D "i give theft Hook for -the fait 'olrjuf •YAIUE-VKniVIEIRSJnnr- o IUIIBlKAIKSr <» aatt^MkAbt'K^ DIVINITY SCHOOL TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY GIFT OF Plato Shaw EMANUEL SWEDENBORG EMANUEL SWEDENBORG Born Jaiiv29 1688 DiedMar.29 1772 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG HIS LIFE, TEACHINGS AND INFLUENCE BY GEORGE TROBRIDGE AUTHOR OF," THE LETTER AND THE SPIRIT," "THE FOUNDATIONS FIRST AMERICAN EDITION Fokewokd by CHARLES W. HARVEY " Swedenborg, of all men in the recent ages, stands eminently for the translator of nature into thought" — Emerson NEW YORK THE NEW-CHURCH PRESS INCORPORATED PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY PERMISSION OF THE SWEDENBORG SOCIETY, LONDON, OWNERS OF THE COPYRIGHT CONTENTS PAGE Preface vii CHAPTER I. Religion in the Eighteenth Century .... i II. Swedenborg's Ancestry and Early Life ... o III. Scientific Studies and Practical Undertakings . 26 IV. Swedenborg the Philosopher 40 V. Later Philosophical Works 54 VI. Between Two Worlds 70 VII. Seer and Theologian 85 VEIL Theological Teachings 98 EX. Spiritual Philosophy 109 X. Expository Works 121 XI. "Things Heard and Seen" 136 XII. Reception of Teachings 156 XIII. Swedenborg's Science 170 XIV. Swedenborg as Politician 185 XV. Personal Characteristics 195 XVI. Signs of Seershtp . 210 XVII. Testimonies 225 Appendix. Swedenborg and his Gardener Folks . . . 240 FOREWORD TO adopt a popular usage of the word, Trobridge's is a "different" biography of Swedenborg from any of its many predecessors. It is not written as a special plea, either to those definitely inside or out side the body of Swedenborg's followers. It is based on all the painstaking research which appears so plainly in some others' work, but in his is all tucked away, where the student, but only he, will find it under the delightful style of a practised writer whom the most exclusive English and American periodicals welcomed to their columns. Trobridge presents no strange, mystical being, but a real man, vigorously and attractively drawn. Any reader of intelligence can know him as personally as did his old servants and yet be held spellbound by his prodigious attainments, alike as scientist, metaphy sician; statesman and theologian. He is presented truly as the scholar and the gentleman, but not the mere aristocrat; the friend of kings and courtiers, but also of the common people and even the children of the neighborhood in whichever of the great cities of Europe he was making his home. We see him a great man among the great men of his times. We can know inti mately the many friends and associates of his long life. We can follow his extraordinary experience as it might have happened to any one of us had we been the special man for the Age, able to take the same severe schooling under Providence and develop the same powers; able to look through and clear away the mists of the still Mediaeval Christian Church of his day, to show her her true place in the realities of life far in advance of his times through his trained, dispassionized vision. vih' FOREWORD Trobridge's work is addressed to every one not content to remain in ignorance of the revolution of thought which gave us our present ideas in science, philosophy and truly liberal, Christian Theism. The Summaries of Swedenborg's unique contributions to each of these departments are presented as understandmgly as is the man. The present book is an American issue of the second, EngUsh (most popular) paper edition, omitting some few topical and other allusions of interest only to Brit ish readers. CHARLES W. HARVEY September 9, 1918 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG Chapter I RELIGION IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY THERE are those who profess to believe in a gradual evolution of political, social, and religious Hfe, which places each successive generation on a higher platform than its predecessors. The present in herits the accumulated wisdom of the past; the Uving have the advantage of studying the faults and failures of their forefathers; while knowledge is ever growing wider, and moral forces are visibly augmenting. So, at least, it seems in our time, and some are disposed to conclude that it always must have been so: but history does not support the conclusion. The eighteenth century was not morally supe rior to the seventeenth nor inteUectuaUy to the sixteenth; the art and Uterature of the Romans were immeasurably inferior to those of the Greeks upon which they were founded; and, in our own country, the later Gothic styles of architecture, notwithstanding the extraordinary skill and science they display, are marked by degradation and not improvement. The progress of mankind, whether in art, Uterature, morals, or reUgion, has always been like the ebb and flow of the tide. There are times when knowledge increases suddenly and enormously, and the march of civiUzation advances like the inrush of a strong spring, tide; wave after wave of some mighty impulse lif ts humanity to unwonted heights of attainment: but the force is spent as rapidly as it arose, the tide faUs back to its farthest limit, and 2 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG the shores of life are seen dreary and desolate. Or the rising tide may be one of evil influences. At certain periods, waves of iniquity and unbeUef sweep over society, mounting ever higher and higher until the soUd ground of righteousness and judgment threatens to give way from under us: then the floods of wickedness are stayed by some new inspiration of humanity; the arm of the Lord is stretched out, and the tide of evil is slowly but surely roUed back. Such is the course of human progress as revealed in history. The rise and faU of rehgious systems is more remark able, and less easily explained, than the fluctuations of civilization. The arts will flourish under encouraging cir cumstances, and die out through the influence of poUtical changes or rehgious ideas; but religion wiU die out under what appear to be most favoring