Last Days on Earth. 262
LIFE AND WRITINGS OF EMANUEL SWEDENBORG.
CHAPTER I.
_His Birth and Parentage—His first ideas of Religion, and his
Scholastic Life._
Authors are never wiser than when they trust to time for justice. The
poor thinker, neglected by his age, unseen amid the glare of mere show
and pageantry, need not fret himself. Time will roll on, the false and
meretricious will sink into forgetfulness, while his true words will
become accepted, and his thoughts the stars by which wise men guide their
course across the dark ocean of life.
It was the lot of Emanuel Swedenborg to be cast on a shallow, sceptical,
and perverse age. Living a life of the utmost purity, and teaching truths
which we esteem it our great felicity to know, he had but poor thanks so
far as fame and disciples went. But the dawn of his day of justice is
approaching. His name, which in past times has too often been used to
point a sarcasm at whatever is visionary and transcendental, has of late
years been slowly rising into estimation. Here and there, one eminent man
after another has spoken some brave words in honor and admiration of the
great Swede. Slowly, but surely, his writings are claiming attention; his
disciples, though still few, are quietly earnest and enthusiastic, and
ever and anon there is seen in the newspaper or periodical, the name of
Swedenborg mentioned with respect, if not with reverence. Considerable
curiosity exists in large circles to know more of him, of what he
did, what were his doctrines, and the nature and number of his books.
To satisfy, in some measure, these queries and if possible to incite
a desire for an intimate personal acquaintance with the writings of
Swedenborg, is the purpose of the present work.
Emanuel Swedenborg was born at Stockholm, on the 29th Jan., 1688. The
year is a memorable one, as being that in which outraged England drove
the faithless Stuarts from the throne. His father’s name was Jesper
Swedberg, and his mother’s, Sarah Behm; both descended from families of
worth and usefulness in Sweden. His father, at the time of his birth, was
chaplain to a regiment of cavalry. After passing through several offices,
one of which was a professorship of theology in the University of Upsal,
Jesper Swedberg was, in the year 1719, elevated to the bishoprick of
Skara in West Gothland. His character stood high in Sweden. Simple,
patriotic, and honest, he was, without being brilliant, a learned and
industrious man. He wrote much, and published occasionally, as the
following extract from his diary proves: “I can scarcely believe that
anybody in Sweden has written so much as I have done; since, I think,
ten carts could scarcely carry away what I have written and printed at
my own expense, and yet there is much, yea nearly as much, not printed.”
Of the professions of his sons, he wisely remarks; “I have kept my sons
to that profession to which God has given them inclination and liking:
I have not brought up one to the clerical office, although many parents
do this inconsiderately, and in a manner not justifiable, by which the
Christian Church and the clerical order suffer not a little, and are
brought into contempt.” Writing in his diary forty years after Emanuel’s
birth, he says: “Emanuel, my son’s name, signifies ‘God with us,’ a name
which should constantly remind him of the nearness of God, and of that
interior, holy, and mysterious connection, in which, through faith, we
stand with our good and gracious God. And blessed be the Lord’s name! God
has, to this hour, been with him; and may God be further with him, until
he is eternally united with Him in his kingdom.”
Of Swedenborg’s childhood we have little record. In a letter which,
late in life, he addressed to Dr. Beyer, he remarks; “With regard to
what passed in the earliest part of my life, about which you wish to be
informed: from my fourth to my tenth year, my thoughts were constantly
engrossed by reflections on God, on salvation, and on the spiritual
affections of man. I often revealed things in my discourse which filled
my parents with astonishment, and made them declare at times, that
certainly the angels spoke through my mouth. From my sixth to my twelfth
year, it was my greatest delight to converse with the clergy concerning
faith; to whom I often observed, that charity or love is the life of
faith; and that this vivifying charity or love is no other than the love
of one’s neighbor; that God vouchsafes this faith to every one; but that
it is adopted by those only who practise that charity. I knew of no other
faith or belief at that time, than that God is the Creator and Preserver
of Nature; that He endues men with understanding, good inclinations,
and other gifts derived from these. I knew nothing at that time of the
systematic or dogmatic kind of faith, that God the Father imputes the
righteousness or merits of the Son to whomsoever, and at whatever time,
He wills, even to the impenitent. And had I heard of such a faith, it
would have been then, as now, perfectly unintelligible to me.”
This confession very vividly shadows forth the future man. We see how
earnestly his sound, practical mind perceived and clung to the real and
substantial in theology. His experience of the doctrine of justification
by faith alone, finds parallels in the lives and experience of many
eminent men. It was not until after many years’ preaching, that the
fact of the existence of such a doctrine was presented to the mind of
Dr. Chalmers, to whom also it was quite unintelligible; yet, overcome
by the sphere of learning and prestige with which the doctrine was
environed, Chalmers yielded assent to it, and fancied, as thousands do,
he believed what by no possibility he could ever understand. Swedenborg
was too single-eyed in his pursuit of truth to be led aside by authority,
however imposing; and often, in the following narrative, we shall have to
observe with what independence, yet with what humility and simplicity, he
recorded the truths which it was his mission to reveal.
This excellent son of good Bishop Swedberg received the best education
that the times and his country could afford. In his twenty-second year,
at the University of Upsal, he took his degree of Doctor in philosophy.
The dissertation which he wrote for his degree was afterwards published.
It consisted of a selection of sentences from Seneca, Publius Syrus
Mimus, and other Latin writers, enriched by comments of his own, and
notes illustrating the obscurities of the Latin text. This work was so
highly thought of, as to occasion a poetic eulogy, written in Greek, to
be inscribed to its author. Swedenborg dedicated this, his first literary
production, to his father, in a prelude full of veneration and love. Its
length alone prevents our gratifying the reader with the perusal of this
beautiful tribute of filial affection. Among his many virtues, it should
not be accounted the least, that Swedenborg was a loving, dutiful son.
The same year he published, in a work of his father’s, a Latin version of
the twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes, which proved, in a high degree, his
mastery of the Latin language.
In 1710, was finished the strictly scholastic period of Swedenborg’s
life. He had now reached manhood, and must live as a man among men.
His youth manifests less precocity than solid and regular development
of mind. The record of his life at this time, evidences a common-sense
appreciation of life and its duties, an honest love of virtue, and a
desire to be useful in his day and generation. The sequel will show that
his day of life was not unworthy of its dawn.
CHAPTER II.
_Travels—Becomes Author—Is crossed in Love._
Having completed his university education, Swedenborg entered on his
travels. In his journal, he thus briefly describes a four years’ absence
from Sweden.
“In the year 1710 I set out for Gottenburg, that I might be conveyed, by
ship, thence to London. On the voyage, my life was in danger four times:
first on some shoals, toward which we were driven by a storm, until we
were within a quarter of a mile from the raging breakers, and we thought
we should all perish. Afterwards we narrowly escaped some Danish pirates
under French colors; and the next evening we were fired into from a
British ship, which mistook us for the same pirates, but without much
damage. Lastly, in London itself, I was exposed to a more serious danger.
While we were entering the harbor, some of our countrymen came to us in
a boat, and persuaded me to go with them into the city. Now it was known
in London that an epidemic was raging in Sweden, and therefore all who
arrived from Sweden were forbidden to leave their ships for six weeks,
or forty days; so I, having transgressed this law, was very near being
hanged, and was only freed under the condition that, if any one attempted
the same thing again, he should not escape the gallows.
“At London and Oxford I tarried about a year. Then I went to Holland and
saw its chief cities. At Utrecht I tarried a long time, while Congress
was sitting and ambassadors were gathering there from nearly all the
courts of Europe. Thence I went into France, and passed through Brussels
and Valenciennes to Paris. Here and at Versailles I spent a year. At the
end of this time I hastened, by public coach, to Hamburg, and thence to
Pomerania and Greifswalde, where I remained some time, while Charles
the Twelfth was coming from Bender to Stralsund. When the siege began,
I departed in a small vessel, together with a lady named Feif, and by
Divine Providence was restored to my own country after more than four
years’ absence.”
While traveling he was not idle; for we find that in 1715, while at
Greifswalde, he published an oration on the return of Charles XII.
from Turkey, and a small volume of Latin prose fables. On his return
to Sweden, he issued, at Skara, a little book of poems, written for
the most part during his journeyings. These have been republished at
various times; but, as poems, much cannot be said of them. Wilkinson,
in his “Biography of Swedenborg,” remarks: “These poems display fancy,
but a controlled imagination. If we may convey to the English reader
such a notion of Latin verses, they remind one of the Pope school, in
which there is generally some theme, or moral, governing the flights of
the Muse.” Indeed, it was well that Swedenborg was but slightly endowed
with the poetic faculty. Much of his future mission lay in fields
which require the coolest and calmest of minds to describe; the sight
and contemplation of which, would have sent a Shaksperian or Byronic
temperament into extatic frenzies.
Swedenborg, himself the son of a bishop, was connected with high and
influential families in Sweden. One of his sisters was married to
Eric Benzelius, afterwards Archbishop of Upsal; and another to Lars
Benzelstierna, governor of a province. Other members of the family
held high and responsible offices in the kingdom. A young man thus
situated would find little difficulty in settling for life in a
sphere of usefulness adapted to all his tastes. While on his travels
on the Continent he wrote letters to Eric Benzelius, detailing every
novelty in mathematics, astronomy, and mechanics, which came under his
observation; besides sending home models of all such inventions as he
thought might be useful to his country. These letters and services
won for him considerable notice; and on his return to Sweden, he
assumed the editorship of a new periodical work, entitled “Dædalus
Hyperboreus.” Among the contributors to this magazine, was the celebrated
mathematician, Christopher Polheim, who has been called the Swedish
Archimedes. Swedenborg’s connection with Polheim seems to have led to his
appointment to the office of Assessor of the Board of Mines, which he
held with distinguished honor for many years.
In the year 1716, Polheim invited him to go with him to Lund, on a visit
to Charles XII., who had just escaped from Stralsund. He was very kindly
received by the King, and obtained from him his official appointment as
Assessor. He was to assist Polheim in his undertakings, to have a seat
in the College of Mines, and to give his advice, especially when any
business of a mathematical nature was on hand.
Charles seems to have at once discerned the rare abilities of Swedenborg,
and with a desire of uniting him in still closer bonds of amity with
his favorite Polheim, he advised Polheim to give him his daughter in
marriage. To this proposal Swedenborg appears to have been in nowise
averse. He lived with Polheim, at once as his coadjutor, and as his pupil
in mathematics; and having thus constant opportunities of seeing the fair
Emerentia, Polheim’s second daughter, had become enamored of her graces.
In one of his letters, he remarks: “Polheim’s eldest daughter is promised
to a page of the king’s. I wonder what people say of this in relation to
myself. His second daughter is, in my opinion, much the handsomest.”
