A Study of the Documentary Sources of
his Biography, covering the Period of
his Preparation, 1688-1744
BY
ALFRED ACTON, B.Th., M.A., D.Th.
Late Dean of the Theological School
of the Academy of the New Church
Bryn Athyn
Pennsylvania
1958
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Explanatory Foreword
1653-1735 Jesper Swedberg - Notes on his Biography 1
1688 Swedenborg"s Birth, - Early Childhood and Education 3
1700 Swedenborg's first Literary Piece printed 17
1707 Nov. Swedenborg's first Latin Production . . . . 18
1710 March A Festal Applause and other early Poems . . . 32
1710 May 1st FOREIGN JOURNEY: 35
In London on August 3rd . . . . . 35
1712 Jan. In Oxford . . . . . . 51
In Holland . . . . . . . . . 57
1713 May Arrived in Paris . . . . . . . . . . 61
1714 May/June In Hamburg . . . . . . . 64
Swedenborg's Inventions discussed . . . . . . 65
July-Sept. In Rostock . . . . . . . . . . 70
In Greifswalde 70
1715 Camena Borea (Ovidian Fables) described 72
Ludus Heliconius . . . . . . . . 77
Festivus Applausus - described . . . . . . . 78
May Arrived in Sweden . . . . . 86
Oct Daedalus Hyperboreus - Preface . . . .. . 92
1716 Jan. " " - 1st number . . . . . . 96
To Stiernsund - 1st meeting, with Polhem & Family 103
March To Starbo - Prepares copy for DH II . . . . 104
De Causis Rerum . . . . . . 105
April Daedalus Hyperboreus II Described . . . . . . 107
" " III 111
June Death of Swedenborg's brother Eliezer 116
On Certain Kinds of Soil and Mud . . . . . . 117
Daedalus Hyperboreus III - described . . . . . 118
Sept. " " IV - described . . . . . 121
A Flying Machine . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Longitude - see also pp. 173, 179 . . . . . 124
Nov. 3 Points to the King re an Observatory (see p. 111)
and a Mechanical Laboratory (se p.112) . . . . 128
Dec. In Lund - meets Charles XII . . . . . . . 130
Daedalus Hyperboreus V - Preparation for 134
1717 Jan. To Karlskrona with Polhem . . . . . . . . . 138
Feb. In Stiernsund - DH V completed . . . . 142
April Daedalus Hyperboreus V - described . . . . . 145
A Relation concerning Stiernsund's Tinplated ware 147
A new Theory concerning the Stoppage of the Earth
1st draft described . . . . . . . . . . .. 148
Takes seat in Bergskollegium . . . . . . . . 149
A New System of Reckoning - being prepared . . . 154
1718 Jan. " " " " " - described . . . . . . 164
Algebra or Regel-konst - described (see also p. 232) 166
On Air and Water Particles " ( " " " 235). 173
Longitude (see pp. 1799, 237) . . . . . . . . . 173
Height of Water (see pp. 196, 201). . . . . . 174
The Motion and Position of the Earth & Planets . . . 174
Nature of Fire and Colors - described (see p. 196) . 174
Behm property described . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
ii
1718 Feb. Longitude - described . . . . . . . . . 179
Sluice work - Assistant to Polhem at Wennersborg 181
July Reputed Engagement between S. and Emerentia P.
Sept. Daedalus Hyperboreus VI - described . . . . . . 186
Oct. " " VII, VIII . . . . . 190
Dec. Stoppage of the Earth - described (see also p. 148) 190
1719 Feb. Information on the Dock the Sluice Work, and the Salt Work
described. . . . . 194
At Bergscollegium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Height of Water - described (see p. 201). . . . . 197
May Swedberg Family ennobled . . . . . . . . 199
Nov. Swedish Blast Furnaces - described . . . . . . . 202
Swedenborg's earliest Thought re Theological matters 207
Coinage, New Ways of Discovering Mines, described 208
The Falling and Rising of Lake Venner " 210
At Bergscollegium . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
1720 Feb. Acta Literaria Sveciae - 1st number 214
Tremulation - discussed (see pp. 188, 201, 202) 215
June On the increase and degrees of Heat in Bodies according to the
Bullular Hypothesis - described (see also p. 222) 224
Proceedings re Sara Bergia's Will (see also p. 230) . . . 225
July Increase in Salary - application to King . . . . . . 228
1721 May First notice in learned world abroad - letter to a'Melle . 232
June 2nd FOREIGN JOURNEY: 234
Amsterdam (end of July) . . . . . . 235
Oct. Chemistry, Iron and Fire and Longitude published . . . . 235
Nov. Leiden (November) . . . . . . . 239
Dec. Amsterdam . . . . . . . . . 239
Elementary Particles, & etc. described . . . . . . . . . 241
Aix-la-Chapelle, Liege 243
Leipzig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
1722 March Miscellaneous Observations IV - described . . . . . . . 248
April de Behm Inheritance Dispute (see also p. 253, 282) . . . . . 250
The Genuine Treatment of Metals, Notice of . . . . . . 252
Medevi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
July Return to Stockholm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
August 1st Literary Dispute - Answer to Quensel . . . . . 255
Miscellaneous Observations I-III - review of . . . . . . 256
(see also p. 139)
Nov. Exposition of a hydrostatic Law . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Thoughts on the Fall and Rise of the Swedish Coinage
described . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
At Bergscollegium. . . . . . . . . . . . 261
1723-24 Feb. Collectanea Metallica or lost work on Copper . . 279
1724 May At Bergscollegium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Brita Behm Mining Law Process - Report on Lindbohm 288
1725 At Bergscollegium . . . . . . . . . . . 297
iii
1725 April Suit with Brita Behm re Axmar Property
(see also pp. 311, 320) . . . . . . 303
1725-26 In Bergscollegium . . . . . . . . . . . 309
1726 June Axmar Property Dispute continued . . . . . . 311
Oct. At Diet - Hannover Alliance Dispute, Dippel Trial. . . 321
1727 Swedenborg's Income discussed (see pp. 335, 679) . . . . 329
1729 Nov. Swedenborg becomes a Member of Soc. of Sciences . . . . 330
1730 May At Bergscollegium - Swedenborg as Mediator . . . . . . . . 332
Collectanea: "On Gold and Silver" 1727 . . . . . . . 337
"On the Secretion or Separation of Silver from Copper" 1727. . 337
"On Vitriol" end of 1727 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
"On Sulphur and Pyrites" 1727 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
"On Common Salt," 1729 (see p. 140) . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
"On Iron" 1729 . . . . . . . . . . . 338
1729 Nov. Principles of Natural Things (see pp. 369, 416) . . . . . 339
Algebra and Geometry (Cod. 86) - described . . . . . . . 340
1730 Declination of the Magnetic Needle - described . . . . . . . 342
1731 Jan. At Diet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
1731-32 Principia and The Magnet written (see p. 419) . . . . . . 346
1733 April Motion of the Elements - described . . . . . 348
May 3rd FOREIGN JOURNEY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Stralsund (May 25th) . . . . . . . 351
Greifswalde (May 27th) . . . . . . . . . 352
Neu Brandenburg (May 28-29) . . . . 352
Old Strelitz ( " 30) . . . . . 353
June Berlin (June 2) . . . . . . . . 354
Dresden ( " 7) . . . . . . 358
Principia finished June 20 (see also p. 369) . . . . . 359
July Prague (July 23rd) . . . . . . . 374
"Definition of First Natural Point" (see p. 382) . . . . 374
Prague (July 24th) . . . . . . . 377
August Carlsbad ( " 30th) . . . . . . . 382
Prague (August 19th) . . . . . . . 387
Dresden ( " 25th) . . . . . . . 388
Sat for portrait . . . . . . . . . . 390
Leipzig (Sept. 3rd) . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Oct. Mechanism of Soul and Body - described . . . . . . 390
Notes on Wolff's Psychologia Empirica - described . . . 403
1734 Jan.-Mar. The Infinite MS. delivered to printer . . . 412
March Halle (March 1st) . . . . . . . . 412
Leipzig . . . . . . . . . . . 414
May Opera Phil. et Mineralia and de Infinito published . .414
The Principia examined (see also pp. 346, 432) . . 416
Iron and Copper examined . . . . . . . . 419
De Infinito examined . . . . . . . 422
July Arrived in Stockholm - Duties at Bergscollegium . . . . . 428
Cod. 88 = Excerpts from Wolff, Dupleix, Newton,
etc. - described . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Title-pages and Plans of Animal Kingdom Series
described (see also pp. 552, 620, 677) . . . 436
iv
1735 Swedenborg's Work as Commissioner in Bergscollegium 440
July Death of Bishop Swedberg . . . . . . . . . 441
1736 March At Bergscollegium . . . . . . . . . . . 443
1736 July 4th FOREIGN JOURNEY: 446
Copenhagen (July 16) . . . . . . . 447
Hamburg ( " 30) . . . . . 451
August Hannover (August 6) . . . . . . . 453
Amsterdam ( " 17) . . . . . . . 454
First of a series of Events culminating in Swedenborg's Admission
to the Spiritual Word - discussed . . . 455
Rotterdam (August 21) . . . . 456
Brussels ( " 25) . . . . 459
Sept. Paris (September 3) . . .. 461
1737 Study of Anatomy - Practices Dissection . . . . . 472
1738 March Lyons (March 17) . . . . . . 475
Turin ( " 31) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
April Milan (April 9) . . . . . . . . . . 482
Padua ( " 17) . . . . . . 486
Venice( " 19) . . . . . . 487
The Cerebrum (Cod. 65) written here described
(see also pp. 524, 556) . . . . . . . 489
August Verona, Mantua, Ferrara (Aug. 11,14, 21) . . . . . . 497
Bologna (August 23) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Florence ( " 28) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
Sept. Rome (September 25) . . . . . . . 505
1739 Feb. The Cerebrum - further discussed . . . . 524
The Way to a Knowledge of the Soul described . . . . 525
Faith and Good Works described . . . . . 526
Codex 37 Excerpts from Boerhaave, Verheyen, Allen, etc.,
- described . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
Florence (Feb. 20) . . . . . . . . 529
March Genoa (March 17) . . . . . . . . 530
Swedenborg's Dreams mentioned in Heirs' Note . . . . . 531
May Paris (early May) . . . . . . . . 532
Political Scene during Swedenborg's Absence . . . . . 532
June Amsterdam (early June) . . . . . . . 534
Swedenborg's Inlaid Marble Table described -
(see also p. 561) . . . . . . 534
Economy of the Animal Kingdom discussed (see p. 592) 535
Description of Swoon experienced at beginning . . . . . 536
Dec. Plans for continuation of Economy Series (Cod. 88) . . 552
Codex 57 - described . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
Characteristic & Mathematical Philosophy of
Universals described . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
Additions to The Cerebrum described . . . . . . . . 556
Eminent Generation described . . . . . . 560
Inlaid Marble Table arrives in Stockholm (Nov. 1739) . . . 561
March Index of EAK I and study of Leeuwenhoek and Swammerdam
(Cod. 57) - described . . . . . 562
v
1740 April Economy of the Animal Kingdom II - described;
see also pp. 596, 776 . . . . . . . . . . . . 570
August Reviews of EAK I and II . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592
Autumn Return to Stockholm and Financial Matters . . . . . . 599
1741 Jan. Becomes member of Kungliga Vetenskaps-Societet . . . . . . 602
Reply, re Controversy with Celsius . . . . . . . . . . 602
Feb. In House of Nobles . . . . . . . . . 606
In Bergscollegium - Swedenborg's work in Judicial cases. . . 608
Change of Plans for EAK Series (see p. 552) . . . . . . . 620
A Philosopher's Note Book - reviewed (see pp. 771, 776). . 621
The Fibre - described . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639
On Divine Providence, Predestination, Fate,
Fortune and Human Prudence (see p. 783) . . . . . 648
Harmony between Soul and Body (see p. 647) discussed . . 648
The Origin and Propagation of the Soul described . . . . . 654
The Animal Spirit - described . . . . . . . 655
Sensation or Passion Of the Body described . . . . . . . 657
Action - described . . . . . . . . . 658
On the Red Blood . . . . . 660
1742 The Soul or Rational Psychology (Cod. 54) discussed . . . 660
Ontology - described . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672
A Hieroglyphic Key - see pp. 769-71 . . . . . 673
The Brain (Cod. 55) - 1st Draft - described; see pp. 798-805 673
Plan for continuation of EAK Series . . . . . . . . . 677
July The Animal Kingdom (Cod. 53) - commenced; see also
pp. 776, 777 . . . . . . . . . . 681
Periosteum, The Breasts, The Ear and Hearing,
The Eye and Sight (Cod. 53) - discussed. . . . 682
Generation - described . . . . . . . . . 682
Transaction and Induction Series changed to Analytic
- see p. 681 . . . . . . . . . 684
Renewed Studies of Schurig, Leeuwenhoek and
Swammerdam. (Cod. 53) - described . . . . . . . 687
Swedenborg's Comments on the Bee, etc., . . . . . . . 690
August At the House of Nobles . . . . . . . . . 693
1742-43 Animal Kingdom I, II rewritten for publication . . . . 701
1743 July 5th FOREIGN JOURNEY: (Journal changed to record of Dreams) . 704
Ystad (July 27) . . . . . . . . 704
August Stralsund (August 7) . . . . . . . . . . . 705
Hamburg (August 12) . . . . . . 706
Amsterdam (August 25 or 26) . . . . 708
Animal Kingdom MS. rewritten . . . . . 709
First Experience of Preternatural Sleep . . . . . . . 710
Animal Kingdom reviewed . . . . 710
1744 March Journal of Dreams - 1st dated dream, etc. . . . 716
Animal Kingdom II completed - Epilogue examined . . . . . 722
Observations on Steps in opening of Swedenborg's
Spiritual Eyes (see pp. 743-45) . . . . . . . . . 727
Journal of Dreams - description continued . . . . . . 735
vi
1744 April The Hague (April 1 or 2) . . . . . 736
The Lord's Second Appearance to Swedenborg . . . . . . . 740
See First Appearance, p. 718
Journal of Dreams - description continued . . . . . . 743
Most complete and minute description of Spiritual
Temptations in JD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753
Leiden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764
Amsterdam (April 24) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765
The Hague ( " 25) .. . . . . . . . . . . . 766
May Journal of Dreams - description continued . . . . . . . 768
Hieroglyphic Key - described . . . . . . . . . . .769
Study of the Word (Cod. 36) in continuation of HK . . . . . 771
Harrwich (May 4 = May 15 N. S.) see p. 768 . . . 773
London ( " 5 = " 16 " ) . . . . . . . 774
Indices to EAK II and AK I-II (Cod. 38) . . . . . . . 776
June Extracts from The Elements of all Geometry A Musical
Dictionary and A Compleat System of Opticks
copied in A Phil. Note Book (Cod. 36) . . . . 776
The Five Senses (Cod. 58), first draft described;
see also pp. 756, 767 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777
Journal of Dreams - description continued . . . . . . . 781
Notes on Works by Desaguilier and Robert Smith examined 784
A Course of Experimental Philosophy . . . . . . . 785
A Compleat Course of Opticks . . . . . . . . . . . 785
July Epilogue or last chapter of Five Senses -
described; see p. 805 . . . . . . . . . . . 788
Journal of Dreams - description continued . . . . . 794
The Brain - Additions to (Cod. 58), described . . . 798
Aug. Journal of Dreams - description continued . . . . . . . 805
Sept. Introduction into Spiritual World chiefly during
the writing on the Five Senses . . . . . . . . 810
Oct. The Five Senses finished Oct. 6, marking conclusion
of Physiological Studies and Writings . . . . . . 815
Worship and Love of God commenced Oct. 7 -
described; see p. 830 . . . . . . . . . . 816
Dreams while writing WLG - described . . . . . . . . 816
Worship and Love of God, 3rd Section described . . . 823
Last entry in JD . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 829
(see p. 813)
The Five Senses, review of . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829
BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 831
APPENDIX - Genealogies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 838
EXPLANATORY FOREWORD
The following material is duplicated by a ditto-process in 100 sets of 842 pages each, from a typed copy revised in handwriting by the author, Alfred Acton, B.Th., M.A., D.Th., the late Dean of the Theological School of the Academy of the New Church.
Since the author, who died on April 279 1956, never had the opportunity to complete his work, or to go over the manuscript himself for a final editing, there may be found occasional repetitions and possible errors in the text. How- ever, Dr. Acton's secretary and niece, Miss Beryl G. Briscoe, who has been long associated with his work, has made such editorial adjustments as were necessary, verified questionable references, made up the references into a bibliography, and supplied a table of contents.
In this work, Dr. Acton has sought to record the life of Emanuel Swedenborg from the most original sources available. The record is laid out in chronological order without subdivisions. The references are usually to the original documents, first records, or original editions. So, for instance, references to many of Swedenborg's early letters are to the Opera Quaedam, wherein they are printed in their original languages.
It is to be regretted that Dr. Acton was unable to proceed with his exhaustive research further than up to the year 1744 when he concludes the story of Swedenborg's preparation by a full account of the Journal of Dreams. The transition period of 1743 to 1748 is treated in Dr. Acton's Introduction to the Word Explained (1927). His Letters and Memorials of Emanuel Swedenborg (1948 and 1955) provide a further aid to the study also of Swedenborg's later life so far as this is illustrated from his correspondence; but this work cannot be regarded as a biography, and it must become the task of some later scholar to continue the important research studies which should record the life of the Seer of the Second Advent from 1744 and throughout the period when he was consciously associated with the inhabitants of the spiritual world as well as with men on earth.
For the use of future scholars, the Academy of the New Church possesses a set of loose leaf record books entitled the Academy Collection of Swedenborg Documents (ACSD) but familiarly referred to as "The Green Books." In these are listed chronologically every known reference to documentary evidence touching the life of Swedenborg, including typewritten copies of the original documents and, frequently, available translations.
Hugo Lj. Odhner
Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania
1958
[1682
Jesper Swedberg, the father of Emanuel Swedenborg, was born on August 28, 1653., on the estate of his parents, which was known as Sveden. It was situated east of Falun in Store Kopparberg diocese. Jesper was entered in the Westmanland-Dala 'nation' at Upsala University, Nov. 1666, as "Jesper Danielis Swedbergh," the surname being derived from Sveden and from Kopparberg. (Tottie "Jesper Svedbergs Lif och Verksamhet", Upsala 1855, vol. I., pp. 5, 11. This work in two parts, together with Svedberg's own auto-biography, "Lefvernesbeskrifning", constitute full accounts of Bishop Swedberg's life. Tottie's work is fully documented.)
Jesper Swedberg's life shows that he believed in revelations by dreams and visions, and in the reality of the spiritual world and the actual presence of angels and spirits with men.
We may regard this as a preparation for that state with Emanuel Swedenborg which enabled him to have his spiritual eyes opened; but it has been regarded as accounting for a "visionary."
The insanity of Emanuel Swedenborg's maternal grandmother, and the melancholia of his maternal uncle have been adduced to show a state of mental weakness in Emanuel Swedenborg himself; but on examination, this assertion amounts to no more than an effort to account for the prejudged opinion that Emanuel Swedenborg cannot have been mentally sound since he claimed intercourse with the spiritual world.
After receiving his master degree in Upsala, December 12, 1682, Jesper Swedberg was appointed Chaplain of the Lif-regiment, then stationed in Stockholm, and was ordained Feb. 12, 1683, after which he moved to Stockholm.(UUH 2:310; Tottie pp. 20, 29)
Before this, however, he went to Falun in connection with the inheritance of his father's property. (ACSD Al)
He married Sarah Behm, December 16. 1683, and by this means became quite well off.
Of his marriage, Jesper Swedberg writes:
"My wife, Sarah Behm, held me very dear, as I held her. When it was firmly determined that we should become one man, we lovingly came into agreement that she should rule in the house as an intelligent wife and prudent mistress, as she pleased. I should not interfere with her. What money or ought else she called for, she would receive at first request, and more rather than less. But, on the other hand, she also must promise me two things:
He writes also: "From God's gentle hand I received a wife rich in property and money, and, in addition, rich in virtue, the fear of God, seriousness, piety, and industry. I say seriousness, because she never boasted of her wealth, but in mind, speech, manners, and clothing, she was modest and not after the way of the world." (Ibid.)
In the summer of 1684, he visited England, France, Germany, and Holland, returning to Sweden in August 1685. (Tottie, I., 32f)
In connection with this journey we may note his intercourse with the learned orientalist Edzardus, whose son his son Emanuel was to meet 25 years later in London. He was much impressed by Edzardus's habit of daily blessing his children by laying his hands on their head, and in his Auto-biography he writes: "So did the Patriarch Jacob bless his sons Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen. 48:14). So did Christ bless the little children. Happy are those children whose parents thus bless them. Thus did I with my own children when they were little." (Ibid. 41-2)
His last conversation with Edzardus before leaving for Stockholm: To Swedberg's question, In what language would they speak when they came to God's kingdom, Edzardus would give no answer; whereupon, Swedberg expressed himself as follows: "I think it will be angel language. As the angels talk Swedish when they talk with Swedes., German with Germans, English with Englishmen, and so forth, so I will talk Swedish with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they will answer me in Swedish. They talk with me in Hebrew which I then understand, and I answer them in Hebrew; and so with people of all sorts of tongues. That we shall not talk there, this I do not believe. To talk is a human property. We shall there sing praises to God with loud voices and say Blessed is He who sitteth upon the throne, our God and Lamb; and all the angels worshipped God and said Amen, Praise and honor, etc. Yes, this is their speech. We do not become dumb. God help us thither that we may come to know this and more and more completely." (Ibid. 42)
During his absence, his wife lived with her sister and sister-in-law, Fru Peter Swedberg, in Stockholm, where her firstborn Albrecht was born in November, 1684. (He died in June 1696, ten days after his Mother).
On Jesper Swedberg's return, he moved with his wife and child to a house in Jakob's Parish, Stockholm, and probably to a detached stone house in the aristocratic part of the parish, on a site now numbered 22 (or 18) Regeringsgatan. (N. K. Tid. '14/172, '14/138a)
Meanwhile, Jesper Swedberg had added to his family his nephew, John Moraeus, the son of Jesper's sister Barbro who had been left a widow with seven children and in hard circumstances, though in possession of the estate Sweden. On a visit to his birthplace in 1686, Jesper was so charmed with his nephew (E. Swedenborg's future tutor) (14 years old) that he adopted him and took him to Stockholm to his home there, and afterwards to Upsala, even to the time when Jesper left Upsala for Skara, when he furnished Moraeus with money for a long foreign journey. (Sv. Biog. Lex. 2b)
Swedenborg was born at the site on Regeringsgatan on Sunday, January 29, 1688, and baptized in St. Jakob's Church on February 2. 1688 (Candlemas day), as shown by the baptism book of that day, where the names or the six godparents are given. (N.K. Tid. '14/138) Of his naming, his father writes: "My son Emanuel's name signifies God with us (Isa. 7/14, Matt. 1/23). First, that he may ever be reminded of God's presence and of the sufficient, holy and secret union in which we, by faith, stand with our kind and gracious God; that He is with us, in us, and we with Him and in Him. Secondly, God has also even to this moment (1733 May), blessed be His name, surely been with him. May God be also with him hereafter, until he come to be everlastingly with God in His kingdom." (Sw. text N.K. Tid. '15/121.) The law of November 3, 1686, required:
1 That children should be baptized at the latest at 8 days old
2 That the baptism shall be in the church, except for weighty reasons, and on a Sunday or Feast, day when the congregation is present.
3 That he shall have godparents but no more than 3 men and women
4 That the ceremony shall be celebrated by the pastor of the parish where the child is born. (N.K. Tid. '14/170)
In his letter to Hartley, Swedenborg gives the date of his birth as January 29, 1689, and this has caused much discussion (see Int. Rep. 1833/497). Tuxen relates that in 1770 he asked Swedenborg the reason for this and reports: "He told me that he was not born in that year as mentioned but in the preceding one. And on my asking him whether this was a fault in the printing, he answered, 'No, but the reason was this: You may remember in reading my writings to have seen it mentioned in many places that every figure or number in the spiritual. sense has a certain correspondence or signification annexed,' and he added that when he had first put the true year in that letter, an angel present told him that he should write the year now printed as much more suitable to himself than the other; and you know, said the angel, that with us time and space are nothing. 'For this reason it was,' continued he, 'that I wrote it.'" (See n. 5 below) (2 Doc. 436)
Despite the above, it seems almost certain that Swedenborg wrote the year 1689 simply by error, as would be not unlikely, especially with a man of 80 years old - or even with any one.
1. In the same letter to Hartley, Swedenborg says that he returned to Sweden in 1714, which is an error for 1715. (1 Doc. 7)
2. Excellent reasons are given in the Intellectual Repository (1833, p. 497) for doubting whether an angel would speak as reported by Tuxen., and lead to falsifying a record which was professedly meant as a guide to his friends in case of need. (Ibid. 6)
3. Tuxen, who then knew little of the Writings, was 77 years of age when he wrote the account quoted above in 1790, twenty years after the event.
4. It is probable, and perhaps certain., that he did ask Swedenborg the question as to 1689, but Swedenborg may have taken the occasion to speak of the correspondences of numbers, and Tuxen have mistaken this (20 years later) as an explanation of the figures 1689.
5. It has been supposed that since, at this time, the year in England began with March 1, Swedenborg, who wrote the letter to Hartley in England, desired to translate the date of his birth into the English date, and that by error, instead of writing 1687 (which would have been correct), he wrote 1689.
6. Reference to the autograph shows that 1688 was not "first written." The date 1689 is given by Ferelius in the record of Swedenborg's death, but this is clearly due to the printed letter to Hartley. It is corrected in the margin of the record. (In ANC)
Jesper Swedberg continued in Stockholm until his call, in September 24, 1692, (Tot. 153) to become 3rd Theological Professor in Upsala. He sold his stone house for 11,000 Kr. and was installed in his new position in November 1692, and in the following December was made Rector of the University. (Ib. 157) Elected at the end of November and installed a few days later. But in the following year, Albrecht was entered as a student in the University where he is spoken of as a "promising student." (UUH 2:2:43; Stroh 4)
In 1694 (October 17), Jesper Swedberg was appointed 1st Theological Professor, an office which carried with it the office of Pastor of Upsala, and, in the absence of the Archbishop, head of the Consistory. (Tottie 183, 195) He entered on his new office May 2, 1696, when he commenced lectures on the New Testament., continued yearly, laying special stream on the importance of a Christian life: "Both understanding and will must be amended; and now-a-days, but little attention is paid to the latter. (Ibid. 185-88)
At first, however, he was frequently absent at Stockholm, as a member of the Commission for revising the Swedish Bible, and also as a member of the Diet in 1695. (Ibid. 175-76)
He was also at work on the Swedish Hymn Book, for which he wrote many hymns which are still retained. This work led him to a study of the Swedish language, with the result that he embarked on a lifelong work for the purification of that tongue, which was despised by the learned and the court, and into which many foreign words were brought. (Tottie 178-79)
As pastors he was solicitous in preserving order in church; in holding regular catechisings, wherein he instilled the lessons of the sermon, and which he held as ten times more valuable than the sermon; and in studious preparation of his sermons. Emanuel Swedenborg must have come under his influence as catechiser, and have caught something of the Christian pietism combined with a sociable disposition and sound common sense which distinguished him. (Ibid. 212; cf. 2 Doc. 178)
While no Pietist, Jesper Swedberg had some sympathy with them, and with them was especially opposed to faith alone and the formalisms which were then prevalent. Consequently, he made little of fine doctrinal distinctions, etc., and so seemed to others to be sometimes indifferent to the purity of doctrine. "I am decidedly on the side of those who will forward true Christianity, even though their means may not be the best." (Tottie 189-90)
In addition to public lectures, Jesper Swedberg also gave "colleges" on Proof passages, Swedish Bible, Moral Theology, etc. - which latter subject was not in the course of lectures. (Ibid. 190)
In 1696, he called J. Moraeus (aged 24), who had been with an apothecary in Stockholm, to Upsala, to tutor his son Emanuel. Moraeus had a great love of medicine and was delighted to have this opportunity of studying at Upsala. Moraeus was also interested in mineralogy, as shown by his Disputation in May 1703 De Victriolo. (SBL Mor. 139; ACSD 2b; ALS 1:l8)
"I saw two who were good men - Moraeus and Bierchenius." (SD 4717)
It was between this period and l699 that the earliest known signature belongs, written on a disputation on a medical subject, and probably given to Emanuel by Moraeus who was devoted to medicine.
Previous to this, in February 1696, Jesper Swedberg had bought a lot in the Great or New Square for 6300 Kmt., and built there a stone house, finished in 1698. It would appear that this lot already had a wood house. The building now on this site has above the doorway, on the inner court an iron plate with the inscription: J. S. P. U. 1696 (URA; Tottie 208:2)
Meanwhile, he seems to have lived at Cathedral Square near Rudbeck's house. (ACSD 1b; Stroh 8)
In June 1696, his wife, Sarah Behm, died of a pestilential fever on June 17 at the age of 30 years, (she was 17 when married) leaving behind her eight children, ranging from 9 months to 13 years. But her oldest child, Albrecht, was also smitten with the fever, and after a painful illness of two weeks died ten days after his mother.
Both were buried in the Cathedral on July 19, when the Rector,
Professor Schwede issued public invitations to the services. (NCL '09:694)
The picture we have of Sarah Behm shows her at the age of 26, according to the statement at the back. It is now in the Nordiska Museet (formerly in the possession of Baron J. V. V. Knorring of Goteborg). (NCL '07:689)
Of his wife, Jesper Swedborg writes: "Although she was daughter of an Assessor and wife of a Pastor of Upsala, and, in addition, of great riches, she never dressed according to her wealth, beyond what was necessary. When all women at that time wore the sinful and offensive bonnet called a fontage, she was obliged to follow the crowd, and so wore it. But when she heard that a cow in Gottland had, with much pain, agony, and suffering, and with miserable bellowing, brought forth a calf with a fontage, she took her own and her girls' fontages and threw them into the fire, making a promise that she and her children so long as they were under her authority would never wear them again.'" (SBL 16:284)
The birth here spoken of was on February 4, 1696. In a sermon, Swedberg speaks of this and says "our grand women in winter wore fontages ell high." He told Charles XII of it. He preached: "if we preachers remain dumb, God will raise up animals to preach." (Sab. Ro p. 82)
Elsewhere Jesper Swedberg writes: "She was a joy to me and gave me a happy life. I could never have borne the cares, hard work, and responsibilities with which I was overwhelmed unless this pious woman had upheld me. (Tottie 213)
The pious nature of Emanuel Swedenborg's home life is indicated by his statement in Spiritual Diary where, speaking of respiration being in accordance with thought, Swedenborg says it was given him to experience it before he spoke with spirits, "as when in infancy I wished purposely to hold my breath, during morning and evening prayers, also when I wished the alternations of respiration to concord with the alternations of the heart, and so that the intellect began then to vanish, as it were; also afterwards" etc. (3320). Again writing of internal respiration, he says: "I was accustomed so to breathe in infancy when I prayed morning and evening (3464). See D 529 where Swedenborg speaks of changes of the muscles of the face which he could not understand because he had not been initiated into them in infancy. (Intro. to WE pp. 21-22)
Emanuel Swedenborg speaks further of his early home life in a letter to Doctor Beyer, dated November 14, 1769, where he says:
"From my fourth to my tenth year (i.e., 1691-97 - up to and including first year of Moraeus) I have been ever in thoughts concerning God, salvation, and man's passiones spirituales, and have at different times discovered what my father and mother wondered at, and said angels must be talking through me.
"From my sixth to my twelfth year (i. e. 1693-99 - Upsala, before entering University) my delight has been to discuss with priests concerning faith that the life thereof is love, and that the love which gives life is
Add to this the statement in True Christian Religion 16: From my infancy I have not been able to admit into my mind any other idea than that of one God."
In the passages from the Diary, we probably have the basis for the oft-repeated story, printed in the Dewdrop, 1853 p. 59, and which was taken "from a recent letter from England." "It is a matter currently related in Sweden, that when Emanuel Swedenborg was a little boy he would propose questions and make remarks so surprising to his parents, on religious subjects, that they would ask him how he came by such ideas, to which he would answer that he had them from the boys who played with him in the garden. The natural inference is, that he was, at that tender age, the subject of angelic visits."
It was in the Spring of this year that there fell on Swedberg, owing to the old age of the Archbishop Swebelius, that charge which resulted in his having - without official appointment - Episcopal appointment over the Swedish Church in Delaware (Tottie II 261 n. 2). The latter had asked for ministers in 1693, but the matter was not taken up until 1696 when in February, Swebelius appointed Rudman, and, at Jesper Swedberg's suggestions, Bjork, with the promise that on their return to Sweden they would receive a pastorate. (Clay. Annals of the Swedes on the Delaware pp. 50-54)
In December 1696, Jesper Swedberg elected Inspector of Westmanland-Dala Nation
December 1697 ditto. of Stockholms Nation
March 1698 ditto. Roslags "
December 1699 ditto. Gottlands "
(Tottie 202-3)
Formerly, the Nations had been forbidden (though in vain), but in 1663, they were recognized under charge of an Inspector. Every student must belong to a nation. (UUH 2:1:84-85, 74; 2:2:398)
At first, inspectors were chosen by the Faculty but later by the students.
The office was much desired because of its influence and because the Nations gave their inspectors expensive gifts every three years. Jesper Swedberg was the second inspector of Westmanland-Dala Nation and the first to be elected by students. (ibid. 399, 400)
There were two curators who were elected from the seniors.
(See CND-V and UUH 3:2:397-98)
The inspectors had to hold two convocations every year, and it was at such a meeting that Swedberg also gave them talks and advice as to their reading; reading of portable Swedish Bible; learning a little Greek, and at least the Hebrew letters; use of Schmidius's Bible. (Tottie 1:203-6)
Jesper Swedberg, left with a family of seven small children, after serious prayer an November 3. 1697 married a second time, his second wife being Sara Bergia, daughter of a Dalacarlian priest. She had twice before been married, namely, to a merchant and to a magistrate (Nordling). (SBL 285)
An amusing account of their first meeting is given by Jesper Swedberg. (Tottie 2:271-72)
Sara Bergia was a wealthy woman with property which consisted in ironworks.
Swedenborg seems to have been her favorite son, and she wished to distinguish him in her will, being especially desirous that he possessed Starbo. (1 Doc. 374)
NOTE here the passage in Spiritual Diary: "Spirits known to me, told me my mothers, related that where they were they had clean residences which they could not show me, lest other spirits should catch an idea of them; they said that they bad been given them and changed, there they were constantly in their occupations; they wished to describe them but could not, except only that they were such, and were constantly given to them, and that they were there in delight. 1749 March 26. (S.D. 4181)
"My mothers said that in the life of the body my father was often absent, and they knew not where, and that he returned always with pleasure. Hence, it was perceived that he is sent by the Lord to various uses with men, now here now there, because his delight consisted in an active life. It was also said that without an active life be could not be in delight; therefore, after such activity he returned in delight. 1749 26 March." (S. D. 4182)
Meanwhile, Jesper Swedberg was building his new house on the new or great Square "a large new stone house and a costly garden". (SBL 256)
In 1698, in the Fall, this house was completed and dedicated by inviting all the poor people in the hospital to a meal. "I, my wife and children waited on and entertained them," and the entertainment was concluded with songs, prayers, thanksgiving, and mutual blessing. (Tottie 213)
Emanuel was at this time nearly ten years of age.
Of Swedenborg's home life at this time, we got some suggestions from the Dream Book, where early memories seem again to be awakened.
On April 15, he writes: "It seemed to me I was racing downstairs, touched each step only a little, came safely all the way down without danger. Then came a voice from my dear father, Thou makest so much noise Emanuel. He was said to be angry with me, but it would pass over."
On the same day he writes: "Doctor Moraeus seemed to be courting a pretty girl; got her 'yes'; had her permission to take her where he would. I joked with her that she said 'yes' with pleasure, etc. She was a pretty girl; became taller and more beautiful."
On October 12 he writes: "My sister Caisa, (Catharine, who was 5 years younger than Swedenborg) was seen, who let on she was sick, and then lay down and screamed. When our mother came, she put on a different face and speech."
On October 27 he says: "In the A.M. there was seen to me in a vision the market, which was a disting* in my father's house in Upsala in the room upstairs (ofwanfore), in the entrance, or elsewhere all over."
* An annual market held in Upsala at the beginning of February and which dates its origin to heathen times.
In June 1699, Swedenborg entered the University, having first, as a necessary preliminary, been made a member of the Westmanland-Dala Nation. (Moraeus vent to Holland 1703)
In entering, the novitiate was first examined by the dean of the faculty under whom he would study, and be entered in the Academy's Album of Students, having first given proof that he had the first elements of rhetoric and Latin. (En.VDN 7)
A student entering the university was required (with three fingers on the Bible - U.U. Hist. 2/2/137) to take an oath of obedience to the rector, of willing obedience to the statutes of the academy, the decrees of the Consistory whether these concern the direction of studies or censure of conduct not to avenge either secretly or openly any injuries inflicted on him but in these and other sad cases to obey the Consistory; not to leave the Academy without the Rector's consent, nor run away if detained or arrested, nor carry off goods from the city without having first satisfied his creditors and to go to wherever the Academy appoints him. So help me God.
Those of tender years were excused this oath.
The Nations were 22 in number in 1700 and 25 in 1710; their members were Novitiates, Juniors and Seniors. Their private meetings were festal with eating, drinking, and smoking. (UUH 2:2:399 seq.)
They existed not only to enliven the student's life but for mutual encouragement to advance in studies. At the instance of their inspectors, they held exercises and orations to which were added disputations of two hours' long. The language used was usually Latin, and the disputations were appointed by the inspector (Constit. XXVI). (UUH 403, see also 121-2)
There was also very serious hazing, when the young students were in purgatory, sometimes for a year, though generally three months, as servants to an older who handled them roughly and sometimes shockingly - deemed necessary, that new students lay off their country ways and boastfulness and vanity contracted in small schools. (Constit. XVII; En.VDN 27)
Emanuel gave the usual contribution of 30 ore yearly from 1700-9 pro felici reditu. These were voluntary contributions for the poor fund. (CND-V 20: Constit. V)
The records of the Nation enter him as a "junior," from 1700-8, and as a "senior" 1709. (ACSD 10A)
He became senior in November 30, 1708, when with thirteen other Juniors he was elected to fill the vacancies caused by seniors who were leaving the University. (CND-V 20)
Something of Emanuel Swedenborg's life, as a member of his Nation, is recorded in its Transactions. Thus: (CND-V 1s) He was present at the convocation May 10, 1700, presided over by his father, when the Nation adopted its constitution, and was one of the over 160 members who signed that document. Among other signatures were some who were closely associated with Swedenborg then and in later years, namely:
John Moraeus - his former tutor and probably continuing as such.
Eric Alstrin - afterwards Bishop whom he met in England
A. Swab (Swedenborg's stepbrother)
Peter Aroselius - with whom be conversed on Botany (see work on Generation)
John Hesselius - his companion on his journey in 1721. (step cousin)
1702, May 15-16, came the great fire in Upsala, when Jesper Swedberg's two houses (wood and stone) were destroyed; though his Hymn books in the Cathedral were uninjured. In this fire, the whole Westmanland-Dala Nation assembled to help Swedberg. (UUH 2:1:350 seq., 288n seq.; Tottie 136-37. I 208; ACSD 13A)
Jesper Swedberg appealed to Ulrice Eleonora., that the fire was the fruit of the people's sins.
On May 21, he was appointed Bishop of Skara. (Tottie 2: 14)
May 1, 1703, Swedberg took leave of Westmanland-Dala Nation, and a few days later, May 25, he received from the Nation two silver candlesticks valued at 400 d. and with inscription, carried to him by the two curators, one of whom was Moraeus. (CND-V 12; ACSD 15)
May 3, 1703, Jasper Swedberg ordained Bishop, when he delivered his farewell sermon, and in July he left for Brunsbo, being missed by all. (Tottie 2: 16)
Having first entered Eliezer and Jesper in the "university city, and as "novitiates in the Westmanland-Dala Nation." (ACSD 10A)
The date of his leaving was likewise determined by the date of the marriage of his daughter Anne, to the rising librarian and literateur, Eric Benzelius, which was celebrated on June 16. It was with this couple that Emanuel now made his home during the remainder of his stay in Upsala. (DH 4) ACSD
Probably they lived in a house belonging to Bishop Swedberg. See L 39.
On entering the University proper (S. perhaps in 1702), [six yews were required for the "Phil. grad.," and, therefore, Swedenborg was probably in some preparatory department.] the student had to undergo a deposition, so called, from his being considered as the pecus campi cui . . . cornua deponenda
See Enest. Westmanland-Dala Nation pp. 3-4, where a deposition in 1700 is described by an eye witness.
The number of students in 1703 was 1046. (UUH 2:2: 391-92)
The average number of entrances during Charles XII's reign was 219, and since the average stay was five years, this would make about 1,100. (Ibid. 353)
The average entrances for 1700-3 were about 230, which gives an average of 1150 students.
Swedenborg is entered in the University's Album of Students as "optimae indolis"; little exact information, however, is known concerning his studies. A recent Swedish writer [unintelligible word added to text] states that his bent for scientific studies was first wakened by Moraeus or by his father's neighbor Rudbeck. The probability is, he continues "that he was first interested in theology at home in the classics, and later in mathematics, astronomy and other sciences at the university, to which his own mind and E. Benzelius's counsel led him. He also came in contact with the Cartesian controversy. (CND-V 17, 18)
Concerning his specific studies little is known beyond:
(a) The Curricula of the University, where he was entered under the department of philosophy
(b) The professors he mentions in his correspondence
(c) The books he owned.
The lectures were from 8 to 11 o'clock, in the summer, 7 to 11 and 1 to 4 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, each professor lecturing four times a week. Many were held in professors' houses. But the professors sometimes seem to have been remiss in Lectures, sometimes lecturing "no more then 30 times in 1/2 a year" (2 Bioz. Lex 82) UUH 2.2:106-7)
Library was opened only on Wednesday and Saturday, from 1 to 4 p.m. (Ibid. 332)
Latin was the study which took most time, and the students were required to speak and write in that tongue. The lectures were all in Latin (until 1749), and most of them involved Latin textbooks, (Ibid. 163-4, 277)
The time Emanuel Swedenborg was in the university was its Golden Age of Latin. (UUH 2:2: 278)
The courses were: (Catalogus 1699-1708 [Eng. trans. in ANC])
History of Greece and Rome. Only Greek and Latin textbooks permitted.
The History of Sweden and neighboring countries was taught in Colleges.
In 1700, Professor Lund wrote in a preface to a translation of ancient Swedish Law, that the latter antedated and was the source of the ancient attic laws an the 12 tables. (UUH 2:2:207-8)
Philosophy Theor. Metaphysics and Logic. Texts: Aristotle, Stahl, Clauberg Frommius.
The analytics were sometimes directed against the Catholics and in general the lectures were designed as supports to Theology.
Phylosophy Practical. Ethics and Government. Texts: Aristotle, Cicero, Puffendorf, Grotius. (Ibid. 316)
This course was specially applied to Swedish government. (Ibid. 253-4)
Mathesis,* Mathematics (Euclidian). Arithmetic, Geometry (Euclid). (UUh 2:1:20)
* In the first Constitution of Upsala University, Mathesis was divided into three branches, Euclidean (Mathesis), Archimedean (Physics, optics, mechanics), and Ptomelaic (astronomy, building), I U.U. Hist. 222, 244. In the new Constitution of 1655, these were combined into two, the Euclidean and Ptomelaic (Ibid. 2/1/20). The word [Greek] properly signifies science, study, or discipline.
Vallerius. Trigonometry, Statics, and Mechanics and Optics Music.
The professor was held by the Constitution, to use as application, surveying, fortification, building, etc. (Ibid. 312)
The air pump, barometer, and thermometer were introduced into Sweden in 1683, and Newton's Principia was brought to Sweden in 1708. (Ibid. 323)
Mathesis or Mathematics (Ptomelaic). Astronomy (Ibid. 231)
Elvius's Astronomy. The calendars', Trigonometry applied to Astronomy, Geography, ancient and modern. Planets, Comets, Sundials.
J. Upmark. Eloquence and Politics. Texts: Cicero, Pliny, Sallust, Tacitus, etc., and Lipsius, Politica. Also Grotius and Puffendorf.
Eloquence: Texts. 2 Curtius., Cicero, etc.
Poetry: " Horace, Virgil, Ovid
Greek: " Herodianus, Homer, Demosthenes, Aristophanes. New Testament. (Ibid. pp. 13, 14)
It was in the study of Latin and Greek that Swedenborg learned to appreciate the learning of Isaac Casaubon, who likewise was admired by Eric Benzelius for his edition of Theophrastus.
Oriental Languages: Hebrew, Chaldee, Rabin.
That Swedenborg studied something of Hebrew in Upsala (or at home) is indicated by his father's words in a letter written in 1715: "My son Emanuel is accomplished in oriental languages." (3 Doc. 742)
There were also masters in Dancing, Fencing, French, Italian, German, Spanish. (UUH 2:2:89. 346)
Each student was required to attend two lecture courses, one in Theology and one in Philosophy; absence being punished by one day in prison. (En. VDN 9)
In addition, there were many "Colleges" held by the professors for personal and more detailed instruction.
Among these may be included a course given by Librarian Eric Benzelius from 1704-9, on the History or Literature, including Hebrew and even a little Arabic. This was given in the library. It may be mentioned also that Eric Benzelius, Swedenborg's "second father," was specially diligent in encouraging the students to become proficient in mathematics. Compare Swedenborg's first letter to Benzelius, July 13, 1709. We have also Benzelius's testimony to the same effect where, in a brief autobiography, he says: "While it was my care to lead the young students who were under my inspection, I drew out their inclination to Mathesis, so also their private preceptors procured themselves a better insight into that subject; and the study of mathematics began to lift up its head." (UUH 2:2:263; SBL 81, 83; Benz. Brefw. XXII; IM pp. 2-7)
There were also Colleges giving more particular instruction in Mathematics and Geography (Elfvius and Vallerius); Art of Disputation, Swedish History (Torner); Sacred and Universal History; New Testament and Beginner's Greek; Duties of the Citizen (1703 by Castovius who taught that laws should receive the consent of the people); and versemaking.
It should be noted that Swedenborg, under the advice of Eric Benzelius, gave his special attention to Mathesis. (1 OQ 211)
Of the Professors mentioned by Swedenborg and with whom he seems to have been more or less intimate are:
John Upmarck (Rosenadler) his cousin-in-law, who was professor of Elocution and Poetry. From 1702-7, he lectured on Lipsius.
A brilliant professor - Jesper Swedberg's colleague and nephew and lifelong friend.
Per Elfvius, professor of Ptolemaic Mathematics, a skillful astronomer and a clever mechanic. Swedenborg appears to have heard lectures on the lunar eclipse which Elfvius observed on October 11. 1706. (U.U.Hist. 2/2/320
Harald Valerius, professor of Euclidean Mathematics who also taught theoretical Music.
Lars Roberg, professor of Medicine, teaching Theories or Medicine, Chemistry, and Anatomy. Without dissections. A Cartesian. One can hardly avoid the conclusion that Swedenborg attended anatomical lectures see p. 278. (UUH 2:2:237; Alving. Genom sek. Upsala p.102)
L. Norrman (d. 1703), professor of Theology. (Sel. sent.)
In addition to these should be mentioned Fabianus Torner, professor of theoretical philosophy from 1704 on, who presided at Swedenborg's final disputation. He lectured on Logic with textbooks Aurvillius, Stahl, Fromvius, Aristotle, and Descartes. His lectures in Swedenborg's last year were a contrast of the Cartesian and Peripetetic Doctrine.
In 1704, F. Torner gave colleges an History of Swea.-Gothia. (UUH 2:2:266)
F. Torner was a lively, not very deep, but very tolerant man; an eclectic in philosophy. (Ibid. 313-4)
Swedenborg also must have taken music, perhaps from Prof. Vallerius; for his father was an enthusiastic cultivator of church singing. (Ibid. 356)
The course of the lectures is thus described by Enestrom in Constitutions of the Westmanland-Dala Nation, p. 7.
"The lectures began at 6 a.m. (7 in winter) and up to 7 Rhetoric or Latin was lectured; at 7 came Logic and Mathematics or Arithmetic and Geometry; 9-10 Theology.
"After dinner Theology from 1-2; Astronomy, 2-3; Physics, 3-4; Greek and Hebrew, 4-5
"Saturdays: Disputations 7-10 a.m., whenever there were no public disputations."
A picture of studies in Upsala during Swedenborg's time is given in a Roster set up for de la Gardie's 15-year old grandson., Count Oxenstierna by his tutor: (UUH 2:2:162)
"After morning prayer and reading of a chapter in the Bible, Hafenreffer's well-known textbook of dogma was read, the young man being required not only to repeat the principal definitions and divisions from memory but also, as against heretical sects, to confirm the main truths of the Christian by passages from Scripture.
"After breakfast, Julius Caesar was read, in which lesson not only was the language treated etymologically and syntactically but also the map was studied. As was always the custom at that time in the study of
"After dinner, the Count exercised his hand in fine writing and then went to hear old Olaf Rudbeck lecture on Fortification. After this, he wrote exercises in style for which Scheffer's work on Style served as a guide. Further, he repeated what he had read in Caesar and, moreover, read a piece from Curtius. The time remaining till supper was used in geography guided by the directions found in Hubner and possibly going on to Cellarius' Nova Hist. After supper the Count gave a summary relation of what he had done during the day. Wednesdays and Saturdays were occupied with Hafenreffer's Dogmatics, Sacred History, and Ecclesiastical Affairs according to Boxhorrius, also Arithmetic. On suitable occasions, the Count himself went through Puffendorf's Introduction to History and likewise his History of the Kings of Sweden," (Read NP '31: 435s, '32: 25, '33:164)
This perhaps reflects Swedenborg's courses, since he was probably under Moraeus as informatur until 1703 when the latter left for his travels. (See Biog. Lex. 82) Probably after 1703 when Moraeus left he was tutored by E. Benzelius or at any rate E. Benzelius directed the choice of his studies with his "counsel of assent". (Swed. to Benzelius July 13, 1709; see SBL 82) And we can well believe that Swedenborg's future appeal to experience and reality as against mere speculation was fostered or at any rate not discouraged by the learned librarian who held that a good understanding and the love of erudition were often more than being long at the University yea, much more than being lettered without civil experience (Anec. Benz. 84).
Indications of his studies are also given in some books known to have been his during this period:
Greek Lexicon Stephanus Sep. 14, 1700. This indicates that he could read Latin at this time.
A copy of Suetonius, stamped E.S. 1703 (Oct. 20)
Diodorus Siculus, Oct. 12, 1705, indicates advanced study of Greek.
Plotinus, 1705, indicates study of Philosophy. A gift from Er. Benzelius in 1705 on 2 - 12 (?Feb. 12 near Swedenborg's birthday, or Dec. 2)
1707 He possessed a book called "Via Devia; the by-way: misleading the weaker and unstable into dangerous paths of error by colourable shewas of apocryphal scriptures, unwritten traditions, doubtful fathers, ambiguous councells, and preden ad Catholike church. Discovered by Humphrey Lynde Knight London 1630." (ACSD 29A)
(A defense of Protestantism and an attack on Catholicism)
The signature (Em. Swedberg 1707) is on the flyleaf of this thick 12 mo vol. Its whereabouts is unknown.
Indicates both E. Swedenborg's studies in English and against the Catholics.
(Sir H. Lynde 1579-1636 puritan controversialist. Severe enemy to papists. The above was a companion volume to Via Tuta - to the true ancient and Catholic faith (of the Church of England) 1628 replied to by a Jesuit in Via Tuta (1631) and by another in A Pair of Spectacles for Sir H. L. to see his ways withal (1631). (Dictionary of National Biography)
It may be noted that in a fatherly letter to the Westmanland-Dala Nation which Jesper Swedberg sent from Brunsbo, November 1703, he advises the young men "to learn the English language ...it has a close relation with our tongue and so is soon learned." (CND-V 14)
Swedenborg must also have read much in Isaac Casanbon. (OQ I:207)
Of his scholastic life in the Westmanland-Dala Nation, we learn that he sometimes took part as opponent or respondent in private disputations.
These theses or disputations were submitted to the dean eight, days before delivery and then announced on the door of the college. Those absent at the disputation were noted. (En.VDN 7)
Jesper Swedberg established these disputations in 1697, when he became Inspector, on which occasion he stated that owing to the many occupations he could entertain none but theological subjects since he was familiar with these; in 1699, however, it was decided to have also disputations on moral alternating with the theological disputations and this continued until many years after Swedberg left the University. (Ibid. 52-3)
The custom was that the subject of the disputations should be taken in order, chapter by chapter, from a theological and moral textbook in common use. The textbook for the theological disputation was Matthias Hafenreffer (1561-1619) Loci Theologici seu Compendium Theologiae Coelestis (Tub. l601) - the textbook used by one of the theological professors (N.Phil. 1931. 438). The second reading of this was commenced by the Westmanland-Dala Nation in 1703 and continued to 1720 (first reading 1697-1703). The textbook for the disputations on Morals was Samuel Puffendorf's two books De Officiis hominis et civis 1673, the first reading of which occupied 1699 to 1717.
The procedure was that the president and one of the seniors defended a chapter or paragraph which was then spoken to by the opponents. The meetings began with an oration and were ended with a prayer. The speeches, of course, were all in Latin.
1704 Nov. 4, Swedenborg was appointed opponens in a disputation on the Providence of God from Hafenreffer, which took place on March 18, 1705. This is the only theological disputation Swedenborg engaged in - and it is on a subject which afterwards greatly interested him. (CND-V 20; ACSD 20; NCL '03:531)
Cf. his dream of June 20, X 21, 1744, wherein his father tells him the small treatise he had written on Providence was the best. (R.P. p. 317 note) (2 U.U. Hist. 363 - Note on Promotion day, June 1, 1705, Jesper S. made D Th in absentia)
1706, April 7, he is Respondens in a disputation on Puffendorf's chapter on Conjugal Duties lib 2/2. (NCL '03:531)
In this chapter, we find sentiments uttered by Swedenborg many years later in his work on Generation and in Conjugial Love. See Puffendorf 2/2 S2 p. 474, S4, 477, S6, 484.
