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niE REVOLT AGAINST DEISM
A Dissertation
Presented to
Brandeis University
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements of the Degree
. Doctor of Philosophy
By
Robert H. Kirven
I April 196,5
Principal Advisor
' .
1'hIa c:Uuertatloa ha bMD
.,
j
mlaofllmed euc;t1,. u ree:e-cl
65-14,424 !
I
KIRVEN, Robert H•• 1926
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG AND THE REVOLT
An....mST DEISM.
I
Brandeis University. Fh.D•• 1965
Philosophy
Robert H. Kirven
1966
DOCTOaOF PHILOSOPHY
Date
Dissertation Committee
TABLE OF CClITENTS
.age
r-
I LIST OF ABBREVIATI~S.
• • • • · . . • • • • • • • • •
vi
INTRCDUCTI~ • • • • • • • • • • . . . . . . .. . . . 1
Intellectual Movements • • • • • • • • • • • • 1
Plan ot the'Study• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 24
Notes. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 27
PART I.
. CF THE REVa.T
~
haPter
(~ E~"PIRIC\L REVELATIOO AND THE BASIC
CrIticism: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 32
PIetIsm~ • • • • • • • ·......
Historical Criticism: J. A. ErnestI • • • • •
•• ••• 33
3$
Pre_~~stlcal Phllo~Qphy• • • • • • • • • • • 44
,~w~danborg • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• 46
IH
Chapter Page
Kant's Reaction to Swedenborg• • • • • • • • • 57
Revelation • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 82
.Attitude • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 85
Heinrich Clemm • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 90
N~te.. • • • • • • • • • • • ..
• • •• • • • 96
SECTARIANISM • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 109
'..:!.Oh~Y!.l• • • • • • • • • • • • •• •• 164
OF THE REVOLT
England • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 198
Iv
Chapter Page
1. William Blake • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 198
2. Sou they ana e Quincey Contra
·Swedenborg • • • • '. • • • • • • 204
3. Coleridge on Swedenborg• • • • • • • • • 206
Summary of the English Developments • • • • • • 211
Notes • • • • • 4e ••••••••••••••• 213
~ DEVELOPMENTS IN FRANCE • • • • • • • • • • • • • 211
The Expatriates. • • • • • • • • • • • • • 219
The Intellectuals• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 226
Personal Revolts. • • • • • • • •••• 228
The Ecclesiastical Movement • • • • • • • • • • 239
Honor' de Balzac • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 243
Conclusion • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 253
Notes. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 254
® GERMAN DEVELOPMENTS• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 259
Romantic Literature • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 259
Romantic Philosophy• • • • • • • • • • • • • • 265
Johann Friedrich Immanuel iafel • • • • • • • • 21i
~ilosophy • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 278
Ecclesiology • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 284
Psychology • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 290
Summary. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 294
Notes. e
•• _ • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 296
,-
CONCLUS ICJl • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 301
Swedenborg's Idea: "Empirical P . &lation" •• 301
The Revolt Against Deism • • • • • • . • • • • • 309
General Conclusions • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 311
Note.. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 323
B IBL100RAPHY • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 324
v
LIST OF ABBREVIATICNS USED FCR
SWEDENBORG'S WORKS
vi
Infin ••-Prodromus Philosophiae ratiocinatis de Infinite et
----- causa finali Creationis: deque mechanismo opera--Animae
et Corporis ("On the Infinite n or, Preliminary attempt
at a philosophical argument on the Infinite, and on the
final cause of Creation; and on the mechanism of the
operation of the Soul and Body). Dresden/Leipzig:
Hekel, 1734. .
11-.oe Ultimo Judicio, etc. (The Last Judgment and the Destruc.
tion of Babylon, showing that what was foretold in the
Book of Revelation has been fulfilled in the present day;
from things heard and seen). London: 1758.
On Influx_.oe Commercio Animae et Corporis, etc. (The Inter_
course between the 50ul and the Body, which is supposed
to take place either by physical influx, or by spiritual
influx, or by pre_established harmony). London: 1769.
S!!--Qeconomia Regni Animalis (The usual English title, "Econ.
omy of the Animal Kingdom" is misleading; "Function (or
Structure) of the Domain of the Soul" is more descrip.
tive of the work). English trans. London: Newber,y,
1845-46.
~ •••Principia Rerum Naturalium, etc. (The First Principles
of Natural 1bings, being new attempts toward a philoso.
phical explanation of the elementar,y world). "Part I
of era Philoso hica et Mineralia, 3 vols. Dresdeq/
Leipzig: ekel, 17 • n~lish translation, 2 vols.,
London: W. Newbery, 1845-46-;---
RA••Reqnum Animale, etc. (The Animal Kingdom [i.e., the Soul's
-- --nomain] considered anatomically, physically and philo.
sophically). 1743-44. Several volumes of this work
were projected, but it was dropped at the beginning or
Swedenborg's psychic experiences. Of the volumes edited
and published posthumously, two are cited in this work:
De Anima (~.v.) and Part I (On the viscera of the abdo.
men; Which aTso includes a "Prologue" to the Whole work).
S.1J English translation, London: W. Newbe~y, 1843.
TCR__Vera Christiana Reliaio (True Christian Religion).
--- Amsterdam: 1771.
~._T!)e lord Explained, Engli3h title or ':y!',ersaria (M), g,•.J!.
NarES TO ABBREVlATIOlS
Unless'oth9~lse noted, all works are available in'a number
of English translattons, including thos~ of the Swedenborg
Foundation, New York; most quotations are drawn from these
editions. Also, unless olheniis" no"~'l, all references are to
paragraph numbers, rather than to payes, the former being uni.
form in all editions and translations.
vU
INTROOOCTIaf
sophlcal. an~se
the treatment ot material Is historical. rather than phllo
..
assumptions are not prominently explicit
---_.
torlcal Inslghts. Su~h Inslghts might further Illualne the
meaning and the Influence ot Swedenborg1s thought; the
development of the thought of any of the subject authors;
or the structure of Inter-relationships between key Ideas
Within the Revolt against Deism, and between th!-Revolt and
Deism Itself. Any significant results produced by this ]
Inquiry may provide (evidence In suppor~ o~ the thesis that .
t~e relationship between Ideas and movements Is 0_ ot
~~~!~action; and also of a corollary, that analysis ot
(minor, or non-determinative, Idea~ Is Important·to tba
understanding of an intellectual movement, and ot the
thought.ot all who participate In It.
this hypothesis and Its corollary bear l~rt8nt
J
Implications tor the study of primary historical source.,
tor th~y suggest a standard for the evaluation ot texts
that Is relatively Independent of their direct Influence or
Independent significance In the history of thought. In the
present paper, tor example, It will be seen that the sectar
lan Swedenborglan movement, called the New Church, became a
dominating stream of the Swedenbcrglan t~adltlon, and vas
largely det~:~!natIve
-
ot thp. Issue on which the principal
Interaction o-:cut'ud bet'"een 5\i·~de:.borll' s Idea and 'the Revolt
against De~~m. Th~ fact t~at ~h~ tonnd~
---
the New Ch~rch ar~ se~n her~
any religious claim that had not been so proved. 2 For Locke,
the notion Implied In his title, the -
Rea~onablen~ss of -
\
Christianity (1695) redounded to the credit of Reason; re-
-
Ilglon needed defense, but reason did not.
Involved no overt attack on revealed religion, It rather
Ignored It as such. Vh~t was revealed, and also $ubJect to
rational proof, was acceptable. What vu. revealed, but not
demonstrable, could not be consl~Hed as v~ry Import."nt to
reasonable men. An intent to d~reud the Chrlstf~n religion
6
.
perceptions and'systems are somehoY ~nlted (the vagueness of
the -how· having bean cloq~ed In ~ermlnologlc~l explanations,
e.g., -oc~aslonal cause- or ·pre-establlsh~d harmony-) In the
7
-
ot Cherbury, Hobbes, Tillotson, Locke and Blount as the
~
-
Ition, sought a cleaner break with Christianity, or at lea.t
with the church. For the former group Deisa vas not religious
enough to be an adequate system of religious thought; for the
too reli io~s; but for both, anl acceptable
alternative to Deism had to be consonant with modern advance.
In science, systematically adequate, and convincing Without
appeal to tradition as an authority.
In Germany, where the concern at first vas prl. .rlly
with the p~ilosophlcal pre-supposltlons required for a .ore
adequate alternative to Deism, the Revolt centered on onto
logllcal and epistemological issues.
