Letters (Acton) n. 1

1. [Letter to Count Bonde, August 11, 1760]

Your High Countship's Excellency:*

I am grateful for the honor of your Excellency's letter, and for the most kind invitation to Hesleby. As to the accompanying letter from Herr Baron Hatzel of Rotterdam, I ought to answer it in accordance with his desire, but since it concerns the Writings which hast came out in London, on which my name is not printed, I must not let myself into any literary correspondence with any one in foreign lands, and so myself give my name as the author.** But not so within my own country.*** Yet those who are in foreign lands can be answered through others, and I humbly beg that your Excellency will be so good as to convey my greetings to him and ask him to excuse my not being able to give him a written answer; yet assure him that it was a great pleasure to me that he found enjoyment and light in the reading of the Writings, this being a sign that he had enlightenment from heaven, for without enlightenment, no one can understand the things written therein since they pertain not to the outer understanding but to the inner.
As regards the question whether there are any verses in the Books of Moses which have the property and power to bring one into commerce or conversation with spirits, I know of no verses in the Scripture which have this property above other verses; but I know that when man reads it with affection and attention, spirits and angels have part therein, and adjoin themselves to the man; for God's Word is so written that it makes a bond between heaven and earth (what is written hereon can be seen in the treatise concerning Heaven and Hell, nos. 305-310). Yet the Lord so disposes that spirits and men seldom come so close together that they talk with each other reciprocally;**** for by such close commerce with spirits, the man can soon come into peril of soul, and into danger of his life.***** I will therefore advise against all desire therefor. The Lord Himself has been pleased to introduce me into conversation and a common life with spirits and angels for the sake of the things which are mentioned in the Writings. Therefore the Lord Himself protects me against the many and crafty attempts and threats of evil spirits. Spirits and men are held apart from each other by the fact that spirits are in spiritual thought and speech, and men in natural thought and speech. This separates them from each other, and they make one only by correspondences - an arrangement which likewise has been written of. Therefore, so long as spirits are in a spiritual state, and men in a natural state, they do not come together so as to converse. Yet they are together in their affections. But when spirits talk with man, they are outside their spiritual state, and in a natural state like the man, and then they are able to lead the man into danger of his soul and of his life, as previously stated. For this reason, they must be held apart so that the spirits know nothing from man, and man knows nothing from them, though they are always together; for man cannot live unless there are spirits with him, it being through them that he has connection with heaven and with hell, and by this connection he has his life.
I make bold humbly to request that your Excellency, when writing to Baron Hatzel, convey my respectful greetings and excuse, and as answer, if this is agreeable to your Excellency, give something of that which is now stated; for it is of this that he writes to me in his letter, and he desires information.
I remain, with all reverence and respect,
Your high Countship Excellency's
most humble servant,
Em. Swedenborg

Stockholm, Aug. 11, 1760

* Count Gustaf Bonde (1682-1764) was a descendant of one of the most ancient noble families of Sweden. When in 1727 he became a member of the Privy Council, he was the twentieth member of his family in direct line from father to son who had filled that office. He was a supporter of Horn's policy of peace, and when the Hats came into power, he was forced to resign (March 1740). During the next twenty-one years he retired to his estates and spent his time in study and writing, though during the earlier of these years he continued his office as Chancellor of Upsala University, where he introduced many important educational reforms. He had been elected Chancellor in 1737. In 1761, when the Caps came into power, he again became a Privy Councillor and remained such until his death. Among his papers are some comments on Heaven and Hell and the Last Judgment, which indicate that he did not accept Swedenborg's teaching.
** In his first draft, as copied by Bengt Bergius, Swedenborg here adds: "The bookseller who has these writings for sale has also been forbidden to make my name known." (2 Doc. 397-98, 401)
*** This distinction is strictly in accordance with Swedenborg's practice. He was called upon in March by Baron Tilas, and in March and June by Count Tessin; and to both these men he talked of his spiritual experiences without the slightest reservation.
**** In his draft, Swedenborg here adds: "for this more dangerous than men suppose" (2 Doc. 232 note).
***** In his draft, Swedenborg here adds: "Unless the Lord Himself bring them into this condition and take them under His care and protect them specially, as is the case with me."

Letters (Acton) n. 2

Letters (Acton) n. 2

2. [Letter to Dr. Beyer, April 15, 1766]

Most Reverend Herr Doctor:

Yesterday I had the pleasure of the Herr Doctor's letter of March 18, and this week will betake myself to London, and am thinking of being back in Sweden at the end of next July or the beginning of August, when I shall again have the pleasure of talking with the Herr Doctor in Gothenburg.
From Herr Doctor's letter, I note that the 1st, 2nd, and 8th volumes of Arcana Celestia have not been received, when yet, in London, at the same person's place,* there are still some complete copies. As soon as I get there, I shall inquire how this came about, and will dispatch the volumes that are missing, or instead, a complete set, and this without any payment whatsoever.
As regards the writings of the Apostles and Paul, I have not quoted them in the Arcana Coelestia for the reason that they are doctrinal writings, and so are not written in the style of the Word as are the Prophets, David, the Gospels, and the Apocalypse. The style of the Word consists wholly of correspondences, and therefore they effect immediately communication with heaven, while in doctrinal writings, there is another style, which does indeed have communication with heaven but mediately. The reason why they were so written by the Apostles, was that, by them, the New Christian Church should have its beginning, and therefore doctrinal matters could not be written in the style of the Word but only in a way which could be understood more clearly and intimately. The Apostles' writings are nevertheless good church-books and maintain the doctrine of charity and the faith thereof, just as strongly as does the Lord Himself in the Gospels and the Apocalypse, as can be clearly seen and discovered if one has his mind thereon when reading them.
That Paul's words concerning justification by faith (Rom. 3:28)** are incorrectly understood, is shown in Apocalypsis Revalata n. 417. It may thus be also seen that the doctrine concerning faith alone justifying, which constitutes the present day theology in the churches of the Reformed, is built on an entirely false foundation.
After my most dutiful greetings to friends of the Herr Doctor and myself, I remain, with high regard
the most reverend Herr Doctor's
obedient servant
Em. Swedenborg

Amsterdam
April 15, 1766

* Presumably Swedenborg learned from where G. F. Beyer or his Agents had procured the odd volumes of the Arcana Coelestia.
** "Man is justified by faith without the works of the law."

Letters (Acton) n. 3

Letters (Acton) n. 3

3. [Letter to Bishop Mennander, September 16, 1766]

Right Rev. Doctor and Bishop:

I am sending you, most Reverend Sir a Lucubration of my youth concerning the Finding of the Longitude of places on land and at sea by means of the moon, which was recently published at Amsterdam and was communicated to Societies of Sciences and to Academies, with the courteous request that you deliver it into the hands of the Abo Professor of Astronomy that, if he finds it adequate in its nature and object, he may put it into practice. In foreign parts, various men, following this method, are computing ephemerides from pairs of stars, and from these when made up for several years, a signal use is expected.
The Apocalypse is now explained, or rather revealed, but no occasion has as yet offered itself to transmit it to you, most Rev. Sir, and at the same time, to the Library. Kindly tell me to whom here in Stockholm I may deliver them.*
It is being discussed by certain persons whether the present day is the consummation of the age and then the coming of the Lord, and from Him, the New Church. Some think that the faith of this day which is directed to God the Father for the sake of the Son is real saving faith. But in the Apocalypse Revealed it is demonstrated that this faith has destroyed the church and abolished religion, and thus has so devastated and consummated all things of worship that there is no longer any truth or any good; and that the works which are called the fruits of faith are nothing but those eggs spoken of in Isaiah 59:5.** Therefore, they who have confirmed themselves in that faith with its [spider's] web, and who believe that the good works which they do, are the fruits of that faith, are hallucinated and delirious, nor can they be led out of their delirium save by rejecting the confirmation of that faith, and by adopting faith in Jesus Christ - a faith which contains no such thing within it. This may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning Faith, n. 34, 35, 36, 37.

The present day falses of faith are the following:

1. That the Lord has taken away the damnation of the law, when yet He did not take away a single jot of the law; for every one is judged according to his deeds (Rom. 2:10, 13; 2 Cor. 5:10, etc., etc., etc.). But the Lord did take away damnation, for without His Advent into the world, no one could have been saved.

2. That the Lord fulfilled the Law is a truth, it being thereby that He alone became righteousness; but He did not thereby free man from the Law, for the Lord fulfills that Law with all those who shun evils as sins and approach Him; for those who shun certain sins which they see in themselves are in the effort to shun all sins as soon as they know them.

3. That the Lord's merit is imputed to man. This is impossible. His merits are two in number-that He subjugated the hells, and that He glorified His human. These two cannot be imputed to any one; but by them the Lord put Himself into the power of saving those who approach Him, search themselves, and shun their evils as sins.

4. That God the Father is approached, in order that, for the sake of the Son, He may have mercy and may send the Holy Spirit, is the universal manner of worship, and, moreover, involves a clear idea of three gods, as, that the Father is one, the Son another, and the Holy Spirit another; and if it is said that by the Son is meant His human, there is then an idea of two in respect to the Lord.

5. That man is justified by oral faith, provided that the oral faith be made with trust and confidence-this is false (Rom. 2: 10, Jas. 1:22***). There is no truth in that faith, nor is there any good; thus it is not a church or a religion; for the truth of doctrine makes the church, and the good of life makes religion.

6. It is said that good works, or the good works of charity, are the fruits of that faith, when yet the connection of that faith with good works has not yet been found by any ecclesiastical society; nay, they teach that good works do not preserve or retain faith, and therefore that there are no other fruits of that faith save the works of the Holy Spirit with the man-works of which the man knows nothing; and that if he does any good works, they are merely moral and civil which contribute nothing whatever to salvation.

7. That the saying of Paul (Rom. 3: 28 ****) upon which the present day theology in respect to salvation is founded, is falsely understood, is clearly shown in the Apocalypse Revealed n. 417.