1706, October 31, he was opponens extraord. in a disputation on Puffendorf's chapter 3, lib. 2, On the duties of Parents and Children. See Puffendorf 2/3/S10 p. 507, as to children asking father's consent to Marriage.
After the disputation, the minutes of the Nation record that on the same day His Magnificence (Rector Palmroot) stated that Herr Emanuel Swedenborg had offered to take the part of praeses at the next disputation which is to be on The Law of Nature (? fin Puffendorf Lit. - I. c. iii), which offer his Magnificence favored, but for the rest left it to the consent and approval of the members. It was asked whether it had formerly been customary that any of the juniors had been praeses; it was answered that there were one or two examples of this. But since some thought that this would be something too close to the seniors who, according to the Constitution, alone were eligible, and, moreover, some disorder would thereby be established in that many of the juniors would want to take the office, nothing was done but Peter Aroselius was elected Praeses. (CND-V 20)
NOTE: According to the Constitution, there could be only
24 seniors who were elected. They were to be praeses at
disputations and were elected from among the juniors less for
the time they had been students than for their good conduct,
advance in studies and their age. (Ibid. Constit. II. XXVI;
En. V-DN 24)
On the present occasion, Swedenborg's friend Peter Aroselius was appointed president for the next disputation.
1707 October 31, E. S. was an extraordinary opponent at a disputation on Jus Naturae based on Puffendorf's chapter on conjugal duties. Aroselius did not preside at this meeting. (ACSD 28a)
In 1700, Swedenborg's first literary piece was printed, being a marriage ode on the occasion of the marriage of John Kolmodin, Pastor of Nysatia to Beata Hesselia, May 27, 1700. (photo in ANC) (ML '02:298. tr.183)
Kolmodin was the son of Israel Kolmodin (1643-1709) who had co-operated with Jesper Swedberg in the Hymn Book. (April 1700)
Beata Hesselius - Swedenborg's cousin.
Andrew Bergius
Sarah m. Mary Bergius m.
Jesper S. ------------Hesselius
(stepmother of E.S.)
John. Beata etc.
b. 1687
Nov. 27
November 17, 1700, Swedenborg's verses to Nottman in his published disputation on the beginning of Christianity in Livonia. (OP 3; tr. ACSD 12)
How of old, Livonia found God's grace
Is told by Nottman in this learned work.
But how from wrath of God it may be saved
--Ah! here needs greater art;
God save our King
(In October 1700 Charles XII had sailed for Livonia preparatory to his victory at Narva over the Russians who had attacked Estland.)
On November 27, 1707, we have Swedenborg's first Latin production, being a congratulatory verse to Benedict Bredberg - printed in the latter's Disputation on Astronomy: (Copy in ANC) (OP 4)
"Friend Benedict, why leavest thou the earth, to fix thy sight
Upon the stars sublime? thy gaze upon the planets?
Perchance the love of camps ethereal doth draw thee on
To search with quickened mood the shining stars;
To mete with cunning skill the Olymphian field.
Then prosper, friend, born 'neath a happy star,
In work so well commenced. And lighten
With the clear gaze of thy mind, the starry pole.
As flames need not the lume of fiery light,
So those who dare the stars, which pay their votary in
Heaven's rich coin
Need not our pious prayers. Yet this I pray:
The image of a brighter pole gladden thine eyes
When God at last doth raise thee
To regions high above the stars."
"With hearty congratulations
Em. Swedberg"
Benedict M. Bredberg was the son of Skara pastor. He dedicated his Disputation to Archbishop Benzelius and Jesper Swedberg as "Maecenas and patrolis."
In 1709 he published a Latin poem: Patriae planctus et Lacrimae, etc. The Groans and Tears of the Country at the funeral of Eric Benzelius (father of Swedenborg's brother-in-law) Archbishop and Prochancellor, who was buried in Upsala Cathedral 1709, May 18.
The publication was anonymous, but a copy in the Royal Library is signed "Em. Swedberg" in the writing of Dan Tilas, a contemporary of Swedenborg and a great bibliophile. Then there is the fact that it was published in Skara, 1709. (ACSD 37)
PATRIAE
The Groans and Tears
of the country at the funeral or a man once in the great confidence of his Sacred Majesty, namely, the most Reverend and most excellent Doct. Eric Benzelius, the most eminent Archbishop of the Kingdom of Sweden and Prochancellor of the Royal. Academy of Upsala, when, with the groans of all good men his funeral took place in the Cathedral temple of Upsala on the day of St. Eric,* 1709.
* May 18
Woe me! Whither Benzelius? Loved father, who in thyself
Wert like a chariot and a mounted host.
Ah thou, erstwhile so great, where art thou? Alone are left libations,
Tears, sobs, groan, kisses, due rites, the last farewell.
I, who was proud of the Prince of sacred rites,
Now shower his tomb with my tears.
Follow then the sombre bier, ye sorrowing Camenae,
Follow, with wands reversed, ye pious Muses.
But thou, Upsala, more than others, grieve o'er a loss so great,
O'er both thine own calamity mingled with mine and, over mine.
Where 'er piety is found, pour forth your mourning tears;
The Prince of Muses hath gone before his day:
Gone before his day! I do not blame you, sisters
Ye have spun the threads, I know - I love them not thus short.
Yet premature had seemed this death,
Else his long day had reached beyond Pylian Nestor's
Woe me! where now are Benzelius's palms, outstretched to heaven?
With these had he stayed the great deeds of the Father.*
And as the King's sacred youth, he helped with lore and counsel
So helped he with his prayers, the arms, the MAN.**
What merit lies in me? No marble needs, nor tablets;
Thy merit's monuments are men where e'er they live.
On thee, now dead, myself shall scatter lillies, flowers;
To thee, myself shall be the mourner, pyramid and monument
Before mine eyes e'er present will - remain thine image,
Those hoary locks, that countenance, those eyes, that life.
Ah! brought to the grave is that comeliness, that stately form,
Those flashing eyes, that life.
Brought to the grave thy spotless breast, that sacred fane
The common tryst of Virtues, Graces, Muses of the Sicilean choir.
And in that grave are likewise buried many hopes,
But, oh! Let not my hope, I pray, be buried with them.
-----------
* Namely, Charles XI.
** Namely, Charles XI in his battles.
*** Benzelius was the tutor of Charles XII, in theology and Church History.
From whence shall grief like mine at lest be assuaged?
Would that I might lay me down, and one like Him rise up,
From whom a cure might be expected for this ill!
And now in short, it but remains to seal the tombstone with a verse.,
And so I long would cry, with groaning voice: Farewell.
Here lies Benzelius, cased in a narrow urn,
Than whom, in things divine, Sweden hath none so great.
Dost ask his titles? Reaching all honors
He, by his name, hath passed all eulogies.
Dost seek his virtues? Ever was he free from miry stain;
And of his age, the star, the norm, the gem.
It has frequently been asserted that Swedenborg took a degree, but this is not the case. The end of the course in Philosophy seems to have been perhaps a licentiate (Phul. Cand. UUH 2/2/l35) - the B.A. degree is not mentioned in Upsala University History - meaning that the student is qualified to try for a Master's degree which required three or more years' study. But the latter, and also the Doctor's degree was given only to those who were going into professional life and only after a "Preliminary Theological" examination. (NJMag- 1884:597; UUH 2:1:32; 2:132-33)
Yearly examinations were required by the University's Constitution but were generally not given except to stipendiaries. The final examination was more or less informal as suited the professors. We have the following account of an examination in 1706: (UUH 2:2:132)
After he had written privately for three professors and had been passed by them, he, with eight others, was called by the dean to be proved in the presence of seven professors. After an hour, he was treated by the professors with sugar and Rhine wine from 4 to 7 p.m., while the others were being examined. Three days later he was called to a "rigorous examination" before all ten professors when he did a little bit of poetry for one (because he had not attended that professor's colleges on Poetry and the latter had threatened he'd not forget this in the examination.) The examination lasted two hours with five other professors and four professors passed him without examining. This examination was for the degree of Master. (Ibid. 2:2:136)
Another account in 1715 says of the "rigorous examinations": After hearing a speech on Metaphysics from one professor, he was asked by another as to the definition and division of universal history and the duration of the Roman Empire. A third asked whether ethics and politics (in Aristotle) were the same; to define Politics, the analytic method, the highest good, moral virtue, and to give the number of the moral and intellectual virtues; to define Law in general, the law of nature, duty. A fourth asked, What are the branches of Mathematics. What are pure and mixed Mathematics. The difference between Astronomy and Astrology? The object of Astronomy. The number of the planets and of the fixed stars,
As a part of the examination, there was a Disputation on a subject chosen by the student and which was to be publicly defended by the student under the presidency of a professor of the Faculty under whom the student had studied. (Ibid. 2:1:23)
The disputations commenced at 7 or 8 a.m. and must not last over four hours. The President opened the disputation with a few words and then the opponents were allowed an hour each, first the ordinary and then the extraordinary - usually professors. (Ibid. 2:2:130)
As to the nature of the disputations, they seem to have been in effect examinations by the opponents.
In Swedenborg's case, the opponents were Ryselius, and Unge (who married Swedenborg's sister Catharine). The extraordinary Opponent was
"his father the Bishop J. Swedberg". (Copy of Disputation in Upsala Lib.)
The disputations must be printed at the student's cost. According to the recorded cost of a disputation in 1707, 106 pages at 400 d.K. mt (-133 S.mt) Swedenborg's (62 pages) must have cost over 200 K.zt. Consider in this connection that a professor's yearly salary was 2,100 K. mt; and student's board was about 4-1/2 K.mt. a week. (Ibid. 2:2:128)
Moreover, after the disputation, the author or respondent must invite his comrades to a feast, called "Disputation-ol." It is probable, however, that Swedenborg's feast was held at his home where his father was then visiting, and where, but a few days previously, the Westmanland-Dala Nation had met to listen to a talk by their late beloved Inspector. (Stroh 111: 39)
Swedenborg chose for his disputation a commentary on certain maxims by Seneca and Publius Syrus, the actor, and perhaps others. The full title of the printed disputation is:
Q B V (Quod bene vertat) (May success attend it). "Select
Sentences by L. Annaeus Seneca and Publius Syrus the Mime,
and perhaps also of others, with the annotations of Erasmus
and the Greek version of Jos. Scaliger, Illustrated by notes,
which Emanuel Swedberg, with the consent of the Faculty of
Philosophy, modestly submits to public examination under the
presidency of Fabian Torner, Professor Regius and Ordinarius
of Theoretical Philosophy: In the large Gustavian Auditorium
(Wed) June 1, 1709" (Ed: 1 orig: 2 Tafel 1841; 3 Facsim.
1910). (NCL '10:844)
It has been denied that Swedenborg is the author of this disputation, but falsely; see Upsala University History 2/2/124-5.
In choosing this style of Disputation - an extremely rare one, as the disputation usually assumed to be learned treatises on scientific or other subjects - Swedenborg followed the example of his father whose first disputation, in 1681, was a Comment on Cato's De Moribus, and whose graduation disputation, in 1682, was The Similitudes of Demophilus and his Pythagorean sentences with the version and notes of Holsten, and with moral observations by Jasper Swedberg. This fact, and also his father's presence at the disputation, Swedenborg refers to in the opening words of his disputation, namely, in the dedication "to my well beloved father."
INTRODUCTION
"To my dearly loved father, Jesper Swedberg, Doctor of Sacred Theology and renowned Bishop of the dioceses of Skara, ever prosecuting his work with devotion of mind and with every observance of duty.
"Just as, in common life, nothing is more sacred, nothing more delightful than not only to revere the footprints of our ancestors and parents, but also, so far as possible, with grateful imitation to follow them, especially when they lead us along the path of virtue, so, from this work which has lately been enjoined on me, I feel no little emotion and pleasure, arising chiefly from the fact that I am permitted to compose these first fruits, the commencements of ingenuity, in the image of my father's work; to progress from my first age to the deeds of the author of my being; and to resemble thee, my Father, in writings as well as in mind. To recognize this gladness born in my breast and heart, no more opportune occasion could be desired by me, on which to appear in public than a time when thou couldest be present and be witness of the genius and the footprints which of old were thine, and which now are freshened in thy son; a time when thou who art both beloved and gracious may be present at the rehearsal of studies which in thy embrace and in thy bosom have grown up and am daily cherished and continually mature. Receive, therefore, with benign, countenance, this, the determination of my mind, and the due tribute of my respectful obedience; receive this offering, begotten, as it were, of thine own good deeds, an offering which can take its merit only from thee, beloved Father, and which here gratefully points to thee and reveres thee as its author and composer. Would that there were space to satisfy my desire to expatiate on thy gracious deeds, beloved author of my being, then surely there would be no sparing of the praise that I would expend on thy merits, no sparing of labors on the praises, and in the labor no sparing of nightly toil. But since thou wouldst choose rather that thy gracious deeds be recognized by thy son's tacit veneration and respect than that they be proclaimed by public voice and herald's trumpet, in this also will I bow down to thee and will take refuge in that which alone is left me, - prayers and the pious supplications and outpourings of my mouth, and this with the greater ardor in that it can scarce ever more behoove me to approach the threshold of heaven with supplications, ant lowly to draw near to the knees of the Almighty, then when it concerns thy business, sweet Father, and thy prosperity. First, then, give humble thanks to God, thrice most High, that
* Bishop Swedberg was then 56 years old.
"Jupiter increase thy years at the expense of ours" [cf. Ovid, Fast I, 613]711
Dearest Father
Thy most obedient Son.
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG
(He was then 56 years old)
After this follows a Greek poem by "Rhyzeliades," presumably A. O. Rhyselius. This Rhyselius, the future bishop and author, was Swedenborg's senior by eleven years. As a boy he had studied in Skara and later in Upsala, where in 1704-5, he lodged in Eric Benzelius's house together Emanuel Swedenborg. He was evidently on terms of intimacy with the Swedberg family, for when he received his master's degree, his master's cap of gold-colored moire was made and presented to him by Emanuel Swedberg's younger sister Hedwig, then seventeen years old, who later married her brother-in-law's brother, Lars Benzelius. (J. Helander, Bishop A.O. Rhyzelius, pp. 38, 49)
"An Eudekasyllabus"* to Herr Emanuel Swedenborg, a youth of surpassing genius, conspicuous by the highness of his birth and the glory of his learning, when he comments in a public dissertation on the mimes of Publius Syrus: (See Intellectual Repository 1842:149.)
* Each line of R's Greek poem is composed of 11 syllables. It is written in Doric.
O youthful offspring of a noble sire
Ripe branch of the muses of music
Famed when thou followest thy father's steps
And new commencement of the men of old.
Rightly to interpret their lettered works
To shed on them a good and pleasing light.
And thou I am persuaded will become a skilful man
An everlasting ornament to thy land
And of Christ. And the sacred muses
Ever give golden hope of thee; e'en in the meanest trickery
The mimes of Publius Syrus's keen wit
Are now revealed, made plain in thine
And coming forth from thy comments
In these first-fruits is active
A better fruit, more glorious joy
The firm desire of life, even of bitter fate
Be thou nightly carried on, according to custom
The high-throned king of all
Desires thy labors to be ever present
Thus, O Swedberg, so aspiring,
I wish thee well.
The notes give evidence of a great familiarity with the classics and their various learned commentators and of a knowledge of Greek and Roman History and Mythology, Swedish History, the Bible, and a good and clear perception of moral truths. Among the hundreds of authors quoted, we note the Jewish writer Philo, the Christian Fathers, Augustine, Jerome, and Lactantius, the scholars Erasmus, Grotius and Lipsius, and the Frenchman Rabelais.
We may note in this connection that Swedenborg in all his reading in Upsala made it his practice to make classified notes having in view the use of his reading in future studies. (OQ 201)
The following excerpts will give an idea of the work:
"Since these theatrical witticisms captured the favor and applause not only of the Caesars but also of a distinguished people, my mind is in no doubt but that, for the same reason and in no less degree, you also, dear Readers, will not only give assent to my endeavors but will also give them your favor. Nor shall I be indignant if to some, my work is displeasing; for there are many persons who are like those little animals which open their mouth and bring forth bile, and this without any exciting cause but from mere habit; and, therefore, that man is deservedly praised who is unpleasing to such face-makers. In a word, "To him who walketh toward things honorable all contempt is itself to be condemned" (Seneca, Epis. 76) [Ed. 1707 p. 52; Bohn p. 251]."
On the maxim "From a lover thou wilt redeem anger with tears," he writes: "The quarrels of lovers are aptly compared to the sparks which a drop of water will extinguish ... But flee from the blandishments of those who are sedulous plotters, and of young women who pursue after men, and you will escape both anger and grief and their attendant ills" (n. 3).
He ends his reflection on the maxim "Any rumor looking to calamity prevails" by observing: "Certainly we mortals are the more prone to believe things unworthy because we ourselves are evil and are deserving of evils" (n. 5).
On "A little money makes a debtor, a large sum an enemy," he writes: "A debt of a small sum of money is a testimony to the creditor not only of an unbroken and complete friendship but also of good feeling. On the other hand, those who are too heavily indebted, being unable to pay, labor to elude the debt by various arts, by repudiation, dissimulation, concealment; and, in any event, by depreciating it and putting off payment; and, if they cannot manage matters thus, you will find them your greatest enemies. The same sentiment is thus put forth by Tacitus: 'Benefits are delightful so long as it seems possible to make a return, but when they go much beyond this, then hatred is the return instead of thanks' [Annals iv. 18] We may also here adduce the saying of Plautus: 'With a talent I bought me an enemy and sold a friend."'
On "Another's possessions are more pleasing to us; ours to others" he writes: "The soldier finds pleasure in the dress of the citizen; the citizen, in the coat of the soldier; the great frequently execrate their own burdens; pedlars complain of the doubtful hazards of business and of the cheapness of their wares; and, speaking generally, we all admire and revere the manners, the wit, the wars of the ancients, and 'all things merged in black obscurity';
To the mime "When a woman is openly evil, then at last she is good," Swedenborg first quotes the meaning of this mime as interpreted by Erasmus, namely: "Woman is a painted and deceitful creature, and she is least harmful when openly evil. Thus, he shows that no woman is good." Swedenborg continues: "The feminine sex was ill-reputed by many of the ancients on account of cunning and deceitful arts; nor is this unknown in public places. One knows also that the office of our actor was sometimes to make pleasantry by reviling, and to capture the applause of the theater with his scattered witticisms. Meanwhile, it is plain that secret snares and supressed hatreds are more injurious than those that are professed."
"He is twice slain who perishes by his own weapons. There is nothing more witty in our author's pantomime. The mime is confirmed by the examples of Pompey, Caesar, Darius, Cicero, etc., who gave their neck to their proteges... This sharp wit seems to be borrowed from the Aesopian apology concerning the eagle, which, when pierced in the breast, examined the wound and, as it discerned the feathered arrow, 'Strange,' it said, 'my own wing has given me to destruction.' Or of the countryman who cherished the torpid serpent to his bosom. Or of the horse to his rider who was driving him to his destruction. Or of the ax that chopped the wood: 'I perish,' said the wood, I am the cause of danger to myself.'"
"He twice conquers who in victory conquers himself. Our Goths deserved the praise of the ancients for this double victory; as from Augustine in The City of God, and from John Loccenius in his Swedish History; likewise in the Swedish History of Gustavus Adolphus. The Romans felt different as to themselves; as Seneca feels concerning Caesar, Pompey, Marius. 'Marius (he says) led an army, ambition led Marius.'"
"When one spares the evil he injures the good." "That the connivance of a prince is more injurious than his severity is manifest from the fact that by reason of it both the evil and the good are incited to evils as by a stimulus. 'The greatest allurement to sin is the hope of impunity,' says Cicero. Therefore, Sallust urges 'that ye destroy not the good by excusing the evil.'"
"To imitate the words of goodness is greater than malice. Such smooth and honeyed speakers, who speak, however, in accordance with the injurious words of parasitical, double-dealing, and crafty men, is denounced as Erebus itself and the jaws of Avernus by no few number of authors; for such men are most like those who, while flattering their enemy, offer him a poisoned cup. Of Nero, the most wicked Phaethon of the world and of men, we read that he flattered his mother to the end that he might cover his matricide by decent and fine words. Similar frauds are found in Tiberius, the Gracchi; hence, they are called "Pelasgian" and 'Tiberian arts. 'Let then our lips be in harmony with our mind and not crafty, and insidious; let them be without paint, a veil, covers, and let them not imitate (as our author finely puts it) the words of goodness."
"A good mind, when injured, is more seriously angered. Cicero says that it is a characteristic of good men to be somewhat irascible. It is justly provided by the Deity, that the anger of the upright should be sharper, lest innocence and simplicity be troubled by the unrighteous. Their anger is more serious because under it lies a juster cause, and it does not rage unless it has been long stirred up. Yet it subsides and falls back more quickly than it has become fired, as our author has just pointed out."
"We bear with accustomed vices and do not reprove them. We are not accustomed to attach punishment to public and general crimes. When vices are turned into custom, there ceases to be room for remedies; for, as Seneca observes: 'When error has become public, it holds the place of righteousness among us.' Therefore, no punishment is publicly proclaimed against the haughty, the luxuriant, the sordid, the imperious, the spiteful, hypocrites, talebearers, the passionate; lest, more frequently than is just, revenge be exercised on faults which common error has made familiar."
"Do not speak ill of an enemy but think ill. To conceal plots against enemies is a matter of prudence - an act which Livy praises in the Sabines, to wit, that they did not reveal their plans until war had been brought in. Here we are reminded by the gentiles, that we injure not our enemies by curses if we are unable to obtain reprisal; but the holier philosophy of Christ rises higher, teaching that we should not think ill."
Swedenborg did not finish the work, though from the catchword on the last page, and from a statement in his introduction, it appears that he contemplated finishing it; probably intending to publish a book of the size of his father's graduating Disputation.
An extended review of this work was published in 1842 when the writer compared Swedenborg's earliest work expounding the obscure sentences of Latin authors to his later theological expositions. (I.Rep. 1842; 61, 147)
After defending his Disputation, Swedenborg returned to his father's house in Brunsbo. Here he prepared for a foreign journey in continuation of his studies, his father having applied for a passport while he was in Stockholm (May 22, 1709) and which presumably was granted. It was doubtless at this time that Swedenborg had printed at the Skara Printshop his lines to Archbishop Benzelius. The Skara Printshop had been established by Bishop Swedberg shortly after his arrival in Skara. (ACSD 38; 3 Doc. 129-30)
Probably at the same time Jesper Swedberg published the sermon which he had preached to the students of the university on his last appearance in the pulpit of the cathedral before taking up the office of Bishop of Skara. The preface of the published book is dated "Brunsbo, July 18, 1709." The title of the sermon was "The Rule of Youth and the Mirror of Old Age," the text being Ecclesiastes XII "Remember thy Creator now in the days of thy youth." Swedenborg had been one of the large audience of students who listened to this sermon, and it was doubtless with a revival of pious and filial remembrances that he wrote a Latin translation of the Swedish poem by his father which prefaced the printed sermon. This translation, while included as a part of the Bishop's printed volume, had yet its own title page: "The Swedish song written by my beloved Parent, Jesper Swedberg, Doctor and Bishop of Skara, and entitled Ungdoms, Regal och Alderdoms Spegel, from Ecclesiastes C.XII- Set forth in Latin verse by his son Emanuel Swedberg, Skara, 1709.
The translation was preceded by an original verse by the translator:
Draw near, ye men; draw near ye youths and children fair;
Draw near O thou who fain wouldst know the time to come;
And ye, with whom the years are well-nigh spent, draw also near;
So likewise ye whom bowing age has not yet pressed with heaviness.
Hushed be the changing fates, the birds of heaven, the oracles of men and strife.
Here, from a greater Deity, doth Solomon declare the fates.
During his first weeks at home, besides these literary amusements, Swedenborg displayed that mechanical bent which indicates his practical nature, and which had so much influence on the firm mechanical side of his deep philosophy.
Within less then six weeks, he had so far learned from the bookbinder at Skara that he was able to bind three volumes in leather. His general curiosity had led him to the possession of an old coin, which he looks upon with suspicion because though in Eric's time, was inscribed "Sanctus Ericus" whereas Eric was canonized after his death.
For the rest, however, his thoughts are occupied mainly with his preparation for the expected foreign journey. Thus, in a letter to Eric Benzelius., dated July 13, he reminds his "dear Brother" of his offer to give him suggestions with regard to this journey. He then continues:
[NOTE: For text of letter, see IM pp. 2-5. Original in
Benzelius's Brefw. XXII]
"Were there also some letters to dear Brother's acquaintances in England or other kind offices, I would greatly desire them of dear Brother now, since I am not likely to remain here more than 14 days, and this for the purpose of waiting for dear Brother's answer concerning this my journey. It would also be my wish, through dear Brother's recommendation, to become acquainted with some of those who are in the Collegio Anglicano (the Royal Society) wherein there are said to be 21 assessores, that I might thereby profitera (make advance) somewhat in mathesis; or, which is said to be their chief pursuit, in Physica and Historia naturali.* Since I have always wished to obtain some use and improvement in the studier (studies) which I chose with dear Brother's advice and approval, therefore, I have also thought it advisable early to choose for myself some certain purpose which, in time, one will achieve; to this, one could also bring in a large part of that which one observerar (observes) and reads in other countries; I have therefore done this in all the reading that I have done thus far. And now, at my departure, I have first undertaken a certain collection (in all that concerns Mathesis,) in order gradually to increase and perfect it; to wit, de novis inventis et inveniendis Mathematicis (concerning new things discovered and to be discovered in Mathematics) or, what is almost the same thing, de incrementis Matheseos intra unum vel duo secula (concerning the additions made to mathesis within one or two centuries) which will extend to all partes Matheseos;** this, moreover, is likely to be of advantage to me during my journey, since I can bring into it all that I shall become observerande (observant of) in mathesis. . . .This therefore being my purpose, if it does not displease dear Brother, I ought to expect great help and support therein from dear Brother; and also that he will at least write to me what dear Brother finds in this connection. It would be very useful to me if some one urged Director Polhammar to communicate his inventions before anything fatal happens to him; the mechaniken (mechanics) there would certainly be an adornment in materien (to the matter in hand). I have good subsidia (resources) in Morhofvii opera Posthuma*** and a good guide to authors."
* Namely, Astronomy, Optics, Physics, Statics, etc.
** The Royal Society governing council consisted of 21 members. Sw. uses the word assessores in the Swedish sense as meaning those entitled to a seat in a collegium or commission. (Hatton, A New View of London, 1708)
*** The posthumous work referred to is Polyhistor Literarium, Philosophicum et Practicum, Lubecae, 1708. The work, therefore, had come but recently to Swedenborg's attention. It is in effect a guide to authors and books in the different fields of learning, and gives special attention to the collection.
Later, in the same letter, he adds:
"If there should be any one to succedera (succeed) me in my room, then I would most respectfully beg dear Brother that the papers which were left there might be gathered together and laid for keeping in the vault, for among them lie some which I assembled for Publium Syrum and which I worked hard enough on."
Read Letters and Memorials of E.S., pp. 1-5.
Despite his anticipations for an early journey to England, Swedenborg was doomed to disappointment.
The battle of Pultava, in which Charles XII was so severely defeated by the Russians, was fought on June 28, 1709, the very time when Swedenborg was rejoicing in his school honors, but it was not until a month later that distorted news of the disaster reached Sweden, and it may be presumed that this news reached Skara soon after Swedenborg had despatched his letter to Eric Benzelius. (Fryx. 23:181; 24:62)
The country was seething with all sorts of rumors, but it was not until August that it was known that the King had escaped to Turkey, and that Chancellor Piper was a Russian prisoner. (Ibid. 63)
The greatest confusion reigned, for the government was without a head. Two parties developed, one wishing the government to be headed by Karl Frederick of Holstein (son of Charles XI's older daughter), and the other, that it be headed by Ulric Eleonora (Charles XI's younger daughter) for whom was planned a marriage with Prince Karl of Denmark. Neither party dared act without hearing from the King. (Ibid. 64)
Added to this Denmark, egged on by Russia, now prepared to recover the province of Skane. Despite all past privations, new soldiers drilled, new war funds were raised, new taxes laid, forced contributions of money and grain; distillery was forbidden, and even part of the church tythes were seized by the government. And all this was gradually leading to the growth and strengthening of a party opposed to autocracy. (Ibid. 67-74s)
Under these circumstances, Swedenborg's journey to England was out of the question.
The Governor of Skane was Magnus Stenbok, loved of all the people because of his protection of them against official oppression. Influenced by the rumors of war with Denmark, Stenbok began preparations in the fall of 1709. He himself went around to the villages and addressed the people. It was impossible to prevent the Danes landing, but Stenbok laid up money and ammunition to meet them. The Danes landed near Malmo in November 1709 and were soon in Helsingborg, from which city they made successful advances to the opposite coast. The Swedish army consisted largely of Saxon prisoners who had taken Swedish service, and most of them went over to the enemy; also many of the Swedes, oppressed by their heavy burdens. By January, however, Stenbok had assembled at Vaxjo an army of 8,000 men, ill-clad and untrained. He called for more but except the three regiments ordered by King Charles, the people refused to join. (Ibid. 77-81)
In the middle of February 1710, Stenbok broke camp and on February 28, he attacked Helsingborg with 14,000 men and won a glorious victory. Skane was saved.
Swedes lost 800 killed and 2,000 prisoners
Danes " 4,000 killed and 3,000 prisoners
(Fryx. 24:82; La[text unintelligible] for Hemmet, 1899)
Despite Stenbok's victory, the Danes still persisted in their plans and Stenbok was obliged to go to Stockholm to raise new troops. In this, the government helped him, but to the displeasure of the King who wished the best troops sent to Pomerania. Charles's motto was "To be broken not to be bent" but the people were more concerned in the safety of the kingdom than in the prestige of the king. (Fryx. 24:95, 7, 152)
What with the consequent conscription, taxes law, exchange, and the conviction that the king, far from coming home or willing peace, was seeking Turkey's help to enter into a new war with Poland, the state of the country was truly miserable. Indeed, it may be wondered how a country could live through such terrible times. Certainly, Charles XII gave abundant proof of that extraordinary obstinacy which distinguished him in the other world; see Spiritual Diary 4741, where he is spoken of as "the most obstinate mortal on the face of the earth."
Swedenborg, while impatiently waiting for his foreign Journey, occupied himself as best he might - in bookbinding, music, and the varied occupations of an active and curious mind ambitious for knowledge.
He had undoubtedly learned to play the organ while in Upsala; for professor Vallerius was a noted musician and "director of music" in the University, and Bishop Swedberg himself was exceedingly fond of music. At any rate, by March 1710 Emanuel Swedenborg had so far progressed that he had been able to take the organist's place at the Cathedral. (UUH 2:2:78; 2 Tottie 270; OQ 1:203)
Another thing that greatly stirred his interest was the examination of the bones of a supposed giant which he found kept in the Cathedral.
His old tutor, John Moraeus, had commenced his foreign journey in 1703. In France he took the degree of M.D. and when he returned to Sweden in 1705, by the influence of Bishop Swedberg, was appointed Provincial Physician of Skara, and until 1709 lived with his uncle at Brunsbo. (SBL)
Soon after his arrival in Skara, he heard of some giant bones that had been turned up during an excavation for a well in Wanga Parish about 20 kilometers (15 miles) south west of Skara. Moraeus at once went to Wanga to inspect the excavations which were still going on, and in a letter to Eric Benzelius he describes the "ossa gigantes" that had already been dug up, and adds that when the work is finished all the bones would be sent to Skara. (ACSD 2b; Lilljeborg, Ofversigt 61)
It was here that Swedenborg saw them, in the Fall of 1709; but to Swedenborg, fresh from his university studies, it at once occurred that their proper place was the University Museum. So, in February they were duly sent to Upsala where, after Examination by Professor Roberg, they were pronounced to be the bones of a whale.
It may be added that in l823, Major L. Gyllenhaal sent to the Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien at Stockholm a vertebrae of another whale which he found in the same neighborhood, and it was he who identified the place where the "Swedenborg whale" had been found, namely, Glattestorp. (Lilljeborg, 62; KVA Handl. 373)
These bones, 51 in number, are now preserved in the Upsala
Zoological Museum. They are known as "The Swedenborg Whale"
and have been the subject of several learned brochures.
Photos of them are given in Lilljborg's Two Subfossil
Whales (Upsala 1867) and in Aurwillius, Der Wal.
Swedenborg's, Stockholm 1883. (LM p.9)
About the same time that these bones were being sent off, the immense distress in the country manifested itself in a small rebellion which came under Swedenborg's notice and which he describes in a letter to his brother-in-law of March 6, 1710. "Here, some time ago (he says), all the people were called up, and when the time came, the Wadsbo* people came to be gathered in a crowd,** where an unheard of excess (outrage) was committed on their own bailiff (Wahrenberg) whom they first handled roughly and then killed, and shot some 100 shots at him as a target, so that hardly anything whole was left of him. Afterwards, they would have had the pigs eat him up had not the pastor, Ericus Hago. Lundgren (1661-1715) the co-minister in Horn reprimanded them. Magister Johannez Faegraeus interfered but was threatened with the same fate if he would not hold his peace. Two peasants and one woman who expressed pity over this were also killed. The magistrate, Aurell, took flight to the above- mentioned Horn's rectory and in a dark room, in the cellar, but the place was surrounded and was searched in every corner; but they had to go back with their purpose unaccomplished. "Part of them have stationed themselves at Billingen (about 15 kilometers [5-1/2 miles] west of Skara) and have threatened with death those who will go further (i.e. to Skara); for the provincial judge, (Baron Gustav Soop [Soop blamed the clergy]) was compelled to give them all home leave, for they are heard to say that they had intended to treat all their officers whom they might have on the march in the same way. God grant there be no disturbance here of which, as it seems, there is much likelihood and cause." (OQ I: 203; 2 Tottie 53, 54; Sk. stifts Herda. 2:110)
* A place about 35 Kil. (22 miles) north west of Skara.
** This was at Binneberg, a village close to Horn.
This rebellion is noted by Fryxell who says that the murdered bailiff was known as an evil man and a bribetaker. But Fryxell wrongly puts the date as winter instead of spring. The mustering which occasioned the outbreak was for assistance for Stenbok but the men would go no further than their fathers, i.e., to Gotas Alf. They were later punished. (Fryx. 24: 154-55)
Poetry also occupied Swedenborg's time. In March 1710,* fired by the deeds of Stenbok's ragged army, he had printed in Skara four pages in folio form with the title "A Festal Applause for the Signal Victory which, by the grace and favor of God Most High; in the name and under the auspices of Charles XII, the Monarch of our North: by the prudence of most illustrious comrades, senators of his Sacred Majesty, Magnus Stenbok, Governor of the Province of Skane, won from the Danes at Helsingborg on 28th of February 1710."
* The date is indicated by the poem itself at the end.
This poem is said to be the best as it is one of the longest of Swedenborg's poems. It opens with a note of joy but not unmixed with a suggestion of battles that are yet to come. (I.Rap. 1842:81; OP. p. 43).
The voice of strife is stilled and in a measure war and weapons;
And plaudits take their place with praise and prayer and sound of joyous lyre.
High to the stars the exultant voices rise
And every place doth glow with fervor at the sound:
. . . . .
Charles is exalted equally with Stenbok:
Charles by his gaze, Stenbok by leadership scattered the foes
One by his arm, one by the terror of his name.
. . . . .
Great Victor, mount the chariot and the triumph lead
Let palms be scattered, let the Muse chant her song.
Ah! mighty Warrior, had the men of old possessed thee
They would, methinks, have set thee in heaven, a shining light.
. . . . .
The officers also receive their need of praise:
And ye, great leaders of the Swedes who were his stay, Your names shall not in humbler tones be sung.
Names which if writ on lasting tablet
How great would be that tablet, fraught with such great glory.
. . . . .
Of the Danes he sings:
But lately left he Denmark's shore, a mighty host
And now returns with but a few.
Soldiers and leaders, ill reliable
Followed by fear and dread and with the dread comes flight.
. . . . .
He then turns to Charles in Turkey, around whom the hopes and fears of all Sweden centered:
The moon has nine times hid her face, and nine times come again
Since Turkey's Lune received the Boreal sun.*
Then with diminished light, O Caesar, shone thy moon.
And now it shines again, though with a borrowed light.
When he is absent from our land, our Sun has made provision that we wander not in shade
And so has given many stars to our loved land.
. . . . .
After the laudation of these lesser military stars, the poem ends with an appeal to Charles XII to return to his native land:
O Charles, hope of the Swedes! The Muses and thy land require thee.
Our shrines, our orators, our priests cry loud this prayer:
Thy sister, the mother of thy father, the guardians of thy land
All three do call thee back, and we would taste the fruit of this trine love.
Well known art thou, O Charles! From India's land to Afric's sunny shore.
And yet by face scarce known to thine own land
Which stretches forth its arms thy form to enfold.
And Caesars too shall comrade thee.
The ready sea will smooth for thee a bridge
And quiet down her waves for thy return.
Phoebus will burst the clouds and give her light
Rejoicing in her privilege of favoring thee:
And then the Muses new will sing, Ah! cometh our Apollo glorious!
Ah! 'tis my prayer that your Apollo cometh soon;
O Charles, the month that sends thee here to be in person in thy native land,
Let that month be a festal day, a sacred day forever.**
* i.e., Since Charles had fled to Turkey in July 1709.
** A paraphrase of this poem is reprinted in 3 Doc. 1266s.
About the same time (March 10, 1710), Swedenborg wrote a short congratulatory poem to be printed in the thesis which his future brother-in-law Unge*** was going to Upsala to dispute. Jonas Unge was then Lector of Poetry and Eloquence in the Skara Gymnasium, and his purpose in going to Upsala was to obtain a magister's degree and so become competent for a theological lectorship. In this he succeeded. (SSH. 1:548-49)
*** Jonas Unge, 1681-1755. Unge was seven years older than Swedberg.
If haply I might mount on chariot swift,
Unchecked by bending knee and lagging foot:
Then quickly would I flee these empty halls.
These fields bereaved of groaning countrymen, these
Westgothian vales,
And would anew before Upsala's Muses stand,
And in the Maeonian Choir take lowly part.
Then, Comrade, when thou walkest to the speaker's dais,
I would be with thee to swell the plaudits with a willing hand.
When thou dost bare the holy shrine, the Sacred Tablets,
Thy auditors are gladdened, and with joy give ear.
When thy tongue sets forth the inner treasures of thy mind,
It loud proclaims that thou hast climbed Parnassus' Heights.
The fable runs that from the brain of Jove, Minerva came,
But thou from holy Writ hast brought to light a greater work.
'Twas but a while ago that Gothland sent to Upsala the great limbs of a giant
Which, lacking brain, lacked human ingenuity.
And now our fertile land sends forth another child.
This strong in mental power, that strong in limb.
And now a happy guest, thou dost anew approach the Muses of
Upsala's halls.
And I do prophesy they lend their favor to thy gifts of mind.
With thee, I cannot be, and yet, though absent, shall be at thy side.
And in the city's midst be with thee, thy comrade.
Brunsbo, March 7
1710
EMAN. SWEDBERG (OP. 20- 21)
It is of interest to note that the subject of Unge's Disputation thesis was "The Consummation of the World." This he defines as being "the end of the world," or, according to the Greek, the "fullness of the Age" when there will be no longer an earth, and when the good will be in heaven, and the evil will burn in hell but without being burned up. The world will be destroyed not orivitively by the cessation of Divine "influx" but positively by fire though without leaving any ashes. The kind of fire is unknown. It cannot be elementary fire, for the elements themselves are to burn and therefore would be consumed. The new heaven and earth will not have corporeal place but will be "a certain spiritual spaceless and uncreated pu: nor will it be created but already is."
The "consummation of the age" also had place even before the Fall, for as men then went to the spiritual life without the intervention of death, so the world will pass away without conflagration, though in the judgment day conflagration will appear before the wicked as a type of infernal fire.*
* The Disputation was held on April 2d, and Rhyzelius was opponens. (Rhyzelius 56)
There will be noticed in Swedenborg's poem to Unge a certain note of longing to return to the old academic sphere, with the stimulating presence of the professors his friends, and especially of Eric Benzelius, his "second father."
The continued postponement of his journey, the lack of intellectual stimulus in the little town of Skara, probably also the lack of modern works on the natural sciences was keenly felt, and it was with some hope of relief
Polhem, in addition, had private manufacturing works at Stiernsund, about forty miles southwest of Falun, and here he was in the habit of receiving a few pupils. Polhem and his wealthy partner Stierncrona from whom the place was named, had settled here in 1700, and Charles XI gave them privileges for the manufacture of household utensils, clocks, looks, machines, iron tubes, bolts, nuts, etc., etc. (Ibid. p.105)
Swedenborg felt that at Skara he was wasting his time, and he longed for some change. The Bishop, therefore, led by Swedenborg's decided bent for mathematical mechanics, wrote to Polhem inquiring whether he would receive Swedenborg in his house as a student. (OQ. I:205)
Polhem answered in the negative. The Bishop seems then to have got his son-in-law Eric Benzelius, who knew Polhem personally, to write to Magister Troilius of Husby (about ten miles from Stiernsund), Polhem's pastor and friend,who saw Polhem on Sunday, May 29th, when Polhem finally agreed to board and teach Emanuel Swedenborg for 4 Rixdala a week - there was no inn in the place. Polhem, himself also wrote to Benzelius on July 16th. Polhem at that time had five children, from Margaret the oldest aged twelve to the youngest aged three. (Bring, Polhem p. 101; ACSD 43A; Rosman, Polhems Slakt 55-6)
While those arrangements were going one, the subject of them had gone off, for he was in London on August 3d.
His departure from Sweden seems to have been very sudden and was perhaps due to a favorable opportunity of passage offering itself; for there were no regular passenger vessels to London, and opportunity must be taken when it offered. Doubtless also, if not mainly, it was due to Swedenborg's unwillingness to go to Polhem as a substitute for a foreign journey, for in his first London letter to Benzelius, dated October 13, 1710, he apologizes for not having obeyed his brother's counsel as to Polhem, and assures him that he "has not entirely renounced" the idea of going to the Director,
It must be remembered also that Swedenborg seems to himself, in part, have defrayed the expenses of his journey; but see Swedenborg's own account of this journey as contained in his letters to Benzelius and in a brief journal entry which he penned some twenty-five years later as an introduction to his Journal of his travels in 1736. He there says that "on the way to London, I was four times in danger of my life:
1. At an English sandbank in a dark fog, when all thought they would be lost because the ship's, keel was only 1 quateer from the bank.
2. From privateers who boarded us, and though one supposed they were Danes, they represented themselves as French.
3. From an English guard ship which on the next evening, from a report, supposed in the darkness that we were the same privateer vessel, and so a whole broadside was sharply-fired at us, but yet without special damage.
4. In London, right afterwards, I came into a still greater danger in that
* Swedenborg spells it jakt.
The fact of friends meeting Swedenborg would seem to indicate that he was expected and that his journey had been long arranged. However, it is not improbable that the yacht did not come specially to meet Swedenborg but on business with the ship. Jonas Alstrom, the future great manufacturer, was a shipbroker in London, and very probably it was his yacht on which Swedenborg got to land.
One can imagine the feelings of the young Swede, whose experience of city life had been confined to Upsala, on arriving at a city of three-quarters of a million inhabitants, whose territory covered 7-1/2 x 2-1/2 miles - over eighteen square miles. A cousin of Swedenborg who had a similar background of experience thus expresses himself on his first visit to London some months after Swedenborg's arrival:
"On this famous city, the largest and most populous in the
whole Christian world, no remarks are needed here, it being a
subject too extensive to write about, and which cannot be
sufficiently described either by books or by travelers'
accounts. But I will say that one who wishes to see all the
races, riches, magnificence and glory of all the world in
miniature, can see it in London at the Royal Exchange and
Custom House, not to speak of innumerable occasions and
places where a stranger can never satisfy his curiosity."
(Chamberlayne, Mag. Brit. not. 1710 p. 220; Hatton, p.
111s, 118; Hesselius Dagbok Dec. 8, 1711)
Another admiring statement is made by a German physician who visited London in 1707 after visiting in Hamburg and Amsterdam:
"A stranger cannot without wonder gaze upon this prodigious
city which is certainly the largest in Christendom. In its
length, together with the suburbs, which is hard to
distinguish from the city, it is seven English miles. . . In
the great streets and public places of resort, there are at
all times such a concourse of people that nobody can avoid
the crowd that walks afoot, to say nothing of the eminent
danger from the perpetual hurry of their publick coaches."
(A Relation of a Journey into England and Holland, p. 26)
Here in London, Swedenborg saw for the first time the use of coal, of clogs, and probably of tobacco used as snuff. As to the use of clogs, we have the impressions of Swedenborg's cousin Hesselius when he saw them for the first time in Harwich in December 1711: "Here as elsewhere in the towns, the people go on the streets with 'iron clogs,' that is, iron shoes on their
His attention was perforce called to the Sacheverell disturbance. The previous Fall, Sacheverell had preached two violent sermons against the Presbyterians or Whigs who were then in power. On March 23, 1710, Parliament sentenced him to three years' expulsion from office, and his sermons were to be burned by the public hangman. Excitement ran so high that a mob broke into Presbyterian churches and carried off and burned furniture. Much of this was before Swedenborg arrived in London. And now the period of pamphleteering was going on.
What must have amazed Swedenborg most, and have awakened enthusiasm in his bosom was the contrast between the freedom of speech in England - as shown in this matter. His friend, Eric Alstyn, refers to this freedom in a letter to his uncle, Professor Upmarck, dated London, September 1710:
"Sacheverell has caused inward unrest here. The country is
divided into two parties, High Church and Low Church. So many
publications are issued by both parties about the royal power
over the subject, and the subject's duty to the king, that I
think this would be possible nowhere else than here. In other
places one has not such great freedom to write and talk what
he will. The Queen has full authority to consent to
Sacheverell's condemnation, but it is thought that she will
dissolve Parliament and have a new election because of
complaint against against parliament in this matter." (Berg,
Saml. III:658)
He went sightseeing of course. Indeed, on October 13th he writes to his brother-in-law that he had "seen all that was worth seeing", mentions particularly the "magnificent temple of St. Paul" which "was finished in all its parts a few days ago" - referring probably to the final act when the son of Sir Christopher Wren laid with his own hands the last stone, thirty years after the first stone had been laid.* (OQ. 207; Chamberlayne p. 276; London Past and P. 46)
* The exact day of this ceremony was not recorded (Bumpus, p. 97)
The whispering gallery particularly attracted Swedenborg's attention as illustrating the laws of sound and the motions in the air; and he refers to it later in 1716, in the first number of the Daedalus Hyperboreus, in an article entitled "Experiments on Sound which can be carried on in our land": "If a man in a vaulted room talks near the wall, a second man can hear his words at the other side; as is observed in St. Paul's Church in London up in the round gallery." (DH. I p. 11)
At Westminster Hall, while examining the Royal Monuments, he suddenly, in the Poet's Corner, came across a wall tablet engraved in gilt letters with the name of Isaac Casaubon: "I was carried away with such great love of this literary hero that I gave my kisses to his tomb; and to his remains, lying under the marble, I dedicated the following verses: (OP p. 22)
Why beautify the tomb with marble, verse, and gold
When yet these perish, while thyself survives.
But still methinks the marble and the gold themselves acclaim thee;
And take with joy the kisses of the passerby.
"Or in this way:
This urn contains thy ashes, God and the stars thy soul,
Writings contain thy genius, the world thy name;
Death has dissolved thee into these remains,
But for thyself, thou liv'st unharmed within our hearts." (LA p.14)
Swedenborg seemed at this time to have been fond of exercising himself in Latin verse, for he did a good deal of this while on this his first foreign journey; and one of the qualifications pointed out in his favor by Bishop Swedberg in a letter to the Government soliciting a position for him, was "an adept at poetry." Eric Benzelius had written him that Urban Hjarne intended to publish a complete collection of the poems of Sophia Elizabeth Brenner (1659-1730), and suggested that Swedenborg contribute a verse in celebration of the publication and the poetess. (ACSD 82)
Brenner's work is mainly fugitive verses (sometimes in German, French, Latin or Italian), written on festive occasions. By her contemporaries she was regarded as the sappho of her age, but a later age has not agreed. A learned woman was a rarity in Sweden, and Fru Brenner was both learned and domestic (15 children), but her estimate of herself was very modest. Confer CL 175. (BL pp. 65, 66)
Swedenborg wrote for his book the following lines which are perhaps the most stilted and certainly the poorest of all his verse; it is hardly to be wondered at that he asks his brother-in-law "if you find anything in them which should be corrected, you will take it on you to amend it, and communicate the amendations to her" (To E. Benzelius, Oct. 1710). See CL 175.
To Sophia Elizabeth Brenner, the sole poetess of our age, when she would sing her songs anew. (OP. p. 23)
The Muses of old revered by Rome or Greece
Came each from a prophet's brain
The Pierian muse revered in Swea's land
Was born of a brain her own.
The Muses owe name and life to poet-bards
But she to herself and her songs
And 'tis to Sophia, Brenner owes his fame, owes song to Sophia, the muse.
Thus she is Phoenix to the Muse, and to herself and to her man.
When her fingers touch the lyre
Such songs are joined to strings that I do swear
That Camena so sweet has never yet been.
As light excels the darkness, or the frame the shade:
So thou, Elizabeth, the muses of Apollo.
With laurel wreath and ivy, the Swedes shall crown but thee;
To them, the first of learned Dames - perhaps the last.
Had Naso and the Homerian bard told but of thee
Thou wouldst have been alone, instead of all the Muses,
And the Age to come, methinks, will so revere thee,
That it will worship thee as muse and semi-deity.
The noble part of thee will flee the last shades, the fire, the ash,
And ne'er will know it death.
And so, with pardon, I do prophesy for thee such death
That future men will deem thee as the Goddess Sophia.
Then not to brazen plate nor cypress shade commit thyself
Nor yet to marble or to wood thy name:
That name will reach an age more distant,
And when the marble's gone, the Goddess still remains.
(LM. p.15))
This poem was duly printed in Hjarne's edition, Stockholm 1713, which included a preface by Fru Brenner and thirty-six pages of poetic congratulations.
Swedenborg did not lose sight of his main purpose, which was to make his journey a means for cultivating and widening his mind, especially on the subject of Mathesis.
He visits the shops of booksellers and instrument makers, and thus gathers a "small stock of books on Mathesis" together with various instruments such as a tube, quadrants, prisms, microscopes, artificial scales, and a camera obscura. Indeed, he hopes to have money enough to buy an air pump, (OQ. I:207)
Among the books were Vitalis, Lexicon Mathesis, bought in August. Probably also Newton's Principia.
He occupies himself in learning English and, meanwhile, "reads Newton daily" in Latin.* Indeed, Newton must have made a profound impression on the young student's mind, and it would seem this redounded also to Sweden's learned world. Newton's Principia was published in 1685, but the first known mention of his law of gravitation in Upsala is a Disputation under Elfvius in 1703, and the next mention is in 1716 also under Elfvius. The latter was somewhat skeptical about Newton's discovery, which he termed "a pure abstraction." Indeed, "it was first through Swedenborg's visit to England, his correspondence and work, that the new views came to be adopted" in Sweden. (UUH 2:2:323-24)
* The Optica had been published in Latin in 1706, and the Quadratures in 1704.
Another writer says: "It seems to have been first through Polhem* and then through Swedenborg that Newton's discovery came into general knowledge."
(Bring, Polhem, p. 62)
* Polhem first read Newton in 1712, and found it very obscure (Bring, Polhem P. 62).
Until Swedenborg knew English better, he will not consult the men of skill in Mathesis, but he hopes to meet the great Newton.* (Read LM pp. 18-23)
* Newton was then the Master of the Royal Mint, and was living next door to the Orange Street Chapel in St. Martin's Street, Leicester Square. In 1710, he was sixty-eight years old (D. of NB p. 390).
Here, then, we see the beginning of that long period of which Swedenborg speaks when he says in a letter to Oetinger, in November 1766: "I was introduced by the Lord first into the natural sciences, and thus prepared; and, indeed, from the year 1710 to 1744 when heaven was opened to me" (Doc. 2: 257)
Thus it was in England, not in Sweden, that Swedenborg commenced his scientific preparation; in the sphere of the freedom fostered by the Royal Society, and not the theological-bound University of Upsala; under the influence of Newton, and not of Descartes.
As for Swedenborg's associates at this time, the nucleus of them were the members of the Swedish Church in London. Here Swedenborg, for the first time, made the acquaintance of Jonas Alstrom, who subsequently became so valuable for the commercial development of Sweden. He was but three years Swedenborg's senior, and had only just started as a shipbroker. Arriving in England in 1707, Alstrom had made rapid progress, and in 1710, when he started business for himself, he was able to send for his two sisters, the older Brita to be his housekeeper, and the younger Maria as his bookkeeper cashier. This year also he became a naturalized Englishman. He seems to have become intimate enough with Swedenborg to appreciate his ability and industry. Another member of the Church Council with whom he came into contact was Jonas Alberg, a London merchant to whom Swedenborg sent his letters to be forwarded to Sweden. (Carlson p.161; OQ 1:218; see Doc. 1:342)
Swedenborg's position as the son of a Bishop would also bring him into the company of Count Carl Gyllenborg, the Swedish Resident at the English Court since April. Swedenborg's taste for learning would also draw him to Gyllenborg who, in 1712, was elected a member of the Royal Society. Swedenborg, moreover, speaks of visiting Gyllenborg. (OQ. 1:211)
A more intimate friend would be Eric Alstrin,the future bishop, who for two years had been residing at the home of the oriental scholar, Joh. Esdras Edzardus, as tutor to his sons. Doctor Edzardus was the son of the Hamburg Edzardus with whom Jesper Swedberg had spoken about angelic speech, and who had been pastor of the German Church in London for twenty-eight years.
