Travels—Habits—Anecdotes.
In April, 1766, Swedenborg again visited England in order to observe the effect of his writings upon the English people. Of this visit we have no account, except in reference to its conclusion, in September of the same year, when he returned to Stockholm. Mr. Springer, the Swedish Consul in London, an old friend of Swedenborg’s, has left the following interesting record of some incidents connected with his return.
“Swedenborg was about to depart for Sweden, and desired me to procure him a good captain, which I did. I made the agreement with a person named Dixon. Swedenborg’s effects were carried on board the vessel, and as his apartments were at some distance from the port, we took, for that night, a chamber at an inn near it, because the captain of the vessel was to come and fetch him in the morning. Swedenborg went to bed; and I went to sit in another room, with the master of the house, with whom I was conversing. We both heard a remarkable noise, and could not apprehend what it could be, and therefore drew near to a door, where there was a little window that looked into the chamber where Swedenborg lay. We saw him with his arms raised toward heaven, and his body appeared to tremble. He spoke much for the space of half an hour, but we could understand nothing of what he said, except that when he let his hands fall down, we heard him say with a loud voice, ‘My God!’ But we could not hear what he said more. He remained afterwards very quietly in his bed. I entered into his chamber with the master of the house, and asked him if he was ill. ‘No,’ said he; ‘but I have had a long discourse with some of the heavenly friends, and am at this time in a great perspiration.’ And as his effects were embarked on board the vessel, he asked the master of the house to let him have a shirt; he then went again to bed, and slept till morning.
“When the captain of the vessel came to fetch Swedenborg, I took my leave of him, and wished him a happy voyage. I then asked the captain if he was provided with good and necessary provisions. He answered me, that he had as much as was needful for the voyage. On this, Swedenborg said: ‘My friend, we shall not need a great quantity: for this day week we shall, by the aid of God, enter the port of Stockholm at two o’clock.’ It happened exactly as he foretold, as Dixon informed me; saying, that a violent gale accelerated the voyage, that the wind was favorable at every turn of the vessel, and that he never in all his life had so prosperous a voyage.”
Arriving at Stockholm on the 8th of September, Swedenborg resided in the Sudermalm, the southern suburb of the city. Robsahm tells us: “His house was built and arranged after his own taste; the apartments were rather small, but suitable for himself. Although he was a man of most profound learning, no other books were seen in his study than the Hebrew and Greek Bible, together with his own indexes to his works, whereby he saved himself the trouble, when referring to different passages, of going through all he had before written.
“Adjoining the house was a rather large garden, in the midst of which he had a summer-house, or pavilion. There were four doors to the apartment, which formed a square, and was occasionally turned, in an instant, into an octagon, by means of four other doors that belonged to it. One of these doors shut with a secret lock, which being opened, there appeared a glass door placed opposite a fine green hedge, where a bird was seen in a cage. This new spectacle produced an agreeable surprise of a second garden to the person who opened the door, which Swedenborg used to say was more agreeable than the first. At the entrance of the garden there was a parterre, well covered with flowers, which he was very fond of. He derived no other advantage from the garden, for he gave the whole produce of it to the gardener who waited on him; so also that of a very excellent greenhouse, in which he took much pleasure.
“The gardener and his wife were the only servants he had; of the latter he never desired other service than that of making his bed, and of bringing water into his apartment. He generally made his own coffee on the fire in his study, and took much of it, well sweetened. When at home, his dinner consisted of a small loaf put into boiled milk, and at that time he neither drank wine nor any spirituous liquor, nor did he take any supper. Though he was very sparing in his eating and drinking, yet he would sometimes, when in company, take a glass of wine, but was always in one equal temper of mind, and cheerful.
“He had a fire constantly kept up in his study, from autumn, throughout the winter, until spring; but his bedroom, contrary to the usual custom in Sweden, was always cold; and according as the cold was more or less severe, he made use of three, or four, blankets. When he awoke, he went into his study, where there were always live coals, on which he laid wood, with birch-bark, having a number of small bundles ready for use, and to make a quick fire before he sat down to write.
“In his parlor was a table of black marble, on which, one would have supposed, at first sight, that a hand of cards had been carelessly thrown, the imitation being so perfect. He made a present of this table to the Royal College of Mines, who preserve it with great care. This room was neat and genteel, but furnished in a plain style.
“His wardrobe was simple, yet suitable to the season. He wore in winter a fur gown; and when at home, in summer, a morning robe.
“He spoke very distinctly. When he began to talk in company, every one was silent, as well from the pleasure they had in hearing his discourse, as from a sense of his well known great erudition, which he did not show but on occasions in which he found himself compelled to prove his assertions, or the little weight of the arguments of some with whom he conversed. Besides the learned languages, in which he was well versed, he understood the French, English, Dutch, German, and Italian.”
We are thankful indeed for these details, trifling though they are. They evince the quiet practical character of Swedenborg, and the strong common sense which guarded him from all extravagance and eccentricity.
