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Swedenborg,
Emanuel, 1688-1772: One of the greatest mystics
of all time, was born at Stockholm in Sweden am
the agth January. His father was a professor of
theology at Upsala, and afterwards Bishop of
Scara, and in his time was charged with
possessing heterodox opinions. Swedenborg
completed his education at the university of
Upsala in 1710, after which he visited England,
Holland, France and Germany. Five years later he
returned to h» native town, and devoted much
time to the study of natural science and
engineering, editing a paper entitled Daedalus
hyperboreus which dealt chiefly with mechanical
inventions. About 1716, Charles XII. appointed
him to the Swedish Board of Mines. He appears at
this time to have had many activities. He
published various mathematical and mechanical
works, and even took part in the siege of
Friederickshall in an engineering capacity.
Originally known as Swedberg, he was elevated to
the-rank of the nobility by Queen Ulrica and
changed his name to Swedenborg. Sitting in the
House of Nobles, his political utterances had
great weight, but his tendencies were distinctly
democratic. He busied himself privately ia
scientific gropings for the explanation of the
universe, and published at least two works
dealing with the origin of things which are of
no great account, unless as foreshadowing many
scientific facts and ventures of the future.
Thus his theories regarding light, cosmic atoms,
geology and physics, were distinctly in advance
of his time, and had they been suitably
disseminated could not but have influenced
scientific Europe. He even sketched a
flying-machine, and felt confident that although
it was unsuitable to aerial navigation, if men
of science applied themselves to the problem, it
would speedily be solved. It was in 1734 that he
published his Prodomus Philosophic
Ratiocin-antrio de Infinite which treats of the
relation of the finite to the infinite and of
the soul to the body. In this work he seeks to
establish a definite connection between the two
as a means of overcoming the difficulty of their
relationship. The spiritual and the divine
appear to him as the supreme study of man. He
ransacked the countries of Europe in quest of
the most eminent teachers and the best books
dealing with anatomy, for he considered that in
that science lay the germ of the knowledge of
soul and spirit. Through his anatomical studies
he anticipated certain modern views dealing with
the functions of the brain, which are most
remarkable.
About the age of fifty-five a profound change
overtook the character of Swedenborg. Up to this
time he had been a scientist, legislator, and
man of affairs; but now his enquiries into the
region of spiritual things were to divorce him
entirely from practical matters. His
introduction into the spiritual world, his
illumination, was commenced by dreams and
extraordinary visions. He heard wonderful
conversations and felt impelled to found a new
church. He says that the eyes of his spirit were
so opened that he could see heavens and hells,
and converse with angels and spirits : but all
his doctrines relating to the New Church came
directly from God alone, while he was reading
the gospels. He claimed that God revealed
Himself to him and told him that He had chosen
him to unveil the spiritual sense of the whole
scriptures to man. From that moment worldly
knowledge was eschewed by Swedenborg and he
worked for spiritual ends alone. He resigned his
several appointments and retired upon half pay.
Refreshing his knowledge of the Hebrew tongue,
he commenced his great works on the
interpretation of the scriptures. After the year
1747 he lived in Sweden, Holland and London, in
which city he died on the 29th of March 1772. He
was buried in the Swedish Church in Prince's
Square, in the parish of St. George's in the
East, and in April, 1908 his bones were removed,
at the request of the Swedish government, to
Stockholm.
There can be no question as to the intrinsic
honesty of Swedenborg's mind and character. He
was neither presumptuous nor overbearing as
regards his doctrines, but gentle and
reasonable. A man of few wants, his life was
simplicity itself—his food consisting for the
most part of bread, milk and coffee. He was in
the habit of lying in a trance for days
together, and day and night had no distinctions
for him. His mighty wrestlings with evil spirits
at times so terrified his servants, that they
would seek the most distant part of the house in
refuge. But again he would converse with
benignant angels in broad daylight. We are badly
hampered regarding first-hand evidence of his
spiritual life and adventures—-most of our
knowledge being gleaned from other than original
sources.