In addition to the above, there is much else which I here forebear mentioning. From this, it can plainly be seen that if one makes fruits from that faith, he makes the eggs spoken of in Isaiah 59:5. For the teaching in the New Church is that faith can never produce the good works of charity, in the way that fruit receives its juices and their flavors from the tree; and thus that the fruits or good works of the faith of today, spoken of above, have no other juices, and so no other flavors, than confirmations of the faith, these being the falsities which are within its good works. This, man is ignorant of, but angels sensate it.

[Em. Swedenborg]

*Stiernman through whom Swedenborg had sent Mennander the volumes of the Arcana Coelestia had died in 1765.
** "They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web; he that eateth of their eggs dieth."
*** "Glory, honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile" (Rom. 2:10).
"If any be a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass" (Jas. 1:22).
**** "Man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

Letters (Acton) n. 4

Letters (Acton) n. 4

4. [To Oetinger, September 23, 1766]

I recently returned home from foreign parts-Holland and England-and received your two letters, one of October 13, 1765 together with another, for which I thank you.

There are 5 works in which I have written from things heard and seen: 1. Concerning Heaven and Hell. 2. Concerning the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine. 3. Concerning the Last Judgment. 4. Concerning the White Horse. 5. Concerning the Inhabitants of the Planets. Other works were published later: 1. Concerning the Lord. 2. Concerning the Sacred Scripture. 3. The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem. 4. Concerning Faith. 5. Concerning the Spiritual world.* 6. Angelic Wisdom concerning Divine Providence. 7. Angelic Wisdom concerning Divine Love and Wisdom; but these 7 works together do not make 72 whole sheets.** This year was published Apocalypsis Revelata, promised in the work on the Last judgment, from which it can be clearly seen that I speak with angels; for without revelation, not the least verse in the Apocalypse can be understood.

Who cannot see that by the New Jerusalem is meant a New Church? and that the doctrinals thereof cannot be disclosed save by the Lord alone, being described there by things merely typical, that is, by correspondences? and, moreover, that they cannot be divulged in the world save by one to whom is given revelation? I can solemnly bear witness that the Lord Himself has appeared to me, and has sent me to do what I am doing, and for this end has opened the interiors of my mind, being the interiors of my spirit, that I might see the things which are in the spiritual world, and might hear those who are there, and this now for twenty-two years.*** At the present day, however, bearing witness does not avail to bring belief in this; but to one who enjoys intelligence, confirmation can be had from my writings as witnesses, especially from the Apocalypse Revealed. Who has heretofore known anything concerning the spiritual sense of the Word? and who has known anything concerning the spiritual world, or concerning heaven and hell? Who has known anything concerning man's life after death? Must all this and much else be hidden from Christians forever?

That these things are disclosed now for the first time is for the sake of the New Church, that these latter,**** may have knowledge of them. Others may indeed know them, but yet, being without belief, they do not know them.

All the works mentioned above are on sale in London, England, at Mr. Lewis' in Paternoster Row near Cheapside. These my writings concerning the New Jerusalem cannot be called Prophecies but Revelations. Fare you well and prosper,

Most devotedly

Sept. 23, 1766

Em. Swedenborg

* i.e., Continuation of the Last judgment.
** A sheet made 4 leaves (8 pp.) quarto. The above 7 works fill 561 pages.
*** i.e., since September 1744.
**** i.e., men of the New Church.

Letters (Acton) n. 5

Letters (Acton) n. 5

5. [Not included]

Letters (Acton) n. 6

Letters (Acton) n. 6

6. [To Oetinger, November 11, 1766]

1. Is a sign, that I have been sent by the Lord to do what I am doing, necessary?*

Answer: Signs and miracles are not given at the present day because they compel outwardly and do not persuade inwardly. What effect did the miracles of Egypt, and the descent of Jehovah upon Mount Sinai have upon the Israelitish nation, which yet, a month later, made themselves a golden calf, and worshiped it as Jehovah? What effect did the Lord's miracles have upon the Jewish nation, which yet crucified Him? It would be the same at this day were the Lord to appear in a cloud with angels and trumpets; see Luke 16: 29-31. At this day the sign will be illustration, and hence acknowledgment and reception of the truths of the New Church; moreover, with some, there will be speaking illustration. This is more than a sign. But perhaps some sign will still be given.

2. Have I spoken with the Apostles?

Answer: I have spoken with Paul for a whole year-also concerning what he wrote in Romans 3: 28. I have spoken three times with John, once with Moses, a hundred times with Luther who confessed that, contrary to the admonition of an angel, he had adopted faith alone solely for the sake of a separation from the Papists; but with angels I have spoken now for 22 years, and am speaking with them daily. These the Lord has adjoined to me.

There was no need to mention this in my published books. Who would believe it? And who would not say, Give me a sign that I may believe? and this every one would say, who does not see it.

3. Why from being a philosopher I was chosen?

Answer: It is for the reason that the spiritual things which are now being revealed may be taught and understood naturally and rationally; for spiritual truths have correspondence with natural truths, it being in these that they terminate, and upon them they rest. That there is a correspondence of all spiritual things with all things of man and also with all things of the earth, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell n. 87-102, n. 103-15. Therefore, I was introduced by the Lord first into the natural sciences and thus prepared, and this from the year 1710 to the year 1744 when heaven was opened to me.** Moreover, every man is led to things spiritual by means of things natural; for man is natural by birth, moral by education, and spiritual after being born of the Lord. Moreover, the Lord has granted it to me that I loved truths spiritually, that is, not for the sake of honor or for the sake of gain, but for the sake of the truths themselves; for he who loves truths for the sake of truths sees them from the Lord, the Lord being the Way and the Truth (John 14: 6). But one who loves them for the sake of honor or gain sees them from himself, and to see from oneself is to see falsities.

Falses confirmed have closed the Church, therefore truths confirmed rationally will open it. Who otherwise can understand, acknowledge, and believe things spiritual which are transcendent? The dogma handed down by the Papists and received by the Reformed that in theological matters, the understanding must be held captive under obedience to faith, has again closed the Church. What then shall open it save an understanding enlightened by the Lord. But of this, see Apocalypse Revealed n. 912.

4. I am sorry that you have suffered because of your translation of the book on Heaven and Hell,*** but what suffers more at this day than truth itself. How many are those who see it? nay, who wish to see it? Therefore, be not discouraged; you are a defender of truth.

Stockholm Nov. 11, 1766

Your most devoted servant, Eman. Swedenborg

* Oetinger (1702-1782) was a disciple of Jacob Boehme. He was a firm believer in orthodox Lutheran theology, and despite all his reading of Swedenborg's works, never entertained any doubts as to its truth. But he firmly believed that God had commissioned Swedenborg to reveal the nature of life after death. Oetinger had studied Boehme, he cultivated the society of men who claimed to have spiritual visions, and in Swedenborg's works he saw the most complete revelation of the spiritual world. His theology, he rejected, and especially his exegesis of the Scripture which he thought to be destructive of the plain meaning of the Holy Word. "God calls his instruments for one thing only" (Ehmann, Oetingers Leben u. Briefe, p 772).
** In August 1710, Swedenborg made his first visit to England. His second visit was in May 1744.
*** Oetinger's previous letter of October 7 notes: "But, O my Sir, you will hardly believe how much I have to suffer on your account because I translated the first volume of your book [The Arcana Coelestia?], and, indeed, only the things seen."

Letters (Acton) n. 7

Letters (Acton) n. 7

7. [To Beyer, February 1767]

PRO MEMORIA

Several questions have been put to me by the Herr Doctor's friend,* to which the present will serve as a dutiful answer:

1. My thought concerning the writings of Boehme and L-. I have never read them, and it was forbidden me to read dogmatic and systematic books in theology before heaven was opened to me, and this for the reason that thereby unfounded opinions and novelties might find occasion to insinuate themselves, which afterwards could be removed with difficulty. Therefore, when heaven was opened to me, I had first to learn the Hebrew language, and also correspondences, of which the whole Bible is composed, and this led me to read the whole of God's Word many times. And since God's Word is the source from which all theology must be taken, I was thereby put in a position to receive instruction from the Lord who is the Word.

2. How soon is a New Church to be expected? Answer: The Lord is now preparing a new heaven of those who believe in Him and acknowledge Him as the true God of heaven and earth, and likewise look up to Him in their lives, which means the shunning of what is evil and the doing of what is good; for it is from this heaven that the New Jerusalem is to come down (Apoc. 21:2). I see daily spirits and angels descending and ascending to the number of from 10 to 20.000 and being set in order. Gradually, as that heaven is formed, so the New Church commences and increases. The universities in Christendom are now first being instructed, and from them come new priests; for the new Heaven has no influence with the old, which keeps itself too learned in justification by faith alone.

3. As to the promised treatise on Infinity, Omnipotence, Omnipresence. Answer: Treatment of these subjects is involved in Angelic Wisdom concerning Divine Providence nos. 46-54, 157; in Angelic Wisdom concerning Divine Love and Wisdom, nos. 4, 17, 19, 21, 44, 69, 72, 76, 106, 156, 318; and in Apocalypse Revealed no. 961; and they will be still further treated of in the Arcana of Angelic Wisdom concerning Conjugial Love; for to write something specifically on these Divine Attributes would be to elevate the thoughts too high without the assistance of anything to support them. For this reason, the subject has been brought in in series with other matters, which fall within the understanding.**

I have read the whole of the Herr Doctor's Nya Fbrs, 5k 6fver Evangelierna I with pleasure. The interpretations of the text for the first Sunday in Advent are fine. In this connection, I will give you the signification of the manger, of John's baptism, and of Elias. The manger signified instruction from the Word, because mules and horses signify the understanding of the Word (see Apoc. Rev. n. 298). and their nourishment was in the manger. There being no room in the inn signified that there was no place of instruction in Jerusalem; for which reason it is said to the shepherds, who signified the coming Church, This shall be the sign unto you; ye shall find the babe lying in a manger (Luke 2: 12).

John's baptism prepared the heavens so that the Jewish people could continue, when God Himself came among them; and John signified every prophetic saying in the Old Testament concerning the Lord and His Advent, as also did Elias, he being the foremost of the Prophets.

