The Arcana Cœlestia.
It was about the middle of 1749, that Swedenborg made his first appearance as a theologian, by the publication of the first volume of the “Arcana Cœlestia.” At the beginning of 1750, we find his publisher, John Lewis, of Paternoster Row, announcing the issue of the second volume, in cheap numbers, both in English and Latin. The issue continued in volumes till 1756, when the work was completed in eight good sized quartos. His publisher states in one of his advertisements, that though he is “positively forbid to discover the author’s name, yet he hopes to be excused for mentioning his benign and generous qualities.” He avers that “this gentleman, with indefatigable pains and labor, spent one whole year in studying and writing out the first volume of the ‘Arcana,’ was at the expense of £200 to print it, and advanced £200 more for the printing of the second; and when he had done this, he gave express orders that all the money that should arise in the sale, should be given towards the charge of the propagation of the gospel. He is so far from desiring to make a gain of his labors, that he will not receive one farthing back of the £400 he has expended; and for that reason his works will come exceedingly cheap to the public.”
The “Arcana Cœlestia” is an exposition of the books of Genesis and Exodus, with intervening chapters which describe the wonders of the future life. At the outset, it will be necessary to state that Swedenborg believed the Bible to be the Word of God. “Well, what Christian does not believe so?” it may be asked. Few expressions pass more glibly over the lips of religious people, than the short phrase, “the word of God;” but how many take time to consider its infinite meaning? The Word of God—a production of the infinite Father of all, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe,—must be infinitely superior to any human composition; and, like God’s other volume, the book of nature, must yield up fresh wonders to every investigator; and the more it is searched into, the more real unceasing beauties of wisdom and design, till at length the strained intellect of man finds its truest wisdom lies in the deepest humility and adoration. Thus logically thinking, we experience a serious reverse when we turn to the opinions expressed regarding the Word by even its most reverential commentators. At no period of history has the Bible been submitted to more earnest study than in these times; but the results have been in the highest degree meagre and unworthy, when placed in comparison with the same exercise of mind on the subjects of natural creation. We have most elaborate and minute criticisms on the sacred text; we have treatises on the animals, the insects, and the vegetables mentioned in the hallowed record; we have books filled with descriptions of domestic life among the Jews, their customs, and their language; the prophecies have been subjected to all manner of ingenious interpretation, but after all, with the poorest spiritual results, and such as can in no wise excite a deeper respect, or a warmer love, for God’s holy Word, than was entertained centuries ago, when such learning was a rarer thing. Yet if we believe that God inspired this Book, can we for a moment suppose that it should have no other end than the narration of the history of a petty people, and the enunciation of dark prophecies, which the acutest of men pronounce impenetrable mysteries, and which the daring and the foolish turn to all manner of profane purposes in political soothsayings? If the Bible be indeed the Word of God, it must contain within itself much more than the majority of Christians suppose; otherwise it presents a most startling anomaly when viewed in comparison with the other Divine work, the natural universe.
The assumption, then, with which Swedenborg starts, is, that the Scripture is in very truth the Word of God; that every syllable and expression therein are His; that Moses, David, the prophets, and the Evangelists, were simply the inspired penmen, who wrote implicitly according to Divine dictation.
He teaches, moreover, that the Word does not belong to men alone, but is the possession likewise of the angels of heaven, to whom it wears different forms according to the degree of their love and intelligence. In general, it may be said to have three senses, or meanings; first, a celestial sense, apprehended by the celestial or highest angels; secondly, a spiritual sense, apprehended by a lower range of angelic minds, the spiritual; and thirdly, a natural sense, with which we are all familiar, written down to the comprehension of the lowest, most worldly, and sensual of men—the Jews. These three senses make one by correspondence; although diverse, they are still harmonious, and connected by one divine life.