conditions and will revive slowly and imperceptibly in spite of contempt and opposition. Great rehgious changes by no means con form to the law of steady and gradual evolution. Catas trophe may not come in geological processes, but it certainly marks the development of the rehgious life of the race. One of the great periods of spiritual catastrophe was the time of the Incarnation. Except that the Lord had shortened those days, we are told, no flesh could .iave been saved.1 The civilized world was immersed in heathenism or vain philosophy, with the exception of the Jewish nation, and their reUgion had become a lifeless ceremoniaUsm. Righteousness seemed to have perished from the earth, and wickedness flaunted itself openly among high and low. Even the pious Pharisee, who thanked God that he was not as other men were, was declared by Him who reads the hearts of men to be a whited sepulchre, fuU of dead men's bones and aU uncleanness. The law which he professed to honor had been so overlaid with vain traditions as to hide the foundation of truth and righteousness upon which it rested. Living faith there was not, within the Jewish church or without it, except with a little remnant who 1 Mark xiii. 20. RELIGION IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 3 looked for the coming Redeemer. The last times of the Jewish dispensation had come; its candlestick was removed out of its place, to make room for a more worthy vehicle of the Divine light. The new lamp burned low for many generations, and few Uving in the first two centuries would have believed that before long its rays would reach to the farthest confines of the Roman Empire. But the Uttle one in time became a thousand; the tiny seed developed into a great and spreading tree. By the despised Christian religion, though in a much corrupted and imperfect form, society was remodelled, new ideals were estab lished, and the world was raised once more from its lost condition. The centuries passed; Christianity became more and more corrupted and gradually lost its hold upon man kind, until in the eighteenth century religion in Europe had become almost extinct. Another period of social and religious catastrophe had arrived. Christianity was still formally professed, but had ceased to be a control- Ung power in either national, social, or individual life. International jealousies, and the personal ambition of rulers, provoked continual wars; politicians were corrupt and seU-seeking; while unbelief and immoraUty were rife among aU classes of society. England was not perhaps worse than other countries, but it is painful to read of the doings of our recent progenitors. There is no sadder chapter in Green's Short History than the opening chapter of "Modern England," which deals with this period. "Never," he says, "had religion seemed at a lower ebb. The progress of free inquiry, the aversion from theological strife which had been left by the Civil Wars, the new pohtical and material channels opened to human energy, had produced a general in difference to aU questions of rehgious speculation or religious life." "There was a revolt against rehgion and against churches in both the extremes of EngUsh society. In the higher circles of society 'every one laughs,' said Montesquieu on his visit to England, 'if one talks of reUgion.'" And the revolt was not against 4 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG reUgious teaching alone, — the cultured intellect refusing to accept any longer the irrational dogmas of theologians, — but against the restraints of rehgion. UnbeUef and immorality were united in an unholy bond: and the fruit of their union was an unblushing display of vice from the highest in the state to the lowest. "At the other end of the social scale lay the masses of the poor. They were ignorant and brutal to a degree which it is hard to conceive, for the increase of population which foUowed on the growth of towns and the development of commerce had been met by no effort for their religious or educational improvement. Not a new parish had been created. . . . The rural peasantry, who were fast being reduced to pauperism by the abuse of the poor laws, were left without much moral or reUgious training of any sort. . . . Within the towns things were worse. There was no effective police; and in the great out breaks the mob of London or Birmingham burnt houses, flung open prisons, and sacked and pillaged at their wiU. The criminal classes gathered boldness and numbers in the face of ruthless laws which only testified to the terror of society, laws which made it a capital crime to cut down a cherry-tree, and which strung up twenty young thieves of a morning in front of Newgate; while the introduction of gin gave a new impetus to drunkenness." Archbishop Seeker, writing in 1738, thus sums up the case: "An open and professed disregard of religion is become, through a variety of causes, the distinguishing character of the present age. Indeed, it hath already brought in such dissoluteness and contempt of principle in the higher part of the world, and such profligate intemperance and fearlessness of committing crimes in the lower, as must, if this mighty torrent of iniquity stops not, become absolutely fatal. And God knows, far from stopping, it receives, through the designs of some persons and the inconsiderateness of others, a continual increase." What were the Church and the government doing RELIGION IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 5 all the time? "In Walpole's day- the English clergy were the idlest and most hfeless in the world." "The system of pluralities turned the wealthier and more learned of the priesthood into absentees, while the bulk of them were indolent, poor, and without social con sideration. A shrewd, if prejudiced, observer brands the. English clergy of the day as the most hfeless in Europe, 'the most remiss of their labors in private, and the least severe in their lives."' "A large number of prelates were mere Whig partisans with no higher aim than that of promotion. The levees of