Since men here are now beginning to think more of charity than before, holding firmly forth that charity and faith cannot be separated, therefore here also faith alone is beginning to be called the Herrenhyter Faith .*** Stockholm, February 1767.
* Perhaps Mr. Peter Hammarberg, Dr. Beyer's brother-in-law.
** This paragraph is followed by three *'s, which would seem to indicate that at this point some part of the letter has been omitted.
*** i.e., the faith taught at Herrnhut, a town in Saxony, built by Zinzendorf in 1722 for the Moravian Brethren, his followers.

Letters (Acton) n. 8

Letters (Acton) n. 8

8. [To Oetinger, November 8, 1768]

Most Rev. And Excellent Herr Councillor:

It was with pleasure that I received your letter dated Murrhard, October 28. I am sorry that you have not yet received the three copies of my new work on Conjugial and Scortatory Love. I took them to the place here in Amsterdam, from which such parcels are dispatched to different places in Germany, first, I think, to Arnheim, and thence by coach or wagon to the designated places. I wrote on it "Wurtenburg." If he has arrived, perhaps it is in a guesthouse or an inn there, where these carriers call and stay. If opportunity offers, or some way is found, 9 other copies will be dispatched, together with the work on the Planets. I asked the servant who brought your letter, whether his master knew of any opportunity, but he has not yet returned with the answer. If I find a way, nothing will be wanting.

You bring up a doubt, most reverend Sir, that power over all flesh was given to Christ, when yet angels and heavenly beings do not have flesh, their bodies being luminous. To this, kindly receive the following answer:

In that passage, by all flesh is meant every man, and therefore in the Word it is sometimes said all flesh. As regards the bodies of angels, they do not appear as luminous but as fleshy; for they are substantial and not material, and in the sight of angels things substantial are not transparent. In its origin every material thing is substantial. It is into this substantial that every man comes when by death he puts off the material exuviae. This is the reason why man is a man after death, but a purer man- comparatively as the substantial is in respect to the material. That the Lord has power not only over every man but also over all angels, is evident from His own words: "Unto me is given all power in heaven and on earth" [Matt.] 28: 18.

Since in your letter you make mention of the natural and spiritual sense of the Word, therefore, lest it be thought that I have written anything contradictory concerning them, I add a separate sheet of paper on which these two senses are described.

I will be,

most reverend and excellent Sir
Your most devoted servant
Eman. Swedenborg
Amsterdam
Nov. 8, 1768
[Enclosure]

ON THE NATURAL AND SPIRITUAL SENSE OF THE WORD

That in the Word in its external or natural sense there is an internal or spiritual sense as a noble gem in its matrix, or as a beautiful infant in its swaddling clothes, has hitherto been entirely unknown in the Christian world. Therefore also unknown, is all that is meant by the consummation of the age, the Advent of the Lord, the Last Judgment, and the New Jerusalem, of which many things are said and foretold in the Word of both Testaments, the Old and the New.

Without the unfolding and unswathing of the sense of the letter of the Word by means of its spiritual sense, who can know from his understanding what is signified by the things predicted by the Lord in Matthew, chapter 24, and also in the Apocalypse? likewise the things predicted in Daniel, and in many places in the Prophets? Try it, if you wish. Read here and there in the Prophetic Word where it treats now of beasts and wild beasts, now of pools and marshes, now of woods and thickets, now of valleys and mountains, now of screech owls, ochim, tziim, satyrs, etc; are you going to perceive anything divine in these things, had you not believed that, since the Word is inspired by God, it lay within them as a gem in its matrix, as said above? That the gems or precious jewels which lie within are the things contained in the internal sense, has been fully demonstrated in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture, n. 5-26; and, moreover, in the same work, n. 27-36, that the sense of the letter of the Word is the base, containant, and firmament of its spiritual sense; and that in the sense of the letter of the Word, Divine Truth is in its holiness and in its power, n. 37-49; and also that the doctrine of the Church must be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word and confirmed by it, n. 50-61 ; and, furthermore, that by the sense of the letter of the Word, with its mediate spiritual sense, there is conjunction with the Lord and consociation with angels, n. 6269.

To the above I will add something new from the spiritual world: Leaders of the Church who come into that world after death, are first taught concerning the Sacred Scripture, that in it, is a spiritual sense which was unknown to them in the world. It is also told them that angels of heaven are in that sense when a man is in the sense of the letter; and, furthermore, that, with man, the translation or mutation of the latter sense into the former is effected when he reads the Word in a state of holiness, and that there is an unfolding or unswathing in like manner as, when the shell around an almond is broken, the shell is dispersed and the bared almond passes into heaven and is received by angels. It is also like as when seed is cast into earth, and there, bared of its coverings, gives forth a germ. The seed is the Word in the sense of the letter, and the germ brought forth from it is the spiritual sense. The latter passes on to the angels, while the former is quiescent with the man. Yet with the man, that seed remains in his mind as in its soil; and in time it produces its germ, and the germ becomes fruitful, provided the man is conjoined to the Lord and thus consociated with angels by the seeds of life which are the truths of faith and the goods of charity.

Furthermore, the leaders are admonished wholly to receive the faith, that in its bosom the Word, being Divine, is spiritual; and that unless they have received this faith, they are open to being seduced by satans even until they deny the holiness of the Word; and when this is denied then, with them, the Church disappears. They are also brought to the conviction that if they do not believe in this internal sense of the Word, it is possible that the Word will at last seem to them a chaotic and uncouth writing, or as a book containing all heresies, since from the sense of its letter as from a lake can be drawn and confirmed heresies of every kind.

After this, those who believe in the internal sense of the Word are received into companies of angelic spirits, who afterwards are lifted up into heaven and become angels. But they who do not believe are sent away to companies of spirits who are afterwards cast into hell and become satans. There, they are called Satans, who in the world have falsified every truth of the Word, and are so imbued with falses therefrom that they no longer see any least thing of truth.

Letters (Acton) n. 9

Letters (Acton) n. 9

9. [Answer to Cuno, March 1769]*

I was once asked how from a philosopher I became a theologian,** and I answered: In the same way in which fishermen were made by the Lord disciples and apostles; and that from my first youth I also have been a spiritual fisherman. On hearing this, he asked, What is a spiritual fisherman? I answered that in the Word in its spiritual sense, a fisherman signifies a man who teaches natural and then spiritual truths rationally. To the question as to how this is demonstrated, I said, From the following passages in the Word: "Then shall the waters fail from the sea, and the river be dried up and wither away. Therefore shall the FISHERS bewail, and all they that cast angle into the river shall be sad" (Isa. 19: 5, 8); and elsewhere: "Behold, saith Jehovah, I will send unto many FISHERS, who shall fish the sons of Israel" (Jer. 16:16). And elsewhere: "Upon the river whose waters were healed stood FISHERS from Engedi; they were there with the spreading of nets; their FISH was after its kind, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many" (Ezek. 47:9, 10). Hence it is clear why the Lord chose fishermen for disciples, and said: "Come after me and I will make you fishers of men" (Matt. 4:18, 19, Mark 1:16, 17); and to Peter, after he had caught a multitude of fishes: "From henceforth thou shalt catch men" (Luke 5:9, 10). From the Apocalypse Revealed, I then demonstrated the origin of this signification of fishermen, namely, because water signifies natural truths, nos. 50, 932; likewise a river, nos. 409, 932; a fish, those who are in natural truths, no. 405, and hence fishermen, those who search out truths, and teach them, no. 405e. Hearing this, my questioner raised his voice and said: Now I can understand why the Lord chose fishermen for disciples, and therefore I do not wonder that He also chose you; for as you have said, from your first youth you have been a fisherman in the spiritual sense, that is, an investigator and teacher of natural truths, and now of spiritual, since these are founded on the former. To this, being a man of reason, he added that the Lord alone knows who is fitted for the perceiving and teaching of the truths which are of His New Church, whether one among the primates or one among their servants. Moreover, among Christians, what theological student in gymnasiums does not first study philosophy before being inaugurated as a theologian? Whence, otherwise, does he have intelligence.***

Emanuel Swedenborg

1 John 5:20, 21.

* Cuno expressed doubts in a letter to Swedenborg concerning his Writings. Receiving no answer, Cuno called on Swedenborg, but did not succeed in inducing him to answer his letter orally. Instead, Swedenborg told him that if he did not believe his Writings, he had taken far too much trouble in reading them. A few days later, however, he called on Cuno and handed him this paper, presumably as an answer to his letter.
** c.f. Letter from Oetinger to Swedenborg of December 4, 1766 (Letters and Memorials of Swedenborg).
*** Swedenborg kept a copy of this communication, and in July he published it in London as the last paragraph of his Interaction between Soul and Body.

Letters (Acton) n. 10

Letters (Acton) n. 10

10. [Letter to Beyer, March 15, 1769]

Most Reverend Herr Doctor:

I have had the pleasure of receiving the Herr Doctor's welcome letter of the 23d of November 1768. That I have not answered it until now is because I wished to delay the answer until a little work had come out, called Summaria Expositio Doctrinae Novae Ecclesiae quae per Novam Hierosolymam in Apocalypsi intelligitur, wherein are fully exposed the errors of the hitherto accepted doctrines concerning justification by faith alone, and concerning the Imputation of the righteousness or merit of Christ. This treatise is being sent by me to all the priests in the whole of Holland and also will go to the foremost priests in Germany. I have heard that they have read it with attention, and that some have already found the truth, while others do not know where to turn; for what is written therein affords complete conviction that the effect of that doctrine has been that in Christendom at this day there is no theology.

I am thinking of sending 12 copies to the Herr Doctor by the first ship that goes from here. These the Herr Doctor will please give: 1 to the Herr Bishop [Lamberg], 1 to the Herr Dean [Ekebom], and the rest, except his own copy, to the Lectors of Theology and to the Priests in the city; for no one can judge the work so well as one who has fundamentally entered into the secrets of justification. After the little work has been read by the Herr Dean, may it please the Herr Doctor kindly to request him to express his opinion of it in the Consistory. All those here who are able and willing to see the truth, will assent.

