificworks, then jl1st cOlnpleted, he published sca.rcely a
linc that wasDot written nnder what he regarded 8S direct
instruction frolllthe Lord. What he published during this pcriod
comprehendshis entire system of theology and herlneneutics, and
occupiessorne thirty volnnles. The following pages, compilcd by
Mr.Warren, give a very satisfactory notion of Swedenborgs ~ystem;
but the perusal of theln aU is necessary to obtain a com-plete idea
of his marvello118 gifts, and of the extraordinary moralelevation
of the atmosphere in which he habitually dwelt. 59. lx BIOGRAPHIa~L
INTROD UOTION.Tlle conviction of a personal calling by the Lord,
and of en. joying continuons association with Ilia angels for
nearly thirtyyears, is an experience, 80 far as we know, withollt
precedent;and the fruits of snch experience, to whatever cause we
IDftYsscribc it, can never cease to be an intercsting and
profitablestl1dy. SOIne notion of the fertility of his pen, and of
thesubjects 9hich occnpied it during these latter years of his
life,Inay be gathered fronl a glance at the titles, which follow,
ofhis various prilltcd "90rks, and of !lis mannscripts that are
stillpreserve, many of the lnore important of which have
beenpublished :-1. The Vorship aud Love of God. London, 1745.
Part].pp. 120" 4to. Part II. pp. 24~ 4to.2. lhe Worship and Lo,e of
God. Part III. 9 pp. 4to,printed in proof..sheets and in ~IS.,
1745.3. !he History of Creation as related hy Moses. MS. 25
pp.1745.4. The Messiah about to come iuto the World, and the
King.dom of God. ~IS. pp. 32. 1745.5. Explnnation of the Historical
Word of the Old Testament.MS. :3 voL pp. 169 fol. 1745-6.6.
Bihlical Index to the Historical Books of the ld Testa-ment. !IS.
pp. 581, 1746.7. Explanation of Isaiah and Jeremiab. ~IS. 107 pp,
folio,1746-7.8. Notes on Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations.
MS.on the mnr~in of his Latin Bible. 1746-1.11. Biblical Index to
Isn,ia.h and a portion of Jeremiah and Genesis. ~IS. 1746-7.10.
lIemornbilia. Pnrt 1. MS. 1747.Il. Fragments of Notes on Genesis
and Exodl1s. MS. 1747.12. Fraglnents of Notes on the Prophets. ~IS.
1747.13. Nanles of ~Ien, Countries, Kingdorns and Towns in
theSacred Scriptures. MS. 245 pp. folio. 1746-8.14. Biblical Index
to the Prophetieal Books of the Old Testament, the Psu.lms, Job,
the Apocalypse; und likewise to Exodus,Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deureronomy. !IS. 636 pp. folio large.1747-7.15. Biblicnl Index of
the New Testament. MS. pp. 435,large oblong folio. 1747-8.16.
)Iemorabilhl" Part II. MS. 516 pp. oblong folio. 1547-8.11. The
Hesvenly Mysteries which are in the Sacred Scrip- 60. BIOGRAPHIOAL
lNTROD UCTION. lxitures or the Word of the Lord disclosed; here,
those which areinGenlun~s, together wir.h Vonderfnl Things which
have been seenin the Vorld of Spirits, and in the Heaven of Angels.
London,1147 to 1753. 5 vols. 2761 pp. 4to.lS. fhe Heaveuly
MY8terie~, etc. ; here those which are in Exodus, to~ether with,
etc. 3 vols, 1796 pp. 4to. London. 1747-5S.19. Memorabilia, Part
III. MS. 1748-50. In the printedcopy it fUIs 312 pages Svo.20.
~IemorabiliH, Part IV. MS. 13~ pp. 16mo. 1750-51.21. Index to the
Adversaria and the Memorabilia, Pure I. taIV. MS. 988 pp. folio.