the ministers were crowded with lawn sleeves. A Welsh bishop avowed that he had seen his diocese but once, and habitually resided at the lakes of Westmoreland." Many of the clergy richly deserved the poet's satire: They hunt good livings and abhor good lives. So much for the Church. It lived upon the people but not for the people; and the government was much the same, There was no proper representation of the people, nor were their interests considered in legislation, except in so far as the consideration of them might advance the position of some ambitious statesman. All were for place and power, and shameless bribery was the way to these. Corruption was "the great engine of politics." Every man had his price, and every constituency also. The House of Commons "ceased in any real or effective sense to be a representative body at all." " Great towns hke Manchester or Birmingham remained without a member, while members stiU sat for boroughs, which, like Old Sarum, had actuaUy vanished from the face of the earth. . . . Out of a population of eight millions, only a hundred and sixty thousand were electors at aU. . . . Purchase was becoming more and more the means of entering Parliament. Seats were bought and sold in the open market at a price which rose to four thousand pounds, and we can hardly wonder that a reformer could aUege without a chance of denial, 'This House is not a representative of the people of Great Britain. It is the representative of nominal 6 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG boroughs, of ruined and exterminated towns, of noble famihes, of wealthy individuals, of foreign potentates.' " So general was corruption and vice among politicians, that the absence of them in the conduct of a single individual made him conspicuous among his fellows. WiUiam Pitt is described as "the one statesman whose aims were unselfish, whose hands were clean, whose life was pure and fuU of tender affection for wife and child." "In the midst of a society critical, polite, indifferent, simple even to the affectation of simphcity, witty and amusing but absolutely prosaic, cool of heart and of head, sceptical of virtue and enthusiasm, sceptical above aU of itself, Pitt stood absolutely alone." It was not England only that had faUen to this de plorable condition. Matters in France were even worse, and were rapidly leading towards the Revolution; other countries also were in a state of disintegration, politically, morally, and inteUectually. Everywhere violence, immorahty, insincerity, and unbeUef prevailed, with an almost total lack of zeal for righteousness, It was an age, as Carlyle says, of formula and simulacra; a century "spendthrift, fraudulent, bankrupt . . . utterly insolvent. ... A century opulent in accumu lated falsities, — sad opulence, descending on it by inheritance, always at compound interest, and always largely increased by fresh acquirement on such im mensity of standing capital; — opulent in that bad way as never century before was! Which had no longer the consciousness of being false, so fake had it grown; and was so steeped in falsity, and impregnated with it to the very bone, that — in fact, the measure of the thing was full." ' "There was need," he continues, "once more of a Divine Revelation to the torpid frivolous children of men, if they were not to sink altogether into the ape condition." It was at this time, when the degradation was at its very lowest, that Swedenborg came with the announce ment of such a new revelation. He proclaimed that the end of the first Christian dispensation had come, 1 Frederick the Great, Book I. chap. i. sec. 2. RELIGION IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 7 the Church having become thoroughly corrupt both in doctrine and in life, and that a renovation was about to take place. "There is not," he said, "a single genuine truth at this time remaining in the Church";1 "the light of truth derived from the Word is weU-nigh extin guished";2 "so that at this day there is scarcely any faith, because there is not any charity. It is the con summation of the age." 3 Again he writes: "The Church at this day is founded on opinion and not on conduct. He who believes otherwise than the Church teaches, is cast out of its communion and his character defamed; but he who thieves (if he does not do so flagrantly), lies, betrays, and commits adultery, is yet called a Christian, if only he frequents a place of worship and talks piously." 4 The darkest hour is before the dawn. While proclaim ing the corruption of current Christianity, Swedenborg announced that the Lord "is also at this day accompUsh- ing a redemption, by estabUshing a new heaven, and, laying the foundation of a new church, with a view toi make salvation possible to mankind."6 The means of this great work were a general judgment in the World of Spirits, for the purpose of removing the evil influences that were pressing upon this world with ever-increasing intensity, and of making way for the influx of truth and righteousness; the opening of t;he interior sense of the Holy Scriptures, that true doctrine might be rationaUy discerned; and the revelation of the nature and character of life in heaven, hell, and the intermediate state. Swedenborg declared himself to be the divinely chosen herald of a new dispensation, and that, as such, he was not only admitted to the society of angels and spirits, but directly instructed by the Lord in the doctrines of the New Church which was to rise out of the ruins of the faUen one. 1 True Christian Religion, No. 758. 1 Ibid., No. 271. 8 Arcana Cwlestia, No. 3398. 4 Ibid:, No. 4689. • True Christian Religion, No. 182. 