tihvary of t:he trheolojical ^mimvy PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY PRESENTED BY Mrs. Thonas Cook BX8748 .W578 V. 2. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/ennanuelswedenbor02whit_0 LIFE AND WRITINGS OF SWEDENBOEG. Vol. II. EMANUEL SWEDENBORG: HIS LIFE AND WEITINGS. WILLIAM WHITE. " Go to him. He is not without foihles, but is wise exceedingly ; versed in much strange knowledge, and familiar with the intricacies of the heart. You'll lire long and go far ere you find such another." Andrew Femoick. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. 11. LONDON : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., STATIONERS' HALL COURT. 1867. ILLUSTRATIONS. Emanuel Svr-ED-RN-BO-RQ.— (Frontispiece.) Copied from an en^aTing inscribed ' Uman. Swednihorg ; Anno ^tatis 80, ^ai, •Holmitf, 2Sth Jan., 1G88. Denat. Land. 29 Mart. 1778. J. F. Martin, Sculps. HolmUe.' It is generally admitted as the best likeness of Swedenborg in old age. It was in a copy of this engraving that Servants recognized the old gentleman he encountered in St. John Street, Clerkenwell. See present Vol., p. 578. SwEDENBORo's HoDSE AND SUMMER HousE Page 336. Engraved from photographs taken in Stockholm in the summer of 1862. EERATA. For Am read the before daughter, and insert of Peter the Great after daughter, page 87, final line. Insert who after that he, „ 273, line 7 from top. For by read my, „ 320, „ 5 „ bottom. CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. PAET II.— [Continued.) Spirit-Seeing and Theology. CHAPTER IX. The Last Judgement. Last Judgement accomplished in 1757 — Its Scene the World of Spirits — The Human Race will never perish for it is the Base of Heaven — Heaven's well-being dependent en that of the Church — Sad State of the Church — Character of the Souls from Christen- dom— Condition of the World of Spirits previous to 1757 — "^C Judgements executed at the end of each Church — Arrangement j of tlie JJations in the Wnrlrl of Sjjrits— Jnrjgpmp.nt nfJVfahn- ^ metans and Gentjles — Iniquities of the Papacy — Repetition of these Iniquities in the World of Spirits — Distribution of the Papists there — Visited by Angels — Destruction and Dispersion of the Papal Heavens — ^The Good instructed and received in Heaven — This Judgement the theme of the Apocalypse, a full exposition of which is promised— Modest Estimate of the results of this Judgement — Swedenborg's Indifference to social and political Wrongs — The Expectations of the Angels ... ... 3 CHAPTER X. The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctbine. The Truths revealed through Swedenborg constitute the New Jerusalem as to Doctrine — An Index to the Treasures of the Arcana Calestia — Why the Church has come to an End — VI CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. Goodness and Truth — Will and Understanding — Internal and External Man — Love in General — Loves of Self and the World — Love of the Neighbour — Faith — Piety — Conscience — Liberty — Merit — Repentance and Remission of Sins — Regeneration — Temptation — Baptism — The Holy Supper — The Resun-ection — Heaven and Hell— The Church— The Word— Providence— The Lord — Ecclesiastical and Civil Government, and Comments CHAPTER XL The White Horse. Tlie Vision of the "White Horse in the Apocalypse signiiies the opening of the Spiritual Sense of the Word — Details of the Vision explained — The Horse in Greek Mythology — List of the Books of the Word ... ... ... ... ... 49 CHAPTER XIL In London. The English in the Spiritual World— Spiritual London — England and Italy — Discussion with Sir Isaac Newton on a Vacuum and on Colours ... .. ... ... ... ... 54 CHAPTER XIII. At Home in Stockholm. Swedenborg discerns a Fire in Stockholm from Gottenburg — Enables a Lady to find a lost receipt for Money — Startles the Queen of Sweden with a Communication from her deceased Brother : opinions on the Case — Defines to the Queen the Limits of his Spiritual Acquaintance — Kant's relation to Swedenborg— The Mess made of Kant's Testimony — His hasty Pamphlet and subsequent Letter — Swedenborg predicts a Death — He will receive no Women alone— Anecdote by Mr. Marryat — Is per- CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. Vll Page. suaded to receive the Sacrament — What a Priest thought of him — How he encountered Insolence — A popular Preacher — A Bishop brought to Repentance— Swedenborg in the Diet — His Rules of Life — Speeches in the Diet — Opposes absolute Monarchy and denounces Popery — Advocates a French Alliance — Views on the Currency — What the Prime Minister thought of him — Con- tributes a Paper to the Academy of Sciences and gives a Marble Table to the College of Mines ... ... .. ... 61 CHAPTER XIV. Notes in Amsterdam. Peter III. Czar of Russia— The Empress Elizabeth — Her Marriage in the Spii-itual World — Peter the Great and the Russians — The Merchant of Elberfield— St. Peter and St. Paul— The Dutch and the Germans in the Spii'itual World— Hamburg — The Jews after Death — Literary Programme by Divine Command — The Pro- gramme modified ... .... ... ... ... 87 CHArTER XV. The Doctrine of the Lord. A Scriptural Argument — The whole Sacred Scripture treats of the Lord who is the Word — The Law was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who was the summary of Judaism — He effected Redemption by Combats against the Hells — How Humanity was menaced by the Hells— The two Ends of the Divine Advent— The Body assumed from Mary was done away and replaced by Deity — Swedenborg sees Mary — The Saviour's Resurrection — God was then Man in Ultimates as He had ever been in Principles — The manner of his Incarnation — His various Titles stand for various Aspects of His Being— How the Body from Mary possessed independent Consciousness — The Holy Spirit a result of the Incarnation — Why these Truths were hidden from former Gene- rations— Swedenborg talks with Athanasius — The Merits of his Doctrine of the Lord ... ... ... ... ... 103 viii CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. CHAPTER XVI. Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture. Page. The Scriptures dictated by God — The Text preserved in immaculate Perfection — Dr. Stanley on the Bible and the Koran — The simple but Divine Stj'le of the Scriptures — To restore them to Human Reverence their Internal Sense is now made known — Origin of the various Senses of the Word — The Literal Sense is the Jew's apprehension of the Divine Wisdom — The Literal Sense includes the Spiritual and Celestial Senses, wherefore the Word is in its fulness, holiness, and power in that Sense — Without Doctrine the Scriptures are uninteUigible — True Doctrine must be drawn from the Literal Sense— How True Doctrine is to be discrimmated — "WTio can receive the Spiritual Sense — The Literal Sense a Guard against Profanation — Man is conjoined with Heaven by the Scriptures : proved by Experience— The Word in Heaven — The Understanding of the Bible constitutes the Church — Without the Scriptures there could be no knowledge of God, nor of Heaven or Hell — The Ancients derived their spiritual know- ledge from Tradition — The Church by the Word is a centre of Light to all Nations — Why the Spiritual Sense was not made known before — Comments on Swedenborg's Doctrine — Why Je^vish History was chosen as the vehicle for the Word ... 118 CHAPTER XVII. The Doctrine of Life and of Charity. A Good and a Bad Life defined — The Love of Self simulates the Love of Others — Heavenly Life overcomes Infernal Life by shunning Evils as Sins — Conditions of the Warfare — Man's part wholly external : he has no merit : the Lord has all — The Wicked are void of Charity — Love of Approbation, of Money, and of Pleasure — The Lord does all Good, but gives His Creatures to feel as if they did it — Genume and Spurious Charity — What is the Neighbour? — As many varieties of Neighbour as of Good- ness shewn by examples — The Love of Country — Charity consists in doing all Business faithfully, as in the cases of a Leader of an Army, a Soldier, and a Tradesman— Pious Duties must end in Use or they are vain — Almsgiving — Tax-paying— Amusements —The Love of God— What and where God is— The Love of God is not a personal Affection ... ... ... ••• 144 CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME, ix CHAPTER XVIII. The Doctrine of Faith. Belief defined — Faith the Assurance wherewith the Good receive Truths — He who would acquire Faith must become Good — The Good have an interior sense of Truth, and Truths are multiplied in them — The Evil Heart of Unbelief — The Evil may defend the Truth whilst inwardly denying it — Evanescent Faith — Know- ledge and Faith — No Faith without Understanding — Angelic Faith — CathoUc and Protestant Faith— Faith of Thomas — Ex- travagances of the Protestant Creed— An Angel's Conversation with a Solifidian and a Christian — Eemains — How shall a Man procure Good Affections ?— Good Seed sown in Infancy and Childhood — This Seed is the Hope of Heaven — Is there no room fur Creation? ... ... ... ... ... ...171 CHAPTER XIX. Continuation of the Last Judgement. Judgement of the Protestants — Their Heavens in the World of Spirits composed of Hypocrites and gentle Simjjletons — Visited and warned by Angels — Dispersion of their Heavens as witnessed by Swedenborg — The Hypocrites cast into Hell, and the Simple elevated to Heaven .. ... ... ... ... 191 CHAPTER XX. The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom. A Key to Swedenborg's Philosophy — I. God — He is Life and therefore Love and Wisdom — He is essential Substance and Form, and therefore the Cause of all Substances and Forms, though nothing ci-eated is God — God being Love is bound to create to satisfy His Love — Creation is dead in itself — Man is an Organ recipient of Life — How Man is vivified by God — God is everywhere the same : differences in Creation are merely degrees X CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. of His utterance — Creation is comprised in Man — God is a Man — The Incompreliensible Infinite — We cannot but think of God as Man — Thus did the Ancients, and so do the Gentiles — Those who will not worship God, worship Men — Space and Time are created, and are no attributes of God — II. The Spiritual Sun — God is the Sun of the Spiritual World — Relations of the Angels to the Sun — Man as to his Interiors is under the Spiritual Sun — The Sun is an Effluence from the Divine Manhood — III. Degrees— Order of Creation — Discrete and Continuous Degrees — Discrete Degrees hitherto unknown — Distinguished from Continuous Degrees — Exist everywhere in Trines — The Trinity of God repeated throughout His Creation — Trines in Man and Nature — IV. Creation of the Universe — Repudiation of Early Theories — God from the Spiritual Sun creates and sustains the Universe — Constitution of the Spiritual World — The Natural derived from the Spiritual World — Creation termmates in Earths — Mutual Dependence of Spirit and Nature — Their two Suns co- operate— Nature a re-production of Man — Meaning of malignant things in Nature — Spontaneous Generation — Interview with Sir Hans Sloane and Martin Folkes — Creation a perpetual work — V. The Creation of Man — Will and Understanding the Habi- tations of Divine Love and Wisdom — The Brain is then* Seat — The Heart represents the Will and the Lungs the Understanding in the Body — Influence of the Spiritual Sun — In Physiology we may learn Psychology — How the Blood is nourished — Respira- tion of the Good and Evil — Man's Initiament — Brain and Mind 196 CHAPTER XXI. The Divine Providence. Statement of the Relation between the Creator and His Creatures Effusive and Absorbent Love — Double Origin of Free Will and Free Thought — The End of the Lord's Providence is a Heaven from the Humau Race — In all affairs He regards what is infinite and eternal — Love and Liberty — Kinds of Liberty — Origin of Liberty — God's Love and Man's Love — God's work and Man's work in Regeneration — God's Care of Man's Liberty — Useless- ness of Miracles, outward Force and Afflictions in effecting Salvation — Nature of Man's Strife with himself— God within and CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. xi without — God conceals Himself — He would have Men know Him but not feel Him — ^Man's Wisdom is God's Wisdom — Atheism of Self-Love — Providence Universal because Particular — Things temporal subordinated to Things Spiritual — Heaven clearly divided from Hell— Evil Advocates of Good — Various modes of Profanation — Fate of Profaners — The Divine Gentleness in leading Men — Biblical Difficulties as to Providence — Worldly Difficulties— How the Lord uses the Wicked — Use of the Devil — War and Warriors— Men saved under all Religions — Use of Diverse Religions — Use of Mahometanism— Universal Influence of Christianity— How Popery was permitted— Why Protestantism was permitted — Quakers, Moravians, Baptists, and others — Why Judaism continues — Swedenborgian Difficulties as to Providence — Evils allowed that they may be discovered and overcome — Evils subdued, not extirpated — God is not the Creator of Evil — How He governs Evil — We ought neither to credit ourselves with Good nor Evil— Organisation gives Character — We are all parts of a Grand Man and are affected by our Surroundings — Swedenborg's Experiences of Influx from Spirits — How to treat Bad Thoughts — The Illusion of Individuality — The Lord predestines_all to M Heaven — Kindly Sophistry — God bound by Himself as Order, and therefore instantaneous Salvation is impossible — A Commu- nication from Hell ... ... ... ... ... 237 CHAPTER XXII. George II. and His Bishops. Swedenborg meets and converts Dr. Beyer — Indifference of the English to his Books — Holds a Conversation with some English Bishops in the Spiritual World — List of the Bishops he might have spoken with— George TI. overhears the Conversation — One of the Bishops exposes the character of his Brethren, and the King indignantly orders them off — Misrepresentation of Episcopal Patronage — Again George II. appears as Swedenborg's Advo- cate—King George's eartlily reputation — Apocalypse Revealed published at Amsterdam, and Method of Finding the Longitude hy <^e Moojj re-published, 176G ... ... ... ...300 xu CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. CHAPTER XXIII. The Apocalypse Revealed and Explained. Apocalypse Explained written and set aside for Apocalypse Revealed — Superiority of the first Work— Differences between them — The Apocalypse a Prophecy of the Last Judgement of 1757 — The in- terpretation universalized — Spiritual Stories — A Prophecy fulfilled ill Swedenborg — An Old Man in a Cave — A Couple of SolLfidians — An Assembly of Wiseacres— Peter's Keys — Paul - quoted as Protestantism is attacked ... ... ... 309 CHAPTER XXIV. Disciples and Others. Letter to Beyer with Copies of Apocalypse Revealed — A Discreet Letter on Paul — Use of Paul's Epistle — Competes for the Reward offered by England for a handy Method of Finding the Longitude — Letter on the subject to the Stockholm Academy of Sciences — Swedenborg before the English Admiralty — His friendship with Springer, Swedish Consul in London— Anecdotes by Springer — Bergstrom's Reminiscences — Swedenborg's Voyages — Cautions Beyer against too open Advocacy of the Truth — His Expecta- tions concerning the New Church — Bi.shop Oetinger questions Swedenborg and is answered — Is almost persuaded to be a Swedenborgian ... ... ... ... ... ... 324 CHAPTER XXV. Habits at Home. Beauty of Stockholm — Swedenborg's flouse, Garden and Summer- House — His Life iu-doors — ^His Health — Toothache induced by Hypocrites — All Diseases from Hell — His acquaintance with Devils — His infernal Afflictions — His irregular Sleep— How he alarmed his Servants— Dreams — His Dress and Demeanour — Furniture — His extreme Simplicity — Bibles his sole Library— Did all his Writing himself— His Money — Visited by Collin : His Reminiscences — A Student's Visit and Virgil's: apocrj^hal— Augustus and Cicero appear to Swedenborg — Linnaeus and Swedenborg — Sexuality of Plants denied by Swedenborg— He leaves Stockholm for London, proceeds to Amsterdam, and there publishes (7o«j«5'jaZ Lowe 1768 ... ■•. ••• 336 CONTENTS OP THE SECOND VOLUME. xlii CHAPTER XXVI. Love akd Lust. Page. CoNJUGlAL Love.— Visit to Heaven— Wedding of two young Angels — Sex survives Death — Explanation of the Lord's State- ment, that none marry in the Resurrection — Tennyson confirms Swedenborg — Husbands and Wives after Death — Bachelors and Spinsters — Conjugial Love the strongest and holiest of Loves — The Masculine and Feminine Mind — Sydney Smith, St. Paul, Milton and Tennyson on the matter — Man's Love and Woman's Love defined — Boys and Girls at Play — Men love Knowledge and Wisdom — Women love Knowledge and Wisdom in Men — Woman derived from Man — Women love to be ruled — Charlotte Bronte on the matter — Intellectual Characteristics of Women — Conjugial Love a purely human Affection — Marriage of the Lord and the Church — Chastity and Unchastity — In Marriage is perfect Chastity — Celibacy is not Chastity — Cehbacy prone to Unclean- ness — Henry James on Celibacy— Conjugial and Sexual Loves originate in Women and are communicated by them to Men — Joys of Wedlock — Change of Mind induced by Marriage — Blessings of Marriage — The Sense of Touch belongs to Conjugial Love — In true Love time brings access of Happiness and closer Unity — Conjugial Love is an Efflux from the Lord — All Angels are married — Causes of Coldness, Separation and Divorce — Apparent Love, Friendship and favour in Marriage — Elective Affinities — Why heartless Marriages may not be dissolved on Earth — Where there is no Love it should be assumed — Outward Love and inward Hate — Betrothals and Nuptials — Repeated Marriages — Polygamy versus Monogamy — Jealousy — Conjugial Love and Philoprogenitiveness — A Spiritual Story : a Couple from Eden— Adulterous Love — The Wicked see no essential difference between Marriage and Adultery — Varieties of Adultery — Fornication. — Is not Adultery— Cases in which Fornication is allowable — Concubinage. — Cases in which it is allowable — Swedenborg's Heartlessness ... ... ... ... 354 CHAPTER XXVII. Habits in Amsterdam. Autobiography of Cuno an Amsterdam Gossip — Cuno makes Swedenborg's acquaintance — Describes his Habits in his Lodging xiv CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. — His Sociability — Behaviour at a Dinner-party — Contradicts the Rumour of the Execution of the Bishop of Coimbra— Scandal about Voltaire — Publishes Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of iVew Cterc^ at Amsterdam, 1769 ... ... ...420 CHAPTER XXVIII. Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church. The Treatise a Prospectus — Catholics before the Reformation held the same Doctrine as Protestants — The ordinary Catholic knows nothing of Doctrine : he is engrossed in Ritualism — Justification by Faith alone the Marrow of Protestantism —Few mercifully receive the Doctrine — Three Gods acknowledged by Christendom — The Terrible Father — Henry James on His Character — Such Fantasies about Deity sure Evidence of the End of the Church — Summary of New Church Doctrine — Possibly Catholics may enter the New Jerusalem before Protestants — Impolicy of Swe- denborg's attacks on Protestantism — Explanation of the saying of St. James, that he who keeps not the Law at one point is dis- obedient in all — Annual Self-Examination — Swedenborg's expe- riences with Luther, the Elector of Saxony, Melancthon and Calvin 427 CHAPTER XXIX. A Visit to Paris and other Matters. Swedenborg distributes the Brief Exposition widely— His Doctrine denounced in the Gottenburg Consistory— Cuno remonstrates ■with hun on his Heresy— How he received the Remonstrance— Cuno's dull Orthodoxy— His Parting with Swedenborg- A Mysterious Visit to Paris— Hosts of Catholics enter Heaven- France holds the first place among Catholic Kingdoms— Louis XIV. in Heaven— Good Clement XH.- Bad Benedict XIV.— Sirens govern Popes— Interview with Sixtus V. — Loyola and Xavier— Impotence of Saints— St. Agnes— St. Genevieve— Lavater writes to Swedenborg— What was he after in Paris?— Publishes in London Intercourse between the Soul and the Body, 1769 443 TONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. CHAPTER XXX. The Intercourse between the Soul and the Body. Page. Three Hypotheses of Intercourse : Phj'sical Influx, Spiritual Influx and Pre-established Harmony — Description by Mr. Lewes of Pre-established Harmony — The Hypothesis rejected by Sweden- borg — Physical Influx also rejected — Spiritual Influx adopted and defined — Swedenborg's contributions to the Spiritual Hypo- thesis— The Kernel of his Doctrine — The Doctrine re-stated and ilhistrated — Discussion on the three Hypotheses in the Spiritual World — The Distinction between Men and Animals — How Swedenborg from a Philosopher became a Theologian — l^eibnitz led to see the existence of the Grand Social Man — Wolf dis- covered an empty Pedant — Conversation with Aristotle : he is a sane Spirit ... ... ... ... ... ... 4G0 CHAPTER XXXI. English Friends and Other Matters. Neglected in England but read in Heaven — Wm. Cookworthy reads and believes — Dr. Messiter likewise, who translates and circulates the Brief Exposition — Rev. Thomas Hartley translates Intercourse heUveen Soul and Body— Jih Testimony concerning the Author — Swedenborg favours him with a piece of Autobiography — Dr. Hampe another Convert — Hopes of the Gentiles: Africans—^ ' Descent of the New Jerusalem in Africa — f'onversat!i)ii with_§t. Augustine — The Chinese — The Mahometans and Mahomet — Swedenborg returns to Sweden ... ... ... ... 478 CHAPTER XXXII. Last Days in Sweden. Arrest of Conjugial Love in Sweden by Bishop Filenius — His Treachery — Drs. Beyer and Rosen accused of Heresy at Gotten- burg— Swedenborg remonstrates with the Consistory— Dr, Beyer xvi CONTENTS OP THE SECOND VOLUME. addresses the King— Swedenborg also appeals to him — His Works excluded from Sweden — A Conspiracy to send him to a Mad-House — His Opinion of his Countrymen — Offers to explain the Hieroglyphics of Egypt to the Academy of Sciences — Cor- respondence -with Beyer : a youthful Seer ; death of Beyer's wife— The Countess Gyllenborg awaits Swedenborg as his Bride in the Spiritual World — Sails for Amsterdam for the last time ... 487 CHAPTER XXXIII. Last Visit to Amsterdam. Visit to General Tuxen at Elsinore — Tuxen's Reminiscences and Testimony — Klopstock goes to see Swedenborg — At Work in Amsterdam — Habits of Composition — Cuno's surprise that he should style himself, ' Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ' — Fa- miliar Spirits — A Discussion in the Spiritual World in which the Familiar Spirits of Dr. Ernesti and Dean Ekebom appear — Swedenborg's bitterness against Ernesti — Correspondence with the Landgrave of Hesse Darmstadt — Catholic Miracles pro- nounced Impostures — A lost Prince inquired for — Social Habits in Amsterdam — True Christian Religion published — Swedenborg classifies his Readers — Leaves Amsterdam for London, 1771 ... 503 CHAPTER XXXrV. The True Christian Religion. A Body of Divinity, and Discussions and Adventures in the Spiritual World — I. God the Creator. — His Unity— Tri- Personalism leads to Atheism — God is Substance and Form — He cannot breed Gods — The Swedenborgian Revelation — The Infinite incomprehensible by the Finite — Conjunction of the Infinite with the Finhe— Definition of the Human Mind — Power and Order indivisible — Omnipotence is not Lawlessness — How God is present in Evil — How He is present in Man — 11. The Lord the Redeemer.— Why God became Man— He descended as Truth — He assumed Humanity according to His own Divine Order— The Son of God— By Acts of Redemption He made Himself Righteous- CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. xvii ness— God and Man made One.— III. The Holy Spirit.— Tlie Influence received from the Lord Jesus Christ — The Influence varied in its Recipients— Three Gods unknown in the Apostolic Church.— IV. The Sacred Scripture, or the Word of God. — V. The Decalogue explained as to its External AND Internal Sense. — VI. Faith. — Be Good, the everlasting Recipe for Faith. — VII. Charity or Love to our Neighbour, AND Good Works. — The three Loves of the Complete Man — A Man's Business is his main Charity — A Man in true Charity assumes no merit. — VIII. Free Determination. — Predestina- tion denounced in Arminian Rhetoric— A Man's sense of Freedom does not imply Independence — The Angel includes the Devil. — IX. Repentance. — Particular and Wholesale Repentance— In- sincere Self-Abuse — Self Examination. — X. Reformation and Regeneration.— The first, Strife after Goodness, the second Goodness attained — Conditions of the Combat — Temptation un- known in the Church because truths are unknown — Angels made in many ways. — XI. Imputation. — XII. Baptism. — Purely symbolic — Practised in the Spiritual World. — XIII. The Holy Supper. — Uses of the Sacrament and Conditions of its worthy Reception.— XIV. Consummation of the Age, the Coming OF THE Lord, and the New Heaven and the New Church.— The Four Churches — Good discovered through Experience of Evil — End of the Chi-istian Church — Why the Lord could not again appear in person — He makes his second Advent in the opening of the Spiritual Sense of the Scriptures — The New Church is the Crown of Churches and eternal — The New Heaven precedes the New Church — The Twelve Apostles sent abroad in the Spiritual World to spread the New Heavenly Doctrines — Swedenborg's profuse Imagery in the pi-esent Work— His Spiritual Stories ^\Titten by Divine Command — New Works begun : Coronis and Invitation to the New Church — A Mysterious Inventory 523 CHAPTER XXXV. Death in London. Swedenborg's London Lodgings — Settles with Shearsmith in Cold Bath Fields — Habits there — Abstains from Animal Food — Deportment in the Streets — Visited by Ferclius : his Remi- xviii CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. niscences — Biirkhardr's Note — Francis Okely, and Cookwortby and Hartley go to see him — Stricken with Apoplexy on Christmas Eve, 1771 — Declares to Hartley and Messiter that he has written nothing but Truth — Invites Wesley to an interview — Springer's Visit and Inquiry about the New Church — Receives from Ferelius the Lord's Supper— Foretells his Death and joj-fuUy departs, 29th March, 1772 — His Funeral — Sandel deUvers his Eulogium in the Swedish House of Nobles — His Coffin opened and Remains desecrated — Inscription in the Swedish Chapel, CHAPTER XXXA'I. Progress of Swedexborgiaxism. Swedenborg neglected or unknown by his Generation — Cook- worthy publishes Heaven and Hell — Cookworthy's Death — , Hartley's Death —Wesley's Enthusiasm about Swedenfaarg — His 'Favour changed to Dishke — Fletcher of Madely — John Clowes — His Jliraculous Conversion — His Labours in Difl'usion of the Heavenly Doctrines — Summoned before Bishop Porteous and dismissed without Hurt — Robert Hindmarsh — Swedenborgianism in London — Hindmarsh resolves to build Jerusalem — Hires a Chapel in Eastcheap — His apostohc Lottery — How it cast him uppermost — Rejected by his Adherents on account of his immoral Opinions — He turns them out of the Chapel, and carries on the New Jerusalem busmess himself — His audacious ecclesiastical Scheme — Has to close his Chapel for lack of Hearers —Mather and Salmon preach Swedenborgianism over England — Conversion of Proud, a popular Baptist Minister — A Chapel built for him in Birmingham — Dr. Priestley attacks the New Sect — Hindmarsh answers him — Proud prospers in Birmingham — Removes to London — Flaxman a member of his Congregation — Sydney Smith covets his Chapel— Collapse of Proud — Meanness of his Mind — Attacks Clowes, who answers him — Hindmarsh deserts Jerusalem for Stock -jobbing — Wra. Cowherd sets up a Vegetarian Jerusalem — Hindmarsh resumes preaching in Manchester — His Death and Character — Samuel Noble — His Appeal — William Mason — C. A. Tidk — His attempts to systematize Swedenborg — William Blake — William Shai-p and Loutherbourg — Samuel Crompton and CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. xix Highs— James Glen — His opinion of Negroes — Mrs. French — Swedenboi'gianism among the Quakers — George Harrison — His Translation of Swedenhorg — His Disownment by the Friends- Death of Clowes — His Influence on the Clergy — His Position in the Established Church justified — Crabbe, Lackington, and Southey on the New Sect — The Swedenborgian Conference — Adopts Hindmarsh's Lottery as Divine — Statistics of Sweden- borgianism in 1865 — Its Organization — The Intellectual Repository — Extinct Periodicals — Propaganda of the Sect — The Swedenborg Society — Schools and College — The Sect has long ceased to increase — Bad Times for Sectaries of all sorts— Nat ui'al Limits of Swedenborgianism — The average Swedenborgian — A Swedenboi'- gian Congregation — Worship and Preaching — Litigiousness of the Sect — Contemporary Swedenborgians — Doctrinal Dissensions— Swedenborgianism and Spiritualism— Swedenborgianism in France — In Germany — -In Sweden — In the United States — List of Societies in America— Their Convention and its Pretensions — Characteristics of the Sect in New England — ^Independent Swe- denborgians— George Bush — B. F. Barrett — Henry James : his Estimate of Swedenborg — Causes of the Failure of the Sect — • Swedenborg in no way responsible for Hindmarsh ... ... 591 CHAPTER XXXVII. Last Words. Plainly some Change came over Swedenborg about 1745 — He could not invent his Spiritual World — How much of his Eevela- tion is true — His Fancies set forth as Facts — His Affectation of Omniscience — Holiness of Ignorance — Summary of his Philo- sophy— His unfairness towards Orthodoxy — His little Reading and Ignorance of many Matters — His Voluminousness — -His orderly but loose mind — How he ought to be read — His loneliness through life — His Self Sufficiency — His Excitation of Prejudice — Diffusion of Principles identical with his — The Biographer's Confession ... ... ... ... ... . . 662 1743 TO 1772. EMANUEL SWEDENBORG FROM HIS 55th TO HIS DEATH IN HI8 85th YEAR. PART 11. (CONTINUED.) SPIKIT-SEEING AND THEOLOGY. ( 3 ) CHAPTER IX. THE LAST JUDGEMENT.* If the good people of London in 1758 had troubled to read ' Heaven and Hell^ they would have found in it abun- dant matter for nine days' wonder ; and scarcely second to their astonishment over the anonymous author, who professed a familiar acquaintance with the abodes of the Blessed and the Damned, would have been their amazement at his asser- tion in the treatise we now open, that the Last Judgement had come off in the previous year, 1757, and that whilst the world, immersed in its business and its pleasures, was pro- foundly unconscious, he had been an eye witness of the momentous transaction ! Stated thus baldly, without explanation or qualification, anything more preposterous will, to many, seem difficult to conceive : but as we grow familiar with Swedenborg we discover, that beneath his strangest affirmations there lies a substratum of reason, which redeems him more or less effectually from the charge of folly or fanaticism. In the case before us, if we are willing to understand what he means by the Last Judgement, and the conditions of its execution, his statement will, at the least, lose its first glare of wildness. At the risk of the repetition of some details set forth in * ' Dc VUimo Judicio, et de Babylonia Destructa: ita quod omnia, quce in ' Apocalypsi prcedicta sunt, hodie impleta sint. Ex Auditis et Visis. Londini : ' 1758.' •Ito. 55 pages. B 2 4 HEAVEN AND THE CHURCH INDIVISIBLE. preceding articles, but which are so foreign to ordinary in- telligence that their recital may not be disadvantageous, let us bear with Swedenborg whilst, in a few preliminary considerations, he prepares our minds for a fair apprehension of his narrative of the Last Judgement. He first requires us to believe, that the scene of the Last Judgement is in the World of Spirits, and that its execution does not involve the destruction of the World of Nature. Our Earth will never perish, for it is the birth-place of the Human Race, and the Human Race is the seminary of Heaven, and Heaven would be starved if deprived of its ground of sustenance in Earth. ' The Human Race is likewise the basis on which Heaven ' is founded, because Man was last created, and that which is ' last created is the basis of all that precedes. Creation ' commenced from the Supreme or Inmost (that is, from the ' Divine) and proceeded to Ultimates or Extremes, and then ' first subsisted. The Ultimate of Creation is the Natural ' World, including the terraqueous globe and all things ' thereon. When these were finished, then Man was created, ' and into Man were collated all things of Creation from 'first to last.'* In a word, Man is a compendium of Creation. As to the Inmost of his Mind he lives with God, and as to his Out- most— his Body, he is one with Nature ; and between his Inmost and Outmost, he is kin to every tide of the Spiritual World. Hence Man is more than Angel or Devil: he is Angel or Devil, plus a material body. ' From this order of Creation it may appear, that such is ' its connection from first to last, that the Universe is One, ' that the prior cannot be separated from the posterior (even ' as a cause cannot be separated from the effect), and that ' thus the Spiritual World cannot be separated from the No. 9. CONNECTION OF ANGELS AND MEN. 5 * Natural, nor the Natural World from the Spiritual, nor ' Angels from Men, nor Men from Angels. It is provided * by the Lord, that each shall afford mutual assistance, thus * the Angelic Heaven to the Human Eace and the Human * Eace to the Angelic Heaven. One subsists by the other. ' Heaven without Mankind would be like a house without ' a foundation, for Heaven closes into and rests upon ' Mankind When Man passes from the Natural to ' the Spiritual World at death, he no longer subsists on his ' own basis, but upon the common basis which Mankind ' supplies. ' He who is ignorant of the mysteries of Heaven may ' suppose, that Angels subsist without Men, and Men with- ' out Angels ; but I can asseverate from all my experience ' of Heaven, and from all my discourse with Angels, that no ' Angel or Spirit exists apart from Man, and no Man apart ' from Spirits and Angels That Angels and Spirits ' are with Man and in his affections, has been given me to ' see a thousand times from their presence and abode in ' myself : but Angels and Spirits do not know the Men ' with whom they are ; neither do Men know the Angels ' and Spirits with whom they cohabit : the Lord alone ' knows and disposes their affiliations.' * If so much be conceded, and it is clearly understood, that the Good on Earth are the Body of Heaven and the Evil on Earth are the Body of Hell, it will not be difficult to make a further advance and perceive how largely the well-being of Heaven is dependent on the health of the Church,t and vice versd the health of the Church on the character of its affinities with Spirits and Angels. In the review of the '■Arcana Ccelestia'' we recorded * No. 9. t By the Church is meant no particular ecclesiasticism, but whatever Goodness wedded to WiBdom is to be found incarnated in Mankind. 6 END OF THE CHURCH. Swedenborg's opinion of the hopeless condition of the Chris- tian Church. In common with former Churches, he held, that it had run its course and attained its period — ' Every Church in its commencement is spiritual, for it ' begins from Charity, but, in process of time, declines to ' Faith, and from an Internal Church becomes an External ' one, and then expires. Such is the state of the Christian ' Church at this day : Faith has ceased, for Charity has ' ceased ; mere knowledge is set above life ; and therefore ' its doom is sealed.'* Standing in the Spiritual World and seeing the issue of Christendom through the gates of death, he had to bear this testimony — ' I can aver that the Spirits from the Christian World * are the worst of all, hating their neighbour, hating the ' faith, denying the Lord, and given to adultery more than ' the rest of Mankind. Hence I have been given to know of ' a certainty, that the last time is at hand.'f Now it is very plain, that if Heaven be rooted in, and nourished from the Church, Heaven, about the middle of last century, must have been in a miserable plight ; and if Saints on earth be vivified and strengthened by communion with Saints in Heaven, they too must have endured sore privation by reason of their incorporation in so sinful a generation. At this point it is to be observed, that not Heaven and Hell, but the World of Spirits — the Intermediate State — exists in most immediate contact with Mankind. The World of Spirits is, in a certain sense, a magnificent reduplication of our familiar Earth : there, as here, the Righteous and the Wicked are intermingled until their inward choice is openly declared : and as the condition of Spirits there is so like that of Men here, by the strong law of affinity, they are * No. 38- t I'leface to Pt. II. 'Arcaiui CaeUstia.' fools' paradises. 7 associated with us directly, whilst (to speak according to the appearance of Space) Heaven lies on one side and Hell on the other. So much premised, let us try if we can follow Swedenborg through the Last Judgement, which, to cite his words, ' It ' was granted me to see with my own eyes, in order that I ' might describe it ; and which was commenced in the begin- ' ning of the year 1757, and fully accomplished by the end ' thereof.'* In ' Heaven and HelV he informs us, that no one remains in the World of Spirits more than thirty years, or, as he has it in another place and at a later date, more than twenty ;t but it was not always so ; with 1757 commenced a new regime. Previous to the Last Judgement in that year, whilst the decidedly Good, by reason of their decision, had gone straight to Heaven, and the decidedly Bad, by reason of their decision, had gone straight to Hell, Hypocrites had for centuries made the World of Spirits their home, and there organized imaginary Heavens or fools' Paradises, re- peating on a prodigious scale the civil and ecclesiastical impostures of Earth. Surrounding and sustaining these powerful humbugs, were hosts of pious and well-meaning simpletons, who, destitute of any inner sense of character, accepted for gold whatever glittered as gold. If we follow Swedenborg and compare the World of Spirits to a stomach which digests Men for absorption into the system of the Grand Man, we might say, that, up to 1757, the stomach had performed its functions Inefficiently ; 80 much so, that at the end of each Dispensation it had to be purged In order to cleanse out a gorge of undigested matter. Thus we are told — * No. 45. t Compare ' De Ccelo et de Iiiferm,^ No. 426, in 1 758, with ' Apocahjpsia EeveUita,' No. 866, in 1766. 8 THE LA,ST JUDGEMENT A PURGE. * A Last Judgement has twice before been executed in ' connection with our Earth. There was a Judgement at the * end of the Most Ancient Church : it is described in Genesis * under the figure of the Deluge. There was a second * Judgement by the Lord at His Advent efi'ected on the ' dregs of the Adamic Church, and on the Ancient Church ' from its commencement in Noah to its consummation in ' Judaism. A third and final Judgement is now passed upon ' the Christian Church.'* The scene of the Last Judgement was therefore the World of Spirits. There were collected the nations and people to be judged, and thus as on a map were they seen distributed by Swedenborg — * In the middle appeared Protestants, assorted according * to their countries — Germans to the north, Swedes and * Danes to the east, Dutch to the east and north, and English ' in the centre. Surrounding the Protestants were the Pa- * pists, thickest towards the west and south. Beyond the ' Papists, to the south-west, were Mahometans. Outside of ' all, in vast numbers, forming a circumference as of sea, ' were Gentiles. This arrangement of nations according to ' religion was in correspondence with their faculty for the 'reception of Divine Truths.' f The judgement on the Mahometans and Gentiles was the work of a few days. Their settlements were broken up ; the Evil were driven into infernal marshes and deserts ; and the Good were led off to heavenly places where they were instructed by Angels — ' Those Gentiles who on Earth had worshipped God ' under a Human Form, and had led lives of Charity in ' agreement with their religious principles, were conjoined ' with Christians in Heaven, for they acknowledge and adore • No. 46. t Nus. -18 and 58; also ' CoiiUiiuato,' No. 14. THE CRIMES OF ROME. 9 ' the Lord more than others : the most intelligent of them ' are from Africa. ' The multitude of the Gentiles and Mahometans who * were judged was so great, that it could only be numbered ' by myriads.'* Rome, he identifies with Babylon of the Apocalypse, and, with the Protestant fervour of the Swede, draws up this indictment of Papal iniquity — ■ ' How pernicious, how inwardly abominable Babylon is, * may appear from the following summary. They who * belong to it, worship, but confess no Saviour in the Lord | ' for they entirely separate His Divinity from His Humanity, ' and impropriate His Divine Power. They remit sins, they ' send to Heaven, they cast into Hell, they save whom they ' will, they sell salvation : and since they arrogate Divine ' Power, it follows, that they make gods of themselves from ' the highest, whom they style Christ's Vicar, to the lowest : ' thus they usurp the Lord's place, and if they render Him ' nominal honour, it is merely, that they may the more ' firmly retain the substance. ' They not only falsify the Word, but take it from the ' people lest the least ray of truth should break into their ' ' minds ; and, not satisfied with this, they proceed to annihi- ' late it by according to Papal Decrees an authority superior ' to the Divine in the Word. They thus shut up the way to ' Heaven from the people ; for the acknowledgement of the ' Lord, faith in Him, and love to Him, are the way to ' Heaven, and the Word is what teaches that way : whence ' it is, that without the Lord, by the medium of the Word, ' there is no salvation. With all diligence they strive to ' extinguish the Light of Heaven, which is from Divine ' Truth, by prohibiting the perusal of the Word and books ' which contain its doctrine, and by the celebration of Masses, No. 51. 10 POPEEY IN BABYLON. ' destitute of Divine Truth, in language unintelligible to the ' vulgar : and the denser the darkness, the greater their * satisfaction. ' They teach the people, that they have Eternal Life by ' faith in the Priesthood, and not in their private and imme- ' diate relation to the Lord. They place all worship in a ' devout exterior, leaving the mind a vacuum. They intro- ' duce idolatries of various kinds: they make and multiply ' saints ; they tolerate their adoration, boast of their multi- ' tudinous miracles, set them over cities, temples, and all sorts ' of places, and consecrate their very bones ; turning the ' hearts of all from devotion to God to the worship of His ' creatures. ' Moreover they use much artful precaution lest any one ' should escape from their darkness into light, from idols to * God. They multiply monasteries from which they send * out spies and guards in every direction ; extort confes- ' sions under threat of hell-fire and purgatorial anguish; and ' those who are daring enough to speak against the Papacy, ' they consign to the horrors of the Inquisition. ' All these things they do with single purpose — that ' they may possess the world with its treasures, satiate their ' lusts, and be the mightiest of mankind, holding the laity * as their slaves. In their success, we may see Heaven ^ subjected to Hell, and infernal order enacted on Earth.' * In the World of Spirits, he discovered the Papists carrying on the same business which they had practised on Earth, but on a more stupendous scale — ' Their worship was altogether similar. Masses were * performed, not in the ordinary language of Spirits, but in * one composed of high-sounding words which induced awe, ' and were utterly unintelligible. Saints were worshipped, * and their images set up, but the Saints themselves were No. 55. THE GREAT PAPAL CITY. 11 ' nowhere to be seen ; for such of them as had desired to be ' worshipped had been dispatched to Hell, and those who ' were careless about reverence were lost in the crowd. ' The Papists encircled the Protestants because although ' the Romish laity have not the Word, it is read by their ' clergy, and according to their relation to the Word, the ' peoples in the World of Spirits were distributed. ' In the southern section of the circle dwelt the ablest * and most zealous Papists. Great numbers of the rich and ' noble were lodged there in subterranean houses with guards ' at the entrances from dread of robbers. There too was ' a great city inhabited by myriads of Spirits and full of ' churches and monasteries. Into it ecclesiastics brought all ' the treasures they were able to collect by artifice, and hid ' them in underground and labyrinthine crypts into which ' none but themselves could penetrate. On these treasures ' they set their hearts in the full confidence that they could ' never be destroyed. I was amazed at the art displayed in ' the construction of the crypts, and their extension without ' end. Most of the Jesuits dwelt in this city, and cultivated ' the friendship of the rich in their neighbourhood. ' In an angle towards the north there was a mountain in ' whose summit priests kept a lunatic and gave out that he ' was a god, and by his oracles held Spirits in obedience, ' who were inclined to break loose from their allegiance. ' In the west in front dwelt those who had lived in the ' Dark Ages, for the most part under ground, one progeny ' beneath another. With those who lived in succeeding ' centuries, they rarely spoke, being of a diff"erent disposition ' and not so craftily wicked ; for, as in their times there was ' no contention with Protestantism, there was less of the ' craft and malice of hatred and revenge. ' In the western quarter were many mountains inhabited * by the most wicked, who denied God in their hearts, and ' yet orally professed belief in Him with gestures of extreme 12 ROME VISITED BY ANGELS. * devotion. They devised nefarious schemes to keep the * sunple under their yoke and force others into it : their ' artifices I may not describe, they are so ineffably wicked. ' In general the consultations of the Babylonians tend to ' this, that they may dominate over Heaven and Earth, con- * quering one by means of the other ; and to effect this they ' perpetually hatch new laws and doctrines. What they do ' on Earth, they repeat in the World of Spirits ; for every ' one after death continues the life he commenced here, and ' most especially as regards his religion. ' It was granted me to hear certain popish prelates in ' debate about a doctrine of many articles all driving to one ' end — fraudulent dominion over Heaven and Earth, and the ' ascription of all power to themselves and none to the Lord. ' The doctrine was afterwards read to the bystanders, when ' a voice from Heaven proclaimed it to be dictated from the ' deepest Hell ; whereon a crowd of black and direful Devils ' ascended from thence, tore the document out of the hands ' of the priests with their teeth, and bore it off to the pit to ' the amazement of the onlookers.'* Into this Babylon, Angels descended and made visitation. By their presence the Evil were detected, and the Good delivered from their illusions and led out and away from their cursed association. ' This having been done, there were great earthquakes, ' whence the Babylonians perceived, that the Last Judgement * was at hand, and trembling seized them all. Those in the ' south, and especially in the great city there, were seen * running to and fro, some with the intention of flight, some ' of hiding in their crypts beside their treasure, and others ' with whatever valuables they could lay hands upon. After ' the earthquake, a flood burst from below, and overthrew ' everything in the city and surrounding region. Then Nos. 56-58. BABYLON SWEPT AWAY. 13 ' followed a vehement east wind which laid bare every ' structure to its foundations. All were then led forth from ' their hiding-places and cast into a sea of black waters : ' those who were cast in numbered many myriads. After- ' wards a smoke arose from the whole region, and a thick ' dust borne by the east wind, was strewn over the sea ; ' such dust signifying damnation. Lastly there was seen a ' blackness over the whole region, which when viewed ' narrowly, appeared like a dragon — a sign, that the vast ' city and its province had become a desert. ' Earthquakes likewise devastated the western and north- ' em quarters. The west, where the people of the Dark ' Ages abode underground, was laid bare and swept clean ' with the strong east wind, and myriads cast into the black ' sea. Some were consigned to the Hells of the Gentiles ; ' for a part of those who lived in the Dark Ages were ' idolators like Gentiles. ' In the east, mountains were seen to subside into the ' deep, and all those who dwelt upon them were swallowed ' up. The lunatic, whom the monks proclaimed a god, was ' seen first black and then fiery, and with his worshippers ' was flung headlong into Hell. Other mountains were ' seen which yawned open in the middle in huge spiral gulfs ' into which hosts Were cast. Other mountains were turned ' completely upside down. ' This is only a little of what I saw thoroughly accom- ' plished on Babylon in the beginning of the year 1757. ' Those among the Papists who lived piously and who ' were iu good though not in truths, but yet desired to ' know truths, were conveyed to suitable places, organized ' into societies, and instructed in the Word by priests from ' Protestantism, and, v/hen duly instructed, were received ' into Heaven.'* * Nos. 61-63. 14 THE APOCALYPSE TO BE OPENED. Of the Judgement upon the Protestant centre, Sweden- borg has little to say except, that it was of longer duration than upon Gentiles and Papists. What was his reason for this silence ? He alleges want of space for the minutiae of the transaction,* but probably his reticence was dictated by prudence. The concourse in the World of Spirits thus dispersed, he says, is signified in the Apocalypse by ' the first Heaven ' which passed away 'f ' It was called Heaven, because they ' who were in it dwelt on high and lived in natural delights, ' which they fancied heavenly,' J The Judgement as a whole, he further asserts, is the theme of the mysterious Apoca- lypse, and hence boldly assures us, ' That all things which ' are predicted therein are at this day (1757) fulfilled.'§ The sllghtness and imperfections of the treatise, ' The ' Last Judgement^'' he excuses on the ground, that it is merely the precursor of a larger work— no less than an exposition of the entire Inner Sense of the Apocalypse — ' There is an Internal Sense to every word of the Apoca- ' lypse descriptive of the state of the Church in Heaven and ' Earth ; and since the arcana of the Apocalypse can be * revealed to no one, who does not know that Sense and ' consorts with Angels, they have been disclosed to me, lest * the book should hereafter be disregarded because unlntel- 'liglble.ll These arcana are too numerous to be set forth ' in this little work, but as I am anxious to open the whole * Apocalypse from beginning to end, an exposition will be ' published in less than two years, together with certain ' things in Daniel, which have hitherto lain hidden because * the Spiritual Sense was unknown,'* * * No. 72. t Revelation, xx. 11, and xxi. 1. X No. 66. I No. 40. II Query— W\vit\itx the mystery and unintelligibility of the Apocalypse is not its prime attraction, and the secret of its fascination for Diviners? * * No. 42. EFFECTS OF THE LAST JUDGEMENT. 15 The exposition did not appear until 1766 — eight years instead of two from the date of the promise. His procras- tination seems to have been reproved, for in another volume he tells us — * I heard a voice from Heaven, saying, " Enter into your ' " chamber and shut the door, and apply to the work begun ' " on the Apocalypse, and publish it within two years." '* Of the results ensuing from the Last Judgement, Swe- denborg formed & "ery modest estimate. In the first place the Last Judgement restored the communication between Heaven and the World, between the Lord and His Church — ' All enlightenment comes to Man from the Lord through * Heaven, and enters by an internal way. So long as there ' were congregations of undecided Spirits between Heaven ' and the World, or between the Lord and the Church, it ' was impossible for Man to be enlightened. It was as when ' a sunbeam is cut off by a black interposing cloud, or as ' when the sun is eclipsed and his light arrested by the ' interjacent moon.'f In the second place, the advantage gained by the dis- persion of these clouds between Men and Angels is perpetuated, for — ' It is no longer permitted to form Societies below ' Heaven and above Hell. As soon as Spirits now enter ' the Intermediate State, they straitway get ready to join ' the Angels or Devils with whom they are in affinity.' f It may be asked. Why was this new order initiated in 1757 ? why until that year was the World of Spirits liable to periodic gluts ? Swedenborg does not answer, but explains — ' There were many reasons why imaginary Heavens were ' tolerated in the World of Spirits : the principal was, that * 'Be Amove ConjugiaK,^ No. 552, published in 1768. t ' Continvatio de Ultimo Judicio,' No. 11. \ No. 64. 16 NO CHANGE IN THIS WORLD. ' the Wicked by outward sanctity and righteousness had ' there entered into conjunction with the Simple-Good even ' in Heaven — for the Simple-Good among Spirits and Angels ' regard chiefly outer appearances. Had therefore this con- ' ncction between the Wicked (but externally moral) and the ' Simple-Good, been violently dissolved before the appointed ' time, Heaven itself would have suflFered in the shock * administered to the Simple-Good, who constitute Heaven's ' basis and lowest kingdom. ' That the Heavens ' which passed away ' were on this ' account tolerated until the last time, is taught by the Lord ' in the parable of the wheat and tares which the householder ' would not allow to be separated until harvest, " lest," as he ' argued, " while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the ' " wheat with them." '* The humbleness of his expectations from the Judgement becomes most apparent when he speaks of its influence on Earth— ' The state of the World hereafter will be quite similar ' to what it has been heretofore, for the great change which ' has been wrought in the Spiritual World, does not induce ' any change in the Natural World as regards the outward ' form ; so the affairs of States, peace, treaties, and wars, ' with all else which belongs to communities of men, in ' general and in particular, will exist in the future, just as ' in the past. The Lord's saying, that ' in the last times ' ' there will be wars, and that nation will then rise against ' ' nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and that there will ' ' be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places,' ' docs not signify that such things will occur in the Natural ' World, but that things corresponding thereto will exist ' in the Spiritual World ; for the Word in its prophecies ' does not treat of the kingdoms or nations of Earth, or con- * No. 70; Matt. xiii. 24-30. swedenbokg's conservatism. 17 ' sequently of their wars, or of famines, pestilences, and ' earthquakes in Nature, but of such things as correspond to ' them in the Spiritual World. ' As for the state of the Church, it will be dissimilar ' hereafter ; it will be similar indeed in the outward form, ' but dissimilar in the inward. Divided Churches will exist ' as heretofore, and diverse doctrines be taught as hereto- 'fore; and the'''"''>me Religions as now, will exist among ' the Gentiles. The Man of the Church however will be in ' a more free state of thinking on matters of faith, that is on ' spiritual things which relate to Heaven, because spiritual ' liberty has been restored to him .... and since spiritual ' liberty has been restored, the Spiritual Sense of the Word ' is now unveiled, and interior Divine Truths are revealed ' by means of it, which Man in his former condition could ' not have understood, or, if he had understood, would have ' profaned.' * That is all ! Happily, Swedenborg, sharing the common lot of prophets, is belied by events. The world has not gone on 'quite the same as heretofore.' New impulses, new ideas have been transforming society since he prophesied. Europe of this year is parted from the Europe of 1757 by a gulf so wide as to be almost impassable by the most sym- pathetic imagination. Had he only been faithful to his own doctrine, that spiritual life and spiritual change must find embodiment in corresponding natural life and natural cliange, or perish, he would not have committed himself to •such heartless and hopeless soothsaying. He predicts that the Churchman will enjoy more freedom in thinking of heavenly things, but fails to perceive that such freedom is inextricably connected with freedom in earthly things. Emperors and priests would readily concede any amount of freedom in heavenly affairs if, with all the quickness of * No. 73. C 18 THE FUTURE UNKNOWN. selfishness, they did not discern, that such freedom cannot be so limited, but descending from Heaven to Earth, it will start dangerous questions about government and the distri- bution and enjoyment of the goods and honours of this life. Swedenborg however was by temper and education a conser- vative (if we may call a man a conservative who does not know he is one) ; there lodged not in his whole being, a spark of the secular revolutionary spirit. The Christian petition, * that the Father's will be done on Earth as in Heaven,' in the largest and noblest — that is, in its social sense, he never seems to have apprehended. Throughout the length and breadth of his writings, I can detect not a hint of dis- satisfaction with the political condition of his times. To the social wrongs and horrors which stirred the hearts of Voltaire and Rousseau, Paine and Bentham he was insensible : and principles which it was their gloi-y to enunciate, and which have since been wrought into the conscience and constitu- tion of civilized society, never seem to have risen above his horizon. Let us remember that God's great work is detailed in sections and executed by many and diverse instruments. ' With the Angels,' he continues, ' I have had various '/Converse about the state of the Chvirch hereafter. They ' said, that of the future they are ignorant, for knowledge ' of the future is the Lord's alone, but that they do know, ' that the former captivity of the Churchman is at an end, ' and that now he is set free to recognize interior truths and ' to be spiritualized by them if he will. Nevertheless they ' have but slender hope of Christendom, but much of a far ' distant Nation, which is capable of receiving spiritual light, ' and of being made a Spiritual Celestial Man ; and they ' said, that at this day interior Divine Truths are revealed ' in that Nation, and are also received in spiritual faith, that ' is, in life and in heart, and that it worships the Lord.'* AN AFRICAN CHURCH. 19 This angelic testimony goes to confirm the opinion so freely iterated in the ' Arcana Ccelestta,'' that when a Church comes to its end a new Church is always planted in fresh Gentile ground. As the Angels were so communicative about the Nation so far removed from Christendom it is a pity, that they did not condescend to indicate its where- abouts. From later information, we may presume they referred to a Nation secluded from European contagion in Central Africa. ( 20 ) CHAPTER X. THE NEW JERUSALEM AND ITS HEAVENLY DOCTRINE* * The New Jerusalem' Is the complement of the former treatise — ' The Last Judgement.'' We therein learnt, that ' the first Heaven,' which ' passed away,' consisted of imaginary Heavens in the World of Spirits ; but in the Apocalypse we also read of a ' first Earth,' which likewise ' passed away.' This Earth, says Swedenborg, signifies the Christian Church dead and done for. Subsequent to the passing away of Heaven and Earth, ' John saw the Holy ' City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of ' Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.' What then is meant by the New Jerusalem ? Our Author answers, ' It is the Church with respect to Doctrine.'! The Christian Church having come to an end, a New Church is established, and for its establishment a new code of doctrine is requisite. This code Swedenborg delivers, saying, ' It is ' for the New Church, and is called Heavenly Doctrine ' because revealed to me out of Heaven.' | In fine, he requires us to recognize in the treatise we now open, the reality of which the Holy City seen by John was the emblem ; with the proviso, that the Doctrine, which by a * ' De Nova Hierosolyma et ejus Doctrina Ccdesti : ex auditia c Carlo. ' Quibus prcemittitiir aliquid de Novo Ccdo et Nova Terra. Londini, 1 758.' 4to. 156 pages. With the exception of some paragraphs, the treatise is a com- pilation from the ' Arcana Ccelestia.' t No. 6. t No. 7. NO LOVE NO WISDOM. 21 change of symbol is called the Lord's bride, never becomes His Wife until incarnated in human practice. ' The New Jerusalem'' is composed of a series of twenty- four short chapters, to which are appended a multitude of references to illustrative passages in the '■Arcana Ccelestia and perhaps no readier conception of the treasures of thought and suggestion comprised in that extraordinary work could be obtained than by a perusal of the sentences which precede the references : they form a very crowd of aphorisms, and as Bacon says, ' No person is equal to the ' forming of aphorisms, or would ever think of them, if he ' did not find himself copiously and solidly instructed for ' writing upon a subject.' Following the line of these chapters, let us try to abstract the pith of each. Introduction. The Church has come to its end, for Charity has ceased, and where there is no Charity there can be no Faith ; nevertheless throughout Christendom the Churches* justify their divisions on the score of Faith. It was not thus with the Ancient Churches. In them all were acknowledged as brethren who lived in Charity, how much soever they might differ as to truths ; nor were they offended that any one did not agree with another, knowing well that opinions were but the intellectual mani- festations of feelings, and that if sincerely expressed they must needs be as various as their holders' countenances ; • ' When I speak of the Churches in the Christian World, I mean Protest- ' ant Churches, and not the Popish or Roman Catholic Church, since that is ' not a Christian Church ; for, wherever the Church exists, the Lord is wor- ' shipped, and the Word is read ; whereas, among Roman Catholics, they ' worship themselves instead of the Lord, forbid the Word to be read by the ' people, and affirm the Pope's decree to be equal, yea, even superior to it.' — No. 8. This complimentary treatment of Protestantism, coupled with the silence .about its fate in ' The Last JudgeDient,' is worth noting along with the date, 1758. 22 THE HEAVENLY MARKIAGE. and that it was as impossible for any two men to think alike as to be alike. As Church after Church declined into deeper self-love and worldliness, the knowledge of this vital and intimate union between thought and feeling, truth and love, opinion and inclination grew dim and was finally forgotten. Creed and character became dissevered ; it was not allowed that they had any necessary connection ; and doctrines were accepted and rejected as though they were garments or badges. Such being the case, it was no longer considered unreasonable to expect and enforce uniformity, or to divide and excommunicate on the ground of differences of opinion. Now there is nothing more certain than that Goodness alone has confidence and manifestation in the Truth, and that therefore none but the Eighteous can believe in the Lord, or possess real Faith ; and their Faith is simple or profound in the strict measure of their righteousness. Hence we may see how Faith ceases when Charity ceases. Goodness and Truth. The Lord being the Cause and Life of all things, and being Goodness itself and Truth itself, every detail of Creation has relation to Goodness or to Truth, and may be referred to one or the other. Goodness and Truth being one in the Lord, have a perpetual tendency to unition in Creation. Their conjunc- tion is called by the Angels, the Heavenly Marriage ; and all in Heaven are the subjects of that Marriage. For this reason. Heaven is compared in the Word to a Marriage, and the Lord is called Bridegroom and Husband, and Heaven or the Church, His Bride and Wife. As all things of Creation in order are related to Good- ness and Truth, so all in disorder are related to Evil and Falsity ; and between Evil and Falsity there is the same DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD. 23 aflRnity as between Goodness and Truth, and their union constitutes the Infernal Marriage. Evil and Falsity are opposed to Goodness and Truth, Evil hating Truth and driving it away as an enemy. No one who is confirmed in sin can know what Goodness and Truth are, for he feels his own evil to be good, and takes his illusions for truths. The Righteous however can know Evil and Falsity, for they are in light, and from their light can perceive darkness. The Will and the Understanding. A Man consists of two faculties — a Will and an Under- standing, distinct from each other, yet so created as to form one Mind. In the Will and Understanding are comprised the whole life of Man ; and as all things of Creation are related to Goodness and Truth, so all things in Man refer themselves to his Will or to his Understanding. His Will is the habitation of the Divine Love, and his Understanding of the Divine Wisdom : his Body is their passive instrument. The Evil have properly no Will or Understanding. In them, the Will is closed to holy human loves, and is a mere organ of brutal lusts ; and the Understanding, void of spiritual truth, provides but science for the satisfaction of these lusts. The Internal and External Man. Man has two sides, an External and an Internal — one open to the Natural World and the other to the Spiritual World. The relations of the Good and the Evil to the Spiritual World are very different. The Internal of the Good Man is shone upon by the Sun of Heaven, and all his thoughts, even concerning earthly affairs, are illustrated thereby. The Internal of the Evil Man is merged in his External, 24 MAN ESSENTIALLY LOVE. SO that he has no help from spiritual light, but is limited to what he calls ' the Light of Nature.' ' Such is his darkness, that he does not know there is ' an Internal Man, much less what the Internal Man is ; ' neither does he believe in a Divine Being, nor in a life ' after death, nor in anything pertaining to Heaven and the ' Church. Nature is to him as God, falsity as truth, evil as ' good.'* In the Word, the Internal or Spiritual Man is described as Alive, but the External or Natural Man, as Dead. Of Love in General. A Man's Life is his Love : what his Love is, that the Man is. A Man has many Loves, but always a supreme one, king over the others as over servants. ' That which a Man loves supremely, forms the end ' which he has always in view ; he regards it in the whole ' of his conduct, even in the most minute particulars. It ' lurks in his will, and, like the latent current of a river, ' draws and bears him away, even when he is employed in ' other affairs ; for it constitutes his animating principle. * Such is the nature of this Love, that one Man tries to ' discover it in another, and when he has found it, he either ' entirely leads him by it, or regulates all his intercourse ^ with him according to it.'f If the Love of Property rules, gain is his constant thought ; possession, his chiefest joy ; loss, his keenest sorrow. If the Love of Approbation rules, praise is his aim all the day, and the drift of every word and deed : and so on with other Loves which rule. A Man's crowning delight springs from the gratification of his Governing Love : what favours it, he calls good ; what opposes it, he calls evil. ' From it he derives his peculiar character ; it is * No. 11, t Nu. 56. SELF-LOVE IS HELL. 25 ' the very me of his nature ; nor can it be changed after ' death, for it is the Man himself.'* There are Four Loves under which all varieties of Good and Truth and Evil and Falsity are comprised. The Two Loves which include all Good and Truth are, Love to the Lord and Love to the Neighbour ; and the Two Loves which include all Evil and Falsity are, the Love of Self and the Love of the World. The Two latter are in direct opposition to the Two former. The Loves of the Lord and the Neighbour constitute Heaven, and the Loves of Self and the World, Hell. The Love of Self and the Love of the World. ' The Love of Self consists in wishing well to ourselves ' alone, and not to others, unless it be for the sake of our- ' selves, not even to the Church, to our country, to society, ' or to a fellow-citizen. This Love, it is true, may confer benefits on these several relations, when its own gain and ' glory are concerned ; but unless it sees that those will be ' secured by thus acting, its language is, " To what purpose ' " is it ? Why should I do this ? Of what advantage will ' " it be to me ?" Hence it is evident, that the Man who is ' influenced by Self-Love does not in reality love either the ' Church, or his country, or his fellow-citizen, or society, or ' anything good, but himself alone He has no regard ' for his neighbour, consequently none for the public, still ' less for the Lord, but solely for himself and his connections. ' Should he even do anything for his neighbour and the ' public, it is done merely for the sake of appearance. ' We have said, " himself and his connections ; " for the ' Man who loves himself, loves those who are connected with ' him. These are, in particular, his children and his other ' near relations, and, in general, all who co-operate with * No. 57. 26: THE DEVIL DISCOVERED. ' him, and whom he calls his friends. Nevertheless his love * for these is only Self-Love, for he regards them, as it were, ' in himself, and himself in them. Amongst those whom ' such a Man denominates his friends, are all those who ' flatter him, honour him, and pay their court to him. ' Such is the nature of Self-Love, that in proportion as ' rein is given to it, that is, so far as external restraints are ' removed (as fear of the law and its penalties, loss of ' honour, gain, office, life) it rushes with such unlimited ' desire as to grasp at universal dominion, not only over ' Earth, but Heaven, yea over God Himself, for its rage is ' boundless. This propensity lurks in the heart of every 'Man who is under the power of Self-Love, although it ' may be invisible to the public eye and unknown to 'himself.'* We have here a fair specimen of Swedenborg's practice as psychological dissector, and of the manner in which complex mental phenomena are resolved into simplicity under his hand. Self-Love he pronounces a simple, insa- tiable force of appropriation, but modified in countless ways by the action of other forces and circumstances. In his opinion it is veritably ' the worm vrhich dieth not, and the ' fire which is not quenched.' As instances of its almost unchecked manifestation, he cites the cases of princes who have striven after universal empire, and of priests who have claimed the prerogatives of Deity. ' The evils which predominate in those whose ruling ' principle is Self-Love, are, in general, contempt of others, ' envy and enmity towards those who do not favour their ' designs ; also hatreds of various kinds, revenge, cunning, ' deceit, bitterness, cruelty. Where such evils exist, there ' is also contempt of God and the Church, or if there be any ' respect shewn, it is merely verbal and not from the heart. * Nos. 65-71. GOD IS THE NEIGHBOUR. 27 * As such evils result from Self-Love, they are attended ' by corresponding falsities ; for falsities are always bred ' from evils.'* The Love of the World shows itself in the passion for property of every kind, with no end beyond possession. Those who are its subjects ' greedily covet the goods of ' others, and, whenever unchecked by the fear of the law * and the loss of reputation, mercilessly appropriate them.'f The evils comprised in the Love of the World are not so malignant as those in the Love of Self : the first being directed to things^ the second to men. Love towards the Neighbour, or Charity. ' First it shall be shewn what is meant by the term ' Neighbour. ' It is a general opinion at the present day, that every- ' body is equally our Neighbour, and that beneficence is due ^ to any one who requires our assistance. Charity however ' consists in acting wisely with a view to good results, and ' it is the province of Christian prudence to scrutinize ' thoroughly the quality of every man's life, and to treat ' him accordingly. He who is generous to a needy scoun- ' drel, wounds his Neighbour by confirming the rascal in ' his villany, and by providing him with means for further ' offence. 'I Our first duty — the duty which includes and defines all others — is to love and serve the Lord, and consequently, to encourage and lend aid to nothing, which does not exist in accordance with His Will. From this point we may discern who is our Neighbour. In the highest sense, he is the Lord : in Him is the origin of the relationship. Wherever He is found, there is the Neighbour — ' As far as the Lord is resident with any Man so far is No. 75. t No. 76. \ Nos. 84-5 and 100. 28 HOW THE NEIGHBOUR IS LOVED, ' the Man a Neighbour. The distinctions of Neighbour, to * which the Churchman ought to give careful attention, arise ' from varied measures of goodness, and as all goodness is ' from the Lord, He is Neighbour in the supreme sense of ' the word : and consequently where goodness is loved, the ' Lord is loved, and thus we see how Love to the Lord and ' Love to the Neighbour are conjoined.'* Love to the Neighbour is an internal force whereby we are moved to do good without any hope of remuneration. In whomsoever the Love prevails, every thought, word and deed is directed towards usefulness, and in usefulness he experiences his choicest joy — ' Hence Charity (which is but another word for Love to ' the Neighbour) embraces operations far more extensive ' than alms-giving. It consists in doing what is right in ' every action and in every office. Thus, if a Judge ad- ' ministers justice for its own sake, he exercises Charity ; if ' he punishes the guilty and acquits the innocent, he exer- ' cises Charity ; for in so doing he promotes the welfare of ' his fellow-citizens and of his country. If again a Minister ' teaches truth and leads his congregation into a good life, ' he exercises Charity ; and so on in all the relations of ' society, as with the behaviour of children to parents, ' parents to children, servants to masters, masters to ser- ' vants, subjects to kings, kings to subjects. In all cases, ' whoever does his duty from a principle of duty, exercises ' Charity.' t It is a common saying, that every Man is his own Neighbour and that Charity begins at home, which is quite true if rightly understood. It is the duty of every Man to provide himself and his dependents with food, raiment and shelter, for otherwise they would be burdens on the com- munity ; but whilst a Christian must take care of himself Nos. 86, 89, 90. t No. 103. FAITH FORAIED BY OBEDIENCE. 29 in the first place, he does so, that he may keep himself in a condition to be useful to others. Charity, with him, begins at home, that it may be qualified to go abroad. The Selfish acknowledge those as Neighbours, who favour and further their designs, deducing the origin of Neighbour from Self. To them the Love of the Neighbour for the sake of the Neighbour is incomprehensible — ' They cannot understand how heavenly felicity can result ' from service out of mere goodwill and without a view to ' reward. They imagine, that if honours and riches were ' abstracted from life, all its joys would be gone, whereas it ' is only when such ends are abandoned, that heavenly joy, ' which infinitely transcends all others, begins.'* , Faith. A Man's Faith is in strict harmony with his Love, for the Understanding is governed by the Will. An Angel and a Devil cannot hold the same creed. Why ? Because their Loves, their Wills, their Hearts are opposites. These assertions may be met with the fact, that the Evil frequently hold and defend the opinions of the Good with the greatest enthusiasm. Granted, replies Swcdenborg, but— ' They regard the Doctrine of the Church as a means of ' acquiring gain and fame, and in proportion as the ends are ' coveted, the means are also loved and believed. The real ' case stands thus. Inflamed by the Loves of Self and the ' World, they speak, preach and act until they work them- ' selves into a Persuasive Faith wherein they would find it ' hard to distinguish what they do and what they do not ' really believe. They have no inner sense as to whether ' what they teach be true or false ; neither indeed do they ' care, provided they obtain credit with the vulgar, for they * No. 105. 30 USEFULNESS IS WORSHIP. ' have no affection for Truth for its own sake, and therefore ' they are ready to abandon their opinions whenever advan- ' tage or offence impels them to do so. ' Man may know, think and understand much, but when ' he is left to solitary reflection, he rejects everything which ' is not in correspondence with his Ruling Love. Hence '■ after death, every memory which is not at one with his ' Will is cast out of his Mind as something foreign.'* Piety. Piety consists in prayer, church-going, reception of the sacrament, and the maintenance of a devout spirit. Such conduct is praiseworthy, but there is a tendency with many to convert the whole of religion into ritualism, and to imagine, that, were it only possible, life would be well spent in pious devotion ; indeed, it is a common opinion, that angelic existence is consumed in perpetual prayer and song. This however is a gross mistake. Piety in itself is worth- less ; it is only a means to an end, and that end is a life of Charity— ' The cultivation of goodwill to the Neighbour, the ' endeavour to promote his welfare, the discharge of every ' duty in justice and equity, or in one word, the performance ' of uses. Divine Worship consists primarily in Charity ' and secondarily in Piety, and he who separates the one ' from the other, that is, who is pious but not charitable, ' does not worship God. He thinks indeed of God, yet not '■from God : his thoughts are busy about himself continually ' and not at all about his Neighbour, whom he regards with ' disdain, unless he be pious after his own pattern. He ' likewise thinks of Heaven as a reward, prides himself on ' his merits, and holds usefulness in contempt. 'f The Lord has no need of our prayers, nor has He any * Nos. 117, 118, 113. t No. 124. CONSCIENCE NOT INTUITIVE. 31 satisfaction in our praises, except so far as they re-act on ourselves and strengthen us to fulfil His Will among our fellows with more resolute, calm and gentle dispositions. Conscience. Conscience and Faith are so much alike, that what has been said about the one might be said about the other. Conscience is not intuitive as many suppose.* It is formed from truths acquired from the Word, assented to, and practised. As truth is obeyed, Conscience waxes in strength and the Mi"nd grows firm and clear, until at last impulse, thought, word and deed come into such thorough unity, that righteousness is more a habit than an effort. In those who attain this maturity of Conscience there is nothing to conceal, and peace is their perfect portion : their only pain, is when they fall below the standard of the truth they know. The Selfish, have no Conscience, for they have no regard for their Neighbour, nor for Truth except so far as it seems advantageous. Hence they feel no pain when they do wrong, if only they escape outward hurt and blame. If found out, they may endure much suffering, but then it is their Self-Love which is wounded, and not Conscience whereof they are destitute. ' The real nature of Conscience shall now be illustrated 'by examples. If one Man be in possession of another's ' property whilst the other is ignorant of it, and thus has it ' in his power to retain it without fear of the law, or the * Conscience assumes perfection according to the quality of the truths of which it is constructed. Mazzini is quite in harmony with Swedenborg when he observes — ' Individual Conscience speaks according to the education, ' tendencies, habits and passions of the individual. The Conscience of the ' savage Iroquois speaks a different language from that of the enlightened ' European of the 19th century. The Conscience of the Freeman suggests ' duties, which the Conscience of the Slave does not even imagine.' — ' Duties 'of Man.' 32 WHO IS FREE. ' loss of reputation, and yet restores it to the other because ' it is not his own, he has Conscience ; for in thus acting he ' does good for its own sake, and acts justly for the sake of ' justice. Again : if a person has it in his power to obtain ' an office of distinction, but knows that another person, ' who is also a candidate for it, possesses talents that might ' qualify him for being more serviceable to his country, and ' on that account declines competition, he has a good Con- ' science : and so on in other cases.'* Liberty. Liberty is the free action of Love. What a Man desires to do and is free to do, that he calls Liberty. Now as there are two kinds of Love — Love of Self and Love of Others — there are two kinds of Liberty — the Liberty of Selfish- ness and the Liberty of Benevolence ; or, in other words, an Infernal and a Heavenly Liberty. Lifernal Liberty by reason of its very nature and origin, is continually aggressive — Self-Love being nothing but a force of absorption. Hence Infernal Liberty is never fully enjoyed ; its demands are refused and resisted on every side ; it provokes warfare all around. Accordingly the life of the Selfish is one of constraint, disappointment, and slavery. On the contrary, Heavenly Love is subject to no such bondage and misery. Its action is diffusive ; its efforts are met with welcome on every hand ; and its Liberty and Delight are nothing less than co-extensive with its energy. Merit. Swedenborg, we see, ascribes salvation to the prevalence in the Mind of Love to the Lord and the Neighbour, and it is a frequent objection raised against him by Protestants, No. 136. HOPING FOR NOTHING AGAIN. 33 that he concedes Heaven to Merit. How far such a charge is true, may appear from the following maxims. ' Those who do good with a view to merit are not ' influenced by the Love of good, but by the Love of ' reward : they are not Spiritual but Natural Men. ' To do good, which is really good, a Man must act from ' the Love of good ; and whoever is thus influenced, cannot ' bear to hear of Merit : he has a lively satisfaction in his ' business, and is grieved when it is insinuated that he is ' seeking his private advantage, insisting, that the good ' which he does is not for his own sake, but for the sake of ' those for whom it is done. ' The delight which is inherent in the Love of doing ' good without an eye to profit, is in itself an eternal reward. ' The delight of Charity is in goodness itself, and of ' Faith, in truth itself. ' Those who do good for the sake of reward, act from ' Self-Love and the Love of the World, and so far as they ' are concerned, their work is evil.'* These should clear Swedenborg eff'cctually. Heaven, he does not in any sense allow to be a price for so much work done or suffering endured : Heaven, as a scene of order and loveliness, is nothing but a consequence flowing from the supremacy and activity of Love to Others in the Heart, which Love has no end but usefulness. Those who hope to inherit Heaven as a recompense for so much service, sacrifice, sorrow, abstinence, or penance, act from Selfishness as distinctly as though they were under the direction of Benjamin Franklin : the only difference between them and worldly economists is, that their estates lie on different sides of the grave. Their motives are both alike, and instead of an effusive Heaven, their lot is a consuming Hell. Further : the thought of Merit is excluded, inasmuch as * Nos. 150 to 157. D 34 HOW SINS ARE RESrOVEP. Love to Others in the Heart is the Lord in the Heart, and he who entertains the Divine Guest cannot but disdain and shrink aside from personal praise. That the Lord should use us as His instruments, and that He should put forth His Hands through our hands is bliss itself ; but to appropriate His Merit is to change sweetness to bittei-ness and beauty to ashes. Repentance and Eemission of Sins. Repentance is the confession of Sin, its hatred, and its renunciation. It is not a general confession in which a Man charges himself with all wickedness, but the knowledge of his particular faults accompanied with abhorrence and de- termination to desist from them. ' He who lives in Charity ' and Faith, perfonns the work of Repentance daily ; he ' reflects on the evils which adhere to him, acknowledges ' them, guards against them, and supplicates the Lord for ' aid to resist them.'* No Repentance is effectual in fear, misfortune, sickness, or death, which take away the free use of reason. The Wicked in such states may promise Repentance and perform good actions, but as soon as the cause of alami is removed and freedom returns, they resume their former life. Sin to be rightly hated, must be hated for itself and not for its inconveniences. A Man, examining himself in the work of Repentance, must try his heart closely, asking. Why do I grieve over my sin ? If it is because his sin has brought him into shame or difficulty, his grief is no more than the anguish of Self-Love. In true Repentance sin is loathed, because it is an offence agamst God and the Neighboui*, and not for any selfish consideration. Evils are not washed away by Repentance as is filth by THE NEW BIRTIT. 35 water. Evils exist from the dominion of Self-Lovc in the Will, but by Repentance Self-Love is deposed from the centre to the circumference of the Mind, and Love to the Lord and the Neighbour elevated in its stead and held thereby in subjection. The cause of evil is not therefore extirpated, but reduced to useful servitude. ' When a Man has examined himself, acknowledged his ' sins, and done the work of Repentance, he must stedfastly ' persevere in the practice of what is good, even to the end ' of his life : for should he afterwards relapse into his former ' evil life, and settle in it, he becomes guilty of profanation, ' since he conjoins evil with good, and his latter state be- ' comes worse than the former.'* Regeneration, The consummation of Repentance is Regeneration. At this day we are all born Selfish — with the Loves of Self and the World holding mastery in our nature. Our forefathers have been given up to these Loves ; we inherit their organizations, and in too many cases confirm and enlarge our inheritance. Therefore are we wretched, without peace, driven hither and thither by unruly passions and insane thoughts, and devoured by many cares and sorrows. For this our lost condition, the Word, and the Word only, prescribes and provides a remedy. We must be born anew. The inherited order of our life must be inverted ; and the order is inverted when Self-Love and Love of the World are deposed and subjected to the Loves of the Lord and the Neighbour. This inversion is Regeneration. Temptation. ' Those who are being regenerated undergo Spiritual ' Temptations ; such Temptations being pains of Mind * No. 1G9. I) 2 36 heaven's struogle with hell. ' induced by Evil Spirits in those who are good and true. ' While these Spirits excite the Evils of such persons, there ' arises in their Minds the anxiety of Temptation. Man ' does not know whence this anxiety comes, because he is ' unacquainted with its spiritual origin. ' There are both Evil and Good Spirits attendant on ' every Man ; the Evil Spirits are in his Evils, and the Good ' Spirits in his Goods. When the Evil Spirits approach, ' they excite his Evils, while the Good Spirits, on the con- *■ trary, excite his Goods, whence result collision and combat, ' causing in the Man an interior anxiety, which is Temp- ' tatlon. Hence it is plain, that Temptations are not induced ' by Heaven but by Hell, as is in accordance with the Faith ' of the Church, which teaches that God tempts no INIan. ' The object contended for during Temptation, is the ' dominion of Good over Evil, or of Evil over Good. If ' Evil prevails, the Natural Man obtains the dominion ; if ' Good prevails, the Spiritual Man. If Man falls in Temp- ' tatlon, his state after it becomes worse than before, because ' Evil has acquired power over Good, and Falsity over ' Truth. * Since at this day Faith is rare, because there is no ' Charity, the Church being at its end, there are but few ! ' who are admitted into any Spiritual Temptations ; hence it ' is scarcely known what they are, or what salutary purposes ' they subserve.'* Repentance, Regeneration and Temptation are trans- acted in Man with the sensation, that he is principal in the several operations, but Wisdom assures him, that the sensa- tion is an illusion, and that the Lord is governor in all : and in this reflection is humility and peace. * Xos. 187 to 193. THE TWO SACRAMENTS. 37 Baptism. Swedenborg divests Baptism of all value save as a sign — as a promise of something to be done. ' No one receives ' Heaven or Faith by Baptism ; for Baptism is only a sign ' and a memorial, that Man is to he regenerated, and that he * is' capable of being regenerated by the Divine Truths of ' the Word.'* Expressing so much and no more, it is but reasonable that infants should be baptized. The water used in Baptism signifies Truth, and as the Body is cleansed by the one so is the Mind by the other. ' The washing of Baptism has no other meaning ; and as * everyone who is regenerated undergoes combats against ' evils and falsities, baptismal water represents such conflicts. ' Let those therefore who are baptized remember, that * Baptism confers neither Faith nor Salvation, but merely ' testifies, that if they are regenerated. Faith and Salvation ' will be theirs. 't The Holy Supper. ' The Holy Supper was instituted by the Lord as a means * whereby the Church may have conjunction with Heaven, ' and thus with the Lord ; it is therefore the holiest solemnity ' of worship.' J How is the Holy Supper so efficacious? Thus — The bread corresponds to Goodness and the wine to Truth. Those who partake of the Supper worthily have, by previous self-examination and repentance, received the Lord as Love and as Truth, and in eating the bread and drinking the wine, they repeat externally what has already been wrought in them internally, and by the repetition they give to the inner transaction an outward embodiment whereby it is confirmed and fulfilled, and Heaven wedded with Earth, If however * 'Z>c Cuilo et dc Inferno,'' No. 329. f Nos. 203 and 207. X No. 210. 38 DEATH THE GATE OF LIFE. the Lord has not been inwardly received, the outward eating of the Supper is void of all spiritual virtue whatever. ' Besides, the Holy Supper includes and comprehends ' the whole of the Divine Worship instituted in the Israelitish ' Church ; for the burnt offerings and sacrifices, in which the ' worship of that Church chiefly consisted, were denominated ' by the single word Bread ; hence the Holy Supper is the ' completion or fulness of that representative worship.'* The Kesukkection. By Resurrection is not meant the resuscitation of the worn-out carcase, which is laid in the grave and is never resumed. On the contrary. Resurrection is the deliverance by death of the Spiritual Body from the bondage of the flesh, when the Man awakes in the World of Spirits with every sense and function intact, and in scenery so like that from which he has arisen, that he often finds it hard to believe that he has exchanged one World for another. ' This continuation of life is meant by the Resurrection. ' The reason why Men believe that they will not rise again ' before the Last Judgement, is because they do not under- ' stand the Word, and because Sensual Men place all their ' life in the Body, and imagine that unless it be re-animated, ' the man can be no more.t This belief is permitted, ' for otherwise those who think from the external senses '^would reject as incomprehensible the doctrine of the Resur- ' rection and Eternal Life.' J Heaven and Hell. We have already seen and noted Swedenborg's exhaustive definition of Heaven and Hell — that Heaven is Love to the Lord and Love towards the Neighbour, that Hell is Love of Self and Love of the World, and that the glory and loveli- * Nu. 211. t No- 227. t '-Oc Tdlurihus,' No. 185. HEAVEX AND THE CHURCH ARE ONE. 39 ness we associate with the one and the darkness and horror with the other, are no more than the visible manifestations of the qualities of the several Loves. After death a Man's Love or Life cannot be changed to all eternity ; as he dies, he remains ; he may be cultivated like a piece of land, but neither enlarged nor transformed. ' Those who go to Hell remain there for ever, and those ' who go to Heaven remain there for ever. The Life of ' Heaven is called Eternal Life, and that of Hell, spiritual ' Death ; and the two exist in direct and complete an- ' tagonLsm.'* The Church. Love and Faith in Man — or in more elevated phrase, the presence of the Lord in Man — constitute the Church. In whomsoever the Divine Life is manifest — that is in whom- soever the Lord's will is done — in him is Heaven, in him is the Church, whatever be his circumstances and whatever his nominal creed. ' The community among whom the Lord is acknowledged * and the Word exists, is called the Church. . . . Doctrine ' formed from the Word is one of the conditions of the ' existence of a Church, for without Doctrine the Word ' cannot be understood : but Doctrine alone does not form ' the Church, but Life according to Doctrine.' f Gentiles, who acknowledge God and live in obedience to the truth they know, ' are in communion with the Church ; ' for no one who believes in God and lives well is damned. ' Hence it is evident, that the Lord's Church exists every- ' where on Earth, but specifically where He is confessed and ' the Word is read. 'J * Nos. 227, 237, and 239. t Nos. 2-t2-43. i No. 244. 40 EXTERNAL DIVINE REVELATION. The Sacred Scriptures, or the Word. Swedenborg posts himself firmly in opposition to those who regard theology as a natural evolution of the Human Mind. He maintains, that Man is bom void of knowledge, and that whatever he acquires, is acquired from without ; and further, that by reason of the predominance of Self-Love in his character he is impelled, not to confess, but to deny God— ' Without a Divine Revelation, Man could know nothing * of God or Eternal Life ; for he is born in utter ignorance, ' and must obtain all his information from external sources ; * moreover by generation he inherits the Loves of Self and * the World as ruling motives, and these prompt him to ' exclude God from his thoughts and to find in himself the ' grand centre of importance. Hence without Revelation, ' God and Heaven would remain quite unknown to him.'* As Man is to live for ever and as his future life is deter- mined by his life here, to meet his ignorance and tendency to Atheism, the Lord externally reveals Himself and the means of salvation ; ' and what He has thus revealed forma ' the Word.'t ' The Word is Divine in all its parts and in every par- ' ticular. Within it is an Internal Sense suited to the ' capacity of Angels : without is the External Sense adapted ' to the comprehension of Men, The Internal Sense can 'only be apprehended by those who are enlujhtened ; and ' none are enlightened save those who love the Lord and ' have faith in Him ; such interiorly enjoy the light of ' Heaven. 'I Only those who are enlightened — that is who love the Lord and have faith in Him — can appreciate the Spiritual Sense of the Scriptures. The statement ought to be care- * Nos. 249-50. t No. 251, t No. 253. THE METHOD OF PROVIDENCE. 