So far from attempting to found a new church, or
otherwise tamper or interfere with existing
religious systems, Swedenborg was of the opinion
that the members of all churches could belong to
his New Church in a spiritual sense. His works
may be divided into: expository volumes, notably
The Apocalypse Revealed, The Apocalypse
Explained, and Arcana Celesiia; books of
spiritual philosophy, such as Intercourse
between the Soul and the Body Divine Providence,
and Divine Love and Wisdom; books dealing with
the hierarchy of supernatural spheres such as
Heaven and Hell and The Last Judgment; and those
which are purely doctrinal, such as The New
Jerusalem, The True Christian Religion, and
Canons of the New Church. Of these his Divine
Love and Wisdom is the volume which most
succinctly presents his entire religious
systems. God he regards as the Divine Man.
Spiritually He consists of infinite love, and
corporeally of infinite wisdom. From the divine
love all things draw nourishment. The sun, as
we know it, is merely a microcosm of a spiritual
sun which emanates from the Creator. This
spiritual sun is the source of love and
knowledge, and the natural sun is the-source of
nature ; but whereas the first is alive, the
second is inanimate. There is no connection
between the two-worlds of nature and spirit
unless in similarity of construction. Love,
wisdom, use; or end, cause and effect, are the
three infinite and uncreated degrees of being in
God and man respectively. The causes of all
things exist ia the spiritual sphere and their
effects in the natural sphere, and the end of
all creation is that man' may become the image
of his Creator, and of the cosmos as a whole.
This is to be effected by a love of the degrees
above enumerated. Man possesses two vessels or
receptacles for the containment of God—the Will
for divine love, and the Understanding for
divine wisdom. Before the Fall, the flow of
these virtues into the human spirit was perfect,
but through the intervention of the forces of
evil, and the sins of man himself, it was much
interrupted. Seeking to-restore the connection
between Himself and man, God came into the world
as Man; for if He had ventured on earth in His
unveiled splendour, he would have destroyed the
hells through which he must proceed to redeem
man, and this He did not .wish to do, merely to
conquer them. The unity of God is an essential
of the Swedenborgian. theology, and he
thoroughly believes that God did not return to
His own place without leaving behind Him a
visible representative of Himself in the word of
scripture, which is an eternal incarnation, in a
three-fold sense— natural, spiritual and
celestial. Of this Swedenborg is the apostle ;
nothing was hidden from him ; he was aware of
the appearance and conditions of other worlds,
good and evil, heaven and hell, and of the
planets. " The life of religion," he says," is
to accomplish good." " The kingdom of heaven is
a kingdom of uses." One of the central ideas of
his system is known as the Doctrine of
Correspondences. Everything visible has
belonging to it ah appropriate spiritual
reality. Regarding this Vaughan says : " The
history of man is an acted parable ; the
universe, a temple covered with hieroglyphics.
Behmen, from the light which flashes on certain
exalted moments, imagines that he receives the
key to these hidden significances—that he can
interpret the Signatura Rerum. But- he does not
see spirits, or talk with angels. According to
him, such communications would be less reliable
than the intuition he enjoyed. Swedenborg takes
opposite ground. ' What I relate,' he would say,
' comes from no such mere inward persuasion. I
recount the things I have seen. I do not labour
to recall and to express the manifestation made
me in some moment of ecstatic exaltation. I
write you down a plain statement of journeys and
conversations in the spiritual world, which have
made the greater part of my daily history for
many years together. I take my stand upon
experience. I have proceeded by observation and
induction as strict as that of any man of
science among you. Only it has been given me to
enjoy an experience reaching into two
worlds—that of spirit, as well as that of
matter.' .....
" According to Swedenborg, all the mythology and
the symbolisms of ancient times were so many
refracted or fragmentary correspondences—relics
of that better day when every outward object
suggested to man's mind its appropriate divine
truth. Such desultory and uncertain links
between the seen and the unseen are so many
imperfect attempts toward that harmony of the
two worlds which he believed himself
commissioned to reveal. The happy thoughts of
the artist, the imaginative analogies of the
poet, are exchanged with Swedenborg for an
elaborate system. All the terms and objects in
the natural and spiritual worlds are catalogued
in pairs. This method appears so much formal
pedantry. Our fancies will not work to order.
