LETTER IV

Deae Sis,

I hâve use for some copies of the three letters, pointing out an ideatity in many of the most impoitant doctrines of Spinoza and Swedenborg, and therefore I wish you to hâve them printed in a pamphlet form, "with a suitable title — The Doctrines of Spinoza and Swedenborg identiûed-^t something of the sort ; and add, sa far as they daim a sdenlific^ ground ; in order to leave Swedenborg's visions of the spiritual world by themselves, where he seems for the most part to hâve placed them.

It is worthy of note, that in several of his works Swedenborg has drawn a Une of séparation between his scientific views and what are called '' relations," not exactly révélations. That this séparation was deliberately made, with some spécial design, we may be sure, by a letter from Swedenborg to the Danish ambassador, to be found at page 173 of Swedenborg's Life, Boston éd. 1845, in which, referring to the Apoc. Rev. he says, " In the same work are inserted varions mémorable relations of my intercourse with the spiritual world : they are separated from the text of the work by asterisks, and are to be found at the end of the explication of each chapter." The same arrangement was made of the relations in his work, entitled, " True Christian Religion."

Why did Swedenborg make the séparation so plainly between the scientific view and the relations ? Did he consider the one natural, the other supematural 1 His foUowers seem to think he made such a distinction, but we hâve his own express déclaration to the

contrary. To M. Yenator he writes, " I nend to-day my reply to the letter which his highness, your prince, bas recently sent to me ; and by his orders, I speak to him of the conversations wbich I hare had with two personages in tbe spiritual world. But thèse conversations, as well as that between the queen of Bweden and her brother, when he was living, which was made known to me by him in the spiritual world, ought by no means to be regarded as miracles." Life, p. 178.

To the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, he writes : " That which is reported of the dau^ter of the prince Margrave in Sweden, is a fiction, mvented by sonie foolish novelist, and I never even heard of it before. As to that which is related of the brotber of the queen of Sweden, it is entirely true ; but it should not be regarded as a miracle," ^. Life, page 176.

To Dr. Oetinger, in 1766, he writes : " To your in* t^rogation, tchether there is occasumfar any sign that I am seni by the Lord to do what I do7 \ answer, that at this day no signs or miracles will be gîven, because they compel only an extemal belief, but do noi con« vince the internai. What did thé miracles avail in Bgypt^ or among the Jewish nation, who neverthdess cmcified the I^ird?" Life, page 43.

In the same letter, he says, '^ Wby frooi a pkilosp» pker kave I been chosen to this ofice 7 Unto which I give for answer, to the end that the q^tual knowledge, which is revealed at this day, might be rationaliy leamed, and naturally understood ; because spir* itual truths answer unto natural ones, inasmuck sa thèse originate and flow from them." Life, p^ 44.

He says to M. Yenator, referring to his work, Thé True Christian Religion, " You may see in the woik above-mentioned, that there are no more miracles at tlûs time ; and the leason why it is, that they who do not believe because they see no miracles, might easily by them be led into fanatidsm." Life, 178.

From the above passages, one point seems ^uite clear, that Swedenborg made no pretension to miraeulous knowledge. We are bound therefoxe to give a rational interprétation to what he writes, or deny that it bas any <' signiflcance fer us."

As a futher proof that Swedenborg did net regard his révélations of the spiritual world, and of " Représentations and Correspondences," as miraculous, but merely natural, I would refer to the Animal Kingdom, vol. 1, p. 461, where, in a note to a merely philosophical allusion in the text to the '' symboiical représentation of spiritual life in corporeal life," and to a "perpétuai typical représentation of the soûl in the boay," ne says : " In our doctrine of représentations and correspondences, we shall treat of both thèse symboiical and typical représentations, and of the astonishing things which occur, I will not say in the living body only, but throughout nature, and which correspond so entirely to suprême and spiriituzl things, that one would swear that the physical world was purely fyfnbolical of the spiritual world. Insomuch that, il we choose to express any natural truth in physical and vocal terms, and to couvert thèse tenus only into the corresponding spiritual terms, we shall by this means elicit a spiritual truth or theological dogma, in place of the physical truth or precept : although no mortal would hâve predicted that any thing of the kind could possibly arise by bare literal transposition ; inasmuch as the one precept considered separately firom the otber, appears to hâve absolutely no relation to it I intend hereafter to communicate a number of examples of such correspondences, together with a vocabulary, containing the terms of spiritual things, as well as of the physical things, for which they are to be substituted."

In this note, firom one of his merelv philosophical Works, we hâve a distinct expression or Swedenborg's intention with respect to what he subsequently accomplished in pointing ont what he considered the spiritual truth corresponding to the letter of the scripture ; and when his philosophical System is penetrated it will be seen that his theological views necessarily resuit firom it I do not say that the system is true or false ; for I am not satisfied with my qualifications for an opinion on this point ; but I am quite sure that the whole System, i. e. the whole life and pretensions of Swedenborg are to be regarded only from the natural point of view.

SPINOZA ANÙ SWEDENBORG IDENTIFIED. 35

His friends and foUowers therefore, who persist in iniputing to him supernatural endowmenU, are not faiihful to his memory. To thèse people, I would use tbe advice of Miss Fuller, and urge them to siudy the Works of Swedenborg ; and I would add, study them until they leam from Swedenborg himself how to understand him ; and they may suspect their own intellectual vision, until they can see him in a natund point of view, whpn they may rest assured his knowledge and genius will justify as much admiration as anv one mère man should pay to another.

It is not, I believe, generally known, but it is nevertheless true, that Swedenborg, in his Principia, has really anticmated the far-famed theorv of Laplace, of the origin of worlds ; and what is no less remarkable, the theory of ondulations is developed at great lençth in the Economy of the Animal Kingdom. In which work see, in the first volume, his discussion of the ''arteries and veins,'' particularly paragraphs 170 and 171, and especially page 134 English editimi.

Down to within a quarter of a centuryi Sir Isaac Newton's theory of emanaiion has been almost universally received Within the last few years, however, the theory of undtdaiian has displaced the old theory entirely ; but who has done honor to Swedenborg for his anticipation of the new theory 1 He insista emphatically that no particles of matter emanate from the sun, in what we call light, but explains at Rreat length the effect of undulalùm in producing both iiçht and Sound ; besides other results still more extraordinary, as auy one may see who will study his works.

When I commenced pointing out the identity of the principles of Spinoza and Swedenborg, I intended nothing further, and bave only been induced to add the above aa a mère act of justice to the memory of a truly great man, who is by some considered to bave been inspired, while others think he was a monomaniac. I confess, that while reading Swedenborff's relations of his intercourse with tbe spiritual world, I do not sel« dom think of the astronomer in the taie of Rasselas. Has Dr. Johnson indeed set forth the t]rpe of a leamed monomaniac, in that moet affecting épisode, and is it

a picture of the Swedish philosopher ï Then of him, as of the astronomer, it may be said^ that " few can attain his knowledge, and tew practise his yirtuin ; but ail may suffer his calamity.'^

TBEB KZVD.

THE BORROWER WILL BE CHARGED AN OVERDUE FEE IF THIS BOOK ÎS NOT RETURNED TO THE LIBRARY ON OR BEFORÈ THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW. NON-RECEIPT OF OVERDUE NOTICES DOES NOT EXEMPT THE BORROWER FROM OVERDUE FEES.

Harvard Collège Wldener Lfbrary Cambridge, MA 021 38 (017)495*2413