Eric Alstrin was nephew and adopted son to Professor Upmarck with whom he had lived during his studies in Upsala from 1697-1706. He was five years Swedenborg's senior. (BL. p. 143)
Dr. Edzardus lived at Fulham, a beautiful village about five miles from London (2s. by river), and had a fine garden. A few doors away lived the exile Beverland, and likewise in Fulham was the official residence of Dr. Compton, Bishop of London, who held open house on certain days, and who invited Alstrin and his friends to come and eat with him sometimes - confer Hesselius' Dagbok, February 4, 5. (Hatton. p. 796; Berg, Saml. III:658)
It is probable also that Swedenborg carried letters of introduction to the bishops who resided in London. For, owing to his administration of the Swedish Church in Delaware, Bishop Swedberg was in high favor among the dignitaries of the Anglican Church. Since the beginning of his charge in America, he had counseled friendly and even cordial cooperation with the
One bishop with whom he certainly had come into friendly relations was the Bishop of Ely, Doctor John Moore, whose palace was conveniently situated in Holborn (Ely House), and who was one of the more wealthy of the Anglican bishops. (Chamberlayne, 3, 475)
Dr. Moore (1646-1714), first the Bishop of Norwich and then of Ely, was of a democratic nature and a low churchman. When he entered into occupation of Ely House [Holborn, between Farringdon Street and Hatton Garden], he immediately began rebuilding and repairing. His library "was famous throughout Europe," consisting of about 29,000 books and nearly 1,800 MSS, and "he was never happier than when he could show a visitor to London the treasures of his library." His books and treasures were at the free disposal of scholars, both English and foreign. After his death, in 1715, his library was bought by the King for six thousand pounds sterling. (D. of NB. pp. 807-8; NZ 1715: 501)
It is probable also that he came into contact with John Robinson, the Bishop of Bristol. Robinson (1650-1723), who lived at Somerset House and to whom Bishop Swedberg had written a letter in December 1710 (perhaps delivered by Emanuel Swedenborg) had been representative of his country, first as Chaplain and later as Minister Resident at the Swedish Court from 1680 to 1709 though five of these years, 1702-7, he was in Poland and Saxony). He spoke Swedish fluently, indeed, he was Swedish in his appearance, he was also a friend of Bishop Swedberg who wrote him a letter about the Skane girl who went without food. (New Mag. of Knowl. 1791: 368; D. of NB pp. 24-5; Mem. of L. 1: 256)
In 1694, an interesting "Account of Sweden" was published in London without the consent of the author, who was John Robinson. John Robinson was a great favorite of Charles XII. (D. of NB.)
Then, of course, Swedenborg came into contact with other members of the Swedish Church in London, sometimes mentioned in his letters; as, for instance, Alber (OQ 1:218), Brander (ib. 223), Nordberg, who had been ordained by his father in Skara in 1710 and at once sent to London as Adjunct Pastor and Schoolmaster, and perhaps also John Spieker, Swedenborg's future banker who arrived to settle in England in 1712. (Carlson, 145, 167, 174)
At the time of Swedenborg's arrival in May 1710, a movement was commencing among the London Swedes, of which Swedenborg as the son of his father must frequently have heard, and indeed as a highly interested hearer.
In 1673, the Swedes in London had received the privilege of building a Lutheran Church, but owing to their small number, they turned this over to the Germans with whom those of them who understood German worshiped. (Palmin. Nig. Minnesbl. 61)
In 1673, the Swedes in London had built a church in Trinity Lane near St. Paul's, which was called both the Swedish and the German Church; German being the native tongue of many Swedes. In 1696, when the Danish
On March 1st, the day after Stenbock's victory, 1710, the Swedish residents in London agreed to contribute to the building of a Swedish Church, hoping for support from the Swedish King. Jonas Alstrom was probably the driving force in this. Swedenborg's contribution of fifteen shillings, on May 10th, was for this building fund; the records show that he gave another fifteen shillings in July, and five shillings in 1713 - perhaps sent from France. (Sv. i. Eng. p. 113; Carlson, p.174; NCMag. 1908:548)
The church was not built until 1728, but a meeting house was rented on Ratcliffe Highway near Princes Square, and on March 19, 1710, from two candidates nominated by Dr. Ezardus, namely, Alstrin and Hegardt - both living with Dr. Ezardus - Hegardt was elected pastor, soon afterwards ordained by Dr.
Ezardus. (Sv. i. Eng. p.120; Carlson, p. 7-8; Palmen. 62)
Probably Swedenborg met this Regardt, who was three years his senior, some years afterwards when Charles XII was for two years a guest at his house in Lund. (SBL p. 90; Carlson pp. 143-44)
On May 16th, the pastor and council asked Bishop Swedberg to take charge of them, and in July, Bishop Swedberg accepted. (Carlson pp. 9, 182-3)
His first London letter to Benzelius speaks of the affection he feels for his second father: If you were to inquire about myself, dearest Brother, I know myself to be alive but not happy; for I long for you and home. If I chance to see a letter from you, you carry me back, as it were, to my fatherland, for I love and revere you not only more than my brothers but even as a parent" (To E.Benzelius, October 1710).
Meanwhile, in Upsala the plague had so spread that on November 8, 1710, the University decided to stop all lectures; the professors being thus unoccupied, Benzelius invited a number of them to meet with him in the Library or in his home once or twice a week for the discussion of scientific subjects.
According to his own words, he was led to this step from his desire to promote that study of mathematics in which he had encouraged Swedenborg. (DH 1910, p. 6; Prosperin, 9; Brefwaxling xxii)
The choice of members of this Collegium Curiosorum is significant of Eric Benzelius's attitude to learning. They were Professor Harald Wallerius (Math.) and his sons John (Adjunt) and Joran. Professors Elfvius (Astronomy), Roberg, and Rudbeck Jr. (Medicine), and Upmarck (Eloquence and Poetry) the only representative of the humanities - all from the medical and philosophical faculties. (UUH II:417-18; DH 21)
The objects of the Collegium were purely in the natural sciences. "Questions concerning the investigation of the principles of natural things (says a contemporary) by a new and now frequently received method, namely, by means of mechanical rules, by numbers. and the comparison of forces. Here various hypotheses and axioms of the philosophers which the world adores as oracles are called under examination, even as are the
The pest was allayed by the Spring of 1731, and without a single loss among the professors. (Berg, III:665)
Eric Benzelius himself says: "In order always to have materiam discursuum, correspondence was entered into with Director Polhammar who, from his inexhaustible store in mathematics and physics answered questions and propounded problems, and also gave copies of his many mathematical charts. Specimens of these conferences and correspondence may be found in my brother-in-law Assessor Swedenborg's Daedalus Hyperboreus which came out some years later." Pictures of members to be found in Daedalus Hyperboreus reprint (SBL p. 82; Brefwaxling xxii-iii)
When the pest stopped in 1711, the meetings continued and ultimately became the present Vetenskape Societeten i Upsala.
Doubtless Eric Benzelius wrote to Swedenborg about this Society; at any rate, he wrote him asking him to inquire about and purchase books and instruments - commissions which Swedenborg duly fulfills, adding also recommendations of his own, not only of books but of astronomical and other instruments which he examines at Marshalls; and he recommends an air pump. Among other books, he recommends the Philosophical Transactions which was too dear for him. (OQ. 1:214, 218)
Prof. Vallerius also writes, making a similar request - a great mark of confidence in a young student.
But Benzelius did not send money, and Swedenborg has to pay out money at any rate for the books, and therefore in April he writes to his brother asking him "to appoint a merchant from whom Marshall may receive payment (for his microscopes), since I must set my appetite according to my store, and it is not allowed me to buy on credit, neither will our Swedish merchants give it to me unless they have leave to draw exchange therefor to Sweden, which generally amounts to 33-34 a pound instead of 26-27 from Sweden."
But with all his studies, he managed to find time to read some of the books he is buying for the Library, and on these he sometimes comments.
He now reads English with ease, his reading including "Reflections upon the Conduct of Human Life with reference to the study of Learning and Knowledge," by John Norris, the English representative of Malebranche.
Swedenborg, we imagine, would find pleasure in this thought - a thought which is so often repeated in his own works. Baker speaks in a similar vein as to doubts - referring, of course, to Descartes' famous sentence dubito ergo sum: "The old way of proceeding upon allowed principles seems to me more rational than this method of questioning everything till we have unsettled the first grounds and foundations of truth; and, however useful doubting may be in philosophical inquiries, it ought always to suppose a ground, for a groundless doubt is so far irrational" (p. 127). Descartes, he continues, after he "done with doubting and has proved to us our own existence, brings us at last to the Being of a God." Baker is unwilling to weaken any proof in this respect, but he does note that Descarte's "Proof from the idea is the abstrusest and the least conclusive argument that has been brought forward; it is neither clear nor the most conclusive" (pp. 127-28).
He is equally severe against Malebranche and his most recent defender John Norris, whose doctrine of ideas, he says, is "so like the inward light of a new sect of men as not to make it over reputable" (p. 130). They agree also with the Quakers, in that they "have too low a value for human learning" either as it lies in books or in nature, as compared with "that light which displays itself from the ideal world. Experience and deduction have been formerly esteemed useful, but in this compendious way to knowledge . . . there needs little more than application and attention" (p. 131).
The professed subject of Norris's book is to show that no profit lies in the cultivation of the intellect by learning, but that the sole object of our desire should be to learn to be good. The object of Baker's book is to show the necessity of revelation by showing how very little the learned world knows despite its boastings.
Other books that attracted Swedenborg's particular attention were Bishop Wilkins' works, which he found "very ingenious" and which undoubtedly suggested some of his mechanical inventions - to which we shall refer later - and Derham's Miscellanea Curiosa which contains the latest fruits of the work of the Royal Society. (OQ. 1:214)
Swedenborg now more fully devotes his attention to the Study of Astronomy and its accompanying mathematics. "I am now working through Algebra and subtil Geometry," he writes, "intending here to make an advance which, in time, will enable me to continue Polhem's inventions. "The particular inventions he now has in mind are concerned with the improvement of scientific and especially astronomical instruments. (OQ. 1:215)
Of Astronomy he writes that he has so far mastered it that "I have discovered a great many things which I think will be useful to that study, though in the beginning I had much brainwracking. Yet long speculations do not come hard to me now."
Here we note the initiament to habits of deep thought.
What more particularly draws his attention is the solution of that problem of finding the longitude at sea which would prove of such benefit to all nations and particularly seafaring peoples, for which both Holland and England had offered liberal rewards.
"I have weighed the plans of all in regard to the finding of the terrestrial longitude," writes Swedenborg in October 1711, "but found they would not serve. I have, therefore, thought up a method which is infallible, by means of the moon; of which I am sure that it is the best that can be given, intending in a short time to inform the Royal Society that I have a plan. . . If I find the gentlemen are favorable, I will publish it here or else in France." He adds that he has "hit upon" a "lot of" new methods in connection with astronomical observations, and these also he intends to publish.
Swedenborg did not apparently wait upon the Royal Society at that time; nor does he seem to have written his method of finding the longitude for publication until some years later; but it is interesting to note that in 1769 he did wait on the Royal Society, and with the very publication which he had in mind fifty-eight years earlier.
Meanwhile, Swedenborg is increasing his circle of acquaintances.
"I visit daily the best mathematicians here," he writes in April 1711; yet his statement needs some limitation for in the same letter he desires to have Polhammar's inventions communicated to him as soon as they come out, since they will "insinuera" him to some mathematicians whose acquaintance he desires to make. (OQ. 1: 210)
His studies in astronomy lead him to make the acquaintance of John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal of England, visiting him at Greenwich, a village some nine miles from London.
John Flamsteed was by this time a man of sixty-five years old, and his choleric disposition had become embittered by his disputes with Newton and Halley. He had been appointed "Astronomical Observator" in 1676, his immediate work being to make exact observations with a view of making possible the finding of the longitude by sea. Greenwich Observatory was built for him. His salary was very small, and he was obliged to take
Here Swedenborg received that interest in finding the longitude which remained with him till almost the end of his life. For his own pleasure, he calculates all the solar and lunar eclipses from 1712-21. These he offered to his university which accepted them; and, meanwhile, he contemplates still further calculations, for which he asks his brother-in-law to order a quadrant for him of Polhem's son Gabriel for which he thought his father would not refuse to pay. (OQ. 1:211; DH. p. 67)
Meanwhile, the Collegium Curiosorum which up to now had occupied itself mainly with the discussion of Polhem's ideas, at its meeting of July tenth 1711, "Resolved that 'Emanuel Swedberg go to Flamsteed and thoroughly examine the instruments how they are made, the divisions, in what way the minutes are taken, whether he uses a telescope instead of diopters, as on other instruments and how they are moved with the apparatus; also how he makes use of the instruments in the dark, if it is done in the light," etc. (DH 1910, pp. 66-67)
These inquiries Prof. Elfvius promised to make. The Minutes also note:
"That Emanuel Swedberg observes the way and manner in which the instruments are distinguished, and how they are examined; further, what they cost according to size.
"What the latest globes cost, and in what esteem are they held by the learned; item, whether one could get the paper for them sent to be put together here."
According to what tables had he reckoned his eclipses, and to send his calculations on.
He is encouraged in his effort to facilitate the calculation of eclipses.
That the Philosophical Transactions be bought for the library.
"Young Polhammar is not capable of correctly marking a quadrant; the one he made for the late Spole was not accurate. Instead of this, he should become advised what such a quadrant costs in London; item, whether they are made in Hook's manner with a screw in the board,"
Eric Benzelius promised to make these communications.
Elfvius wrote to Swedenborg a few days later as to observing Flamsteed's instruments and methods. He, at the same time, asked him, "What the learned mathematicians think of Newton's Principia of the Motions of the Planets, since they seem to be pure abstractions and not physical, and what tables of the lunar and solar eclipses are held to be the best." (OQ. 1: 211-13)
The Professor also complies with Swedenborg's request, and copies out his observations of the solar eclipse of 1706 together with other observations made at the same time at Bologne.
He also takes the occasion to recommend to his erstwhile student to add glass grinding, "even in its least details," to his other manual trades; this he writes in connection with Swedenborg's statement, that he lodged with journeymen, and changed his lodgings often in order to steal their trade. Thus, he had lodged at a watchmaker and cabinetmaker, and from the Spring to the Fall of 1711, he is lodging at a mathematical instrument maker and has made such progress that he writes in October; "I have made a large number of brass instruments for my own needs; were I in Sweden," he adds, "I would not apply to any one to make the meridians for the globes." (OQ. 1: 210)
From the cabinetmaker, he had learned to mount his instruments, and from the watchmaker, to engrave. The latter accomplishment he is quite proud of: "I have already so far acquired the art," he writes, "that I think myself competent in it," and he dutifully sends a first specimen of his work to his father, as well as a more ambitious "pricking" for Prof. Elfvius.* His object in learning these trades is very practical: he hopes actually to practice and introduce them into his own country. No engraver could be found in Sweden, and the quadrants then in use were all of iron or wood with only the periphery in brass.
* Many years later (April 1744), this art of engraving is brought again to his mind when in a dream, "there were those who admired my copper-plates which were well done, and wished to see my drafts (JD p. 194).
It is a high honor that the capable Prof. Elfvius should write to one who but two years previously had been an undergraduate in his classes; but Swedenborg had evidently stood high as a student, for Elfvius concludes his letter by alluding to "Swedenborg's fine curiostet to find out things both with the learned and with other workers in London. An apparently insatiable desire to learn facts, experience, as distinguished from abstract principles or classical niceties, seems to have been characteristic of Swedenborg as a young man. "That my Brother encourages me in Mathesis," he writes to Benzelius, "is a matter I should rather be discouraged in, since I have an immoderate desire thereto with- out this, and especially to astronomy and mechanics." Then he adds: "Here are also grand English poets who are worth reading through if only for their inventions, such as Dryden, Spencer, Waller, Milton, Cowley, Beaumont and Fletcher, Shakespeare, Johnson Ben, Oldham, Benham, Phillip and Smith" referring perhaps to the folio volume of poetry published about that time. (OQ. 1:210, 213; LM. p. 28)
Swedenborg's answers to the Upsala inquiries are contained in his letter to his brother-in-law, written in the latter part of August, 1711, after he had been nearly sixteen months in England. He will attend to all commission, or has already done so. He is also sending a microscope and "a list of all accessories belonging to the air" in the inventor's own handwriting. As to the globes, "to get the paper for them is almost impossible for they are afraid they would be copied." But since the finished globes are so expensive, he sends an engraving which he has himself made. (LM. p. 28)
He had visited Flamsteed early in August, and had taken him Prof. Elfvius' Lunar Tables, "which he at once in Swedenborg's presence compared with his own observations." In his latter to Benzelius, Swedenborg describes Flamsteed's work in some detail, and what he has published - including his editing of the Posthumous Works of Horrocks, the English Astronomer (d. 1641), and he refers to his observations in folio (published by Newton and Halley), though without any reference to Flamsteed's objections to this work; but he adds: "Flamsteed told me that he had under press Constellationes Caelestes as they are found in Hipparchus" - evidently referring to the first volume of Flamsteed's own work which came out in three volumes after his death. (Doc. 1: 574)
"Prof. Elfvius," he further observes, "asks the judgment of
Englishmen concerning Newton's Principia; but in this
matter may no Englishman be consulted for he is blind when it
concerns his own; and it were a crime to bring these
Principia into doubt." (LM. p. 33)
When in this letter Swedenborg promises to send a list of accessories to the air pump, he adds: "Of this list I have the Author's original. It was written out by him and set up in a quarto tract." (LM. p. 28)
The author referred to, is the famous Francis Hauksbee, experimentalist in natural science and fellow of the Royal Society. The fact that Swedenborg received from him an autograph of the description of his famous air pump, indicates an intimate acquaintanceship between the two men. Certain it is that Swedenborg would be greatly attracted by this advanced experimenter and sound thinker. In 1709 he published his Physica-mechanical Experiments, which Swedenborg bought for the Upsala Library, and which he himself undoubtedly read. The Preface to this work opens with words which must have met Swedenborg's approval:
"The learned world" says Hauksbee, "is now almost generally
convinced that instead of amusing themselves with vain
hypotheses which seem to differ little from romances, there
is no other way of improving natural philosophy but by
demonstration and conclusions founded upon experiments
judiciously and accurately made."
In this work, Hauksbee brings out many hitherto unknown things, particularly in respect to electricity. He showed that light was due to friction of amber, glass, etc., and this he attributed to a new force which he called electricity, comparing the resultant light to the crackling and flashing of lightning. (D of NB. p.171)
Swedenborg must have followed these experiments that opened an entirely new field to investigation with intense interest, and who shall say what gems of ideas then entered into his mind on the contemplation of the harnessing of this interior force called electricity?
In Hauksbee's book, which though small (22 pages quarto) was
so rich in facts, Swedenborg also read many experiments as to
water creeping up narrow tubes, between smooth plates, etc.
a matter to which he very often refers in his works. (see
Fib. 335, Cer.)
Swedenborg's admiration of Hauksbee is indicated in the fact that he writes to his brother-in-law, the Librarian, in respect to the "autograph" list, that "it may either be put by for my use, or bespoke for the Library." (OQ. 1: 214)
Benzelius had evidently asked Swedenborg to inquire as to the status of his Vitis Aquilonea (Northern Vine, containing the lives of the Swedish saints from 813 to 1525. by John Vastovius) which Benzelius had edited and published in 1708, and a number of copies of which he had sent to London in 1709 for distribution among his friends. The books were held up in the Custom House, and Swedenborg, apparently filled with deep respect for English law, hesitates to inquire for these Catholic books. "There is great hazard in me inquiring after them," he writes, "since the work is both Catholic and superstitious, and the importation of such books is severely penalized," (ACSD 55B; OQ. 1:211)
Benzelius evidently did not like this characterization of his
author, which he very justly regarded as an historical rather
than religious work; and so he protests, and asks that Bishop
More, his literary friend, see to the releasing of the books
from the Customs.
In his letter of October 1711, Swedenborg promises to inquire of the Bishop who, at the time, was on visitation, but he also returns to the attack on the "Catholic and superstitious book": "My Brother must not take it amiss" he writes, "that Vastovius is called superstitious, which can no more detract from the esteem one ought to have for the use he has performed in ecclesiastical history than if Virgil should be called a heathen"; and then he makes a Latin Syllogism which he thinks "cannot be controverted," to wit. "All Catholics are worshippers of the saints and the pope; all worshippers of the saints are superstitious"; and then he goes on: "Religion never deprives a writer of his fame in history. Were my Brother's little dalklipping carelessly to be called a little rusty bit of copper, the intrinsic value which it has in itself is not thereby decreased." (LM. p. 31)
These copies of Vastovius had been sent by Benzelius for distribution among his friends and acquaintances as early as 1709, and Swedenborg was probably to have distributed them if he could get them out of customs; at any rate, he was to have taken one to Doctor Hudson of Oxford. The delivery was not made, however, and as late as September 22nd, they had not yet got out of customs. (ACSD 55B)
This was some disappointment to Swedenborg as he thereby missed the opportunity of meeting some of the learned by means of these books. (OQ 1:218)
But Swedenborg is now feeling the want of money. He had been supplied by his father with 200 Riksdaler (L50), but this is all gone, and now he is left in London though wanting to go to Oxford where, naturally, he expected to find great stimulus to his thought.
He had visited the small library in Zion's College In London Wall.*
* Now pulled down. Its position is shown as follows:
[A DIAGRAM DRAWN HERE]
"I long to see the Bodleyian Library since we have been
through the small one that is in Sion's College. I am left
here in want of money, I am surprised that my father has not
taken more thought of me instead of letting me live on 200
Riksdalers* for what will soon be sixteen months, when he
knows that I promised him by letter not to burden him by any
drawing of a bill on home. The iron does not arrive here for
three or four months hence. It is hard to live like the wench
in Skane without food or drink." (LM. p. 33)
* 200 Riksdaler = about L50.
The annual salary of the Swedish Pastor was L40 plus three
collections; of the Astronomer Royal, L100. (Carlson p.182)
The reference to the iron probably refers to the export of
iron from Swedenborg's stepmother's furnace at Husby, and on
which he could draw. See Documents 1; 376.
The reference to the Skane wench is to a servant girl, Esther
Johanna, living near Malmo, who was reported to have gone
without food for six years, and without drink for eight.
Bishop Swedberg himself visited the girl, and Swedenborg
refers to this in his Animal Kingdom (Vol- 2 n. 509 n. XX).
(Mottraye, pp. 172-74)
In 1710, Bishop Swedberg published a book on this girl
about whom he wrote to Bishop Robinson (p. 41) - which in
June 1711, was published in London in English translation (22
pages 8vo), perhaps by the Bishop of Bristol, and of course
had been read by Emanuel Swedenborg. (M. of L. p. 256;
LM. p.17)
For an account of this girl and of Bishop Swedberg's letter
to the Bishop of Bristol, see Memoirs of Literature, 1711
p. 256; also New Magazine of Knowledge 1791 p. 368
Meanwhile, on June 15th, 1711, Swedenborg's father was made a member of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospels in Foreign parts. He was proposed by the former Ambassador, John Robinson, now the Lord Bishop of Bristol, and was the second Swede to be a member of this Society, the first being Bishop Bilberg of Strangnas. (ACSD 52:1)
According to his son Jesper, Bishop Swedberg was undoubtedly
elected "because of the expenditure and care he is giving for
the Swedish children in America." (Cf. Then Sidste Basun
ofwer Tyskland.)
This Society was established by Royal Letters patent in 1701,
and its President is ex officio the Archbishop of Canterbury.
It was to this Society that any money accruing for the sale
of the Arcana Coelestia was to be given. The Society is
still in active existence but no trace could be found in its
books of money received from Swedenborg or his publisher.
In December 1711, while still awaiting an opportunity to go Oxford, Swedenborg was pleasantly surprised by a visit from
his cousin, Pastor Andreas Hasselius, who had been sent out
by Bishop Swedberg to serve as
On January 14th, 1712, he walked on Fleet Street, and was struck with the movements and crowds. He notes also seeing a glassblower who in half-an-hour span one thousand yards of glass fine as hair. (Dagbok) On the next day he was probably with Emanuel Swedenborg, and they both note the remarkable clock which they saw at the Royal Watchmaker Antram's: "A rare and clever piece of work which went only when the light was lit and set on the work, and as soon as the light was put out, it stopped." Hesselius regards the clock as merely a curiosity, but Swedenborg, who probably saw it at the same time, shows himself more scientifically curious. To quote his own quaint English, in a letter to his brother-in-law, dated October 16, 1712: "It was a clock which was still and without motion. On the top of it was a candle, on which, when he put fire, the clock presently did go and kept its true time. . . On the top and near the candle was nothing that could be heated by the flame or fire and set the clock in motion. He did show me the inward parts which were wholly different from other clocks. He told me that nobody yet has found the causes, how it comes by the candle so often has in wil in motion." (LM. p. 43)
Perhaps Hesselius brought the long waited-for remittances from the Bishop. At any rate, on the morning of Wednesday, January 16, a month after Hesselius's arrival in London, Swedenborg takes the coach to Oxford - a ride of fifty-five miles. (New Descript. of Pres. Roads p. 44; Dagbok)
Of Swedenborg's life in Oxford hardly anything is known. On February first, his application to use the Bodleian Library, "for the purpose of making greater advance in his studies," was granted, and on the same day he signed his name on the list of foreigners using the Library. (ACSD 54:1)
Doctor John Hudson (1662-1719), the Greek Scholar and Bodleian Librarian, was a friend of Swedenborg's brother--in-law, and undoubtedly was of service to Swedenborg. At any rate, he sent a message and greeting by him to Benzelius. It is not unlikely that here also Swedenborg came into contact with Thomas Hearne (1678-1735), the Antiquarian, who was then Hudson's Assistant Librarian.
Certainly he met the Savillian Professor of Mathematics, Edmond Halley (30 years his senior), Flamsteed's future successor as Astronomer Royal. He talked with Halley more particularly about what was increasingly occupying his attention, namely, his discovery as to finding the longitude at sea. (OQ 1:219)
Halley (1656-1742) had been active in endeavoring to provide
the means for the solution of the longitude problem by
securing accurate observations of the heavens, and for this
purpose made two extended voyages (1676-78, 1698-1700) to the
southern hemisphere. It would seem, from what Swedenborg
writes, that Dr. Halley himself had devised a method of
finding the longitude, but no such plan was ever published.
It is probable that he outlined a plan orally, adding that no
plan can be successful until accurate observations are
available; and this is confirmed by Swedenborg's observation
in his dedication of his Longitude, in 1718, that Halley
"communicated a way as to how the east and west longitude
might be found by the eclipse of the larger stars by the
moon." (Ibid. 284)
Swedenborg very naturally discussed with Halley his theory of finding the longitude, but it would appear that Halley, who by virtue of his office of Savillian Professor was a member of the Longitude Commission, saw some weakness in it. At any rate, we learn from Swedenborg's Preface to his Longitude, published in 1718, that Halley showed "how the east and west longitude might be found by the eclipse of the large stars by the moon." Even so, Swedenborg privately thinks no solution will be found better than his own, "and least of all Doctor Halley's," and, he adds, "This he admitted to me orally." Read N.P.1933: 169. (OQ. 1: 219)
Halley also talked with Swedenborg about his astronomical expeditions, telling him among other things that he, Halley, was the first to observe the variation of the pendulum at the equator, although he had never published the fact. Doubtless also they talked together about comets, Halley's book on which had been published in London 1705. (OQ. 1: 223; Long. p. 11)
Swedenborg's dealings with Halley on this subject led to the former dedicating to the latter his first published work on Finding the Longitude (Upsala l718). Dedicated "till Herr Edmund Halley, Prof. Savill. i Oxford i England."
It was Halley who edited the three volumes of the
Miscellania Curiosa which contained for the most part his
own papers and travels he recorded in Philosophical
Transactions. (D. of NB 993)
Of Swedenborg's literary labors in Oxford, we have a somewhat lengthy poem entitled "Lusus Extemporalis ad Amicum, qvendam Oxoniae 1712," which he published some time later in his Ludus Heliconius, and whose words indicate that he was in Oxford in May and probably in June. (OP. p. 53)
Also his verse entitled "Delia in nive ambulans," which is a translation of a verse by William Strode (1602-45) "On Chloris walking in the Snow." In the Sloane MS, in the British Museum, however, "Delia" is read instead of "Chloris," which perhaps indicates that the poem was written in London, and even that Swedenborg met Sir Hans Sloane. (Ibid. p. 65) (NCMag. 1895:10, 113)
It is probable that Swedenborg attended the University at Oxford, as was the custom of foreign students. Certainly he must have visited the Museum containing a collection of Roman antiquities; the newly established Clarendon Printing House (est. 1711); the large Physick Garden with its fire gates, It would seem also that he saw something of English country life as displayed at the Oxford annual fair on May 24th. (New Descript. of Pres. Roads, pp. 48-49; see Geograph. Data, Oxford)
When Swedenborg returned from Oxford - where it is probable that he had been joined by his friend Eric Alstryn - he at once busied himself about getting Benzelius's books out of the Custom House. But the only success he had was to procure a form with indications of the information that would have to be filed before the books could be released. Swedenborg could not stay to attend to the matter himself for he had to leave for Holland and France. (OQ. 1: 220)
He was fortunate enough to secure the friendship and
assistance of a man of great experience in London, namely
John Chamberlayne (1666-1723), a member of a good English
family, F.R.S., and a member of the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel. He is said to have known sixteen
languages. He was the son of the Founder of the Year Book,
"The Present State of Great Britain, with divers remarks upon
the Ancient State thereof," - a work first published by his
father in 1667 and which continued to its 36th edition
published in 1755. The book was doubtless of some use to
Swedenborg.
Chamberlayne, whom Swedenborg was "well acquainted with," promised to attend to all Custom House matters for Benzelius. It is not improbable, however, that the latter preferred to send fresh books rather than go through red tape. Swedenborg notes, however, with regard to it, that this will prevent him using the books of the learned Librarian as a means of introducing himself to the learned. (OQ. 1: 219)
At this time, namely, in 1712, Swedenborg made the acquaintance of Doctor John Woodward (1665-1728), who was far more of a Geologist than of a Physician.
Dr. Woodward, who was a F.R.S., published, in 1695, a work
"New History of the Earth," which sought to support
revelation by science, and which caused considerable
interest. But the work for which he is best known is his work
on Fossils. He had a very large collection of these, and his
writings on the subject bring up cases of masts, anchors,
shells, fossils of fishes, even whole ships, being found in
high places and far inland.
We may suppose that this was a subject of conversation between Woodward and the young Swedish student; but the conclusions which the two drew from the facts were very different. Both concluded that these fossil remains were due to a primitive flood; but Woodward went on to surmise that this flood mixed all things up, and that then they sank down to different depths according to the law of gravity. Swedenborg, on the other hand, was content with the evidence afforded by the fossils, that the land had been formerly covered by the sea.
Dr, Woodward recommended Swedenborg to read and to procure for the Library Lowthorp's digest of the Philosophical Transactions (3 vols.), in which the articles were not only abridged but also classified under the headings such as Mathematics, Optics, Astronomy, Mechanics, Physiology, Mineralogy, Magnets, Anatomy, Chemistry, Voyages. It seems that Swedenborg bought the work (for 50s.) for the Library, but on his own responsibility, as well as other books and two glasses for Prof. Vallerius. At any rate, he notes that Benzelius owed him for them in 1716. (OQ. 1:246)
Swedenborg read through the three volumes - a considerable undertaking for a foreigner - and regrets that it is not translated into Latin.
Woodward was particularly nice to the young Swede. "He was so civil to me," he wrote in October, "that he took me to some of the learned and the men of the Royal Society."
Swedenborg might possibly have met Sir Isaac Newton and Sir Hans Sloane, both Presidents of the Royal Society - especially the latter who was a friend of Eric Benzelius. At any rate, at the time of which we now write, Sloane and Woodward were open enemies. (Dalin, p. 12)
Woodward also recommends The Memoirs of Literature: "in the literatur history, in folio, etc., and several other books, who, methinks have not escaped your, Sir! knoledge." (OQ 1: 220)
Another work which Swedenborg admired and which he purchased for the Upsala Library was Harris's Lexicon of the Sciences and Arts, 12 vols. folio. 1708-10, "where," as he remarks, is also contained great deal of Mathematiks," This is the forerunner of the modern encyclopedia, and in its day was a notable work. (Ibid.)
Besides books, Swedenborg also bought for the Library, scientific instruments, and among them was to have been the latest type of microscope but the cost was L4 4s., and this was too high a sum to expend without specific instructions. This microscope was a new invention by the Royal Instrument Maker, Marshal, and Swedenborg writes that "it shows the motion in fishes very lively. It has a glas under it with a candle, which made the thing and object lighter: so that any could se the swiftnes of the blood in fishes like smal rivulets, which flowed in that manner and fastnes." (OQ. 1:221)
True to his resolve, Swedenborg had devoted himself during his stay in England exclusively to mathematics, including what is now called experimental and natural philosophy, and by October 1712 he had sent a list of his inventioner or discoveries in this field to Prof. Elfvius. What this particular list was, we do not know, but doubtless it concerned astronomical matters. But there seems no doubt, that it was in London that Swedenborg worked out most if not all of the inventions of which he subsequently sent a list to his brother-in-law. Of these we shall speak later. (Ibid. 218-19)
As to his invention in respect to finding the longitude, he is convinced that he has solved the problem - at any rate, so far as is possible in the absence of exact tables.
"As concerns my invention on Finding the Longitude by the
Moon," he writes to Benzelius, shortly before his departure
from England, "I am sure that it is the only one that can be
given, and the easiest, and wholly correct method. The only
thing that can be objected against it," he adds, "is the fact
that the moon is not altogether reduced to its orbit by lunar
tables; but Flamsteed promises these, and it is known to me
that he has done so well that they will correspond in every
way and without error to the moon's orbit. If this is true, I
have won the whole game, and I make bold to say (after I have
sufficiently weighed the matter), that none of the others who
aim to find the longitude by means of the moon have won it. I
will merely suppose that were the motions of the moon
rectified, even then, not one of the methods that have been
projected by others could be used better than this, and least
of all Doctor Halley's - this he admitted to me orally."
(Ibid. 219; LM. p. 39)
However, despite his high hopes, Swedenborg far from having his treatise considered by the Royal Society, was not even encouraged by his friends - perhaps thinking that where Englishmen had not succeeded, it would be folly to expect success from a Swedish student of twenty-four years old. After all his hopes, Swedenborg was justly disappointed. Shortly before he left England, and just after expressing the utmost confidence in his "invention," he writes:
"But since here in England, with this civil, proud people, I have not found much encouragement, I have therefore laid it
aside for other lands. When I tell them that I have a project
in regard to the longitude, it is received by them as
something which is quite impossible; and so I will not talk
of it here"; and then he suggests that Benzelius send a
sketch of his scheme to the Abbe Bignon in France. (Ibid.)
Thus repulsed and discouraged, Swedenborg at last takes a rest from his prolonged studies; and this the more so since, as he himself says:
"My speculations have made me for a time not so sociable as
was serviceable and useful for me, and my liveliness had become somewhat spent; therefore I have, for a little time,
taken up the study of poetry in order thereby to freshen
myself up; in this I think to make myself somewhat renowned
this year - of which, on another occasion; and I hope to have
advanced therein so far as can be expected of me."
He evidently has in mind the gathering together of his various poems and publishing them in book form - which, however, he did not do until he came to Griefswald some two or three years later. The letter continues:
"Yet I think to take up Mathesis again though after some
time, although I also pursue it now; and if I become
encouraged therein, I mean to make more discoveries therein
than any one in our age; but without encouragement this were
to torment oneself and 'to plough the seashore with
stationary oxen.'" (Ibid.; IM. p. 40)
By the beginning of August 1712, he had already shipped to Sweden most of his books and instruments, sending them in the same boxes with the library books. They were taken by Eric Alstryn who was leaving England for good, to be kept by his brother-in-law until his own homecoming. He expected to be in France by the beginning of September. (OQ. 1:219, 221; ACSD 44B p. 3)
But it seems that on August 15th he was waiting for money from his father, and he is grateful to his brother-in-law because the latter has written to the Bishop on his account.
"Your great kindness and favour" writes Swedenborg in
English, "that I so many times have had proof of, makes me to
believe that your advices and writings to my father, wil
occasion him to be favourable in sending me what is necessary
to a journy, and what wil give me new spirits to make further
steps in what my busines is. Believe that I more wish and
endeavour to be an honour to my father's and your's house,
than on contrary you could wish and endeavour me to be."
(OQ. 1:221; LM. pp. 38-43)
The father, meanwhile, had suffered his own misfortunes, for on Sunday, February 11th, Brunsbo had burnt to the ground.
His father and mother are obliged to move to a village,
Ranaker, two miles north of Brunsbo, and from there the
Bishop writes to the King praying for financial help for one,
all whose property lies in ashes and who must look to others
for books, clothing, shelter, etc. Money was provided by the
King's grace for the rebuilding of Brunsbo, but two months
after the fire, the Bishop again writes that he and his wife
need personal help. "We go little less than naked; and,
moreover, I have not a single book, and yet my office demands
one." Then the house, when built, must be furnished with
chests, drawers, table, table linen, beds, bedclothes, many
dishes, etc.; and then he adds. "I have, O King, two young
sons who are being brought up for your Majesty's service, one
twenty-four years old stationed in England for the sake of
his studies, and one of seventeen years, in Pomerania in war
service. I must not desert them." (ACSD 54B. 55)
The Bishop probably exaggerates a little; at any rate, his
wife was still a wealthy woman, and in this same year paid
for the publications of the second large quarto volume of his
sermons.
At any rate Swedenborg got the money to continue his journey.
When Swedenborg left England is not known exactly, but it was not earlier than September 1712, thus making his stay in England extend over a period of two years and four months, or perhaps three years; of which at least six months were passed in Oxford. In the brief diary note to which I have already alluded (p. 36), Swedenborg says: "In London and in Oxford I spent a whole year or thereabouts." (Resebesk. 3)
He opens his last English letter to his brother-in-law with the following apology:
"I have often thought to overwhelm d. Brother with letters,
but since they would necessarily become barren if they
frequently followed one another, it is probably better that I
hold them over once or twice and draw them together into a
single letter, in order that this may become the more
weighty." (OQ. 1:218; LM p. 38)
And now Swedenborg leaves England where he will not again visit until the time when, in an inn there, he is to receive the great Commission of his life. London, indeed, was the scene of the beginning and of the end of his period of preparation.
England and London were the first foreign places he had ever visited after the scholastic training in Upsala - the first places where his mind, wholly free from the influence of preceptors and honored professors, was to take its decided impressions, the basis of the direction of its future mental activity. And what shall be said of these impressions, especially in view of the fact that the day of Swedenborg's arrival in England marked the beginning of his preparation in the natural sciences.
Among the first great impressions he received must have been the evidences, so greatly multiplied because of the Sacheverell disturbance, of the freedom of the people. In Upsala he was accustomed to hear of
And then the mental activity, of the learned world - bent on discovering the secrets of nature by experiment, freed from preconceived ideas propagated by the theologians - which, while not indifferent to the teachings of the Bible, nay, and accepting them, yet did not allow the search into nature to be thereby hampered. We see the result of this influence in Swedenborg's early writings where he seeks to confirm the teachings of the Bible by conclusions based on experimental facts discerned in the world of nature.
And Swedenborg was in England at least two and a half years. There he had made his first independent studies in science, there his ambitions were awakened to make further studies; there, in learning his various trades, he came into close contact with the sturdy and free-speaking English journeyman. The young man who left London in the summer of 1712 was a different being from him who had entered in the Spring of 1710.
Swedenborg had expected to go directly from England to France, but for some reason - not war, for peace had been concluded with France in January - he decided to go to Holland. Perhaps because of the opportunities for astronomical studies offered by Leyden University, and it may be also in order to learn glass grinding. (OQ. 1:221, 223)
From England, he says, "I went to Holland and to the principal cities in Holland, and stayed a good time in Utrecht where the Congress was and Ambassadors were assembled from all parts of Europe." (Resebesk. 3)
This indicates that Swedenborg visited Rotterdam, The Hague,
Leyden, Amsterdam, and perhaps other places in Holland,
before going to Utrecht.
In The Hague resided the Swedish Envoy to the Netherlands, Baron Johan Palmqvist,* who was also serving as Swedish Plenipotentiary to the Conference in Utrecht. Writing to Benzelius, Swedenborg says of his stay in Holland, that he was "most of the time in Utrecht with the Peace Conference." (OQ. 1:223; LM. p. 51)
* Johan Palmqvist (about 1652-1716). In Paris, first as Legation Secretary and then as Resident, 1686-1701; Envoy Extraordinary to The Hague, 1702-15, when he was appointed Hof-Kansler and removed to Sweden; died in Stockholm, 1716.
The Peace Conference was opened in January (29th) 1712, but
suspended on the following February 6th, though desultory
conversations went on. On February 2d, 1713, the formal
Conference was reopened and the peace was signed on April
11th. (Camb.M.H. 5:439)
It would seem that Swedenborg went to The Hague, Leiden and Amsterdam before going to Utrecht, and that the time he spent at Utrecht was from February to April, or thereabouts, in 1713. Here he was treated with great honor.
"I was in great favor with Ambassador Palmqvist," he writes,
"who had me at his house (in Utrecht) every day, with whom I
sat and discoursed on Algebra every day. He is a great
mathematician and a great algebraist." (LM. p. 51)
See Geographical Data; also Miscellaneous Observations p. 58.
Sweden's part in this important Conference was more or less a
passive one, and Palmqvist was not directly interested in the
proceedings; thus, we can understand the possibility of his
seeing much of the young and vigilant Swedish student.
Almost as much as Palmqvist, if not more, must Swedenborg have met Palmqvist's much younger Secretary, the well educated rising Diplomat, Joachim Fredrik Preis (1666-1759), then forty-seven years old.
Preis had originally been intended for a theological career,
but his interest in political matters soon developed. Besides
a good education, including Greek and Hebrew, by a private
tutor in Riga, he attended the University of Leiden for six
months, after which he took one and a half years at Oxford
and Cambridge, becoming L.L.D. at the former. In Paris, he
acted as Palmqvist's Secretary of Legation, and when
Palmqvist removed to The Hague, he took Preis with him where
he became his Successor and successfully maintained what was
then the most difficult post of Swedish Envoy at The Hague,
until his death in 1759. (SBL. p. 362)
Swedenborg himself refers to the courtesies he received from Preis in Utrecht, and which he had not forgotten in 1721; there are also indications that he was greatly drawn to Preis - certainly this was the case in that critical year of Swedenborg's life, 1743, when Preis's home was to him a haven of peace and rest. And Preis's own quiet, modest, firm though unyielding character was the one best calculated to meet Swedenborg's need for confidential friendship. (NCL 1896: 168)
Here also at Utrecht, Swedenborg had the opportunity of again meeting his father's friend, the Bishop of Bristol, who was present as the first English Plenipotentiary, and who had the advantage of being a fluent Swedish speaker.
In such educated and refined company, his own mathematical studies and the interest which naturally would absorb all attention in the weighty matters that were in daily debate in the Conference, and the grand public ceremonies that would be celebrated from time to time, all combined to make the time in Utrecht pass by quickly.
Swedenborg seems to have cherished a real affection for Palmqvist and his wife, and after he left Utrecht and was staying in Leiden, he wrote a long allegorical poem in honor of the arrival of Madam Palmqvist and her new-born babe; and if we are to credit the poem itself, it was composed during a walk into the pleasant country along the banks of a river (the Old Rhine) which runs through the town. The poem is entitled "To an
A leisured walk I take, within the town so justly famed
Which men call Leyden in the Netherlands.
A river bed doth pierce its walls, whose myriad winding course
Makes many sinuous forms. Long this I walk
And the stream doth lead me to the spacious world;
For on its banks I follow as a friend wher'er it flows.
As he walks along this stream, his mind, growing rested, is
filled with poetry, and he prays for the presence of his
Camenae: (OP. pp. 48-49)
And while I summon to my side the cultured Camenae,
Lo! ever me, a bird; a flutter sounds
Straightaway I upward look, and lo, on high through empty space
A dove flies in the air, flutters its wings,
And hastens on its way as though 'twould draw, with snow-white frame,
A beauteous car, and Venus fair within.
And every part of this fair winged fowl shone gleaming white
All white its breast, all white its feathers were:
The color signifies a turtle-dove without its mate,
Which cannot live save in the marriage state,
As now it nearer draws, I see the thing its beak doth bear,
A twig,* methinks, thus carried for a nest.
A child, an offspring, one which it has plucked from off a tree,
A green-leaved Palm, wherein was something ripe.
Not far from thence another tree, a budding Olive, rose,
Its branches still unclothed with foliage,
But this did signify that spring was nigh, the time at hand
When Olives once again are wont to green.
And here, with sinuous flight and twig in beak, comes now the Dove,
And on an Olive branch doth sit at rest.
Then high in this same tree, behold, a larger Dove,
The Mate, methinks, of our fair loving bird:
Who many motions made, and cooes of joy, and so prepared
To sport with this his partner now returned.
* In Swedish Qvist.
The Camena then comes and interprets this vision, applying it to Palmqvist and his wife. Then follow some pretty conceits about the good wishes contained in the poem being doubled when the paper is held above the water: (Ibid. p. 51)
And what I wrote to thee appears as written in the waves,
And what I wish thee, e'en the waters wish:
And wishes I have twinned, the wave doth twin them once again,
What I desire, desires the watery Nymph;
When on these banks I vowed to thee a thousand happy joys,
The stream to thee did vow a thousand more.
After describing how he wrote the poem resting his paper on tree trunks, and thus inscribing on these trunks Palmqvist's name, the poem concludes: (OP. p. 52)
Be mindful then of Leiden, for every tree around its walls
Is conscious of some memory of thee;
If laurel tree were here, thy name I'd grave upon the laurel;
If cedar, 'twould be everywhere on cedars.
It must be borne in mind that in writing these and other similar lines, Swedenborg was both following the custom and taste of the day and also was relieving himself from his studies. However, he thought enough of them to think of publishing them.
Swedenborg also sent to his father from Holland - perhaps written in England - his first lines on the saving of his father's copper portrait in the disastrous fire at Brunsbo. In this fire there were several circumstances that were deemed remarkable. To one of them Swedenborg alludes in his Miscellaneous Observations (Eng. p. 34), namely, that the heat was preserved under the charred ashes for three months. The events to which the Bishop particularly alludes are the facts that two copies of his Psalm-Bok which had been lying on a table were afterwards found with only the binding slightly scorched, and the same was true of his Catechism, from which he concluded that God had accepted his work. Even more wonderful was the absolute preservation of a copperplate containing an engraving of Jesper Swedberg. Of this Swedenborg wrote: (OP. p. 66)
To the Copper likeness of my Parent which was not
melted and destroyed in the burning of his house.
A Marvel now I tell, this plate lay 'neath the flames
Unhurt, when household goods were lost:
Lo, Father! as a Phoenix, so thy form shall be reborn from fire,
And, livened by the flames shall wait its lot.
(ACSD 468; SBL. 243-44; Doc. 1: 130)
Swedenborg visited Leyden both before and after Utrecht. It was then a great manufacturing as well as a university city, and Swedenborg took the same measures here as in London, namely, lodged with an artisan in order "to steal his trade" in the present, the trade of glass grinding, of which Swedenborg now possessed not only the knowledge but also all the necessary instruments and plates. (OQ. 1: 224)
He also viewed with great interest the Leyden Observatory and its fine quadrant, the finest he had seen - costing 2,000 guilders. Unfortunately, there is no Observator, and Swedenborg intends, after his visit to Paris, to return to Leyden and ask the University Authorities permission to use their Observatory for two or three months - a permission which Palmqvist will easily obtain. See Geographical Data.
The resumed sessions of the Congress in Utrecht lasted from February to April 11, 1713, and it is quite probable that Swedenborg stayed there till about the end.
From Holland he went to Paris via Brussels and Valenciennes, arriving in Paris in May 1713, fully prepared by advice from Palmqvist and Preis, and probably with letters of introduction from the experienced Palmqvist and his Secretary Preis. Palmqvist, indeed, whose love of mathematics greatly attached him to Swedenborg, seemed reluctant to leave him, but realized the educational importance of the intended visit to France. At least, this is what I gather from an otherwise difficult sentence in a letter of Swedenborg's which he sent to his brother-in-law from Paris. After speaking of Palmqvist's favor to him, and his fondness for mathematics, he continues: "He wanted necessarily that I proceed on my journey, and so I intend, next Spring to go back to Leiden." (Resebeskrif. 3; OQ. 1:223; LM. p. 51)
Swedenborg states as one of his objects in desiring to visit France was "because I desire the understanding of that fashionable and useful tongue."* But he had also the idea of pursuing his Mathesis, and also more especially of securing recognition of his method of finding the longitude - so convinced was he as to the feasibility of this method for the use of mariners. (OQ. 1:221-22; LM. p. 42)
* With this object, doubtless, he attended the Comedy; see p. 461.
Among the first on whom he called was doubtless the Swedish Ambassador, where also he met Peter Niklas Gedda (Jedda), 1675-1758, the Legation's Secretary who afterwards, in 1721, became Resident there. Gedda was more of a student than a diplomat, his favorite studies being Hebrew and Greek; and he spent all the time he could in his library, on which he spent all his savings. See Lister, An Account of Paris pp. 29, 40. LM. .p. 45)
He had not been long in Paris, certainly not long enough to make learned acquaintances, before he was seized with an illness which "kept him from his studies" and confined to his room for six weeks. (OQ. 1:222; LM. p. 49)
When he recovered, he at once proceeded to visit the Abbe Bignon, the learned Secretary of the French Royal Academy of Sciences, with a letter of introduction from Eric Benzelius.
Joan Paul Bignon (1662-1743) was one of the best informed
among the learned men of France; indeed, he was called by a
contemporary "the maecenas of his age and the guardian angel
of the sciences and of learning." He was not distinguished as
a researcher or discoverer but rather for his great culture,
his immense reading, and the encouragement he gave to others.
Indeed, he was in many respects like Eric Benzelius save that
the one was a Lutheran minister, the other a Catholic priest.
(Hist.ARdesS. 1743 pp.185s; Brefwaxl. p. 5; Lister. pp.
37, 43)
Bignon was also a very eloquent man, and in 1693 had been
appointed preacher to Louis XIV. In 1702 he reestablished the
Journal des Scavans, of which he became Editor - it had
been commenced in 1665. In 1718, he became Royal Librarian.
Bignon received me, says Swedenborg, "in a very friendly manner. I offered him three discoveries to go through and examine and bring to the Society. They are the following: Two in Algebra:
"(1) By help of the first, algebraic analysis can perform innumerably many and most useful things which the analysis now in use could never perform."
"(2) A new method of treating Algebra, which finds the unknown quantity not by equations but by a shorter and more natural way by means of geometric and arithmetical proportions."
"(3) The Longitude." (OQ. 1:222; LM. p. 49)
In respect to the first two of these inventions,
Enestrom justly observes that these new methods "only
contained some simpler ways, applicable in special cases, or
attempts to change equations into proportion, to which, in
his printed writings, he went back more than once."
(E. S. sasom matematiker, p. 4)
Swedenborg, however, was cautious enough to give the Abbe only some sketch of his invention, or, as he himself writes, "Merely a knowledge of some indications and signs of what it could do." Bignon, he further writes, "gave me at once a letter to Warrignon for him to look" through his three inventions, at the same time recommending Swedenborg to Warrignon as a relative of Eric Benzelius. (OQ. 1:222; LM. p. 50)
Pierre Varignon (1654-1722) was a member of the Royal
Societies of both France and England. Swedenborg himself
describes him as "The greatest geometer and algebraist in
this place, and perhaps the greatest in Europe." He was
Professor of Mathematics in the College Mazarin, and of
Philosophy in the Royal College. He appears to have taken
Swedenborg very seriously, for the latter visited him very
frequently and sometimes the visits lasted for two hours.
(Hist. A. R. des Sciences)
It was doubtless through Varignon that Swedenborg met the former's intimate friend Phillipe de la Hire, whose acquaintance Swedenborg made and of whom he writes: "He is now a great astronomer and was formerly a great geometer."
In mathematics, de la Hire contributed such to the
development of higher geometry. In 1678 he became an
Astronomical Pensioner of the Academie Royale des Sciences,
and as such took part in the astronomical work instituted by
Louis XIV. Among his astronomical writings were two which
Swedenborg probably made the basis of conversation in
reference to his own Longitude, namely, Tables of the Sun
and Moon (1687), Astronomical Tables (1702). (GE.
21:775; Lister, p. 75)
We have no record that Swedenborg's papers were submitted to the Academie Royale, or discussed at its public meetings.
It is to some of Swedenborg's learned friends in Paris, perhaps de la Hire, that Swedenborg refers as denying Halley's claim to priority in the observation of the variation of the pendulum at the equator. Halley in Oxford had told Swedenborg that he was the first to observe this, doing it during one of his voyages to St. Helena; but, writes Swedenborg, "the Astronomers here say that through Cassini (1625-1712), their fellow country-man, it was put out as discovered before Halley made his expedition." (Long. p. 11; OQ. 1:223; LM. p. 51)
Meanwhile, the longitude seems to have been continually active in Swedenborg's mind. He has not yet written out the work; it is still on "slips of paper"; but apparently could not be completed because the author had no observations whereby he could confirm it; he was still waiting for Flamsteed's promised lunar tables. But though he has not yet written out his treatise, he clearly has this in mind, for he writes: "I intend it for print, that so I can the better communicate it to the learned. It amounts only to three arks" - the first published work (1718) amounted to 2-1/2 arks. He was still more inclined to print, when word reached him of an advertisement inserted in the London Guardian of July 14, 1713, in which William Whiston* announces that he has a new discovery "to propose to the world." (OQ. 1.227; 219=LM. 59. 39; Whiston, p. 25)
* William Whiston (1667-1752) in 1703 had been appointed as Newton's successor as Cambridge Professor of Mathematics, but in 1710 he was expelled because of Arianism and denial of the Trinity.
This advertisement is undoubtedly the source of the following which Swedenborg wrote to his brother-in-law on August 9th, 1713 - for Whiston'sbook was not published until 1714: "There is another man in England of the name of Whiston who gives out that he has hit upon the longitude. The result of this is, that I also will hasten to give out mine." However, Swedenborg did not publish his work then nor until four years afterwards, and despite his own confidence, he then received encouragement only from the learned of his own country. (OQ. 1: 223 = LM. p. 50)
In Paris he maintains the same devotion to study that characterized him in London - in Holland, perhaps, he somewhat relaxed: "I avoid the conversation of Swedes," he writes from Paris, "and all things from which I receive the least discouragement in my studies." But he continues to frequent the bookshops, of which he observes that they have "a much smaller number of mathematical books than in England and Holland." Such books are rare also in all the libraries Swedenborg had seen, except the Royal Library. (OQ. 1: 223 = LM. pp. 50, 51; Lister, pp. 93-4)
"Mathematical writings seldom come out here," he
observes, "and if they do, then after some months they are
altogether unobtainable. All the mathematicians send their
writings to the Memoires de l'Academie Royale des Sciences
and bother themselves no further about publishing and owning
them." (OQ. 1:223 = LM. p. 51)
Swedenborg's activities in Paris were probably mainly with the mathematicians and astronomers, and also with the further preparation of the inventions he had in hand. He may also have attended lectures at the Sorbonne, and probably was present at the public meetings of the Royal Academy.