Here they often ask me concerning the New Church, when it will come, whereupon I answer that it will come little by little, as the doctrine of Justification and Imputation is uprooted, which will likely be done by this treatise. It is known that the Christian Church did not come in immediately after the ascension of Christ, but increased gradually. This, moreover, is meant by these words in the Apocalypse: And the woman flew into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent (chap. 12:14). The serpent or dragon is that doctrine.

In about a month I go from here to Paris, and this for a purpose which must not be revealed beforehand.*

As regards the visions of the different persons who are mentioned in the Herr Doctor's letter, they are nothing else than fantastic visions.

And now, with respectful greetings to the Herr Bishop and to my other friends in Gothenburg, I remain

the most reverend Herr Doctor's
obedient and most faithful servant
Em. Swedenborg
Amsterdam
March 15, 1769
* c.f. Letter to Beyer, April 23, 1769.

Letters (Acton) n. 11

Letters (Acton) n. 11

11. [Reply to Ekebom, April 15, 1769]

Reply to the Opinion of the Reverend Doctor and Dean Olof Ekebom presented in the Consistory in Gothenburg on March 22, 1769:

There has been communicated to me the Opinion of the Doctor and Dean presented in the Consistory concerning the doctrine of the New Church which, by Jesus Christ our Savior, has been given forth to the world by me His servant, in Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae and the Apocalypsis Revelata. And as I find that the Dean's Opinion is full of accusations, and also here and there of untruths, I deem it too prolix to answer it in detail, especially as I see that it is written as by one who does not have a bridle on his tongue, nor eyes in front to see that what is found therein is in accordance with the Word of God and with enlightened understanding. Such are they whom the Lord Himself describes in Matthew, chapter 13:13, 14, 15.*

I shall take up from the Opinion only the words, that that Doctrine is in the highest degree heretical, in the most essential points Socinian. That doctrine cannot be called heretical because therein is acknowledged and confirmed:

I. The Divine Trinity; see Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Lord, no. 55 seq., and Apocalypse Revealed, nos. 961-62.

II. The holiness of the Sacred Scripture, especially as to the sense of the letter; see Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture, no. 7 seq., no. 37, no. 50 seq., and Apocalypse Revealed, nos. 200, 898, 911.

III. The Christian life; see the Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem from the Precepts of the Decalogue, from beginning to end.

IV. The Conjunction between Faith and Charity; see Apocalypse Revealed in many places.

V. That Faith in God ought to be founded upon our Savior, according to His own words, John 3:15-16; 6:40; 11:25-26; chap. 20, the last verse, and especially John 3:35-36 and Coloss. 2:9.

It is seen also from the Formula Concordiae** that in Jesus Christ Man is God and God Man, pp. 607, 762, 763, 765, 840 seq. That His Human Nature was exalted to Divine Majesty and Power, pp. 337*** seq., 607, 608 seq., 774, 834 [?843] seq., 844, 847, 852, 861, 863, 869. That Jesus Christ has all power in heaven and on earth, pp. 775, 776, 790, 833. That as to His Human Nature He rules all things, being most closely present, pp. [?] 337, 375,**** 600, 608, 611, [?] 738, 768, 783, 784, 785, 786. Appendix pp. 149, 150, besides much else; see the edition printed in Leipzig 1756.*****

On the strength of all this, and from obedience to that which the Lord Himself teaches (John 14:6-11), faith in God, according to the Doctrine of the New Church, is based upon the Savior Himself. From this alone it can be seen that that Doctrine is undeservedly and shamelessly attacked with abusive words, and that by no sound soul can it be said to be full of the most intolerable fundamental errors, corrupting, heretical, offensive, and in the highest degree to be rejected. These invectives are poured out, although in his Declaration, Art. 2, the Dean admits in the following words that he has not read my writings: I am not acquainted with Assessor Swedenborg's religious system, neither is it likely that I shall trouble myself to become acquainted with it. It has been told me that it must be gathered mainly from his published works The New Jerusalem, Charity and Faith, The Lord, etc., works which I have neither possessed, read, nor seen.

Is this not being blind in front and having eyes in the back, and these covered over with a veil, and in this way seeing and judging a man's writings? Can any civil and spiritual judge regard an outburst in such terms otherwise than as criminal?

The Doctrine of which the Dean makes mention is to be found in Gothenburg, and had he chosen he could have seen it. The Dean likewise blasphemes the spiritual sense of the Word which our Savior has now caused to be revealed, as if this spiritual sense would prevent the Sacred Scripture from becoming the source for the learning of faith, religion and revealed theology, according to his own words; and yet in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the Sacred Scripture, it is fully proved and demonstrated:

I. That the sense of the letter of the Word is the basis, containant, and firmament of its spiritual sense, nos. 27-36;

II. That in the sense of the letter of the Word, the Divine Truth is in its fullness, its holiness, and its power, nos. 37-49;

III. That the doctrine of the Church is to be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word, and to be confirmed thereby, nos. 50-61;

IV. That by the sense of the letter of the Word is conjunction with the Lord and consociation with angels, nos. 62-68, etc.; concerning the spiritual sense of the Word and its inestimable use, nos. 5-26 ibid.; see also Apocalypse Revealed, nos. 200, 898, 911, and a thousand other places.

With regard to the second point, the calling of that Doctrine Socinian is an accursed blasphemy and lie, for Socinianism means the denial of the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and yet it is His Divinity that is principally affirmed and proved in this New Church Doctrine, and that the Savior has wholly made satisfaction for men and redeemed them, yea, has so wrought, that without His coming, no one would have been saved; see Apocalypse Revealed, no. 67, and many other passages. Wherefore, I regard the word Socinian as a mockery and devilish contumely.

This, together with all else in the Opinion, one may take as being what is meant by the flood, which the dragon cast out of its mouth on the woman, to drown her when she was yet in the wilderness, Apoc. 12:15; and it may be that what follows immediately afterwards may also come to pass-that the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ, verse 17. That the New Jerusalem signifies the New Church which will be the bride and wife of the Lamb, see Apocalypse Revealed, nos. 880-81; and that it will surely come, because the Lord Himself has predicted it, Apocalypse, chapter 21:21 (see also Zechar. 14:7, 8, 9) ; and in the last chapter, these words: I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star. And the spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely, Apoc. 22:16, 17.

Amsterdam, April 15, 1769 by

Eman. Swedenborg

I request that this be laid before the Venerable Consistory, as also that a copy of it be sent to the Reverend Doctor and Bishop.
* "Therefore they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not," etc.
** The quotations from the Formula Concordiae are in Latin.
*** Later corrected to 737.
**** Later corrected to 775.
***** Swedenborg erroneously wrote 1765.

Letters (Acton) n. 12

Letters (Acton) n. 12

12. [A further answer to Ekebom, April 22, 1769]

Most Reverend Herr Doctor:

Before leaving for Paris, which will be next week, I desire to make this addition to my reply to the Declaration of the Doctor and Dean. The statement that I wrote: I. That the Sacred Scripture has hitherto been illy and wrongly interpreted, AR 21, no. 1, is a pure untruth, for in the place quoted, there is nothing of the kind. 2. That there is no satisfaction for the sins of the world, is likewise a pure untruth. 3. That justification from faith alone is reviled is true; for faith alone is faith separated from charity, that is, from good works, and faith separated from charity has been rejected by the Swedish Court of Appeal, and later also by the University of Upsala, probably also by the Universities of Lund and Abo. The Dean, it seems, does not yet know that according to the Formula Concordiae itself, good works which follow faith freely and spontaneously, and are called fruits of faith, works of the spirit and works of grace, and are done in the state of justification, have no connection with faith, and consequently contribute nothing whatever to salvation, yea, that it would be hurtful if they should connect and mingle themselves with faith; and that which has no connection is in itself separate. In the reply that I sent, some of the citations from the Formula Concordiae concerning the Divinity of Christ are erroneous; thus 337, 375 ought to be 737, 775. On the same subject, there is here added a clearer and more explicit extract from the Formula Concordiae which is as now follows; see the edition printed in Leipzig 1756.*

That in Christ God is Man and Man God, pp. 607, 765. That Christ is true God and Man, in one indivisible Person, and abides to eternity, pp. 600, 762, 763, 840 seq. That Christ, as to the Human Nature, has been raised to the omnipotent power of God, forasmuch as He was such a Man that His Human Nature had so close and so ineffable a union and communion with the Son of God as to become One Person, p. 607. That Christ's Human Nature is exalted to Divine Majesty and Power, is known from the Council of Ephesus and Chalcedon, also from the Fathers, as Athanasius, Augustine, Chrysostom, Eusebius, Cyril, Eustachius, Gregory, Epiphanius, Theodoret, Basit the Great, Theophylactus, Hilary, Origen, Nicephorus, [Gregory] Nyssenus, Vigilius, Leo, pp. 840-78. It is confirmed from the Word in many places, pp. 608, 844, 847, 852, 961, 863, 869. That Christ's Human Nature received the most excellent, the greatest, and supernatural properties, and the celestial prerogatives of majesty, strength, and power, p. 774; and also the spirit of all** wisdom, pp. 781, 782. That Christ operates in, with, and through, both natures, and through the human, as through the organ of Deity, pp. 773, 779, 847. That this takes place by hypostatic union, glorification, and exaltation, pp. 774, 779. That in the state of humiliation, He emptied Himself, and that He did not put forth and manifest that majesty always, but whenever it seemed good to Him, until, after the resurrection, He put off the form of a servant and entered into Divine Glory and Majesty itself, pp. 608, 764, 767. That by virtue of the hypostatic union, He wrought miracles even in the state of exinanition, pp. [?] 167, 767. That Christ is our Redeemer, Mediator, Head, High Priest, and King, as to both natures, p. 773. That, as to His Human Nature, Christ was actually exalted to the right hand of God, p. 608. That He is at the right hand of God; that He has risen above all the heavens, and actually fills all things, and rules everywhere, not only as God but also as Man, as the prophets have prophesied concerning Him; into the possession of which power He actually came as to His Human Nature, p. 768. That the right hand of God is everywhere, and that Christ, being present as to His Humanity, governs all things and holds them under His feet, p. 600. That by virtue of the unity of Person, to Christ, as to the Human Nature, were given Majesty, Glory, Omnipotence, and Omniscience, with the most immediate dominion over all things, pp. [?]737 seq., 608 seq., [?]834 seq., Appendix pp. 147, 148. That Christ, by personal union and exaltation as to the flesh, being seated at the right hand of God, received all power in heaven and on earth, p. 833. That Christ, even as to the Human Nature, has all power in heaven and on earth, pp. 775, 779; confirmed by passages from the Sacred Scripture, pp. 775, 776, 780. That Christ as to the Human Nature is Omnipresent, pp. 3, 10, 611, 768, 783, 785, Appendix, p. 150. That the regal office of Christ is this, that as God-Man, in both natures, as King and Lord of Heaven and earth, He might most immediately govern all things in the kingdom of power, grace, and glory, pp. [?]787, [?]876, Appendix p. 149. That the flesh of Christ is vivifying, and that Christ as to the Human Nature has the power of vivifying, pp. 776, 777, 782, Appendix p. 152. That Christ, as to both natures, is to be adored and invoked, agreeably to the Augsburg Confession, p. 226, Appendix p. 151. That Christ overcame the devil, hell, and damnation, p. 767, and in addition, pp. 613, 614, 788, Appendix p. 150.