41 fully noted. Whoever finds the ^Arcana Ccelesti'a'' dull or unintelligible may know the reason why. Swedenborg gives the cause and explanation of his own mission in the following sentence — ' The Word cannot be understood in the Letter except * by Doctrine derived from it by one who is enlightened ; ' for the Literal Sense of the Word is accommodated even to ' the apprehension of the Simple ; wherefore Doctrine drawn ' from the Word must be given them for a light' — * Which Doctrine -it is the purpose of the book under review to set forth. Providence. The Divine Providence is universal, extending to the minutest details of existence. As in God 'we live, and * move, and have our being,' we may well see that co- extensive with His omnipresence is His providence. The end of the Divine Government is the happiness of Creation ; and an essential condition of that happiness is, that Man should live as of himself, that his life should seem to be his own, that he should feel altogether self-contained and independent. In this sense of freedom Man is Man : take it away and Humanity vanishes. Man to be happy must be good ; and it is the Lord's will to make him good in order that he may be happy ; but this, His purpose. He works out only under cover of Man's sense of independence and freedom ; that sense He preserves intact at every hazard. By a myriad of arts He draws him to goodness ; He permits him to fall into sin that in its bitterness he may learn the sweetness of righteousness ; and, when in the end. He brings him to Heaven, He still gives him to feel ^ that he is his own master and that his bliss is the purchase of his own efforts. That the Creature be No. 254. 42 THE TKIXITY. kept humble whilst he enjoys the setisatt'on of independence, the Lord instructs him by external revelation in the true state of the case — that He does all and Man nothing — but the feeling which constitutes manhood and individuality is never broken — nay be it repeated — is jealously guarded and maintained by Infinite Providence. It is our constant tendency to question the Divine Providence in view of the wrong and suiFering which prevail on Earth ; but ' the Divine Providence does not ' regard what is fleeting and transitory, but what endures to ' eternity.'* The Lord, infinitely merciful, is indifi'erent to no suff"ering, but, infinitely wise, spares no suffering If only it conduce to Man's spiritual improvement — that is to his eternal welfare. It matters little that any of us should experience many sorrows throughout the longest life on Earth, if thereby we acquire a single grace which may endure throughout eternity. The Lord. There is one God, the Creator and Preserver of the Universe, who is Love and Wisdom. To receive Him as life, to know Him and to love Him is Heaven — is the Church. Under three aspects God is known — ' In the Lord is a threefold principle ; there is the * Infinite Divinity, the Divine Humanity, and the Divine ^ Proceeding : this is an arcanum from Heaven, and is ' revealed for the benefit of those who shall have a place in ' the Holy Jerusalem.'! The Divinity is the Father, the Humanity is the Son, the Proceeding is the Holy Spirit — thus a trinity, not of persons, but of principles. Under most finite conditions God revealed Himself in No. 269. t No. 21)7. ORIGIN AND USE OF KINGS. 43 Judea, that He might redeem Men from the dominion of Hell and conjoin them to Himself by a bond which should never be broken. Assuming human nature of the most carnal stock in the Virgin, by a life of perfect obedience to the Divine Will, ' everything derived from Mary was 'extirpated'* and replaced from the Divine, until finally God Himself stood manifest and incarnate in the Lord Jesus Christ. Ecclesiastical and Civil Government, Swedenborg winds up his treatise with a chapter under this head consisting of little else than a series- of truisms, which at the best merely suggest questions to which we may fancy his answers. The affairs of the world he ranges under two heads — Ecclesiastical and Civil — one referring to Heaven and the other to Earth. The reason for Civil Government he finds in the natural depravity of Mankind — ' In every Man the passion for ruling over others and ' possessing their goods is hereditary, and is the source of * all strife, revenge, deceit and other evils. Unless then this ' passion were curbed on the one hand by the fear of the ' law, and encouraged on the other hand to obey the law ' by the hope of honour and gain, there would speedily be * an end of the Human Race.'f In confirmation of this opinion about the infernal origin of Civil Government, it will not be forgotten, that he describes the Adamic Church as destitute of any organi- zation outside the Family, and that he dates the rise of Kingdoms from its ruin ; likewise, that in the Planets wherever heavenly life prevails, Kings are unknown. Civil GoA'ermnent being essential to our social existence, ' Rulers ought to be persons well skilled in legislation, men * No. 295. t No. 312. 44 KINGS AND TYRANTS. * of wisdom, who fear God'* — a maxim none will dispute, but which we should gladly have enlarged with a recipe for the selection of such Rulers and their maintenance in office. ' Since the King cannot by himself administer all things, ' he has to find deputies,! and lest any of them from caprice ' or ignorance should sanction what is contrary to order, ' they are arranged as superior and inferior officers, so that ' one may serve to check another. 'f 'The law, which is justice' [often enough injustice] ' when enacted ought to be observed by the King and by ' his subjects. The King, who lives according to the laws ' and therein sets an example to his subjects, is truly a ' King. ' The King who is invested with absolute power and ' who considers his people such slaves that he has a right ' to their property and lives, and who exercises such imagi- ' nary right, is a tyrant and no King.'§ — Very true, A^ery true ; but as to what is the duty of subjects in such a case, Swedenborg yields no light. Would he have lent his sanction to ' the sacred right of insurrection ?' That he did not harbour any notion of hereditary claim to kingship irrespective of conduct, would appear from his assertion, that ' sovereignty is not in any person, but is * annexed to the person,' and that ' the King who identifies ' himself with the law (which is justice) arrogates to himself ' what is Divine, and to which he ought to be in subjection. '|| In a similar strain of bland dogmatism he treats of Ecclesiastical Government — * Governors appointed over those things among Men ' which relate to Heaven, are called Priests, and their office * the Priesthood. ' The duty of Priests is to teach Men the way to Heaven . 313 .and 323. Nos. 323 and 324. t No. !20. t No. 31 il Nos. 321-22. THE IMPOSSIBLE DISSENTER. 45 and to lead them therein. Tliey are to teach them accord- ing to the Doctrine of their Church, which is derived ' I'rom the Word, and to lead them to live according to that ' Doctrine. Priests who teach true doctrine and lead their ' flocks thereby to goodness of life, and so to the Lord, are ' the good shepherds spoken of in the Word ; but those who ' only teach, and do not lead, are the bad shepherds. ' The Ministers of the Church ought not to claim to ' themselves any power over the Souls of Men, inasmuch as ' they cannot discern the real state of the interiors or the ^ heart : much less ought they to claim the power of ' opening and shutting Heaven, because that power belongs ' to the Lord alone. ' In matters of faith, they ought not to use compulsion, ' since no one can be compelled to believe contrary to what ' he thinks in his heart to be true. He who differs in ' opinion from the Minister ought to be left in the quiet ' enjoyment of his own sentiments, provided he make no ' disturbance : if he disturbs the peace of the Church he ' must be separated ; for this is consistent with the order for ' the sake of which the Priesthood is established.'* Such soothsaying reads pleasantly enough: it is only when pressed to a practical application that its emptiness appears. Priests are to suffer dissent if the dissenter keeps quiet, but if he proves troublesome, then he is to be sepa- rated. It is difficult to imagine to what condition of society such a direction could usefully apply. Where are the Priests so forbearing ? Where the dissenters, not disturbers ? Where the earnest heretic, who cares a straw though all the Priests of Christendom should separate and curse him in chorus? When the Church could prosecute a dissenter to prison and to death, excommunication had a meaning ; but when as now, deprived of teeth and claws, the Church can Nos. 316 and 318. 46 THE CHURCH DISARMED. only scold, the anathemas shot forth at a Strauss, a Renan, or a Colenso, merely provoke ridicule, and yield fresh impulse to the activity of the proscribed. Swedenborg failed to perceive how the diffusion of knowledge through- out society was gradually swamping the distinction between Clergy and Laity — he himself, late Assessor of Mines, being a signal example thereof. The times had changed since an author would have had to expiate the novelties of an ^Arcana Ccelestia'' at the stake ; but though Swedenborg was a prodigious gainer by the liberal revolution, he laboured under an obscure impression that Authority and Liberty were reconcileable : hence the suggestion we have just read of toleration in the Priest and quiescence in the Dissenter, and the occasional dropping of such sentences as these — ' Li Kingdoms where justice and judgement are preserved, ' every one is restrained from speaking and acting against ' Religion. ' It is right that Men be forced or restrained by threats ' and punishments from speaking ill of the Laws of a ' Kingdom, the Morals of Life, and the Sanctities of the ' Church.'* When the Clergy and the Learned were synonymous it was possible to treat the Laity as children, but since common education has obliterated the distinction, the Priest has had to exchange the character of father for that of brother, and whether he date from Rome or Canterbury he has to deal as with equals in evidence and argument. For a Priest then under these circumstances to threaten a dissentient with ' separation,' would be equally impudent and ridiculous. The civilized World is now bred up to the level of the Angels, who (according to our Author) when required to submit to Authority, answer — • 'De Diuiiia Pruriikiitia,' Nos. 129 and 136. SYMBOL AND SUBSTANCE. 47 " Do you think yourself a god, that I am to believe " you ? Or, that I am mad, that I should believe an ' " assertion in which I do not see any truth ? If I must " believe, cause me to see. How can I believe, when I do " not know whether what you say be true or not ?"* Of a piece with the passage on which we have just remarked is the following — ' Dignity and honour ought to be paid to Ministers on ' account of the sanctity of their office ; but those Ministers ' who are wise ascribe all such honour to the Lord, from ' whom all sanctity is derived, and not to themselves ' The honour of any employment is not in the person of ' him who is employed, but is only annexed to him on ' account of the dignity of the office in which he is engaged ; ' and what is so annexed does not belong to the person but ' the employment, being separated from the person when he ' is separated from the employment.' f Here the confusion, arising from regarding the Church indifferently as a symbol and a reality, is continued. When, as in the Jewish Church, and the Catholic Church of the middle ages, the function of the Priest was theati"ical and independent of his personal character, such directions might have force ; but now when the stage is free to everybody, and players and spectators rub shoulders in equality, ' to ' render dignity and honour to a Priest on account of the ' sanctity of his office,' is impossible with sincerity. If anybody renders me priestly service, I can no more with- hold from him reverence than I can love from mother or brother ; but on the other hand, that I should ' pay dignity ' and honour' to any creature who may chance to be styled a Priest, is flatly Impossible except in hypocrisy. The long and short of it is, we have outgrown church symbolism and can no longer find satisfaction therein. The symbolic * 'Doctriiia de Fide,' No. 2. t No. 317. 48 THE NEW WORLD OF REALITY. Church lingers in existence, but to every living soul it is an anachronism. "Where is there a Bishop, not a fool, who does not feel that his official title bears no relation to reality, and who would not shudder to find himself accepted by his acquaintance at his nominal value ? The notion of honouring a man for his rank or office is utterly out of date as a duty. We honour a man for what he is and does — not for what he is officially labelled. If he occupies an office unworthily his official rank instead of being a title to respect is a warrant for criticism and condemnation. There is no more reason why we should honour any stupid fellow who is dubbed Reverend, than a foolish Author or an inefficient Carpenter.* The chapter, in its helpless confusion of liberalism and conservatism, affords curious evidence of Swedenborg's blindness to the new social era on which the world had entered, and of which the grand characteristic is the ex- change of shadow for substance, signs for realities, symbols for ti'uths. He, the Prophet of the doctrinal New Jerusalem, failed to deduce therefrom the practical New Jerusalem, failed to foresee that in proportion as the Lord's will was done on Earth as in Heaven, Mankind would be delivered from the impostures of Church and State, and end in disowning every external obligation which is not the out- come of a real internal relation. We are a long long way from that heavenly condition, but all our movements tend irresistibly thitherwards. * It is difficult to censure Swedcnborg from common-sense without finding in him common-sense equal to the censure. Thus we find him saying else- where, ' The Priesthood should be respected in proportion to its service.' — 'Vera Christiana Jteligio,' No. 415. ( 49 ) CHAPTER XI. THE WHITE HORSE* Like the ' Last Judgement'' and the ' New Jerusalem and its ' Heavenly Doctrine^'' the ' White Horse' is a treatise suggested by the Apocalypse. It is an explanation of that vision of John's whereof he says — ' I saw Heaven opened and behold a White Horse, and ' He that sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in ' righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes ' were as a flame of fire ; and on His head were many * crowns ; and He had a name written that no man knew ' but Himself : and He was clothed in a vesture dipped in ' blood ; and His name is called the Word of God. And ' the armies which are in Heaven followed Him upon white ' horses, clothed in fine linen white and clean. And He ' hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, ' King of kings and Lord of lords.' f This vision, says Swedenborg, is representative of the opening of the Spiritual Sense of the Word, and thus wise — ' I saw Heaven opened ' — signifies entrance into a heavenly state wherein one discerns truth eye to eye with Angels. * ' De Equo Albo de quo in Apocalypsi, Cap. XIX. Et dein de Verba ' et ejus Sensu Spirituali sen Interna, ex Arcanis Ccelestibus. Londini : 1758.' 4to, 23 pages. t Rev. xix. 11-14, 16. E 50 nORSK SIGNIFIES UNDERSTANDING. 'And behold a White Horse' — In Heaven whatever is seen externally is a revelation of what exists internally ; the meaning therefore of the White Horse must be sought in the Mind of the Seer. The Horse is frequently mentioned in the Word and always as the representative of the Human Understanding. ' In the Spiritual World,' testifies our Author, ' I have ' often observed when any were thinking from Under- ' standing, they appear to others as if riding on Horses, ' though themselves quite unconscious of the fact. There ' is also a place in that World where many assemble to ' discuss truths of doctrine, and when others approach ' them, they see the whole plain covered with Chariots and ' Horses I have likewise seen bright Horses and ' Chariots of fire, when certain Spirits were taken up into ' Heaven, which was a sign, that they were then instructed ' in heavenly truth and become intelligent : on seeing ' which, it occurred to my mind, what is signified by the ' Chariot of fire, which carried Elijah up into Heaven ; and ' what is signified by the Horses and Chariots of fire that ' were seen by Elisha's young man when his eyes were ' opened.'* White, as every one knows, is the colour which corre- sponds to truth. A White Horse is therefore the emblem of an Understanding vivified by truth. On the White Horse sat a Rider ' called Faithful and ' True, with eyes as a flame of fire, and on His head many ' crowns.' The Eider is the Lord ; His flaming eyes. His wisdom alit with His love ; His many crowns, ' all the ' goods and truths of faith.' Only and in so far as He — as Divine Wisdom — occupies the Human Understanding has it either real vigour or ti-ue glory. The name of the Eider is ' the W^ord of God ' — the * No. 3. INNER SENSE OF GREEK FABLES. 51 source of all spiritiial wisdom, but ' an unknown name ' to ^ every soul, which has not in some measure by regeneration entered into union with the Lord. The vesture of the Eider seen as 'dipped in blood' signifies, ' the Word in the Letter to which violence had ' been done'* by perversion to false doctrine. ' The armies of Heaven following Him upon White ' Horses,' are those who by obedience to the Divine Will are transformed to the Divine likeness. ' Their clothing of 'fine linen clean and white' is the manifest evidence of their spiritual purity. To about six pages of such cursory exposition, Sweden- borg adjoins fifteen pages of references to passages in the '^Arcatia Coehstia'' treating of the Sacred Scriptures, their Internal Senses, and the conditions of their apprehension. The pamphlet is a useful digest and index to an important series of statements. It may please the reader to have Swedenborg's opinion as to the significance of the Horse in the Greek mythology — ' That a Horse signified the Understanding was quite ' well known in the Ancient Churches, with whom the ' Science of Correspondences was the chief of Sciences. ' From those Churches, the knowledge of the correspondence ' of the Horse was transmitted to the Greeks. Hence when ' they would describe the Sun, in which they placed their ' god of wisdom and intelligence' [Apollo], ' they attributed 'to it a Chariot and four Horses of fire : and when they ' would describe the god of the Sea, since by the Sea was ' signified Sciences derived from the Understanding, they ' also attributed Horses to him' [Neptune] : ' and when they ' would describe the rise of the Sciences from the Under- ' standing, they feigned a winged Horse, which with its ' hoof broke open a fountain, at which sat nine virgins called * No. 1. 52 BOOKS OF THE WORD. ' the Sciences. From the Ancient Churches the Greeks ' received the knowledge, that the Horse signifies Under- ' standing ; wings, spiritual truth ; the hoof, what is scientific ' derived from the Understanding ; and a fountain, doctrine ' from which sciences are derived. By the Trojan Horse ' nothing else is signified, than a contrivance of the Under- ' standing for the destruction of walls. Even at this day, ' when the Understanding is described after the manner of ' the Ancients, it is usual to represent it by a flying horse ' or Pegasus ; so likewise, doctrine is described by a fountain, ' and the Sciences by Virgins ; but scarcely any one knows, 'that the Horse in a mystic sense is the Understanding; ' still less, that those emblems were inherited by the Gentiles ' from the Ancient Representative Churches.'* In ihe^W/iife Horse^'' for the third time,t Swedenborg prints a list of the books which under the cover of our Bibles constitute the Word. Here is the dogma — ' Which are the books of the Word. The books of the ' Word are those which have the Internal Sense : those ' which have not the Internal Sense are not the Word. ' The books of the Word in the Old Testament are, the ' five Books of Moses, the Book of Joshua, the Book of ' Judges, the two Books of Samuel, the two Books of ' Kings, the Psalms of David, the Prophets, Isaiah, ' Jeremiah, the Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, ' Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, ' Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. In the New ' Testament, the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, ' John, and the Apocalypse. Other books have not the ' Internal Sense. * No. 4. f First in tho 'Arcana Ccelestia,' No. 10,325, and again in the ' New 'Jcnimlem and its Heavenhi Doctrine,' No. 2GG. BOOKS EXCLUDED FROM THE WOKD. 53 ' Job is an ancient book, which indeed contains an In- ' ternal Sense, but not in series.'* It may be useful to bring under the eye the number of books expunged from the sacred canon by this sentence. They are — KuTH, the two Books op Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon ; the Acts of the Apostles, and all the Epistles of Paul, James, Peter, John and Jude. I have only seen one edition of the Bible in which this law of exclusion has taken effect : it was published in 1887 by Otis Clapp of Boston for the Swedenborgians of New England, The canon thus reduced, however, stands the chance of enlargement by the discovery of the Word of the Ancient Church, which Swcdenborg testifies ' is still ' preserved among the people of Great Tartary,' and is ' in ' use in the Heavens derived from the Ancient Church.' f * No. 16. t See Vol. I., page 340, and ' De Scriptura Sacra' No. 102. ( 54 ) CHAPTER XIT. IN LONDON. Where did we leave Swedenborg to make this long digres- sion ? In London in 1758 publishing the five books we have been reviewing — '•Heaven and Hell^ ''Earths in the ' Universe,'' ''Last Judgement,^ ^ Neio Jerusalem^^ and ' White ' Horse a set of which he presented to each of the English Bishops and many of the Nobility ;* with what result we shall by-and-bye learn. The English. To the English, Swedenborg was well disposed, and he seems to have understood them fairly. He writes — ' The better sort of English are the centre of all Chris- ' tians in consequence of possessing an interior intellectual ' light, which they derive from the liberty of speaking and ' writing and thence of thinking. ' There is among them such a similitude of disposition ' that they club together, and seldom seek other company. ' They are kind in relieving each other's necessities ; and ' they love sincerity. ' They love their country and are zealous for its glory. ' They regard foreigners as one who from the roof of a ' palace surveys through a telescope those who dwell and ' wander about at a distance from the city. * ' Ajiocah/psis Ihorltild.' No. 710. SCOTSMEN AND ENGLISIIiMEN. 55 ' Politics so engross their attention, that tliey neglect ' the sublimer studies which conduce to superior intclli- ' gence. At their universities indeed such studies are ' eagerly pursued by the young, but they are set aside ' in the business of life. Nevertheless their rationality is ' rendered quick and lively, and sparkling with light by ' their political activity.' The English habit of rushing in helpless packs, like sheep after any leader, did not escape his notice — ' The light of the English mind is not active of itself, ' but is made so by others, especially by men of reputation ' and authority, shining with peculiar brightness as soon as ' such men declare their sentiments. It is on this account ' that the English in the Spiritual World have governors ' set over them, and priests given them, of distinguished ' character and great talents, in whose opinions, in conse- ' quence of this their natural character, they acquiesce.' Vei-y true. When not shameful, it is laughable to en- counter the average Englishman on the uprise of a sudden question and note the hesitation oWiis tongue, and then, as soon as his ' Times'' or other oracle has spoken, to hear his self-confident and resonant Baa ! ' From observations in the Spiritual World, it is very ' evident, that there is a two-fold theology taught in England, ' one grounded in Faith and the other in Charity ; the former ' being received by the Clergy, and the latter by many of ' the Laity, particularly by the inhabitants of Scotland and ' its borders ; with these the Solifidians are afraid to enter ' into controversy, because they combat them both from the ' Word and from Reason.' Unquestionably there is a two-fold theology taught in England ; but that the Scots should be found on the side of Charity is more than we should have ventured to expect ; for beyond other Protestants they have held aloft the grand dogma of the Reformation — Justification by Faith alone. 56 SPIRITUAL LONDON. We may however be deceived by appearances. Chalmers preached for years before he was seduced by the Dragon, and his seduction was far more a matter of fancy than of fact ; and If Scotland has been prolific In Holy Willies, she has always had a Burns for the vermin, and multitudes who have never mistaken the correctest orthodoxy and the dismalest piety for doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. ' It was perceived, that many of the English will receive ' the Heavenly Doctrine, and thereby come into the New ' Jerusalem ; and this because they receive the truths of ' faith more easily than others, and see them in a more ' internal light' — A perception which has been verified in events. London. There are too large cities like London in the World of Spirits into which many of the English enter after death : one is the resort of the ^ood, and the other of the evil. ' I was permitted to visit and traverse the more excellent ' London. I spoke with certain there, and said, how good ' Londoners would be surprised if they knew, that death ' would reveal to them their familiar city.' Pleasant tidings indeed for Doctor Johnson, Charles Lamb and kindred spirits ! Spiritual London is similar to earthly London as to streets, but not as to quarters and houses. The centre answers to the Exchange, and there dwell the Governors of the city. The East is inhabited by those whose lives have been distinguished by charity ; and there are magnifi- cent palaces. The South is peopled by the wise, and a bright and splendid region it is. The North is peopled by those who have eminently enjoyed the liberty of writing and speaking. The West is the residence of those who ITALIANS AND ENGLISHMEN. 57 glory in the doctrine of Justification by Faith alone. The Clergy of the West are not tolerated in the city : they dare not enter it by the main thoroughfares, but slink in bye- alleys. In the West is the entrance to London, and the exit for the wicked. ' The food and dress of the Londoners are similar to ' what they were on Earth. I inquired, and found they had ' wine, beer, coffee, chocolate, tea, and the like. I asked ' also after the liquor punch, and learned, that they had it ' likewise, but that it was only allowed to the industrious ' and sincere.' The other great city called London is the receptacle of those who are inwardly wicked. Out of it are ways leading to Hell, down which its inhabitants go when they are prepared. England and Italy. ' X comparison was made between the English and ' Italians. Their governments are altogether opposite. In ' England thei'e is liberty of speaking and writing both on ' civil and spiritual matters, but no liberty to use guile, or ' to rob, or murder ; and if Englishmen cheat, or steal, or ' slay, there is no remission of justice. It is the reverse in ' Italy, where there is liberty to deceive and kill, and ' asylums and dispensations for the wrong-doers, but no ' liberty whatever for speaking or writing on civil or ecclesi- ' astical affairs because of the Inquisition. The feelings of ' the Italians being thus shut up arc converted into a slow ' fire of hatred, revenge, and cruelty ; whilst the same ' feelings in the English burn out directly and harmlessly in ' free expression.'* * ■ Ctinlii) anlio dc Uitinto Jiidicio,' Nos. 39 to 46, ' Icra ChrisUaiiu Heligio,' Nus. 80(3 to 812, and ' Uiuriuin tiinr'duak,' Pars VII., Appendix, pp. 1 to Sand 87 to 58 VACUUM AND COLOUR. Sir Isaac Newton. Swedeuborg seems to have had little knowledge of famous Englishmen, and therefore enjoyed little intercourse with them. Newton, he found in a suburb of London in ' the World of Spirits where dwell several of the learned:' thus he writes of him — ' I have spoken with Newton concerning a Vacuum and ' concerning Colours. ' Respecting a Vacuum he said, that on Earth he believed ' there was a Vacuum, but that when the Angels perceived ' that by a Vacuum, he had an idea as of Nothing, they ' averted themselves saying, they could not endure the idea, ' because with the idea of Nothing, the idea of the essence ' and connection of things perished.' After discussion with the Angels, Newton recanted. ' Something and Nothing ' are altogether opposites ; so much so, that a Man should ' experience a sense of horror at the idea of Nothing, and ' should guard himself against it, lest his mind should, as it ' were, fall into a swoon.' Newton held, that white Light is composed of seven Colours, and adduced in evidence its decomposition in the prism. The Angels met him with quite another opinion. They had Light and Colours in Heaven : they knew that Light proceeded from the Lord as a Sun, and that it did not contain Colours, but that Colours resulted from its incidence on surfaces of varied forms. Indignant, they exclaimed, Wlio does not see that the Newtonian docti'ine of Colours is paradoxical, yea absurd ! and they took leave of the Philoso- pher vowing they should see him no more until he had altered his mind. A certain Spirit then approached him and said — " Think, I beseech thee, concerning Colours, not from " any little prism, but from the forests and grassy plains of " the hearth from which thou hast come. Canst thou con- GOKTHE AGREES WITH SWEDENBORG. 59 " ceive of the continual efflux of their green from the Sun ? " or similarly of the gray tints of stones, rocks, and moun- " tains ? If thou canst, then tell me what becomes of this " outflow of solar Colour ? where does it rest ? If the Sun " is for ever shedding such material, might not new Earths " be condensed from it ?" Newton considered deeply, and then confessed — " Now I know, that Colours are modifications of Light " in objects. Light is returned in Colour according to the " forms in which it is received." ' These are Newton's words, which he desired me to ' communicate.'* We have here an anticipation of Goethe's controversy with the Newtonian doctrine. He asserted, that Light is not compound, but the simplest and most homogeneous thing we know, and explained the phenomena of Colour by means of what he called the Opaques in which Light is received. He maintained, that on the one side there is Light, and on the other Darkness, and that Colours in all their variety, are no more than degrees of transparency in the media into which Light passes. For years and years he experimented and accumulated illustrations in defence of this theory. Swedenborg, writing when Goethe was a babe in his cradle, said — ' For the production of Colour there must necessarily ' be a ground, which either absorbs or reflects the rays of ' Light from the Sun, or which is, in other words, either ' black or white. Now, according to the various conditions ' of this ground as to absorbing or reflecting power, or, as it ' is termed, as to blackness or whiteness, is that modification ' of the inflowing rays of Light, which gives rise to Colour, * ' Diarium Spirituale,' Pars VII., Appendix, pp. 85 to 87, and 'De Divino 'Amove et cle Divina Saineiilia,' No. 82. 60 OKIGIN OF COLOUR. ' some of which partake more or less of the obscure or black ' property, and others more or less of the shining or white ' property, and hence arises diversity of Colour.'* This opinion is frequently repeated or assumed by Swedenborg in the course of his works, and in its defence he would have been pertinacious as Goethe, with the ad- vantage of being able to cite Newton himself as convert and witness in his favour. * 'Arcana Coelestia,' Nos. 1,042, 3,993, and 4,530, 'Apocalypsis UxpUcata,' No. 1,324, 'Vera Christiana Beligio,' No. 763. ( 61 ) CHAPTER XIII. AT HOME IN STOCKHOLM. SwEDENBOEG left London for Stockholm in the summer of 1759. He landed at Gottenburg on the 19th of July, and there gave public proof of his seership. None less than Philosopher Kant is the reporter of the transaction — ' On Saturday, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon when ' Swedenborg arrived at Gottenburg from England, Mr. ' William Castel invited him ta his house with a party of ' fifteen persons. About 6 o'clock, Swedenborg went out, ' and after a short interval returned to the company, quite ' pale and alarmed. He said that a dangerous fire had just ' broken out in Stockholm, at the Sudermalm (Gottenburg ' is 300 miles from Stockholm), and that it was spreading ' very fast. He was restless, and went out often. He said ' that the house of one of his friends, whom he named, was ' already in ashes, and that his own was in danger. At ' 8 o'clock, after he had been out again, he joyfully ex- ' claimed " Thank God ! the fire is extinguished the third ' " door from my house." ' This news occasioned great commotion throughout ' Gottenburg, and particularly amongst the company in ' which he was. It was announced to the Governor the ' same evening, who next morning sent for Swedenborg and ' questioned him concerning the disaster. He described the ' fire precisely, how it had begun, in what manner it had ' ceased, and how long it had continued. The Governor's ' attention gave fresh importance to the news, and increased 62 THE STOCKHOLM FIKE. ' the consternation of the citizens, many of whom were in ' trouble on account of their friends and property. ' On Monday evening a messenger arrived at Gotten- ' burg, who had been dispatched from Stockhohn, whilst ' the fire was raging. In the letters brought by him, the ' fire was described precisely as by Swedenborg. ' On Tuesday morning, a royal courier arrived at the ' Governor's with the melancholy intelligence of the fire, of ' the loss which it had occasioned, and of the houses it had ' damaged and destroyed, not in the least differing from ' that which Swedenborg had given unmediately it had ' ceased ; for the fire was extinguished at 8 o'clock.' Asks Kant triumphantly — ' What can be brought forward against the authenticity ' of this occurrence ? My friend, who wrote this to me, has * not only examined the circumstances of this extraordinary ' case at Stockholm, but also, at Gottenburg, where he is ' acquainted with the most respectable houses, and where he ' could obtain the most authentic and complete information ; ' as the greatest part of the inhahitants^ who are still ulive^ were ' tcitnesses to the memorable occurrence.^* For a reason which will presently appear, attention is requested to the last words in italics as implying, that Kant's friend must have prosecuted his inquiry some years subsequent to 1759, the date of the fire. The story of the vision of the fire spread through * An incident like this would at no time have been regarded as incredible by Swedenborg himself. In his 'Animal Kingdom,' when speaking of the soul's state after death, he says — ' I need not mention the manifest sympathies acknowledged to exist in ' this lower world, and which are too many to be recounted : so great being ' the sympathy and magnetism of man, that communication often takes place ' between those who are miles apart. Such statements are regarded by many ' as absurdities, yet experience proves their truth. Nor will I mention that ' the Ghosts of some have been presented visibly after death and burial &c. Part VII., page 237. THE LOST RECEIPT. 63 Stockholm, and Swedenborg's house was beset with curious visitors seeking interviews with him on various pretexts. Amongst them was the widow of Marteville, Dutch Am- bassador to Sweden. She was sued for 25,000 guilders, which she knew her husband had paid, but could nowhere find the receipt. The lady married again, and from her second husband we have the narrative of the aifair — ' About a year after the death of Marteville, my wife ' felt a desire to see the notorious Swedenborg, who at that ' time was her neighbour in Stockholm. Several ladies of ' her acquaintance shared her curiosity, and accordingly ' accompanied her to his house. Swedenborg received them ' in a very beautiful garden, where they found him in an ' elegant summer-house. ' My wife asked him whether he knew her late husband. ' He replied, that he did not ; that when Marteville was at ' Court, he was detained in London.' The matter of the missing receipt was then set forth, and, on entreaty, Swedenborg promised, that if he should encounter Marteville in the Spiritual World, he would make the i*equisite inquiry. ' Eight days afterwards, Marteville appeared to my ' wife in a dream, and mentioned to her a secret place in ' his English cabinet where she would find not only the ' receipt, but also a hair-pin set with twenty brilliants, ' which had been given up as lost. This happened about ' two o'clock in the morning. ' Full of joy, my wife rose and found them in the place ' designated. She returned to bed, and slept till nine o'clock. ' About eleven in the forenoon, Swedenborg was an- ' nounccd. His first remark, before my wife had time to ' speak, was, that he had seen several Spirits during the ' preceding night, and amongst others Marteville. He ' wished to talk with him, but Marteville excused himself ' on the plea, that he must go and discover something of 64 SWEDEN BORO AND THE QUEEN. ' importance to his wife. He then departed out of the ' Society in which he had been for a year, and would ascend ' to one far happier. ' This is the true account of the affair in which my wife ' was concerned. I do not attempt to penetrate the mys- ' tery. I am merely required to make a plain statement of ' facts, and this duty I have performed.'* Kant relates and certifies this story likewise. Martevllle died in 1760. It was about a year after, that his widow inquired about the missing receipt. Kant could not therefore have heard of the occurrence till 1761 at the earliest. Please note the date. In the same year, 1761, the Queen of Sweden (Louisa Ulrika, sister of Frederick II. of Prussia) received a letter from the Duchess of Brunswick, in which she mentioned, that she had read in ' The Gottingen Gazette^'' an account of a man at Stockholm, who pretended to speak with the Dead, and she wondered that the Queen in her correspond- ence had not referred to the subject. The Queen had doubtless heard of the Marteville affair, and that coupled with her sister's curiosity, probably prompted her to look after Swedenborg. Out of many authorities, we select Captain Stahlhammer's account of what ensued — ' A short time after the death of the Prince of Prussia, ' Swedenborg came to Court, where he was in the habit of ' attending regularly. As soon as the Queen saw him, she ' exclaimed — '"Well, Mr. Assessor, have you seen my brother?" ' Swedenborg answered, that he had not ; whereon she ' replied — ' " If you should see him, remember me to him." ' In saying this, she did but jest, and had no idea that ' she would obtain any information. * Cited in Tafel's Collection of Documents concerning Swedenborg. THE QUEEN ASTONISHED. 65 ' Eight days afterwards, Swedenborg came again to ' Court, but so early, that the Queen had not left her apart- ' ment, called the white room, where she was conversing * with her maids of honour and other ladies of the Court. * Swedenborg did not wait for the Queen's coming out, but * passed directly into the white room, and whispered in her ' ear. The Queen, struck with astonishment, was taken ill, ' and did not recover herself for some time. After she had ' come to herself, she said to those about her — ' " There is only God and my Irotlier xolio can hnoio what ' " has just told TOe." ' She owned, that he had spoken of her last correspon- ' dence with the Prince, the particulars of which were ' known to themselves alone. ' The only weakness,' adds Stahlhammer, ' of this truly ' honest man, was his belief in the apparition of Spirits 5 * but I knew him for many years, and I can confidently ' affirm, that he was as fully persuaded of his intercourse ' with Spirits, as I am that I am writing at this moment. ' As a citizen and as a friend, he was a man of the greatest * integrity, abhorring imposture, and leading an exemplary ' life. ' I am no follower of Swedenborg. The love of truth ' alone has induced me to give a faithful relation of an ' event which has been so often stated with details entirely ' false ; and I verify what I have written with my signature, ' Charles Leonard De Stahlhammer. ' Stockholm, 13th May, 1788.' There is quite a mass of documents in amplification and variation of this and the Marteville stories ; but happily we are able to enjoy them in trustworthy condition. M. Dieudonu(5 Thiebault, a professor in the Eoyal Academy of Berlin, relates a conversation he had with the Queen on Swedenborg, in which ' though she laid great F 66 FUTILITY OF MIRACLES. ' stress on the truth of her own experience, she professed ' herself incredulous as to his conferences with the Dead. ' " A thousand events," said she, " appear inexplicable ' " and supernatural to us, who know only the immediate * " consequences ; and men of quick parts, who are never ' " so well pleased as when they exhibit something won- ' " derful, take advantage of this to gain an extraordinary * " reputation. Swedenborg was a man of learning, and * " of some talent in this way, but I cannot imagine by ' " what means he obtamed the knowledge of what had * " been communicated to no one. However, I have no ' " faith in his having communication with my deceased ' " brother." Thiebault was a Frenchman of the school of Voltaire, and the Queen was probably affected by his influence, for at other times she seems to have been in a more rational condition. Chevalier Baylon records — ' I found an opporturnity of speaking with the Queen ' concerning Swedenborg, and she told me the anecdote ' respecting herself and her brother with a conviction, which * appeared extraordinary to me. Every one who knew this * truly enlightened sister of the Great Frederick, will give ' me credit when I say, that she was by no means enthusi- ' astic or fanatical, and that her entire mental character was * wholly free from such conceits. Nevertheless, she appeared ' to me to be so convinced of Swedenborg's supernatural ' intercourse with Spirits, that I scarcely durst venture to ' intimate some doubts, and to express my suspicion of ' secret intrigues ; for when she perceived my suspicion, * she said with a royal air, " I am not easily duped ;" and ' thus put an end to all my attempts at refutation.'* There are not perhaps in literature three better attested narratives of the supernatural than these of the Stockholm * These testimonies arc likewise from Tafel's Collection. WITH WHOM SWEDENBOEa COULD CONVERSE. 67 fire, the Marteville receipt, and the Queen of Sweden and the Prince of Prussia ; nevertheless it is not in the power of evidence to command credence, though verdant logicians may think so. ' If you are not disposed to believe,' says our wise Author, ' you never will believe.' As the athe- istical Baron de Grimm, after reciting the story about the Queen of Sweden, observed, ' It is confirmed by authorities * so respectable, that it is impossible to deny it ; but how is ' it to be believed !' In the intei'view with Swedenborg, the Queen opened the business by asking him — " Is it true, that you can converse with the dead ?" " Yes." " Is it a science that can be communicated to others?" " No." " What is it then ?" " A gift of the Lord." " Can you then speak with any one deceased, or only " with certain persons?" I cannot converse with all, but with such as I have " known in this world ; with all royal and princely persons, " renowned heroes, and great and learned men, whom I " have either known personally, or from their actions or " writings ; consequently, with all of whom I can form an " idea : for it may be supposed, that a person whom I never " knew, nor of whom I could form any idea, I neither could " nor would wish to speak with." * The declaration, that he could only converse with those of whom he could form some idea is peculiarly noteworthy. His spiritual knowledge was thus circumscribed by his natural knowledge, and modified by his prejudices. Hence * Keported by General Tuxen from Swedenborg's own lips. F 2 68 KANT AND SWEDENBORO. we discei'n a possible explanation of some of his strange verdicts as to the character of certain saints and sinners. Let us turn aside for a little and discuss Kant's relation to Swedenborg. A lady, Charlotte Knobloch, had written to Kant asking information, and an opinion concerning the strange stories afloat of Swedenborg's dealings with Spirits. In his reply, he excuses himself for delay on the score of the necessity of a thorough inquisition, lest he should be charged with credulity. He is not aware, that any one has detected in him a love of the marvellous. He is acquainted with a great number of the most probable ghost stories, but he has always considered it a rule of sound reason to incline to disbelief ; not that it is impossible to see Spirits, but because so little is known of their nature, because the evidence and end of their appearance are usually so insufficient and doubtful, and because deception is so frequent. Hence he has never allowed himself to suffer terror in grave-yards or the dark. Such was his position until the accounts of Swedenborg came under his notice. A friend, a Danish officer, who attended his lectures, first told him the story of the message conveyed by Swedenborg from the Prince of Prussia to the Queen of Sweden, ' the authenticity of which surpi-ised me. In order * not to reject blindfold the prejudice against apparitions ' and visions by a new prejudice, I resolved to inform my- ' self as to the particulars of the surprising transaction.' He wrote letters and made various inquiries, which all confirmed the accuracy of his Danish friend's report — ' I then wrote to the singular man, and the letter was ' delivered to him at Stockholm by an English merchant. ' I was informed, that Swedenborg politely received the ' letter, and promised to answer it ; but the answer was KANT WHITES TO SjWEDENBOKO. 69 ' omitted. In the meantime I made the acquaintance of an ' English gentleman, who spent last summer at Konigsberg.* ' Relying on the friendship we had formed, I commissioned ' him, as he was going to Stockholm, to make careful inquiry ' as to the miraculous gift, which Swedenborg is said to ' possess. ' In his first letter, he stated, that the most respectable ' people in Stockholm declare, that the singular transaction ' mentioned by you had happened just as you have heard ' described. He had not then had an interview with Swe- ' denborg, but hoped soon to find an opportunity ; but he ' found it hard to credit what the most reasonable people ' in the city asserted respecting his communication with the ' Spiritual World. ' His succeeding letters were of quite a difi'erent tcnour. ' He had not only spoken with Swedenborg himself, but ' had also visited him at his house, and he is now in the ' greatest astonishment at his remarkable case. Sweden- ' borg is a reasonable, polite, and open-hearted man : he is ' also a man of learning ; and my friend has promised to ' send me some of his writings shortly. He told this ' gentleman without reserve, that God had granted him the ' power of communicating with departed Souls at pleasure. ' In proof whereof, he appealed to certain known facts. As ' he was reminded of my letter, he said he was aware he ' had received it, and that he would have answered it ere ' this, had he not intended to publish the whole of the ' strange affair to the eyes of the world. He should pro- ' ceed to London in the month of May this year, where he ' would publish a book, in which the answer to my letter at ' every point might be met with.' It would have been good for both had Swedenborg met * Supposed to be Mr. Green, who died in 1792. Kant's intimate acquaint- ance with Greeu commenced about 1766 or 1767. 70 CONFUSION OF DATES. Kant's advances, but Swedenborg was an indifferent corre- spondent. We are puzzled to imagine the nature of Kant's letter to him. Probably it was some metaphysical inquiry, which Swedenborg reckoned he would sufficiently satisfy by his treatise on ' The Intercourse between the Soul and the ''Body^'' which he published in London in 1769, and which, we might imagine, was specially addressed to Kant. Kant proceeds to relate the story of Madame Marteville's lost receipt, which story he had also tested and found trust- worthy ; and lastly the case of the Stockholm fire — his account of which we have cited as the most satisfactory. The Letter is highly creditable to Kant. It displays a courage and candour very rare in modern philosophers, most of whom would as soon be shot as stand good for a ghost story however authentic. The Letter was first published at Konigsberg in 1804 in the ' Description of the Life and Character of Immanuel Kant ' by Ludioig Ernest Boi-oioski: revised and corrected by Kant ' himself. Kant died at the beginning of 1804 aged 80. In Borowski's book, the date affixed to the Letter is — ' Koniysberg^ \Oth August^ 1758' — Which date is obviously wrong. The Stockholm fire took place in 1759, Ambassador Marteville died in 1760, and the Prince of Prussia in 1761, and Kant could not write of these events before their occurrence. Probably 1768 was substituted for 1768 — number 5 for number 6 : anyhow the blunder has proved mischievous, thus — In 1766, Kant issued a pamphlet entitled '■Dreams of a ' Sjnrit-Seer interpreted by Dreams of Metaphysics.'' The motive of the publication, he frankly confessed, was jealousy — ' The system of Swedenborg is unfortunately very simi- ' lar to my own philosophy. It is not impossible that my ' rational views may be considered absurd by reason of that KANT ANTICIPATED BY SWEDENBOKG. 71 * affinity. As to the offensive comparison, I declare, we * must either suppose greater intelligence and truth at the * basis of Swedenborg's writings than first impressions ex- * cite, or that it is a mere accident when he coincides with ' mj system — a lusits naturce. Such a wonderful agreement * exists between his doctrines and the deepest results of * reason, that there is no other alternative whereby the * correspondence can be explained.'* Granted, it was hard, very hard. With labour incalcu- lable, Kant had excogitated a system which was to make his fortune as a Philosopher, and officious friends keep telling him, " I find you have been anticipated on this point " and on that by the Swedish Spirit-Seer." It was morti- fying ; as mortifying as when an inventor after countless pains perfects some contrivance and discovers himself anticipated by a patent. Kant however was a noble fellow. He did not meanly deny, or pretend to question, that he h-ad been anticipated. He set himself to read Swedenborg, and master the case. Unfortunately he made a bad beginning. He bought the eight quartos of the ^Arcana Goelestia'' for £7, and grudged the money. The books, I conjecture, which had excited the attention of his friends, were Swedenborg's treatises on the Divine Love and Wisdom and on the Divine Providence, published in Amsterdam in 1763 and 1764, and which in their themes and dimensions would have been far more to his purpose than the large and rambling '■Arcana ' Coelestia.'' Having purchased the ponderous work, and still worse, he says, read it, surely so much trouble was not to go for nothing ! He will try to give his readers its quintessence in a few drops, so that in the end they may thank him, as * Lci'psic edition of Kant, 1838. Vol. III., p. 95. 72 rant's failure. a certain patient thanked his doctor for prescribing only a little Peruvian bark, when he might have ordered the whole tree to be swallowed. The style is very flat. The volumes are packed with nonsense. There is nothing in them admitting of the faintest proof. The author never- theless is sincere. He relates ^is own experience, and that is worth attending to. The reduction of the ^Arcana Coelestia'' to a quintessence was a feat beyond even Kant's ability. Instead he offers a few notes on Swedenborg's other-world relations, most of them involving misapprehensions. Coming to his concep- tion of Heaven as a Grand Man, he is especially scandalized. He can only suppose, that a childish fancy out of his school- days, as when a teacher likens a tract of country on a map to the form of a girl sitting, must have suggested this monstrous phantom to its creator : and he declines to follow the most provoking of phantasts any longer. If he were to attempt to give the immediate intuitions of the wild dreamer, they could only disturb the reader's rest at night, and, for so much considei-atlon, he begs not to be blamed if any one's fruitful fancy, worked upon by the foregoing, begets a moon-calf. A criticism of this sort, a Swedenborgian might say, is crucial. Kant in judging Swedenborg judges himself, and in his judgement pronounces his own incompetence. In such a verdict, we could not concur ; for Kant's difficulties are the coimnon difficulties of those who first come to Swedenborg, and are only overcome after pro- longed acquaintance with him. The pamphlet is rich with irony and touches of humour, which serve to prove the accuracy of the reports, that Kant as a teacher had an unusual power of making the subjects he handled lively and interesting, drawing illustrations from travels, novels, almost every kind of literature ; and capable of entertaining a company, even of keeping the kant's letter ante-dated. 73 table iu a roar with his jests, while lie preserved himself an unshaken gravity.* But to our point. We said, that the wrong date affixed to Kant's Letter to Charlotte Knohloch in Borowski's book, had proved a mischievous error ; and this becavise one writer after another has converted the Pamphlet of 1766 into a retractation of the conclusive testimony in favour of Swedenborg given in the Letter : f but if Kant had re- tracted, why did he not suppress the Letter ? why wantonly perpetuate his illusions? Such a construction of the case has no warrant whatever beyond the erroneous date of 1758. That the Letter was written subsequently to the Pamphlet, is proved by its tenour and details. In the Pamphlet, the three stories in evidence of Swedenborg's seership are ascribed to vague hearsay, whilst in the Letter, he shews what pains he has taken to verify them. ' I have never ' pretended,' he writes to Charlotte Knobloch, ' that such. ' visions are impossible : how little do we know of the ' nature of Spirits ! but I have only alleged the absence ' of satisfactory evidence and proceeds to shew how in Swedenborg's case he acquired such evidence. * A readable abstract of Kant's pamphlet is given iu ' Macmillari's ' Magazine' for May, 1864, Vol. X., p. 74. f The otherwise excellent article in ' Macmillan's Magazine,' is thus vitiated. The writer assumes the impossible date of 1758 for the Letter, and reads the preceding Pamphlet in the distorted light. Baron C. Dirckinck Holmfeld wrote to tlie editor, Mr. David Masson, adjusting the dates, but his service was politely declined. " What is truth to the reputation of my " magazine!" Rarely, unless under legal compulsion, will an editor submit to correction ; and hence in part ensues what Dr. Underbill deplores as ' the ' infinite lying of the newspapers.' Baron Ilolrafeld's rejected correction found refuge in ' The Intellectual ' Bepository' for August, 1864. He there shews how Dr. Tafel, iu his ' Supplement to the Life of Kant, Stuttgard, 1845," and elsewhere, demon- strated by many incontrovertible arguments, that a false date had been assigned to Kant's Letter. Some falsehoods however appear to be endowed with an indestructible life; and twenty years hence, this one will probably find some other Mr. Masson to grant it a new lease of existence. 74 EQUIVOCATION OF LEWES. As an example of the manner in which Kant's evidence for Swedenborg is sometimes treated, take this passage from Mr. Lewes — ' I cannot find space for more than a passing mention of * Kant's relation to Swedenborg, of which such unjustifiable ' use is often made by the admirers of the latter, who pro- ' claim, with emphasis, that Kant testified to the truth of ' Swedenborg's clairvoyance. He did nothing of the kind. 'In his ''Letter on Swedenborg he narrates two of the ' reported cases of Swedenborg's clairvoyance, and says he ' knows not how to dispose of them, they being supported ' by such respectable testimony ; but he nowhere testifies to ' them himself ; and in the Anihropohgie^ §§ 35 and 37, his ' energetic contempt for Swedenborgianism and all other ' Schiodrmerei is unequivocally expressed,'* Having adduced Kant's evidence, which proves he was everything short of a personal witness for Swedenborg, we need not characterize the rather violent asseverations of Mr. Lewes. As to Kant's expression of contempt for Swedenborg, we search in vain. In the '• Anthropologie^ he designates Bourignon and Pascal enthusiasts, because they mistook inner impressions on the sensorium for outer ; and on Swedenborg, in another place, he bestows the same epithet, because he considers natural phenomena symbolic of mental, Mr. Lewes, we daresay, entertains nothing but energetic contempt for Swedenborg, but it is worse than idle for him to ascribe to Kant his own incapacity, Scherer, secretary to an embassy, was in Stockholm in those days, and heard Swedenborg's name in all companies. Some gave full credit to his visions, some pronounced them incomprehensible, and some fanatical. Scherer himself was * ' Biographical Ilislory of Philosophy,' ed. 1857, p. 531. A DEATH FORETOLD. 75 always incredulous, but to him we owe the following anecdote — A company, after listening one evening with rapt attention to a description of the World of Spirits, put Swedenborg to this test — Would he state which of those present would die first ? He did not refuse, but sat for a time in profound meditation. At last he spoke — " Olof " Olofsohn will die to-morrow morning at 45 minutes past " 4 o'clock." The test was met, but not offensively, as it would have been, had one of his auditors been named. Next morning one of the party went to the house of Olofsohn to see if the prediction was fulfilled. On the way he met Olofsohn's servant, who told him his master was dead of apoplexy. Strange to say, the clock in Olofsohn's house had stopped at 4.45, the minute at which he had expired.* Swedenborg received his numerous visitors with cour- tesy, and afforded them whatever satisfaction lay within his power. He writes — * I have related a thousand particulars concerning de- ' parted Spirits, informing certain persons who are now ' alive of the state of their deceased brethren, married ' partners, and friends.' f Here, too, we may remark his hereditary shrewdness. He would receive no strangers, and especially women, alone. He required the presence of one of his servants, and the conversation conducted in Swedish. " I Avill have," said he, " witnesses of my discourse and conduct, so that no " ground whatever may exist for scandal." Kobsahm says, ' How he was looked upon in foreign * John Benedict Von Scherer, professor at Tubingen, and a distinguished public man in Germany. The authority for the anecdote is Dr. Tafel, who was acquainted with Scherer. See 'Intelkciual Hepository,' March, 1846. t 'Be Amove Covjugiali,' No. 28. 76 JEALOUSY OF THE CLEEGY. ' lands I do not know, but in Stockholm even those who ' could not read his writings were always pleased to meet ' him in company, and paid respectful attention to whatever ' he said.' From Mr. Horace Marryat, we have this absurd anec- dote, in all probability as fictitious as its opening sentence — ' Swedenborg was very odious in society. Crossing the ' Malar in company with some ladies, he began as usual ' holding conversations with nobody. " Why, Mr. Sweden- ' " borg, what are you chattering about ?" asked one of the ' party. " Silence, woman ! I am holding converse with my ' " Spirits." The lady was not to be shut up in that manner. ' " Spirits ! why how many have you on board the boat?" ' " Twelve, madam, who never leave me ;" and he angrily ' turned his back on the inquirer. The Dalkullas exchanged ' glances. On arriving, SAvedenborg proffered a coin in ' payment. " Thirteen marks if you please. Sir — not one ' " stiver less." " And why, pray ?" remonstrated he. " Did ' " you not say, Sir, that you had twelve Spirits on board ? ' " Are we poor girls to pull them over this lake for ' " nothing ?" The visionary, who feared neither Ghost nor ' Devil, paid down the fare demanded, sooner than encounter ' the clatter of two women's tongues.'* The Clergy did not regard Swedenborg with unconcern, but they were puzzled how to lay hold of him. With quick eyes they observed, that he seldom went to church, or partook of the holy supper. This was owing partly to his aversion to Lutheran doctrine, and partly, Robsahm says, to the disease of the stone which troubled him. In 1760 two Bishops, his relations, remonstrated with him in a friendly manner upon his remissness. He answered, that * ' One Year in Sweden,' Vol. I., cliap. xxxiv. SWEDENBORG IX SOCIETY. 77 religious observances were not so necessary for him as for others, as he was associated with Angels. They then repre^- sented, that his example would be valuable, by which he suffered himself to be persuaded. He consulted his servants as to whom he should resort for the sacrament, ' for he was not much acquainted with the * preachers.' A clergyman was named. Swedenborg ob- jected, that ' he was a fiery zealot, and that he had heard ' him thundering from the pulpit with little satisfaction.' His assistant was then proposed, who was not so popular with the congregation. Swedenborg said, " I prefer him to " the other. I hear that he speaks what he thinks, and has " thus lost the good-will of his people, as generally happens " in this world." Accordingly he took the sacrament from this curate. Eobsahm once asked the rector of his parish, an aged and venerable pastor, what he thought of Swedenborg and his revelations. He answered, " God alone can judge of " them. I cannot think of him as many do. I have met " him alone and in company, and have found him to be a " good and holy man." At first, he used to speak freely of his intercourse with Spirits and of the Inner Sense of the Scriptures ; but as he found himself misunderstood and taken for a heretic or lunatic, he grew more and more reserved. In general, he would not dispute on religious matters. If forced to defend himself, he did so with mildness and in few words. If any one would not be convinced, and became excited, Swedenborg retired, saying, " Eead my writings " with care and without prejudice, and they will answer you " in my stead, and give you reason to change your opinion." A Doctor of Divinity from Gottenburg, and a follower of Zinzendorf, attacked Swedenborg in company. He had not read his writings, and was personally insolent. Disre- garding all that was offensive, Swedenborg replied with so 78 PLAIN DEALING. much grace and effect, that all present felt that he wag victor alike as theologian and gentleman. ' It is a singular circumstance, that almost all who have ' read Swedenborg's works, with a design of refuting them, ' have ended in believing in them.' Eobsahm, from whom we are quoting, continues — ' Swedenborg was in nowise led by that self-love, which ' is observable in those who advance new religious opinions. ' Nor did he seek to make proselytes. He communicated ' his ideas only to those he thought virtuous and lovers of ' truth.' He explained to Eobsahm the reason why the Clergy were so unwilling to receive his exposition of the Scrip- tures— " It is because they confirm themselves in the doctrine *' of salvation by faith alone, and likewise in some evil, until " they do not see evil as evil, but find every day more " pleasure in it and less delight in good. Besides, if they " were to see, that I speak the truth, they would be kept " silent by their love of the world's praise." A certain preacher had been much run after in Stock- holm for his flowery sermons. "Has he gone to Heaven?" asked Eobsahm. " No," replied Swedenborg; "he went " straight to Hell. He left his devotion in the pulpit. He " was not pious, but a hypocrite. He was proud, vain of his " natural gifts, and ravenous after fortune. Truly, false " appearances stand us in no stead hereafter ! They were " all stripped from him after his decease, and he is now " known for what he is inwardly." Bishop Hallenius (successor of Jesper Svedberg in the diocese of Skara) visited Swedenborg. The conversation turned on sermons, when Swedenborg shocked his guest with the assertion — " You state what is false in yours." The Bishop asked the gardener, who was present, to SWEDENBORG AS A POLITICIAN. 79 leave the room : his master commanded him to stay.* Both turned over the Scriptures in search of texts in confirmation of their opinions ; and the interview ended with Sweden- borg reproaching Hallenius for his avarice and various unjust actions — " You have already prepared yourself a place in Hell ; " but I predict, that some months hence you will be attacked " with a grievous illness, during which time the Lord will " seek to convert you. If you then open your heart to His " holy inspiration, you will be changed. When this happens, " write to me for my theological works, and I will send " them to you." Some months after an official of the Bishop's came to see Swedenborg, and to tell him, that Hallenius had been very ill, but was now well ; that he was altogether a new man ; that he was doing good everywhere, and returning three and fourfold what he had unfairly acquired. Thenceforward the Bishop of Skara was an open ad- herent of the Doctrines of the New Church, and maintained that Swedenborg's writings were a most precious treasure given for the welfare of mankind. Much business in the Inner World did not seduce Swedenborg into forgetfulness of the Outer. The Swedish Diet met in January, 1761, and as a member of the House of Nobles, he took an active part in its deliberations. Count Hopken (then and for many years Prime Minister of Sweden), records, ' that the most valuable and well-written ' memorials on finance were presented to the Diet of 1761 ' by Swedenborg ; In one of which he refuted a large work ' in quarto, quoting the controverted passages, and all in ' less than one sheet.' He was also a member of the Secret Committee of the * Robsahm had the anecdote from the gardener's wife. 80 RULES OF LIFE. Diet ; an office to which he was only eligible as a politician trusted and influential. Consider, reader, for a moment, the dignity and the abounding common-sense which could thus overcome the reputation of a visionary, and command the respect and confidence of men of the world ! His temper and conduct are well illustrated in his Rules of Life — ' I. Often to read and meditate on the Word of God. ' II. To submit everything to the Will of Divine Pro- ' vidence. ' III. To observe in everything a propriety of behaviour, ' and to keep the conscience clear, ' IV. To discharge with fidelity the functions of my em- * ployment, and the duties of my office, and to render myself ' in all things useful to society.'* Three of Swedenborg's addresses to the Diet are pre- served. The first is in suppoi't of Comit Hopken's administration. In it he anxiously deprecates opposition to the government, and the setting of its acts in the worst light. No govern- ment, as no man, is without faults ; but it is wicked to fix eyes on faults alone and overlook merits. England and Holland are the two best governed countries in Europe, except Sweden^ yet a large volume might be filled with complaints of wrongs done in them. The Swedish govern- ment is the most pei'fect in existence. In all its departments, it is wisely ordered. There are wrongs no doubt ; they are inevitable, but there are likewise remedies. No Swede is * The authenticity of these Rules is not questioned, but we should like to see them in autograph. They made their appearance in a Eulogium in memory of Swedenborg delivered in 1772 by Samuel Sandel in the House of Nobles, Stockholm. The Eules, says Sandel, " I have found noted down in " several of his manuscripts." Dr. Tafel, who was well acquainted with Swedenborg's manuscripts, told me, he never found the Eules. SWEDISH POLITICS. 81 a slave. Every one enjoys the fruit of his labour in peace and complete freedom. Let all abuses which may have arisen since last Diet be rigourously corrected ; but especially let us repress the discontent which turbulent minds would excite against the Constitution. How familiar the Tory strain and the patriotic exaggera- tion ! The time will surely come when it will be regarded as indecent to brag over one's country as over one's self. There is no worse matter for contemplation than our merits, whether individual or national. Any virtues we may possess are always equal to their own care, whilst our faults and defects demand perpetual attention. True, there is an evil discontent — a lust for change without any view to amendment ; but it is most effectually met by the truth — by evidence that the alterations desired are wanton or use- less ; and not by vainglorious assertions, which inflame conceit and establish iniquity, and cause the honest and modest to hang their heads in disgust. There was much of the evil sort of discontent in Sweden in those days, and against it Swedenborg was pleading. Two factions, the Hats and the Caps, strove together. The Hats struggled to confer on the King absolute power : the Caps to maintain the existing Constitution, which left the Government practically in the hands of the Diet. Sweden- borg belonged to the Caps. In these politics, foreign powers had much influence. France sided with the Hats, and Kussia with the Caps, and each kept leaders in pay ; France even allowing the King a pension. The second address is an exposure of the dangers of an absolute monarchy, with an artful application of the ' no popery' cry. A despotism would place Sweden at the mercy of the Papacy — it would only be necessary to seduce the King to secure the nation — " We know from experience how the Babylonian Whore " (which signifies the Popish Religion) fascinated and be- G NO POPERY, NO DESPOTISM. witched the reigning Princes of Saxony, Cassel, and Zweibriicken ; also the King of Enghind, shortly before the House of Hanover was called to the British throne, and how she is is still dallying with the Pretender ; how in Prussia likewise, she tampered with the present King, when crown-prince through his own father ; not to men- tion King Sigismund and Queen Christina. We are well aware too how this Whore is still going her rounds among the Courts of Reformed Christendom. If therefore Sweden were an absolute monarchy, and this Whore, who under- stands so well how to dissemble and adorn herself like a goddess, were to intrude herself into the cabinet of a future monarch, is there any reason why she should not as easily beguile him as she did the afore-named kings and princes ? What opposition would there be, what means of self-defence, especially if the Ai-my, which is now upon a standing footing, were at the King's disposal? What could the combined Clergy and Peasantry effect against the Army, the King's determination, and the craft of the Jesuits? Would not all heavenly light be dissipated? would not a night of barbarian dai'kness overspread the land? and if they would not be martyrs, must not the people bow the neck to Satan, and become worshippers of images, and idolators ? " The dread of this and every other slavery, which I need not here describe, must hang over us for the future, should any alteration be made in our excellent Constitu- tion, or any suspension of our invaluable liberty. The only guarantee and counter-check against such calamities would be oath and conscience. Certainly if there were an oath, and the majority were sufficiently conscientious to respect it, civil and religious liberty, and all that is valuable might remain inviolate ; but, on the other hand, we must bear in mind, that the Pope can dissolve all oaths, and absolve every conscience, by virtue of the keys of St. Peter. FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND FINANCE. 83 " It is easy for a King to assert, and with every sign of " sincerity, that he has no thought or desire for absolute " power ; but what each fosters in his heart and keeps " studiously apart from the outward man, is known only to " God, and himself, and to his intimate friends, through whom " however what is hidden occasionally manifests itself. I " shudder when I reflect what may happen, and probably " will happen, if private interests, subverting the general " welfare, should here attain ascendancy. I must observe " also, that I see no difference between an absolute King in " Sweden and an idol ; for all turn themselves, heart and " soul, in the same way to the one as to the other, obey his " will, and worship what passes from his mouth." The foreign relations of Sweden are then reviewed. The friendship of France should be cultivated in preference to that of England. France is at a distance and can have no cause to interfere with Swedish territory, or to regard the prosperity of Sweden with jealousy. England on the contrary is now one with Hanover, and Hanover owns lands which once were Sweden's — an offence " never to be " forgotten or overlooked," and which renders our interests irreconcileable. As long therefore as England is united with Hanover, we can enter into no such alliance with her as with France. Whatever Swedenborg's wisdom in matters spiritual, he was in nowise ahead of his generation in matters political. The third address is on finance. He laments the depre- ciation of Swedish credit, so that a six-dollar note is only worth two in coin, and will probably soon be worth only one — " In such case, How can the nation be saved from ruin ? " Only by the restoration of a pure metallic currency. " Many plans might be devised to compel the circulation " of the notes at their nominal value, and thus remedy the " prevalent high prices ; but such measures would be in- G 2 84 A STATESMAN ON SWEDENBORG. " effectual. . . In money itself consists the value of the " notes, and consequently of all goods. If an empire could ^' exist with a representative currency, and yet no real " currency, it would be an empire without its parallel in " the world." We have here an utterance of sound financial opinion. Soon Swedeuborg discovered that his dispassionate voice was lost in the Diet. Eobsahm says, ' that though he took ' great interest in its early proceedings, when he came to ' know, that envy, hatred, and self-seeking prevailed among * the members, he was seldom seen in the House ; and in * conversation freely expressed his dissatisfaction.' Prime Minister Hdjjhen on Swedenborg. From some letters of Hopken's, we select two or three passages, not only for their facts, but as illustrative of the impression made by Swedenborg on an able man of the world, his contemporary,* Ilopken writes — ' I have not only known Assessor Swedenborg for two ' and forty years, but some time ago was daily in his com- ' pany. One who like me has lived long in the world in a ' public position, must have had numerous opportunities of ' knowing men virtuous and vicious, strong and weak ; and ' in all my experience, I do not recollect a character of * more uniform excellence than Swedenborg — always con- ' tented, never fretful nor morose. ' He was a true philosopher, and lived like one. He ' laboured diligently, and lived frugally without sordidncss. ' He travelled continually, and his travels cost him no more * than if he had lived at home. ' He was a natural philosopher on Cartesian principles. * The letters were addressed by Hopken (with one exception) to General Tuxen after Swedenborg's death.' Their dates range from 1772 to 1781. They were first printed in the 'New Jerusalem Magazine,' for 1790-91, and are to be found at length in Tafel's Collection. EELIGION FOR A COLONY. 85 ' He detested Metaphysics as founded on fallacious ideas, ' transcending our sphere, and by means of which Theology ' has been drawn from simplicity, and made artificial and ' corrupt. ' He might with or without reason (I do not indeed ' venture to determine) be accused of having given too free ' play to a heated imagination in his revelations. ' Not having intercourse with Spirits myself, I can neither ' affirm nor contradict what he has to say about them ; but ' his supernatural relations are no more extraordinary than ' the Apocalypse and other parts of the Bible. Of his ' doctrines however, I can judge : they are excellent, irre- ' futable, the best ever taught, and conducive to the happiest ' social life. ' Whilst the Swedenborgian system forms virtuous men ' and citizens, it represses all kinds of enthusiasm and ' superstition, which beget such cruel vexations and such ' ridiculous singularities.' He had accepted Swedenborg's estimate of the popular faith— ' The prevalent Religion is mystical and full of para- ' doxes. It is as incoherent and unreasonable as if formed ' for cattle rather than rational men. According to its ' tenets, you may perpetrate any villanies, and yet be saved. ' The doctrine of its priests is polytheism ; one god is the ' creator of the world, and another, the author of religion.' Here comes a tit-bit — ' I have sometimes told the King, that if ever a new ' Colony were formed, no better Keligion could be established ' there than that developed by Swedenborg from the Sacred ' Scriptures, and for these reasons — ' I. This Religion, in preference to, and in a higher ' degree than any other, must produce the most honest ' and industrious subjects ; for it places, and places properly, ' the worsliip of God in uses. 86 INLAID MAKBLE TABLES. ' II. It causes the least fear of death ; death being re- ' garded merely as a transition from one state to another, ' from a worse to a better situation. Upon his principles, I ' look upon death as of hardly greater consequence than ' drinking a glass of water.' What a fine eighteenth century flavour there is in this suggestion of a new Colonial Eeligion ! About this time, 1762, Swedenborg sent a paper to the Eoyal Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, ' On Inlaid Work ^ in Marble for Tables^ and for ornamental purposes generally.^* In his parlour in Stockholm, he had a table of black marble on which, at first sight, it appeared as if a hand of cards had been thrown down, so finely was it inlaid. He made a present of it to the Eoyal College of Mines. * The Paper, in Swedish, is printed in tlie Transactions of the Academy for 1763, Vol. XXIV., p.p. 107-113. ( 87 ) CHAPTER XIV. NOTES IN AMSTERDAM, SwEDENBORG would appear to have left Stockholm before July, 1762. This we draw from au anecdote recorded by Jung Stilling — Peter III. Czar of Russia. ' I was in Amsterdam,' said Stilling's informant, ' in the ' year 1762, on the very day that Peter III. of Eussia died, * in a company of which Swedenborg made one. In the ' midst of our conversation, his countenance changed ; it * was evident his soul was no longer present, and that some- ' thing extraordinary was passing in him. As soon as he ' had come to himself, he was asked what had happened. ' He would not at first tell, but being pressed, he said — ' " This very hour the Emperor Peter has died in ' " prison," (mentioning, at the same time, the manner of ' his death.) " Gentlemen will please to note down the day, ' " that they may be able to compare it with the intelligence ' " of his death in the newspapers." ' In due time, the newspapers announced Peter's death ' on that very day.' Peter was strangled by Count Orlov at the instigation of his wife, who as Catherine II. reigned in his stead. The Empress Elizabeth. The name of Peter suggests that of his daughter, the 88 THE. GOOD ELIZABETH. Empress Elizabeth, who died iu December, 1761. To General Tuxen, said Swedenborg — " I have seen no one so splendidly ministered to in the " World of Spirits as the late Empress Elizabeth of Eussia." Tuxen expressed much astonishment. " I will tell you the reason, which few would surmise. " With all her faults, she had a good heart ; and in her in- " dolence there was a certain consideration. She purposely " defei-red signing papers until they had so accumulated, " that she could not read or examine them. At last she " would affix her signature to as many as possible on the " representations of her ministers, and then retiring to her " closet, would fall on her knees, and beg forgiveness of " God if, against her will, she had signed anything that was " wrong."* He told a similar story to OronoskuU, chaplain to the Russian ambassador at Stockholm,! who asked him whether he had seen Elizabeth. Swedenborg replied — " I have often seen her, and I know she is in a very " happy state. Her good sentiments towards her people " were made known in the other life; for there it was " declared, that she never went into Council without praying " to God for assistance to govern her coimtry with wisdom " and justice." OronoskuU received the information ' in silence and with ' tears of happy surprise.' Well might Tuxen express much astonishment, and OronoskuU shed tears of happy surprise — a Messalina in body was revealed an Agnes in soul — * ^Neic Jerusalem Magazine,'' 1790, page 260. f We have tlie anecdote from Eobsalim, who adds, ' OronoskuU led a very ' orderly and decent life contrary to the usual custom of many Russian priests. ' He borrowed Swedenborg's writings and read them with great pleasure, and ' being anxious to see and converse with the Author, I invited them together ' to dinner.' Elizabeth's mareiage. 89 ' A very Heathen in the carnal part, ' But ah ! a sad good Christian at the heart.' Elizabeth seems to have excited a strong interest in Swedenborg. In his Diary he breaks from Latin into his mother tongue to describe her courtship and marriage with the Count de la Gardie, a noble Swede who died in 1741, twenty years before his future wife. Elizabeth was never married in this world, though she left several natural children. The story is a long one, but here are its heads — ' Elizabeth and De la Gardie met and loved. * He had been married, but had applied for a divorce. ' His case was investigated, and as no sympathy was found ' to exist between him and his wife, they were released from ' one another. ' Elizabeth spoke with her predecessor Anna. She was ' living with her husband, who was a drunkard, and not ' with her lover Biron, ' Next she saw the Bishop of Liibeck, to whom she had ' been betrothed. She had no inclination for him, especially ' as there was a good-looking woman with him, who had ' been his mistress on earth, and of whom he was very fond. ' Afterwards she spoke with somebody from Holstein, ' who had courted her, but she found she did not like him. ' Then she wandered far from home, forgot where she ' was, and who she was, as often happens. De la Gardie ' met and walked with her ; and once more they were ' charmed with each] other. As he led her homewards, by ' accident they got parted. ' Again she traversed the same road, and by the Lord's ' providence again encountered De la Gardie. They then ' perceived, that they were designed for man and wife. He ' conducted her to her palace : they were closeted a long ' time together, and arranged their marriage. ' The Empress was appointed to preside over the best ' society of Russians, who loved her dearly. 90 ELIZABETH S MARKIAGE, ' An Angel, in a beautiful white dress, was dispatched ' to Heaven to fetch a Priest to wed them. The Priest ' asked if they were resolved to marry. When they an- ' swered, they were resolved, he wished them God's mercy ' and blessing, and no more. This happened on the 5th of 'March, 1762. ' Congratulations followed. Little children wished them 'joy from Heaven: their sweet voices so touched Elizabeth, ' that she retired to another room and wept from excess of ' pleasure. On her return, eight children, somewhat larger, ' made a very pretty speech, and as they departed, she kissed ' them. Then came young men and women, and after them ' young Russians, who had been reared from infancy in ' Heaven. Then two or three hundred companies of Russians ' offered their felicitations with warmth and brevity. This ' occupied a long time, and as other crowds arrived, they all * spoke in chorus. There was then a magnificent dinner ' with thirty guests. ' The next morning, after they had enjoyed each other, * the bridegroom and bride drove out in a carriage. They ' shewed themselves to the people as is the custom in the ' world. Queen Ulrika and her consort paid them a visit.* ' Their love grew very strong. She longed to be one ' with her husband even as to body ; and though two as to ' body they became one as to life, and almost to sensation. ' On the 25th of March, they were seen by many as little ' children walking in innocence.'t There are some incoherences in the narrative which, in conjunction with the Swedish, awaken recollections of the Dreams of 1744. For instance, its course is broken by this odd interpolation — * Ulrika Eleonoia of Sweden. See Vol. I., p. 400 of present work, t ' Dlarium SpiritmU' , No. 6,027 piiiitca in Klemming's Svedenhonfs ' Drommar,' pp. 66-70. THE CZAR AND THE RUSSIANS, 91 ' It was afterwards shewn me how it is with those who ' do not deny God, His Word and His Doctrine, but who ' think little about them. I was led some way down to ' them, and they complained bitterly, that though internally ' honest something ailed them inwardly. It was said, that ' they are well fed with cream and good meat, but it does ' not do them much good. They try some business, but as ' soon as their work is done, it begins again. They are ' very fond of boiled meat with horseradish.' Peter the Great and the Russians. Swedenborg spoke with Peter, but says no more than that he was willing to be worshipped by his people as God. The Eussians he describes as void of self-love, inoffensive, and unwilling to inflict pain ; modest and docile ; deficient in intellect ; thievish in the extreme — ' they will do and ' dare anything for money.' Their confidence in the Czar is pitiful. They believe their lives and possessions are his, and they meekly surrender them to his service. Swedenborg told those he met, that it was enough if they let him have what was needful for the national defence ; that their lives were none of his ; and that the Czar, equally with themselves, was subject to God. In the World of Spirits, the good among the Eussians forget the Czar, and learn to revere the Lord alone.* The Merchant of Elherfield. This other anecdote we owe to Jung Stilling — ' There was a merchant in Elherfield with whom I lived * in close intimacy during my seven years of residence there. ' He was a mystic in the purest sense. He spoke little, but ' what he said was like golden fruit on a salver of silver, ' He would not have told a falsehood for the world.' * 'Diarium SpirUuale,'' Nos. 5,949 and 5,963. 92 SWEDENBOKG AND THE MERCHANT, Business required the Merchant's presence in Amster- dam, and having heard much of Swedenborg, he determined to seize the opportunity and make his acquaintance. He called at his lodging, and was politely received by a vene- rable and kindly old man. The Merchant explained his errand — " Having been called hither on business, I could not " deny myself the honour, sir, of paying you my respects : " your writings have caused me to regard you as a very " remarkable man," " May I ask, where are you from ?" " I am from Elberfield in the Grand Duchy of Berg, " Your writings contain so much that is beautiful and " edifying, that they have made a deep impression upon " me ; but the source from whence you derive them is so " strange and uncommon, that you will perhaps not take it " amiss if a sincere friend of truth desires incontestible proof, " that you have really intercourse with the Invisible World." " It would be very unreasonable if I took it amiss ; but " I think I have given sufficient proofs, which cannot be " contradicted." " I suppose you refer to the well-known reports of the " Queen of Sweden, the fire in Stockholm, and the lost " receipt?" " I do ; and they are true." " Yet many objections are brought against them. Might " I propose, that you give me a similar proof?" " Why not ? Most willingly ! " " Well then : I had a friend, a student of divinity at " Duisburg, where he fell into a consumption and died, A " short time before his death, we conversed on an important " subject. Can you ascertain from him, what that subject " was?" " We will sec. What was your friend's name?" The Merchant gave the name. THE MERCHANT CONVINCED. 93 " How long do you remain in Amsterdam ?" " About eight or ten days." " Then call on me in a few days. I will try if I can " find your friend." Some days after, the Merchant returned in anxious expectation. Swedenborg met him with a smile, saying — " I have spoken with your friend. You conversed on " the restitution of all tilings " — And with the greatest precision stated what each had maintained. The Merchant turned pale, for the proof was strong and invincible. " How fares it with my friend? Is he blessed ?" " No ; he is not yet in Heaven : he is still in Hades : he " torments himself continually about the restitution of all " things." " My God ! what in the other world?" " Certainly : a man takes with him his habits and " opinions, and it is very difficult to get rid of them. He " ought therefore to lay them aside while on Earth." ' My friend,' says Stilling, ' took his leave, perfectly ' convinced, and returned to Elberfield.'* St. Peter and St. Paul. A General paid Swedenboi-g a visit, and was kept waiting in his ante-chamber a considerable time. When he made his appearance, he apologised by saying, " Indeed " General, St. Peter and St. Paul were with me ; and you " can easily apprehend, that when one receives such visitors, " one is in no hurry to dismiss them."t * Stilling's ' Pneumatology,' London, 1834. t Barruel's ' Memoirs of JacoUnism,' Vol. IV. page 133, English ed. 1798. ' The anecdote is vouched for by Mr. Euler, the Prince of Orange's Librarian,' states Barrucl. Euler had sent the General to Swedenborg, 94 DUTCH CHARACTERISTICS. Writing about this time he testifies — ' I have conversed with some who lived many years ago, ' with some who lived before the Deluge and some after it, ' with some who lived in the Lord's time, with one of His ' Ajjostles^ and with many who lived in succeeding ages. ' They all seem like men of middle age, and say, that they ' do not know what death is.'* The Dutch. Swedenborg had for the Dutch a favour akin to that in which he held the English. He describes their place in Spiritual Christendom as east and south of the centre constituted by the best of the English. The love of trade, he says, is the ruling passion of the good Dutchman ; and which is a heavenly affection.f He loves money as a means of trade, and not, as the avaricious Jew, trade as a means to money. ' The Dutch adhere to their religious opinions more * tenaciously than others. Even if convinced they are ' wrong, they will not confess it, but revert to their old ' opinions, and abide in them unmoved. They thus deprive ' themselves of the interior vision of tnith, and allow their ' reason no freedom of inquiry.' In consequence of this stubborn temper, the Dutch undergo peculiar treatment in the World of Spirits. Having no disposition to receive heavenly truth, it is * ' De Divina Providentia,' No. 324 in 1764. f In conformity with this fact he assures us — ' Many who were engaged in trade and merchandize on Earth, and who ' grew rich by their business, are in Heaven ; but fewer of those who were ' in stations of honour and who became rich by their offices.' — 'Be Coelo et de • Inferno,' No. 360. The active life of commerce is thus more conducive to the formation of angelic character than the ease and settled income of place — a shop or a mill than Somerset House or Whitehall. DUTCH DISCIPLINE. 95 not immediately presented to them. Instead, Heaven is described : afterwards, they are allowed to ascend and behold it ; and on their return the memory of its scenes induces a longing to dwell for ever amid its pleasantnesses. In this mood, the Faith of Heaven is brought under their notice, and when they shew their aversion to it, their trade is taken away, and they are reduced to extreme dis- tress. In their misery, they are led to those whose trade is flourishing, and who live in abundance, and the thought is insinuated, that they are unhappy because, that unlike the prosperous, they do not shun and detest evils as sins or cherish divine truths. Such experiences are renewed at intervals until they arrive at the conviction, that their only deliverance from outward affliction is to be found in a re- newed inward life and intelligence. Then as they receive divine truth and live righteously, they acquire wealth and every satisfaction, and enter Heaven. In their new cha- racter, they display their old stability so that they may be called Constancies : no reasoning or sophistry can move them. The Dutch dress in the Spiritual World as in Holland, but more neatly. The streets of their cities are roofed over and closed with gates. They love to conceal their habits and designs from strangers. If an inquirer enters a city, he is led at his departure to a gate, which is found shut ; then to another, also shut ; and so on until he is so tired out, that he resolves never to repeat his visit. Dutch wives who'try to rule their husbands are confined to a certain side of a city, and never meet their husbands except when invited. They then go visiting where married partners, free from the lust of dominion, dwell in conjugal amity. The wives, when they observe the neatness and happiness pervading these model households, are filled with desire to go and do likewise ; and as soon as the desire has acquired sufficient vigour, husband and wife have a house 90 GERMAN CHARACTERISTICS. allotted in the centre of the city, and live together as becomes Angels.* Famous Dutchmen are as rare as famous Englishmen in the Spiritual Diary. Leeuwenhoek is mentioned as in dread of a miserable existence as a Spirit in ease he had no sci- entific investigations to pursue. It is observed, that his lot would be sad indeed if had he merely cultivated his Memory : it is Reason which survives death and confers intellectual distinction amongst the Angels : and it matters little by what scientific means the Rational Faculties are educated on Earth so that they are exercised and developed.! The Germans. Of the Germans, he finds it difficult to speak, for Ger- many is divided into numerous governments and religions, ' yet as all people of the same language have a common ' genius,' the common genius of the Germans may in some degree be discovered and described. - ' As the Germans in each particular Dukedom live under ' a despotic government, they do not enjoy the Hberty of ' speaking and writing like the Dutch and English ; and ' where the liberty of speaking and writing is restrained, ' the liberty of thinking is under restraint likewise . . . for ' influx always adapts itself to efflux. ' Hence the noble German people pay but little attention ' to matters of judgement, but much to studies which only ' exercise the memory ; wherefore they pai-ticularly cultivate ' literary history, and in their writings rest much on the ' sentiments of learned and -eminent men of their own nation, ' whose decisions they quote in abundance, and adopt such ' as they prefer for their own. * ' Vera Christiana Beliffio,' Nos. 800 to 805, and ' Continmtio de Ultimo 'Judicio,' Nos. 48 to 52. t ' Diarium Spiritualc,' No. 5,785. FREEDOM AND BONDAGE CONTRASTED. 