1748-51.. 22. Memornbilia, Part V. )18. 602 pnges Svo. 1752 to
1765.23. Index to the Memorabilia, Part III-IV. MS. 100 pp.folio.
1752-65. 24. Index to the Words, Names, and Tbings in the
ArcanaClestia. MS. 1749 to 1756.25. Hesven and its Wonders and
Hell; from Things heardand seen. London, 175S, 272 pp. 4to.26. The
Vhite Horse mentioned in Re-elations XIX; andafter,,-ards, the Vord
and its spiritual or internaI Sense from theArcana G181estia.
London, 1748, 23 pp. 4to.27. fhe New JerllS,]em and it8 Hes"enly
Doetrine; fromthings heurd out of Heuyen ; with 3n Introduction on
the NewHeav~n!, and the New Earth. London!, 1758. 155 pp. 4to.28.
rThe Earths in onr So)n,r System, which are called Planets,and the
Earths in the Starry Heaveus; their Inhahitnnts. anda150 the
Spirits and Angels from there; frOID Things hellrd andseen. London,
1758. 72 pp. 4to.29. The Last Judgment, and the Destruction of
Babylon,showing that what wns foreteld in the Book of Re"elation
hasbeen fulfincd ut the present.day; from 1hings heard and
seen.London, 1758, 55 pp. 4to. .30. lhe Apocal~pseexplained
according to its spiritual sense,wherein are revealed the
lI"steries therein foretold, which havehitherto been uuknown. M"S.
1992 pp. 4 vols, ito.31. On the Athanasian Crepd. lIS. 42 pp. Svo.
1759.32. The Lord. lIS. 42 pp. 80. 1759.33. A Sllmmary Exposition
of the internal sense of the Proph-etical Books and the Psalms of
the Old Testament; to which areadded sorne things respecting the
IIistoricai palots of the Vord.MS. oblong folio, 125 pp. 80.
1759-60.33a. Papers prepared for the Swedish Diet. MS. 100
pagesfolio. 1760.34. The Lust Judgment. MS. 160 pp. oblong folio.
1760.35. The 8piritllal VorId. MS. 30 pp. oblong folio. 17tiO.36.
lhe Sacred Scriptures or Word of the Lord, from experi-ence. MS. 42
pages, Svo. 1761.37. On the Precepts of the Decalogue. MS. 6 pp.
Sro. 1761. 61. lxii BIOGRAPHIOAL INTRODUOTION.38. Observations on
Faith. MS. 2 pp. oblong folio. 1761.39. The Doctrine of the New
Jerusalem respecting the Lord.Amsterdam, 1763, 64 pp. 4to.40. The
Doctrine of the New Jerusalem respecting the SacredScripture.
Amsterdam, 1763, 54: pp. 4to.41. The Doctrine of Life for the New
Jerusalem, from theprecepts of the Decalogue. Amsterdam, 1763, 36
pp. 4to.42. The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem respecting
Faith.Amsterdam, 176;1, 23 pp. 4to. .43. Continulltion of the
rreatise on the Last Judgment and theSpirituaI Vorid. Anlsterdam,
1763, 28 pp. 400.44. Description of the Mode in wbich marble slabs
are inlaidfor tables and other ornaments. In" Transactions of the
RoyalAcademy of Sciences," April-June, 1763, vol. XXIV. pp.
107-113.45. fhe Divine Love. MS. 22 pp. oblong folio. 1762-63. .46.
The Diyine Visnom. MS. 46 pp. oblong folio. 1763.47. Angelic Wisdom
respecting the Divine Love aud DivineWisdom. Amsterdam, 1763, 151
pp. 4to.48. Angelic Visdom respecting the Divine Providence.
Am-sterdam. 1764, 214 pp. 4to..49. Doctrine of Charity. MS. 49 pp.
large folio. 1764.50. lhe Apocalypse ReveaIed, wherein are
disclosed the My,s-teries there foretold. which haye hitherto
remained concealed.Anlsterdam, 1766, 629 pp. 4to.51. New }Iethod of
finding the Longitude of Places on Landand at Sea. Amsterdam. 1766,
8 pp. 4to.52. On the IIorse, and Hieroglyphics. MS. 1766.53. Index
of Words. Names and Things contained in theApocalypse Reveaied. MS.