8 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG This extraordinary claim is sufficient with many to mark the man as deluded, and to prevent them from examining his teachings. But such an attitude is fooUsh, unless we can be quite certain that no prophet of the Lord wiU ever again appear among men. If we refuse to listen tp him, we can form no opinion, either good or bad, of his claims; if, however, we bring our reason and judgment to bear upon his life and writings, we shall surely be able to decide between the ravings or drivelUngs of insanity and the unfoldings of the Divine. Chapter II SWEDENBORG'S ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE WONDER has been expressed at Swedenborg's turning from natural science to theology in middle Ufe; heredity might have had some thing to do with his interest in both subjects. His father was an eminent Lutheran bishop, and so he was reared in,, a theological atmosphere, while his grand fathers on both sides of the family were connected with the great mining industry of Sweden. Daniel Isaacsson, the father of Bishop Swedberg, was a member of a peasant family at Fahlun, and rose from comparative poverty to affluence by a successful mining venture. Albrecht Behm, Swedenborg's maternal grandfather, occupied a similar position at the Board of Mines to that which he himseU held later.1 Jesper Swedberg was the second son of Daniel Isaacs- son, and was born in 1653. His parents, who were pious people, devoted him to the Church, and he was ordained in 1682. He was appointed in that year chaplain of the horse guards, court chaplain in 1688, dean and pastor of Vingaker in 1690, professor in Upsala University in 1692, dean of Upsala in 1694, and Bishop of Skara in 1702; which last office he held for thirty- three years. He was a man of upright and pious life, an indefatigable worker, and an enthusiastic reformer; 1 The variety of names in the same family is explained by the custom of taking names from the family seat in place of the usual patronymic, and the change of title brought about by the ennoble ment of die Swedberg family. The sons of Daniel Isaacsson called themselves Swedberg from the name of their homestead, "Sweden"; while Swedberg was again changed to Swedenborg when the bishop's family was ennobled by Queen Ulrica Eleonora in 1719. 10 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG one, in fact, whose exemplary conduct and untiring zeal made him conspicuous among his less earnest and more careless brethren. "If he had hved a few hundred years earlier," wrote one of his contemporaries, "he might have increased the number of Swedish saints . . . his learning, industry, exemplary life, good intentions, and zeal for God's glory deserve to be venerated even by a more enlightened century." He was active in the cause of education, whether as army chaplain, when he offered a premium to every soldier who learned to read, or later as professor of theology, and afterwards rector, in Upsala University. He endeavored to reform the teaching in the pubUc schools, composing and editing many text-books himself; and in every way exerted himself to promote the advancement of learning. Although Sweden was a Protestant country the study of the Bible had fallen into desuetude in those lax times. Bibles, indeed, were somewhat expensive luxuries, a high price being charged for them by the privileged publishers. Swedberg set himself to remedy this, and to provide a cheap edition that aU might possess; but, although he obtained the royal sanction, and expended a considerable sum of money himself in preparing such an edition, the power of vested interests was too strong, and the project fell through. His labors in connection with the revision of the Swedish translation of the Bible also came to naught; while his attempted improvement of the Swedish hymn and psalm book only brought upon him a charge of heresy, and led to the suppression of the work. In every direction he seems to have been thwarted by the jealousy, apathy, and stolid conserva tism of those who should have been his supporters and helpers in good works. Nevertheless, he persevered in his laudable efforts to the end of his long life. Swedberg's religion was of an eminently practical character. In the Lutheran Church, as in other Prot estant bodies, faith had been elevated to such pre eminence that good works were disparaged, and morality suffered in consequence; Swedberg held that true faith could not be dissociated from a life of charity and active ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE it usefulness. He complained that "many contented themselves with the first and second paragraphs of the 'great faith' (stor-tron), but that they would have nothing to do with the third paragraph, with ' sanctifica tion and a holy life.'" "'Faith of the head,' (hjarne Iron — i.e. brain faith) and 'devil's faith' with him were synonymous." He was a fearless preacher, denouncing the shortcomings of those in high places, as well as the peccadilloes of humble sinners; being especially severe against the neglect of religious duties by the former, and the scandalous abuse of their rights of Church patronage. His catholicity was remarkable, considering the age in which he lived; he was wiuing to see what was good in aU the Churches, and, during a visit to England, eagerly discussed the question of Christian unity with BrJiop FeU of Oxford. In Roman Cathohc countries he admired the care given to the poor and the devotion of high-born persons to the sick and destitute; in his own land he gave a word of approval to the earnest ness of the Pietists, although he did not agree with aU their tenets and practices. He is described by Coun cillor Sandels as "a man fuU of zeal but without bigotry." His1 personal tastes were simple and easily satisfied. He had a fair share of this world's goods, but died poor, as he had expended large sums in printing and publishing, and other disinterested works, and besides had had severe losses by several fires. His books for the most part were unsuccessful, and he complains that he has rooms fuU of unsold copies; remarking, with melancholy humor, that, after his death, they would probably be used by the women for their cakes. It is not surprising that, to an earnest and devout man like Bishop Swedberg, the spiritual world should have seemed very real and near at hand. He had an assured faith in the presence of angels among men, and of the