97 ' This their state is represented in the Spiritual World ' bj a person carrying books under his arms, who, in case he ' is questioned on any matter, says he will give an answer ' immediately, and then opens one of his books, and begins ' to read.' The Germans therefore discuss Theology in the inferior region of the Memory, and seldom in the higher realm of the Understanding. They thus differ from free nations as swans in a river from eagles in the air — ' Free nations are like the larger kind of stags with high ' branching horns, that range with full license through the ' plains, the groves, and the forests ; whereas nations that ' are not free are like deer inclosed in parks, which are kept ' for a prince's use. Again, free people are like flying horses, ' by the ancients called Pegasi, which fly not only over ' seas, but over Parnassian hills, and the seats of the Muses * beneath ; whereas people that are not free are like high- * bred horses, adorned with costly trappings in kings' stables. ' Such too are the differences of judgement in the mystic * points of theology between a free people and those who are * not free.'* In this comparison there are some points of truth, but the freedom of German scholars in their handling of Theo- logy will start into vivid contrast with the timidity (to use a mild world) of the English ; but the very freedom of the Englishman may explain his caution, and the bondage of the German, his lawlessness. The opinions of the English scholar run the risk of acceptance and practice by the vulgar : the German anticipates no life for his opinions outside the realm of ideas. As in the world of politics, the bold theorist is tamed whenever there is laid on him the responsibility of government, so a German would probably speculate less wildly if he had any expectation, that his * 'Vera Christiana Jidiyio,' Nos. 813 to 815. H 98 .SPIRIXrAL JEWRY. ideas would do more than titillate the fancies of a select circle of scholarly spirits. Hamburg. ' I have inquired in what part of the Spiritual World ' the people of Hamburg are to be found, and have been ' infonned, that they appear nowhere collected into one ' Society, but are dispersed and intermixed with the Ger- ' mans in various quarters ; and on examining into the ' cause of this dispersion, it was found to arise from the ' state of their minds, which are continually looking abroad, ' and as it were travelling out of their own city, and very ' little within it ; for according to the state of a man's mind ' in the World of Nature such also it is in the "World of ' Spirit."* TTie Jews. Amsterdam, the city of Baruch Spinoza,t was populous with Jews, of whom we have this account in the World of Spirits — They inhabit two large cities, and are forbidden all in- tercourse with Christians, They are governed by converted Jews, who warn them not to speak disrespectfully of Christ, and punish those who do. The streets are fall of dirt up to the ankles, and the stench in the houses is so strong, that none but Jews can enter. An Angel sometimes appears overhead with a rod in his hand, and causes them to believe he is Moses. He assures them it is foolish to go on expecting the Messiah ; that Christ is the Messiah, and that He governs them and all * ' Vera Chrigtiana Bdigio,' No. 616. t Swedenborg-'s predecessor by a century — 1632-77. So far as I am aTvare, Spinoza is never referred to by Swedenborg. Some have fancied or detected similarities in their philosophies, but it is not improbable, that Swedenborg never read a page of the Jew's. JEW'S AFTEK DEATH. 99 creatures. Most hear and forget the words of the Angel, and are cast down and banished into forests and deserts where they thieve and rob one another. A few, who pay heed, are sent into the synagogues of converted Jews, and there receive further instruction : they put off their tattered garments and put on new: a neatly written copy of the Word is given to them ; and they are transferred to a city not unhandsome. * The Jews trade in various commodities in the World of ' Spirits, especially in precious stones, which they obtain in * unknown ways from Heaven, where such stones exist in ' abundance. The cause of this traffic is, that they read the ' Word in the original tongue, and precious stones cor- * respond to the Word in the Literal Sense. They also ' make artificial precious stones, and by fantasy induce a ' belief that they are real ; for this offence they are severely ' fined by their Governors.' Less than any people, the Jews are able to believe, that by death they have passed into the Spiritual World. They persist that they are still on Earth, that Messiah is to come, that He will gather them from every corner into Canaan, and there establish them in dominion over the Gentiles. After the Last Judgement a new Jewish settlement was observed in the World of Spirits. It consisted of those who were indifierent to the worship of their fathers, who doubted whether Messiah would ever come, and who thought and acted from reason in many affairs. Most of these were Portuguese Jews.* Holland was the refuge of the' persecfited Jews from Portugal : Spinoza was cast out of the Portuguese syna- gogue in Amsterdam: the rational spirit, which made of him an outcast, was in all likelihood not a singular possession. • ' Vera Christiana Beligio,' Nos. 841 to 845, and ' Continuatio de Ultimo ' Judicio,' Nos. 73 to 82. H 2 100 AN EXTEKSIVE PROGRAMME. Swedenborg had brought to Amsterdam a considerable packet of mamiscript, and a large literary scheme. Am- sterdam was henceforth his centre of publication. Except a pamphlet in 1769, intended for Kant's satisfaction,* he printed no more in London. Five years of silence were broken in 1763 by the ap- pearance of no less than six separate treatises. The first of them, ' The Doctrine of the Lord^ contained this Preface — ' Some years since, five small works were published, ' namely, 1. '"Heaven and Hell ;'' 2. ' The Doctrine of the New ^ '■ Jerusalem f 3. ^ The Last Judgement;'' 4. '•The White '■''Horse;'' 5. '■The Planets and Earths in the Universe;'' in ' which works many things, till then unknown, were made * manifest. Now, by command of the Lord, who has revealed ' Himself to me, the following works are to be laid before ' the public — 1. ' The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning ' the Lord ; 2. ' The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning ' the Sacred Scripture ; 3. ' The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem '■ from the Commandments of the Decalogue ; 4. * The Doctrine of the Neio Jerusalem concerning ' Faith ; 5. ' A Continuation of the Last Judgement ; 6. '■Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Provi- ' dence ; 7. ^Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Omntpo- ' fence. Omnipresence^ Omniscience^ Infinity, and Eternity; 8. '■Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and ' the Divine Wisdom ; 9. '•Angelic Wisdom concerning Life. ' By the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem is to be under- * See previous Chapter, page 70. AN UNFULFILLED COMMAND. 101 ' stood tlie Doctrine for the New Chvii-ch, which is now being * established by the Lord ; for the Old Chui-cli is come to ' its end.' The first 5 of these and the 8th were published in 1763, and the 6th in 1764 : the 7th and 9th, notwithstanding ' the ' command of the Lord,' never at all. Ah ! what is to be said about that ? Let us hear what Swedenborg had to say. Dr. Beyer wrote to ask him for the promised work on ' The Divine Oinniiyotence, etc.'' He answered from Stock- holm, 1767— ' There are many things interspersed in '■Angelic Wisdom ' '■on the Divine Providence'' on these subjects at Nos. 46-54 ' and 157 ; in '■Angelic Wisdom on Divine Love and Wisdom,* ' Nos. 4, 17, 19, 24, 44, 69, 72, 76, 106, 156 and 318 ; and ' in the ' Ajyocalyjise Revealed^ No. 961 ; and the subject will * be still further pursued in ' The Mysteries of Angelic Wisdom ' ' concerning Conjugial Love :' but forasmuch as to write a ' separate treatise on these Divine Attributes would require * an elevation of thought to which readers are unequal, I ' have dealt with them in conjunction with other matters, ' which fall within the scope of the understanding.' It may be added, that the first chapter of his last work, ' The True Christian Religion,'' in 1771, is a discussion of the Divine Attributes. " A plausible but inefficient excuse," it will be said. " Swedenborg received the Lord's command to publish nine " books with titles specified. He publishes seven. When " taxed about the absent eighth, he answers, that its themes " would be too lofty for public apprehension, and that he " has dealt with them, so far as practicable, in other modes. " Good : but arc Divine behests to be thus tampered with ? " If Swedenborg did not foresee the difficulty of the task, " surely his Director did ! and if He did, can we suppose " IIo gave the command V" 102 TUK PROMISE KXPLAINED, Against such an interpretation of Swedenborg's pro- gramme, we protest. When he says the Lord commanded him to publish nine books, he meant no more than you or I should, if either of us were to assert, " I feel it right, or it " is my duty to do this, or say that." If we cared, we might distinctly and truly convert the dictate of our con- science into the command of the Lord, as our Author tells us was the habit of the members of the Ancient Church.* Yet it is obvious, that, in our case as in Swedenborg's, a discretion, wide or narrow, might be exercised in the mode of fulfilment. Nevertheless such a style of speech is not to be commended. Like the letters D.V. used by well-meaning but weak-minded Christians, it betrays occasional atheism, as if sometimes we were in God's hands and sometimes out of them. If Swedenborg by his words meant to assume any private and confidential relation to the Lord, his letter to Beyer affords the appropriate commentary on the pretence. ' The ninth work on Life was never accounted for.f * ^Arcana Ccelestia,' No. 1,410. ■f- It is referred to in ^Sacred Scripture,^ No. 32, and 'Divine Love and ' Wisdom' Nos. 4 and 255. The promise of the treatise on the Divine Attributes is repeated in 'Doclrhte 'of the Lord,' No. 46, 'Sacred Scripture,' No. 32, and 'Divine Love and ' Wisdom,' Nos. 9, 51, and 130. ( 103 ) CHAPTER XV. THE DOCTRINE OF THE LORD * This treatise is a scriptural argument — an endeavour to construct out of the statements of the Old and New Testa- ments a harmonious doctrine concerning the connection of the Divine and the Human in Jesus Christ. It may possibly be remembered, that in ' The Economy of the Animal Kingdom'' published in 1741, Swedenborg, following Aristotle, asserts, that the Soul of every child is derived from the Father and the Body from the Mother, f In discussing the Doctrine of the Lord, this order of gene- ration is assumed — Jesus Christ as to His Soul was God, as to His Body was Man. First we are told, ' that the whole Sacred Scripture ' treats of the Lord, and the Lord is the Word.' As John testifies, ' The Word was made Flesh and dwelt 'among us.' What is the Word? Swedenborg answers, ' The Word is Divine Truth or Divine Wisdom, which ia ' one with Divine Love, and is therefore Jehovah Himself.'| This admitted, we may readily perceive, how the ' whole ' Sacred Scriptux'e treats of the Lord — the Word.' The Scriptures are nothing but a record of the struggles of Priests, Kings, Prophets and Apostles to reduce their cir- cumstances to the Divine Will — to utter the Divine Word * ' Doctrina Novce Hicrosohjmce de Domino. Amstelodami, 1763.' 4to. G l pages. t See proseiit work Vol. I, page 147. t No, 1. 104 GOD INCARNATE IN JUDAH. or Wisdom in Human Life: consequently, the Scriptures treat everywhere of the Word and of Jewish strife there- with;— but how of Jesus Christ? Thus. AVhat all failed to do, He did. In Him, the Word was manifested in con- summate perfection — in Him the Divine Wisdom was verily made Flesh. Bearing this in mind, it is not difficult to feel the force of those passages wherein it is asserted, that the Lord Jesus Christ ' fulfilled the Law and the Prophets.' All that the Law prescribed, all that the Prophets yearned after was accomplished in Him; so that spiritually considered, the Law and the Prophets are His biography. ' It may be expedient to remark, that it has been granted ' me to read over all the Prophets and the Psalms of ' David, examining every single verse, with a perception ' of the subject treated of ; when I found, that the contents ' relate to nothing else, than the Church established, and ' to be established by the Lord ; His coming. His combats, ' glorification, redemption, and salvation ; and of Heaven, ' as existing from Him ; with, at the same time, their ' opposites.'* The ' fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets ' receives yet further extension imder Swedenborg's assertion, that the Body assumed in the Virgin was the epitome of Judaism : when therefore the Divine Word burst upon the world through that environment ' every jot and tittle was fulfilled' in a sense as exact as profound. We have already learnt Swedenborg's opinion of the Jews : they were the most sensual of Mankind ; they de- lighted in every sin which their Decalogue forbade ; and, more than any people, were proud, cruel, covetous, adul- terous: these characteristics most lustily developed in the royal line of Judah were by hereditary transmission con- * No. 37. THE FIELD OF REDEMPTION. 105 centrated and included in the Body born of Mary of Bethlehem. That Body was in affiliation with every Hell ; it was a field to which all the forces of evil had access ; its lusts were an open circle to Pandemonium. The Jews likewise contemporary with the Divine Advent inherited and repeated the national life : all the indignities their fathers had offered to the Divine Word or Wisdom as manifested in Law and Prophet they fulfilled in their treat- ment of the Divine Word or Wisdom revealed in Jesus Christ. To this fact He bore emphatic testimony in the terrible words addressed to His countrymen — " Ye are the " children of them that killed the Prophets. Truly ye bear " witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers. . . . The *' blood of all the Prophets, shed from the foundation of the " world, shall be required of this generation, from the blood " of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias : verily I say unto " you, it shall be required of this generation."* Hence it is, that in the story of the Evangelists we may discern the story of Israel, as reversing the process, in Jewish History we discover a prophetic biogi*aphy of Christ. Such was the field of Redemption. ' The Lord came to reduce to order all things in Heaven ' and thence on Earth, and this He accomplished by combats ' against the Hells. It is known in the Church, that the ' Lord conquered Death, by which is meant Hell, but it is ' not known, that He effected the conquest by combats or ' temptations of which the passion of the cross was the 'last.'t Swedenborg confesses with all his heart, ' that it is most ' certainly true, that if the Lord had not come to Earth all ' Mankind must have perished,':}: but the danger he refers to Man, not God — not to any vindictiveness in Deity, but to * Lulte xi. 18-51. f Nos. 12 and 11. { Nos. 18 and 33. 106 HOW HELL WAS CONQUERED. the insurgent predominance of Self-Love, or the Devil, or Infernal Life, or Hell in Human Nature. The occasion of the Divine Advent was, that the Love which is Heaven had well nigh ceased from the human heart, and the love which is Hell had well nigh become its exclusive life. ' The ' Church, which at that time existed with the Jewish nation, ' was in a state of utter devastation in consequence of ' having perverted everything in the Word, so that there ' was not a single truth left.'* ' The Hells, crowded from ' Earth, had risen to such a height, that they began to ' infest the very Angels of Heaven, and in like manner 'every soul which passed out of the world.'f Historic evidence is superfluous, that our Lord entered a world dark as night and burning to perdition in the fires of selfish and sensual lusts. The salvation of Man in such a case was practicable in one way only — by the creation within his breast of the Heavenly Love which had perished out of it. This re- creation was impossible on Man's part: he had forgotten what he had lost — he had no sense of his degradation. The Creator alone could introduce king and order to the chaos of his fallen nature. Let it be clearly stated — the Divine Advent, among many, had two purposes — 1st, the re-creation of Heavenly Loves in Man ; 2nd, the reduction of his Selfish Loves to the service of the re-created Heavenly Loves. J7«s, in other words, was and is the conquest of Death, the Devil, or Hell. These purposes were accomplished in Jesus Christ. By Him a new heart was set in humanity — a Love unselfish, diff"usive, universal. He took Hell or Self-Love at its core in Judaism and bowed and broke it into helpless sub- servience to Divine Love — ' by His own power He fought * No. 15. t No. 33. NEW LIFE FOR HUMAXITV. 107 ' against all the Hells and wholly quelled them into eternal ' subjection.'* The work begun and perfected in the Lord Jesus was as a seed of unquenchable fire planted in the centre of the Universe, of Angels, Men and Devils. His Holy Spirit diffused through Jewry, spread (and is spreading with ever waxing vigour) into wider and wider circles. All the good influences which stir in us at this hour, individually or socially, are His : so will it be to eternity. Sceptics may wrangle over the fact, but in Christ is the spring of the world's regeneration. He was, (He is) its Saviour from the damnation of Self-Love; and in His redemption, renewed the world's youth : out of Him there is nothing but stagna- tion and death. In a sense as accurate as interior we read His words — " I am the Vine, ye are the branches : he that " abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much " fruit : for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide " not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered."t In this light the common notion of the crucifixion as a vicarious sacrifice rendered to Divine justice for Adam's sin disappears. Redemption was not comprised but completed in the crucifixion : redemption was the business of the Saviour's life ; and the crucifixion its last terrific incident. . It is written of the Lord, that ' He bore our griefs and ' carried our sorrows,' ' was wounded for our transgressions ' and bruised for our iniquities,' and that ' by His stripes we ' are healed ;' that ' it pleased Jehovah to grieve Him,' and ' to lay on Him the iniquity of us all.' In such sentences Swedenborg luxuriates. Inasmuch as the Body from Mary was a concentration of human evil, he perceives in the infinite sorrow and struggle requisite to conform that Body, with its universal affiliations, to the Divine Wisdom, a thorough fulfilment of these testimonies to vicarious suff'ering. In * No. 33. t Jol'n ■''> 6. 108 MARY REPLACED BY GOD. this matter his loyalty to Scripture is imquestionahle, if peculiar. The Lord came, he assures us, to save us from our sins, not in our sins. By our Saviour's cure, our cure was initiated and made practicable. The will and the way to make an end of sin, dates from Him and Him only ; and to profit by His righteousness is verily to be made righteous with His righteousness — that is, to be redeemed from the dominion of Self-Love by His presence in our hearts as the Love of Others. A point is to be noted. The Body assumed from Mary was gradually dispersed, and, as dispersed. Deity was re- vealed, until, at last, God stood manifest as Jesus Christ. As day by day the lusts which found being and access through the Jewish Body were resisted and subdued, that Body was done away. The last combat with Hell — the final separation from all that was Mary's, was effected on the cross when He cried, " It is finished !" The statements, ' that the Lord made His Human Divine ' from the Divine which was in Him, and thus became one ' with the Father,' ' that by successive steps He put off the ' Human from the Mother and put on a Human from the ' Divine in Himself, which is the Divine Human and the Son ' of God,' and ' that this full union of the Divine and the * Human was perfected in the Passion of the Cross, which ' was His last temptation'* — Swcdcnborg sustains by refer- ence to the Athanasian Creed — ' It is affirmed by that Doctrine of the Church, which is ' read throughout Christendom, ' that our Lord Jesus Christ, ' ' the Son of God, is God and Man, who, although He be ' ' God and Man, yet is not two but one Christ ; one by the ' ' taking of the Manhood into God : one altogether by unity ' ' of Person : for as the reasonable Soul and Flesh is one ' ' Man, so God and Man is one Christ.' * Nos. 29, 31 and 35. SANCTION OF ATHANASIAN CREED. 109 * From these words it clearly appears, that it is an ' article of faith in the Christian Church, that the Divine ' and Human in the Lord are not two, but a one, as the ' Soul and Body is one Man ; and, that the Divine in Him ' assumed or took to Itself the Human. Hence it follows, ' that the Divine cannot possibly be separated from the ' Human, nor the Human from the Divine, for this would ' be like separating Soul from Body. ' It is evident from the Evangelists, that Jesus was ' conceived of Jehovah God and born of the Virgin Mary. ' He was thus Divine and Human, Divine from Jehovah the ' Father and Human from the Virgin Mary ; thus equal to ' the Father as to the Divine and inferior as to the Human. ' That the Human from Mary was not transmuted into ' the Divine essence, neither commingled therewith, is further * taught by the Athanasian Creed. Moreover from the * same Creed is our Doctrine, that the Divine took, that is ' united to Himself, the Human as the Soul is united to the ' Body, so that they were no longer two but one. From ' this it follows, that the Lord must have put off the Human ' from Mary, which in itself was like that of another man, ' and put on a Human from the Father which was Divine, ' Hence it is, that in the Prophets the Lord is called, even ' with respect to the Human, Jehovah and God, and in the ' Evangelists, the Lord, God, the Messiah or Christ, and ' the Son of God. ' That the Lord put oflf the Human from the Mother ' and put on a Human from the Divine in Himself may also ' be concluded from the circumstance, that whenever He ' spoke to or of Mai'v, He did not give her the title of ' mother.'* * No. 29. ' There are but three occasions recorded in the Gospels where- ' on the Lord addressed or mentioned Mary : in two of tliese He called ' her " woman," and in the third declined to acknowledge her as mother.' No. 35. See John ii. 3, 4 ; xix. 26, 27 ; Luke viii. 20, 21 ; Matt. xxi. 46-49 ; Mark iii. 31-35. 110 GOD BECAME MAN TO THE UTTERMOST. Swedenborg had an interview with Mary in which she confirmed his opinion of her temporary relationship to the Lord — ' I shall here subjoin,' he writes, ' this extraordinary ' particular. ' It was once granted me to speak with the mother ' Mary. As she passed by, she appeared in the Heaven just ' over my head. She was clothed in white raiment as of ' silk. Staying awhile she said, that she had been the ' mother of the Lord, for He was born of her, but that ' when He was made God, He put off all the humanity ' which He had from her, and that therefore she worships ' Him as her God, and is unwilling that any one should ' acknowledge Him as her son, because in Him all is * Divine.'* How utter was the reduction of Divinity to Humanity, he thus illustrates — ' Since the Human of the Lord was glorified, that is, ' was made Divine, He therefore arose after death on the ' third day with His "Whole Body, which never happens to ' any Man ; for he only rises as to his Spirit and not as to ' his Body. That Mankind might be assured and no doubt ' entertained, that the Lord rose with His Whole Body, He ' not only declared it by the Angels who were in the sepul- ' chre, but He also shewed Himself in His Human Body to ' His disciples, and when they imagined that they saw a ' Spirit, He said, " Behold my hands and my feet, that it is ' " I myself : handle me and see : for a Spirit hatli not flesh ' " and bones, as ye see me have."t As however His Body * was no longer a material but a Divine Substantial Body, ' He came in amongst the disciples when the doors were » Swedenborg tells this story twice in the last book he published— Xos. 102 and .827 'Vera Christiana Seligio,' 1771. t Luke xxiv. 39. OUR LORD AS MAN AND GOD. Ill ' shut,* and after He had been seen He vanished out of ' their sight.f Being thus wholly Divine, He was taken up ' and ' set on the right hand of God,' which means, that ' the Human was thenceforth the medium of the Divine ' omnipotence. ' God from the beginning was a Man in first principles, ' but not in ultimates : after He assumed the Human, He ' was a Man in ultimates. ' That the Human was made Divine in the Lord is a ' truth of which many in Christendom can form no con- ' ception ; the chief reason is, that in thinking of Man they ' take their ideas from his material, and none from his ' spiritual structure.' J By aid of the doctrine of a Divine Soul and a Human Body in Jesus Christ, the various passages, in which at one time He speaks as God and at another as Man, are reconciled — ' As the Lord had from the first a Human from the ' mother, which He put ofl* by degrees, He was therefore ' during his sojourn on Earth in two states ; the one a state ' of humiliation or exinanition, and the other a state of ' glorification, or union with the Divine, called the Father. ' He was in the state of humiliation at the time and in the ' degree, that He was in the Human from the mother ; He ' was in the state of glorification at the time and in the ' degree, that He was in the Human from the Father. In ' the state of humiliation He prayed to the Father, as to a ' Being distinct from Himself ; in the state of glorification ' He spoke with the Father as with Himself. In glorification ' He said, that the Father was in Him and He in the Father, ' and that the Father and He were One. In humiliation ' He underwent temptations, suffered crucifixion, and prayed * John XX. 19-26. f Luke xxiv. 31. X Nos. 35, 36 and 33. 112 LIFE IS aOD IN US. ' the Father not to forsake Him ; for the Divine could not ' be tempted, much less endure crucifixion.'* The various titles assigned to our Saviour — the Son, the Son of Man, the Son of God and others — express these various conditions. He is the Son and the Son of God as to the Humanity from the Father ; He was the Son of Man as to the Body from Mary in sorrow, passion, regeneration, redemption.! A difficulty and a question will here arise — How the Body from Mary could sustain the intelligent offices assigned to it ? and I know not how they can be answered except by reference to Swedenborg himself. The question originates in the conunon conception of Creator and Creation — God and Man as existing in isola- tion, as standing face to face in independence one of the other. With this conception Swedenborg holds no terms ; it is the prime fallacy of human thought ; its confirmation was Adam's fall ; it is the root of every error in religion and philosophy ; and to its exposure he devotes endless pains. Man, he maintains, has no Life in himself ; in common with Creation he is nothing but deadness. God, the Cre- ator, is the only Life : by His presence in each item of Creation each item is quickened into being according to its special form. Observe then, that you or I, reader, arc pronounced void of Life in ourselves. We arc nothing but dead husks which by the Divine presence are vivified into character according to our organization : and mark especially, that God in communicating Himself to us as Life, communicates Himself so utterly, so unreservedly, that absorbing His Personality we cannot evade the feeling^ that we are inde- pendent and self-possessed, and like God Himself have Life in ourselves. No. 35. T No. 43. THE HOLY SPIRIT. 113 It Is of no use to speak of Mind, or Soul, or Spirit as alive. Whatever existences these words may represent, in so far as they are creaturely, they are dead — dead as flesh and blood are dead, even though organized from rarer sub- stances than ponderable matter supplies. Thus is the difficulty met. The Jewish brain received from Mary was in itself dead, but, like every other brain, was vivified by the Divine presence, and a conscious indi- viduality thereby begotten, as distinct from God as any other man's ; and which remained distinct until the final conflict on Calvary obliterated the last line between Jew and Deity. It need scarcely be asserted, seeing all our effort has been to set forth the truth, that the Divine Incarnation in Jesus Christ was with the end of securing a more immediate influence over Humanity. This acquired influence is de- scribed in the New Testament as the Holy Spirit, which the Saviour promised as the result of His objective disappear- ance— " I will send you the Comforter from the Father, the " Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father " I will not leave you comfortless : I will come to you. " Yet a little while and the world seeth me no more ; but " ye see me : because I live ye shall live also. At that day " ye shall know that I am in my Father and my Father in " me It is expedient for you that I go away : for if " I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; "but if I depart I will send Him unto you"* — passages which set forth in explicit terms, that mystical union and at-one-ment of God and Man consummated in Jesus Christ. That the efilux of the Holy Spirit was a result of our Saviour's finished work John explicitly states — ' The Holy ' Ghost was not yet, because that Jesus was not yet glori- * John XV. 2G; xiv. 18-20 ; xvi. 7. I 114 THE HIDDEN TRUTH. ' fied.'* In corroboration it may be remarked, that ' it is ' never said bv the Prophets, that they spake the Word ' from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah, Jehovah of Hosts, ' and the Lord Jehovih. Thus we find them continually ' saying, ' The Word of Jehovah came to me,' ' Jehovah ' ' spake to me also, very often, ' Thus saith Jehovah,' and ' ' The saying of Jehovah.' 'f In this way Swedcnborg nullifies the doctrine of a tri- personal Deity. We have seen how he identifies the Word in Jesus Christ with the Word in the Scriptures and both with Jehovah. ' It has been shewn,' he writes, ' that the ' Divine which is called the Father, and the Divine which is ' called the Son are a One in the Lord,' whence he proceeds to argue, ' that the Holy Spirit is likewise the same with the ' Lord, being an emanation from Him, and thus Himself — ' The reason why the Lord enjoined His disciples to ' baptize in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the ' Holy Spirit was, because there is in the Lord a Trine or ' Threefold Nature, consisting of the Divine which is called ' the Father, the Divine Human which is called the Son, ' and the Divine Proceeding which Is called the Holy Spirit. ' The Divine which is the Father and the Divine which is ' the Son, is the all originating Divine, and the Divine ' Proceeding, which Is the Holy Spirit, is the Divine medium ' of operation. ' Every Man who In his life looks to God, is first of all ' after death instructed by the Angels, that the Holy Spirit ' is not a person separate from the Lord.'|: The inquiry naturally arises. Why, if true, was this doctrine of the Trinity reserved for eighteen centuries to be promulgated by Swedenborg ? He returns this answer — ' The early Christians were simple people who under- ' stood the Word literally, and as in the Letter of the * John vii. 39. t No. 53. t No. 46. ATHANASIUS. 115 ' Word several names are used where only One Being is ' meant, they came to distinguish the Divinity into Three ' Persons. This, on account of their simplicity was per- ' mitted, but with the restriction, that they should believe ' the Son to be infinite, uncreate, almighty, God and Lord, ' and equal with the Father ; and further, that the Persons ' were not two or three but one in essence, majesty and ' glory, consequently in Divinity.'* In this confession were elements out of which, after death in the World of Spirits, a true faith could be evolved. The Church likewise by the pei-mission of Tri-Personalism was saved from destruction in Arianism. He writes — ' I have conversed with Athanasius. He said he could ' find neither the Father, nor the Son, nor the Holy Spirit, ' and bitterly complained of his inability. The reason is, ' that he confirmed himself in the idea of three gods. ' Others who recite his Creed, but do not think narrowly ' about it, and lead a good life, are led to recognize the ' Lord as the only God.'f Swedenborg claims the sanction of the Atlianasian Creed for his doctrine and is ready ' to demonstrate that all the ' contents of that Creed, even to the very words, are ' agreeable to the truth, provided^ that for a Trinity of ' Persons we understand a Trinity of Person.' J With this reservation, the mind of a Swedenborgian may traverse the clauses of that arduous dogma with joyful assent and consent. Further reasons for the revelation of the Doctrine of the Lord in 1763 are hereby adduced — ' The reason why this Doctrine is now first published is, ' because it is foretold in the Apocalypse, that a New * Church should be established at the end of the former in ' which Church this Doctrine will hold the chief place. * No. 55. t 'Diarium Spiriluak.,' No. 5,959. t Nos. 55-60. I 2 116 MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY. ' This Church is signified by the New Jerusalem : into it ' none can enter who do not confess the Lord alone as God ' of Heaven and Earth. ' The reason why the Doctrine has not been perceived in ' the Word before, is, because if it had, it would not have ' been received, for the Last Judgement had not been ' accomplished. Man stands in the midst between Heaven ' and Hell, and before the Last Judgement the influence of ' Hell prevailed over the influence of Heaven. Had there- ' fore the Doctrine of the Lord been known. Hell would ' have plucked it from the Human Heart, and would more- ' over have profaned it. ' The predominance of Hell over Heaven was alto- ' gether destroyed by the Last Judgement. Since then — ' thus now — whosoever wills may become enlightened and ' wise.'* I should simply provide for my own confusion if I asserted, as is sometimes done, that Swedenborg's doctrine makes an end of the mystery of the Trinity. There must ever remain for Men and Angels an immeasureable igno- rance of God ; but let us not mistake ; there is a wide diff'erence between what is mysterious and what is irrational ; and here we note Swedenborg's merit ; not in the abolition of mystery, but in the construction of a rational doctrine, which delivers us at once from the darkness of Tripersonal- ism and the blindness of Sociuianism. It is a Doctrine moreover eminently Scriptural ; not built on a many or a few selected texts ; but one which veritably absorbs and incarnates the Bible. It would far exceed my space to adduce requisite evidence for this statement ; let such as would test its truth, refer to the treatise under review, and * No. 61. WHAT IS GOD? 117 foi- further illustration, to that vast temple of wisdom, the Arcana Ccelestia.'' Nor does the Doctrine of the Lord satisfy the reason alone ; its inmost, its peculiar service is rendered to the heart. Its right reception is an everlasting redemption from that hideous spectre — the Abstract Deity. It gives us God as Man — as the Man Jesus Christ ; for as has been keenly asked, " If Jesus Christ be not God, then tell me, " What is God ?" — a question never to be answered to human satisfaction by any qiiantity of sonorous verbiage concerning the Infinite. ( 118 ) CHAPTER XVI. DOCTRINE OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURE* Among the many tlieoi-ies devised to account for tlie pro- duction of the Scriptures, Swedenborg adopts the extreme one of verbal, yea literal dictation — ' I have been informed in what manner the Lord spake ' with the Prophets by whom the Word was given. Spirits ' were sent to them so divinely possessed, that they spoke ' with the consciousness of Jehovah. What they uttered ' the Prophets wrote, every word pregnant with Divinity .f ' The Word, which is received in tlic Church, is Divine ' Truth Itself ; for it was dictated by Jehovah, and whatever ' is dictated by Him is Divine Truth ui its purity, and can ' be nothing else. 'J Assertions like these, by no means peculiar to Sweden- borg, should be backed with evidence, but for evidence wc look in vain. The Scriptures themselves lay claim to no such origin ; and Protestants, who reproach Catholics with the invention of the immaculate conception of the Virgin, should remember that many of them harbour a dogma quite as fanciful. Under critical scrutiny, the Bible is found to be of no uniform texture, but varied with * 'Doctrina Novce HierosolymK de Scriptura Sacra. Amstelodami : 17G3.' 4to, 54 pages. t 'De C(jcln et dc Inferno,' Nos. 254 and 250, and 'Arcana Cwlcstia,' No. 7,055. i 'Vera Christiana Jitliyio,' No. 85. FICTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE. 119 the characteristics of many authors. When Jeremiah, smitten and set in the stocks for his disagreeable warnings, reasons — ' 0, Jehovah^ Thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: ' Thou art stronger than I and hast prevailed : I am in derision ' daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of Jehovah teas ' made a re2)roach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, ' / will not make mention of Him, nor sjjeak any more in His ' name: hut His word was in mine heart as a burning f re shut * up in my bones, and I was loeary with forbearing, and I could ' not stay'' — * Who can fail to perceive in his complaint the truth about inspiration ? — truth widely differing from the pious fiction of dictation external to the Prophet and he its passive penman. Our Author ventures yet further on dangerous ground and pronounces the Hebrew text exempt from error — ' The Books of the Old Testament have been preserved ' entire to an iota since the time they were written. In ' order that nothing might be taken away from them, it was ' so ordered by the Divine Providence, that all the several ' particulars therein, even to the letters, were counted ; ' and this because of the sanctity within each iota, letter, ' and word. This was done by the Masorites.'f Such a statement will only excite a smile in those con- versant with the real condition of the Hebrew text ; but here again Swedenborg simply lent his sanction to the pious superstition of his time in the perfect accuracy of the Masoretic editorship — a superstition exacted as an article of faith in some Protestant communities. The profane may remark, that it is extremely odd that an author with * Chap. XX. 7-9. t No. 13; 'De Ultimo Jiidicio,' No. 41, and 'Arcana Calestia,' Nos. 1,870 and y,bl9. 120 KORAN AND BIBLE. Angels to help him, should have received no hint, that, even while he was writing, one Doctor Kennlcott of Oxford was collating text with text and eliciting such a variety of readings and inaccuracies as proved conclusively, that Hebrew literature was in nowise exempt from the ordinary vicissitudes of transmission by manuscript. At this point we may read with advantage a passage from Dean Stanley — ' The Koran prides itself on its perfection of compo- ' sition. Its pure Arabic style is regarded as a proof of its ' Divinity. To translate it into foreign languages is esteemed ' by orthodox Mussulmans to be impious, and when it is ' translated its beauty and interest evaporate. The book is ' believed to be in every word and point the transcript ' of the Divine original, Mahomet to have been literally ' ' the sacred penman.' No various readings exist. What- ' ever it once had were destroyed by the Caliph Othman. ' Such is the strength of the Koran. In far other and ' opposite quarters lies the strength of the Bible, and ' Christian Missionaries who are, I believe, constantly ' assailed by Mussulman controversialists with arguments ' drawn from this contrast, ought to be well grounded in ' the knowledge, that in what their adversaries regard as ' our weakness is in fact our real strength. ' The language of the Bible is not classical, but in the ' Old Testament uncouth, in the New Testament debased ; ' yet, both in the Old and New, just such as suits the truths ' it has to convey. The primitive forms of Hebrew are as ' well suited for the abrupt simplicity of the prophetic ' revelations, as they would be ill suited for science or ' philosophy. The indefinite fluctiiatlng state of the Greek ' language at the time of the Christian era, admirably lends ' itself to the fusion of thought which the Christian religion ' produced. Its various readings are innumerable, and, in ' the New Testament form one of the most instructive fields THE WORD IN THE LETTER. 121 ' of theological study. Its inspiration is not, as in the ' Koran, attached to its words, and therefore is not, as in ' the Koran, confined to the original language. It is not ' only capable of translation, but lends itself to translation ' with peculiar facility. The poetry of the Old Testament ' depending for the most part, not on rhyme or rhythm, but * on parallelism, re-appears with almost equal force in every ' version. The translations of the New Testament, from ' the superiority of most modern languages to the debased ' state of Greek at the time of the Christian era, are often ' superior in beauty of style and diction to the original. ' The Apostles themselves used freely a rude version of the ' Old Testament. We use, without scruple, conflicting and ' erroneous versions of both. The essence of the Bible, if ' the essence be in its Spirit, and not in its Letter, makes ' itself felt through all.'* Something of this Swedenborg discerned. ' The Word ' in the Letter,' he writes, ' seems like an ordinary com- ' position, unusual in style, and neither so sublime nor ' perspicuous as some secular writings. Hence the Man ' who worships Nature as God, may easily acquire a con- ' tempt for it, and as he reads, say within himself, ' What is ''this? What is that? Can this be Divine? Is it possible ''that God, whose wisdom is infinite, ''should speak thus? ' ' Wherein is the sanctity of the Scriptures except in ' ' superstition ?' 'f These questionings of ' the Man who worships Nature ' as God' are thus rebuked — ' He who thinks thus, does not reflect that Jehovah ' Himself spake the W ord by Moses and the Prophets, and ' that therefore it must be Divine Truth itself ; for that * ' Lectures on the History of tJie Eastern Church,' Lecture VIII, p. 320, Ijondon, 1861. t No. 1. 122 swedenboeg's presumption. ' which Jehovah speaks can be nothing else. Nor does he ' consider, that the Lord, who is the same with Jehovah, ' spake the Word written by the Evangelists, many parts ' from His own month, and the rest from the spirit of His ' mouth, which is the Holy Spirit. ' He thinks only of the style of the Sacred Scriptures ; ' nevertheless, the style is the Divine style itself with ' which no other style, however sublime and excellent it ' may seem, can be compared ; for it is as darkness to light. ' The style of the Word is such, that it is holy in every ' sense and in every word, yea indeed in some cases, in the ' very letters' — * To which ' the Man who worships Nature as God,' may pertinently reply, that his censor is begging the question ; that the Bible — that bundle of pamphlets by various authors, written at various and widely distant dates, and edited by free and unknown hands — makes no pretence to Divine dictation, or to identity with the Divine Word or Wisdom ; that the proof for a dogma so momentous rests with its propounder, and that until he has established it on satis- factory evidence, it is presumptuous to lecture a dissenter with such an imperial air. Swedenborg's evidence, such as it is, shall now be adduced without interruption, some criticism being reserved until the end. How assured was his confidence in his case may appear from this sentence — ' Lest Mankind should remain in doubt whether such is ' the character of the Word, its Internal Sense has been ' revealed to me by the Lord, whereby its divinity and ' sanctity are made so manifest, that even the Natural Man ' may be convinced — if only there be any willingness in 'him.'t * Nos. 2 and 3. t No. 4. INNEE SENSES OF THE WORD. 123 ' In the Word there is a Spiritual Sense hitherto unknoicn. ' The Spiritual does not appear in the Literal Sense. ' It is within the Literal Sense as the Soul is in the Body, ' or as Thought is in the Eyes and Affection in the Counte- ' nance, and which act as one like Cause and Effect.'* To appreciate this proposition fairly we must revert for an instant to the first principles of the Swedenborgian philosophy. God, the infinite source and centre of Being, is appre- hended by His creatures as the Word. Highest in the ranks of creation are the Angels of Love, who constitute the inner or Celestial Kingdom of Heaven. Subordinate to them, as is the Understanding to the Will, are the Angels of Truth, who form the outer or Spiritual Kingdom of Heaven. Kecalling to memory the grand dogma of the Solidarity of Humanity, we shall note, that these Kingdoms are based on Earth and incarnated in the Church as a Soul in a Body — that the Celestial Heavens abide in the Human Will and the Spiritual Heavens in the Human Understand- ing. Heavenly affection is manifested in Man as Natural Affection and Heavenly Thought as Natural Thought, diverse yet correspondent, related, as Swedenborg per- petually keeps telling us, as Cause and Effect. The apprehension of the Divine Wisdom by the Celestial Angels is the Celestial Sense of the Word, and its appre- hension by the Spiritual Angels is its Spiritual Sense.f Man's apprehension includes both, and is the Natural Sense — altogether diverse from its predecessors but correspondent thereto, diverse and correspondent as is the Brain to the Mind and the Body to the Brain. We may now return to our exposition. The Scriptures embody Man's apprehension of the Word, yea his most carnal apprehension because the apprehension of the Jew. No. 5. f ' Apocali/pns Erplicata ,^ No. 627. 124 WEDLOCK OF WISDOM WITH GOODNESS. We have therefore in the Letter of Scripture an envelope Into which the mind of Angels about God is concentrated ;* and thus — ' The Literal Sense of the Word is the basis, the con- ' tinent, and the firmament of its Spiritual and Celestial ' Senses — their complex in the ultimate degree.f ' These Senses lie concealed in the Letter, The Spiritual ' Sense refers chiefly to the Church and the Divine Truth, ' and the Celestial Sense to the Lord and the Divine Good. ' These Senses are everywhere married. ' Their marriage is indicated in the Letter by double ' expressions which seem like the repetition of the same ' thing. They are not however repetitions, but one refers ' to goodness and the other to truth, and their conjunction ' signifies their wedlock. Thus we may discern the motive ' for such combinations as brother and companion, nation ' and people, joy and gladness, justice and judgement, fire ' and flame, gold and silver, brass and iron, bread and water, ' bread and wine, purple and fine linen, and many others. ' In single words likewise love and wisdom are embraced. ' When bad things are -coupled in a similiar fashion, one ' refers to evil and the other to falsehood in infernal ' wedlock.' I Hence, as in the Body is comprised the whole Man — ' The Divine Truth exists in its fulness, its holiness, and ' its power in the Literal Sense. ' The Word in the Literal Sense is the Word utterly ; ' for in this Sense and within it, there are Spirit and Life ; ' the Spiritual Sense being its Spirit and the Celestial Sense ' its Life ; by the flame of the one it is as a diamond, and by ' the fire of the other it is as a ruby.'§ Such being the merits of the Literal Sense ' the Doctrine * No. 49. t Nos. 6 and 27. i Noi^. 80 to 90. § Nos. 'AT, 39, 40 and 42. DOCTRINE ILLUMINES THE WORD, 125 ' of the Church must be drawn from it, and confirmed ' thereby.'* Without Doctrine, the Scriptures cannot be understood. ' Truth in the Letter is in many places not naked but ' clothed — veiled in appearances. Many truths are accom- ' modated to the simple-minded, who cannot think above the ' impressions of their senses, and even to children. Some ' statements seem to be contradictions, although there are ' no contradictions in the Word viewed in its own light. ' There are also passages in the Prophets from which no ' connected meaning can be elicited. ' Those therefore who read the Word without Doctrine ' read it in darkness. Their minds are unsettled, prone to ' error, an easy prey to heresy.' f Swedenborg might be supposed to be running a parallel, after the manner of Bishop Butler, between Nature and the Scriptures. Whatever difficulty our minds may encounter in the one may be matched in the other. Without Doctrine (commonly styled Science and Law), Nature is unin- telligible and contradictory ; without Doctrine the Scrip- tures are unintelligible and contradictory. Without Doctrine as a clue, we are lost in a maze in both. ' The Word is not only understood by means of Doctrine ' but by Doctrine it is illuminated. Without Doctrine it is ' like a candlestick with no light ; with Doctrine it is like ' one burning. Man then sees more than he saw before, and ' understands what he did not understand before. Things ' obscure and discordant he either fails to see and thus ' passes by, or he sees and explains them in accordance with ' his Doctrine. The experience of the Christian world ' attests that the Word is seen from Doctrine, and explained ' according to it. Protestants see the Word from their ' Doctrine, Romanists from theirs, Jews from theirs. Con- * No. 50. t Nos. 51 and 52. 126 DOCTRINE FROM THE LITERAL SEXSE. ' sequently falsities come fi-om false Doctrine and truths ' from true Doctrine. Thus true Doctrine is as a candle in ' the dark and a guide-post on the way.'* As in the interpretation of Nature we proceed from phenomena tested into certainties to explain illusions, so in the interpretation of Scripture, from naked truths in the Literal Sense, apparent contradictions are resolved into hai-mony and obscurities into light. Out of such naked truths, Doctrine is constructed — ' Genuine Doctrine may be drawn in fiilness from the ' Literal Sense of the "Word ; for the Word in this Sense ' resembles a Man who is clothed, but whose face and hands ' ai-e bare. All things which concern life and salvation are ' bare, but the rest are clothed ; and in many places where ' the parts are clothed, they appear through the clothing 'just as a face appears through a fine silken veil." f Let us read some further illustrations of our Author's ideas concerning the Literal Sense — ' The Word is composed of pure correspondences, and ' hence many things in it are appearances of truth and not ' naked truths ; many things are written according to the ' apprehension of the Natural Man, yea of the Sensual ' Man ; and thus in order that the simple may imderstand ' it in simplicity, the intelligent in intelligence, and the ' wise in wisdom. ' Xow since such is the character of the Word, the ' appearances of truth, which are tniths clothed, may be ' mistaken for naked truths, which when confirmed become ' falsities. This perversion however is only accomplished ' in those who think themselves wiser than others and, have ' a powerful faculty for ratiocination. Such conceited ' reasouers are not wise ; for wisdom consists in seeing * No. 54. t No. 55. NATURE AND LETTER. 127 ' whether a thing be true before confirming it, and not in ' confirming anything we please. ' That appearances of truth in the Word may be taken ' for naked truths and converted into falsities is evident ' from the many heresies which have existed and do exist ' in Christendom. ' In many places in the Word, anger, wrath and ven- ' geance are attributed to God, and it is said that He ' punishes, that He casts into Hell, that He tempts, and so ' on. He who in simplicity believes this, and for that ' reason fears God and avoids sin against Him, is not con- ' demned on account of his simple faith ; but he is con- ' demned, if taking such statements for naked truths, he ' confirms himself in the belief, that the Lord is moved by ' evil passions, and that from anger, wrath and vengeance ' He punishes and casts into Hell ; for by such confirmation ' he destroys the genuine truth, which is, that the Lord is ' love itself, mercy itself, and goodness itself, and He who ' is these, cannot be angry, wrathful and vindictive. ' The Word abounds in apparent truths in which genuine ' truths lie concealed ; nor is it hurtful to think and speak ' according to them ; mischief only begins when they are ' confirmed as realities and the genuine truth thereby de- ' stroyed. To make the matter plain, let us take an ' instance from Nature, since the natural teaches and con- ' vinces more clearly than the spiritual. It appears to the ' eye as if the Sun moved round the Earth daily, and once ' also in the course of the year. Hence it is said in the ' Word, that the Sun rises and sets, that he causes morning, ' noon, evening, and night, and also the seasons of spring, ' summer, autumn, and winter, and thus days and years ; ' when the fact is, that the Sun, being an ocean of fire, ' stands still, and that the Earth revolves daily, and is borne ' around the Sun once a year. If a man in simplicity and ' ignorance thinks that it is the Sun which moves, he does 128 TRUE DOCTRINE DISCOVERED, ' not desti'oy the real truth, that the Earth rotates daily ' upon its axis, and is borne along the ecliptic every year ; ' but if another, by means of the Word and perverse ' reasonings, maintains that the Earth is indeed motionless ' and that the Sun moves as he appears to move, he not ' only invalidates, but destroys the truth. That the Sun ' moves is an apparent truth ; that he does not move is a ' genuine truth. Every one may speak, and does speak, ' in accordance with the apparent truth ; but to think in ' accordance with it as a confirmed reality, blunts and ' darkens the rational understanding,'* How true doctrine is to be extricated from the Literal Sense, how appearances which are likewise realities are to be distinguished from appearances which are illusions, and how from the veritable appearances Doctrine is to be con- structed and confirmed, are questions which will occur to every reader. Whoever advances them in an adverse spirit, may be asked. How Science, which is Doctrine, is evolved from the phenomena of Nature ? The one answer may serve as a guide to the other.f Swedenborg, it is almost needless to repeat, regarded himself as the revclator of a system of true Doctrine, and requires us to recognize in that system the New Jerusalem descending fi-om God out of Heaven. He advances a theory of the Spiritual Universe, just as Newton did of the Physical, and he indicates the tests for its verification — it is drawn from the Literal Sense of the Word and is confirmed thereby. He adduces what he considers the requisite evi- dence in its favour, admits that there are appearances against it, but shows how such appearances may be recon- * Nos. 91 to 95. t ' The Logicians itiiaj^ine Truth sometliiiif^ to be proved, I somctliinp- to ' he seen ; they Roinethiiig to he inanufacturetl, I as something to bo found.' — Mattliew Ainokl's 'Essays on Crilicisni,' Preface, page viii. IN RIGHTEOUSNESS IS WISDOM. 129 ciled and absorbed into unity with his theory ; even as the system of Copernicus explains and absox'bs the phenomena which misled Ptolemy. The conditions of this analogy are different with the difference of Nature and Spirit, and we must be careful not to confound them. There are certain faculties demanded for the apprehension of physical truth ; there are other faculties required for the apprehension of spiritual truth ; and the latter are only to be found in clearness and vigour in conjunction with a righteous life — it is the pure in heart who see God ; the impure are naturally atheists. Our Lord in reply to those who questioned His teaching declared, that he who did his Father's will should know of His Doctrine whether it was of God.* Swedenborg was fully alive to these considerations. He was aware that by no magic of logic or of eloquence was it possible to persuade the Evil to love the light, which by their very constitution they abhorred.f Spirits from Christendom, he tells us, were like to vomit with disgust at his exposition of the Spiritual Sense as developed in the ' Arcana Ccelestia.^ To appreciate the Spiritual within the Literal Sense and true Doctrine amid its appearances is given alone to the Wise — to the Wise whose Wisdom is rooted in Goodness. In our Author's peculiar phraseology — ' No man can see the Spiritual Sense except from the ' Lord, and unless he be principled in genuine ti'uths from ' Him. For the Spiritual Sense of the Word treats only ' of the Lord and of His Kingdom.'}: As Paul testifies, ' The Natural Man receiveth not the ' things of the Spirit of God : for they are foolishness unto ' him : neither can he know them, because they are spirit- ' ually discerned. '§ Swedenborg nevertheless admits, that * John vii. 17. t Jolin iii. 20. t Nos. 26 and 56. ^ 1 Cor. ii. 14. K 130 THE LETTER IS A FENCE. it is possible by a knowledge of the Science of Correspon- dences to violate the Spiritual Sense, to pervert it, and to use it for the defence of falsehood ; but, that such are the terrible calamities which befall those who commit this profanation, that in the mercy of the Divine Providence, it is rarely suffered to take place. Indeed one of the iises of the Literal Sense is, that it serves as ' a guard for the ' genuine truths which lie hidden within. The guard con- ' sists in this, that that Sense may be turned hither and ' thither, and explained anyhow, and yet the Internal Sense ' receive no injury. It does no harm to the Literal Sense ' to be understood variously ; but it does harm if the Divine ' Truths which it invests are perverted, for thereby violence ' is done to the Word.* * The Word is like a garden, which may be called a ' heavenly paradise, in which there are delicacies and de- * lights of every kind — delicacies of fruits and delights of ' flowers. In its midst are trees of life beside fountains of ' living water. Forest trees surround the garden. The ' man who from Doctrine is in Divine Truths is in the ' centre of the garden, where are the trees of life, and is in * the enjoyment of its delicacies and delights. The man ' who is not in Truths from Doctrine, but in the Literal ' Sense alone, is in the circumference of the garden, and ' sees only the woodland. The man who is in the Doctrine ' of a false Religion, and has confirmed its falsity in himself, ' is not even in the forest, but without in sandy plain, where ' there is not even grass.' f Once more let us revert to the doctrine of the Solidarity of universal Humanity — that Heaven and Earth are Soul and Body, that Angels and Men are one Man, and that the Mind of Man about God as set forth in the Holy Scriptures includes and concentrates the Mind of Angels about Him. * No. 97. t No. 96. HEAVEN OPENED BY THE BIBLE. 131 From this doctrine, Swedenborg draws an important practical conclusion and illustrates it by his own experience. ' Man has consociation with the Angels of Heaven by means of the Literal Sense of the Word, because there is in that Sense both a Spiritual Sense and a Celestial Sense, and in these Senses are the Angels ; the Angels of the Spiritual Kingdom being in the Spiritual Sense, and those of the Celestial Kingdom, in the Celestial Sense.'* When therefore the Scriptures are read devoutly, the mind of the reader is brought into contact with the minds of the Angels, and their love and their light are diffused through his being. The consociation is effected instanta- neously and without open consciousness on either side. The reader is inspirited by the presence of Heaven, and Heaven is enlarged and consolidated by extension on Earth. ' It has been plainly shewn me by much experience, ' that the Spiritual Angels are in the Spiritual Sense of the ' Word, and the Celestial Angels in its Celestial Sense. I ' have been permitted to perceive, that when I read the ' Word in its Literal Sense, communication took place with * the Heavens, sometimes with one Society there, and some- * times with another ; and that what I understood according ' to the Natural Sense, the Spiritual Angels understood ' according to the Spiritual Sense, and the Celestial Angels ' according to the Celestial Sense, and that they did so in ' an instant. As I have perceived this communication a ' thousand times, I have no doubt whatever left about it. ' Whilst I have been reading the Word through, from ' the first chapter of Isaiah to the last of Malachi, and the ' Psalms of David, I have been permitted to see clearly, that ' every verse communicated with some Society of Heaven, ' and thus the whole Word with the whole Heaven.' t This intercourse with Angels by means of the Scriptures No. 63. t Nos. 63 and 113. K 2 132 THE BIBLE IN HEAVEX. is likewise intercourse with the Lord, for Angels have nothing to give which is not His. Moreover the Scriptures are the Divine picture as reflected in the Jewish Mind ; and as we study that picture, wherein the Lord is revealed ' in ' fulness, in sanctity, and power,'* we enter into com- munion with Him, The matter is not one for wrangling, but for experiment. Those who habitually meet the Lord in His Word and receive from His presence vigour and wisdom to fulfil His law in their lives, they, and they alone, are qualified to recognize the force of this testimony. The Word — the Divine Wisdom, is the Light of the Heavens. There, as on Earth, it is reduced to writing, but * in a spiritual style, which diff'ers altogether from the ' natural style. The spiritual style consists of mere letters, ' every one of which involves a meaning, and above the ' letters there are points which exalt the sense. The letters * in use among the Angels of the Spiritual Kingdom resem- ' ble those used in printing in our world ; but the letters in f use with the Angels of the Celestial Kingdom, every one ' of which involves an entire meaning, are similar to the ancient Hebrew characters, variously curved, with marks ' above and within them. ' As such is their writing, there are no names of persons ' and places in their Word as in ours, but instead of names ' there are the things which they signify. Thus instead of ' Moses there is the Historic Word ; instead of Elijah, the ' Prophetic Word ; instead of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, ' the Lord as to His Divinity and His Divine Humanity ; ' instead of Aaron, the priestly ofl^ce, instead of David, the ' kingly office, each of the Lord ; instead of the names of * the twelve sons of Jacob, or of the tribes of Israel, the ' various things of Heaven and the Church ; so likewise ' instead of the names of the Lord's twelve disciples ; in- * No. 62. THE HEAVENLY WORD. 133 ' stead of Zion and Jerusalem, the Church as to the Word, ' and as to Doctrine from the Word ; instead of the Land ' of Canaan, the Church itself ; instead of the cities of 'Canaan, on this side and beyond Jordan, vai-ious things ' of the Church and of its Doctrine ; and so on with all other ' names. ' It is the same with numbers. They do not appear in ' the Word in Heaven, but instead of them the things to ' which the numbers in our Word correspond. ' It is evident from these examples, the Word in Heaven ' is a Word corresponding with our Word ; and thus, that ' they are one ; for correspondence makes one.'* How completely the Literal Sense is discriminated from the Heavenly Sense, and thus how different is the Angels' Bible from Man's, may appear from such considerations as these — ' There are three things which disappear from the Literal ' Sense in the evolution of the Internal Sense, namely, ' Space, Time and Person. ' In the Spiritual World there is neither Space nor ' Time ; these belong solely to Nature. As for Person ; in ' Heaven no attention is paid to Person, nor to anything ' pertaining to Person, but to Principles abstracted from ' Person. Discourse directed to Person contracts and limits ' ideas ; whereas Principles abstracted from Persons allow ' of extension to universality and to things innumerable ' and ineffable. ' Such is the speech of Angels — rid of the incumbrances ' of Space, Time, and Person — and especially of the Celestial ' Kingdom, where thought flows forth into the infinite and ' eternal.'! * No. 71. t 'Arcana Caelestia,' Nos. 5,253, 5,287, 5,434, 6,040, 8,343, 8,985, and 9,007, 'Apocalypsis A'xplicata,' Nos. 99, 100, and 175, ' Apocalypsis Bevelata,' No. 768, and many other places. 134 NO BIBLIOLATKY. The Word in Heaven like the Word on Earth has the merit of ministering to all capacities — ' It is wonderful, that the Word in the Heavens is so ' written, that the Simple understand it in simplicity, and ' the Wise in wisdom ; for there are many points and marks ' over the letters, which, as was said, exalt the sense. The ' Simple do not attend to these, nor miderstand them ; but ' the Wise attend to them, every one according to his ' wisdom, even to the highest.'* In all the larger Heavenly Societies a copy of the Word, written by Angels inspired by the Lord, is preserved in a sanctuary, lest it should be altered in any point. In these sanctuaries, there is a light, flaming and of a brilliant white, exceeding all other lights. This unequalled radiance is an external representation of the internal fact, that all the wisdom of the Angels is from the Word.f As the wisdom and glory of the Heavens is from the Word, so is the wisdom and glory of the Church ; but Swedenborg is careful to guard us from the superstition that the mere possession of Bibles constitutes churchman- ship — ' It rs not reading nor hearing the Word, that makes a ' Church, but understanding it ; and such as is the under- ' standing of the Word such is the Church. The Word is ' the Word as it is understood. In so far as it is misunder- ' stood or falsified it ceases to be the Word — ceases to be ' the Truth to him who misunderstands or falsifies it. The ' measure of the understanding of the Word is the measure ' of the Church. It is a noble Church, if in genuine truths ; ' an ignoble Church, if not in genuine truths ; a ruhied ' Church if in falsified truths.' J Our Author advances the opinion, very repulsive to Rationalism — No. 72. t Nos. 72 and 73. t No. 77. MAN S NATURAL DARKNESS. 135 ' That without the Word, no one would have a know- ' ledge of God, of Heaven, or Hell, or of the Life after ' Death, still less of the Lord.'* A favourite notion is, that these ideas are intuitive ' thereby derogating from the authority and holiness of the ' Word, if not openly yet in the heart.' This notion is com- bated by Swedenborg in the assertion, that at this day the Human Will is entirely evil, and as the Will governs the Understanding, it is impossible that it should conceive such truths — ' From his own Will, which is Self-Love, Man does not * desire to understand anything but what relates to himself ' and the world. Everything beyond this is darkness to him. ' Thus, when he beholds the sun, the moon and the stars, if ' perchance he should reflect upon their origin. Would he ' be able to think otherwise than that they exist of them- ' selves ? Could he raise his thoughts higher than many of ' the Learned, who, although they know from the Word that * God created all things, yet ascribe Creation to Nature ? ' What then if they had known nothing from the Word ? ' Do you believe that the ancient sages, Aristotle, Cicero, ' Seneca and others, who wrote about God and the immor- ' tality of the Soul, derived their knowledge from them- ' selves ? No, but from others, who had it by tradition from ' those who first learned it from the Word. Neither do ' writers on Natural Theology derive their tenets from ' themselves, but only confirm by rational arguments what ' they have acquired from the Church, which is in pos- * session of the Word ; and there may be some of those ' writers who do not personally believe in the truths for ' which they verbally contend. ' What Man is of himself clearly appears from those who ' are in Hell (among whom there are some who were prelates * No. 114. 136 OUR TENDENCY TO ATHEISM. ' and learned men), who are not even willing to hear about * Grod, and are not therefore able to pronounce His name. ' I have seen them and conversed with them. I have also * conversed with some, who burst into a rage whenever they ' heard anything said about God. Consider then, what the ' Man would be who had heard nothing about God, when ' there are even such as those, who have heard about Him, ' written about Him, and preached about Him.'* The question is an interesting one ; and it is to be settled by experience. If it is maintained, that the knowledge of God and a Future Life is innate in the Human Mind, it may be asked of the dogmatist. Whether he has found the knowledge innate in himself — whether he enjoys an inde- pendent revelation of God and eternity? His answer will probably be in the negative, but with the conviction, that what has not been his experience, has certainly been the experience of Seers, Prophets, and Great Souls in all ages. It might be further inquired. Whether an instance is known of any one whose life or teaching has exceeded the measure of the spiritual knowledge external to him, whether derived directly from the Word or from tradition? The answer again would be in the negative. Testing the question once more by our private experience. Have we not all to confess that our conduct falls below our knowledge? that as we sing out every Sunday, " We have left undone those things " which we ought to have done, and we have done those " things which we ought not to have done, and there is no " health in us ;" that our constant tendency is to selfishness and to forgetfulness of God ; and that unless it were for sustained communion with the Word in the church and the closet, we should speedily sink into utter worldliness and atheism. Yes ; experience certifies to the soundness of Sweden- « Nos. 115 and IIG. INTUITION AND EXPERIENCE. 137 borg's judgement on this head. Of ourselves we should never know God. Nevertheless there is another side to the question. If the Evil in us denies God, it is the Good in us which confesses Him. This, Swedenborg illustrates in a thousand passages ; and the same tendency to denial and affirmation he holds true of a Future Life — ' In those who do not shun evils as sins, there lies an ' inward disbelief in a life after death. ' In those who have any religion, there is an inward * confidence in a life after death.'* In these sentences we have the conditions of faith and no faith in a nutshell ; only let us be careful to remember the wide distinction, that exists in this world, between lips and hearts. Swedenborg can be claimed by neither the Sensationalists nor the Intuitionalists, and he may be cited to the assistance of both. For the perfection of an idea or a belief, he requires the presence of an internal and an external — an intuition and a sensation — a feeling and a knowledge. Faith is complete in the congress of the two. Without knowledge feeling is dissipated ; without feeling, knowledge is a lifeless husk. The words of Scripture may be to one as a dreary noise ; to another, in David's phrase, ' more to ' be desired than gold, yea than much fine gold, sweeter also ' than honey and the honeycomb.' As for God, the very mention of His name may be an oifence ; whilst from another the cry goes forth, " As the hart panteth after the water " brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, 0 God." By the outer revelation of the Word in the Scriptures, the inner revelation of the Word in the Heart is brought forth into ' fulness, sanctity and power.' Each is indispensable to perfect existence. We have noted, that the religious knowledge ' of ancient * ' De Divina Frovidentia,' No. 174. 138 THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. ' sages, of Aristotle, Cicero, Seneca and others,' is referred to ' tradition from those who first learned it from the Word.' This Word was not the Jewish Scriptures, but the Word of the Ancient Church, which was lost or forgotten and is at this day preserved among the Tartars.* From memories of this Word, whatever of true morality existed in ante- Christian civilization, was derived. Swedenborg holds firmly by the principle, that knowledge cannot be evolved from the Human Mind, and certainly not heavenly know- ledge from the Infernal Mind. In the same way he accounts for the existence of spii-itual truth in the Heathen World. It is either trans- mitted from the Ancient Word, or from the Jewish Word by intercourse with those who possess it. ' There is no knowledge of the Lord and no salvation where * the Word is not "known. ' It is therefore provided by the Lord, that there shall ' always be a Church on Earth where the Word is read, ' and where thereby the Lord is known. When the Word ' was totally rejected by the Papists, the Reformation was ' effected and the Word again received. ' The Word in the Reformed Church gives light to all ' Nations and Peoples by spiritual communication. For ' this reason, by the Divine Providence of the Lord, there ' is universal intercourse of the Kingdoms of Europe ' (especially of those in which the Word is read) with the ' Nations out of the Church.' f Here is the inmost, the secret cause of the commerce of England and America and of the isolation of the Papal Kingdoms. To the question, Why the Spiritual Sense of the Word was not previously disclosed ? the same reason is assigned as in the case of the Doctrine of the Lord — ' The Christians * See Vol. \. page 340 of the present work. t Nos. 108-111. HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 139 ' of the primitive Church were men of so great simplicity, ' that the Spiritual Sense of the Word could not be revealed ' to them ; they could neither have used it, nor understood ' it. The Papists were neither able nor willing to receive ' anything spiritual ; and the Protestants, by their sepa- ' ration of faith from charity, and their worship of three ' gods, would have falsified the Sense had it been made ' known to them. ' The Spiritual Sense is at this day manifested by the ' Lord because the Doctrine of genuine Truth is now ' revealed ; and this Doctrine, and no other, is in harmony ' with that Sense.'* Such is Swedenborg's Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture. It may appear fanciful, in parts it may be fanciful, but it is based upon a dogma from which it is hard to escape — the dogma, that God is the Creator of the Universe, that His Creation is an emanation from Himself, and that in all its gradations and details from first to last, from inmosts to outmosts, it reveals Him. If this be true, everything, to the extent of its being, is a Word of God — a stone, a tree, a fish, a bird, a beast, a man. So far, few will hesitate to accompany us ; indeed to hesitate is to question the first principle of what is called Natural Theology. Let us however come at once to the point in view. The History of the Jews as given in the Scriptures is called the Word of God, to the common offence of the rational world. It will not be contested, that the Jewish Nation was a Divine Word — a revelation of the Divine Wisdom whether displayed in Jewish righteousness, or in * Nos. 24 and 25, and ^Apocahjiisis ExpUcala,'' No. 376. 140 GOOD AND BAD HISTORY. judgement and destruction in Jewish sin ; in either case the Divine Wisdom was made manifest. The question of the propriety of the tei-m, the Word of God, does not therefore apply to the Jews in themselves, but to the History of the Jews. Unless we are atheists, or unless we hold the extraordinary opinion, that there is no relation or corespondence between the Creator and His Creation, we admit so much, that the Jews themselves were a Word of God. ' For God did make this world, and does ' for ever govern it ; the loud-roaring Loom of Time, with ' all its French revolutions, Jewish revelations, ' weaves the ' ' vesture thou seest Him by.' '* The Jewish Nation was a Word of God. Granted : but the Histoiy of that Nation, How is it the Word of God? What is History ? Matthew Arnold says, ' A huge ' Mississippi of falsehood, on which a foam-bell more or ' less is of no consequence' — and probably a very accurate answer. Nevertheless we have an ideal of what History should be, namely, an accurate reflection in words of a reality in life. If the Jews were a Word of God, such a History of them might be entitled to the same appellation. Exhaustive History is impossible. We can never de- scribe all which appears. Under examination the meanest existence widens into the indefinite, the image of the In- finite, and the more which is told of it, the more there is to tell. How then shall History be written? Not by adventur- ing in the hopeless attempt to relate everything, but by the description of facts which are pivotal and representative — of facts which sum up, include, and indicate particulars. History, like painting, is done by selection ; and a good historian like a good painter is distinguished by his judicious selection of facts. You may have volumes of details about * Carlyle's 'Latter Day Pamphlets — Jesuitism,' page 273, ed. 1858. MEEIT OF THE BIBLE. 141 a man or nation and learn little therefrom ; while a single graphic phrase, which hits off a really representative truth, will afford more information than them all. Now, have we in the Scriptures such a History of the Jews ? — such a picture of Christ ' the consummation of ' Jewry ? ' It seems to me we have. ' The Hebrew Bible, is ' it not,' asks Carlyle, ' before all things true, as no other 'Book ever was or will be?'* To its truth the Bible owes its everlasting vitality and influence. It is true as Shakspere is true, but with a depth beyond Shakspere's, for all its utterances revolve around God — God is its centre, Man and Nature its circumference. Colenso and others of the same genus, expend much useful labour on its arithmetic and topography, but its arithmetic and topography, like the anachronisms of Shakspere, are of the slightest possible moment. People who fancy they are undermining the Bible by such business plainly discover, that they are destitute of any adequate conception of its merits. Of any number of such errors, actual or imaginary, we hear with equanimity, as long as we feel that it is a matchless picture of Human Nature in reference to God, as long as we discern that the story of Israel, of Abraham, Moses, David and the Prophets, and of Him whose experience was the summary of them all, is told with infallible confonnity to the deepest realities of life. Why Jewish History should have been chosen for the Historic Manifestation of the Word, might be answered by the child's reason — Because it is. Had we such a History of any other people, we should have a Word of God. Sweden- borg tells us, that the nations of Christendom at this day bear the same relations to each other, that the Moabites, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, Syrians, Egyptians, Chal- * ' Loiter Day Pamphlets— Jesuitism,^ page 271. 142 PECULIARITY OF JEWISH HISTORY. deans, and Assyrians did to Israel.* Edward Irving says truly, ' The expedition of the Prince of Orange for the Pro- ' testant cause into England is as wonderful a manifestation ' of God's arm as any event in the History of the Jews;' and we find him longing, ' Oh, that the History of the ' Church was drawn up by one possessed of the Spirit of ' God, who, in a short space and with a round pen, would ' draw it out after the manner of the books of Samuel and ' the Chronicles, adjoining to it specimens of the most * pious writings of the Fathers, which might answer to the ' Histoi-y as the Prophets answer to the Old Testament ' History.'t Swedenborg does not leave us however without a reason for the selection of the Jews. They were chosen because they were the most carnal and external of Mankind, and as the skin invests the Body and the Body the Mind, the His- tory of the Jews is inclusive — is universal History Hence it is that the Wise see themselves in the Scriptures as in a mirror, and receive reproof, counsel, and encouragement in their study ; likewise the explanation of all other History and the unveiling of God as the source and root of all national life and unity. The History of England ever so truly written could never be what the History of the Jews is, for English life has never blown out so utterly in flesh and blood. The Scriptures are thus, first the History of the Jews, then of Man, then of the Heavens, and inmostly the revelation of God — Sense within Sense. § * 'Z>e Divina Providentia,' No. 251. t Edward Irving in his Journal kept for his wife, 1825, from his ' Life' by Mrs. Oliphant, Vol. I. pp. 257 and 350. i "Whoever has studied the Jew must have observed his external character — his devotion to things to the exclusion of ideas. All his thoughts are absorbed in the world and the flesh — in money and merchandise, house and raiment, and sensual delight. His eyes turn outwards and downwards, never upwards and inwards. § M. Guizot at a meeting of the French Bible Society, said — THE BIBLE TRUE. 143 I therefore end in yielding a general assent to Sweden- borg's Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture. How the Scriptures were written I do not know, nor much care to know : certainly not to external dictation as alleged. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews gives the most satisfactory explanation in the few words — ' God who at sundry times and * in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers hy the ' Prophets^ hath in these last days spoken unto us hy His Son hy ' whom He made the worlds.'' Like Cowper's cottager I am content ' to know the Bible truef that it is a temple of the Heavens and a sanctuary of the Lord. " Historically, the Old Testament and the Gospel contain a fact — a spec- " tacle without parallel. It is the History, if I may be pardoned such an " expression, it is the History of God Himself, in His relations with Souls " and Human Societies. It is the spectacle of the one, real, personal God, " incessantly present and acting in the World. No other national and " religious history presents anything resembling it. That great spectacle, " that unique spectacle, is first unfolded among a small people, shut up and " ignored in a little corner of the world. The religion of the Old Testament " and the Gospel commenced in isolation and obscurity. Then all at once, " on a given day, at a determined hour, that religion passes from obscurity " to an immense ambition — from isolation to the conquest of the world. It " announces that conquest, and advances to it through the most unexpected " enterprises, and by contests sometimes the most sanguinary, sometimes the " most skilful. And it is evidently attaining its purpose ; evidently our "earth is belonging to the Christian Nations; they are conquering it by " mind and by strength, and will possess it entirely. Who would not be "struck with such a fact accomplished by the Bible? Who would not see '' in it a proof of their mission and a source of their power ?" ( 144 ) CHAPTER XVIT. THE DOCTRINE OF LIFE AND OF CHARITY.* We have here a treatise on the Conduct of Life, and the distinction between the Heavenly and the Infernal Man, Swedenborg opens his theme with the maxim, that ' All ' Eeligion has relation to Life, and, the Life of Religion is to ' do Good.' By references to Scripture, to common-sensCj and to the Athanasian Creed, he maintains the position, that a Good Life leads to Heaven and a Bad Life to Hell. But a Good Life what is it? and a Bad Life what is it? A Bad Life, he answers, is a Life governed by Self-Love j a Good Life is one governed by the Love of God and the Neighbour. The goodness or badness of a Life is decided by its motive. In the discovery of the motive of a Life there is a difficulty, inasmuch as the Infernal Life of Self-Love may display itself (and mercifully so) in the same acts as the Heavenly Life — ' A man gives to the poor, relieves the needy, endows ' churches and hospitals, promotes the good of the church. * ' Doclrina Vitcc pro Nova Hierosolyma ex Prceceptis Decalogi. Amste- ' lodami ; 1763.' 4to., 36 pages. ' Doctrina Novai Hierosolymce de Charitale. Londini : 1839.' A posthu- mous and unfinished work, published by the Swedenborg Society. It was possibly intended for the promised work (see ante pp. 100 and 102) ' Angelic ' Wisdom concerning Life.' From the references it contains, it would appear to have been written about 1764. Paul is quoted for the first time in the course of the treatise, No. 1 1 , in evidence, ' that loving the Neighbour is ' fulfilling the Law.' REALITY AND APPEARANCE. 145 ' of his country, and of his fellow-citizens, frequents places ' of public worship, listens attentively to what is said there, ' and is devout in his prayers, reads the Word and books ' of piety, and thinks about salvation ; and yet knows not ' whether he does such things from himself ' (i.e. from Self- Love) ' or from God. It is possible he may do them from ' God, and it is possible he may do them from himself.'* If such acts are done for selfish ends, then, so far as the doer is concerned, they are infernal, ' for no one can do good, ' which is really good, from Self-Love.' They are not done for the benefit of Others but for the benefit of Self, and if Self were not to be gainer, they would be left undone. How many fine sentiments would vanish, how many labours would be unattempted, and how many donations would rest in the pocket, if only no equivalent in praise or power were expected ! How often do we see superficial amiability changed to cynicism and malice when the Self-Love in which it originates is crossed or denied its gratification ! ' He who is restrained from Sin by the worldly con- ' siderations of reputation, loss, and punishment is not ' delivered from Evil, as is manifest after death. Although ' such a one had not on Earth committed murder, adultery, ' theft, and false witness, the lusts are latent within him, and ' he is found ready for any mischief when he foresees no ' danger. It is on this account that such persons act in ' unity with Hell, and cannot but have their lot with those ' who are in Hell.'f On the other hand, he who is moved by the Love of God or Man, does the same acts simply and faithfully whether praise or blame be his portion, ' hoping for nothing again.' He is kind to his Neighbour because he loves him, and is rewarded in the spectacle of his well-being. He does God's will because His will is holiness, justice, and peace. Thus * No. 9. t No. 03. L 146 ESSENCE OP RELIGION. his motives have a perennial origin and consistency. He is what the decorous selfish man pretends to be. Having stated so much, Swedenborg proceeds to show how Heavenly Life is to be acquired. At this day we are all born subjects of Infernal Life ; in other words, with Self-Love for our predominant motive ; and it is the Divine purpose of our earthly probation to overcome the Lifernal by the Heavenly Life, and, when overcome, to hold it in subordination and service to that Life, even as Hell is governed and used by Heaven. Swedenborg's grand recipe and specific for this process is, ' the shunning of Evils as Sins — ' So far as Man shuns Evils as Sins, so far he does what ' is Good, not from himself,' [i.e. from Self-Love] ' but from ' the Lord. ' Who does not know, or may not know, that Evils ' prevent the Lord's entrance into Man ? For Evil is Hell, ' and the Lord is Heaven ; and Hell and Heaven are oppo- ' sites ; so far, therefore, as Man is in the one, so far it is ' not possible for him to be in the other ; for the one acts ' against and destroys the other.'* The Decalogue teaches what Evils are Sins ; and ' so far ' as any one shuns murders of every kind as Sins, so far he ' has Love towards his Neighbour ; so far as any one shuns ' adulteries of every kind, so far he loves chastity ; so far ' as any one shuns thefts of every kind as Sins, so far he ' loves sincerity ; and so far as any one shuns false witness ' of all kinds as Sins, so far he loves Truth.' f In another place he tells us, ' The very essence of the ' Christian Religion consists in shunning Evils as Sins. 'J This prescription is very offensive to Rationalists ; one * No. 18. t Nos. 21 to 3G. \ ' De Divina Providentia,' No. 265. EVIL IS SUBDUED BY GOOD. 147 of Mr. J. Stuart Mill's criticisms of Christianity is, that its morality is mainly prohibitive and therefore insufficient. Why, it is asked, deal in these negations ? Why not teach to do Good rather than to shun Evil ? Why not leave Evil * to the expulsive force of Good Affections ?' Like many of the objections to Christianity raised by those whose pride it is to call themselves Positivists, this too will be found highly visionary when brought to the test of experience. The desire to lead a Heavenly Life is awakened in the heart. How does such a desire proceed to action ? Around it in a burning circle are the passions of Self-Love bursting into flames of act, or smothering under the covers which prudence, or cunning, or fear impose. What is to be done ? The awakened desire is as a king entering into an inherit- ance of anarchy and insurrection : (the Israelites led by Joshua into Canaan is a Biblical representation of the case). What is the king to do ? Plainly, to reduce his inheritance to order ; that is his first duty. It is idle to talk of good works, of noble enterprises, and gentle delights whilst the high places are held by rogues and by ruffians. He must search out his foes one by one and subdue them. Such must be the procedure in the heart wherein the Divine Kingdom is to be established. ' Cease to do evil,' precedes ' Learn to do well.' Here let us mark, and carefully, the conditions of the warfare against Self-Love. It is carried on by Good Affec- tions enlightened by Truths. A war within the breast, as a war without, involves two parties ; hence says our Author — ' No one has power not to will Evils because they are ' Sins, and therefore to cease from their commission, except ' from an Interior or superior Love.'* If a cruel and vicious temper Is resisted. It is resisted * ' De Divina Providentia,' No. 73. L 2 148 ANGEL VERSUS DEVIL. by loving-kindness. If adulterous inclinations are resisted, it is by a chaste affection to which impurity is hateful. If covetousness and theft are resisted, it is by a spirit of probity and justice. If falsehood and deceit are resisted, it is by sincerity and simplicity. The resistance is in every case effected by an antagonistic virtue ; the combat is accomplished ' by the expulsive force of a Good Affection and in the exercise of the warfare, the Good Affection is amplified, invigorated, consolidated. It is therefore quite a mistake to regard, ' Cease to do Evil ' as a mere negation ; the command implies the existence of a power interior to the Evil, and adequate to its coercion. ' So far as any one fights against Evil, and thereby ' removes it, so far Good succeeds in its place ; and from ' Good only he looks Evil in the face, and then sees it to ' be infernal and horrible ; and because it is so, he not ' only shuns it, but also holds it in aversion, and at length ' abominates it. ' Such combat is not grievous, except to those who have ' given up the reins to their concupiscences, and have de- ' liberately indulged them, and also to those who have ' confirmed themselves in the rejection of the holy things ' of the Word and of the Church. To others it is not ' grievous : and should they resist Evils in intention only ' once a week, or a fortnight, they will perceive a change.'* As Self-Love is subdued, the Love of Others, with its appropriate Wisdom, enters, and the Man is thus gradually translated from Hell to Heaven— transformed from a Devil into an Angel. His activities are all beneficent— he goes about doing good. His Self-Love, reduced from the place of master to that of servant, is still operative, but only as the guard of his individuality and for his preservation in efficiency as an instrument of use to others. * Nos. 95 and 97. man's work wholly external. 149 In the course of his disquisition, Swedenborg has fre- quently to protect himself from the imputation that he encourages us to effect our salvation by our own efforts. There is no question, that he stands in full opposition to magical salvation whether by Popish sacraments or Pro- testant dogmas, but it is incorrect to assert, that he teaches that a man can cure himself spiritually, any more than he can cure himself physically. We are learning in hygiene, that we can do nothing to remove disease or maintain health beyond placing ourselves in appropriate conditions — denying ourselves, eating and drinking in moderation, breathing pure air, washing our skins, keeping quiet, and awaiting our reward. Our share of the business is wholly external. If in this way we do our duty outwardly, the inward work is done for us in waking and sleeping. There is no use fretting about our interiors : they are quite with- out our control. Between our physical health and our spiritual there is an exact analogy. We cannot regenerate our minds any more than our bodies — ' No one can be ' cleansed or purified from Evils of himself ; for there are 'infinite concupiscences in evei'y Evil.'* We cannot ex- plore the intricacies of our lusts. To make the attempt would be to convert ourselves into such wretched spiritual hypochondriacs as are displayed in multitudinous volumes of pietistic biography. Hence we discern the wisdom of the advice, ' Shun Evils as Sins.' If thus we guard the outside, the Lord will effect the marvellous, the incon- ceiveable process of internal regeneration. ' It is well known that the law of Sinai was written ' upon two tables, and that the first table contains those ' things which relate to God, and the second, those which ' relate to Man. In the table which is for Man, it is not ' said that he should do this or that good ; it is 'said that * No. 112. 150 GOD ALONE MOVES MAN. ' he should not do this or that evil ; as, that he should not ' kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, covet ; the ' reason is, because Man cannot do anything good from ' himself,' {i.e. from Self-Love) ' but when he ceases to do ' evils, then he does good, not from himself, but from the ' Lord.' {i.e. from Love to Others.) ' The Lord is continually present and operative, and ' urgent to enter, but it is for Man to open the door ; and ' the door is opened when he obeys the directions written ' on his table. Conjunction with the Lord is thereby ' effected.'* Yet further : Swedenborg annihilates the last vestige of merit on Man's side. It might be placed to his credit, that he opens the door to the Lord ; but he bids us note, that the very desire to refrain from Sin is the Lord's impulse, yea His very presence in Man. With a daring beyond the imagination of theologians, but amply warranted by Scrip- ture, he defines the Love of Others in the Human Heart to be the Lord in that Heart ;t and since government by that Love is salvation, therefore the Lord is salvation. It is nothing to the purpose to assert, that such Love is felt by us to be our own, and that in its combats with Self-Love it is as if Self strove with Self. Such is Indeed the sensation, but sensation must not be confounded with reality — ' He who fights against Evils must needs combat as ' from himself, otherwise he does not fight, but stands still ' like an automaton, seeing nothing and doing nothing ; and ' from the Self-Love in which he is, he continually thinks ' in favour of Evil and not against it. Nevertheless it is to ' be well known, that the Lord alone fights in Man against * ' Vita,' Nos. 57, 58 and G2. ■(- ' The Internal Man is nothing else but Mutual Love. The things of ' the Internal Man are of the Lord, so that it may be said the Internal Man ' is the Lord.' — 'Arcana C'a:kslia,' No. 1,594. SF.LF-LOVE ALWAYS INFEKNAL. 151 * Evils, and that it only appears to Man aa if he fought ' from himself ; and the Lord is willing that it should so ' appear inasmuch as without the appearance there could be ' no combat, and consequently no reformation.'