He finds time also to visit Versailles, which he did in the Spring of 1714, and it was here perhaps, and in particular in the park at the Fountain of Apollo, that he conceived the idea of his Camena Borea (published 1715) or Fables illustrating the doings of the Kings of Europe, and perhaps wrote the third Fable. In the second, which introduces it, he describes in detail the park in question, and proceeds to lay down there the scene of contest and judgment between Mars and Pallas which was decided by Leon acting for Europa. (Resebeskrif. p. 3; OQ. 1:227; LM. p. 58)
We catch a further brief glimpse of Swedenborg just when he is preparing to leave Paris on his return to Holland.
He had just received a letter from Benzelius asking him to buy certain books for the Library, and also giving him certain introductions. Swedenborg looked after the books and was able to buy one or two but had no time to forward them via Rouen to Sweden, which was the usual cargo route. Instead, he left them in charge of Gedda (Jedda, 1675-1757), the book-loving diplomat, who promised to see to all and also to attend to future commissions.
In the letter where Swedenborg gives us the above particulars, he further says: "At the end of my stay in Paris, I made a universal visitation over the whole of Paris in company with some others, to see all that could be seen there." (OQ. 1:225 = LM. p. 56)
His companions were fellow Swedes, and he had evidently relaxed the tensity of his studies. During this sightseeing, he also took his countrymen to two of Benzelius's old friends, both Librarians, both in Catholic Institutions on the rue St. Honore, and both showing themselves unusually eager to do honors to Benzelius's friends; so much so that Swedenborg observes that Benzelius, when he last visited Paris, must have left "an incredible esteem and affection" behind him.
Among these friends was Father le Quien (1661-1733), the learned Librarian of the Convent of St. Germain on the rue St. Honore, who, "when he heard Brother's name, know not what books he should show us in his library, and what service he should offer us." Doubtless among the books he showed was his own scholarly edition of the Opera Omnia of John Damascenus, which had been published in two folio volumes in 1712 and which is still the fundamental edition of this Christian Father. (Brefwaxl. p. 6; CE. 8: 188; GE. 22: 70)
On the rue St. Honore also was another of Benzelius's old friends, Father le Long, who was Librarian of the oratory. The good Father evidently talked with Swedenborg about the work he had in hand; indeed, his visitors may have interrupted him in the course of that work, namely, the great Bibliotheque Historique which lists all known printed and manuscript writings on French history, and which even now is indispensable to the student. It was not published until 1719, six years after Swedenborg's visit. (Brefwaxl. p. 6; CE. 9: 142; GE. 21:1187)
It seems most likely that Swedenborg stayed in Paris for a year, and that he left it in May or June 1714. (LM. p. 53)
From Paris, Swedenborg went to Hamburg. That he again visited Palmqvist or Leyden is indicated by the fact that he went to Hamburg via Lille (or in Flemish, Rijssel, Ryssel, or, as Swedenborg has it, Rassel), and that his father addressed him a letter, dated July 23d, 1714, care of Ambassador Palmqvist, which was forwarded from Amsterdam to The Hague where it arrived on August 22d. It is further indicated by the fact that in April 1715, he refers to Palmqvist as "Hof. Kansler." (Palmqvist was appointed in 1714.) At the time of Swedenborg's visit, Palmqvist was on the point of leaving for Sweden, and Preis was taking his place as Envoy. Swedenborg talked with them of the usefulness of establishing a Society of
The next we hear of him is on September 8th, 1714, in Rostock, Mecklenburg, over six hundred miles northwest of Paris. From The Hague, and while Denmark and Sweden were in comparative peace, he went to Hamburg via Hannover. Whether he found the time to make his intended astronomical researches in Leyden is not clear. While in Hannover, it had been his intention to visit Leibnitz; but the latter was with the Kaiser in Vienna and did not return to his home town until the end of September 1714. (Fryxell 25:131; OQ. 1:229; Alg. Deu. Biog. 18:205)
We should doubtless have read some interesting things about this first journey of Swedenborg's, but for the loss of the Diary or Journal which he kept and which, if we may judge from his later journals, must have contained full particulars of his journeys, the people he met, etc. "What I hear of the learned" he writes, "I at once enter into my Diary, which would be too long to copy out and communicate to my Brother." Unfortunately, he left this Journal at Hamburg, and since then all trace of it has been lost. It was left in Hamburg, and likely some of his effects, probably because of the warlike conditions which existed in Swedish Pomerania, threatened as it was by Denmark, Prussia and Brandenburg. The recipient was probably the Swedish Agent or commercial representative. (OQ. 1:223, 246 = LM. pp. 51, 94)
When Swedenborg wrote to his brother-in-law from Rostock on September 8, 1714, he appears to have been in the latter place for some time; for he writes:
"I am right glad that I have come to a place where I
have quiet and the time to assemble together all my works and
meditations which previously have been without order,
scattered here and there on some slips. Hitherto, all that I
lacked was a place and the time to enable me to gather them
together. This also I have begun and will soon complete."
Then, after enumerating his inventions, he continues: "There
are my mechanical inventions which have hitherto been lying
scattered on sheets of paper, but which now are well nigh
reduced into order. . . Moreover, in all cases we have added
the algebraic and mathematical calculation from which we
deduced the proportions, the motions and times and all the
properties which should be in them." (LM. p. 56)
It would seem, therefore, that leaving Paris in May or June and being already for some time settled in Rostock, by September 8th Swedenborg had little time for any extended stay in Holland en route.
It will be a convenient time now to examine the Inventions, of which he has spoken so often and which seem for the most part to have been elaborated in London. In his letter from Rostock, he enumerates fourteen of these, which he has put into some order.
It should be premised in general that in none of these
inventions is there anything of a fundamentally new
character. So far as we can see, all of them practically
consist in the ingenious application of well known mechanical
principles and
devices. One, however, must be excepted from this, namely,
the "Method of conjecturing the wills and affections of men's
minds by means of analysis." It is not easy to say what is
the exact meaning of these words, whether Analysis means
algebraic analysis or the analysis of the different signs
exhibited by features, tones and gestures - most probably it
is the latter. (OQ. 1:226 n. 13 = LM. p. 58)
Another of the inventions is probably more of a mathematical
study and development, namely, "Concerning new constructions
of cords or springs, and concerning their properties."
(n.14)
Of the others (the mechanical inventions), as inventions they are of a purely historical interest. However useful they may have proved, they are now entirely superseded by discoveries not dreamed of in Swedenborg's time. But they have a great value historically, as indicating the bent of Swedenborg's mind and its activity and natural abilities.
As to some of the inventions, it is hard to understand
what Swedenborg had in mind. Thus, where he speaks of "a
universal musical instrument whereby the most inexperienced
player can produce all kinds of melodies which are found on
paper and in notes"* (n. 9) there is no indication whatever
as to how this instrument was to work - probably it was by
means of wires attached to a cylinder. Musical boxes were
unknown in the eighteenth century though in Grassineau's A
Musical Dictionary (edition of 1769, p. 153), mention is
made of "machines contrived to imitate music."
* quae in chartis et notis reperiuntur.
Rather vague also is the description: "A universal
sciagraphia, or a mechanical method of delineating hours of
every kind and on any surface by means of fire" (n. 10).
Sciagraphy is the art of projecting shadows, and includes the
art of making sundials. The invention to which Swedenborg
here refers may indicate a method he has discovered of making
and marking sundials by means of artificial light in place of
the sun, or, and perhaps more probably, it may mean the
divisions of the circle and the observations of the motions
of the sun by means of shadows made by artificial light.
Other inventions difficult to understand are: "a water
clock with water as the indicator, which by its flow shows
all the movable bodies in the heavens, and produces other
ingenious effects" (n. 11). The water clock was probably
limited to indicating the movements of the sun, moon, and
planets, but whether it was a dial or a planetarium run by
water is not clear.
Another rather obscure invention is the machine for
throwing out water by means of fire, and the way of
constructing such machines at the smelting works where there
is no fall of water. "The fire and the forge should be able
to supply enough water for the wheels" (n. 5). Speaking in
a later letter, Swedenborg says of this invention as being "a
machine for building [? operating] a blast furnace by
the side of any still water whatever, and the wheel shall yet
be driven by the fire which shall drive the water." Of this
machine, no plans appear to have been made. It seems to have
been a device for raising water by means of the heat of the
smelting furnace in sufficient quantities to drive a water
wheel - such as usually is driven by water falling from a
dam. It may be that Swedenborg here adapted a device
mentioned in Bishop Wilkins' Mathematical Magic (p. 89),
whereby a flanged wheel set horizontally in a chimney was
made to turn a roaster or bastener; the hotter the fire, the
quicker the turning would be. In Lowthorp's Abridgment of the
Philosophical Transactions, moreover, there is a
description with diagram of an "engine for raising water by
the aid of fire" (p. 632) - in which steam is the motive
force. (OQ. 1:231= LM. p. 65)
The rest of Swedenborg's inventions are more plain, and, moreover, light is thrown on them by the books which he had read, especially two, namely: 1. Bishop Wilkins' Mathematical Works, published in 1708. 36 years after the Author's death, Swedenborg declared this book "very ingenious." It includes Wilkins' Natural Magic, first published in 1648, which the mechanical mind of Swedenborg must have read with great satisfaction. (OQ. 1:216 = LM. p.30)
2. Lowthorp's Abridgment of the Philosophical Transactions, particularly volume 1. Swedenborg declares that he read this Abridgment through, and he regrets it is not available in Latin. (Ibid. 220 = LM. p.42)
The remaining inventions are:
(1) "The plan of a ship which, with its passengers can go
under the sea in any direction, and can inflict much harm on
enemy ships. This invention, of which Swedenborg appears to
have (n. 1.) made no plans, probably consists of improvements
on Bishop Wilkins' suggestion in the 5th chapter of his
Mathematical Magic, p.105: "Concerning the possibility of
framing an ark for submarine navigation." Wilkins very
ingeniously suggests means by which the boat can send out
things and receive them while under water; how air can be
supplied; and how the boat can be maneuvered by oars and can
attack enemy vessels, undermining them and blowing them up.
When he returned to Brunsbo, Swedenborg intended to make a
plan of this boat for the Collegium Curiosorum, but no such
plan has been found.(OQ. 1:225 = LM. p. 57)
(2) "A plan for a siphon or pump for the quick hoisting of
large quantities of water" (n. 2).
Among Swedenborg's early papers preserved in Linkoping
is a page headed "Machina Syphonica Apparatus." It consists
simply of a few jotted notes. It is likely that this MS.
shows the actual state of Swedenborg's inventions until he
came to write them out for publication. (Ibid. 225 = 57; 1
Phot. 20) It may be, however, that the above was written in
connection with the Carlscrona dock work.
(3) Another plan for the lifting of weights by means of
water combined with this syphon. (n. 3)
In a letter to Eric Benzelius, dated August 9, 1715,
Swedenborg describes these two inventions as follows: (2)
"Water pumps whereby a large quantity of water can be pumped
out of any body of water whatever, in a little time." - Of
this invention, Swedenborg sent his father three drawings,
either from Rostock or from Greifswalde where he went after
leaving Rostock. (3) "A machine for hoisting weights by means
of water as easily and quickly as one can do it by mechanical
forces." - A drawing and accompanying calculations of this
were also sent to Bishop Swedberg. None of those drawings is
now known of; there is, however, in Linkoping a drawing and
description of a hoisting machine which works by screws and
gears. This may belong to the present period, or it may have
been written at Brunsbo in 1716, with a view of publishing it
in the Daedalus. Closely connected with this is the
"Description of a Crane. The figures to accompany this are
lost. The article itself describes "a crane whereby one can
lift thirty-two skeppund cannon." (OQ. 1:230 = LM. p. 65;
Phot. 1: 102-4; Hyde, n. 95) It is not improbable, however,
that these inventions were inspired by the work at
Carlscrona.
Closely connected with the above is the plan for "making sluices (or locks) even in places where there is no fall of water, by which whole ships with their cargoes can be raised to a given height in one or two Of this, the Bishop received also a drawing with the necessary mathematical calculations. (OQ. 1:230 = LM. p. 65)
The three last mentioned of these plans all involve plans for pumping up large quantities of water in as short a time as possible.* In Lowthorp's Abridgment of the Philosophical Transactions (vol. 1. p. 625), various new inventions for water pumps are described, but evidently Swedenborg felt he could improve on these. (Ibid. 220 = 42)
* This was done in the Carlscrona Dry Dock.
One of the inventions is vividly reminiscent of the days in which Swedenborg lived - the days of walled towns with moats, drawbridges and Portcullis. The invention is:
"A drawbridge which can be closed and opened from within the gates and walls" (n. 6).
On the other hand, the inventions yet to be mentioned are suggestive of the modern age. Thus:
"A mechanical carriage which shall contain all kinds of works moved by the going of the horses." (n. 12)
This is, of course, a matter of the proper gearing of wheels and the increase of powers thereby, about which Wilkins has much to say. See Mathematical Magic p. 50 seq.
Then we have a "new construction of air guns, a thousand of which can be exploded through one tube and at the same time." (n. 8) Swedenborg's language is misleading here, if we are to be guided by a later letter he sent to Eric Benzelius, wherein he states that he had sent to his father "a machine (i.e., the plan, together with the necessary calculations) to shoot with air ten or eleven thousand shots at a time." Perhaps the shots were contained in separate tubes, each holding a line of shots and all enclosed in a single tube and to be shot off by the operation of a released spring or lever. (OQ. 1: 230-31= LM. p. 65)
Light is thrown on the nature of this invention by an illustration included in Swedenborg's first draft of his theory of the earth, written in the Spring of 1717. There he says:
"One knows also how to shoot bullets through glass and metal
tubes by means of pumping out the air; and when the air is
afterwards admitted to the bullet, the latter must acquire
such speed as though it had been pressed by the most powerful
air or gunpowder."
Bishop Wilkins and also Lipsius describe how this lever was used by the Romans to shoot off a large number of arrows or javelins at a time; and the Bishop deems this better than gunpowder shooting or guns. (Ibid. 270 = 152)
In a latter written a year later, in which Swedenborg is evidently referring to the same series of inventions, he includes what appears to be another kind of air gun. His words are:
"A sort of air guns which are loaded in a moment and shoot 60
and 70 shots in succession without any loading."
Swedenborg never draw plans of these guns. What appears to be plans of such an air gun is printed in Daedalus Hyperboreus (facing p. 50), but unaccompanied by any description. (Ibid. 231= 65)
We have also on Swedenborg's list of inventions:
"New machines for condensing and exhausting air by means of
water; and concerning a new air pump worked by water and
mercury without any syphon, which works better and easier
than the ordinary pump."
These pumps, Swedenborg fully describes and delineates in Daedalus Hyperboreus III; an improvement is described in a special little work he published in 1722 (see N.P. 1920:96, where this pump is illustrated). A drawing of one of these air pumps, together with calculations, was sent to Bishop Swedberg from Greifswalde. (Ibid. 228 = 61)
Lastly, we have: "A flying machine or the possibility of
staying in the air and of being carried through it." (n. 12)
To this date perhaps belongs the diagram of this machine in 1 Photolithograph pp. 21--22. Perhaps it is one of three "machines" which Swedenborg promised to send to the "Upsalienses" for examination. (Ibid. 226, 228 = 58, 61)
In this connection, we note that in Lowthorp's Abridgment, which Swedenborg "read through," mention is made of the fact that Friar Roger Bacon says "he himself knew how to make an engine in which a man sitting might be able to carry himself through the air like a bird," and that there was a man "who had actually tried it
We shall have more to say about this matter a little later. Suffice it now to say that Swedenborg pursues the problem along the same lines as the ingenious Wilkins (see Math. Magic 112s.)
See The Mechanical Inventions of Emanuel Swedenborg, SSA 1939.
Swedenborg must have been very busily occupied at Rostock, and perhaps also after he left Rostock, with the drawing of plans of his inventions with the necessary mathematical calculations. At least eight such plans were sent by Swedenborg to his father, and he himself observes that they cost him a good deal of work. (OQ. 1: 228, 230-31; LM. pp. 61. 65)
For recreation, he again turns to poetry and also occupies himself with fables. In the letter from Rostock of September, already quoted, he writes:
"Now also I have time to bring my poetic productions into
orderly arrangement. They consist merely of some fables like
those of Ovid, under cover of which are concealed all that
has been going on in Europe during the past fourteen or
fifteen years, that so we might be able freely to jest with
serious matters, and to sport with the heroes and the men of
our own country." (Ibid. 227 = 58)
The reference is to the Camena Borea which was then being written.
The fruits of his experiences, especially in England, now lead him to the expression of a desire which he must long have cherished - the establishment in his own country of a Society like the Royal Society and the Academie Royale. And as the basis of this Society, he turns - not to abstract learning and philosophy, not to the humanities, but to physics, mechanics, hydrostatics, etc.; and in this he hopes that his own inventions may have some part. He outlines the work he would like to do on his return home, as follows:
"I have now a very great desire to go home to Sweden and take
all Polhem's inventions in hand, making drawings of them, and
giving descriptions, also comparing them with physics,
mechanics, hydro statics, and hydraulics, and likewise with
algebraic calculations; and to give them out in Sweden rather
than in other places, and set up for ourselves the beginning
of a society in Mathesis for which one has so fine a
foundation in Polhem's inventions. I wish that mine also
could serve thereto." (Ibid. 227 =58)
Swedenborg stayed in Rostock, which was then in the peaceful possession of Mechlenburg, probably from July or August 1714 to September or very early in November 1714. From Rostock he then went to Greifswalde, a university city in Swedish Pomerania - but from 1713 in the temporary possession of Saxony - some fifty miles east of Rostock, and twenty miles south of Stralsund, at which latter fortress General Ducker was holding the city against impending attacks by the Danes, Prussians and Saxons. (ACSD 79; ill. Pom. Jahr. pp. 89, 144)
In this small town, Swedenborg remains "a good time, when also King Charles XII came from Bender to Stralsund." (Resebeskrifn. p. 3)
This return of Charles XII happened on the night of November
10-11/ 21-22, 714. The arrival of the King at once led to
inimical action on the part of his enemies. Early in 1715,
Prussia and Hannover declared war and joined Denmark and
Saxony in the attempt to take Stralsund and the King. They
succeeded only after much loss. But December 11/22, 1715, at
midnight, Charles XII left the city and, crossing the water
in a small vessel, arrived at Tralleborg the following
morning, having been absent from his country over 14 years
9 as a conqueror, and 5 as a defeated but yet obstinate man.
(Pom. Jahrb. pp. 46, 51)
The attack on Stralsund, of course, made all
communication with Sweden extremely hazardous owing to the
overwhelming Danish fleet. And this was the case also with
Greifswalde, which, though not at war, yet could not
communicate with Sweden. So Swedenborg lay there from
September or November 1714 until he was fortunate enough to
secure a place in a yacht which took the wife of the Royal
Secretary and favorite, Casten Feif, to Sweden.
(Resebeskrifn. p. 4)
How long Swedenborg stayed in Greifswalde, save that it was "a long time," is not known exactly. However, he had arrived there in September or November 1714, and was in Brunsbo, in June 1715. He himself declared many years later that he left Greifswalde "when the siege [of Stralsund] was to begin." The siege actually began in the commencement of July 1715. Swedenborg's words must, therefore, be interpreted as meaning that he left Greifswalde "when war was declared by Hannover," who thus joined Prussia, Saxony, and Denmark. This was in April 1715, and, of course, it involved the siege of Stralsund and the securing both of Charles XII and Swedish Pomerania. Thus Swedenborg left Greifswalde in April or early in May. That he was in Brunsbo in June will be seen later. (OP. p. 88; Resebeskrifn. pp. 3, 4; Fryx. 26:52, 61; CMH. 6.24)
In Greifswalde, Swedenborg occupied his time partly in arranging and preparing his inventions, and partly in writing and publishing three literary works. Doubtless also he attended lectures at the University.
He writes to his brother-in-law from Greifswalde on April 4th (O.S.= March 24th), 1715, promising, among other things, to continue making drawings and calculations in connection with his inventions. In that city, also, he meets two Swedes who have arrived from the army in Turkey, from whom he hears some news about Hinric Benzelius who is in Constantinople. One of these young men was Olof Estenberg with whom he had some connection in later life when in 1745 he presented him with a copy of Worship and Love of God. Estenberg had for many years previously been Secretary to the State Archives, and was at the time of the presentation a member of the Chancellor's Council. (OQ. 1:228, 230 = LM. pp. 61, 63; Fam. 7:935)
In Greifswalde Swedenborg is more than ever enamored with the idea of establishing a learned society in Sweden. He proposes to send over plans of his air pump to Upsala to be examined by the Professors there, and then to make plans and calculations in connection with Polhem's inventions,
"and thus to make them ready to give to the public when
opportunity offers. This perhaps might be a little foundation
for a society of physics and mechanics with us, just as well
as in other places. When it becomes known what use these
inventions have in connection with the working of mines and
ores and with manufactures which are being established in
Sweden [referring apparently to the manufacturing projects
being carried on by Polhem in Stiernsund], one can hope that
in time there will be some encouragement from one college or
another in Stockholm. . . . Such a movement ought to be
commenced on a small scale and gradually; and within some
years it ought to grow." (OQ. 1: 228=LM. 61)
We see in these words the underlying spirit which animated Swedenborg to establish his Daedalus Hyperboreus; and we note that in this sketch of what Swedenborg afterwards actually carried out, three or four years later in the Daedalus Hyperboreus, there is no trace of any reaching after abstract philosophy, still less after theology, and least of all is there any sign of mystic enthusiasm. Swedenborg is eminently practical. He will have everything based on the clear evidence of physics, hydrostatics, etc., and supported by the findings of mathematics; and here we are reminded of what many years later he said to his friend Robsahm, that he had never expected to be a revelator. "My purpose," he adds, "had previously been to explore nature, chemistry and the science of mining and anatomy." (Doc. 1: 35)
The question of money seems now to have disappeared from Swedenborg's serious consideration; at any rate, at Greifswalde, early in 1715, he gave to the printer his Ovidian Fables concealing "the doings of certain kings and magnates," which were then published under the title Camena Borea dedicated to Gustave Chronhielm, "the true Maecenas of the Muses with our August King."* It would appear that part of this work was written or at any rate conceived in the beautiful park which lies in the Park of Versailles between the Palace and the Fountain of Apollo: (OQ. 1:229 = LM. p. 62)
* Count Cronhielm (1664-1737) had been the tutor of Charles XII. He is known mainly for his great services in drawing up in clear language the body of Swedish law. His portrait is in Familjebok 5: 887.
The first of the twenty-two Fables contained in the
Camena Borea is an invitation to his muse to visit the home
of Count Chronhielm.
The second describes the scene and the occasion of the
writing of the next following Fable which is by far the
longest of all, and which is entitled: "The Contest of Mars
and Pallas." "In this Fable [the second]," to quote
Swedenborg's own summary, "the Author writes to his Readers
and excuses himself for not writing his Fables in song. He
relates that he was at Versailles when he wrote them, and,
indeed, in that sacred grove which is near the palace, and in
the park there where is the Fountain of Apollo. And how that,
after the first dawn he beheld the rising Phoebus, and by him
was despoiled of his lute with its strings, and also of his
paper; and how that all these were carried off to the branch
of a tree, and were turned into a bat." We give now the Fable
itself:
"I was at Versailles: There is there a sacred grove
bordering on the Palace of the Palladin Hero. The palace
crowns the grove, and the grove the palace. Around about, one
would think there was
The next following Fable is headed "III and IV," though
why is not apparent - perhaps because originally it had been
divided into two fables.
Each of the Fables in this little work is preceded by a
brief description of the plot, and these we will quote.
Fables III and IV: "It is told how that Jove divided his Empire of the world among his sons, and enacted that each of them should act for him as ruler for five years; and that when Mars had finished his term and was to have been succeeded by Pallas, Mars desired to commence a second term; but it had been laid down by the Fates that the two should contend concerning this matter, and that both should fly down from heaven to earth, and he who should be the first on earth would be the ruler for the term. But when they contended, lo! both fell to earth at the same moment. It is then told how that the Fates wove in their inexorable web the following: If the victory should be equal on both sides, Europa was to make judgment between them. But Europa devolved the task on Leon her grandson, and at once Elders of her world were chosen by her who should speak before Leon either for Mars or for Pallas; that Mercellus and Coronis the daughter of glory spake for Pallas. Meridamus for Mars; and finally, that Leon, showing an engraved shield, decreed that Mars should have the Empire for the next five years."
Fable V: "After Viseirus had been conquered by Bellophroon by the help of his golden buckler, it is told how that Leon, stirred by anger, hastened to his mistress Circe and said: Viseirum has been conquered by the gold of Bellophroon; hence Circe touched him twice with her rod and changed him to a golden dove; and then encircled her roof with the most delicate threads and snares, and into these, it is told, the dove fell and became prey to a kite."
Fable VI: "Tells how that Circe was borne in a chariot and drawn by two winged men who, when they refused obediently to go with their mistress to Leon, were turned into birds of night."
Fable VII: "Tells how Tarticanes loved Circe and knew not that Leon was his rival, and that when he found it out, he was touched with fury and rushed blindly to vengeance; and secretly stole Magica, a virgin belonging to Circe her mistress, and by means of her, called to the palace of Leon the furies armed with flames. Then is told the combat of Leon with the furies. But it is said that when she heard of this, Circe grieved and handed over to Leon her magic wand that he might use it in punishing Tarticanes. Hence Leon changed him into a water serpent which passed its life in the Tartarean abodes."
Fable VIII: "is a letter from Olivis to Leon. After Olivis's approach to Leon had been obstructed by Circe two or three times, she finally took it in mind to send him this letter and thereby testify to her love. She first states that her love had commenced in the cradle and in infancy; then she pours out her complaints against the Gods and the whole of Olympus; and also against Coronis whose snares and deceits she narrates. Many questions are asked concerning his daring in rushing into danger, and his striving to reach Olympus through the forest on Mount Atlas."
Fable IX: "Tells how that Ariadne came to the shores of the ocean and beheld under the waves an image of herself, and herself being crushed by the waves; and she sported with her own image; at sight of which, the God of the ocean was captured by her form, and deliberated with himself whether he should steal her away and should move shore from shore and receive her as she fell into his waves. But thinking this unworthy of him, he clothed himself with a royal garment and came to her, sublime in his chariot, accompanied by the Tritons
Fable X: "Tells how that Dejodes when in the flower of his youth, while hunting, by chance saw Coronis, and at once burned with love of her, and said many things which came not to her ears. Hence, he at once let himself on to a horse, and rode to the Palace of Pallas, and begged Coronis with many prayers to be the partner of her bed, and received the most favorable signs from his mother Goddess in her abode; and, being gladdened with these, he hastened to the place from which he last had seen Coronis, and there saw Pallas and the Goddess of Glory, neither of them being in their own countenance and clothing but in one that was strange; hence, though not recognizing her, he spoke with his mother concerning Coronis, and received her as his bride together with much dowry."
Fable XI: "Tells how that Coronis fled away from Dejodes to Leon, but after ten years, again burned with love of him, and begged Pallas concerning him; but from her, she got the response that she would again become Dejodes' love if she were given him by Albion; wherefore, Coronis changed herself into a boy and, as it were, into her own brother; and when Albion was caught by the love of this boy, he promised her that if she wished to be his, she should send his sister back to Dejodes. Straightway she went off and clothed herself in her own countenance and garments, and on the faith of the promise was sent back to Dejodes."
Fable XII: "Tells how that Orpheus saw his Eurydice standing at the gate of Taenarum, about to return again to her life, and hence he burned with the desire of also following her from the abodes of the shades; and concerning this, he supplicated the judges and received the answer, that he would be allowed to follow Eurydice into life but not to be united with her. Hence it was given as an office to Morpheus, the God of Slumber, that he should transfer him into life by means of a dream; and when this was done, then, unknown both to himself and to the shades among whom he had been, he came among mortal men. But when, later, he went off to many parts of the earth to seek Eurydice, the story goes that he came toward Boreas and approached a Muse upon whom he came all unknown, heard her for a long time singing the fate of herself and Eurydice; and then,
Fable XIII: "Tells how that the Muse migrated to the Boreal country, and there established a Parnassus like that which she had had on the soil of Greece. But since this was done without the permission of Mars, the Lord of that land, this Parnassus came to resound with the trumpets and the clangors of Mars."
Fable XIV: "Relates how that animals of various kinds were led by the Muse to a fountain, that in them she might see the power of her water; hence a horse, from drinking the water, became a winged horse, a she goat mingled the water with wine; the lamb become a sheep, and the leader of the flock and the dog sported with the water."
Fable XV: "In this Fable it is told how that a certain Lion was sent by the Deities into the world that he might satisfy their anger and commit much devastation and mingle a large part of the earth in slaughter. Finally, the Lion was surrounded by a company of hunters; but it escaped through the network and went to other parts of the world, leaving his lioness. Whence the latter was captured and burned to the Goddess Rhamnusia. [Nemesis]. But from her ashes rose up a ram which, to avenge the slaughter of the lioness, attacked the sacrificers and put many to slaughter and to flight."
Fable XVI: "States that a certain altar stood in the confines between the groves of Jupiter and Cybeles, sacred to both and to neither; but, that they might become the one's, it pleased them that the animals of the two Gods should contend concerning it, Lions and Eagles. But it is related how that the Lion won, and the altar was claimed by the Goddess as hers; whence Jupiter was angered and gave the Victor to the slaughter."
Fable XVII: "Cybeles, as the prize of victory, has turned two lion pups into virgins of the most beautiful form, and delivered to them the custody of her chariots and lions."
Fable XVIII: "When Dolydanes captures a certain Leonigena, it is told how that Cybeles grieved and took a ram into her chariot and sent it against Dolydanes. But he had first been changed by Liberus into an elephant, and when the ram had been conquered and wounded by him, he returned again into his own form, and by the help of foxes was carried into flight."
Fable XIX: "Tethyos, the Son of Bellophroon, and Polycith the Son of Mars and Venus, hearing an Elephant, were afraid because they have another Lion Puppy which they have overcome by snares; and they were turned, the one into a wave by Tethy and the other into an arrow by Venus."
Fable XX: "Relates that the Fates were indignant that one Ram had broken so many vines and stems; therefore, they made up for him a stem, and led him into a grove sacred to Cybeles, wherein he was followed by hunters, and they overcame him by snares and in a labyrinth and by other deceitful nets."
Fable XXI: "It is here related how that Minerva was touched with the desire of returning to the primeval age of Saturn, and solicited the Deities on this matter but received repulses. Therefore, she made herself a world like the ancient, which so circled in the vital auras as to animate all that it could; at the same time, it animated its Goddess Pallas with a new kind of life, and made her with child when she was seeking sleep, and in the space of a year she brought forth the infant called Dejodes."
Fable XXII: "Relates that there was a certain little dog which understood the speech of men and could signify to its master what it had heard. But it was presented to a Muse and was turned by Apollo into an infant."
This last Fable constitutes the "End of Book I," and that Swedenborg expected to publish a second book and even, perhaps, had the material in hand, is indicated by the catchword printed on p.103, although the last page, which would be 104, is empty, No second book was ever printed.
What men or nations are represented by the different characters in these Fables remains still to be ascertained. We note merely the following who are mentioned several times:
Leon - perhaps Louis XIV and France (Fable 3, 5-8, 11, 15,-17). Chas. XII perhaps in Fable 8.
Coronis - " Sweden (Fable 3, 8, 10, 11)
Dejodes - " Denmark ( " 3, 10, 11)
Albion - " England ( " 3. 11)
At Greifswalde, Swedenborg realized the opportunity he had spoken of when in London in regard to trying for a name in poetry. He collected his various poems and published them under the title Ludus Heliconius. They comprised The Festive Ode to Stenbock (1710), the Ode to Palmqvist (1713), an Ode written at Oxford in 1712, and a long and pretentious Fable which he composed perhaps while writing the Camina; the book, which comprises 18 pages, small quarto, ends with 2 pages of small poems on a variety of topics. Whether this work was published before or after the Camina is not wholly clear, but the probability is that it was printed afterwards.* (OQ. 1: 219 = LM. p .40)
* Swedenborg, in his letter of April 4, 1715, says: "I have already put by one or two [poems], and now I have under press, etc., [the Camina Borea]."
Nor can any definite precedence in time be given to the third work Swedenborg published in Greifswalde. From the fact that the Dedication refers to General von Ducker being surrounded by war, it would appear to have been published in the Spring (April) of 1715, thus, shortly before Swedenborg left for Sweden. The very existence of this work was not generally known until 1903, when Mr. Stroh discovered two copies of it in the Library of Greifswalde University. Swedenborg himself, however, refers to it in his letter to Eric Benzelius of August 9, 1715. Later, it was published by the Swedenborg Society, London, in a zincotype reproduction. The full title is: (NCL 1908: 424)
"Festive Applause on the Arrival into his
Pomeranian Land of
CHARLES XII
The Phoenix of the Ancient Gothic and
The Monarch of our Northern Race, on
November 22, 1714" [Old Style = NOV. 11
In estimating this work, one must keep in mind, not only the artificial character which during Louis XIV's reign had become almost stereotyped, but also the particular causes of enthusiasm which a Swede at that time experienced.*
* After the Kalibalik there was much written lauding Charles XII, comparing him to Alcibiades, Alexander, Achilles, Hercules (Bain, p. 217).
Although for five years Charles had lain in Turkey impotent,
unable to obtain money or men for the effort to retrieve his
defeats and yet unwilling to come home beaten - despite this,
such was the hold he had taken, not only on Swedes, but also
on the European imagination, that he was still popularly
regarded as the heroic prodigy of war. Soldiers and civilians
were drawn to him as to a magic charm. Voices were indeed
raised complaining of the burdens the King was putting on the
people, of his criminal and self-imposed absence; but a word
from Charles was enough to still, if not fundamentally to
remove, such complaints, and to substitute for them
confidence in the Lion of the North. What, then, must a young
Swede have felt, and especially one who had as yet no actual
experience of the terrible condition into which Sweden was
now reduced, when this Lion Warrior was returned to his land,
was within actually fifty miles of himself, and preparing
with bravery and experience, but at immense odds, to fight
the armies of six powers, and the fleet of Denmark! This must
be kept in mind in reading the Festivus Applausus, as well
as the exaggerated style of the age. The work is dedicated to
"Baron Carl Gustaf Ducker, the Supreme General of his Swedish
Majesty's Armies in Sweden."*
* General G. G. Ducker (1663-1732) had been appointed in 1711 to see to the defences of Stralsund against threatened danger. Swedenborg comes into personal contact with him in later years when engaged on the Gotha Canal. Earlier in 1714, the Swedish Government had ordered him to leave Stralsund for Skane, but Charles changed the order and shortly afterwards himself joined von Ducker to direct the war.
The Festivus Applausus is a laudatory description, couched
in poetical language, of Charles XII's residence in Turkey
and his journey therefrom to Stralsund. It is dedicated to
General von Ducker at whose house in Stralsund Charles is
staying. The work is a prose
Noting that the ancient Goths took service under Greek and Roman leaders and then returned to the North and there inscribed their deed in ancient letters carved in stone, Charles is introduced as the "Leader and Hero of our North," who "was commanded to live again in this age wherein we live, and to arise as a Phoenix from the ashes of the ancient race the parent of his own, and as the hero of its glory and its redeemer from further forgetfulness"; and he was to be led to the same places whore went the Goths of old, and where now rest their ashes. Were we to live in a later age, we would consider the deeds of Charles as fabled stories, saying that such men are now extinct.
After speaking of the happy omens attending Charles's early years, he is represented as being in the south of Europe led "by all Olympus" and "by the ordination of ages and of his own glory," and the narrative then continues: "Nothing is more plainly declared by the Oracles than that this land, which has given breath to so many heroes, was the last goal of his glory to which he would make for himself a way through so many victories and slaughters . . . Where should be the final ground of his glory save where his parent race first earned its rewards? that land where he might institute funereal sports at the tombs of his fathers, and might kiss the ground and salute the rescued land which is so filled with the bones of his ancestors? . . . And where should those places be from whence he would spread his name to the world save where lies the border of the threefold globe? Where Asia associates with Colchidian Europe and with Africa, wherefrom, as from a center, the fame of the Hero might run out to the shores of the whole world?"
Prior to this, Charles had already earned his laurels, but then he was surrounded by armies, but in Thrace, i.e., in Turkey, "he is left to himself alone, and with his sword alone, and with his virtue and also with a few warriors, he commences to practice the same martial sports, and to acquire the same glory . . . from which we may see that he alone . . . is the consort of glory."
The reference is to Charles's retreat to Bender in Turkey, after the disaster at Poltava; he arrived in July 1709. (Hildebrand, 6:319)
Then follows an extravagant account of how the Nile, the Danube, the Pactolus, the Ganges, besides many nations, all contributed to the support of Charles in Bender, signifying that he then received gold and supplies - which came from the Sultan - and was joined by Poles and
In Bender, many plots were laid by one or other of the Sultan's Grand Viziers, who hoped by delivering Charles to the Russians to gain advantages for Turkey, and particularly the command of the Black Sea. By representations to the Sultan, Charles XII had these men removed and sometimes executed. "How many are the Viziers," runs the narrative, "and the wealthy men of the kingdom, has he cast down from their seats, or driven into exile and flight, and substituted others more favorable to himself." Bring, ibid. 351,367, 370, 378; Hildebr. 6:320)
The battle of the Pruth is then described, but hardly in accordance with the facts as now known. These facts are:
In June 1710, the Grand Vizier had secretly agreed with
Russia to give up Charles in return for the Port of Azov;
being unable to fulfil his part of the contract owing to
Charles's appeal to the Sultan who had promised safely to
escort Charles from his land, Russia declared war on Turkey
in November 1710, and in the following June, 1711, entered
into Turkish territory where the Russians were completely
surrounded by the Turks at the river Pruth.
Charles had been persuaded by his officers not to be present
at the battle, nor was any part of the Swedish Army present.
The Turks agreed, however, that no peace should be made
without Charles's consent. Yet, owing, it is said, to Russian
gold, though the Turks unquestionably had the Russians in
their power, they yet let them retire and concluded a peace
with them without the knowledge of Charles. In reading the
description of these events as given in the Festivus
Applausus, it must be remembered that at the time the true
facts of the case were not known; nor, indeed, have they been
known until comparatively recent years. We quote: (Hildebr.
6:320-21; Bring, ibid. 354, 362, 363-65)
"Straightway against his enemy he leads across the banks of the Danube to a river called the Pruth, a people rallied from so many lands, and a nation [meaning the Turks] of a gentler scepter, not once the victor within an age though superior in numbers; and he brings his enemy, yet glorying in a fresh triumph [the battle of Pultava] . . . to straights and distress, and encloses his swollen ranks with his army . . . and leaves him no way of flight save through enemy coasts and hostile ground. Hence, he who but now was so greatly exultant, mingled his exultant words with sighs, and they say that he loudly complained that he, with his consort and his whole kingdom, might be led away by so many nations. . . But when he ran about among leaders devoid of counsel, it is said to have been determined, by what Deity I know not, to prostrate the victorious nation by . . . certain jeweled arrows and golden apples. Hence, the leader of the Sarmatician world is rumored to have despoiled himself and the consort of his bed, and his generals of their wealth and gold . . . and himself of his gleaming crown, and to have handed them over to his victorious enemy, and redeemed himself and obtained from the Barbarians permission to leave his camp in poverty. O sacred hunger for gold! O needy victor! O nation so greedy for riches! . . . The victory has become a venal victory. The victorious leader succumbs, conquered by gold, and he carries off his burdensome victory only with bejeweled hands, and with laurels dimmed by gold. Mars conquered by Pluto, flees away with shamed countenance."
Charles at once made representations to the Sultan, and in consequence, the man responsible for the escape of the Russians was deposed and subsequently executed, or, as described by Swedenborg, Charles "turns his anger into vengeance, and this against that very leader who but now was the victor. . . ; and he provided that he should be deprived not only of the triumph and the laurel but also of his gold and his name; and, in the course of a few months, of his life; and that his remains and his golden fleece and his head should be impaled on the high point of some palace on the Hellespontian shore, as a monument of ages; and that the trunk and the divided frame might by its body and blood make perpetual atonement for itself and its people." (Bring, ibid., 367)
Charles had promised the Sultan that a Swedish army would come from Pomerania to join with the promised Turkish escort of 50,000 men, for the overcoming of Poland. When, in 1712, no Swedish army was sent, the Sultan wished Charles to leave his country, and when the latter refused, he sent orders that he should be attacked in Bender and taken prisoner. Soon afterwards, however, came the news that Stenbock had actually brought a Swedish army into Pomerania. The news came too late, however, and in February 1713, before the Sultan could countermand his order, Charles had been attacked, and in a desperate fight by Charles and fifty followers against 10,000 Turks,* he was injured and captured and was carried to Demotica near Adrianople and afterwards to Timurtasch as a State prisoner. Thus, to quote from the Festivus Applausus:
* This confused fight was later known as the "Kalabalika" (Tumult)
"He yielded himself conquered only to the earth and to Europe his mighty parent."
But it is added, referring to his imprisonment, which, however, was an honorable one, and to his wounds:
"What dangers must he have undergone! What deaths! and how often was he not reputed to have breathed his last! Through how many changes of the moon must he have passed his life among shades! and how oft has report said, that, weakened by so long a journey, he lay down with panting breath." (Bring, ibid., 384, 387, 390; Hildebr. 6:326; Encly. Brit.)
Charles remained at Demotica for some time, vainly hoping to obtain the promised Turkish escort and the Pomeranian army which should join together for the carrying out of his policy. But in vain. And so, in September 1714, he determined, with the Sultan's hearty consent, to return to his Fatherland. But the way was accompanied with danger. He would not go through Poland where his enemies ruled, and in Austria and Germany he was in danger of being held as an honorable prisoner, but still a prisoner, a hostage for the securing of the desires of these countries. When he left the borders of Turkey, therefore, he left in disguise and with but two companions, afterwards reduced to one. His return is eloquently described in the Festivus Applausus: (Bring, ibid.,
409)
"When he weighed the snares and the enemies . . . he declared with mighty mind, 'Lo, I will be my own guard.' He seizes his sword and from the thousands who are in sworn faith to him, chooses one and commands him to be his comrade. But as prudence must rule over virtue, and chance over prudence; and that he might escape plots by plots, and might behold his enemies as one present in their midst . . . lo,
The narrative then describes how that at the moment he first touched Pomeranian soil, the stars shone with unusual brilliancy, and the moon "looked down upon the returning one with her fullest countenance"; how that when he was but three hours distant from Stralsund, the moon went into eclipse; while at the moment he was at the city gates, she "burst out from the coverings and swathings of our earth and looked upon the Sun of our North with favoring gaze and announced his return to the inhabitants. If you place no faith in me, O reader," Swedenborg adds, "open the almanacs and there consult our skies." What are all these things, he continues, but "the plain omens of heaven . . . the oracles of Jupiter . . . the approval of the heavenly ones?" "What is signified by the fact that . . . when he was distant from his city by no more than three hours [this would be in the neighborhood of Greifswalde], Phoebus . . . fell into a kind of Swoon - [what is signified by this,] save that the Lunar, Phoebean and Ottoman nation . . . the dwellers on the Hellespont, had at that moment almost lost their moon . . . and had again covered itself with . . . Tartarean darkness . . . though previously, when our Charles was with them, she had shone on them in her fulness. . . And while he yet was standing at the walls of his city . . . this same Diana returned again to her brightness, and again covered CHARLES with her countenance and her light. What other is this save that ourLeader himself and our northern Phoebus who, for so long lay hid between the horns of the Caesarian [i.e. Austrian] and Ottoman moon, and for five years had suffered a kind of eclipse, as soon as he was returned to his Fatherland, again came into his radiance and glory and ancient triumphs. . . Can you be incredulous that by a certain hidden stream, heaven flows into our deeds and into our lives and the vicissitudes of things?"
Therefore, he continues, "let us crown our lances with garlands and with the laurels of the victor. . . ; let us cherish with our kisses the ground which first received Him, and embrace it; and, if the memory of our age go down to many centuries, let us eternalize that spot with games and Pythian sports, and there set the goal to which the victors shall run and merit the oakleaves."
Swedenborg then speaks of Charles's personal appearance:
"Of what color now is his face but that of Mars; the picture of martial glory; the features everywhere fearless; a countenance of Heroes, utterly unfamiliar with fear and terror. Does not his hair, formerly covered by hair not his own, now strive freely upward from his forehead like the rays of Apollo, and lift itself up as though to the stars? His hair is not now scented with ointment and sweet smelling myrrh, nor ordered in gyring curls thrown over his shoulders like rays. Nowhere has his forehead any impediment, but is clear and open; and his mouth is ever favoring those who address him, and smiling upon them, and putting forth words few in number but full of a certain majesty and soul. His chest is broader and more august. The shoulders above it are muscular, and the arms, with their muscles and nerves, are powerful; his hands have become skilful with the sword. And his whole body and the part thereof as he sits on his horse is like to fame on the point of flight. For the rest, he rarely shines with glittering cincture. He is not arrayed in a garment of gold and laden with jewels and with a cape of purple, dyed deep with crimson dye and adorned with orders; nor with tunics embroidered at the edges and borders. Nor anywhere in his whole body is he like the delicate and soft members of the princely order. A simple close-fitting garment is thrown over his body, which does not add to its breadth but restrains it, and which has no hindrances and folds which the wind shall blow like sails, nothing to impede him from flying from one wing of his army to the other, and from being able to swing his right arm, and to use his sword against whatsoever limb of the enemy he will. Nor do we see him in finely built palaces or in temples adorned with gold and supported by columns, or in a castle wherein one would think the ancient army of Priam did dwell. He is content with a more lowly and ordinary house, and often with tents covered only with skins and linen and coarsely woven cloth; for he knows that he is more sublime than his roofs, and that the house is illustrious enough when he is within it; and under these coverings, he often has sweeter dreams than in the most glittering beds adorned with ivory and shell.
After a passage concerning the eagerness of the people to see Charles, Swedenborg continues: "Who could believe, when thou set thy last stop on thy native sands, and when thou wast scarce eighteen years old, that thou wouldst be absent almost an entire age. . . . O times, O changes. . . The same race does not now live which thou sawest in thy land of old. They who then were young men and in the most gladsome youth are now worn out. . . And if perchance thou return to thy home, they would rush out with three and unequal logo, and would look upon thee with sharper though now with watery gaze, and would carefully note whether thou art the same as he who went away. They who were infants when thou departed against thine enemies, are now of advanced years; now they are able to follow thy banners and thy arms, and to expose their breasts and their weapons to thy enemies. And she who was then a girl, scarce marriageable and the lowliest among her unmarried sisters, now at thy return is married and has numerous offspring, and with many can go to meet thee. . . Yet, when they hear that thou hast returned, they will again begin to breathe, again revive and draw new breath. . . All will thus be normal, and the winter into which our Boreal and icy north has passed will become Spring; and the ground will command its flowers to be reborn, and the whole land will again resound with gladness. The Muses who in
As appears from the Festivus Applausus, Swedenborg was not ill informed - though by no means exactly informed - as to events in Turkey, and we may note in this connection that when in Paris he had received a letter from Henry Benzelius, a young brother of Eric and a fellow student of Swedenborg himself but one year his junior, dated Timurtasche, April 30, 1713, that is to say, the place where Charles XII had been carried after the Kalabalika of February 1713, and stating that he had been with the King for six months.* Moreover, in Greifswalde, he had met Secretaries Estenberg and Bernard Cederholm, who had been with the King at the Kalabalika and afterwards at Timurtasche - indeed, it was Cederholm who had provided the false pass under which the King traveled as Captain Peter Frisk Pitesci. They arrived in Greifswalde in April 1715, having left Constantinople in the preceding May. Both were probably well acquainted, at any rate, superficially, with the affairs of Charles in Turkey. (Doc. 1:226, 235; Attar Taf., Cederholm; Mottraye. 57, 324; Bring, Chas. XII p. 409)
* Charles XII was in Timurtasche in October 1713, and had probably been there since February. See Famil.jebok 13: 983.
The tone of the Festivus Applausus may strike the modern reader as being fulsome, yet we cannot avoid the conclusion that beneath all the external grace dictated by the customs of the age, there lay with Swedenborg a genuine admiration of Charles XII - an admiration which seems to have grown greater when he came into actual contact with the King a year or two later. This is further indicated by a curious statement made in the Spiritual Diary n. 4704:
"Many transactions between me and Charles XII were recounted,
and it was then manifestly shown that the Lord's Providence
had been in the most minute particulars . . . also that
unless the state of Charles XII had been changed from good
into anger, one person would wholly have perished."
Before leaving these early publications of Swedenborg - the Camena Borea, the Ludus Heliconius, and the Fastivus Applausus - it may be noted that in publishing one or other of them - but probably the first - Swedenborg was following in a partial way the common practice of learned travelers, which was to publish a disputation preparatory to receiving a degree from some foreign university. Perhaps also he had in mind the partial fulfilment of a promise made to his father, "to publish a specimen Academicum," though the real fulfilment of this promise was the publication of Daedalus Hyperboreus.
At what time Swedenborg sailed from Greifswalde for Sweden is not known. He himself declares that he left Greifswalde for Sweden "when the siege [of Stralsund] was to begin." The siege actually commenced in the beginning of July 1715, and, as will appear later, Swedenborg was in Brunsbo in June of that year. His words must, therefore., be interpreted as meaning "when war was declared," namely, by Prussia, Saxony and Denmark; for the object of this declaration was the seizure of Stralsund and Charles XII in person. This declaration of war was made in May 1715, and we may presume that Swedenborg left for Sweden in that month. This is further indicated by an Epistolary Hymn directed by Swedenborg to "Virum, Celsissimum" who, though not named, is plainly Count Gustaf Cronhjelm, to whom he now sends a copy of the Camena Borea which he had dedicated to him in Greifswalde. In the state of the times, it need not excite wonder that no earlier occasion had presented itself - especially since, as hinted in the Epistolary letter, Swedenborg did not personally know Count Cronhjelm. It was not till August that he told Eric Benzelius about the work and promised to send him a copy; and it. was on or about midsummer's day that Swedenborg wrote the Epistolary Ode which was to accompany the presentation of the book to Count Cronhjelm. (Resebeskrifn. p.4; Fryx. 26:52, 61; CMH. 6:24; OQ. 1:231 = LM. p. 66)
Whether Swedenborg sailed to Skane or to Stockholm or to Karlskrona, or to some other port, we do not know. Probably to Stockholm. See Nya Kyrka Tidningar, 1917, p. 42. (Attar Tafl. 1; p.151)
But soon after his arrival at Brunsbo, he wrote a Carmen Epistolare which was to accompany a copy of the Camena Borea to be sent to Count Cronhjelm. In this Carmen, the "Borean Muse," whom the author numbers "among the least of the Heliconides," is represented as sitting with Swedenborg under a myrtle tree. She then addresses him as follows: (OP. p. 67) (See Fryx. 34:14, 31:18)
"Tell me, Prophet, why thou restest as a farmer on the ground,
In the shade, living softly in a village?
Why hidest thou at home who but now wert a sojourner in foreign lands
And art but lately returned to become an heir of thy country?
Rise, I pray! haste again to return to the city,
Which swells ambitious with its leader and its people.
. . . . .
O how the populous city would delight us nymphs."
To this the Prophet answered in a joking way, warning her of the dangers of the city. However, if the Muse insists on going, he gives her the following advice:
"When thou reachest the city, leave the many palaces,
And let the halls be hidden from thy sight;
Nor stay your steps, nor sing your songs,
Until you see the house of [Cronhjelm].
Lo, methinks it is yellow, being overlaid with pale yellow mortar."
She is then to tell her name and not to fear, for the Count is affable to the nymphs:
Though, indeed, he was not known to me by face.
His countenance is amiable, smiling, and open to the Muses:
And thus, as it were, like a Maecenas . . .
* 51 years. He was born in 1664.
Flame and ever new strength shines out of his eyes,
Wherewith he beholds the doubtful changes of the times.
As soon as thou seest him, he will be to thee a great Apollo;
And perhaps Apollo himself had a like countenance."
The Muses is then to say that she has come to present to him a little book:
"With the name Camena Borea,
And to mention my name as its Parent;
And thou shalt pleasantly relate to him thy many pleasantries. . . .
They are only fables or things without weight.
Such as garrulous old women tell when evening comes.
And I desired them to be without weight.
That they might disperse the many weighty matters on thy mind,"
Later the poem goes on:
"Great Count, when I send this Camena Borea to thee,
It is midsummer night, which all but conquers day with its brilliancy;
And which the young men and the lovely maidens celebrate with sports . . .
In the midst is placed a mast, high in air,
From which hangs an olive with laurels.
And around which the young men and bridesmaids dance,
Joining hand to hand." . . .
They say that if they dance and strike the chords on this night,
The next year will be a prosperous one."
And so Swedenborg puts forth his nocturnal song as an omen for the coming year:
"May a thousand Muses sing to thee,
And the Borean Muse make herself dear to thee."
Here Swedenborg is probably describing a scene at Skara or Brunsbo or in thousands of other places in Sweden on midsummer's day (June 24).
We may presume that Swedenborg arrived in Sweden in May 1715, after an absence of five years. At home he found a new brother-in-law, the Jonas Unge for whose disputation he had written a verse, and who in January 1715 had married his sister Catharine. (ACSD 8; Doc. 3:743)
Meanwhile came the question of employment for Swedenborg. For men of the upper classes in Sweden at that time there was only one respectable or even possible occupation, namely, in the service of the state.
Already on October 21, 1714, while Swedenborg was still abroad but evidently expected home, Bishop Swedberg wrote to the Government (i.e. to the Queen Ulrica Eleonora), recommending his future son-in-law, Magister Jonas Unge, who had just returned from a two years' sojourn in oxford, Amsterdam, Leyden and Utrecht. He then adds:
"I have also another son, Emanuel Swedberg by name, who,
after disputations in Upsala and in order to continue his
studies, has for five years been in England, Holland and
France, and now, as I think, he is visiting in Rostock or
Greifswalde, being much given to Mathesis and Mechanics. With
God's help, he will become a useful subject to your Majesty,
either in the University or elsewhere."
