REASONABLE RELIGION

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG HIS MESSAGE AND TEACHING

INTRODUCTION

THE MAN AND HIS WORK

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG was born at Stockholm on January 29, 1688, the year of the great revolution in England, and about a century before the still greater revolution which broke out in France in 1789. By a curious coincidence both Swedenborg and his eminent contemporary, the philosopher Kant, were christened Emanuel, God with us, which, in the case of Swedenborg at least, was a name singularly prophetic and appropriate. He came of a middle-class stock of peasant origin. His father, Dr. Jesper Swedberg, was a Lutheran divine who eventually became a bishop, was the son of a peasant of Fahlen called Daniel Isaacson, and had adopted the name of Swedberg from his father's estate or homestead, Sweden.' Swedish peasants, like those of Russia, have no family names, but are called by their patronymics, thus Daniel Isaacson was the son of Isaac Nilson, whose father was the son of Nils Otteson, and so on. Through a successful mining venture this Daniel Isaacson had risen from comparative poverty to affluence. Very naturally the son of this local mining magnate married in the same sphere and espoused the daughter of another mining magnate, Albrecht Behm, an Assessor of the College of Mines, a position similar to that which his distinguished grandson was destined to fill some years later.

B

Emanuel was the third child and second son of his parents. In a letter to his friend Dr. Beyer, Professor of Greek at the University of Gothenburg, written in 1769, Swedenborg says of his childhood:

From my fourth to my tenth year I was constantly engaged in thought upon God and salvation, and the spiritual experiences of men; and several times I revealed things at which my father and mother wondered; saying that angels must be speaking through me. From my sixth to my twelfth year I used to delight in conversing with clergymen about faith, saying that the life of faith was love, and that the love which imparted faith was the love to the neighbour; also that God gives faith to every one, but that only those receive it who practise that love. I knew of no other faith at that time than that God was the Creator and Preserver of nature, that He imparts understanding and a good disposition to men, and several other things that follow thence. I knew nothing then of that learned faith which teaches that God the Father imparts the righteousness of His Son to whomsoever, and at such times as He chooses, even to those who have not repented and have not reformed their lives. And had I heard of such a faith, it would have been then, as it is now, above my comprehension.

This is indeed the key-note to Swedenborg's religious opinions. The doctrine of salvation by faith alone always was repugnant to him, and most tremendously did he in after years fulminate against it. But this was to come much later.

In 1688, when he was born, he was surrounded by professors of the Lutheran faith. His father was acting court chaplain at the time, and it was in the capital that the first three or four years of the child were spent. In 1692 the father was made pastor of the rural parish of Vingaker, where for a few brief months young Swedberg, as he was then, tasted the delights of country life. From this rural parish the Rev. Dr. Jesper Swedberg was soon promoted to be dean of the cathedral of Upsala, where the next ten years were passed in the cathedral square in which the deanery was situated: here his education was begun. This was entrusted to a cousin on his mother's side, one Johannes Moraeus,

afterwards Dr. Moraeus, and Councillor Sandels speaks of the thoughtful care which was bestowed on his education.'

At that time Upsala had a population of not more than some 5000 inhabitants, but its cathedral was considered one of the finest Gothic buildings in northern Europe.

His mother had died two years before, but his father married again, some eighteen months after her death, a wealthy widow, Sarah Bergia. Swedenborg also lost his elder brother at about the same time. Of his remaining seven brothers and sisters, Anna, sixteen months older than he, appears to have been his favourite. She married, before the completion of her seventeenth year, Dr. Ericus Benzelius, librarian to the University of Upsala. In 1702 his father was appointed Bishop of Skara, and had to remove to that place, but he himself, who had by this time commenced his studies at the University, remained at Upsala till 1709. At the University he was distinguished for his Latin verses, and it would seem that he was regarded in his own circle as a poet of some promise. On the conclusion of his University studies he went to live with his father at the episcopal residence of Brunsbo, near Skara, and vainly tried to persuade that worthy prelate to permit him to proceed on a foreign tour. But Bishop Swedberg had little sympathy with his son's Wanderlust; moreover, funds were low and the Bishop was of a distinctly frugal disposition. Writing on July 13, 1709, to his brother-in-law Benzelius, the ardent young man begged him to plead for him with his obdurate parent, and asked him to recommend him an English college where he could brush up his mathematics, physics, and natural history. It appears that at that early date he had already conceived the ambitious plan of drawing up a summary of the principal discoveries during the last few centuries in these branches of knowledge. He also mentioned that he had learned the art of bookbinding from a craftsman who had been binding some books for his father. This is very characteristic of the man, so eminently industrious and practical. Two years