If twice as many quotations from the Formula Concordiae concerning the person of Christ should be desired, as also concerning justification by faith alone, they will follow at another time.

Amsterdam, April 22, 1769

Em. Swedenborg

Be pleased to present either this original or a copy of it to the Venerable Consistory; it would be well that the Reverend Doctor and Bishop should also receive a copy.

* The paragraph that follows is quoted in Latin from the Formula Concordiae.
** The text in the Formula Concordiae reads: "The spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of piety." Swedenborg summarizes this by adding the word "all."

Letters (Acton) n. 13

Letters (Acton) n. 13

13. [Letter to Dr. Beyer, April 23, 1769]

I am sending herewith 10 copies of my published treatise De Amore Conjugiali with the Herr Dr. may sell, as occasion offers, at 9 daler, Kop. Myt per copy. This book is in great demand in Paris and in man places in Germany.

Of the last published work, namely, Summaria Expositio Doctrinae Novae Ecclesiae, I am sending only a single copy,* which the Her Doctor will kindly keep for himself alone and not share it with any one; for it makes a change in the whole theology which is now present in Christendom, and sets forth in some measure the theology which will come to be the theology of the New Church. What is written therein, hardly any one in Gothenburg will understand fundamentally save the Herr Doctor. This little treatise has been sent to all the professors and clergymen in the whole of Holland, and has already reached the foremost universities in Germany. Moreover, it will be turned into English** in London, and will also be published in Paris. Therefore it must wait for judgment concerning it from abroad before being made generally known in Sweden. Until then, therefore, keep it for yourself alone. On April 26 I go to Paris and remain with all fond affection,

the most Rev. Herr Doctor's
obedient servant and faithful friend,
Em. Swedenborg

Amsterdam
April 23, 1769

[P.S.] In the little work last sent as also in my previous writings, I do not understand a Son of God born from eternity but the Son of God conceived and born in the world, in whom is the Divine Trinity. In the Apostles' Creed which was the Apostolic Church's Confession of Faith, no other Son of God is mentioned; neither is any other meant in the Gospels, Luke 1:32, 35; Matt. 3:17, 17:5; John 20:31; 1st Epistle of John 5:20, 21. But the Nicene Council afterwards took on a Son of God from eternity and added one more person as God. The reason for this was that they found no other way to repel the errors of Arius, and it is in respect to this teaching especially, that the Church of today asserts that the understanding must be withdrawn and concealed in a blind faith; but as to whether it falls within man's comprehension so to interpret these words, this, one should be able to see in no. 117 and then no. 44.

* See letter to Dr. Beyer, March 15, 1769.
** The English translation by Marchant was published at Swedenborg's expense in 1769.

Letters (Acton) n. 14

Letters (Acton) n. 14

14. [Letter to Mr. Hartley, August 5, 1769]*

Answer to a Letter written to me by a Friend

I rejoice in the friendship to which you bear witness in your letter. For the latter, and especially for the former, I return you hearty thanks. The praises with which you load me, I receive in no other way than as [a testification] of the love of the truth in my writings, and, being from that source, I transfer them to the Lord our Savior from whom is the all of truth, He being Truth itself, John 14:6.

I have turned my attention only to what you write at the end, which is as follows: If perchance after your departure from England there should be speech concerning your writings and then should occasion arise for also defending you, their author, against some malevolent reviler who will seek to injure your reputation by thought-up lies, as is the wont with haters of truth, will it not be of use for repelling such slanders that you leave with me some particulars respecting yourself, your degrees in the university, the public offices you have filled, your acquaintances and relatives, your honors, with which I have heard you have been honored, and all else that might serve to establish your good reputation, that so, prejudices wrongly received may be removed; for all lawful means must be used that truth may not suffer injury. After meditation on these words, I have been led to comply with your friendly counsel, which is that I communicate something of my life. This in brief is as follows :

I was born in Stockholm on the 29th of January in the year 1689,** of my father, Jesper Swedberg by name, who was Bishop of West Gothland, and was celebrated in his day. He was also inscribed as a member of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, having been elected by that Society;*** for he had been appointed by King Charles XII presiding Bishop over the Swedish Church in Pennsylvania, and also over the Church in London. In the year 1710, I journeyed abroad, first to England and then to Holland, France, and Germany, and from there I returned home in the year 1714.****

In 1716 and later, I frequently talked with Charles XII, King of Sweden, who greatly favored me, and in the same year he honored me with the office of Assessor in the College of Mines, an office which I then filled until the year 1747, in which year I resigned, retaining however half the salary of that office to the end of my life. I gave in my resignation solely to the end that I might the better devote myself to the new function enjoined on me by the Lord. A higher rank of dignity was then offered me, but this I absolutely refused, lest pride should thereby invade my mind.*****

In the year 1719, I was ennobled by Queen Ulrica Eleonora and named Swedenborg, and from that time on, in the Assemblies****** which take place every three years, I have been numbered among the Nobles of the order of knighthood.

I am an Associate and Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Stockholm, by invitation. I have never asked to be received into any other learned society elsewhere, because I am in an angelic society, and there, only such things are dealt with as pertain to heaven and the soul, while in societies of the learned, it is things that pertain to the world and the body.

In the year 1734, I published at Leipzig REGNUM MINERALE in 3 volumes folio. In the year 1738, I made a journey to Italy, Venice and Rome, staying for a year.

As regards my relatives, I had four sisters, one of whom was married to Eric BENZELIUS who later became Archbishop in Upsala. I thus became related to the two next Archbishops there who were Benzelii,******* being younger brothers of the former. My second sister was married to Lars BENZELSTIERNA******** who was honored with the title of Provincial Governor. But these men are dead. Two Bishops, however, relations of mine, are at present among the living-one who is called Filenius, Bishop of East Gothland, who in the Assembly at Stockholm is now filling the office of President in the Ecclesiastical Estate, in place of the Archbishop who is ill. He married my sister's daughter. The other, who is called Benzelstierna, is the Bishop of Westmanland and Dalecarlia; he is the son of my second sister-not to speak of other men in positions of dignity.

Moreover, in my country, all the Bishops, who are 10 in number, and also the Senators,********* who are 16 in number, and the other dignitaries, love me, and from love honor me, and I associate with them familiarly as a friend with friends, and this because they know that I am in company with angels. The King himself with the Queen and the three princes their sons, show me great favor. Once also, being invited by the King and Queen to their table, I ate with them-which otherwise is not granted to any save the great-and likewise at a later time with the Crown Prince.**********

All are eager for my return, and therefore in my own country I have not the least fear of the persecution of which you are somewhat apprehensive and against which, in your letter, you so kindly take counsel. If they persecute me elsewhere, it does not reach me.

But the things recounted above, I regard as of comparatively little moment; for what towers above them is the fact that I have been called to a sacred office by the Lord Himself, who, in the year 1743, most graciously manifested Himself in Person before me, His servant, and then opened my sight into the spiritual world and granted me to speak with spirits and angels, and this has continued even to the present day. From that time I began to publish in print various arcana seen by me and revealed, such as arcana concerning heaven and hell, man's state after death, true Divine worship, the spiritual sense of the Word, besides much else of the utmost value, conducive to salvation and wisdom.

My traveling at times from my own country to foreign parts was from no other cause than the desire to perform uses and to disclose the arcana given to me. For the rest, I possess means that are sufficient, and neither seek nor desire more.

I have been led by your letter to mention the above particulars in order that-as you put it-prejudices wrongly received may be removed.

Farewell, and from my heart I wish you happiness in this world and in the world to come, nor do I doubt but that you will obtain it if you look to our Lord and pray to Him.