Thus early was there a suggestion of Swedenborg as a professor. (ACSD 77; Doc. 3:1330; SSH. 1:548)
A month later, namely on November 25th, the Bishop again wrote to the King:
"Most Mighty and Gracious King: In my last humble memorial I
mentioned that I have a son, Emanuel, who has been for four
years abroad in. England, Holland and France, and is now
living at Greifswalde. He has made good use of his time, is
master of the requisite languages, and is expert in
mathematics and mechanics. If your Royal Majesty has need of
such a one, I assure you he will give you satisfaction."
Some months later but before Swedenborg left the Continent, namely, on February 9, 1715, the Bishop wrote to the King in Stralsund, asking him to ennoble his children, thus enabling them to enter into the higher offices of the State which none but noblemen could fill:
"Most Mighty King, Most Gracious Lord: It has pleased God to
allot me seven children, for whose well-being I am bound to
care. Of these, three are sons - the eldest seeks to render
himself completely accomplished for the service of your royal
Majesty and our Fatherland, by courses of study; the second
(Eliezer) does so likewise in business connected with
mining; and the third (Jesper) also, by service for two years
in your Majesty's army in Pomerania, but now by a voyage to
the far Indies, or, as it is called, New Sweden. The
daughters have all entered into matrimony with honorable
persons - two are married to men in the priestly estate, one
(Anna) to the Librarian of your Majesty's Academy in Upsala,
Eric Benzelius, and the other (Catherina) to a Pastor, here
in West Gothland, Jonas Unge; of the other two, one
(Margaretta) is married to Lundstedt, the Master of the
Horse in your Majesty's Life Guards, and the other (Hedwig)
to Lars Benzelstierna, the Master of the Mines in East and
West Bergslagen.
"For these I make bold, in humility, to ask that your
majesty will be pleased to show me the grace which other of
my brethren in office experience who are similarly
circumstanced, and allow my children and the two sons-in-law
last mentioned, Calvary Captain Lundstedt and Mining Master
Benzelstierna be honored with noble rank and name. This will
be an encouragement to them in humility
to make themselves still more worthy of your Majesty's and
the country's service; and to me, your Majesty's subject, it
will be a special pleasure at my now advancing age, to be
made happy by my gracious King's favor."* (LM. p. 64.)
* This letter by Jesper Swedberg, as well as his letters of Oct. 21 and Nov. 25, 1714, is quoted by White in his Life of Swedenborg (1867). 1:43, 36-7, but cannot be found in the Riksarkiv. No information is available as to its reception by the Government.
However, it was not so much the obtaining of nobility - to a Bishop's son, this was sure to come in time - that took the Bishop's attention as the necessity under which his 27 year old son lay to make use of his education and gifts in the service of the King. In the effort to find him an office, Bishop Swedberg, on July 12, 1715, writes to the recently (1714*) appointed Governor of West Gothland, Casten Feif, a favorite of the King and who was still with the latter in Stralsund:
"My son Emanuel, after five years' travel in foreign lands,
is now in good health and has come home. I hope he will
become useful n some university. He is ready in the oriental
languages and in he European, but especially is he at home in
Poetry and Mathesis." (ACSD 82; Doc. 3:742; LM. p. 64)
One of Swedenborg's first cares when he reached home was to endeavor to gather up the various more or less elaborate plans of his inventions and of the calculations in connection with them. He had sent eight of these plans to his father, but when he got home none could be found. In August 1715, he writes to Eric Benzelius:
"I have very thoroughly searched for the machines which I
sent to d: Father some time ago and which were eight in
number. As yet I have not been able to get a trace of where
he put them by. He thinks they have been sent over to d:
Brother, which I hope for from my heart since it cost me work
enough to lay them out, and during the winter I have no time
to make them over again."
He then describes the lost plans, which comprised three plans of water pumps, one of a hoisting machine worked by water, one of sluices or looks to be operated where there is no water-fall, one of an air gun to shoot thousands of shots at a time; and perhaps also, but without the mathematical calculations, a plan of his underwater boat, also a blast furnace where the motive power shall be furnished by the fire in the absence of failing water. Another invention of which he speaks at this time is an air gun which is "loaded in a moment and will shoot sixty to seventy shots in succession without any new loading." (OQ. 1: 230 = LM. p. 65)
Whether the sketches were found in Upsala, we do not know. Certainly, except for the plan of an air pump and the air gun, they have not come down to our day.
In this letter to Benzelius, he expresses the wish that he could see some of his machines in operation, and he regrets the lack of material to build them - a regret which we may well share today.
It must have been at this time that he invented his hoisting machine. Meanwhile, while waiting for suitable work, Swedenborg had not been long at
This project occupied his mind as early as June, and by July he had already determined on Kinnekulle, a hill on Lake Venner some fifteen miles north of Skara, as the scene of his future observatory. On July 11, Bishop Swedberg, in the letter to Governor Feif from which we have already quoted, says of his son:
"He is minded to build himself an observatory on the top of
Kinnekulle near Skara, with the intention of enabling him to
find the longitude in the great ocean, for which many powers
have set up great sums of money for him who shall find it.
If there be any opening at any academy here In Sweden, may it
please the Herr Well-born Governor to advance him thereto.
With God's help he will honor his position." (LM. p. 64)
Finally, August 11th was fixed for the day of investigation with a view to building an observatory.
"The day after tomorrow," he writes on August 9, "I am going
to Kinnekulle to pick out for myself a place for a small
observatory wherein I intend during the winter to make some
observations pertaining to our horizon whereby my discoveries
on the longitude of places could be confirmed." (OQ. 1:231
= LM. p. 65)
But though Swedenborg went to Kinnekulle, and probably spent some days there, he never built an observatory; for one thing, his attention was soon engrossed on work for the King; and for another, when he talked of the matter with Benzelius, the latter suggested that it might be possible to arrange to have an observatory built in Upsala - as we shall see later. Still, his stay at Kinnekulle bore fruit, for it was then that at any rate he commenced those close and minute observations which he makes use of a little later in his theory concerning a primeval flood. In a description of this hill, which constitutes chapter 1 in his Height of Water, he indicates that he had made some examination of the hill", and had talked with the peasants concerning it; and it would seem likely that in view of his contact with the English Geologist Woodward, he would take the occasion to note the strata of the mountain. These, he describes in some detail in chapter VIII of the work already mentioned.
Moreover, he is fully confirmed in his idea that Kinnekulle would be an ideal spot for an observatory - an idea which he voiced some years later, as follows:
"At the top of Kinnekulle, the common people have noticed
things which are worthy of investigation by the learned,
namely, that some clouds, rain and thunder begin first, as it
were, at the top; so that one who lives on that height may
appear to be its Jupiter, and the hill a small Olympus and
heaven, since from there the nature of the air has partly its
origin. In a word, it is a height with which Nature has
adorned the West Gothian land and provided the most
incomparable observatory in the world were there only a
Cassini, a Brahe, or an Helvetius who would give it their
name and fame." (H. of W. ch. I)
With all these private activities, Swedenborg is still thinking of State employment, and his thoughts turn to the Chair of a Professor. In August 1715, he asks his brother, in case there is a vacancy, to speak about him to the professors. But it is not in his mind to use the undue influence of his relationship with the Librarian or the Bishop. His request is that his brother will
"advance me with some of the Professors, to anything which
may offer itself. For the rest," he adds, "I will see to
myself.," (OQ. 1:231 = LM. p. 66)
After the visit to Kinnekulle, he went to Foglas on Lake Vetter - perhaps to see if a site for an observatory could be found there, or more probably he went for pleasure. Then Swedenborg again revisits Upsala, a town which he has not seen since his public disputation in 1709. But how different the young man who returns in 1715 from the student who left in 1709. The University is the same, the Professors almost unchanged. There were some changes, however, in Swedenborg's family. When he had left, his sister had a son and daughter, Ericulus (aged 4) and Margaretha (aged 1-1/4). Now she has four children, the oldest already a ten-year old student in the University, and the other an infant of six months old; and we can imagine the delight Swedenborg had in playing with these nephews and nieces, and perhaps in talking Latin or mechanics to the student Ericulus. (ACSD 85)
It is probable, as will be seen later, that this first visit to his Alma Mater was a long one, probably commencing at the end of August and not ending until November 20.
We can picture him as an honored guest in the home of his sister Anna and her husband, who, with "little Eric," must have been eager to hear the experiences of the long-absent traveler. We can imagine also the earnestness with which Swedenborg discoursed with his learned brother-in-law and with the liberal Professors of the Collegium Curiosorum on the development of learning in Sweden. We can imagine him also meeting socially distinguished Swedes and foreigners, such as Peter Ribbing, the Governor of Upsala, Lam, the great theological Professor, and active Riksdagman Doctor Molin, besides many others - professors, soldiers, and foreign visitors. (Anec. Benz. p. 47)
Of course, there was much talk between Swedenborg and his brother-in-law about the desired observatory, and it is doubtless as a result of these talks that Benzelius, later on, hit upon the discovery of iron pipes, etc., which seemed to promise funds for the building of it. Intimately associated with this observatory was the Collegium Curiosorum, the idea that finally developed being that the Collegium Curiosorum, might itself support the observatory from royal grants. The talks must also have gone back to Polhammar's Mechanical Laboratory, the establishment of such a Laboratory at Upsala - and it is perhaps at this time and in this connection that the idea of Swedenborg teaching in the University became first breached.
At the end of the preceding March, Eric Benzelius had received a visit from Pastor Bjorck, returned in 1713 from his seventeen-year pastorate in Wilmington, America, and - especially in view of the fact that Swedenborg's brother Jesper was in the country which Bjorck had just left - it is more than probable that what Bjorck had told his host would more than once be a subject of conversation with Swedenborg, giving him his first knowledge of the American Indian. (Amer. Illum. pp. 8, 83, 96)
Bjorck is relations are noted down by Benzelius as follows:
"They worship two gods, a good and an evil. They sacrifice to
the evil that he may not do them any injury, for the good -
say they - can never do aught but good so we need not to pray
to him on this account.
"The only proof, or rather guess, that they are the remains
of the tribes of Israel is that they have sacrifices, and
that after childbirth their women hold themselves apart for
some weeks. . .
"They have no letters.
"They know nothing about their origin. All are equally wise;
if one is wiser and begins to tell anything beforehand which
afterwards comes to pass, they hold him as a wizard and he
loses his life.
"They have kings, and when the king dies, his son comes into
his place if he is suitable; otherwise another is taken.
"They have only one wife at a time, but if any disagreement
comes between wife and husband, they are separated. If the
wife dies, he does not take another from that family.
"They never fight among themselves, i.e., those who are in
the same kingdom; they have nothing to fight about; they have
no separate property; the woods are their council chamber.
They are very faithful to their word.
"They knew nothing of drunkenness until the Christians began
to bring wine and spirits to the markets; by this they
learned the taste of it and now have a desire for it.
"Their wives give birth without any suffering . . . .
"The heathen reckon time only by the moon.
"They have no idols; do not worship the sun and the moon. All
the borders of their empire are natural - rivers or great
forests.
"Wild beasts there, are not so dangerous as in Europe; they
seldom do any injury to men.
"It is not hard to plant the Christian religion with them,
for they do not have anything prior; the only thing that
strikes them is that they fear that by it they will lose
their freedom, and that the priests will lay taxes on them
. . .
They choose an animal for their spirit or genius, and this
they never shoot, but it is revered above all others."
(Anec. Benz. p. 44)
We may here add that on his arrival home, Pastor Bjorck
preached in the Skara Cathedral on the subject of his
experiences. Among other things, he said: "I have been off
among people of all kinds of erroneous doctrine, and among
wild heathen, but in all the seventeen years I was there, I
never heard so much swearing as I heard in two hours at
Marstrand. . . and yet they boast of their evangelical
doctrine and Christian faith. God save us from the dreadful
and prevailing stortro, I mean the hateful otro."* These
words would find sympathy with the good Bishop, and doubtless
they formed at times the subject of talk between him and his
son in connection with brother Jesper's work. (Amer. Illum.
p. 96)
* Stortro = enormous faith; otro = lack of faith.
But Swedenborg's main business in Upsala was to discuss the actual carrying out of that plan of which he had thought more than once while on his foreign journey, the plan namely, of taking Polhammar's inventions in hand, making drawings of them and writing descriptions, and publishing them as the beginning of a scientific society. Of course, his own inventions were also to be included; and he hoped to get financial support from one or other of the State Colleges so soon as he made known the great and practical value of the inventions described. (OQ. 1:227, 229 = LM. pp. 58, 61)
In Upsala he would find the material for his work in that rich collection of Polhem's papers which had been sent from time to time to the Collegium Curiosorum, and which had been preserved by Benzelius.
Both in his brother's house and in the Library, he must more than once have met with the members of this College, and discussed mechanics, physics, astronomy, etc., and particularly Polhem's and Swedenborg's inventions and the establishment of a learned society with help received from the State.*
* The Collegium Curiosorum continued its meetings until 1719 (Brefwaxling XXIII).
It was during this visit in Upsala that Swedenborg's ideas took definite shape in the decision to publish the Daedalus Hyperboreus (Northern Daedalus), and it was here, on October 23rd, 1715, that he wrote the Preface which was to introduce the first number of this the first learned periodical to be produced in Sweden.
The Daedalus Hyperboreus constitutes in effect the Transactions of the Collegium Curiosorum, and in its pages were printed "Specimens of the conferences and correspondences of the Society." Indeed, this is implied in one of the articles in the first number of the journal, an article commencing: "Among the letters the aforesaid Association has been pleased to send to those who were of the Society already mentioned is a letter to the learned Librarian," etc. It is also recognized by Polhem who, when he
Many must have been the discussions as to whether to print the journal in Latin or in Swedish; but Swedenborg's view prevailed, the view, namely, that it was desirable to teach the people, and also necessary, if a real learning was to be established in Sweden. This was his consistent policy for the first few years of his literary life, until in 1720, despairing of success in the midst of the universal frivolity, he turned to the learned and Latin world, and thenceforth addressed his learned works to his world alone.
The first number of the Daedalus Hyperboreus appeared in Stockholm and Upsala in January 1716, but there can be little doubt that it was planned and written at least in large part during the Autumn visit made by Swedenborg to Upsala.
Of the contents of this first number, we shall speak later. But now is the best time to consider the Preface, containing the first words addressed to the public by Swedenborg the scientist and natural philosopher. It reads:
"That which is now brought forth to the light of day is the
fruit and the firstling, as it were, of the correspondence
which some learned men in Upsala and lovers of the
mathematical sciences have had with our Swedish Archimedes
Herr Assessor Christopher Polhammar. In all times it has been
a lamentable fact that one puts little value on a
praiseworthy thing so long as it is still possessed; but when
it has been lost, then we have missed it.
"Virtue uninjured we hate;
But seek it with envy, when gone from our sight.
"In order to prevent this, some learned men in Upsala, as
already stated, have for five years, by letter writing,
compared their thoughts with the aforesaid Herr Polhammar,
and have received his replies wherein are many profound
views, new experiments, inventions, and machines calculated
to throw light both on mechanics in general and also on
physics in general and in particular; on astronomy; yes, and
on economics; wherein, generally, no further investigations
have been made beyond what has been at one time established,
and each and every one deems that to be sufficient which
father and mother did before him.
"Foreigners hold, for the most part, that our cold northern
lands are little given to the mathematical sciences. But they
judge blindly, and have been led so to think because with
them there has been more opportunity and more encouragement
for the cultivation of these sciences, and, in consequence
thereof, they have accomplished more. Especially may one
commend their societies or the meetings of the learned there,
where each and every one is given the freedom to express a
new opinion, to compare it with others, and then, when it is
proved to be well founded, to give it to the public.
"We would encourage ourselves in the hope of the same thing
when the all-radiant God grants to our incomparable Monarch
peace and tranquillity from his many fierce enemies.
Meanwhile, it is proposed to publish something every two or
three months, sometimes on Mechanics, such as new hoisting
and pumping machines, clocks, etc.; sometimes on Astronomy,
wherein our northern observations can throw such signal light
on those made in southern lands; sometimes on Economics, such
as house building, the construction of fireplaces and ovens,
etc.
"One lives in the confident expectation that this publication
will be regarded and received just as it is offered, with
good will for general service. Farewell.
Upsala, October 23, 1715
Emanuel Swedberg."
Swedenborg left Upsala on Sunday morning, November 20th, and arrived in Stockholm the next morning. This was his first visit to the capital since his infancy, unless he had gone to Stockholm before visiting Upsala, which is not probable. The city with its sixty thousand inhabitants would have seemed small to him, but perhaps its close confinement to the narrow quarters of a small island and its narrow streets reminded him of the crowded condition of London and Paris. (OQ. 1:232 = LM. p. 69; Bring, Chas. XII, p. 508).
He found the place in great excitement over the prospect of Charles XII's arrival.
Stralsund was now closely besieged. Defeat was a certainty,
and on December 12th it came; but Charles had escaped on the
preceding day, and it was von Ducker and not Charles who
capitulated. But this was later. At the time of which we are
now speaking (November, 1715), news of the narrow straights
in which the King was, had spread to Stockholm, but nothing
certain was known. "Some shut him up in Stralsund (writes
Swedenborg on November 21st) and give him no way of getting
out; some vainly gladden themselves with his homecoming and
expect him here this afternoon - at the court, carriages are
all ready to go to meet him. Yet it is the general opinion
that he has escaped; that after his horse was shot under him,
he ran two thousand paces on foot before he got another
charger.*
* This refers to the attack on Rugen. This was on the night of Nov. 4, 1715, when the Swedes, numbering 2,000 men, were led by Charles himself against the Prince of Anhalt at the head of twelve thousand men who had just landed in order to capture the island and thus complete the siege of Stralsund. At this battle, the King was dismounted and narrowly escaped death at the hand of a Danish officer, whom he shot. He himself, however, was wounded but succeeded in escaping to Stralsund, being obliged to abandon his soldiers. With the taking of Rugen, the holding of Stralsund became impossible, and its surrender was but a matter of days. (Voltaire, Charles XII, Boston, pp. 422-24.)
This would redound to his glory, since the Hollander says
that the Swede would be the best soldier in the world if he
knew how to run away." (LM. p. 69)
In the city Swedenborg finds his sister Hedwig and her husband, his new brother-in-law Lars Benzelius who is a Master of Mines and is on the way to becoming an Assessor in the College of Mines. They had been married July 18th the preceding year (1714), and when Swedenborg visited them in November 1715, he found a little nephew, another Ericulus., five months old.
In Stockholm also he found his brother-in-law's younger brother Gustaf who was one year Swedenborg's senior and who was now employed in the Riksarkiv.
Another friend of his schooldays, with whom he again joined in friend ship, was the future Bishop A. O. Rhyzelius who was a second cousin to the Benzelii.
Rhyzelius was the learned Magister who had written the Greek
lines for Swedenborg's Select Sentences. He was now Curate
in the great church in Stockholm, and also Court Preacher,
and now he had been appointed by Charles XII as Chaplain to
the court and to the famous Drabant Regiment.
One of Swedenborg's first steps with a view to carrying out his project of founding a college of mechanical learning was to examine the models of Polhem's inventions which were to be found in Stockholm.
In 1697, the Regent Government had given Polhem
permission to establish a "mechanical laboratory" which was
to be supported by the Bergscollegium with an annual grant of
1500 d.s.mt; its officials were to be Polhem, Chairman, a
cabinetmaker to work from plans, an apprentice, and a smith
and his apprentice. The plans were elaborate and might have
led to something had it not been for the poverty of the
country. Polhem also was partly responsible for its failure,
for he was more interested in his private manufacturing
projects at Stiernsund and, to a less degree, in his mining
work at Falun where he had the title, without pay, of
Director of Mechanics. He had, therefore, no time to give to
his mechanical laboratory. A man serving as both smith and
carpenter was employed for a time, but he seemed to have been
left pretty much to himself, for Polhem was occupied merely
with theoretical experiments. No further effort was made to
institute investigations into mechanics or to establish a
school. The appropriations were needed by the Government for
other purposes, and when the one employee died in 1706, all
work seems to have stopped. It may be noted however, as a
tribute to Polhem's genius, that his Mechanical Laboratory is
"undoubtedly the first effort to establish in Sweden an
institution for technico-mechanical instruction." (Bring,
Polhem, pp. 31, 24, 35)
Charles XII first heard of Polhem's many gifts after he
had retreated to Bender. Early in 1712, Stenbock, for whom
Polhem had invented some military improvements, wrote highly
of him to the Government. Shortly before October, 1711, the
Collegium Curiosorum of Upsala, at Polhem's request, had sent
to the King in Bender a letter of recommendation for Polhem,
complaining that owing to poverty, a man of a rare genius
never before known in our land, must confine himself mostly
to more theory. At the same
time, Polhem himself wrote, giving a list of his inventions.
Charles was at once greatly interested, and orders were given
to support Polhem, to see that he was paid, and to grant
privileges to his works at Stiernsund - for Charles himself
had mathematical and mechanical genius. When Charles came to
Stralsund, Polhem had orders to go there as soon as possible.
This was not done. Despite the King's urgency, however,
Polhem's Mechanical Laboratory was not supported. The models
that had been constructed were neglected and part of them
were taken to Falun; in fact, the laboratory itself seemed to
have moved to Stiernsund, and nothing further is heard of it.
But the King still supported experiments conducted at
Stiernsund. (Ibid. pp. 41-3, 45, 48-9, 32; OQ. 1:238
= LM. p. 78)
Many of the models had been stored in the Bergscollegium
on Mynt Torget, and lay there neglected and covered with
dust. It was these that Swedenborg designed to study, with a
view to describing them (and possibly of improving upon
them), and bringing them to public notice in a work which
should usher in the establishment of a college of technical
and scientific learning in Sweden. Thus, to Swedenborg also,
as well as to Polhem, must be ascribed the foresight which
ultimately led to technical education.*
* A collection of models, called "Polhem's Mechanical Alphabet", is preserved at Falun in the Stora Kopparberg's Museum. (HLO)
Concerning his examination, he writes in a letter to Benzelius, after he had been in Stockholm only five or six weeks:
"The models in the Bergscollegium are perishing from time to time.
In six or ten years they will be useful only for the fire, unless
I wish to avert their fate by means of a little brass
and a little ink and paper," (LM. p. 75)
Doubtless, he is here referring not to any actual repairing of the machines - it was far from his intention to spend his time in such pottering and useless work - what he meant was that he would give them new life if by money and the ink and paper of the press he could introduce them to the world and so demonstrate their usefulness - and this in the projected Daedalus Hyperboreus.
It is the bringing out of the Daedalus Hyperboreus that occupies his time and attention. While he had obtained the material for the first number from the Collegium Curiosorum at Upsala whither Polhem had sent papers from time to time; yet there was much to be done; calculations were to be made, descriptions to be rewritten, to say nothing of the writing up of Swedenborg's own inventions.
"Literary occupations," Swedenborg writes, "are my amusement
every day. It is impatience alone that causes me some
anxiety, and anxiety somewhat disturbs my affairs here."
(OQ. 1:233= LM. p. 741)
The first article for the opening number of the Daedalus Hyperboreus "On the Ear Trumpet" - probably written at Upsala - had been sent by Benzelius to Polhem together with the Preface, and on December 7th, Polhem, in his first letter to Swedenborg, of whom of course he had known by repute, says that, from the description of the ear trumpet, he judges Swedenborg to be a "quick mathematician who will be of fine service in the carrying out of these and similar undertakings." He also likes the Preface, but suggests
Polhem writes in a similar tone to Benzelius, who appears to have written him as to the prospects of Swedenborg finding some employment:
"I note that young Herr Swedberg," he says, "is a quick
mathematician and excellently fitted for the mechanical
sciences, so that if he continues therein in the way which he
has shown in this commencement, he will in time be able to be
of great service to the King and his Fatherland, either in
this or in some other matter."
He goes on to say that when he had been at Carlscrona last summer, where he had been waiting to obey the King's summons to Stralsund, he had noticed many cases where mechanics could save a hundred thousand dalars every year. Moreover, he adds, manufacturing now offers great opportunities in Sweden if only peace comes and the King returns safely. He then continues:
"If I, in any way, can be of service to Herr Swedberg, I
would do this so much the more since it may contribute to the
service and honor of the Fatherland, it being a matter of
rejoicing that there are young and undisturbed* minds which
do not allow the present conjuncture of circumstances so far
to prevail, that they let themselves be hindered from fine
aspirations which are the same time useful," He adds that
while he has not thoroughly studied Swedberg's article on the
ear trumpet, yet he has no doubt of its correctness in all
its details. "It would be my greatest pleasure and delight,"
he continues, "if he would be so good as to compare his
things with mine, orally, and he is always welcome at my
house whenever he pleases."
* That is, undisturbed by the critical state of the country.
He then asks Benzelius to send back such of his papers as Swedenborg wishes to bring out, that he might look them over. (OQ. 1:237)
A like invitation to visit him at Stiernsund is politely intimated by Polhem when writing to Swedenborg on December 19th, in answer to the latter's request for a copperplate and some particulars as to one of his inventions. Polhem finds it would take too long to give the particulars in a letter,
"but," he adds, "if mein Herr had a desire to devote himself
with diligence to the study of mechanics, I should wish that
my poor accommodations were suitable for him for the purpose
of frequently conferring orally, then I would hope we might
find enjoyment on both sides. . . As soon as mein Herr has
printed what is intended, and wishes to undertake something
else that is new, it would be useful if I could have oral
conference concerning it, and, provided it would not
otherwise be troublesome to mein Herr to travel so long a
distance, I would prize it as a great honor and pleasure if
mein Herr was pleased to visit me at Stiernsund." (OQ.
1:238 = LM. p. 78)
Swedenborg had not only the literary part of his work to consider, but also the engraving of the plates necessary to illustrate the Daedalus Hyperboreus; for without plates, the work would have little value. His own
It does not seem that Swedenborg got anything from Geisler; certainly he did not publish any plates by him.
But he wrote to Polhem asking for a copperplate of a machine which was to be described in the Daedalus Hyperboreus. The plate, however, had been lent to a student and could not be got in time for the first number. It is probably the plate printed in the second number - a plate which had been made in Amsterdam in 1694, and it is wholly unlike the other plates in Swedenborg's work, which latter were executed by a Stockholm engraver by the name of Aveln, whose work, however, was not satisfactory. (Daed. Hyper. p. 25; OQ. 1:249 = LM. p. 100)
It would seem that Swedenborg's original intention had been to dedicate the first number of Daedalus Hyperboreus to the King; but he was dissuaded from this by his brother-in-law, perhaps because he had not obtained permission. At any rate, we have the fact that when the four numbers of Daedalus Hyperboreus for 1716 were issued in a separate volume, they appeared in two forms:
1. With a title-page containing a verse beginning Daedalus en auras and following by (1) a Dedication to the King, and (2) an Address to the Reader, dated October 23, 1715.
2. The same title-page, but followed only by the Address to the Reader, word for word the same though with some variation in spelling, but dated December 23, 1715.
Thus it would appear that Swedenborg had already written (and perhaps printed) the Dedication to the King, the Address to the Reader of October 23, 1715, and the opening pages of the journal itself before he left Upsala; but after deciding to give up the Dedication, he had the Address to the Reader set up by the Upsala Publisher's head office in Stockholm, and dated it December 23, 1715. Then he used the already printed Dedication with the Address dated October 23rd, at the end of the year, "if conditions warrant," when the four numbers were issued as a separate volume.* (OQ. 1:252 = LM. 105)
* Besides the two title-pages mentioned in the text, there are also two title-pages for number 1 of the Daedalus Hyperboreus:
1. Containing a verse beginning Saecula vel redeunt and inscribed "Stockholm."
2. The same as the above, but with "Printed in Upsala" instead of Stockholm.
That Swedenborg intended the first number of Daedalus Hyperboreus to be dedicated to the King, who was now in Sweden, would seem to be indicated by the following words which Swedenborg wrote to his brother-in-law early in December:
"As to the Dedication, I must obey you; since you
foresee something there, I also will make it appear that I
penetrate into the same thing, though I should be able to
flatter myself of a little reward thereby; but as concerns
more advantageous views, obedience to your counsel shall
prevail over all interest."
The literary work thus undertaken by Swedenborg was entirely at his own expense, and the cost or the prospective cost evidently gave him some concern, for by now his finances had become so low that, to use his own words, "a single stiver was precious." (OQ. 246 = LM. p. 94)
"A single word to my father from you on my behalf," he
writes to Benzelius early in December, "will be more than
twenty-thousand remonstrances from me; without making any
recommendations [i.e., without directly asking the Bishop to
support the projected work] you can inform him of my project,
of my solicitude for studies, so that he will not imagine in
the future that I would waste time and, at the same time, his
money. One word from another will be worth more than a
thousand from myself. He well knows that you have the
kindness to be interested in my behalf, but he knows also
that I myself have a still greater interest for myself, and
it is because of this that he will challenge what comes from
me, more than what comes from you, my dear Brother." (Ibid.
234=75)
He goes on to refer to some commissions he had been asked to carry out in Stockholm. His sister Anna, differing perhaps from her mother, apparently liked to live in the fashion, and Swedenborg is frequently instructed to buy for her in Stockholm.
"I will see to the shoes for brother Eric", he writes,
"I wil also see to the petticoat, though the dyers have their
hands full; whole shops are being sent to their black
chambers in order to make all clothing more sombre, and, for
the present, everything that has been red or gay takes on the
color of mourning. It is this that hinders my sister's
petticoat from being dyed black." The reference is to the
funeral of the Queen Dowager. See Henrik Schuck's Fran det
forna Upsala, pp. 114-15, 118, 148-49, 150-51. (OQ. 1:234
= LM. p. 76; see ibid. 263 = 136)
When Swedenborg had arrived in Stockholm on November 21st, he had found the old Queen very ill. She died three days later, at the age of nearly eighty - her last words being a prayer that her grandson Charles XII would return home and save his country by making peace with his enemies.
She was buried January 17, 1716, without pomp or ceremony,
together with Charles XII's oldest sister Hedwig Sophia. A
ceremonious funeral had been planned, but this was
countermanded by Charles XII after his return to Sweden in
the middle of December, on the ground that times were too
hard to pay for ceremonious processions. The funeral,
therefore, was a very simple one, attended only by Archbishop
Steuchius and four members of the Royal Council. (Fryx.
29:126; Anteckn. om. Sv. Quinnor)
For the projected funeral pomp, Swedenborg wrote a poem which he entitled "The Funeral Pomp when the Queen Dowager of Sweden HEDWIG ELEONORA was borne to the grave followed by Crown and Scepter, the Court and the Army." Evidently Swedenborg wrote this funeral hymn before he knew of Charles XII's countermanding order; and it would appear that the writing was among those "literary occupations" which, as he wrote his brother early in December, formed his amusement every day. (OQ. 1:233 = LM. p. 74) The hymn itself has merits both for imagination and for style: (OP. p. 71)
Break thou the harp, O Sappho!
O Muse, snap asunder the strings so gladsome erstwhile!
Comes now unto thee the sad hour when words must be sung
Alone, without chords.
Sit at the tomb thou Glory
So oft spreading praise of the Swedes, the fair Swedes of the north,
To Europe's wide land; sit thee down, and now let thy words
In whispers be heard.
Goddess of Northern Glory!
So great with thy laurels, thy triumph, mourn thou in grief
Thy triumph is now sombre pomp, a chaplet thy crown
The seal of thy woe.
Scepter of Gold! which erstwhile
Smote men with its dread! Why so starlike gleamst thou with gems
When soon beneath earth's darksome sod, entombed thou shalt be
With this the sad urn.
Crown, with bright diamonds gleaming,
Which shone on the robe of thy Queen with rays as of light,
Lie now on the pillow in darkness, still and at rest
With jewels grown pale.
Court of the Swedes! once famed
By deeds of her Sires, once a star in Europa's bright crown.
Walk now in the gloomy procession. humble in state,
Deprived of thy Queen.
Army of Swea's 'Norsemen!
In grief form the rear of the pomp, your arms turned to earth;
Ye also will look to the ground, and will smite in your woe
Your sombre clad breasts.
Land of the Ancient Gothmen!
Once Goddess of War, and the fount of nations of old!
Thou Swea, with hair streaming loose and garments all torn
Mourn now in thy grief!!!
Swedenborg's letter to Benzelius of December, from which we have so often quoted, was written in French - of a kind; Swedenborg, however, seems not to have been aware that his French was not good, for at the end of the letter he writes:
"Pardon me, my dear Brother, that I write you in French.
The person whom one thinks of, he amuses in the ordinary
course; my thoughts are flowing in this language for the
present." (OQ. 1: 235 = LM. p. 77)
The opening number of Daedalus Hyperboreus was now in print, and in its issue of January 10th, Ordinaire Stockholmiska Post Tidender - a little weekly of 8 or 16 pages. 16mo - contained the following inserted by Swedenborg:
"It is hereby made known that it is intended every other
month to issue by the press at Upsala two or three sheets of
a book called Daedalus Hyperboreus or some new mathematical
investigations and operations made by Assessor Polhammar and
others in Sweden; and for a beginning in this new year 1716,
some ear tubes, a noise-tube, experiments on sound and the
like, have already been made by the aforesaid Herr Assessor;
and likewise two new hoisting machines described and invented
by Emanuel Swedberg. Copies are for sale at the booksellers
in Stockholm for the author's benefit, and may be bought for
less if one agrees to take the whole work."
The title-page of this first number reads: "DAEDALUS HYPERBOREUS or Some New Mathematical and Physical Investigations and Remarks made by Well-born Herr Assessor Palheimer and other ingenious men in Sweden and which now from time to time are submitted for the general advantage." Then follows the verse (in Latin): (OP. p. 80)
Ages return, and times of old do sport anew
Or Daedalus in very self relives his time;
'Twas he of old fled through the midst of foes,
As this, our Daedalus, flees now our foe,
The first article describes a simple but ingenious ear
trumpet invented by Polhem and presented by him to the Queen
Dowager, "now blessed with God." It "can be purchased of the
inventor" at a price according to the material used.
The second article, on the nature of sound, is taken from a
letter sent by Polhem to Eric Benzelius of the Collegium
Curiosorum. It consists of an investigation into the nature
of sound waves by a study of waves in water when stirred; of
the tremulation in a long hanging rope when either end is
struck; and in empty balls in contact with each other. Such
phenomena are presented as the time-distance between the
seeing of a shot fired, and the hearing of it; the difficulty
of making oneself heard from above as compared with from
below which is illustrated by the sound of kettle drums or
bells heard from a height or from a depth; the fact that
water running in a long pipe will always come out with a
spiral turn to the right; and that in Lapland, thunder is
heard more plainly in the valleys than on the mountain tops.
From these phenomena, all of which are explained, some
interesting deductions are made as to the nature of sound and
hearing as being pendent on tremulations.
This is followed by an account of "experiments in connection
with sound that remain to be made in our own country. "It is
our intention,"
says the writer, evidently Swedenborg himself, "hereafter
always to present something which will excite the industry
and desire of others; and this in order to show that our land
has more manifold advantages for making experiments than any
other; which later could serve for throwing light on our
machines, and also would make some noteworthy contributions,
useful both for other societies and for our own land."
The suggested experiments are for the finding of the
speed of sound waves; for the study of echoes - here
reference is made to St. Paul's whispering gallery and of the
directions and reverberations of sound in mines and in
different states of wind and weather.
It is in connection with this article that Swedenborg wrote his "Experiment on Echo" which is now preserved in Linkoping. (Phot. 1:205-6)
The article on the noise-tube describes an invention by
an unknown man which, if it works out practically as
indicated by the theory, "its usefulness would certainly
correspond to its price." It is a large instrument (some 75
feet x 30) built something in the shape of a megaphone. If
put on the top of a high hill, and if a cannon be then
sounded near its small opening, the sound will be heard
thirteen miles away - instead of less than two. "By this
plan," continues Swedenborg, with an eye to the times, "the
appearance could be produced of a battle being close at
hand." The sounds of rifles would be thought to be that of
cannons. Still greater would be the noise if two noise-tubes
were combined, but then "it would be well to put wax in one's
own ears."
Swedenborg adds some geometrical and arithmetical notes
on the construction of this noise-tube, and in the course of
this, he gives a new method for finding the harmonic
proportions in an equal-sided hyperbole. (Enestrom, pp. 6-7)
The above articles describe Polhem's inventions, but the descriptions themselves and the mathematical calculations that accompany them were all the work of Swedenborg. (Bring, Polhem, pp. 77, 78)
The rest of this number of the Daedalus is filled by a
description of two hoisting machines invented by Swedenborg
himself. One is an improvement of one of Polhem's, enabling
the hoisting rope to go up and down at will. Swedenborg had a
small model made of this machine (see Daedalus Hyperboreus).
The whole issue fills twenty-three pages - the last page
being blank - and includes three plates.
During this stay in Stockholm, Swedenborg came across and purchased a book dealing with a subject to which he was particularly devoted, namely, a Latin book entitled A Method of finding out the Longitude by Land or Sea, with Demonstrations and plates showing the instruments. London 17157, by Dorothea Alimari, a professor of mathematics in Venice. Swedenborg gives the work short shrift, characterizing it as "mere speculation and nothing more." (OQ. 1:254 = LM. p.109)
From Stockholm, Swedenborg went to Stiernsund, though probably, he first spent Christmas at Brunsbo where doubtless he experienced the "amusements" which later he told Benzelius had "distracted his thoughts." At Stiernsund he met, for the first time, Christopher Polhem and his wife and family. The children - four daughters and one son - were:
Maria, aged 17;
Gabriel, nearly 16, the future helper with the Canal Works;
Emerentia, 12-1/2;
Hedwig, 10-1/2
Elisabeth, 8. (OQ. 1:239, 245 = LM. pp. 85, D92; Attar-Taflor)
The works at Stiernsund were established in 1700 by
Polhem in partnership with the wealthy Count Gabriel
Stiernkrona (after whom the place was named); see above p.
35. (Bring, Pol. pp. 103,105)
In 1712, Charles XII had given Polhem freedom from taxes for
all his raw materials and products for ten years. His workmen
also were free of all personal taxes. Stiernsund was,
therefore, in a very prosperous condition at this time, and
orders could not be filled. (Ibid. p. 106)
Swedenborg made but a short stay here, but it was sufficiently long for him to note the many remarkable machines invented by Polhem and in actual use. (OQ. 1:239 = LM. p. 85)
Polhem refers to this visit in a letter which he wrote to Benzelius some weeks later, it being to the latter that he was indebted for his coming into contact with Swedenborg:
"Some time ago," he says, "Herr Swedberg was here
staying with me, when I became acquainted with his quickness
and good qualities, and therefore I am so much the more
willing to leave him my small scientific pieces to bring them
out; for by his previous learning and knowledge in
mathematical matters, he is prepared for this, and capable."
(OQ. 1:289; 1:243 = LM. p. 88)
Polhem was not only a mechanical genius, he was also a
man of much deep thought, and had he been more highly
educated, he might have made his name even in Philosophy. He
has left behind him an immense number of essays, reflections,
dialogues, etc., on a great variety of subjects, but all
showing reflection and sometimes original thought; in which
productions we find more than one idea which, if Swedenborg
talked with Polhem on the matter, must have suggested or
confirmed ideas which Swedenborg himself later brought out in
his printed works.
Thus, Polhem explained sympathy and antipathy by the
supposition that thought has a materia and thus can pass
through walls, etc., as easily as sound and vision. To this
materia he ascribed dreams. Confer Tremulation p. 13.
(Bring, Polhem, p. 67)
On the subject of creation, while he accepted the Mosaic
account, he yet hold that it must be taken as being
figurative. Creation was from nothing only in the sense that
air is nothing; but actually creation was from an infinite
materia "which God made into a finite." He attributed gravity
to pressure. (Ibid. p. 62, 68)
His genius for mechanics led him to think that all
nature is connected together like the links in a chain of
which none can bear the other if any are missing.
Certainly, Swedenborg on this first meeting with the great Polhem, whom he had admired so often at a distance, and whom he described as the Swedish Archimedes, must have listened to him eagerly. Swedenborg was then nearly twenty-eight years old, while Polhem was fifty-four and in the very prime of his life and powers.
Evidence of Swedenborg's interest - and also, incidentally, of his prospects shortly to be realized of comfortable financial circumstances - is afforded us in the fact that during this visit he promised to rewrite and publish a little work by Polhem on "Wisdom's second foundation for the Honor of Youth, the Use of Manhood, the Delight of Old Age." This work was designed to be a course of 57 graduated lessons in arithmetic, geometry and algebra, and impressed Swedenborg so greatly that, as stated, he undertook to publish it. Writing to Benzelius from Brunsbo on February 14th, he describes it as "commencing in the easiest manner and going on gradually to more difficult matters." A month later, March 4th, when he sends the copy to Benzelius to be given to the printer, he writes:
"I send herewith to d: Brother a little work which
Polhammar has commenced and intends to give out from time to
time. It is a mathematical course consisting solely of
geometry, arithmetic and algebra - of which this is the first
and easiest [lesson]. I promised to put it in print, which I
also intend to do, at my own expense, if there is no one
disposed to undertake it in my stead; and since it is so
useful for beginners and others, it should in all probability
win favor. Perhaps the printer would publish it at his own
cost, for I have no desire to act in such a case as silent
partner, or as bookseller or publisher, since I do not see
there is any occasion of bringing into the undertaking
anything for my own recommendation." (OQ. 1:240, 241 =
LM. pp. 87, 89; Bring, Polhem. p. 98)
Polhem himself refers to the same work in a letter of March 6th to Eric Benzelius:
"I gave Herr Swedberg," he writes, "a little beginning or
introduction to a mechanical and mathematical work for the
instruction of growing youth. Herr Swedberg said he would
have it printed; but as there cannot be so much hurry with
it, I should gladly learn what Messieurs the Mathematicians
in Upsala think of it, and what could be improved in it. It
does not matter to me whether my name appears on it or not,
if only it could be so used that youth would get some benefit
from it; and as soon as it is observed that it is in demand,
the work can be increased to become a considerable book, even
though the beginning is so small and simple." (OQ. 1:243)
Benzelius duly saw this first part of the work through the press (12 pages 8vo and one plate with the legend "lemnad af C.P."). It does not appear to have found much favor. At any rate, no other parts have since been printed, and it remained for Swedenborg himself to write the first treatise on algebra ever published in Swedish. (Bring, ibid. p. 257)
After leaving Stiernsund, Swedenborg went to Starbo, where he owned a furnace some fifty miles west by south, to that residence which had belonged to his own mother, and to which he himself was greatly attached, especially when he wished to engage in quiet study. Here he prepares the copy for Number II of the Daedalus Hyperboreus. He wrote to Eric Benzelius promising MS. for D.H. II (Om Jarnet p. 79; OQ. 1: 296 = LM. p. 224)
From Starbo he goes to Skarviken, a place in Vermland where, according to Swedenborg's work Om Jarnet, there was an iron works; probably a part of Swedenborg's property. He goes there on business, and his business turns out to be most successful:
"In Skarviken," he writes, "I became richer than
otherwise, from which I hope in time to be able to be of some
great service to my Brother. (OQ. 1:246 = LM. p. 94)
At any rate, he is able to send him a considerable remittance in March, and adds that any balance still due from him "shall be settled with thankfulness." He completes Daed. Hyperboreus II. (Om Jarnet p. 80)
From Skarviken, on February 14, 1716, he sends to Benzelius in Upsala practically the whole of the "copy" for number II of the Daedalus Hyperboreus, or most of it, in the hopes that some one can be found in Upsala who will read the proof. But he leaves space for Prof. Vallerius to insert his observation of the solar eclipse, "which he himself can translate into Swedish and leave it with the printer, but [note the editorial qualification], it is understood he will be brief."* (OQ. 1:239 = LM. p. 86)
* Among Swedenborg's papers is an 8-page autograph entitled: "Johannis Vallerii, Observatio Ecclipseos Solaris, quare Upsaliae contigit totalis A. 1715 d. 22 April; St: v. horis antemeridianis," of which a German translation (abbreviated) appeared in Neue Zeitungen, Nov. 27, 1715, pp. 378-80. Although in Swedenborg's hand, this document is Vallerius's composition. It describes the means by which the eclipse was observed, the last page containing the observation itself as subsequently printed in the Daedalus, save that in the latter it is put in Swedish, while in the MS. it is in Latin. It would appear that Swedenborg had copied it when examining the transactions of the Collegium Curiosorum at Upsala, but finally decided to publish only the actual observation which he asked Vallerius to translate into Swedish. Or perhaps he copied it to send to Dr. Halley; In the Philosophical Trans. of 1715, n. 343 p. 245, the latter had contributed a long account of this eclipse, together with the observation of a considerable number of persons in different parts of England (see also p. 314 where accounts from abroad are published). Vallerius found only one page was available. The observation was made with the telescope and quadrant bought in London by Swedenborg. (E. et A. I:p. 75)
From Skarviken he returns to Brunsbo, where he sets to work preparing for the press the Polhem work - or, at any rate, the first installment of it - which he had promised to print. By March 4th, it is ready, and he sends it off to Upsala by the printer's apprentice Hakan.*
* It was printed as "Wishetens andra Grundwahl til ungdoms prydnad, etc. The second foundation of knowledge for the adornment of youth, the use of manhood, and the delight of old age. Adapted for the young according to their advancing years; divided into daily lessons. The first book containing a little taste of that which will be further treated of in those that follow. Given by C. Polhem (12 pages 8vo and 1 plate)." This was the first work by Polhem that was printed.
It is to this date, or perhaps a little earlier at Starbo, that we must ascribe a series of notes by Swedenborg which he entitled De Causis Rerum. The date is indicated by the opening paragraph to a ball moving in water as compared with the motion of the planets. This was the title
The writing of this paper so soon after Swedenborg had first met Polhem suggests that the paper reflects the latter's ideas which Swedenborg notes together with some reflections of his own. This perhaps has a bearing on the way round particles are spoken of in no. 2. (See LM. p. 89)
But all the time he is eager for something that will give him a definite position and employment. Thus far, he has been merely spending money, not earning it, and the Daedalus Hyperboreus had little chance of affording profit. He is especially eager to bring this journal to the notice of Charles XII.
On February 14th, he writes to Benzelius, when sending the copy for No.II from Skarviken:
"I should wish from the heart that this [the second number]
were ready, the sooner the better - so that I could get a
couple of copies of it to Ystad while I were there and could
recommend it, together with the previous number." (OQ.
1:240 = LM. p. 87)
But all the time his thought is engaged on the establishing of a learned society devoted to mechanics and mathematics; and this he hopes might be done in some way at Upsala by the establishment of a professorship in mechanics, to which, of course, he hoped to be appointed. In the letter of February from which we have already quoted, he speaks briefly of the matter and adds:
"If I see no other way out, this proposition will probably be
given in the proper quarter" - meaning the King, whom he
hopes to see on his projected visit to Ystad. (Ibid.)
The journey to Ystad is, however, postponed; for Swedenborg learns that Charles XII is prolonging his stay at the northern frontier.
The King had left Ystad in February 1716, to make
certain arrangements at Karlstad, and afterwards to take his
place at the head of his army in a sudden attack on Norway.*
The attack failed, but Charles XII never returned to Ystad,
and in September he established his capital at Lund. (In this
journey he was accompanied by Estenberg.) (Nordberg, 2:560,
588-89, 585, 602; Bring, Chas. XII, p. 6l6s.)
* In order to keep the planned attack secret, no boats were permitted to leave Sweden, and this order was maintained until the end of April (Bring, Chas. XII, p. 424; Anecdota Benz. p. 52).
And so Swedenborg perforce turns his attention once more to a professorship. On March 4th, he writes to Benzelius from Brunsbo:
"Since the King is still at the Northern Frontier, the
journey to Ystad is postponed until I see how things turn
out; perhaps, therefore, I will remain in my resolution to
seek that of which I wrote to my Brother some time ago, to
wit: 1. Since a society in Mathesis would be as necessary and
useful as a philosophical, and
would heal our land more than even the latter would, both in
the establishment of manufacturers and in connection with
mines, navigation, etc., therefore, to such a society could
well be devoted one-seventh part of the sum which is
appropriated to the Academy. (OQ. 1:241 = LM. p. 90)
This would make a sum of 3,000 dal.s.m., which Swedenborg then proposes should be employed as follows: The Professor of Mechanics (presumably himself), 600 d. (about 4,800 Kr. or $1.250); a Secretary, for which office he proposed Eric Benzelius, 300 d. ($625.00); 4 colleges at 200 ($280.00) each, to be taken by Professors Vallerius, Elfvius, Roberg and Bromell; 4 Auscultants at 100 each ($140.00); the balance of 900 dal. ($1,875) to go for instruments, experiments, models, etc. The 3,000 was apparently to be obtained by reducing the Professors' salaries by one-seventh, which the four Professors mentioned above could augment by the Colleges.* (UUH. 2:2:65)
* Professors' salaries were 700 s.m. = L150 (Robinson, p. 65).
Although Swedenborg says that in making this suggestion "there is more of playfulness" than seriousness, yet, he continues, "if it should meet any one's consent, the recommendation of those who are concerned in the matter would then follow." There was evidently more of seriousness in the proposition than at first appears. (OQ. 1.242 = LM. p. 91)
It quite shocked Benzelius, however, and he was the more afraid in that he feared it might get to the ears of the Professors themselves and cause much trouble; and therefore he writes Swedenborg to this effect. The latter, answering on March 20th, 1716, writes:
"Never have I been or will become so forgetful of myself
and of my good standing at Upsala as to wish that Professors
should maintain their own injury through me; but by a
desperate and execrable proposition of this kind, I thought
to force my Brother's prudence and imagination to give out a
better one. If I framed it in raillery, I can well change it
by speaking the truth; especially as it has gone no further,
since I well concealed it in my Brother's envelope and under
my seal, so that no one is likely to have been able to get a
peep at it. Yet, I should wish that some plan could be given
for the establishment of a society." (OQ. 1:245 = LM. p.
93)
He then makes a new proposition, namely, to drop one each of the professorships in theology and medicine, and to abolish two professorships in the Philosophical Faculty by combining them with other professorships. This, however, would take time, and meanwhile he awaits a proposal from his brother-in-law.
While thus waiting at Brunsbo, he occupies his time in preparing copy for No. III of the Daedalus. He also proposes to engage in the study of the art of perspective, and for this purpose asks Benzelius to send him the Camera Obscura he had left in Upsala. Meanwhile, the proofs of No. II are sent to him for correction, together with Polhem's suggestions and corrections. And this, together with some other work, of which we shall speak later, served fully to occupy his time, to say nothing of the fact that in March he had "a touch of ague," i.e. intermittent fever. (OQ.1:242, 244-45, 246 = LM. pp. 91,93-4)
The second part of Daedalus Hyperboreus appeared in April, and was announced in the Ordinaire Stockholmiska Post-Tidender for April 24, 1716, in a notice written by Swedenborg, as containing:
"A Description of Assessor Palhammar's Blanckstot
machine, with a copperplate; and a handy method of reckoning
interest on
interest, to which is added the changing of Carolins, after
their rise, into whatever other kind of money is needed.
There are also other curious experiments and investigations
written up by Emanuel Swedberg; and it is for sale by the
booksellers M. Lang and Ruger in Stockholm and Upsala."
(OQ. 1:247, 250 = LM. pp. 95, 1O2; ACSD 98A)
The title-page of this second number in shortened and reads:
"II Daedalus Hyperboreus or Mathematical and Physical
Investigations and Remarks for the month of April, 1716,
described by Emanuel Swedberg, Upsala, 1716."
It will be noted that Swedenborg's name now appears openly on the title-page, as the author of all the articles and not merely of one or two.
The Introduction to the first article is characteristic both of Swedenborg and of the current thought in the country:
"Since in Sweden, mines are her chief riches and, as it
were, her treasure chamber, which stands open for access both
in war times and in peace; for they never fail, even when all
other means fail and are taken from us; therefore, it is
incumbent on each and every one of us to give his thoughts to
them that they may be developed and may ever attain to
greater and greater wealth and improvement. Now, since these
treasures lie deep underground and concealed in the hardest
rock, therefore it requires the help of many persons, and
especially of mechanics, to bring them forth with ever less
and less time and trouble, and in greater abundance and, in
consequence, that we may enjoy them to our greater advantage
and profit as time goes on. Now since our Swedish Archimedes,
Christopher Palhammar has shown his skill and ingenuity in
such matters, as an example we will commence by presenting
his first device for a hoisting machine at Blanckstotten in
Falun; and later, as occasion offers, others of his machines
which are in use here and there in Sweden, in order thereby
to give suggestions for many similar inventions."
The machine here described was invented by Polhem in 1690,
when he exhibited a model of it at the royal Castle before
Charles XI, who was so impressed with its value that he
provided Polhem with money for a foreign journey. After his
return, this machine, probably improved, was actually tried
in competition with the old method of hoisting by leather
ropes, and despite the opposition of the mining master and
the men, who feared that they would be deprived of work, it
won a decided victory. Polhem had a copperplate of it made in
Amsterdam, and it was this plate that Swedenborg borrowed to
insert in his Daedalus Hyperboreus - the only plate of
foreign workmanship in that journal. He had arranged, through
"Brother Gustaf," to have this plate printed in Stockholm.
(Bring, Pol. pp. 16, 24-5, cf. 22; OQ.1:240 = LM. p.
87)
With regard to the second article, in the letter from Skarviken of February 14th, which accompanied the "copy" for No. II, Swedenborg writes:
"I have also inserted Doctor Roberg's experiment or
investigation on saltmaking which I have completely altered
so that the trial can now better be made. . . If the Herr
Doctor wishes his name to appear, when it is so much altered,
it is left open to be inserted." (OQ. 1:239 = LM. p. 85)
This paper, like Polhem's, was probably also among the transactions of the Collegium Curiosorum which Swedenborg had examined with a view to publishing. The subject was one of almost overwhelming importance to Sweden where, owing to the war, the importation of foreign salt had been so restricted that salt was obtainable only at prices prohibitive to the common people. The result was much sickness from the eating of unsalted meat in bad condition. It was doubtless this great need of salt that led to the writing and insertion of Roberg's article - as completely rewritten by Swedenborg - which accounts for the closing words of the article: "This, by request, at the present time." (Bring, Polhem. pp. 53, 511)
This great need of salt is referred to by Swedenborg in the article itself, which points out that water could be made more salty, and so more suitable for saltmaking, by freezing it several times and removing the ice each time.