* More of this when we come to the treatise on the Divine Providence. It is this doctrine of Man's quasi life, which, beyond all others, gives Swedenborg a position altogether unique in the Temple of Philosophy. The opening of the posthumous and unfinished pamphlet on Charity covers much the same ground as that on Life. Again it is asserted, ' that the first part of Charity consists ' in looking to the Lord, and shunning Evils as Sins ; and ' that until Evil is shunned as Sin, the Good which a Man ' does is spurious because done with a selfish purpose — ' It is possible for the Wicked to love each other mu- ' tually — possible for robbers, and even for Devils, but not ' from Charity. A wicked man may do good as well as a ' good man. He may render assistance to another, do him ' many good services from good-will, from kindness, from ' friendship, from compassion ; nevertheless, these good ' offices are no part of Charity in him who docs them' — f He is working all the while from Self-Love ; his good- ness ' is none other than animal goodness, which wild beasts ' manifest in their cages and chains towards those who feed, 'punish, or cajole them.' J Swedenborg has no confidence in Self-Love acting amiably. He knew that at any instant it might change to indifference, or hatred and violence if its private advantage seemed in jeopardy. He holds that it is not possible to be useful with a heavenly thoroughness, * from the aff"ection of glory, honour, lucre, or pleasure.' For example, those who do their business from the Love of Approbation — * ' Vita; Nos. 22 and 96. t ' I>c Charitate,' Nos. 17 and 31. i No. 22. 152 VANITY, GKEED AND LUXUKY. ' Are laborious and watchful in tlicir work and do uses ' in abundance, yet not from the Love of Usefulness, but ' from the Love of Self, not from Love to the Neighbour, ' but from the Love of Glory. They enjoy no repose or ' peace of mind, except when fame or credit are in view ; ' and when this is not the case, they rush into voluptuous ' enjoyments, into drunkenness, feasting, whoring, hatred ' and revenge, and defamation of those who do not respect ' them. If from time to time they are not promoted to ' higher dignity, they loath their employments, and give ' themselves up to idleness, and after death become demons.'* Those whose lives are governed by Acquisitiveness — ' Are careful, prudent, industrious, and especially so if ' they be merchants or workmen. If they are officials, they ' are vigilant and sell their service. If they are judges, they ' sell justice ; if priests, salvation. Lucre is their Neigh- ' hour. They love their occupations for lucre and from ' lucre. If they fill a high office, they may sell their country ' and its army, and deliver their countrymen to the enemy. ' In as far as such persons are removed from the fear of the ' law and the loss of the profits of good character, they rob ' and steal. They do not know what it is to do good or be ' useful to a Neighbour for the Neighbour's sake. They are ' outwardly sincere and inwardly insincere.' f They who work to buy Pleasure — ' Are corporeal and sensual. Their spirits are unclean. ' They have no Charity, but are mere cupidities and appe- ' tites. They are Men-Beasts — dead, and their duties irk- ' some. They shirk labour, and only regard pay as a means ' of pleasure. They lie in bed and dream of nothing but ' the means of finding others of the same sort to talk, eat ' and drink with. They are public burdens. All such are ' shut up in workhouses after death, where a master pre- * Xo. 122. t No. 123. DIVINE OPERATION IN MAN. 153 ' scribes a daily task, and until it is done, neither food, ' clothing, nor bed is allowed them. Thus they are compelled ' to be useful. The Hells abound in such workhouses.'* No good can be done until the house — the Man's Mind — is cleansed and set in order — ' The Lord cannot enter into Man, to do any good from ' Himself through Man, before the Devil, that is Evil, is ' cast out ; but afterwards He can. The Devil is cast out ' by means of repentance, and then the Lord enters and ' does good through the Man ; nevertheless always in such ' a manner, that the Man feels no otherwise than that he does good from himself yet knows^ that it is from the Lord.'f Note once more the distinction between sensation and reality. ' The second part of Charity consists in doing Goods ' because they are Uses'^: — that is because they promote the well-being of the Neighbour. Charity is defined as Love or Aftection for Goodness and Truth as manifested in Man- kind ; and every service rendered to the Neighbour for the Neighbour's sake ' is called a good of charity or a good ' work.'§ The interest of the treatise on Charity consists in its display of Swedenborg's practical temper. It is always interesting to see how a philosopher, whose forte lies in abstractions, conducts himself when he descends to illustra- tions drawn from ordinary life. In order to convince us, ' that in the spiritual idea Goodness and Truth are the 'Neighbour who is to be loved '|| and not the Person — ^not the mere figure of Humanity, he puts these cases — ' Set before you three persons, or ten, whom you may ' be selecting for some domestic oflSce, and what other ' criterion have you, but the Goodness and Truth which are * No. 124. t Nos. 7 and 41 to 45. X No. 10. I No. 7, j| Nos. 18 and 24. 154 GENUINE AND SPURIOUS CHARITY. ' in them ? Man is Man from Goodness and Truth. Or, if ' you are selecting one or two to enter your service, Do you ' not inquire into the Will and Intellect of each ? The ' Neighbour you can love will be the one you will choose. ' On this occasion, a Man-Devil may present the same ' appearance as a Man- Angel. Benefiting the Man- Angel, ' for the sake of the Goodness and Truth in him, and not * benefiting the Man-Devil, is Charity ; for Charity consists ' in punishing the Man-Devil if he does evil, and in re- ' warding the Man- Angel. Or, if you regard ten young ' women, of whom five are unchaste and five are chaste, with ' the view of choosing a wife, Will you not choose one of ' the chaste, according as her style of Goodness matches ' your style of Goodness ? ' A Man is a Neighbour according to the kind and ' measure of his Goodness. Whoever does not distinguish ' Mankind by the test of Goodness, may be deceived in a ' thousand instances and his Charity confounded and an- ' nulled. A Man-Devil may exclaim, " I am the Neighbour : ' " do good to me !" and if you do good to him, he may kill ' you or some other person ; for you are placing a sword in ' his hand. Simpletons act thus : they say everybody is * equally the Neighbour and see no necessity for inquiring ' into the qualities of men. God regards such indiscrim- ^ inate genei'osity as favour shewn to Evil. The Evil ' clamour for liberty and assistance, and their great power ' for mischief is derived from their alliance with goodnatured * fools. On the contrary, he who loves the Neighbour from ' genuine Charity, diligently inquires what sort of character ' he has to deal with, and what manner of service will be ' beneficial to him. He searches out and conjoins himself ' with whatever Goodness is in the Man, and that Goodness ' he cherishes and assists : and should the Man fall away ' and the Goodness perish, then his attachment and service ' at the same time cease ; for it is the Goodness he favours — WHAT IS THE NEIGHBOUR? 155 ' not the Person. Charity, that is really genuine, is prudent ' and wise. Other Charity is spurious, because merely ' impulsive, gushing from the Will without qualification in ' the light of the Understanding.'* ' Our Neighbour, in a Spiritual Sense, is Good ; and *■ as Use is Good, our Neighbour, in a Spiritual Sense, ' is Use. ' ' That Use is our Spiritual Neighbour, every one must ' acknowledge : for who loves a Man merely as a Person, ' and not rather for something in him, by virtue of which he ' is what he is ? Therefore he loves him for his quality, for ' that is the Man. This quality which is loved is Use, and ' is called Good ; wherefore this is our Neighbour. As the ' Word in its bosom is Spiritual, therefore in its Spiritual ' Sense, this love of Good is what is signified by loving our ' Neighbour. ' It is one thing however to love our Neighbour from ' the Good or Use that is in him towards ourselves, and ' another to love our Neighbour from the Good or Use ' that is in ourselves towards Mm. A Bad Man can love a ' Neighbour for the Use he gets out of him, but to love the ' Neighbour from the Use which the Good in us may be to ' his Good, can only be done by a Good Man.'f There are therefore as many varieties of Neighbour as there are differences of Goodness ; ' and the differences of ' Goodness are infinite. It is commonly believed that a ' brother or a kinsman is more a Neighbour than a stranger, ' and a fellow-countrymen, than a foreigner ; but birth does ' not make one person more a Neighbour than another, ' not even a father or a mother, nor education, nor kin, nor ' country. Every one is a Neighbour according to his ' Goodness, be he Greek, or be he Gentile.' | • Nos. 20, 21 and 61. t '-De Fide,' Noa. 20 and 21. i ' Vita,' Nos. 26 and 28. 156 NEIGHBOURS SMALL AND GKEAT. In a larger sense, a Society, a Nation, and the Human Race is the Neighbour — ' That an individual is the Neighbour is commonly known. ' That a Society is the Neighbour, is because a Society is ' a composite Man. That a Country is the Neighbour, is ' because a Country consists of many Societies, and thus is ' a still more composite Man. That the Human Race is the ' Neighbour, is because the Human Race is the union of ' great Societies, each of which is a Man in the composite, ' and because it is therefore a Man in the widest sense. ' A Society is the Neighbour according to its use. There ' are some Societies whose function it is to administer civil ' affairs, which are manifold ; some to administer judicial ' and commercial affairs ; also various ecclesiastical con- ' cerns, such as consistories, universities, and schools ; there ' are also scientific Societies, and many others. Now, no ' Society can be any otherwise regarded than as a composite ' JMan, and is the Neighbour according to the character of ' the use it fulfils. It is similar to the case in Heaven, ' where every Society, large or small, is one Man. In ' performing distinguished uses a Society is more the ' Neighbour ; in performing low uses, it is less so. If evil ' uses, it is only the Neighbour as a wicked man is, whose ' good one wishes for his own sake, and as far as possible ' one looks for means of amending him, if in no other way, ' then by threats, chastisements, and privations. ' Our Country is the Neighbour according to the quality ' of its Goodness, spiritual, moral, and civil. A Country in ' the idea of all men, is as one being. It is a Man in the ' concrete, and is also called a Body in which the King ' is supreme. The good of the Country which we are to ' consult is called the public or conunon good. ' Whilst our Country is to be loved according to the ' character of its Goodness, we are bound to serve it kindly. ' AVc arc not so bound to serve another and a foreign King- HOME AND FOEEIGN AFFECTION. 157 * dom, because one Kingdom does not will another's good, ' but wills to destroy it in wealth and power, and thus in * means of defence ; and therefore, loving any other King- ' dom more than our own by consulting its use more, makes ' against the good of our own Kingdom. For this reason, ' we are to love our Country in a higher degree than other *■ Countries.'* In the last paragraph, Swedenborg falls painfully below his principles ; but probably it was difficult for him to rise above the pernicious illusions of his age concerning inter- national relations, and to see that the prosperity of one Country was in no wise inconsistent with, but, on the contrary, tributary to, the prosperity of all others. His acquaintance with the Societies of Heaven might have taught him so much. That law of neighbourly love, which he so considerately lays down in the case of Individuals, is equally binding, and suffers no diminution, in the case of Nations ; and it is one of the chief joys of existence to observe how in the extension of intercourse and free-trade those ignorant and damnable jealousies between Nation and Nation are softening away. Nor, accepting the principle, that it is Goodness in Man or Nation that we are bound to reverence and serve, can we admit that our Country has a paramount claim to our allegiance. ' Birth,' testifies our Author, ' does not make one person more a Neighbour ' than another, not even a father or a mother.' England has been engaged In many malignant enterprises for which a Christian Englishman could have no sympathy, and for which, as a true patriot he could desire nothing but her defeat. If France In her policy should represent some generous idea and England in hers some shabby and selfish one, it may be difiicult from his natural prepossessions, but a Christian Englishman is bound by his allegiance to Good- * Nos. 25 to 28. 158 PATRIOTISM HEATHENISH. ness to honour France and resist England. Swedenborg was not without a gUmpse of this truth, for in the follow- ing paragraph we read — ' If I had been born at Venice or at Eome, and was a ' Protestant, am I to love my native Country for its Spi- ' ritual Goodness ? I cannot. Nor can I, for its Moral or ' Civil Goodness, so far as these are dependent on Spiritual ' Goodness. In as far as they do not so depend, I can. ' Nevertheless in these three respects, I am odious to my ' Country ; yet it shall not be odious to me, nor will I be ' hostile to it ; but still will love it ; not involving it in ' destruction, but consulting its good, in as far as it is ' really such ; and yet not so consulting it as to confirm ' my Country in its own falsity and evil. ' I can love all in the Universe according to Eeligion ; ' foreigners, not less than countrymen, and the African not ' less than the European ; I love them, in a certain sort, ' more than Christians if they lead good lives in accordance ' with Religion, and worship God from their hearts, and say ' in act, ' I will not commit this evil, because it is contrary "to God.' '* * Nos. 29 and 32. Doctor Temple, in his admirable Paper on ' The ' Education of the World,' in 'Essays and Reviews' observes — ' It is true that the life and power of all morality whatever will always be ' drawn from the New Testament ; yet it is in the history of Rome rather than ' in the Bible, that we find our models and precepts of political duty, and ' especially of the duty of patriotism. St. Paul bids us follow whatsoever ' things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report. But except through ' such general appeals to natural feelings, it would be difficult to prove from ' the New Testament, that cowardice was not only disgraceful but sinful, and ' that Love of our Country was an exalted duty of humanity. That lesson ' our consciences have learnt from the teaching of Ancient Rome.' — To which we answer, Christianity has indeed no sanction for the thing cilled Patriotism. So far as the Love of Country is coincident with the Love of Righteousness, the New Testament aiibrds it unbounded sanction ; but if tlie Love of Countiy means our Country right or wrong, vainly indeed shall wc explore its holy pages for sympathy. No: as our Lord said, "He that " loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me : and he that EVERY BUSINESS HEAVENLY. 159 We have seen that Charity begins in ceasing to do Evil, and that it is perpetuated in Well-Doing — ' Christian Charity with every one consists in the faithful ' performance of the duties of his calling : for thus, if he ' shuns Evils as Sins, he daily does what is Good, and is ' himself his own particular Use in the Common Body : ' thus also the Common Good is provided for, and that of ' each Individual in particular.'* Charity is acquired and exercised ' by every one who ' does the work of his office or his trade, sincerely and ' faithfully.' t Swedenborg altogether secularizes Religion. There are with him no avocations into which Divine Life does not enter. A shoemaker who makes good shoes because he loves to see his Neighbour well shod, is quite as certainly in the Kingdom of Heaven as any priest, preacher, or philanthropist. The single test of his Angelhood is, whether he abhors Evil and does Good according to his ability ; if so, ' he is in the good of use from morning till ' evening, from year to year, from youth to old age.':^ His acquaintance with God is not a Sunday interview, but a perpetual service. Swedenborg illustrates his position by reference to the life of a Priest, a Judge, a Magistrate, an " loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me." In all relations domestic and civil, the Christian seeks and serves his Master. So far as his Country promotes his Master's Kingdom, so far he loves his Country ; so far as his Country resists or hinders His Kingdom, so far he abhors his Country. Patriotism is therefore a word which expresses no Christian duty : any good- ness in it is superseded in an obligation of a far more noble and wider sweep ; and the mendacity, arrogance, and ignorance which it commonly covers are simply infernal. Happily Patriotism is dying out of Civilization along with other vices of Heathenism : and Jio talk grows more offensive, and no policy more contemptible than that which prefers one nation to another. What greater praise then can the New Testament receive than Doctor Temple's depreciation ! Has Kome then no lesson for the Christian ? Yea, many lessons ; and chiefest among them, the utter iniquity of Patriotism per se. * 'Vita,' No. 114. t '-Ce Charitate,' No. 84. i No. 84. 160 THE CHRISTIAN WARRIOR. Official, a General, an Officer, a Soldier, a Tradesman, a Mechanic, a Husbandman, a Captain, a Sailor, and a Ser- vant. Here are two or three of the more characteristic examples — ' If the Leader of an Army looks to the Lord and shuns ' Evils as Sins, and acts sincerely and faithfully in his ' leadership, he does the goods of use and becomes a ' Charity. If he be a King, he does not love war, but ' peace, and in war continually seeks peace. He never ' begins war except for the safety of his Country, but ' having gone to war he becomes the aggressor so long as * aggression is defence. In battle, if it be not contrary to ' his nature, he is brave and valiant ; after battle he is mild ' and merciful. In battle, he would fain be a lion, but a ' lamb, when battle ends. In his inward self, he does not ' exult in the destruction of the enemy, or in the honour of ' victory, but solely in the liberation of his Country from ' the invasion of the enemy, and the havoc he would inflict. ' He acts prudently ; he takes thoughtful counsel for his ' army as the head of a family for his sons and domestics. ' He loves his soldiers, each in proportion to his courage ' and faithfulness. Cunning in him is not cunning but ' prudence. ' If the common Soldier looks to the Lord, shuns Evils ' as Sins, and does his work sincerely and faithfully, he too ' becomes a Charity. He hates unjust depredation and ' unjust shedding of blood. In battle however he does not ' shrink from bloodshed : he does not think of it, but only ' of the enemy as thirsting for his life. His fury ceases ' when he hears the sound of the drum summoning him to ' desist from slaughter. After the victory, he regards his ' captives as neighbours, according to the manner of their ' goodness. Before the battle, he raises his affections to the ' Lord, and commends his life into the Lord's hand ; he then ' lets them down from their elevation into the body, and THE CHRISTIAN TRADESMAN. 161 ' becomes brave ; and all the while, his thought of the Loi'd, ' of which he is now unconscious, remains in his affections ' above his bravery : and then, if he dies, he dies in the ' Lord ; if he lives, he lives in the Lord. ' If a Tradesman looks to the Lord, shuns Evils as Sins, ' and carries on his business sincerely and faithfully, he ' becomes a Charity. He acts seemingly from his own ' prudence, yet still he trusts to Divine Providence ; and ' therefore he is neither despondent in adversity, nor haughty ' in success. He thinks of the morrow, and yet he does not ' think of it. He thinks of it, as to what he must then do, ' and how he must do it ; and yet he does not think of it, ' because he assigns the future to Divine Providence, and ' not to his own prudence. To the same Divine Providence ' he even attributes his own prudence. He loves business ' as the principal of his office, and money as the instrumental ; ' and does not make money the principal, and business the ' instrumental, as many of the Jews do. Thus he loves ' trade, which in itself is a good of use ; and not the means ' more than the trade. He does not indeed make this ' distinction himself ; but it is made by his looking to the ' Lord, and shunning Evils as Sins ; for thus he shuns ' Avarice, which is an Evil, and the root of many more. ' He loves the Common Good in loving his Private Good, ' because the one is hidden in the other ; like the roots of a ' tree, which are indeed hidden, but from which nevertheless ' the tree grows, and blossoms, and yields its fruit. It is ' impossible for any one to know the hidden things of ' Charity in himself, but the Lord sees them.'* In the righteous execution of a trade or profession, the life of Charity is displayed. To the mind of Swedenborg the words of the Catechism in answer to the question, "What is thy duty to thy Neighbour ?"—" To learn and * Nos. 91, 92 aud 93. 162 DUTIES OF PIETY. " labour truly to get mine own living, and to do my duty " in that state of life, unto which it shall please God to call " me — " are peculiarly consonant. To this practical end, he subordinates Worship and Alms-giving as ' other works, ' not properly works of Charity, but either its signs, or ' benefits, or debts.'* The signs of Charity are all things which belong to Worship, and are divided into externals of the Body and the Mind. ' The externals of the Body which belong to Worship, are, ' I. Going to church. II. Hearing sermons. III. Devoutly ' singing, and praying on the knees. IV. Taking the ' sacrament of the supper. At home also, I. Morning and ' evening prayer, and prayer at meals. II. Conversing on ' Charity and Faith, on God, Heaven, eternal life, and ' salvation. III. In the case of Priests, preaching also, ' and private instruction. IV. In the case of every Man ' commimicating free and sincere instruction on religious ' matters. V. Reading the Word, and pious and instructive ' books. ' The externals of the Mind which belong to Worship, * are, I. Thinking and meditating on God, Heaven, eternal ' life, and salvation. II. Reflecting on thoughts and inten- ' tions, as to whether they are evil or good, and, that the ' evil ones are from the Devil, and the good from God. ' III. Rejecting all impious, obscene, and filthy conver- ' sation : there are affections, good and evil, as well as ' thoughts, which come to the sight and sense.' f All these devotional exercises must have one end — a better and a more useful life. Prayer is defined by our Author as converse with God. In prayer we turn to the Lord to learn our duty and to obtain strength to accomplish it. The lesson and the sti-ength, we must convert into * ' Vita,' No. 114. t ' De Charifate,' Nos. 101 and 102. PIETY A MEANS TO AN END. 163 action : if not, then prayex' is nothing but a titillation of pious concupiscences, or an occasion of pharisaic display. ' Worship does not consist in external devotion, but in ' a life of Charity. Prayers are only the externals of ' Worship. The quality of a Man's prayers is governed by ' the quality of his life. It is of no consequence whether ' he assumes a humble deportment, or kneels, or sighs when ' he prays ; these are superficial details which if not in- ' formed by Love are lifeless sounds and gestures. Love of ' the Neighbour is true Worship ; Prayer is the effluence of ' that Love. Hence the primary constituent of Worship is ' a life of Charity : Prayer is altogether secondary : from ' which it is plain, that those who place all Divine Worship ' in oral piety, err exceedingly. Actual piety consists in ' transacting all business sincerely and equitably because ' commanded by the Lord in the Word : thereby con- ' junction with the Lord and Heaven is effected.'* ' The benefactions of Charity are all the goods which a ' Man, who is a Charity, docs of his own accord beyond the ' sphere of his calling 'f — such as gifts to the poor, to the church, and to public purposes. These Swedenborg does not regard as compulsory ; and seeing the abuses to which they are liable, he does not anywhere recommend tliem. The debts of Charity are the payment of taxes and various duties which are fulfilled ' from a sense of right and ' not from pleasure,' but which, ' because they are uses, are ' done sincerely and kindly. |: ' In regard to the payment of taxes, they who are ' spiritual pay them with one disposition of heart, and they ' who are merely natural with another. The spiritual pay ' them willingly and cheerfully, because they are collected ' for the maintenance of the State and the Church : where- * '■ Apocalypsis Explicata,' No. 325. t 'Da Charitate,' No. 113. X No. 115. M 2 164 WHOLESOME RECREATION. ' fore those who regard their Country and Church as their ' Neighbour consider it iniquitous to deceive or defraud the ' revenue. On the other hand, they wlio do not regard the ' Country and Church as the Neighbour, pay them un- ' willingly and grudgingly, and whenever they have an ' opportunity withhold them or use deception : with such ' their own house and flesh is exclusively the Neighbour.'* Finally, there are for those whose life is Charity, ' various ' delights and pleasures of the bodily senses for the recrea- ' tion of the spirits strained by attention to business — ' Such are conversations and discussions on variovis ' matters of a public, private, and economical nature ; ' walking, and seeing sights which delight by their beauty ' and splendour, as palaces and houses ; trees and flowers ' in gardens, parks, and meadows ; men, beasts, and birds 5 ' dramatic performances, representative of moral virtues, ' and events from which something of Divine Providence ' shines forth. These and the like are for the sense of sight. ' Then there are music and song, which affect the spirits in ' correspondence with the afi"ections ; and decorous merri- ' ment, which elates them. These are for the sense of 'hearing. In addition there are convivialities, feasts, and ' all kinds of merry-makings ; games which are played at ' home with dice, billiards and cards ; dances at wedding par- ' ties, and at festive gatherings. Then there are gymnastic ' sports and exercises, which while they divert the mind, ' develope the body : likewise the reading of books, which ' record pleasant histories and opinions, and newspapers. ' If the Mind is never unbent it becomes dull for lack of ' stimulus and excitement ; as salt without savour, or as an ' unstrung bow, which loses its elasticity.'! He who leads a charitable — a useful life, enjoys recrea- tion with unequalled heartiness. ' The Lord flows into his * 'Vera ChrMana Religio,' No. 430. f ' De Chariiate,' Nos. 117 and 118. HOW GOD IS LOVED. 165 * diversions from Heaven and inspires them with an incom- ' munlcable and incomprehensible sweetness and fragrance.'* Whilst Swedenborg commends a life of usefulness, we see he excludes from it neither pleasure nor gaiety. His ideal is at once rational and manly, and sanctified in every detail with the presence of God. THE LOVE OF GOD. For the completion of the theme of this Chapter, a few notes are requisite concerning the Love of God. No phrase is more frequently in the mouths of the Pious, yet many would find it hard to answer — What do you mean by the Love of God ? The lesson runs — " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy hearty and " loith all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first " and great Commandment : and the, second is like unto it — " Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyself.'''' The second Commandment seems practicable : the first, as commonly understood, very difficult : for God must be known to be loved ; but what and where is God ? And supposing His presence and character discovered. What behaviour does Love to Him designate ? Is it emotion, or practice ? or, is it emotion and practice combined ? To these questions, Swedenborg supplies clear and definite answers. What and where God is. God is Love and He is Wisdom. To say no more would be to utter anew an old and empty sound ; but we move a step further — God is the Love and the Wisdom of Angels and Men — ' Heaven is not Heaven from the Angels. Their Love * No. 121.^ / 1G6 DIVINE INFLUX. ' and their Wisdom are not their own, but are really the ' Lord in them. ' The Good and Wise receive the Lord, for He is their ' Goodness and Wisdom.'* ' Heaven and the Church together constitute a Body of ' which J ehovah, our Lord and Saviour, is the Life and ' Soul.'t ' Nature itself is dead, Human Intelligence in itself is ' nothing ; it is only from Divine Influx that both appear ' to be.'f [Note. — Influx is a convenient, but dangerous word. Swedenborg continually speaks of the Divine Influx — of Goodness and Truth inflowing from the Lord into Man ; and readers sometimes rise from his pages with the notion, that Deity is distributed as water through water-pipes. Nothing could be further from his intention ; for as he says — 'The Lord cannot send forth anything from Himself: ' He can only give Himself. '§ He informs us that he makes use of the expression, ' the ' Divine,' instead of God, and writes of Love and Wisdom in Man (which are God in him) as from God, in accommo- dation to that dulness, which cannot reconcile the Manhood of God with His existence in the inhabitants of England and Japan, Jupiter, and the Earths of Sirius. As elsewhere observed, he lost more than he took by his condescension.il] * ' De Divina Providcntia,' No. 28 ; ' JDe Divino Amove et de Divina ' Sapientia,' No. 114 ; ' Arcana Calestia,' No. 7,212 ; ' De Coslo et de Inferno,' No. 12 ; ' Apocahjpsis Explicata,' Nos. 152 and 179, et passim. t ' Coronis,' Nos. 15 and 29 ; ^Apocahjpsis Explicata' Nos. 23 and 24; 'De ' Divina Providentia,' No. 162, et passim. \ 'De Divina Providentia,' No. 187 : pages might be filled with references to similar passages : we liere touch the very essence of the Swedenborgian gospel. g 'Apocahjpsis Revelata,' No. 949; also ' Apocalypsis Explicata,' Nos. 43, 62, 63, 102, and 143. II See Vol. I. pp. 279, 280 of present work. GOD WITHIN AND WITHOUT. 167 See then the deliverance from the difficulty pertaining to the first Commandment ! Who cannot love Goodness and Wisdom in his fellow-creatures, and cherish them in himself? and since Goodness and Wisdom are the Lord such service is verily His worship. Hence testifies our Author — ' I have sometimes conversed with the Angels on this ' subject, and they have wondered that Churchmen do not ' know, that to love the Lord and the Neighbour is to love * what is Good and Wise and to practise them heartily.'* To be Good and Wise is to be conformed to the Lord — is to obey His Commandments ; and when His Coromand- ments are obeyed His Will is done, and the Master is revealed in the Servant — ' Love to the Lord is nothing else than committing ' to practice the Commandments of the Word, the sum ' whereof is, to slmn evils because they are satanic and ' diabolic, and to do goods because they are heavenly and ' divine.'* The Scriptures are a chart wherein the Lord is presented to us externally, and as we study them we ascertain how far our nature and habits are from accordance with Him. If He is indifferent to us, we shall be indifferent to the Scriptures, just as we should be indifferent to a map of a country of which we had neither knowledge nor concern. The precepts of the Word are nothing but the outward signs of the inward God; as Swedenborg boldly states, 'God and his Commandments are one.'f He who keeps them, keeps them by God : it is God Himself who fulfils His own Will in him. ' He who is thus confox'med to the Lord, worships Him ' in every employment. This is unknown to those who * ' De Ccdo et de Inferno,^ No. 16; also 'Arcana Coelestia,' No. 10,284; ' Apocalypsis Explicata,' No. 146; and 'Apocalypsis Bevelata,' No. 796. t 'Vera Christiana Eeligio,' No. 382. 168 LOVE TO GOD IS LOVE TO MAN. ' confine worship to prayers, which, apart from snch con- ' formity, are no more than flatteries, and which would not ' gratify even a wise man, much less God.'* Swedenborg does not discourage verbal prayer, but assigns to it its proper place as council with God prepara- tory to action — in no wise a substitute for action — ' It is believed that the Lord, because He is to be adored, ' worshipped, and glorified, loves adoration, worship, and ' glory for His own sake : not so : He loves them for Man's ' sake, for thereby the Self-Love, which hardens and shuts ' his heart, is softened and removed, and the way prepared ' for the Lord's entrance and blessing. ' Let not any one therefore imagine that the Lord is ' with those who merely praise Him : He is with those who ' do His Commandments, and thus perform uscs.'f He teaches emphatically that it is hopeless to love or serve God outside Man — ' Love to the Lord is Love by eminence, and Love to ' the Neighbour is Charity ; hut Love to the Lord is not ' communicated save in Charity. The Lord conjoins Him- ' self with Man in Neighbourly Love alone. '| This sentiment is happily not uncommon. Even Paine expresses it in saying — ' The only way in which we can serve God is in doing ' good and endeavouring to make our fellow-mortals happy.' And Coleridge in the well-worn lines — ' He prayetli best who loveth best ' All things both great and small' — * 'De Divino Amove et de Divina Sapkntia,' Nos. 237 and 431; 'Be ' Divina Providentia,' Nos. 93, 94 and 326 ; 'Arcana Ccelestia,' No. 10,645, et passim. f 'De Divino Amore et de Divina Sajnentia' Nos. 335 and 431, and '■Apocalypsis JUxplicata,' No. 33. i 'Doctnna de Fide,' No. 22, and 'Divine Luve and Wisdom' from 'Apocalypse Explained,' p. 60. GOD NOT LOVED PERSONALLY. 169 And Leigli Hunt in his charming apologue — ' Abou Ben Adliem (may his tribe increase 1) ' Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, ' And saw within the moonlight in his room, ~ ' Making it rich, and, like a lily in bloom, ' An Angel, writing in a book of gold. * Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold ; ' And to the presence in his room he said — ' " What writest thou ?" The vision raised his head, ' And with a look, made all of sweet accord, ' Answered — " The names of those who love the Lord." ' " And is mine one?" said Abou. " Nay, not so," ' Replied the Angel. Abou spoke more low, ' But cheerily still, and said — " I pray thee then, ' " Write me as one who loves his fellow-men." ' The Angel wrote and vanished. The next night ' He came again with a great wakening light, ' And shew'd the names whom Love of God had bles.s'd, ' And lo ! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.' Love to the Lord is not a personal affection. ' To love the Lord among the Angels does not mean to ' love Him as to Person, but to love the Goodness which is ''from Him' — that is, as He is in His creatures ; for ' Good- ' ness and Wisdom are from the Lord alone, and are the ' Lord with Man and Angel.'* ' To think of God as a Person is to think materially. ' He should be thought of from His Essence — from Love ' and Wisdom, and from thence to His Person, and not vice ''versa ; thus spiritually and not materially. ' Angels think abstractedly from persons : if they ' thought determinedly to persons, their wisdom would ' perish. ' A view to person contracts and limits ideas, and thus ' in the evolution of the Spiritual Sense of the Word from * ' De C(vU) et cle Inferno,' No. 15, and 'Apocolypsis Explicaf.a,' Nos. 433 anil 1)50. 170 LOVE TO GOD MADE PRACTICABLE. ' the Letter, the idea of person perishes along with the ' ideas of space and time.'* Thus, with ample warrant from the Scriptures, does Swedenborg shew how Love to the Lord is a practicable and reasonable service. * 'Apocalypsis Eevelata,' No. 611 ; 'Apocahjpsis Explicata,^ Nos. 99, 100, 325 and 625; and 'Arcana Ccelestia,' No. 5,253. ( 171 ) CHAPTEB XVIII. THE DOCTRINE OF FAITH* In the course of our work we have frequently sti-uck across Swedenborg's Doctrine of Faith so that much which belongs to the present chapter may have been anticipated ; never- theless as the Doctrine is so characteristic of the Author, as its principle permeates his whole theological system, and as it affords a vivid illustration of his mental philosophy, it may not be unprofitable to treat the pamphlet before us as a novelty. Why do you believe so and so ? Why do you not believe so and so ? The questions may be answered in many ways — in many very superficial ways, which will leave us satisfied, that we have by no means penetrated to the inmost ground and cause of belief. ' What is belief? A state of the Mind. What is it often ' taken to be ? An act of the Mind. ' The attempt to induce others to will a belief or unbelief ' is exceedingly common among all sides of all questions. ' There is no arguing against it : for it is a lurking attempt, ' unsuspected by those who make it. . . . Let the evidence ' tendered be what it may, it is an error to suppose it ought ' to produce the same effect on different persons. It is ' nonsense to say. Strip your mind of all bias, and make it ' equally ready for all impressions : you might as well tell * '■Docirma Nova Hkrosohjmcn de Fide. Amstelodami : 1763.' 4to. 23 pages. 172 WHO LOVES TRUTH. ' a wrongly bent twig to please to put itself straight, that you may then give it another bend in the proper way.'* Professor De Morgan in these terse lines, repeats Swe- denborg's opinion — Belief is a state of the Mind ; or more accurately, a state of the Will made manifest in the Understanding. A Man believes so-and-so because so-and- so is consonant with his Will; he disbelieves so-and-so because so-and-so is antagonistic to his Will. Common sense has fixed the fact in the proverbial couplet — ' Convince a Man against his Will — ' He's of the same opinion still.' Belief having its origin in the Will must therefore be subject to as many differences as there are varieties of Will ; unless people feel alike, they cannot thmJc alike. A Man whose Will is the Love of Self cannot possibly share the creed of the Man whose Will is the Love of Others. Truths which are congruous and therefore credible to the Good, are incongruous and incredible to the Evil. On these data, Swedenborg erects his Doctrine of Faith. Faith is the assurance with which the Good receive the Truths, which are congenial to their character. ' Inasmuch as Goodness and Truth are one in the Lord, ' and proceed as one from Him, it follows that Goodness ' loves Truth, and Truth loves Goodness, and that they ' desire to be one. The like is true of their opposites : Evil ' loves Falsity, and Falsity loves Evil, and they desire to ' be one. The conjunction of the first is the Heavenly ' Marriage; of the second, the Infernal Marriage.' f He who would acquire Faith must therefore take means to become Good — ' He who shuns Evils as Sins loves Truths and desires * them, and the more he shuns Evils as Sins, so much the * Preface, 'From flatter to Spirit,' page xvi. London, 1863. t ' Vita,' No. 33. LOVE THE ROOT OF FAITH. 173 ' more he loves and desires them, because so much the more ' is he grounded in Goodness. ' Faith and Life march on with equal step. Man is ' not endowed with a single Truth in excess of Goodness ; ' consequently, with not a grain of Faith in advance of ' his Life. ' Truth is not given without Goodness, for Truths derive ' their life from Goodness. Truths possessed by one who ' is not Good are indeed Truths in themselves, but they are ' not Truths to their possessor. ' In a word : in proportion as anyone shuns Evils as ' Sins, and looks to the Lord, he is in Charity, and in ' the same proportion is in Faith. In its essence Faith is ' Charity.'* Hhe Good have an interior sense of Truth — ' In hearing or reading they have a perception whether * what is said or written is true or not. Those who are in ' this illumination are said to be ' taught of Jehovah ' ' (Isaiah liv. 13, John vi. 45) : and of them it is said in ' Jeremiah, (xxxi. 33 and 34) " I, Jehovah, will put my " Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts ; " and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, " and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah : for " they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the " greatest of them.""]' Further : in the Good, Truths are multiplied — ' Goodness, when it is in the first place and has dominion, ' produces Truths continually, and multiplies them around ' itself, and also around each other, making every single ' Truth as a little star ablaze with light.' f * ' Vita,' Nos.41 and 52 ; ^ Aijocalypsis Exj^licaia' No. 48; and '-De Fide,' Nos. 22 and 23. t No. 5. X 'Arcana Ccelestia,' No. 5,912. 174 HOW TO ACQUIRE FAITH. Here is a fine sentence on the Love of Truth because it is Trath, and pertinent to our theme — ' To those who are in the Spiritual Kingdom of Heaven, ' it is given from the Lord to be in the Affection of Truth ' for the sake of Truth, and this Divine gift is what is called ' Grace ; so far as any one is in that Affection, so far he is ' in Divine Grace ; nor is there any oilier Grace given to Man^ ' Spirit^ or Angel than that of loving Truth because it is Truth, ' since in that Affection they have Heaven with all its ' blessedness' — * Surely never since Bacon wrote — ' The inquiry of Truth, ' which is the love-making or wooing of it, the knowledge ' of Truth, which is the presence of it, and the belief of ' Truth, which is the enjoying of it, is the sovereign Good ' of Human Nature ' — has the divine passion for Truth had such noble praise. It is not unfrequently, nor unjustly, denounced as un- charitable arrogance, that sceptical difficulties as to Faith should be referred to an Evil Will — a Will in which Self- Love has dominion — or, as it is styled in the Epistle to the Hebrews (iii. 12), 'an Evil Heart of Unbelief.' Doubtei-s say, they cannot see this, and they cannot believe that, and they deserve credit for their sincerity. W^ould they have a prescription for their blindness? Let them forsake their pleasant vices, and await the result on their mental vision — ' If any one thinks or says, ' Who can have that internal ' ' acknowledgement of Truth, which is Faith? I cannot :' I ' will tell him how he may : ' Shun Evils as Sins, and apply ' ' to the Lord : then you will have as much Faith as you ' ' desire.' He who shuns Evils as Sins is in the Lord ; he ' loves Truth and sees it, and has Faith. 'f There are many who wish to know who Christ really is, * 'Aiiocahjpsis Ei-plicata,'' 'Ho.22; also No. 102. f 'Z>e jPtrfe,' Ko. 12. GOODNESS THE BASE OF FAITH. 175 whether there is a future life, and how far the Bible is true ; and read and talk profusely on such questions ; but to what profit ? If they are not obedient to the Truth they know, Why should they have more Truth ? God is an economical and a merciful Giver ? Whilst His children's hands are full of bread, which they do not eat. He will not waste nor amuse them with new supplies. ' There are Truths which appear to belong to Faith ' only, as that God is, — that the Lord, who is God, is the ' Redeemer and Saviour, — that there is a life after death, and ' a Heaven and a Hell, and many others of a similar nature, ' of which it is not said, they are to be done, but believed. ' These Truths are dead to those who are in Evil, but alive ' with those who are in Good.'* Only by a holy life can the interior Truths of the Spirit be apprehended ; many must remain mysteries until a state of righteousness is attained in harmonious affinity there- with : then and not till then, are the eyes opened, and the blessed one is enabled to cry, " I see ! I believe !" This statement may be arrogantly perverted and abused ; nevertheless reflection and experience will yield it their sanction. Such is the Law of Faith, and by the Law we must resolve contradictory phenomena. If there are. some who honestly announce, that they cannot believe, are there not others in equal or deeper Self-Love, who pretend to believe, who advocate belief with fervour, and attack unbelief with vigour and venom ? Certainly ; but it must be borne in mind, that theology is a science, and like geology, botany, or astronomy, it may be cultivated without any reference to practice ; even as a * ' VUa,' No. 47. 176 NOMINAL AND REAL FAITH. medical student disciplined in physiology may, in his per- sonal habits, set its plainest dictates at defian"ce. ' A Man may be skilful in the Doctrines of the Church ' and have a perfect knowledge of their relations ; he may ' know how to confirm them from the Word and by reason- ' ing ; he may be versed in the Doctrines of all former ' Churches, and in the decrees of Councils ; yea, he may even ' know Truths, and see and understand them, so as to be ' thoroughly acquainted with the nature of Faith, Charity, ' Piety, Eepentance, Eemission of Sins, Eegeneration, Bap- ' tism, the Holy Supper, Redemption and Salvation ; never- ' theless he has no Wisdom unless he shuns Evils as Sins. ' The acknowledgement of Truths cannot exist except ' outwardly and verbally, unless implanted in Charity : ' otherwise, inwardly or in heart the Truths are denied. ' A IMau who does not shun Evils as Sins may indeed ' love Truths, but he does not love them because they are ' Truths, but because they serve to extend his reputation ' and procure him gain ; wherefore, whenever they cease to ' subserve these ends, he ceases to love them.'* ~ Consider for instance the premium which the Church of England sets on professional Faith, and the penalties affixed to scepticism, and how thereby the baser qualities of Human Nature are committed to the defence of orthodoxy. All her ministers confess assent to the Prayer Book, but in how many of them does that assent express a real relation between Mind and Book ! A Good Man, so far as there is Ti-uth in the Prayer Book, has an inward sympathy with it ; so far as it contains Falsity, he has an inward indiffer- ence or repugnance to it. As for the Selfish Man, he is at inward variance with its Truths with whatever eloquence he may proclaim them, and wherever its Errors match his Evils, them he believes. * '■Vila,' Nos. 27 and 35, and 'Arcana Cmlestia,' No. 2,049. THE EVIL AND THE TRUTH. 177 It is not to be forgotten moreover, that there is a powerful and subtle influence exercised by Mind over Mind, and by this influence we may explain many cases wherein the Truth is understood and defended with eminent ability by the Evil: they are elevated by the Good into a tem- porary enjoyment of their own intellectual light. We are all more or less familiar with the inspiration of a weak Mind by a strong one whereby it acquires for a time an energy and intelligence beyond its own. Swedenborg is able to adduce some remarkable cases from his peculiar experience — ' In my intercourse with Spirits, opportunities have been ' afforded me of conversing on arcana of wisdom with the ' Ignorant, the Stupid, and the Evil. In the light of the ' Understanding which is proper to Man, and in the glory * of being thought intelligent, they comprehended them all ' and acknowledged their truth. ' I have seen fiery Devils, who when they heard arcana * of wisdom, not only understood them, but discussed them ' rationally ; as soon however as they were left to them- ' selves, they ceased to understand and returned to their ' insanities, which they then called wisdom. It has even ' been permitted me to hear, that when they were in wisdom ' they laughed at their insanity, and when in insanity, at ' wisdom.'* This illumination of the Understanding vanishes with the occasion and when the Evil Love resumes its sway — ' The Will leads the Understanding and reduces it to * unity with itself ; wherefore should there be anything ' in the Understanding which does not harmonize with ' the Will, it is cast out as soon as the Man is left to ' himself. * No. 3, ' De Divina Providentia,' No. 223, and ' De Divino Amore et de ' Divina Sapientia,^ No. 244. N 178 KNOWLEDGE AND FAITH. ' The Will infuses itself into the Understanding and ' obliterates everything it does not like.'* We may be very zealous for the Truth, but it behoves us to ask ourselves straitly, Why ? and in the secret of our hearts to query how far we really do believe in the Faith for which we so earnestly contend. An honest answer may surprise and humble us, but it may be our salvation. Faith is the assurance wherewith Truth is believed, and Truth is presented to Faith in the shape of Knowledge — ' From his earliest childhood, Man has a Love of Know- ' ledge, and by that Love he deposits in his Memory many ' things useful, and many useless. ' From the Word or from the Doctrine of the Church, ' he acquires Knowledges of what is True and Good in ' greater or less abundance according to his opportunities ' and his thirst for infoi'mation. ' These Knowledges are not Faith. They are only ' material out of which Faith may be constructed. If there 'be none. Faith cannot be formed; if there be few, a ' scanty, meagre Faith is only possible ; if there be many, ' a rich and ample Faith may be organized.'! It is only as Evils are shunned as Sins — as Truth which is known is done, that Faith is organized — that Truth is believed. Until this takes place. Knowledge is no more the Man than corn in a granary is his body : the corn is incorporated when eaten and digested ; the Knowledges of Truth are incorporated when practised. ' Charity produces ' Faith.' Knowledges are vivified by Love : without Love * ' Vita,' No. 44, and 'De Divina Providentia,' No. 209. t 'De Fide,' Nos. 5 to 29. 'Love without Faith is a mourner or a ' maniac : Faith without Love, a Devil ; but Faith that works and grows by 'an indwelling Love is at once a humble penitent and a happy disciple.' — Kev. T. T. Lynch. HOW WE BELIEVE. 179 they are like a garden in winter, without growth ; with Love they are like a garden in spring and summer, thick with leaves, flowers and fruit.* There are many who in consequence of the cares of life, the lack of teachers, or the ignorance of teachers, are un- able to acquire many Knowledges of Truth ; but what few they know, they practise. These in their hearts long for Truth, as Love ever does for its mate ; and after death receive instruction from the Angels with eager joy. It is otherwise with those who are in similar ignorance, but in confirmed Self-Love. They cannot be instructed ; their Evil hates Truth, turns from it, and will none of it.f The difference between the Doctrine of Faith here developed and that held by Catholics and Protestants is obvious, and is brought by Swedenborg into high relief. According to him if a Wise Man was asked, Why he believes a certain statement, he would answer, Because it is true ; and if pressed still closer as to how he knows it is true, the fact would be revealed, that he feels it to be true, and feels it to be true because between his Mind and the statement there is a congruity — an affinity from Love. In some statements there is universal Faith, as for in- stance, that one and one make two. Why universal? Because every Mind is equal to their comprehension — because there is a universal congruity between the Human Mind and the facts. As statements develope in intricacy they require higher developements of intellect for their reception — that is, for their credence ; and there doubtless are Truths which stated any how would be incredible — that is to say unintelligible, because so elevated or so intricate, that the Human Mind cannot grasp them. Nos. 31 and 32. t No. 30. N 2 180 TO BELIEVE IS TO LOVE. Faith or belief then is only another word for compre- hension, or at least apprehension : and however complex it may be, its grounds are axiomatic; for under analysis the most complex Faith is resolved into just such relations as exist between the Mind and the axioms of mathematics. Reasoning does not prove a statement true in any other sense than that it assists or educates the Mind to embrace or comprehend a statement for which at starting it was unequal. The same principle holds good in the case of those Truths, which, concerning the Will and the Understanding and their relations to God, are called Spiritual. They too are only credible, that is congruous to Minds of cor- responding sympathies — to Minds possessed with a love or hunger for them : and they are Incredible, that is inconginious to Minds destitute of such sympathies, or such love or hunger. To say therefore, that you believe what you do not comprehend, is to talk nonsense. What your Mind does not love, nor hunger after, nor has any congruity with, can be nothing but incredible. Hence Swedenborg in a remarkable passage, already cited but which will bear a second perusal, observes — ' Faith is an acknowledgement that a thing is so, because ' it is true. He who is in genuine Faith thinks and speaks ' to this effect — " This is true, and therefore I believe ' " it." If he does not comprehend a sentiment, and see ' Its truth, he will say — " I do not know whether this is ' " true or not, therefore I do not yet believe it. How ' " can I believe what I do not comprehend ? Perhaps it ' " may be false." ' The Angels utterly reject the tenet. That the Under- ' standing ought to be kept in subjection to Faith ; for, ' they say, " How can you believe a thing when you do ' " not see whether it is true or not ?" and should any POPISH AND PROTESTANT FAITH. 181 * one affirm, that what he advances should nevertheless be * believed, they reply, " Do you think yourself a god, that ' " I am to believe you ? Or that I am mad, that I should ' " believe an assertion in which I do not see any truth ? If I must believe, cause me to see it." The dogmatizer * is thus constrained to retire. Indeed, the Wisdom of the ' Angels consists solely in this, that they see and compre- ' hend what they think.'* The Catholic and the Protestant notion of Faith is the reverse of the Angelic — ' The idea attached to the term Faith at the present day ' is this, that it consists in thinking a thing to be so because ' it is taught by the Church, and because it does not fall ' within the scope of the Understanding : for it is usual ' with those who inculcate it to say, " You must believe, ' " and not doubt." If you answer, " I do not comprehend ' " it," it is replied, that is the very ciixumstance which ' makes a Doctrine an object of Faith. ' Thus the Faith of the present day is a Faith in what ' is not known, and may be called a Blind Faith ; and as ' being the dictate of one person abiding in the Mind of ' another, it is a Historical Faith. ' Faith separated from Understanding entered the ' Church with Popery, because the chief security of that ' Eeligion is ignorance of the Truth ; and therefore the ' reading of the Word was forbidden. How otherwise could ' the Popes be worshipped as Deities, Saints invoked, and ' their cai-cases, bones and tombs thought holy, and eon- ' verted into sources of lucre ? ' A Blind Faith was continued among many of the ' Protestants owing to their separating Faith from Cha- ' rity : for those who do so, cannot but be in ignorance of ' the Truth, and will give the name of Faith to the * Nos. 2 and 4. 182 PROTESTANT DARKNESS. ' mere thought that a thing is bo, without any internal ' acknowledgement. ' Among them likewise ignorance is the security of ' their tenets ; for so long as ignorance reigns, with the ' persuasion that things theological are too high for the ' Understanding, the Learned can talk without being con- ' tradicted, and the Simple fancy what they say is true, and ' that the talkers know what they mean. ' The Lord said to Thomas, " Because thoii hast seen ' " me, thou hast believed ; blessed are they that have not ' " seen and yet have believed" (John xx. 29) : by which is ' not meant a commendation of a Faith separate from ' Understanding, but that those are blessed who do not see ' the Lord with their eyes, as Thomas did, and yet believe ' that He Is : for this is seen in the Light of Truth which ' is from the Word.'* On the grand dogma of Protestantism, we have this vigourous onslaught — ' That it may be seen what the nature of Faith is when ' separated from Charity, I will shew it in its nakedness, as ' follows : ' That God the Father, being angry with Mankind, ' rejected them from Him, and out of justice resolved to ' avenge Himself by their eternal damnation ; and that He ' said to the Son, " Descend ; fulfil the Law and take upon ' " thyself the damnation destined for them ; and then ' " peradventure I shall be moved to compassion." Where- ' fore He descended, and fulfilled the Law, and suffered ' Himself to be hanged on the cross, and cruelly put to ' death ; which done. He returned to the Father, and said, ' " I have taken upon myself the damnation of Mankind ; ' " therefore now be Thou merciful ;" thus interceding for ' them : but He had for answer, " For their own sakes I * Nos. 1 and 8 to 10. ANY ABSURDITY POSSIBLE. 183 ' " cannot ; however as I saw thee on the cross, and beheld ' " thj blood, I am moved to compassion : still I will not ' " pardon them ; I will only impute unto them thy merit ; ' " and that only to those who acknowledge it. This shall * " be the Faith by which they may be saved." ' Such is that Faith exhibited in its nakedness. ' Who that has any enlightened Reason does not see its ' inconsistencies ? which are contrary to the very Divine ' Essence ; as, that God, who is Love itself and Mercy ' itself, could, out of anger and consequent vengeance, ' condemn Men and devote them to Hell ! also, that He ' should desire to be moved to compassion by beholding the ' condemnation transferred to His Son ; and by a view of ' His sufferings upon the cross and His blood ! Who ' possessing any enlightened Reason does not see, that one ' God could not say to another God, who was His equal, " I ' " do not pardon them, but I impute to them thy merit?" ' as well as also, " Now let them live as they please, only ' " let them believe this, and they shall be saved?" Not to ' mention other absurdities. ' The reason why these things are not seen is, because a ' Blind Faith has shut people's eyes and stopped their ears. ' Shut people's eyes and stop their ears, that is, cause them ' not to think from any Understanding, and then tell those ' who are impressed with any idea of life eternal whatever ' you please, and they will believe it : yea, though you ' should tell them that God can be angry and breathe ' vengeance, that God can inflict eternal danmation upon ' any one ; that God requires to be moved to compassion by ' His Son's blood ; that He will impute and attribute that ' to Man as a merit of his own, and will save him by his ' barely thinking so ; as well as also, that one God could ' stipulate and enjoin such things on another God of one ' essence with Himself ; with any other extravagances of a ' similar kind : but open your eyes and unstop your ears. 184 A SHAM CHRISTIAN. ' that is, think of the above notions from your Under- ' standing, and you will see their utter disagreement with 'Truth itself.'* The case is still further illustrated in the following conversations — ' An Angel told me he had talked with many Protest- * ants, and had learned what the nature of their Faith was ; ' and that with one who was in Faith separated from ' Charity he held this conversation — ' " Friend, who art thou ?" ' " I am a Chi'istian of the Reformed Church." ' " What is thy Doctrine and the Eeligion thou derivest "from it?" ' " It is Faith." ' " What is the nature of thy Faith?" ' " My Faith is that God the Father sent His Son to ' " make satisfaction for the sins of Mankind ; and that those ' " are saved who believe this." ' " What more dost thou know respecting Salvation?" ' " Salvation is obtained by that Faith alone." ' " What dost thou know of Redemption ?" ' " It was effected by the passion of the cross, and the ' " Son's merit is imputed through that Faith." ' " What dost thou know of Regeneration ?" ' " It is effected by Faith." ' " What dost thou know of Repentance and the Re- ' " mission of Sins?" ' " They are attained by that Faith." ' " Tell me what thou knowest of Love and Charity." ' " They are that Faith." ' " Tell me what thou knowest of Good Works." ' " They are that Faith." * Nos. 44 to 46. A TRUE CHRISTIAN. 185 ' " Tell me what thou thinkest of all the commandments ' " in the Word." ' " They are included in that Faith." ' " What, then, art thou to do nothing ? " '"What can I do? I cannot do Good, which is really ' " Good, from myself." ' " Canst thou have Faith from thyself ?" '"I cannot." * " How then canst thou have Faith ?" ' " That I do not inquire into. I will have Faith." ' " Dost thou know anything more respecting Salvation?" ' " What more should I know, when Salvation is obtained by Faith alone?" ' " Thou answerest like a musician who can sound but ' " one note ; I hear nothing but Faith. K that is what ' " thou knowest, and nothing more, thou knowest nothing. ' " Depart hence and see thy companions." ' He departed and found them in a desert where there ' was no grass. He asked what was the reason of this, and ' was answered, " Because there is nothing of the Church ' « in them." ' With another, who was in Faith not separated from ' Charity, the Angel spoke thus — ' " Friend, who art thou ?" ' " I am a Christian of the Eeformed Church." ' " What is thy Doctrine and thence thy Eeligion ?" ' " Faith and Charity." ' " Are these two?" ' " They cannot be separated." What is Faith?" ' " It is to believe what the Word teaches." ' « What is Charity ?" ' " It is to do what the Word teaches." ' " Hast thou only thought these things, or hast thou ' " also done them ?" 186 GOODNESS WEDS WISDOM. ' " I have also done them." ' The Angel of Heaven then looked at him, and said, ' " My friend, come along with me, and dwell with us." ' The love of ease and the pride of intelligence con- tinually tempt us to pass off Knowledge as Faith and as Life ; and the Bible, as the perfect story of God and the Human Heart, bears many testimonies concerning the mis- chievous illusion. The Philistines, the Dragon of the Apocalypse, and the Goats in Daniel and Matthew are all cited and explained by our Author as emblems of Knowledge without Love. Prone as we are to be satisfied in knowing without doing, the danger of the tendency is greatly magnified when it is formally sanctioned by such dogmas as, that we cannot keep God's commandments, that we are saved by belief in incredible Doctrine, and that Christ died to super- sede any effort on our part to escape from selfishness and sin. Wherever such heresies are really entertained, spiritual death is almost inevitable ; and wherever partially credited, their malignant influence blights the hope and discourages the desire after a life purified and glorified by the faithful incarnation of the Divine Will. ' Eemains.' Truths are received, recognized, and wedded in the Understanding by corresponding Goodness in the Will : Faith is the result of the congress. There are therefore as many varieties of Faith as there are varieties of Good Affections married to Truths. We know where Truths are to be found : they constitute the written Word — dead and useless until vivified by con- tact with an answering Divine Spirit in the Heart : but whilst the material of Faith is thus as cheap as the printed Bible and as accessible as its wide-spread renown, How ORIGIN OF GOOD AFFECTIONS. 187 ehall a Man obtain those Heavenly Affections whereby, you say, the written Word is made alive ? A very pertinent question, but more easily put than answered : Wanted, in fact, a recipe for the capture of the Holy Spirit. The mysterious words rise to mind — ' The wind ' hloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, hut ' canst not tell whence it cometh^ and whither it goeth : so is every ' one that is horn of the Spirit.'' How shall a Man procure Good Affections ? If he does not possess them, it is doubtful whether he can procure them, any more than he could raise a field of wheat without seed, or multiply talents without one or many to start with. The culture of Good Affections is all that can be prescribed : to what they may develope under culture. Who shall say ? for ' the Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, ' which a man tooh and sowed in a field : which indeed is the ' least of all seeds: hut when it is grown, it is the greatest * among herhs, and becometh a tree, so that the hirds of the air ' lodge in the branches thereof^ But how is a Man possessed of Good Affections ? In the first place, he owes them to the organization of his Brain. In the Brain are the habitations of Good Affections, and the habitations vary in form and capacity in every individual. In some cases they may be so narrow or deficient as to exclude the possibility of residence : then we have not so much a man as a wild beast. Given however a Brain with capacities for Good Affec- tions, How shall Good Affections be drawn to occupy these capacities ? By appropriate education. The tender endear- ments bestowed on infancy draw forth through the Brain the influences of the Inmost Heavens. As infancy passes into childhood, love gradually yields to intelligence, and, as the Celestial Angels retire, Spiritual Angels draw near, and base their presence in the truths which youth acquires from teachers and books, or other experience. 188 heaven's advent to infancy. These heavenly influences received in youth are styled ' Remains ' by Swedenborg, who has much to say of them in his ^Arcana Coelestia^'' but little, if anything, in his subse- quent works. The odd designation, 'liemains,' was derived from his exposition of the origin of the Ancient Church from the Remains of the Most Ancient Church, and the epithet came to serve for seeds of Goodness and Wisdom in similar relations. As youth advances, the rough hereditary nature super- venes with all its evil lusts, but ' Remains' are not lost. They are withdrawn, and carefully reserved in the internal mind — ' ' Remains' are states of imiocence from infancy, of love ' towards parents, brethren, teachers, and friends, of com- ' passion towards the poor and needy, in a word, all states ' of Love and Wisdom. These states are called ' Remains,' '■ and are preserved by the Lord in Man, being stored up in ' his internals without his consciousness, and separated from ' his Evils and Falses.'* When Repentance and Regeneration begin, ' Remains' constitute the rudiments of the process: by them the Lord operates : to them the outward Word appeals, and were there none to answer, even ' Paul might plant and Apollos ' water' in vain — ' If a man had no ' Remains,' it would be impossible for ' anything of Innocence, Charity and Mercy to be in his ' thoughts and actions, and he would be worse than the ' wild beasts : and this comes to pass when by filthy lusts ' and direful false persuasions, he seals up their way of * exit, and prevents their operation. Thus perished the ' Antediluvians.' t Never perhaps was such importance assigned to the * 'Arcana Cmlestia,' Nos. 661, 1,548, and 1,906. t lb. Nos. 661, 857, and 1,050. ANGELS BRED IN CHILDREN. 189 circumstances and training of childhood, and yet rightlj assigned; for where is there present heavenllness in any life which does not owe its being to divine touches received in the tenderness of youth? and what discerning preacher of righteousness has not felt the hopelessness of his task before a character into which, by reason of an evil child- hood. Heaven in due measure has not entered? Youthful piety is often a very questionable article, but when sincere and unconscious, who shall exaggerate its preciousness ! The circumstances which draw Heaven into childhood are actual, not merely formal. Hope not to make a child what you are not ! No pretence will avail — no wooden tractors, ever so adroitly painted, will beguile the celestial magnetism. Here however let Carlyle speak for us — ' Piety to God, the nobleness that inspires a human soul ' to struggle Heavenward, cannot be ' taught' by the most ' exquisite catechisms, or the most industrious preachings ' and drillings. No ; alas, no. Only by far other methods — ' chiefly by silent continual Example, silently waiting for ' the favourable mood and moment, and aided then by a ' kind of miracle, well enough named ' the grace of God' — ' can that sacred contagion pass from soul into soul. How ' much beyond whole Libraries of orthodox Theology is, ' sometimes, the mute action, the unconscious look of a ' father, of a mother, who had in them ' Devoutness, pious ' ' Nobleness ! ' In whom the young soul, not unobser- ' vant, though not consciously observing, came at length ' to recognize it ; to read i*, in this irrefragable manner : ' a seed planted thenceforth in the centre of his holiest ' affections for evermore !'* It would thus appear, that at least two conditions are requisite for the conversion of a Man into an Angel — * 'Frederick the Great,' Vol. I, p. 509. 190 SHALL DRY BONES LIVE? 1st, A Brain of certain capacities ; and 2nd, Such an education as shall introduce Heaven (as Love and Wisdom) into these capacities. Precisely so ; such, in short, is Swedenborg's teaching. Therefore where the requisite Brain and the requisite education are absent, Eegeneration is impossible, and the life of the Creature is and continues infernal without remedy. So it appears : the argument proceeds on the same grounds which would tempt us to deny the possibility of an animal or vegetable without progenitors. Then comes the question. Are we not presuming too boldly on the ordinary course of generation, forgetting creation ? If there are any Creatures with no organic capacity for Heaven, or with organic capacity but withered for lack of exercise. May not the Omnipotent create capacity, or breathe life into the withered organism ? We shall not answer. Nay — but only inquire. Whether there are cases of creation and vivification, such as Ezckiel witnessed when the valley of dry bones became ' an exceeding great army.' Writing of ' Remains,' we cannot but think of Sweden- borg himself in illustration. After a brazen manhood, he resumed at fifty-five the meditations of his childhood on God, and Love, and Faith, and the neglected Angels once more spoke through his mouth.* * See Vol. I, p. 15, of present work. ( 191 ) CHAPTER XIX. CONTINUATION OF THE LAST JUDGEMENT* Swedenborg's first treatise on the Last Judgement, pub- lished in 1758, related chiefly to the judgement executed on the Eoman Catholics ; in that before us he describes the judgement of the Protestants. The centre of the vast congregation in the World of Spirits was composed of Protestants, ' arranged according ' to countries ; in the middle the English, to the south and ' east of them the Dutch, to the north the Germans, to the ' west and north the Swedes, to the west the Danes.' f The Protestants held this position ' because they read the Word, ' and worshipped the Lord, and hence had the greatest ' light.'l: Around them were the Papists, the Mahometans around the Papists, and the Gentiles in the circumference. ' The Last Judgement was eff'ected upon those only of ' the Keformed, who while on Earth professed a belief in ' God, read the Word, heard sermons, partook of the sacra- ' ment of the supper, and did not neglect the solemnities of ' church-worship ; and yet thought that adulteries, various ' kinds of theft, lying, revenge, hatred, and the like, were ' allowable. These, although they professed a belief in God, ' still made no account of sins against Him ; though they * ' Continuatio de Ultimo Judicio: el de Mundo Spirituali. Amstelodarai : ' 1763,' 4to., 28 pages. t No. 20. X No. 14. 192 PROTESTANT HYPOCRITES. ' read the Word, still they made no account of the precepts ' of life in it ; though they heard sermons, still they paid no * attention to them ; though they partook of the sacrament ' of the supper, still they desisted not from the evils of ' their former lives ; and though they did not neglect the * solemnities of worship, still they amended their lives in ' nothing. Thus they lived as if from religion in their ' externals, yet were totally destitute of it in their ' internals.'* These hypocrites, united externally with Heaven and internally with Hell, were detained in the World of Spirits, ' and there permitted to form Societies, and to live together ' as on Earth ; and by arts unknown in the World, to cause ' splendid appearances, and by these means to persuade ' themselves and others, that they were in Heaven.' f As noted in the case of the Catholics, the openly wicked did not enter into these fools' Paradises — ' Those who did not believe in God, who contemned the * Word, and rejected the holy things of the Church, had ' been cast into Hell as soon as they exchanged the Natural ' for the Spiritual World.' J Nor in that concourse of Protestants were all hypocrites; there were many Good but Simple ; on whom hypocrites everywhere practise. The time for the dissolution of the great sham having arrived, it was thus effected — ' There was seen, as it were, a stormy cloud over those ' who made to themselves Imaginary Heavens, which ap- ' pearance resulted from the presence of the Lord in the ' Angelic Heavens above them. As the influence of the ' Heavens was brought to bear upon them, their interiors ' were disclosed, and they appeared no longer as moral ' Christians, but like demons in tumult and strife about God, No. 16. t No. 18. t No. 17. ANGELIC VISITATION. 193 ' the Lord, the Word, Faith, and the Church ; and as their ' lusts were let loose, they rejected everything sacred with ' contempt and ridicule, and rushed into every kind of ' enormity. At the same time all the splendid appearances ' in which they dwelt vanished away ; their palaces were ' turned into hovels, their gardens into stagnant pools, their ' temples into heaps of rubbish, and the very hills which ' they inhabited into mounds of gravel. Their circum- ' stances were thus reduced to correspondence with their ' dispositions. These were the signs of coming judgement. ' These changes were accompanied by mighty earth- ' quakes. Here and there gaps were made towards the ' Hells below, out of which ascended smoke mingled with ' fire. ' Visitation was made by Angels, who exhorted them to ' desist, and denounced destruction if they did not. At tlie ' same time they sought out and separated any Good Spirits ' who were mixed up with them. The multitude, excited ' by their leaders, reviled the Angels, and rushed in upon ' them for the purpose of dragging them into some public * place, and treating them in an aboniinable manner ; just ' indeed as was done in Sodom. ' As the visitation of the Angels did not deter them ' from their abominable practices, and from seditious plots ' against those who acknowledged the Lord as the God of ' Heaven and Earth, held the Word sacred, and led a Life ' of Charity, therefore the Last Judgement came upon ' them. ' The Lord was seen in a bright cloud with Angels, and ' a sound as of trumpets was heard from it, wliich was a ' sign of the protection of the Angels of Heaven by the ' Lord, and of the gathering of the Good from every ' quarter : for the Lord does not bring destruction upon ' any, but only protects His own, and draws them away ' from communication with the Wicked ; whereupon the O 194 THE DHAGON CAST DOWN. ' Wicked come into their own concupiscences, by which they ' are impelled into every abomination. ' Then all who were about to perish were seen together ' in the likeness of a great Dragon with its tail extended in ' a curve, and elevated towards Heaven, bending itself ' about on high in various directions, as though it would ' destroy Heaven, and draw it down : but the attempt was ' vain, for the tail was cast down, and the Dragon, which ' also appeared elevated, sank beneath. ' It was granted me to see this representation, that I ' might know and make known, who are meant by the ' Dragon in the Apocalypse ; namely, that the Dragon ' means all who read the Word, hear sei-mons, and perform ' the rites of the Church, making no account of the evil ' lusts which beset them, inwardly meditating thefts and ' frauds, adulteries and obscenities, hatred and revenge, lies ' and blasphemies ; and who thus live like Devils in spirit, ' and like Angels in body. These were the body of the ' Dragon : the tail was composed of those who lived on ' Earth in Faith separated from Charity and were inwardly ' like the others in thoughts and intentions. ' I then saw some of the rocks on which they lived, sink ' to the lowest depths, some transported to a great distance, ' some cleft in twain, and those who were on them cast down ' through the openings ; and others inundated as by a flood. ' I saw many Spirits collected into companies as into ' bundles, according to the genera and species of evil, and ' cast hither and thither into whirlpools, marshes, stagnant ' waters, and deserts, which were so many Hells. ' The rest who were not on rocks, but scattered here ' and there, fled afi"righted to the Papists, Mahometans, and ' Gentiles, and professed their religions — an easy matter, ' having none of their own : lest however they should ' seduce those Spirits, they were searched out, and thrust ' into their proper places in Hell. LIGHT AND JOY AFTEH JUDGEMENT. 195 ' This is a general description of the destruction of the ' Dragon ; the particulars, I saw, are too numerous to be ' here described. ' After the last Judgement there was joy in Heaven ; ' also light in the World of Spirits, such as was not before, ' the Infernal Societies, which hung as clouds, being swept ' away. Light likewise arose on Men on Earth, giving ' them new enlightenment. ' I then saw Angelic Spirits in great numbers, rising ' from below and entering into Heaven. They were the ' sheep, reserved and guarded by the Lord for ages back, ' lest they should come under the malignant influence of ' the Dragonists, and their Charity be suffocated : and are ' those described in the Word as slain for the testimony of ' Jesus, who were watching, and who are of the first ' resurrection.'* The treatise is completed by chapters on the English, the Dutch, the Papists and Popish Saints, Mahometans and Mahomet, Africans and Gentiles, Jews, Quakers, and Moravians in the Spiritual World : the chief details of which we elsewhere appropriate. * Nos. 23 to 31. 0 2 ( 19t) ; CHAPTER XX. THE DIVINE LOVE AND THE DIVINE WISDOM.* We have in this book a kej to Swedenborg's philosophy : in it, with some conciseness, he sets forth the principles which underlie his spiritual writings ; and only as these principles are understood can the study of those writings be accomplished with ease or advantage. The book is divided into five parts treating — I. Of God. II. Of the Spiritual Sun. III. Of Degrees. IV. Of the Creation of the Universe. Y. Of the Creation of Man. ' The end of this little work,' he writes, ' is, that Causes ' may be discovered, and Effects seen from them, and that ' thereby the darkness in which the Man of the Church is ' involved with respect to God, and the Lord, and Divine ' things, which are called Spiritual, may be dispelled. 'f I. God. Take a Man, says Swedenborg, and consider, what is his Life. Is it not his Love ? for if you remove Love, Can you think ? or speak ? or do anything ? Abstract Love * ' Sapientia Angelica dc Divino Arnore et de Divina Sapientia. Araste- 'lodami: 1763.' 4to. 151 pages, t No. 188. LOVE AND WISDOM FOR EVER ONE. 1.1)7 and you abstract Life. It is by Love that Man lives : and could his Love cease, he would cease. It is therefore decided, that Love is Life. We are next informed that Love or Life is God — ' that ' He is Love itself. Life itself.'* Then, that being Love itself. He is Wisdom itself — ' Where there is Esse, there is also Existere : one is not ' possible without the other ; for Esse is by Existere, and ' not without it.'f The form of Love by which Love is known is Truth or Wisdom— Wisdom is therefore the Divine Existere. We separate Love and Wisdom — sub- stance and form — in thought, but cannot in fact, for Love is not known but in Wisdom, nor Wisdom but from Love. ' Love and Wisdom in Man appear as two separate ' things, but in themselves they are ever one : such as his ' Love is, such is his Wisdom, such as his Wisdom is, such ' is his Love. The Wisdom which does not make one with ' his Love appears as if it were Wisdom, and yet is not so ; ' and the Love which does not make one with his Wisdom ' appears as if it was the Love of Wisdom, although it is ' not ; for the one derives its essence and life from the other ' reciprocally. The reason why Wisdom and Love in Man ' appear as two separate things, is, because his Understand- ' ing is capable of temporary illumination by the Light of ' Heaven.' I Wisdom is Love's form ; therefore as God is Love itself, He is likewise Wisdom itself. ' Love is the Divine Esse — 'the Soul of God; Wisdom is the Divine Existere — the ' Body of God.'§ Love and Wisdom — that is God — are substance and form in themselves, ' consequently the self-subsisting and ' sole-subsisting Being ' {Ijosum et Unicum.) || * No. 4. t No. 14. t Nn. 39. g No. 14. || No. 44. 198 PANTHEISTIC DANGER. This last maxim involves a most momentous conse- quence ; for if God be the one Substance and Form, all substances and forms must be derived from Him. ' Every one who thinks from clear Reason sees, that the ' Universe is not created from nothing, because he sees that * it is impossible for anything to be made out of nothing ; ' for nothing is nothing, and to make anything out of ' nothing is a contradiction, and a contradiction Is contrary ' to the Light of Truth, which is from the Divine Wisdom ; * and whatever is not from the Divine Wisdom is not from ' the Divine Omnipotence. Every one who thinks from ' clear Reason sees also, that all things were created out of ' a Substance which is Substance In itself, for this is the ' real Esse from which all things that are can exist : and as ' God alone Is Substance Itself, and thence the real Esse, It ' is evident that all things exist from Him. ' Many have seen this, for Reason gives to see it ; but ' they durst not confirm It, fearing that thereby they ' might come to think, that the created Universe is God, ' because that It is from God, or that Nature exists from ' itself, and thus that its Inmost is what is called God. ' Hence although many have seen, that the existence of all ' things Is from no other source than from God and His ' Esse, nevertheless they durst not proceed beyond the first ' thought on the subject lest they should entangle their ' understandings in a Gordian knot, as it is called, from ' whence they might not be able to extricate them.'* Swedenborg does not shrink from the logic of Pantheism, but he evades Its fatal conclusion: the Universe is derived from God, but it is not God — ' Although God created the Universe and all things ' therein from Himself, still there is nothing at all In the ' created Universe, which is God. * No. 2»3. GOD CANNOT LOVE HIMSELF. 199 ' All persons and things In tho Universe arc without or * out of God, because they are finite and God is infinite. ' Beware of falling into the execrable heresy, that God ' has infused Himself into Men, and is in them, and no ' longer in Himself. God is everywhere, as well within ' Man as without him. Were He in Man, He would not ' only be divisible, but also included in Space, and Man ' might even then think himself to be God. This heresy is ' so abominable, that in the Spiritual World it stinks like a ' dead carcase.'* He further holds, that God, being Love, is bound by His very nature to create — ' The Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom cannot but ' be and exist in other beings and existences created from ' itself. It is an essential of Love not to love itself, but to ' love others, and to be joined to them by Love ; it is also ' an essential of Love to be beloved by others, for thereby ' conjunction is effected. Love consists in willing our own to ' he another's^ and feeling his delight in ourselves. ' With respect to God, it is not possible, that He can ' love and be beloved by infinite beings or existences,' [were such creatable] ' or anything which has the essence and life ' of Love in itself — that is, anything Divine. In such case, ' He would not be beloved by others, but He would love ' Himself ; thus God would be Self-Love, whereof not the 'least exists in Him.'f God does not create what is Him- self, but only what is not Himself. God therefore, in order to satisfy His Love, creates existences in which there is nothing of Himself — nothing * Nos. 130 and 283, and 'Vera Christiana Beligio,' No. 43. t Nos. 47 and 49 ; also ' Vera Christiana Beligio,' Nos. 43 to 4.5, a beautiful passage. 'God is infinite in Love, that is. His Love for His Creatures is ' wholly untainted by any regard for Himself ; He is infinite in ^Msdoiii, that ' is, His ability to carry out His designs of Love falls in no whit behind His ' disposition.' — '/Substance and tSliadow,' by Henry James, page 49. 200 CREATION EVEKYWHEUE DEAD. Divine. Such is the Universe of Heaven and Man and Nature, altogether separate from God — dead, because He is alive — dead, because to be alive would be to be God. In dividing Creation from Himself, God parts it, that He may love it, that He may unite it to Himself and enlarge it with His own happiness. This He effects by vivifying its dcadness witli His Presence — by communicating His Life to Creation and feeling its delight as His own. Thus are we brought to the grand conclusion, that in ourselves we are dead, and that the Life in us is God. ' All created things are in themselves inanimate and ' dead ; but they are animated and vivified by this, that the ' Divine is in them and they in the Divine. ' Man is an organ of Life, and God alone is Life ; and ' God Infuses His Life into the organ and every part of it, ' as the sun infuses its heat into a tree and every part of it ; ' and God gives Man to feel Life in himself as his own ; and ' God wills that Man should feci so in order that he may ' live as of himself. ' Since therefore Man is not Life, but a recipient of Life, ' It follows, that the conception of a man from his father is ' not a conception of Life, but only of the first and purest ' form receptible of Life, to which, as a stamen or beginning, ' substances are successively added in the womb, in forms ' adapted to the reception of Life in their order and degree. ' If then anyone suffers himself to be so far misled as to ' think that he is not a recipient of Life, but Life itself, he ' cannot be withheld from thinking himself a God. Man's ' feeling as if he were Life itself, and thence believing it, is ' grounded in fallacy ; for in the instrumental cause, the ' principal cause is no otherwise perceived than as one ' with it.'* In His communication of Himself to Man as Life, God • Nos. 4, 6, aud 53, and ' Vera Christiana L'cli;/io,' No. 504. GOD KVliKYWUEKE THE SAME. 201 fulfils His character as Love, which, as we have noted, ' consists in willing its own to be another's and feeling the ' delight of the other in itself,' God gives Himself so unreservedly, that Creation feels Him as her own, His joy as her joy. His peace as her peace, His strength as her strength, His personality and independence, as her personality and independence. ' From God — from the Divine Love and Wisdom pro- ' ceed all Man's Affections and Thoughts — the Affections ' from the Divine Love, the Thoughts from the Divine ' Wisdom. There is nothing in Man, which is not derived ' from Affection and Thought : from his Affections are all ' the delights, and from their outflowing Thoughts, all the ' pleasantnesses of his life.'* Variously as God is manifested in the Universe, He is ever the same, invariable and immutable. The differences in Creation are not differences in Him. The difference between an Angel and a Man, a child and an animal, a tree and a stone, consists but in this, that one more than the other receives and utters God. All variety is that variety. Every Angel is a Man, and more and more a Man as He receives God — the Man ; and the Heavens are alive, and more and more heavenly as they receive God ; for God is in them, and their growth and increase is but His unveiling in them. His wider presence. His more perfect expression. Creation is a finite image of God : inasmuch as it lives by Him it must answer to Him. In Man we find the consummation of Creation : there is nothing in Creation which is not in Man ; nothing in fire, air, earth and water, which has not its analogue in him. Nature is Man in diffusion : Man is Nature condensed and * No. 33. 202 QOD IS OOMPLETE MAN, epitomized. Whenever therefore we name Man we Include Nature, even universal Creation. Man is an effect of which God is the cause, and as there can be nothing in an effect which is not in the cause, God must include Man. Hence another grand conclusion is attained — ' That God is very Man, and that being a Man, He has * a body and everything belonging to it ; thus that He has ' a face, a breast, an abdomen, loins, and feet ; for without ' these He would not be a Man ; and that having these, He ' has also eyes, ears, nostrils, a mouth, and a tongue ; and ' also the organs that are within a Man, as the heart and ' lungs and their dependencies ; all which, taken together, ' are what make a Man to be a Man. In created Man those ' things are many, and in their contextures, innumerable ; ' but in God-Man they are infinite, there being nothing ' wanting ; whence He has infinite perfection. A com- ' parison is made between Uncreated Man, who is God, and ' Created Man, because God is a Man, and it is said by Him ' in the first chapter of Genesis, that Man on earth was * ' created after His image and according to His likeness."* This extraordinary passage was omitted from the first English version of the ' De Dtvino Amore et de Divina * Sapiential published in 1788 : the translator. Dr. Tucker of Hull, supposing it too strong for the public stomach. Audacious as it may seem, the details are nothing but fair inferences from the declaration in Genesis, and before the reader yields himself to superfluous indignation, let him consider the distinction which the Author maintains be- tween the Uncreate and the Created. We are Human because God is Man; all in us must exist in Him, but not in Him as in us — in Him all is infinite, in us finite. Therefore he writes — * No. 18. INTINITE, INFINITE, INFINITE ! 203 ' By the hand3 of Jehovah in the Word are signified ' the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom. ' Eyes and feet when predicated of the Lord, signify the ' Divine Principles in Him from which eyes and feet exist.'* So manifestly does he discern Humanity throughout Creation, so confident is he of the relation between Creator and Creation, and so surely does he infer the one from the other as cause and effect, that he boldly affirms — ' That unless God was a Man, He could not have created ' the Universe such as it is.'f With the usual verbiage of metaphysics he discourses of the Infinite — ' It is well known that God is infinite, for He is called ' infinite ; but He is called infinite because He is infinite. ' He is infinite because infinite things are in Him : an ' infinite without infinite things in Himself is not infinite ' but as to bare name. Infinite things in Him cannot be ' said to be infinitely many, nor infinitely all, because of ' the natural idea of many and all ; for the idea of infinitely ' many is limited, and the idea of infinitely all, although ' unlimited, is derived from limited things in the universe : ' wherefore since Man's ideas are natural, he cannot by any ' sublimation and approximation come to a perception of ' the infinite things in God ; but an Angel, whose ideas ' are spiritual, may by sublimation and approximation be ' elevated above the degree of a Man, but yet not to the ' infinite itself.' J There is not much profit in such discourse : we can do little more than confess the Infinite. As we meditate on Creation, on her exhaustless variety and fecundity, on the Heavens, and on the myriad hosts of Angels multiplying * No. 59, and ' Apocalypsis Explicata,' Nos. 153 and 235. t No. 28G. \ No. 17. 204 MANHOOD OF GOD. for ever from the Earths of the Universe, and know, that in all, there are not two of the least things alike, but in every item a modification of design, we see in some dim way, a reflection of the infinity of that Love and Wisdom which is our God. ' In Himself, God is invisible and unknowable,' and ' no Man or Angel can ever approach the Father and ' immediately worship Him.'* Such a confession of the Infinite might leave us in practical atheism ; for, as our Author observes, ' to believe ' and love a Divine Being, who cannot be thought of under ' any form, is impossible.'! We must think of God, and in what way more worthily than as Man? There are many who shrink from this conception of God, but with what do they replace it? With the notion of a Force-God, or a Law-God, or a semi-intelligent, omnipresent Gas-God, al- together inferior to themselves except in the attributes of vastness and strength. The Bible yields no sanction to such timidity, but everywhere frankly ascribes to God the qualities of Man. ' In all the Heavens there is no other idea of God than ' that of a Man : it is impossible for the Angels to think of ' Him otherwise. The Ancients, from the wise to the simple, ' thought of God as a Man ; and when at length they began ' to worship a plurality of gods, as at Athens and Rome, ' they worshipped them all as men. The Gentiles, par- ' ticularly the Africans, who acknowledge and worship one ' God, think of Him as a Man, and say that no one can have ' any other idea of Him. When they hear that many form ' an idea of God as of a little cloud in the midst of the ' Universe, they ask where such are ; and when it is said, ' there are such among Christians, they deny that it is ' possible ; but in reply it is shewn, that some Christians ' conceive such an idea from the circumstance, that God is * ' Ai'ocabj2)'sis E.qilicatd,' Nos. 96 and 114. f I'o., No. 200. GOD AS JESUS CHRIST. 205 ' called a Spirit in the Word, and a Spirit they fancy ' is a thin clox;d, not knowing that every Spirit and Angol ' is a Man.'* There is no pretence made, that God can be adequately thought of under any form ; that is impossible ; " Canst " thou by searching find out God ? Canst thou find out the " Almighty unto perfection ?" If we wait to think of Him until we can think of Him adequately, we shall wait for ever. We must do our best ; and our best and noblest conception is that of Man, and therefore as a Man, as Jesus Christ, we worship God. In the words of John, ' No m.m ' hath seen God at any time ; the only-begotten Son, which 'is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him'— that is, manifested Him, brought Him forth to view. Philip required of Jesus, that He should shew him the Father, drawing forth the memorable reply — " Have I been so long " time with you, and hast thou not known me, Philip ? He " who hath seen me, hath seen the Father. How sayest " thou then. Shew us the Father?" As Cromwell wrote to his son, ' You cannot find nor behold the face of God but in ' Christ ; therefore labour to know God in Christ.' f Whilst, as we must, we finite the Infinite in our con- ception of God, yet in the thought of the Infinite there is provided means for the redemption of our conception from meanness. Our noblest conception of God can never be * No. 11. t The passage is so good, we must quote it entire — ' Seek the Lord and ' His face continually : — let this be the business of your life aiid strength, and ' let all things be subservient and in order to this ! You cannot find nor ' behold the face of God but in Christ ; therefore labour to know God in ' Christ; which the Scripture makes to be the sum of all, even Life Eternal. ' Because the tme knowledge is not literal or speculative ; no, but inward ; ' transforming the mind to it. It is uniting to, and participating of, the ' Divine Nature. 2 Peter i. 4.'— Oliver Cromwell to his son Richard Carrick, 2 April, 1650. Carlyle's 'Letters and SpeecJies of Cromwell.' Vol. II. page 145, ed. 1857. 