----
As has been noted, Delsa
-
a return to Su ernaturalism. Therefore
were toward a theoretical or practical Naturalism, on the
t~ open alter~lves
~~or, 0 alnd ~
and body, spirit subs tan
t..!!.!..- !:!a 11 ty• aware that this op~ to ontologl
cal dual~ vas -named- In the eighteenth or early nineteenth I
--.J
centurits, though It vas e~presse~ptlvely. It vas
used by Swedenborg In the foundation of his system, and
appea~8 ~o have been the goal of a tendency in the thought
of some of his commentators,L8~ a title for-!t-ls ~1ded In
this study. From ~s a~1 Progoft, I have borraved the
-
11
against Deism.
-
his definition of reason from the one he originally shared
with the Deists.
Tlndalts second assertion, that religion Is ethical.
stems from his definition of -Natural Rellglon.- a's consist
Ing of three essential elements: belief In God's existence.
knowledge of our relation to him and to our fellow-creatures.
and practice of his wlll. 14 Which of these three Is most
Important Is soon made clear: -We may define True Religion
to consist In a constant Disposition of Mind to do all the
-----
Good we can.-
-t -
In spite of one maJor difference. this
--
closely resembles Swedenborg:
-
religion, may be epitomized in two statements:
Similarly, Swedenborg:
1"'-"
~.denborgts claim that self-love, Including enjoyment ot
the wealth and status attendant on doing important work,
is an essential part of true religlon. 23 But Swedenborg
emphasizes repeatedly In the same passage, that this is
true only when self-love is subordinated to love to the
neighbor, and both of these are subordinated to love to
the Lord. 24 Tindal assumes that doing good for others
makes men happy,25 but says nothing about loving God-
worship being merely for elevating the mind. 26
The differences between Swedenborg and Tlndal can be
summed up rather simply, and the summation would hold for
a more detailed comparison. S~o~~ made stateme~parall~l
ation, too, so that he knev vhat they vere, but he did not
use them in his published vorks. Further, iD-C_qntradistlnc
tion to that revelation vhich he said Is universally acees
.-
)1
sible through proper reading of the Bible, his experiences
of seeing and conversing vlth spirits and angels constituted
·immediate revelation" (immediata Revelatlo).32
-----
SvedeQborg vas avare that his claim to Immediate
revelation by means of sensible experience I n the spiritual
of supp'ortln~
--------- -
vorld vould be hard to accept, and he offered various kinds
evidence and explanation.
One kind of support might be called the evidence ot
empirical certainty:
-
they managed to accept It or reject It were various; but In
-
each case. the- reaction vas Inextricably bound up with the
~arch for an ~~tlve to ~Is-;:-~fo:n~n SWede~rg's
Idea of empirical revelation a basis fer a satisfactory alter
native to Deism; who could not accept it. found In
It a suggestion which they developed Into an anti-deist posi
tion; ~~found their direction for a revolt against
Deism In the arguments which they marshalled to reject
Swedenborg1s idea.
-
-~--~
Issue) deals with Germans of the 1760's and '70's, and
C~pter Two (on the ecclesiastical Issue) deals with Engll~h
)J
------
men of the 1770's snd '80's, Is a coincidence for Which an
explanation Is suggested In the Conclusion. The diversity
26
-
a geographical one:
- the three chapters deal in turn with
English. French and German developments. occurring between
----:--'\
--_-..--
enough to show the direction
.. _-
of development which did In .
fact continue for some time In all three countries. Though
the chapters of Part 11 also consist mainly of a series or
stud!es of Individual men and texts. more frequent oppor
tunities f9r comp-arisons and Influence-tracing make the
-
continuity more evident.
27
NOTES - INTRODtX:TION
as the Creation:
or
Vo •
12 Infin., tr.'Wi1kinson, pp. 5-6. £2., Tinda1, Ope eit.,
p. 13·
13 lCR , 508
15 Ibld ., p. 21
16DP , 25~.
17Doe. Lite, 1.
19 Ibid., p. 114.
20~, 3703.
21 lCR , 58.
24Ibid ., 403-05.
26 Ibid ., p. 46.
31~, 86942.
32 HH, 1.
68.'
34 TCR , 851.
36 TCR, 229-30.
39£.g., TCR, 8.
45Swedenborg, ~, 1.
46 Loc • clt.
30
SVEDENBORG'S CONCEPT
AND
THE KEY ISSUES OF THE REva.T
, ..
CHAPTER I
OF RELIGIOUS THWaHT
logical implications ot ~s
theology.l while later Germans
concentrated on his theolog; itselt. 2 or on the psychological
Implications ot Its existence as a rational system;) but hi.
tlrst German commentators--notably, Kant and Oetinger--dealt
almost entirely with the ontological and epistemological
issue ••
PleUsa
exegetIcal scIence, 11
and hIs revIew of Swedenborg's Arcana
CoelestIa In 1760 was probably the fIrst scholarly review of
the work,12 and vas cIted by Kant.
ErnestI began his scholarly career as a classical
phIlologIst, and Is wIdely credIted wIth havIng done out
standIng, scIentIfIcally hIstorIcal work in this field.
When he moved from hIs chaIr as professor of eloquence at
LeIpzIg, to the theologIcal faculty of the same unIversity
(In 1759), he began applyIng the methods of classIcal philo
logy to bIblIcal InterpretatIon. HIs lectures on this ap
proach to bIblIcal studIes were later developed Into his
InstItutIo ot 1765, as he explaIns In hIs Introduction. Since
the vIewpoInt set forth In that work had been used and developed
sInce 1759, It vas characteristic of ErnestI at the time be
reviewed Swedenborg in 1760.
The new line of defense Which thIs vIewpoInt provided
against attacks on the authorIty of ScrIpture vas based
.qulte dIrectly on his background as a classIcist. He vas
troubled by the tact that since the beginnIng ot hIs century,
the deIstlc notion that the Bible was no more than ancient
literature had opened a fIeld day for antIbIblical dogmatics
masked as lIterary crIticism. Such attacks were based on
Inadequate scholarshIp, he was sure, 13 but defenses ot the
Blble--wh~ther by Jews, the early Fathers, the Scholastics
37
Rant's Ambiguity
the Privy Council and the Duke is beside the point here; even
the outcome is of secondary importance (the Swedenborgs und
anderer was confiscated. and eventually Oetinger was prohibited
from writing about. or seeing. Swedenborg); the steps he took
in self-defense are more interesting.
In defending himself in WUrttemberg. he made a very
intertsting .tripartite. distinction regarding the viewpoints
from which Swedenborg might be read and evaluated. These
might be called the viewpoints of philosophy. religion, and
theology. Religion was a matter of personal decision and
inner commitment. As such it did not allow the freedom ot
philosophy. to examine all opinions without initial concern
for their truth or falsity. testing al~ and keeping what was
good; in this respect it was posterior to philosophy. On
the other hand, being a matter of personal commitment, It had
more freedom than an objective study of the theology ot the
church; it was posterior to that, too, being conditioned
but not determined by it. But despite the logical posterior
ity, religion was the prior authority in questions ot con
science and action. Religion and philosophy are most clearly
distinguished in his 1766 Brief an Herzc4 Karl. a'ready cited;
the second distinction is most evident in hIs 1767 Fragen and
Antworten zur PrtJfung der Swedenborg'!schen L~hren. which
he addressed to the Privy Council as a counter to the charges
made there against him by the ConsIstory.
70
Geistervelt abblldet. 7
76
Dieses Elne bitte ich mir von Ihnen aus, dass Sie
meinen Indess verstorbenen Freund Fricker, welcher
Heifer an der Kirche zu Dettingen gewesen. und auch
lhre Parthei ergrUfen hatte. angehen. mlt ibm zu
sprechen. und. vas er aussagt. mir wieder zu berichten.
Diss wird mir anstatt eienes Zelchens seln. wie Sle
versprochen haben: vielleicht wlrd ein solches noch
gegeben. 19ts
Now that the ·slgn- vas given. but with no details, Oetinger
seemed ready to defy the government1s prohibition. and meet
with Swedenborg for further dlscusslons--ror, according to
plan. ·Er kommt doch noch vor selnem Tode.- 199 However,
since Swedenborgls death interrupted the plan, the errect
of this sign on Oetingerls assessment vas dubious. In any
event. the conclusion or the matter came not from Swedenborg
himself. but--Just as the original confirmation of Swedenborg1s
visions came indirectly from Schill--it came from another
visionary. the famous Jungfer ~ipper~nnln. By her account,
Helnrlch Clema
verstehen. 2 04
Summary Conclusion
NarES - CHAPTER 1
IBelow, Chap. 2.