"This experiment," Swedenborg continues, "or experience of
the truth, is in truth worth reflecting on, especially for
the people of Sweden, it being one among the calamities
resulting from the physical deficiencies of this land in
lacking salt . . . that its enemies can refuse it whenever it
will and so can overcome it by this means."
The article points out that to make salt by boiling "our sea water which is so weak, will be too costly, since nowadays all possible saving of wood has become necessary in Swedish economy." The writer therefore advocates experiments on making brine richer by repeated freezings, as already mentioned.
Swedenborg himself had intended to institute some of these experiments at the time he was writing up the article at Starbo; his intention having been to melt salt in water and then to weigh and otherwise test it before and after freezing. But evidently it was too warm at the time, for he writes that "the weather would not cooperate with me." (OQ. 1.239 = LM. p. 85)
In the third article in Daedalus Hyperboreus, he presents some "Experiments which can be instituted in winter time by means of our Swedish cold.
"The suggested experiments are: 1. As to the depth water
freezes in our northern cold; to be found by a tube, 20 ells
long and filled with water, to be vertically exposed to the
coldest weather. It would thus be found whether water freezes
at a greater depth than 17 ells, namely, as high as the
pressure of air pumps.
2. An to the manner of freezing when the pipe is open above,
when it is clothed with a wooden stopper, and when it is
closed by soldering.
3. As to the thickness of the ice; whether evenly thick; and
the differences, if the water be deep or shallow.
4. In very cold weather, the ice cracks and then sinks, as
shown by ice near shore being higher than that farther out;
it is proposed, therefore, to measure the extent of the
sinking or rising as compared with the rise and fall of the
thermometer. Thus data
might be obtained as to the pressure of fresh water."
In the Spring of 1717, when he formulates his new Theory of the Earth, Swedenborg makes use of this phenomenon to explain the cause of the Flood. (ACSD 138 S.8)
"These and other experiments," Swedenborg adds, "could
be carried on and actually made better in Sweden than in any
other place in the world; and should any one have the
curiosity to make trial in this matter, and afterwards
communicate the result, it would contribute both to his own
honor and to the use and enjoyment of others."
Of the next two articles, Swedenborg wrote to Benzelius, when sending him the copy, that he had left them "without name or sponsor; yet it is open to insert them." Benzelius, who was acting as the Managing Editor of this number of the Daedalus Hyperboreus, decided to insert both names. (OQ. 1:239 = LM. p.86)
Polhem's article explains how to calculate compound
interest by means of a graded angle. The explanation is not
clear, but the promise is made to show in a future number the
construction of an instrument by which the calculation can be
made in a moment. The triangle in question is shown in a wood
engraving, made in Upsala, perhaps by Hakan the apprentice to
the Skara printer Kjellberg, who went to Upsala to seek his
fortune and by whom Swedenborg sent to Benzelius the copy for
Polhem's little work on Algebra. Hakan, Swedenborg afterwards
found, could make wood engravings, and, writes Swedenborg,
"that would be needed." (OQ. 1:240-41, 246 = LM.
pp. 89-90, 94; Klemming, Boktryck p. 130)
Swedenborg's original contribution consists of extremely ingenious shortcut methods of changing one coinage into another - a very useful and necessary device in view of the different and complicated values of the different coinages at that time.
The article had considerable practical value, and this was fully appreciated by Swedenborg; indeed, he seems to have a similar fear as to its reprint for private profit, as Benzelius had with regard to the plates. Thus, about April 12th - probably a week or two before Daedalus was on public sale - he writes to Benzelius:
"In the Gazette there was something concerning a new method
of reckoning from Carolin dalers into dalers, etc.; I hope
that Werner in Stockholm has not copied off my article and
published it. It would probably sell for half a daler kop."
(OQ. 1:250 = LM. p.102)
The number closes with a record of the solar eclipse observed in Upsala, April 22, 1715, by Professor Joh. Vallerius. Among Swedenborg's Linkoping MSS. is a copy of this table, preceded by much writing in Swedenborg's hand. The table with some introductory matter was published in Neue Zeitungen for November 27, 1715, pp. 376-80. The MS. was printed word for word in Acta Eruditorum, 1716, p. l4.
This number of the Daedalus, which was printed in an edition
of 545 copies, contains only 16 pages and 2 plates, as
compared with the 23 pages and 3 plates of the more ambitious
no. I. (OQ. 1:240 = LM. p. 87)
"At another time I hope to insert something more useful from
among the things which I collected during the short time I
was in Stiernsund." (OQ. 1:239. LM. p. 86)
Part II of the Daedalus was printed by April 1st, and a copy was at once sent by Benzelius to Swedenborg at Brunsbo. But this was without the plates which were added later before the work was put on public sale. Swedenborg received a parcel of copies in June, but these also were without the plates, which were sent separately. Meanwhile, Benzelius suggests that in future the price of the journal be printed on the first page, because the bookseller in Upsala raises his prices so high so that no copies are sold. This suggestion was never followed up. (OQ. 1:247 = LM. p. 103)
There was also trouble, or at any rate prospective trouble, with the printer of the plates, lest he print an extra number to sell on his own behalf:
"When the woodcut is printed off tomorrow," writes
Benzelius,". . . I shall be on hand so that the printers
shall not have any profit if they put aside some copies on
their own account." (OQ. 1:248)
A little later, when writing to Benzelius as to the contents of the third number of the Daedalus, he writes:
"I hope it will give more enjoyment than the former number,
since I have had more time and peace, the better to work it
out." (OQ. 1:249 = LM. p. 100)
When sending his original copy, Swedenborg had planned for a bigger number, but Polhem had withdrawn one of his articles for further study.* It appears that Swedenborg had not submitted this article to him before sending it to the printer, for in a letter in which Benzelius announces that No. II is out, he explains that Polhem has withdrawn his article on the swinging of a ball under water; he continues:
* The article on the motion of a ball in water.
"Polhem requests that whenever anything of his reasonings are
brought out, he may first be informed so that nothing may
come out which is not thorough and well matured."
Swedenborg, in return, expresses pleasure that the article is withdrawn, "for" he adds, "I was altogether too hasty with the whole of the last number." (OQ. 1:250 = LM. p. 101)
In a letter of April 2, 1716, wherein Swedenborg is informed that Daedalus II is now in print, Benzelius gives some welcome news:
"As to the Observatory," he writes, "it has so far advanced that the Governor [Ribbing] has promised to recommend to his Majesty that the best round tower at the castle shall be repaired for it. There are enough bricks to take from the ruins. Beams and other woodwork can be got from the city authorities. Means for repairs, I have come across here in the earth, to wit, the long iron pipes which served for the water supply from the mill to the castle, and which now lie and go to ruin. There are also
some fine metal pipes which are worth considerable and could
be used for this." (OQ. 1: 247, 248)
These iron pipes were laid in. 1662 by Olof Rudbeck, and
mainly at his own expense. The water was pumped by a wind
mill from St. Eriks Spring to the castle and thence to the
University and the town. Owing to the cost of repairs, etc.,
it was not long used. (Glas, p. 38; Alving, pp. 110-11;
UUH. 2:65)
In 1716, Ulric Eleonora was asked to grant the right to sell
these pipes. This was granted, and they or part of them (see
Benzelius Brefwaxling, XXIV) were sold for 8,977 dal.k.m.
(Glas, p. 38)
All these pipes, he adds, have already been sold.* He
then continues: "Instruments, as many as we have, they shall
get from the Library to begin with, For the rest, and the
annual income, I have thought that it might be drawn from a
monopoly in almanacs to wit, that only one person write
them." (OQ. 1:248)
* This sale refers only to the "fire metal pipes," for on Feb. 5, 1720, the Upsala Lit. Soc. moved to get permission to take up and sell the iron pipes for the use of an observatory; this request was granted, and the sale brought the Society 8,977 dal.k.m. (Bokwetts Oil., pp. 14, 137-38, 141-42, 145, 147-49, 153; Glas, pp.13-14).
Benzelius then turns to the Mechanical Laboratory. Swedenborg, it should be recalled, had proposed first the reduction of Professor's salaries - which quite shocked Benzelius - and then, the dropping of two or three professorships. Benzelius simply ignores this proposal. He writes:
"As to the salary of the Professor of Mechanics, I know
nothing better than that Herr Palhammar should become
ordinary Assessor of the College of Commerce, and my Brother
become Director in his place, and the laboratory Mechanic be
brought here to Upsala. Thus the Director's rank becomes
equal to a professor's. In my thought, the rest is a more
chimera." (Ibid.)
The prospect of having an observatory delights Swedenborg, and he suggests that when the matter comes more directly before the King,
"it would be well that he then got a model of observatories
in foreign lands, having a large balcony above and perhaps a
small one all around below." (OQ. 1:249 = LM. p.100)
As to the proposition for the Mechanical Laboratory, Swedenborg, while flattering himself at having by his own proposition
"brought out my Brother's imagination and prudence to give me
another that is more plausible," yet makes two objections to
it:
"1. There is no opening in the Commerce Collegium for any ordinary assessor," and
"2. The great delicacy of getting Palhammar to resign his present position."
Swedenborg, naturally, could take no part in this, but, he adds:
"if in any way his (Polhem's] approval could be got, I would
then spare no care and means to obtain it," i.e., appointment
as Director of the Mechanical Laboratory. (OQ. 1:250 =
LM. p.100)
But Benzelius's scheme meets objections from another source, namely, from the Professors who were members of the Collegium Curiosorum. What their objections were, we do not know. They were conveyed to Swedenborg in a letter from Benzelius written at the end of May, but which is now lost. Whatever the objections were, Swedenborg was quite indignant and was led to write the well known passage about mathematicians needing a practical man:
"I am surprised," he writes, "at the Herr Mathematicians,
who have lost all their force and driving power to bring to
actuality so fine a plan as that which my Brother has advised
them concerning the building of an astronomical observatory.
It is fate with mathematicians that they remain mostly in
theory. I have thought it to be a profitable thing if ten
mathematicians had one strong, practical man who could bring
the others to market. This one could thus acquire more renown
and useful works than all the ten." (OQ. 1:252 = LM. p.
106)
* By the "Herr Mathematicians," both Polhem and Swedenborg seem generally to have meant the mathematical members of the Collegium Curiosorum.
After this no more in heard of the iron and brass pipes, the sale of which was to provide for the observatory. Swedenborg would like to assist in the development of his Brother's plan, but he can do nothing.
Polhem, however, comes out with a new plan which he puts before Swedenborg in a letter dated September, which was addressed to him in Upsala. The plan was that the members of the Society should procure for the Collegium Curiosorum
"a general privilege on all the newer inventions which can be
hit upon by any private person with whom they themselves
could come into agreement in a reasonable way; but what can
be thereby gained as profit, they should devote to public
uses in such a way that a mechanical laboratory is formed in
Upsala."
Polhem suggests, in addition, that when peace comes, the 1,200 daler s.m. already appropriated for such a laboratory in Stockholm* might also be diverted to Upsala. Moreover, he continues,
"that the work might receive better consideration, and be con
served by more persons, the celestial observatory and the
Collegium Curiosorum should be combined." (OQ. 1:261 =
LM. p. 118)
* The amount originally appropriated was 1,500 dalers, but Polhem is either deducting his own salary of 300 dalers, or the appropriation has been reduced.
What Polhem has particularly in mind is a threshing
machine which he had recently invented. If the Collegium
Curiosorum could get the privileges referred to, they could
sell or hire out this machine at a profit which not only
would support the mechanical laboratory, the observatory and
the Collegium Curiosorum, but would give the inventor more
than he could ever get within "any certain time." Polhem's
plan was that the Collegium
should have half the profit, the inventor one-third, and the
director one-sixth. He suggests that if the "Mathematices"
agree to this plan, a letter might be addressed to the King.
Characteristic of the thoughts of many Swedes at that time
are his closing words: "If this and other such things could
be made to succeed in our time, I hope that the lack which
our dear Fatherland now has in reputation would thereby in
some way be mended; at any rate, the foreigner would note
that we are not discouraged by misfortune; otherwise, he has
known us to be proud in prosperity; from which the foreigner
now takes pains to deride our sad condition here in Sweden."
(OQ. 1: 261 = LM. p. 119)
The copy for the July Daedalus was sent to Benzelius as early as the middle of April, in order to invite criticism prior to printing, and to be sent on to Polhem in Stiernsund. He is anxious also as to the engraving of plates, which hitherto has been done by a Stockholm engraver named Aveln, whose work, however, was not satisfactory.
"I do not know" writes Swedenborg, "whether Dr. Roberg
can be persuaded to engrave in copper. The air pump is
already engraved as can be seen. Aveln makes very poor
letters and numbers, which occur in great abundance. All the
cost which otherwise is paid to Aveln I will also pay in
Upsala, since, presumably, it will then come out more
neatly." (OQ. 1: 249 = LM. p.100)
Whether Dr. Roberg accepted this offer or not, does not appear, but, judging from appearances, none of the subsequent plates in the Daedalus was by Aveln.
Whatever were Swedenborg's private means, he was at any rate glad to adopt a suggestion made by Benzelius, that it would be cheaper if the title of the Daedalus were printed on the text page. This also was done in future, except for the ambitious No. V. (OQ. l:251 = LM. p. 102)
The same feeling of the necessity for economy made him still more eager that some one else could be found to relieve him of his promise to print Polhem's work, of which he had already paid for the first sixteen pages.
"Will no one take it on him," he writes in June 1716,
"to provide the money for Palhammar's Wishetens andra
Grundwahl? Perhaps the continuation will be entirely too much
for me. Yet I think that the outcome will probably pay for
the work. If there is no one, I must be a promise-keeper and
do it from my own purse." (OQ. 1:253 = LM. p-107)
The outcome did not pay, for the work and circumstances became such that all thought of continuing it was out of the question.
All this time, Swedenborg is still waiting for the opportunity to wait on the hero King who, unknown to him, is now suffering repulses in the Norwegian War. Swedenborg will not leave Brunsbo, even for a visit to Upsala.
"I intend to remain here," he writes, "till something opens
up for me; for," he adds significantly, "I am nearer for the
forwarding of it in the proper quarter; also I have a
poetical work under print here in Skara." (OQ. 1: 250, 251
= LM. p.102)
Two months later, he is still in the same expectant mood, though. somewhat pessimistic. Referring to the need of his attending to the printing of Daedalus III, he writes:
"I should indeed myself be in Upsala, but one now knows not
what place one is safest in; and then it is my object to
spare all expense on my own account until I get a chance to
seek my luck, when the same resources might make my greatest
fortune if they be used." (OQ. 1:252 = LM. p.106)
The poetical work above referred to is a second and much enlarged edition of the Ludus Heliconius, which had been published in Greifswalde. It was enlarged by the addition of the poem to Count Cronhjelm, the funeral Ode on Hedwig Eleonora, and a number of small pieces. (Ibid. 250 = 102) This second edition consisted of an exact reprint of the first eighteen pages of the first edition, with new pages printed in Skara, and the remaining contents of the Gryphswalde edition. (OQ. 1:251 = LM. p. 102)
In the Daedalus Hyperboreus, Swedenborg gives us an account of some observations which he made at this time in company with his stepbrother
John Hesselius, and probably with a direct view to the
Daedalus Hyperboreus. Hesselius, who was then the
provincial physician of East Gothland (though without a
medical degree), was one year Swedenborg's senior. He made
his home at Brunsbo where in the evenings he greatly
delighted the pious Bishop by playing godly hymns on his bass
viol.
"Last winter [i.e. Jan. or Feb. 1716]," writes
Swedenborg, in the fall of 1716, "when a light but even snow
was still left on the ice to a depth of four or five inches,
I went out on the said ice in company with Joh. Hesselius,
Provincial Doctor of Westgothland, and with rifle loaded as
usual, and laid down a stick of three to four fingers'
thickness and rested thereon the end of the gun, and aimed
merely at the snow at a distance of 3.1 ells. And when the
gun was fired, we went to see the direction in which the
bullet had gone, and observed that it had bounded in and out
of the snow, making moderate distances between the bounds,
until it had reached to a distance of 332 ells, where we
found it in the snow. We measured between the bounds by
stepping, and noted that from the muzzle of the gun to the
first bound was 11 steps; from this to the second, 33 steps.
From the fifth to the sixth were 40; from the sixth to the
seventh, 32; to the eighth, 25, to the ninth, 19; from the
tenth to the eleventh, 11; to the twelfth, 18. From the
latter to the end, we counted 67 steps. And when the rebounds
went off into small divisions such as ells, feet, etc., there
came some interceding water, yet it was found that, with the
little force it had remaining, it had likewise hopped and
bounded over this. Each depression in the snow was about one
and a half or two fingers' deep, so that the bullet had
slanted up again without touching the ice. Previous to this,
I had tried the same experiment in a deep snow with bird
shot, with the same result." (Tottie 2:270; Daed. H. p. 84)
It was evidently Swedenborg's custom, even in his early years, as it certainly was in his later, to make notes on all his studies and observations. He at once committed to writing the facts with regard to his experiment on a bullet moving in snow, and this paper is preserved in Linkoping; and it is eloquent of the wide diversity of Swedenborg's interest, that on the same
Exactly one year after her husband's death, his widow married
Anders Swab, his stepbrother, and after the latter's death,
on June 2. 1731, she married Johan Bergenstierna, one of
Swedenborg's fellow Assessors in the College of Mines.
(Attar-taflor)
* His name is not mentioned in the personnel of the Bergscol1egium, and therefore he was not in the service of the Collegium.
** Bishop Jesper Swedberg, in his Autobiography, says that Eliezer died at twenty-five, but this is an error. On August 1, Bishop Swedberg transferred to Eliezer's widow a part of the property in Sweden and Framsbacka which, on October 16th, she sold to John Moraeus. (ACSD 218A)
Swedenborg makes but a passing reference to the death of his brother, which must have been early in June and perhaps at Falun - at any rate, his wife was not at Brunsbo. On June 26th, Swedenborg writes:
"At the end of this week we expect Brother Lars and Sister
Hedwig here, and Herr Brother Eliezer's widow; we think they
are starting today."* (OQ. 1:254 = LM. p. 110)
* She had been the widow of Brandt of Skinnskatteborg (Hildebrand, I:534).
Meanwhile, his mind is active on ways whereby Sweden can be advanced and enriched. On a pleasure excursion to Vestergyln, he finds some peculiar white clay, and at once he thinks as to its commercial use. He asks Benzelius to inquire from Prof. Bromell or Roberg "concerning the clay of which they make their crockery and tobacco pipes in Holland and England, and how the pipes are afterwards prepared in the sun and oven." He suspects the clay he has found to be of the same kind, in which case "it would be worth many thousand Riksdalers. But silence with regard to this," he adds significantly. (OQ.1: 251 = LM. p. 105)
It is during this excursion that Swedenborg probably made a number of observations which later he used in his little works. Thus he writes:
"In Westergyln are found certain kinds of soil and mud which
may be employed for many uses and purposes. In the parish of
Rhyda, a short distance from the rectory, in a beautiful
grove, there are three springs which flow forth in a row; out
of the first there flows ordinary spring water, out of the
second or middle one a medium mineral water, and out of the
third a mineral water which is still stronger but with a
milder taste. The stones over which these two kinds of water
run, are of a reddish or vivid orange
color, as at other mineral springs; the mud or ochre just
below is also of the same color and might, be removed in
large quantities . . . Underneath there is a sandy bottom of
white and fine sand, quite serviceable for hour-glasses, . .
. I have also examined the stones, on which there is some
glitter of a silver color, as if there had been a silver
deposit." He notes also a peculiar kind of blackish fish in
the marsh which hide in the mud. "The uppermost mud is used
for dyeing the finest black, which is just as permanent and
beautiful as the Parisian, and which has the great advantage
over the other in that linen and clothing may be dyed in cold
water." He then describes the method of dyeing." (Sc. and
Phil. Tr. I:2:67=68)
* Ryd at the eastern foot of Mount Billingen.
Elsewhere he notes that: "In the parish of Skarcke, near
the rectory at Hojentorp,* is found a kind of . . . slate,
which perhaps may also be used for making lime. In it are
found a great many small insects, in some of it in such
abundance that the stone has been altogether coagulated by
them." He notes also at Billingen "a mountain spot where are
also found some petrified snails," and he suggests a reason.
Then he notes the abundance of slate on the same mountain,
some of which would be very useful in industry. And by the
help of a stream found there, a mill could be ran for
polishing stones, etc. (Ibid. 1:21, 22, 44)
* A village at the western foot of Mount Billingen.
He notes also the geological strata of Mount Billingen,
the pulverized lime in Skofde, etc. (Miss. Obs. pp. 13, 46)
It was at this time that Swedenborg wrote "On Certain Kinds of Soil and Mud," being his observations made at Westerglyn. It is photolithographed (see Phot. 1: 94) and it is translated in Scientific and Philosophical Treatises, Part I, fascicle 2, pp. 67-68.
To excursions such as these must also be ascribed all those geological and other observations in Kinnekulle, Hunneberg and Billingen which Swedenborg afterwards incorporated in his Miscellaneous Observations. (H. of W.; Miss. Obs. pp. 12, 13)
Benzelius had sent him the Camera Obscura for which he had asked in June. He writes that from it he has already learned the drawing of perspective "to my own great pleasure. I have exercised from churches, houses, etc.; were I up at the works in Fhalun or elsewhere, I would draw them as well as any one, by the help of this instrument." (OQ. 1:253 = LM. p. 107)
And then, as one among the minor incidents of his quiet life in Brunsbo, came the birth of his sister Caisa's (Catharine Unge) child, a son, at whose baptism, on June tenth, Swedenborg was a witness or godfather. (Ibid.)
But things were very threatening for Sweden. Charles had failed in his surprise attack on Norway, and it was feared that Denmark would attack Skane; nor was there lack of apprehension with regard to Russia.
"It seems to me," Swedenborg writes in June 1716, "that
Sweden is now laid low, soon to come to her last agony, when
she will probably kick for the last time. Probably many
desire that the
agony may be short and we delivered, yet we have probably
nothing better to expect if the spirit remains in him.*"
(i.e. Charles XII). (OQ. 1:252 = LM. p. 105)
* Si spiritus Illum maneat.
Before proceeding further, something must be said as to Daedalus III, the publication of which was announced in the Stockholm Tidender for September 4th, as follows:
"It is announced that the third part of the so-called
Daedalus Hyperboreus containing: 1. Assessor Palhammar's
dividing of the steelyard; 2. Emanuel Swedberg's
investigation concerning an air pump, together with a
calculation and measuring of the volume and height of water
and air in such air pumps, and the copperplates belonging
thereto; is now issued from the press and is found for sale
with the booksellers on Nygatan." (OQ. 1:256 = LM. pp.
111-12; ACSD 105)
The number consisted of 24 pages and 2 double plates illustrating the two articles.
Polhem's article is an eminently practical one. In
making steelyards, the practice had been to take actual
weights of 1, 2, 3, 4, etc., lbs., and mark the beam by
actual tests. Palhammar shows how to do the marking by
geometrical measurements, and also how to mark not only the
Swedish weights but also the English and the Dutch.
Swedenborg's article on the air pump opens with an
historical introduction as to the invention of that pump by
"Boile" and Guericke, and as to how, both in England and
Holland, it had been much improved, especially by Hawksbee in
England. Unfortunately, their price was in proportion to
their perfection. Swedenborg, therefore, proposes a method of
making a pump which will be equally efficient but far
cheaper. In fact, he proposes two methods, each of which he
minutely describes, after which he adds mathematical and
mechanical calculations as to the amount of air displaced,
ending with some practical illustrations worked out in
arithmetic, "in order to give the matter greater clearness
and intelligibility."
The articles, as we have said, are illustrated by two double plates, but it is a singular fact that both these plates contain figures which not only have no reference to the text but which deal with utterly remote subjects. The first seems to exhibit a view of crystals, and seems as though designed to illustrate an article by Bromell (see OQ. 1:248= LM. p. 98); the second is plainly entitled "a gun machine worked by air," and apparently is the machine which constituted one of Swedenborg's many inventions; but although the plan shows details, it yet is not clear. This plan of the air gun is not found in all copies of Daedalus III, some copies containing only half the plate, the part namely, that gives the plans of the new air pump.
As already stated, Charles XII had desired to see Polhem in Stralsund, and Polhem had waited at Karlskrona for that purpose during the summer of 1715.
Immediately after his return to Sweden, in December 1715, Charles XII ordered the hastening of the preparation of war ships at Karlskrona, and even during the Norwegian War, Polhem was ordered to Karlskrona to give preliminary reports or estimates as to certain improvements contemplated at the naval base. (Bring, Chas.XII, p. 623)
Polhem was in Karlskrona from the middle of March on, in 1716, and it was perhaps at this time that he drew up the 12 recommendations for improvements to which Swedenborg subsequently added 2 more.
(OQ. 1:244, 255; Phot. 1:127s)
Polhem was in Brunsbo on September 9th. (Berg, Samlingar, pp. 289-90)
These improvements consisted mainly in the blasting out of a dry dock on the island Lindholm adjoining Karlskrona - the first dry dock in the world which was independent of tides. For this work, an estimate was made of "30,000 dal.s.m.; but for greater surety, one can reckon it as 40,000 to 50,000 dal.s.m." (Bring, Polhem p. 51, Phot. 1:127s.)
An important improvement was also the building of a dam on the stream Lyckeby, from which water power was to be obtained for flour and saw mills, etc., for the fleet.
There were also various improvements in rope making, anchor founding, etc., etc.
Polhem was to have returned to Karlskrona about June 15th, when Swedenborg was to have accompanied him. But he was detained in Stockholm, consulting with the authorities as to the making of copperplates for the new coinage, which had to be recoined with new dyes every three months to prevent forgery. (OQ. 1:253 = LM. p. 109; OQ. 1:255)
So far as Swedenborg was concerned, it seemed as though the Karlskrona work would have to wait until winter. He does not appear to have been over disappointed. At any rate, on June 26th, he writes that he now found himself "little disposed" to the journey; "for me," he adds, "it is little likely to come off," and so he sets to work to prepare the material for No. IV of the Daedalus.
It is not difficult to see that Swedenborg's lack of enthusiasm at the prospect of helping Palhammar in Karlskrona was due to the fact that he would go as Polhem's private assistant, whereas his great ambition was to meet the King and receive from the highest quarter that encouragement of his labors whereby he might look forward to the establishment of a learned society and a mechanical laboratory for the promotion of scientific and mechanical knowledge.
A festal day was held at Brunsbo on August 28th, the sixty-third birthday of Bishop Swedberg. For this occasion, Swedenborg resumes the poetic pen and writes:
"A Sapphic Ode in honor of the Birthday of my dear Parent,
Doct. Jesper Swedberg, the most reverend Bishop of Skara, who
was sixty-three years of age on August 28, 1716, the year of
the great Climacteric.*"
* According to the ancients, every seven years was an event or climacter in human life.
Doubtless these ten Latin verses were read in the family circle enriched by friends; later, they were printed and published in Skara. After inviting the Muse to celebrate the occasion with lute and cithera, the poem then continues: (OP. pp. 26-27)
Full nine times seven, dear Father, hast thou seen
The heavens return; and times as many hast beheld
That hour which was to thee the dawn of light,
And so to us.
How pale I grew, when came that year
Which oft is wont to be the span of life
And terminus of age to those we love,
Old men and fathers.
Gladsome I see and celebrate with song its end.
And gladsome give thee greetings, Father, that thou hast
Survived the fates and overlived the perils
Of an evil age.
The quatrain concludes:
But though thy youth is now behind thee,
Yet lively age remains, wherein I pray
Thou yet may see as many August months
as Grandchildren.
A little diversion came in the first days of September. After the cessation of the Norwegian War, the King had been preparing for its renewal by inspections and consultations at Stromstadt, Uddewalla, Wennersborg,* etc.
* It is a curious and almost inexplicable fact that on April 23rd, 1716, when Charles XII was still in Norway but already on the retreat, Bishop Swedberg wrote him a letter from Vennersborg asking for nobility for his family. There is no record of any answer, and it would hardly be surprising if the King never received the letter, or took no notice of it (ACSD 98; Doc. 3: 1331).
And one day he suddenly separated from his suite and
undertook a lonely journey to see his sister Ulrica Eleonora
at Wadstena. On Thursday, August 30th, the King passed
through Skara incognito,
and a few days later, the lad who had served as his guide to
Hjo, forty-five miles away on Lake Vetter, came to the
Bishop's house and told his story to an eager and interested
group of listeners. (Bain, p. 294; Bring, Chas. XII)
Swedenborg writes an account of this to his brother-in-law on September 4th, as follows:
"The lad [who acted as the King's outrider] relates many
amusing questions and answers. Just one only: The King asked
if the King was not expected at Hojentorp. 'Yes,' said the
servant, 'I think so.' 'What should he do there.' 'Of that I
know nothing,' answered the servant, 'but they say he would
go from there to Stockholm.' Smiling, he then said, 'Tush,
to suppose that he is going to Stockholm. They say it is so
far away.'" (OQ. 1:257 = LM. pp. 113-14)
Having now given up the idea of visiting the King or of going to Karlskrona with Polhem, Swedenborg determines to pay a visit to Upsala where the affairs of the Daedalus, so long resting on the shoulders of his brother-in-law, demand his own attention. He leaves Brunsbo a little after the middle of September 1716, and takes his old attic room in Benzelius's hospitable house. Here he met his old friend Erik Alstryn who in October became Assistant Librarian. (OQ. 1:256, 257 = LM. p.114; UUH. 2:2:93)
Here he relieves Benzelius of his work in seeing the Daedalus through the press, and for the first time since No. I, he himself does that work in connection with No. IV which was to close the year.
Like its predecessor, this issue is without separate title-page, nor does it contain any note of its cost. This is the more surprising inasmuch as Benzelius had already told Swedenborg of the extortion of the bookseller. And though very soon Swedenborg himself experiences it, yet he did not print the price on the last two numbers of the Daedalus (V-VI) - perhaps the printer was the cause of this. At any rate, writing in April of the following year and referring to No. IV, of which we are now speaking, he says:
"For Daedalus no. IV, Ruger has asked no less than 20 styfers
[almost 1.8 dal.k.m.] and has refused those who offer 16,
which yet they ought to sell for about 8 [1/2 dal.k.m.].
Brother will please print the price on no. V, if it is not
already struck off. I will see that I trust myself to a wise
man." (OQ. 1:271 = LM. p. l53)
No. IV was not advertised, but it seems to have appeared some time in the Spring of 1717 (see p.126). Unlike the preceding numbers, it is marked as a quarterly, namely, "October, November and December 1716." It is also a larger number, having thirty-five pages and one double plate which illustrates both Polhem's article and one of Swedenborg's.
The contents consist of a single long article by Polhem and two or three by Swedenborg.
Polhem's article is entitled: "The Resistance of the Air
against falling weights and areas" - a 15-page treatise of a
technical and mathematical nature.
It is followed by "Suggestions for a Machine to fly in
the air, by N.N." meaning Swedenborg. He begins by referring
to the preceding article on the resistance of the air to
falling
bodies, from which, "and also from the flight of birds," says
Swedenborg, "it would be easy to come to the thought that a
mechanism might be hit upon which could carry and transmit as
through the air, and that we were not to be excluded from the
upper element even though no other wings be given us than
those of the understanding. Those who formerly gave thought
to such a work of Daedalus or Mercury have set before
themselves an impossible principium, and have set it in the
air on a foundation which is contrary to our atmosphere and
impracticable; that is to say, they have emptied great globes
of this air, which should thereby acquire such lightness as
to be able to help up both a machine and an Icarus. But if
one follows living nature, inquiring into the proportion of
the wing which a bird has, in relation to its body, it ought
surely to be possible to invent a similar mechanism which
might afford us the hope of following the birds in the air."
Then follows a brief outline of how such a mechanism should
be constructed; after which Swedenborg continues: ""But such
a machine seems easier to talk about than to put into
practice and drive in the air, in that greater force is
required and less weight than that which is found in the
human body." Swedenborg therefore lays it down as a requisite
before attempting to fly: 1. That there should be a good
wind, for otherwise "one would do better to keep quietly and
humbly to the earth." 2. That the machine should be pushed
from a height, or lifted up apiece by ropes, for "the
greatest trouble would be to force oneself up from the
level." 3. The proportions between the weight of the wings
and their size must be observed.
Swedenborg regards his suggestion merely as showing the
future possibility of flying machines. What he suggests is,
in effect, a type of glider, but it is in this, and not in
balloons, he sees the possibilities of the future -
possibilities and nothing more.
If consideration is given to what he has advanced, he
says at the end of his article, "perhaps in time to come
there may be some one who knows how better to make use of our
suggestion and introduction, to construct an addition such as
will make actual the suggestion we give thereon." And then,
after referring to the phenomena of bird flight, kites,
falling men being preserved from injury by the blowing out of
their capes, as evidences of the possibility of human flight,
he concludes: "Still, when the first trials are made, one
must expect to pay a price for experience, and let that price
fall on an arm or a leg."
Here ends the article proper. But, as will be recalled,
this article together with the rest of Daedalus IV had been
sent to Polhem for his comments, These latter, which were not
encouraging, are given in a letter of September 5, 1716, and
end with the suggestion: "But it can do no harm if what is
already written here on the subject is printed together with
the other [i.e. the article on the Resistance of the Air],
if only a distinction be then made, and the known be set over
against the unknown." (OQ. 258 = LM. p. 115) Following
this suggestion, Swedenborg, without any explanation or
apology for himself, appends Polhem's criticism to his
article: After a short French quotation from Fontanelle's
Plurality of Worlds, to the effect that in this matter of
flying "there is still something to do for the ages to come,"
Swedenborg continues:
"The learned Assessor Palhammar expresses a more doubtful
opinion thereon, as follows: 'Regarding flight or flying
artificially, this would seem to present the same difficulty
as the artificial making of perpetual motion, gold, etc.,
though at first glance it is no less feasible than
desirable.* When one considers the matter more closely, he
meets with something which nature will deny; such as, in the
present case, that all ordinary machines do not have the same
proportions in the large as in the small, though all the
parts are made alike and according to proportion in all their
parts. . . From this it comes about that large bodies are
finally unable to bear themselves, and, according to nature
herself, she provides not only a very light and strong
material for feathers, but also entirely different sinews and
bones in the body itself, such as are required for strength
or lightness, which are not found in other bodies. For one
comes to the desired result with so much the greater
difficulty because of lack of those suitable materials and
requisites which are demanded therefor, before a human being
can go in a machine. But, were it possible that a person
could move and direct all that so great a machine as carries
him can need, then the thing is done, yet one must indeed be
well able to make use of the wind, if it should be suitable
and steady.'" Swedenborg then adds: "Enough about our
Daedalus." (OQ. 1:257 = LM. p.114)
* Here in Polhem's letter come the words: "For all that one eagerly desires, one has generally a greater inclination to work out." (OQ. 1:257 = LM. p.115.)
Among Swedenborg's manuscripts preserved in Linkoping is found a description of the construction of this flying machine, together with a drawing of the machine itself. This description, while more detailed and exact, is in effect the same as the published account. It is probably one of those drawings and descriptions with which Swedenborg busied himself while at Rostock. (Mech. Inv. p. 20 or Suggestions for a Fly. Mach. 1921, SSA)
The third article concerns experiments on bullets made
by "Em. Es."
In the first, Swedenborg gives the reason why, if a
leaden bullet tightly covered with paper be thrust into the
flame of a candle, the paper will not burn off until the lead
of the bullet begins to melt.
The second deals with the experiments Swedenborg had
tried the preceding winter as to the resistance offered to
bullets in snow. From these, he draws the following
conclusions:
1. That the lightest thing, such as snow and water,
which seems to have hardly more power of resistance than
feathers and down, can determine the swift course of a
bullet.
2. That this power of resistance increases according to
the obliquity of the resisting material. Swedenborg proposes
to demonstrate this by covering a table three or four inches
with clay and then shooting bullets at it at various angles.
3. After first striking the snow, the bullet seems to
possess two determinations, the one given to it in the first
place and the other given to it by the angle of contact with
the snow - hence
its reboundings. This is illustrated by a billiard ball
knocking another in the course of its flight. "This subject
demands further investigation."
The number closes with a 15-page article entitled "A New and sure Method to find east and west lengths, that is, Longitudes of Places, both at sea and on land, by means of the moon; presented by 'Eman. Swedberg.'"
"It may be surprising," says the author, "that one will present a new and sure method of finding the longitude of places . . . by means of the moon, when yet the moon in this respect has defeated the foremost astronomers, in that each of them who thought he had found the longitude, it would seem as though the moon had deceived them and given them a good mind and a gladsome feeling that they would attain what was sought after; but, as soon as they have advanced to practice, the moon has made moonshine and mockery of it, as it were, and so has given them a false appearance for the right. So also, it may be thought, might it be with the present method which I venture to present and make public as more sure than the former. The whole matter might, moreover, be brought into great doubt because of the fact that for twelve centuries the whole learned world has worked on this problem in vain, though a great number of men have made it their highest study, and given it their care and the utmost efforts of their brain; and also the fact that the most learned men, both in former ages and in ours, - men who surpass me one-hundredfold in astronomy, both practical and theoretical - have not yet found the solution in this matter, and they who thought they had found it, have yet in the end acknowledged their mistakes and also have demolished and discredited their own discovery. What has been said would be the best of reasons for overthrowing and demolishing the thoughts and imaginations which I have embraced with respect to this method, and also to give to others a strong prejudice and prejudgment, that no such method can any longer be discovered - and still less by means of the moon, which has already led so many into error and has deprived the learned of so much hoped-for honor, gain and reward.
"But if one examines into the cause which produced their failure, that cause is by no means found in the moon itself, which God seems to have established and ordained to guide mariners on their course, but in the way in which she has been observed."
Swedenborg then proceeds to point out the uncertainties of former methods based on the moon, due to the difficulty, especially at sea, of finding the true position of that body. This has been admitted, he continues, by "Ricciolus, Kircher and other great mathematicians . . . and they conclude their investigations . . . with the wish and hope that in time some one will come forward who will show how to observe and point out the moon without the abovementioned obstacles and difficulties; and him they call by anticipation, the Discoverer of the Longitude. Thus, I know not whether I have too much confidence in myself in absolving this method, which I now present, from all the difficulties which those mentioned above have been subject to; and [in believing] that with this method, is removed from our path that which has prevented the moon from being taken as a lamp for voyagers to the east and the west. This, in all humility, I will submit to the judgment of the learned."
Then follows the method itself - or rather, two methods,
one easier than the other. It is based fundamentally on
observation of the moon when in line with any two fixed stars
whose latitude and longitude are known from the astronomical
tables. Thus, the apparent position of the moon is
ascertained, and then, by a mathematical calculation which
Swedenborg explains, its true position, and so the longitude.
The method of observing the longitude on land was by
observing the moon in eclipse; and by his new method of
observing the moon when in line with two fixed stars and then
observing its progress across that line, Swedenborg produces
all those phenomena of a lunar eclipse on which calculations
for ascertaining the longitude on land may be based.
The last paragraph of the article refers to those lunar
tables which Flamsteed himself had assured Swedenborg that he
would construct. "Yet, before one can put into actual
practice our discovery of finding the longitude, one must
have accurate and particular tables of the longitudes,
latitudes, right ascensions and declinations of all the
stars. One expects these from the learned and experienced
Flamsteed in England who already had this matter in hand four
years ago, and very likely has now brought it to the light of
day, though they have not come into our hands. When one gets
the opportunity of consulting them, it remains only to
continue in the way now commenced."
Ever since his acquaintance with Flamsteed, Swedenborg
had been looking forward to the publication of his lunar
tables. Indeed, as above indicated, they were indispensable
to the use of his method, and the lack of them was apparently
the only reason which had deterred him from writing up that
method for presentation to the French astronomers.
The closing words of his Daedalus article indicate
Swedenborg's firm faith in the utility of his method - a
faith which he retained all his life.
"Meanwhile, I feel assured that the longitude of places
can be found by this method," he says, "and as yet I see no
reason that can overthrow and demolish this assurance, save
the uncertainty of the astronomical tables of the progression
of the moon. This cannot be taken as any reason whatever
since, so far as I know, no astronomer has yet used it to
overthrow earlier investigators who sought to find the
celestial and terrestrial longitudes by means of the moon."
This article constitutes the most important scientific work thus far written by Swedenborg, and as such, it was not long in receiving notice, namely, in a Disputation "De Planeta Venere" by Birger Vassenius, which the author dedicated to Polhem and Emanuel Swedberg. The latter is especially lauded for his mathematical work and his skill in astronomy, as shown by the lately printed Longitude. This is the first known public mention of Swedenborg as an author. (ACSD 143)
Daedalus IV was not advertised until April 1717, when the following advertisement appeared in the Stockholm Kunggorelse of April 2d:
"Herewith is announced that the fourth* part of the
so-called Daedalus Hyperboreus came out some time ago,
containing Councillor of Commerce Polheimer's Notes on the
Resistance of Medium and on the property of falling weights.
Also N.N. suggestions for a machine to use sail and wings and
attempt flight. Some experiments and their resistance in snow
and water; and a new invention to find the longitude of
places, by Emanuel Swedberg."
* The original has "fifth."
Swedenborg had hoped to get something from Professor Bromell,* who was well known for his geological collections; but, as usual, he failed. From beginning to end, the burden of the Daedalus rested on his own shoulders alone. (OQ. 1:257 = LM. p. 113)
* Adjunkt Bromell was appointed professor in Stockholm in 1716.
Polhem designed to follow up his article on the resistance of air, and he writes to this effect in a letter addressed to Swedenborg in Upsala and dated September 1716. Some things in this letter are worthy of quotation as illustrating both Swedenborg's own work on the Daedalus and, more especially, the intellectual position of a man with whom Swedenborg was so closely associated for a number of years.
"If the learned desire enjoyment and honor from what
they teach others," Polhem writes, "they ought to have a
better knowledge in various particulars of that which is now
taught; for in many things nature has wholly different
conditions than Des Cartes, and almost all his followers
think - which can never be learned better than by daily
experience in mechanics, and also a thoroughgoing search into
causes; and, though it is very little that I have gained
herein . . . yet I hope my principles will be able to pave
the way to what remains, for I never approve of anything
which cannot bear examination for all the cases and
circumstances which follow therewith, and as soon as one
thing contradicts it, I hold the whole foundation to be
false.* It should, moreover, give the learned mathematicians
no little honor if they could show what use all their fine
figures serve in practical matters. . . In short, so long as
I live, I hope matter for printing will not be wanting, as
long as Mein Herr is pleased to take the trouble to
calculate, draw, write up, and prepare all that pertains
thereto; for such work wearies me, what with many other
occupations and cares which daily occasions bring me."
(OQ. 1: 260 = LM. p.117-18)
* Swedenborg, in his writings, occasionally expresses the same thought.
While Swedenborg was thus busily engaged on literary work in Upsala, a vacancy occurred in the University which seemed to promise him a more advantageous position, in the event of a laboratory or observatory being founded.
In October 1716, Professor Upmarck, the Skyttian Professor of Eloquence and Politics, received a call to become Censor of Books at Stockholm.
"Since by the advancement of the well-born Herr
Secretary Upmarck, a professorship becomes vacant in the
Academy, and probably Herr Secretary Gronwall will be
remembered as his successor, I approach your Magnificence and
the venerable Consistory in the deepest reverence with the
humble request that, with the coming vacancy after the above-
mentioned Herr Secretary, the venerable Consistory will be
pleased to keep me favorably in their thoughts; I seeking
thereby to serve the venerable Consistory and an opportunity
of showing with what great pleasure I am ever," etc. (UUH
2:79; LM. p. 120)
The letter was read at a meeting of the Consistory on November 14th, as coming from "Student Emanuel Swedberg." No action was taken. This might have been a disappointment to Swedenborg, but even before the letter was read to the Consistory, very different thoughts and expectations were filling his mind. He had heard from Polhem that the latter had been summoned to attend on the King at Lund, and Polhem asked Swedenborg to go with him. (ACSD 108A; Doc. 1:559)
The prospect of actually seeing the King, and in person asking his gracious support of the Observatory, the Laboratory, and the Daedalus Hyperboreus, was now to be realized. Much preparation had been made for this visit.
The four issues of the Daedalus were bound and issued with a new title-page, and with that Preface which, perhaps, had already been written a year before for presentation to the King himself, and Swedenborg took some copies with him when he left Upsala.
On the new title-page, a new verse, taken from the second edition of Ludus Heliconius, was substituted for the one printed on the title-page of no. I (see p. 101): (OP. p. 80)
Lo Daedalus, once mounting in the air
Laughed at the snares King Midas set for him on earth.
So, by thine art, my Daedalus, mounting on high,
Laugh at the snares the many doth set for thee.
The Dedication reads:
"Mighty and ever gracious King
"That I make bold to come forward with some small
mathematical investigations and observations and lay them
down in deepest submissiveness at your Majesty's feet is
because of the gracious solicitude your Royal Majesty is
pleased to show in respect to literary art in general, and
mathematical studies in particular, whereof it is a signal
proof that your Royal Majesty has ever regarded with grace
the arts and machines which Herr Assessor Palhammar, for the
service and use of your Royal Majesty and of the Kingdom, has
either already set up or has given a humble proposal for
their setting up.
"Some of them I have described in this little work, and
added the observations of other learned men, your Royal
Majesty's subjects, together with my own investigations,
which I have sought to mature by the most earnest reflection
both at home and also in a five-year's expensive journey in
foreign lands where mathematical studies are most cultivated
and are in the highest esteem.
"This is merely a beginning, ever gracious King; much
more still remains over, and hidden away, which, presumably,
will contribute great advantages to your Royal_ Majesty's
Kingdom, especially in the development of Manufactures,
Navigation, Artillery, and the art of shooting.
"If this work wins Your Majesty's Royal Grace, it will
certainly awaken many more, in submissiveness, to discover
their thoughts and to offer them for your Royal Majesty's
gracious pleasure. I remain, to the hour of my death,
"Your Majesty's
my ever Gracious King's
most humble and faithful subject
EMANUEL SWEDBERG."
With regard to the other preparations for the visit to Lund, record of them was kept by Benzelius and is still preserved in Linkoping Diocesan Library. They consist of several documents, all of which have been photolithographed, but none of which has been published either in original or in translation.
The first is a comprehensive outline of the ultimate aims for which Swedenborg was to be the spokesman with the King: (LM. p.123)
[Projects for the King] (Phot. 1:2)
1
1 The Mechanical Laboratory to be moved to Upsala, and
appropriation to be made for the Laboratory's support.
2 The models in Upsala to be given to it.
3 Under Assessor Polhem's direction.
2
1 A celestial Observatory at the Castle and elsewhere. 2 The
iron and metal pipes are appropriated to this. 3 Under the
ordering of the Governor of the Province [Per Ribbing].
3
1 A mathematical society. 2 For this, there is proposed an increase in the price of every almanac - its privilege.
3 A double stipend. 4 Half of what they receive in net
profit on what is awarded them in new inventions and machines
- a beginning of which is Assessor Palhammar's Threshing
Machine, he retaining one quarter of the profit for himself.
5 President thereof. Assessors who are now in actual
service, and when means come in, something should be
appropriated [for those] who are taken into service.
6 A Director of threshing and other machines set up in the
country, who shall have one-sixth of the profit. (See Sv.A.o.AR Prot. p.368)
7 That the aforesaid society shall first of all fix on
inventions of mechanical machines serviceable for
manufacture, shipbuilding, artillery, mining, military power
mills, the art of shooting.*
* Among Polhem's inventions which had been used by Stenbock in the Danish War of 1710 was a mill for grinding corn which could be carried around with the army, and of such mills, Stenbock ordered one for each regiment; also a device whereby a cannon could be raised and lowered in sighting with great ease and exactness. The "art of shooting" mentioned in the text perhaps has in mind Swedenborg's air gun. (Bring, Polhem, pp. 43-45, 42.)
The above is further developed in a note, as follows: (Phot. 1:200)
Three Points to the King
1 That the Machines which are in Stockholm be moved to Upsala; from the Bergscollegium.
2 That there be a professor of mechanics in place of some other, to which I be recommended.
3 That there be a society, or that there be a collegium curiosorum in Upsala as in other countries . . .
5 That the stamping of small coins be approved by the King, which is handled in the Bergscollegium; and that it be granted in the same way as the grant was made to Mons. Lunstrom.*
* Probably Magnus Lundstrom. (1687-1720). He was an inspector and building master in Stockholm until 1716 when he was appointed by the Bergscollegium as Konstmastare at Falun (in charge of all machinery). He had to leave, however, in about a year, because Polhem had secured the appointment of another person. In a letter sent to Benzelius in Dec. 1715, Swedenborg passes some severe criticism on a "Machine of Monsieur Lundstrom of Avsta." It would thus seem that Lundstrom was in Avsta, i.e., Avesta; and since the copper coins were made in that place, that he had the monopoly of making them. (OQ. 1:233 = LM. p. 75)
The following, which is not in Swedenborg's writing, deals
more particularly with the proposed society: (Phot. 1: 1)
Petition for a Literary Society.
1 The privilege and name of a Royal Society.
2 For its members, the characters of Assessors, Socii, or members of the Royal Society; a notary and two amanuenses.
3 His Royal Majesty's gracious declaration and command from his Royal grace, and advancement for these man above others.
4 It is petitioned that either his Royal Majesty will in his graciousness command that none other shall be president save the Chancery Collegium; or will establish a perpetual presidency, or will give leave to the existing members to request and choose a president for themselves.
5 Leave and authority afterwards, with the consent of the president or Chancery Collegium, to receive many members or collegiates ad libitum, and also a vice-president.
6 Item: To set up certain laws, and freely to arrange and order all else that concerns the existence of this society.
7 It is petitioned of his Royal Majesty or the Chancery Collegium;
1. One copy of every half or quarter ark which is printed, in
Sweden, which shall at once, by the first post, be sent here,
whether it be from a book which is being published or some
smaller writing; with a fixed fine for all book printers or
commissioners [who fail to comply].
2. Free postage for letters, both to and from the society.
3. The right of censuring to belong to the society's
assessors.
4. Freedom from duty on paper.
5. A privilege [monopoly] on what is published.
Moreover, a long paper was prepared, by Elfvius or
Benzelius, showing the necessity of an astronomical
observatory as soon as ever peace comes; especially in
Sweden, where the skies are clearer, where best could be
observed the Aurora Borealis, etc., and where not even the
longitude of Stockholm or Upsala was now known. (Phot. l:
3-6)
The Royal Society of England had invited them to send in
meteorological observations, but, while they must ask that
Society for much information in astronomy, they could offer
nothing in return. All could be done if there were a single
observatory in Upsala under the professor of astronomy -
"unless his Majesty should graciously be pleased, here as in
other places, to appoint one or more observers and pensioners
for this purpose." The use of the observatory to the students
is also noted.
On November 12th, Swedenborg and Palhammar paid a short visit to Brunsbo on their way to Lund, Swedenborg having probably joined Palhammar at Stiernsund. (ACSD 109)
A few days later they arrived at Lund, then the capital of Sweden, where Swedenborg lodged at the same house as Bernard Cederholm, a chancery secretary who had been with Charles XII through all his sojourn in Turkey, including the Kalabalika. Swedenborg had last seen Cederholm at Greifswalde where the latter was on his way from Turkey to Stralsund. But Cederholm seems to have been a friend of the family, or, at any rate, of Bishop Swedberg. The latter writes him from Brunsbo on December 20th on sundry matters, after which he continues:
"I am glad to learn that my son Emanuel has the good fortune
to have lodging in the same house as Herr Secretary. His
drawback, according to human judgment, seems to be that he is
young; but when God has given a young man as great
intelligence and experience as an old one, God must have the
honor." (OQ. 1:259, 230 = LM. pp. 117, 63; ACSD 12A)
In Lund also Swedenborg again meets his old student friend Rhyzelius, who had arrived in Lund one month earlier in order to take up his new duties as one of the army chaplains, but who was already, in favor with the King. (Helander p. 75)
Another friend he now met was Martin Hegardt who, with Erik Alstryn, had resided with Doctor Edzardus (1709-12) during the time Swedenborg was in London.
Hegardt, who was three years older than Swedenborg, was a
native of Scana and had now become Professor of Theology in
Lund University. It was in his house that Charles XII lived
during the whole of his two years' stay in Lund. Regardt also
was in favor with the King who, in 1717, became a godfather
to his son.
In Goteborg also he probably became acquainted with the Senator General Count Carl Gustav Morner (1658-1721), with whom he seems to have been intimate. (Doc. 1:302, 306)
Swedenborg seems to have lost no time in presenting himself before the King. At last he actually stood before that Hero whom so long he had admired at a distance, and he had the honor of handing to him in person the bound copy of his Daedalus for 1716.
Charles XII, though in his government an extreme and
unbending autocrat, was yet very democratic and familiar with
those whom he met in his daily life, if also somewhat trying.
Thus, he would receive his friends and others in his bedroom,
and sometimes as early as three o'clock in the morning - for
the daytime he devoted very often to long rides. (ill.
Pommern-Jahrbuch, pp. 44, 77, 80)
The King viewed the Daedalus, and especially the intention behind it, "with grace," Swedenborg writes, adding:
"The Daedalus has enjoyed such grace that it has lain on his
Majesty's table this three weeks and has given matter for
many talks and questions, and is shown to many persons by his
Majesty himself." (OQ. 1:263 = LM. p. 135-36)
We also learn from Eric Benzelius that the Daedalus Hyperboreus "put Swedenborg in very favorable consideration with the great King Charles XII." (Brefwaxl. s. XIII)
On December 6th, one week after his arrival in Lund, Palhammar addressed to the King - doubtless with the King's previous knowledge - a letter recommending Swedenborg for service. Appealing to the King's well known Interest in mechanics, and to his recognition of the difficulty of this subject and the scarcity of men who are able to advance it, he continues:
"At this time, I know of no one who appears to be better
fitted for mechanics than Herr Emanuel Swedberg; but his
present application to other studies is caused by the small
regard which . . . is meted out to the science of mechanics."