The attachment, however, was not mutual, and the lady would not allow
herself to be betrothed. Her father, who deeply loved Swedenborg, caused
a written agreement to be drawn up, promising his daughter at some
future day. This document, Emerentia, from filial obedience signed;
but, as ladies generally do, when forced to love in this way, took to
sighs and sadness, which so affected her brother with sorrow, that he
secretly purloined the agreement from Swedenborg. The paper was soon
missed; for Swedenborg read it over frequently, and, in his grief at its
loss, besought Polheim to replace it by a new one. But as Swedenborg now
discovered the pain which he gave to the object of his affections, he at
once relinquished all claim to her hand, and left her father’s house.
This was his last, as it was his first endeavor after marriage. In after
years, when jocosely asked whether he had ever been desirous of marrying,
he answered: “In my youth I was once on the road to matrimony.” And on
being asked what was the obstacle, with his characteristic simplicity he
said: “She would not have me.” Considering the studious and abstracted
life which he eventually led, it is not to be regretted that he remained
unwedded. That he was no harsh despiser of the sex, we know well from
his writings; and that his life was in agreement with his books, we also
know. The loveliest descriptions of female grace and beauty we have
ever met with, are contained in his works, chiefly in his treatise on
“Conjugial Love.” M. Sandell, a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences
in Sweden, who pronounced a magnificent eulogium on his fellow-member,
Swedenborg, shortly after his death, says: “Though Swedenborg was never
married, it was not owing to any indifference toward the sex; for he
esteemed the company of a fine, intelligent woman as one of the most
agreeable of pleasures; but his profound studies rendered expedient for
him the quiet of a single life.”
Swedenborg seems to have had much intercourse with the King. In one of
his letters, he says: “I found his Majesty very gracious to me; more so
than I could expect. This is a good omen for the future. Every day I
laid mathematical subjects before his Majesty, who allowed everything to
please him. When the eclipse took place, I had his Majesty out to see
it, and we reasoned much thereupon. He again spoke of my ‘Dædalus,’ and
remarked upon my not continuing it; for which I pleaded want of means.
This he does not like to hear of; so I hope to have some assistance
shortly.” But assistance did not come, and “Dædalus” went the way of many
such undertakings. Talking of mathematics one day, Charles remarked that
“he who knew nothing of mathematics, did not deserve to be considered a
rational man;” a sentiment which Swedenborg thought “truly worthy of a
king.”[1]
Charles XII. was now engaged in the siege of Frederickshall, and
Swedenborg’s aid was called in. He very ingeniously planned rolling
machines, by which two galleys, five large boats, and a sloop, were
conveyed from Stromstadt to Iderfjol, overland; a distance of fourteen
miles. Under cover of these vessels, Charles was enabled to transport his
heavy artillery under the very walls of Frederickshall; but it availed
little, for at the siege of this town, on November 30, 1718, (old style,)
this inveterate warrior received the fatal blow which ended his troublous
and eventful career. He was struck in the head with a cannon ball, and
though death must have been instantaneous, he was found with his right
hand firmly grasping the handle of his sword; so prompt was he to put
himself in an attitude of defence.
“His fall was destined to a barren strand,
A petty fortress and a dubious hand;
He left a name at which the world grew pale,
To point a moral or adorn a tale.”
In 1719 the Swedberg family were ennobled by Queen Ulrica Eleonora,
and Swedenborg from that time took his place with the nobles of the
equestrian order, in the triennial Assemblies of the States. This
distinction conferred little else than a change of name. He was neither a
Count nor a Baron, as has very commonly been supposed.
Emanuel Swedenborg was rapidly winning for himself the name of a deep
thinker and a ready writer. In 1717 he published “An Introduction to
Algebra,” under the title of “The Art of the Rules.” It was highly
praised for its clearness, and the order and force of its examples. The
first portion of the work, however, was all that was published. The
second, containing the first account given in Sweden of the differential
and integral calculus, still remains in MS. His second publication
this year was, “Attempts to find the Longitude of Places by Lunar
Observations.” Both works were written in Swedish.
In 1719 four works proceeded from his increasingly fertile pen. “A
Proposal for a Decimal System of Money and Measures;” “A Treatise on the
Motion and Position of the Earth and Planets;” “Proofs derived from
Appearances in Sweden, of the Depth of the Sea, and the greater Force of
the Tides in the Ancient World;” and “On Docks, Sluices, and Salt Works.”
His work on the Decimal system of coinage and measures was republished in
1795. Swedenborg’s ideas on this and most other subjects were far ahead
of the times in which he lived. In one of his letters he thus alludes
to the discouragements he met with on this account. “It is a little
discouraging to me to be advised to relinquish my views, as among the
novelties the country can not bear. For my part, I desire all possible
novelties; aye, a novelty for every day in the year; for in every age
there is an abundance of persons who follow the beaten track, and remain
in the old way; while there are not more than from six to ten in a
century who bring forward innovations founded on argument and reason.”
CHAPTER III.
_Travels again—Publishes five Scientific Pamphlets and
“Miscellaneous Observations”—Returns Home and enters on the
duty of his Assessorship—Writes his “Opera Philosophica et
Mineralia,” and goes abroad to publish it._
In the spring of 1721, Swedenborg visited Holland a second time, and
chose Amsterdam as a place of publication for the following five little
works:—“Some Specimens of a Work on the Principles of Natural Philosophy,
comprising New Attempts to Explain the Phenomena of Chemistry and Physics
by Geometry;” “New Observations and Discoveries respecting Iron and Fire,
and particularly respecting the Elemental Nature of Fire, together with
a new construction of Stoves;” “A New Method of finding the Longitude of
Places, on Land or at Sea, by Lunar Observations;” “A New Mechanical Plan
of constructing Docks and Dykes;” and “A Mode of Discovering the Powers
of Vessels by the application of Mechanical Principles.”
The titles of these pamphlets prove that their author was no ordinary
man. But the publication of them was not his only object in this visit
to the continent. It was his desire to improve his practical knowledge
of mining, to enable him the better to fulfill his duties as Assessor.
For this purpose he left Amsterdam for Leipsic, passing through
Aix-la-Chapelle, Liege, and Cologne, and visiting the different mines and
smelting works which lay in his route. At Leipsic he published, in 1722,
“Miscellaneous Observations connected with the Physical Sciences,” Parts
I. to III.; and at Hamburg, in the same year, Part IV., principally on
minerals, iron, and the stalactites in Beaumann’s cavern. The reigning
Duke of Brunswick, Louis Rudolph, most hospitably received Swedenborg,
defrayed his traveling expenses, and on his departure, testified his
admiration of the young savant by presenting him with a gold medallion,
and a weighty silver goblet. In return for these favors, Swedenborg
dedicated Part IV. of his “Miscellaneous Observations” to him.
In speaking of the foregoing works, it is difficult, in the few words
to which we must limit ourselves, to do them the justice which their
originality and daring speculation deserve. As Wilkinson remarks, “the
fortress of mineral truth was the first which he approached, and with
the most guarded preparation. His method was furnished by geometry and
mechanics; the laws of the pure sciences were to be the interpreters of
the facts of chemistry and physics. The beginning of nature, says he, is
identical with the beginning of geometry; the origin of natural particles
is due to mathematical points, just as is the origin of lines, forms,
and the whole of geometry: because everything in nature is geometrical,
everything in geometry is natural. Carrying out this theory, he seeks to
define the laws of chemical essence and combination, by the truths of
mathematics.” Mr. Strutt, the translator of these works into English,
says: “This extraordinary attempt to bring invisible things to light,
has been thoroughly justified by the success which has attended Dalton’s
hypothesis, in an age better prepared for its application; and by the
equally remarkable fact that the definitions given of solids, acids, and
alkalies, have gradually approximated very near indeed to those which
result from Swedenborg’s hypothesis. We say nothing here of a latent
connection between the principle on which it is founded, and some of the
results obtained by Berzelius, whose fame, as a chemist, is as wide as
the civilized world.” It need only be added that M. Dumas, the French
chemist, ascribes to these works by Swedenborg, the origin of the modern
science of crystallography. He says, “It is to him we are indebted for
the first idea of making cubes, tetrahedrons, pyramids, and the different
crystalline forms, by the grouping of spherical particles; and it is an
idea which has been renewed by several distinguished men, Wollaston in
particular.”
After an absence of fifteen months, Swedenborg returned to his home in
Stockholm, at midsummer, 1722. He now for the first time entered fully
upon the duties of his Assessorship; having deferred doing so until his
knowledge of metallurgy had become sufficiently practical and extensive.
At this time he published an anonymous pamphlet “On the Depreciation and
Rise of the Swedish Currency.” The currency seems to have been a favorite
subject with Swedenborg; and in his senatorial capacity, it engaged much
of his attention. The pamphlet seems to have been much thought of, for we
find that it was republished at Upsal in 1771. There are few productions
of this kind that will endure a revival forty-nine years after their
first publication.
The tenor of Swedenborg’s life for eleven years after this, seems to have
flowed quietly on in the regular fulfilment of the duties of his office.
It may be supposed that he had become tired of writing and publishing
scientific works, and that for a time he wished to rest from this kind
of labor. His abilities were appreciated by his countrymen, for we find
that he was solicited to accept the Professorship of mathematics in the
University of Upsal, in 1724. He declined the honor. It appears that he
had a distaste for the unpractical and merely speculative character of
the pure mathematician. We find him writing to his brother-in-law in
this strain:—“I wonder at Messieurs the mathematicians having lost all
heart and spirit to realize that fine design of yours for an astronomical
observatory. It is the fatality of mathematicians to remain chiefly in
theory. I have often thought it would be a capital thing, if, to each
ten mathematicians, one good practical man were added, to lead the rest
to market: he would be of more use and mark than all the ten.” In 1729,
Swedenborg became a member of the Royal Academy of Science at Stockholm.
Discontinuing the pamphlet style of publication, Swedenborg now centered
his thoughts upon the production of a much larger and more laborious work
than he had hitherto attempted. It was entitled “Opera Philosophica et
Mineralia.” In order to secure its proper publication, he went abroad,
for the third time, in May, 1733. After spending five months in Germany,
seeing everything note-worthy, he commenced the printing of his work
at Leipsic, in the month of October. In the course of the year 1734,
the whole was finished in three handsome folio volumes, enriched with
numerous copper-plates, and an engraved likeness of the author. At this
time he was again a visitor at the court of the Duke of Brunswick, who
munificently defrayed the cost of his expensive publication. The volumes
were published at Leipsic and Dresden.
At the same time he issued a little work called “A Philosophical Argument
on the Infinite, and the Final Cause of Creation; and on the Mechanism of
the Intercourse between the Soul and the Body.” It may be regarded as a
supplement to the foregoing.
His work being finished, he left Leipsic for Cassel, and passing
homewards through Gotha, Brunswick, and Hamburg, arrived at Stockholm in
July, 1734. It is to be remembered that in this journey he had still the
duties of his office in view. He visited mines everywhere, studied their
modes of working, and sought continually to make himself useful to his
country.
It now becomes necessary to speak of his great volumes of philosophical
and mineral works.
CHAPTER IV.