2Be1O"" , Chap. 6.
3Be1O"" , Chaps. 3, 6.
4Above , p. 9.
I, I, 8.
I, 1, 6-8.
I, 1, 4.
I, I, 6.
21~., p. 522.
22 Ibld ., p. 527.
23 Ib1d ., P. 522.
24 Ib1d ., p. 523.
5 "
2 Ibid., p. 527.
26Swedenborg, ~, 1870.
28
~., P. 515.
29 Loc , elt,"
301bld" e.g., 520, 522,
31Ibld., p. 520; Matt. 23:31, £! "Gelst Gottea";
Aposteg. 2, ~ the speech of spirits.
32Ibld" pp. 515, 525,
33~" pp. 524, 527.
34 Ib1d ., pp. ,23, 52$.
98
.
42Ibid., p. 731 •
43 Ibid ., p•. 73).
440eutsche Acta Eruditorum, OCt. 1734, pp. 407-420,
cited by eyriel Odhner Sigstedt r The Swedenborg Epic (New .
York: Bookman Associates, 1952), pp. 121_2.
45Neue Zeitun en fur elehrten Sachen (1740), pp. 533-4;
Z.uverlassiqe achrichten, usw • • • . 0. 17 June, 1741l, pp.
203 ff, and (August, 1741), pp. 488-513; cited by Signe Toksvig,
Emanuel Sweden~or Scientist and stic (New Haven: Yale
niversity ress, 19 , pp. 1
46See below, pp. 66_67.
99
52Ibld •• p. xl.
53Immanuel Kant, Brief an FrI. Charlotte von Knobloch
(17631) KGS, Ope clt., X, pp. 43=48. For a discussion of the
dating problem see below, PP. 282-283.
54Immanuel Kant, Traume eines Geistersehers:
erlautert durch Traume der Metaphysik lKonigsberg: 1766).
KGS, Ope clt., 11, pp. 317-373. .
55Thls list follows closely a similar list by Ernst
Benz, Swedenborg In Deutschland, Ope clt •• pp. 245-6.
56Kant, Brief, Ope clt •• p. 44. 11 20.
57Kant , Traume, Ope clt •• p. 354. II 9.
58Kant. Brief, OPt clt •• p. 45. 11 20.
59Kant • Traume, OPt clt•• p. 354. II 9-10.
6°Kant • Brief, ope clt •• p. 45. 11. 18-19.
61Kant • Traume, OPt clt •• p. 354, !! 21.
62Ibl~., p. 366, !! 10-11.
63 Ibld ., p. 360, 11 3.
64Kant , Brief, Ope clt •• p. 48, 11 3-4.
65Kant , Traume, Ope clt., p. 360, !! 14-15.
66Kant , Brief, OPt clt., p. 47, .ll 37; p. 48, !! 3.
67Kant , Traume, Ope clt., p. 354, 11 9ff.
68Kant , Brief, OPt clt., p. 45, !! 4-8.
69Loc • clt., 11 10_11. ,~
70Kant , Traume, Ope clt., P. 354, l! 21-23.
71 See especially Kant, Traume, op, clt., p. 348,
11 24-29.
72Kant, Brief, op, clt., p. 48, !! 7-8.
73Kant , Tr·aume,op. elt., p. 361, !! 3-18.
100
11 9 ff.
120
~ •• p. 364. 11 16tt.
366. 1 11.
123Ernesti, "Areana," OPt eit., p. 521; "Einleltung
in die Religion und Theologie, von H. Clemm," Neue Theologlsehe
Bibllothek, VIII (1161) 10. (PP. 860-892). p. 875.
1245 ee above.
. ~'I.
p. ~.
125Fiseher. Ope eit •• P. 232.
126Ernst Benz, "Sw~denborg als Geistiger Wegbahner."
Ope eit.; see also Benz, ~wedenbor~ in Deutsehland, Ope cit ••
pp. viii-Ix; and Friedemann Horn,c.~if'~ und Swedenborg:
Eln _B_e!trag zur Prob.1emgeschlchte des deU~SCfH:ln Ideallsmus
und f,ur Geschlchte Swedenborgs in Deutschlandj nebst einem
Anhan - Ubcr K. C. F. Krause und Swedenbor sowle E', 'anzun •
zu R. chnelders F~r.chungen, Marburg Doctoral Iss. urich.
Sweden-Verlag, 19~4). passim.
121Se. above. p. 4r:'~.
128aetinger, Sammtliche Schriftcn, 11. 2, ope eit.,
p. 15.
104
146Ibid., p. 638.
147 Ibid ., P. 643.
1480etinger, Brief an Herzog Karl, OPt cit., P. 684.
149 Ibid ., p. 683.
150There are four versions of the questions, and
three of the answers, all apparently derived from a single
document. One copy was printed by Oetinger in Beurtheilung
der wichtigen Lehre vom Zustand nach dem Tod und der damlt
verbundenen Lehren des beruhmten Emanuel Swedenborgs theils
aus Urkunden von Stockholm, theils aus sehr wichtigen An.
mcrkungen verschiedner Ge lehrten, 1771; Ehmann, ed., Sammt •.
Schriften, Part 11, vol. 6. Another was included in ~
durch die Demuth grozzen Gelehrten, d~s Hochwurdigen ~ttemb.
Raths, Pralats und Abts, Herrn Fr. Ch. Oetingers hQchwichtiger
Unterricht vom Hohepriesterthum Christl, r,ur richtigen Beur.
thellun der Nachrichten des Herrn von Swedenbor s in einem
Ges rach nach Art des Buches Hiob ~ •• usw. Frankfurt
eipzig: 1 7 • • enz found another copy in the Hessischeft
Statts-Archiv Hessen-Darmstadt in Darmstadt. Also, in a letter
to Swedenborg, 16 Dec. 1767 (Ehmann, op._cit., Nr. ,82, pp.
706-8), Oetinger describes the projected writing of Hohepriest.
erthum Chri~ti, and lists the questions. The Hesse.Darmstadt
copy is the longest, and differs in order and terminology from
the Beurtheilung version, Which is authorized by Oetinger in
his Selbstbiographie (Ehmann, Leben und Briefe, OPt cit., Nr."
62, p. 302). The differences could be explained on the basis
that the text in Beurtheilung reproduces the original which
was addressed solely to the issues in the Wurttemberg Privy
Council, While the Hesse_Darmstadt copy was a rewritten expan.
sion dealing with broader issues, and intended for publication.
(See Oetinger, Brief an Landgrafen LUdwi~ IX, von Hasse.
Darmstadt, In "Neue Swedenborg.Urkunden, appended to Benz,
Swcdenborg in Deutschland, Opt cit., 12, p. 290). Despite
the ind-irect evidence for this view, Which can be addueed from
the texts, the greater probability lies with the conclusion of
Benz' detailed comparisons (~JL1., pp. 87.100), so I am
accepting the Hesse.Darmstadt text as authentic, and quoting
from his "Neue Swedenborg_Urkunden," #2, pp. 291-308.
1510etinger, Brief .an Herzog Karl, OPt clt., p. 683.·
15 2 Ib id., p. 684.
1530etinger, Fragen und Antworten, OPt cit., p. 30,.
154Benz , .()P.L. c It., p. 98: "Diese Antwort musste den
orthodoxen Zeltgenossen insofern unbefriedigend erscheinen,
106
als Ja gerade Manner wle Arndt, Spener und Bengel von Selten
der Orthodoxle des Abfalls von der relnen Lehre der symboll_
schen Bucher bezlchtlgt worden waren und die gennanten
Frommen glelchen, wenn nlcht heftlgeren Verdaehtlgungen wle
Oetlnger selbst ausgesetzt waren. Hat man doch zum Belsplel
Spener nlcht wenlger als zwelhundertslebenzehn Abwelehungen
von der Lehre der Bekenntnlssehrlften vorgeworfenl"
l55Se • below, P. 90.
l560etlnger, Brief an Herzog Karl, oR. elt., P. 684.
l570etlnger, Fragen und Antworten, Ope eft., P. 301.
l580etlnger, Brief an Herzog Karl, Ope elt., PP.
