literature. Hence the Conference, in the above resolutions, has endeavoured to initiate a plan which, if taken up with some degree of zeal and activity, may, under the Lord's blessing and guidance, become a means of great good, if not of indispensable service to the Church. EDITOR. EMANUEL SWEDENBORG AND TAIT'S MAGAZINE. UNDER the above title, a writer in the October number of "Tait's Magazine" occupies six closely printed pages in double columns. The writer manifests throughout the most respectful reverence for this great author, and deprecates the slander and injustice with which he has been treated. The article is introduced by an extended review of sectarianism, which, in the writer's opinion, is not always the result of "some element in the creed," but owes its existence to the tendency in the human heart to "pride, and jealousy, and isolation, and thus to antagonism and illwill." It is doubtless true that this disposition of heart is the real origin of all sectarianism in religion, and class distinctions in social life; but it is the intention of religious truth to prevent the one, and to soften the asperities of the other: and the great fault of the popular religious teaching has been the ignoring of the doctrine of charity which is alone adequate to this. The writer argues truthfully that the correction of the narrow selfishness and unreasonable sectarianism of the age, will be more effectively accomplished by a practical and active exemplification of Christian love, than by merely intellectual reflections and exposure. "The sentiment of charity in the soul of man will derive more nourishment, vigour, and dominion, from a single act of mercy, than from a fortnight's meditation. A good Samaritan does not dwell at home indulging grievous reflections on the miseries of the unfortunate; he does his daily work, neglects not his business, and when on his way to market he espies an afflicted, injured brother, he binds up his wounds and takes care of him, and thus destroys his sectarian prejudices and his social pride at one gracious blow." God raises up examples of virtue and wisdom to correct the vices and follies of the world, but they are disregarded: "He sends into the bosom of the church a being with prophetic endowments; one who sees deeper than bishops and priests; one who moulds not his strange faith according to ancient human models, but gazes for himself, and with his own strong eyes, deep into the infinite mystery of Truth, and who, dazzled by the splendour of the vision, breaks out into rapter songs than the world has been wont to hear; one who goes straight and often to the 'Father of lights,' and returns clothed with wonderful radiance, before which the thousands who were christened into a fashionable piety stand amazed: he speaks new words; he proclaims new doctrines; he moves on in majestic derision of all worn-out standards of belief; and the creed-bound church, though it had only last week held a conference of solemn lamentation over its divisions, its dulness, its weakness, and its death, calls the teacher mad, the truth-seer, a heretic; the renovator, a dangerous, devil-inspired demagogue! It hath been so from the beginning until now." This paragraph is sufficiently descriptive of the popular treatment of the messengers of truth, but strangely mistaken as applied to our enlightened author, if the writer supposes that by any effort of selfintelligence, he moulded his faith, gazed for himself, and saw with his own strong eyes, the glorious truths which pervade his writings. Swedenborg repudiates such a view of his case. He sees what an infinite Mercy discloses to his view; and the truth he discovers is an occasion of humility and adoration—a ground, not of magnifying the servant, but of glorifying the Master, who is the Truth itself, "the true light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world." "Samuel Taylor Coleridge says, (Literary Remains,' vol. iv., p. 423,) 'I have often thought of writing a book to be entitled, "A Vindication of Great Men unjustly branded;" and at such times the names prominent to my mind's eye have been Giordano Bruno, Jacob Behmen, Benedict Spinoza, and Emanuel Swedenborg.'. . Coleridge might have extended the list of names, almost ad infinitum. But however long the roll of wronged ones, he would not have found a more remarkable or interesting instance than the one whom he esteemed with greatest sympathy-Emanuel Swedenborg. This extraordinary man escaped the grosser forms of persecution; but malicious scandal and cruel neglect disturbed his later life, and, for a long season, obscured his fame. Now, with the view of doing some humble justice to a great name, and of thereby restoring to the world an opportunity, too long despised, of enlarging their hearts with pure, disinterested sympathy, we propose to devote a few columns to a brief biographical sketch, and some cursory critical observations on the character of this mysterious phenomenon in the history of the Christian Church. Of course we do not write as the disciples of Swedenborg, but as his brethren; we aim not to spread the peculiarity of his faith, but to explain, as far as may be, the peculiarities of his nature and his career; it will be our object, in short, not to vindicate his opinions-which are of trifling importance-but to vindicate himself as a man of learning, genius, piety, and virtue, beyond most of his race-a light in which he should appear interesting to all men." We have thought it due to the writer to give his own explanation of the purpose of his article. The members of the New Church must ever be gratified by every honest endeavour to do justice to the name of their great author, and to disabuse the public mind of the many mistaken sentiments prevalent respecting him; and can well afford to overlook the occasional inconsistencies and inaccuracies fallen into by writers who have not yet attained a proper point of observation. How inconsistent to suppose that a great author can be interesting apart from his opinions! What, indeed, is the value of learning and genius, if the opinions and principles of the learned and wise are of trifling importance? The last paragraph we have cited is followed by a brief statement of the leading facts of Swedenborg's biography, for which the author confesses himself indebted to E. Paxton Hood. After tracing his history to 1716, when he was on terms of intimate friendship with Charles XII., he continues: "It would be impossible to trace in detail all the events, even of a public and important character, of this extraordinary man's life, within the limits of an essay so necessarily restricted as this. A bare list of the titles of works published by him between the years 1722 and 1733 alone, would occupy more than a page of this journal; and these works would range over a variety of subjects, such as one would think it impossible for any one man to write about with