From the gardener’s wife, Robsahm received the following statement:—“Entering one day, after dinner, into Swedenborg’s chamber, I saw his eyes like unto a most bright flame. I drew back, saying, ‘In the name of goodness, Sir, what has happened extraordinary to you? for you have a very peculiar appearance.’ ‘What kind of look have I?’ answered he. I then told him what struck me. ‘Well, well,’ replied he, which was his favorite expression, ‘don’t be frightened, the Lord has so disposed my eyes, that by them spirits may see what is in our world.’” In a short time this appearance passed away, as he said it would. “I know,” said she to Robsahm, “when he has conversed with heavenly spirits, for there is a pleasure and calm satisfaction in his countenance, which charm those who see it; but after he has conversed with evil spirits, he has a sorrowful look.”
Concerning his temptations, they said that their master, in the night, often spoke aloud, when evil spirits were with him, which they could easily hear, their room being adjoining. When asked what caused his disturbance in the night, he answered that it had been permitted the evil spirits to blaspheme, and that he had spoken against them zealously. It happened often that, weeping bitterly, he cried with a loud voice, and prayed to the Lord that he might not be forsaken in his temptation, when they assailed him. His words were, ‘Lord help me! Lord, my God, do not forsake me!’ Those who saw him in these states, supposed he was sick; but when delivered from them, he returned thanks to God, and said to those who were troubled for him, ‘God be eternally praised! Comfort yourselves, my friends, all has passed away; and be assured that nothing happens to me but what the Lord permits, who never lays a burden on us more weighty than we are able to bear.’
Once it was remarkable that after such a state he went to bed, and did not rise for several days and nights. This gave his domestics much uneasiness, and they consulted together, and supposed he was dead. They intended to break open the door, or to call their neighbors. At last the gardener went to the window, and discovered, to his great joy, that his master was alive, and turning in his bed. The next day he rang the bell. The woman went in, and related her own and her husband’s uneasiness for him. He told her with a cheerful countenance, that he had been very well, and had wanted nothing.
The following anecdote, narrated to Robsahm by the gardener’s wife, places Swedenborg’s moral courage in a strong light, and shows the use of judicious plain speaking. Bishop Halenius, the successor of Swedenborg’s father, paying Swedenborg a visit one day, the conversation turned on the nature of common sermons. Swedenborg said to the bishop, “You insert things that are false in yours;” on this, the bishop told the gardener, who was present, to retire, but Swedenborg commanded him to stay. The conversation went on, and both turned over the Hebrew and Greek Bibles, to show the texts that were agreeable to their assertions. At length the interview ended, by some observations intended as reproaches to the bishop on his avarice and various unjust actions; “You have already prepared yourself a place in hell,” said Swedenborg: “but,” added he, “I predict that some months hence you will be attacked with a grievous illness, during which time the Lord will seek to convert you. If you then open your heart to his holy inspirations, your conversion will take place. When this happens, write to me for my theological works, and I will send them to you.” Some months after, an officer from the province and bishopric of Skara visited Swedenborg. On being asked how bishop Halenius was, he replied: “He has been very ill, but at present he is quite recovered, and has become altogether another person, being now a practicer of what is good, full of probity, and returns sometimes three or four-fold of the property which he had before unjustly taken into his possession.” From that time to the hour of his death, he was one of the greatest supporters of the doctrine of the New Church of the Lord, and declared openly, that the theological writings of Swedenborg were the most precious treasures given for the welfare of mankind. What a blessed result was this of the few severe but really kind words of Swedenborg, spoken in season!
In Stockholm, Swedenborg was very accessible, and visitors sought his advice for all purposes. Widows went to him to inquire about the state of their husbands in the other world; and others fancying him a wizard, beset him with questions about lost and stolen property. Notwithstanding the number and frequency of these visits, from people of all ranks, he would never receive any particular ones, and more especially those of females, without one of his domestics being present. He also required his visitors to speak in the language of the country, saying, “I will have witnesses of my discourse and conduct, that all pretensions to malicious assertions and scandal may be taken away.” He had probably suffered from the tongues of busybodies: it would have been strange if he had not; and it was prudent for him to take this effectual plan to cut away the foundation of all idle and malicious gossip.
Nicholas Collin, a young clergyman, at this time visited Swedenborg, and thus pleasantly narrates his interview. “In 1765, I went to reside at Stockholm, where I continued for nearly three years. During that time, Swedenborg was a great object of public attention in the metropolis, and his extraordinary character was a frequent topic of discussion. He resided at his house in the southern suburbs, which was in a pleasant situation, neat and convenient, with a spacious garden and other appendages. There he received company. Not seldom he also appeared in company, and mixed in private society; sufficient opportunities were therefore given to observe him. I collected much information from several respectable persons who had conversed with him; which was the more easy, as I lived the whole time as a private tutor in the family of Dr. Celsius, a gentleman of distinguished talents, who afterwards became bishop of Scania. He, and many of the eminent persons that frequented his house, knew Swedenborg well.