683-4.
1590etlnger, Selbstblographle, Ope elt., Nr. 34, P.
149.
160Ibld ., P. 150.
161~., P. 15
1.
162Kant , Brief an FrI. von KnobloCh, Ope elt., pp.
p. 295.
P. 301.
P. 303.
p. 296.
300.
AND SECTARIANISM
- -
Ger:ilany, and the counter-movement began earller there, too.
---
The revolt at the level ot philosophical presuppositionl ot
religioul thought, Which was led in the context ot Geraaa
109
110
-
pondence, were not so novel or provocative In England
-
they were in Germany. ~t-
a.
Revolt against Deism was already
112
--
in England, we have to do with laymen and parish ministers, 10
persuading their triends by personar testimony. In tact,
there was no one even relatively comparable to Rant working
in this period ot English religious thought. (Law.\ in hi.
old age, bought the Arcana. but did not read It. 11 The time
tor reaction was too late tor Berkeley, Butler or Humej
G~on. Burke and Adam Smith were interested in ditterent
areas ot thought ;~esl~was ~rking, but his signlt}cance
l l~y- mOre in activity and organization than in systematic
\
leVe1)j12 no intellectual giants dominated the scene.
'A third ditterence will presently become apparent:
by comparison to the German. the English tendency at this
period inclined toward wholesale acceptance-2r r!J!~tion,
--------- -----------
connection of Swedenborgianism with sectarianism in England. JI
However, whether it was the pattern of reaction which pro
duced the sectarian tendency, or vice versa, is part of the
generalization which is postponed to the concluding chapter.
One of the firat readers of Swedenborg's theological
~ writings w~s a_~n,'S Penn }of Dartmouth. He bought
the first volume of the Arcana on publication in 1749, and
wrote to the printer to place a standing order for the
remainder. Three things are interesting about Penny'.
initial reaction. In the first place, he ~ues5ed that the
anonymous author might be William Law. 18 Penny was person
ally acquainted with Law, ~d with Law's friend, Langcake,
and may have discussed the Arcana with Law, 19 so ~ cou;';
not hav~ remained in doubt tor long on that score; but it
appears that the epistemological implications of empirical
revelation present~d no difficulty to one with this back
ground. S~condly, Swe~e4borgts biblical interpretation
U$
..-'
I1
-
Penny also was instrumental in a certain Mr. Houghton'.
-
becoming interested in Swedenborg;29 Mr. Houghton is im
portant because he often discussed Swedenborg with-his clo.e
friend, John Wesley.3 0 and also induced the Rev. John Clowes.
Rector of St. John's in Manchester. to purchase Swedenborg'.
True ChristIan Religion--which led to the latter's eventual
adoption of Svedenborgian theology. Like Penny. Hartley and
indeed. Clo~es
- - --
Cloves had been influenced affirmatively by William Law;
-- -
owed his ecclesiastical position to Dr. John
Byrom. who was one of Law's strongest supporter ••
117
------------- -
atlc religious thought.
Discussion of the Issues of this chapter requires
an examination of these three men--Hartley, Clawes and
Hlndmarsh--In some detail, and somewhat less attention to
other writers who contributed to this discussion. Ho~ver,
-
system as a unit, so a full exegesis of their comments would
amount to a kind of secondary-source analysis of Swedenborg.
What Is relevant to this chapter Is their reaction to
Swedenborg's central Idea of empirical revelation, and the
--
effect of this distinctive notion In determining the pattern
- ---
---
-
--
of their revolt against Deism. It vas cl~racterlstlc
position Is
chall~ng~
. --------
to
d~fln~d, primarily In
~stabllsh~d Anglicanism.
th~ context of
-----
th~ V~sl~yan
--
true Mystics," he maintained, "are not to be taken as a sect
or party in the church, or to be considered as separatists
from It,_3
/:.
for their doctrin~s were such as "every church
Is • • • bound to admi t.~ )
On the showing of these ~orks, Hartley was a 'supporter
of the Establlshment--i.e., of a degree of theological uni
---
formlty--as the visible form of Invisible Christianity; but
he insisted on the reality, and the nece5slty, of continued
120
[
'-
the three preface
----
that Hartley wrote for English transla
tlons of Swedenborg's works; in each, he traces the history
of recurre~i~spirationat the vital center of the Christian .
J
l (and Judeo-Christian) tradition, defines the criteria tor
safeguard against delusion, and_d fends Swedenborg a ainst
a~ p~sible charge of sectarian sepa!!!ism. 33 Hartley did)
not find Swedenborg ~evo utlonarY) In contrast to Ottlnger
and Kant, he saw him as a new advance in the long tradition
of spiritual reneval of Christ's Church--In fact, an advance
long overdue.
When his friend Cookworthy introduced. Hartley to
Swedenborg's writings, they were still anonymous. Shortly
thereafter, their authorship becam~ public in 1768, and In
1769,'Cookworthy and Hartley paid a visit to SW~d~nborg~ ~o
- ----==:-- ---~-- - - ----
~~tondon. Of this, or subsequent visits by Rartley-
sometimes alone, and sometlm~, In company with S'~d~nborg"
121
_._------
to "do something.
~
The nature of
this concern was made more explicit in his second letter.
~ter thanking Swedenborg for the autobiography, and gener-
alizing (with a poor score for prediction) on the reception
of Swedenborg's writings in Sweden and England, Hartley
concluded:
-
Now Hartley was sixty-two years of age, and in or approaching
retirement from active parish duties at Winwick;42 but hi.
letter does not suggest an old man looking for something
interesting to occupy his time. On the other hand, nothln
---
Religion" and "Defence of the Mystical Writer,· namely the
ne~ssity of
.~
inspirat~n to the inner life of the church.
Blaming the present "low ebb" of the church on DeiSm~he
demonstrated the variability and undependability of reason
alone as a criterion in religious matters,S9 and asserted
"extraordinary communications" as the source of the ·unity
of the Spirit to the edifying of the Church in love.· 60
~ .
127
s~crlterlon as Oetlnger.
-
Thus, In his final analysis, Hartley adopted precisely the
-
The difference In their two
reactions to Swedenborg, whatever other explanations It may
have, owes something to Hartley1s prior e~lstemologlcal con
Vlctlons. rega~ng ~e necessity of mystical Insplr~n to
!
the vitality of the church.
I
It may well owe something, too,
"'j ~)
Clowes stands as a kind of sequel to Thomas ~artley. Like
Hartley, Clowes studied at Cambridge, receiving his M.A.
'-
from Trinity College, to which he had been elected a Fellow.
He had received academic prizes and university honora in
( his preparation for a teaching career, and his service. were
-
parish organization, dedicated to publishing and distributing
Swedenborg's works. Hartley retired from parish residence
about the time ot his encounter with Swedenborg, but Clowes,.
I
~ at the peak ot his ministry, preached Swedenborgian view.
--
ition. this obviously seemed to him to be a sufficient defense;
the ontological and epistemological issues were assUlHd,
rather than argued.
The basic issue that appeared more critical to Cloves,
-" "I .
vas the issue 0 chu~~ ~rJll)as opposed to ~c:!.arian~ara
,..
tio~ Hi. Affectionate Address to the Clergy clearly implied
.-/
the view that Swedenborg's writings did not constitute a
-special revelation- In any sectarian sense; ~e read them
as being addressed to the whole church, to the end of theo
logical clarification and correction of errors. His position
in this regard fully satlsfl~d his bishop, when he vas called
upon to defend himself against a charge of heterodoxy brought
by other ministers of the Manchester Diocese; he vas allowed
}\ to co~tin~e tran~latJn9 and publishing Svedenborg, a~ach
in9 Sveden~or9i.o!sm as a kind ot retorm~d Angl1canlsm, with
out eccl~~~~·t!c~l Int~rference.75 Thus, his situation in
131
-
This move so distressed Cloves, that he traveled to
-
London to make a personal attempt to dissuade the dissenters,
and in 1792, he pUblished his arguments in a tract. The title
of the tract is quite descriptive: An Address from the
OfrHa~le~
l vice, Clowes must have felt safe in saying that the New
--------
Church had not reached its full· growth; and numerical weak
ness vas his fundamental argument. As opposed to his earlier
Address tothe Clergx, this address to the -Readers- clearly
treated Swedenborg1s works as a special, sectarian revelation.