* The original of the letter to Mr. Hartley is now lost, but it was printed in part by Mr. Hartley in 1769, soon after its receipt, and was reprinted in 1800 in the Aurora, II, 224. As printed, it is without date. Very probably the date was omitted by Mr. Hartley, for the letter to Dr. Messiter, the original of which is now in the possession of Dr. Waller, Lidkoping, Sweden, is dated AUGUST 5, and this may be taken as the date of the letter to Mr. Hartley.
** There has been much speculation as to why Swedenborg wrote 1689 instead of the true date 1688. See Swedenborg's own explanation as reported by General Tuxen. He told me (writes Tuxen) he was not born in that year but in the year 1688. The reason why he had written 1689 was because of the correspondence of that number. Therefore, when in his letter he had first written 1688, an angel present told him he should write 1689 as being more suitable to himself (2 Doc. 436).
*** The Society De Promovenda fide Christiana apud Gentiles et Judaeos. Bishop Swedberg was elected a member of this Society in 1712 in recognition of the cooperation of the Swedish Church in America, of which he was Bishop, with the Anglican Church there which he fostered (Tottie, II, 264).
**** This should be 1715.
***** In June, after the retirement of John Bergenstierna in April 1747, the College of Mines recommended Swedenborg, who was then the Senior Assessor, to the King for advancement to the rank of Councillor, an office which would have entitled him to a higher pension. Instead of accepting this recommendation, Swedenborg wrote to the King on June 2, humbly asking that another be appointed in his place, and that he be released from his office on pension, without having any higher office bestowed upon him.
****** i.e., the Diet.
******* After the death of Archbishop Steuchius in June 1742, Bishop Eric Benzelius was named as his successor, but he died in Sept. 1743, before he was able to take the office. He was succeeded as Archbishop by his younger brother Jacob (1744-47) who in turn was succeeded by the youngest brother Henry (1747-58).
******** Another of Eric's brothers.
********* i.e., Members of the Privy Council.
********** It may be thought that Swedenborg's thought concerning the high esteem in which he was held, is not in accordance with the facts as developed later in the actions of the Privy Council. Such, however, is not the case. With few exceptions, Swedenborg was held by the Royal family and by the dignitaries of the land in high esteem-and this, not only for his reputation as a learned man, and for his long and faithful service in the high office of Assessor, but, also, and above all, for that sincerity and simplicity of character which is testified to by so many of his contemporaries. His doctrines, and especially his teachings "from things seen and heard," were indeed attacked as fanatical, and those who favored them persecuted, but the utmost care was taken that no harm should come to Swedenborg himself. He was left in peace-and ignorance-to come and go as he pleased. Moreover, there is evidence to show not only that the King and Queen favored him but that they were opposed to the persecution of his followers.

Letters (Acton) n. 15

Letters (Acton) n. 15

15. [Letter to Dr. Messiter, August 5, 1769]

A Friendly Reply

I rejoice in the friendship to which you bear witness in the letter you wrote me, and I give you thanks for the latter and the former. Continue steadfast, I pray, in the truth of the faith you have embraced.

As concerns the twofold humanity in Christ, you will find light upon its nature in no. 117 of Summary Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church which you have on hand. The former Humanity was the Divine Celestial Human, the latter the natural Human which He took on that He might fight with the hells, and might reduce into order all things therein, and in the heavens and also on earth; and, moreover, that He might more nearly be present with and within men in the world, all of whom are natural. The Celestial Divine Humanity was interiorly in the Lord when He was in the world; and then, especially when He did miracles, He drew on it as much as pleased Him; but when He underwent temptations, and most of all when He suffered the Cross, He concealed it interiorly in Himself, being at such times in the state of exinanition. Afterwards He fully united this humanity to His Divine Celestial Human, this state being the state of His glorification.

From the above few words it can be seen what is meant by these His words: Father, Glorify me with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was founded. In the state of exinanition He prayed to the Father as to another than Himself, but in the state of glorification, He was Himself that Father. This, however, will be fully demonstrated in the work on the Doctrine of the New Church, which, under the Lord's auspices, I am going to write on my return to Sweden.

As regards myself, I was born in Stockholm on the 29th of January in the year 1689 of my father, Jesper Swedberg by name, who was Bishop of West Gothland and was celebrated in his day. He was also inscribed as a member of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, having been elected by that English Society.

In 1716 and later, I frequently talked with Charles XII, King of Sweden, who greatly favored me, and honored me with the office of Assessor in the College of Mines, an office which I then filled until the year 1747, in which year I resigned, retaining [half] the salary of that office to the end of my life. I gave in my resignation solely to the end that I might the better devote myself to the new function enjoined on me by the Lord. A higher rank of dignity was then offered me, but this I absolutely refused, lest pride should thereby invade my mind.

In the year 1719, I was ennobled by Queen Ulrica Eleonora, and named Swedenborg, and from that time on, in the Assemblies which take place every three years, I have been numbered among the Nobles of the order of knighthood.

I am an associate and member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Stockholm, by formal invitation. I have never asked to be received into any other society of the learned elsewhere because I am in an angelic society, and there, only such things are dealt with as pertain to heaven, while in societies of the learned, it is only such things as pertain to the world.

As regards my relatives, I had 4 sisters, one of whom was married to Eric Benzelius who later became Archbishop in Upsala, and I thus became related to the 2 next Archbishops there who were Benzelii, being younger brothers of the former. My second sister was married to Lars Benzelstierna, who was a Provincial Governor. But these men are dead. Two Bishops, however, relatives of mine, are at present among the living-one who is called Filenius, Bishop of East Gothland,* who, in the Assembly at Stockholm, is now filling the office of President in the Ecclesiastical Estate, in place of the Archbishop who is ill. He married my sister's daughter. The other is the Bishop of Westmanland, who is the son of my second sister-not to speak of other men who are in positions of dignity.

Moreover, in my country, Sweden, all the Bishops, who are 10 in number, and also the Senators, who are 16 in number, and the other dignitaries, love me and from love honor me, and I associate with them familiarly as a friend with friends, and this because they know that I am in company with angels. The King himself, with the Queen, and the three princes their sons, show me great favor. Once also I was invited by the King and Queen to their table to eat with them-which otherwise is not granted to any save the great-and likewise, at a later time, with the Crown Prince.

All are eager for my return, and therefore in my own country I have not the least fear of the persecution, of which you make kindly mention in your letter. If they persecute me elsewhere, it does not reach me.

But the things recounted above, I regard as of comparatively little moment; for what towers above them is the fact that I have been called to an apostolic office by the Lord Himself who, in the year 1743, manifested Himself to me in Person. From that time my sight has been opened into the spiritual world, and it has been granted me to speak with spirits and angels, and this has continued even to the present day.

My traveling at times from my own country to foreign parts was from no other cause than the desire to perform uses and to disclose the arcana given to me. For the rest, I possess means that are sufficient and neither seek nor desire more.

I have been led by your letter to mention the above particulars in order that-as you put it-prejudices wrongly received may be removed.

Farewell, and from my heart I wish you happiness in this world and in the world to come; nor do I doubt but that you will obtain it, if you look to our Lord and pray to Him. London, August 5, 1769.

Eman. Swedenborg

* Linkoping is the episcopal seat in East Gotland.

Letters (Acton) n. 16

Letters (Acton) n. 16

16. [Not included]

Letters (Acton) n. 17

Letters (Acton) n. 17

17. [Letter to Beyer, November 14, 1769]

Most Reverend Herr Doctor, Good friend:

In my last letter, because of lack of time, the story about the lad from Skara was not answered. If it is actually the case, it bears witness to the communication of spirits with men. A genteel and rich house here in Stockholm desires to have the lad with them, and will defray the cost and educate him in anything to which he finds himself inclined. Should this fall in with the lad's pleasure, and should occasion offer for him to be brought here with some traveler, this would be in accordance with the house's desire, and then 30 dalers s. mt. could be placed in his hands for traveling expenses and support; and if, on his arrival he be directed to me, he will be taken to the house.

I will pass by his vision of white serpents, because that took place in his tender childhood, for which reason the meaning thereof is passed by, and also because it can be taken pro and con at pleasure. But his knowledge of the uses of herbs, and of certain diseases, if such is the case, does not have its origin in the fact that like diseases and cures occur in the other life among spirits and angels. But there, there are spiritual sufferings and spiritual uses which correspond to the natural sufferings and cures here in the world. Therefore, when they occur, it is correspondences that produce such effects. And since there are no natural sicknesses among spirits in the spiritual world, so neither are there any hospitals, but instead, there are spiritual madhouses, in [some of] which are those who denied God theoretically, and in others, those who did it practically.

Those who, in the world, were idiots, are likewise idiotic and crazy on their first arrival in the other world; but when externals are removed, and internals opened, as is the case with all, they then receive an understanding in accord with their previous nature and life; for actual stupidity and insanity reside in the external natural man and not in the internal spiritual.

Here I will relate something of my first youth. From my 4th to my 10th year, I was constantly in thought concerning God, salvation, and the spiritual sufferings of men, and several times revealed that at which my father and mother wondered, saying that angels must be speaking through me. From my 6th to my 12th years, my delight was to discourse with clergymen concerning Faith-that the life thereof is love, and that the love which gives life is love to one's neighbor; also that God gives faith to each and every one, and that it is received only by those who practice that love. I then knew nothing of any other faith than this: That God created nature and supports it; that He imparts understanding and good nature to men-and more of the same kind which most closely follows therefrom. The learned faith, which is, that God the Father imputes His Son's righteousness to whom He will and when He will, even to those who have done no penance-this I then knew nothing of, and had I known it, then as now, it would have gone far above my comprehension.

I remain, with all affection and friendship the most reverend Herr Doctor's
obedient servant and friend,
Eman. Swedenborg
Stockholm
Nov. 14, 1769

Letters (Acton) n. 18

Letters (Acton) n. 18

18. [Letter to Count von Hopken, November 17, 1769]

High well-born Herr Count:

Not until the 14th instant did I have the honor of receiving your Excellency's very friendly letter of November 5. It pleases me that the last two books have arrived. That the Summaria Expositio Doctrinae Novae Ecclesiae will meet with censure, as stated by Your Excellency from foresight, is certain; yet, only in the beginning, when one is in darkness from preconceived principles confirmed. But, since the rational has light within itself even in theological matters, the truth will gradually come to be seen and acknowledged. Such has been the case in many places abroad; but since I am in doubt as to whether there is, as yet, this change in Stockholm, I have given but a single copy of the work to Bishop Benzelstierna* with the strict proviso, that it shall in no way be communicated to any other person, for, in my opinion, Benzelstierna is a rational man even in theology, and does not receive irrationalities from obedience to faith.

The reason why preference is given to the Catholics is set forth in no. 105 seq., but in addition is also this reason-that what is regarded is a universal church in the whole of Christendom.

When this preliminary treatise was finished, then, in the world of spirits, the whole heaven, from east to west and from south to north, was seen by me, covered with beautiful crimson roses to the admiration of all who were present there-which was the testification of the New Heaven's consent and pleasure.