_Opera Philosophica et Mineralia._
In attempting to give the reader an idea of the contents and aims of this
great work, within the compass of a few paragraphs, one feels extreme
difficulty in knowing where or how to begin. It starts so many topics,
is so full of the deepest scientific truth, speculates so boldly, and
reaches to such heights of subtle thought, that we must necessarily
confine ourselves to a very superficial view, and the enumeration of a
few of its prominent features.
As before said, the work occupies three large folio volumes. Of the
second and third of these, it does not lie in our province to say
much. Both are strictly practical works; one on iron, and the other on
copper and brass. They are evidences of Swedenborg’s ardent devotion
to the duties of his office; and as a testimony to the worth of the
books themselves, it need only be said, that portions of them have been
repeatedly reprinted, and that they are held in high estimation by those
who study metallurgy as a science, or follow it as a profession. The
publication of the secrets of trade and manufacture in these volumes,
was not relished by the narrow-minded and selfish. Of such the author
observes:—“There are persons who love to hold their knowledge for
themselves alone, and to be the reputed possessors and guardians of
secrets. People of this kind grudge the public everything, and if any
discovery, by which art and science will be benefited, comes to light,
they regard it askance, with scowling visages, and probably denounce
the discoverer as a babbler who lets out mysteries. But why should such
secrets be grudged to the public? Why withhold from this enlightened age?
Whatever is worthy to be known, should by all means be brought to the
great and general market of the world. Unless we do this, we can neither
grow wiser nor happier with time.” These are true, liberal, and noble
words.
But it is the first volume which is the greatest and most important of
the three. It has recently been translated into English by the Rev.
Augustus Clissold, and published in two considerable octavos. It is
entitled “Principia; or the First Principles of Natural Things, being New
Attempts toward a Philosophical Explanation of the Elementary World.” In
this volume an attempt is made to explain the generation of the elements,
the creation of matter, and the nature of the occult forces playing
within nature. To pronounce an absolute opinion upon such a work would be
highly hazardous; for positive science at present, affords no sufficient
data to test many of its highest reasonings. So far, however, as such
tests have been granted, they serve to manifest the fact that among
speculative natural philosophers, Swedenborg is second to none. Gœrres,
an eminent German philosopher, speaking of the “Principia,” remarks:—“It
is a production indicative of profound thought in all its parts, and not
unworthy of being placed by the side of Newton’s mathematical ‘Principia
of Natural Philosophy.’” We will now adduce a few proofs of the truth of
this assertion.
Humboldt, in his “Kosmos,” remarks: “That great and enthusiastic although
cautious observer, Sir William Herschel, was the first to sound the
depths of heaven, in order to determine the limits and form of the starry
system we inhabit.” The discovery of the place of our sun and system
in the Milky Way, is certainly due to Herschel, but Swedenborg has a
prior claim to the honor. In the “Principia,” written four years before
Herschel was born, the statement of our sun’s position in the heavens
was explicitly made, with the method by which the fact was observed. But
this is not all. The changes observed in the planetary orbits, seemed
at one time to warrant the belief in a final destruction of all things
through the falling of creation into chaos. After awhile, however, La
Grange brought forward his beautiful theory, by which was established the
doctrine, that though the solar system is liable to certain mutations
in the form and eccentricity of its orbits in very long periods, yet
in consequence of a certain relation which prevails in the system,
between the masses, orbital axes, and eccentricities, in time all orbits
return again to what they originally were, oscillating between very
narrow limits. This discovery of a cyclar return, confirmed by the most
eminent astronomers, is pronounced by Professor Playfair to be, “next
to Newton’s discovery of the elliptical orbits of the planets,—without
doubt the noblest truth in physical astronomy.” This discovery has also
to be claimed for Swedenborg. In his “Principia,” the fact of this cyclar
mutation and return of the planets to order, is repeatedly stated, and
with great accuracy and plainness. Want of space alone forbids several
quotations in proof. It need only be noted that the “Principia” was
published forty-four years before La Grange announced his famous theory.
Again, the doctrine of the translatory or progressive motion of the
stars along the Milky Way, and their streaming out at the northern
end, and in at the southern; diverging at the northern end in every
direction, while at the southern end they converge at every point,—one
of the most magnificent truths of modern astronomy,—is clearly set forth
in this wonderful work of Swedenborg’s, years before the full fact had
dawned upon the scientific world. Again, the sublime doctrine of the
cosmical arrangement of the stars, or of the clustering of stars into
distinct systems, forming starry systems, as planets do solar systems,
generally attributed to Kant, Mitchell, and one or two others, was
promulgated by Swedenborg in the “Principia,” when Kant, the first of the
acknowledged propounders of the theory, was a boy of ten years of age.
The first enunciation of the nebular hypothesis, is also to be referred
to Swedenborg’s “Principia.” Indeed La Place, to whom the hypothesis is
generally attributed, indirectly owed some of his ideas on the subject to
Swedenborg. La Place owned that Buffon was the first that suggested the
theory of the origin of the planets and their satellites from the sun.
Now Buffon was acquainted with Swedenborg’s “Principia,” as is evident
from the fact that an eminent London bookseller recently sold a copy of
the “Principia” containing Buffon’s autograph.[2] It need only be added,
that, fifteen years before Buffon published his theory, and seventy-five
years before La Place offered his own to the public, Swedenborg had
propounded his version of the nebular hypothesis in the “Principia.” It
is true that La Place and Swedenborg differ on several points; but recent
science and experiment have tended to prove that, wherein they differ,
Swedenborg’s theories are the most accurate.
While advancing these high claims for Swedenborg, in astronomical science
and theory, it is but right to remove from the public mind an erroneous
idea, which, like his titles of Baron and Count, has no foundation in
fact. We allude to his common repute as the announcer of the existence
of the seventh planet, Uranus, discovered by Herschel in 1781. That he
announced the existence of this planet long before its actual discovery,
has been stated innumerable times, at home and abroad; and Emerson in
his lecture on the Mystic, takes opportunity to be witty in regretting
that he did not discover the eighth. The mistake has arisen from
Swedenborg’s talking of a seventh planet in “The Worship and Love of
God,” a book of his yet to be noticed. Now the belief in the existence of
a seventh planet was entertained by most of the astronomers of his day,
and even so far back as Kepler, in 1584. Swedenborg, in speaking as he
did, only expressed a general idea. Astronomers observing the wide space
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter conjectured that some planet must
roll between. The after discovery of numerous asteroids between these
orbits, gave some show of truth to their conjectures. It was of this
supposed planet between Mars and Jupiter, and not of Uranus, (afterwards
discovered by Sir William Herschel,) that Swedenborg spoke.
In magnetism, as in astronomy, the “Principia” is no less rich in
original thought and discovery. It was not until the close of the
eighteenth century that the position of the magnetic equator was
discovered to be different from that of the geographical. After
observations confirmed the fact that the mean latitudinal positions of
the magnetic poles and equators, are identical with those of the earth’s
ecliptic and ecliptical poles. This fact, over which there has been much
congratulation, was set forth in the “Principia” many years before it
was confirmed by actual observation. Again, the fact that the southern
magnetic pole has a longer axis from the center of the magnetic equator,
than the northern, and hence occupies a higher latitudinal position;
and, as a consequence, that the revolution of the north magnetic pole
is quicker than that of the southern; also that the south magnetic pole
possesses a greater attractive force than the north,—facts not suspected
till the investigations of Hansteen in 1819, and only fully confirmed
by observation very recently,—were all proclaimed in the “Principia”
nearly a century before positive science had embraced them in her
domain. Swedenborg also takes precedence of all other discoverers in the
announcement of the identity of the magnetic streams forming the aurora,
and those influencing the magnetic needle. So full is the “Principia” of
truths respecting magnetism,—which the world generally supposes to be a
novelty of the present day—that we could not imagine a greater pleasure
or surprise awaiting any one devoted to the prosecution of magnetic
science, than the perusal of this commonly supposed old-fashioned and
antiquated “Principia” of speculative science.
We will now say a few words on the great chemical truths which the
“Principia” revealed. In 1734, not a whisper had been breathed regarding
the composite nature of the atmosphere. The earliest date which
can be assigned for the practical discovery of the two-fold nature
of atmospheric air, is 1772-4, the date of Priestley’s celebrated
experiments. But we find in the “Principia,” that Swedenborg sets forth
the following facts:—that pure and dry atmospheric air is a compound
of two constituents; that these constituents are combined in unequal
proportions; that the element greatest in quantity is the extinguisher
of combustion; and lastly, that the element greatest in quantity is a
constituent of water as well as of air. The merest tyro in science will,
at a glance, perceive the importance and extent of ground which these
propositions cover, and how profound must have been that genius, which,
in the midst of the deepest scientific darkness, could draw from nature
these deep and choice truths. But this was not all. Water as well as air
yielded to him the secret of its constitution. In Swedenborg’s day, the
whole world thought and spoke of water as an element, and even after the
composite nature of air was revealed, water maintained its elemental
character up to 1783, when the discovery was almost simultaneously made
by Watt, Priestley, Cavendish, and Lavoisier, that water, like air, is a
result of the combination of two gases. Now in the “Principia,” written
fifty years before, we are expressly told that pure water is a compound
substance, and the particulars and quantities of the two elements in its
composition are correctly given. There are many other truths in modern
science which the “Principia” anticipates; such as the atomic theory, and
the identity of electricity and lightning; but we must draw to a close.
Enough has been said to show the high merits of the book, and to prove
how worthy it is of the study and attention of all true lovers of science.
The publication of the “Principia” gained for its author great
reputation, and his friendship and correspondence were eagerly courted
by all the philosophers of his day. In December, 1734, the Academy of
Sciences at St. Petersburg appointed him one of their corresponding
members. The Pope honored the work by placing it in that noble catalogue
of books, the Index Expurgatorius, in 1739.
It may be very pertinently asked, how it happens that a work abounding
in such important doctrines and theories should be so little known.
The neglect is easily accounted for in the great subsequent fame of
its author as a religious visionary. His later reputation effectually
out-shone that which he so deservedly won in his younger days; and few,
even of his own disciples, until recently, thought of lifting from
the dusty shelves those great books of scientific theory, which, of
themselves, established for their author a place among the greatest of
men. The “Principia,” as its translator truly says, “is a book for the
future;” and taking these words in their full import, it would be hardly
possible to pronounce a higher panegyric.
CHAPTER V.