The meaning and the life with which we
continually inform outward objects—those
suggestions from sight and sound,«which make
almost every man at times a poet—are our own
creations, are determined by the mood of the
hour, cannot be imposed from without, cannot be
arranged like the nomenclature of a science. As
regards the inner sense of scripture, at all
events, Swedenborg introduces some such yoke. In
that province, however, it is perhaps as well
that those who are not satisfied with the
obvious sense should find some restraint for
their imagination, some method for their
ingenuity, some guidance in a curiosity
irresistible to a certain class of minds. If an
objector say,' I do not see why the ass should
correspond to scientific truth, and the horse to
intellectual truth,' Swedenborg will reply, '
This analogy rests on no fancy of mine, but on
actual experience and observation in the
spiritual world. I have always seen horses and
asses present and circumstanced, when, and
according as, those inward qualities were
central.' But I do not believe that it was the
design of Swedenborg rigidly to determine the
relationships by which men are continually
uniting_the seen and unseen worlds. He probably
conceived it his mission to disclose to men the
divinely-ordered correspondences of scripture,
the close relationship of man's several states
of being, and to make mankind more fully aware
that matter and spirit were associated, not only
in ihe varying analogies of imagination, but by
the deeper affinity of eternal law. In this way,
he sought ,to impart an impulse rather than to
prescribe a scheme. His consistent followers
will acknowledge that had he lived to another
age, and occupied a different social position,
the forms under which the spiritual world
presented itself in Jiim would have been
different. To a large extent, therefore, his
Memorable Relations must be regarded as true for
him only—for such a character, in such a day,
though
•containing principles independent of personal
peculiarity and local colouring. It would have
been indeed inconsistent, had the Protestant who
(as himself a Reformer)
•essayed to supply the defects and correct the
errors of the Reformation—had he designed to
prohibit all advance beyond his own position."
The style of Swedenborg is clear-cut and
incisive. He is
•never overpowered by manifestations from the
unseen. Whereas other mystics are seized by fear
or joy by these and become incomprehensible, he
is in his element, and "when on the very
pinnacles of ecstasy can observe the
•smallest details with a scientific eye. We know
nowadays that a great many of his visions do not
square with scientific probabilities. Thus those
which detail his journeys among the planets and
describe the flora and fauna, let us say, of
Mars, can be totally disproved, as we are aware
•that such forms of life as he claims to have
seen could not
•possibly exist upon that planet. The question
arises: Did the vast amount of work accomplished
by Swedenborg in the first half of his life lead
to more or less serious mental
•derangement ? There have been numerous cases of
similar injury through similar causes. But the
scientific exactness and clarity of his mind
survived to the last. So far as he knew science
he applied it .admirably and with minute
exactness to his system ; but just as the
science of Dante raises a smile, so we feel
sMghtly intolerant of Swedenborgs scientific
application to things spiritual. He was probably
the only mystic with a real scientific training;
others had been adepts in chemistry and kindred
studies, but no mystic ever experienced such a
long and arduous
•scientific apprenticeship as Swedenborg. It
colours the whole of his system. It would be
exceedingly difficult to say whether he was more
naturally a mystic or a scientist. Jn the first
part of his life we do not find him greatly
exercised by spiritual affairs; and it is only
when he had passed the meridian of human days
that he seriously began to. consider matters
supernatural. The change to the life of a
mystic, if not rapid was certainly not prolonged
: what then caused it ? We can only suspect that
his whole tendency was essentially mystical from
the first, and that he was a scientist by force
of circumstance rather than because of any other
reason. The spiritual was constantly simmering
within his brain, but, as the world is ever with
us, he found it difficult to throw off the
superincumbent mass of affairs, which probably
trammelled him for years. At length the
fountains of his spirit welled up so fiercely
that they could no longer be kept back ; and
throwing aside his scientific oars, he leaped
into the spiritual ocean which afterwards
speedily engulfed him. There is perhaps no
analogy to be found to his case in the biography
of science. We cannot altogether unveil the
springs of the man's spirituality, but we know
that they existed deep down in him. It has often
been said that he was a mere visionary, and not
a mystic, in the proper sense of the word; but
the terms of his philosophy dispose of this
contention ; although in many ways it does not
square with the generally-accepted doctrines of
mysticism, it is undoubtedly one of the most
striking and pregnant contributions to it. He is
the apostle of the divine humanity, and the '"
Grand Man " is with him the beginning and end of
the creative purpose. The originality of his
system is marked, and the detail with which he
surrounded it provides his followers of the
present day with a greater body of teaching than
that of probably any other mystical master.