The Word, moreover, we are taught, has worn different garments, or varied natural senses, at different eras. The first church, Adam, or the primeval race of men, did not possess a written Word, but were gifted with a perception of spiritual essences. Nature was literally spread before them as an open book. To them, Nature was the expression of the Divine Wisdom; and they saw in every beast of the forest, in every flower of the field, and in every scene of creation, evidence of the Divine presence, and material emblems of spiritual and heavenly things. As men declined from purity, and, together with their innocence, lost their wisdom and their powers of celestial perception, a written Word became necessary, accommodated to the changed state of the new spiritual church called Noah. In time, this Word had also to be withdrawn, for its purity and language transcended the apprehension of a falling and sensualised world. Yet this Ancient Word, Swedenborg tells us, is not lost, but still exists in Tartary, probably as an unvalued treasure, which may be restored to the church in due season. To this Ancient Word, we have two allusions in the Jewish Scriptures; the first in Numbers xxi. 14, where we read: “Wherefore it is said in the book of the Wars of Jehovah;” and the second in Joshua x. 13: “Is not this written in the book of Jasher?” The book of the Wars of Jehovah, and the book of Jasher, forming parts of the Ancient Word, became unintelligible from being written in high correspondential and emblematic language; and uninteresting because not associated with the personal and worldly interests of men. The Jewish Scriptures were then written. The Divine Wisdom clothed itself in such words, histories, and laws, as the earthly-minded Jews could love and reverence, and thus be kept, in some measure, in connection with heaven, and in the possession of the most general and leading truths of religion. The Gospels, added in the course of time to the Jewish Word, served still further to preserve the church in union with heaven and the Lord. But now we see that mankind having in the course of centuries re-ascended to a higher degree of intellectual life, begin to be dissatisfied with the Scriptures, to arraign the truth of science against them, to wonder how it is possible that such writings can be the Word of God, and to ask, with Emerson, “What have I to do with jasper and sardonyx, beryl and chalcedony, what with arks and passovers, ephahs, heave-offerings, and unleavened bread; what with chariots of fire, and ephods; what with lepers and emerods; what with dragons crowned and horned, behemoth and unicorn?” But the Lord anticipates all man’s wants; and, caring above all things for his spiritual well-being, never permits him to live without a witness of His love and designs towards him. By His Word, the Lord reveals himself to man; and without it, man could know nothing of God, of heaven and hell, and of a life after death. How necessary then it is that man be preserved from falling into contempt of its teachings; and yet if it contains no other than a literal sense, what can a Christian say in reply to such questionings as those above quoted? and what tenable theory can be advanced to meet the objections of the sceptic drawn from geology, astronomy, and many other sciences which clash with the letter of Scripture? In the “Arcana Cœlestia,” we find a solution of all such doubts in the clear manifestation of the Divine authorship of the Word, through the revelation of its spiritual sense, whereby reason and faith are perfectly conjoined; and man, while here below, is fed with angels’ food.
But it is not to be concluded from this that Swedenborg in any way slights or undervalues the literal sense of the Word. Far from it. He says: “The literal sense of the Word is the basis, the continent, and the firmament of its spiritual and celestial senses; and hence in it the divine truth is in its fulness, its sanctity, and its power; therefore the doctrine of the church should be drawn from the literal sense, and confirmed thereby.” From this, every one will see that no mysticism can be sheltered under a belief in the spiritual sense of the Word; for, from the literal sense, determined by the severest criticism, all doctrine must be drawn, and all creeds tested. Swedenborg also teaches, that by means of the literal sense, men enjoy conjunction with the Lord; for His divine spirit is with all who read his Word devoutly. To promote this divine communion, the letter of Scripture has been so framed as to possess a universal interest. The child reads the Bible, and is delighted with its charming stories; the simple cottager loves it and prizes it as he prizes no other book; the poet draws from it his richest inspirations; and the man of learning, who has gathered knowledge from all times and lands, turns to its hallowed page, and in the light of its divine wisdom sees himself but a child in knowledge.