In the little work that was sent, and also in my previous writings, by the Son of God, I mean not a Son of God born from eternity but a Son of God conceived and born in the world in whom is the Divine Trinity. In the Apostolic Creed which was the Apostolic Church's Confession of Faith, no other Son of God is mentioned; nor is any other meant in the Gospels, Luke 1: 32, 35, Matthew 3: 17, 17: 5, John 20: 31, 1 Epist. of John 5: 20, 21. The reason why the Nicene Council afterwards assumed a Son of God from eternity and thereby added one more Person as God, was that they found no other way of banning Arius' heresy; and it is in respect to this especially, that the Church of today insists that the understanding shall be withdrawn and concealed in a blind faith. Yet that it comes within man's comprehension to see and have faith, as to how the case herein is, is seen in no. 117 and then in no. 44.

Your Excellency's liking for my writings gives me deep pleasure; therefore I offer thanks, and remain, with respect,

Your high Countship, Excellency's
most humble servant
Em. Swedenborg
Stockholm
Nov. 17, 1769
* Lars Benzelstierna (1719-1800), Bishop of Westeras in Westmanland.

Letters (Acton) n. 19

Letters (Acton) n. 19

19. [Not included]

Letters (Acton) n. 20

Letters (Acton) n. 20

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Letters (Acton) n. 21

Letters (Acton) n. 21

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Letters (Acton) n. 22

Letters (Acton) n. 22

22. [Letter to Dr. Beyer, April 30, 1970]

Most Reverend Herr Doctor:

I received the Herr Doctor's letter of April 18, together with that which was communicated by the Herr Doctor to His Royal Majesty, and, with this, that stories had come to Gothenburg concerning a decision that had been projected in the Council Chamber. But after the copies of the letter I sent to the Herr Doctor had been sent to R R* Ekeblad and to the Herr Chancellor of justice, the matter has been taken up again, and the result was the conclusion contained in the letter which the Chancellor of justice wrote to the Consistory in Gothenburg, and of which I beg of the Herr Doctor a copy.**

Had it stopped at the first project, that Swedenborgianism and this signifies the worship of the Lord-should not be mentioned or talked about, what other effect would it produce than fear on the part of priests to speak of Christ and His care for human beings. Because of this, there would be the fear of being arraigned on the ground that this was a Swedenborgianism; and, in consequence, Christianity would decline in Sweden and lapse into Socinianism, and finally into heathendom. This can be concluded from Math. 13: 30; Mark 9: 40.*** Such is the progeny that the first project would have given birth to from itself. For this reason, when certain clergymen here in the city, who love progress, first heard rumors of it, they were astonished and thought that thus Christianity would die out in our land.

I have understood that during the Diet,**** the Bishops and many members of the Most Rev. House of Clergy expressed themselves handsomely and reasonably upon the doctrines that were there dealt with.

Not a thing of what the [Gothenburg] Consistory submitted against my writings was communicated to me, so that I was in total ignorance of what passed in the Privy Council.

Next June I go to Amsterdam where I intend to publish the Universal Theology of the New Church. Worship of the Lord is the foundation, and if the true house or temple be not built thereon, others will build thereon lupinaria or brothels.

As regards Dragonists, they are all removed far off to the south. There the learned get a certain location, and there each individual has his own cell wherein to confirm justification by faith alone; and those who confirm it by God's Word go from there into a desert and beyond. The others, after they have escaped, get no place wherein to abide. Whither they then take their way I do not yet know. There is no place for them in heaven. What happens to them accords with the description in Apocalypse Revealed no. 421; but the abyss which is there described, is now, as was said, removed further to the south.

I remain, with all friendship and trust, the most Rev. Herr Doctor's obedient servant Emanuel Swedenborg
* Riks Rad = Member of the Privy Council.
** Swedenborg is here referring to the condemnatory decision of the Privy Council which was dispatched to the Gothenburg Consistory on April 26. He was ignorant of the nature of this decision, and was under the impression that the letters sent to Hermansson, Stockenstrom Ekeblad and Rosir, had had a favorable effect.
*** "He that is not with me is against me," and "He who is not against us is on our part."
**** The Diet had come to an end January 30, 770,

Letters (Acton) n. 23

Letters (Acton) n. 23

23. [Not included]

Letters (Acton) n. 24

Letters (Acton) n. 24

24. [Not included]

Letters (Acton) n. 25

Letters (Acton) n. 25

25. [Not included]

Letters (Acton) n. 26

Letters (Acton) n. 26

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Letters (Acton) n. 27

Letters (Acton) n. 27

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Letters (Acton) n. 28

Letters (Acton) n. 28

28. [Letter to Beyer, April 30, 1771]

Most Rev. Herr Doctor:

Yesterday I received the Herr Doctor's letter, together with Dr. Rosen's, and previously I had a letter from Assessor Queckfeldt, wherein the thought is advanced that the case would take another turn if I presented myself to the Royal Senate as a tertius intervenens; but nothing whatever would be gained thereby, especially since, shortly before my departure I did that very thing, and, with weighty reasons defended both the cause itself and you two. I am astonished that they are still going on with the matter in Gothenburg-of which I am going to complain at the next Diet when I will send over Universa Theologia Novi Coeli et Novae Ecclesiae which will at last leave the press in June. Of this work, I will send two copies to each Estate with the request that a Deputation of all the Estates be set over it and so bring the matter to an end. I am sure that when this book has come out, the Lord our Savior will so operate, both directly and indirectly, that a New Church founded on this Theology will be established in the whole of Christendom. The new heaven from which the New Jerusalem will descend, is now almost completed, Apoc. 21: 1, 2, 3. The antagonists, when they come into the other life, will then get their places. I pity them.

With kind greeting to Dr. Rosen, I remain with affection,

The most reverend Herr Doctor's
most obedient servant and friend,
Emanuel Swedenborg*

Amsterdam
April 30, 1771
* The letter is marked-presumably by Dr. Beyer-"Arrived, May 13, at 10.30 a.m."

Letters (Acton) n. 29

Letters (Acton) n. 29

29. [Letter to Landgrave, June 18 1771]

Most Serene Duke, Landgrave,

When I received your most gracious letter, I was somewhat hesitant, being in doubt as to whether it was signed by you. I disclosed the cause of this doubt to the clergyman, the Rev. Venator, when he was with me. But when I heard from him that such was not the case,* and all doubt was removed, I was somewhat troubled; yet I delayed my answer until I had received from the printer the lately printed theological work called Vera Christiana Religio, containing the complete theology of the New Church predicted by the Lord in Daniel, 12:13, 14, and in the Apocalypse, 21:1, 2 seq. Of this work, Most Serene Duke, I have today sent you two copies by the coach which leaves this city for Germany twice a week. I pray that you favor the work, for in it are pure truths disclosed from heaven.

As to the book called Arcana Coelestia, which was published in London, it is no longer to be found, for all the copies, both those in England and those in Holland, have been sold. I know that some persons in Sweden have it. I will write to two of them, and ask whether they are willing to sell it for a price. If I may, I will communicate their answers as soon as they arrive.

In your gracious letter I am asked how I came to have communication with angels and spirits, and whether this can be transferred from one person to another. On this matter, deign graciously to receive the following as my answer:

The Lord our Savior predicted, both in the Gospels and in the Apocalypse, that He would come again into the world and establish a New Church; and since He cannot** come into the world in Person, it was necessary that He do this by means of a man who not only could perceive the doctrinals of this Church in his understanding, but would be able to publish them by the press. And because the Lord has prepared me for this from childhood, therefore He manifested Himself in Person before me His servant, and sent me to this office. This was done in the year 1743; and after this He opened for me the sight of my spirit, and so introduced me into the spiritual world, and granted me to see the heavens and the marvels there, and also the hells; and likewise to speak with angels and spirits, and this continuously now for twenty-seven years. That such is the case, to this I testify in truth. The fact that this happened with me is solely for the sake of the New Church here spoken of.

The gift of speaking with angels as I speak with them cannot be transferred from one person to another. It has sometimes happened that a spirit enters in, and utters some word to a man, yet it is not given him to speak with the man mouth to mouth; this, moreover, is extremely dangerous, for the spirit enters into the affection of the man's own love, and this is not concordant with the affection of heavenly love.

As to the man who was troubled by spirits, I have heard from heaven that this arose from the meditation in which he indulged, and that, despite this, no danger is to be feared therefrom because the Lord guards him. The sole means of healing is that he be converted and pray to the Lord the Savior Jesus Christ for help.

I remain with the deepest respect,
Most Serene Duke Landgrave
Your most humble servant
Eman. Swedenborg

Amsterdam
June 18, 1771

* That is, that the signature was not forged.
** The autograph reads quia non potest in Persona adhuc in mundum venire (because He cannot as yet come, etc.), but the adhuc is surely a slip of some sort; see T.C.R. 779. Perhaps Swedenborg meant to write ad hoc (for this purpose).

Letters (Acton) n. 30

Letters (Acton) n. 30

30. [Letter to Venator, June 22, 1771]

Reverend Sir,*

On the 18th of June I sent two copies of the latest work published by me to the Herr Landgrave's princely Serenity, and at the same time one to you, Reverend Pastor, and I hope that the mail coach with these books will arrive within a few days. On the same day, I humbly answered the Landgrave's Serenity, but I am afraid I have earned his just displeasure by the long delay; therefore I ask you to excuse me before him for the reasons disclosed to you.

With regard to the Arcana Coelestia, I have written two gentlemen in Stockholm that they might send it to me for a price. The one letter I wrote to the Bishop of Gothenburg,** and the other to Dr. Celsius.*** As soon as these gentlemen answer me, I shall make it known.

You may perhaps greatly wonder why I did not know from heaven that the letter was signed by his Serene Highness, the Landgrave's own hand. The reason is because angels do not know such things, and the Lord our Savior leaves things which concern temporal (worldly) matters to my intelligence and judgment, and reveals to me only such things as treat of heaven and eternal life; and, moreover, I have not ventured to ask the Lord Himself about these earthly matters.