helpful offices they fulfil as "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shaU be heirs of 12 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG salvation." x He Uved in the society of his "guardian angel," with whom, he declared, he was able to converse at times. He believed that he had other spiritual intimations on difierent occasions, and seems to have been possessed of powers of hypnotic healing. Not long after his ordination, he teUs us that he heard mys terious voices singing in the church, which convinced him of the presence of angeUc visitors, and caused him to feel more strongly than ever before the sacredness of the calling to which he had devoted himself. All these matters have a bearing on the still more extraordi nary experiences of his son, Emanuel; the idea of the intimate relations that subsist between the physical and the spiritual worlds was no doubt familiar to the latter from his father's teaching. Such was the father of the subject of our sketch. Of his mother we do not hear much; she was doubtless pretty fuUy occupied with household cares, having borne nine childrerj. during her twelve years of married Ufe. She died at thirty years of age, when Emanuel was only eight. Strangely Uttle is known of Swedenborg's childhood. He was born at Stockholm on the 29th of January, 1688, and was the second son and third child of his parents. Beyond these meagre facts, aU that we can learn of this period of his life is from a letter addressed by him, in 1769, to his friend, Dr. Beyer, Professor of Greek in Gothenburg University. In this he says: "From my fourth to rriy tenth year I was constantly engaged in thought upon God, 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 is love, and that the love which imparts life is love to the neighbor; also that God gives faith to every one, but that those only receive it who practise that love. I knew of no other faith at that time, than that God is 1 Heb. i. 14. ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE 13 the Creator and Preserver of nature, that He imparts understanding and a good disposition to men, and several other things that foUow thence. I knew nothing at that time of that learned faith which teaches that God the Father imputes 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." x If direct information is wanting as to the childhood of Swedenborg, we may fill up the blank to some extent from our imaginations, building upon a knowledge of the family circumstances at difierent periods. At the time of his birth, his father was exercising the functions of Court chaplain at Stockholm. In the Swedish capital, then, the first three or four years of the child's life were spent, and he doubtless carried away impres sions of the busy city, with its lofty buildings, its rushing flood of deep green waters coming down from Lake Maelar, its shipping, its military displays, and- the coming and going of royalty and nobility in their summer carriages or winter sleighs, to the quiet rural home 6il Vingaker, to which the family removed in 1692. Here, for a few brief months, he revelled, as aU children do, in the flowery fields and delightful farmyards, and was petted by the good people of the parish, who were also overwhelmingly kind to his father. The next ten years of his life were passed in Upsala, his parents, residing in the cathedral square; and here his early education was received. His tutor was Johannes Morasus, afterwards Dr. Morseus, a cousin on his mother's side, but we hear little of his studies. CounciUor Sandels speaks of "the thoughtful care which was bestowed on his education," and that he speaks truly we cannot doubt, knowing what we do of the father. Upsala, where the free, happy days of his boyhood were passed, was at that time a city of some five thousand inhabitants, and its cathedral was reckoned the finest 1 Documents concerning Swedenborg, vol. ii. p. 279. 14 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG Gothic building in the north of Europe. Within its walls many monarchs had been crowned in days of yore, and many also lay buried there. We can fancy the lad wandering through the aisles and meditating upon vanished greatness; or listening with the other members of the famUy to the daily service, in which the father often took part. This service was not so cold and lifeless as Protestant services were, at this period, in some other countries, for the Lutheran church retained many of the less objectionable usages of Rome. A portrait of Jesper Swedberg shows him sitting at a table with a foUo Bible before him opened at a doubtless favorite text, i Cor. xvi. 22, "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha"; while above the precious Book hangs a crucifix. Through an open door, over which stands a cross, we have a vista of a church interior terminating in an altar with Ughts burning before it, and an altar-piece above. Such things would shock many a modern Protestant. We can imagine the interest with which Emanuel would watch the building of his father's "large new stone house'' in the square; x and the impression made upon his youthful mind by the terrible fire which,, shortly after it was finished, destroyed not only the new house, but many other buildings, including the grand cathedral itself. , 1 The account of the building of this house given in the Swedish Biographiskt Lexicon (quoted in Documents, vol. i. p. 123) throws a very pleasing light upon the character of Swedenborg's father. "It is interesting," says the writer, "to hear him speak about the building of this new house. 'I know, and I can testify — for I was always present — that not the least work was done, that not a stone was raised, with sighs or a troubled mind, but all was done cheerfully and gladly. No complaint, no hard or disagreeable word was heard, no scoldings and no oaths were uttered.' When the house was finished, in the autumn of 1698, he inaugurated it by inviting and entertaining all the poor of the town. He and his wife and children waited upon them. Everything was done in an orderly manner, and this feast of charity was concluded with singing, prayer, thanks giving, and mutual blessing." We may assume that Swedenborg, who was then ten years of age, took his share in this kindly entertain ment. ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE 15 Another circumstance that must have left its mark upon his memory was the death of his mother two years earlier; x and this sad event was foUowed by the loss of his elder brother a few weeks later. Of the remaining children (seven besides himself), his sister Anna, sixteen months his senior, seems to have been his favorite. Before she had completed her seventeenth year, she was married to Dr./Ericus Benzelius, Librarian to the University of Upsala; but she was not lost to her fond brother. It was about this time that he entered upon his coUege course, and the probabiUty is, though direct evidence is wanting, that he resided with her until he left the University in 1709; for his father removed to Skara in 1702, on his appointment to the bishopric. We know practically nothing of his doings during these years. He certainly did not waste his time; but there is no record of his having gained any important distinc tion. Councillor Sandels says that he made "the best use of advantages enjoyed, comparatively, by few," and describes the academical disputation which he published, with the permission of the authorities, on leaving his alma mater, as "a clever work for a youth." One thing he had learnt; to write passable Latin verse. After leaving the University he published some of his efforts in that direction, which manifested, says Sandels, "a remarkable readiness of wit, and showed that he had made a good use. of his time in youth." He continued to exercise this faculty for some years, and was looked upon in his family circle as something of a poet. Having done with tutors, lectures, and class-books, he retired for a time to Brunsbo, the episcopal residence near Skara, where he began to make plans for an ex tended foreign tour. The difficulty seems to have been to raise the means, his father having little wealth and many responsibilities, and being withal somewhat "near." Under date of 13th July, 1709, he writes to his brother-in-law BenzeUus, begging his assistance in 1 His father married again about a year and a half after the death of his first wife, so that the "dear mother" referred to in subsequent correspondence (see p. 18) is his stepmother. 16 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG carrying out his project.1 He also desired his recom mendation to some English college where he might improve himself in mathematics, physics, and natural history. He proposed to prepare for his own use a summary of the principal discoveries in mathematics during the recent centuries, to which he would add anything new he might learn in his travels. In this same letter he teUs his brother-in-law that he has acquired the art of bookbinding from a man who had been working for his father. I mention this as characteristic of his industrious and practical nature. Wherever he went in his later travels he endeavored to gain a knowledge of useful trades. Writing from London in 171 1, he says: "I also turn my lodgings to some use, and change them often; at first I was at a watchmaker's, afterwards at a cabinet-maker's, and now I am at a mathematical instrument maker's; from them I steal their trades, which some day wfll be of use to me." He learnt to make brass instruments; and at Leyden, later, to grind glass for lenses, etc., that he might furnish himself with appliances that he could not afford to buy. His brother-in-law had commissioned him, when in England, to procure some globes for the University Library at Upsala, but these proving too expensive, and difficult to convey safely, he was asked to obtain the printed sheets that they might be mounted in Sweden. The makers, however, refused to supply them; so young Swedberg appUed himself to learn engraving, and prepared the sheets himself. But we are anticipating. It was a fuU year after his appUcation to Benzelius for assistance that he was enabled to start upon his travels — a year of disappoint ment and impatierit waiting for something to turn up. Not a happy time for one of Emanuel's active disposi tion; especially when he met with discouragement in his favorite studies at home. The busy, practical bishop was probably as Uttle appreciative of mathematics as he was of metaphysics; and certainly he would look 1 Swedenborg's correspondence with Benzelius will be found in Dr. R. L. Tafel's Documents, vol. i. pp. 200-344. ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE 17 with disapproval on a Ufe of idleness, or of no definite occupation, in a young man of twenty-two. There can be no doubt the son was unhappy. On the 6th of March, 17 10, he writes to Benzelius, the one great friend of his early life: "I have little desire to remain here much longer; for I am wasting almost my whole time. Still, I have made such progress in music, that I have been able several times to take the place of our organist; but for all my other studies this place affords me very little opportunity; and they are not at all appreciated by those who ought to encourage me in them." Some relief from this unsatisfactory mode of Ufe was found in a short visit to the great Swedish engineer and inventor, Christopher Polhammar (afterwards known by his title of nobility, Polhem). With him the youth was in his element, and Polhammar appreciated his capacity. He wrote to BenzeUus: "We were pleased and satisfied with one another . . . ; especiaUy when I found him able to assist me in the mechanical under taking 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. Moreover, I value more highly a quick and inteUigent person, with whom I can enjoy the discussion of subjects on which I possess some little knowledge, than I do a few weeks' board and lodging." In the autumn of 17 10, we find young Swedberg m London; and, from this date, his occasional letters to Dr. Benzelius give us a brief but interesting account of his doings for the five years of his absence from Sweden.1 His journey to London was not without perils, his life having been in danger four different times. The vessel in which he sailed was nearly wrecked on ap proaching the English coast; then they were boarded by pirates; the next evening they were fired into by a British guardship, being mistaken for the same pirates; and, finally, after arriving safely in the Thames, Swed berg narrowly escaped hanging for breaking the strict 1 See Documents Concerning Swedenborg, vol. i. pp. 206-238. 