When the strongest and most prestigious Swedenborgian
opponent .Of sectarianism had no stronger argument than delay
,[
until greater strength could be developed, the_permanent
alliance of Swedenborgianism ~nd sectarianism In England
13,
l! ,
Apocalypse Revealed, as signifying either a renewed charch,
or a renewal of t\.Chri~anity'"on a non-ecclesiastical, per
~onal basis-~were not even explicit hypotheses at this
point.
(
KingSWO~d va~f
139
.... --
separation. and non-separatist Swedenborglans by controversy.
-
this may have been an Impatient reaction to relatively mild
persecution, but It does appear to have been a reaction, and
not entirely his original view derived solely from Sveden
,I borg. Hlndmarsh seemed embarrassed by Cl~es' charge of -a
sectarian splrlt,- and hoped to be excused from It on account
\ #
of his charitable attitude toward all men, and his goal of
freedom of worship for others as veIl as hlmself. I03 this
Important~nctlon between
!
Implled an an Intolerant, mon
Swedenborgianis••
(
drea~,is nothing more than his dreaming he say an angel.- 117
-
[imagination, either in dreams or reveries; and that 8
the read very much like Inventions, and tictions. ll
'
./
ChurchJllan:
HIndmarsh, too, InsIsted that "we do not say that our doc
trIne Is to fIll the whole earth, so as to become the pro
fessed relIgIon of all natIons, to the exclusIon of every
other,"125 even though he claimed a special role for the Hev
Church because of its special revelation. 126 Both ~re strong
in their affirmation that reason and Scri ture were the
jl authority for their acceptance of Swedenborg.
ure. l3J
For the concurrent testimony, requested by Priestley,
both Proud and Hindmarsh turned to the Bible, by use of •
similar figure: if the ~escriptions of a strange country,
brought back by many travelers long ago, were conf.irmed by
the report of a traveler recently returned, the a~ and
lf fectn
'other.
- --.-/ 134 .
accounts would be concurrent evidence for each
In making this response, they further defined
their conception of ~elationship of Swedenborgianism to
( ~_!!.-..tradi~n: ~ one with primitive Chr~i
149
~ ~
NarES - CHAPTER 2
Chap. 4, 1~~e~~~~~tCi~g~~a:~~:~£a~~dB:~~~~~~ti~d~Ut~~~:~
pp. 93-124.
2Serke1ey, A_ Treati~e CQncerning th~ Principles of
Human Knowledge (London: 1710), quoted by Cragg, op.elt.,
pp. 103-104.
3 Ibid ., p. 104.
4 Ibid ., p. 105.
5 Ibid ., p. 104.
6Swedenborg, DLW, 53.
7Wi11iam Law, The"Case of Reason, cited by Cragg,
OPt cit., p. 94.
8Law, The Way to Di~in~ Knowledge, "Works," 9 vols.,
(London: 1762/1893), vol. 7, p. 189!! passi••
9Sut1er, The Analogy of Religion, "Works," vol. 1,
pp. 8-9, quoted by Cragg, op, cit., P. 115,
IONot many of them were unlearned, however. Most read
Latin with some ease. The two Anglican Rectors held M.A.
degrees; one had published two books, and the other had re_
ceived honors in preparing for an academic career.
llwi11iam Law, Letter, printed in Christ. Wa1ton, "
Notes and _Matp.ri~'s for an Adeauate sio~raThY of the Cele
brated DivIne and Theosoph~r, ~llliam raw London: ~,
p. 592, n.
12see below, p. 172.
13E• g., Thomas Hartley, Letter to Swedenborg, Aug. 14,
1769, In R. L. Tatel, Documents, Ope cit., vol. I, pp. 10-11.
14see below, PP. 130-134 and 139-141.
ISLoc • clt.
1$1
\.
~tePhen
~
Penny, Letter to John Lewis, InR. L. Tatel,
Documents, Ope cit., Vol. 11, p. 499.
17Thomas Hart.ley, Letter to Swedenborg, Aug. 2, 1769,
21
4
artley, "Preface" to On Influx, ope clt., p. xiii.
50Ibld., p. xvi.
51~., pp. xx.xxl.
52Ibld •. p. xxlll.
/;::;-- ,
. 53 Loc • cl t.
C 54Loc • clt.
C5Ibld., p. xxiv.
56Loc • cit.
I 57.1l!.!£.,
. p. xxv.
5
artley, "Preface" to Heaven and Hell, op. cit.,
PP. ix tt.
p. xxvii.
PP. xxx.xxxl.
p. xxxiv.
pp •. xllll, xxxvi •
. artley, Letter to ClOWIS, In "To the Reader," in
--
T.C.R., OQ. cit., p~
65~.
~Clowes, Memolr, PP. 6.7.
67 Ibld ., p. IS.
1S4
\. 81
19.
83 bid., PP. 28 ft.
84 Ibid ., p. 31.
8SHis involvement in the ordination controversy, and
subsequent retroactivel recognized~~dina ion, is not re1e.
vant; by training, and contemp~ary acknowledgment, he was a
layman at the time in question.
8~lndmarsh, Rise and Progress, £E. clt., P. 9.
87For this and subseqllent dismissals of theological
discussions, see above, p. 117.
88Hlndmarsh, ~ise and Progr~~~, OPt clt., P. 9.
89IJ;)ld., P. 11.
'.
90Loc • clt.
33, but sal~ th~re were "many others." See ibid., p. 23, n.
~_F Id., p. 27.
94See above, p. 131.
95See R. Hlndmarsh, Rise and Progress, ope clt., p. 59.
96l..!?!.2.., p • 60 •
1790.
107Ibld., p. xli.
109)
~E.g., ~., p. 2.
110 Ibld ., p. 4.
111~., p. 11.
156
112 Ibid ., p. 8.
113Ibid ., p. 15.
11S~., p. 17.
119Loc • cit.
1~1
pp. 82-83.
CHAPTER l
-----
alist presuppositions which were characteristic ot Deism, aa
1.$8
-1$9
knowle~ge,
------------
knower and the knOWing process. Similarly, descrip'.lve
• psychology cannot evade questions of the possibility ot
of the implications of the perc~ptual proces.,
160
--
(2) psychological concerns in the philosophical phase of the
Revol t were limi ted to dichotomous Judgments regarding sanity
.
was
or insanity, but the later psychologl~al interest
complex; (3) the attitudes in the former cases tended to be
- more
161
--
he analyzed Swedenborg's system, and the energy he devoted
~Iscredltlng It, together suggest that Insanity vas not
-
his final JUdgment concerning Swedenborg--though he would
not blame his readers If they short-circuited the metaphysical
problems by making It thelrs. 2 The hypothesis was based on
the assumption that seeing or hearing what Vas not there
constituted Insanity, with the further suggestion that s~elng
be assigned to a hosPItal. 4
162
163
170
The trouble wIth Swedenborg was not that he saw and talked
wIth angels and spIrIts; he COuWd do thIs -wIe man mI~ seInen
Gedanken sprIcht; Engel und GeIster waren seIne GebIld.- S6
The trouble was that -personIfIzIrte er wIssentlIch sic
nIcht-; they were vIsIons for him, Instead of Images, and
-dIeser Zustand war Krankhelt.- 57
SuperfIcIally, thIs IdentificatIon of Swedenborg's
claImed empIrIcal revelatIon as a psychopathology could be
equated wIth Wesley's IdentIfIcation of It as Insanity.
However, the dIfferences are radical. For Wesley, Sweden
borg's InsanIty placed hIs thInkIng outsIde the realm ot
ratIonal relIgIous thought. For Herder, Swedenborg's condl
tIon was located on a continuous spectrum of human experi
ence. -In manchen Zust!nden des Gemttths sInd Menschen der
VIsIon nahe; NeIgung und LeIdenschaft kann sle f8rdern-;
the SwedenborgIan type of psychopathology was dangerous,
precisely -well In sle der Uebergang so lelcht Ist._ 56
·Und eln verst!ndlger Mann, der vor alIen andern s.ln
Traumverm3gen In ThatlgkeIt gesezt hat, auch wachend muaa
er vlel austr!umen.- 59 'Furthermore, Wesley's purpose In
Introducing the psychologIcal element was to discredit
Swedenborg, and obvIate the necessity to take seriously any
thing he said that was Inconvenient; Herder's, by contrast,
,',
179
NOTES - CHAPTER 3
2Loc. cIt.
" r7~(London:
387-388~~
1872), vol. Ill, Pp.
