A BRIEF VIEW OF ALL HIS WORKS ON SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY, AND THEOLOGY. "There are five classes of those who read my writings. The first reject them entirely, because they are in another persuasion, or because they are in no faith. The second receive them as scientifics, or as objects of mere curiosity. The third receive them intellectually, and are in some measure pleased with them, but whenever they require an application to regulate their lives, they remain where they were before. The fourth receive them in a persuasive manner, and are thereby led, in a certain degree, to amend their lives and perform uses. The fifth receive them with delight, and confirm them in their lives." SWEDENBORG. BOSTON : CROSBY AND NICHOLS, PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK: C. S. FRANCIS AND COMPANY; FOWLERS AND WELLS. PHILADELPHIA: LIPPINCOTT, GRAMBO, AND COMPANY. CINCINNATI: TRUMAN AND SPOFFORD. €8468.53.5 A. C. A. R. THE following is an explanation of the abbreviated titles of the works referred to in this COMPENDIUM. T. C. R. TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. F.. H. H. H D. DOCTRINE OF FAITH. HEAVENLY DOCTRINE. BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE DOCTRINES OF THE NEW JERUSALEM. LAST JUDGMENT.-L. J. contin., LAST JUDGMENT CONTINUED. NATURE OF INFLUX BETWEEN SOUL AND BODY. CONCERNING THE WHITE HORSE, Rev. xix. * It should be remarked, in respect to the quotations from the " Spiritual Diary," that this work is not considered the same authority as the other writings of Swedenborg, being a posthumous publication, without the author's sanction. It is evidently a record of his private spiritual experience as it occurred from day to day, and appears to be the first brief notes and groundwork, from which he afterwards constructed his more matured and authorized works. If there are errors in it, they are generally supposed to be corrected in his authorized publications. See another note respecting the Diary, COMPENDIUM, numbers 1139, 1140. It should be well remembered that the whole of the Diary was written before the Last Judgment, which may serve to explain some otherwise obscure passages in it. STEREOTYPED AT THE BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. PREFACE. An attempt is here made to present a fuller account than any yet, of the Life and Writings of the most extraordinary man who has ever lived. He was a man who has evidently done as much, to say the least, to benefit humanity, though not yet appreciated because of the high sphere in which he labored, as any of the world's most illustrious benefactors. We are aware, when we speak thus, that we shall not gain credence in many a mind. Let truth and time, then, speak for themselves. Swedenborg is evidently the most unknown man of the world. There is more to learn, and less learned, of his voluminous and interminable wisdom, than the superficial, yea, than the scientific and philosophic of this world, are by any measure aware of. And it is a pleasing contemplation at this day, to see a manifestly popular and growing desire to know more of the great Philosopher and Seer of the latter ages, than can be found in Cyclopædian, Biographical, and Theological Dictionaries, most of which bear false witness against him and his doctrines. He is still regarded by many, as an insane visionary, or somnambulic dreamer; a very learned and good man, but deranged on the subject of Theology. Others, and their number is now largely increasing, are beginning to regard him as a man of true spiritual enlightenment, of enlarged ideas of God, of Nature, and of the Spiritual Spheres, but still far from correct in many of his principles and teachings. Still another class, though as yet but small, have a right appreciation of his noble genius and mission. to the labors of this "Great Humble Man,” in whose works on these interesting subjects can be found the seeds or principles of all that is known of the Essences, Forms, Powers and Uses of Universal Matter; and how far he was in advance of Bacon, Leibnitz, Newton, La Place, Kepler, Herschel, Cuvier, or any other man, as a theorist and author; and at the same time perfectly free from all jealousies and animosities growing out of any of them, as to who should be the greatest in the Kingdoms of Nature. It may be said of him, most truly, that "he set one foot of the compass of truth in God, and with the other, swept all creation, both animate and inanimate." And this is particularly true, when we consider him as the Seer, Theologian, and Philosopher of spirit. In the present work, we have aimed at a fuller presentation of him as a man of Science and Philosophy, than can be found in any other Biography; and this not only for the purpose of showing the perfectly irrational character of those charges against him as a mere visionary, void of a solid understanding, and how the world is mistaken in one of her greatest sons; but also for the purpose of showing how well prepared he was, in all the natural knowledge which man could then acquire, for that sacred office to which he was at last called, as the illuminated Teacher of the New Church. But from the character of this Work, being more of a compilation than an original composition, we here make one acknowledgment for all, of indebtedness to the various Biographers of It is perhaps useless, to say in this Preface to a Swedenborg, especially to Wilkinson and Rich; Life and Writings which will speak for them- also to various minor publications, such as the selves, that he is unquestionably the most tran- "Intellectual Repository," "New Jerusalem Magscendent human luminary that has ever yet snone azine," and other works. We would gladly have upon our dark world. Even in Science and Philos- given the usual credit, passage by passage, for ophy, he nobly strode a century before his time, the many extracts we have made; but as the first and his works evince, not of course without minor part of the work was made up before it was conerrors, an intuitional and decided anticipation of templated to publish it as a Prefix to this "Commany of the more recent discoveries. He was a pendium" of his writings, it would be very diffiman, "take him for all in all," who was the most cult now to refer to the many sources, for the par marvellously gifted of any of the sons of earth, ticular page of each publication quoted from. both on the sides of nature and of spirit. He And as the extracts from the Biographies above combined them both in his God-given grasp, and referred to, involve so much that is drawn from a there can be no question, were it not for his theo- common source and from each other, particularly logical character, by which many are yet held from the "Documents concerning the Life and from his scientific works, that he would at this Character of Swedenborg," therefore, for all suffiday take a foremost rank in some of the most ab-cient purposes, we have chosen to give this genstruse departments of natural physics and philoso-eral credit. But where long extracts occur, which phy. His discoveries and teachings in Geology, are characterized by the author's peculiar mode Mineralogy, Botany, Natural History, Animal and of thinking, we have, nevertheless, with the exHuman Physiology, Chemistry, Crystallography, eption of the first part above referred to, given Mathematics, Mechanics, Astronomy, and Natural the particular credit as usual. Philosophy, show how deeply the world is indebted COMPILER. |