Though the Scriptures are thus marvellously adapted, in the literal sense, to the tastes, feelings, and necessities of men of all grades and states, yet, as before said, many portions of them do, in our days, require to be vindicated from the charge of being inconsistent with science—from the charge of insignificance, and dealing in petty details. They need, in fine, to be elevated from mere history, poetry, and obsolete law, into practical use and connection with the daily life and conduct of every man and woman; so that they may be to us, in very deed, the Word of God, as truly as they were to the Jews three thousand years ago.
Let us now see how, in the “Arcana Cœlestia,” all this is effected.
“From the posterity of the most Ancient Church, Moses received what he wrote concerning the creation, the Garden of Eden, etc., down to the time of Abraham,” writes Swedenborg. Describing the method by which the people of that church expressed themselves, he adds: “When they mentioned earthly and worldly things, they thought of the spiritual and celestial things which they represented; so that they not only expressed themselves by representatives, but also reduced their thoughts into a kind of series, as of historical particulars, in order to give them more life; and in this they found their greatest delight.” Understanding this fully, we shall not be surprised to learn that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are purely allegorical; written not as a description of the creation of the material world, and its fortunes, but as a description of the internal life of the earliest people, of the development of their minds up to celestial perfection, and then of their gradual declension from purity, their love of the evil and the false, and finally the destruction of their souls, symbolized by the deluge overspreading the face of the whole earth. These chapters were thus written by the Lord in accommodation to the tastes of the men of the Ancient Church, who, as we read, had “their greatest delight in the expression of spiritual and celestial things in a series of historical particulars;” just as, in after times, He clothed His Wisdom in Jewish history and law, so that He might be with the Jews, and preserve within them some small remains of spiritual life. What a relief to the mind, torn and troubled with the thousand doubts which science has cast upon the early chapters of Genesis, is the acceptation of the truth of their entirely allegorical signification! And how plainly, in their spiritual sense, do we find testimony of their divine authorship! It should not be forgotten that the doctrine of the symbolical nature of these chapters, was set forth by Swedenborg long before science had demonstrated that their merely literal sense was wholly irreconcilable with the facts of nature; thus quite independently of any external pressure or necessity. It must be known to every one that geology—the science which, above all others, has brought the most weighty objections against the six days’ creation, and the deluge of the whole earth by a flood which covered the tops of the highest mountains,—is a new science. At the time when Swedenborg wrote, it was entirely undeveloped. The reconciling of the literal sense of these chapters with the facts of geology, has perplexed more minds, and engaged more intellect, than did ever perpetual motion and the squaring of the circle. The amount of speculation which has been expended upon this theme, is immense, as every one at all acquainted with the religious history of the last fifty years is aware; and still the labor is vigorously prosecuted. We have no inclination to undervalue the motives that prompt to it. For all sincere lovers of the Word of God we entertain the deepest respect, and rejoice to think that their faith in the Bible remains unshaken amid such fiery trials. Yet if Christians were wise and unprejudiced, they would turn to Swedenborg’s “Arcana Cœlestia,” and there find all that heart or mind could wish. Its readers, who have been many, (and yet, when compared with the wide world of Christendom, insignificantly few,) have had, during all these seasons of doubt, the fullest peace; and have been ready to welcome every truth of science, however militating against the literal sense of the early chapters of Genesis; and all the while have remained such lovers of the Word as none but believers in its spiritual sense can be. We believe that the religious world will, in process of time, when all methods of reconciling the letter of Scripture with geology shall have manifestly failed, finally turn to Swedenborg; and when the heavenly truth glowing in his pages shall beam upon their opened sight, they will wonder why they did not read his luminous volumes sooner.