_Doings and Travels._
From 1734 to 1736, Swedenborg remained at home. In July, 1735, his
father died; and a year after, Swedenborg went abroad, as he states in
his diary, “for a sojourn of three or four years, to write and publish a
certain book.” During his absence he resigned half of his official salary
to his substitutes. His father having left him some money, he was the
better able to do so. He journeyed through Denmark, Hanover, and Holland,
and arrived at Rotterdam during the fair. Observing the amusements of the
people, mountebanks, shows, etc., he took occasion to moralize thus upon
the character and prosperity of the Dutch. “Here at Rotterdam, it has
suggested itself to me to inquire why it is that God has blessed a people
so barbarous and boorish as the Dutch, with such a fertile and luxuriant
soil; that He has preserved them, for so long a course of years, from
all misfortune; that He has raised them up in commerce above all other
nations; and made their provinces the mart and emporium of the wealth of
Europe and the world. On consideration, the first and principal cause
of these circumstances appears to be, that Holland is a republic, which
form of government is more pleasing to God than an absolute monarchy. In
a republic, no veneration or worship is paid to any man, but the highest
and lowest think themselves equal to kings and emperors; as may be seen
from the characteristic bearing of every one in Holland. The only one
whom they worship is God. And when God alone is worshiped, and men are
not adored instead of Him, such worship is most acceptable to Him. Then
again, in Holland, there is the greatest liberty. None are slaves, but
all are as lords and masters under the government of the most high God;
and the consequence is, that they do not depress their manliness either
by shame or fear, but always preserve a firm and sound mind in a sound
body; and with a free spirit, and an erect countenance, commit themselves
and their property to God, who alone ought to govern all things. It is
not so in absolute monarchies, where men are educated to simulation
and dissimulation; where they learn to have one thing concealed in the
breast, and to bring forth another upon the tongue; where their minds,
by inveterate custom, become so false and counterfeit, that, in divine
worship itself, their words differ from their thoughts, and they proffer
their flattery and deceit to God himself, which certainly must be most
displeasing to Him. This seems to be the reason why the Dutch are more
prosperous in their undertakings than other nations.” Then, with rare
discrimination, he adds, “but their worshiping mammon as a Deity, and
caring for nothing but gold, is a thing which is not compatible with long
prosperity.” The silent and uninfluential place which Holland now fills
in Europe, places the seal of truth on these quiet lines.
The Roman Catholic Church seems to have attracted much of his attention
in his travels, and the grossness and sensuality of its priesthood were
strongly remarked upon. “The monks,” says he, “at Roye, are fat and
corpulent, and an army of such fellows might be banished without loss to
the State. They fill their bellies, take all they can get, and give the
poor nothing but fine words and blessings; and yet they are willing to
take from the poor all their substance for nothing. What is the good of
bare-footed Franciscans?” In Paris, he spent a year and a half. There
also he was amazed at the clerical riot and corruption. “It is found,”
he observes, “that the tax which they term the dixièmes, yields annually
thirty-two millions sterling; and that the Parisians spend two-thirds
of this amount over their own city. One-fifth of the whole possessions
of the kingdom is in the hands of the clerical order. If this condition
of things last long, the ruin of the empire will be speedy.” He little
dreamed of the fearful verification which these words would receive.
His journal in Paris reveals the fact of his hearty enjoyment of
sight-seeing and amusements. Visits to churches, monasteries, palaces,
gardens, museums, and theatres, evidence with what zest he drank the cup
of life, and with what interest he looked upon men and their affairs. In
this respect we do well to compare Swedenborg with many whom the world
in its ignorance associate with him. At no period of his life was he a
cold self-righteous ascetic, looking abroad upon men with a bitter and
accusing scowl. At no time did he insult his Maker with upbraidings that
his fate was to live in an evil world, and with a wicked generation. He
received life with thankfulness, partook temperately of all its lawful
pleasures, did his duty, and took care while living with the world to
keep himself unspotted from its evil. This social discipline was one of
the Divine means by which he was fitted for the full performance of his
future mission.
We are not informed of the nature of the work which he at this time
went abroad to write and publish. From his manuscripts, however, it
appears that he was preparing materials and disciplining his mind for
his great work, the “Animal Kingdom,” by writing short papers on various
physiological subjects. Many of these papers have been translated and
published under the title of “Posthumous Tracts.”
Leaving Paris in March, 1738, Swedenborg directed his steps toward Italy,
and after visiting its principal cities, arrived at Rome on the 25th
September. Mr. Rich, in his “Biography of Swedenborg,” remarks,—“This
visit should be a memorable one, for it brought the church of the past
and the future into a singular communion with each other;—Rome in the
still atmosphere and fading light of autumn, with all its trophies of
Pagan art, and its hoary traditions; and Swedenborg, the predestined
Seer of the last ages, whose eye was just kindling with the light of
inspiration. We should lose all faith in the instinctive prescience of
the human spirit when great events are at hand, if we might not believe
that a presentiment of something in the shadowy distance, connecting
his future with the strange mystery of the city, did not cross, for a
moment, the mind of Swedenborg, when he entered the once holy and revered
metropolis of the faith.”
After a sojourn of five months, Swedenborg left Rome on the 15th of
February, 1739, varying his homeward route. His journal from the 17th of
March, 1739, when he was at Genoa, is a blank, and his after wanderings
we can only conjecture. “It is most probable,” says Wilkinson, “that
he deposited the manuscript of the “Economy of the Animal Kingdom,” at
Amsterdam, on his way from Leipsic to Sweden, in 1740; that he lived in
his own country from 1740 or 1741 till 1744, and in the latter year went
again to Holland, and from thence came to England, where we meet him in
1745.”
In 1740-41, Swedenborg published at Amsterdam his “Economy of the Animal
Kingdom;” and in 1744-45, the “Animal Kingdom,” Parts I. and II. at the
Hague, and Part III. in London.
CHAPTER VI.
_The “Economy of the Animal Kingdom,” and the “Animal Kingdom.”_
In the “Animal Kingdom,” Swedenborg referred solely to the human body,
it being the microcosm, or representative of all inferior systems. In
the “Economy of the Animal Kingdom,” he treats of the blood, and the
organs which contain it; the coincidence of the motion of the brain with
the respiration of the lungs; and of the human soul. The method pursued
in this work is admirable. A careful series of extracts, containing
facts from the best anatomists, is prefixed to each chapter, and thence
is deduced the author’s theory. It would be very difficult indeed to
present, in an abstract, the substance of these quotations, and without
this, (which would be inconsistent with our limits,) the theories could
not be fairly understood or appreciated. His demonstration of the
coincidence of the motion of the brain with the respiration of the lungs,
is well worthy of notice. Wilkinson, speaking of this in his “Biography
of Swedenborg,” says: “Let any reader think for a moment of what he
experiences when he breathes, and attends to the act. He will find that
his whole frame heaves and subsides at the time; face, chest, stomach,
and limbs, are all actuated by his respiration. His sense is, that not
only his lungs but his entire body breathes. Now mark what Swedenborg
elicited from this fact. If the whole man breathes or heaves, so also do
the organs which he contains, for they are necessarily drawn outwards
by the rising of the surface; therefore they all breathe. What do they
breathe? Two elements are omnipresent in them, the blood-vessels and the
nerves; the one giving them pabulum, the other life. They draw then into
themselves blood, and life or nervous spirit. Each does this according
to its own form; each, therefore, has a free individuality like the
whole man; each takes its food, the blood, when it chooses; each wills
into itself the life according to its desires. The man is made up of
manlike parts; his freedom is an aggregate of a host of atomic, organical
freedoms. The heart does not cram them with its blood, but each, like the
man itself, takes what it thinks right.
“But, furthermore, thought commences and corresponds with respiration.
The reader has before attended to the presence of the heaving over
the body; now let him _feel his thoughts_, and he will see that they
too heave with the mass. When he entertains a long thought he draws a
long breath; when he thinks quickly, his breath vibrates with rapid
alternations; when the tempest of anger shakes his mind, his breath is
tumultuous; when his soul is deep and tranquil, so is his respiration;
when success inflates him, his lungs are as tumid as his conceits.
Let him make trial of the contrary: let him endeavor to think in long
stretches at the same time that he breathes in fits, and he will find
that it is impossible; that in this case the chopping lungs will needs
mince his thoughts. Now the mind dwells in the brain, and it is the
brain, therefore, which shares the varying fortunes of the breathing. It
is strange that this correspondence between the states of the brain or
mind, and the lungs, has not been admitted into science; for it holds in
every case, at every moment. In truth it is so unfailing, and so near to
the center of sense, that this has made it difficult to regard it as an
object; for if you only try to think upon the breathing, in consequence
of the fixation of thought, you stop the breath that very moment, and
only recommence it when the thought can no longer hold, that is to
say, when the brain has need to expire. Now Swedenborg, with amazing
observation and sagacity, has made a regular study of this ratio between
the respiration and the thoughts and emotions; he shows in detail that
the two correspond exactly, and moreover that their correspondence is one
of the long-sought links between the soul and the body, whereby every
thought is represented and carried out momentaneously in the expanse of
the human frame. It is difficult to give a more plain or excellent reason
of the tie between the body and the soul, than that the latter finds the
body absolutely to its mind; while on the other hand, the living body
clings to the soul, because it wants a friendly superior life to infuse
and direct its life.”
The “Animal Kingdom,” written after the same plan as the “Economy,”
treats of the organs of the abdomen, of those of the chest, and of the
skin. Swedenborg, in setting forth his plan of operation, in which he
announces his intention to examine, physically and philosophically, the
whole anatomy of the body, and lastly of the soul, and of its state in
the body, says: “From this summary or plan, the reader may see that the
end I propose to myself in the work, is a knowledge of the soul, since
this knowledge will constitute the crown of my studies. This, then, my
labors intend, and thither they aim. To accomplish this grand end, I
enter the circus, designing to consider and examine thoroughly the whole
world of microcosm which the soul inhabits; for I think it vain to seek
her anywhere but in her own kingdom. I am, therefore, resolved to allow
myself no respite, until I have run through the whole field to the very
goal, or until I have traversed the universal animal kingdom to the
soul. Thus I hope that by bending my course inward continually, I shall
open all the doors that lead to her, and at length contemplate the soul
herself, by the Divine permission.” One of his manuscripts repeats this
design in these words: “I have gone through anatomy with the single end
of investigating the soul. It will be a satisfaction to me if my labors
be of any use to the anatomical and medical world, but a still greater
satisfaction if I afford any light towards the investigation of the soul.”
In striving to compass such high spiritual knowledge, by merely natural
means, he necessarily failed. In one of his books, written several years
after, when a brighter light had dawned upon his mind, he says: “Many in
the learned world have laboured in investigating the soul, but as they
knew nothing of the spiritual world, and of the state of man after death,
they could not do otherwise than construct hypotheses, not respecting the
soul’s nature, or its operation on the body. Of the soul’s nature, they
could have no other idea than as of something most pure in ether, and
of its continent as of ether. Now having such a conception of the soul,
and yet knowing that the soul acts on the body, and produces everything
in it that has relation to sense and motion, therefore they labored, as
we before observed, to investigate the soul’s operation on the body,
which some said was effected by influx, and some by harmony. But these
means discovered nothing in which the mind desirous of seeing the ground
of things, can acquiesce.” We have in these sentences the cause of the
fruitlessness of his own labors at this period, in their highest aims.
They formed, however, a part of that providential discipline which was
fitting him for his future office.