206 SPACE AND TIME CREATED. anything but a poor symbol of the infinitely glorious Reality, but by the thought of the Infinite we are enabled to correct and disown the partial and miserable notions which are ever ready to spring up, and which are the drawbacks attached to the confession and worship of the Known God. These drawbacks moreover are not to be evaded either by the mere confession of the Infinite or ]by atheism. If we will not have God as a Man, then we have Him as a Force, a Law, or a Gas ; but not even then will the heart be satisfied. In its passion for an object of adoration it will, rejecting Jesus Christ, turn to hero-worship, and a Comte will indicate and classify its gods. Our experience of mankind amply confirms Swedcnborg's report — ' That Evil Spirits, who while on Earth denied God, ' deny Him after death ; nevertheless instead of God they ' worship some Spirit, who, by means of diabolical arts, ' gains ascendancy over them.'* Space and Time are finite ; they are attributes of Crea- tion, and are altogether to be denied in connection with God. Whilst He as Life is in all the spaces of Creation, He is above and without Space ; and whilst He is in all Time, He is above and without Time. To think with any Truth about God, we must think of Him clear of the encumbrances of Space and Time. So the Angels think. To us immersed in Space and Time, such thought is difficult, but it is the condition of wisdom about God — ' Tliis is expedient to be premised, because without a ' knowledge and some perception that the Divine is not in ' space, nothing can be understood concerning the Divine ' Life, and very little, if anything, concerning the Divine * ' Athaimsian Creed,' No. 20. WITHIN DISPLAYED WITHOUT. 207 ' Providence, Omnipresence, Omniscience, Omnipotence, In- ' finity, and Eternity' — * Unless we ascend above these limitations \vc can scarcely fail to merge the Creator in Creation and confound the Maker with His work. II. The Spiritual Sun. / The relation between God and Man is illustrated by Swedenborg's experience of the Spiritual World, in which all that exists and occurs in the invisible region of the Mind is reproduced in scenery. Neither here not hereafter can God be seen, nor Love, nor Truth : the Spiritual World consists of their visible representatives. God is the Creator and Sustainer of Man : in the Spiritual World that first of facts is displayed in the i appearance of God as its Sun: the Divine Love is felt as ) its heat — the Divine Wisdom is seen as its light. ' I have seen the Spiritual Sun. It appeared of the ' same size as the Sun of this Earth, and fiery like it, only ' more ruddy ; and it was made known to me, that the ' universal Angelic Heaven is under that Sun ; and that the ' Angels of the third Heaven see it always, the Angels of ' the second Heaven, very often, and the Angels of the first ' or lowest Heaven, sometimes. ' The Sun appears above the Earth, which the Angels ' inhabit, at an elevation of 45°, or a middle altitude ; and ' it appears distant from the Angels as the Sun of our ' Earth is distant from us. It also constantly appears in ' that altitude and at that distance, nor does it move. ' Hence the Angels have no times distinguished into days ' and years, nor any progression of the day from morning ' by noon to evening and night ; nor any progression of ' the year from spring through summer to autumn and * No. 9. 208 THE INWARD SUX. ' winter ; but there is perpetual light and perpetual ' spring.'* The place of the Sun is the East, and from it, the Quarters of the Spiritual World are determined — ' The Angels who are in a superior degree of Love ' dwell in the East, those who are in an inferior degree in ' the West ; those who are in a superior degree of Wisdom ' in the South, and those who are in an inferior degree in ' the North. ' Thus it is, that in the Word, the East, in a supreme ' sense, signifies the Lord, and, in a respective sense. Love ' towards Him ; the West, Love towards Him decreasing ; ' the South, Wisdom in light ; the North, Wisdom in ' shade. ' Since the Lord as a Sun is constantly in the East, the * Ancients turned their faces eastwards in worship, and ' built their temples in the same direction : as likewise is ' done with churches at this day. ' The Angels' gaze is always towards the Sun. An ' Angel can turn himself round and round, and see various ' things about him, but still the Lord constantly appears ' before his face as the Sun. This may seem wonderful, ' but it is nevertheless true. In this way it has been given * me to see the Lord : I see Him before my face, as I have ' continually for many years, and in whatever direction I * turn myself.' t Nor are Angels alone the subjects of the Spiritual Sun, but Men also — ' Every Man as to his interiors is in the Spiritual World, ' and according to his character dwells in a certain Quarter, ' and thinks from its light and loves from its heat.'|: The effluence from the Sun inasmuch as it corresponds * Nos. 85 and 104. f Nos. 121 to 123 and 131. t Nos. 02. 95, 112, 12(5, and 12!t. GOD IS A MAN, NOT A SUN. 209 to the Divine Love and Wisdom represents the Holy Spirit. If our hearts are warm it is because the Lord is in us as Love ; if our Intellects are bright it is because the Lord is in us as Wisdom.* As said, all these phenomena are referred to causes in the invisible realm of Mind. ' Beware of thinking that ' the Sun of the Spiritual World is God: God is a Man.'f ' That Sun is not the Lord Himself, but from the Lord : ' the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom proceeding from ' Him ajypenr as heat and light.'^: ' The Angels cannot see ' Love with their eyes, but they see a Sun that corresponds ' to it.'§ ' When they think interiorly of the Lord, they ' think of Him no otherwise than in themselves.' i| ' The Lord appears to the Angels at a distance as a ' Sun, but it is only an appearance : the fact is, that He ' is the Soul of the Universal Angelic Heaven, of every ' Heavenly Society, and of each particular Angel.'** The appearances of the Spiritual World closely, rapidly and vividly attest and express mental alternations, but no more than the appearances of the Natural World are they to be regarded as anything but symbolic of unseen mental con- ditions. Appearances are Effects, ' and Effects teach nothing ' but Effects, and, considered alone, explain nothing. Causes ' ' on the contrary explain Effects ; and to know Eficcts from ' ' Causes is to be wise. Causes are prior and Effects are ' posterior, and from posterior things prior ones cannot be ' seen, but posterior ones may be seen from prior : this is ' order.' ft Hence the use of the cautions against thinking of the Sun as God, and of its heat as Love, and its light as * No. 146. il No. 130. t No. 97. X Nos. 86 and 93. ** 'Dc Divina Providentia,' No. 162. § No. 87. ft No 119. 1' 210 TWO ORDERS OF DEGREES. Wisdom, These appearances are reductions of inward re- lations to outward experience. All that the Sun with his heat and light is to the Angels physically, the Lord is to the Angels mentally — ' All the fallacies of the Simple and the Evil arise from ' the confirmation of appearances. So long as appearances ' remain appearances, they are truths in appearance, and ' there is no harm in thinking and speaking from them ' as such ; but when they are taken for realities, which is ' the case when Reason assumes them as Causes, then ap- ' pearances are converted into fallacies and falsities.'* Many appearances are inversions of the inward reality — ' The Sun appears at a distance from the Angels and ' they receive its heat and light in various proportions, and ' it may be concluded that this diversity originates in the ' Sun, but it is in the Angels. The Lord is not in a greater ' degree of Love and Wisdom in one Angel than another ; ' for He is everywhere the same ; but He is not received by ' one as by another, and this causes the Angels to appear to ' themselves at various distances, and to dwell in different ' quarters.'! IIL Degrees. The Doctrine of Degrees is the Science of Correspond- ences ; it is the description of the order of Creation, of the relation between God and Man, between the Unseen and the Seen, between Causes and Effects. Degrees are of two kinds — Degrees of Altitude or Discrete Degrees, and Degrees of Latitude or Continuous Degrees. Continuous Degrees are known to every one. They consist in the gradation of gross to fine, dense to rare, light to shade, heat to cold, hard to soft, and so on. No. 108. t No. 124. CAUSES DISTINGUISHED FROM EFFECTS. 211 It is very different with Discrete Degrees. Their exist- ence is a revelation of Swedenborg's — ' Nothing, so far as I am aware, has hitherto been known ' of Degrees of Altitude or Discrete Degrees ; yet without ' a knowledge of Degrees of both kinds not anything of ' Cause can be truly known.'* For instance : there is a Discrete Degree between the Body and the Mind of Man. His Body is a thing of space ; his Mind is a substance to which the laws of space have no application. His Body does not refine into Mind, nor his Mind condense into Body ; there is a clean division between them. Nevertheless though utterly diverse, their relation is one of the strictest intimacy. The Body exists for the service of the Mind ; it corresponds to the Mind, so that a man of delicate perception like Lavater could infer the one from the other — could discover the Cause in its characteristic Effects. Hence all the terms we apply to the Body we apply to the Mind : every function in the one is repeated in the other ; every word for strength and health, weakness and disease, beauty and deformity has a double application — a mental and a physical. Here then in the case of Body and Mind we may see what is meant by a Discrete as distinguished from a Con- tinuous Degree. A Discrete Degree everywhere divides Cause from Effect. The two, like Mind and Body, are in themselves altogether diverse, but, like Mind and Body, the one exists by and for the other. Many have discerned this correspondence between Mind and Body, but it is Swedenborg's distinction, that he dis- cerns a similar correspondence throughout the Universe — that he assigns to everything Seen a Cause in the Unseen. Thus he discovers a Discrete Degree between the Creator and Creation — • No. 188. p 2 212 UNIVERSAL TlilNITY. ' What is created from God is not continuous from Him ; ' for God is Esse in itself, and in created things there is ' nothing of Esse in itself ; if in created things there was ' anything of Esse in itself thej would be continuous from ' God, and what is continuous from God is God'* — Yet Creation, with nothing of God in its substance, is related to Him as intimately as is the Body in all its details to the Mind — ' Every created thing is a recipient of God, not by way ' of continuity, but by contiguity.' f Again between Man and Nature there is a Discrete Degree. There is nothing in Nature which is not in Man, but in Man in a different fonn from Nature. Again there is God, the Spiritual Sun, and the Suns of Nature : between the three there is the perfect unity of Cause and Effect, but Avith no similarity of substance. So again in the case of the Sacred Scriptures. In the Letter they are Natural History, but inasmuch as everything of Nature includes a Spirit whereby it is related to God, so the Scriptures include a Spiritual Sense at unity with the Literal Sense as is the Mind with the Body, but as diverse from the Literal Sense as the Mind is from the Body ; so that Swedenborg has to tell us — ' That tliree things of the Literal Sense of the Word ' perish when the Spiritual Sense is evolving, namely. Space, ' Time, and Person.'! This may help us to realize the unity and the distinction involved in relation by Discrete Degrees. Discrete Degrees exist everywhere in trines; and in trines because in God there is a trinity, or, in our Author's words, ' three infinite and uncreate Degrees,' § which are Love, Wisdom and Use ; ' for being Love itself and Wisdom * No. 230. t No. 232. i 'Arcana Cale^la,' Nos. 5,253, 5,287 aiicl 5,434. ? No. 230. THE COMPLETE H[AN. 213 ' itself, He is also Use itself, since Love has Use for its end, ' which it produces by Wisdom,* — in other phrase God the Father through Christ the Son by the Holy Spirit, These three Degrees in God are reflected in three Kingdoms of Humanity — ' The Heavens are distinguished into two Kingdoms ; ' one the Celestial Kingdom — the Kingdom of Love, the ' other the Spiritual Kingdom — the Kingdom of Wisdom ; ' and the Natural Kingdom — the Kingdom of Use, in which ' are Men on Earth,' f into which the Heavens close and invest themselves as docs a Mind In a Body. In a Man's Mind there are the same three Degrees latent whereby he may be conjoined with the Heavens and the Heavens with Him. The Degrees are opened according to a Man's life : If he lives from Love to Others he is united to the Spiritual Kingdom ; If from Love to the Lord, he Is united to the Celestial Kingdom. ' The Natural Man is a complete Man when the Heavenly ' Degrees in him are opened. He Is then at once in assocla- ' tlon with Angels in Heaven and Men on Earth, and lives ' under the guidance of the Lord ; for he learns His Will ' from the Word and does It. The Natural Man, in such ' case, does not know that he thinks and acts from Heaven, ' for his thoughts and actions appear to be his own, when ' nevertheless they are from the Lord : nor does he know ' that he is In Heaven, although as to his Spiritual Man he is ' in the midst of the Angels, and sometimes even appears to ' them, but disappears after a short stay, because he retires ' into his Natural Man : nor does he know that his Spiritual ' Mind is filled by the Lord with a thousand arcana of ' wisdom, and a thousand delights of love, and that he ' comes into them after death, when he becomes an Angel. ' The natural Man does not know these things, because the * No. 230. t No. 232. 214 THREE DEGREES IN ALL THINGS. ' communication between the Natural and Spiritual Man ' is eflfected by correspondences ; and conununication by ' correspondences is not perceived any otherwise in the ' Understanding than by a clear perception of Truths, nor ' any other^vise in the Will, than by the performance of * Uses with heartfelt dehght.'* If on the other hand, a Man lives from the Love of Self and the Love of the World, three Degrees are discoverable in him, which re-act against the Heavenly Degrees — ' That this is the case was made evident to me from ' what I have seen in the Spiritual World ; namely, that ' there are three Heavens, and these distinct according ' to three Degrees of Altitude, and that there are three ' Hells, and these also distinct according to three Degrees ' of Altitude or Profundity ; and that the Hells in all and ' everything are opposite to the Heavens — the lowest Hell ' opposite to the highest Heaven, the middle Hell to ' the middle Heaven, and the highest Hell to the lowest ' Heaven.' t These Discrete Degrees reflected from the Creator on His Creation are found in conjunction with Continuous Degrees in its every and least details — ' The Angels affirm, that there is nothing so minute, ' but there are Degrees in it of both kinds ; for example, ' that there is not the least thing in any Animal, Vegetable, ' or Mineral, or in Ether and Air, in which there are not ' these Degrees ; and as Ether and Air are receptacles of ' Heat and Light, and as Spiritual Heat and Light are ' receptacles of Love and Wisdom, that there is not in the ' least thing in them in which Degrees of both kinds are ' not present. They also affirm, that the least of Affection ' and the least of Thought, yea, the least of an Idea of ' Thought, consist of Degrees of both kinds ; and that a t No. 275. THE PRIMITIVE SUBSTANCE, 215 ' least not consisting of such Degrees is nothing ; for it ' has not a form, and therefore not a quality, or not a state * which can be changed and varied, and thereby exist. ' The Angels confirm this by the truth, that infinite ' things in God the Creator, who is the Lord from eternity, ' are distinctly one, and that there are infinite things in His ' infinites, and that in these infinitely infinite things there ' are Degrees of both kinds, which are also in Him distinctly ' one ; and as these things are in Him, and all things were ' created by Him, and the things which are created repre- ' sent, in a certain image, those things which are in Him, it ' follows that there is no finite thing however minute, in ' which there are not such Degrees. These Degrees are ' equally in the least and greatest things, because the ' Divine in the greatest and least things is the same.'* In fine, there is a trinity in all things because there is a trmity in the Creator. IV. The Creation of the Universe. We have not here Swedenborg's first attempt to explain the Creation of the Universe. It was a problem which had long exercised his mind. Its solution was the purpose of his Princijpia' of 1734, wherein, it may be remembered, with much ingenuity he tracked Nature to a beginning in Points of Motion, ' which by mutual pressure, aggregation, 'and coacervatiou' condensed through Elements of in- creasing grossness to solid Earth. This fancy he now repudiates — ' It is thought by many, that there is one only Substance, ' which is also the first, from which all things are ; but it is ' not known what that Substance is. It is thought to be so ' simple that nothing can be simpler, and that it may be ' compared to a Point, which has no dimensions, and that No. 223. 216 HOW CKEATION OUIUINATKD. ' from an infinite number of such Points, the forms of ' dimension exist. This however is a fallacy.'* In the 'Z>e Cultu et Amore DeV of 1745, the doctrine of the ''Principia'' received further developement. Yielding the reins to his imagination, he shewed how from a Sun around God the Sun of Nature is produced, and how from the Sun of Nature, Earths in turn are delivered. In the book before us we do not behold a rejection of his earlier conceptions in the light of supernatural experience, but their improvement by addition, correction and distinction. What is the beginning of Creation ? If it is not Points of Force, what is the first Substance? We have already had the answer in the present chapter — that God is Sub- stance itself, and that He is Form itself ; tliat He is the self-subsisting and sole-subsisting Being. From God is produced the Spiritual Sun, from the Spiritual Sun the Spiritual World, the Suns of Nature and all Planets. ' I have had much conversation with the Angels con- ' ccrning the Spiritual Sun. They compared it to the ' sphere or aura which surrounds every Angel. This ambient ' sphere is not the Angel, but is derived from his body and ' continually streams forth. They said, that there is such a ' sphere about every Angel, because there is one about the ' Lord ; and that His sphere is their Sun, or the Sun of the ' Spiritual World. ' As the thmgs which constitute the Spiritual Sun are ' from the Lord and are not the Lord, therefore they are ' void of Life just as the sphere about an Angel or a Man ' is from him, but is not him.'f This Smi is the grand representative of the Creator, and as He is a trinity of Love, Wisdom and Use — * 'De Dio'uia P rovidentia,' No. 6. t Nos. 291 and 294. LOA'E, WISDOM, AND USE. 217 ' And as He is everywhere, and as He cannot present ' Himself to any Angel or Man as He is in Himself in His ' Sun, therefore He presents Himself by such things as can ' be received, as to Love by Heat, as to Wisdom by Light, ' and as to Use by the Atmosphere. ' The Lord presents Himself as to Use by the Atmo- ' sphere, because the Atmosphere is the continent of Heat ' and Light, as Use is the continent of Love and Wisdom. ' The Light and Heat which proceed from the Divine Sun ' cannot proceed in nothing or vaciium, but in some continent ' which is their subject. That continent is the Atmosphere ' which surrounds the Sun, receives him in its bosom, and ' conveys him to the Heavens where the Angels dwell, ' and thence to Man on Earth, thus presenting the Lord ' everywhere. ' Every one, who thinks from any enlightenment, may ' sec, that Love has for its end Use and produces Use by ' Wisdom. Love of itself cannot produce any Use, but by ' means of Wisdom. What indeed is Love, unless there be ' something that is loved ? This something is Use ; and as ' Use is what is loved, and it is effected by Wisdom, it ' follows, that Use is the continent of Love and Wisdom.'* The Atmosphere of the Spiritual World in its procession from the Sun, according to Degrees Discrete and Continuous, ' becomes continually more compressed and inert, and at ' length in ultimates so compressed and inert, that it is no ' longer atmospheric,'t but wears the appearance of matter, ' and becomes the ground of the Spiritual World — ' Be it known, that the Spiritual World to outward view ' is altogether similar to the Natural World : lands, mountains, ' hills, valleys, plains, fields, lakes, rivers, fountains, appear ' there ; also paradises, gardens, groves, woods, containing ' ti'ces of all kinds with fruits and seeds, also plants, flowers, Nos. 296, -297, and 299. t No. 302. 218 SPIRIT AND NATURE ONE YET DISTINCT. ' herbs, and grasses, consequently all things of the Vegetable ' Kmgdom ; animals, birds, and fishes of all kinds, conse- ' quently all things of the Animal Kingdom.'* There is however the grand difference, that it is the World of Spirit, and things of Spirit ' are not fixed and ' stationary like those of Nature.'f Spiritual scenery,' as we have elsewhere noted, is pliant under the mental influence of its inhabitants, yielding to their moods and reflecting every alternation with the accuracy and rapidity of a mirror — ' a ' world is created as it were before their eyes.' J The World of Nature is a derivation from the World of Spirit — its Sun from the Spiritual Sun, its Heat, Light and Air from Spiritual Heat, Light and Air ; but mark, not by continuity ; there is a clear division between them — the division of a Discrete Degree, of Cause and Effect — ' The Heat and Light of the Spiritual and Natural ' Worlds diffbr so much, that they have nothing in common. ' They are as diff"erent as what is alive and what is dead. . . . ' Every Man is ulteriorly a Spirit. When he dies, he departs ' entirely out of the World of Nature, and leaves everything ' belonging to it, and enters a World in which there is ' nothing of Nature ; and in which he lives so separate from * Nature, that he has no communication with it by continuity, ' that is of purer and grosser, but by Correspondences, that ' is, as of prior and posterior. Hence it may appear, that ' Spiritual Heat is not a purer kind of Natural Heat, nor ' Spiritual Light a purer kind of Natural Light, but that they * are altogether of diff'erent essence.' § The Sun of Nature, we are told in many places, ' is Pure ' Fire,' but what is meant by Pure Fire, we are left to con- jecture. || In the same manner as the World of Spirit is * No. 321. t No. 90. t No. 326. § No. 90. II In one place he writes, ' The Sun of Nature consists of created substances, ' the activity of which produces fire.' — ' Vera Christiana Beligio,' No. 472. CONNECTION OF THE TWO SUNS. 219 created from the condensed aura of the Spiritual Sun, the World of Nature is created from the condensed aura of the Natural Sun. ' That substances or matters are produced from the Sun ' by its atmospheres is affirmed by all who think, that there ' are perpetual mediations from the First to the Last ; and * that nothing can exist but from a prior, and in the end from ' the First : which First is the Sun of the Spiritual World, ' and the First of that Sun is God-Man or the Lord. ' Those who do not conceive the Creation of the Universe ' and all things therein by continual mediations from the ' First, cannot but build unconnected hypotheses, which, ' when examined by one who looks interiorly into things, * appear not like houses, but like heaps of rubbish.'* ' Creation is terminated in the Earths of the Universe : ' in them the Spiritual World is based, and as the last they ' include all which precedes — ' There are two Suns — the Sun of Spirit and the Sun of ' Nature ; the one is the Divine Love of the Lord, the other ' is Pure Fire. From the Sun, which is Divine Love, the ' work of creation began, and through the Sun, which is ' Fire, it was brought to completion ; and because from these ' two sources all things which are contained in the Spiritual ' and Natural Worlds exist and subsist, it follows that the ' Spiritual and the Natural are together in every created ' object ; the Spiritual being as the Soul, and the Natural as ' the Body ; or the Spiritual as the Liternal, and the Natural ' as the External ; or the Spiritual as the Cause, and the ' Natural as the Effect. 'f If the Natural World is dependent on the Spiritual World so is the Spiritual World on the Natural ; neither can exist without the other — ' Every wise man is aware, that they cannot be separated ; * No. 303. t 'Athanasian Creed,' No. 85. 220 SPIRIT INVESTED IN NATURE. ' for if you separate the Cause from the Effect, the Effect * perishes just as if you were to separate the Soul from the ' Body.'* It may be objected to this statement, that at death Man leaves his Body and lives as a Spirit. True ; but he remains related to Nature inasmuch as its finer substances ' form the ' cutaneous covering of his Spiritual Body -.'f and moreover if he enters Heaven, he lives in common with the Angels with the Good on Earth — in the Church, for a Body, and if he enters Hell, he dwells with the Evil on Earth as in a Body. Spirit and Nature cannot exist apart — ' The Angels know this ; on which account they bitterly ' lament when the Church on Earth is desolated by falses, ' and consummated by evils ; on such occasion, they compare ' their state of life to that of sleepiness, for then Heaven is * to them like a seat withdrawn, or like a body deprived of ' its feet ; but when the Church is restored by the Lord, they ' compare their state of life to that of wakefulness.'! As Nature includes the Spiritual World, it is inwardly the subject of the Spiritual Smi ; and thus Swedenborg explains the phenomena of growth in Nature. Under the Spiritual Sun is perpetual spring ; its efflux of Heat and Light is incessant ; but Nature must provide conditions ade- quate to its reception : if these conditions are provided the reception of life is inevitable ; the draft is honoured infallibly if only the due conditions are presented. The due conditions may be described as matter properly disposed, and under the action of the Heat and Light of Nature's Sun. When Heat and Light are absent, as in winter, there is no growth ; when they are present, as in spring and summer, the way is pre- * 'Athanasian Creed,' No. 85. t No. 257. ' Hence there is no Spirit or Aiigcl wlio was not born a Man; ' for without a vskin from Nature he could not subsist; see also No. 388. X 'Coroilis,' No. 19. ACTION OF INWARD SUN ON NATURE. 221 pared for ' the influx of Heat and Light from the Sun where 'the Lord is,'* and all the wonders of vivification and growth ensue. To vivification and growth, ' the Sun of Nature, which ' in itself is dead and void of power, contributes nothing, ' save the means of reception* — ' The belief that the Heat of the Natural Sun is the ' cause of vivification and growth, originates in a Mind ' blinded by the fallacies of the senses, for the Heat of the ' Natural Sun operates only to open the cuticles or extreme ' parts of bodies so that Heat from the Spiritual Sun may ' flow in ; for thus Life comes into full effect from first • principles to last. This is the reason why beasts and birds ' breed in spring and summer : it is otherwise with Man ' because by clothing he maintains external Heat answering ' to internal.'! Holding this opinion, Swedenborg illustrates it by refer- ence to spontaneous generation. Granted the conditions of Life, he can see nothing to hinder organization of animal and vegetable forms by influx from the Spiritual Sun. ' It ' is stated on the experience of some persons, that there are ' even certain seeds of new species still coming forth into ' existence. As the Lord produces all things of Nature from Himself 'through the Spiritual World,' § therefore all things in Nature 'viewed as to Use bear His image,' || and conse- quently the image of Man — ' There is nothing in the Universe of Creation which has ' not correspondence with something of Man, not only with ' his Affections and Thoughts, but also with the Organs * No. 340. f 'Divine and Love and Wisdom' from 'Apocalypse Explained,'' page 29. i 'Athanasian Creed,' No. 97. § No. 356. || No. 320. 222 ORIGIN OF VERMIN. ' and Viscera of his Body — not with them as Substances but ' as Uses' — * Which is to say, that if we explore Nature to discover Man we must not expect to find a fonnal repetition of his members, but an analogous repetition of their functions. There is nothmg in Man's Body which is not primarily in his Brain, but though there is a perfect Correspondence between his Body and Brain as to Use there is no sameness as to structure. So with Man and Nature. The Animal Kingdom corresponds to his Will, the Vegetable Kingdom to his Intellect, and the Mineral Kingdom to his Memory, and these Kingdoms again severally and in all their details will bear a similar distribution, for the image of Man, which is the image of God, is omnipresent in things least as in things great; but be it reiterated, Man's likeness is dis- covered not in shape, but in Uses. It may be said. Supposing Nature in whole and in part bear the image of Man, which is the image of God, How can things disordei'ly and noxious in Nature be regarded as reflections of the Divine likeness of Love and of Wisdom ? Swcdenborg answers, that they are not reflections of the Divine likeness, ' that they were not created by the Lord, 'but originated together with Hell;'! and styles them ' Evil Uses.' ' Evil Uses on Earth mean all noxious things in the ' Animal, Vegetable and Mineral Kingdoms. It would be ' tedious to enumerate them, but for the sake of science it ' may be sufiicient to name a few. In the Animal Kingdom * they are poisonous serpents, scorpions, crocodiles, dragons, ' horned owls, screech owls, mice, locusts, frogs, spiders, ' flies, drones, moths, lice, mites, in a word, those that con- * No. 324. t Nos. :^3G and 339. EVIL USES. 223 ' surae grasses, leaves, fruits, seeds, meat and drink, and ' are noxious to men and beasts; in the Vegetable Kingdom, ' virulent and poisonous herbs, pulse and shrubs ; in the Mineral Kingdom, all poisonous earths.' * Inasmuch as the Natural World is created through the Spiritual World, and as the Spiritual World to subsist must be based in the Natural World, it necessarily follows, that as Hell is comprised in the Spiritual World, Hell must be manifested on Earth ; and Hell is manifested in just such disorderly and noxious things in Nature as have been enumerated. ' In Hell appear wild beasts of all kinds, as serpents, ' scorpions, dragons, crocodiles, tigers, wolves, foxes, swine, ' owls, bats, rats, mice, frogs, locusts, spiders, and noxious ' insects of many kinds, hemlock and aconite, and all kinds ' of poison, as well in herbs as in earths ; in short, all things ' that hurt and kill men. Such things in the Hells appear to ' the life, just as on Earth. ' Since there are such things in Hell, therefore they also ' abound in foul smells, cadaverous, stercoraceous, urinous ' and putrid, in which Evil Spirits luxuriate as do some ' animals in rank odours.' f We have here a version of the very old notion, that rapacious and venomous creatures originated with Adam's Fall — a notion which geological science has quietly consigned to oblivion. Hell, not God, says Swedenborg, is the Cause of Evil Creatures, but the answer does not meet, but only defers the difficulty ; for. Who is the Cause of Hell ? We shall have a certain answer in the following chapter on the Divine Providence. He brings in spontaneous generation to confirm the em- bodiment of Hell in correspondent conditions on Eai'th — ' Every one knows, that marshes, stagnant waters, dung, * No. 338. t No. 339. 224 SPONTANEOUS GENERATION. ' and stinking earth are the nurseries of malignant herbs ' and animals. I once observed in my garden, that in the ' space of an ell almost all the dust was turned into very ' small msects ; for on being stirred with a stick they rose up ' like clouds. ' We shall now inquire whether such things exist from ' seeds or eggs translated thither, either by the air, or by ' rain, or otherwise, or whether they are engendered by the ' influx of Hell into accordant conditions. That they are ' produced from eggs carried thither or hid since ci'eation is ' not supported by experience ; for woi-ms exist in seeds, ' nuts, wood and stones, yea from leaves ; also lice and moths ' in plants and on them ; flies also appear in houses, fields ' and woods in summer, produced in great abimdance, not ' from any oviform matter ; as is likewise the case with those ' animalcules that devour meadows and lawns, and in some ' hot places fill and infest the air ; besides those which swim ' and fly invisible in foul waters, sour wines, and pestilential ' air. These facts favour the opinion of those who say, that ' from the miasma of plants, earths, and pools such animalcules ' originate. That afterwards when they are produced, they ' are propagated by eggs or spawn, does not disprove their ' immediate origin ; because every animal with its viscera ' receives organs of generation.'* We need not conceal from ourselves, that this a loose defence of spontaneous generation, but it serves very well to illustrate the doctrine, ' that in eveiything Spiritual ' there is an endeavour to clothe itself with a body ; where- ' fore when aff'ections and lusts meet with homogeneous ' and corresponding conditions in Nature there ensues a 'junction of Soul and Body.'f Ordinary generation might have been cited to equal purpose, for the congress of the sexes is equally illustrative of the same law. * No. 342. t No. 343. TWO ENGLISH NATURALISTS. 225 Sir Hans Shane and Martin Folkes. ' I heard two presidents of the English Koyal Society, ' Sir Hans Sloane and Martin Folkes, conversing together ' in the Spiritual World concerning the existence of seeds ' and eggs, and concerning their production on Earth. * Sloane ascribed them to Nature ; insisting, that Nature ' was from Creation endued with power of producing such ' things by means of the Sun's Heat. Folkes said, that ' that power is continually from God in Nature. ' In order to determine the dispute, a beautiful bird was ' exhibited to Sir Hans Sloane, and he was told to examine ' whether in the least thing it differed from a similar bird ' on Earth. He held it in his hand, examined it, and said ' there was no difference. At the same time he knew, that ' the bird was nothing else than the external representative ' of an affection of a certain Angel, and that it would vanish ' or cease with the Angel's affection : as indeed it did. ' Sir Hans Sloane was convinced by this experiment, ' that Nature does not create Animals and Vegetables, but ' the influx of Spirit into Nature. He also said, that if the ' bird could have been invested in matter, it would have ' been a durable bird, like birds on Earth ; and that' the ' same would be true of an affection from Hell. He added ' further, that if he had known what he now knew of the ' Spiritual World, he would not have ascribed any more to ' Nature, than that it served Spiritual Efflux from God as ' a ground of embodiment.'* The strong drift of this article on the Creation of the Universe is to prove, that the Universe is not a work completed and left alone, but a work in which God is present and efficient at every point. As our Author puts * No. 344 ; see also 'X>e Divina Providentia,' No. 190. 226 god's image and likeness. it, ' Existence is continual subsistence' — subsistence from God. In the words of Mr. Lewes — ' St. Paul tells us, that God lives in everything, and ' everything in God. Science tells us, that the World is ' always becoming. Creation continues. The World was ' not made, once and for ever, as a thing completed, and ' aftei'wards serenely contemplated. The World is still ' amaking. The primal energies of Life are as young and as ' potent as of old, issuing forth under new forms through ' metamorphoses higher and higher, as dawn broadens into ' day.'* V. The Creation of Man. The Human Mind is divided by Swedenborg into Will and Understanding — two faculties devised for the reception and exhibition of God, as Love and Wisdom. ' Two receptacles and habitations for Himself, called the ' Will and Understanding, have been created and formed by ' the Lord in Man — the Will for His Divine Love and the ' Understanding for His Divine Wisdom, ' We read in Genesis, that Man was created in the Lnage ' of God according to His Likeness. The Image of God ' there means the Divine Wisdom, and the Likeness of God ' the Divine Love ; Wisdom being no other than the Image ' of Love, for Love makes itself to be seen and known in ' Wisdom ; consequently Wisdom is its Image. Love is the ' Esse of Life, and Wisdom is the Existere of Life therefrom. ' The Likeness and Image of God appear plainly in the ' Angels : Love shines forth from within in their faces, and ' Wisdom in their beauty ; and beauty is the form of their ' Love : this I have seen and know. ' A Man cannot be an Image of God according to His ' Likeness, unless God be in him, and be his Life from the * 'lAfe of Goethe,' ed. of 1864, page 520. MIND, BEAIN, BODY. 227 * inmost. It has been shewn, that God is in Man, and is his ' Life from the inmost, that God alone is Life, and that Men ' and Angels are mere recipients of Life from Him. It is ' also known from the Word, that God is in Man, and makes ' His abode with him : hence it is usual for preachers to ' exhort their hearers to prepare themselves to receive God, ' that He may enter into them, and be in their hearts, and ' that they may be His dwelling-place : the devout also * express themselves in prayer in the same way, and some ' more openly so of the Holy Spirit, which they believe to be ' in them when they are in holy zeal, and think, speak, and ' pi-each from it.'* The Will and the Understanding are Spiritual Organ- isms f and, as such, are above and without Space, and cannot be studied under physical vision : but for the exercise of their functions in Nature they are incarnated first in the Brain and thence in the Body : wherefore in the Brain and the Body the invisible Will and Understanding are revealed ; and if we are adepts in the Law of Correspondences, that is, if we can read unseen Causes in their visible Effects, we may from the facts of Physiology educe corresponding facts in Psychology. ' The Will and Understanding are in the Brains, in the ' whole and every part thereof, and thence in the Body, in ' the whole and every part thereof. ' Man's Life in its principles is in the Brains, and in its ' principiates in the Body.'|: In the Brain is Man's physical beginning, and from it in the womb is shot forth and developed the Body,§ * Nos. 358 and 359. t ' Since the Will and Understanding are receptacles of Love and Wisdom, ' therefore they are two Organic Forms, or Forms organized from the purest ' substances ; they must be such in order to be receptacles.' No. 373. t Nos. 362 and 365. g Nos. 365, 367 and 388. Q 2 228 HEARTS REPRESENT WILLS. Whilst the Body in all its members may be referred to something in the Brain answering to the Will or the Under- standing, the grand representative of the Will in the Body is the Heart, and of the Understanding, the Lungs. * That the Heart corresponds to the Will is evident, ' since all the affections of Love influence its motions. Its ' changes according to the affections of Love are innume- * rable ; those felt by the finger are few, as that it beats slow * or quick, high or low, soft or hard, equal or unequal, and 'so on ; therefore differently in joy and sadness, in peace ' and anger, in courage and fear, in hot diseases and cold, ' and so on. Since the motions of the Heart, or its systole ' and diastole, thus vary according to the state of a Man's ' Love, therefore many of the Ancients and some of the ' Moderns have fancied it to be the seat of the Soul. Hence ' we speak of a stout and a timid Heart, a joyful and a sad ' Heart, a great and a little Heart, a whole and a broken ' Heart, a fleshy and a stony Heart ; also of being fat, soft, * and meek in Heart, and of giving the Heart to business, ' of giving a single Heart, of giving a new Heart, of laying ' up in the Heart, of receiving in the Heart, of not coming ' upon the Heart, of hardening the Heart, of being a friend ' at Heart : hence too the terms concord, discord, vecord, ' and similar expressions, which are predicated of Love and ' its affections. The Word speaks in the same way, for the ' Word is written by Correspondences.'* Man as the subject of the Spiritual Sun receives its Heat, which in his Blood is Vital Heat — ' That in Man, and in every Animal, there is Vital Heat, ' is well known, but its origin is not known ; but he who ' is aware, that there is a correspondence of Love and its ' affections with the Heart and its derivations, may know ' that Love is the origin of Vital Heat. Love proceeds * No. 378. LUNGS REPRESENT INTELLECTS. 229 * from the Spiritual Sun as Heat, and as Heat it is felt by ' the Angels. The Spiritual Heat, which in its essence is ' Love, flows by correspondence into the Heart and the ' Blood, and vivifies them. ' That a Man is heated, and as it were fired, according ' to his Love and its degree, and that he grows cold and ' torpid according to its decrease, is well known, for it is ' felt and seen ; it is felt in the glow which pervades him, ' it is seen in the flush of his face ; and on the other hand, ' its extinction is felt in the chill of his body, and seen in ' the pallor of his countenance.'* Blood is red because of its correspondence with Love — ' In the Spiritual World are all colours, and red and ' white are the fundamentals. Red is derived from the fire ' of the Sun, and white from its light. Blood therefore can ' be nothing but i-ed because of its origin. Hence in the ' Heaveus where Love is predominant, the light is flame- ' coloured, and the Angels appear in purple vesture ; and ' in the Heavens where Wisdom is predominant, the light ' is white, and the Angels are clad in white linen.' f The correspondence of the Lungs with the Under- standing is held to be equally evident — ' Every one may perceive it in himself from his Thought ' and his Speech. From thought ; because no one can think ' unless his breathing conspires and accords ; wherefore ' when he thinks tacitly he breathes tacitly ; when he thinks ' deeply he breathes deeply, and retracts and relaxes, com- ' presses and expands the Lungs according to the influx of ' aff'ection from Love, either slowly, hastily, eagerly, or ' placidly ; yea, if he holds his breath altogether he cannot ' think, except in his Spirit by its respiration, of which he ' is not conscious. From Speech ; because not the least ' expression can proceed from the mouth without the assist- No. 379. t No. 380. 230 CARDIAC AND PULMONIC HEAVENS. ' ance of the Lungs ; for all articulate sound is generated ' by the Lungs through the trachea and epiglottis ; where- ' fore Speech may be raised to clamour, according to the ' inflation of those bellows, and the opening of their passage, ' and diminished according to their contraction ; and if the ' passage be closed, Speech and Thought cease.'* Since such is the correspondence of the Lungs, therefore * in the Word wherever anything connected with respiration ' is mentioned, as Spirit, Wind, Breath, Nostrils, reference ' is made to the Understanding — to something of Truth as ' distinguished from Good.'f Owing to this correspondence of Heart and Lungs, the Celestial Angels in whom Love is predominant ' are called ' the Cardiac Kingdom of Heaven,' and the Spiritual Angels in whom Wisdom is predominant ' are called the Pulmonic ' Kingdom of Heaven. It is to be noted, that the Universal ' Heaven resembles one Man, and so appears before the ' Lord ; wherefore its Heart constitutes one Kingdom and ' its Lungs another. There is a cardiac and pulmonic motion ' in common in the whole Heaven, and thence in each par- * ticular Angel ; and the common cardiac and pulmonic ' motion is from the Lord alone, because Love and Wisdom * are from Him alone. In the Sun, where the Lord is, and ' which is from the Lord, there are those two motions, and ' hence they are in the Angelic Heaven, and in the Universe : ' abstract Space, and think of Omnipresence, and you will ' be convinced that it is so.' J Having established this connection between the Will and Understanding and the Heart and Lungs, he proceeds to illustrate the relation between Love and Wisdom, or Charity and Faith by various physiological statements ; for says he, ' All things that can be known of the Will and ' Understanding, or of Love and Wisdom, consequently all * No. 382. t No. 383. i No. 381 RELATIONS OF HEART AND LUNGS. 231 ' that can be known of the Human Soul, may be learnt from * the correspondence of the Heart with the Will, and of the ' Understanding with the Ll^ng3.'* ' So great indeed is the similitude between the Heart ' and Charity and between the Lungs and Faith, that in the ' Spiritual World it is known by a person's breathing what ' is the nature of his Faith, and by the beating of his Heart ' what is the nature of his Charity.' f That Love or Will is the essential in Man, he discovers in the fact, ' that the Heart is the first and last organ which * acts in the Body. That it is the first is evident from the ' foetus, and that it is the last is evident from dying persons ; ' and that it acts without the co-operation of the Lungs is ' evident in cases of suffocation and in swoons, ' It has been made known to me from much experience ' in the Spiritual World, that a Man from head to foot, or ' from the first things in the Brain to the last in the Body, ' is such as his Love or Will is.'§ That the Will however is impotent without the Under- standing is evident from the same circumstances ; for the embryo is helpless and senseless until its Lungs come into play, and though the Heart keeps moving in swoons and suspended respiration, the Body lies powerless. In the same way the Will has no sensitive nor active life without the Understanding : Affection without Thought is blind : Wisdom is the light in which Love sees. || The Will is again seen to be major, inasmuch as ' the ' Heart forms the Lungs and conjoins them to itself : it ' forms the Lungs in the embryo and conjoins itself to them ' after birth : this the Heart does in its house, the Breast, ' where their dwelling-place is, separated from the rest of ' the Body by a partition, called the diaphragm, and by a * No. 394. § No. 369. t 'De Fide; No. 19. \ "No. 399. II Nos. 401, 406, 407, and 409. 232 A THEORY OF IIESPIKATION. * membrane enclosing them, called the pleura. It is the * same with the Will and the Understanding. Love betroths ' Wisdom, takes it to wife, and works with it in the same ' house.'* The Heart governs the Lungs — ' The respiration of the Lungs is in perfect conjuction ' with the Heart in all and everything of the Body : and ' that the conjunction may be complete, the Heart itself is ' also in the pulmonary motion ; for it lies in the bosom of ' the Lungs, adheres to them by its auricles, and rests on ' the diaphi'agm, by which also its arteries participate in the ' pulmonary motion. 'f As the Blood is purified in the Lungs, so the Affections of the Will are purified by Truth In the Understanding. Under this head, Swedenborg makes a curious state- ment. Of course, in 1763, he knew nothing of oxygen, and how the Blood in the Lungs absorbs it from the air, and voids carbonic acid : his notion of the process of respiration was, that the Blood derived nutrition, not from the air itself, but from a variety of exhalations mechanically present in the air : but we cannot do better than cite his own words — ' That the Blood nourishes itself with suitable matters ' from the air inspired. Is evident from the Immense abun- ' dance of odours and exhalations that are continually Issuing ' from slii'ubbcries, gardens, and plantations ; and from the * immense quantity of salts of various kinds issuing with ' water from land, rivers, and lakes ; and from the immense ' quantity of human and animal exhalations and effluvia ' with which the air Is Impregnated. That these enter the ' Lungs with the air, cannot be denied ; and as this Is the ' case, it cannot be denied, that the Blood attracts therefrom ' such things as are serviceable to It, and those things are * No. 402. t No. 408. RESPIRATION OF GOOD AND WICKED. 233 ' serviceable, which correspond to the affections of the Breather's * Love. Hence in the air-cells or inmost parts of the Lungs, ' there are multitudes of small veins with little mouths, which ' absorb such things ; and hence the Blood returned into the ' left ventricle of the Heart is changed into arterial and ' florid blood. These considerations prove that the Blood 'nourishes itself from homogeneous things.'* A point to be noted here is, that the absorption of these exhalations from the air is made dependent on the Breather's character — that if he is a Good Man he will absorb one order of exhalations, and if a Bad Man another — ' That the Blood in the Lungs purifies and nourishes ' itself correspondently to the affections of the Mind, is not ' yet known, but it is very well known in the Spiritual ' World ; for the Angels in the Heavens are delighted ' only with odours which correspond to the Love of their ' Wisdom ; whereas the Spirits in Hell are delighted only ' with odours which correspond to some Love in opposition * to Wisdom ; the latter odours are stinking, but the former ' odours are fragrant. That Men on Earth impregnate their ' Blood with similar things according to correspondence ' with the affections of their Love, follows of consequence ; ' for what a Man's Spirit loves, that, according to corres- ' pondence, his Blood craves, and attracts in respiration.'* There is m every Man a two-fold respiration,! for he is an inhabitant of two worlds — of Nature and of Spirit. As to his Will, he is in Heaven or in Hell, and he interiorly respires in a celestial or an infernal atmosphere: J and there is a constant tendency to bring the double respiration into harmony. The Evil therefore have a secret affinity for foul air and stenches, and the Good for pure air and fragrance. Hence there is as wide a difference between the Bloods of the Good and Evil as between their characters. * No. 420. t Nos. 412 and 417. % No. 393. 234 FOOD AND rOISOX. This Btatement may meet with summary rejection, but perhaps unwisely. It Is by no means Irreconcileable with the subsequent discovery of the nutrition of the Blood by oxygen : and it might be replied, that it is no more diflScult for the Evil to pervert oxygen into unity with their depraved Blood than it is for hemlock to turn sun- shine to poison, or the wasp honey to venom. Moreover our physiologists take far too little accoimt of the exhala- tions, mineral, vegetable and animal, present in the purest air. How is it that we find people in town and country thriving under conditions, which, according to physiological law, ought to ensure disease and death ? Swedenborg's doctrine gives us a clue to the mystery, which we shall vainly seek in Combe or Southwood Smith. Depend upon it, there is an intimate relation between character and respiration, and character and digestion. What are called ' the laws of health' are broken in a multitude of anomalies. How many are the eccentricities expressed in the adage, ' One Man's meat is another's poison,' which physiologists only perceive to evade ! What a physician would he be who could discern the spiritual quality of his patients and prescribe accordingly — such stenches and such messes for such a one, and such fare and such fragrance for such another ! The correspondence between the Heart and the Will and the Lungs and the Understanding might be pursued through all the Intricacies of anatomy, and only to add confirmation to the truths, that the Will is the master of the Understanding, that the Understanding does nothing of itself, and yet that the Will perceives nothing, nor can do anything except by the Understanding.* All tends to enforce that conclusion which Swedenborg iterates through book after book, that such as a Man's Love is such is his * No. 412. A man's generation. 235 Understanding and his Faith. The last is subordinate to the first, whatever may be the appearance to the contrary on Earth, and manifestly so in Heaven and Hell where all appearances are at one with realities. The treatise concludes with the description of a Man's initiament from his father, ' discovered to me by the Angels, ' to whom it was revealed by the Lord, and who represented ' it in a type before my eyes in the Light of Heaven.' He saw ' a most minute image of a Brain composed of ' contiguous globules or spherules, each spherule composed ' of spherules more minute, and these of spherules minuter ' still, thus of three degrees :' a sort of reminiscence of the Red Blood Globule of the '•Economy of the Animal Kingdom.'' Tlic Brain ' was divided into two chambers, as the full-grown ' Brain is into two hemispheres ; and it was told me, that ' the right chamber was the habitation of Love, and the left ' of Wisdom, and that by wonderful interweavings they ' were consorts and companions.' It was shewn, that the two interior series of globules were in the order and form of Heaven, and the exterior series was in the order and form of Hell ; and that in the event of regeneration, that the opposition of the series was overcome by the subjection of the outer to the inner — of Hell to Heaven. In another place he writes — ' Human seed is Interiorly conceived in the Undcrstand- ' ing, and is formed in the Will, and is thence translated ' into the testes^ where it clothes itself with a natural cover- ' ing, and is thus conveyed to the womb, and from thence ' into the world.'* Swedenborg's descriptions of the functions of the Brain are not consistent. Sometimes, as here, he assigns one * ' Vera Chrisliana Eeliffio,' No. r)84. 236 CEREBRUM AND CEREBELLUM. hemisphere to the Will and the other to the Understanding, and at others he gives the back of the head to the Will and the forehead to the Understanding ; as for instance in the '■ Aj^ocalypse Explained'' he writes — ' Influx into the Will is ' into the occiput, because into the cerebellum, and thence ' it advances towards the forepart into the cerebrum, where ' the Understanding has its seat. That such is the course ' of influx, has been taught me by much experience.'* Even in the work before us from which we have been citing angelic evidence, we find him saying — ' Since all ' things of the Mind are ranged under Will and Under- ' standing, and all things of the Body under Heart and ' Lungs, therefore in the Head there are two Brains, distinct ' from each other like the Will and Understanding, the ' cerebellum particularly for the Will^ and the cerebrum ^;ar- ' ticularly for the Understanding.''^ I have heard Swedenborgians describe Phrenology as untrue because Swedenborg taught that the Intellect dwelt on the left side of the Head and the Will on the right ; forgetful or ignorant, that he taught both opinions. * 'Apocalypsis Uxplicata,' No. 61 : in ' Vera Christiana Beliffio,' No. 564, and '-De Commercio AnimcD et Corporis,' No. 13, the same opinion will be found repeated. t No. 384. ( 237 ) CHAPTER XXI. THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE* ' The Divine Providence'' is a continuation of ' The Divine '■Love and Wisdom-.'' it is a description of the administration of that Love by means of that Wisdom. The question dealt with is not an easy one, for it involves the reversal of our most vivid and familiar sensa- tions, and is therefore as difficult to the mind governed by sensation as the admission, that the earth revolves round the sun, that the earth is a ball, and that to our antipodes, land and sea and sky are just as they are to us. The terms of the question are these — I. That God is Life alone. II. That Man, as His Creature, is dead. III. That Man is an organ recipient of God — that is of Life. IV. That Man, in this reception and vivification by God, feels that he lives of himself even as God lives of Himself in perfect independence. V. That his confirmation of the sensation of independence as a reality is the beginning and consummation of all evil. VI. That it is the office of Eevelation to correct the fallacy from sensation. VII. That the fullest faith in Revelation does not nullify the sensation of independence ; on the contrary, in the highest Angels the sensation is vividest, but accompanied by the clear scientific confession, that the sensation is nothing but the sweetest gift of the Divine Love. * ' Sapientia Angelica de Divina Providentia. Amstelodami, 1764.' 4to. 214 pages. 238 CREATOR AND CREATURE. These terms are strewn over Swedenborg's works broad- cast : there is scarcely a page on which in one shape or other they may not be found. Take a few — ' God is Esse itself, Love in itself, Wisdom in itself, and ' Life in itself. He is the very essential Self from whom ' are all things, and to whom all things bear relation as the ' sole gi'ound of their being.'* ' That a Man lives from the Lord alone, and not from ' himself, may be evinced by these reasons : that there is ' one only Essence, one only Substance, and one only Form ' from which are all created essences, substances and forms ; ' and that the one only Essence, Substance and Form is the ' Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom — the Lord from * eternity, or Jehovah.' f ' The Angels say, there is only one Fountain of Life, ' and that Human Life is a stream which would instantly ' cease to flow if it was not continually fed from that ' Fountain — the Lord.'|: ' Since what is Finite has not anything Divine in ' itself, therefore there is not anything Divine, not even ' the least, in Man or Angel as his own. A Man or ' Angel is Finite, and considered in himself is a mere ' dead receptacle. '§ ' God alone acts, and Man suffers himself to be acted ' on, and re-acts in all appearance from himself, though ' really from God.'H ' I heard a voice from Heaven asserting, that if a spark ' of Life in Man was his own, and not of God in him, there ' would be neither Heaven, nor Church, nor Life Eternal.'** ' A Man has no other sensation than that he loves and * 'Vera Christiana Beligio,' No. 21. f 'Be Divina Providentia,' No. 157. X 'De Ccelo et de Inferno,^ No. 9. g 'Be Bivina FrovicJentia,' No. 57. I -Be Commercio Animce et Corporis,' No. 14. * » Ibifl. No. 11, and 'Be Bivina Providentia,' No. 293. GOU'S PRESENCE IN MAN. 239 ' thinks out of private energy, when nevertheless he has ' not any power of his own, but all from God.'* ' Man was so created, that whatever he wills, thinks and ' does appears to originate in himself. Without this appear- * arice, he would not be Man, nor could he experience ' conjunction with God, nor enter into- eternal life ; but if ' he is deceived by the appearance — if he fancies, that he ' wills, thinks, and does good from himself — then he turns ' good into evil. This was the sin of Adam ; this is the 'Origin of Evil.'f ' The Lord by His presence in Man conveys to him the ' sense of Liberty and Rationality so that all he wills, ' thinks, speaks, and acts appears as his own. This sense ' of independence is never lost whether a Man be Angel or ' Devil : it is indeed what causes a Man to be a Man : with- ' out it, he would be an automaton.' | ' Lest Man should ascribe Life to himself, the Lord ' reveals, that all the Love which is called Good, and all the ' Wisdom which is called Truth, is not Man's, but His.'§ ' The Angels, and especially those of the Inmost ' Heaven, know most distinctly, that they live from the ' Lord, and not only confess their utter dependence, but 'rejoice in it: yet they have the keenest sensation of in- ' dependent life, and the Celestial Angels beyond others : ' for the law is, that the more closely any one is conjoined ' to the Lord, the more vivid is his sense of independence, ' and the clearer his perception, that he is the Lord's. ' The more exquisitely the Angels perceive themselves ' to be led by the Lord, so much the more freedom do they ' enjoy. ' It has been granted me to be in a similar perception * 'De Amore Covjugiali,' No. 132. f Jiie Divina Frovidentia,' No. 70. t 'De Divina Frovidentia,' No. 27 ; Jesus said, " If ye, being evil, know ' ' how to give good gifts unto your children, How much more shall your " Father, who is in Heaven, give good things to them that ask Him ?" — Matt. vii. 2. THE LORD IS HEAVEN. 243 He therefore creates Man, that from the produce of myriads and myriads of Earths, He may enlarge Heaven to eternity and yield it the treasure of His exhaustless heart. As James observes, ' Affection in proportion to its ' tenderness or vivacity seeks a perpetual gratification : /.e., ' desires to be unsatisfied. The very life of it lies in ' seeking and never accomplishing.'* This other charac- teristic of Love, we may easily see, is attained in the creation and culture of the Finite by the Infinite. Theologians commonly speak of Heaven as if it were a gift as of a purse or an estate : far otherwise Swedenborg : with him it is nothing short of the marriage of the Creator with the Creature — ' The Lord not only is in Heaven, but is Heaven. Love ' and Wisdom make an Angel, and these two are the Lord's ' in an Angel ; hence the Lord is Heaven, ' Heaven is not Heaven from the Angels, but from the ' Lord : the Love and Wisdom in them seems to be their ' own, but it is from the Lord, and is really the Lord in ' them. ' Let not any one cherish the illusion, that the Lord is ' in Heaven among the Angels as a King in a Kingdom : ' as to appearance He is above them as their Sun, but as to ' reality He is in them as their Love and Wisdom.' f This conjunction — this communication of the Creator to the Creature is the origin of all heavenly happiness ; and the more fully the Lord is received by an Angel the more exquisite is his freedom and felicity — ' The felicities ' of Heaven cannot be described ; their variety is infinite. ' They diffuse themselves from the Lord through the in- ' teriors to the ultimates of the Angel, causing him to be * 'Substance and Shadow,' page 202. t 'Z>e Divino Amove et de Divina Sajnentia,' No. 114, and 'De Divina Providentia,' Nos. 28 and 31. R 2 244 HAPPINESS IN FULL MEASURE. ' as it were all delight. This I have heard and have ' perceived, ' Except in a certain calm and peace of mind, especially ' after combats against evil, such felicity is rarely expe- ' rienced on Earth.' The clogs and hindrances of Nature break the inflowing tide. When however death delivers the Spirit from its carnal vesture, then the heart wedded to the Lord enters into its joy.* Whilst he is happiest who loves most, that is, who is the most capacious receptacle of the Divine Love, every one in Heaven is happy to the limit of his capacity — ' It therefore makes no difference whether a person be in ' such joy as is experienced by the Angels of the Highest, ' or the Lowest Heaven, since every one, who is received ' into Heaven, enters into the full joy of his heart. More ' he could not endure ; more would suffocate him. ' The case is similar to that of a Husbandman and a ' King. A new suit of coarse worsted and a table furnished ' with plain and wholesome viands would perfectly content ' the Husbandman ; whilst he would be distressed if clad ' like a King in purple and silk, gold and silver, and placed ' at a table laden with costly delicacies and generous wines. ' So in Heaven ; every one receives according to the ' measure of his Love, and is therewith satisfied — unable ' to desire more.'f ' The Divine Providence of the Lord^ in all that it does, ' has respect to what is Infinite and EternaV — A proposition very like a truism. God cannot create Himself, but only what is not Himself, namely, the Finite ; and, as has been said, it is the divine passion to animate the Finite with Himself and to reproduce in it His own Image and Likeness — a work ever progressive and never to be accomplished. Hence we discover in the immensity, the * Nof3. 39 and 41 . t No. 254. NO SAMENESS. LOVE ANL> LIIiEKTY. 245 prolificacy, and the variety of the Finite a perpetual strain towards the expression of the Infinite and the Eternal — This strain exists ' in all things ; in some manifestly, ' in others not. An image of the Infinite and Eternal is * manifest in the variety of things, so that there does not ' exist, nor can exist to eternity, one thing which is the ' same as another. From creation there have not been two ' faces alike, and as the face is the type of the mind, no two ' minds alike. Hence ther» does not exist in the Universal ' Heaven two Spirits of identical pattern. The same is true ' of every detail in Spirit and Nature ; no single item is a ' repetition of another. ' An image of what is Infinite and Eternal appears in ' the fructification and multiplication of plants and animals ; ' especially in the spawn of fishes, which is such, that, if ' unchecked, the Earth, yea the Universe might be filled ' with them.'* ' It IS a Law of the Divine Providence, that a Man should ' act from Ldberty according to Reason'' — In other words, that a Man should act from his Ruling Love by the light of his Understanding — than which, he can do no otherwise. When Swedenborg writes of Liberty, he means nothing but the Freedom of Love — ' It is to be observed, that all Liberty is of Love, inso- ' much that Love and Liberty are one ; and since Love is ' the Life of Man, Liberty is inherent in his Life ; for every ' delight enjoyed by Man is from his Love ; and to act from ' the delight of Love is to act from Liberty : delight leads ' Man as a river bears away what floats on its stream.' f As there are various Loves so there are various Liber- ties : these are reduced under three heads — Natural, Rational and Spiritual. * No. 56. t No. 73. 246 KINDS OF LIBERTY. Natural Liberty pertains to the Love of Self and the World, into which we are all born, and which, so far as we are unrestrained by fear or by a nobler motive, leads us into adultery, theft, deceit, revenge. Rational Liberty has its ground ' in the Love of Fame ' for the sake of honour or lucre.' It may be said to be the cause of the decorum and ' respectability ' of civilization. ' The delight of this Love is to appear externally of a * moral character. As Man loves this reputation, he acts ' with sincerity, justice, friendliness, and chastity. Never- ' theless he does not inwardly cherish these virtues, but ' simply regards them as means whereby he may secure ' social distinction. When he advocates them on account of ' the public good, it is not that he has any interior regard ' for the public good, but because such advocacy promotes * his private advantage. ' Spiritual Liberty is grounded in the Love of Eternal * Life. Into this Love and its delight no one comes, but he ' who abhors Evils as Sins and looks to the Lord. As soon * as a Man begins to do so, he is initiated into Spiritual ' Liberty : for unless from an interior or superior Love, ' How can any one resist and cease from Evil ? Spiritual ' Liberty increases as Natural Liberty decreases and be- ' comes subservient; and it joins itself with Rational ' Liberty, which it purifies.'* This opinion concerning Liberty is particularly note- worthy. Many speak of Free Will as if it were a distinct faculty in Human Nature whereby a Man may do or become anything conceivable. Swedenborg, on the other hand, identifies Liberty with Love, and limits it by the character of the Love. He asserts, that Will is always free — that is, that Love always feels free, thus assignmg to Freedom no extension or validity beyond sensation. A * No. 73. ORIGIN OF LIBERTY. 247 Devil, who is nothing but Self-Love, /ee^s free. A Man, in whom Devil and Angel are struggling for mastery, pain- fully experiences a double feeling of freedom. An Angel, in whom that struggle has been consummated in the subjection of Self-Love to Brotherly Love,/eeZs free. This sense of free and independent existence, common to Man, Angel, and Devil, ' constitutes the essential Human ' Principle.'* Without it Man would cease to be Man: on the one side he would lose his discrimination from God, and on the other from Nature : yet we are called to regard the sense as an illusion. Of nothing do we feel more certain than that we are free and independent ; of nothing are we more scientifically certain, than that our feeling is an in- version of the reality. ' Every one who has any thought from interior Under- ' standing may see, that the power of willing and thinking ' does not originate in Man, but in Him who has power ' itself, that is, in Him who is Power in its essence. Reflect : 'Whence is Power? Is it not in God? Power in itself is ' therefore Divine.' f Power being God's, its exhibition in us, as our own private self-derived force, can be nothing but an illusion. Of this Swedenborg assures us with many illustrations. The sense of freedom in the Will, which is Liberty, and in the Understanding, which is Rationality — ' Is from the Lord, and not from Man ; and, as it is ' from the Lord, it follows, that Man wills nothing from ' himself, and understands nothing from himself, but only ' as it were from himself. ' As all willing is from Love and all Understanding is ' from Wisdom, it follows, that the ability of willing is from * No. 98 ; ' The Lord resides as Liberty and Rationality in every Man, be ' he good or wicked, and by them joins Himself to every Man.' No. 96. t No. 88. 248 god's love and bian's love. ' the Divine Love, and the ability of understanding is from ' the Divine Wisdom, therefore both from the Lord. Human ' action is from no other source.'* For what end is the illusion ? The answer is the reason of Creation : Since God cannot love Himself and yet must love. He finds His satisfaction in Man by yielding him His Life, and giving him to feel^ that he lives as He lives — ' The Lord's desire is to be received by Man, to make ' His abode with him, and to give him the felicities of ' eternal life. It is this desire which induces the appearance, * that Man wills and acts, thinks and speaks out of his ' independent self.' f In his sense of independent life, Man perfects the Divine joy by reciprocating the Divine Love — ' Any one may see from reason, that there is no con- ' junction of mind with mind unless there be reciprocation. ' If one loves another and is not loved in return, then as ' one approaches the other retires ; but if love is returned, ' then as one approaches so does the other, and conjunction ' is effected : for Love wills to be beloved, and as it is ' beloved, it is in itself and its joy. ' Hence it is evident, that if the Lord only loved Man, ' and was not in turn beloved, the Lord would approach and ' Man would retire ; thus He would continually will to meet ' Man and enter into him, and Man would turn away and ' depart. By Heaven, the Lord is thus beloved ; by Hell, ' He is thus rejected.' J ' It is a Law of the Divine Providence^ that a Man as '•from himself should remove Evils as Sins in the External ' Jfan, and that thus and no otherwise the Lord can remove * Evils in the Internal Man, and then at the same time in the ' ExternaV Over Life we have no control beyond the supply of con- * Nos. 88 and 89. t No. 90. X No. 92. OKDER OF REGENERATION. 249 ditions. If we place a sound seed in proper soil and allow it light, air and moisture, a plant will come forth ; but if we lay it on a stone or shut it up in a box, no germ will appear wish as we may. So likewise with our bodies. If we form regular habits, keep clean, breathe pure air, and eat wholesome food we are rewarded with health in all our members. Our internal structure is outside our care. We can only dispose exter- nals aright, and wait the certain issue of blessing from within. The same law applies to our spiritual life. We find our hearts pregnant with every lust which the decalogue condemns. How are they to be changed ? In their springs they are inaccessible — ' A Man knows nothing at all of the interiors of his ' Mind, which are complex and innumerable as the interiors ' of his Body : there are infinite things in those interiors, ' not one of which comes to his knowledge.'* How then is the disorder in them to be encountered? We know how it is increased — ' A thief, as he practises theft, grows in the lust of ' stealing until he is unable to desist. It is the same with ' other vices — with deceit, hatred, luxury, fornication, blas- ' phemy ; and it is well known, that the love of power and 'of money so develope. with indulgence that there seems ' to be no limit to their voracity.' f The recipe for the increase of disorderly lusts, namely, indulgence, may suggest that for their reduction, namely, denial ; and denial Swedenborg prescribes as the only means of regeneration. If, says he, Man only guards the external, the Lord will accomplish all the internal work : and for this he gives a good reason. The external is as intimately related to the internal, as is the skin to the * No. 120. t No. 112. 250 god's work and man's work. organs and viscera of the body: all the interiors of life descend, invest, and complete themselves in actions.* If therefore evil lusts are denied exit in deeds, it is easy to see, that a powerful reaction must take place within — ' The inmost things of his mind are altogether unknown ' to Man, and he is therefore totally ignorant as to what the ' Lord does there ; but, since the inward coheres with the ' outward, it is not necessary that he should know more than ' that he ought to shun Evils as Sins and look to the Lord. ' In this and no other way can his Love, which by birth is ' infernal, be removed by the Lord, and celestial Love be ' implanted in its stead. ' The Lord's inward operation on Man is continual, but ' he has no share in it ; nevertheless the Lord cannot purify ' him unless he opens the way through the external. ' An evil lust appears a simple thing as viewed by Man, ' but it includes an infinity of matters ; these the Lord deals ' with from within as Man resists from without. ' Nothing else is required of Man, but to sweep the ' house, that is, to reject evil lusts ; in which case he is filled ' with good things, for good from the Lord continually flows ' in whenever what resists is removed. ' It is thought by many, that merely to believe what the ' Church teaches purifies a Man from evils ; and it is ' thought by some, that to do good purifies ; by some, to * know, speak, and teach what the Church approves ; by '■ some, to read the Word and pious books ; by some, to * frequent churches, to hear sermons, and especially to * receive the holy supper ; by some, to renounce the world ' and yield the time to piety ; by some, to confess themselves ' guilty of all sins ; and so on. Nevertheless none of these ' things effect purification unless a Man examine himself, ' discover his special sins, condemn himself on account of No9. 119 and 180-182. NO MERIT IN MAN. 251 ' them, and desist from them ; all which he must do as of ' himself and yet heartily confess^ that his v)orTc has been done ' hy the Lord. ' Before this is done the preceding acts avail nothing, for ' they are either meritorious,' [^.e., paid as a price for the Divine favour and an estate in Heaven] ' or hypocritical.'* A man must save himself, but Swedenborg will allow him no vestige of merit. When he has fought against his lust and denied it outlet in action, he must then heartily confess, that the battle and the victory are the Lord's. The conclusion is inevitable from the premisses — ' The reason why evils in the external cannot be re- ' moved except by means of Man, is because it is of the ' Divine Providence, that whatsoever he hears, sees, thinks, ' wills, speaks, and does should appear altogether as his ' own. Without this appearance^ he would not be a Man ' but a beast. ' Let him then receive this doctrinal, that all Goodness ' and Truth is from the Lord and nothing from himself. ' He will then acknowledge as a consequence, that he ought ' to do good and think truth as from himself but still to ' confess that they are from the Lord ; also, that he ought ' to remove Evils, as by his own strength, but to confess ' that he does so by the Lord's. 'f Thus he has all the joyful sense of free and independent life, but is saved from conceit and kept in the sweet peace of humility. ' It is a Law of the Divine Providence^ that a Man should ' not he forced hy external means to think and willj and so to ' believe and love the things which are of Religion ; hut that a ' Man should lead, and sometimes force himself to what is ' right.'' * Nos. 120, 121, 125 and 296, and 'Arcana C'celestia,' No. 3,142. t No. 116. 252 IMPOTENCE OF AUTHORITY. ' The Lord guards Human Liberty as a man guards the ' apple of his eye.'* It is a cry of impatience, ' Why does not the Lord shew ' Himself so that none could deny Him?' or as an atheist once put it, ' If there be a God, Why does He not write ' His name on the Sun so that all might know that He is ?' In divers ways our folly makes similar appeals for external guidance and authority. We are in doubt, and pray that the Lord in some good Angel would stand before us and say, " That is the path ; take it and you are safe ;" and we flatter ourselves, we should instantly obey and be delivered from all our care : or, as I have heard it said, " O if " an Angel would only come and sit beside me and tell " me all my faults, with what heart I should set about " amendment !" Such external, unquestionable guidance is not given ; it is not in the Divine order. Why is it not in His order? In the first place, because it would be useless. If we were approached from the outside by an infallible Authority, one of two things would happen — in the end one. If the Authority concurred with our Will, we should be mightily pleased with it ; it was just what we thought ; it prescribed exactly what we intended to do. In such case, the infallible Authority would prove itself superfluous, as we should have gone on quite as well without it. If the Authority ran counter to our Will, and if it came clothed with charms or with terrors, we might bow to it ; if without charms or terrors, we should find reason at once to reject it: but the influence of charms and terrors wears off with time, and by-and-bye the unconquerable Will would assert itself ; it would prompt the Understanding to question this and then to deny that, and at last in some access of courage from irritation, we should kick Authority out of doors. Thus No. 97. U8ELESSNESS OF MIRACLES. 253 we should end as we began — the same because our Will was unchanged. ' A man may be compelled to say that he thinks and ' wills such and such things, but if they do not consort with ' his character, he neither thinks, wills, believes, nor loves ' them.'* In the second place, external and unquestionable guid- ance is not given because it would not advance regeneration. ' Nothing would be easier than for the Lord to compel Man ' to fear Him, to worship Him, yea, as it were, to love Him;'t but salvation does not consist in a correct attitude towards God, but in the possession of a Will whose activity is useful and benign towards every creature — a likeness in finite of Deity Himself. As external charms or terrors contribute nothing towards the developement of such a Will they are not employed. Moreover if even they did contribute, they would be inadmissible as injurious to Man's apparent inde- pendence. The new Will must be developed from within, and its energies break forth with no sense of intrusion, but as if entirely native to the Man's breast. For these reasons ' no one is reformed by miracles or ' signs, by visions or converse with the dead, by threats or ' punishments, or by misfortunes or sickness.' J Miracles excite awe. ' It cannot be denied, that they ' strongly persuade that whatever their performer says is ' true ; and thus the observer's mind is fascinated and his ' ordinary judgement suspended ; but faith so induced is ' not Faith, but persuasion ; there is in it nothing rational, ' still less spiritual. ' Miracles may drive the Wicked into faith and piety, ' but only temporarily. Their lusts subdued quickly revive, ' and, with recovered freedom, they resolve what they have * Nos. 129 and 136. t 'Arcana Ccelestia,' No. 2,881. t Nos. 130 to 138. 254 HURTFULNES3 OF REPRESSION. ' witnessed into an illusion, or an artifice, or an operation of ' Nature. ' Besides, if miracles were to be wrought to convert ' those who do not believe in the Word, they would have to ' be wrought continually, and the last wonder ever capped ' with a greater. ' From these considerations it may be discerned why ' miracles are not wrought at this day.'* The Bible amply sustains Swedenborg's reasoning on this head. The Jews saw many miracles in Egypt, at the Eed Sea, in the Desert, on Mount Sinai, and yet at the first opportunity they made a golden calf and acknowledged it for Jehovah who had delivered them from the land of bondage. By miracles were they led into and maintained in Canaan, yet they were ever ready to relapse into idolatry. So likewise the Lord in spite of His miracles of mercy was crucified. Impotent over the Will are wonders ! The effect of miracles upon the Good is different from what it is upon the Wicked. The ' Good do not desire ' miracles. They believe those which are recorded in the ' Word ; and if they hear anything of a miracle, they * regard it no otherwise than as a light argument in confir- ' mation of faith, for they think from the Lord and the ' Word.'t Visions and open intercourse with Spirits are inefi"ectual on the same grounds, and hurtful from their tendency to constrain the mind from without — ' Nevertheless to speak with Spirits, though rarely with ' Angels, is allowed, and has been for ages back. When ' it is allowed, the Spirits speak with Man in his mother * tongue, and only a few words. J Those who speak by ' permission of the Lord, never say anything which takes * Nos. 130, 131, and 133. f No. 133. i See pp. 266-67, Vol. I. of present work. USEFULNESS OF REPRESSION. 255 ' away rational freedom, nor do they teach ; for the Lord * alone teaches by illuminating the reader of the Word.'* Here is a curious piece of autobiography — ' That this is the case has been made known to me by ' experience. I have conversed with Spirits and Angels ' now for several years ; nor durst any Spirit, neither would ' any Angel say anything to me, much less instruct me ' about anything in the Word, or any doctrine from the ' Word. All I have received has been from the Lord alone. ' He appears before my eyes as the Sun in which He is, ' even as He appears to the Angels. 'f Threats and punishments although they cannot produce good-will are justifiable as means for the preservation of external order and the suppression of improper opinion — ' Every one, in Kingdoms where justice and judgement ' are preserved, is, and ought to be, restrained by threats ' and punishments from speaking and acting against the ' laws, religion, morals, and sanctities of the Church.':}: Swedenborg in this declaration shews himself far behind the practice of free nations ; but in such a matter he was not the man to see beyond his generation ; only he might have reflected, that if 'justice and judgement' had been enfoi'ced (which ' justice and judgement ' never means any- thing else than public opinion, wise or foolish, English or Spanish), he would have been a choice victim — his books burnt, and in the galleys or picking oakum find what leisure he could to talk with Spirits and meditate on the New Jei-usalem. The pious states frequently induced by misfortunes and sickness have no permanence. ' The Devil was ill — the Devil a monk would be. ' The Devil got well — the devil a monk was he.' In mental and physical distress some aim is defeated, and No. 135. t No. 135. t Nos. 129, 136, and 281. 256 CHARACTER UNCHANGED BY MISFORTUNE. alarm is awakened about eternal life ; but such solicitude, in one whose Life is Self-Love, is not a whit more respect- able than any worldly concern which has no sanctified pretence. However sanctimonious may be its whine, there is nothing heavenly in mortified Self-Love. ' The reason why no one is reformed in sickness is ' because the Mind is not then free ; for the state of the ' Mind depends on that of the Body. When the Body is ' sick the Mind is sick. If any one dies in sickness he ' becomes in the Spiritual World just what he was before ' his illness. Hence it is vain to think a person can repent ' or receive any faith on a sick-bed.* ' A Man cannot be conjoined to the Lord unless he be ' spiritual ; nor can he be spiritual unless he be rational, ' nor rational unless his Body be in a sound state. These ' things are like a house : the Body is the foundation, ' Reason, the super-structure. Spirit, the furniture, and ' Conjunction with the Lord, inhabitation. 'f ' The reason why no one is reformed in a state of mls- ' fortune — if then only he thinks of God and implores ' assistance — is because it is a state of constraint ; and ' therefore when he comes into a state of liberty, he returns ' to his former condition when God was little or nothing to 'him.'t Unable to be forced into Goodness from without, ' it is ' not contrary to rationality and liberty for a man to force ' himself.' § The Divine Love when revealed in his heart as an Internal force of Brotherly Love has to subdue the external Self-Love to its service, and long and severe the contest often is. ' Combat takes place when Evils are discovered to be ' Sins, and the Man therefore wills to desist from them. * No. 142. t 'X>e Divino Amove et de DiviiM Sapientia,' No. 330. I No. 140. § No. 14.5. SUFFERING rUECEDEf^ VICTOKY. 257 ' Suppose one, who has taken pleasui-e in fraud and theft, ' sees and acknowledges them as Sins, and resolves to ' abstain from them. When he desists there is a combat ' between the new inner and the old outer Love. The ' delight of the inner is in sincerity, and of the outer in * deceit, and the outer does not yield imless compelled, nor ' can it be compelled without combat. When however it ' is overcome, then the delight of sincerity transfuses his ' whole nature, and fraud and theft become undelightful. ' It is the same with other sins, as adultery and fornication, ' revenge and hatred, blasphemy and lying. The most ' difficult combat is that with the selfish Love of Dominion. ' He who subdues that, easily subdues other Evil Loves, ' for it is the head.'* Such strife is felt by Man as his own, but it is the Lord who strives in him ; ' for evils as sins are removed in ' appearance by Man, and in truth by the Lord.'f When the new inner Love has conquered and reduced the outer ' to consent and obedience,' he is delivered from infernal slavery, invested with the happy freedom of a child of God and knit into the company of Angels. | ' It is a Law of the Divine Providence^ that a Man should ' he led and taught from the Lord out of Heaven hy the Word, ' and by Doctrine and Preaching from the Word, and this in ' all appearance as from himself Swedenborg does not scruple to lead his reader over the same ground again and again and again, and though I desire to represent him fairly, it will scarcely be allowed, that the tedium of his multiplied repetitions should be too faithfully re-produced. Be it said once more however, that * Nos. 145 and 146. ' I will add that all those who are in the Love of ' Dominion from the Love of Self, whoever they be, whether great or small, ' are in Hell aa to their Spirit.' No. 215. t No. 154. X No. 145. 258 UOU WITHIN' AND WITHOrX. as Man as a creature is nothing but a lifeless receptacle, the activity in him described as ' leading and teaching' is necessarily the Lord's— ' He lives from the Lord alone. In appearance he is led ' and taught from himself, but in reality from the Lord ' only. ' The Love and Wisdom which occupy Man's Will and ' Understanding cannot exist from Man himself, but from ' Him who is Love and Wisdom — that is, from Jehovah. ' If it were not so, Man would be Love itself and Wisdom ' itself, and therefore God from eternity — a conclusion from ' which reason shrinks with horror.'* The Divine activity is not betrayed to consciousness — ' Xo one knows how the Lord leads and teaches him ' internally any more than he knows how his soul operates ' in order that the eye may see, the ear hear, the tongue ' and mouth speak, the heart impel the blood, the lungs ' respire, the stomach digest, the liver and pancreas dis- ' tribute, the kidneys secrete, and innumerable other things. ' These processes do not come within his perception and ' sensation, and they all correspond to Divine operations in ' the interiors of the Mind, which are infinitely more com- ' plex than those of the Body.'f Granted God absolute within. How is He represented externally in that outer sphere of Consciousness wherein Man seems to himself lord supreme, wherein his sense of independence and isolation is so vivid, that it is possible for him to question and even deny the Divine existence? — It is Swedcnborg's opinion, that Man, if left to his Consciousness, could never know God — that naturally he is an atheist. Hence the necessity of Revelation — the know- ledge of God and His Laws conveyed ab extra to that Consciousness. * Xos. 154, 156 and 157, f '^'>- GOD HIDES HIMSELF. 259 Lest the Revelation of God and His purposes should overawe, oppress, or injure Man's sense of independence and violate the appearance that he lives of himself — in which appearance his Manhood consists — it is effected in the least pretentious forms — in Christ the carpenter, and in the homely Scriptures of story and prophecy — forms, which it is so easy to reject and despise — ' The Lord compels no one, nor urges any against his will, * as a man drives an ox with a whip ; but He draws him that ' is willing, and afterwards leads him continually, and with ' such gentleness, that it seems as if he moved of himself.'* In Revelation then God is outwardly present to Man, but present, as said, in a guise so humble and so kindred with^what is ordinary to him, that He exerts no pressure on his freedom — naught to whom He is naught, precious and powerful to those who bring to Him an answering condition. The Divine leadership within is thus based and embodied in external Revelation. Knowledge of God and His Laws is derived from the Bible, or from the tradition of an older Word, and is diffused by preaching, by literature, by con- versation. In a myriad ways external truths matching internal influences are brought together, t and in their conflux it comes to pass, that whilst ' Man is taught of ' the Lord by the Word, and thus immediately from the ' Lord alone,' yet to sensation ' he is led and taught in all ' appearance as of himself. '| The internal without the external would be a vain effort, the external without the internal would be a useless husk. Hence all experienced Christians bear witness, that the Scriptures are only effectual as they afford vesture to the Spirit ; and that without the Spirit a Bible is no more than so much spotted paper. ' It is a Law of the Divine Providence^ that a Man should * 'Cornnh,' No. 20. f 'Ai-niva C(ckstla,' No. 2,557. | Nds. 171 and 174. 260 JOY LIVES IX HOPE. not perceive and feel anything of the operation of the Divine ' Providence^ hut yet should know and acknoioledye it.'' This proposition involves little that is not familiar to us, and requires but a few illustrations. ' If a Man perceived and felt the operation of the * Divine Providence he would not act from Liberty accord- ' ing to Reason, nor would anything appear to him as his ' own. It would be the same if he foreknew events. ' The Lord leads all, and a Man does not lead himself ' except in appearance ; therefore if he had a lively percep- ' tion and sensation of being led, he would have no self ' consciousness, and would hardly differ from a puppet, ' Supposing him however conscious of life, he would be like ' one bound hand and foot, or like a horse driven in a cart.'* If events were foreknown. Human Life would lose its zest. AVhatevcr a ]\Ian loves he desires to effect, and by means of Reason — ' If he knew the effect or event from divine prediction, ' Reason would become quiescent, and with Reason, Love ; ' for Love with Reason terminates in the effect, and from ' that begins anew. It is the very joy of life to anticipate ' the effect — to disregard the present except as a step to the ' future. Hence we have Hope, which in Reason increases ' or decreases, as it sees or expects the event. Delight is ' fulfilled in the event, and obliterated in the fulfilment. If ' therefore events were foreknown, delight would be im- ' possible, and the spur to activity taken away.' f For this cause ' it is not granted, that any one should ' know the future, nor his lot after death, nor any event ' before its occurrence The desire of foreknowing the * No. 176. t No. 178 ; see also No. 335 : ' It has been well said, " Man is based on "Hope; he has properly no other possession but Hope; this habitation of "his is named the Place of Hope."— Carlyle's 'French Revolution,' I'art I., Book 11., Chap. iii. GOD EVER RESISTS MAN. 261 ' future is connate with most people, but it originates in ' Evil ; it is therefore taken away from those who believe in ' the Divine Providence, and there is given them a con- ' fidence, that the Lord will appoint their lot ; hence they ' do not desire to foreknow it, lest by any means they ' should interfere with His will.'* Another reason for the concealment of the action of the Divine Providence is, that it is adverse to our inclination — ' It never acts in unity with the Love of a Man's Will, ' but continually against it ; for a Man from his hereditary ' Evil always pants towards the lowest Hell, whereas the ' Lord's Providence continually withholds him, and draws ' him out thence, first to a milder Hell, then from Hell, and, ' lastly, to Himself in Heaven. ' This operation is perpetual ; wherefore if a Man knew ' and saw that the Lord acted against his Life's Love, he ' could not but run counter to it, blaspheme and deny it. ' In order to prevent this, the Lord conceals His Providence, ' and tacitly controls Man by it as an imperceptible tide or ' prosperous current does a ship.'f Whilst the Lord with sedulous design hides Himself from Human Consciousness, it is the duty and the joy of the Spiritual Man to see and confess His Providence * in ' the Universe and in every particular thereof. If he looks ' at natural things he sees it, if he looks at civil things he ' sees it, if he looks at spiritual things he sees it.':}: He can- not define or indicate its action in contemporary affairs, yet he trusts it, and when the present retreats into the past, then the Divine Hand often becomes manifest — ' Providence ' is seen on the back and not in the face; it is seen after and ' not before. '§ ' Prudence derived from Self is nothing of itself; it only ' appears to he sometMng^ and so it ought to appear ; hut * No. 179. t Nos. 183, 18G and 211. { No. 189. # No. 187. 262 ALL WISDOM IS DIVINE WISDOM. ' the Divine Providence is in the least particulars^ and so is ' universal.'' It might be safely asserted of the humblest individual, that his sense of his own importance is in vast excess of the fact. The influx of the Divine to the Finite is so unstinted and intense, that it conveys to the recipient a feeling of such utter personal independence, that it is difficult with all aid from the science of Eevelation to correct the instinct of appropriation — to confess heartily, that the feeling of inde- pendent being is no more than an illusion. Prudence with Swedenborg is the designation of our Intellectual Consciousness — of whatever Wisdom, Intelli- gence, or Common Sense we possess, or fancy we possess. Whence is Prudence ? True Prudence is a manifestation of the Divine Wisdom under the limits of the Human Understanding. What then should we think of Prudence? That it is a Divine communication, and only in appearance a Man's own : as Eliliu testified, " There is a Spirit in Man ; " and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him under- " standing." From this ascription of Prudence to God, the World, instructed by Sense, revolts, and the Church, instructed by Revelation, justifies — ' Either what the Church teaches, that all Wisdom and ' Prudence is from God, must be true, or what the World ' assumes, that all Wisdom and Prudence is from Man. ' Can they be reconciled in any other way than by saying, ' that what the Church teaches is true, and that what the ' World assumes is an appearance ? ' Since Prudence is from God, therefore a Christian ' prays, that God will lead his heart, his thoughts and ' actions, adding also, that because from himself, he cannot : ' such a one likewise when he sees any one doing good, ' says, that he is inclined to it by God.'