any approach to competency and intelligence. Algebra, the Laws of Longitude, Decimal Coinage, Planetary Motions, Tides, Docks, Chemistry, Iron and Fire, 'Horse Power,' and various branches of Physical Science not specified, are some of the objects on which he fixed his mind, and which he illustrated by his ready and active pen. "In 1733, Swedenborg again travelled; and commenced the greater works of his life. His Philosophical and Mineral Works' was a large production in three folio volumes; the first being called The Principia;' the second On Iron;' and the third On Copper and Brass.' Some time after he contributed a paper to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Sweden, on Inlaid Work in Marble for Tables, and for Ornamental Purposes generally;' thus devoting his wonderful powers to the explication of the vastest themes, and to the application of the most general principles to the minutest interests of life. Of the profound wisdom of his scientific speculations and experiments many influential testimonies might be cited. He anticipated many of the proudest discoveries of subsequent philosophers; and though, generally speaking, through the popular belief that he was only a vague idealist and mystic dreamer, he has lost the credit of them, a few of more unprejudiced temper, and whose researches have not been circumscribed by theological partialities. have not been slow to do the mighty thinker justice. Professor Patterson, of the University of Pennsylvania, says of the Principia- Many of the experiments and observations on Magnetism, presented in this work, are believed to be of much more modern date, and are unjustly ascribed to much more recent writers.' "The Economy of the Animal Kingdom' was first published in Amsterdam in 1740. The first part of this Essay treats of the blood, 6 the arteries, the veins, and the heart; whilst the second part treats of the motion of the brain, the cortical substance, and the human soul. In 1745, he published The Worship and Love of God,' a book which, as Mr. Hood says, gives forth in poetry what the Principia' and the Animal Kingdom' had previously given forth in prose. It is a magnificent and highly wrought rhapsody, elevated and artistic in its style, and rather splendid than useful in its substance. It is a hymn in honour of creation, written under the guidance of an inspired imagination, rather than a philosophical exposition of nature. Gorgeous, grand, and fanciful, it is yet cold and unreligious. The life and beauty of the universe are there; but God is afar off." To this critique on the "Worship and Love of God," we are not prepared to assent. The work," says the author, [E. S.] "would be a vain inquisition without the assistance and inspiration of the Supreme Being, from whom, as the Sun of wisdom and sole fountain of light, all truth, as rays, derive their influence upon our understandings. Wherefore, that he would favour our present undertaking, we humbly beg his presence, and gracious assistance." A work written in this frame of mind, and which throughout recognizes the Supreme Being as the author of Creation, and the giver of all its delights, may still, from the dominant intellectuality of its character, be described by some as cold, but certainly not correctly by any one as unreligious. Neither can it be truthfully said of such a book, that in its pages God is afar off. Our last extract brings the writer to the delicate question of Swedenborg's intromission into the spiritual world. Nearly two pages of apologetic matter introduce this subject. These contain much fine writing; but, to our view of the subject, do not present the philosophy of the fact. Imagination-not, however, as presenting the vagaries of an undisciplined understanding, but as the evolution of the highest knowledge and the embodiment of the soundest wisdom-is the chief reason assigned by the author. The fact itself, however, of intercourse with the spiritual state is cheerfully admitted, and the cases of the fire at Stockholm, the widow of Count de Marteville, and of Louisa Ulrica of Sweden, are adduced as evidences. On these examples he remarks ;— "Now how are we to regard these things? Here is a man of known chastity and truthfulness, professing to hold fellowship with the dead, to receive communications from heaven; to have visions of the eternal world he submits his pretensions to the tests which curiosity and incredulity might suggest; he gives spontaneous illustrations of the same power. To what are these visions and revelations to be ascribed? How are these facts to be explained? As we have said, these are questions which we shall not here attempt to answer. We only pause to ask them, that we may enter our protest against such summary and supercilious judgments as have been pronounced by some of Sweden[Enl. Series.-No. 23, vol. ii.] 3 s borg's critics, who might have been expected to show more sense, even if they could not be supposed to have more charity." This extract is followed by the mention of the "Brief Exposition," the "Conjugial Love," and the "True Christian Religion;" and of his correspondence with Wesley, who, "sixteen years after, . . . . circulated some cruel slanders against the wonderful man whom he had never met.” An account of the death-bed of Swedenborg, and an acknowledgment of the writer's consciousness "of having done anything but justice to the extraordinary being whose life he has sketched," close the article. The liberal spirit in which this article is written may well command the respect of the members of the New Church. It is another evidence of the decline of the prejudice which has so long assailed the name of our illustrious author, and of the altered views with which he is beginning to be regarded. And we may be permitted, perhaps, also to add without offence, that it is an example of the impossibility of satisfactorily accounting for all the facts of his experience on any other principle than the one given by himself. His experience can by no means be regarded as the higher issues of his profound scientific attainments, except as these are viewed as a portion of the providential means of preparing him for a high and holy office to which he was called by the Lord. Viewed as the Messenger of the Second Advent, and his introduction into the spiritual world as the means of his preparation for this office, the case admits of easy solution. The means are suited and even necessary to the end. On any other hypothesis it is contrary to universal experience. Other men of great learning, philosophic genius, and profound piety have existed, but in none of them have these rare attainments issued in the experience of Emanuel Swedenborg. R. S. D. REVIEWS. MODERN MYSTERIES EXPLAINED AND EXPOSED. In Four Parts. (Concluded from page 470.) THE charge alleged against Swedenborg by the Rev. A. Mahan, that he rejects the Acts and the Epistles from the New Testament, we proved, |