Fruitless though these works necessarily were, in their highest aim, yet
in lower ends they are treasure-houses of thought and suggestion. Taking
for his basis the dry facts of the anatomists, he proceeds to clothe them
with life and comeliness. He shows how part is bound to part in the human
system, and fills the cold details of science with a warm and human
interest. Emerson well says: “The ‘Animal Kingdom’ is a book of wonderful
merits. It was written with the highest end, to put science and soul,
so long estranged from each other, at one again. It was the anatomist’s
account of the human body in the highest style of poetry; and nothing can
exceed the bold and brilliant treatment of a subject usually so dry and
repulsive.”
It was hardly possible for books to be ushered into the world to die
more quietly than did these physiological treatises. Slightly noticed
in a few catalogues and reviews of that day, they were laid on the
shelf, and reposed in dust and forgetfulness for a full century. Called
to other thoughts and higher labors, their author was arrested midway
in his plans; and ceasing to exist behind his books, and by his life,
conversation, and activity, to keep up the public interest, the world
soon forgot their existence. But their worth has been their preservative;
and now we behold their resurrection, and slow, but certain, growth
into acceptance and fame. Translated by Wilkinson, and enriched by him
with prefaces which Emerson describes as “throwing all the contemporary
philosophy of England into the shade,” they are now placed before
the world, and, in their excellence serve to manifest the profound
understanding and genius of their author.
In 1745, Swedenborg terminated his long series of scientific works, by
the publication, in London, of “The Worship and Love of God.” This book
is an embodiment, in a story, of its author’s scientific doctrines. In
a connected narrative, it treats of the origin of the earth, the birth,
infancy, and love, of Adam; and of the soul in its state of integrity, in
the image of God. It is a book of which little need be said, as it was
probably written as much for an exercise of fancy, as with any serious
intent. Cast into shade, as it is, by the brighter light of his after
knowledge, it remains to mark the point of intellectual development at
which Swedenborg had at this time arrived; and in this respect it will
always have a strong interest to those who delight in tracing the growth
and education of his mind.
CHAPTER VII.
_His Life, as a Man of Science, ends._
The biographer of Swedenborg can feel no difficulty in distributing under
proper heads the principal events of his life. It divides itself so
distinctly into two parts, at this juncture, that, between his past and
his future there is what he himself would call a “discrete degree.”
In 1745, when the merely scientific phase of Swedenborg’s life closed, he
had arrived at the mature age of fifty-seven years. As we have seen, he
had, from early manhood, united an active and practical, with a deeply
philosophic, life. An earnest student of nature, he had never become so
engrossed in thought as to forget the end of all thought—the improvement
and the happiness of mankind. His long series of scientific works had
gained him a wide-spread reputation, and wherever he went, he was hailed
as a friend and brother by the thoughtful and philosophical. In Sweden,
as before said, he was well connected; and had he been desirous to live
at home, and immerse himself in the cares and politics of his country,
he might have reached the highest offices and honors which royalty
could confer. At the age of fifty-seven, with Swedenborg’s attainments,
success, and fame, a worldly man might have been content. Such a one
would, probably, have taken his ease, reposed upon the past, and have
been content with the competence of comfort and reputation which he had
attained. But Swedenborg was a man of a very different character. Love
of ease formed no part of his constitution, and if he had not been led
by the hand of Providence to the contemplation of the spiritual world and
its glorious realities, he would, to the end of his life, have remained a
zealous and single-eyed seeker after the truths of the natural world.
The annals of science do not furnish an instance of any one who surpassed
Swedenborg in that humility of spirit, and that simple desire for truth,
which is the crowning grace and glory of the true philosopher. Although,
at times, he propounded views which he knew were antagonistic to the
ideas of some of the leading savans of his time, yet we never find him
getting angry or attempting to scold the world into belief with him. He
simply lays down what he believes to be the truth; and with the most
charming modesty trusts for its acceptance among men, to its agreement
with reason and facts. Full of this trustful spirit we find him saying
in the “Principia:” “In writing the present work, I have not aimed at
the applause of the learned world, nor at the acquisition of a name or
popularity. To me, it is a matter of indifference whether I win the
favorable opinion of every one, or of no one; whether I gain much or no
commendation. Such things are not objects of regard to one whose mind is
bent on truth and true philosophy. Should I, therefore, gain the assent
or approbation of others, I shall receive it only as a confirmation of
my having pursued the truth. I have no wish to persuade any one to lay
aside the principles of those illustrious and talented authors who have
adorned the world, and in place of their principles to adopt mine. For
this reason it is, that I have not made mention so much as of one of
them, or even hinted at his name, lest I should injure his feelings,
or seem to impugn his sentiments, or to derogate from the praise which
others bestow upon him. If the principles I have advanced have more of
truth in them than those which are advocated by others; if they are
truly philosophical, and accordant with the phenomena of nature, the
assent of the public will follow in due time, of its own accord; and in
this case should I fail to gain the assent of those whose minds, being
prepossessed by other principles, can no longer exercise an impartial
judgment, still I have those with me who are able to distinguish the true
from the untrue, if not in the present, at least in some future age.
Truth is unique, and will speak for itself. Should any one undertake
to impugn my sentiments, I have no wish to oppose him; but in case he
desire it, I shall be happy to explain my principles and my reasons
more at large. What need, however, is there of words? Let the thing
speak for itself. If what I have said be true, why should I be eager to
defend it? Surely truth can defend itself. If what I have said be false,
it would be a degrading and silly task to defend it. Why then should I
make myself an enemy of any one, or place myself in opposition to any
one?” And again, in the “Economy,” he remarks: “Of what consequence is
it to me that I should persuade any one to embrace my opinions? Let his
own reason persuade him. I do not undertake this work for the sake of
honor or emolument; both of which I shun rather than seek, because they
disquiet the mind, and because I am content with my lot; but for the sake
of truth, which alone is immortal.” These are long extracts, but they are
well worthy of citation, alike for their own intrinsic truth and beauty,
and for the illustration they afford of the spirit and sentiments of
their author.
The little thought he gave in after years to his scientific writings,
and the little care he seemed to have lest the world should forget
them, is very evident from his subsequent writings, in which they are
scarcely alluded to. Some of the friends he made in the latter portion
of his life, appear to have had very faint ideas of the extent of his
achievements in natural science. Count Hopken, a very intimate friend of
his, for many years, remarks: “Swedenborg made surprising discoveries in
anatomy, which are recorded somewhere in certain literary Transactions.”
Thus it appears that he was entirely ignorant of the existence of
Swedenborg’s great work, the “Animal Kingdom.” What stronger proof could
be given than this, of the sincerity with which the foregoing extracts
were penned, in which he commits his works to the care of the God of
truth, in humble acquiescence in whatever verdict his justice might
pronounce.
Great and manifold were the merits of these scientific works; yet we
should, perhaps, do well to look upon them, as their author seems to
have done, as school-boy exercises. Through the severe training and
development of the whole powers of his mind, by the composition of these
works, his Divine Master was fitting him to gaze upon the awful realities
of the spiritual world, and to become a worthy exponent of the hidden
wisdom of the Holy Scripture.
It must, necessarily, be a matter of interest with many to know what
were the religious opinions of Swedenborg at this period of his history.
Occupying himself so intensely with natural science, it was hardly to be
expected that theology could receive much of his attention. Among his
posthumous papers, however, we find a little treatise on faith and good
works, in which he comes to the wise conclusion that “there is no love
to God if there be none to the neighbor;” or that “there is no faith if
there be no works;” and therefore, that “faith without works is a phrase
involving a contradiction.” Throughout all his scientific writings we
find a simple and open assent to the primary truths of religion, and a
constant endeavor to confirm some truth of religious doctrine by the
natural facts which came under his notice. His religious views up to this
time were generally such as the Christian world held, with here and there
a quiet dissent as to particular points, and a strong tendency to eschew
the merely theoretical and mystical belief, for the practical and active.
We have his own testimony to the fact, that dogmatic and systematic
theology formed no part of his otherwise extensive reading; and thus
he came to the study of the Word of God unperverted by the sophisms
of creed-makers. Of the gentle and earnest piety of his soul, we have
striking proof in his “Rules of Life:”
1. Often to read and meditate on the Word of God.
2. To submit everything to the will of Divine Providence.
3. To observe in everything a propriety of behaviour, and to keep the
conscience clear.
4. To discharge with fidelity the functions of my employment, and the
duties of my office, and to render myself in all things useful to society.
More need not be said on this head than that he kept these vows.
We now close the first book of Swedenborg’s life, and open the second.
Emphatically his was a double life. So rich in thought and action were
both parts, that either would have been reckoned sufficient to render
him a remarkable man. The one life was an orderly and regular growth out
of the other: the first was a providential preparation for the second.
Carefully disciplined by thought and investigation in the outer world,
through a long series of laborious years, the curtain which separated the
seen from the unseen was, for him, drawn aside, and his prepared eyes
saw in clear sunlight those mysteries of life and spirit, which the best
and wisest of men have most ardently desired to see. Let us, then, leave
Swedenborg the Man of Science, and turn to him as the Servant of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the worthy exponent of the spiritual sense of the Word of
God, and the announcer of the New Era in which reason and faith are to be
at one, and men everywhere friends and brothers.
CHAPTER VIII.
_His Spiritual Sight opened, and the Conditions of his
Seership._
We will now proceed, without circumlocution, to lay before our readers,
in all its fullness, the claim which Swedenborg made, at this period,
to open intercourse with the spiritual world, under the sanction and
protection of the Lord. This assumption runs through the whole of his
after life, and without a clear idea of its nature and conditions, we
shall be unable rightly to appreciate aught else that follows. In one of
his letters, he says, “I have been called to a holy office by the Lord
himself, who most graciously manifested himself to me, his servant, in
the year 1743, when he opened my sight to a view of the spiritual world,
and granted me the privilege of conversing with spirits and angels, which
I enjoy to this day. From that time, I began to print and publish various
arcana that have been seen by me, or revealed to me; as respecting
heaven and hell, the state of man after death, the true worship of God,
the spiritual sense of the Word, with many other most important matters
conducive to salvation and true wisdom.” Again, in the preface to his
work entitled, “Arcana Cœlestia,” he writes: “Of the Lord’s Divine
mercy, it has been granted me now for several years to be constantly and
uninterruptedly in company with spirits and angels, hearing them converse
with each other, and conversing with them. Hence it has been permitted
me to hear and see stupendous things in the other life, which have never
before come to the knowledge of any man, nor entered his imagination.
I have there been instructed concerning different kinds of spirits, and
the state of souls after death; concerning hell, or the lamentable state
of the unfaithful; concerning heaven, or the most happy state of the
faithful; and particularly concerning the doctrine of faith which is
acknowledged throughout all heaven.”
We are aware that these pretensions will be received by many with
ridicule, and by some with contempt, arising from a distaste for
spiritual subjects; while by a few they will be treated with respectful
attention. All that we ask, is, a little patience; and to readers of
every class, we would say,—Do not be hasty; do not prejudge the matter;
condemn not till you are conversant with the whole circumstances of
the case. Swedenborg’s claim, we admit, does appear startling; but to
greet its announcement with the laugh of scepticism, and to deny its
validity, as many do, without an attempt at examination, is anything but
philosophical—is anything but righteous.