* ATHEISM UF THE EVIL. 263 Tlic recognition of Prudence as a Divine communication is impossible to those whose lives are evil — to those who are governed by the Loves of Self and the World. It is their lust to be something in themselves, and to be worshipped as possessors of so much intrinsic consequence — ' A Devil therefore regards himself only. Others are ' vile and of no account except so far as they serve and ' adore him. Pie hates another Devil with claims equal to ' his own, for he burns after exclusive adoration.'* Under Nature and Prudence the Evil comprise the government of the Universe — ' They ascribe all things to Nature and their own ' Prudence and deny God in their hearts. If they hear it ' stated, that Prudence apart from God is nothing, they ' laugh as absolute atheists. It may indeed be, that they ' have a selfish advantage in piety ; in such case, they will ' assent to the Divine recognition, but hypocritically.' f To him whose Will is Self-Love and whose Understand- ing accepts Sensations for Truths, our Author administers this characteristic challenge — ' Write I pray you two books (I speak this to the ' Natural Man) one in favour of Prudence from Self, and ' another in favour of Nature, and fill them with your most ' plausible and able arguments ; and, when you have done, ' place them in the hands of any Angel. His verdict I ' know will be — ' Tliey are a tissue of appearances and fallacies.'' I It is a common practice of those who would seem pious, and yet who trust wholly in themselves, fancying the resources of their world to be hid within their breasts, to describe the Divine Providence as general or universal, and to assign to themselves the administration of particulars — ' But consider. What is universal Providence if excluded * No. 206. t Xos. 197, 201, 20,-> and 210. I No. 213. 264* GOD CONFESSED HEARTILY. ' from particulars ? Is it anytliing but a bare word ? The ' case really is, that the Divine Providence exists in the ' most minute particulars of Nature and Prudence, and by ' governing these particulars, governs universally.'* The talk about a general Providence, which confides details to Man and Nature, is not only philosophically nonsense : it is polite atheism— radically atheism. As any one advances in the regenerate life, that is to say, as the Loves of God and the Neighbour obtain ascend- ancy, the recognition of the Divine Providence grows possible and pleasant, f He discovers that the sphere of his Prudence is as narrow as it is superficial, and that on every side he is encompassed by an order, which is incessant, omnipotent, inscrutable. He reflects for instance, ' that he ' knows nothing of what is transacted in the interiors of his ' mind, which interiors in their complexity are inexpressible ' by numbers ; and yet that the few exteriors in which his ' consciousness resides, arc derived and governed by the ' Lord from these unknown interiors.'^ Confident in his Lord's love, ' he knows, that every one is educated by Him ' from birth to death for some function in the Grand j\Ian.' Much in that process of education seems obscure, but he charges the obscurity to the limit of his own vision. From many aspects ' the ever progi'essive, ever enlarging Divine ' AVork — a Heaven from the Human Pace — can appear no ' otherwise than as the scattered heaps of the builder of a ' palace to a hasty passer by.'§ Nor docs this happy faith induce in its possessor either indifference or idleness ; for admitting that it is the Divine Will, that he should live as of himself, and the better he is, the more thoroughly as of himself, he is prudent with more than the Prudence of the worldling ; but in his Prudence he has no conceit, for he thankfully refers its excellence to * Xo. 201. t No- 208. i Xos. 199 and 200. g No. 203. EARTH SACRIFICED FOR HEAVEN. 265 God — that it is His Wisdom reduced in liis Understanding to the necessities of his vocation.* ' The Divine Providence has respect to things eternal, and ' not to things temporary, except so far as they accord with ' things eternal.'' This is another proposition involved in much that has been previously stated : it is moreover the common conso- lation administered in Christendom to those who are in poverty and distress. It is suggested by our Saviour's awful question, " What is a man profited, if he shall gain " the whole world, and lose his own soul ?" and is set forth in other phrase Paul's assurance to the Corinthians — ' Our ' light aflBiction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us ' a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; while ' we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things ' which are not seen : for the things which are seen are ' temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.' Eternal things are those of the Mind ; temporal things are those of the Body and the World ; and the latter are subordinated in the Lord's Providence to the former. He has no satisfaction in the temporal affliction of any of His children ; His pity is ever m infinite excess of their sorrow ; but if suffering will tend in any degree to their eternal advantage, in His very mercy He will not spare them. What is outward abundance without inward worth, gran- deur without peace, wealth without love, health without activity ! All outward abundance the Lord would give us as He gives His Angels, but with it He would conjoin inward worth, apart from which outward abundance is as apples of Sodom. ' A Man is not admitted interiorly into the Truths of Faith ' and the Goods of Charity, except so far as he can he Tcept in ' them to the end of his life.'' * Nos. 210 and 310. 266 EVIL ADVOCATES OF GOOD. There is nothing more carefully provided for under Divine Order than the division of Good and Evil — that Heaven be Heaven and Hell Hell -with ' a great gulf ' between.' As we move on in life we advance towards unity of character; and at death, or soon after, we are revealed as pronounced Angels or Devils. This Order is however liable to certain infractions, A Devil, or he in whom Helf-Love is predominant, has no inward affinity with the Truths which are congenial to an Angel — ' Nevertheless, by much experience in the Spiritual ^ World it has been made known to me, that Man possesses * the faculty of understanding the arcana of wisdom like the ' Angels themselves ; for I have seen fiery Devils who when ' they heard such arcana, not only understood, but discoursed ' rationally from them : as soon however as they relapsed ' into their diabolical nature, they no longer understood * what they had heard, but instead what was contrary ' thereto, namely insanities which they called wisdom. It ' has even been permitted me to hear, that when they were ' in a state of wisdom, they laughed at their own insanity, * and when in their own insanity, they laughed at wisdom.'* In the same way it is possible for the Evil on Earth to take up with Truths to which they are internally averse. And advocate them with even bewitching fervour. The Truths are not adopted and defended for their own sakes, but because their adoption and defence promote selfish ends — ' In such a case it may appear as if a Man really loved ' Wisdom, but he loves it no otherwise than an adulterer ' loves a noble courtezan, to whom he renders flattery and ' gifts of rich raiment, but when at home thinks within ' himself, that she is nothing but a vile whore whom he * No. 233. PROFANATIONS ENUMERATED. 267 * pretends to love because she complies with his lust, and ' shovild she cease to do so, that he will reject her.'* Such treatment of Truth is its profanation. Profanation is a sin which only those commit who receive the Truth and afterwards deny it. The Heathen in their ignorance cannot profane Truth, nor the Jews who never acknowledge it, nor the impious who deny God and scoff at sacred things, but know not what they do, having never entered into affectionate relations with them.f Profanation is of various intensities, some light and some grievous. Its commission may be classed under seven heads — I. By those who jest from the Word — who introduce its names and phrases into light and indecent conversation. II. By those who understand and acknowledge the Divine Law and yet live contrary thereto. III. By those who apply the Literal Sense of the Word to justify evil and falsehood. IV. By those who speak piously, and by tones and gestures counterfeit holy affections of which they are inwardly devoid. V. By those who attribute to themselves Divine powers, as Popes and Saints, Catholic and Protestant. VI. By Socinians and Arians who worship the Infinite. * These are meant by those who blaspheme the Holy Ghost, ' who will not be forgiven in this world, nor in the world * to come. The reason is, because God is one in person and ' essence, in whom there is a trinity, and this God is the ' Lord ; and as the Lord is also Heaven, and those who are ' in Heaven are in the Lord, therefore those who deny His ' Divinity cannot enter Heaven, but are let down to Hell ' among those who deny God.' VII. ' By those who first acknowledge Divine Truths * No. 225. 268 DOOM OF PROPANERS. ' and live according to them, and afterwards recede from * and deny tliem.'* This seventh kind of profanation is the worst of all. Those who commit it, so mix things heavenly and infernal that they cannot be separated without the destruction of their humanity. They are fit for neither Heaven nor Hell, and it is their doom to flit between the two. Of all conditions theirs is the most damnable. They are the Laodiceans of whom the Lord says, " I would thou wert " cold or hot : so then because thou art lukewarm and " neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth" — ' Such profaners after death live in delirium. They ' imagine themselves to be flying on high, and when at ' rest, play with fantasies as realities. They are no longer ' men, and arc not spoken of as he or she, but it. When ' seen in heavenly light, they appear as skeletons, some of ' a bony colour, some fiery, and some dry.' t It is better therefore that Men should never enter the regenerate life than, having made a beginnmg, that they should relapse and confound in their souls the heavenly struc- ture with the infernal : in the words of St. Peter — ' If after ' they have escaped the pollution of the world through the ' knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Chi-ist, they ' are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end ' is worse than the beginning : or it had been better for ' them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, ' after they have known it, to turn from the holy command- ' ment delivered unto them' — or again in the more terrible words of the Epistle to the Hebrews — ' It is impossible for ' those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the ' heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, ' and have tasted of the good word of God, and the powers ' of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew * No. 231. t Nos. 226, 227 and 2.31. THE GENTLE LEADER. 269 ' them again to repentance ; seeing they crucify to them- ' selves the Son of God afresh and put Him to an open ' shame.' For this cause then, ' A Man is not admitted interiorly ' into the Truths of Faith and the Goods of Charity, except ' so far as he can be kept in them to the end of his life.' We cannot take this statement as of universal applica- tion ; for, as we have just read, there are some who make shipwreck of the heavenly treasure; but that so far as is consistent with the maintenance of the appearance of Human Liberty, no one is permitted to induce upon himself that fearful phantom life which is neither that of Man nor Woman, Angel nor Devil. ' The Laws of Permission are also Laws of tlie Divine Providence. ' There are not any Laws of Permission by themselves, ' or separate from the Laws of the Divine Providence, but ' they are the same ; therefore it is said, that God permits, ' by which is not meant that He wills, but that He cannot ' prevent such a thing on account of the end proposed, which ' is salvation.' * Salvation is accomplished whenever Man does good and speaks truth as of himself with the acknowledgement, that he does both from God. In effecting this salvation in His creature, God has to deal very tenderly, ' directing, turning ' and disposing him at every instant, withdrawing him from ' evil and leading him to good;' and, whilst thus controlling him ' in the most minute particulars of his thoughts and ' actions,' never once breaking in upon his apparent in- dependence. ' This cannot be done without permitting ' Evil.' If then we would know why Evil is permitted, Behold the answer.f As is well known, the existence of Evil is the grand No. 234. t Xocal>jjjsis Bevdala,' No. 531. 316 AN INDUSTRIOUS PROTESTANT. ' descended and entered, and lo 1 there was a large room ' and an old man sitting surrounded by books, holding * before him the Word, and searching it for doctrine. At ' his hand lay scraps of paper on which he copied whatever ' texts suited his purpose. In an adjoining apartment there ' were clerks, who collected the scraps, and copied their ' contents on a broad sheet. ' I inquired concerning the books around him. He said ' that they all treated of Justifying Faith. " These," said ' he, " from Sweden and Denmark, enter deeply into the ' " subject, but these from Germany somewhat deeper, these ' " from England deeper still, and these from Holland the ' " deepest of all !" He added moreover, that nothwith- ' standing the difference of their sentiments on other points, ' yet in the article of Justification and Salvation by Faith ' alone, they were all agreed. He then told me, that he * was collecting from the Word this chief article of Justi- ' fying Faith — ' that God the Father fell away from grace ' ' towards Mankind on account of their iniquities, and that ' ' consequently in order to effect their salvation, it became ' ' necessary, that satisfaction, reconciliation, propitiation, ' ' and mediation should be made by some person, who ' ' would take upon himself the sentence of wrath and ' ' justice, and that none could be fbund fully qualified for ' ' this purpose, but His only Son ; and that when this pur- ' ' pose was effected, access was opened to God the Father ' ' for His sake, for so we pray, " Father, have mercy upon ' ' us for the sake of thy Son." ' He said likewise, " I now * " see, and have long seen, that this belief is agreeable to ' " all Keason and Scripture ; for how can God the Father ' " be approached, but by faith in the merit of His Son?" ' I listened to his discourse, and was amazed to hear ' him assert, that such a belief was agreeable to both ' Reason and Scripture, when yet, as I plainly told him, ' it is directly contrary to both. He then, in the heat of A RUDE OLD MAN. 317 * his zeal, replied, " How can you pretend to say so ?" I ' therefore began to explain myself — giving the old fellow a stiiF dose of Heavenly Doctrine, and ending with the recommendation, " Search now the Scriptures, and you will " there see that what I tell you is agreeable to them ; and " that the way to the Father, which you talk about, is as " contrary to them as to Reason. I assert moreover, that " it is a great presumption to climb up to God the Father, " and not to approach by Him, who is in the bosom of " the Father, and is alone with Him. Did you ever read " John xiv. 6?"— ' As I said this, the old man got so angry, that he" ' sprang from his chair, and called to his clerks to turn me ' out of the house I and as I walked out of my own accord, ' he threw after me the first book he could lay his hands on, ' which happened to be the Word.'* A Couple op Solipidians. ' After I had retired, I heard a noise like the collision * of two mill-stones. As I approached the sound ceased, ' and I saw a narrow gate leading downwards to a vaulted ' house divided into small cells in each of which sat two ' persons collecting passages from the Word in favour of ' Faith alone ; one collected and the other transcribed, and ' this alternately. I went to one of the cells, stood at the ' door, and asked what they were collecting and writing. ' They answered — ' " Concerning the Act of Justification, or concerning ' " Faith In Act, which is the real justifying, vivifying, and ' " saving Faith, and the chief doctrine of all Christians." ''Tell me,' I said, 'some. mark or sign of that Act * ' when that Faith Is Introduced Into the Heart or Soul.' ' " The sign of that act is instantaneous, when a Man * 'Apocalypsk evelata,' No. 484. 318 A CANDLESTICK FOR AN ARGUMENT. ' " under the anguish of condemnation for sin thinks of ' " Christ as having taken away the curse of the Law, and ' " lays hold of this His merit with confidence, and, keeping ' " it in his thoughts, approaches and prays to God the ' " Father." ' ' Suppose it to be so,' I said. ' How am I to conceive ' ' what is asserted of this Act, that Man contributes nothing ' ' to it, any more than if he were a stock or a stone, and ' ' that he has no power to begin, will, understand, think, ' ' operate, co-operate, apply, and accommodate himself to ' ' this Act ? Tell me. How does this agree with what you ' ' said, that the Act takes place when the Man is thinking ' ' about the justice of the Law, and about the removal of ' ' its condemnation by Christ, in consequence of which he ' ' lays hold with confidence on His merit, and approaches ' ' and prays to God the Father with this in his thoughts ? ' ' Are not all these things done by Man as from himself?' ' " Not by Man actively, but passively." ' ' How can any one think, have confidence, and pray ' ' passively ?' I replied. ' If you take away Man's activity ' ' or re-activity, Do you not also take away his capacity ' ' of reception, therefore all that constitutes him Man ? . . . . ' ' I trust you do not believe with some, that such an Act is ' ' only possible to the Elect, who are yet utterly unconscious ' ' of any infusion of Faith into themselves ; and who might ' ' throw a cast of dice to ascertain whether or not they had ' ' received it. Do you, my friends, believe, that Man in the ' ' reception of Faith ought to act as of himself. Without ' ' co-operation, the Act of Faith, styled by you the chief ' ' doctrine of religion, is a pillar like Lot's wife, tinkling ' ' like dry salt when scratched with a pen or finger-nail ; ' ' Luke xvii. 32. I use this comparison, because as to ' ' Faith, you make yourselves mere statues.' ' As I spake these words, one of them took up a candle- ' stick to throw it in my face, but the candle suddenly SUPERNATURAL FOOLS. 319 ' going out, he struck it in the dark against his companion's ' forehead ; at which I smiled and departed.'* An Assembly of Wiseacres. ' In the northern quarter of the Spiritual World, I ' heard, as it were, the roaring of waters. I walked to- ' wards it, and as I approached the roaring ceased, and I ' heard a buzzing as of a multitude : then there appeared ' a building full of chinks and clefts, and encompassed with ' a mound of earth. I went up to it, and seeing the porter, ' asked who were within the walls. In the simplicity of ' his heart, he answered — ' " The Wisest of the Wise, who are now debating on ' " subjects supernatural." ' ' May I be permitted to enter ?' ' " Yes, on condition that thou wilt say nothing ; for t ' " have leave to allow Gentiles to stand with me at the ' " door." ' So I went in, and lo, there was a circus, and in the ' centre a pulpit ; and the assembly of the so-called Wise ' were discussing the mysteries of Faith. ' The question under debate was. Whether the Good ' done by a Man justified by Faith was Eeligious Good or ' not. They were unanimous in defining Religious Good to ' be such as contributes to salvation. The debate was warm ' but victory inclined to the side of those who contended, ' that Goodness contributed nothing to salvation, but Faith ' only. This opinion was confirmed by these arguments — ' ' How can any good thing, proceeding from Man's ' ' will, be conjoined with Free Grace? How can any work ' ' of Man be connected with what is freely given ? Is not ' ' salvation of Free Grace ? How again, can any good ' ' thing proceeding from Man be conjoined with the merit * 'Apocalypsis Bevelata,' No. 484. 320 METAPHYSICAL JUGGLERY. ' ' of Christ, which is the only means of salvation ? How ' ' is it possible for Man's operation to be united with the ' ' operation of the Holy Ghost? Does not the Holy Ghost ' ' do all without the aid or assistance of Man ? Are not ' ' these three things alone conducive to salvation in the * ' Act of Justification by Faith ? Do they not remain * ' alone conducive to salvation ? Of consequence, any ' ' accessory Good on Man's part can in nowise be called ' ' Keligious Good or tributary to salvation ; it ought rather ' ' to be called Evil when done with a view to salvation.' ' There were two Gentiles standing with the door- ' keeper in the porch, who heard all this reasoning ; and * one of them said to the other — ' " These people have no Religion at all. Who cannot ' " see, that Religion consists in doing Good to one's ' " Neighbour for the sake of God, consequently with "' God and from God?" ' " Their Faith has infatuated them," said the other. ' Then they asked the door-keeper — ' " Who are these people?" ' " They are wise Christians," said he. '"Nonsense!" said they. "Thou art imposing upon ' " us. By their manner of speaking, we should take them * " for jugglers." ' I then departed. Some time after when I looked where ' the building stood, I beheld a stagnant pool. ' These things, just as I have described them, were seen ' and heard by me when I was perfectly awake, both as to my ' Body and my Spirit : for the Lord has so united my Spirit ' to ray Body, that I am in both at one and the same time. ' My visit to that building during the debate, with the ' other circumstances described, were so ordered under the ' divine auspices of the Lord.'* * ^ApocalypsLi llevelata,' No. 484. PETEll's KEYS. 321 Nearly the whole of the ' Memorabilia' in the ^Apoca- ' It/jjsi's Revelata' are, like the foregoing, devoted to the exposure and derision of solifidian theology. He had evidently come to the conclusion, that to the prevalence of the doctrine of salvation by Faith alone, was owing the indifference of the world to his own writings. It was an unhappy conclusion. It betrayed him into much useless labour, into many misrepresentations, and into a contro- versial spirit in which his wisdom suffered. In his ardour against Protestantism he gave less attention to Popery ; but this discussion on the Papal claim to au- thority from Christ through Peter may have some interest — ' Something shall now be said concerning the Lord's ' words to Peter about the keys of Heaven and the power ' of binding and loosing : Matt. xvi. 15-20. ' The Roman Catholics assert, that the Lord left His * power to Peter, and that Peter transferred it to the Popes ' as His successors, who were thus constituted His earthly ' vicars. ' Nevertheless from the very words of the Lord it manl- ' festly appears, that He did not give the least power to ' Peter. The Lord said, " Upon this Rock, I will build my ' " Church." ' What Rock? The man Peter? Not at all. ' By a Rock is signified the Lord as to Divine Truth, as ' is well known. The Divine Truth signified by " this '"Rock" was spoken by Peter when in answer to the ' Lord's question, " Whom say ye that I am ?" he said, ' " Thou art the Christy the Son of the Living God.'''' On * that Truth, the Lord builds His Church, thus on Himself ' and not on Peter, who, as the speaker, merely represented ' the Truth. ' I once had a conversation in the Spiritual World ' with the Babylonians respecting the keys that were ' given to Peter, and whether they believed that power ' was transferred to hiiii over Heaven and Hell. This V 322 PETER IS TRUTH. ' being a fundamental of their religion, they vehemently ' insisted upon it, asserting there was no doubt about the ' transfer, for it was expressly declared. ' I asked whether they knew that there is a Spiritual ' Sense in every particular of the Word, which is its ' Sense in Heaven. They said they did not know, and ' aftei-wards, that they would inquire. They inquired and ' were instructed, that there is a Spiritual Sense in every ' particular of the Word, which differs from the Literal ' Sense as that which is Spiritual differs from that which ' is Natural. They were further instructed, that the name ' of no person in the Literal Sense appears in Heaven, but ' instead something Spiritual. Lastly they were informed, ' that instead of Peter, the Truth of the Church derived * from Good is understood in Heaven, and the same by * Rock. Hence it might be known that no power what- ' ever was given to Peter, but only to Truth derived from ' Good ; for all power in Heaven is in Truth from Good, ' or is from Truth by Good ; and since all Good and all ' Truth are from the Lord, and none from Man, all power ' belongs to the Lord. ' On hearing this they said with indignation, that they ' wished to know whether that Spiritual Sense really ' existed in the words under debate. Wherefore the ' Word which is in Heaven was given them, and when ' they referred to the passage they saw at once, that ' Peter's name was not mentioned, but instead of Peter, ' " Truth derived from Good, which is from the Lord." ' On seeing this they rejected it with anger, and would ' have torn the Word to pieces with their teeth, had it ' not instantly been taken from them. Thus were they ' convinced, although unwilling to be convinced.' * * 'Apocalypsis Bevelala,' No. 7G8. PAUL BEOUGHT OUT. 323 In the ^Arcana Goslestia,^ Paul and his Epistles are not once named, nor indeed any portion of the New Testament beyond the Gospels and the Revelation, ' which alone have ' the Internal Sense.' In the '■Apocalypsis Exj)licata^ a similar silence is maintained, though texts are cited and explained in prodigious number and variety from other parts of Scripture. With the resolution however to attack the Protestant stronghold — the Doctrine of Salvation by Faith alone — other tactics had to be adopted. It was obviously idle to enter on such a controversy without reference to Paul — the exclusive authority for the Doc- trine. Two courses lay open for the treatment of Paul : it might be declared that he was a man of infernal temper, and subject to error on that as well as on other points ; or his testimony might be argued into conformity with the Gospels and the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem. The latter was Swedenborg's choice. In the '' AiMcalypsis Revelata' the wall of reserve towards Paul was thrown down, and we find written — ' Protestants indeed acknowledge the Word and say the ' Church is founded upon it, and yet they base its Doctrine ' on a single passage from Paul — ' that Man is justified by ' ' Faith alone without the deeds of the Law,' Rom. iii. 28 — ' totally misunderstood : the Law and the works of the ' Law meaning nothing but the Mosaic Law and Ritual.'* Nor Romans alone, but the Epistles to the Corinthians, to the Galatians and Colossians, and James are quoted. The ice thus broken, references to the Acts and the Epistles come in freely in his subsequent writings, and in the ' GoTonis^ the last manuscript perhaps on which he was engaged, we find him condescending to the phrase — ' the ' Apostolic Word.'t * Nos. 417 and 750. f 'Coronis,' No. 95- Y 2 ( 324 ) CHAPTER XXIV. DISCIPLES AND OTHERS. In Doctor Beyer of Gottenburg, Swedenborg had secured a fast and serviceable friend. Sending him eight copies of the Apocalypsis Bevelata,^ he advises— ''Amsterdam^ Sth April^ 1766. ' Please read over first the Memorabilia separated from * the text by asterisks at the end of each chapter. You ' will thereby acquire a thorough sense of the miserable ' state to which the Eeformed Churches are reduced by ' the doctrine of Faith alone.'' His letter continues — ' I am now leaving Amsterdam for England, where some ' disturbance has most likely arisen, as the English Bishops ' are strongly pointed out in the Memorabilia, but necessity ' required it' — referring to the accounts of George II. and his Bishops given in a former chapter. Poor Swedenborg I As if even their lawn was to be fluttered by such a breeze ! Plainly much intercourse with the upper and nether worlds conferred little knowledge of this. Beyer had been reading the '■Arcana Coehstia^ and, amid its profusion of citations from Holy Scripture, was surprised to find not one from the Epistles. Requesting the reason of the omission, he was thus answered — '•Amsterdam^ \5th April^ 1766. < With regard to the Epistles of St. Paul and the other WHY PAUL WAS PASSED OVER. 325 * Apostles, I have not given them a place In my ^Arcana * ' Ccelestia,'' because they are merely dogmatic writings, * and not written in the style of the Word, as are those * of the Prophets, of David, of the • Evangelists, and the ' Eevelation of St. John. ' The style of the Word consists throughout of Corre- ' spondences, and it therefore effects immediate communi- ' cation with Heaven ; but the style of these dogmatic * writings is quite different, having indeed communication * with Heaven, but only mediately or Indirectly.* ' The reason why the Apostles wrote in this style was, ' that the first Christian Church was then to begin through ' them ; consequently, the same style as is used in the * Word would not have been proper for its doctrines, which ' required statement in plain and simple language, suited ' to the capacities of all readers. * Nevertheless the writings of the Apostles are very * good books for the Church, inasmuch as they Insist on ' the Doctrine of Charity, and of Faith from Charity, as * strongly as the Lord Himself has done in the Gospels and * in the Revelation of St. John, as will appear evidently to * any one who studies them with attention. 'I have proved in the '■Apocalypsis Revelata,^ No. 417, ' that the words of Paul, in Rom. Hi. 28, f are quite * misunderstood, and that the Doctrine of Justification by * Faith alone, which at present constitutes the Theology ' of the Reformed Churches, is built on an entirely false * foundation.' A discreet letter : Swedenborg could keep his thumb on « Nothing special is hereby claimed for the Epistles. Every good word, spoken or written, is from Heaven, and conjoins him who utters it, and who- soever is sympathetically touched or affected by it, with the Angels. t ' Therefore wo conclude, that a Man is justified by Faith without the ' deeds of the Law.' 326 Paul's evil use. a secret : Beyer was not to be shocked with the full truth about Paul. In his Diary he had set forth the case rather diflferently — '■PauVs Epistles. ' It is known in the other life, that Paul's Epistles have ' no Internal Sense, but their use has been permitted in ' the Church, lest evil should be done to the Word of the ' Lord in which there is an Internal Sense ; for if any one * lives a wicked life, and yet regards the Word as holy, he ' injures Heaven. To avert this mischief, the Epistles have ' been employed. Paul was not allowed to take a single ' parable, or doctrine from the Lord and expound it, but ' derived all from himself. The Church indeed explains the ' Word, but handles it under cover of Paul's Epistles' — * That is to say, the Word as a most precious conserve was saved from the pollution of flies by Paul's Epistles set as a dish of coarse syrup alongside. How effective has been the device, let Protestantism testify. Has not Paul been the salt and savour of its existence? Calvin preached 588 sermons from the New Testament in Geneva during twenty years : of these, 189 were from the Acts of the Apostles, and the rest from Paul; not one did he take from the Gospels or Apocalypse, The doctrine of the Dragon was not to be had out of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.f The observation of the expected disturbance in England * 'Biarium Spirituale,' No. 4,824. t A friend of mine, solitary at a certain watering-place on a rainy Sunday attended church or chapel morning, afternoon, and evening. In all three places he heard the doctrine of the Dragonfrom Paul, with our Lord's life and teaching used simply as a garnish ; but the point of his adventure was this — On his way to evening service, he reflected, " I have had Paul twice to-day; surely " I shall have Christ once." His hope was answered when the preacher gave out the text, Acts ix. 11. Arise and go into the street which is called " Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus!" SWEDENBOBG VERSUS IIARlilSON. 327 was not Swedenborg's only motive in visiting London. He wished to push into notice his method of finding the longitude. The English Parliament in 1714 had offered a reward of £10,000, £15,000, and £20,000 respectively for a method of ascertaining the longitude within 60, 40, and 30 miles. In 1735, John Harrison came to London from Lincolnshire with a time-piece he had constructed for the purpose. After thirty years of delay and experiment, an Act was passed in 1765 awarding the £20,000 to Harrison — one half to be paid on his explaining the construction of his chrono- meter, and the other half as soon as it was proved that the instrument could be made by others. After some disputes, Harrison received the whole £20,000 in 1767. Whilst the question was approaching a settlement in 1766. Swedenborg appeared upon the scene. We have an account of his procedure in a communication addressed by himself to the Stockholm Academy of Sciences, as follows : — ^Stockholm, 10th SejJtember, 1766. ' It is incumbent upon me to present to the Eoyal * Academy the enclosed ' Method of Finding the Longitudes ' ' of places on Land or at Sea by Lunar Observations f which * Method I have published at Amsterdam ; and as it is the ' only way of finding Longitudes by the Moon, I wish to ' make this report concerning it. ' When it was published, I sent copies to the Hague, to ' the Academies in Holland and Germany, to Copenhagen, ' and to the Eoyal Academy of Sciences at Paris. ' After my arrival in London, I presented my respects ' to Lord Morton (President of the Society there), on the ' 19th of May last, who told me that on the 24th, the Board ' of Longitude (which is a committee of select learned men) ' would meet at the Admiralty House, and decide about ' Harrison's chronometer for finding the Longitude at Sea. ' There I mot the Board, and delivered to them ten 328 SCIENCE AND SPIRITUALISM. ' copies of my pamphlet, which the Secretary received and ' laid on the table. The Board did not believe there was any ' method of finding the Longitude by the Moon, and resolved ' that Mr. Harrison should receive the proposed premium. ' I have since been informed, that several learned as- ' tronomers have approved of my Method, and are now ' working out ephemerides to bring the same into effect. ' This may be done several times in a night when the Moon ' and Stars are visible ; and as soon as the ephemerides ai-e ' worked out, the Longitude will be correctly found. ' As to the certainty and possibility of finding the ' Longitude at Sea by the chronometer which the London ' committee have approved, time will shew, particularly as ' the seamen of Holland, France, and Spain will have to ' try it without the Inventor's presence, especially those * who sail to the East Indies. ' Em. Swedenbokq.' One feels curious as to the impression made by tho ancient gentleman of seventy-eight on ' the committee of ' select learned men ' assembled at the Admiralty on the 24th of May, 1766. Were any aware, that he had seen their late King George II., and had heard him lecturing the Bishops for conspiracy against him, and that he was in London to witness the efi'ect of his surprising revelations ? Probably they had no conception of the extraordinary character who stood before them. Fame travelled slowly in those days, and the well-known citizen in Stockholm was as yet an anonymous author : his name had appeared on no title-page connected with spiritualism. Springer, the Swedish Consul in London, was an old acquaintance of Swedenborg's. Springer sometimes won- dered at their intimacy, for, as he writes, ' I was not a man ' of letters. SPEINGER AND 6WEDENB0RG. 329 * All that he told me respecting my deceased friends and * enemies, and the secrets that were between ns, almost ' exceeds behef. He explained to me in what manner the ' peace was concluded between Sweden and the King of ' Prussia ; and he praised my conduct on that occasion : he * even told me, who were the three personages of whom I ' made use in that affair, which nevertheless was an entire * secret between them and me. I asked him how he dis- * covered such particulars. He rejoined, " Who informed ' " me of your affair with Count Ekeblad ? You cannot ' " deny the truth of what I have told you. Continue," he ' added, " to deserve his reproaches : turn not aside, either ' " for riches or honours, from the path of uprightness, but ' " keep steadily in it, as you have done, and you will ' " prosper." In the affair alluded to. Count Ekeblad had provoked Springer to draw his sword upon him in a political alterca- tion ; but the quarrel was composed, and a promise made never to mention it. On another occasion, Ekeblad tried to bribe Springer with 10,000 rix -dollars. The sum and circumstances were described to Springer by Swedenborg, who said he had learned them from the Count himself, who had just then died. Swedenborg desired Springer to find him a vessel for Sweden with a good captain, which he did in one Dixon. His luggage was put on board, and as his lodgings were distant from Wapping, he took a bed for the night (31st August, 1766,) at Mr. Bergstrom's inn, the King's Arms, in Wellclose Square. He went to bed. Springer and Bergstrom sat talking in an adjoining room. Hearing a strange noise, they sought its origin. Going to Swedenborg's chamber, they peeped through a little window in the door, and saw him in bed with his hands raised to Heaven and his body trembling. He spoke much for about half an hour, but they could not 330 I3EUGSTR0M ON SWEDENDORG. make out what he said, except that when he let his hands fall down, they heard him ejaculate, " My God !" He then lay quietly. They went into the room, and asked if he was ill. He said, " No, but he had had a long discourse with " some of the heavenly friends, and was in a great perspir- " ation." He begged a shirt of Bergstrom, as his own were in the ship, got up and changed, went to bed again, and slept till morning. From this Bergstrom, a Swede, we have two or tlirec particulars about Swedenborg. He told Provo — ' I was personally acquainted with Assessor Swedenborg : ' he frequently called on me, and once lived ten weeks in my * house, during which time I observed nothing in him but * what was very reasonable and bespoke the gentleman. He ' at that time breakfasted on coffee, ate moderately at ' dinner, and drank one or two glasses of wine after it, but ' never more. Li the afternoon he drank tea, but never ate ' any supper. He usually walked out after breakfast, gencr- ' ally dressed neatly in velvet, and made a good appearance. ' He was mostly reserved, but complaisant. . . In general he ' kept retired, and sought to avoid company, and a know- * ledge of where he was. Some of his friends here spoke * against him, and some were for him : for my own part, I * think he was a reasonable, sensible, and good man : he was ' very kind to all, and generous to me. As for his peculiar ' sentiments, I do not meddle with them. . . . Not xindcr- * standing Latin, I never read any of his works.'* Captain Dixon came for Swedenborg in the morning. Springer left, wishing him a happy voyage. Bergstrom asked how much ground coffee he should pack. " Not " much," answered Swedenborg, " for with God's help we " shall be at Stockholm this day week at two o'clock." It * Provo called on Bergstrom in 1787, and conversed with him about Swedenborg for an hour, and preserved these details. swedenboeg's voyages. 331 happened exactly as he foretold, as Dixon upon his return informed Springer : he had never had so prosperous a passage. He once sailed from Sweden with a Captain Harrison. He kept his berth during almost the whole voyage, and was often heard speaking as if in conversation. The steward and cabin-boy said to Harrison that their passenger was out of his head. " Out of his head or not," said he, " as long " as he is quiet, I have no power over him. He is always " reasonable with me, and I have the best of weather when " he is aboard." Harrison told Eobsahm laughingly, that Swedenborg might sail with him gratis whenever he pleased, for never since he was a mariner had he such voyages as with him. The same luck went with Captain Browell, who carried him from London to Dalaron in eight days, during most of which, he lay in his berth and talked. Captain Hodson also, another of his carriers, was but seven days on the voyage, and found Swedenborg's company so agreeable, that he was quite charmed with him, as he confessed to Bergstrom. Swedenborg wrote to Dr. Beyer — Stockholm, 25th September, 1766. ' I arrived here on the 8th of this month. The voyage * from England was made in eight days. The wind was ' favourable, but attended with a violent storm, which caused ' so short a passage.' Beyer was about to publish a volume of Sermons, on which he observes — ' I wish much blessing on the intended ' Library of ' ' Sermons,^ and send herewith my subscription for the same. ' I presume you will use all necessary precaution in this ' work, because the time is not yet arrived when the essentials ' of the Neiv Church can be so received. ' The Clergy, who ' have confirmed themselves in their tenets at the Univer- ' sitics, find it difficult to be convinced : for all confirmations, 332 FEARS AND HOPES. * in tilings pertaining to theology^ are, as it were, glued fast in * the brains^ and can with difficulty be removed : and, whilst ' they remain, genuine truths cannot be admitted. Besides, * the New Heaven of Christians, from whence the New 'Jerusalem from the Lord will descend (Rev. xxi. 12), is ' not yet perfectly settled.' This caution is inexplicable. Was Swedenborg jealous? Did he fear in Beyer a meddler in mysteries peculiar to him- self? He did not hesitate to use every means at his disposal to publish the essentials of the New Church: Why then should Beyer be so shy where he was so bold ? Beyer wished to know when the New Church would be established. He was answered — Stockholm^ February^ 1767. ' The Lord is preparing at this time a New Heaven of ' such as believe in Him, and acknowledge Him to be the ' true God of Heaven and Earth, and also look to Him in * their lives, which is to shun evil and do good. From that * Heaven, the New Jerusalem will descend. ' I daily see Spirits and Angels, from ten to twenty ' thousand, descending and ascending, who are set in order. ' By degrees as that Heaven is formed, the New Church ' likewise begins and increases. The Universities of Christ- ' endom are now first instructed, and from them will come ' Ministers. The New Heaven has no influence over the ' old Clergy, who conceive themselves to be too well skilled ' in the Doctrine of Justification by Faith alone.' The Universities have been slow in fulfilling this pro- phecy. We yet wait the promised Ministers of the New Jerusalem. How completely he seems to have abandoned his early expectation of the transfer of the Church to the Gentiles ! He concludes his letter — ' In Stockholm, they now begin to think more of Charity ' than before, and to be persuaded, that Faith and Charity OETINGER OF MURRHARD. 333 ' cannot be separated ; therefore Faith alone begins to be ' called the Moravian Faith ' — A gleam of sunshine, that was not to broaden into New Jerusalem light ; but — ' Trifles, light as air, ' Are to the sanguine confirmations strong.' Another convert, not quite so docile as Beyer, but equally useful, turned up in Doctor Oetinger, Bishop of Murrhard in Wurtemberg.* Among other services, he translated 'Z)e Coelo et de Inferno,'' 'Z>e Telluribus,'' and selections from the ^Arcana Coelestia'' into German. He wrote to Swedenborg and drew from him a few letters which have been preserved. In one, Swedenborg answers these three questions — ' Stockholm, llth November, 1766. ' I. Whether there is occasion for any sign, that I am sent * hy the Lord to do what I do ? ' I answer, that at this day no signs or miracles will be * given, because they only compel an external belief, and do * not convince internally. What did the miracles avail in ' Egypt, or among the Jews, who nevertheless crucified the ' Lord ? So, if the Lord were now to appear in the sky, ' attended with Angels and trumpets, it would have no ' other effect than it had then. (Luke xvi. 29-31) The sign ' given at this day will be illustration, and thence hnowledge * and reception of the truths of the New Church. Some * speaking illustration of certain persons may likewise take ' place. Illustration works more effectually than miracles. ' Yet one token may perhaps he given' — The last words are mysterious. In what precedes, I take him to mean, that some will be so enlightened, that * Friedrich Christoph Oetinger born 1702; died 1782. 334 oetinger's queries ansavered. they will clearly perceive the '■Arcana Coelestia^^ for instance, to be a revelation of heavenly wisdom. ' II. Have I spoken with the Apostles ? ' I have spoken a whole year with Paul ; and about the ' text, Eomans iii. 28. I have spoken three times with ' John ; once with Moses ; and I suppose a hundred times ' with Liither. ' III. IVliy from a Phibsopher I have been chosen for this 'office? ' To the end, that Spiritual Knowledge, which is revealed ' at this day, might be reasonably learned and naturally ' understood : spiritual truths answer to natural ones ; the ' last originate and flow from the first, and serve as bases ' for the first. ' On this account, I was first introduced by the Lord ' into the Natural Sciences, and thus prepared from 1710 to ' 1744, when Heaven was opened to me. Every one is * morally educated and spiritually regenerated by the Lord ' by being led from what is Natural to what is Spiritual. ' Moreover the Lord has given unto me a Love of Spiritual ' Truth, not with any view to honour or profit, but merely ' for the sake of Truth itself : every one who loves Truth, ' merely for the sake of Truth, sees it from the Lord, the ' Lord being the Way and the Truth.'' The letter to Oetinger concludes — ' I am very sorry you have suffered persecution for ' translating '■Heaven and HeW into German ; but what ' suffers more at this day than Truth itself ? How few ' there are who see it ! nay, who will see it ; therefore be ' not weary, but indefatigable in defending the Truth.' The Swedenborgianism of Oetinger natui*ally provoked a clerical squabble at Stuttgard, and the Privy Council was induced to issue a decree forbidding him to entertain Swcdcnborg should he venture to visit Wiirtcmberg ; but oetinger's difficulties. 335 the Duke assured him, that if he had a thousand persecutors, tlicy would not be allowed to harm him. Oetinger had been personally associated with Zinzendorf : he was a reader and advocate of Jacob Behmen : he was a mystic and a pietist : he was a leader in a set who yearned after the sentimental and occult. At a distance, Swedenborg promised abundant satisfaction for such yearners, but close acquaintance was certain to result in disappointment. His store of wonders exhausted, there remained his hard prac- tical gospel — Shun evils as sins and do good ; which counsel is accomplished in the faithful performance of every domestic and civil duty ; assured that thus, and thus only, is con- junction with the Lord effected — that conjunction which we call the Church here and Heaven hereafter. Oetinger believed in Swedenborg. He pronounced him a Daniel sent to confound a scoffing and sceptical generation. ' I am convinced,' he wrote, ' that the Lord has appeared to ' him, and that his interior senses have been opened to sec ' and hear what we cannot see and hear.' Nevertheless he had many doubts. So late as 1771, he feared, that Sweden- borg violates the letter of Scripture, that he gives dubious and uncertain interpretations, that he rests more on the Science of Correspondences than on the clearest expressions of the Holy Word, that he teaches a doctrine of the Trinity unknown to the Apostles, that he diminishes the authority of St. Paul, that he is not introduced to celebrity by signs and wonders, and that thus the divine seal is wanting to his credentials, and that his interpretation of the Apocalypse seems to have been contrived to account for his New Church. To Beyer he stated these difficulties, and Beyer met them to the best of his ability — they were no difficulties to him ; but whether to Oetinger's conviction does not appear : probably not. ( 336 ) CHAPTER XXV. HABITS AT HOME. Enthusiasm for natural scenery had not come into fashion in Swedenborg's day, and it is questionable whether Stock- holm, set amidst the most varied elements of the picturesque in land and water, had much influence on his sensibilities. We discern his taste in his pictures of the Heavens : they are invariably after Watteau : in none is there the faintest presage of Wordsworth : the forest and the wilderness are the haunts of Evil Spirits ; Angels parade and repose in glorified Dutch gardens. He had built himself a modest house in the Sudermalm — the southern suburb of Stockholm. The ground-floor com- prised a kitchen, dining-room, and bed-room ; over-head were three apartments — six in all. Mr. W. M. Wilkinson visited the house In 1853 and found it in bad repair, and occupied by two families, one on each floor. ' It is not ' equal,' he observes, ' to some of the adjoining houses, but ' it is different from them in standing quite back from the ' street, from which it is hidden by a high wooden paling, ' and having a character of quiet retirement and almost ' solitude.'* In front of the house were box trees cut into the shapes of animals, etc. At the back was a considerable garden, in which he took much pleasure. It contained a handsome * ' Views of the Eestdence and Summer- House of Emanuel Swedenhorg in ' Stockholm. London, 1853.' GARDEN AND SUMMER-HOUSE. 337 conservatory ; also a capacious summer-house, where, like our poet Cowper, he sat and wrote when the season per- mitted, and received visitors. The summer-house was square, but could be turned into an octagon by folding back the doors over the corners. It still exists, and Mr. Wilkinson was told, ' almost as Swedenborg left it, with the exception ' of the windows. It is about twelve feet square inside, ' with a small recess behind ; and at one end of this recess ' is the hand-organ on which he used to play, and almost in ' a state to discourse the same music which had so often ' filled his cars.' This is the first notice we ever had of Swedenborg's connection with music. Once or twice, he mentions music incidentally in the Heavens, but the absence of any ample reference to the divinest of the arts — that which reveals much otherwise ineffable — has struck us ds noteworthy. The hand-organ in the summer-house, we fancy, was for social rather than private use. Mr. Horace Marryat visited the same spot some eight years after Mr. Wilkinson— ' We ring at the gate of a garden planted with apple ' trees and pollard limes, in which stands the house of ' Swedenborg. " Walk in," begged a smiling old woman ; ' " the summer-house just remains as he left it ;" and opening ' the door of a painted kiosk, adds, with a curtsey, " Go in, ' " sir ; it was here he had all his best visions" ' — * An excellent illustration of the theory of myths. It is said, he afterwards built two other summer-houses, one of them after the model of a structure that he had admired at a nobleman's seat in England. In a corner of the garden, he had a labyrinth constructed and at its end a door, which being opened discovered another door with a window in it. This appeared to lead to a * 'One Yenr in Swerlen,,' Vol. 1., clmp. xxiv. 338 DIET, HEALTH, AILMENTS. garden beyond down a green arcade in which a bird's cage was suspended ; but the window was a mirror, and only reflected what lay behind. The conti'iver of the surprise used to observe, that the reflection Avas more agreeable than the reality. His sei'vants were a gardener and his wife, who lived in the house, and were allowed to appropriate the produce of the garden. He was an easy master : he gave little trouble outside his bed-room : contrary to Swedish custom he had no fire there. He slept between blankets, having a dislike to linen sheets. When he awoke he went into his study, where a con- stant fire was kept from autumn to summer, and, laying birch-bark and wood on the live coals, got up a quick fire before sitting down to write. A He made his own cotf'ee over this fire, which he drank / freely, day and night, with much sugar and no milk. His i dinner was usually a small loaf broken into boiled milk. ! He ate no supper, and never tasted wine or spirits except j in company. His health was good : his strength and hardness of mind were matched in a correspondent body. Like most sedentary men, his stomach was delicate, and in his latter years he suff'ered from the stone. ' He was never ill,' says Eobsahm, ' except when in states of temptation.' Once he had a grievous toothache for many days, and Eobsahm recommended some common remedy, but he refused to apply it, saying — " My pain proceeds, not from the nerve of the tooth, " but from hypocritical Spirits who beset me, and by " correspondence induce this plague, which will soon leave " me." It may not be forgotten, that to the presence of Paul he THE SPIRIT OF DISEASES. 339 attributed a toothache of several days,* and in the '"Arcana ' Ccelestia^ he ascribes aching teeth to hypocrites — ' There are those who talk piously, who affect much zeal ' for the public welfare, and who uphold equity, yet in their ' hearts despise, and even ridicule the same. Such hypo- ' crites when present caused pain in my teeth, and as they ' drew nearer, such severe pain that I could not endure it : ' as they were removed the pain abated ; and this repeatedly ' in order that I might be thoroughly satisfied. Among ' them was one I had known on Earth, on which account I ' conversed with him, and according to his nearness was the ' pain in my teeth and gums.'f Reasoning from his own data, Robsahm might have advised the extraction of the decayed tooth ; for thus, the ground being removed from the Devils, they would have been compelled to seek other quarters ' in sepulchres, cess- ' pools, or marshes.'^: He relates other experiences, which were designed to convince him, that every disease is a manifestation of Hell, and ' that as Heaven keeps all things in connection and ' safety, so Hell destroys and rends all things in sunder.' A most wicked adulterer was with him some days, and induced pains in the toes of his left foot, loins and breast. An exhalation from a certain Hell produced a burning fever. Devils (such as in old times destroyed whole armies by exciting panic in which the soldiers slew each other) tried to enter his brain and kill him, but the Lord saved him. Others inflicted such an oppression of his stomach, that he felt as if he could not live ; and so with other ailments, which ceased as soon as the malignant Spirits which induced them were removed. ' Death comes from sin, and sin is the infraction of the * See Vol. I., p. 393 of present work. f '■Arcana Ccelestin,' No. .''),7'2(). X 'Apocah/psis Explirala,' No. 659. z 2 340 INTERCOUKSi: WITH DEVILS. ' diviue order.' Disorderly lusts and passions obstruct and then close the finer vessels which mediate between Mind and Body, and vitiate the blood in its essence, which vitia- tion as it increases and descends causes disease and death. Did Man live in order, he would enjoy health to old age when he would shed his earthly frame without suffering-, and enter Heaven at once as an Angel.* Concerning his acquaintance with Devils, he observes — ' Some have expressed surprise, that 1 should converse ' with sucli wicked creatures. I reply, that they do not ' hurt me. Those whom the Lord defends might be encom- ' passed by all the powers of Hell and suffer no injury : this ' I have learned in a varied and wonderful experience, so ' that I have no fear in conversing with the very worst of ' the infernal crew. ' Moreover all Devils were once Men who lived on Earth ' in hatred, deceit, and adultery. Some who are now Devils, ' I knew in the body. ' Furthermore everybody is connected with two Spirits ' from Hell and with two Angels from Heaven ; and without ' such connection, no one could live a single moment : the ' Infernals rule in him who is wicked, but are subdued and ' forced to serve in him who is good.'f In his visits to Hell, he was well protected — ' Several times I have been let down into Hell, that I ' might witness the torment there. For my safety, I was ' as it were surrounded by a column of Angelic Spirits, ' which I perceived was the wall of brass spoken of in the ' Word. Whilst there I heard miserable lamentations, and ' amongst them the cry, 0 God, 0 God, be merciful to us, ' be merciful to us ! I was allowed to converse with these ' unhappy ones for some time. They complained chiefly of ' Evil Spirits, who burned with a perpetual desire to torment * 'Arcana Caleatia,' Nos. 5,711 to 5,727. f I^id-, Nos. 697 and 968. INFERNAL AFFLICTIONS. 341 ' them, and they were in a state of despair, saying they ' believed their torments would be eternal : it was granted ^ me to comfort them ' — * How he comforted them, he does not say. Confirmed Devils would not so complain, ' for they have no dread of * evils and falses, or of Hell, for in them are the delights ' of their life.'f He paid little regard to day and night — sometimes sleeping through the one and working through the other. " When I am sleepy," he said, " I go to bed." He lay in bed entranced for days together, and gave orders that on such occasions he was not to be disturbed. The gardener and his wife often heard him talking aloud in the night, and when asked, what had disturbed him, would answer, that Kvil (Spirits had blasphemed, and that he was speaking against them zealously. Sometimes he would weep bitterly and cry with a loud voice, " Lord, help " me ! O Lord, my God, forsake me not ! " When seen in those states, he appeared as sick : when delivered from them, he would say, " God be eternally praised ! All " suffering has passed away. Be comforted, my friends : " nothing happens to me, which the Lord does not permit : " He lays on us no burdens greater than we can bear," After one of these trials, he went to bed and did not rise for several days. His servants grew uneasy : perhaps he had died of fright : and debated whether they should not summon his relatives, and force open the door. At length the gardener climbed to the window, and, to his great relief, saw his master turn in bed. Next day, he rang the bell. The wife went to the room, and related how iuixious they had been ; to which he cheerfully replied, he had been very well, and had wanted for nothing. * ^Arcana Ccelestia,' No. 699 ; also 4,940. t 'Apnralypsis Exjdicnfa,' No. fi77. 342 DRESS AND DEMEANOUR. One day after dinner, she went into his room, and saw his eyes shining as with a bright flame. She started back, and exclaimed — " In God's name, sir, what is the matter ? You have a "fearful lookl" " What kind of look have I ?" She told him, and he answered — " Well, well," (his favourite expression) " do not be " frightened. The Lord has so disposed my eyes, that " Spirits can look through upon this world. They will " soon go away, and I will not be hurt." In about half an hour, they were gone. She said she knew when her master had been conversing with Heavenly Spirits from the calm satisfaction of his countenance ; whereas, when Evil Spirits had been with him, he had a sorrowful face. Robsahm asked Swedenborg if it was worth while pay- ing any attention to Dreams. He answered — " The Lord at this day does not manifest Himself in " Dreams ; yet if any one understands the Science of " Correspondences, he may draw instruction from them, " even as while waking he may discover his interior con- " dition by comparing his inclinations with the Lord's com- " mandments" — That is to say, he may discern the quality of the Spirits who have been with him in his sleep by the nature of the ideas they have excited. He wore in winter a garment of reindeer skins, and in summer a gown, ' both well-worn,' says Robsahm, ' as be- ' came a philosopher.' When he went out in Stockholm, his domestics had to review his dress, or some singularity would betray his abstracted mind. Once when he dined with Eobsahm's father, he appeared with one shoe buckle of plain silver, and the other set with stones, to the amuse- ment of the young ladies of the party. During his latter FURNITURE AND LIBRARY. 343 years be became less and less attentive to the outward world, and, as he walked the streets, seemed to be absorbed in spiritual communion. The morning bath was not a custom of last century : ablution rarely extended further than the face and hands, but Swedenborg did not even go so far. He told the Rev. Arvid Ferelius,* ' that he never washed his face or '• hands, and never brushed his clothes, for no dirt nor dust ' would stick to him.' He talked slowly : when he tried to speak quickly he stuttered. At table his deliberate enunciation, added to the weight and interest of his character, usually commanded silence, and converted the company into his audience. Extreme simplicity characterized his habits and cir- cumstances. His parlour was neat, but no more : a black marble table with a hand of cards inlaid was its chief ornament ; and it, he gave away. His journeys were made with no parade, and few of the conveniences of travelling: no servant accompanied him ; and he rode in an open waggon from Stockholm to Gottenburg when bound for London or Amsterdam to have his manuscripts printed. The Bible was the entire library of his study. He had four editions of the Hebrew Scriptures — 1st, by Montanus, a folio, 1657. 2nd, '■Biblia Hebraica jjunctata cum Novo Testamento Grceco.^ 8vo. Amsterdam, 1639. He had one other version of the Greek Testament — that of Leusden, Amsterdam, 1741, with a Latin translation. 3rd, '5<'Z»^«a i7eJra«ca,' by Reineccius. 4to. Leipsic, 1739. Filled with remarks, translations of the text into Latin, and some notes on the Internal Sense. 4th, '■Biblia Hebraica cum versione Latina^ by Sebastian Schmidius. 2nd ed. 4to. Leipsic, 1740. * Swedish Chaplain in Loudon : we shall meet liim again. 344 HEBREW STUDIES. MANUSCKirX. MONEY. This was the copy from which he worked, and which travelled with him. He had also four copies of Castalio's Latin Bible — whether of the same or different editions, it is not said.* After the opening of his spiritual sight, he learned Hebrew, and struggled through the Scriptures twice or thrice ; but in solitude, self-taught and late-taught, it is not likely he attained much facility in that difficult language. Schmidius was his hand-book, and in his translations he seldom strays far from his guidance. He employed no amanuensis even over his elaborate indexes. His manuscript, especially in old age, was diffi- cult to decipher. The English and Dutch compositors, he said, made it out easily ; nevertheless his books abound in errata; it seems he did not revise his printers' proofs. In money matters, he was at once liberal and fi'ugal. Those with whom he had dealings, had always to speak of his generosity. He sold his books at unremunerative prices, and gave them away freely. He was not in the habit of alms-giving ; " for," he used to say, " most of " those who beg are either lazy or vicious, and if from " softness you give them money without inquiry, you do " harm rather than good." Xor did he lend money ; " for that is the way to lose it ; moreover I require what I " have for travelling and printing." Nicholas Collin, student at Upsal, read in the University library the '■Arcana C(£lestia^ '■De Coelo et de Inferno j etc. He came to Stockholm in 1765 as tutor in the family of Doctor Celsius, afterwards Bishop of Scania. His curiosity about Swedenborg was active ; he heard much about him * This catalogue was made by A. Nordenskjold after Swedenborg's death, and published in the 'Nerr Jerusalem Magazine,^ p. 87, London, 1790. COLLIN VLSITS SWEDEN130EG. 345 in society ; and learning that he was accessible and affable he resolved to visit him — ' I waited on him at his house in the summer of 17G6, ' introducing myself with an apology for the freedom I ' took ; assuring him that it was not in the least from 'youthful presumption (I was then twenty), but from a ' desire of conversing with a character so celebrated. He ' received me very kindly. It being early in the afternoon, ' delicate coffee without eatables was served, agreeable to ' Swedish custom : he was also, like pensive men in general, ' fond of this beverage. ' We conversed for nearly three hours, principally on ' the nature of Human Souls, and their states in the ' Invisible World ; discussing the principal theories of ' Psychology by various authors ; among them the cele- ' brated Doctor Wallerius, late professor of Natural The- ' ology at Upsala. He asserted positively, as he often does ' in his works, that he liad intercourse with the spirits of ' deceased pei'sons. ' I presumed therefore to request him as a great favour, ' to procure me an interview with my brother, who had ' departed this life a few months before — a young clergy- ' man officiating in Stockholm, and esteemed for his devotion, ' erudition, and virtue. He answered, that God.having for ' wise and good purposes separated the Woidd of Spirits ' from ours, a communication is never granted without ' cogent reasons ; and asked what my motives were. I ' confessed I had none besides gratifying brotherly affection, ' and an ardent wish to explore scenes so sublime and inter- ' esting to a serious mind. He replied, that my motives ' were good, but not sufficient ; that if any important spi- ' ritual or temporal coucern of mine had been the case, he ' would then have solicited permission from the Angels who ' regulate those matters. ' We parted with mutual satisfaction ; and he gave me 346 collin's reminiscences. ' an elegant copy of his '•Apocalypse Revealed'' foi' Doctor ' Celsius.'* Collin -went to America and settled in Philadelphia as rector of the Swedish Church in that city. Frequent inquiries were addressed to him concerning Swedenhorg, and to one he replied — ' Being very old when I saw him, he was thin and pale, ' but still retained traces of beauty, and had something very ' pleasing in his physiognomy, and a dignity in his tall and ' erect stature.' To another — ' Swedenhorg was of a stature a little above the common, ' of very perfect form, erect and easy in his carriage, with a ' placid expression of dignity beaming from his countenance. ' He was always ready to converse freely on subjects relat- ' ing to either world, but singularly unapt to obtrude his ' ideas on others,' Collin further said, that he had never heard him spoken of as insane in Sweden, and that in Stockholm ' no one ' presumed to doubt that he held some kind of supernatural * intercourse with the Spiritual World. 'f From Atterbom, the Swedish poet, we have an account of another.interview with Swedenhorg, but, as we shall see, of more than doubtful authenticity. Thus it runs — ' The occurrence took place with a distinguished and * learned Finlander,^ who, during the whole of his life, * believed rather too little than too much. ' This learned man, when a young graduate on his * travels, came to Stockholm where Swedenhorg was living. * From an account of Swedenhorg, published hy Collin in 1801 in the ^Philadelphia Gazette,^ and often reprinted, t ^New Jerusalem Magazine' Boston, 1849. i Gabriel Henry Porthan, Professor in Abo, and noted in Swedish literature as an antiquary and humanist. He died in 1804, aged G5. A student's tale. 347 ' Far from being a Swedenborgian, he on the contrary ' regarded the renowned visionary as an arch-enthusiast ; ' still he thought it his duty to visit this wonderful old man, ' not merely out of curiosity to see him, but also from a ' cordial esteem for one who in every other respect was a ' light of the North, and a pattern of moral excellence. * On his arrival at Swedenborg's house, he was shewn ' into the parlour by a good-humoured old servant, who ' went to an inner apartment to announce the stranger, and ' immediately returned with an apology from his master, as ' being at that moment hindered by another visit, but which ' would probably not be of long duration ; on which account ' the young graduate was requested to be seated for a few ' minutes, and was left in the parlour alone. ' As he happened to have taken his seat near the door of ' the inner apartment, he could not avoid hearing that a ' very lively conversation was going on, and this, during a ' passage up and down the room : in consequence of which ' he alternately perceived the sound of the conversation at ' a distance, and then immediately near himself : and plainly, ' so that every word might be heard. ' He observed, that the conversation was conducted in ' Latin, and that it was respecting the antiquities of Eome : ' a discovery, after which, being himself a great Latinist, ' and conversant with those antiquities, he could not possibly ' avoid listening with the most intense attention. He was ' somewhat puzzled however when he heard throughout ' only one voice between longer or shorter pauses ; after ' which the voice appeared to have obtained an answer, and ' to have found in the answer a motive for fresh questions. ' That the hearer of the person conversing was Swedenborg ' himself, he took for granted, and the old man was observed ' to be highly pleased with his guest ; but who the guest ' was he could not discover : only the conversation was ' concerning Rome in the time of Augustus. 348 VIRGIL AXD SWEDES BURG. ' As he grew more and more absorbed, the door opened, ' and Swedenborg, who was recognized from portraits and ' descriptions, came into the parlour with a countenance ' radiant with joy. Pie greeted the stranger, who had ' risen from his seat, with a friendly nod, but merely in ' passing, for his chief attention was fixed upon a person ' who was invisible to the stranger, and whom he conducted ' with bows through the room and out at the opposite door ; ' repeating at the same time, and in the most beautitul and ' fluent Latin, various obligations, and begging an earlv ' repetition of the visit. ' On re-entering, Swedenborg went straight to his later ' guest, addressing him with a cordial squeeze of the hand — ' " Well, heartily welcome, learned sir ! Excuse me for ' " making you wait. I had, as you observed, a visitor." ' The traveller, amazed and embarrassed — ' " Yes, I observed it." ' " And can you guess whom ' " Impossible." ' " Only think, my dear sir — Virgil I And do you ' know : he is a fine and pleasant fellow. I have always ' " had a good opinion of the man, and he deserves it. ' " He is as modest as he is witty, and most agreeably ' entertaining." ' " I have also imagined him to be so." ' " Right ! and he is always like himself. It may ' " perhaps not be known to you, that in my youth I ' " occupied mvself much with Roman literature, and even ' " wrote a multitude of Cannina, which I had printed at ' " Skara." ' " I know it, and all judges highly esteem them." '"I am glad of it; it matters little that their theme ' " was my first love. -Many years, many other studies, ' " occupations and thoughts, lie between that time and the • present ; but the unexpected visit of Mrgll awoke a A DOUBTFUL TKADITIOX. 349 ' " crowd of youthful recollections ; and when I found him ' " so pleasant and so communicative, I resolved to avail ' " myself of the opportunity and inquire concerning things ' " of which no one could yield better information. He ' " has promised to come again ere long — but let us talk of ' something else ! It is so long since I have met one from ' " Finland ; and besides a young academician ! Come in, ' " and sit down with me. To what can I help you ? Now ' " give me an account of everything you can, old and ' " new," ' I subsequently visited the old man several times, but ' never again did I perceive in him the least eccentricity, ' nor did he ever again refer to anything supernatural or ' visionary. I held him in gratitude for his learned con- ' versation and his exceeding kindness in word and deed, ' but mingled with regret, that at a certain point a screw ' in the venerable man was loose or fallen away.'* A pretty piece of fiction ! — founded on how much fact we shall not try to detei'mine. Be this however noted : Atterbom printed the story in 1841. Where did he get it? From the learned Finlander, who died in 1804? No: but from Bishop , a friend of the learned Finlander ! f Thus full seventy years intervened between the interview and its publication. Beyond the suspicious pedigree of the story, the absurd incident of Swedenborg conducting Virgil to the door betrays the hand of the novelist. There is no sign in Swedeiiborg's writings, that he cared either for Latin history or antiquities. Only two Romans of note appear in his pages — Augustus and Cicero ; and to the latter he gave more than he received. The notice of Augustus is slight — * 'Svenska Stare och Skalder' {Swedish Seers and Bards). Upsal, 1841. t See Dr. Wilkinson's 'Swedenborg: a Biography,' pp. 159 and 160. 350 TWO ROMANS. Augustus. ' I spake with Augustus. He was an upright man, but ' he had a peculiar sphere of authority, which made hun ' imwilling that any one should accost him ; thus he so ' restrained me that I did not dare to address him ; perhaps ' because he thought this would savour of undue boldness ' towards him. ' He shewed me a round or oval window, which he had ' in his palace, through which, he said, he looked at those ' who were without and secretly explored their quality : ' and that when he found any one who pleased him, he ' advanced him to office and honour, when as yet the man ' knew and expected nothing. ' He was with me several hours.'* Cicero. About Cicero, he writes with some indecision — ' I conversed with one who in ancient times was ranked * amongst those of superior wisdom, and was consequently ' well known in the learned world. I conversed with him ' on various subjects, and it was given me to believe that he ' was Cicero. I knew that Cicero Avas a wise man, and ' therefore I spoke with him concerning wisdom, intelli- ' gence, order, the Word, and lastly concerning the Lord.' He found in Cicero a mind in happy accord with his own — ' Concerning wisdom he said, that there is no wisdom ' but that which relates to life, and that anything else does ' not deserve the name : concerning intelligence he said, ' that it is derived from wisdom : and concerning order, ' that it is from the Supreme God, and that to live in His ' order is to be wise and intelligent. * 'Diarinm Spiritunle,' No. 4.418. LINN^US. 351 ' As to the Word, when I read him a passage from the ' Prophets, he was exceedingly delighted, and especially, ' that every name and every expression should signify ' interior things ; and he was amazed, that the Learned at ' this day are not delighted with such a study. I perceived ' clearly, that the interiors of his mind were open ; but he ' said he could not hear any more : the holiness of the ' Word so affected him, that it was more than he could ' bear. ' At length I spoke with him concerning the Lord, ' saying, that He was born a Man, but was conceived of ' God ; that He put off the Maternal Human and put on * the Divine Human ; and that it is He who governs the ' Universe. To this he replied, that He knew many things ' respecting the Lord, and perceived in his own way, that * the salvation of Man was not possible except by such ' means as I had described.'* Linnjeus (1707-1778) and Swedenborg (1688-1772) were almost life-long contemporaries, kinsmenf, and neighbours, but we have no particulars of their acquaintance. Linnaeus had a lively interest in divinity ; he delighted to discuss with the theologians of Upsala ; and his posthumous work, ''Nemesis Divina^ exhibits an original habit of thought, and many coincidences with Swedenborg, but with no allusion to him. Swedenborg is as reticent on his side, though, in the last work he published, he went out of his way to condemn the doctrine of Sexes in Plants, thus delivering his dogma — ' It is maintained by many of the Learned, that the ' vegetation, not only of trees, but of all shrubs, corresponds * 'i)e Calo et de Inferno,' No. 322 and 'Biarium Spirituale,' No. 4,415. f Linnseus married Sara Elizabeth Morojus, a grand-daughter of Sweden- borg's aunt, Bishop Svedberg's si(?ter. 352 CONDEMNS LINN^US. ' with human prolification. I will therefore make a few ' observations on the subject. ' In the Vegetable Kingdom there are not two sexes : ' every Plant is male : the Earth is the female — the common ' mother of Plants ; for she receives their seeds, causes ' them to open, carries them as in a womb, nourishes them, ' brings them forth, and afterwards sustains them. . . , ' Let no one be surprised to hear it asserted, that all ' Plants are males, and the Earth, or soil, female ; for, ' according to the testimony of Swammerdam, founded on ' ocular experience and recorded in his '• Biblia Naturae^ bees ' have also one common mother, from whom the hive is ' produced ; and if they have only one mother. Why may ' not the same be true of all Plants ? ' That the Earth is a common mother may be illustrated ' by the circumstance, that the Earth in the Word signifies ' the Church, and the Church is the common mother of all ' her members, as she is also styled in the Word.'* If this queer passage ever fell under the eye of Linnjeus, it must have amused him. The seeds of Plants, and the secretion of the males of Animals unfortunately share a common designation — semen, with nothing in common. The male secretion corresponds to the pollen of Plants, and the seeds of Plants to the eggs of birds, fishes, and insects. The Earth in the widest sense is indeed a mother, but is no more mother to a Plant than to an Animal. The Plant is more immediately related to the Earth, but the Animal no less really : distance does not affect dependence. The Plant is nurtured in the Earth : the Animal is nurtured from the Earth through the Plant ; and if carnivorous by yet another remove. The Animal instead of being affixed * ' Vera Christiana Bdigio,' No. 585 ; also 'De Aniore Conjuyiali,' No. 206. In the '■Economy of the Animal Kingdom,' Vol. II., the same opinicHi is ex- pressed, proving it to be one of euly formation. CONJUGIAL LOVE. 353 like the Plant to its source of nutriment carries its nutri- ment about in a stomach out of which, as from a root, it grows. His notions about generation betrayed him into odd assertions, as for instance — ' That the Soul is derived from the Father and is only ' clothed with a Body from the Mother is evident from the ' circumstance, that a child of a Negro or Moor by a White ' or European Woman is born black, and vice versa.''* Had he never seen or heard of a Mulatto ? Moreover if even his statement were correct it would overset his doctrine ; for surely the colour of the skin is an attribute of the Body, and not of the Soul, and should therefoi'e follow the Mother. In 1768, Swedenborg again left Stockholm for London. As he was leaving town he met Robsahm, who asked, how he durst venture on such a voyage at the age of eighty, and expressed a fear lest he should not see him again. " Be not " uneasy, my friend," he replied ; " if you live, we shall see " one another again, for I have yet another voyage of this " kind to make." His stay in London was brief. At the close of the year he was in Amsterdam, where he published a work under the ravishing title of — ' The Delights of Wisdom concerning Conjugial Love^i and the Pleasures of Insanity concerning Scor- ' tatory Love.'' On the title-page appears his name for the first time — '■By Emanuel Swedenborg^ a Swede'' — since his call to his spiritual office. For four-and-twenty years he had exercised his gift anonymously. * 'De Dimna Provideniia,' No. 277. 2 A ( 354 ) CHAPTER XXVI. LOVE AND LUST.* The volume before us consists of two parts ; the first treats chiefly of Marriage, the second, of Lust. CoNJUGiAL Love. Why Conjugial instead of Conjugal ? Probably because Swedenborg liked the softer sound of the first adjective. Marriage in Heaven. He opens his theme with a pleasing narrative of a three days' visit, which ten Spirits recently arrived from Earth paid to a Heavenly Society, where they were instructed in the true character of celestial joy, and witnessed the marriage of two young Angels — ' Towards evening there came a messenger clothed in ' linen to the ten Strangers and invited them to a wedding ' next day. They went out to supper, and returning * to the palace where they lodged, each retired to his ' own chamber and slept till morning. When they awoke, ' they heard the singing of virgins and girls. They sang ' that morning of Conjugial Love, the sweetness of which ' affected the hearers with blissful serenity. At the ap- ' pointed hour, their conducting Angel said — * 'Delitice Sapiential de Amore Conjugiali; j^ost quas sequuntur Voluptates 'Insania de Amore Scoriatorio. Ab Emanuele Swedenborg, Sueco. Amstelo- ' dami, 1768,' 4to. 328 pages. NUPTIALS IN HEAVEN. 355 ' " Make yourselves ready, and put on the garments ' " which the Prince of the Society has sent you." ' As they did so, lo ! they shone with light. ' " How is this?" they asked. ' " Because you are going to a wedding. On such ' " occasions, our garments always shine." ' The Angel then led them to the house where the ' nuptials were to be celebrated. The porter opened the ' door, and they were received and welcomed by an Angel ' sent from the Bridegroom, and were shewn to seats ap- ' pointed for them. Soon after, they were invited into ' an antechamber in the middle of which was a table, ' and on it a magnificent candlestick with seven branches ' and golden sconces. Against the wall were hung silver ' lamps, which when lighted diffused a golden hue through ' the atmosphere. On each side of the candlestick were ' two tables on which were set loaves in three rows. In ' the four corners of the room were tables set with crystal ' cups. ' Whilst the strangers were looking at these things, a ' door opened, and in walked six virgins followed by the ' Bridegroom and the Bride hand in hand. They sat down ' opposite the candlestick, the Bridegroom on the left and ' the Bride on the right, whilst the six virgins stood near ' the Bride. ' The Bridegroom was dressed in a robe of bright ' purple, and a tunic of fine shining linen, with an ephod, ' on which was a golden plate set round with diamonds, ' and on the plate was engraved a young eagle, the ' marriage ensign of that Heavenly Society : on his head, ' he wore a mitre. The Bride was dressed in a scarlet ' mantle, under which was a gown which reached from her ' neck to her feet, and ornamented with fine needlework ; ' beneath her bosom she wore a golden girdle ; and on her ' head, a golden crown set with rubies. 2 A 2 356 AN ANGELIC WEDDING. ' When they were thus seated, the Bridegroom turning ' himself towards the Bride, put a golden ring on her ' finger, clasped bracelets about her wrists, and drew a ' pearl necklace round her neck, and said — * " Accept these pledges" — ' And as she accepted them, he kissed her, and said — ' " Now thou art mine," and called her his wife — ' Whereon all the company cried out — ' " May the Divine Blessing rest on you !" ' This benediction was first pronounced by each sepa- ' rately, and then by all together ; also in turn by a ' representative sent by the Prince. ' At that instant the chamber was filled with an ' aromatic smoke, which was a token of blessing from ' Heaven. Then the servants in waiting took loaves from * the tables near the candlestick and cups filled with wine ' from the tables in the corners, and gave to each of the ' guests his own cup and loaf, and they ate and drank. ' After this the husband and wife arose, and the six ' virgins attended them with the silver lamps alit to ' the threshold of their chamber, when the the door was ' shut.' The Strangers then entered into conversation -with the other guests, and had the symbolism of the ceremony explained to them. They were sui-prised, that no Priest officiated, but a wise one answered — ' " The presence of a Priest is expedient on Earth, but ' " not in the Heavens ; but even with us a Priest ministers ' " in whatever relates to betrothals, and consecrates the ' " consent of the partners. Consent is the essential of ' " marriage; all else is formality." ' The conducting Angel then went to the Bridesmaids and ' asked them to come and be introduced to the Strangers. ' Thev consented, but when they drew near, suddenly re- ' treated. The Angel followed them into the room whither SEX PEKPETUAL. 357 ' they had fled to inquire why they had gone off without ' speaking. They replied — ' " We do not know. We perceived something which ' " repelled us, and drove us back again. We hope the ' " Strangers will excuse us." ' The Angel returned to his companions with the mes- ' sage and added — ' " I guess your love of the sex is not chaste. In ' " Heaven we love virgins for their beauty and the elegance ' " of their nlanners ; but though we love them intensely, ' " we do so chastely." ' " You guess rightly," answered the Strangers, smiling. ' " Who could behold such beauties and not feel some * " excitement?"* Man survives as Man and Woman as Woman through death, with every passion and every function unimpaired. ' I know the Angels are Men and Women and living * in wedlock ; for,' says our Author, ' it has pleased the ' Lord to open unto me the states of Heaven and Hell, that ' they might no longer remain unknown, and their very ^ existence questioned.'! Into the mind of the reader will have started our Lord's reply when asked by the Sadducees, whose wife, in the resurrection, a woman should be, who had been married in succession to seven brothers — " The children of this world " marry ^ and are given in marriage : but they which shall be " accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection ^^from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage : " neither can they die any more ; for they are equal unto the " Angels ; and are the children of God, being the children of " the resurrection.'''' Luke xx., 34-36. * Nos. 19 to 22. t No. 3D. 358 NONE ENTEK INTO MARKIAGE IN HEAVEN. Swedenborg cites the passage at length, and meets it in saying, that the Lord referred to spiritual nuptials, which is regeneration, or marriage with Himself ; which union is effected on Earth and at the same time in Heaven, and if not on Earth, never.* Such may be the Intei'nal Sense of our Lord's words, but at first sight it seems a very ineffective explanation of His plam assertion, that " iti the resurrection they neither " marry nor are given in marriage /" yet, pointless as the explanation may appear, it contains a conclusive answer to what may be thought a fatal objection. For, let us remember, nothing is initiated in Heaven. There all which flowers owes its root to Earth ; we can never be more in the Spiritual World than we are in germ here. Seeds formed here, will there burst into growths of which we can have no conception, but we shall be limited eternally to the seed brought from Earth. Here our field of life may be enlarged in area; there, whilst it may be cultivated onwards to eternal perfection, its fences can never be moved. Hence the unspeakable importance of our present terrestrial opportunities. By death we are introduced to the Spiritual World, and discovered in fellowship with those who are like us — with those who love and therefore think as we do. Here we live in pretences, superficially associated with people in whom we have no inward kinship. Death strips off these acci- dents, and reveals us in Heaven or Hell where our Hearts are. Then are we beyond change. We have made an irrevocable choice — a choice we can never evade, nor wish to evade ; for it is a structural or constitutional choice, which to change would be to change our Love, our Life, our very identity ; in short, to annihilate us. Death is thus an unveiling of work done on Earth. * No. 41 TENNYSON CONFIRMING SWEDENBORG. 359 Death shuts our eyes on Nature and opens them on Spirit, when we find ourselves AT home in the deepest sense ; welcomed by spiritual kindred — by brothers and sisters of the heart, and sweetest of all, every Man by some Woman who is to him Wife indeed, and every Woman by some Man who is to her Husband indeed. They are not married there ; they were married here however unconsciously ; for as said, nothing is initiated in Heaven. Death only mani- fests the fact of the inward relation. In this view, our Lord's words are received in their most literal acceptation — " Jn the resurrection they neither marry, " nor are given in marriage, hut are as the Angels of Gody Matt, xxii., 30. The marriages of Heaven are eifected on Earth ; their celebration in Heaven is a mere formality — the recognition of an accomplished union. It is interesting to observe how poets and preachers encourage bereaved partners to look forward to a re-union beyond the grave. To go no further than Mr. Tennyson ; he represents King Arthur addressing the sinful Guinevere — " Perchance, and so thou purify thy soul, " And so thou lean on our fair father Christ, " Hereafter in that world where all are pure, " We two may meet before high God, and thou " Wilt spring to me, and claun me thine, and know " I am thy husband" — * And in his noble dedication of the ' Idylls of the King ' to the Memory of Albert, he addresses the widowed Queen — " May all love, " His love, unseen hut felt, o'er shadow thee, " The love of all thy sons encompass thee, " The love of all thy daughters cherish thee, " The love of all thy people comfort thee, " Till GocVs love set thee at his side again 1^'' * ' Idylls of the King,' page 254. 360 SEXUAL INTERCOURSE IN HEAVEN. Husbands and Wives after Death. Marriages contracted on Earth are seldom perpetuated in Heaven ; for they are rarely perfect unions of heart, and such unions alone have eternal endurance. Husbands and wives commonly meet after death, but, possessing slight spiritual affinity, they soon separate, and in theii* own Societies meet and mate with their true consorts. Sexual intercourse is enjoyed in Heaven as on Earth, ' but with vast access of delight, iuasnmch as the sensations ' of Angels are far more exquisite than those of Men ; nor ' is their venery followed by depression or exhaustion. ' Their vivacity and vigour are fed by a constant influx : all ' who enter Heaven are revived with the bloom and the ' force of youth, and are preserved therein to eternity.'* Let us recall that fine saying, ' In a word, to grow old in ' Heaven is to grow goung.''\ No children result from angelic wedlock : for their pro- duction, a basis — a physique in Nature is requisite. Instead, ' by their ultimate delights, angelic partners are more ' and more closely united in the marriage of love and ' wisdom : in Heaven, the liusband is wisdom, and the wife ' the love thereof, 'J Devils are also paired iu Hell, but their love is lust. Promiscuous intercourse, to which lust is prone, ' is for- ' biddeii under pains and penalties.' § Monks and nuns are set free from their vows after death ; some incline to marriage and go to Heaven, some to lust and go to Hell. Bachelors and spinsters, who have been so unwillingly, are united to their congenial partners. Amongst monks and nuns, and bachelors and spinsters, there are some who have altogether aHeuated their minds * Nos. 41, 51 and 53. f See chapter on Heaven ant' Hell, Vol. I., p. 436. I No. 44. § No. 54. THE STKOXGEST AND HOLIEST OF LOVES. 361 from wedlock. Foi' them, a region is provided on the sides of Heaven where they dwell content in celibacy. Their presence affects the Angels with melancholy, and the Angels them with fretfulness. The air of their virginity is to Heaven as a cold wind.* True Conjugial Love. True Conjugial Love is at this day so rare, that its existence is scarcely recognized. In the hours of courtship and the honeymoon, something of its bliss is revealed, but the glory is dissipated in familiarity, and man and wife stigmatize as romance their early joy in one another. Pro- long the gladness of young love, let it widen and deepen with the experience of years, and some idea will be formed of true Conjugial Love. Conjugial Love under examination is resolved into the attraction which Goodness and Truth have for each other. These in the Lord are one and infinite — in Man and Woman divided and finite, but re-united in their marriage. ' There is a correspondence of this Love with the ' marriage of the Lord and the Church ; that is, that as the ' Lord loves the Church and is desirous that the Church ' should love Him, so a husband and wife mutually love ' each other.' t It is therefore ' in its origin and correspondence celestial, ' spiritual, holy, pure and clean above every other Love.'| It is the King of Loves and its activities involve the sweetest pleasures of existence — ' All delights from first to last are collected into this ' Love, and this on account of the superior excellence of its ' Use, which is the propagation of the Human Race, and ' thence the sustenance of Heaven ; and as this Use is the ' chief end of Creation, it is fitting, that every blessedness, * Nos. 54 and 155. f No- 62. | No. 64. 362 SYDNEY smith's OPINION. ' satisfaction, delight, pleasantness, and pleasure should be ' collected into it.'* The possession of Conjugial Love is only compatible with a life in which the Lord's Will and Wisdom are Man's Will and Wisdom. It is because the World is a prey to Self-Love and its delusions, that Conjugial Love is strange to its experience. It was far otherwise in Ancient Times : then Conjugial Love was esteemed the choicest evidence and favour of the Divine Presence. ' The Origin of Conjugial Love as grounded in the Marriage of Goodness and Truth.'' The controversy as to the nature of the difference between the Masculine and the Feminine Mind is an old and unending one. All feel there is a difference, and all see the difference practically defined in the duties which custom assigns to each sex ; but whether the difference owes its cause to creation or education, or partly to creation and partly to education, has been a puzzle to some very shrewd philosophers. Sydney Smith writes — ' A great deal has been said of the original diflference of ^ capacity between men and women ; as if women were * more quick and men more judicious ; as if women were ' more remarkable for delicacy of perception, and men for * stronger powers of attention. All this, we confess, appears ' to us very fanciful. That there is a difference in the ' understandings of the men and the women we every day ' meet with, everybody, we suppose, must perceive ; but ' there is none surely which may not be accounted for by ' the difference of circumstances in which they have been ' placed, without refen'ing to any conjectural difference of ' original conformation of mind. As long as boys and girls ' run about in the dirt, and trundle hoops together, they are * No. 68. PAUL, MILTON, TENNYSON. 363 ' both precisely alike. If you catch up one half of these ' creatures, and train them to a particular set of actions and ' opinions, and the other half to a perfectly opposite set, of ' course their understandings will differ, as one or the other ' sort of occupations has called this or that talent into action. ' There is surely no occasion to go into any deeper or more ' abstruse reasoning in order to explain so very simple a ' phenomenon. Take it then for granted, that Nature has ' been as bountiful of understanding to one sex as another.'