He therefore appeals to the King "to grant some honorable
advantage to one who by nature is fitted for mechanics,
rather than, in lack thereof, to allow so useful a subject to
apply himself to some other pursuit. And as the Royal
Bergskollegium no less needs some one member who understands
mechanics, than such as know the mining regulations . . .
therefore, I would submit to your Majesty's gracious decision
whether this Swedberg - who otherwise has fitted himself for
a profession in the Academy - may not be advanced to the post
of an Assessor in the above-mentioned College, so that he may
thereby be kept in that field wherein he will likely be of
greater service to your Majesty than if he were at an
Academy. And if your Majesty should graciously grant this,
one of the mechanical stipends would at first suffice for his
salary together with a gracious assurance that, at the first
vacancy, he should enjoy the salary of an ordinary Assessor
without applying for further authorization."* (NCL 1895: 151)
* The State had two mathematical stipends which were much sought after. They were used to support students under Polhem. The salary was 300 dal.s.m. The salary of an Assessor was over 1200 dal.s.m., whereas an Extraordinary
With a recommendation from a man like Polhem, whom the King so greatly admired, Swedenborg's appointment would seem to have been assured. Yet the King instituted inquiries, including inquiries of Swedenborg himself, "as to my mind, studies, etc." Moreover, Swedenborg's friends were consulted - among them, presumably, Hegardt, the King's host, and Rhyzelius, his Chaplain. At any rate, Swedenborg himself informs us that he had "the good fortune to have good backers." And then the fact of his being the son of the ecclesiastical favorite of Charles's father, must also have had its influence; but to a man of Charles XII's clear discernment, what must most have influenced him was his own meeting with the eager, ambitious, learned and traveled man, now twenty-eight years old, and the testimony of his attainments and tastes as seen in the Daedalus Hyperboreus.
The appointment was made but not without exciting enmity and secret opposition. To advance one at once to the equivalent of being an Assessor without first going through the various preliminary stages of auscultant, magister, etc., was opposed; and doubtless for reasons of direct self-interest; for Lund was now the center of glory from which alone favors, honors, gains were to be hoped for. With regard to this opposition, Swedenborg writes:
"What pleased me most is that the King gave so kind and
gracious a judgment concerning me, and himself defended me
before those who thought the worst of me, and afterwards
assured me of further grace and consideration, of which I
have become assured both directly and indirectly." (OQ.
1:262 = LM. p. 135)
Swedenborg writes to Benzelius that the King offered him "three characters or functions" to choose from. What these offers were specifically, we do not know; perhaps they were: 1. A mechanical stipend, or to become Palhammar's general Assistant. 2. Assessor in the Bergskollegium. 3. The teaching of mechanics as a Director of a mechanical laboratory. (Ibid.) However this may be, Swedenborg chose the office suggested by Polhem, namely, to become an Assessor of the Bergskollegium at the first vacancy, and meanwhile, to assist Polhem in the great, difficult, and highly important undertakings which the King, at this time, ordered him to carry out.
It seems, however, that even to the last, an effort was made at least to minimize the fruits of Swedenborg's favor with the King.
"Since my ill-wishers played too many intrigues with the
above-mentioned warrant," he writes, "and couched it in
ambiguous terms, it was sent back to his Majesty together
with some comments, I well knowing that I had wherewith to
back myself up. A new one was then at once made out for me,
and with it a gracious letter to the Bergskollegium. The
opponent had to sit at his Majesty's own table and write in
duplicate in two forms, of which he chose the best. Thus,
they who sought to do me the worst harm were glad to come out
of the matter with honor and reputation - so nearly had they
burned their fingers." (OQ. 1:262, 263 = LM. pp. 135,136)
Both the warrants here referred to have been preserved.* The first is dated December 10th, and the second December 18th. The difference between the two is that in the first, Swedenborg is appointed to accompany
* The earlier one, in State Archives, Biog. Swedenborg, and the later one in the Bergskollegium, Kongliga Bref.
At the same time that the second Warrant was made out, the King also sent a letter to the Bergskollegium, notifying the College of Swedenborg's appointment as Extraordinary Assessor, and his assignment, for the present, as Polhem's Assistant, and commanding them to give him a "seat and voice in the College whenever he can be present, and especially when such matters come up as concern mechanics." This letter gave particular pleasure to Swedenborg as being a signal mark of royal confidence, and he is careful to send a copy of it to his brother-in-law. As significative of the honor given by the King, it may be noted that no extraordinary assessor had been appointed since 1684, and that no past holder of this appointment had the right of a seat in the College; they could merely cooperate with the regular Assessors in their work. The Bergskollegium administered the mining laws, which were very carefully administered. (OQ. 1:263 = LM. 136; Almquist, p. 97; Robinson, p. 17)
Perhaps because he saw something of the plots to injure Swedenborg, the King, as a mark of honor to Swedenborg and, it may be, also of punishment on the plotters, relieved Swedenborg of those payments to lower officials which always accompanied royal favors. At any rate, Swedenborg writes:
"The journey [to Lund] went off with very little expense,
beingonly travel money. In other words, what otherwise it is
ordinarily the custom to lay out for warrants has not cost me
a styver; this I affirm by my soul's salvation." (OQ. 1:263
= LM. p. 136)
The work which Polhem had been ordered to carry out, and for which Swedenborg was to be his Assistant, consisted in general of two important and difficult operations - the dock at Karlskrona and the inland canal.
We have already spoken of the improvements recommended
by Polhem, to be carried out at Karlskrona. The chief of
these were: (1) The building of a dry dock by blasting out
the rock of an island, and (2) the building of a dam strong
enough to supply more than one mill. There were also
improvements in the making of cables and of anchors, a
machine for careening ships, and another for drawing them on
land; the establishment of saw mills and planing mills,
supplied by the great dam, etc.; to which there is added in
Swedenborg's hand the recommendation that sweet water be
brought to the island city of undersea pipes, and waste hemp
and rope be used for making coarse paper. Doubtless, all
these recommendations were considered favorably, but Polhem
was ordered only to commence building the dam.
According to Nordberg, Scheldon showed Charles XII a
model of the proposed dock, but he was unable to build the
great dam necessary before the proposed dock could be
excavated. On this, he was ordered to consult Polhem, and
probably the consultation took place before Polhem visited
Lund. (Carl XII, p. 602)
The other great work to which we have alluded, the canal building, was more, far-reaching but not so immediate. Its undertaking came about in a singular way. After Swedenborg had left Upsala for Lund, he received a letter from his brother-in-law Benzelius, intimating "that it would be useful for merchandise to pass through Gothenburg and the Gotha Alf and Venner," and calling attention to a letter on the subject written in 1523 by Bishop Brask of Linkoping, who was the first to suggest this inland water passage.
"Of this letter," writes Benzelius, many years later, "I gave
a copy to my brother-in-law Emanuel Swedenborg, as he was
then with his Majesty in Lund, 1716, and from it occasion was
taken to consider a channel between Vetter and Venner and
also navigation from Goteborg to Venner." (Brefwaxl.
XXIII; Linkop. Handl. pp. 189, 191)
Erik XIV and Charles IX had both taken up the plan, and
also had done some little work in connection with it by means
of Dutch builders who had worked for securing navigation
between Lake Venner and Goteborg. The ruling motive which led
to the desire for a canal to connect Stockholm and the
interior country with Goteborg by a water way, was the same
now as when it was first broached in 1523, namely, to avoid
the imports and hindrances, especially in time of war, which
the Danes imposed on all vessels traveling through the
Oresund; and Holland was just as interested in the matter as
was Sweden. (Bring, Troll. Kan. Hist. p. 42 seq.)
King Charles XII was at once enamored of the idea; for
despite all his faults, he had a keen vision of the benefits
which would thence result to the commerce of Sweden. He was
attracted, moreover, by the fact that in Polhem he had a
genius who could manage the whole affair without recourse, as
ever in the past, to the Dutch Canal Builders. And so Polhem,
and with him Swedenborg, was given a commission first to see
about the Karlskrona work and then to investigate the whole
matter of the canal and report on its practicability and
cost.
The assignment of these tasks to Polhem was a high
honor, and the honor was still further emphasized by the King
who, on Tuesday, December 18th - the day when Swedenborg
received his appointment - raised Palhammar to the rank of
noble, when his name became Polheim.
While these negotiations were going on with the King, Swedenborg was busy with his literary work in preparation for Daedalus V; and we can imagine also that these days had their pleasant moments in the meeting of old friends, in the discussion of the deeds of the hero King, and also of science and literature; and we can well imagine that Swedenborg did not neglect the opportunity to talk to the King's Secretary Cronhjelm (who had signed his warrant) concerning that book of fables which he had dedicated to his older brother Gustaf.
The King was interested in the Daedalus, and evidently encouraged Swedenborg to go on with his undertaking; and, in consequence, Swedenborg anticipated both support and advantages from subsequent issues something which he holds out in his effort to get literary cooperation.
"If Doctors Roberg and Bromell do not fail to increase Part V
with their own contributions, it may lead to their own
profit." (OQ. 1:263 = LM. p. 136)
As to the Mechanical Laboratory, the Astronomical Observatory, and the Learned Society, nothing apparently was done. "In respect to the establishment of the Society," writes Swedenborg, immediately after his departure from Lund, "nothing is as yet declared; yet I shall not forget it in the proper time, though the Upsala letter* will probably lie over." A few weeks later, when speaking of reprinting his article on Finding the Longitude, he writes:
* Perhaps the documents by Elfvius or Benzelius concerning the necessity of an observatory, spoken of above.
"Thus also I hope that something can be determined concerning
an observatory and the society; as to which, nothing is yet
done, though a word would have been enough to accomplish the
matter if the Councillor of Commerce had found that it could
have been brought into being and could have been maintained
without the person who was in mind attending the society or
at least without him being present in Upsala. Yet, at the
next time [i.e., when he next sees the King], request shall
certainly be made concerning the observatory." (OQ. 1:265 =
LM. p. 139)
It would seem from this that, while the idea of a society and an observatory was looked on with favor, Polhem was lukewarm owing, it would appear, to some jealousy of Swedenborg; at any rate, nothing was done about the matter, and Swedenborg writes from Karlskrona that the "Upsala letter will have to wait over." He refers, perhaps, to the letter by Elfvius or Benzelius showing the necessity of an observatory in Sweden. (OQ. 1:263 = LM. p. 136)
As already stated, the King was greatly interested in the Daedalus itself - the first learned journal to be published in Sweden - and he suggested to the delighted Swedenborg that it should be printed in Latin as well as in Swedish; he even went to the trouble of pointing out exactly "where the Swedish should be [and] where the Latin." (OQ. l: 266 = LM. p.144)
One can well imagine the cause of the King's suggestion.
The King being himself a mechanical and mathematical genius,
was interested in the journal and proud of it as giving
promise of European fame for some of Sweden's sons. Its
articles gave matter of discourse for many royal
conversations, and these in turn resulted in the King showing
the Daedalus to others, including some of the educated
foreigners, ambassadors, and others who were in Lund, few if
any of whom knew Swedish. There can be little doubt but that
the King was impressed by the advisability of printing a
translation in Latin, the language of the whole cultivated
world, so that his auditors could read for themselves. (OQ.
1:263 = LM. p. 135)
The King was especially interested in the article on salt which had appeared in the second number of the Daedalus, and which dealt with a matter whose vital importance to the country had been but recently demonstrated by the almost prohibitive price of salt.
"As to the project with respect to the making of salt,"
writes Swedenborg, "his Majesty discoursed thereon and took
the opposite side, proving it from Hungarian wine which can
be entirely frozen. He related concerning himself when he was
in Poland, that he had distributed it to the lads piecemeal
with his sword, though it left an inner kernel of the very
essence as large as a musket ball." (OQ. 1:266 = LM. p.
145)
But perhaps the most signal mark of the King's favor which Swedenborg experienced was in the matter of their conversations on mathematics. Swedenborg greatly admired the mathematical genius of his hero, and at the same time, his unassuming modesty. Of this Swedenborg testifies some years later:
"He must have had a deeper understanding than he showed
outwardly," he writes, "especially as, in his intercourse
generally, he gave people to understand that he deemed it low
and vulgar to put on the air and the ways of superiority and
learning in the company of such as have regarded and still
regard the external and superficial as wise, and the internal
and real as unwise." One of his expressions was that "he
regarded him who was ignorant of mathematics as only half a
man." But he exhibited "all his grace and favor toward those
whom he considered able to bring a useful science to some
degree of perfection." (Doc. 1:564)
Five years after his first meeting with the King, Swedenborg wrote concerning his attainments as follows:
"I suppose that not one man in a thousand would imagine
that a Hero of such renown, acquired from so many
achievements, possessed also a most profound and acute
judgment, and a force of mind the most penetrating, in all
matters belonging to arithmetical calculation. But it was my
good fortune frequently to hear him discourse on such
subjects, in particular, as belong to mathematics and
arithmetic. . . Another proof of his skill in calculation was
afforded by the ease with which he could solve the most
difficult problems by mental operations simply, which would
have required others the most laborious and fatiguing
methods." (Miss. Obs. 113, 116)
"I confess," says Swedenborg, elsewhere, "that I have never been able to understand how by mere reflection, and without employing the customary mode of algebraical computation, such things could be wrought out." He then adds that the King wished to sharpen his wits with Polhem whom he knew to excel in these matters. This is undoubtedly true, and explains also the cause that led Charles XII to be so gracious to the brilliant, mechanical genius Swedenborg, who was so eager and zealous in striving to advance his country in science and in manufacture. (Doc. 1:560)
During this visit to Lund in December 1716, Swedenborg and Polhem frequently waited on the King, when the discussion turned mainly on mechanics and the computation of forces, and also on geometry, arithmetic, etc., and the King showed "decided interest" in asking questions as though he wished to obtain information without it being observed; yet, "now and then," says Swedenborg, "he would let us perceive that he was by no means as ignorant in these matters as he pretended, which caused us to be more careful and guarded" not to speak of generalities or uncertainties. (Doc. 1: 559)
"One day," says Swedenborg, "the conversation was as to
the origin of our numbers, and the explanation was given that
it was due to people having originally counted on their ten
fingers, and that with the invention of figures this system
had been retained. The King pointed out how inconvenient the
number 10 was as the basis of our calculations since it so
soon diverts into a fraction, and contains no squares. It
would have been better if 8 or 16 had been used. (Miss.
Obs. 113,114)
The King was highly pleased with the talk, and desired
that a trial be made of a system based on 8 or 16. It was
pointed out, however, that new names would be necessary.
(Ibid.)
The King then commanded Swedenborg* to carry out this
work on the basis of 8. Swedenborg did this in the course of
a few days in a paper wherein he pointed out the agreements
of his system with the current Swedish coins, weights, and
measures, and the ease with which the system could be used
for the more speedy finding of cubes, squares, etc., and for
other calculations. (Ibid. 115)
* That Swedenborg saw the King alone on this occasion is shown by the fact that in 1740, when Polhem was still living, he wrote that he was the only living person who could tell of this incident (see p. 600).
"When his Majesty had looked at my specimen twice or
thrice, although he saw that it clearly had certain
advantages unknown in the decimal calculus, yet he would not
honor it with his approbation because, so far as he could
judge, he considered it too easy both in conception and
practice. He therefore immediately said that he wished some
other number than eight to have been selected; some number,
in short, which might contain both a cube and a square, and
yet be referred to the octonary scale and reducible to unity
by constantly halving." The number 64 was the
only nominator which would fill these conditions, but
Swedenborg objected that with 64, the multiplication table up
to 64 times 64 would read 4,096, and the system would require
the memorizing of 3,969 numbers. "But in proportion as I
raised difficulties," he writes, "his Majesty only became
more eager and desirous to try this calculation. He seemed to
court difficulties and would answer only that those I had
adduced would be compensated for by greater advantages."
(Miss. Obs. 115)
One or two days later, Swedenborg was again summoned to
the royal presence, and the subject was again brought up. But
just as Swedenborg was commencing again to point out the
difficulties of the 64 system, the King took from his table
a paper which he handed to Swedenborg, "and to my great
astonishment," says the latter, "I saw that he had invented
not only new characters and numbers (bearing a considerable
resemblance to the letters of his own name), and which
proceeded in a regular series to 64, by a most happy and
easily remembered division, but likewise fresh denominations;
both being so contrived that they might be extended to
myriads, whilst the character and denomination would
constantly vary. But when I perceived collaterally some new
methods for performing addition and multiplication by this
calculus, which were produced artificially, or by
characteristic marks in the numbers themselves, together with
other most ingenious attempts to facilitate the employment of
this system, I could not but admire the heroic force of his
mind; and, full of wonder, I felt obliged to confess that
this great monarch and man was not merely my rival but my
conqueror in my own department." (Ibid. 226)
The King's autographed paper* was given to Swedenborg, and some years later he writes of how highly he treasures it and, at the same time, promises eventually to give it to Upsala Library. Its whereabouts is now unknown.
* Consisting of 2 arks containing characters, names and rules (OQ. 1:275 = LM. p. 165)
As to the new system of numbering, Swedenborg not long afterwards wrote a little work, on this subject, and we shall defer to the consideration of that work any further discussion of this subject.
The immediate result of this visit to Lund, prior to the actual investigation of the Canal Route, was that on January 31st, 1717, Charles XII gave out an open letter for the establishment of a private company, a "sluice guild" which was to build, maintain, and profit from the navigation between Venner and Gothenburg; other privileges were also promised for the future. The sequel showed, however, that despite these promises, and despite the fact that Polhem himself offered to subscribe one thousand dal.s.m., the appeal for subscribers, if ever made, was not successful. (Bring, Troll.Kan.Hist. p. 62)
A few days after his appointment, Swedenborg set out for Karlskrona together with Polhem. Here they stayed a week or so, looking over the ground, laying down the plan for the new dock, taking preliminary measures for its building, especially the building of the preparatory dam, and, of course, consulting Admiral Wachmeister and the shipbuilder Charles Sheldon* who had charge of the whole work. (Sv. Merc. 1761: 46-47)
* See Familjebok.
During his brief stay at Karlskrona, Swedenborg finds time to work on Daedalus V, which must now, be translated into Latin, and which he hopes Benzelius will be able to have published by April for presentation to the King. He also thinks of having a reprint made of his article on Finding the Longitude.
Before leaving Karlskrona, he receives from his brother-in-law congratulations on at last having secured honorable employment. For these he writes:
"I am very grateful; I give the assurance on my conscience
that the only pleasure I find therein is that it will
presumably please my parents and d: Brother. This pleasure is
my greatest advancement and good fortune." (OQ. 1:264 =
LM. p. 139)
We have already stated that Charles XII was especially interested in the Daedalus article on saltmaking with its suggestions as to the practicability of developing brineries in Sweden. It was in consequence of this royal interest that Polhem and Swedenborg, while at Karlskrona, took the occasion to make experiments to ascertain whether saltworks would be profitable on the Baltic. But they
"found the water of this lake very slightly impregnated with
salt on account of being toward the north and diluted with
the waters of the rivers, so that it scarcely contains a
thirtieth part of its weight in salt, and still less at
certain periods, as was ascertained by an instrument."
(Person. Tids. p. 92, Miss. Obs. 65-66)
Swedenborg thus misses his Christmas holidays, when he had hoped to meet Eric Benzelius at Brunsbo, but, as he writes in January 1717:
"To leave Councillor of Commerce Polheimer in a place where
weighty designs are in hand, is as opposed to his Majesty's
intention and pleasure as to my advantage in the long run."
(OQ. 1:264 = LM. p. 139)
He writes this from Goteborg where he and Polhem arrived in the beginning of January 1717.
But on the way from Karlskrona to Goteborg, some important investigations were made to ascertain the amount of salt in the water at different places, with a view to the establishment of saltworks. From Karlskrona, Swedenborg and Polhem proceeded to Goteborg. (Person.Tids. p. 92; Miss. Obs. 65)
Swedenborg gives some account of the fruits of this journey in his Miscellaneous Observations which he published in 1722. About the straights of Helsingborg, he says: There is little salt because the North
Sea was mingled with the Baltic. At Halmstadt, 60 miles
farther north, there was too much river water entering the
sea; 50 miles still farther north at Warberg, the water was
richer, containing 1/16th of its weight in salt. Here, on a
nearby island, salt boiling had been carried on for some
time, and it had the advantage of a good supply of peat. From
Warberg to Gothenburg, the prospect was poor owing to the
rivers and especially the Gotha Alf. (Miss. Obs. p. 66)
From Gothenburg, they pursued the northward journey, still studying the question of saltworks. At Marstrand, the sea was found to be very salt, and the place was favorable for saltworks save for the high price of fuel; but from Uddevalla on to Stromstad, and particularly at Gulmarsberg a little northwest of Uddevalla, the prospects were excellent. There, Swedenborg
"Here," Swedenborg writes, "is found the best opportunity in
the world for saltmaking since there is sufficient abundance
of woods and streams which can advance the work, and one
could be confident in promising to procure as much as is
needed at from 8 to 10 d.k.m. per ton;* which will likely be
demonstrated at the place itself. Probably also I shall
confer with Dr. Roberg something thereon which can be sent to
the King, so that he can see a drawing of new salt pans which
are economical with wood and hasten the work in many ways;
also a drawing of a pump and graduating pipes, which are
likewise new; though there also, as in other places, by means
of evaporation and wind in the summer, and of freezing in the
winter, it can be refined to such a degree that it can be
worked up and boiled with the least trouble. There is a
brinery at Stromstad, but constructed with the greatest lack
of judgment, without any other graduation processes save that
it is pumped from the deep. It has also the most unsuitable
salt pans possible, yet with a single cord of wood they
succeed in actually producing three tons every twenty-four
hours.** If such work could be set going, the country would
take in more than the whole [value] of its iron manufacture
in which one must sometimes suffer a loss; but here there
would be a real gain for the country since it then keeps the
money in the country. We hope that the journey we made there
will in time become of importance." (OQ. 1:266 = LM.
p. 145)
* In peace times, the price was 42-1/2. Imported salt, on the other hand, in war times rose as high as 100 dal. a ton (Underrat. om Dock. p. 6; Bring, Pol. p. 53).
** In his Misc. Observations p. 67, speaking of the Saltworks at Stromstad, the author says that with a load of wood, 3 ells square, one man can produce in a single day one ton, or four tons Dutch.
It may here be added that the information concerning salt boiling which Swedenborg acquired on this journey, is incorporated in a work De Sale which he completed in 1729. In that work, pages 43-46, he describes the whole process used in Stromstad, and gives a delineation of the salt pans used.
During these journeys, Swedenborg was not satisfied merely to confine himself to the question of establishing saltworks. His keen sight observes many things which may be of use to him in his desire to enter into the causes of things. And it is not improbable that on this journey along the western coast of southern Sweden, he began to formulate in his mind those geological hypotheses which later he wrote out in his Height of Water. At any rate, he closely observed and made note of many of the phenomena which went to the forming of that theory.
Thus, at Helsingborg, he notes the formation of the strata of the ground. Here (he says, in his Height of Water)
"there are several layers of stone and earth; lowermost we
find brown stone, then red stone, and then granite; on top of
this sandstone of a fathom's thickness, and then layers of
slate, white, brown, blue and black; on top of this a layer
of coal; then a
blue slate like stone, which dissolves in water and is full
of salt like the sea." (Sc. and Phil. Tr. I:1:41)
In Miscellaneous Observations, he describes still another series of layers which he had observed near Helsingborg. (Miss. Obs. p.19)
In Uddevalla and Stromstad also, he was keenly observant of geological features, and there he makes certain observations which strongly indicate that Sweden was formerly the bed of a sea. (Ibid. p. 149)
"On a high hill, not far from the city of Uddevalla," he
writes, "there is an entire tract of land consisting of
different kinds of shells [mussels and snails, Sc. and Phil.
Tr. I:1:21, 41] and of tortoises; a similar formation exists
near Stromstad [between Stromstad and Sundborg, ibid. 44]
in a still more lofty hill 70 ells above the level of the
sea; and also in the islands of Tiorn and Oroust.* These
remains are so abundant that the inhabitants burn them and
thus obtain a most excellent lime which they sell;" and he
adds, with scientific interest, "It would be worth while to
engrave the several species of these tortoises."
* Two islands a few miles south of Stromstad.
It was probably at Uddevalla in January 1717, that Swedenborg jotted down the notes on Mussels and Snails, etc. (Phot. 1: 19) which are translated in Scientific and Philosophical Treatises I:1: 21-22; for though he dwells on the fields of shells found at Uddevalla, he makes no mention of the similar fields which he saw later in Stromstad.
At Stromstad, and also at Gullmarsberg, he noted in the granite what are called potholes - "one very near Stromstad, over which hangs a cliff having a large crevice in which a great many round and polished stones have been found," - which he takes as a sign of swirling water grinding into the granite by means of stones. (Sc. and Phil. Tr. I:1:43)
The investigation of saltworks, however, while important, was not the only work that lay before Polhem and Swedenborg. They were also to investigate as to the building of a water way through Lake Venner to Gothenburg. This study involved more than the building of sluices or locks between Lake Venner and Gothenburg. It involved the greater question of a water passage to the interior of the land, and, eventually, to Stockholm. At Uddevalla, they investigated the question as to whether the outlet should be there instead of at Gothenburg, which was a much longer route (60 miles as compared with 16-1/2); but, mainly for commercial reasons, Polhem favored Gothenburg. (Bring, Troll., p. 69)
They went also to Trollhatten where are the greatest falls; and they examined the falls at Wennersborg and the route whereby to circumvent them. From Wennersborg, probably via Skara and Brunsbo, they went to Gulspang and thence crossed over to Lake Hjalmar. It would thus appear that the route they examined did not include any part of Lake Vetter but was to pass through Orebro and Lake Hjalmar, some forty miles north of the route of Skagern and Toften
During the journey to Lake Hjalmar, Swedenborg is struck with some geological features which later he makes use of to show that the highest parts of Sweden were formerly isolated islands. Thus, he notes that Orebro on Lake Hjalmar is 60 ells above sea level, sinking down to 30 ells at Trollhatten, and to 10 at Gullspang; he also notes in the neighborhood of Orebro the existence of great isolated boulders, indicating the former presence of the sea. Of this journey of investigation with a view to reporting the canal project to the King, Swedenborg writes from Stiernsund, where their journey finally led them:
"All was found to be feasible, and at a cost which was not so
high as was thought. If I could contribute nothing more to
the matter, I am a stimulus to it" - which
indicates that Swedenborg was enthusiastic with regard to this project whereby to secure cheap transportation, and at the same time escape from the exactions of the Danes. (Sc. and Phil.Tr. I:1:52, 36, 2:87; Miss. Obs. p. 151; OQ. 1: 267 = LM. p. 146)
After his work of exploration, Swedenborg accompanied Polhem to the latter's home in Stiernsund, arriving there after the middle of February 1717. At this peaceful home he found much needed rest after his continuous and strenuous journeys. Here, the copy of Daedalus V - which should have appeared in January - was at last completed and sent off to Benzelius, "with the humble request that d: Brother will give it the same unsparing kindness as before." Swedenborg had already sent him the first installment from Brunsbo where he had made a short stop en route. The delay in getting the Daedalus ready was partly due to the advice received from the King to publish it in Latin and Swedish. Swedenborg's constant journeys since the time of that advice had given him little time for the translation work until he found rest in Stiernsund. (OQ.1:265 = LM. p. 144)
Swedenborg remained but a short time at Stiernsund, during which be probably assisted Polhem in preparing a report and estimate for the proposed canal building. At the end of February he went to his Starbo property, and later made a short journey of investigation around the neighboring mining district. Finally, on March 22nd he arrived in Stockholm and determined to stay there until Easter. After Easter he expected again to be called to Lund, and he hoped that Daedalus V would be ready by that time for him to offer it to his Majesty. On March 24th he writes to Benzelius:
"Ah, if only I were so fortunate as to get Daedalus V, yes,
and Daedalus VI, if it could be ready before Easter, to take
them down with me to offer to his Majesty. . . If it be
possible, it ought to be done." (OQ. 1:267, 268 = LM.
p. 149)
In Stockholm he had plenty with which to occupy himself in preparation for the visit to the King; particularly in the marshaling of facts, suggestions and improvements connected with the proposed establishment of Swedish saltworks - a matter which greatly interested the King. In order to put the matter before his Majesty, Swedenborg now writes a Memorial on the Instituting of Saltworks in Sweden. Whether this Memorial was actually sent to Lund is not known, though it would seem probable in view of the King's support of this work. Swedenborg's draft is still preserved among his papers, and from this it appears that it forms the substance of a chapter in a little work he published two years later on The Dock, Sluices, and Saltworks. (Phot. 1:74; ACSD 133)
The Memorial in question sets forth the advantages Sweden has, especially in its cold whereby the water can be frozen to concentrate its salt before boiling, and the abundance of its forests supplying wood for boiling.
He then shows that the saltmaking at Uddevalla and Stromstad is very inefficient and could be greatly improved in quality, and cheapened in price by graduating and improved salt pans, etc.
[Note: Among the improvements contemplated by Polhem were a floating barge with a pump operated by a windmill, to pump the saltiest water from the bottom of the sea and convey it to the brinery by pipes; new gradier works, etc. (Person. Tids., p. 92; see De Sale p. 76)
After this, he proceeds to answer the various objections that may be raised. In this part of his Memorial, we see the presence of those liberal economic principles which later were so to the fore in his political writings. The objections and answers are:
1. There would not be enough wood for fuel, especially now when wood economy is enforced.
Answer: There are abundant woods around the present
saltworks and, moreover, they can use the waste wood of the
sawmills.
2. Being near the border, the works would be subject to enemy attacks.
Answer: This could be guarded against by placing the works
where their approaches could be guarded.
3. Our shippers would lose the present profit they get from carrying salt from foreign parts, and so business would suffer.
Note: This objection from powerful interests was probably the most potent in destroying Polhem's plans, for the salt trade, especially with Portugal, was an important one. (Person. Tids., pp. 92-93; Robinson, p. 146)
Answer: Salt is often brought to us by foreign ships, and
in any case, payment must be made in specie which should be
kept in the country. Moreover, the country cannot truly aid
business by injuring itself.
4. The establishment of saltworks would lower the streams and decrease the fresh water supply.
Answer: They need not be situated at streams.
5. The summer in Sweden is too uncertain.
Answer: But plenty of salt can be made when the weather is
dry and hot.
6. The matter should be proved before being approved.
Answer: Saltmaking is already proved at Uddevalla and
Stromstad, despite the faulty processes of making.
He concludes by stating his willingness to submit, plans for improved graduating works and salt pans.* (LM. p. 140)
* In the same MS. volume in Linkoping is a copy of this Memorial, but not in Swedenborg's hand. (It was Polhem who presented the Memorial on Salt. The present Memorial was perhaps for reserve.) (Doc. 1:287; Stroh 2:82)
We might add that at the end of the paper on which this Memorial is written, Swedenborg has entered a note of the subjects on which Elfvius, Vallerius and Roberg might write for the Daedalus. Alas, he never succeeded in getting their contributions. His intention in making the note was probably to write to Eric Benzelius asking him to get one or other of these professors to contribute an article for Daedalus VI, the make-up of which he seems to have intended to leave in Benzelius's hands. (OQ. 1: 273 = LM. p .158; Phot. 1: 77)
Both as to the saltworks and as to the canal building, Swedenborg is optimistic. Both projects, he writes on March 24, 1717, "are in a good way," and he thinks they will win the royal authorization. (OQ. 1:268 = LM. p. 149)
Nor does he remit his efforts to secure the royal approbation of an astronomical observatory. He sends a "Project" for the institution of such an observatory to deputy Councillor Fahlstrom, a military captain who was with the King in the Kalabalika, and was closely attached to his person in Lund; and he supposes "that his Majesty will approve it, and will also send to Upsala to present a plan for establishing a society," and this probably before the end of May. (OQ. 1; p. 268 = LM. p. 149)
A week later, however, he begins to entertain some doubt. On April 4, 1717, he writes:
"I wonder what decision has been come to in respect to
what has been laid before his Majesty concerning the
Astronomical Observatory, inland navigation, and the brinery
. . . the present time seems untimely for all good
proposals." (Ibid. 271 = p. 152)
About a week after his arrival in Stockholm, Polhem's two daughters, "Maja and Mensa" (Maria, aged 19, and Emerentia. 14) came to the city on a visit and brought him from their father a continuation of the article in no. IV of the Daedalus, on the Resistance of Mediums. Of these draft continuations, Polhem writes in his accompanying letter:
"I did not afterwards give myself the time to read through
them, and therefore, the sense rather than the words is to be
observed. Should Herr Vice-President Hierne find pleasure in
the clean copy and so approval, it may be printed; but if any
objection is made which demands more exact explanation, it
had best remain until the whole is connected together."
A few days later he writes that it was not his intention to have the second Part printed at this time, "but that something can be extracted from it in illustration of the former part." (OQ. 1:269, 270 = LM. pp. 150, 152)
Whether Swedenborg did any work on preparing this continuation for the press is not known. Swedenborg added to his advertisement of Daedalus Hyperboreus V, which will be mentioned presently, the following:
"There is also, by Councillor of Commerce Mr. Polheim, a
little commencement to a Geometrical, Arithmetic and
Mechanical Course, called Wishetens andra Grundwahl til
Ungdoms prydnad which came out in Upsala and is sold there."
(ACSD 135A)
It seems that the Stockholm copies had all been sold, and this encouraged Swedenborg to contemplate the possibility of continuing the printing:
"I wonder if it is sold out in Upsala," he writes on April
4th, 1717, "which I should like to know in order to see
whether a continuation is justified. Here it is sold for 5
styfvers; perhaps I shall get back 1-1/2." (OQ. l:271 = LM.
p. 153)
We might note here also an interesting observation made by Polhem in his letter, that suggests the familiar teaching about the spiritual genius of the Swedes. He greatly approves of having Benzelius write a life of Stiernhielm for the Daedalus, and suggests that some poems be prefixed to it,
"to the honor both of Sweden and of the person whom the
subject matter seems to serve. In the degree that the sun
gives to Sweden short and cold days," he continues, "in that
degree are they longer and more lovely in summer; so that in
this respect southerners have nothing to boast of when the
year is up. So likewise also, though Sweden nourishes the
most stupid people which other nations just despise, yet, on
the other hand, there are there lively geniuses who would
surpass and teach other nations; though these two extremes
together constitute no more than the average in other
places." (Confer Robinson, An Account of Sweden, p. 46
seq.) (OQ. 1:269 = LM. p. 151)
Meanwhile, Benzelius gratified his brother-in-law by pushing the printing of Daedalus V, and he was so far successful that it was actually on the market by the first week in April. On the 4th of that month, Swedenborg writes to Upsala "for twenty copies on the fine paper, and some of the other kind, since I must complete theirs with the same paper as they had before, both here and in Lund." (OQ. 1:270 = LM. p. 152)
No. V was the most pretentious of all the six issues of the Daedalus Hyperboreus. It consisted of 40 pages (Swedish and Latin translation facing each other) and 1 double copperplate. It was provided with a separate title-page as befitted a journal almost under the auspices of the King.
It was on the appearance of this number that Swedenborg proposes to take a definite step to increase the sale of the journal, and also to protect its purchasers from the exactions of the booksellers. On April 4th, he writes to
Benzelius:
"I think I would rather hold to a certain selling agent for
them, and give him a definite compensation, since the
booksellers are unreasonable in setting a price on them and
so they make little advance; yet the price paid me is 2
styvers less than that which was agreed on," etc. (OQ. 1:
271 = LM. p .153)
Nominally, no. V was advertised in the Stocholmiska Kundgiorelser of April 2d, but actually the advertised contents were those of no. IV. After reciting these contents, the advertisement then continues:
"The work for the whole year is sold for 32 styvers by
the bookseller on Nygatan and in Upsala" -
from which it appears that the price of each number was 8 styvers (1/4 of a daler s.m., or nearly 3 dal.k.m.) (ACSD 135A)
The first article in this number does not lack an element of comicality. In the Swedish it is called Polhem's ingenious tap," and in the Latin, his "ingeniously made pump whereby the drawings from the barrel can be observed." Swedenborg opens it as follows:
"Here is presented a new invention of a tap which is
well known both for its ingenuity and for its merits; and it
has already been used by many with pleasure and advantage.
Its merits consist principally in this, that it puts a check
on the greed of some maid- and menservants who, when the
opportunity arises, tap the keg as much for the advantage of
themselves and their friends as for that of their mistress,
making themselves glad and merry at the expense of their
master. . . The present machine will serve to check all such
peculation and abuse, setting against it a lock and bar, as
it were. For when the house mistress wishes to place her key
and give it into the hands of the butler, she can rest calm,
being assured that no water will run by the mill while the
miller's wife is sleeping; for if it should happen, the
vessel would at once carry the mark of it. From which it can
be concluded that its use is as great as its ingenuity, and
its ingenuity as great as its use; though, doubtless it will
not be liked by the lower classes. Its outer shape is already
known by a large number of persons, but since the mechanism
is concealed and lies inside, one will now open it up and set
forth its parts, both in combination and separately, and show
the hiding place of this mechanical wine- saver which checks
the pleasure and desire of the servant folk."
Then follows the description of the tap itself, which is
fully illustrated in the accompanying plate. This tap was
manufactured at Stiernsund, and attention is called to the
fact that keys also are made there, and among them a key "on
which one can see whether the door has been closed or not, so
that the mistress need no longer take the trouble to look
after her servants' faithfulness, save merely from the key."
One of these taps at Stiernsund, according to tradition, was
invented by Polhem when he discovered that when he wished
ale, his maid's lover happened to be equally thirsty at the
same time. This he found by the maid's reporting the barrel
empty when, according to Polhem's calculation, ale should yet
be left. (Daed. Hyper., p. 112; Stroh l: p. 63)
The second article of Daedalus V consists of several tables compiled by Swedenborg himself, to show the quantity of liquid contents in cubes, cylinders and spheres, and continues as a general treatment on the subject of stereometry, with the required mathematical operations and an analysis and explanation of them. The first draft of these calculations is preserved at Linkoping, and consists of 2 folio pages entitled "Stereometric Proportions and Stereometric Rules." It includes also the specific gravity of metals with water as the standard. (Phot. 1:100-1)
The matter of getting the plate made to illustrate the article on Polhem's tap gave Swedenborg considerable trouble. He had contemplated printing this article in the third number of the Daedalus, and had asked Prof. Roberg to execute a copperplate to illustrate it. But on April 2d, 1716, Benzelius writes him that Doctor Roberg, in case he were willing to draw this tap, "would have to open one, and here there is no one who will allow his tap to be destroyed." Such was the practical and ever-needed use of this cunning mechanism that the unwillingness to sacrifice it on the altar of science continued, and finally, when the tap must be drawn for Daedalus V, Swedenborg writes:
"As to the engraving of the tap, I know not how to provide
for it . . .
Could Dr. Roberg, in some pleasant and engaging
way, be invited to interest himself in the matter, this would
be the best way to do it, especially since some minute
details are involved which Mons. Aveln will not be able to
deal with. For the rest, if it should be necessary to examine
the tap itself, it lies in the bureau in the room which I
occupied, in one of the top drawers, which also should be
given to Doctor Roberg if he took charge of the matter."
(OQ. 1: 248, 266; = LM. pp. 98, 144)
Another difficulty which Swedenborg encountered and which might be mentioned here was the lack of complete sets of types in the print shops. Swedenborg notes the need of a sign for division, and wonders whether the print shop has such a sign. In the end, the sign was made by the letter "1" laid on its side with two period signs set above it and two below it. The same and other clumsy contrivances were adopted when Swedenborg's Algebra was printed in Skara a year or two later. (OQ. 1:267 = LM. p. 147)
Before leaving Stockholm, Swedenborg saw through the press another little work which probably he had written or, at any rate, prepared for, during his brief stay at Polhem's home. Its Swedish title (translated) reads: "A Relation concerning Stiernsund's Tin plated ware, the use of it, and the tin plating, Stockholm, 1717." It does not have the author's name, but in the Stockholm Royal Library copy is an annotation by Librarian Stahl "af Swedenborg." It is also attributed to Swedenborg in the earliest catalogues. (Doc. 3: 889)
This work is somewhat in the nature of an advertisement,
intended to show housewives how they should use the tinplated
spoons, plates, etc., made at Stiernsund, and how to replate
them in case the tinning wears off. And as an advertisement
it came out quite appropriately as a supplement to the
Stockholm newspaper Stockholmiska Kundgiorelser - though
this was like the tail wagging the dog. The appearance of
this supplement was undoubtedly due to Polhem's suggestion,
and it is of interest to note that in the beginning of the
Collegium Curiosorum, Polhem had the idea of printing the
papers or transactions of the Collegium as weekly supplements
to the Stockholm paper Ordinarie Stockholmiska
Posttidingar. (Bring, Polhem, p. 74)
It may also be noted that when Polhem had visited the
King in December 1716, he had brought with him a set of his
iron dishes, plates, spoons, etc., covered with tin. They
were tinned by an ingenious hydraulic machine invented by
Polhem. "The King thought so much of these tin goods," says
the traveler Mottraye, "that he banished from his table and
room everything of silver, and would have no other dishes,
plates, spoons, salt cellars, candlesticks, etc., than those
from this manufactory or, better said, aquafactory." The King
also carried these goods with him on his Norwegian Campaign.
This was in signal contrast to the lavishness allowed Goertz.
(Mottraye p. 176; Bring, Polhem p. 51; Fryx. 29: 90)
It was doubtless partly because of this royal favor that
it was suggested to Polhem to spread the use of his tin
goods; moreover, his manufactures were receiving much
opposition from tinsmiths and others. In addition to printing
its appendix, the Stockholmiska Posttidingar printed the
following editorial notice: (Underrat. Pref. 1923)
"Since it is already well known everywhere what general
use is served by the iron implements which are made at
Stiernsund and carried on by the ingenious machines which
have been set up, one has therefore set up for the pleasure
and at the same time for the use of the kind reader, on the
tin working at Stiernsund [etc.] which follows herewith on
half an ark." (ACSD 139A)
Swedenborg commences his paper by noting that the tinplated wares made at Stiernsund require more careful attention to keep them clean than in the case of tinware. They must be washed and dried after every meal, for otherwise the salt in the food will in time eat into the tin and cause rust. When the tin is worn off, he adds, the goods may be exchanged for new goods for one-third of the selling price; thus, for three dozen worn out, one dozen new ones are given free, or they will be returned for l ore s.m. per plate. On the other hand, they can be used after the tin has worn off, even for fifty years, provided they are scoured after every meal.
As a final paragraph, he adds:
"It has been noticed that if children who are afflicted
with worms eat food that has been standing over night in
untinned iron vessels, especially sour food, the worms are
thereby destroyed. This is left to be tried out by other
people."
It seems also that during his stay in Stockholm, Swedenborg wrote out his first draft of "A New Theory concerning the Stoppage of the Earth," which, in 1719, he published under the title, "The Going and Stoppage of the Earth and Planets." At any rate, in a letter dated Stockholm, April 4, 1717, after speaking of the printing of Daedalus V. he writes: "I ought to be able to follow with the theory of the earth which I mentioned in my last." (OQ. 1:270 = LM. p. 152)
We give a brief view of this work, though its contents will be considered more fully later when we come to the printed book. It may be premised, however, that it was when Swedenborg was in England that his mind seemed to have been turned more particularly to a "Theory of the Earth." In England, Burnet [d. 1715], the Master of Charterhouse, had published a Theoria Telluris - a somewhat fanciful one which Flamsteed said he could demolish on a single sheet of paper, and which had caused considerable discussion. Doctor Woodward also has a theory of the earth and the flood; and it is not improbable that Swedenborg discussed the matter with both authors, and certainly he studied Burnet's book, for among his MSS. are found extracts from it. (D. of NB. s.v. Burnet; Cod. 86: 165-69)
And now Swedenborg essays his own Theoria Telluris - a theory of the stoppage of the earth.
Briefly, the theory is that since all finite things come to
an end, the same must be true of the earth. Swedenborg then
argues that the motion of the earth is becoming slower; at
first, its diurnal motion was so rapid that there was a
perpetual spring; otherwise there could have been no
creation; but not so now. Consequently, paradise and the long
age of the ancients was then possible. In this connection, he
denies the existence of pre-adamites. He then discusses the
physical cause of the flood and, incidentally, opposes the
theory of "a good man in England" [meaning Burnet] who hold
that steam burst the earth and then the waters rushed in.
(OQ. 3: 271, 274, 276)
Swedenborg holds that before the flood, the earth was round, and in its motion offered little resistance to the air; but with the flood came mountains which offer much resistance. Hence, chapter 14 (the last) is headed: "The earth would have lasted 18,212 years had there been no flood."
That this conclusion is reached mathematically is seen from the MS., but how, does not appear since the work stops just at this point.
It may here be remarked that while Swedenborg was a skilled mathematician, his imagination, his dwelling on the idea, was too strong to allow him of always giving the exclusive attention to mathematics which is so necessary to exactness. This is the reason why, both in his Principia and also in his argument with other mathematicians, his mathematical claims were not always defensible. In Emanuel Swedenborg sasom Matematiker, Gustaf Enestrom (Stockholm 1890), who is the only author to study Swedenborg purely as a mathematician, says how totally unknown Swedenborg was and is to the world of mathematics. He adds:
"Swedenborg's purely mathematical contributions to Daedalus
Hyperboreus bear witness of a remarkable many-sidedness for
Swedish contemporary conditions, and a certain cleverness in
the use of them, but do not contain anything particularly new
or valuable from a mathematical point of view. One also finds
here one or two attempts of his in free hand, to construct
statements which, on closer investigation, are not found to
be mathematically tenable, and to come out with mathematical
philosophical speculations which lead away from actual exact
investigations instead of simplifying them."
Before leaving Stockholm, Swedenborg, on Saturday April 6th, presented himself at the Bergskollegium on Mynt Torget, and after taking the oath "with his hand on the Bible," took his seat in the Collegium as its youngest Assessor, and so commenced that labor which, with some considerable interruptions, was not finally to be laid down for thirty years. His Warrant was of course recognized, and he signed the letters of the Collegium as one of its Assessors. (ACSD 139, 225A)
At this time, the famous physician Urban Hjarne was the Vice-president of the Bergskollegium, and it may be presumed that Swedenborg now met him for the first time.
Swedenborg attended daily at the Bergskollegium up to and including Wednesday, April 17th, when he received leave of absence "to go in company with Councillor of Commerce Polhem to Karlskrona and Skane." He left Stockholm on the same day for a visit during Easter (April 21st) to his brother-in-law at Upsala, whom he afterwards accompanied to the latter's country estate Ribbenbeck, some miles due east of Upsala. For some unknown reason, he left Ribbenbeck hastily and without taking leave - probably the opportunity of transportation - and he took the way to Stiernsund where he visited Polhem, and the two then proceeded to Karlskrona to superintend the building of the dry dock and the great dam. Swedenborg's work on the former
* For a description of this dam, see Swedenborg's "New Plan for constructing Docks and Moles, (Amsterdam 1721).
From Karlskrona they, at any rate, Swedenborg proceeded to Lund, where they arrived on May 22nd. Here Swedenborg lost no time in presenting the fifth or Latin-Swedish number of the Daedalus "to his Majesty, who," he writes, was pleased with it, and even more." (OQ. 1:272 = LM. p. 157)
During this visit, he also tried to make some progress as to the Observatory. He tried to interest Secretary Cederholm but without success because he did not have a formal letter from the Upsala "Society." Polhem would not stir in the matter; in fact, he "adopted the attitude of not bothering himself about anything save what concerns himself," and naturally so when he found so many things ascribed to him of which he knew nothing at all.
On June 11th, Polhem's report of the canal investigations was laid before the King in a document which was written in Swedenborg's hand and possibly was his work, but was signed "C. P." (ACSD 142)
In this report, three large locks are proposed, two at Trollhattan and one at Carlsgraf.* For the sake of economy and expedition, the sides always under water were to be of wood, and those above, of wood faced with stone slabs from Kinnekulla. Thus faced, they would probably last a hundred years, (Bring, Troll. KH, p. 323)
* The present canal has 11 locks at Trollhattan. 2 or 3 sluices at Trollhattan were planned by Polhem to be so deep that part of each lock would be a tunnel (Bring, Troll. KH., pp. 63, 60).
Each of the three sluices, it was estimated, would cost
between ten and twenty thousand dal. s.m. In addition, extra
expenses would be incurred in the dredging of a part of the
river; which it was proposed to have done by the help of
Russian prisoners or soldiers who would receive less pay;
also in the erection of a temporary dam and in the
compensation to mill owners for the temporary losses incurred
before they could transfer their mills to the new sluices.
Moreover, the old dams at Ed would require to be improved
before through navigation can be secured. The whole work
would cost at least 100,000 dal.s.m., "whether more or less,
one cannot rightly say."
"This then is a short memo on navigation between Wenner
and Goth," ends Polhem's report. "As soon as it comes to some
resolution, I will present a plan for the rest of the work
between Wenner and Hielmar."
In an autograph P.S. to this very informal report,
moreover, Polhem proposed that the water power at Vennersborg
be used by the building there of works for the making of
nails, iron sheets, salt, dams for which could be put in at
little cost while the river bed was dry for the building of
the great sluices.
It will be remembered that on the preceding January 31st
(see p. 138 above), the King had issued an open letter for
the establishing of a private sluice guild to which certain
valuable privileges would be given. Nothing came of this, and
in the report we are now considering, Polhem makes a new
proposal for the financing of the canal work, namely, that a
certain capital sum be put up by private persons for the
whole work, under the guarantee of ten per cent from the day
of cash subscription until the work was finished; and then
the King would grant privileges which would ensure a return
of at least ten per cent.
Polhem was optimistic as to the success of this plan,
and as for himself, he was content with "some little shares"
in payment of his valuable services.
The document closes with an estimate of twenty per cent
profit for the owners of the canal shares.
This plan was approved by the King, and a few days later (June 13th), a general announcement was made authorizing the formation of a private sluice company with one thousand shares, and promising to such a company a guarantee of Privileges and approval of a profit of at least twenty per cent. (Troll.K.H. p. 325)
A similar plan, namely, the authorizing of a private company, was contemplated for the proposed salt works, and Swedenborg viewed both projects with great hopes.
"The brinery goes," he writes in June, "and to it his Majesty
has resolved to grant great and powerful privileges which
will probably make many persons eager to venture their means
in it; and should interested persons be lacking in other
places, Lund with its Deputy Councillor should contribute
most of the money. The establishment of sluice works between
Gothenburg and Wennersborg is also in a good way." (OQ.
1:272 = LM. p. 157)
A day or two after the above was written, the salt privileges were formally granted by the King.
The report made by Polhem, as a result of his and Swedenborg'sinvestigations, had been specifically for the establishment of salt works on Gullmarsfjord which could easily be defended from the enemy and in addition contained very good salt water. Polhem proposed the institution of some new graduating works which he had invented, and also industries to be combined with the brineries. He had, moreover, invented new methods of refining whereby the salt could be made equal to the foreign salt. (Bring, Polhem, p. 53)
The whole plan was approved, and on June 26, 1717, while Swedenborg and Polhem were still at Lund, the latter was given the monopoly of saltmaking. A company was to be formed of 200,000 shares at 1 mark s.m. All applications for shares were to be made to Polhem before September 1st of that year. Various inducements were offered to subscribers, including
"Since Councillor of Commerce Christopher Polhem has
humbly set forth to his Majesty . . . that saltboileries
could be established in this land with advantage, if some
persons in the same industry would take an interest in
conjunction with Mr. Polhem, and will put in their money, and
if the undertaking should be honored with certain privileges
and advantages: therefore, his Royal Majesty has graciously
granted his subject certain privileges which are here printed
under the title his Royal Majesty's Open gracious Letter
concerning the institution of salt boiling works; dated Lund,
June 26th, 1717." (ACSD 145A)
It appears from this that it was expected that all existing
brineries would buy shares in the new company - as, indeed,
they would be forced to if no other salt company was allowed
to operate.
Swedenborg was pleased, though not excessively so. On the same day that the monopoly was granted, he wrote:
"The salt company's privileges have been signed. They
are fairly good, to wit, that they . . . have freedom to
purchase whatever wood is found available, to choose what
place they will, to get twenty years' freedom from all taxes,
and afterwards, for all time, never to be liable for more
than one-half of the dutyor tax which foreign salt pays.
After the company has been formed, which consists of 200,000
shares, at 1 mark s. sm. a share, no other company will be
permitted. . . For the rest, it promises many other
advantages whenever required. If any one in Upsala wishes to
subscribe, he can do it through Assessor Cameen in Stockholm.
. . We have already put out from thirty to forty thousand
shares in this city. According to all appearances, it will be
filled within the last date for subscription [end of
September]. The subscriptions will amount to 50,000 [dalers]
s.m." (OQ. 1: 273 = LM. p. 158)
Swedenborg himself seems to have taken a more or less active part in the promotion of the work by the sale of shares. At any rate, we learn from a contemporary diarist that Nils Reuterhjelm, one of Charles XII's war counsellors,
"together with Swedenborg and Polhem, was down in Skane and
Bohuslahn to enlist the people for the saltwork which it was
proposed to set up in Bohus"; Reuterhjelm adds: "Polhem is
going to make a barge with a pipe to fetch the saltiest water
up from the bottom, to institute graduating works, etc., and
has promised to make a salt as good as they wished, and
whatever kind they desired. He also made different trials
with one salt water, so that no one had reason for blame. He
would also get the best salt at Bohus for five daler. But
there were some who thought that it was not in agreement with
their interests, and who represented that commerce would
suffer by it, as though the kingdom is to adjust itself to
commerce; and a lot of other bagatelles of a like
nature, which yet Polhem had shown the unreasonableness of
with full proof. But here no reason that any may be brought
forward is of avail. So it goes. When any useful work is to
be under taken, so some one's mere caprices and interests
which destroy the general interest so that the whole kingdom
must suffer on their account." (Person. Tids. p. 92)
There seemed at first a real prospect of success for the undertaking, and in the Stockholm newspaper of September 24th, as a last call for subscriptions prior to October 1st, it is announced, that since this salt company, with its assembled capital, will commence this autumn, all who wish to take part in it can give in their names to Councillor Polhem in Karlskrona for as many shares as they desire; shareholders or their representatives would have a voice in the management, or Polhem would undertake to sell salt to them at the works for 2 dal. s.m. (ACSD 146A)
Evidently, this was a last effort to arouse a somewhat
dormant interest, and perhaps a last effort against the
active antagonism of the saltmakers and others. It failed.
The "30 to 40 thousand shares" sold in Lund were merely
revocable applications. In fact, the company was not even
established. One great trouble was the demand that shares be
paid for in cash, and cash was too scarce or too desirable;
the other was secret opposition, especially by shipowners and
importers. See ACSD 252A. (Bring, Polhem, p. 54; Samml.v.