The following extracts from Swedenborg's works
wil assist the reader in gaining some idea of
his eschatology and general doctrine:—
" The universe is an image of God, and was made
for nse. Providence is the government of the
Lord in heaven and o« earth. It extends itself
over all things, because there ss only one
fountain of life, namely, the Lord, whose power
supports all that exists.
" The influence of the Lord is according to a
plan, and is invisible, as is Providence, by
which men are not coa-strained to believe, and
thus to lose their freedom. The influence of the
Lord passes over from the spiritual to tfae
natural, and from the inward to the outward. The
Lord confers his influence on the good and the
bad, but the latter converts the good into evil,
and the true into the false; for so is the
creature of its will fashioned.
" In order to comprehend the origin and progress
of this influence, we must first know that that
which proceeds from the Lord is the divine
sphere which surrounds as, and fills the
spiritual and natural world. All that proceeds
from an object, and surrounds and clothes it, e
called its sphere.
" As all that is spiritual knows neither time
.nor space, it therefore follows that the
general sphere or the divine one has extended
itself from the first moment of creation to the
last. This divine emanation, .which passed over
from the spiritual to the natural, penetrates
actively and rapidly through the whole created
world, to the last grade of it, where it is yet
to be found, and produces and maintains all that
is animal, vegetable, and mineral. Man is
continually surrounded by a sphere of his
favourite propensities ; these unite themselves
to the natural sphere of his body, so that
together they form one. The natural sphere
surrounds every body of nature, and all the
objects of the three kingdoms. Thus it allies
itself to the spiritual world. This is the
foundation of sympathy and antipathy, of union
and separation, according to which there are
amongst spirits presence and absence. " The
angel said to me that the sphere surrounded men
more lightly on the back than on the breast,
where it was thicker and stronger. This sphere
of influence, peculiar to man, operates also in
general and in particular around him by means of
the will, the understanding, and the practice,
" The sphere proceeding from God, which
surrounds man and constitutes his strength,
while it thereby operates on his neighbour and
on the whole creation, is a sphere of peace and
innocence; for the Lord is peace and innocence.
Then only is man consequently able to make his
influence effectual on his fellow man, when
peace and innocence rule in his heart, and he
himself is in union •with heaven. This spiritual
union is connected with the natural by a
benevolent man through the touch and the laying
on of hands, by which the influence of the inner
man is quickened, prepared, and imparted. The
body communicates with others which are about it
through the body, and the spiritual influence
diffuses itself chiefly through the hands,
because these are the most outward or ultimum of
man; and through him, as in the whole of nature,
the first is contained in the last, as the cause
in the effect. The whole soul and the whole body
are contained in the hands as a medium of
influence. Thus our Lord healed the sick by
laying on of hands, on which account so many
were healed by the touch; and thence from the
remotest times the consecration of priests and
of all holy things was effected by laying on of
hand. According to the etymology of the word,
hands denote power. Man believes that his
thoughts and his will proceed from within him,
whereas ail this flows into him. If he
considered things in their true form, he would
ascribe evil to hell, and good to the Lord ; he
would by the Lord's grace recognise good and
evil within himself, and be happy. Pride alone
has denied the influence of God, and destroyed
the human race."
In his work Heaven and Hell, Swedenborg speaks
of influence and reciprocities—Correspondences.