* It would be difficult to go wrong with greater perspi- cuity. The truth of the case is no secret ; it has been made known again and again, but as Swedenborg observes, ' Truth ' questioned and denied is to that extent unknown and use- ' less.' St. Paul struggled to set forth the reality when commenting on the mystery of Genesis, he wrote — ' A Man is the image and glory of God : but the Woman ' is the glory of the Man ; for the Man is not of the ' Woman, but the Woman of the Man ; neither was the ' Man created for the Woman but the Woman for the Man ; * nevertheless neither is the Man without the Woman, neither ' the Woman without the Man in the Lord ; for as the ' Woman is of the Man, even so also is the Man by the ' Woman ; but all things of God.'f And Milton— ' Not equal, as their sex not equal seem'd ; ' For contemplation he and valour form'd, ' For softness she and sweet attractive grace ; ' He for God only, she for God in him.'t And again Tennyson — ' Woman is not undevelopt Man, ' But diverse : could we make her as the Man, ' Sweet Love were slain : his dearest bond is this, ' Not like to like, but like in difference. '§ * Article on 'Female Education; in 'Edinburgh Review; 1810. t 1 Cor., xi. 7-12. X 'Paradise Lost; Book IV., 296-299. g 'The Princess; Pt. VII. 364 MAN AND WOMAN DEFINED. These opinions of the Apostle and the Poets are conso- nant with Swedenborg's : he with unequalled precision and fulness describes the differences and relations which they indicate. Let me try to popularize his description. Man and Woman differ physically ; and as the Body is derived from the Mind for its service, we are bound from the diverse Effect to infer a diverse Cause : as their Bodies differ their Minds must differ : and as the root of the Mind is the Will, and the Will is the habitation of the Love, Man's Love and Woman's Love — which is their Life, must be distinct as their sex. Now, what is the distinction between Man's Love and Woman's Love ? ' Man's Love is discoverable in his affection for knowing, ' for understanding, and for growing wise. Knowledge is * the pursuit of his childhood, understanding of his youth ' and manhood, wisdom of his manhood and old age. ' Woman's Love is discoverable in her affection for ' knowledge, intelligence and wisdom, not in herself^ but in ' Man. ' Add to this, that the principle of prolification is in the ' Man.'* These, their mental characteristics, are visibly reproduced in their forms and habits— ' That the intelligence of Women is modest, elegant, * pacific, yielding, soft, tender — but that of Men, grave, ' harsh, hard, daring, licentious, is very evident from the ' Body, the Face, the tone of Voice, the Conversation, the ' Gestures, and the Manners of each : from the Body, in ' that there is more hardness In the skin and flesh of Men, ' and more softness in that of Women ; from the Face, in ' that it is harder, more fixed, harsher, of darker complexion, * Nos. 33 and 90. EVIDENCE FROM THE STREETS. 365 ' also bearded, thus less beautiful in Men ; * from the tone ' of Voice, in that it is deeper with Men, and sweeter with ' Women ; from Conversation, in that with Men it is loose ' and daring, but with Women, modest and gentle ; from ' the Gestures, in that with Men they are strong and firm, ' whereas with Women they are timid and feeble ; from the ' Manners, in that with Men they are bold, but with Women ' they are elegant. ' How far from the very cradle the genius of Men differs ' from that of Women, was made clearly evident to me ' from the study of a number of boys and girls. I saw ' them at times through a window in the street of a great ' city, where more than twenty assembled every day. The ' boys in their pastimes were tumultuous, vociferous, apt to ' fight, to strike, and to throw stones at each other ; whereas ' the girls sat peaceably at the doors of the houses, some * playing with little children, some dressing dolls or working ' on bits of linen, and some kissing each other ; and to my ' surprise, they yet looked with satisfaction at the boys ' whose pastimes were so different from their own. Hence ' I could see plainly, that a Man by birth is Understanding, ' and a Woman, Love ; also the quality of each, and what ' each would be without conjunction with the other.' f Let me repeat these distinctions, so that there may be no mistake about them. Man is the Love of knowledge, understanding, wisdom. He is acqviisitive, enterprising, inventive. He searches for information, strives to understand Nature, and delights iii * The superiority of Woman's beauty over Man's was disputed by Humboldt. " Wiiy," asked a friend, " is Man an exception among animals ? " The male of all animals is the most beautiful." Humboldt paused, and then answered, " Man is no exception. It is only in courtesy, that we allow " superiority to Women." t No. 218. 366 WOMEN MUST AVORSHIP MEN. the application of the truths he has won. Thus his Love takes Form as Intellect. In Woman we discover no such aptitudes. She cares nothing for science in itself, and has neither desire nor ability to extend its frontiers ; but science and wisdom realized in Man, she loves ; and therefore on Man she rests absolutely for nurture, guidance and defence. Man loves science for itself ; Woman loves science in Man. Such, says Swedenborg, is the difference between Man and Woman's Love. In this view we see Man as a centre of which Woman is the circumference — an oak about which she twines as vine or ivy. Man's Love displays itself as Intellect: Woman is a ring of Love around that Intellect. Her life is the worship of his. Her Intellect is formed for the reception and appreciation of his. More : Woman is derived from Man. The Love of Man's Intellect (which Woman essentially is) exists in Man himself. We behold it in the pride of his own under- standing, when Narcissus like he gloats over his own graces. Such Love in Man we abhor ; yet this Love which in him moves us to loathing, is nothing but Woman in him. That a Wife should hold her Husband's Intellect in reverence, and that she should find in its dictates the order and strength of her life, is for her the fulness of bliss. It is the articulate or inarticulate longing of every true Woman to be brought to him, whom she can honour and obey, and girdle with her Love. Charlotte Bronte, with that accurate and profound knowledge of woman's heart which her novels display, describes Miss Shirley Keeldar desiring ' a husband whose approbation can re- ' ward — whose displeasure punish me. A man I shall feel 'it impossible not to love, and very possible to fear:' and when Mr. Sympson, her guardian, recommends Sir Philip, the case is still further illustrated. Shirley objects — WOMEN LIKE TO BE RULED. 367 " Our dispositions are not compatible." " Why, a more amiable gentleman never breathed." " He is very amiable — very excellent — truly estimable, " but not my master, not in one point. I could not trust " myself with his happiness : I would not undertake the " keeping of it for thousands : I will accept no hand which " cannot hold me in check." " I thought you liked to do as you please : you are " vastly inconsistent." " When I promise to obey, it shall be under the con- " viction that I can keep that promise : I could not obey a " youth like Sir Philip. Besides, he would never command " me ; he would expect me always to rule — to guide, and " I have no taste whatever for the office." "FoM no taste for swaggering, and subduing, and " ordering, and ruling ? " Not my husband : only my uncle." " Where is the difference?" " There is a slight difference : that is certain. And I " know full well, any man who wishes to live in decent " comfort with me as a husband must be able to control " me." " I wish you had a real tyrant." " A tyrant would not hold me for a day — not for an " hour. I would rebel — break from him — defy him."* The truth is, no Woman is happy who does not find in her Husband her master. Wives indeed try to rule, but they try as engineers test bridges by passing enormous weights over them. If the bridge endures the strain, the engineer is satisfied: if the Husband yields, the Wife's triumph is her despair. That a man should delight in his Intellect as his Wife does, we rightly regard as abominable self-abuse. There- * 'ShirUy,' pp. 452-53. 368 WOMAN TAKEN OUT OF MAN. fore says our Author, it was provided, that Man's love of his own wisdom should be taken out of him and made Woman. The process is described in the mysterious al- legory in Genesis — ' Jehovah said, " It is not good that Man should be '"alone; I will make hun a help meet for him:" and He ' caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept : and ' He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead ' thereof : and the rib, which He had taken from Man, ' made He a Woman, and brought her unto the Man : and ' Adam said, " This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of ' " my flesh : she shall be called Woman, because she was ' " taken out of Man." This doctrine of the derivation and dependence of Woman on Man will not meet with ready favour from those who are committed to the ' woman's rights' view of the sexes; yet a contrary doctrine will have to suffer all the disasters to which fancy is subject from fact. It is broadly asserted, that Woman initiates nothing ; that in all respects, mental as physical, Man is father and she mother ; that whatever is in her was first in him. Woman's name has no place among inventors and dis- coverers ; nothing in art or science owes birth to her brain. She has kept house for the world since the world began, but it is questionable whether she ever devised or improved fire-place or ci'adle, pot or pan, needle or thread. If by compulsion she trades, she never ventures out of the rut of custom ; if she grows rich, it is by accumulation, or the industry of routine — never by adventure or specu- lation. She dislikes change — is naturally conservative. She has had ample practice in literature, but the critic vainly explores her volumes for original thought : her best * Nos. 193 and 194: 'No Man can possibly love his Wife witli true Conjugial Love, who is vain and conceited of his own intelligence.' WOMAN IS MOTHERHOOD. 369 efforts never exceed a skilful disposition of Man's wares — a millinery of his thoughts after his own methods. ' Some suppose that Women are equal to Men in intel- ' lectual vision, and justify their supposition by the works ' of certain learned Authoresses ; but these works were * examined in the Spiritual World in the presence of the ' Authoresses, and were found to be the productions, not ' of judgement and wisdom, but of ingenuity and wit ; and ' what proceeds from these, on account of the neatness and ' elegance of the style, has the semblance of sublimity ' and erudition, yet only in the eyes of those to whom ' ingenuity and wit are as judgement and wisdom.'* Woman brings no truth to light, nor does she restore forgotten truths to new life ; nor does she forge new theories or arguments. Is there even a phrase or proverb which can be traced to her tongue ? Her moral superi- ority is sometimes alleged, but ignorantly. She never inaugurates reformation. She rises as Man rises, and sinks as he sinks : history and ordinary experience prove, that she is ever ready to be as good or as wicked as he is willing to be. Her sympathy with Man is perfect ; but her relation to him is wholly subordinate and maternal. She can no more beget ideas than she can beget children. It may be objected that many Women are wiser than many Men ; but the objection is without point. The question is, Whence is the wisdom of wise Women ? Their light may be very great, but. Is it not reflected from Men to whom they are as Moons ? Nor will the question be fairly treated by references to contemporaries, whom it is impossible to estimate impartially. Their light is level with our eyes, and we are so dazzled by it, that we can neither discern its origin nor quality with certainty. We require the softening effect of distance. Many Women have astonished * No. 175. 2 B 370 CODS rXIt'X WITH .ArAN. their generation by their feats in art and literature, but how seldom has a feminine reputation outlived a century ! "We must distinctly separate Conjugial Love from the passion we share with animals — separate them and imite them. Conjugial Love is essentially mental ; it is the attraction of Woman's Mind for Man's Mind — an attraction purely spiritual and exclusively human ; but marriage com- mencing in the Mind descends into the Body and there is consummated in carnal delight. The Marriage of the Lord and the Church and its Corresjyondence. The perfect emblem under which the Lord expresses His relation to Man is that of Bridegroom and Bride, of Husband and Wife, and pursuing the idea, of Father and Mother. In this comparison, He has crowned Marriage with honour and sanctity in the highest. Every Good Man is the Church in its least form ; to every such Man therefore the Lord is Husband. From Him he lives ; to him He is all that a Husband is to a Wife. Through conjunction with the Lord, his Will is enlarged with love, and his Understanding made prolific with truths. ' It is a common saying, that as the Lord is the Head of ' the Church so the Husband is the Head of the Wife ; ' whence some will infer, that the Husband represents the ' Lord, and the Wife the Church but it is not so. To- gether Husband and Wife constitute the Church. The Lord is Husband to the Wife as well as to the Man. He is indeed first received by the Man, and through the Man by the Wife,t but both alike are the Lord's. Time Husband * No. 125. t ' That which is best worthy of love in thy Husband is that of the image ' of Christ he bears. Look on that, and love it best, and all the rest for that.' Oliver Cromwell to his daughter, Bridget Ireton : London, 2bth Oct., 164G. CELIBACY IS NOT CHASTITY. 371 and true Wife are one being — ' a perfect Church in which the ' full conjunction of Goodness and Truth is accomplished.'* The Chaste and the Non- Chaste. What is Chastity ? Where is it to be found ? In the union of one Man with one Woman, and in the satisfaction of their every desire in each other, leaving none loose to stray abroad. Perfect Marriage is perfect Chastity ; nothing else is. ' Love truly Conjugial, from its origin to ' its last delights, is pure and holy ; so that it may be de- ' scribed as purity and holiness ; consequently, as essential ' Chastity.' t ' It is to be noted however, that there is no Conjugia ' Love wholly chaste and pure in Men or Angels ; something ' of impurity always adlieres to them. . . . The same is true ' of all their affections ; but the Lord regards Man's domi- ' nant motive, and if that is good, it tends to purification ' and improvement continually. '| Whilst Chastity can only be predicated of Marriage, the celibacy of youth is not unchaste. It is neither chaste nor unchaste, but simply non-chaste. ' That virgins and young ' men, before the love of the sex is awakened, are commonly ' called chaste, is owing to ignorance of what Chastity is.'§ Neither can Chastity be predicated of ' eunuchs born or ' eunuchs made ; they are destitute of the ultlmates of ' Love, and what has no basis cannot exist ;' to them Con- jugial Love ' is a fantasy, and the delights thereof are as * idle tales :'i| Nor can Chastity be predicated of those, who * No. 63. t Nos. 143 and 144. | No. 146. § No. 150. II No. 151. The Lord's words — " There are some Eunuchs which were so " horn from the mother's womh, and there are some Eunuchs tvhich icere made "Eunuchs of men, and there he Eunuchs which have made themselves Eunuchs "for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive " it" — are sometimes adduced by Roman Catholics to Kanction Celibacy; but it may be answered, that a Celibate is not a Eunuch, and ii' we are to be 2 B 2 372 MARRIAGE IS PURITY. do not regard adulteries as sins ; still less of those, who do not regard them as injurious to society ; such have nothing chaste in them — the very word is void of meaning : Nor of those who abstain from adulteries for prudential reasons, as decency, impotence, age, poverty, dread of vengeance and disease : Nor of those, who consider Marriage unchaste and merely the reputable mode of lust : Nor of those who renounce Marriage in vows of perpetual celibacy ; these throw contempt on Marriage, which is Chastity, and kill its possibility in tliemselves, unless happily some seed of Con- jugial Love survive.* This claim which Swedenboi'g advances for Marriage as identical with Chastity, is a fine instance of that divine common-sense, which is the pre-eminent distinction of his genius. Celibacy at the best, is an imaginary virtue. There is no more credit in indifference to the sex than in the privation of any other faculty — in indifference to music, or colour, or food, or pleasure of any sort : but Celibacy cannot escape as a neutral quality. Passing for the virtue of purity, it is a grand source of impurity. The nastiest places are the minds of Celibates; for as Blanco White testifies — ' I have seen the Hnman Mind at various stages of ' elevation and debasement, but Souls more polluted than bound by the Letter, let us be bound. Tbe Lord's words, says Swedenborg, involve a deep arcanum. In tbe three orders of Eunuchs are described the three orders of Angels : 1st. Eunuchs born are Celestial Angels — pre-eminent children of God in whom Love predominates : 2nd. Eunuchs made of men are Spiritual Angels — those in whom Wisdom predominates : 3rd. Eunuchs made of themselves are Obedient Angels — those who do what is right from fear or for reward.— '.^r-cana Coelestia,' No. 394, and 'Apocali/psis ExiMcata,' No. 710. A Eunuch in the spiritual sense signifies one who ia Marriage abstains from whoredoms. — 'De Amore Conjugiali,' No. 156. * Nos. 152 to 155. CELIBACY PRONE TO FILTHINESS. 373 * those of some of the professed Vestals of the Church of 'Rome never fell withui my observation.'* In Celibacy clean and honest passion is transmuted into filthy dreams, waking and sleeping. In Mr. James's words — ' Appetite and passion never exert a controlling and * therefore degrading influence, until they have been ' rendered fierce by some foolish asceticism, some silly ' voluntary humility on our part, or some accidental star- ' vation. Reduce the appetites to a famished condition, ' imprison them as you do a tiger, allowing them only a ' stinted measure of nutriment, or so much as they can ' compass clandestinely, and of course you insure them the ' tiger's force and ferocity. Thus the unhappy and un- ' handsome monk, who from some spiritual insanity, some ' morbid ambition to achieve an extraordinary personal ' holiness, or a greater nearness to God than common ' people enjoy, sets himself to deny and starve out the ' most honourable and benignant of our natural appetites, ' often finds his interior thought polluted by the most ' unclean images, and his whole life turned into a sordid ' conflict with the basest of concupiscences : a conflict from ' which happily there is no deliverance but in the renuncia- ' tion of his proud and delusive spiritual aims. In their ' ordinary normal aspect, when they are not bedevilled by ' some unseen ghostly interference, growing out of this ' ambition of a preternatural personal sanctity, out of some ' accidental famine, or other enforced deprivation of their ' liberty, the natural appetites and passions are a solace ' and refreshment to our spiritual faculties, rather than a ' burden. Above all things would they be so, if we once ' admitted them to the sunshine of God's recognition ; if ' clothed with His smile and restored to their right mind * Thorn's 'Life of J. Blanco White,' Vol. I. page 70. London, 1845. 374 HOW TWO BECOME ONE. ' by His cordial benediction, they were henceforth to sit ' undisturbed at His feet : i.e. fulfil unimpeded those exter- ' nal or organic uses upon which the inmost sanity of our ' hearts and minds is contingent.'* So far from purity belonging to Celibacy, the pre- sumption is quite the other way. In Marriage alone is a wholesome life possible. Although Protestants are guiltless of the folly of setting Celibacy over Marriage, they inherit the ascetic curse in their habit of regarding the sexual offices in weakness and shame, and treating them with studied reserve. The existence of the most powerful, the most useful, and the most delightful function in Human Nature, they entirely ignore in education ! They leave the first lessons con- cerning it to be acquired in the obscene gossip and giggle of school boys and girls, and whither those unhappy lessons tend and end, it is superfluous to state. Surely it will not be so for ever ! On the Conjunction of the Minds of Husband and Wife signified hy the Lord's words — '•They are no more twain hut onefleshJ' Woman, as we have seen, is the Love of Man's Under- standing— ' the Will of the Wife conjoins itself with the ' Understanding of the Man, and thence the Understanding ' of the Man with the Will of the Wife.'t She may there- fore be described as a pei-petual Desire towards conjunction with him. All her thoughts centre around him. Apart from him she would ask. What is the reason for my exist- ence ? It is otherwise with Man. He has many interests independent of Woman. Swedcnborg has on this point a great secret to reveal, which we shall receive from his own lips — ' It is unknown at this day, that Love is inspired into * Note D in Appendix to 'Substance and Shadoio.' t No. 159. LOVE BEGINS IN WOMEN. 375 ' Man by the Woman ; yea, it is universally denied. Wives ' insinuate, that the Men alone love, and that they merely ' admit their affection ; and inwardly rejoice, that the Men ' believe so. ' The fact is, nothing of Conjugial, or even Sexual Love, ' originates in Man. That it proceeds from Woman was ' clearly shewn me in the Spiritual World. I was once con- ' versing there on the subject, when the Men under the ' secret influence of the Women, stoutly affirmed, that they ' loved, and that the Women were simply moved by their ' passion. In order to settle the dispute, all the females, ' married and unmarried, were completely removed, whereon ' the Men were reduced to a very unusual condition, such ' as they had never before experienced, and of which they ' greatly complained. Whilst they were in this state, the ' Women were bi'ought back. ' They addressed the Men in the most tender and fasci- ' nating manner ; but the Men were indifferent, turning ' away and saying, " What is all this fuss ? What are ' " these Women after ?" Some replied, " We are your '"Wives;" to which they rejoined, "What is a Wife? ' " We do not know you !" whereat they wept. ' At this crisis of the experiment, the feminine influence ' broke through the impervious crust which had been per- ' mitted to enclose the Men, when instantly their behaviour ' changed, and they heartily acknowledged the Women. ' Thus the Men were convinced, that nothing of Con- 'jugial, or of Sexual Love, resides with them, but only ' with Women. Nevertheless, the Women subsequently ' converted them to their former opinion, admitting, that ''possibly some small spork of Love migJit pass from the Men ' into their breasts.'' * That last touch is inimitable. * No. 161. 376 LOVE EXCITED BY WOMEN. Women, as a matter of course, will resent this as out- rageous, and some Men too ; but does not Swedenborg strike something very like the truth? It is not meant, that Men do not love Women ; that would be absurd ; but that the excitation proceeds from Woman, that Love Is inspired and sustained from her heart, and that her Love is felt in the Man as his own. It was asserted by one of rare insight into the mysteries of Human Nature, that in true Love it was always the Woman who first perceived and desired the Man, and secretly incited him to approach. We indeed know, that a Woman often loves where the Man is indifferent, but no Man can love where the Woman is really careless or contemptuous : the source of Love in the latter case does not exist. Absolutely — ' There is not any Conjugial Love appertaining to the ' male sex ; it appertains solely to the female sex, and from ' this sex is transferred to the male.'* It is no answer, that many a Man is desperately in love, where the Woman is quiescent or scornful. We may be satisfied, that if the law of Conjugial Love laid down be true, there are no exceptions to it ; and that therefore, the Man's pertinacity is secretly fed from the Woman's admira- tion ; when she ceases to alfect, he will cease to pursue. The conjunction of Minds induced by Conjugial Love is accompanied by many most exquisite physical sensations ; as for example, the thrills which result from the congress of Bosoms ; ' and this because the Breast is the seat of the ' heart and lungs, which mediate between the Mind and ' Body : thus the Breast is as it were a royal council ' chamber and place of assembly around which the Body ' lies as a populous city.'f Then there is a general sphere which emanates from the « No. 223. t No. 179. ALL JOYS IN WEDLOCK. 377 Body and the Mind, and which is felt as an indescribable pleasantness about those who are sympathetic — ' I have been informed by the Angels, that this sphere ' issues lightly from the back, but more densely from the ' breast where it is conjoined with the respiration ; and that ' this is the reason why married partners of discordant ' affections lie in bed back to back, whilst those who are ' accordant, mutually turn towards each other.'* Mere Sexual Love is dissipated with gratification, but Conjugial Love, whilst including Sexual Love, continues to develope in strength and intensity to eternity. Moreover a Wife by the reception of her Husband's seed in which is his life, absorbs his essence, and thereby is more and more closely confoi-med to his likeness in whom is her supreme joy-t Hence in Heaven, a Husband and Wife are not spoken of as two, but as one Angel. They even feel as if they were one flesh. Such experience is rare on Earth, not only because Conjugial Love is uncommon, but because the gross natural body absorbs and deadens sensation.^ ' In Conjugial Love exists innocence, peace, inmost ' friendship, full confidence, and a desire to do every good ' to each other ; and the states derived from these are ' blessedness, satisfaction, delight and pleasure, and from the ' eternal enjoyment of these is derived heavenly felicity.'§ The Change of Mind induced by Marriage. Human existence is a perpetual progress — a perpetual change. In some the process of change is rapid, in some slow ; and amongst the means of change, none is more radical than IMarriage. In true Marriage, the Wife finds an Understanding in accord with her Will, and the Husband a Will in accord * Nos. 171 ami 224. f Nos. ir52 and 172. X No. 178. ?} No. 180. 378 BLESSINGS OP WEDLOCK, with his Understanding. The Woman desires the Man for what she lacks, and the Man is comforted in what the Woman supplies ; the imperfection of each is met in the fulness of the other. In Husband and Wife we behold Consummate Man. The developement of Life in true Marriage far exceeds what is possible in the arctic climate of Celibacy. The Woman's Love is at once magnified and chastened in her consort's Wisdom, and the Man's Intelligence brings forth abundantly in the warmth of his consort's appreciation and sympathy. In writing thus of Marriage an ideal is indicated of which we have little experience on Earth where Men and Women are mated with the motives of hucksters and brutes. Yet even on such base terms. Marriage is rich with blessing. The birth of children and the affections they evoke, the softening of the Man in the tenderness of the Woman, and the invigoration of the Woman in the strength of the Man, are better a thousand fold than the hardness, the selfishness, the frctfiilness, the impurity, and the conceit, which are almost inevitably engendered in Celibacy, As the world grows older and wiser, true Marriages will more and more abound, and the offspring of such unions will attest and extend the virtues and graces of the parents — ' Children born of parents in true Conjugial Love ' derive from them an inclination, if sons, to see the Truths ' which belong to Wisdom, and if daughters, to love what ' Wisdom teaches. Hence they inheirit a superior ability ' for the reception of the Church and Heaven.'* Unioersals res])ecting Marriages. ' So many are the things relating to marriage,' observes * Nos. 202 and 20-1. PLEASURES OF WEDLOCK. 379 our Author, ' that to speak of them at length would swell ' this little hook into a large volume.'* Under the above inclusive heading he therefore briefly dispatches various odds and ends, and among them these — ' The Sense of Touch belongs to Oonjugial Love'' — Every Love receives its peculiar gratification at the Senses, and as Conjugial Love is the summary of all Loves it is fed at every Sense, but specially at the Sense of Touch, (which is the basis of all the Senses) where it suffers exquisite delight in a multitude of titillations ; ' but,' says Sweden- borg, ' we leave the further consideration of the matter to ' lovers.' t '■With those loho are in true Govjugial Love^ the happiness ' of dioelling together increases^ because they love each other ' with every sense. The Wife sees nothing more lovely ' than the Husband, and the Husband sees nothing more ' lovely than the Wife ; neither do they hear, touch, or ' smell anything more lovely : hence the happiness they ' enjoy in living in the same house, chamber, and bed. ' You that are Husbands can attest this — at any rate from ' the memory of those hours when your Wife was the ' only one of the sex you loved. ' That the case is the reverse with partners who are not ' in Conjugial Love is well known. 'J In true Conjugial Love Husband and Wife enter con- tinually into closer union with the 2}erpetual desire to be one Man^ and with an underlying sense, that their union is etex'nal. If they thought for an instant, that their con- nection was to be dissolved, ' it would be as if they were ' cast down from Heaven — ' On a certain occasion an Angelic Couple were present ' with me, when an idle disorderly Spirit, who was talking ' craftily, removed the belief that their union was eternal. * \o. 209. t iNo. 210. ; No. 213. 380 LOVE PERVADES THE UNIVERSE. ' whereon they began to moan, saying, they conld not live ' any longer, and that they felt such misery as they had ' never felt before. When theLr unhappiness was perceived ' by their comrades in Heaven, the mischievous Spirit was * driven away, and their faith in eternity restored, and in ' gladness they tenderly embraced each other. ' The case is similar with affectionate Couples on Earth. ' They have an inward conviction of their eternal union ; ' should the thought of death intrude, they are grieved, but ' their hope revives in the conviction of life beyond the ' tomb.'* ' Conjugial Love is an efflux from the Lord, which flows ' through Heaven and jyervades the Universe even to its ultimates ' — Thus it is, that there are Marriages in Heaven, and the ' most perfect ones in the Inmost or Supreme Heaven ; and ' the efflux does not cease with Man, but, varied according ' to grades and forms of reception, it pervades the Animal ' Kingdom even to worms, and the Vegetable Kingdom ' from olives and palms to the smallest grasses. Its influ- ' ence is more extensive than the heat and light of the Sun, ' for it operates in winter and night, especially with Men.'f Conjugial efflux is received by the Woman and applied to the Man who absorbs it as his own. In perfect Marriage this efflux is exclusively received by the Husband from the Wife. ' At this day, this statement is an arcanum ; and ' yet not an arcanum ; for who does not know, that a ' faithful bridegroom is affected solely by his bride, and is 'sexually indifferent to all the rest of womankind ?'| and how is he so, except on the terms stated ? Conjugial Love exists alone in the Good — in those who shun evils as sins ; wherefore it happens on Earth, that one partner in Marriage ' may be as to Mind in Heaven whilst ' the other as to Mind may be in Hell.' In such cases, there * Nos. 215 and 216. t Nus. 222 and 225. i No. 224. COURTSHIP IN HEAVEN. 381 is inwardly a total aversion of spirit, whatever decency may proscribe outwardly. Death dissolves the bondage, and sets the Good Soul free to discover the Heart in con- jugial affinity with itself.* There are moreover Marriages in which both Husband and Wife are as to their Minds among the Angels, but being of diverse genius, they are not conjugially united. Death is for them likewise a sepa- ration and deliverance in order that they make seek and find their own. ''For all^ the Lord provides Similitudes^ if not on Earthy ' then in Heaven'' — All who enter Heaven, whatever may have been their condition on Earth, meet and wed with kindred Spirits. ' The Lord provides that conjugial ' pairs be born ; and all the delights of Heaven spring ' from Conjugial Love as sweet waters from a fountain ' head. ' I have heard from the Angels, that when a pair who ' have been educated from childhood in Heaven become ' marriageable, they meet in some place as by chance. ' When they see each other, they instantly know, as by a ' kind of instinct, that they are a pair. The youth, by an ' inward dictate says. She is mine, and the maiden. He is ' mine ; and by-and-bye they accost each other, and betroth ' themselves. ' It is said by chance, by instinct, and by dictate : the ' meaning is by Divine Providence.' f ' Maidens in Heaven, like their sisters on Earth, conceal ' their inclination to Marriage from an innate prudence. ' The Youths there, in their masculine eagerness, know no ' otherwise than that they move the Maidens to love ; when ' the fact is quite the reverse, their passion being an influx ' from the Women.':]: * No. 226. t No. 229. X No. 187. 382 LOVE AND RELIGION. The Causes of Coldness, Separation and Divorce. Swedenborg now descends to the treatment of Mar- riages which are so only in name — to civil contracts in which the heart has only a; slight or limited interest. The causes of coldness he enumerates with the coolness of a lawyer; and the shrewdness wherewith he takes account of health and wealth, rank, estate and chattels reminds us, that our Author was the son of a certain Bishop of Skara. Love is the heat of Life, and the absence of Love is spiritual cold. Sexual Love is derived from and simulates Conjuglal Love, and people marry under its influence and fancy themselves conjoined for ever ; but as its fervour abates, the truth is revealed, that their Minds have no real affinity. Spiritual cold supervenes ; they grow callous towards each other ; and, in the worst cases, ' discord, dis- ' dain, and aversion ensue, and at last separation from bed ' and board.' The causes of cold, he divides into three — I. Liternal, IL External, and III. Accidental. 1. The Internal causes are religious. The first of these is the rejection of religion by both partners. "With such Conjuglal Love is impossible. * They avIII ridicule the ' truth, that every one has Conjuglal Love according to ' his state in the Church, and will probably laugh at its ' very mention. Be it so. They are to be pardoned, for they ' can no more distinguish between marriage and adultery ' than a camel can go through the eye of a needle.'* A second is, that one partner is religious and the other not. ' They cannot live together harmoniously. The ' irreligious husband cannot look the religious wife in the ' face, or breathe with her, or speak to her except in a ' subdued tone, or touch her with the hand, and scarcely * No. 240. RELIGION IN MARRIAGE. 383 ' with the back ; for the cold descends from the soul even ' to the cuticle. Hence such marriages dissolve of tliem- ' selves. It is well known, that an impious man thinks ' meanly of his wife ; and all who are without religion are ' impious.'* A third is, that the partners are of different religions. In true Love, a wife is attached to her husband through ti'ust in his wisdom. If therefore she is of a ditferent religion, it is obvious, that the very reason of Love is absent. Here is an experience to the point — ' I was once wandering through the streets of a great ' city [London most likely] seeking for a lodging. I ' entered a house inhabited by a man and wife of diverse ' religion. I was ignorant of the circumstance, when the ' Angels instantly accosted me, saying, " We cannot remain ' " with you in that house ; for the married partners diflfer ' " in religion." This they perceived from the internal ' disunion of their souls. 'f A fourth is, false religion, which in so far as it prevents union with the Lord prevents that union of souls, which is dependent on union with Him. Nothing is more common than such internal cold, but it is concealed from the world under cover of politeness and bustling kindliness. Partners between whom a frozen void exists can know nothing of the satisfaction and the bliss of that Love, which commencing in the inmost of the Mind terminates in the outmost of the Body ; and should they read or hear of its ineffable joys, they will deride them as fabulous romance.^ II. A first cause of external cold is ' dissimilitude of ' mind and manners induced subsequent to birth by educa- ' tion, social intercourse, and consequent habits ; as for ' example, of an ill-bred man or woman to a well-bred one, * No. 2U. t No. 242. + No. 244. 384 IIEAKTLESS MARRIAGES. ' of neatness to slovenliness, of quarrelsomeness to gentle- ' ness. Such marriages are like the conjunction of sheep ' with goats, stags with mules, turkeys with geese, yea as of ' dogs with cats.'* A second is, ' that Marriage is ranked with adultery, ' only that one is sanctioned by law and the other is not. * A wife is thus equalled with a harlot, and the man is an ' adulterer, if not in body, yet in spirit.' f A third is, ' a strife for pre-eminence, which changes the ' freedom of Love into servitude. During such strife, if ' the minds of the partners were laid open, they would ' appear as boxers regarding each other with alternate ' hatred and favour ; with hatred while in the vehemence of ' strife, and with favour while in the hope of dominion. ' After one has obtained the victory over the other, this ' contention is withdrawn from the externals to the internals ' of the mind, and there abides with its restlessness stored ' up and concealed.' I A fourth is, ' a want of determination to business, ' whence comes wandering lust.' Work keeps the mind circumscribed, vigourous and healthy, whilst idleness throws wide its gates to Hell with all its loose desires. Conjugial Love cannot exist with uselessness ; it flourishes alone in union with activity and alacrity of lifc.§ A fifth is, ' inequality of rank and age ; as of a lad with ' an old woman, or a girl with an old man ; or, as of a ' prince with a maid-servant, or of an illustrious matron * with a servant man ; or of wealth with poverty, unless ' indeed there be a strong congruity of minds, manners ' and desires.' II Note. ' In the Heavens there is no inequality of age, ' rank, or wealth. As to age, all there are in the flower ' of their youth, and continue therein to eternity. As to * No. 246. t No. 247. + No. 248. § No. 219. || No. 250. REPULSIVE BEHAVIOUK. 385 ' rank, all respect others according to the use they per- ' form. The more eminent Angels regard their inferiors ' as brethren ; neither do they prefer rank to usefulness, ' but usefulness to rank. When maidens are given in ' marriage, they do not know from what ancestors they ' are descended ; for no one in Heaven knows his earthly * father, but the Lord is the Father of all.'* Swedenborg next recounts what he considers legitimate causes of separation, as unsoundness of mind, certain states of disease, and impotence. His enumeration of these causes is very cui'ious, but as he recites them in the latter part of his work, we shall, for the present, pass them over. Divorce he only allows in the event of adultery. III. A first cause of accidental cold originates ' in a too ' free indulgence in sexual intercourse, whereby it becomes ' tiresome, even as other pastimes in excess, as theatres, * concerts, balls, and feasts. To obviate this satiety. Wives ' from their innate prudence resist the embraces of their ' Husbands. It is otherwise in Heaven : there it is the de- ' light of the Angels to feel that intercourse is permissible * at discretion, for in it is the consummation of their Love.'f A second is, that marriage is felt to be a bondage — a restraint on amours. Those who feel thus are void of Conjugial Love, which in marriage has perfect freedom. ' I have heard from the Angels, that it is the freest of * Loves, for it is the Love of Loves. ':|: A third is, ' willingness on the side of the Wife and in- * cessant talk about Love whereby the Man is repelled. In ' Heaven there is no such delicacy ; the Angels' Wives are ' always willing and ever at liberty to discourse on Love ; * but I am not permitted to speak of the differences on this ' head between Earth and Heaven because it would be un- * No. 250. t No. 256. i No. 257. 2 c 386 ASSUMED AFFECTION. ' becoming, but [ratber Irish this] they will be found detailed ' in certain Memorabilia at the close of the chapters.'* A fourth is, ' that the Husband fancies his Wife is ' willing, and on the other hand, the Wife fancies the ' Husband is not willing. That this induces cold is well ' known to those who have studied the arcana of Love.'f TJie Causes of Apparent Love^ Friendship and Favour in Marriages. ' Few at this day are married in spirit, but many live ' comfortably together, which they could not do unless there ' were apparent Loves emulous of genuine Love. It is in ' no one's power to prevent internal disagreement ; it is * enough that it be held beneath the surface, and friend- ' ship and favour outwardly assumed. Such assumption is ' necessary and useful ; for without it neither families nor ' society could exist.' f The Spiritual World is organized according to sym- pathies ; there you will be near those you like, and distant from those you dislike ; and no pretence will be available, for the inmost character is there described in the counte- nance, demeanour, and tone of voice, yea in the very odour of the person. Here vested in flesh it is otherwise ; through its dense folds, few can plainly discern their brethren, still less their sisters. § Under it we can hide our feelings, assume what we are not, and associate agreeably with those who inwardly move us to weariness, or even to abhorrence. |1 As every one knows, the majority of marriages are contracted on other terms than those of spiritual affinity. * No. 258. t No. 259. \ No. 271. g ' Woman, by a peculiar power, withdraws her internal affections into ' the inner recesses of her mind.' No. 274. II No. 272. ELECTIVK AFFINITIES. 387 ' The first desire of this age,' says our Author, ' is increase ' of wealth and a full measure of the luxuries of life ; the ' second, a thirst for honour and respectability.'* To win or add to these, is the chief purpose of marriage; and thus, when the first heat of lust has subsided, Husband and Wife usually discover a great inner void between their hearts, which in the Spiritual World would be repre- sented by leagues and leagues of space between them. Spite of this worldliness, something of the great truth, that there is a kinship of Soul between one Man and one Woman in the Universe, and that their conjunction in marriage is of all triumphs the greatest and of all bliss the sweetest, is recognized by every Mind not wholly given over to the Devil. How ' Love laughs at lock- smiths,' breaks every fence, defies every danger, and knows nothing impossible between itself and its consummation, is in some way the life and theme of every drama, poem and tale, and will continue to be so ' world without end.' The story of love will never tire and will never be exhausted. Here arises the question : If a Man and Woman are married, who have no internal relation to each other, whether by their own mistake, or the craft of parents and guardians ; and either of them encounter one whose pre- sence is light and life and joy, Shall the legal fetters of a conventional union hinder that Heart from the fruition of its Love, binding it in hopeless wretchedness to a stone that it drags or a corpse that it loathes ? This problem, French novelists delight to present and solve as Swedenborg says it is solved in the World of Spirits ; as Socialism says it ought to be solved here, and as Schleiermacher and sundry Germans and Americans have boldly advocated and practised. Our first duty, they say, is to yield to the impulse of the Heart and to be true * No. 274. 2 C 2 388 MARRIAOE INDISSOLUBLE. to ourselves and others, and that it is a crime against Nature to live year by year in the pretence of affection where there is only the languor of indifference or the misery of dislike. Cool and prudent Swedenborg sets ISTay against such reasoning. He holds, that Marriage is only dissoluble by death ; the Lord's words are " It is not lawful to put away " a Wife and marry another except for fornication." For just reasons, he permits separation, and allows the Husband to enter into concubinage, but the bonds of wedlock are not to be broken. Such is the Divine Order ; if we examine it, we shall find it justified by Reason as essential to the maintenance of Society ; and therefore, ' that it is necessary^ * useful and right, that where there is no genuine Conjugial Love ' it ought to he assumed.'' * Before giving his reasons for this shrewd advice, and as a help to their appreciation, a few words may not be out of place on those differences which allow a free dissolution of superficial Marriages in the World of Spirits, but which if occurring on Earth would endanger the fabnc of Society itself. Here children are products of Marriage ; in the Spiritual World they are not ; and their interests alone constitute sufficient reason why the union of their parents sliould be maintained inviolable. Women likewise hold most unequal stakes in the conjugal partnership, so that its termination would leave them irreparable losers. In the Spiritual World, the Body cannot be exhausted beyond renewal, for there all acquire and retain to eternity the vigour of youth. There too, the manifest Heart and the unsheathed Senses enable Husband and Wife to discern one another infallibly. Here there is no such facility : masked in the flesh we see * Nos. 276 and 279. ASSUMED AFFECTION. 389 * tlirougli a glass darkly,' and make woful mistakes. Where we are most confident that we are acting rightly we subse- quently discover that we have gone far astray, and if we might drift in and out of Marriage according to feeling ov conscience, we should have no guarantee that the second choice was better than the first, and but too surely should end in boundless debauchery. Hence public opinion and law (which is only public opinion codified) have determined, that the choice made in Marriage shall be a choice for life — ' for better, for worse.' Husbands and Wives may wrangle, but the very fact of the permanence of the partnership leads them to make the best of a bad business, and possibly to convert it into a happy one. We thus see how idle it is to seek a sanction for the abrogation of uncongenial Marriages (as has been done) in the practice of the Spiritual World. Yet if any choose to fulfil the duty indicated by Schleiermacher and ' obey the ^ sacred impulse of the Heart,' there is nothing to hinder save the frown of Society, which many are able to defy as the records of divorce courts attest WTien therefore Husband and Wife become conscious that their union is a crust with no substance underneath, they are not to fly apart. The Love of which they are destitute, let them counterfeit. ' Semblances of conjugial ^ aflfection are not hypocritical ; on the contrary, they are ^ commendable for their usefulness and the ends they secure ; and are moreover demanded by duty and decency.'* The contract 'to love, comfort, and honour' is not annulled because its fulfilment has turned irksome : besides, if the hearts of the contractors have grown cold, there remain a * No. 279. 390 REASONS FOR ASSUMED AFFECTION. common household, purse and reputation to require and justify their unity. Among the ends and uses which the semblances of conjugial affection subserve are these — By them order is preserved in the house, children tended and provided for, and that air of domestic quiet maintained to which the Husband worn with the troubles of the world may resort for rest and refreshment,* By them a Man's reputation out of doors is preserved. ' A Wife knows her Husband's secrets, and if they broke ' into open enmity, she would proclaim them, and bring ' disgrace on his name. To prevent this mischief, he must ' either feign affection or dissolve house-keeping.' f By them ' various favours are secured from relatives ; ' especially in the case of a Man who has married a rich ' Wife, and who hoards her money, and compels him to ' keep house out of his own income ; or, when a Man has ' married a Wife with influential connections in lucrative ' offices or business, and who have it in their power to ' advance his condition.' | By them too Man and Wife are restrained from exposing their ' defects of mind and body and criminal inclinations and as their sexual force abates, they descend into the vale of years in a friendship of gentle offices, which to an ordinary eye may pass for the inward attachment of true Love.§ The semblance of conjugial affection is procured in another and more dreadful way, namely, by the complete subjection of one partner to the other — commonly of the Husband to the Wife. We have here a curious revelation on the subject — ' There are Infernal Marriages in which the partners ' are inwardly inveterate enemies and outwardly the closest * Nos. 281, 283 and 285. t No. 286. t No. 287. § Nos. 288 and 290. OUTWARD LOVE AND INWARD HATE. 391 ' friends. I am forbidden by Wives of this character in ' the Spiritual World to describe these Marriages, lest their ' art of obtaining ascendancy (which they sedulously con- ' ceal) should be exposed. By the Men, on the other hand, ' I am urged to divulge the Women's clandestine arts. I ' shall compromise by giving these particulars. ' The men said, that they unconsciously acquired a ' terror of their Wives, and in consequence were con- ' strained to obey them in the most abject manner, so that * they lost all life and spirit. This was the case, not only ' of ordinary Men, but of lofty dignitaries, yea of brave ' and famous Generals. They also said, that after they ' had acquired this terror, they could not help conducting ' themselves towards their Wives with friendliness, yielding ' to all their humours, whilst at heart they hated them with ' deadly hatred : at the same time the Wives were equally * courteous externally. ' Now as the Men greatly wondered how they could ' thus hate inwardly and love outwardly, they sought for ' the cause in questioning some Women acquainted with ' the secret art. From them they learned, that Wives are ' skilled in a science (which they hide deeply) whereby, if ' they are so disposed, they can subdue Men to their will. ' This, vulgar Women accomplish by alternate quarrels ' and kindness, by harsh and pleasant looks, and similar ' means, and polite Women by urgent petition and per- ' severing resistance, by enforcing their legal equality, and ' threatening, that if turned out of the house they will ' return at pleasure and be importunate as ever. They know ' that Men cannot resist their pertinacity ; and when they ' get them under they keep them under, treating them with 'just so much civility and tenderness as ensures their sway. ' The real cause of the dominion which wives attain by ' this cunning is, that Man acts from the Understanding ' and the Woman from the Will, and the Will can persist 392 MEN FAVOUR POLYGAMY. * as the Understanding cannot. I have been told, that the ' worst of this sort of Women (who are altogether a prey ' to the Love of Kule) can remain firm in their humours to ' the last gasp of life.'* Betrothals and Nuptials. In this chapter we are treated to Swedenborg's notion of proper order of the rites of Marriage, in which there is nothing original beyond the spiritual reasons he assigns for a leisurely and exact performance of Continental, rather than English, customs. Swedenborg was by nature a con- servative. From one end of his writings to the other, I question whether a suggestion or hint occurs towards the amendment of any habit of Society. The right of choice, he says, belongs to the Man, He, by reason of the predominance of the Understanding, is able to come to a sounder conclusion as to what is a suitable union — in a worldly sense, ' Women are born to love, and ' have not the requisite grounds for discrimination ' — again in a worldly sense. Moreover, ' Men love the Sex in ' general : Women one of the Sex in particular.' Hence Men can take a wider survey and make their selection from a numerous variety. ' If you wish for proof, that Men love the Sex in ' general, ask, if you please, the Men you meet, what they ' think of Monogamy and Polygamy ; and you will seldom ' meet one, who will not reply in favour of Polygamy, Ask ' Women the same question, and almost all, except the ' vilest, will reject Polygamy ; whence it is plain, that there ' prevails in them a passion for one of the Sex, thus Con- ' jugial Love.'t * No. 292. For an illustration of the last sentence, see the account of the subjection of Charles XII. by his She-Devil ; Vol. I. page 397 of present work. t No. 296. STEPS TO MAREIAGE. 393 Swedenborg's experience of Men must either have been veiy peculiar, or they must have altered strangely for the better. Where shall we find the Men with even a sneaking favour for Polygamy ? When a maiden has received an offer, she is ' to consult * her parents or guardians, and deliberate with herself ' before she gives consent.' She is to consult her pro- tectors, ' for from her limited experience she can know little * of Men, nor of the property and family of her suitor.'* Consent being given, pledges follow — ' rings, scent- ' bottles, and ribbons, which are the gladnesses of love, and ' which worn in sight exhilarate the spirits, and contain as ' it were the heart of the giver.' f Consent is further assured by ' solemn betrothal,' where- by the Minds of the Lovers are united in anticipation of utter union. After sufficient time has elapsed, ' consecrated 'by a Priest, and celebrated with festivity,' |: Marriage is consummated. The regular accomplishment of these forms is the appro- priate preface to the most sacred and important event of life. If contrariwise ' a Man and Woman reject betrothal, ' and precipitate Marriage without looking to the Lord and ' consulting their Reason, but simply yielding to the lust of ' the flesh, the marrows are burned up and Conjugial Love ' consumed.' The fruit is plucked before it is ripe ; sour and unsavoury is its flavour, and unkind and innutritious its effects. § Repeated Marriages. ' It may be a matter of question whether Conjugial ' Love can be transferred to another after the decease of a ' partner ; also whether repeated Marriages have anything ' in common with Polygamy ; and similar inquirieSj which * Nos. 298 and 209. f No. 300. t Nos. 308 to 310. g No. 312. 394 REASONS FOR RENEWED WEDLOCK. ' often add scnxple to scruple with those of a reasoning ' spirit. In order that they may no longer grope in the * dark, I adduce these remarks.'* Whether a widower or widow should marry again de- pends entirely on the chai'acter of the union with the partner who has retreated to the Spiritual World. If the union was a real one, there must needs be an aversion to a new connection. Over Hearts knit together conjugially, Death is powerless. Hidden from one another as to Body, Husband and Wife are one in Spirit, and as soon as kind Death undoes the last fetters of the flesh they are re-united eternally. ' Such unions however are at this day rare ; there are ' few who make any approach to them. Marriages interiorly ' conjunctive can scarcely be contracted on Earth, for elec- ' tions of internal likenesses cannot be provided by the ' Lord as in the Heavens. Choice is limited in many ways ; ' as by equals in rank and estate within the same country, ^ city, and village.' f With those who have not been internally united, there is nothing to hinder a repetition of wedlock. Their union was little more than physical, and the tie being undone, they are free to choose again as inclination or prudence may dictate. So likewise with even those who have been blest in Conjugial Love ; for external reasons they may deem it expedient to renew wedlock ; as for example— ' 1. If there are children in the house, and a new mother ' is wanted for them. ' 2. If there is a wish for a further increase of children. ' 3. If the house is large, and full of servants of both ' sexes. ' 4, If the calls of business abroad divert the mind from * No. 317. t Nos. 318 and 320. MONOGAMY VERSUS POLYGAMY. 395 ' domestic concerns, and without a new mistress there is ' reason to fear disorder and misfortune. ' 5. If business requires the co-operation of Man and ' Wife. ' 6. If the former Marriage has been so pleasant, that ' the surviving partner cannot endure solitude. ' 7. If sexual passion is too strong for celibacy ; and for ' other external reasons,'* Polygamy. ' The reason why Polygamy is absolutely condemned in ' Christendom cannot be clearly seen unless it is known, ' that there exists a Love truly Conjugial ; that this Love can * only exist between Two; nor between Two^ except from the Lord ' ahne / and that into that Love is inserted Heaven with all its '• felicities.'' '\ Unless this knowledge precede, it is vain to try to frame a rational defence of Monogamy against Polygamy. It is true that Monogamy is prescribed by the Lord and is the custom of Christendom, but Why? Solely, says Sweden- borg, on account of the truths comprised in the foregoing paragraph. ' Though Conjugial Love is rare, Who does not know, ' that there is such a Love ? and that for excellency and ' satisfaction it is paramount among Loves ? That it ' exceeds the Love of Self, the Love of the World, and ' even the Love of Life is testified by experience. Are ' there not Men, who for a dearly loved Woman will bow ' the knee, adore her as a goddess, and submit as slaves to ' her will and pleasure ? a plain proof that this Love ' exceeds the Love of Self. Are there not Men, who for ' such a Woman, will make light of wealth ? a plain proof ' that this Love exceeds the Love of the World. Are there * Nos. 319 and 321. t No. 332. 396 THE GLORY OF MONOGA.MY. ' not Men, who for such a Woman, will treat Life as worth- ' less, and who are ready to die in battle or duel for her ' sake ? a plain proof that this Love exceeds the Love of ' Life. Lastly, have not Men gone mad from having been ' denied a place in some Woman's favour ?'* To love is to be happy : the happiest is he who loves most : to love deeply is to be deeply happy ; and as the whole world owns, that there is no Love which for depth and intensity can compare with Conjugial Love, there is therefore no source of happiness to equal it. What joy in Earth or Heaven can surpass that of a Husband in his Wife, or of a Wife in her Husband ! and except in Mono- gamy, how is such happiness attainable ? The very thought of Polygamy is its annihilation. ' Man promises himself eternal blessedness in Marriage ' with the dear and desired object of his love. To one '■ Woman he has devoted himself, and might he choose from ' the whole Sex the worthiest, the wealthiest, and the most ' beautiful, he would despise the oWer. ' Thus celestial blessednesses, spiritual satisfactions, and ' natural delights can only exist with one Wife ; and into ' the Love of Husband and Wife, the Lord has collected all ' possible blessings, satisfactions, and dehghts.'f Monogamy is the law of Christianity ; and its felicity can only be experienced by Christians, that is, ' by those ' who come to the Lord and live according to His command- ' ments.' Outside His rule there is no Conjugial Love. With Polygamy there cannot exist Christianity. When a Christian enters into Polygamy, he ceases to be a Christian ; and as he denies the Truth in which he was bred, and pro- fanes the Word and the holy correspondence of Marriage, he is guilty not only of natural, but of spiritual adultery.} ' The damnation of Christian Polygamists is very griev- * No. 3;33. t Nos. 333 and 335. X Nos. 336 to 339. NATURE OF POLYGAMY. 397 ' ous. I inquired as to their state after death, and I * received for answer, that Heaven is altogether closed to ' them. In Hell, they appear at a distance as lying in ' warm water in the recess of a bath (a representation of ' their intestine phrensy), but when approached, they are ' seen on their feet and walking ; also, that some of them * are thrown into whirlpools in the borders of the worlds.'* The Israelites were permitted to marry several Wives, because they were in a merely natural condition. There are many things which may be practised in an animal state, which, if attempted in the bloom of Christian life, are perdition. Winter is harmless over the stones and sand of a desert, but a day of winter in the midst of summer would play havoc with the finished work of spring and the hope of autumn in a garden. Even so with Polygamy among Jews and Christians. ' Mahometans are permitted to marry several Wives ' because they do not acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ to ' be one with Jehovah, the Father, and thereby to be the ' God of Heaven and Earth, and therefore they cannot 'receive Love truly Conjugial'f — the chastity, purity and sanctity of which are derived and inseparable from Chris- tianity. A Polygamist is in his very nature lascivious, and cannot therefore see, or acknowledge Christian Truth.:|: Polygamy is not sin to those who live in it rehgiously, and who abide in a merely natural condition — as do the Mahometans. Wherefore Polygamists have their own Heavens into which all come, ' who acknowledge God and ' live according to the civil laws of justice for His sake. In ' such God is ; and every one in whom God is, is saved.'§ ' The Heaven of the Mahometans is divided into two — ' a superior and an inferior, as I have learned from them- ' selves. In the inferior Heaven, they live with several * No. 339. t No. 341. t Nos. 345 and 346. § Nos. 348 to 351. 398 ANGER OF CONJUGIAL LOVE. ' Wives and Concubines as on earth ; but in the superior ' Heaven, they renounce Concubines and live with one ' Wife. ' Mahometanisn could not have been received by so ' many Nations, nor eradicated their idolatries, had not ' Polygamy been permitted. Without its permission, the ' Orientals would have burned with the fire of filthy ' adultery, and would have perished.'* Christian and Mahometan Angels cannot associate — ' K they came together the Christian Angels would ' become natural and thereby adulterers, or, if they re- ' mained spiritual, they would be sensible of a lascivious ' sphere, which would interrupt the blessedness of their * life. On the other hand, the sphere of the Christian ' Angels would afflict the Mahometans ; they would insinu- ' ate that Polygamy was sin, chide them continually, and ' mortify all their delights. Wherefore their Heavens are * kept perfectly distinct.' f Jealousy. ' There is a just and an unjust Jealousy. The passion ' is a just one with those who love each other, who dread ' the violation of their affection, and who grieve when it ' is injured. It is unjust in the case of those, who are ' naturally suspicious, and whose thoughts are sickly in ' consequence of viscous and bilious blood. Moreover * all Jealousy is by some accounted a vice — especially by ' whoremongers.':}: Jealousy is the zeal or anger of Conjugial Love — ' All Love bursts into anger, yea into fury, when dis- ' turbed in its delights. Such wrath accompanies every * Love, even in the most pacific creatures : hens, geese. * Nos. 342 and 343. t No. 352. X No. 357. VARIETIES OF JEALOUSY. 399 ' and birds of every kind lose their fear and fly at those ' who molest their young or rob them of their meat.'* Inasmuch as Conjugial Love is the chief of Loves, its anger is most terrible and is well named Jealousy — ' Zelo- ' typia from zeli typus^ the type of zeal.' Jealousy is latent in all Conjugial Love; ready to leap forth like fire and consume whoever would touch, harm, or destroy its joy. The Jealousy of the Good is altogether different from that of the Evil. With the Good, it is simply defensive and is satisfied when aggresion ceases ; with the Evil, it is cruel, pitiless, and insatiable, f Conjugial Love being rare, its Jealousy is rare, but there is much which simulates it, as is even seen in the Licentious and Polygamists. Jealousy with such is not anger, grief, or terror regarding a Love they never had nor knew, but is envy and spite, and dread of the world's opinion and the world's tongue. ' It is well known, that Jealousy exists among beasts ' and birds, lions and tigers, bears and bulls ; and is most * conspicuous among dung-hill cocks, who, in favour of ' their hens, fight with their rivals unto death. The reason ' why cocks are thus jealous, is because they are vain- * glorious lovers, and the glory of that love cannot brook ' an equal. That they are vainglorious lovers is obvious ' from their gesture, nods, gait, and tone of voice.'j: ' The quality of Jealousy among Polygamists has been ' described by eastern travellers. The wives and concubines ' of the Mahometans are shut up hke prisoners in work- ' houses, guarded by eunuchs, and whipped if they look at ' a man with a lascivious eye, and killed if they admit any ' but their master to their embraces. § ' Jealousy with partners who do not love each other ' arises from a dread of scandal and domestic disorder. If * No. 358 t Nos. 363 to 366. t No. 378. § No. 369. 400 VAllIETIES OF JEALOUSY. any one takes away what they call their ' honour,' they feel as if they cannot hold up their heads In society. This 'honour' is an essential of bravery; wherefore military men have it more than others. ' J ealousy also arises from mental and physical weakness. There are jealous men who are always dreaming that their wives are unfaithful merely because they talk in a friendly manner with or about men. Such suspicions introduce the mind to Societies of Jealous Spirits from whence it cannot be rescued without difficulty. The mental ailment is also confirmed in a physical, in which the serum, and conse- quently the blood, is thick, tenacious, slow and acrid.'* In some cases there is no Jealousy — ' Its absence is chiefly in those who make no difference between Conjugial and Adulterous Love, and who care nothing for their reputation : they are not unlike married pimps. ' There is no Jealousy likewise with those who have arrived at the decision, that it is an idle fear ; that it is useless to watch a wife ; that to do so serves only to incite her to mischief ; and that therefore it is better to shut the eyes, and not even peep through a key-hole lest anything be discovered. ' Some reject Jealousy on account of the reproach attached to it, and under the conviction that it becomes a man to be afraid of nothing. Others reject it lest their domestic order should suff'er ; others from the public odium attached to a wife's conviction. ' Moreover Jealousy passes off into naught with those who wink at their wives because of their own impotence, and with the hope of a procreation of children with a view to inheritance ; also in some cases for the sake of gain, and so forth. Nos, 373 and 374. PHILOPROGRNITIVENESS. 401 ' There are also disorderly marriages in which by mutual * consent unlimited amours are allowed to each partner, and ' each is civil and complaisant with the other when they ' meet.'* ' The Conjunction of Conjugial Love with the Love of Lnfants.'' Swedenborg describes the Love of Children as derived and inseparable from Conjugial Love. ' It may be objected,' he says, ' that married partners who disagree entirely, or ' who even live apart, have a stronger and tenderer affection ' for infants than those who love each other, but we are not ' to be led away by such appearances, for they are fallacies, ' Conjugial Love is the origin of the Love of Infants, and a ' wise man commences from causes and descends analytically * to effects, and not vice versa.'' Amongst many, ' two ' Spheres proceed from the Lord, na.mely, the Sphere of ' Procreating and the Sphere of Protecting what is Pro- ' created. These Spheres pervade the Universe, Animal, ' Vegetable, and Mineral, and are received and manifested ' in Man as Conjugial Love and the Love of Infants.' f We have here an amusing example of the passion for system at any cost, and when cautioned ' to disregard ' appearances as fallacies' are reminded of the well-worn story of the theorist, who when assured, that his doctrine did not square with facts, exclaimed, " Then so much the " worse for the facts !" Conjugial Love as Cause has not its equivalent as Effect in the Love of Children. The genesis and order of these Loves may be as he alleges in the Divine Spheres, but if so, they are absorbed and manifested in endless variety of measure in Men and Women. As common observation and phrenology prove, Amativeness and Philo- progenitiveness are far from existing in equal proportion. No. 376. t Nos. 385 to 390. 2 D I 402 PIIILOPROGENITIVENESS. | We SCO everywhere vigourous sexual passion in combination with indifference to offspring, and again intense affection for children united with feeble procreative desire. Doubtless Pliiloprogenitiveness was designed to care for what Araa- tiveness produced, but in the Individual they are rarely found in the due equality of Cause and Effect. ' The Sphere of the Love of Infants affects the Evil and ' the Good as experience testifies ; likewise tame and wild ' beasts ; yea in some cases the Love is more ardent in the ' Evil and in wild beasts. The reason is, that all Love ' from the Lord is changed into Life according to the Form ' in which it is received ; and the Evil, seeing themselves ' in their offspring, love them with the vehemence with ' which they love themselves. Thus it is, that the affection ' for their young is stronger in wild beasts, as lions and ' lionesses, he and she-bears, leopards and leopardesses, he ' and she-wolves, and such like, than in horses, deer, goats, ' and sheep.'* As we have learnt, Conjugial Love originates in Women and is inspired by them into Men, so likewise the Love of Infants — ' It is well known, that Mothers are influenced by a ' most tender Love of Infants, and Fathers by a Love less ' tender. That the Love of Infants is inherent in Conjugial ' Love is evident from the delight of girls in babies, and in ' dolls, which they carry, dress, kiss, and press to their ' bosoms : boys are not at all affected in the same way.'f The Lord is present in Infants as Innocence, and the Innocence in them excites any remains thereof in the Parents with a most holy and exquisite delight. This affec- tion of Innocence by Innocence is accomplished through the Senses — ' By the eyes in seeing Infants, by the ears in hearing No. 392. t No. 39-3. THE LORD IN CHILDREN. 403 ' them, [their soft goo-goo] by their odour, and especially ' by touch, as is plain from the satisfaction felt in bearing ' them in the arms, in fondling and kissing them ; and this ' particularly in Mothers, who are delighted in burying ' the face and mouth in their bosoms, in touching them ' with the palms of their hands, in suckling them at their ' breasts, in stroking their naked bodies, and in unwearied ' pains in washing and dressing them on their laps.'* As Innocence retires, differences of character and self- will separate Parents and Children. The Love of Children is very different in Spiritual from what it is in Natural Parents — ' The Spiritual love their Children for what is Good in * them — for intelligence, usefulness and piety. If they do ' not observe such virtues in them, they are alienated, and ' they do no more for them than they consider their duty ' requires. ' The Natural regard their Children as portions of them- * selves, and fawn upon them beyond all bounds. When ' they have passed out of infancy, they do not love them ' from any fear of God, or for their virtues or good * morals, but only for their external qualities, which they ' favour and indulge, closing their eyes on their vices, and ' excusing and allowing them. Their Love of their off- * spring is SeLf-Love.'f The criterion here as elsewhere is the presence of the Lord — of Him as Goodness and as Wisdom. Him only ought we to love, and whatever be the package, be it Parent, Husband, Wife, Child, Family, or Country, if He is not the contents, there is nothing to claim the affection or respect of the Spiritual Man. As the Lord said, " He " that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy * No. 396. t No. 405. 2 D 2 404 PAKENTS AND CHILDREN. " of me : and he that loveth son or daughter more than " me is not worthy of me." ' When they come into the other life, most Fathers * recollect the Children who have died before them ; and ' when they ask, they are brought to them. ' Spiritual Fathers only look at their children and * inquire as to their pi'esent condition ; and if it is well, ' they rejoice, but if ill, they grieve. After some conver- ' sation and admonition they separate ; the Fathers telling ' them, that they are no longer their Children, and that the ' Lord alone is their Father. ' Natural Fathers instantly embrace their Children, and ' they become united like a bundle of rods ; and the Father ' is continually pleased with watching and talking to them. ' If he is told that some of them are Satans, and have ' done injury to the Good, he pays no attention ; if even ' he sees them do wrong, he is still indifferent. In order * to break up their hurtful association, they are of necessity ' committed to Hell. There the Father is shut up before ' the eyes of his Children, and they are severally remitted ' to their own places. ' To the above, I will add this wonderful relation. ' I have seen Fathers in the Spiritual World regard ' Infants brought under their eyes with such rage, that they ' could have murdered them, when it was hinted, (though ' without truth) that they were their own. Instantly their ' rage subsided, and they loved them to excess. ' Such love and hatred exist in those who on Earth ' have been inwardly deceitful, and have had minds at ' enmity with the Lord.'* The course of the treatise is broken at Intervals by ' Memorabilia' — adventures and discussions in the Spiritual * Nos. 406 and 407. A COUPLE FliOM EDEX. 405 World chiefly illustrative of Conjugial Love : some contain curious items of experience, touched with poetry, bvit the Interest usually evaporates in long-winded disquisitions — Angels, male and female, launching out into most intolerable Swedenborgiau metaphysics. Here is a picture of a Husband and Wife from the Third Heaven cut out of a panel — ' One morning I was looking upwards into Heaven and ' heard a voice as of a trumpet, saying — ' " We have perceived, that thou art meditating on ' " Conjugial Love, and we are aware that no one on Earth ' " knows anything of its origin and essence : yet it is * " important that Conjugial Love should be understood. * " With us in the Heavens, and especially in the Highest ' " Heaven, our chief delights spring from Conjugial Love. ' " We shall therefore send down a Husband and Wife for ' " thy inspection." ' Instantly a chariot, glittering like a diamond, and ' drawn by two young snow-white horses, descended from ' the Inmost Heaven. I saw in It one iVngel, but as it drew * near, I saw there were two, with turtle-doves in their ' hands. They said to me — ' " We are a conjugial pair : we have lived in Heaven ' " since what you call the Golden Age, and in the bloom of ' " youth as you now see us." ' I sui'veyed them attentively and discerned their cha- ^ racter In their countenances and raiment. The Husband ' appeared of a middle-age, between youth and manhood. ' His eyes sparkled with the wisdom of love, and his face ' was of a resplendent comeliness. He wore a robe, which ' touched his feet, over a vesture of hyacinthlne blue, girt ' about with a golden girdle on which were a sapphire on ' each side and a carbuncle in the centre. His shoes were ' of velvet, and his stockings of bright linen interwoven ' with silver. ' I saw his Wife's face and did not see it : I saw it was 406 A DAZZLING VISION. ' essential beauty, and did not see it, for its loveliness was ' indescribable : it flamed with a light which dimmed my * sight, so that I was lost in astonishment ; observing which, * she asked — What do you see?" ' " I see nothing but Conjugial Love and the form ' " thereof : I see and I do not see." ' Thereon she turned sideways from her husband, and I ' was able to view her more steadily. Her eyes were bright ' and sparkling from the light of her own Heaven : there ' Wives love their Husbands for their wisdom, and Husbands ' their Wives for their love of their wisdom ; thus are they ' united. This love of wisdom was the origin of her beauty, ' which no painter could set forth. Her hair was dressed to ' match her countenance : in it were inserted diadems of ' flowers. She wore a necklace of carbuncles from which ' hung a rosary of crysolites. On her wrists were pearl ' bracelets. Her upper robe was scarlet : underneath which * there was a purple stomacher fastened in front with clasps ' of rubies. What however surprised me was, that the ' colours she wore varied according to her attitude towards ' her Husband : they glittered as she turned to him, and ' grew dull as she turned from him. ' When I had done looking, we conversed. When the ' Husband spoke, his Wife seemed to speak likewise ; and * when she spoke, he seemed to speak too : this union of ' speech resulted from the union of their minds. I discerned ' the innocence and peace of Conjugial Love in their tones. ' The interview ended in their saying — " We are re- ' " called : we must depart." A chariot conveyed them away ' along a paved road bordered with flowering shrubs and beds ' of olive and orange trees laden with fruit. As they drew ■ near their own Heaven they were welcomed by virgins. ' Afterwards I saw an Angel from their Heaven with a ' roll of parchment in his hand. He imfolded it, saying — ADULTERY REVEALED BY MARRIAGE. 407 ' " I see you are meditating on Conjugial Love : in this * " parchment are contained arcana respecting that Love, ' " which have never yet been disclosed to the world. They ' " are now to be disclosed, and I prophesy, none will receive ' " that Love except those whom the Lord leads into the ' " New Church which is the New Jerusalem." ' An Angelic Spirit received the parchment and laid it * on a table in a certain closet which he instantly locked, and * holding out the key to me, said — ' " Write."* Adulterous Love. What is the origin of Marriage? Its origin is the desire of Goodness for Wisdom. As we have seen, Con- jugial Love is the passion of Woman as Goodness for Man as Wisdom. Where there is neither Goodness nor Wisdom there can be no Conjugial Love : hence Swedenborg's assurance, that there is no true Marriage except with the Righteous ; that Marriage is confined to Heaven ; and ' that Heaven as a whole is called Marriage.' f Everything in the Universe has its opposite; and having learnt what Conjugial Love is, we are in a fair way to understand its antagonist — Adulterous Love. The one is inappreciable without acquaintance with the other — ' For who can know what is Evil and False unless he ' knows what is Good and True ? and who knows what is ' unchaste, dishonourable, and ugly, unless he knows what * is chaste, honourable, and lovely ? In like manner. Who ^ can clearly discern what is the quality of Adultery unless he ' has first cleai'ly discerned what is the quality of Marriage ? ' and who can make a just estimate of the filthiness of the ' pleasures of Adulterous Love, but he who has first made ' a just estimate of the purity of Conjugial Love? No one » Nos. 42 and 43. 408 MARRIAGE AND ADULTERY CONFOUNDED. ' knows Good from Evil, but Evil from Good ; for Evil is ' in darkness, whereas Good is in light.'* The origin of Marriage being the desire of Goodness for Wisdom it follows, that the origin of Adultery is the desire of Evil for Falsity — ' It is to be observed, that Evil loves the False, and ' desires to be one with it, even as Good loves Truth and ' desires to be one with it. Thus the spiritual origin of ' Adultery is the connubial connection of what is Evil with ' what is False. 't Hence all the Wicked are Adulterers whatever may be their conduct on Earth: they carry the principle of Adultei-y in their hearts ; wherefore as Heaven as a whole is called Marriage, so ' Hell as a whole is called ' Adultery — \ ' All who are in Hell arc in the lust, lasciviousness, and ' immodesty of Adulterous Love, and shun and dread the ' chastity and modesty of Conjugial Love ; for those two ' Loves are diametrically opposed to each other as Hell to ' Heaven, and Heaven to Hell.'§ Whilst each Adulterer in Hell is bound to a single paramour, there is in every Adulterer an inclination to license and an inability to perceive any reason beyond convenience in Monogamy — ' When a Man is in the lust of Adultery, his Will forces ' his Understanding to justify it, asking. What is Adultery? ' Is there any harm in it ? Is there not the same harm in ' the connection of Husband and Wife ? Are not children * equally born as in Marriage?' II As to the diflference between Marriage and Adultery, the World at this day is generally blind — ' On a certain time the Angels assembled some hundreds * Nos. 424 and 425. f No. 428. t No. 520. § No. 429. II 'Be Divina Providentia,' No. 144. VARIETIES OF ADULTEKY. 409 ' from Europe, who had been distinguished for their genius, ' erudition and wisdom, and questioned them concerning ' the distinction between Marriage and Adultery. After ' consultation all except ten replied, that the Law of the ' State constitutes the only distinction. They were next ' asked, Whether they saw any good in Marriage and any ' evil in Adultery. They answered, that they did not see any ' good or evil which could be defined by Reason. Being ' further questioned. Whether they saw any sin in Adultery, ' they asked, " Where is the sin? Is not the act alike?" ' The Angels were amazed at these answers, and ex- ' claimed, " O ! the gross stupidity of the Age ! Who can ' " measure its quality and quantity !" ' The hundreds of wise ones on hearing these exclama- ' tions laughed loudly among themselves, saying, " Why ' " are we grossly stupid ? Is there any reason, that for ' " the love of another's Wife, a Man should incur eternal damnation?'"* Adulteries are of three genera — simple, duplicate, and triplicate. ' Simple Adultery is that of an unmarried Man with ' another's Wife, or of an unmarried Woman with another's ' Husband.' Duplicate Adultery is that of a Husband with another's Wife, ' and is two-fold more grievous.' Tripli- cate Adultery is with those of the same blood : ' it is called ' triplicate for it is three-fold more grievous.' f Again there are four degrees of Adulteries according to the guilt attached to them after death. | Adulteries of the first degree are those committed in ignorance, ' as by a youth who does not know that Adultery ' is worse than Fornication, or by a very simple, or by a * No. 478. t Nos. 479, 480, -182 and 484. t No 485. 410 VARIETIES OF ADULTERY. ' very weak-minded fellow, or in drunkenness. In such ' cases Adulteries are mild.'* Adulteries of the second degree are those in which the Understanding is momentarily overpowered by Lust, ' as ' for example when a Wife entices a Man into her chamber, ' and especially if she at the same time threatens to expose him if he does not consent : or on the other hand, when ' a man so works upon another's Wife as no longer to leave ' her mistress of herself. 'f There is many a spotless reputation which hides a Devil, and many a spotted one which hides an Angel. Many fall into Adultery unwillingly and regretfully : many Celibates 'commit Adultery in heart' daily. Hence the wisdom of the Lord's counsel, " Judge not."^: Adulteries of the third degree are those of Satan s — of Men who argue themselves into the opinion, that Adulteries are not sius.§ Adulteries of the fourth degree are those of Devils — of Men who make them lawful and pleasureable, who indulge in them as matters of course, and consider their defence superfluous. II Adultery passes into other and more dreadful forms, as * the lust of defloration,' ' the lust of varieties,' ' the lust of * violation,' and ' the lust of seducing innocencies.'** Such monstrous perversions of sexual passion induce horrible conditions after death, some of which are described by Swedenborg in prosaic detail ; but I forbear quotation. It is diflficult, yea often impossible, to decide in whom Conjugial and in whom Adulterous Love prevails. ' There ' are Marriages in which Conjugial Love does not appear ' and yet is, and there are Marriages in which it does * Nos. 486 and 487. f No. 488. J No. 453. § No. 490. || No. 492. ** Nos. 501 to 514. APPEARANCES ILLUSIVE. 411 ' appear and yet is not.' Of this however we may rest assured, that sacred Love is born and bred in Keligion; wherefore in every Good Heart it abides, and whatever may be the sexual lot of that Heart on Earth it enters into the fruition of its secret passion beyond the grave.* ' There are many reasons which prevent an Adulterer ' from being one in act whilst he is one in spirit. There are ' some who abstain from fear of legal penalties, from fear of ' loss of reputation, from fear of disease, from fear of ' quarrels at home, from fear of the husband's vengeance, ' from fear of being beaten by the servants, from poverty, ' avarice, age, impotence. If any one abstains from such * reasons he is an Adulterer, and after death his character is ' displayed manifestly.'! Widely must we separate verbal and professional virtue from real virtue — ' Make an experiment. Catch a Jesuit, Hear him dis- ' course in company, or preach in a temple on the Church ' and Heaven and Hell, and probably he will move you to ' sighs and tears for your salvation. Take him home, flatter ' him excessively, call him the father of wisdom, and make ' yourself his friend until he opens his heart. Then you ' will discover what he really thinks of God, the Church, ' and Heaven and Hell — that they are mere fancies and ' delusions — bonds invented for Souls whereby great and ' small, rich and poor, may be caught and kept under ' dominion, The Earthly and the Spiritual estimates of crime are very different — ' Various circumstances on Earth mitigate and aggravate ' crimes, but a Man's deeds are made no account of after ' death, but simply their results as displayed in the forma- ' tion of his character. * No, 531 t No. 494. X No. 499. 412 FOKNICATION NOT ADULTERY. ' Thus in the case of Adulteries : these are imputed to * every one, not according to deeds, but according to mo- * tives ; for deeds pass with the Body to the tomb, but the ' Mind with its motives rises again. * ' I have met with several who on Earth lived outwardly ' like others, dressed gaily, traded on borrowed money, ' frequented theatres, conversed jocosely on love affairs, and ' so on. The Angels charged some with such conduct as ' sin, and others not. On being questioned why they did ' so when the deeds were ahke, they rephed, that they ' regard all from purpose, intention, or end, and distinguish ' accordiugly.'t Fornication. Adultery is condemned without reserve by Swedenborg ; it is with him a synonym for Plell ; but he begs, that we do not confound it with Fornication, Avhich he defines as ' the ' lust of a youth or man with a harlot before marriage. Fornication is of a neutral character ; it is grievous as it inclines to Adulterous Love ; it is venial as it inclines to Conjugial Love.§ ' "We must take a clear view of the degrees and diversi- ' ties of the Love of the Sex, of its chaste pi'inciples on ' the one side, and of its unchaste on the other, arranging ' each into genera and species. Without these distinctions ' all relation perishes ; Fornication is identified with Adul- ' tery, and diverse Evils reduced to one pottage and diverse ' Goods to one paste. ' Every one sees from common sense, that Fornication is * No. 530. t No. 453 ; this experience is repeated ' by permission' in a subsequent work, ^Summaria Sxpositio,' No. 113, and again in 'Vera Cliristiana Eeligio' No. 523. X No. 444. f Nos. 444 and 449 ; also 463. FORNICATION ALLOWABLE. not Adultery. What law or what judge imputes a like criminality to a Fornicator and an Adulterer ? The reason is, that Fornication is not opposed to Conjugial Love as is Adultery. Conjugial Love may lie hidden in Fornication as what is Spiritual in what is Natui-al, even as wood is invested in hark and a sword in a scabbard.'* Fornication is for some a necessity — ' With those in whom the Love of the Sex is vigourous, it cannot be denied indulgence without serious mischief to the Body and the Mind. With those in whom the passion is weak and who can resist its sallies, and with those who can marry early without injury to their fortune, there is no excuse for Fornication. In Heaven where Marriage is coincident with puberty, Fornication is unknown. The case is different on Earth where wedlock cannot be contracted until youth is past, and where under some Governments it is forbidden until sufficient means are secured to maintain • a family. ' For this cause, as is well known, stews are tolerated by kings and magistrates in great cities, as in London, ' Amsterdam, Paris, Vienna, Venice, Naples, and even ' Rome.'t For Men of strong passions and unable to marry ' there ' seems to be no other refuge than keeping a Mistress. '' By this means promiscuous and inordinate fornications ' are avoided, a state resembling wedded life induced, the ' heat of lust mitigated, the strength preserved from waste ' in vague amours, mental and physical disease averted, and ' adulteries and other debaucheries escaped. '| The Mistress must be neither a Maiden nor a Wife — ' If a Maiden, a virgin is converted into a harlot, who ' might have been a Bride or a chaste Wife, and some Man ' is thereby defrauded. . . . Whoever takes a Maiden and * Nos. 444 and 449 ; also 463. f Nos. 98, 450 and 451. X No. 459. 414 CONDITIONS OF FORNICATION. ' makes her a Mistress may indeed dwell with her, and ' thereby initiate her into the friendship of love, but he ' must do it with the constant intention to make her his ' Wife. ' The Mistress must not be a Wife, for if a Wife then ' Adultery is committed.'* He who forms such a connection must make its terms clear, using no deception and exciting no expectations, keeping it strictly physical — ' The love of a Mistress is unchaste, natural, and ex- ' ternal ; the love of a Wife is chaste, spiritual, and internal. ' The Minds of a Man and his Mistress are distinct ; their ' union is limited to the Body ; should however a tenderer ' affection spring up — should their hearts become engaged, ' and the Man leave her and marry another, then he ' destroys Conjugial Love in himself. ' These observations are not intended for those who can ' govern their lusts, or who can enter into Marriage in their ' youth. ... It is far better, that the torch of love be lighted ' with a Wife.'t To discuss the subject of Fornication superficially would be worse than useless; to discuss it thoroughly is beyond our province ; but I cannot leave the matter without expressly disowning sympathy with Swedenborg's treatment of the case. Admitting the mischiefs of Celibacy to the fullest, I shrink from the remedy of Mistress-keeping, seeing no ad- vantage in it whatever, economical or otherwise. It may be, that in some or many cases early Marriage is incon- venient, but what inconvenience will a Christian set against the shame of Fornication and the degradation of Woman ? To speak the truth is often highly inconvenient, but a moralist does not encourage us to evade the inconvenience * No. 460. t Nos. 459 and 460. MISTRESSES AND WIVES. 415 by falsehood. No, he says, speak the truth and bear the penalty. So with Sexual Passion. Gratify it in honest wedlock, and accept the consequences. Certain I am, that the Devil never contrived a more pernicious delusion than that, which issued in its most philosophic shape from the brain of the well-meaning Malthus. Over population from early marriages was never anything but an arithmetical chimera, but who will compare the imaginary difficulties of over population with the positive evils of prostitution — with its manifold abominations, diseases, extravagance, miseries ? It is to be feared that Swedenborg's own habits betrayed him into this apology for Fornication. Amazing is his heathenish neglect of the Woman in the prescribed transaction ! A youth of vigourous passions may keep a Mistress and thereby preserve mental and physical equanimity ; but what of the Woman thus sacri- ficed ? Nothing : Swedenborg has not a word to say about her, though Hell is her portion.* True, the Mistress must be neither Maid nor Wife ; but how Mistresses thus qualified are to be procured, he leaves us to infer. Concubinage. His treatment of Concubinage, defined as ' the inter- ' course of a married man with a harlot,' f is even more repulsive. ' There are two kinds of Concubinage, which differ ' exceedingly as dirty linen from clean — the one conjointly ' with a Wife, the other apart from a Wife.| ' Concubinage conjointly with a Wife is altogether un- ' lawful for Christians and detestable. As soon as any one ' without just cause adjoins a Concubine to a Wife, Heaven ' is closed to him, and by the Angels he is no longer * 'Arcana Ccelestia,' No. 1,113. t No. 462. i No. 463. 416 SANCTIONS FOR CONCUBINAGE. ' numbered among Christians. From that time he despises ' the Church and Religion, and turns to Nature as his Deity. ' He is a Poljgamist. He commits Adultery and destroys * in himself the Conjugial Principle, which is the most ' precious jewel of the Christian Life. ' Let it be carefully noted however, that this is the case ' only with him, who keeps up intercourse with a Wife and ' a Concubine at the same time. It is not at all the case ' with him who for good reasons divides himself from his ' Wife and keeps a Woman.'* The valid reasons for Concubinage are set forth under tkree heads, namely, L legitimate, II. just, and III. truly excusatory. I. A legitimate license is the Adultery of the Wife, who, undivorced, is retained at home— ' 1st. Because the Husband is afraid to accuse her ' publicly for lack of legal proof, and thereby incur the ' secret reproaches of men and the open reproaches of ' women. ' 2nd. Because he is afraid his Adulteress should have ' the cunning to clear herself, and likewise secure the favour * of the judges, and thus his name suflfer in the public ' estimation, ' 3rd. Because domestic reasons may make divorce un- ' adviscable. The Adulteress may be an affectionate mother ' to the children. Husband and Wife may be bound to- ' gether by mutual services, which cannot be terminated. ' The Wife may have influential connections from whom an ' increase of fortune is expected. The Husband may have ' lived with her from the beginning in habits of agreeable ' intimacy, and after her fall she may be able to soothe him ' with pleasantry and civility.' f Nos. 464, 465, and 466. t No. 469. CATALOGUE OF SANCTIONS. 417 Under these circumstances a Husband is free to keep a Mistress. II. A just license is found in causes which separate from the bed as in — ' Vitiated States of the Body, ' Putrid exhalations from ■ ulcers or abscesses in the ■ lungs. ' Lipothamia, or a total faint- • ness of the body. ' Paralysis. ' Epilepsy. ' Permanent infirmity from ' apoplexy. ' Certain chronic diseases. ' The iliac passion. ' Rupture, and other diseases ' described in pathology. ' Contagious di ' Malignant fevers. ' Leprosies. ' Venereal disease. ' Diseases which destroy sociability and from which dangerous effluvia exhale. ' Pocks, warts, pustules, scor- ■butic phthisis, virulent scab, ' especially if it disfigures the ' face. ' Foul eructations from the ' stomach. ' Vitiated States op the Mind. ' Insanity. I ' Foolishness and idiocy. 'Frenzy. | ' Loss of memory and the like. ' These being just causes of separation are likewise just ' causes of Concubinage, as Eeason sees without the aid of ' a judge.'