From the Call of Abram, the Word is to be looked upon as a narration of historical events. Yet while, as history, it possesses a great charm and interest to every mind, from its matchless and beautiful simplicity, we cannot see what claim it could have to the title of the Word of God, did it not contain within itself, as Swedenborg abundantly demonstrates, a spiritual sense, universally applicable to men in all states, times, and situations. In the highest or celestial sense, the Word refers solely to the Lord, and is a description of his nature and attributes, of his assumption of corrupt humanity, and the process of its glorification. Man being formed in the Lord’s image and likeness, whatever treats of Him, is, in a secondary sense, or in a lower degree, descriptive of man, his nature and regeneration. This secondary application of the Word forms its spiritual sense, which when understood, transforms Genesis and Exodus from mere history and dull ceremonial law, into a Divine revelation of the laws of spiritual life, pregnant with practical benefit to all men, because applicable to every incident and thought of life.
Time and space would alike fail were we to attempt to give the most general outline of the multitude of spiritual truths which are unveiled in the course of the exposition of Genesis and Exodus; and not of these two books alone, but of passages from all parts of the Word, which are drawn upon to illustrate and confirm the truth of the interpretation. As Wilkinson says, “Consider, gentle reader, twelve goodly 8vo volumes [in English,] written with such continued power that it seems as if eating, drinking, and sleeping, had never intervened between the penman and his page, so unbroken is the subject, and so complete the sense. Add to the other health and harmony of this unflagging man, a memory of the most extraordinary grasp, which enabled him to administer the details of an intellect ranging through all truth on the one hand, and through the whole field of Scripture illustration and text upon the other. Then take into account the unity of the work from first to last; the constant reference that binds all parts of it together, and shows the caution with which each strong affirmation is at first set down. Observe also the felicity of phrase, the happiness of mind, the easy greatness, which shine along and dignify those serious pages. Remark also, that the author does not deal in generalities, but sentence for sentence, and word for word, he translates his text into spiritual meaning, and criticises and supports himself with nearly every parallel text in the sacred writings.”
The earnest reader of the “Arcana” will never question the reality of Swedenborg’s mission. He would as soon question the reality of the world, or his own existence. This is a strong assertion, a stranger to the work will perhaps say; but it is only a stranger to these wondrous volumes that will say so; for every one at all familiar with them will agree with us. We never take down a volume of the “Arcana” to read, without feeling more and more assured that Swedenborg was an anointed servant of the Lord. The depths of spiritual experience he reveals, his insight into the inmost recesses of the heart, his explanation of the causes of thoughts, and the origin of our various desires and inclinations, of lowness of spirits, of pleasant and dull moods, in short, of all spiritual trials and temptations, with the heavenly ends they are permitted to serve, together with a thousand other matters which it concerns us all to know, are of such a nature that we cannot but feel that such knowledge must have been derived from a Divine source, and that unless his stand-point had been most peculiar, and providentially appointed, it would have been impossible for him to have written as he has. To speak of the “Arcana” as it deserves, would, to one unacquainted with it, appear like exaggeration, while every reader would feel that we had fallen far short of the truth in many points. No criticism, however reverential, can adequately express the innumerable and marvellous excellencies of the work; and should this feeble testimony to its worth excite any one to read and study it,—and it is a work which should be studied, if read at all,—we know that he will say, as the Queen of Sheba said of Solomon, “It was a true report that I heard of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and behold the half was not told me.”
We have not spoken of those chapters which come between the expositions of Scripture, because the subjects therein treated of will recur in notices of his other books. They serve to diversify the work, and to relieve the mind tasked with the deep thought involved in the spiritual expositions, by the contemplation of some of the leading facts of the future life.
The “Arcana Cœlestia” was translated into English by the late venerable John Clowes, a clergyman of the Established Church in Manchester, and a most cordial receiver and preacher of the doctrines of the New Church. It is published in twelve octavo volumes, with an index prepared by Swedenborg himself, which forms a thirteenth volume. This index has been greatly extended by Elihu Rich, filling two large octavos. Several editions of the “Arcana” have also been published in America; and the sale, considering the size and cost of the work, has been in both countries very considerable. It is a work which will in coming days run through many cheap editions; and when that time shall come, many will wonder why such a treasury of spiritual wisdom lay so long in our midst, and yet men thought so little of it. But the world is approaching Swedenborg as fast as steady progress will permit.