8 IbId ., p. 450.
9 IbId ., vol. IV, pp. 149-150.
10ReprInted In Ibid., vol. XIII, pp. 425-448r
lllbtd., vo"l. Ill, p. 450.
12 IbId ., vol. XIII, p. 426.
13 IbId ., vol. IV, p. 149; ~., vol. XIII, p. 427.
~ 14.!l2.!.!!., vo 1. II I, p. 387.
-/:;. 15Loc • cl t.
18
"Loc. cl t.
l~kee S. Noble, Appeal, ope cIt., p. 245. )'
20 bid., • 247.
---::=-- -.:------
2~art1ey, llPrefac~l; to H~a"cl"'.:~l'!d Hel 1, 2l?"~_ill., p. xxxi.
18,
•
186
480.
48Ibid., p. 479.
49 Loc • cit.
50Ibid., p. 483.
51Ibid., pp. 483-486; cp. above, p. 161.
52Ibid., pp. 487, 493.
53 Ibid ., pp. 483-486.
54 Ibid ., P. 486.
55 Ibid ., P. 489.
561bid., P. 488.
57 Loc • elt,
58Lo_c • eit.
59 Ibid ., p. 491.
SVEDENBCRG' S COlCEPT
AND
DEVELOPMENTS IN ENGlAND
188
189
publish for another twelve years, ·he had to leave the van
...---..--
guard of the New Church's revolt against ~Ism to younger
19,
----
retained his anti-separation posture, describing the
Methodist in his Dialogue as one -in whom it ~s easy to
discern, that the true temper and spirit ot the gospel
prevailed over any particular prejudice ot sentiment, or
torm ot a creed,- and opposing him with -a member ot the
Established Church, who had recently taken up the writings
ot Baron Swedenborg.- 17
Hlndmarsh, In addition to his Reply to Dr. Prlestley,
and his counter-measures against Wesley's charge ot Insanlty,18
collected data to retute a claim that Swedenborg denied all
his works betore he dled,l9 and pUblished a massive polemic,
A Seal upon the Lips of Unitarians, Trlnitarlans, and all
Others Who Refuse to Acknowle~ge the Sole, Supreme, and
Exclusive Divinity of Our Lord and Savi<:)11r J9'SUS Christ.
Containing Illustrations of One Hundred ~nd Forty-Four
Passages In the Four Evangelists and the ApocalyPse, In
Proot That Jesus Christ Is the Supreme and Only God ot
Heaven and Earth. (Manchester: 1814.)
Neither Clowes nor Hindmarsh added significantly to
their position on Swedenborg1s empirical revelation, but
196
1. WIlllam Slake
~riod
------
which included the spring
200
---
influence on Blake is of course a matter of subJective
Judgment, but th~ following two quotations are not parti
cularly radical among Blake commentators:
on him. J
201
(
~. & because he was a li ttle wiser than the monkey,
grew vain, and co~iv'd himself as much wiser than
seven men. It is so with Swedenborg; he shews the tolly
( of churches~ exposes hypocrites, till he imagines---
1 that all are religious & himself the single one on
-
also the religious values which Swedenborg would have £on
sidered essential to the system. Berger has accurately
described the basis of his rejection of Swedenborg:
- ...- ----..
0_
heard heresy_so lOUdly Insisted upon.- 42 ~Heresy~wa. one
~
3. Coleridge on Swedenborg
r=-- .
that by his admirer, De Quincey-1strongly enough to explain
{9..r--.!JLJ~ubl1
)
Coleridge would have been taking _~I~es__ !.ga}ns_~_~n to ~
- - -
---
He commented to Olllman that Swedenborg's description of the
intluenceot spirits on the natural body coincided completely
~
with his own experlence.~ In 1820, he told Talk:
------
209
-"'--------
extent and frequency of passages of the kind he objected to.
- -..
The fact that Colerldge was the first to notice the problem
can be explained by the consid~ratlon that such a point would
not occur to radical dissenters from Swedenborg1s views on
the one hand, nor to disciples on the other. This explanation,
however, only emphasizes the observation that Colerldgels
reading of Swedenborg ~s at once [rriendlY and critlcal and
1
marked by a notable sensitivity of perception. It was this
attitude of Colerldge1s which led hlm~ell out the most
-
objective and carefully detailed criterion tor evaluation of
Swedenborglan Ideas that had yet been developed. Befor.
210
-
(1) internal coherence of terms, (2) consistency with the
.
total system, (3) fu.nda.mental rationality Oogical relation
of antecedents to consequents), (4) compatibility with known
facts, ($) moral ~ustification for acceptance or rejection
of the idea, and (6) compatibility with the teachings or
scriPture.61~He developed this criterion in relation to
what he considered the "great difficulty" with Swedenborg's
system, ili., the realit _ ~spi_r1tual things vls-Il-vla the
reality of material things, and the relationship between
t~wo k~~ds or reality.62 Struggling with this problem
1
consistently and earnestly, his summary Judgment was ravor- /
able to Swedenborg's position.
Of particular interest was Coleridge's comment on
--
The question Of~ty)was not to be avoided. any more than
---
were Colerldge's other doubts about Swedenborg's motives
and terminology; but he wished to emphasize. for the event
that -these notes should fall under other eyes "than my own.
that he was ~onvI~ced of the truth and value of Swedenborg's
me~nlng.64
It seems safe to assert that. among the figures sur
veyed In this study. Coleridge was either the most perceptlvelyl
critical among the Swedenborgians. or the most accepting ot
~
-
Ism as a consequence of the In tltutlonal implications ot
-- "------
the Revolt against Delsm--was developed Into a comparatively
.. _.-.
and to Reason.
- -
m~!! tnan
--
were answered on a theological basis. appealing to Scripture
~ Swedenborg as an authority.
Outside this posJtion. and largely-!!~~lev~nt to It,
the early poets of British Romantici~m also took n~tic. ot
212
b~t the
-
poet, vas Involved with the romantic literary tradition;
ba~es
-
of the rejections were not explicated as
1/\
)
NOTES _ CHAPTER ~
~
32prof. Helen C. White, The Mysticism of William
(Madison, Wisc.: 1927), p. 141.
)l
33Blake, Notes to Divine Love and Wisdom, Ope cit.,
n. 220.
34 Ibid ., note to 1.
35 Ibid ., note to 7.
36~., note to 294.
56.!!W!.., P. 249.
57 Ibid ., P. 260.
I
, 5 81!W!., p. 262.
I
60 Ibid ., p. 276.
1 Ibi~.,
p. 253)
62 Loc • cit.
64 Ibid ., P. 248.
217
CHAPTER S
DEVELOPMENTS IN FRANCE
-
~tephen Penny~2 Captain Jean Jacques~ernard wrote lJttle,
and was not a member of the organized New Church, but was
directly responsible for introducing Swedenborg to those who
did.
The differences vls-l-vls Germany and England are also
worth noting. The leading thin~s who were affected by
Swedenborg d~p~lish their comments on his thought,)
and so there were no controversies at the beginning or the
tradition that could be compared to those initiated by Kant
219
-
and/Oetinge. The institutional developments involved the
interaction of movements which were far less compatible than
the Reform and Separatist movements that caused controversy
in the founding of the English New Church; FreemasonrYJ!nd
s~itualism led to schisms that almost completely demolished
the first attempt to develop a Swedenborgian ecclesiastical
,
tradition. Unlike the situation in either Germany or. England,
two o~ the earliest and most influential French Swedenborgians
were e~ate for most of their period of irifluence: Antoine
Josepb pern:;Vin Germany, and Benedlct Chastan~ in England.
French speaking developments in the transmission or
Swedenborgian ideas followed a ~umber of more or less Inde
pendent lines, which can be considered--without too much
overlapping--in five separate categories: developments among
--
expatriates, developments among intellectuals, personal revolts
that left literary or institutional remains. the ecclesiastical
movement which became the French New Church. and the ·independent
literary contribution of Honor' de aalzac. 4
The Expatriate.
analytigue et raisonn~
---
Swedenborg's works, published (In London, 1786) Tableau
de la Doctrine C~lest2 de l'Eglise de
224
[
"Illumin~s de la Th~osophie Macon Swedenborgistes.":
- ----
tion of Swedenborgianism went virtually unchecked in France.
- ..... , is included under the heading
'Aillant de la Touch,
~ --------
of expatriates, although nothing is learned of him from
Swedenborgian or French histories, including his Whereabouts
when he wrote and translated his Swedenborgian volume.