later, when he had succeeded in carrying out his scheme of travel, he wrote from London to say that he turned his lodgings to some use and changed them often. First,' he says, I was at a watchmaker's, afterwards at a cabinet-maker's, and now I am at a mathematicalinstrument maker's; from them I steal their trades, which some day may be of use to me.' He learned to make brass instruments; and later, at Leyden, how to grind glass for lenses, etc., in order that he might be able to construct appliances he could not afford to buy. His brother-in-law asked him, when in England, to purchase several globes for the Upsala Library, but as they were too expensive, and difficult to pack and transport safely, he was instructed to obtain the printed sheets, which would then be mounted on arrival, and as the makers refused to supply these, the indomitable young man set to work to learn engraving, and prepared the sheets himself!

But before he could give effect to his cherished dream of foreign travel he had to spend a year of hope deferred, of weary and impatient waiting. His practical father meantime looked with disapproval on the apparently idle life his gifted son was leading. Here was a young man of twenty-two who had completed his studies, had given evidence of ability, and yet had failed to find useful occupation. How the son felt may be gathered from Swedenborg's letter to Benzelius, dated March 10, 1710. He writes:

I have little desire to remain here much longer; for I am wasting nearly all my time. I have, however, made such progress in music that I have been able on several occasions to act as substitute for our organist; but in spite of all my studies this place affords me very little opportunity to give effect to them, and they are totally unappreciated by those who ought to encourage me in them.

There was a welcome break in this monotonous life when he paid a short visit to the celebrated Swedish engineer and inventor, Christopher Polhammar (who on being raised to the nobility took the name of Polhem),

a congenial spirit who, in a letter to Benzelius, thus speaks of Swedenborg's visit:

With regard to young Swedberg, I must confess I was extremely well pleased that he came here, like the others, and without first making any conditions; and as we were pleased and satisfied with each other, his wishes could be gratified without difficulty, especially when I found him able to assist me in the mechanical undertaking which I have in hand and in making the necessary experiments; in this matter I am more indebted to him than he is to me.

By the autumn of 1710 young Swedberg had at last managed to reach London; but he was kept very short of funds, and he complains to his trusted confidant and brother-in-law of his father's treatment of him, stating that he had had no more than something less than £50 to subsist on for sixteen months, adding pathetically and quaintly: It is hard to live without food or drink.'

In those days travelling was not as free from adventure as it is to-day, his ship was nearly wrecked, and was subsequently boarded by a pirate, for whom it was later mistaken by a British man-of-war who fired at it. On his arrival in the mouth of the Thames, Swedberg was so eager to get to London that he evaded the strict quarantine regulations and had a narrow escape from being hanged for it. Once in London he seemed to be absolutely happy; he studied Newton daily, purchased mathematical books and instruments, such as an astronomical tube, quadrants, prisms, microscopes, etc., and even two camerae obscurae, which he greatly admired. He hoped to be able to have enough money left to buy an air-pump. His letters breathe with the almost childish joy of a scientific enthusiast. Poor young man! His stern parent gave him but little encouragement. He was much impressed with the town itself, the magnificent St. Paul's Cathedral was finished in all its parts a few days ago,' he writes. He was particularly affected by the sight of the tomb of Casaubon in Westminster Abbey, and must have surprised the stolid English when he fell down and kissed it, for he was inspired with a love for this literary hero,' and composed some Latin verses in