No reader of this sketch can have failed to perceive the high
philosophical genius, and perfect truthfulness of Swedenborg; and
all must agree with us in believing that wilful deception was an
impossibility with such a man. No explanation of what Swedenborg himself
calls the opening of his spiritual sight, can be offered, that is more
transparently ridiculous than that of imposture. The degree of vehemence
with which some have preferred this charge against him, may be taken as
an accurate index of their ignorance of the man, or of their inability to
discern a truthful and earnest spirit.
No denial of the possibility of such spiritual vision as is claimed by
Swedenborg, can be accepted from the Christian. Such denial is alone the
privilege of the professed materialist. We all know how much of our loved
and common faith rests on claims that are quite as startling as those
of Swedenborg. From the visions of Abraham to those of John in Patmos,
the whole Scriptural narrative is interwoven with supernatural incident.
Now, how is it that we yield such ready faith to whatever is related
in Scripture, however marvelous, and have so much wonder to spare over
the unbelieving Jews? The Rev. O. Prescott Hiller, in a short memoir of
Swedenborg, prefixed to a collection of “Gems” from his writings, has
some very apposite remarks on this subject. He says: “Swedenborg states
that there are three heavens; so does Paul, for he speaks of the ‘third
heaven.’ Swedenborg affirms, calmly, that his spiritual senses were
opened and elevated in such a manner that he might have a perception of
that state of existence, and see and hear what is there. So does Paul.
Swedenborg states that he had, in spirit, been permitted to behold the
Lord: so does Paul:—‘Have I not seen,’ said he, ‘Jesus Christ our Lord?’
(1 Cor. ix. 1.) Thus parallel are the cases. But, exclaims the prejudiced
observer: ‘Paul! Paul! Paul was an apostle! Paul was one of the founders
of the Christian Church! Paul lived eighteen hundred years ago! There
are no visions now-a-days! The case is entirely different!’ To these
exclamations it may be replied: Your last remark is but a begging of the
question under consideration. We affirm that though indeed unfrequent,
yet there are occasionally spiritual visions in these times, as well
as in former, and that there is good and very strong testimony that a
remarkable case of the kind exists in the instance of this philosopher,
Swedenborg, not by any means on account of his own declaration merely,
but from the nature of the truths and statements brought forth by him, of
which our own minds, enlightened, we trust, by reason and God’s Word, are
the judges. The burden of proof—it may be continued in answer—falls upon
you to show by what law of Divine order, by what change in the character
and structure of man’s mind, a spiritual vision can not exist now, as
well as in the time of Paul,—in the eighteenth or nineteenth, as well as
in the first century. The truth is, antiquity has a wonderful charm for
the mind, and a great power over it: ‘distance lends enchantment to the
view.’ It is not difficult to believe anything, however wonderful, to
have taken place in that misty and mysterious region, the distant _past_;
but now in these dull, common times, to believe such strange things to
be capable of happening, seems absurd. But do you not suppose that those
times, to the men then living, appeared as dull and common-place as our
times to us? Did not the regardless rain fall on Paul’s head, as well as
on yours and mine? and this very sun and moon light his steps as well
as ours? Did not Paul, do you think, rise often in the morning with a
heavy heart, and after breakfast, go forth to his duties, or sit down to
write his epistles, sad and oppressed in spirit, dejected at the thought
of the heavy responsibilities upon him, and awed with the idea that he
must address the Athenians to-morrow? And when at length he stood before
them and began, did they not ask: ‘Who is this?’ Think you that gaping
crowd knew anything about any great and celebrated Paul, whose name has
become so familiar to our ears? They had not heard of such a person.
‘And some said, What will this babbler say? others, He seemeth to be a
setter forth of strange gods; because he preached to them Jesus, and the
resurrection. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some
mocked; and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. Howbeit
certain men clave unto him, and believed; among whom was Dionysius the
Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.’ (Acts xvii.
16-34.) Here we have a picture of human nature, as it was, and as it
still is. A new person comes forward, a stranger, unheard of before, and
utters strange ideas, something new and unusual, something different
from what men have been accustomed to hear, and think of, and believe;
most of the hearers jeer and mock, and turn away, calling him a babbler;
some are rather pleased at some things they have heard, but the interest
has not taken sufficient hold of them to make them anxious to pursue the
subject farther just now, and they go away and forget what they have
heard; a few, whose minds were in a receptive state, whose hearts had
been prepared, perhaps, by torturing doubts, and secret meditations, and
by trials and sufferings of spirit—these at once perceive and seize upon
the truths they have heard, clasp them to their bosoms as something long
looked for, as precious treasure, and go away rejoicing in their new
faith, and resolved to sell all they have and follow the Lord. Gradually
the truth spreads; these few tell what they have heard to others, their
friends, who they know have been troubled with similar doubts and
difficulties. By and by these believers meet together and form a little
congregation, and appoint the ablest of their number to preach to them in
regard to these new truths, both for their own fuller instruction and for
the information of strangers. Years roll away. It becomes an established
religious society. Similar societies in neighboring cities league with
them; and they form a General Church, which begins to have a name—the
‘Christian Church.’ Ages roll on, and this becomes a vast establishment,
extending over whole nations, and reaching to distant quarters of the
globe. This Paul, who was once a nameless preacher, ‘a babbler,’ and
‘mad,’ is now looked back upon with the utmost veneration; his words are
oracles of truth; whatever he affirmed, whether in regard to himself or
others, is implicitly believed. Custom, general acceptance, the belief of
ages, undoubting confidence in the opinions of our parents and friends,
all go to render the mind perfectly ready to believe those things.
Faith is now an easy and natural thing, and we wonder at those strange
and hard-hearted unbelievers of Paul’s own time, who had the glorious
opportunity of listening to him with their own ears. ‘Oh! that we could
have enjoyed such an opportunity,’ exclaim many, ‘how gladly would we
have listened!’
“But these persons know not what they say, nor the nature of the human
mind. If they are so anxious to have such an opportunity, so ready to
be tested, and to show that they would have discernment enough to see
genuine truth, though heard for the first time, and to acknowledge
a great teacher and apostle, though yet unknown to the world—that
opportunity is now before them. A Paul is again preaching to the
Athenians and to the world. A great teacher is again uttering new and
sublime truths. The Lord Himself has come a second time, not in Person,
but in Spirit; not as the ‘Word made flesh,’ as before, but as the
essential Word, by the opening of the interior truth—the _spiritual
sense_—which it contains. Those who believe, that, had they been on
earth, they would have acknowledged the Lord at His First Coming, or
would have readily received the teachings of His Apostles, have now the
opportunity of making trial of their faith; of showing whether they are
able to overcome the inveteracy of custom, the natural opposition of
prejudice, the fear of public opinion, the love of the world and its
powers and pleasures, (all which difficulties the first Christians had
to encounter,) whether, in the face of all these, they can, looking for
the truth with a single eye, discern it now at its feeble dawn; and,
advancing steadily and earnestly towards it, be among the first to hail
the rising day.”
What more can be said on the subject? The Christian has no choice but to
acknowledge, or refute, Swedenborg’s claims on the ground of their own
intrinsic merit.
Swedenborg was gifted with peculiar powers of respiration. From early
childhood, when on his knees at prayer, and afterwards when engaged in
profound meditation, he found that his natural respiration was for the
time suspended. As we have seen in his work on the “Animal Kingdom,”
his attention to the correspondence between thought and respiration had
been of long continuance,—probably from the fact that his own system
supplied him with such constant illustrations of its nature. This power
of suspended respiration under deep thought, common to all men, was
preternaturally developed in Swedenborg. At this period he discovered
the use to which these peculiar powers of his were to be applied; for
he writes: “My respiration has been so formed by the Lord, as to enable
me to breathe inwardly for a long period of time, without the aid of
the external air; my respiration being directed within, and my outward
senses, as well as actions, still continuing in their vigor, which is
only possible with persons who have been so formed by the Lord. I have
also been instructed that my breathing was so directed, without my being
aware of it, in order to enable me to be with spirits, and to speak with
them.” Those who have studied mesmerism and clairvoyance know many facts
that confirm and illustrate this position of Swedenborg’s with regard to
respiration; and it is quite evident that the Hindoo Yogi are capable
of a similar state. There is this great difference, however, between
such instances and the case of Swedenborg, that his powers were natural,
and continuous in their exercise, and not sought after and induced by
himself; while theirs are only occasional, and are frequently brought
about by artificial means.
Swedenborg’s intromission into the spiritual world was a gradual process;
and for this reason the date of his illumination is variously given,
ranging between 1743 and 1745. It appears, however, that he came into the
full exercise of his spiritual seership while living in London.
Of late years it has become common to talk of Swedenborg as a
clairvoyant, to associate him with mesmeric subjects, and make him a
kinsman of French and American spiritualists, such as Cahagnet, and
Andrew Jackson Davis. This mistake is made through ignorance. It is a
law of the spiritual world that every man is associated with his like.
Supposing, therefore, that any man’s spiritual sight were opened, he
would come into conjunction only with spirits like himself; that is,
with those who would echo his own ideas and opinions, and repeat his own
feelings. It is evident, then, that in such a case the nature of the
revelations are entirely dependent upon the character of the revelator,
and in all cases must be suspiciously received by the lover of truth.
Now Swedenborg claims to have been under the special protection of the
Lord, and to have received the doctrines he promulgated directly from
Him, and not in any case from spirits. Of course, every one will decide
for himself as to how far he can receive this assertion; but it is well
that all should be informed of the precise character of Swedenborg’s
claim, and of his own testimony as to the source of his information. In
his Diary, written about this time, he says, that “spirits narrate things
wholly false, and lie. When spirits begin to speak with man, care should
be taken not to believe them; for almost everything they say is made
up by them, and they lie; so that if it were permitted them to relate
what heaven is, and how things are in heaven, they would tell so many
falsehoods, and with such strong assertion, that man would be astonished;
wherefore it was not permitted me, when spirits were speaking, to have
any belief in what they stated. They love to feign. Whatever may be the
topic spoken of, they think they know it, and form different opinions
about it, altogether as if they knew; and if man then listens and
believes, they insist, and in various ways deceive and seduce.”
Any one who has paid attention to the phenomena of spirit-rapping, and
to the communications received through clairvoyants from the world of
spirits, and has observed the very Babel of contradictions uttered by
these “mediums,” will be able to appreciate the truth of the passage we
have quoted, as well as our desire to draw a broad and distinct line
between such and Swedenborg.
It is a very natural question, and one often put by those unconversant
with the nature of spiritual intercourse, how it happens that such a
man as Swedenborg, sitting quietly in his chair, could see and speak
with angels and spirits, and travel through vast spaces in the spiritual
world. It is thus: Space and time are attributes of matter alone. Their
appearances do, indeed, exist in the spiritual world, but not as the
fixed and mensurable things of our material sphere. Did not our subject
forbid digression, it would be easy to bring this truth down to the
comprehension of every one, by reference to a few items of experience
which must at some time have fallen to the lot of all. We are all, as
to our minds, in constant, though insensible, communion with spirits;
and from them we receive thoughts and feelings of every kind. A good man
and a wicked man may be, as to the body, in the same room, while between
their minds there may be the wide gulf that separated Dives and Lazarus.