18 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG , quarantine regulations, estabUshed on account of the existence of the plague in Sweden. His first letter to Benzelius from London is of great interest, and reveals not only his "immoderate desire" (to borrow his own expression from a later letter) for study, but the remarkable breadth of his sympathies. "I study Newton daily," he says, "and am very anxious to see and hear him.1 I have provided myself with a small stock of books for the study of mathematics, and also with a certain number of instruments, which are both a help and an ornament in the study of science; such as, an astronomical tube, quadrants of several kinds, prisms, microscopes, artificial scales', and camera obscura by William Hunt and Thomas Everard, which I admire and which you too will ^dmire. I hope that after settling my accounts, I may have sufficient money left to purchase an air-pump." Among other items of information in this letter is that "the magnificent St. Paul's cathedral was finished a few days ago in all its parts." In its virginal purity, before the smoke of the great city had had time to obscure the beauty of its details, it doubtless impressed him mightily. But he was more impressed at West minster; not by the architecture, however, upon which he does not remark. "In examining the royal monu ments in Westminster Abbey," he says, "I happened to see the tomb of Casaubon; when I was inspired with such a love for this literary hero, that I kissed his tomb, and dedicated to his manes, under the marble" — some Latin verses, which it is not necessary to quote. "The town," he continues, "is distracted by internal dissensions between the Anglican and Presbyterian churches; they are incensed against each other with almost deadly hatred. The torch and trumpet of this tumult is Doctor Sacheverell, whose name is heard 1 It does not appear that this desire was ever gratified, but he made the acquaintance in England of many notabilities, including Flamsteed, Halley, and Woodward, by the last named of whom he was introduced to various members of the Royal Society, and other learned men. ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE 19 from every mouth and at every corner; and respecting whom every bookshop displays pamphlets." Of his studies in England, mathematics and astronomy seem to have absorbed most of his interest. "I visit daily," he writes (April, 1711), "the best mathematicians here in town. I have been with Flamsteed, who is considered the best astronomer in England, and who is constantly taking observations." In a letter written at the end of 171 1, or at the beginning of 17 12, he reports conversations he has had with Flamsteed, and sends a Ust of the latter's publications, for which Benzelius had asked. He also speaks enthusiastically of his own growing knowledge and hopes of attainment. "With regard to astronomy," he says, "I have made such progress in it, as to have discovered much which I think wiU be useful in its study. Although in the beginning it made my brain ache, yet long speculations are now no longer difficult for me. I examined closely all propositions for finding the terrestrial longitude, but could not find a single one; I have therefore originated a method by means of the moon, which is unerring, and I am certain that it is the best which has yet been advanced. In a short time I will inform the Royal Society that I have a proposition to make on this subject, stating my points. If it is favorably received by these gentlemen, I shall publish it here; if not, in France. I have also discovered many new methods for observing the planets, the moon, and the stars; that which con cerns the moon and its parallaxes, diameter, and in equality, I will publish whenever an opportunity arises. I am now busy working my way through algebra and the higher geometry, and I intend to make such progress in it, as to be able in time to continue Polhammar's discoveries." The young student's scientific and Uterary friends in Sweden often availed themselves of his assistance while he was~abroad. At one time it is to procure some out-of-the-way books for the university library; at another, to purchase scientific instruments, or to ascer tain the most approved method of using these. For his 20 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG brother-in-law he obtained lenses for a twenty-four-foot telescope, a microscope, and many books, to procure which latter he had to ransack the bookshops and attend auction sales; not, for him, an uncongenial task. The Literary Society of Upsala, also, gave him a number of commissions and instructions, through one of its members, Professor Elfvius, especially enjoining him to watch Fkmsteed's method of taking observations, the nature of his instruments, etc., etc. After detaiUng numerous other requests, the professor concludes one of his letters: "I recommend the above, and everything else that may be of use in our mathematical studies, to Mr. Swedberg's great desire of acquiring knowledge," etc.1 Mr. Swedberg good-naturedly fulfilled his friends' commissions to the best of his ability, and added to the obligations they thus incurred by volunteering further information and suggestions of his own. He advised the purchase of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, also John Lowth's (PLowthrop's) digest of the same, Harris' Lexicon of the. Sciences and Arts, The Memoirs of Literature, several of Sir