Wherever he was, he could not __or dared not--publish it in
France, however, so it was published in Stockholm, and sold
there and in Strasbourg. His work, Abr~g~ de ouvrages dIEm.
SW~denbor9' contenant la doctrine de. la Notlvelle J~rusalem
The Intellectuals
---
translations of Le Bo s de Guays In the 1830's and '40's.28
The consequences of these activities are not to be
documented, or precisely known. Whatever advantage accrued
to the reputation of Swedenborglan thought was evidenced In
Institutional developments·that resulted directly from the
work of other men.
Although It was connected with no other developments
In France--except two French translations of SWedenborg
which were published out of the country--the Interest of
Jea Fr~d~rlc / berllr~ sho\lld be Included In this description
of reaction among the Intellectuals. A Lutheran pastor at
Ban-de-la-Roche, and particularly famous for his contribu
tions to Protestant parochial education, Oberlln was In
fluenced b¥ Swedenborg, and made a limited contrlbuHon to
the development ~f a Swedenborglan tradition. He was
acquainted with D'AIll&nt de la Touche's ~r'~ and Pernety"
228
Personal Revolts
Madame -----...
He converted the young widow of a superior officer. a
- Salnt-~ou~. who was especially Interested In
spiritual healing; she established a "New Church temple-
In Nantes as a kind of headquarters for her spiritual heal
Ing activities which had attracted attention all over
-:-:---------
France and even In ~ng!and.35 Bernard and Gobert together
played the decisive role In the conversion to Swedenborglanlsm
of the prestigious Abbe oeg~e • first vicar of Notre Dame,
Bernard and Madame Saint-Amour converted a young writer or
outstanding ability and the beginnings of an excellent
reputation E~uard Rich~ • then principal ed~f Lyc~e
-
Swedenborg's idea of empirical revelation In the context
--
of the French Revolt against Deism.
It Is difficult to int~rrre~th~though~of_Gu~llaum.
---
Qegger. or to assess his influence', it Is not clear whet.her
230
was the Protestant Church in Germany; but the church and the
~--
government--even after the Revolution, although to a lesser
degree than under the monarchy--were less tolerant ot
ecclesiastical se aration than were the church or the govern
ment in England.
In the little town of Leves, near Char~s, in 1830,
)
conviction, and tried to establish a New Church among hi.
cons quences. 66
--
romanticists were
-
a~ong
- ------
the large number of purchasers ot
,--
early French translations of Swedenborg, and after reading
a little, stashed them in an attic with a vague uneasiness-
an unformed question that Balzac faced, and asked.
253
Conclusion
vols. I & 11. London: Will lam lder and Son, Paternoster
Row, 1921.
Gould's HIstorY-oof Freemasonry Through the World, vol. IV,
revised by Dudl~y White. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,
1936•
.~V1aU.e..,._AYguste. Llls sources occultes de Romanttsme Illumin_
Isme--theo50nhle (1)70-l8~O) Tome premier:_ Le preromantlsme,
tome s",cond: La 9:zn ration de l'empire. Paris: Librairie
ancienne hono.~ champion, 1928.
Chevrier, Edmund. HIstoire 50mmaire de I'LNouveHe tgttse
chr~tlenne fond~e Stlr le5 doctrines de SW~d\1noo q ear un ami
de la N6uvelle Eglise. Paris: Librairie, 5, rue Th4nard,
1879.
Tafel, Rudolph L. Documents Concerning the Life and Character
of Emanuel Swedenbor • collected translated
London: Swedenborg Society, British
12
~., p. 13.
13Loc • clt.
l~rquls de Thom'.
15Abb~ AU9uatin de Barruel. M~moires pour servir a
l'histoire du Jacobinisme, nouvelle et derni~re ~dition
.s. 1797.) (Hambourg:
2>Viatte, L~s Sources Occulte, pp. 8" 89.
24see above, P. 222, and Tafel, Documents, ope eit.,
vol. I, PP. 637, 638.
2'Chevrier, Histoire Summaire, Ope eit., p. 83.
26See above, P. 220.
27Nouvelle Biographie ~n~rale, vol. 35, col. 743.
28Chevrier, Histoire Summaire, 02. cit., pp. 85-86.
29~ey are quoted by Parlsot.
r~ .
~Intellectual Repository, 1840, Pp. 151~162.
3lQuoted In New Jerusalem Magazine, vol. 13 (1840),
PP. 267-268.
32Ibid., vol. 31 (1859), PP. 460-466.
'3 i~dmarsh, Rise and Progress, <po cit., P. 387.
341ntellectual_ Repository, 1819, p. 328.
35Article in New Jerusalem Magazine, vol. 2, pp. 346
351 0828-1829).
3 6cf • Hindmarsh, Rise and Progress, op. eit., p. 183.
37August Viatte, Victor Hugo et les illumin&s de son
(M ntr~al: Les ~ditions de l l arbre, 1942), p. 41.
38 b~ J. G. E. Otegger;-Rapports inattendu~ entre le
monde mat r TI e -le me (le 011 Ma "tra:":5ition a la Nouvelle
r 1i5e et ies circonstances surnaturell~5 ui cnt acconla n'
cette d marche Paris: Heideloff and Campe, 1,3 , p. 3.
------~~ ~uoted by Viatte, Victor Hugo, P. 43.
~ ~~tegger, Manuel (full title given in text) (Paris:
Baudouin. Fr~res, Editeurs, 1827).
410legger, Rapports, op. elt., P. 6.
4 2See above, PP. 82-83.
430tegger, Rapport~, 22. cit., P. 11.
44~uoted by Viatte, Victor Hugo, Opt cit., P. 43.
257
46 Loc. cit.
56 Ib_ld ., P. 60.
51 1b1d ., p. 225.
65~., p. 612.
J
2,8
7'Loc. _cit.
GERMAN DEVELOPMENTS
Romantic Literature
259
260
Romantic PhIlosophy
-----
nothIng to say about the cont~nt of swedenborg's~~system,
but expressed considerable interest In the sIngle idea that
- It was in his discussion
I have called empirtca1 revelatio~
of the structure and potentIalitIes of hurran nature, that
266
----
Goethe--the two who presumably Introduced him to Swedenborg
lan thought In the 1770's.
...
By contrast to Jung-Stllllng, Karl Christian Frled
rich ause/concerned himself almost entirely with the con
tent of Swedenborg's theological writings, trying hard to
avoid the epistemological Issue. Krause was acquainted with
Swedenborg for thlrt~yea~s, spoke of him In his lectures
at Gottingen and--shortly before his death--translated
a selection of abstracts from Swedenborg's theological
works, adding a foreward and a calechetlcal summary of the
system.
Frledemann Horn, who discovered the documentary
evidence that the selection of abstracts, Der gelstlge
Inhalt der Lehre Emanuel Swedenborgs, was written by Krause
(and not by J. M. Vorherr),27 has pointed out areas or con
siderable dependence on Swedenborgian thoughtj28 but these
are based on indirect evidence, and are only noted here.
Also, the mass of Krause's comments on Swedenborg concern
269
Philosophy
Ecclesiology
L8
clergy,n O but Tarel refus~d to si n. When the permanent
appoil1t~ent as university librarian was offered with the
285
~ in 1857.
One
his
who
290
Psychology
Summary
- -
borgian influence permeated German
- -.:----
but if they did so, it was in the form of covert assumptions
.',
'.
296
NarES - CHAPTER 6
p. 694.
69Hofaker, Letter, In Intellectual Repository (1841),
pp, 39-40.
~I.
70 Bayley, OPt clt., p, ~3,
----
Judgment more decisive than a consensus, .and i t is plaln
- ..
.301
302
-
tive. English New Church orthodoxy, as voiced by The Aurora,
a ccepted Swedenborg's claim to revelation; but by denying
...---
303
i , 3~
and
the empirical aspect of his ~a.