Now if the spiritual sight of these two men were opened, where would they
be? One would be in heaven, and the other in hell; and that, too, without
either moving from the place where he stood. It was in virtue of this
principle of the spirit’s perfect independence of space, that Swedenborg,
under the Divine guidance and protection, was led through spiritual
societies of all kinds: and in his various works we have the record of
the wondrous things thus heard and seen.
Again, it may be asked: What is the nature of this spiritual sight so
often referred to? In the words of Paul we answer: “There is a natural
body, and there is a spiritual body;” and, as a consequence, there is a
natural sight, and there is a spiritual sight. The natural body lives
from the spiritual body, and derives its form and parts from it. The
natural body is the instrument of the spiritual body, and through it as
a medium, it is enabled to exist in this lower world, and in constant
contact with matter. Now it is possible for the spiritual body to be
raised partially above the natural body, without causing death, or
the entire withdrawal of its life from the natural body. This partial
withdrawal of the spiritual body, and the enjoyment of sight in the
spiritual world, is what is meant by the opening of the spiritual sight.
Time forbids us to draw upon the innumerable illustrations of this fact
which the history of the past and the experience of the present, in
conjunction with the Word of God, afford. Let one instance from the Bible
suffice. In 2 Kings, vii. 8-17, we read that Elisha, compassed about with
horses, chariots, and a great host, sent by the king of Syria to seize
him, was on a mountain with his servant, who, full of terror, exclaimed:
“Alas! my master, how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not, for they
that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed
and said, Lord, I pray thee _open his eyes_, that he may see. And the
Lord _opened the eyes_ of the young man, and he _saw_: and behold, the
mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”
Here is a case quite to the point. The natural eyes of the young man were
already open; for how otherwise could he have seen the Syrian host, and
have been afraid? Elisha prayed that his eyes might be opened. What eyes?
Why, clearly, the eyes of his spiritual body; which done, he was enabled
to perceive the heavenly guardianship which was extended over his master.
Every one will now understand what we mean, when we shall have occasion
to speak of the opening of man’s spiritual sight.
Having thus defined the conditions of Swedenborg’s spiritual vision, and
cleared away some questions which, if answered, would have impeded our
narrative, we will now proceed with our history.
CHAPTER IX.
_Prepares for his New Office—Resigns his Assessorship—His
“Adversaria”—His “Spiritual Diary”—The Death of Polheim._
Called to a high and holy office, Swedenborg set about preparing himself
for the fulfilment of its duties. Leaving London in the beginning of
July, 1745, he took ship for Sweden, where he arrived on the 7th of
August. On this voyage, his spiritual intercourse was suspended. He lived
quietly at home during 1746; probably in the performance and enjoyment
of the settled routine of his Assessorship, and in earnest meditation on
the heavenly arcana now fully opened to his view. In 1747, in order that
he might be more at liberty to devote himself to the mission to which
the Lord had called him, he asked leave of King Frederick to retire from
his Assessorship, and that he might enjoy, during life, as a retiring
pension, half of his official salary; requesting, at the same time, that
no addition to his rank or title might be conferred upon him. The King
yielded to his wishes; but in consideration of his long and faithful
service of thirty-one years, continued to him the whole of his salary.
Meanwhile, he learned Hebrew, and read the Bible through several times in
its original languages. Like all true students, he read and thought with
pen in hand; and as the hidden and Divine wisdom of the Word was opened
to him, he embodied in “Adversaria,” or notes, the truths thus revealed.
These Adversaria extend over the historical books of the Old Testament,
and several of the prophets. They have all been printed of late years,
from their author’s original Latin manuscript, by that indefatigable
and learned Newchurchman, Dr. Tafel, of Tübingen. They have not yet
been translated into English, probably because they were not published
by Swedenborg himself, and are only to be regarded as preparatory
studies for future works. They also abound with indistinct views on many
subjects, which subsequent knowledge rendered clear. As records of their
author’s spiritual progress, as well as for the many valuable facts which
they contain, it is to be hoped that the day is not far distant when the
“Adversaria” will appear in an English dress. We cannot spare anything
which serves to illustrate the mental history of such a man as Swedenborg.
In 1747, he ceased writing his “Adversaria,” and commenced a Spiritual
Diary, which he continued for twenty years. This Diary, written also in
Latin, (as all his theological works were,) has been lately published
by Dr. Tafel in ten closely printed octavos. Two volumes have been
translated and published in England and America, and the remainder will
probably soon follow. It will hardly be necessary for us to go into a
detailed account of the principles and facts scattered throughout its
long and miscellaneous record. We shall meet with all the leading ideas
in noticing the books published by himself, and laid before the world
as matured and finished productions. It may be said, however, that the
“Diary,” as a work, is perfectly unique; for in no literature can we
find its counterpart. We have in it, for twenty years, an almost daily
record of Swedenborg’s spiritual states and temptations; his interviews
and conversations with angels, spirits, and devils; and accounts of
their pleasures, punishments, and thoughts. No one who makes an intimate
acquaintance with this “Diary,” will ever after allow a shadow of doubt
to cross his mind as to the candor and truth of Swedenborg; for in
every page, he will perceive that quiet and solemn earnestness which
belongs alone to the upright and honest in heart. In its whole range
of experience, he will detect no vanity, shuffling, double-dealing,
or anything inconsistent with his published works; but all as
straightforward, open, and unreserved, as truth itself. Although written
in the quietude of his own study, and for his own eye and use alone, he
could not have been more ingenuous and sincere had the whole universe
been looking down upon its pages.
On the page of history, the “Diary” throws some wondrous light. In it,
we read of interviews with many of the famous men of ancient and modern
times. From some names which the world has learned to revere, the mask
of excellence is quite torn away, while the infamy of others is proved
to have been but judgment from appearance, and from scandal. Any one
who is infected with the spiritual disease of hero-worship, should read
the “Spiritual Diary.” He will there discover that the most dazzling
intellect fades into moping idiocy and insanity, when it lacks the
sterling heart, and honest aim; and that goodness alone is the life and
soul of true wisdom. He will also learn why it is so.
We would here say a word upon a jest started by Emerson, (and which has
re-appeared under many forms,) to the effect that all the souls with
whom Swedenborg held converse, talked Swedenborgese. In reply, we would
ask, how they could speak in any other way? Swedenborg did not profess
to be a mimic; and if Cicero or anybody else spoke with him in the
spiritual world and in the spiritual language, Swedenborg, in translating
the speech into his own simple diction, would, of course, seize the
substance, and care nothing for the form. That the language was not
Cicero’s, might be true; but if the ideas were, what matter? The subject
would hardly be worth mentioning, did we not see the jest receiving a
wide currency; but a few words of common sense are all that are necessary
to take the life out of it.
There is no work with which we are acquainted, that can give its readers
a better idea of the reality of the future life, than the “Spiritual
Diary.” No other book, we know, can so stir up a man to set his mind,
or spiritual house, in order here, so that he may be spared the turmoil
and sorrow which otherwise he will encounter beyond the tomb. In its
pages, the life after death is portrayed in all its stern reality; not
as a vague dream, or a shadowy vision, of which the mind can form no
fixed idea. We read of the awful states induced in the other life, by
evil habits contracted in this; from loose speech, jesting upon sacred
subjects, indulgence in idleness and luxury, down to blacker crimes.
We learn from sight, as it were, how evil is its own torment, and how
goodness is its own sweet and rich reward; and in view of the momentous
issues of what we too often regard as the trifles of life, we feel
impelled to make our peace and heaven here, that we may bear them with us
into the Hereafter. Such high uses does the “Spiritual Diary” subserve.
The “Diary” is, however, a work not suited for an early student
of Swedenborg. The principles upon which it is written, not being
understood, a young reader could hardly fail to form erroneous ideas from
it, and misjudge the work itself. It is only after some acquaintance
with the spiritual laws expounded in Swedenborg’s theological writings,
that it can be read with profit. Incidents, which, at first sight, might
appear ridiculous and irrational, are brought within the pale of reason
and belief when the laws upon which they are founded are understood; and
as effects, not causes, constitute the burden of the “Diary,” the need
of this caution will be apparent. When, however, the laws of spiritual
life are understood, the “Diary” becomes a work of peculiar and most
profitable instruction.
While Swedenborg was living in Sweden, in 1751, his old friend and
coadjutor, Polheim, died; and Swedenborg was favored with a view of
_both_ sides of his grave. Writing in his “Spiritual Diary,” he says:
“Polheim died on Monday, and spoke with me on Thursday. I was invited to
the funeral. He saw the hearse, the attendants, and the whole procession.
He also saw them let down the coffin into the grave, and conversed with
me while it was going on, asking me why they buried him, when he was
alive. And when the priest pronounced that he would rise again at the
day of judgment, he asked why this was, when he had already risen. He
wondered that such a belief should prevail, considering that he was even
now alive; he also wondered at the belief in the resurrection of the
body, for he said he felt that he was in the body: with other remarks.”
Such a relation will seem strange, very strange to many. But have
patience. When the laws and principles upon which such phenomena take
place, are comprehended, all their strangeness and improbability will
straightway disappear.
CHAPTER X.
_The Arcana Cœlestia._
It was about the middle of 1749, that Swedenborg made his first
appearance as a theologian, by the publication of the first volume of
the “Arcana Cœlestia.” At the beginning of 1750, we find his publisher,
John Lewis, of Paternoster Row, announcing the issue of the second
volume, in cheap numbers, both in English and Latin. The issue continued
in volumes till 1756, when the work was completed in eight good sized
quartos. His publisher states in one of his advertisements, that though
he is “positively forbid to discover the author’s name, yet he hopes to
be excused for mentioning his benign and generous qualities.” He avers
that “this gentleman, with indefatigable pains and labor, spent one whole
year in studying and writing out the first volume of the ‘Arcana,’ was at
the expense of £200 to print it, and advanced £200 more for the printing
of the second; and when he had done this, he gave express orders that
all the money that should arise in the sale, should be given towards the
charge of the propagation of the gospel. He is so far from desiring to
make a gain of his labors, that he will not receive one farthing back
of the £400 he has expended; and for that reason his works will come
exceedingly cheap to the public.”