75 pp. 4to. 1766.54. Five Memorabilia. lIS. 13 pp. folio. 1766.55.
Conversation with Angels. MS. 3 pp. folio. 1766.56. First work on
Conjugiai Love. :IS. 1766-7.57. ~Iemorabilia on Marriage. MS. 13
pp. large folio. 1766.58. fhe Wise Delights of Conjugial Love;
after which followthe Insane Pleasures of Scortatory Love.
Amsterdam, 1768, pp.328, 4to.59. The Natural and Spiritual Sense of
the Word. MS. 1768.60. Justification and Good Works: Conversations
with Calvin,etc. MS. 1768.61. Outlines of the Doctrine of the New
Church. MS. 1768.62. A brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New
Churchwhich is meant by the New Jerusalem in the Apocalypse.
Am-sterdam. 1769, 4to. .63. rhe Intercourse between the Son1 and
the Body, which issupposed to take place either by physical influx
or by spiritualinflux or by pre8tablished harmony. London, 1769.64.
Auswer ta n Letter written by a Friend. London, 1769,3 pp. 4to. 62.
BIOGRAPHIOAL iNTRODUOTiON. lxiii65. Nine Questions concerning the
Trinity, etc., proposed byThomas Hartley to Emanuel Swedenborg;
with his Answers.MS. pp. 6, 4to. 1769.66. The Canons or entire
Theology of the New Church. MS.pp. 45, folio. 1769. .67.
Corrohorating Passages from the Old and New Testaments,collected
and hriefly explnined. MS. pp. 39, folio. 1769.. 68. The Truc
Christian Reli~ion, containing the Universal~heology of the New
Church which was predicted by the Lordin Dauiel VII. 13-14, and in
the Apocalypse XXI, 1, 2; bvEmanuel Swedenborg-, Servant of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Am-sterdam, 1771, pp. 541, 4to. 69. )Iaterials
for the True Christian Religion. MS. pp. 23,folio 1770.70.
Ecclesiastical History of the New Churcb. ~IS. 1 p. folio.1771. 71.
A Summary of the Cotonis or Appendix to the True Chris-tian
Religion; containing an Account of the four Churches onthis Earth
silice the Creation of the Vorld, and of their periodsand
consummutions. Likewise un account of the New Churchabout to
succeed these Four, which will be 8 truly ChristianChurch. MS.
1771.72. The Oonsllnimation of the A~e, the Lords Second Com-ing,
and the New Church ; to which is added an Invitation tothat Church
addressed to the whole Christian Varld. MS. pp. 15folio. 1771.1
will Dot undertake to define the theological novelties
whichdistingnish Swedenborg fron~ othcr interpreters of the
Bible;if for no other rcason than that the pages which fol1ov
aredesigned to present those doctrines in as compendio118 a forln
aspoesible, and in a faithful translation of the very words of
theAnthor. The doctrines taught y Swedenborg which havethu8 far
lcft the most distinct impression upon the theology ofthe world
probably are:1. The doctrine of the Lord, and incidentally of the
Re-dCDlption and Atonemcnt, bJ which the unity of God is
recon-ciled to human reason with His trinity, of Father, Son
andHoly Spirit.2. The doctrine of the future life, by which the
existence ofthe Rens i8 reconciled with the Infinite love of God,
which,as he maintains, is as continually and abundantly manifested
63. lxiv BIOGRAPIIIOAL INTBOD UCTION.over the inhabitants of the
ReUs as over the inhabitants of theHeavens.3. The doctrine of the
Sacred Scripture, and of correspond-ences, by which the plenary
inspiration, divinity, and holiness ofthe Word are rationallJ
established; its apparent incongruitiesand inconsistencies
explained, and reconciled to hUlllan intelli-gence; its divine
structure vindicated, and its authority exalted.Swedenb