The action of correspondence is perceptible in a
man's counntenance. In a countenance that has
not learned hypocrisy, all emotions are
represented naturally according to their true
form ; whence the face is called the mirror of
the soul. In the same way, what belongs to the
understanding is represented in the speech, and
what belongs to the will in the movements. Every
expression in the face, in the speech, in the
movements, is called correspondence. By
correspondence man communicates with heaven, and
he can thus communicate with the angels if he
possess the science of correspondence by means
of thought. In order that communication may
exist between heaven and man, the word is
composed of nothing but correspondences, for
everything in the word is correspondent, the
whole and the parts; therefore he can learn
secrets, of which he perceives nothing in the
literal sense ; for in the word, there is,
besides the literal meaning, a spiritual
meaning—one of the world, the other of heaven.
Swedenborg had his visions and communications
with the angels and spirits by means of
correspondence in the spiritual sense. " Angels
speak from the spiritual world, according to
inward thought; from wisdom, their speech flows
in a tranquil stream, gently and
uninterruptedly,—they speak only in vowels the
heavenly angels in A and 0, the spiritual ones
in E and I, for the vowels give tone to the
speech, and by the tone the emotion is expressed
; the interruptions, on the other
heaven, they speak just as intelligently as the
man by my side. But if they turn away from man,
he hears nothing more whatever, even if they
speak close to his ear. It is also remarkable
that several angels can speak to a man; they
send down a spirit inclined to man, and he thus
hears them united."
In another place he says:—" There are also
spirits called natural or corporeal spirits;
these have no connection with thought, like the
others, but they enter the body, possess all the
senses, speak with the mouth, and act with the
limbs, for they know not but that everything in
that man is their own. These are the spirits by
which men are possessed. They were, however,
sent by the Lord to hell; whence in our days
there are no more such possessed ones in
existence."
Swedenborg's further doctrines and visions of
Harmonies, that is to say, of heaven with men,
and with all objects of nature ; of the harmony
and correspondence of all thing with each other;
of Heaven, of Hell, and of the world of spirits;
of the various states of man after death,
etc.—are very characteristic, important, and
powerful. " His contemplations of the
enlightened inward eye refer less to everyday
associations and objects of life (although he
not unfrequently predicted future occurrences),
because his mind was only directed to the
highest spiritual subjects, in which indeed he
had attained an uncommon degree of inward
wakefulness, but is therefore not understood or
known, because he described his sights so
spiritually and unusually by language. His
chapter on the immensity of heaven attracts more
especially because it contains a conversation of
spirits and angels about the planetary system.
The planets are naturally inhabited as well as
the planet Earth, but the inhabitants differ
according to the various individual formation of
the planets. These visions on the inhabitants of
the planets agree most remarkably, and almost
without exception with the indications of a
clairvoyant whom I treated magnetically. I do
not think that she knew Swedenborg ; to which,
however, I attach little importance. The two
seers perceived Mars in quite a different
manner. The magnetic seer only found images of
fright and horror. Swedenborg, on the other
hand, describes them as the best of all spirits
of the planetary system. Their gentle, tender,
zephyr-like language, is more perfect, purer and
richer in thought, and nearer to the language of
the angels, than others. These people associate
together, and judge each other by the
physiognomy, which amongst them is always the
expression of the thoughts. They honour the Lord
as sole God, who appears sometimes on their
earth."
" Of the inhabitants of Venus he says:—' They
are of two kinds; some are gentle and
benevolent, others wild, cruel and of gigantic
stature. The latter rob and plunder, and live by
this means ; the former have so great a degree
of gentleness and kindness that they are always
beloved by the good; thus they often see the
Lord appear in their own form on their. earth.'
Jt is remarkable that this description of Venus
agrees so" well with the old fable, and with the
opinions and experience we have of Venus.
" The inhabitants of the Moon are small, like
children of six or seven years old ; at the same
time they have the strength of men like
ourselves. Their voice rolls like thunder, and
the sound proceeds from the belly, because the
moon is in quite a different atmosphere from the
other planets."
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