“In the summer of 1766, I waited on him at his house. Introducing myself with an apology for the freedom I took, I assured him that it was not in the least from youthful presumption. I was then twenty, but had a strong desire to converse with a character so celebrated. He received me very kindly. It being early in the afternoon, delicate coffee, without eatables, was served, agreeable to the Swedish custom; he was also, like pensive men in general, fond of this beverage. We conversed for nearly three hours; principally on the nature of human souls, and their states in the invisible world; discussing the principal theories of psychology by various authors. He asserted positively, as he often does in his works, that he had intercourse with spirits of deceased persons. I presumed, therefore, to request of him, as a great favor, to procure me an interview with my brother, who had departed this life a few months before, a young clergyman, and esteemed for his devotion, erudition, and virtue. He answered, that God, having for good and wise purposes separated the world of spirits from ours, a communication is never granted without cogent reasons; and asked what my motives were. I confessed that I had none besides gratifying brotherly affection, and an ardent wish to explore scenes so sublime and interesting to a serious mind. He replied, that my motives were good, but not sufficient; but that if any important spiritual or temporal concern of mine had been the case, he would then have solicited permission from those angels who regulate these matters. He showed me his garden. It had an agreeable building, a wing of which was a kind of temple, to which he often retired for contemplation; its dim religious light rendering it suitable for such a purpose.
“We parted with mutual satisfaction; and he presented by me, to the said Dr. Celsius, an elegant copy of his Apocalypsis Revelata, then lately printed in Amsterdam.”
Swedenborg was of a very mild temper, upright, just, and incapable of perverting the truth. Robsahm, one day, asked him if a certain preacher, lately deceased, and greatly esteemed in Stockholm for his flowery sermons, had a place in heaven. “No,” said Swedenborg, “he went directly into the abyss; for he left his devotion in the pulpit: he was not pious, but a hypocrite; proud and greatly vain of the gifts he had received from nature, and the goods of fortune he was continually seeking to acquire. Truly,” continued he, “false appearances will stand us in no stead hereafter; they are all separated from man at his decease; the mask then falls from him; and it is then made manifest to all, whether he is inwardly good or evil.”
The exact month of Swedenborg’s next foreign travel is uncertain; but just before he undertook it, Robsahm met him in his carriage, and asked him how he could venture to take a voyage to London, at the age of eighty, and expressed a fear lest he should not see him again. “Be not uneasy, my friend,” said he, “if you live, we shall see one another again, for I have yet another voyage of this kind to make.”
At Elsinore, on these voyages, he frequently visited M. Rahling, the Swedish Consul, and during this transit, he made the acquaintance of General Tuxen, at the Consul’s table. The General asked him how a man might be certain whether he was on the road to salvation or not. Swedenborg answered, “That is very easy. A man need only examine himself and his thoughts by the Ten Commandments; as, for instance, whether he loves and fears God; whether he is happy in seeing the welfare of others, and does not envy them; whether on having received a great injury from others, which may have excited him to anger and to meditate revenge, he afterwards changes his sentiments, because God has said that vengeance is His, and so on; then he may rest assured that he is on the road to heaven: but when he discovers himself actuated by contrary sentiments, he may know that he is on the road to hell.”
This led Tuxen to think of himself, as well as others; and he asked Swedenborg whether he had seen King Frederick V. of Denmark, deceased in 1766, adding that though some human frailty attached to him, yet he had certain hopes that he was happy. Swedenborg said, “Yes, I have seen him, and he is well off; and not only he, but all the kings of the house of Oldenburg, who are associated together. This is not the happy case with our Swedish kings.” Swedenborg then told him that he had seen no one so splendidly ministered to in the world of spirits as the Empress Elizabeth of Russia, who died in 1762. As Tuxen expressed astonishment at this, Swedenborg continued: “I can also tell you the reason, which few would surmise. With all her faults, she had a good heart, and a certain consideration in her negligence. This induced her to put off signing many papers that were from time to time presented to her, and which at last so accumulated that she could not examine them, but was obliged to sign as many as possible on the representation of her ministers; after which she would retire to her closet, fall on her knees, and beg God’s forgiveness, if she, against her will, had signed anything that was wrong.”
At the conclusion of this interesting interview, Swedenborg went on board his vessel, leaving a firm friend and future disciple in General Tuxen. Some years after, Tuxen wrote: “I thank our Lord, the God of heaven, that I have been acquainted with this great man and his writings. I esteem this as the greatest blessing I ever experienced in this life, and hope I shall profit by it in working out my salvation.”
Swedenborg’s stay in London at this time must have been brief; for on the 28th of November, 1768, we meet him again in Amsterdam, whither he had gone to print another important work, “Conjugial Love, and its chaste Delights; also Adulterous Love and its insane Pleasures.” This book he published with his name, as written “by Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swede.” This is the first of his theological works to which he affixed his name. His reason for giving it in this instance, is said to have been, that no other person might be censured for writing on this delicate subject. We will now examine the contents of this wondrous book.