The “Arcana Cœlestia” is an exposition of the books of Genesis and
Exodus, with intervening chapters which describe the wonders of the
future life. At the outset, it will be necessary to state that
Swedenborg believed the Bible to be the Word of God. “Well, what
Christian does not believe so?” it may be asked. Few expressions pass
more glibly over the lips of religious people, than the short phrase,
“the word of God;” but how many take time to consider its infinite
meaning? The Word of God—a production of the infinite Father of all, the
Creator and Sustainer of the universe,—must be infinitely superior to any
human composition; and, like God’s other volume, the book of nature, must
yield up fresh wonders to every investigator; and the more it is searched
into, the more real unceasing beauties of wisdom and design, till at
length the strained intellect of man finds its truest wisdom lies in the
deepest humility and adoration. Thus logically thinking, we experience
a serious reverse when we turn to the opinions expressed regarding the
Word by even its most reverential commentators. At no period of history
has the Bible been submitted to more earnest study than in these times;
but the results have been in the highest degree meagre and unworthy,
when placed in comparison with the same exercise of mind on the subjects
of natural creation. We have most elaborate and minute criticisms on
the sacred text; we have treatises on the animals, the insects, and the
vegetables mentioned in the hallowed record; we have books filled with
descriptions of domestic life among the Jews, their customs, and their
language; the prophecies have been subjected to all manner of ingenious
interpretation, but after all, with the poorest spiritual results, and
such as can in no wise excite a deeper respect, or a warmer love, for
God’s holy Word, than was entertained centuries ago, when such learning
was a rarer thing. Yet if we believe that God inspired this Book, can we
for a moment suppose that it should have no other end than the narration
of the history of a petty people, and the enunciation of dark prophecies,
which the acutest of men pronounce impenetrable mysteries, and which
the daring and the foolish turn to all manner of profane purposes in
political soothsayings? If the Bible be indeed the Word of God, it must
contain within itself much more than the majority of Christians suppose;
otherwise it presents a most startling anomaly when viewed in comparison
with the other Divine work, the natural universe.
The assumption, then, with which Swedenborg starts, is, that the
Scripture is in very truth the Word of God; that every syllable and
expression therein are His; that Moses, David, the prophets, and the
Evangelists, were simply the inspired penmen, who wrote implicitly
according to Divine dictation.
He teaches, moreover, that the Word does not belong to men alone, but
is the possession likewise of the angels of heaven, to whom it wears
different forms according to the degree of their love and intelligence.
In general, it may be said to have three senses, or meanings; first,
a celestial sense, apprehended by the celestial or highest angels;
secondly, a spiritual sense, apprehended by a lower range of angelic
minds, the spiritual; and thirdly, a natural sense, with which we are
all familiar, written down to the comprehension of the lowest, most
worldly, and sensual of men—the Jews. These three senses make one
by correspondence; although diverse, they are still harmonious, and
connected by one divine life.
The Word, moreover, we are taught, has worn different garments, or
varied natural senses, at different eras. The first church, Adam, or the
primeval race of men, did not possess a written Word, but were gifted
with a perception of spiritual essences. Nature was literally spread
before them as an open book. To them, Nature was the expression of the
Divine Wisdom; and they saw in every beast of the forest, in every
flower of the field, and in every scene of creation, evidence of the
Divine presence, and material emblems of spiritual and heavenly things.
As men declined from purity, and, together with their innocence, lost
their wisdom and their powers of celestial perception, a written Word
became necessary, accommodated to the changed state of the new spiritual
church called Noah. In time, this Word had also to be withdrawn, for
its purity and language transcended the apprehension of a falling and
sensualised world. Yet this Ancient Word, Swedenborg tells us, is not
lost, but still exists in Tartary, probably as an unvalued treasure,
which may be restored to the church in due season. To this Ancient Word,
we have two allusions in the Jewish Scriptures; the first in Numbers
xxi. 14, where we read: “Wherefore it is said in the book of the _Wars
of Jehovah_;” and the second in Joshua x. 13: “Is not this written in
the book of _Jasher_?” The book of the Wars of Jehovah, and the book
of Jasher, forming parts of the Ancient Word, became unintelligible
from being written in high correspondential and emblematic language;
and uninteresting because not associated with the personal and worldly
interests of men. The Jewish Scriptures were then written. The Divine
Wisdom clothed itself in such words, histories, and laws, as the
earthly-minded Jews could love and reverence, and thus be kept, in some
measure, in connection with heaven, and in the possession of the most
general and leading truths of religion. The Gospels, added in the course
of time to the Jewish Word, served still further to preserve the church
in union with heaven and the Lord. But now we see that mankind having in
the course of centuries re-ascended to a higher degree of intellectual
life, begin to be dissatisfied with the Scriptures, to arraign the truth
of science against them, to wonder how it is possible that such writings
can be the Word of God, and to ask, with Emerson, “What have I to do with
jasper and sardonyx, beryl and chalcedony, what with arks and passovers,
ephahs, heave-offerings, and unleavened bread; what with chariots of
fire, and ephods; what with lepers and emerods; what with dragons crowned
and horned, behemoth and unicorn?” But the Lord anticipates all man’s
wants; and, caring above all things for his spiritual well-being, never
permits him to live without a witness of His love and designs towards
him. By His Word, the Lord reveals himself to man; and without it, man
could know nothing of God, of heaven and hell, and of a life after death.
How necessary then it is that man be preserved from falling into contempt
of its teachings; and yet if it contains no other than a literal sense,
what can a Christian say in reply to such questionings as those above
quoted? and what tenable theory can be advanced to meet the objections of
the sceptic drawn from geology, astronomy, and many other sciences which
clash with the letter of Scripture? In the “Arcana Cœlestia,” we find
a solution of all such doubts in the clear manifestation of the Divine
authorship of the Word, through the revelation of its spiritual sense,
whereby reason and faith are perfectly conjoined; and man, while here
below, is fed with angels’ food.
But it is not to be concluded from this that Swedenborg in any way
slights or undervalues the literal sense of the Word. Far from it. He
says: “The literal sense of the Word is the basis, the continent, and
the firmament of its spiritual and celestial senses; and hence in it the
divine truth is in its fulness, its sanctity, and its power; therefore
the doctrine of the church should be drawn from the literal sense, and
confirmed thereby.” From this, every one will see that no mysticism can
be sheltered under a belief in the spiritual sense of the Word; for, from
the literal sense, determined by the severest criticism, all doctrine
must be drawn, and all creeds tested. Swedenborg also teaches, that by
means of the literal sense, men enjoy conjunction with the Lord; for
His divine spirit is with all who read his Word devoutly. To promote
this divine communion, the letter of Scripture has been so framed as to
possess a universal interest. The child reads the Bible, and is delighted
with its charming stories; the simple cottager loves it and prizes it as
he prizes no other book; the poet draws from it his richest inspirations;
and the man of learning, who has gathered knowledge from all times and
lands, turns to its hallowed page, and in the light of its divine wisdom
sees himself but a child in knowledge.
Though the Scriptures are thus marvellously adapted, in the literal
sense, to the tastes, feelings, and necessities of men of all grades
and states, yet, as before said, many portions of them do, in our days,
require to be vindicated from the charge of being inconsistent with
science—from the charge of insignificance, and dealing in petty details.
They need, in fine, to be elevated from mere history, poetry, and
obsolete law, into practical use and connection with the daily life and
conduct of every man and woman; so that they may be to us, in very deed,
the Word of God, as truly as they were to the Jews three thousand years
ago.
Let us now see how, in the “Arcana Cœlestia,” all this is effected.
“From the posterity of the most Ancient Church, Moses received what he
wrote concerning the creation, the Garden of Eden, etc., down to the
time of Abraham,” writes Swedenborg. Describing the method by which the
people of that church expressed themselves, he adds: “When they mentioned
earthly and worldly things, they thought of the spiritual and celestial
things which they represented; so that they not only expressed themselves
by representatives, but also _reduced their thoughts into a kind of
series, as of historical particulars_, in order to give them more life;
and in this they found their greatest delight.” Understanding this
fully, we shall not be surprised to learn that the first eleven chapters
of Genesis are _purely allegorical_; written not as a description of the
creation of the material world, and its fortunes, but as a description
of the internal life of the earliest people, of the development of their
minds up to celestial perfection, and then of their gradual declension
from purity, their love of the evil and the false, and finally the
destruction of their souls, symbolized by the deluge overspreading the
face of the whole earth. These chapters were thus written by the Lord
in accommodation to the tastes of the men of the Ancient Church, who,
as we read, had “their greatest delight in the expression of spiritual
and celestial things in a series of historical particulars;” just as, in
after times, He clothed His Wisdom in Jewish history and law, so that
He might be with the Jews, and preserve within them some small remains
of spiritual life. What a relief to the mind, torn and troubled with
the thousand doubts which science has cast upon the early chapters of
Genesis, is the acceptation of the truth of their entirely allegorical
signification! And how plainly, in their spiritual sense, do we find
testimony of their divine authorship! It should not be forgotten that
the doctrine of the symbolical nature of these chapters, was set forth
by Swedenborg long before science had demonstrated that their merely
literal sense was wholly irreconcilable with the facts of nature; thus
quite independently of any external pressure or necessity. It must be
known to every one that geology—the science which, above all others,
has brought the most weighty objections against the six days’ creation,
and the deluge of the whole earth by a flood which covered the tops of
the highest mountains,—is a new science. At the time when Swedenborg
wrote, it was entirely undeveloped. The reconciling of the literal
sense of these chapters with the facts of geology, has perplexed more
minds, and engaged more intellect, than did ever perpetual motion and
the squaring of the circle. The amount of speculation which has been
expended upon this theme, is immense, as every one at all acquainted with
the religious history of the last fifty years is aware; and still the
labor is vigorously prosecuted. We have no inclination to undervalue the
motives that prompt to it. For all sincere lovers of the Word of God we
entertain the deepest respect, and rejoice to think that their faith in
the Bible remains unshaken amid such fiery trials. Yet if Christians were
wise and unprejudiced, they would turn to Swedenborg’s “Arcana Cœlestia,”
and there find all that heart or mind could wish. Its readers, who have
been many, (and yet, when compared with the wide world of Christendom,
insignificantly few,) have had, during all these seasons of doubt, the
fullest peace; and have been ready to welcome every truth of science,
however militating against the literal sense of the early chapters of
Genesis; and all the while have remained such lovers of the Word as
none but believers in its spiritual sense can be. We believe that the
religious world will, in process of time, when all methods of reconciling
the letter of Scripture with geology shall have manifestly failed,
finally turn to Swedenborg; and when the heavenly truth glowing in his
pages shall beam upon their opened sight, they will wonder why they did
not read his luminous volumes sooner.
From the Call of Abram, the Word is to be looked upon as a narration of
historical events. Yet while, as history, it possesses a great charm and
interest to every mind, from its matchless and beautiful simplicity, we
cannot see what claim it could have to the title of the Word of God, did
it not contain within itself, as Swedenborg abundantly demonstrates, a
spiritual sense, universally applicable to men in all states, times, and
situations. In the highest or celestial sense, the Word refers solely
to the Lord, and is a description of his nature and attributes, of his
assumption of corrupt humanity, and the process of its glorification. Man
being formed in the Lord’s image and likeness, whatever treats of Him,
is, in a secondary sense, or in a lower degree, descriptive of man, his
nature and regeneration. This secondary application of the Word forms its
spiritual sense, which when understood, transforms Genesis and Exodus
from mere history and dull ceremonial law, into a Divine revelation of
the laws of spiritual life, pregnant with practical benefit to all men,
because applicable to every incident and thought of life.