I remain, Reverend Priest,
Respectfully
Your most obedient servant
Eman. Swedenborg

Amsterdam, June 22, 1771
* On June 22, Swedenborg wrote to Pastor Venator, who had then returned to the Landgrave's court at Pirmassens. As now preserved, this letter is in German, and written in some other hand than Swedenborg's, but it is undoubtedly signed by the latter. Swedenborg of course knew that Venator, being a clergyman, was familiar with Latin, and it is likely that he wrote him in Latin and added a German translation for the benefit of the Landgrave, who certainly read it. If such is the case, the Latin copy is now lost.
** Bishop Lamberg, who was then attending the Diet in Stockholm. In August 1766, Swedenborg, then in London, had sent him as a present a complete set of the Arcana Coelestia unbound; but in view of his utter repudiation of Swedenborgianism, Swedenborg was well aware that he had no use for them.
*** Olof Celsius (1716-1794), Pastor of the Cathedral Church in Stockholm.

Letters (Acton) n. 31

Letters (Acton) n. 31

31. [Letter to Landgrave, July 13, 1771]

Most Serene Duke Landgrave,

I received and read with delight your letter, most Serene Duke, written to me on the first day of July. I hope that after that day the last printed work, called Vera Christiana Religio, has come into your hands. If it be pleasing to you, you may perhaps order that some learned men among the clergy in your Duchy, present and lay open their judgments concerning it; but I pray that such learned men among your clergy be chosen as love truths and take delight in them because they are truths. If others are chosen, they will not see in this work a single grain of truth, but everything therein will be in shade.

As to what is told concerning the daughter of the Prince Margrave in Schwed,* that I predicted her death, this is a fiction invented by some chattering new maker. I have not been there, nor have I written anything concerning her. As to what is told concerning the brother of the Queen of Sweden, however, that is true; yet this must not be deemed as a miracle, but only as something memorable, similar to the memorabilia recounted concerning Luther, Melanchthon, Calvin and others, which are written in the work; for such memorabilia are not miracles, but are merely testimonies that, as to my spirit, I have been introduced by the Lord into the [spiritual] world, and thus, that I speak with angels and spirits.

As concerns the persons mentioned in the attached sheet, I have not spoken with four of them, namely, Bellisle, de Dombelles, Kameke, Bock, but six months ago I did speak with Stanislaus, King of Poland,** and this in a company where he was, and in which no one knew that it was he; for it was the delight of his life that he wished to be in companies incognito, and so to talk with spirits and angels as one of them and thus familiarly. Afterwards I saw him transferred to the northern quarter, and I heard that he was there promoted to the administration of a society of Roman Catholics over which he is set as Prince Moderator.

I have spoken at times with the Roman Pontiff who last died.*** After his death, he stayed with me for three days, and when he left, he descended to companies which consist of Jesuits, and presided over them for a month. I also saw him ascending therefrom, and then also it was given me to speak with him. But it is not allowed me to publish more concerning the course of his life and concerning his state. Of him who filled the Pontifical office thirty or forty years ago,**** see in the work, n. 820.

Ever most solicitous and obedient in all that concerns your honor and command,
I remain,
Most Serene Duke and Landgrave,
your most humble servant
Eman. Swedenborg

Amsterdam, July 13, 1771

* Swedenborg wrote Swett.
** When the Russians, in 1734, entered Poland to set Augustus of Saxony on the throne, Stanislaus, the rightful King, was forced to flee. Subsequently he renounced all claim to the Polish throne upon the condition, among others, that he retain the title of King of Poland. He died in 1766. Swedenborg first met him in the spiritual world on Sunday, Nov. 16, 1768. He had seen him before, but without knowing who he was, "although all the spirits had been eager to know this." Therefore Swedenborg had asked him his name, and "since, in the spiritual world, no one can hold back the truth, the King not only told him his name but forthwith became so confidential with him that he at once led him to his daughter, the late Queen of France" (Cuno's Memoirs, p. 12). The daughter here referred to is Marie Leszczynska (1703-1768), the wife of Louis XV of France.
*** In 1771 "the last pope" was Clement XIII who died on Feb. 2, 1769; yet in his next letter to the Landgrave, Swedenborg says that it was Benedict XIV, Pope Clement's immediate predecessor whom he met. This, however, seems clearly to have been a slip; for Benedict XIV died in 1758 and his character as an evil man had been fully manifested by 1771. See SE 5843 seq. That it was Clement XIII whom he met, is indicated by the statement that he presided over the Jesuits; for during his papacy, Clement XIII strove greatly, though in vain, to prevent the Jesuits from being expelled from France, Portugal and Spain.
**** Clement XII, Pope 1730-1740, died Feb. 6, 1740.

Letters (Acton) n. 32

Letters (Acton) n. 32

32. [Letter to Venator, July 13, 1771]

I hope that my latest published work, called Vera Christiana Religio, has come into your hands, and also the two copies sent at the same time to his most Serene Highness, the Duke Landgrave, for I very greatly desire your judgment on the matters contained therein, knowing that by enlightenment from the Lord, you more than others will see in light the truths there made manifest from the Word.

Today I am also sending an answer to the Most Serene Duke's letter lately written to me; and, by virtue of the command contained therein, I tell of some conversations, including also that which I had with the Queen of Sweden and her brother.* These must by no means be classed as among miracles, being merely testimonies that I have been introduced by the Lord into the spiritual world, and there into communication and speech with angels and spirits; and this to the end that the Church, which has hitherto been in ignorance of that world, may know that heaven and hell are actual, and that man lives as a man after death; that so, doubts may no longer flow into the human mind concerning its own immortality. Deign, I pray you, to persuade the Duke your Prince, so that he will think, not that such things are miracles, but that they are merely testifications that I speak with angels and spirits. That miracles do not take place at this day, and for what reason, see in the above mentioned work [n. 501]. The Lord says [**]. Therefore, they who do not believe unless they see miracles, can easily be carried off into fanatical notions. I have seen 2 volumes full of miracles done by a certain Paris,*** which yet are nothing but pure lies, being partly fantastical and partly magical. It is the same with the other miracles among the Roman Catholics. Consult also, if you wish, what has been recounted by me in the above work. It will confirm men of the present day in no other way; and they will be established by letters and also by conversations.**** For the Word itself and the truths derived therefrom - if in my last work these truths appear before the reader in some light, it is a sign that the Lord is present and enlightens him.*****
* Lovisa Eleonora (1720-1782), the sister of Frederick the Great, and her younger brother Augustus William (1722-1758). In the Library of Upsala University is a letter from the Queen-then a widow and Queen Dowagerin which she asks J. F. Beylon, her Chancellor, to "give me pleasure by sending me two copies of Swedenborg's works in Latin." It was Queen Lovisa Eleonora to whom Swedenborg, on Nov. 15, 1761, told what is called the Queen's secret.
** "If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead" (Luke 16:31).
*** Francois de Paris (1690-1727) was a Jensenite priest and ascetic, whose fame is due to the miracles ascribed to him after his death. Giving up riches, he earned his daily bread as a weaver, but led the life of an ascetic, denying himself in every way that he might help the poor. He never did miracles, nor professed to do them, but soon after his death, so great was the veneration in which he was held that his grave was visited by multitudes and was held as a holy and wonder-working place. In 1731, so widespread was the belief that a visit to that grave would miraculously cure diseases, that the Archbishop of Paris instituted an inquiry as to the credibility of the alleged miracles. His conclusion was that they had no foundation in fact, and he forbade all marks of veneration at the tomb of Paris. Rumors of miracles at the tomb still continued however, and in 1737, a wealthy M. Montgeron who, after a life of dissipation had experienced a wonderful conversion at the tomb of Paris, devoted his time to gathering evidence of miraculous cures, and then published a quarto volume entitled La Verite des Miracles Operes par l'intercession de M. De Paris. A second volume was published in 1741 as a "Continuation." These are the two volumes referred to in the text by Swedenborg, and also in Invitation 55 and Abomination 31. Both volumes are illustrated by "before and after" pictures. A third volume was published in 1748.
**** I interpret these words as meaning Swedenborg's printed works and his conversations with spirits and angels.
***** The copy of this document has several grammatical errors, indicating that the copyist was not familiar with Swedenborg's hand writing. In the present case, the text is not clear. It reads: "Hodiernos non aliter firmebit, et constabilitiuntur Litteris, item colloquis, quia Ipse Verbum et Ipsae Veritates inde depromtae quae si in quodam luce in opere ultimo coram legente apparent, indicium est quod Dominus adsit, ac ille illustrat."

Letters (Acton) n. 33

Letters (Acton) n. 33

33. [Not included]

Letters (Acton) n. 34

Letters (Acton) n. 34

34. [Swedenborg's Answer to Count Carl Rudenskjold, January 1772]

*No one can get any knowledge of [Prince of Sachs Coburg Saalfeldt's spiritual home] because they themselves do not know how they died or perished in the world; for with them, death is not seen as death but as an entrance into the other life and a continuation of the former, and therefore they are in the full belief and thought that there is no more death. Therefore, to ask any one concerning his departure from this world seems to them like a question concerning a thing which cannot happen. Moreover, it is difficult to come upon one who departed twenty-seven years ago. He is already settled in a society into which it is difficult for me to enter. To question the angels about it-so neither do they have such knowledge; and it is too small a matter to ask the Lord Christ Himself about it. For the rest, I wish you the Lord's blessing.

* Some time in 1771, Swedenborg received an inquiry into the fate of some one in the spiritual world. It came to him in the shape of a note from Count Carl Rudenskjold (1698-1782), then a member of the Privy Council. From 1739-1747, Rudenskjold had been the Swedish Minister and Envoy at the Court of Frederick the Great. Being a great favorite with the King, he must have had a wide acquaintance with the German nobility. In 1771, he received a letter from Sachs Coburg-Saalfeldt, enclosing a Pro Memoria inquiring as to the possibility of obtaining through Swedenborg information in respect to the fate of a certain prince who had been lost in 1745. Count Rudenskjold copied this "Pro Memoria" and sent it to Swedenborg. Judging from his reference to a lapse of 27 years since the prince's disappearance in 1745, Swedenborg's answer must have been written in London, probably in January 1772.