~StillinglaccePted Swedenborg's
1 r:
t Oetin9~_ Slake
data as empirical,
(
but questioned or denied its revelatory character. ~~lla~ I
- - - - - - --- -:- ¥->..... l/!/rJ
an Krause implied acceptance of some part of Swedenborg'. ~
(
denying any--:uthOrity ;, hi~ "revelatiOn-.· []"~did not
care whether Swedenborg had any sueh experiences as he
reported, because--real or imaginary--their description
and interpretation were lunatic ravings. LpeQuinee~lreJeeted
both the claim to psychic experience, on the grounds that
the whole business was too foolish to merit serious consid
eration, and [fi:~]decided that both claims were part.. ot
a conscious and deliberate ~. ~findlng no basis tor (
either aspect of the claim that permitted either demonstra
~ -~
t!on or refutation, dismissed the Whole idea as outside the
'T
bound~!~i~c~tnty,-:And irrelevant - ;-)
to rational
thought.
=-
304
--
presupposes prior decisions regarding the ontological status
--
----
of spiritual (vis-i-vis material) teality, and the epistemo
(vis-i-vis physical) perceptions.
~~
~
~ghout: as a historical fact--since he did make the
claim--to be observed wi~out prejudice as an idea which
exerted cert!in infl~es, and which was influenced (in ~~
formulation, interpretation and transmission) in its inter- ~
f action with the Revolt against Dei~.
---
vhich vere initiated by discussions ot the philosophical and
psycholo~ical issue••
-----
Deism became the point ot
Intellectual develop~whose
intersecti~n ot two lines ot
goals were fundamentally
incompatible. One line, tocussed on man--stimulated by the
spectacular advances in science--had adopted Rationalism
to see human reason as equal with (and soon superior to)
revelation as a source and guarantor or knowledge; but
pursuing its own internal development, it moved beyond
Rationalism to Empir'iclsm, making sense data the primary com
ponents of knowledge; trom there to the Critical Philosophy's
dualism, which radically disenfranchised all non-sensible
----
data; and trom there to Positivism and materialistic Human
-
ism. The second line, tocussed on God--challenged by the same
advancements in the natural sciences--had adopted Natural
Theology in an attempt to use science in its own detens.;
finding itselt in danger ot subjugation by its detender, It
sought ~n ontology and epistemology expansive enough to
)11
The
Revolt against ~ism, when it came, cannot properly be said
to have sprung trom the Pietism on the Right, or the human
istic Skepticlsm on the Lett, or the supernaturali~.tic
--------
In favor of one branch (which I have earnestly tried to avoid).
This schematlzed description of the Revolt against
Deism, summarizing some of the findings Incidental to Inveatl
gat Ion of the specific subjects of this dissertation,
Is presented here at greater length than In the Introduction
because a~ore genera l_~Iew o_~~:Ile Revolt is neede~ as a
context for conclusions about It, than for examination of
particular events within It. I observed above that a des
cription of the Revolt Indlcates--on logical grounds-
the centrality of the three Issues on Which the Revolt
-- - - ~ - --
Interacted with Swedenborg1s Idea of~mplrlcal re~elatlon:~
namely, 1) the philosophical question of what reality there
Is to ~~ow, and by what means knOWledge of It can be acquired
and validated; 2) the ecclesiastical question of what to ~
Swedenborg's idea.
-
For those tending toward more inclusive
principles of religious knowledge--the Moravians were aft
early example,·· and the Methodists a later one--the option va.·
reform or separation.
e
Most clearly in the case of Methodi ••,
reform was attempted, but separation resulted. The Issue
was raised sharply by those in England who had already adopted
a ~~list-tending alternative to Rationalism, and on that
account accepted the philosophical implications of Sveden-
borg's claim without question. The Issue was more precl ••
than wfth~odl~m~ It can be argued that Vesley -fell-
into s'paratism, propelled by the momentum of his unsystea-
-- ----
atized reform when it tripped over the rigid conservatisa
of the Establishment. The Swedenborgians, on the other hand,
~no momentum. Thj recc:!ved, in a piece, a fully_ d~!.oped
- -
to be interested in his specifically religious, church
----
cen_~e~ system. One was JOhn~i} another was Herder.
Wesley's treatment of the psychological issue was somewhat
simplicistic, but interesting because of its use of unstated
behaviorist assumptions that were characteristic (though no
more explicit) of his own contribution to the Revolt.
was much more subtle, and more provocative--particularly .0,
because it brought together two independent contribution. to
the Revolt against Deism, Swedenborg's idea of empirical
revelation, and~hlelermacher's idea that religious feeling
[ and intuition J"r::e ....£~ t~o~ic formu~ons, and provide
a ground of religious understanding independent of dogmatic
differences. From the perspective afforded by this COmbina
tion of ideas, Herder was able to interpret Swedenborg's claim
with such originality that he simultaneously reconciled Kant'.
and Oetinger's opposing interpretations, and suggested a
wholly new approach in the Revolt's s~chJfor_~e~ gr~~s
-
of religious knOWledge and certainty. Admittedly, this
Herder's idea, not Swedenborg's; but it was the radical nature
~.
General Conclusion.
--
In France. Also In every case, those who dealt originally
with the philosophical Issues Ignored ecclesiastical ones.
It was those who had Inherited fully developed ~delst
-
they encountered Swedenborg.
.
So the nature of t~e intel
lectual movement certainly affected SW~~~b~~g!-s !~ea. It I.
reasonable to extrapolate from this evidence drawn rrom
Swedenborg 1 s commentators, the hypothesis that the same
forces affected him in the formulation or his idea. He \
(~Joinedft the Revolt against Deism with a need for an antl- I
~;ist philosophy: having sought i;~~~~~~YSloI09y
and psychology, he found it in his psy~~~c experiences; then
convince~ the validity and adequacy of ~~~~logy and
epistemolo _ he proceded to the the~~ic~tage. True
to the pattern, he never felt any pe.sonal urgency about
--- - - - - -
ecclesiastical questions (which may explain his ambiguity
-
~
lconCerning the new church he prophesied--w~!..ther_1t signl- \,
- -
)fied a new or a re-newed institution), and he died an un
reservedly conI~ssing
-
Lutheran. To this hypothesis about
the Revolt's influence on 5wedenborg's formulation or his
.320
the Idea.
because most of the data has been cited above, under the
(
visible institutional form), and In notable parallels as well,
-
1790's. If in addition, as was the case with the Revolt
against Deism, the intellectual movement is·wide-spread
and pluralistic, the new posi~ion has to contend not only
with the Estab!i~hment, but with !he proliferation of new
p~siti~ns;!lit must distinguish and defend itself from· all
of_~hem.~ Under these conditions--which are inherent in the 11
circumstance of an intellectual revolt--the apparent option
m~ w~ll be in fact a shamt Early arrivals to the cclesias
)
~E.sue. delighted with the .Iewness ot the position,
and relatively free from persecution lsince they pose no
11 ,
great threat to the Establishment or to competing new posi I~ I
t~ anism or oblivlon.~
.,,'
323
NarES _ CCNCLUSICN
Paranoia," Zentral
~vrier Edmund.
\ hretienne Histoire Sommaire de la Nouvel1e £911se
fondee sur les doctrInes de Swedenborg .
~ar Un And de la Nouvelle Egllse. Paris: L1bulrle,
( f , rue thenard, 1879.
Dorner,
725-733.
(Leipzig, 1767). .
1764·
328
Noble, Samuel.
>(
-------r.MagazIne. London~
-------nNew-Church UnIon.
Roby,
~ ---
P. H. HeItz, 1951.
, Saintes, Amand. A Critical History of Rationalism in Germany,
from its orIgIn to the Present Time. Translated from
~ ,the Second EditIon of the French original. London:
Simpkin, Marshall and Co. 18~9.
The Battl~ for the Mind. London: Heinemann,
Sewall,
•
"Personal Reminiscences of Dr. J. F. Immanuel
--------~T~afel." (Printed article, source unknown) from the
~pic. -'
New York:
.anchester.
Sou they, Robert. Letters from England: by Don Manuel Alvarez
334
J
which also includes a "Prologue" to the whole work.)
Eng. trans., London: W. Newbery, 1843.
• The Spiritual Diary of Emanuel Swedenborg:
Being the Record During Twenty Years of His Super
natural Exherlence. 5 vols. Eng. trans. by Prof.
George Bus • London: James Speirs, 188)-1902.
• Vera Christiana Re1i~io. (True Christian
--------~R~eligIon.) Amsterdam: 1771.
Tafe 1,
337
t
wII iam aw. London: Tileosophlan Ll5rary, 18 •
1'958. - .
White, Helen C. The M~sticism of William Blake. Madison,
J
Wise.: Unlvers ty of Wl-;,:onsIn ;;t.li'UI'e5-inl~nguage j
and literature, 1927.
\
I
338
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