* III. ' Really excusatory causes are grounded in what is ' just. To know them, it is sufficient to mention a few — ' Absence of natural afi"ection for children. ' Intemperance. ' Immodesty. ' Gossiping about family ■ secrets. ' Quarrelsomeness. ' Striking. ' Revengefulness. ' Doing evil. ' Stealing. ' Deceitfulness. ' Internal dissimilitude whence comes antipathy. ' A froward requirement of the conjugal debt whereby the man becomes cold as a stone. ' Addiction to magic and witchcraft. ' Extreme impiety, and like evils. 2 E 418 CONCUBINAGE ALLOWABLE. ' There are also milder causes, which arc really ex- ' cusatory, and which separate from the bed, and yet not ' from the house ; as a cessation of prolification on account ' of the Wife's age, and thence reluctance and opposition ' to intercourse, whilst the ardour of love continues with ' the Man ; besides similar causes which Reason sees to be 'just, and which do not hurt the Conscience.'* Under these elastic conditions it would be hai-d to say who might not find an excuse for Concubinage. Sweden- borg trusts to Husbands not to abuse their liberty, or seek a license for indulgence in the temporary ailments of their Wives ; f holding firmly moreover to the proviso, * that whilst Concubinage continues no connection with a 'Wife Is allowable.' t Conjuglal Love does not suffer in lawful Concubinage, but ' is stored up and lies quiescent — ' Concubinage is not repugnant to Conjugial Love. It ' is only a veil which invests it, and which is dropped at ' death. It is an interruption, not a destruction of Con- ' jugial Love. The case may be compared to that of a man 'who loves his work, but who is detained from it by com- ' pany, or by public sights, or by a journey ; though absent ' he docs not cease to love his work ; or to one, who loves ' generous wine, and who while he drinks" inferior liquor, ' does not lose his relish for what is better. ' That this is the truth I have heard in the Spiritual ' World, even from Kings there, who Avhen on Earth had ' lived in Concubinage for good reason8.'§ One can only read and protest. The multitude of Men have no conscience in the matter of Women ;|| some will * No. 473. t Nos. 471 and 474. i No. 476. § No. 475. II If an illustration be required, a fair one ma_y be found in Croker'.s 'BosweWs Johnson,' Vol. VII. page 288, ed. 1835. swedenboeg's heartlessness. 419 frankly tell you, that Chastity is no virtue in their Sex. If even licentiousness be condemned, it is commonly in a tone which suggests as much sympathy as censure. Such being the case, Swedenborg has at least this merit, that he pre- scribes restrictions where the world imposes none. As of Mistresses so of Concubines, our Author assumes their existence, and does not deign to bestow on them a syllable of consideration. The heartlessness is noteworthy in the Apostle of the New Jerusalem. There are those who will descant with interminable fluency on wrongs and reforms, social and national, who privately think nothing of subjecting Women to their lust, and thus, so far as they are powerful^ perpetuating the worst of slaveries. Shall the great black shame of prostitution ever be erased from Christendom ? Poor and despised Catholic Ire- land is chaste — chaste from virtuous grounds. The women of our upper and middle classes are chaste — not that they are intrinsically more virtuous than their humbler sisters, but their interests are consonant and inseparable from Chastity. We may hope that the public opinion and the comfort and the education, which insure their morality, may in time descend to the lowest strata of society, and that poverty and ignorance will cease to yield reci'uits to Fornication and Concubinage. Failing diviner motives, the humblest woman will then occupy a position akin to that of her well-to-do sister of to-day, and like her be able to decline as ' folly' the prospect of being anything less than a Wife, 2 e 2 ( 420 ) CHAPTER XXVII. HABITS IN AMSTERDAM. There lived in Amsterdam a wealthy merchant, named Jolm Christian Cuno, with a taste for authorship and for literary society. In his latter years he wrote an Auto- biography, which spread over four thousand pages in four folio volumes. Not long ago these volumes, bound in sheep and gilt lettered, were picked up in a broker's shop for about six thalers (18s.), and taken to Doctor Scheler (Private Librarian to the King of the Belgians), who lodged them in the Public Library of Brussels. Our concern with Cuno consists in his acquaintance with Swedenborg. The portion of the Autobiography which describes this acquaintance, Doctor Scheler edited and printed in 1858 :* from it we make our selections. Cuno had heard of Swedenborg and felt inquisitive concerning him ; but Cuno was as ' respectable' as pious, and not until he had made scnipulous inquiry — ' espe- ' cially amongst the Swedish merchants, amongst whom ' was J oachim Wretman, in whose Christian piety and * ' Aufzeichnungen eines Amsterdamer Burgers iiher Swedenborg. Nehst ' Naclirichten iiher den verfasser (Job. Cbrist. Cuno) von Dr. Aug. Scheler, ' Koniglich Belgischem Cabinets- Bihliothelcar. Hannover : Carl Eiimpler, 1858.' [' Observations of an Amsterdam Citizen on Swedenborg. With Notices of the ' Author {J oh. Christ. Cuno) by Dr. Aug. Scheler, Private Librarian to the 'King of the Belgians. Hanover, 1858.'] Grateful indeed are we to Dr. Scheler for this little book of 172 pages ! His reward can only be a certain literary satisfaction ; for anything about Swedenborg has the smallest of publics. CUNO AND SWEDENBORG. 421 * intelligence I could confide' — did he feel safe in knowing him. The references having proved satisfactory, he was further able to write — ' Amongst the free thinkers and enemies of Christianity, * the learned Swedenborg cannot be reckoned, for he treats ' of God and His Word with the greatest reverence. He * impressed me with the profoundest veneration for the ' most adorable Saviour of the World, on whose Divinity ' his whole system rests. If at times he maintains many * palpable errors, and is therefore not to be separated from ' heretics, yet I do not easily find in him the motives ' whereby most heretics are misled. All who know him, ' and are willing to judge of him without prejudice, may ' it is true call his conduct somewhat peculiar, but least of ' all unbecoming. Enemies indeed, he has none ; at any ' rate he cannot have provoked any by his innocent, not ' to say holy, demeanour.' Thus wherever Swedenborg was hnown^ we find a gracious memory. '■ I met him for the first time,' says Cuno, ' by accident ' in the book-shop of Francois Changuion on the 4th of ' November, 1768. The interview was agreeable to both ' of us. ' The old gentleman speaks French and German, but ' neither very readily. He also stammers, though more at * some times than others. ' He gave me leave to call on him, which I did next * Sunday ; and kept up the practice on most Sundays as ' I returned from morning service. ' He lodged, not far from our old church, in the Kalber- ' strasse in two very comfortable rooms in the house of a ' young couple who keep a haberdasher's shop, and who ' have a goodly number of little children. ' One of my first questions was, why he did not keep ' a man-sei'vant to wait on him, and travel with him. He 422 DOMESTIC HABITS. ' replied, that he did not require any attendance, and that ' whilst travelling, he had no fear, for his Angel was always ' near, and in intercourse with him. ' I asked the mistress of the house if she had not a good ' deal to do in waiting on the old gentleman, " Scarcely ' " anything," was her answer. " My servant has only to ' " lay his fire on the hearth in the morning, and he keeps ' " it up all day ; and, when he goes to bed, so leaves it, ' " that there can be no accident. He retires to rest every ' " night when the clock strikes seven, and rises in the ' " morning at eight. We have no more trouble with him. ' " He dresses and undresses himself, and attends to his ' " wants, so that it is as if no one was in the house. I ' " wish indeed he would stay with us as long as he lives. ' " My children will miss him most, for he never goes out ' " but he brings them something nice. The little things ' " are fonder of him than of me and their father. Surely ' " the gentleman must be very rich." ' Cuno could have enlightened his gossip on the latter head. He learned that Swedenborg had a bill of exchange for 2,000 ducats at three days' sight on Hope and Co., which he had not touched after several months of residence in Amsterdam : also that his annual income from realized property was 10,000 gulden ; whereon he exclaims, ' How ' comfortably he might live on so large a fortune at Stock- ' holm, where he has a splendid palace and garden !' — which splendid palace we have seen. ' All his works, printed on large and expensive paper, ' he gives away, and from his booksellers rcquii'cs no ac- ' counts ; yet they charge as much as ever they can, and ' pay themselves pretty well, as I found out when Schreuder ' charged me four gulden and a half for a copy of the ' '' Apocalypsis Revelata,'' ' He discovered that Swedenborg had only two suits of clothes — a brown coat and black breeches which he wore HONESTY COMPELS RESPECT. 423 at home, and a suit of black velvet, ' perfectly neat and ' becoming,' when out in company. ' He lived very sparingly. Chocolate and biscuit formed ' his usual dinner, of which the household had the larger ' sliare. Sometimes he resorted to a neighbouring eating- ' house : this I learned from himself, but only after much ' inquiry. ' With regard to Swedenborg's personal appearance, ' he is indeed for his years a marvel of health. He is ' of middle height. Although he is more than twenty ' years older than I am, I would not venture to run a race ' with him ; for he is still as active upon his feet as a young ' man. He told me lately he was cutting some new teeth. ' Who ever heard of such a thing in an old man of ' eighty-one ?' Cuno would have liked to have had his portrait taken, but there was no artist in Amsterdam that he considered equal to the commission, even at half a dozen ducats. In the engraving prefixed to ' The Prindjjyia' [reproduced in our first volume], he discerned a perfect likeness, though so many years had intervened, especially about the eyes, which retained an extraordinary beauty. When Swedenborg first spoke to Cuno of his guardian Angel, he observes — ' I should have laughed had any one else done so, but ' the venerable octogenarian spoke with the innocence of a ' child, and laughter did not once move me. He looked ' moreover altogether too holy, and out of his smiling light ' blue eyes, which he kept fixed on me as he conversed, it ' always seemed as if truth itself were speaking.' At first he felt anxious lest he should suffer insult from scorners, but experience dissipated his fears— ' I have often observed with astonishment in large com- ' panics where scoffers came prepared to ridicule the old ' man, that as he proceeded to relate the most wonderful 424 A SOCIABLE PEOPHET, ' tales from the Spix'ltual World with the open-heartedness ' of a child, they forgot their mockery and listened with ' mute attention. It was as if his eyes had the power of ' imposing silence upon every one,' Cuno found Swedenborg of a sociable and equable temper. Whoever invited him as a guest was sure to have him. He dined sometimes with the Hopes, his bankers, and sometimes with his countrymen, the Grills. He usually ate his Sunday dinner at the house of his friend Wretman ; and when Cuno first entertained him, he asked Wretman likewise. On that occasion, the 16th November, 1768, he said he had seen and spoken with King Stanislaus.* Many Spirits were eager to know who the new-comer Avas, but could not find out, and they begged Swedenborg to ascertain his name. He complied, and not only did Stanislaus reveal himself, but led his inquisiter off to see his daughter, who had been Queen of France.f Swedenborg was fond of a game at ombre, and Cuno would have been glad to introduce him to his card parties, but as he would stay nowhere later than seven o'clock, and could not converse in Dutch, he gave up the idea. As Swedenborg's acquaintance, Cmio was much teased for introductions to him, but he put off applicants with the assertion, that he was quite accessible and no introduction was requisite. His ignorance of Dutch was a bar to many. One lady, Madame Konauw, persuaded Cuno to bring him to her house to dinner — ' A coach was sent for us, and the old gentleman was ' willing and ready. We met the two Misses Hoogs, who ' had been educated in science and philosophy beyond what ' is usual with their sex. Swedenborg's deportment was * Stanislaus Leszczynski, born 1677 ; twice elected King of Poland, but forced to abdicate ; became Duke of LoiTaine, in which dignity he died, 1766. t Maria Leszczynski, born 1703 ; married Louis XV., 1725 ; died, 24th June, 1768. A DUTCH DINNER-PARTY. 425 ' exceedingly courteous and polite. When dinner was an- ' nounced, I offered my hand to Madame Konauw to lead ' her to the dining-room, when instantly our youth of ' eighty-one had his new gloves on, and presented his hand ' most gracefully to Miss Hoog. He was placed between ' Madame Konauw and the elder Miss Hoog, both of whom ' could talk abundantly, but I had stipulated beforehand, ' that they should allow the old gentleman to eat his dinner ' in peace. They faithfully kept their promise, and their ' assiduous attention to his comfort seemed to gratify him ' very much. He ate with so good an appetite, that I could ' not but feel somewhat surprised ; but they could not ' persuade him to have more than three glasses of wine, and ' these half full of sugar, of which he was very fond. At ' dessert the conversation flowed merrily, and afterwards at tea ' and coffee without interruption till seven o'clock, when, as ' I had taken care, the coach was ready to convey us home. ' It is incredible what a number of questions the ladies ' put to him, and he replied to them all : a single incident ' will I record : A man of note was mentioned — an am- ' bassador, I think — who had died at the Hague. " I know ' " him ! " he exclaimed, " although I never saw him in this ' " world. He has left a widow, but he is married again, ' " and his present wife is more to his mind than she who ' " remains behind." This strange statement naturally pro- ' voked many queries, and the ladies were discreet enough ' to receive his answers without demur.' Pombal in those days was regenerating Portugal, and the news reached Amsterdam, that he had hanged the Bishop of Coimbra. As a young man was telling Sweden- borg, he interposed — " It is not true : he is not hanged. I have seen the " Pope and had a joke with him on the business.'* * Clement XIII., who died in 1769. 426 SCANDAL. The young man darted off to the shop of Meyer, the bookseller, where several merchants were assembled, and repeated Swedenborg's declai-ation. " It is but too true," they observed ; " the details of the execution are in all the " newspapers." Meyer said — " Let us bear the contradiction " in mind, and see whether it prove true or false." Another remai-ked — " The old man is wrong in the head. He'll go " to the Hague no more. It was reported that Volt&ire " was dead, and he told the French ambassador, that he had " seen him and been shocked at his horrible condition in the " World of Spirits. A few days afterwards, the tidings " arrived, that Voltaire was not dead, whereon Swedenborg " quietly decamped, and will not venture there to be laughed " to scorn as a false prophet, a dreamer, and a liar ! " Swedenborg proved correct : the Bishop of Coinibra was imprisoned, but was not hanged. As to the spiteful anecdote about Voltaire, it was wholly fictitious, as Cuno knew ; but he recited it to Swedenborg, as he generally related all he heard about him. He smiled, and quietly observed — " Why it is more than half a year since I was at the " Hague, and I have not even thought of Voltaire for many " years ; but what falsehoods will not people invent ! " In the spring of 1769, appeared at Amsterdam — Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New ' Church signified hy the New Jerusalem in the Apoca- ' h/])se ; by Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swede.' ( 427 ) CHAPTER XXVIII. BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH* This treatise is a prospectus — ' Several books and tracts have been published by rae ' concerning the New Jerusalem, whereby is meant a New ' Church ■ about to be established by the Lord, and the ' Apocalypse having been revealed, I have determined to ' lay before the world a complete view of the Doctrine of ' that Church ; but as it will be a work of some years, I ' have thought it adviseable to issue a sketch thereof, not ' for critical examination, but simply as a precursor of the ' larger work.' f He commences with an abstract of ' the doctrinals of the ' Roman Catholics concerning Justification from the Council ' of Trent,' and then with the doctrinals of Protestants on the same subject from the Formula Concordise, or Augsburg Confession. Comparing Trent with Augsburg, he comes to the conclusion — ' That the Eoman Catholics, before the Reformation, held ' and taught exactly the same as the Reformed did after it ' with regard to a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, ' Original Sin, the Imputation of the Merit of Christ, and * 'Summaria Expositio Doctrinm Novce JUcclesim, quce per Novam Hiero- ' solymam in Apocalypsi intelUgitur ; ab Em.anuelo Swedenborg, Sueco. ' Amstelodcami, 1709.' Quarto, 45 pages. tNo. 1. 428 DOCTRINE AND RITUALISM. ' Justification by Faith therein, with this difference, that ' they conjoined that Faith with Charity or Good Works.'* That this concord exists ' is so genei*ally unknown, that ' the Learned themselves will be ready to wonder at the ' assertion.' t Hardly : there is nothing better known to students of theology than the interior unity of Catholicism and Pro- testantism. On that inward unity have been based the many hopes and schemes for outward unity. The Jan- senists proved how little divided them from Calvinism, and the Jesuits from Arminianism. ' The Church of England holds a middle place' between Rome and Geneva. Of the Greek Church, he declines to say anything. J The vigour of Roman Catholicism resides in ceremonial- ism and of Protestantism in doctrine ; and therein consists their vital diversity. The ordinary Catholic knows little or nothing of the abstractions which stand for faith in the mind of a lively Protestant — ' He scarcely knows a syllable of doctrine. His thoughts ' are engrossed in the externals of worship ; in the adoration ' of Christ's vicar, the invocation of saints, and the venera- ' tion of images ; by things accounted holy which affect the ' senses, as masses in an unknown tongue, garments, lights, ' incense, pompous processions, mysteries respecting the ' eucharist, and such like. By these means the primitive ' Romish tenet of the imputed merit of Christ is withdrawn ' from memory ; it is as if buried in the earth and covered ' with a stone, which the monks watch over lest it should ' be dug up and revived, and with its resurrection faith ' should vanish in their supernatural powers of forgiving ' sins, justifying, sanctifying, and bestowing salvation, and ' therewith their sanctity, pre-emine)ice, and prodigious ' gains.' § * No. 19. t No. 20. t No. 18. g No. 107. KERNEL OF PROTESTANTISM, 429 The Protestant innovation on the Catholic creed was the separation of Good Works from Faith, and the denial of their saving efficacy. ' This,' says our Author, ' the ' leading Reformers — Luther, Melancthon, and Calvin did, ' that they might be totally severed from the Roman Catho- ' lies, as these leaders themselves have frequently told me.'* For this end they asserted, ' that the Decree of the ' Council of Trent is to be rejected which affirms, that Good ' Works preserve salvation, or that Justification by Faith, ' or even Faith itself is maintained and preserved, either in ' whole or in the least part, by works ;' likewise, ' that it is ' a folly to imagine, that the works of the second table of ' the Decalogue justify in the sight of God, for that table ' has relation to our transactions with Man, and not properly ' with God ; and the business of Justification is between ' God and us, and to appease His wrath ;' also, ' that Good ' Works are to be utterly excluded in treating of Justifica- ' tion and Eternal Life ; ' with other propositions of like hideous purport. Salvation, or acceptance with God, they ascribed to Faith in Christ slain as a substitute for Adam's sin — for sin inherited and repeated by his entire posterity. The com- munication of this Faith, whereby Christ's merits are im- puted to the sinner, was not to be received by wishing : saving Faith lay in the free gift of God : it was bestowed on this person and withheld from that, no one knew how, in the mysterious and arbitrary exercise of the Divine Sovereignty. Whilst salvation was attained through Faith alone, Good Works followed its reception as its signs and fruits. They conveyed to Faith no extra efficacy, but merely served as slaves to adorn her queenly train.f Good works in persons destitute of Faith were merely sins in amiable guise. * Nos. 21 and 23. t Nos. 59 and 79. 430 PROTESTANT POVEETY. In this doctrine is the very kernel of the Protestant Gospel — ' Justification by Faith alone prevails at this day over ' every other doctrine throughout Keformed Christendom. ' It is greedily learnt by all clerical students at the univer- ' sities, and is afterwards published by them with an unction ' as of heavenly wisdom.'* Wesley would have told a diflFerent story, as would Wilberforce and Chalmers at a subsequent date. Solifidian dogma lay quiescent last century under the reign of ' a ' frigid morality,' but it was not dead. It held the place of authority ; and if ever a Soul awoke and went in search of God, it confronted the searcher as the Philistine did Israel, and the renown of the giant served as an excuse for other sleepers. Where the dogma did not extinguish, it perverted the efflux of Divine Life ; just as under Papal circumstances, the same Life would be evaporated in ceremonies and crucified in asceticism. Swedenborg was well aware, that the contradictions of Protestant theology constituted an effective bar to its diffusion : hence he writes — ' It is interwoven with so many paradoxes, that its tenets ' gain no entrance to the Understanding, but only to the ' Memory, and are professed in blind credulity. They ' cannot be learnt and retained without great difficulty, nor ' can they be preached or taught without great care and ' caution to conceal their nakedness, because sound Keason ' neither discerns nor receives them.'f Elsewhere he asserts its limited reception — ' The greater part of those born in Protestantism do not ' know what ' Faith alone ' is. They do not enter into the ' mysteries of the doctrine. When they hear of Justification * No. 81. t Nos. 53 and 58. TKITHEISTIC QUIBBLES. 431 ' by Faith, they imagine that it means no more than a life ' in accordance with God's precepts in the Word. ' It is of the Lord's merciful providence that very few ' enter into the principle of ' Faith alone,' for those who do, ' pass to fearful damnation after death. Everything they ' have acquired from the Word is taken from them ; they ' are stupid beyond other Spirits, and appear in heavenly ' light as burnt skeletons covered with skin.'* The Ecformers gave theology a frightful twist in order to break off decisively from Rome, but the dogmas from which they started — a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, Original Sin, the Imputation of the Merit of Christ, and Justification by Faith therein — were deeply erroneous. The doctrine of the Trinity, as held throughout Christen- dom, is nothing short of the recognition of three Gods — ' The authors of the Athanasian Creed clearly saw, that ' an idea of three Gods would unavoidably result from the ' expressions used therein. They tried to evade it by the ' assertion of a common substance or essence, one and in- ' divisible, but in vain. Not all the ingenuity of metaphysics ' could out of three persons each God, make one God. ' Whatever the confession of the lips, the inevitable con- ' ception of the mind was three. 'f The worship of three Gods is contrary to sound reason ; wherefore ' Christianity is abhorred by Mahometans, and ' certain nations in Asia and Africa. '^: The apology, that the three are one in essence is rightly rejected by them as a vain quibble. The notions connected with three Gods about Adam's sin transmitted to his posterity, whereby equally with Adam they lie under the curse of one God, which curse is removed by the sacrifice of the second God — and not removed unless the merit of the second God is imputed to the unhappy child * 'Apocalypsis Explicata,' Nos. 233 and 250. f No. 34. % No. 37. 432 SHYLOCK DEIFIED. of Adam, but how imputed no one knows how ; some saying by faith on the child's part, and some by the arbitrary bestowal of Gods one, two, or three — are deadly fallacies. They are repugnant to healthy common-sense ; they are generally stated in phrases which have no correspondence with experience, and which only serve as material for scholastic and pulpit jugglery. Mr. James states the case with force for Swedenborg — ' Our orthodox ecclesiasticism proceeds upon the notion ' of God being a Spirit full to repletion of Self-Love ; so ' full in fact of exorbitant regard to Himself in all His ' intercourse with His Creatures, that He is incapable of ' forgiving their infirmities freely and frankly as they them- ' selves are capable of forgiving one another ; and demands ' instead, like a bloodier Shylock, that every base forfeiture ' of His bond be literally paid down. What does orthodoxy ' say for example of the Christian atonement ? What light ' does it make that great transaction shed upon the Divine ' character ? ' Why, it makes the Christian atonement to turn alto- ' gether upon a something suffered by Christ to placate the ' Divine Nature, rather than a something done by Him to ' purify the Human Nature : so placing the obstacle to ' Man's salvation, not in Man's own purely constitutional ' infirmity where alone it belongs, but in the immitigable ' savagery of his creative source, in the essential inhumanity ' of God. Substitution is of course the enforced mechanism ' of the orthodox scheme, because otherwise the Divine ' Love would be denied even a mercenary manifestation, ' even a moonlight radiance. For the scheme postulates ' God as a being of such essential malignity (euphemistically ' called holiness) as to require, that His thirst for blood ' once aroused by the sin of His own abject and helpless ' Creatures, should be slaked only in one of two ways : ' either — JESUS CHRIST DEIFIED. 433 ' I, By the substantive reduction of these Creatures ' themselves to eternal misery ; or else — ' II. By the substitution in their place of an exquisitely ' innocent victim, whose pangs compensating by their iuten- ' sity what they lacked in volume, might lend such keenness ' of satisfaction to the Divine appetite for vengeance, as ' would practically amount to an eternal glut, ' Judged of by either alternative this scheme is obviously ' fatal to the Divine character ; it reduces the Divine name ' indeed below the level of the lowest diabolism.'* The prevalence of such terrible fantasies concerning God is plain proof, that the Church has come to an end — ' The darkness at this time throughout Christendom is ' so intense that the (spiritual) sun gives no light by day, ' nor the moon and stars by night. The darkness is solely ' occasioned by the Doctrine of Justification by Faith ' alone.'t The hour had therefore come for the establishment of a New Church, and it was Swedenborg's office to announce its Heavenly Doctrine ; which in brief he thus sets forth — ' I. That there is one God, in whom is a Divine Trinity, ' and that He is the Lord Jesus Christ. ' II. That saving Faith is to believe in Him. ' III. That Evils ought to be shunned, because they are ' of the Devil, and from the Devil. ' IV. That Good Works ought to be done, because they ' are of God, and from God. 'J ' V. And they ought to be done by Man as of himself, ' but with the confession, that they are from the Lord * operating in him and by him.'§ * 'Substance and /Shadow,' p. 165. f No. 79. X N.B. ' Whether you say Good or the Lord, it is the same thing, or Evil ' or the Devil.' — 'De Divina Providentia,' No. 233. § No. 43. 2 F 434 HOPE FOR CATHOLICS. It is a curious subject of investigation how and where Swedenborg thought the New Church would be planted. When writing the '■Arcana Coelestia'' his expectation lay with the Gentiles. In the present treatise, he displays some hope in the Roman Catholics over Protestants, and for these reasons — ' First ; because the belief in Justification by Faith is * obliterated in them, and is likely to be more so. ' Second ; because they assign divine majesty to the ' Humanity of the Lord, as is evident fi'om their most ' devout adoration of the Host. ' Third ; because they hold charity, good works, repent- ance, and amendment of life as essential to salvation. ' For these three reasons, the Roman Catholics, if they ' approach God the Saviour Himself ; not mediately but ' immediately, and administer the holy eucharist in both ' kinds, may more easily than the Reformed receive a living ' for a dead Faith and be conducted by Angels from the ' Lord to the gates of the New Jerusalem, and be introduced ' with joy and shouting.'* Ah, if and if! A century has elapsed since these lines were penned and Rome is more Popish than ever, and Mary is the first figure in her Pantheon ! The policy of Swedenborg's attacks on Protestant Doc- trine is very questionable. In the first place, no Protestant would admit, that the statement he renders of his creed is correct ; and, as Mr. Mill observes, ' a doctrine is never ' refuted at all until it is refuted at its best.' Our criticism has the advantage of subsequent experience, but Protestant- ism might safely have been left to bury itself. In the extreme forms in which Swedenborg deals with it, in Germany, in Holland, and in New England its adherents * Nos. 105 and 108. TRUTH IN HERESY. 435 have either lapsed into Socinianism or fallen asleep. The mongrel faith called Evangelical in England is notorious for the ignorance and imbecility of its leaders. The early Keformers commanded the intellect of England ; but what relation do those bear to the intellect of England, who at this day strut on the platform of Exeter Hall? Perhaps nowhere do Protestant traditions linger in such force as in Scotland, but their influence is limited to Scotland. Of what consequence is any Scottish divine beyond the Tweed? Better than quarrelling with Protestant Doctrine would be to accept its phrases, and show their consonance with the truth. How, that if we would know God truly we must recognize Him as a Trinity, as God the infinite and in- conceiveable Father and Creator, as God the Son manifest in Jesus Christ, and as God the Holy Ghost manifest as the justice, purity, and tenderness of our hearts. How, that we are justified by Faith, that is to say, made just by Faith — by obedience to that Truth which is Faith. How, that the Divine Eighteousness is verily imputed to us inasmuch as every righteous impulse which aftects us is God's, is God in us, is God who in His boundless beneficence gives Himself to us so perfectly, that we feel His Life as our own: and so on, converting heretical falsehood into heavenly wisdom. Such treatment of Protestant Doctrine would far more effec- tually sap its errors than direct attacks, which too frequently confirm the very mischiefs they would remove by reviving attention to what was quietly gliding into oblivion, and calling forth pride and passion to their defence. Perhaps no saying in the Scriptures, with the exception of that on blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, has excited more anxiety in tender and timourous consciences than the words of James — ' For whosoever sliaU keep the lohole Law^ and yet offend in 2 F 2 436 A TROUBLESOME TEXT. ' one pointy he is guilty of all. For He that said, Do not com- ' mit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no ' adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of * the Law.''* Swedenborg's treatment of the text, in a digression from Ms theme, is worthy of remark. He writes — ' It is said in the Church, that none can fulfil the Law, ' especially since whosoever offends against one comraand- ' ment of the Decalogue, offends against all. There is ' however a right and a wrong way of receiving this dictum. ' It is to be understood thus : Whoever purposely and ' deliberately violates any one commandment violates all ; ' for thereby he proves, that he has no sense of sin, and no ' respect for the Divine Will. ' Who does not know, that a fornicator is not necessarily ' a murderer, or a thief, or a false witness, or willing to be ' such ? He however who is an adulterer with settled aim, ' obviously makes light of religion, and if he refrains from ' murder, theft, or false witness, it is from fear of the law, ' or loss of reputation, and not from any regard for God. ' It is the same with any other deliberate infraction of the ' Decalogue. If one commandment is thus broken, all are ' broken, since the violator makes no account of sln.'f If this principle works for condemnation, it likewise works for justification — ' If any one purposely and deliberately abstains from a ' single evil because it is a sin, he abstains from all ; and ' still more if he abstains from several ; for whenever any ' one so abstains, he is kept by the Lord in the purpose of ' abstaining from the rest. If through ignorance, or ' through any strong physical lust, he commits evil, it is ' not imputed to him, inasmuch as he did not intend it, or ' sanction it in himself. * James ii. 10, 11. MAKTIN LUTHER. 437 * A man comes into this purpose for good, if he examines ' himself once or twice a year, and repents of the evil he ' discovers in himself. It is otherwise with him who never ' examines himself.'* The last paragraph is somewhat startling. The annual, or semi-annual self-examination is an odd and easy pre- scription ; so odd and easy indeed as not likely to be practised. For the rest, nothing could be more rational, humane, and satisfactory. It is in the treatment of such questions that one of the finest aspects of Swedenborg's genius is displayed. Swedenborg had more or less intercourse with Luther, Melancthon, and Calvin. Luther. ' I have seen him many times. [1763] He has often ' wished to recede from the Doctrine of Faith alone, but in ' vain : wherefore he is still in the World of Spirits, and ' sometimes undergoes great suffering.'! ' I have heard him curse Solifidianism [1764] and say, * that when he established it, he was warned by an Angel of ' the Lord not to do it ; but that he thought within himself, * that if he did not reject Works no separation from Roman ' Catholicism could be effected.' J ' He was a most bitter advocate of his own tenets when ' he entered the Spiritual World, and his zeal increased as ' Souls arrived from Earth who agreed with him. He had ' a house allotted him, such as he had at Eisleben, and in ' one of the rooms he set up a desk, raised a little from the ' ground, in which he took his seat, and opening the doors, ' he received hearers, and seated them around him according * No. 113. t 'Continuatio de Ultimo Judfcio,' No. 55. I 'De Divina Providentia,' No. 258. 438 LUTHER. MELANCTHON. ' to the degree of their favour for him. He allowed ' questions to be asked at intervals in his harangues. By- ' and-bye he acquired a power of persuasion which none ' who came near him could resist ; but as its exercise was a ' species of enchantment, in use among the Ancients, he ' was required to desist from it : he obeyed, and taught as ' before from memory and understanding. Thus he continued ' till the Last Judgement in 1757. ' In that year, he was removed to another house, and ' being informed that I, who am in the Natural World, ' conversed with those who are in the Spiritual World, he ' came with others to me, and after asking some questions ' and receiving my answers, he perceived that the Church ' had come to an end, and that a New Church had com- ' menced. At this he grew very indignant, but as he ' saw the New Heaven increase and his own congregation ' diminish, his railing ceased, and he began to converse more * familiarly with me, and received the Doctrine of the New ' Jerusalem, and ridiculed his former tenets as in direct ' opposition to the Word.'* The Elector of Saxony. ' I have conversed with the Prince of Saxony who ' protected and entertained Luther. He told me he had * often blamed him for separating Charity from Faith. . . . ' This Prince is among the blessed. 'f Melancthon. With Melancthon communion was not so free as with Luther : he was more deeply confirmed in Solifidiauism, and the Angelic Spirits about Swedenborg could not bear his presence. He too occupied a house like that which he had on * 'Vera Christiana Beligio,' No. 796; published 1771. t ^b., No. 796. MELANCTHON CONVERTED. 439 Eai'th, and iu his library sat writing day after day on Justification by Faith alone. In course of time his furni- ture disappeared, and he was left with only a table and paper, pens, and ink. The walls of his study were plaster and the floor yellow like brick ; and he clad in coarse raiment. When he was visited by Souls newly arrived from the world, he would summon a Spirit skilled in magic, who would deck his chamber with handsome furniture and tapes- try of roses ; but no sooner were they out of sight than all would vanish to bare walls as before. He asked the reason of his miserable circumstances, and was answered, because he removed Charity from the Church, which nevertheless is its heart. As he persisted in his erroneous notions, he appeared suddenly in an underground workhouse, ' but as he had been one of the Reformers of ' the Church, he was released by the Lord's command,' and restored to his chamber. This occux'red repeatedly. When released ' he wore a rough hairy skin, for Faith without ' Charity is cold.' ' He told me himself, that at the back of his house was ' a chamber with three tables at which sat characters con- * genial with his own, and that with them he talked, and ' every day became more and more confirmed iu his opinions. ' At a fourth table were seen monstrous figures, but they ' were not deterred by their appearance.' At last Melancthon was seized with fear and began to write about Charity, but what he wrote one day was not legible the next, because not written from inmost sincerity, ' When the New Heaven was commenced by the Lord, ' he began to think under the influence of its light, that ' possibly he was in error, and consulted the Word : his ' eyes were opened to see, that it is full throughout of Love ' TO God and Love towards ouk Neighbour ; and his ' writing on Charity did not vanish as before, but appeared ' faintly next day. 440 JOHN CALVIN. ' Strange to say, when he walks his steps make a noise ' like one walking with iron shoes on a stone pavement.'* Calvin. About Calvin we have two contradictory statements. In 1763, he wrote— ' I have spoken, but only once, with Calvin. He was ' in a Society of Heaven, which appears in front above the ' head. He said that he did not agree with Luther and ' Melancthon about Faith alone, because Works are so often ' named and enjoined in the Word, and that therefore Faith ' and Works ought to be united. ' I was told by one of the Governors of that Society, ' that Calvin was received into membership because he was ' honest and made no disturbance.'! In 1771 he published a very different account — ' When Calvin entered the Spiritual World he thought ' he was still on Earth, and when the Angels about him told ' him the truth, he replied — " I have the same body, the ' " same hands, and similar senses." He was a sensual man, ' believing nothing outside the range of physical experience ; ' and this being his quality, he framed all his tenets from his ' own Understanding, and not from the Word. He made ' indeed quotations from the Word, but only to engage the ' favour of the vulgar. ' Having left the Angels, he wandered about, and searched ' for Spirits who in ancient times had believed in Predesti- ' nation. He was told, they were all shut up and concealed ' in a distant place, but that the disciples of Godoschalcus ' still wandered at large, and sometimes assembled in a place ' called in the spiritual tongue Pyris, to which he was ' conducted, and there he was in the delight of his heart. * ' Vera Christiana Beligio,'' No. 797. f 'Coniinuatio de Ultimo Judicio,' No. 54. DEBATE WITH CALVIN. 441 * When however the followers of Godoschalcus were led ' away to be confined with their brethren in the cavern, he ' grew weary of himself, and strolled about in quest of an ' asylum. A Society of simple-minded Spirits took him in, ' but when he found they could not comprehend Predesti- ' nation, he hid himself in a corner and kept silence. At ' last some modern Predestinarians inquired after him, and ' he was brought out of his retirement, and a certain ' Governor, who had drunk of the dregs of the same false ' doctrine, received and protected him. Thus he continued ' until the Last Judgement when the Governor and his ' associates were cast out, and Calvin betook himself to a ' house of harlots. ' As he was free to walk about, he came to me, and I ' told him of the New Heaven in course of construction of ' those who acknowledge the Lord as God. After his habit, ' he heard me silently, but at the end of half an hour he ' replied — ' " Was not Christ a man, the son of Mary, who was ' " married to Joseph? How can a man be worshipped as God?" ' " Is not Jesus Christ our Redeemer and Saviour, both God and Man?" ' " He is God and Man ; yet still divinity does not ' " belong to him, but to the Father." Where then is Christ?" ' " He is in the lowest parts of Heaven ;" which opinion ' he confirmed by His humiliation before the Father, and by ' suffering Himself to be crucified. He added some scoffs ' against the worship of Christ, and would have used more ' blasphemous terms, but the Angels with me closed his lips. ' Moved by a warm zeal for his conversion I ' went on to give proofs from the Word, that in the Lord ' God is Man ' and Man is God to which he replied — ' " What are these passages from the Word but vain 442 CALVIN UNMASKED AND DENOUNCED. ' " sounds ? Is not the Word the book of all heresies ? and ' " is it not thus like vanes on the tops of houses and ships, ' " which veer with every wind ? . . . I will declare my ' " faith — There is a God and He is omnipotent, and there ' " is no salvation for any but those who are elected by God ' " the Father." ' On hearing this, I rejoined in the warmth of my zeal — ' " You talk impiously : begone you wicked Spirit ! ' " You are in the Spiritual World, and do you not know ' " that Predestination implies that some are appointed for ' " Heaven and some for Hell ? Have you then any other ' " idea of God than as of a tyrant, who admits his favourites ' " into his city, but condemns the rest to a slaughter-house? ' " Be ashamed then and blush for your doctrine !" ' He was not yet done with Calvin. He read him passages from the Formula Concordiae, and asked whether the senti- ments were his. He answered, ' they were derived from his ' doctrine, but he did not remember whether the very words ' flowed from his pen, though they did from his mouth. On ' hearing this, all the servants of the Lord retired from him, ' and he turned hastily into a way which led towards a cave ' inhabited by those who have confirmed themselves in the ' execrable doctrine of Predestination. ' I afterwards conversed with some Spirits imprisoned In ' that cave, and was informed that they were compelled to ' labour for food, and were all at enmity one against another, ' and every one was watching for an excuse to do some ' mischief to his companion : and this was the delight of ' their lives.'* * ' Vera Christiana Eeligio,' No. 798. ( 443 ) CHAPTER XXIX. A VISIT TO PARIS AND OTHER MATTERS. SwEDENBORG advertised and distributed the ' Summarm Expositio'' liberally. To Doctor Beyer he wrote — '■Amsterdam^ 15th MarcTi^ 1769. ' I had the pleasure of receiving yours, Sir, of the 23rd ' Nov. 1768. The reason why I did not answer it, was, that ' I would wait until a little work was published, entitled, ' ' A Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the Neio Churchy ' ' signified hy the New Church in the Apocalypse^ wherein are ' clearly shewn the errors of the Doctrines of Justification ' by Faith alone, and the Imputation of the Kighteousness ' or Merits of Jesus Christ. I have sent this treatise to all ' the Clergy throughout Holland, and I intend to send it to ' the most eminent in Germany. I have been informed, ' that they have attentively perused it, and that some of ' them have already discovered the truth, and that others ' do not know which way to turn themselves ; for it is made ' perfectly plain that because of that Doctrine no true The- ' ology exists in Christendom. ' I purpose sending you by the first ship twelve copies, ' which you will please distribute as follows : one copy to ' the Bishop, one to the Dean, and the rest, except your ' own, to the Professors of Theology at the colleges, and ' the Clergy in the city ; for none can more justly appreciate ' the same, than those who have entered into the Mysteries of ' Justification. After the little work has been read, be ' pleased, kindly, to request the Dean to declare his opinion 444 A DOUBTFUL ADHEUENT. ' thereof in the Consistory. All those that can, and are ' willing to see the truth, will accede. ' Many now ask me, when the New Church will he ' established. I answer : By degrees, as the Doctrines of ' Justification and Imputation are extirpated ; which pro- ' bably may be effected by this work. . . . ' Emanuel Swedenboeg.' In the meanwhile he received news that the Dean of Gottenburg had anticipated him, and had denounced his writings in the Consistory ; whereon he prudently determined to suppress the circulation of his attack on Protestantism in Sweden. Instead of a dozen copies, he scut but one to Beyer, and begs— ^Amsterdam, 23rd April, 1769. * You will oblige me by keeping this for yourself alone, ' and by shewing it to nobody, because it contains an ' improvement of the whole system of Theology prevalent ' in Christendom ; and, to a certain extent, the Theology ' which shall be that of the New Church, Its contents will, ' with difficulty, be understood by any in Gottenburg, except ' yourself. ... , Emanuel Swedenboeg.' Swedenborg seems to have thought he had found a disciple in Cuno : he listened unresistingly to him as he talked of Heaven and Hell and his acquaintance with Spirits, and probably at times with some degree of faith; but in the main Cuno regarded him as a lion that it was a credit to lead about in society. The publication of the Summaria Expositio'' was the occasion for the rupture of their factitious relation. Cuno writes — ' I thought some among the priests and preachers of our ' great city would come forth to encounter him. When I ' had waited more than a month in vain, I could no longer ' endure such cold indifference' — CUNO'S DULNESS. 445 And therefore addressed a letter to Swedenborg in con- futation of his positions — ' As nothing came of it, I went to him. I found him ' quite unconcerned ; or, if I must indeed speak the plain ' truth, a little angry. He seemed touched that I should ' view his good Angels with suspicion, and that I should ' think him so simple, that he could not detect knaves ' amongst them. He told me dryly, that if I would not ' believe him, I had certainly spent far too much time in ' reading his writings. As he uttered these words, it struck ' me, that the smile and the innocence to which I was accus- ' tomed in his countenance entirely disappeared.' Very soon however the displeasure vanished, and the old kindliness returned : he slipped into Cuno's hand a paper explaining how from a Philosopher he had become a Theologian. ' It was no answer to my letter,' complains Cuno, ' but it is the autograph of one of the most remark- ' able men that ever lived, and deserves moreover for the ' sake of its contents to be preserved.'* In the Autobiography there are a series of criticisms of Swedenborg's books, which prove how superficial was Cuno's appreciation of Swedenborg. Of the essence of his Philo- sophy he had not an idea : he bewilders himself in its circumstances, testing them by Lutheran orthodoxy, and approving or condemning accordingly. He was disposed to be good-natured, but there was too much to offend his prejudices ; and he had to protest, ' that if Homer some- ' times nods, the good Swedenborg snores like a drunken 'boor.' His angelic acquaintance was of course inexcusable. ' I pity the poor man,' he writes. ' He repeats his fables to ' the deaf, so long as he has no witnesses.' * The paper was nothing but a piece of a new pamphlet he had on hand. It will be found cited at length at the conclusion of our next Chapter. 446 FAREWELL TO CUNO. Swedenborg left Amsterdam for Paris on the 24tli April, 1769. Cuno says — ' I shall never forget the farewell he took of me at my * house. The truly venerable old man was never so eloquent ' as on that occasion, and spoke with an unction to which I ' had been unaccustomed. He exhorted me to continue in ' good, and to acknowledge the Lord for my God — ' " If it please God," said he, " I shall return once more ' " to Amsterdam to you, for I love you." ' " My dear Swedenborg, that can never be : I, at least, ' " do not reckon upon a long life." ' " You cannot know : we must remain in this world as ' " long as Divine Providence deems fit. He who is con- ' " joined to the Lord has already a foretaste of eternal life, ' " and cares but little for this transitory state. Believe me, ' " if I knew that God would to-morrow take me from the ' " world to Himself, I should like to have the musicians ' " brought to me to-day, and, for a good conclusion, make ' " myself right merry." ' He seemed more innocent and joyous than I had ever ' seen him. I let him talk on, and was speechless with ' astonishment. He saw a Bible on my desk, and opening ' it at 1 John v. 20, 21, said— ' " Read those words." ' Closing the book, he resumed — ' " I would rather write them down for you, that you ' " may not forget them" — * But his hand shook, and, whilst he dictated, I wrote ' the passage myself — '■And we Tcnow that the Son of God is come, and hath given ' us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and ' we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. ' This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, Iceep '• yourselves from idols. Amen.'' A MYSTERIOUS TRIP. 447 ' When I had done he rose and took his leave, falling ' upon my neck and kissing me most affectionately.' There is some mystery about Swedenborg's visit to Paris. In his letter of 15th March addressed to Dr. Beyer from Amsterdam, occurs the remark — ' I go from hence to Paris in about a month, and with a ' design that must not be made public beforehand,' The nature of this unmentionable design, we cannot divine, and the ignorance is tantalizing ; for Swedenborg haunts French literature as a founder or associate of secret societies ; but when we requii'e the evidence, we get nothing but rumour.* If speculation were allowable, we might conjecture that in a hope of propagandism he was beguiled into communion with some of the many mystagogues who preceded the Revolution. If so, the disappointment must have been mutual : Swedenborg was not for them, nor they for Swedenborg. It is said, he wished to publish his work on the True Christian Religion in Paris, and, for that end, submitted it to Chevreuil, the Censor Royal, who, having examined it, replied, that a tacit permission would be granted on con- dition, as was customary in such cases, that the title should bear '•Printed at London^'' or ' at Amsterdam^ but that he would not condescend to the subterfuge. The anecdote is given on fair authority ;t but it is scarcely credible that the manuscript of the ''Vera Christiana Religio'' was ready for the printer in the spring of 1769. * See the article 'Swedenborg' in the 'BiograpMe Universelle' wherein he is connected with an artist named Elie, who supplied him with money and furthered his designs ; also Beranger's Autobiography reviewed in ' The 'Athencewm,' London, 12th and 26th Dec. 1857. t The Preface to a French translation of the 'Vera Christiana Beligio' published in Paris in 1802, wherein it is said ' the anecdote was communicated ' to one of the editors by M. Chevreuil himself.' 448 CATHOLIC CONVERSION. Swedenborg's hatred of Eoman Catholicism is intense : he seldom mentions it without extravagance, and is blind as an Orangeman to its merits : nevertheless whilst pro- nouncing damnation on all confirmed Papists (as on all confirmed Protestants) he allows, that hosts under the nomi- nal dominion of Rome belong to Heaven — ' Those who have thought more about God than the ' Pope, and have done works of charity in simplicity of ' heart, easily renounce their superstitions. The transition ' from Popery to Christianity is as easy for such persons as ' entering a temple when the gates are thrown open.' Since the Last Judgement, Catholics are not allowed to form Societies in the World of Spirits, but are drafted off with more or less celerity to Heaven or Hell. For a time they retain their hereditary faith in the World of Spirits, where they are presided over by a Pope, and are gradually weaned from their idolatrous practices. When delivered from their errors, ' they feel as aroused from sleep, as * passed from the dreariness of winter to the cheerfulness of ' spring, as sailors who after a tedious voyage have reached ' their desired haven. ' It is a wonderful circumstance, that no Roman Catholic ' on his first entrance to the Spiritual World sees Heaven : ' his vision is terminated overhead by a dark cloud : as soon ' however as he enters a state of conversion, the cloud ' disappears. Heaven is opened, and he sees Angels in white ' raiment.'* Amongst the Catholic Kingdoms, Swedenborg had the highest opinion of France : ' it is provided,' he writes, ' that ' there should be among them a nation which has not sub- ' mitted to the papal yoke, and which regards the Word as * 'Vera Christiana Eeligio,' Nos. 820 and 821, and ' Conlimiatio de Ultimo Judicio,' Nos. 56 to 60. A STRANGE TRANSFORMATION. 449 ' sacred. This is the noble French nation.'* United in externals to Rome, France is disunited in many respects as to internals.! Ten years before he had made acquaintance with — Louis XIV. ' It was granted me to speak with Louis XIV., grand- ' father of the reigning King of France, who, whilst on ' Earth, worshipped the Lord, read the Word, and acknow- ' ledged the Pope only as the head of the Church ; in ' consequence whereof, he has great dignity in the Spiritual ' World, and governs the best Society of the French ' nation. ' Once I saw him as it were descending by ladders, and ' after he descended, I heard him saying, that he seemed to ' himself as if at Versailles, and then there was a silence for ' about half an hour ; at the end of that time, he said, that ' he had spoken with the King of France, his [great] ' grandson, concerning the Bull Unigenitus, advising him to ' desist from his former design, and not to accept it, because ' it was detrimental to the French nation.:|: He said, that ' he insinuated this into his thought profoundly. 'This happened in the year 1759, on the 13th of De- ' cember, about eight o'clock in the evening. '§ Admitted, that ' the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for ' man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord ' looketh on the heart;' nevertheless uncomfortable sus- picions will arise as this picture of Louis XIV. is ranged * 'De Bivina Providentia,' No. 257. f 'Apocalypsis Bevelata,' 1^05.74:0-4^. I Swedenborg seems to be in a maze here : the Bull Unigenitus against the Jansenists was issued by Clement XI. in 1713 : Louis did not die till 1715 : the Bull was therefore promulgated in his own reign. § ^ Contiiiuatio de Ultimo Judicio,' No. 60; also 'Diarium Spirittiale,' No. 5,980, and Appendix, p. 33. 2 G 450 A OOOD AND A BAD POPE. in line with those of Elizabeth of Russia and George II. of England. Clement XII. When Swedenborg was in Rome in 1739, Clement XII. was Pope, blind and full of years. He died in 1740, ' and ' for some time presided over the Papists in the World of ' Spirits, but abdicated of his own accord, and passed over ' to the Reformed Christians, among whom he still is, and ' enjoys a blessed life. ' It was granted me to speak with him, and he said, that ' he worships the Lord alone, because He is God ; and that ' the invocation of saints is vain and ridiculous ; and further, ' that when on Earth he wished to restore the Church to its ' pristine purity, but for reasons, which he mentioned, he ' found it impossible. ' At the time of the Last Judgement when the great ' northern city was destroyed, I saw him carried forth in a ' couch to a place of safety. A widely different event ' overtook his successor'* — by name — Benedict XIV. Lambertini died in 1758 after a liberal and able popedom of eighteen years as Benedict XIV. Yoltaire dedicated to him his tragedy of ''Mahomet.^ Three weeks after his decease, Swedenborg conversed with him on the New Jerusalem. He listened with apparent approval, but his acquiescence was simply politeness. When left to himself, he associated with cunning and malicious Spirits, and, as he persisted in such companionship, he was * 'Continuatio de Ultimo Judicio,' No. 59, 'Vera Christiana Eeligio,' No. 820, and 'Diarium Spirituale,' Nos. 5,272 and 5,845. WICKED POPES. 451 consigned to the cavern of a harsh corrector, who punished him severely. When examined as to his life on Earth he was forced to confess, that he held the Word in contempt, ridiculed many of its passages, and regarded his own speeches in Consistory of superior value. He thought the Saints had more power than the Lord, for His authority had been transferred to the popes. He loved the Jesuits, and, when they were shewn to be Devils, he still clung to them. He had con- firmed the Bull Unigenitus and urged its reception. He joined the most wicked of his religion who were magicians, and wished to learn their arts. He got among the Neapolitans, who are the worst of Italians. He loved them for their cunning, in which he asserted he was their master. He met a Saint who said he had been a Pope, and who had come from Hell to see him. They talked together, and wished to ascertain which was most cunning : they were found equals. Afterwards he was led by various windings to the deepest of the Papal Hells, into which he rushed as to his appointed and congenial place.* Swedenborg has rarely a good word for the Popes : ' they are governed by Sirens who insinuate themselves ' as affections of innocence and holiness with the end of 'acquiring power.' f On one occasion, he says, 'A Hell ' was opened and I saw a man sitting on a bench with his ' feet in a basket of serpents, which crawled to his breast ' and neck. Another man sat on a blazing ass pursued by ' red serpents, which leaped up its sides. I was told they ' were Popes who had compelled Emperors to resign their ' dominions, and had abused them by word and deed at ' Rome. The basket of snakes and the blazing ass repre- * 'Diarium Spirituak,' Nos. 6,843-5,847. t 'Arcana Ccelestia,' No. 3,750 and 'Be Divino Amore et de Divina Sapi- entia,' No. 424. 2 a 2 452 A WISE AND ACTIVE POPE. ' sented their infernal lust of power. Such appearances are ' only visible at a distance.'* Sixtus V. This strong-minded Pope is described with singular favour — ' I was permitted to converse with Pope Sixtus V. He ' told me he presided over a Society constituted from Catho- ' lies of eminent industry and judgement, and, that he was ' selected for the office because, half a year before his death, ' he had come to these conclusions — ' That the vicarship of the Popes was an invention for ' the sake of dominion. ' That the Lord the Saviour, being God, ought alone to ' be worshipped. ' That the Scriptures were divine, and thus more holy ' than papal edicts. ' He said the Saints were nobodies, and he was surprised ' when I informed him, that their invocation was decreed in ' synod and confirmed by a bull. He said he led the same ' active life that he had done on Earth, and that every ' morning he prescribed for himself nine or ten things to be ' accomplished by evening. ' I asked how he contrived to accumulate so great a ' treasure in the Castle of St. Angelo. He answered, that ' he wrote himself to the superiors of rich monasteries re- ' questing donations for holy pui-poses, and because he was ' feared, liberal contributions were poured in. I told him ' the treasure still remained: " Of what use is it now?" he ' rejoined. I then said, that the treasure at Loretto had ' grown enormously since his time, and also in certain ' monasteries, especially in Spain, but not so great as in ' former ages ; and added, that the money is not hoarded * 'Be Amore Conjugiali,' No. 265. SIXTUS V. LOYOLA. 453 * for use, but for the mere delight of possession, and that ' thus the misers were like Plutos. When I mentioned ' Plutos, he exclaimed, " Hush ! I know." ' He desired me to inform those in the world, that Christ * is the God of Heaven and Earth, and that the Word is ' holy and divine ; also, that the Holy Spirit does not speak ' through the mouth of any one, but that Satan does with ' the wish to be taken for God ; and that whoever is so ' stupid as to fancy otherwise goes to Hell, where dwell ' those who think themselves gods, and live as beasts. ' I objected, " Perhaps these sayings are too harsh for me ' " to write ;" but he replied, " What I say is true : write ' " and I will subscribe the copy." He then departed to his ' Society, and, having signed his name to the copy, sent it ' as a bull to other Catholic Societies.'* Sixtus (Felix Peretti) was born of humble parents in 1521. In his twelfth year he became a Franciscan, and was distinguished alike for his austere manners and his keen intelligence. He was elected Pope in 1585, and died in 1589. His administration was able and severe: he extir- pated brigandage without pity, promoted agriculture and manufactures, filled his treasury, and conducted his foreign affairs with masterly shrewdness. He published a new edition of the Septuagint in 1587, and one of the Vulgate with improvements in 1590 ; and is said also to have superintended an Italian translation of the Bible, which was condemned by the Spanish Inquisition. Loyola and Xavier. Loyola is briefly described as a good Spirit, with a horror of his followers as atheists. He had no pleasure in being thought a Saint, and shunned adoration, saying he was unclean, t * 'AjmcalypsisRevelata,' No. 752. f 'D'wrmm Spirituale,' Pars. VIL App. p. 22 . 454 IMPOTENCE OF SAINTS. Xavier when he met Swedenborg was quite idiotic, yet had sense enough to tell him, that in the place where he is confined, he is not insane, but that idiocy comes on whenever he fancies himself a Saint.* Elsewhere he is styled, a cunning magician, working profanely by means of conjugial love and innocence.f Catholic Saints. All who have been canonized are kept in secret places in the Spiritual World, and cut off from intercourse with their worshippers. Many Catholics, and especially monks, inquire after death for their favourite or patron Saints, and are much sui-prised at not being able to see them. They are informed, that they have all gone to their own places in Heaven or Hell, and that they are ignorant of the worship and invocations addressed to them; and, that if they do accept and desire reverence, they fall into delirious fantasies and talk like idiots. ' The worship of Saints is such an absurdity, that its ' bare mention excites horror in Heaven. Their invocation ' is mere mockery. I can assert, that they no more hear ' the appeals of their votaries on Earth than do their images ' in the streets, or on the walls of the churches, or than do ' the birds that build in the steeples. '| Clement XII. told him, that ' he had spoken with almost ' ' all who had been made Saints, male and female, and that ' he had seen only two in Heaven, and that they abhorred ' being invoked. '§ * '■ Continuatio de Ultimo Judicio,' No. 65, and 'Vera Christiana Religio,' No. 824. t 'Diarium Spirituale,' Nos. 4,570-71, 4,603, and Pars. VII. App. p. 22. X 'Continuatio de Ultimo Judicio,' Nos. 61 to 64, and 'Vera Christiana 'Religio; Nos. 822 to 82.5. g 'Diarium Spirituals; Pais. VII. App. p. 20. LAVATEK TO SWEDENBORG. 455 St. Agnes. The girl-martyr ' dwells in a chamber with virgins for ' her companions. When a worshipper calls for her, she ' goes out, and asks what is wanted with a humble shepherd- ' ess ; and her companions join her and chide the worshipper ' even to shame. Agnes is watched lest she should grow ' proud. She is now removed elsewhere, and is not tolc- ' rated amongst upright women unless she confesses her ' own badness.'* St. Genevieve. The Parisians, like the Londoners, constitute a Society in the World of Spirits, and their patron, Genevibve, ' sometimes appears to them with a saintly countenance and ' splendidly apparelled. When they begin to pray to her, ' an instant change comes over her face and raiment, and ' she becomes like an ordinary woman, and reproves them ' severely for making a god of one who is held by her * associates as of no more account than a servant-maid, and ' is astonished that men and women should be led into such ' trifling conduct. 'f Among Swedenborg's readers was Lavater, who addressed him as follows — ' Zurich, 24th August, 1768. ' Most Reverend and Excellent Man, ' I doubt not but you are often troubled with letters ' from foreigners with whom you are unacquainted, and as ' you are much engaged in meditation, business, travels, ' and the company of persons of renown, you will probably ' consider the present application from an unknown Swiss * '■Diariwrn. Spirituale,' Pars. VII. App. p. 21. t ' Vera Christiana Eelif/io,' No. 820. 456 AN EXACTING YOUNG MAN. ' as trifling aud impertinent : yet knowing that so great a ' man is my contemporary, I cannot lielp asking him a few ' things, which seem to me of the greatest importance. I ' know of no person in the world but yourself (who has ' given proofs of an extraordinary and almost divine know- ' ledge) capable of resolving my questions : I therefore take ' the libei'ty of proposing them, and trust you will con- ' descend to satisfy me as soon as possible. ' I. I have been engaged with heart and soul for three ' years in writing a poem on the future happiness of Chris- ' tians, and have been collecting the opinions of the Wise ' and Learned on the subject : particularly I have written ' to Zimmerman, the celebrated physician to the King of ' England, a Hanoverian, and my intimate friend. I most ' fervently wish to have your opinion likewise ; it would be ' of great use to me. I would willingly send you a copy of ' my poem, but I do not know whether you are acquainted ' with German : if you are not,* I will if you please translate ' the principal parts into Latin. " II. I have long been convinced by the Holy Scriptures ' and my own experience, that God frequently answers ' sincere and ardent prayers by wonders and even real ' miracles. I am now writing a dissertation on the subject, ' and therefore solicit your opinion. Probably you do not ' doubt that God and Christ still work miracles for the ' faithful : it may be that you can adduce some instances ' which are beyond doubt. Is it true that Catherine ' Fagerberg, a very pious girl in Stockholm, has cured the ' otherwise incurable by prayer and extraordinary faith ? ' Could you furnish me with authentic evidence of her ' powers ? ' III. I have read and heard much of your familiar ' converse with the Spirits of the departed : May I be per- ' mitted. Most Respected Man, to propose some questions, ' from a mind that is very sincere and full of reverence AN INQUISITIVE SPIRIT. 457 ' towards you, by the solution of which I may be convinced ' concerning these almost incredible reports? — ' First.— Felix Hess, my friend, died 3rd March, 1768. ' Will he appear to me, while I am living, and when, and ' how '? Will he reveal anything to me respecting the ' happiness of those in Heaven ? Will he tell me anything ' of my ecclesiastical destination on Earth ? (I fervently * desired him before his death to comply with those requests ' if possible). ' Second. — Henry Hess, brother of the preceding, and my ' very good friend. Will he be convinced of the power of ' faith and prayer, which I teach, and which he doubts, and ' when ? Which likewise of the doubtful among inhabitants ' of Zurich will be convinced ? ' Third. — Shall I ever be so happy as to converse with ' Angels or Spirits without delusiou, and without trans- ' gression of the Divine Commandment against interrogation ' of the Dead? By what manner of life, or by what virtues, ' can I attain so high a privilege ? ' Fourth. — I had a dream on the 9th of June, this year — ' Did it proceed from Felix Hess ? ' Be not angry, thou Most Excellent and Learned Man, ' with a very studious Disciple of Truth, who will neither ' rashly believe nor disbelieve, but who has a breast open to ' his inmost soul for whatever truth beams forth. Farewell : ' do not suffer me to wait long for an answer. May God ' and Christ, to whom we belong, whether living or dead, ' be with you ! , j^^^ ^^^^^^ Lavater, '' Minister of the GospeV Swedenborg was a poor letter writer, but he must needs have been a master in the art to have met or evaded the queries of Lavater : he neither answered nor evaded them : he allowed the epistle of his courteous inquisitor to sleep in his desk. Lavater however was not to be repulsed. At 458 LAVATEli TO SWEDENBORG. the end of a year he abated and altered liis requests, and tried again. ' Zurich^ 2At]i September^ 1769. ' Most Noble, Venerable, and Beloved ' in Christ our Lord, ' I have taken the liberty of writing to you a second ' time, as it is likely you have not received my former letter ' on account of your travels ; but I have at last learnt by ' what means this will probably reach you. ' I revere the wonderful gifts thou hast received of our ' God. I revere the wisdom which shines forth from thy ' writings, and therefore cannot but seek the friendship of ' so great and excellent a man. If what is reported be ' true, God will shew thee how much I seek to converse ' with thee in the simplicity of my mind. I am a young ' man not yet thirty years old, and a minister of the Gospel : ' I am and shall be employed in the cause of Christ as long ' as I live. I have written something on the happiness of ' the future life — Oh ! if I could exchange letters with thee ' on this subject, or rather converse ! ' I add a writing : thou shalt know my soul. ' One thing I beg of thee, thou divinely inspired man ! ' I beseech thee by the Lord not to refuse me ! ' In March 1768, Felix Hess, my best friend, died, a * youth of Zurich, twenty-four years of age, an upright ' man, of a noble mind, striving for a Christian spirit, but ' not yet clothed with Christ. Tell me, pray, what he does ; ' paint to me his figure, state, etc. in such words, that I may ' know that God in truth is in thee. ' I send also a writing in cipher, which thou wilt under- ' stand if what is reported of thee be true : I request, that ' it be not shewn to any one. ' I am thy brother in Christ. Answer veiy soon a ' sincere brother ; answer the letter I have sent, and in such PROM PARIS TO LONDON. 459 ' a manner, that / may see what I am believing upon the ' testimony of others, ' Christ be with ns, to whom we belong, living or dead. 'John Caspar Lavater.'* Though thus entreated, the oracle remained dumb. Lavater's inquiries proceeded from the common misappre- hension, that open intercourse with the Spiritual World confers omniscience. Swedenborg might be able to con- verse with many Angels and Devils, and yet find Felix Hess inaccessible. Lavater continued to read Swedenborg, and his writings prove that he did not read in vain : much that is good in them is Swedenborgian. The visit to France, whatever its object, was short — a month or six weeks at the outside. To add to its mystery, a report got abroad, that he was ordered out of Paris, which, in a letter to Beyer ,t he says, ' is a direct falsehood ' as Count Creutz, our envoy in Paris, can certify.' Is there no light to be shed on this matter? Is there no contemporary evidence as to Swedenborg's business in Paris in the early summer of 1769? From Paris he passed to London where he published a brief treatise for Kant's benefit,:]: we presume — ' On the Intercourse between the Soul and the Body, ' which is supposed to he effected hy Physical Influx, or ' hy Spiritual Influx, or hy Pre-established Harmony!' * These Letters from Lavater were published in his life-time in the ' New Jerusalem Magazine,' London, 1790, pp. 179 and 245. The Editors state, that the Latin originals were in their possession. Lavater died in 1801. t Dated from Stockholm, 30th October, 1769. i See present volume, p. 70. ( m CHAPTER XXX. THE INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE SOUL AND THE BODY.* There is not much in this short treatise with which we have not been made already familiar, and, unless Swedenborg thought it likely to meet some special queries of Kant, it is difficult to imagine a motive for its publication. The title recalls the memory of a former disquisition, ' On the Me- ' chanism of the Intercourse between the Soul and the Body^ published in 1734.t An attempt is made to define the connection of Mind and Body and to resolve the mystery of Consciousness. ' There are three hypotheses concerning the Intercourse ' of the Soul and the Body, or concerning the operation of 'the one in the other, and of the one with the other: the ' first is called Physical Influx, the second Spiritual Influx, ' and the third Pre-established Harmony. ' No fourth hypothesis can be framed ; for either the ' Soul must operate on the Body, or the Body on the Soul, ' or both reciprocally.' f The third hypothesis we shall dispose of first. It was * ' De Commercio Anitnai et Corporii, quod creditur fieri vel per Inflaxum, ' Physicum, vel per Injluxaia Spiritiialem, vel per Harmoniam PrcBstabilitam. ' Londoni, 1769.' 4to. 28 pages. t See Vol. I. p. 98 of present work. X No. 1 : Berkeley's hypothesis he had not heard of. Berkeley died in 1753, sixteen years before Swedenborg'.s puWication. PRE-ESTABLISHED HARMONY. 461 invented by Leibnitz, and is thus lucidly described by Mr. Lewes — ' In the days of Leibnitz, It was an axiom universally ' admitted, that Like could only act upon Like. The ques- ' tion then arose, How does Body act upon Mind ; how does ' Mind act upon Body ? The two were utterly unlike : How ' could they act upon each other ? In other words. How is ' perception possible ? all the ordinary explanations of per- ' ception were miserable failures. If the Mind perceives ' copies of things. How are these copies transmitted ? ' Effluvia, eldola, images, motions in spirits, etc., were not ' only hypotheses, but hypotheses which bore no examina- ' tion : they did not get rid of the difficulty of two unlike ' substances acting upon each other. ' Leibnitz borrowed this hypothesis from Spinoza — whom ' by the way, he always abuses : The Human Mind and the ' Human Body are two independent hut corresponding machines. ' They are so adjusted, that they are like two unconnected ' clocks constructed so as that at the same instant one should ' strike the hour and the other point it. ' I cannot help ' ' coming to this notion,' he says, ' that God created the ' ' Soul in such a manner at first, that it should represent ' ' within itself all the simultaneous changes in the Body ; ' ' and that He has made the Body also in such a manner as ' ' that it must of itself do what the Soul wills : so that the ' ' laws, which make the thoughts of the Soul follow each ' ' other in regular succession, must produce images which ' ' shall be coincident with the impressions made by external ' ' objects upon our organs of sense ; while the laws by ' ' which the motions of the Body follow each other are ' ' likewise so coincident with the thoughts of the Soul as to ' ' give to our volitions and actions the very same appearance ' ' as if the latter were really the natural and the necessary ' ' consequence of the former.' ' This hypothesis has been much ridiculed by those 462 PHYSICAL INFLUX. ' unaware of the difficulties it was framed to explain. It is ' so repugnant however to all ordinary views, that it gained ' few, if any, adherents.'* Swedenborg objects, ' that the hypothesis of Pre- * established Harmony is fallacious,' inasmuch as it includes only half the truth. It is a fact, ' that the Mind acts as ' one and simultaneously with the Body ; but there is ' successive influx as well as harmonic action ; as for in- ' stance, when we think and then speak, or when we will ' and then do.'f The hypothesis of Physical Influx is that of the Ma- terialists— ' It appears as if the objects of sight, which afl'ect the ' eyes, flowed into the Mind and produced thought ; in like ' manner speech, which afl'ects the ears ; and so likewise ' with smell and touch. The organs of these Senses first ' receive impressions from without, and the Mind appears to ' think and will according to the impressions ; wherefore ' ancient Philosophers and the Schoolmen believed there ' was an influx from the Senses to the Soul.':|: It is difficult to state the case of the Materialist, for the name includes many modifications ascending from him who would identify the Mind with the congeries of the Senses. Swedenborg's objection to Physical Influx is based on the dogma, that the Stream of Life from God is downwards and outwards through the Soul into the Body ; that it is impossible for anything to flow upwards and inwards ; and that Life is only coloured and broken in its encounter with Nature in the Senses. § * 'Biographical History of Philosophy,' page 458, ed. of 1857. t No. 1. X No. 1. g Nos. 1 and 11; see also VoL I. p. 169 of the present work, where Swedenborg states his case with much felicity, and before his spiritual initiation. SPIRITUAL INFLUX. 463 Spiritual Influx, ' by some called Occasional,' is adopted by Swedeuborg ; and its exposition will render clearer the causes of his dissent from the preceding hypotheses — ' Spiritual Influx originates in Order and its Laws. The ' Soul is a Spiritual Substance, and is therefore purer, prior, ' and interior ; but the Body is Material, and is therefore ' grosser, posterior, and exterior ; and it is according to ' Order, that the purer should flow into the grosser, the ' prior into the posterior, and the interior into the exterior ; ' thus what is Spiritual into what is Material, and not the ' contrary.* ' What is Spiritual clothes itself with what is Natural ' as a Man clothes himself with a garment. It is well ' known, that both an Active and a Passive are necessary in ' every operation, and that nothing can be produced by an ' Active alone, and nothing from a Passive alone. It is ' similar with what is Spiritual and what is Natural ; what ' is Spiritual is a living force, being active, and what is ' Natural is a dead force, being passive. Hence it follows, ' that whatever existed in Nature from the beginning, and ' whatever comes into existence from moment to moment, ' exists from what is Spiritual by what is Natural. ' Another fact is also known ; that both a principal and ' an instrumental cause are requisite to every production, ' and that these two causes appear as one in the production, ' though they are distinctly two. ' Those who do not think of the Body as the vesture of ' the Soul cannot escape the inference, that the Soul lives ' by itself and the Body by itself, and that there is between ' their lives a pre-established harmony. They also fancy, ' that the life of the Soul flows into the Body, and the life ' of the Body into the Soul indifl"erently. In their opinion ' Influx is both Spiritual and Natural, when nevertheless * No. 1. 464 SWEDENBORG THE LIGHT-BEARER. ' the truth is attested in every article of Creation, that a ' Posterior does not act from itself, but from a Prior from ' which it proceeded ; nor does the Prior act from itself, but ' from something still Prior ; thus that nothing acts of itself, ' but by communication from a First, which First is God.'* The hypothesis of Spiritual Influx, he says, ' has been ' received by the Wise in the Learned World in preference * to the other two.'f There are however 'three things ' which involve the hypothesis in shade, namely — ' Ignorance respecting the Soul. ' Ignorance respecting what is Spiritual. ' Ignorance respecting the nature of Influx. ' Wherefore this ignorance must be removed, that the truth ' may be fully and rationally seen. ' This can be accomplished by no one unless it has been ' granted him by the Lord to be at the same time the ' companion of Angels in the Spiritual World and of Men ' in the Natural World. Such has been my case. ' It has hitherto been wholly unknown even in Christen- ' dom, that there is a World of Spirit completely distinct ' from the World of Nature. No Angel has descended, and ' no Man has ascended to see and declare the existence of ' either World. Lest therefore the reality of Heaven and ' Hell should be questioned and Men become Naturalists and ' Atheists, it has pleased the Lord to open my spiritual sight, * and to elevate me to Heaven and let me down to "Hell and * exhibit both to my view. J * No. 11. t No. 2 : E.G. Bishop Butler — ' The observation how sight is assisted ' by glasses shews, that we see with our eyes in the same sense as we see ' with glasses. Nor is there any reason to believe, that we see with them in ' any other sense ; any other, I mean, which would lead us to think the eye ' itself a percipient. . . . And if we see with our eyes only in the same ' manner as we do with glasses, the like may justly be concluded, from ' analogy, of all our other senses.' 'Analogy,' Part I. Chap. i. X Nos. 2 and 3. KERNEL OF SWEDENBORGIANISM. 465 ' I am compelled by conscience to publish what I have ' thus learnt ; for, What is the use of knowledge unless ' diffused ? Is it not like money hoarded in a coffer, and ' occasionally counted? Silence would be spiritual avarice.'* So much premised there follow details of the constitution of the Spiritual World — of the Sun of pure fire with its heat and light modified in the various Heavens according to the Love and Wisdom of the Angels — details which it would be superfluous to recite. These details, important though they be, do not yield the kernel of our Author's philosophy. The kernel is, that God alone lives, that Creation — all which is not God — from Man's Mind to the soil under his feet, is dead, and that Creation is vivified in every particular and at every instant by the Divine Presence. Many philosophers of superior genius, he observes, have taught, that the Body lives from the Soul, but they all fail to explain how the Soul lives. The Soul is indeed interior and purer than the Body, but, in itself, it is no more alive than the Bodyf — ' It is believed by many, that the Soul is a spark of Life, ' and that thus Man lives of Himself, but it is altogether a ' mistake. ' Man thinks and wills as from himself but it is God ' alone who acts : He is the Active to whom Man is the * Passive. Man in re-action (likewise from God) acquires ' that sensation and appearance of Independence whereby is ' effected his conjunction with God.' J This too we have gone over before, but the matter will bear repetition. I hope Swedenborg's doctrine has been made sufficiently * No. 18. t Nos. 8, 11 and 18. X No. 14. 2 H 466 HIS DOCTRINE VERY SIMPLE. plain. If it remains obscure, the fault is in the exposition, for there is no difficulty in the doctrine itself. He holds that the Stream of Life flows downwards and outwards through n^any degrees of Existence — thi-ough Existences which have nothing in common as to structure, but which correspond to each other ; for example, Mind, Brain, Body, which all differ yet which arc strictly related one to the other as Cause and Effect. Take an ordinary item of Experience and see how it is treated by a believer in Physical Influx and by a believer in Spiritual Influx. A tree is seen. " An impression is made on the retina " and an idea ascends to the Mind." Not so, says Sweden- borg ; the grosser cannot enter the rarer. The impression on the eye is met and accepted by the Mind ; the impression is merely the completion of the conception — a vessel into which Life leaps on presentation. A tune is played. " It originates certain feelings." No ; it does not ; it only serves as a base for certain feelings. It does not create the feelings. Did not the feelings corresponding to the music inwardly exist, the music would have no more efficacy than any other noise. The case may be compared to a seed set in the ground : Life descends, occupies, and developes the plant. Light, air, moisture and soil contribute nothing beyond the requi- site conditions for the influx of Spirit. Disorderly conditions arc assembled : Life enters, and there is Hell. Orderly conditions are assembled : Life enters, and there is Heaven. For this reason, Swedenborg advises, that we should disown alike the possession of Good and Evil, and refer both to influx induced by happy or unhappy circumstances.* * See present Vol. pp. 291, 2. SOULS AND HODIES. 467 Materialists are powerless against this hypothesis. It absorbs their facts and dissipates their inferences. They tell us, that unless a Man has a Brain of such a size, shape, and texture he cannot feel, reason, or observe in certain modes. True : but the Brain is not therefore identical with Feeling, or Keason, or Memory ; it is simply their instru- ment. The instrument is adapted to the internal force it is required to manifest ; and we may estimate the internal by the capacity of the external ; but we need not confound the one with the other. " There is no Psychology apart from Physiology." True in one sense, untrue in another. Physiology cannot be dissevered from Psychology. As our Author observes, ' When the Body is sick the Mind is sick ; ' but the common sickness is quite explicable without swamping Psychology in Physiology. The Comtist assures us, " that we can have no Ideas " independent of Experience." Yea, says Swedenborg. " Experience is therefore the origin of Ideas." Nay, says Swedenborg. Experience is the Body of which Thought is the Soul ; you cannot have one without the other. Education — whether it stands for the developement of Memory, Eeason, or Love — is nothing but the leading forth of Life by means of appropriate conditions. The organiza- tion is touched with the requisite circumstances and Life in correspondence therewith flows forth. You can make no draft in proper form on God which He will fail to meet. Illustrations might be multiplied without end ; there is nothing in Creation which is not an illustration of the Doctrine of Influx, for Nature exists through Spirit from God. A Discussion in the Spiritual World. ' After these pages were written, I prayed to the Lord, ' that I might be permitted to converse with some disciples 2 H 2 468 ARISTOTELIAN OPINION, ' of Aristotle, Descartes, and Leibnitz, that I might learn * their opinions concerning the intercourse between the Soul ' and the Body. ' When my pi-ayer was ended, there were present nine ' men, three Aristotelians, three Cartesians, and three Leib- * nitzians. They arranged themselves around me, the ' Aristotelians on the left, the Cartesians on the right, and * the Leibnitzians behind. At a considerable distance, and ' also distant from each other, were seen three persons ' crowned with laurel. I knew by an inflowing perception, * that they were the three great Masters themselves. Behind ' Leibnitz stood one holding the skirt of his garment. I ' was told, he was Wolf. ' Those nine men, when they beheld one another, at first ' saluted each other, and conversed together in a mild tone ' of voice ; but presently a Spirit arose from below with a ' torch in his right hand, which he shook before their faces, ' whereon they became enemies, three against three, and ' looked at each other fiercely : for they were seized with ' the lust of disputation. The Aristotelians, who were ' Schoolmen, opened the discussion, saying — ' " Who does not see, that objects flow through the ' " Senses into the Soul, as one enters through doors into ' " a chamber, and that the Soul thinks according to such ' " influx ? When a lover sees a beautiful virgin, or his ' " bride, does not his eye sparkle, and transmit the love of ' " her into the Soul ? W^hcn a raiser sees bags of money, do ' " not all his senses burn towards them, and thence induce ' " ardour into the Soul, and excite the desire of possessing '"them? When a vain man hears himself praised, Does ' " he not prick up his ears, and do not these transmit the ' " praise to the Soul ? From these and innumerable like ' " considerations, Who can conclude otherwise than that ' " Influx proceeds from Nature, or is Physical?" ' While they were thus speaking, the Cartesians held CARTESIAN AND LEIBNITZIAN OPINION. 469 ' their fingers on their foreheads ; and now withdrawing ' them, replied — ' " Alas ! you speak from appearances. Do you not ' " know, that the eye does not love a virgin or bride from ' " itself, but from the Soul ? likewise that the senses do not ' " covet the bags of money, but the Soul ; nor the ears ' " devour the praises of flatterers, but the Soul ? Is it not ' " perception that causes sensation ? and perception belongs ' " to the Soul, and not to the Body. Say, if you can, ' " What causes the tongue and lips to speak, but the ' " thought ? and what causes the hands to work, but the ' " will ? and thought and will are of the Soul, and not of * " the Body. Thus, what causes the eye to see, and the ears ' " to hear, and the other organs to feel, but the Soul? From ' " these and iimumerable like considerations, every one, ' " whose wisdom is elevated above sensual apprehension, ' " must conclude, that influx does not pass from the Body ' " into the Soul, but from the Soul into the Body." ' When these had finished, then the Leibnitzians began * to speak, saying — ' " We have heard the arguments on both sides, and have ' " compared them ; and we have perceived that in many par- ' " tieulars the latter are stronger than the former, and that ' " in many others the former are stronger than the latter ; ' " wherefore, if you please, we will compromise the dispute." ' On being asked. How ? they replied— ' " There is not any influx from the Soul into the Body, ' " nor from the Body into the Soul, but there is a unanimous ' " and instantaneous operation of both together, to which a ' " celebrated Author has assigned an elegant name, when ' " he calls it Pre-established Harmony." ' After this the Spirit with the torch appeared again, but ' the torch was now in his left hand, and he shook it behind ' their heads, whence all their ideas became confused, and ' they cried out at once — 470 THE QUESTION SETTLED. ' " Neither our Soul nor Body knows what part to take ; ' " wherefore let us settle this dispute by lot, and we will ' " abide by the lot which comes out first." ' So they took three bits of paper and wrote on one ' Physical Influx, on another Spiritual Influx, and on the ' third Pre-established Harmony ; and put them into the ' crown of a hat. Then they chose one of their number to ' draw, who, on putting in his hand, brought out Spiritual ' Influx. Having seen and read the slip, they all said, some ' with voices clear and flowing, and some with voices faint ' and indrawn — ' " Let us abide by this, because it came out first." ' Then an Angel suddenly stood by, and said — ' " Do not imagine that the paper in favour of Spiritual ' " Influx was drawn by chance. It was of Providence. ' " You do not see the truth of that doctrine, because your ' " ideas are confused ; but the truth presented itself to the ' " hand of him who drew the lots, that you might yield it ' " your assent." '* What a convenient mode of settling a controversy ! The Distinction between Man and Animals. The treatise contains some interesting observations thereon. Man's peculiarity is, that his Will and Understanding exist in independence. His Will is in a state of disorder : his Understanding ' may share the light which Angels ' enjoy.' The purpose of this division is, that the Will may be regenerated by the Understanding ; by its light wrong is made manifest, and the means indicated to set wrong right. Except for this separation and the restraint of the Understanding, Man would be the abject slave of his lusts ; « No. 19. MEN AND ANIMALS. 471 he would rush into every wickedness, and would slaughter without pity whoever did not favour him.* Be it noted, however, that where regeneration Is possible, the Will is not wholly evil — that is, selfish. There must exist in it something good — that is, something of unselfish love — to respond to the light of Heaven in the Under- standing, and to co-operate with it in the formation of the Angel. Lacking this, the illumination of the Understanding would, as in the case of Devils, vanish with the outward occasion.! In Animals, the Will and the Understanding cohere — ' Their Affection and Science are one ; their Affection ' cannot be elevated above their Science, nor their Science ' above their Affection. Their Affection is for food, for ' habitation, for the propagation of their kind, and for self- ' defence ; and their Science equals and answers their Affec- ' tion. Hence a beast never debates, " I will do this, and ' " will not do that," or " I know, or do not know," or " I ' " understand this, and I love that" — but is moved by ' impulse, and with neither rationality nor liberty.}: ' A beast does not know and understand its own actions. ' Its life may be compared to that of a sleep-walker, who ' acts by virtue of the Will whilst the Understanding is ' quiescent.' § It is not pretended, that the Affection and Science of a Beast are equivalent to the Will and Understanding of a Man, but that they are merely analogous thereto. || ' Where Men yield to their lusts, and allow their Wills ' to govern their Understandings, they are compared to ' Beasts, and they appear at a distance as Beasts in the ' Spiritual World ; they also act like Beasts, with this * No. 14. t Sec the remarks on ' Remains,' present Vol., p. 186. i 'Be Divina Providailia,' Nos. 71 and 06. ? No. 15. |! No. 15. 472 A DIVINE MEDIUM. ' difference, that they are able to act otherwise if they ' choose.'* In Paradise, the Will and the Understanding were united, and Man enjoyed the same instinct as Animals, but of an order high as Human is over Animal Love. ' The Love in which Man was created was the Love of ' his Neighbour whereby he wished him as well as he wished ' himself, and even better. This Love was truly Human. ' If Man was born into it, he would not commence life in ' ignorance, but with a certain light of knowledge, which ' would develope into intelligence. At first he would creep ' like a quadruped, but with an innate endeavour to rise, to ' walk upright, and to raise his eyes to Heaven.' f After the Fall, the Will was separated from the Under- standing in order to save Mankind from utter destruction. Now Man is born in complete ignorance ; he has to be taught to suck, to walk, to talk, to distinguish his food ; in a word, to learn everything by external direction, which Beasts do of themselves. J The Souls of Beasts do not survive the dissolution of their Bodies. § Swedenborg, as the son of a Bishop, had a natural respect for ecclesiastical order, so called, and now and then even his self-possession appears to have been stirred with the question. How he a layman should presume to handle theology ? In one place he observes — ' It may be suggested as a doubt against the Divine ' Providence, Why the Spiritual Sense of the Word is now ' revealed by this or that person, and not by a Primate of 'the Church?' Which question he answers — * No. 15. f 'De Divina Providentia,^ No. 275. ^^DeAmore Conjugialif'No. 153. ? 'Apocali/psis E:i-i