Isaac Newton's - works, and other books. He mentions the pubUcation of Grabe's Septuagint, and one or two other theological works; but this is almost the only indication that he took any interest in theology at that time. As a relief from his severer studies, he continued to write poetry, and did not despise the study of English models. He mentions as "eminent EngUsh poets, that are well worth reading for the sake of their imagination alone," Dryden, Spenser, WaUer, Milton, Cowley, Beaumont and Fletcher, Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Oldham, Ben- 1 One interesting point upon which Elfvius deaired information was as to what Englishmen thought of Newton's Principia, which had been before the public something more than twenty years at that time. He himself was not prepared to accept the theory of gravitation, which seemed to him to be "a mere abstraction" and "an absurdity." Swedberg's reply was very guarded. "In this matter,'' ^e wroiei "no Englishman ought to be consulted, quia cacutit in suis — i.e. because he is blind about his own — yet it would be criminal to doubt them." ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE 21 ham, PhiUp (? Ambrose Philips), Smith, and others; so that for a foreigner he must have had a considerable acquaintance with English literature. The young man spent nearly two years in London and Oxford, losing no opportunity of acquiring knowl edge. His travels and studies must have involved con siderable expense, which his father does not seem to have been too generous in providing for. He was, in fact, at this time, spending aU available money on his own enterprises, and so had Uttle consideration for the lonely and penurious student. As a dutiful son, Emanuel does not chide loudly, but he raises a mild complaint from time to time. "I am on short allowance," he tells Benzelius (April, 1711), "and am not permitted to purchase anything on credit." He writes nine months later: "I have longed very much to see the Bodleian Library, since I saw the little one at Zion CoUege; but I am kept back here for 'want of money.' I wonder my father does not show greater care for me, than to have let me live now for more than sixteen months upon 250 rixdalers; x weU knowing that I promised in a letter not to incommode him by drawing for money; and yet none has been forthcoming for the last three or four months. It is hard to live without food or drink like some poor drudge in Schonen." Again: "Your great kindness, and your favor, of which I have had so many proofs, make me believe that your advice and your letters wiU induce my father to be so favorable towards me, as to send me the funds which are necessary for a young man, and which will infuse into me new spirit for the prosecution of my studies. Beheve me, I desire and strive to be an honour to my father's house and yours, much more strongly than you yourself can wish and endeavor." It is to be regretted that these letters are so few and far between; many are evidently missing. Writing from Paris in August, 1713, he refers to a letter he had sent from Holland, whither he went from England, but which is not forthcoming. All that we hear of his stay 1 Something less than £50. 22 EMANUEL SWEDENBORG in that country is from a short reference in this Paris letter. "During my stay in HoUand I was most of the time in Utrecht, where the Diet met, and where I was in great favor with Ambassador Palmquist, who had me every day at his house; every day, also, I had discussions on algebra with him. He is a good mathematician, and a great algebraist. He wished me not to go away; and, therefore, I intend next year to return to Leyden, where they have a splendid observatory, and the finest brass quadrant I have ever seen; it cost 2000 new guilders. They are continually making new observa tions. I will ask permission from the university to take observations there for two or three months, which I shaU easily obtain; Palmquist said the same." Of his doings in Paris, also, we have but a very meagre record. He met there De La Hire, Varrignon, the Abbe Bignon (a member of the Academy and afterwards Royal Librarian), besides other notables. He observes that: "Between the mathematicians here and the English there is great emulation and jealousy. Halley, of Oxford, told me that he was the first who examined the variation of the pehdulum under the equator; they keep silence about this here; the astronomers here also maintain that Cassini's paper was written before Halley made his expedition to the Island of St. Helena, and so forth." In Paris and its neighborhood he spent nearly a year. On leaving, he posted to Hamburg via Lille, and thence into Pomerania, at that time a Swedish province. We hear of him, in his next letter, at Rostock; from which place he sends his brother-in-law a long list of inventions he has either completed or projected. One wonders what some of these were like, and whether the young inventor anticipated the mechanical contrivances of the present age in the same way as, in later years, he antici pated scientific theories that are usually regarded as strictly modern. The first of these inventions was " the plan of a certain ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE 23 ship, which with its men was to go under the surface, of the sea, wherever it chooses, and do great damage to the fleet of the enemy." Another was a device for raising ships with their cargoes by means of sluices, where there is no faU of water. Yet another, which from description seems like an incipient steam engine, for setting miU wheels in motion under similar circumstances — i.e. when falling water was not available; "the wheel wiU nevertheless revolve by means of the fire, which wiU put the water in motion." A magazine air-gun to discharge sixty or seventy shots in succession without reloading, and a flying machine, were further projects of' his active brain. The idea of a flying machine he returned to again later; but Polhem seems to have thrown cold water on his schemes, expressing his opinion that '