Nat.u. Med. Art.IV p. 104)
Polhem had entertained high hopes of wide support, but
alas, on December 19th he writes: "The shareholders here in
Karlskrona ask to be allowed to pay in tokens, or else to be
struck off the list of subscribers. If all the others do the
same thing, then there will be a beginning such as a large
number of persons desire - those, namely, who are outside the
company. God knows," he adds, "what fearful fate Sweden
experiences with all her useful undertakings. I think she is
bewitched on all sides, for neither will nor science avails
to meet all the disasters which come upon her in such
abundance." (Bring, Polhem. p. 54)
Meanwhile, Swedenborg had a special Memorial of his own which he presented to the King on June 11th, the same day as the Canal Report, and presumably together with it. (ACSD 142A)
Swedenborg here asks for the following ordinances, in order that manufacturers in Sweden may look for profit: (LM. p. 155)
1. That the right to become master workers shall not be confined by the guilds but shall be open to all, especially if working with their own materials.
2. And, that the number of these workmen may increase, "which will result in the cheapness of their goods, and the cheapness of the goods in larger sales, and larger sales in profit and development for the country."
No workmen will be tolerated but those who can be reckoned as masters, journeymen or apprentices. Those who will not support journeymen and apprentices in their workshop, who could do the coarser work cheaper "than the master himself who must support wife and children," must work as journeymen under another master, or must work at the same trade in the army.
3. That masters outside the guild come under the civil law.
4. These judges shall be responsible for the condition of the shops, and the master shall obtain advancement according to his encouragement of manufactory.
5. All new shops which do not belong to the guild shall enjoy twenty years' freedom from all import and export tons, but only for masters who employ at least three or four persons; the
6. Rank of the masters to be according to the number of their workmen, and not according to age.
7. Contracts with apprentices must be written, witnessed and faithfully kept.
8. If a workman goes to foreign lands, he must give a guarantee that he will return in a given time.
9. All disputes between masters and workmen to be judged according to the contract, the circumstances, reason and rules which can be applied.
During the six weeks of Swedenborg's stay in Lund, he was occupied with literary work. Here perhaps he worked on his Theoria Telluris. Here also and likewise in Stockholm, he met many persons who were interested in his Daedalus, and among them those who desired to have a Swedish work on Algebra - which was the inspiring motive that led him a few months later to write and publish his Regel konst. (OQ. 1:276 = LM. p. 169)
But what seems mainly to have occupied him was the writing out of that new system of reckoning which he had already discussed with the King on several occasions during his previous visit in Lurid (see p. 137s above).
"For the rest," he writes in a letter of June 26th, "I
have had to busy myself with a new system of numbering which
his Majesty has invented, namely, to let the numbering go on
to 64 before it turns, in the same way that it turns at 10
according to the customary numeration. He has himself
dictated for it new characters, new names, etc. He has
written and made many changes with his own hand. . . The
system of numbering is difficult in multiplication, etc., but
has its use and weight in solving equations, and in the
extraction of square, cube, and biquadrate roots. . . His
Majesty has powerful perception." (Ibid. 272 = LM. p.
158)
During this visit, he "got to talk with his Majesty no more than two times, and that was all about playful matters in Mathesis, puzzles in Algebra, etc. For the Herr Councillor of Commerce's sake, I have sought with all diligence not to get this grace more often." From which it would appear that some slight jealousy had been felt by Polhem, who had not been altogether successful in his many applications. In a letter of December, 1717, Swedenborg writes that Polhem had "put forward twenty things, but got only the decision in respect to the salt works." Even the project for the canal work was left in a nebulous state. (Ibid. 274 = LM. p. 164)
Swedenborg left Lund in the first days of July (July 4th) and traveled through Skane, Halland and Bohuslan to Stromstad, but now with the definite purpose of looking out for suitable sites for the establishment of salt works by the projected company. Throughout this journey he was on the alert for all that might be of use to his country. Thus, when going to Governor Hardz' estate in Gralle, he inquired of a peasant who was with him as to salt
Arriving at Brunsbo, he found a condition that at once excited his commercial as well as his mechanical interest - namely, a falling off in the supply of printing paper - a commodity which was almost the breath of life to his father, and was almost as equally necessary to himself. The cause was naturally the falling off in imports due to the war. With his intimate knowledge of science and of the country, the manufacture of paper in Sweden came at once to Swedenborg as the remedy. He therefore entered into an arrangement with his father and the widow of General Lars Hjarta (1648-1711), that the three of them, should form a stock company for the operation of a paper mill to be built at a waterfall on the River Mossan on the Bonde estate. With this in view, at the end of August Swedberg drew up a memorial to the King whom he had so recently left, asking for privileges as follows: (LM. p. 160; ACSD 147)
After stating the present need of paper mills, he goes on to
say that "there are certain interested parties who, with
myself, are minded to establish the above works in one or two
places," if his Majesty would be pleased to grant them:
(LM. p. 161; ACSD 146)
1. The right to build mills "by free waterfalls provided this be done without injury to existing rights.
2. That there be undisturbed possession of them.
3. That they have a few years exemption from taxation, as per custom with new works.
4. That the workmen, who are hard to get and must sometimes be got from abroad, be not subject to conscription, as is usual in such cases.
5. That, since the difficulty of getting raw materials has hitherto been the chief hindrance to the manufacture, the King should allow the peasants to pay a small part of their taxes in rags and old clothes, delivering the latter to the factory and receiving a receipt to be accepted in payment of taxes and redeemed by the manufacturer.
6. Further to induce farmers to sell rags, that the company be empowered to exchange useful goods for rags.
This Memorial was received in Lund on September 1st, but on November 2nd, Bishop Swedberg felt under the necessity of writing to the King and reminding him of the matter. "Secretary Cederholm" - he refers, of course, to his friend with whom Swedenborg had been a fellow lodger - "knows about this matter." The letter is officially stamped "granted," but despite this, the project seems never to have been put into operation - at which one ought not to be surprised - for up to 1820, the only paper made in Sweden was made by a small works in Upsala. (Familjebok, 20: 1495)
Swedenborg was, of course, not free to do as he pleased; after his examination of sites for the proposed salt works had led him to Uddevalla and Stromstad, with a brief visit home, he must return to Karlskrona to assist Polhem, who had remained there, in the construction of the great dam which was to prepare for the blasting of the dry dock, and of the lesser dam which was to provide water power on the Lyckeby River nearby. (OQ. 1: 273 = LM. p. 159)
The work on the great dock was not going "altogether according to plan," Swedenborg writes, "yet one does not doubt but that what is aimed at will finally be attained - though with this there is some petty complaint." These words were written in Brunsbo where Swedenborg went for the Christmas holidays. He did not again oversee the work at Karlskrona. Presumably, Polhem and he had finished, and what remained was to carry out the plan. (OQ. 1: 377 = LM. p. 172)
The work that had been thus far in hand was the building
of a great retaining dam. Swedenborg's work seems to have
been to direct the soundings and make the calculations, etc.,
required for this dam. The latter was over 60 feet long with
a maximum height of 36 feet. It was built upon posts, its
power part being exactly adapted to the bottom of the ocean,
as ascertained by "a pendulum with an iron ball," and
attached but movable boards and skins were so arranged that
they could be drawn up or let down from above after the dam
had been sunk. (Bring, Pol. pp. 218-9; Chem. pp. 234.
233)
September 17th was the day fixed for the sinking of this
great dam. For this purpose, it was attached by ropes to
masts stationed on the land. The posts on which it had been
built were then cut away and stones were loaded into it in
receptacles duly provided. Swedenborg and the others watched
carefully to see the result. For the first few days, there
was disappointment. The pumping had no effect on the water,
even after the manipulations of the loose boards and hides;
but as the sand and other matter accumulated against the dam,
the water was more and more held back. Still, there was some
complaint and dissatisfaction even with the settling of sand
against the dam, unexpected leaks developed, and it required
the labor of eleven months and of many men before, in August
1718, the space for the blasting and for the building of the
lock gates was laid bare. Polhem was somewhat bitter at the
criticisms directed against his work, and plainly hinted that
the defects in the dam ware due not to the plan but to undue
economy in carrying it out. (Bring, Polhem pp. 51, 219; Chem.
pp. 234; LM. p. 162)
The first ship did not enter the new dock until
September 1724 when the Konung Carl, the biggest ship of the
navy, with a draught of 23 feet, was dry-docked, but already
in 1721, Swedenborg was able to write confidently of its
success - and of its invaluable use and economy. (Bring.
Polhem p. 219; Chem. p. 35)
It is perhaps to this period that we can ascribe the few notes on a "Siphonic Machine" which are preserved among the Linkoping MSS., and which perhaps were written with a view to the contemplated work of pumping out the water behind the Karlskrona dam; but see above, p. 67. Also his description of a crane "whereby one can lift up a thirty-two pound cannon." (Phot. 1:20, 102-4; Hyde, n. 95)
In a long document in Swedenborg's hand which he sent to Eric Benzelius (perhaps for the Daedalus VI) and which perhaps he copied on his return to Brunsbo in the beginning of the following year (1718), is described a curious meeting which Polhem had "last year," that is to say, just at the time of which we are now speaking, with some strangers in Karlskrona, one of whom showed him a highly confidential document which dealt with the very subject on which his thought and attention had so long been dwelling, namely, the development and extension of Sweden's manufactures and commerce. (Phot. 1:7)
This document is entitled "Copy of an Instruction and
Authorization which was acquired by means of an incident set
forth in the Introduction." Then follows this Introduction
which is signed "Ch. P." This incident is there described as
follows:
He was at a coffeehouse in Karlskrona, and on one
particular occasion he got into conversation with some
strangers on the subject of the raising of the currency - a
subject which was evidently occupying his serious attention
at this time - and other public questions. The strangers
noticed from his conversation that he was well informed on
these subjects and also, to quote his own words, that he
"showed an inclination to everything that looked to the use
and advantage of the Fatherland."
On the following day, one of the strangers gave him a
long paper to read. He was not allowed to see the beginning
or end of this paper, "and still less," he says, "was I
permitted to copy it." He then continues: "And since its
contents gave an inkling of several things worthy of
consideration which all people in general ought to know,
namely,) by what means and maxims a country can easily be
weakened in wealth and power by those who secretly suck from
it its juice and marrow, therefore I considered that it would
give all right-minded inhabitants of the kingdom particular
benefit and delight to have a copy of it, if not in respect
to its actual words and their order, at least in respect to
their meaning and content. This I have here desired to reveal
so far as memory allows me, in the hope that, if all should
not be exactly at one with the original itself and those to
whom it was known, especially as to those parts which do not
so especially concern our dear Fatherland, it will yet be
agreeable to those who love the welfare of their Fatherland
and who allow their hearts to be touched by its impoverished
condition, and this, so much the more because to its own
fatal misfortunes we must add still others, like stones added
to a burden." (Phot. 1: 8)
Then follows the copy itself. Were this really a copy of an actual document, the whole incident as described by Swedenborg would be inexplicable. For why should strangers, and spies at that, show such a document to a perfect stranger? and in a public place! And having gone so far, why should they conceal the "beginning and end of the document."
But the internal evidence furnished by the Introduction and "copy" indicates with sufficient clearness that the whole story is the fruit of an imaginative mind which chooses this dramatic way of setting forth in ironical vein, the deadly restrictions which Sweden herself was imposing on that development of her manufactures, trade and commerce which was so necessary to raise her from the low state into which she had been reduced, and to which Polhem, or it may be Swedenborg, so ardently and in so many ways had striven to contribute, by his fertile pen.
This is indicated not only by the sheer unlikelihood that Swedenborg would be shown a highly confidential and dangerous document in a public house and by perfect strangers, presumably spies, but also by his purported account of the contents of the document itself, which covers eleven folio pages of minute details, when yet, according to his own statement, he was allowed merely to read the document in a public coffeehouse, but not to copy it.
With this in view, we can readily understand why the document is presented in so impersonal a way, without beginning or end, that is to say, without any indication of its source.*
* In reading this document, it should be borne in mind that only one artisan was permitted to dwell in a town (Robinson, p. 51), and "that the trade of Sweden was mostly in foreign hands" (Ibid. p. 148).
The purported copy itself is headed: "Now follows the Instruction itself, the beginning and end whereof I did not get."
"Above all things," are the opening words, "the holders
of our commission, wherever they reside, must give us a good
report of all that goes on there, and especially the
direction of the inclination of their King and foremost men."
(Phot. 1: 7)
Their ordinances and proclamations "must be sent to us
at once." They must be carefully examined, and if found "to
run counter to our service," they are to be obstructed until
they can be counteracted; and to avoid delay, "all our
authorized agents wherever residing" have full authority of
action but must report for confirmation as soon as possible.
"A certain sum of money which stands to our account" is
to be used for yearly pensions to all merchants' sons "of our
extraction," who can enter into positions where our
interests" are taken into account. (Phot. 1: 9)
All commissaries* are especially to see that the raw
materials of the country in which they are, come to us, while
our manufactures go to them, and also that no new
manufactures are set up, to make use of their own raw
material. For this, the following rules are laid down:
* A commissary was an official who corresponds to our Consul.
1. As soon as we know what factories are to set up, we send in large quantities of such goods to be sold cheaply - even at a loss.
2. Contempt for the new factory must be disseminated.
3. Their trade must be hindered by all possible means, such as royal interests, state privileges, etc.
4. In particular; in the places where these new factories are to be established, custom officers must be persuaded to make difficulties in order to discourage the work. (Phot. 1:10)
5. Workmen should be aroused not to teach others lest their own wages be reduced; not to show the utmost they themselves can do, lest they be held to it when they grow older.
6. If a foreign master workman comes in, whether to work for
7. Guilds must be supported in power, so as to make the term of apprenticeship longer and harder, and so discourage promising apprentices.
8. Apprentices also should be encouraged to move away and become masters - when they will not wish to return.
9. The needed raw material must be made as dear as possible.
10. That the workmen may be led to demand high wages, they must be oppressed with local difficulties.
11. They and their wives and children must be incited to vanity and pleasure and, if necessary, this must be commenced by money and by marriage with such women as fail not in pride, even if the dowry comes from our own purse.
12, Especially must newly arrived tailors be induced to bring in new fashions for which we will provide the material. [Confer Robinson, An Account of Sweden, p. 51] (Phot. 1:12)
Students going to foreign countries must have free credit so far as their home conditions allow, so that they have no need to practice economy or to give an account of their funds. This benefits us in two ways.
Those who have a vote in appointments, must observe the general rule never to vote for one who will make inroads on their own position; the weaker their intelligence, the better they are for us.
But if some one gets in who would injure us, then he is to be advanced at our expense in some remote district.
Our merchants and tradesmen who live in those places must be kept in good relations with us so as to feel that their interests are ours, and vice versa; and that their children and shop boys may imbibe this feeling from childhood.
Good apprentices who have served their time should be equipped
with our wares on credit, that they may learn to hate domestic goods.(Phot. 1:13)
When they have become heavily involved, native products in raw material must be bought up for us. But to do this to our advantage, no pains must be spared to secure a rise in the coinage whereby their wares will come to us in large quantity for little money.
Our merchants in those places must be careful not to raise their prices too soon after a rise in the currency, so that the natives may not do the same with their goods.
But to provide for any such rise, our merchants must send in long beforehand inferior goods but of the same appearance, etc., that they may be sold for the same price.
Everything should be so arranged that the King's income may be increased. It is none of our business if their King profits 20 or 30 Per cent by us, if we profit 100 per cent from their country.
In order that their silver coin, which the people love, may not be hoarded, we must work on the problem of how the coinage can be debased by mixing with copper, etc. The people will then not have enough confidence in it to hoard it up. Thus we will secure all the coin of the country and then need not fear its power in war. (Phot. 1:14)
It is of the greatest importance to us that we get their foremost men, especially dealers in raw material and their products, in debt to us, which is best done by credits, for which we will take the risks.
It must be arranged that their cities get no other privileges than free and unhindered trade whereby our sales can be advanced. (Phot. 1: 15)
But above all, a city must be prevented from being dependent on certain special manufactures - as with us. This must be prevented at all costs. Otherwise, we would suffer two losses in one place.
We must arrange to get our merchants settled and trading in their mining centers, so arranging it that by credits, etc., they may get the works and the old owners become workmen. Their wares will thus become cheaper for us, and we shall see how much the avaricious miners have appropriated. For this purpose, our merchants should secure all needful privileges.
All their business, which is not profitable to us, must be killed, e.g., if they make the same goods as we. The higher classes must be trained to despise native goods, even if this is prepared for by gifts on our part.
We must have a good understanding with all who can advance our interests, and, in case of mistakes, restitution must be made at once. (Phot. 1:16)
No opportunity should be neglected to have many officials advanced in the country; these are our best customers.
Those who control public purchases must be influenced to prefer our wares.
We must suppress by all means all propositions to improve the production in their own country of things they most need and with which we have been supplying them. Here the following rules apply:
I [To encourage] all that can make their country poor.
For this we have the following means: (Phot. 1:17)
1. The people must be made extravagant, for which we will supply abundant material.
2. We must gradually prevent the country from manufacturing its own clothes and other necessaries by free advances of money, until they despise their own goods.
3. Our glittering wares should be in all markets so that parents will buy them for their children; the children will then brag of having foreign goods, and the home-made will be despised.
4. Continuous unsteadiness in ordinances and officials is well calculated to produce poverty, so that when the lowly are elevated and the noble debased, hatreds, jealousy, covetousness are the result, and one may be sure the kingdom cannot flourish.
5. As soon as young kings come to the throne, they are soon involved in war, and here we come to bribes. Then it is to our interest to milk the cow while two are quarrelling over her.*
* No. 5 is crossed off - perhaps from a feeling of loyalty to Charles XII.
6. In peace, we should try to prevent traveling to foreign countries to learn the new methods of war. (Phot. 1:18)
7. To impoverish the land, we should see that the farmers do not own the land they farm. In this way, the farms will receive more damage in ten years than could be repaired by the owners in twenty.
8. The public can best be burdened with new taxes by raising the coinage.
9. When the loose property of the people is such that it costs much to get and brings little at forced sale, one has a good means of impoverishing the country.
Such then is this remarkable document which, in general, may be presumed to give Swedenborg's view of the abuses so prevalent in Sweden, and to which he ascribed the great difficulties in pushing any of the proposals which he and Polhem had made for her advancement.
Swedenborg remained at his post in Karlskrona until September 17th
when the great dam was sunk. After this, he accompanied Polhem to Uddevalla and Wennersborg to see about the establishment of a brinery on Gullmar's Fjord, and to make investigations in connection with the carrying on of the canal project. Interest in the salt works does not seem to have come up to expectations; and now, in September, the Breslau Sammlung von Natur und Medicin Geschichten had come out with an article on the subject, to the effect that Polhem had received privileges to build a brinery at Uddevalla,* but was not very encouraging as to results. (Bring, Polhem p. 51; Samml. N.u.M. Gesch. pp. 103-4; Miss. Obs. p. 65)
* Printed "Uckewille."
The canal project was also languishing. No one bought the shares - if any were actually issued. About October 20th, Polhem wrote to the King proposing that one sluice be built at Karlsgraf at the King's expense, and until a favorable answer from the King, Swedenborg had nothing more to do.
He therefore returns home, and one of the first things he did was to ask Dr. Hesselius to inquire about the purported Hot Spring in Skane, and about December 1st, we find him in Brunsbo for the Christmas holidays. He found that his father had gone to Lund* to wait on the King, mainly on the Consistory's behalf, for the purpose of seeking some amelioration for the teachers and ministers of the Diocese whose tithes and compensation had been sequestered. On this visit he also held a disputation on his Schibboleth. Swedenborg was somewhat alarmed, since the Bishop had gone to wait on the King without permission, but he hoped that his office and good friends would secure his exoneration. And yet, according to Jesper Swedberg himself, he had been ordered by the King to appear in Lund and dispute his Schibboleth. (Doc. 1:291,156; OQ. 1:277, 274 = LM. pp. 171, 163; Tottie 2: 198)
* For Jesper Swedberg's experiences in Lund, see Doc. 1: 131, 157. He arrived in Lund Saturday November 30th (Starback, J. Svedberg, p. 11).
Swedenborg's active thought at this time, on the subject of commerce, would indicate that it was in the Fall of 1717 at Karlskrona, or in December
"After closer consideration" he commences, "it seems that it would be difficult to bring all citizens with all their business under a single general company, especially under present circumstances. . . But the destruction of mining and manufacture in particular must inevitably come if some remedy be not soon had against enemy pressure. Could then the whole iron and tar industry within the kingdom be now given to a single company whose sole care should consist in depriving the foreign trade of the profit it has heretofore enjoyed, and still enjoys at this day, from the toil, sweat and labor of our poor iron miners who, like foreign slaves, work for their benefit, and themselves have hardly the necessaries of life, nay, and obtain work to their own injury and death." (Phot. 1:68 seq.)
As the remedy for this, Swedenborg proposes the formation of a company for the selling of all Swedish iron. By this means, not only will the foreigner lose his advantage but the finest iron can be kept for manufactory in the country, and both miner and merchant prosper.
Swedenborg then gives the laws which should govern such a company in order to avoid its becoming a private monopoly:
1-3. That all Swedes buy shares at 100 dal.s.m. a share, paying for them either in cash or, preferably, in iron and tar.
4-6. The shareholders to elect directors, each share having one vote.
7-8. The directors are to be salaried, and are to employ salaried servants "of whose honesty they can be assured."
9-10. Moreover, the directors must be absolutely honest, and allow the company to be ruined rather than use any chicanery or deceit.
11-12. The capital will be small at first, but it would be greatly aided if the King forbade the export of iron or tar for two years, save in ships provided with the company's pass.
13. At first it will be necessary to allow foreigners to ship out what they have in part paid for;* but in case they have purchased at unreasonable prices, the directors could force them either to pay a just price or to give back the goods and then buy them from the company.
* See Bihang till Riksdagen i Stockholm, p. 57: "Most of the iron found in Stockholm stands in English names" (Gortz to King, April 19, 1718).
14. The foreigner will be content with this when he finds that the company's pass is a sure safe conduct as regards Swedish man of war or privateers.
15. The directors to be subject to death if they give their pass to ill-meaning people.
Nothing came of this at the time, though it may be noted that the present Swedish Iron Office does serve now the use contemplated by Swedenborg, namely, the stabilizing of the industry.
Meanwhile, during his stay at Brunsbo, it became more and more evident to Swedenborg that selfishness and intrigue were threatening the establishment of the proposed salt company, the one definite thing Polhem has secured from
"Something will come of the salt works if selfishness
does not rule too powerfully which - it is to be regretted -
is making some considerable beginning I ward it off as much
as I can. I am thinking of entirely withdrawing from having
any hand in the matter so that the blame may not come on me,
in case it should go awry and slowly. Meanwhile, I think it
will not stand on any good footing unless Councillor Polhem
is supported as much as he thought he would be. The salt may
indeed turn out to be tolerably good like the Luneburg salt,
quite serviceable for cooking purposes." (OQ. 1:276 = LM.
p. 166)
A week later he writes:
"I hope to get along well with the brinery, if
selfishness does not wish to have too strong a hand in
it." (Ibid. 277 = 171)
Swedenborg is not alone in this thought. A contemporary who had been with him and Polhem when they tried to get shareholders in Skane and Bohuslan for the salt company writes:
"Some also thought that it would not agree with their
interests, gave out that trade would suffer by it, and the
Kingdom should adjust itself to trade, and a lot of like
trivial objections, which yet Polhem had previously and with
good reasons shown the unreasonableness of. But no reason was
of avail here. They would get their way. So goes it when any
useful work is undertaken, then there are some caprices and
interests which entirely upset it so that the whole kingdom
must suffer because of them." (Person. Tids. pp. 92-93)
He is absolutely sure that the project would be a highly profitable one, and maintained that "it would be more useful to the country than any proposition in the world." That it was highly practical, much more so than people imagined, was evidenced by the profitable though utterly inefficient salt works at Stromstad which "have been in use now for a hundred years," and which supply the whole of Bohuslan; and, finally, he sums up: "I find no chimera in this matter, although it commences and continues in a foolish way. If I were to get the handling of it, one would soon see its advantages. God grant that all other propositions were of the same kind." (OQ. 1:280 = LM. pp. 175-76)
This is the last we hear of the proposed salt works. The scheme conceived in patriotic vision and designed to be carried out with all the aids of science, was defeated by selfishness, laziness, lack of enterprise, or what not, and Sweden continued with her expensive salt supplemented by poor salt which the stolid peasants continued to make by their slow and expensive methods on the shores of Bohuslan; and this at the very time when salt was at its dearest, and food was rotting for want of it. (Miss.Obs. p. 65; Bring. Chas. XII, p. 511)
It was probably in the realization of the hopelessness of making any advance even in this matter which offered such prospects of success and almost certainly of profit for the individual, and of great advantage to the country - it was the realization of this perhaps that led Swedenborg to the copying of that fictitious episode at Karlskrona, where the country's ruin is so subtly aimed at. Polhem was probably at one with him in the view thus expressed, for in 1720, Polhem wrote that "Sweden seems to have sworn herself to be for the foreigner's benefit and not for her own." (Bring, Troll., p. 331)
At Brunsbo, during the December holidays, Swedenborg completed the writing out of his new system of reckoning, which he had commenced at Lund; and then, at the end of December and the beginning of January, he composed a Swedish textbook on Algebra, something absolutely unique in Sweden.
Early in January, the New System of Numbering was ready for printing, and on January 9th, it was sent to Upsala to be examined by Professor Vallerius and then to be printed under the care of Benzelius. (OQ. 1: 275 = LM. p. 176)
It may be well briefly to describe this work, which caused some little dispute between Swedenborg and his brother-in-law.
The System is based on the numbers 1 - 8, corresponding to
our 1 - 10; and 8 - 64 corresponding to our 10 - 100.
Naturally, new signs and new names were required, otherwise
there would be endless confusion. Charles XII had, indeed,
invented new characters, but since no printshop had such in
type, Swedenborg was forced to use letters.
These new names are:
el (1), es (s), en (n), em (m), et (t), ef (f), and ev
(v), being nos. l-7; 8 is ly - written lo.
In this System, 8, 16, 24, 32, etc., correspond to our 10,
20, 30, 40, etc., and 64 (8 X 8) corresponds to our 100 (10 X
10); 512 (8 X 8 X 8), to our 1,000 (10 X 10 X 10), etc.
The noughts were written at each turning point. Thus 8 = lo;
16, so; 24, no, etc. 8 X 8, 100; 8 X 8 X 8, 1000; but each of
these new characters received special names based on the
seven vowels:
a e i o u y - but read backward.
Thus: lo = ly; loo, lu; looo, lo; loooo, li; looooo, le;
and loooooo, la.
Thus we have the following table as written and as pronounced:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
l s n m t f v lo
el es an em at ef ev ly
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
ll ls ln lm lt lf lv so
lyl lys lyn 1ym lyt lyf lyv sy
Then follows:
16 24 32 increasing by 64
so no mo eights loo
sy ny my to lu
And then:
64 128 192 increasing by 512
loo soo noo sixty-fours looo
lu su nu up to lo
Swedenborg shows how to use the system in arithmetical operations. He also gives a table whereby one can at a glance turn the new numbering into the old, and vice versa. But the use of his new system on which he dwells at greatest length and which he evidently considers the most important is its application to weight and measures. In Sweden, these were based on an octave system. Thus:
32 ore = 1 daler
8 styver = 1 mark
8 marks = 1 riksdaler
8 ore(s.m.) = 1 mark
8 quintals = 1 ounce
8 ounces = 1 skalpund
With such weights, the new numeration would naturally be just as convenient as our numeration in relation to the American and most European coinages which are based on the decimal system.
For the rest, Swedenborg can have regarded this numeration only as a playful diversion - certainly he realized it could never be introduced with use, even if this were desirable. When sending the MS. he does indeed write: "It would be of great use if it could come into use," but he also writes that it is not likely to be adopted. (OQ.1:275, 280 = LM. pp. 166, 176)
Vallerius' judgment was evidently adverse to the publication of this work.
The serious minded and conservative Benzelius was shocked at the proposal to publish a revolutionary calculation, with no hopes of being adopted. Not only did he regard it a useless novelty having no practical purpose, but he felt that in these critical times when the values were being made merely by stamps impressed on copperplates, that the publication of the work, would be a possible source of disturbance among the ignorant who in this new reckoning would see and might be led by mischievous persons to imagine there was concealed some plan to still further lower the value of their money by calling ten eight.
He writes Swedenborg somewhat to this effect, and his letter caused the latter such sheer astonishment that at first he could not understand his brother-in- law:
"Why does my Brother think it good counsel he make delay
with the publishing of the new reckoning. . . It was truly a
little discouraging to me . . . that my mathematical
discoveries will come to be reckoned among novelties which
the country cannot stand. I wish I had as many novelties in
literary matters, yea, a novelty for each day of the year;
thus, the world would find pleasure therein." And here, in a
spirit of self-assurance, he adds: "In a century where are
enough of those who go in the beaten track to be in accord
with what is old, but perhaps three or six or ten in a whole
century who contribute novelties which are grounded in reason
and something else."
After thus expressing his great surprise and
indignation at his brother-in- law's objections to his work,
he then adds: "But I understood that what was meant was
something that concerns the exchange of money, buying and
selling, that they would have another name. I am now
conscious of not having put forth anything which in the least
degree was incommodious." As a final argument he adds:
"Since the King has already approved the octonary series, my
Brother should not have any concern about letting this come
out. (OQ. 1:279 = LM. pp. 175-76)
Benzelius, however, continues to have concern in the matter, and still objects to the printing, and so Swedenborg, in his next letter, makes a new appeal and offers a new argument:
"I had intended the New Calculation for the learned," he writes.
He again assumes all responsibility and adds:
"In respect to laws, war, and taxes, the King has the free
determination of matters, but in respect to words, language,
and calculations, none at all."
Then, talking about novelties, he remarks:
"One has, indeed, cause to be impatient at all the novelties
which are being introduced. Would to God that such novelties
had not been introduced into the coinage but only into the
calculation of the coinage; with this, the country would have
been better off. O Lord God," he adds, with feeling, "what
kind of a regulation has been issued in regard to relays; its
like has never been heard of," etc. (OQ. 1:282 = LM. 179-
80)
Swedenborg appealed to Benzelius once again and for the last time when early in February he informs him that he is again to work for Polhem, and that the latter reports the King as displeased at the discontinuance of the Daedalus; he then adds:
"I should much like to take down with me something which
would please the King. Let nothing interfere with my way of
reckoning. It may be very useful for those who will use it."
(OQ. 1: 283 = LM. p. 182)
Despite all his appeals, however, Swedenborg did not succeed in getting his new Reckoning printed. He seems, moreover, to have taken back the MS. with the intention of submitting it directly to the King - but of this we shall speak later. See Enestrom, p. 25.
The Algebra, to which we have already alluded, was intended as a companion volume to the New Reckoning so as to be bound together with it. It was a work which Swedenborg had undertaken at the request of friends. It was completed by January 14th, and had been composed probably in two or three weeks, as it were, without any aid from books. It was designed to comprise ten books, but only seven were published, filling 136 pages 12mo. The last three were to deal with factors and differential and integral calculus, but whether or not Swedenborg ever wrote them is unknown. (OQ. 1:276 = LM. p. 169; Enestrom, p. 9)
The work is above all a practical one, and applications are made to problems that occur in common life, and especially in the measuring of bulk goods, in surveying, building, fortification, etc. (see above, p. 12). Swedenborg explains in his Preface that his design has been to make the work simple and understandable by the learned and unlearned, and to show its use by practical applications. The work does indeed begin with very simple expositions, and the simple expositions are given in other places when some new aspect of algebra is to be dealt with. But the work advances far too rapidly, and its problems are far too difficult to satisfy the modern standard for a good textbook. Swedenborg's genius was not that of a school teacher. (Enestrom. p. 9)
The most remarkable feature of the work, however, was the fact of its being in Swedish - the very first work of its kind.* This required either the adoption of Latin technical terms, or their translation into new Swedish words. Swedenborg chose the latter course, but posterity has not followed him. He says in his Preface: (See Enestrom, p. 22)
* Perhaps an exception must be made of the andra Grundwahl published by Swedenborg in 1715; but Swedenborg is unique in his introduction of new Swedish terms. Moreover, at the time Swedenborg published his Algebra, Duhre's Algebra already existed in MS., and was published in the same year. This also I have not seen. See also Enestrom, p. 22 note 2 and ACSD 477C.; LM. p. 83.
"I have sought to put into Swedish some expressions
which formerly have received their law and their name from
the Latin. We also indeed have a rich language just as well
as other peoples, all of whom have given themselves the
advantage of expressing such terms in their mother tongue.
Therefore, we also would seem poor enough both in words and
in understanding if we did not avail ourselves of the same
advantage. We have relied too much on the foreigner in other
matters."
As illustrations of Swedenborg's adaptations of words, we give the following:
periphery = ring (ring)
degree = circle step (cirkel-steg)
horizontal line = water line (vatn linie)
tangent = touch line (ror linie)
parabola = throw line (kast linie)
hyperbola = the overthrow line (ofverkast linie)
ellipse = a long circle (lang-cirkel)
cylinder = roll (rull)
cone = pointed roll (spitzig rull)
algebra = regel konst
Unfortunately for the clarity of some of these definitions - so far as a beginner is concerned - the work was published without the figures (over 70 in number) which are referred to here and throughout the book. The work was printed "I Herrens Namn" in Upsala, and published in the Spring of 1718, though without date, and its publication is an evidence that even in those trying times, and though Swedenborg was receiving no compensation for his labors with Polhem, he yet was not in need of money. The Algebra and the New Art of Reckoning were to be printed "in fine style, indeed, even finer than the andra grundwahlen," and the costs were to be paid as soon as the work was printed. (Enestrom, pp. 9-10; OQ. 1:283, 276 = LM. pp. 181, 170)
But if Swedenborg had no trouble in financing the work, or in securing an editor and prospector, he did have trouble owing to the poor equipment of Swedish printshops, even in Upsala, for any but the most ordinary works. L horizontal must be used for - and =; a maltese cross or a dagger or an L upside down with dashes on either side for * ; capital X placed sideways for the multiplication sign, and small x for the plus sign; while
* In the present Swedish coinage, about Kr. 1.33 and 1.11 (Enestrom, p. 8).
The work was published toward the end of March or early in April. The MS. had been sent to Upsala on January 14th, and at the beginning of March, Swedenborg himself was in Upsala, where he read the proof of pp. 1 - 69 (all then printed). He had asked Benzelius to request a competent algebraist, Hasselbom, to look over the proofs. In any case, the pages from 1-69 still contain over 14 typographical errors, and the rest of the pages over 50 - which would manifestly unfit the book as a textbook for beginners. (OQ. 1:283 = LM. p. 181; Enestrom, p. 21)
The work "was at once received with great acclaim by those
who were interested in the matter." says a contemporary
notice,*". . .(The author is) the first of all our countryman
who has taken on himself not only to lay down the
fundamentals of an analytical science in a remarkable way,
extremely easy and clear to all students, even the most
uncultivated, but also to demonstrate, by examples selected
from many sources, the signal use of this most excellent art,
especially in mechanics. Finally, he has done all this in the
common vernacular, contributing words, even such as are of a
technical nature, in a way which constitutes a most happy
omen for our country." (NP 1929: 26)
* Baron v. Beskow, in his Minne o Swedenborg, said that the work made no impression in Sweden, and in this Enestrom shows reasons for agreeing with him. The reviewer in the Acta Literaria, like his times, uncritical and, moreover, he went on the assumption, or at any rate, observed the general opinion that Swedenborg had done what he promised in his Preface (Enestrom, pp. 23-24).
Swedenborg seems to have regarded the first eight books
as containing elementary algebra, says Enestrom, though such
is not the case. Each book, he continues, has three parts, of
which only the third deals with pure algebra. The other books
do indeed contain algebra as applied to the solution of
various mathematical and mechanical questions, but they also
contain much which cannot be considered as being a part of
elementary algebra, which also seems out of place in that it
cannot be understood by those not versed in the art of
calculations for whose sake the work was written. The book,
moreover, has many signs of having been hastily written. It
is full of misprints, and could not possibly have been used
as a textbook. On the other hand, Enestrom remarks that
Swedenborg "solved a great number of geometrical and
trigonometrical problems and problems in measuring, weighing,
mixing, the movement of running streams and of thrown bodies
- problems which in part could be solved by the usual methods
only with difficulty or, in some cases, not at all. On the
other hand, Enestrom remarks that the problems are so illy
chosen as almost to defeat their purpose. (Enestrom, p. 21)
Summing up his estimation of this work, Enestrom
observes: "Swedenborg hereby showed himself, in comparison
with the Swedes of his day, as possessed of very
comprehensive knowledge in pure
mathematics - elementary algebra, geometry, trigonometry,
conic sections - and the ability to adapt it to mechanics. It
must by all means be added that his knowledge appears
sometimes fragmentary, and that the efforts he made to fill
the gaps . . . still more exposed them"; and he concludes
that, without doubt, Swedenborg was not a deep mathematician.
(Enestrom, p. 23)
Later on, he says that Swedenborg, while he took note of
branches of mathematics then little known in Sweden; while he
made praiseworthy efforts to introduce algebra in Swedish;
while he himself showed great originality; yet, "a closer
examination of his writings shows that his mathematical
studies were from the beginning not pursued with the
necessary foundation, and that this lack was not helped at
the time he came out as a mathematical author. In the fact
that his mind was ere long drawn away to a wholly different
field of investigation, lies the sufficient explanation of
the fact that in no way did he advance the science or even
exercise any actual influence on it." Because of his
"singularly creative mind, however, adds Enestrom, the result
would have been different had he remained in the study.
"Therefore," Enestrom concludes, "in the history of
mathematical studies in Sweden, Swedenborg may with reason be
given an outstanding place, and on that ground he has
deserved that respect as a mathematician which he enjoyed
among his contemporaries. . . He can be named as a
predecessor of Sweden's first mathematician, Samuel
Klingenstierna."
It appears that to this period we must ascribe the Latin Algebra (with figures) contained in Codex 86, pp. 1-164, and the Notes from Burnet written on the next following pages (165-71), - Notes which were undoubtedly written out while reading Burnet's work in preparation for the re-writing of the Earth's Going and Stoppage. Perhaps it is in the same connection that Swedenborg commenced making those short notes from Loccenius on early Swedish History which occupy several pages in Codex 86 (pp. 163, 175, 183, 186, 204, 209, 217, 239, 249, 257, 265, 273, 283, 293, 305, 315, 325, 335, 345, 355).
* The contents of this work are as follows:
1. Algebraica
2. Principia calculi differentialis
3. Calculus integralis
4. Geometrica
5. Regulae mechanicae
6. " geometricae et algebraicae in physicis
Two pages on Centripetal force
As to the Daedalus VI, Swedenborg seems to have laid this aside to devote himself to what he regarded as the more promising work, of writing books.
In April 1717, when Daedalus VI should have come out, no. V appeared. But then Swedenborg seems to have made some arrangement to get Benzelius to secure articles for no. VI. At the end of June, he writes from Lund:
"How goes it with Daedalus VI?" (OQ. 1:273 = LM. p. 159)
But, meanwhile, Benzelius had done nothing, or had not succeeded in persuading others to write, and Swedenborg had busied himself with writing books.
We do not again hear of the Daedalus until January 14, 1718, nine months after it should have appeared in print, when Swedenborg remarks that
Later, in the same letter, he proposes delaying
"that something more mature" may come out, "if only
there were time and diversion for it. A portion of the
Daedalus," he adds, "has been written with too little
reflection; this I wish to offset with something else. In
Spring, I intend to have one thing or another completely
ready." (OQ. 1: 277 = LM. p. 170)
Writing a few days later, he expresses the desire
"hereafter not to put forth anything which does not have
better foundations than what has gone before in the
Daedalus."
And it is noteworthy that during this whole period he purposely avoids the Daedalus, and has his works printed separately.
"The productions or mechanics of Councillor of Commerce
Polhem I shall leave to the Daedalus," he writes; from which
we judge that Swedenborg had not yet prepared for Daedalus
VI, which did not appear till nine months later - and that he
was disposed to make his name known in the literary world by
means of his own books, and not in the reflected glory of
Polhem; and by means of philosophical studies, and not merely
of mechanics. (OQ. 1: 281 = LM. 179)
It was during these early days of 1718 that Swedenborg appears first to have entered professedly upon the study of chemistry. He himself marks this time as the beginning of his study of chemistry. It consisted in the reading of Urban Hjarne's work on that subject. He found Hjarne
"to be little grounded in the way in which chemistry should
be built up" - indeed, this is a mild putting of the matter,
for a few months later he wrote that if Hjarne did not stop
his attacks on Bishop Swedberg, "another person may show him
in like measure his own puerilities and crudities in science,
wherein he has ventured to utter himself." [See also page 212
below.] OQ.1:278, 287 = LM. 172, 198) It was not until
Swedenborg came to the study of Boerhaave that he began to
see clear light in chemistry.* (See ACSD 225A = ortz to King)
* The work referred to is Urban Hjarne's Acta Chemica Holmensium Parasceve, id est, Praeparatio at Tentamina in Reg. Lab. Holm. Peracta. Holm. 1712. This work was the first published product of the Chemical Laboratory established under Hjarne's direction. Despite the fact that Hjarne was one of the leading scientists of his day, and in many respects was in advance of his age, yet it would have been no hard task for a close thinker like Swedenborg to show up several puerilities in Hjarne's Chemistry. Thus, primitive salt is defined as: "That which is generated by the rays of the sun and moon, and is more intimately bound in with corporeal elements, to wit, air, water and subtle earth." This salt then becomes more specific according to the proportion in which grosser elements flow in. Acid salt has more of water and sulphur. Urinous salt has more of air; fixed salt, more of earth, but it is never found without the presence of fire and sulphur" (pp. 54-55).
Swedenborg's dawning interest in chemistry led him at this time to some reflections as to the nature of water particles, and for the investigation of this question, he was led to make many observations on the ice crystals and their form, and it was perhaps these experiments that led him
It is to this period, perhaps, that we may ascribe the date of an MS. called "Discourse between Mechanics and Chemistry concerning the Essence of Nature." This work, which occupies 25 folio MS. pages but of which at least 2 pages have been lost, is in Swedenborg's handwriting; but it is without the slightest doubt a writing up by Swedenborg of one of Polhem's numerous dialogues on scientific subjects, where Chemistry listens humbly and affirmatively to the lessons of Mechanics. Perhaps it was written up with a view to inserting it in Daedalus Hyperboreus VI. It contains several statements which may be assumed to have greatly impressed Swedenborg. Thus:
The earth is held to maintain its equilibrium by virtue of a
central fire which fills its centre and which is lighter than
ether. By the depth and weight of the primitive ocean, round
particles near the bottom are pressed into tetrahedral
particles, hence they become salt particles as distinguished
from water particles. The heavier primitive particles would
sink to the bottom, and the finer would come to the top; the
one might make the ocean sand, which is neither salt nor
water. (OQ. 3:250-52)
Oil particles are of the same kind as water, save that their
parts are smaller and rounder than water particles; they
combine with salt particles to make a body in equilibrium
with water, and form matter containing air and ether. All
this is the result of "Mathematical and Hydrostatic
Principles" which "drive away all occult qualities." (OQ.
3:253, 254)
The interest of the MS. dwindles as it goes on to the subject
of eating and drinking as a cause of disease, and it may be
that for this reason Swedenborg abandoned it.
Toward the end of January, Swedenborg heard from Benzelius the announcement of the death of Professor Elfvius on January 12, 1718:
"God give him peace and read," writes Swedenborg on January 21st.
"I think his wish was also the same." (OQ. 1:278 = LM. p. 174; UUH. 2:2:78)
To Benzelius, this death now really offered to Swedenborg the opportunity of entering into an "honorable" position in which he could be of great use to the country. His work with Polhem was now apparently at an end, since nothing had been done about the locks, and the salt works seemed doomed. Of course, Swedenborg was still extraordinary Assessor of the Bergscollegium, but the position was not only without pay but was also somewhat indefinite. Clearly, Benzelius thought, with the death of the Professor of Astronomy, the opportunity had arrived of having Swedenborg appointed as Professor.
But Swedenborg has changed from the time when he proposed to reduce the Professors' salaries or the Professorships, to provide a Professorship of Mechanics to be filled by himself.
"In what my Brother was pleased to counsel me concerning
the succession [of Professor Elfvius], I recognize my
Brother's goodness. . . None of my family has desired me such
good in every respect as my Brother. . . My Brother's
reasons, therefore, are quite good though, on the other side,
I also have retained for myself other good reasons; such as:
[1] That which I have is likewise an honorable position. 2.
In this also I can be of use to the Fatherland, and in actual
practice more than in a College, which has not been my
genius. My genius is mechanics, and it likewise will become
chemistry, and our College* is noted for having members who
have little understanding of that subject; and so I, on my
part, shall seek to offset that, and I hope that my genius in
this will be of such advantage to them as their genius is an
advantage in other respects. I also think that no one will
have cause to judge me unworthy." (OQ. 1:278 = LM. p.
174)
* i.e., the Bergscollegium.
Benzelius had evidently suggested that were Swedenborg made a Professor, he would have to put up with that envy which would be sure to be excited by the appointment of a practical man as a professor, and not one who had had training as an auscultant. For Swedenborg continues his letter as follows:
"As to envy, this gives me more amusement than trouble, for
I have ever striven to be envied, and should in time become
more so. The only reason which would encourage me then
thereto [that is, to accept the Professorship if offered]
would be to get to be with my Brother, and also to get to
enjoy one or two years diversion to put on paper some of my
thoughts - a thing which I have a little difficulty with
[now]." (OQ. 1:279 = LM. 174)
And yet, Swedenborg is not quite decided against his Brother-in-law's suggestion; but he is sure he will never seek for a Professorship.
"In no way will I solicit the Consistory and the Rector in
this matter in writing," he says, "for, in case it should not
succeed, I should have had the annoyance of having sought to
separate myself from a position of such honor, wherefrom in
time, I can gain greater good fortune than in one which I get
the promises of holding to my dying day. I should also have
had the annoyance of declaring myself unworthy of the
position I have. Therefore," and this is his final
conclusion, "if the Academy finds me useful therein, they
will do it [i.e. appoint me] without any prayer on my part;
but if they do not find me useful - to that I am
indifferent." (Ibid.)
In answer to this letter, Benzelius wrote again, urging a professorship on Swedenborg, for in a letter dated January 30th, the latter hopes his Brother will accept his decision, as already expressed:
"I hope to be of as great use," he adds, "in that which is
entrusted to me, and likewise to be of as great use and
benefit to myself, seeing that I now have a step to further
advancement, which I can not look forward to at Upsala; nor
do I think that his Majesty would have me leave my position."
(OQ. 1:282 = LM. p. 179)
But though not contemplating a professorship, he does hope so far to perfect himself in physics and chemistry as to be a worthy member of that Collegium which Benzelius evidently contemplated even now as the successor of the Collegium Curiosorum.
Swedenborg's letter was not taken as an absolute refusal, for when the question of Elfvius's successor came before the Upsala Consistory, Professor Rudbeck actually proposed Swedenborg - but without success. Indeed, Rudbeck would have nominated him as being "clever in mathematics," in the meeting of the Consistory of June 10th, 1719, to elect a successor to Professor Vallerius who had died the preceding August, but he did not know how Swedenborg then felt about the matter. (ACSD 274A, 176)
But while Swedenborg, during these weeks of leisure in Brunsbo (Dec. 1717 to Jan. 1718) was engaged in mathematical writings, he was also busily employed in writing on more theoretical and abstract subjects. In a letter dated January 21, 1718, he writes that he has five tracts which he hoped to publish in the Spring. We can name them with some certainty, as follows: (OQ. 1: 280 = LM. p. 176)
1. On air and water particles, showing that they are round. (Ibid. 281=178)
This was finished on January 21, 1718, and was sent to Upsala some days later by the hands of Dr. Rudbeck, with the particular request that it be printed as a separate tract in 8vo. Swedenborg describes it as "subtle" and says of it that it will
"likely be contrary to the philosophy of many; but," he adds,
"since it is built on evidence and geometry, I hope no one
will reasonably deny it. The prejudgment one has acquired
from Descartes and others will likely cause the most
objection. Dr. Roberg, who is himself subtle in all that is
minute and subtle, can best judge concerning it. . . I should
like to hear his judgment. If Professor Vallerius would lay
aside his own and his d: Father's Cartesianism, his Judgment
also would be esteemed by me."
The work was to have been dedicated to Abbe Bignon. (Ibid. 281, 284:=178, 183)
Despite Swedenborg's earnest request, Dr. Benzelius did not have this work printed. It is not, however, among the Linkoping MSS., because Swedenborg took it with him to Amsterdam where he published it - probably rewritten - as Part III of his Miscellaneous Observations on the Bullular Hypothesis.
Here we have Swedenborg's first teaching that creation was
affected by motion in the infinite, and proceeded by the
motions of particles. It is of interest to note this early
conception of the Principia theory and also its relation in
Swedenborg's mind to Cartesianism.
He speaks of what he had written in January 1718, as
"a matter which I have had it in view to bring out in a
large book . . . but since one has not the facilities for so
large a store, my appetite must adapt itself to the food at
hand." The use of his tract on the round particles will be,
he supposes, to show that "nature can better be searched out
in all her parts in the air and in water; for if one finds
the correct figure of the particles, one will in turn get to
know all the properties which belong to the figure." (OQ.
1:281 = LM. p. 178)
2. The second of the five works which Swedenborg speaks of as being ready was the Longitude which he had now completely rewritten. This he proposes to dedicate to Professor Halley of Oxford. It was preparatory to the re-writing of this work that Swedenborg makes the notes and extracts contained in Codex 86, pp. 176-82, 184-86. (Ibid. 284 = 183)
3. The third work was the Height of Waters, a work to which he refers in his Theory of the Round Particle as printed in his Chemistry.
4. The Motion and Position of the Earth and Planets, which in point of time was the first of these five works; see above, p. 148.
Nos. 2, 3 and 4 were actually published by Swedenborg in 1719; but:
5. which was on the Nature of Fire and Colors, was never published by Swedenborg but remained in Benzelius's keeping. Its conclusions, however, put in clearer form are incorporated in a section of Miscellaneous Observations, Part III (The Bullular Hypothesis). (Miss. Obs. pp. 92-4, 104s; Sc. and Ph.Tr. I: l: 11)
The writing of it seems to have been inspired by
Swedenborg's actively entering into the study of chemistry:
"My genius," he wrote on Jan. 21, 1718, "is mechanics, and it
will likewise become chemistry." (OQ. 1: 279 = LM.
p. 174)
The work is a recital of theories that have been advanced, and a tentative putting forward of new or modified theories, with suggestions as to the experiments which might be made in the way of tests.
It opens by questioning whether one can judge concerning
fire and colors merely by comparison with water and its
nature. Better than this theoretical reasoning would be the
examination of actual experiments; otherwise, Swedenborg
adds, we should be like one who, from the shape of men,
concludes as to the shape of angels. (OQ. 3: 237)
That fire consists of the elasticity or "fermentation"
of the air, he thinks likely, since fire is nourished by air.
But does rapid motion of air cause color and fire? He
suggests that this may be ascertained if air be introduced
through an aperture into a vacuum, and observation be made as
to whether it generates any heat. In any case, a flame does
not consist of ether. (Ibid. p. 238)
Color does not consist of undulations which have their
own activity, but is caused by refraction, as shown in
prisms, bubbles, etc., where the percurrent ether is
refracted into the air. The white of foam, shaved ice,
powdered glass is due to the irregularity of the particles,
but all other colors depend on the regularity of the
particles resulting in refraction. (Ibid.)
That Sight is effected by undulations of the ether,
like hearing by undulations of the air, Swedenborg considers
an "ingenious speculation which can hardly be overthrown";
that it is not due to the air, is shown by experiments.
Hearing is due to undulation in the air, which is like the
waves in water: but sight is due to a tremulation in the air,
as when one particle strikes another and causes each to
vibrate but not the whole volume.* (Ibid. 239)
* Confer AE 726:3 - volumatim, singulatim.
This hypothesis also needs to be proved.
There is undulation and tremulation in water; the latter
is, for instance, caused by a shot fired over the water which
a submerged
man will hear by a tremulation of the water particles. There
is an analogy between the flow of heat and the flow of water.
But theories must be built on experiments, not on analogies,
"for by analogies one may embrace . . . the theories which,
in the experiments, nature herself disproves. (OQ. 3:
240)
The colors of the rainbow arise from ether refracted
through water bubbles. That fire flies in and out of the
spaces in fat, saltpetre, etc. (Hjarne), he questions; it
also receives nourishment from them, as shown by their charge
into substances that cannot be burned. The rest of this
argument is left to be filled in later, and Swedenborg turns
his attention to ether.
This, he asserts, is 55,600 times lighter than water, as
"may be established by experiment," but whether it is swifter
or more subtle or lighter in the same proportion is
uncertain. Some experiments in balls of different weights and
size, etc., are then suggested. (Ibid. 241)
The particles of one element may be equal in size to
those of another which is different in weight and so in
motion; or the two may have approximately the same weight and
yet differ considerably in local axilliary, undulatory and
tremulatory motion - all of which must be looked into.
And then Swedenborg ends with the words: "The continuation another time."
The end phrase suggests that the work is a first draft for an article in Daedalus VI.
With regard to the above five tracts, it must not be supposed that they were commenced and finished during this holiday at Brunsbo. They were doubtless completed then or, at any rate, looked over in preparation for sending them to the printer; but the writing of them must have occupied Swedenborg's days and especially his evenings, while he was in Karlskrona and Lund.
On January 22nd, Swedenborg left Brunsbo for his stepmother's property in Starbo where he arrived on January 29th, visiting on his way ironworks on the Skinnskatteberg homestead, where probably he studied the nature of fire experimentally. (OQ. 1:280 = LM. p. 176)
This homestead had been part of the property left by Albrecht Behm, Swedenborg's maternal grandfather, to his children - one son and four daughters. The son Albrecht Behm died childless in 1693. Thus, the property, including Skinnskatteberg and Axmar, belonged to the four daughters, Anna Margaret, Ingrid, Sarah and Brita, who were consequently endowed with considerable wealth.* Sarah married Jesper Swedberg, and when she died in 1696, she left her share to her husband and children who, in 1718, were six in number. Sarah's older sister, Anna Margareta, married Peter Swedberg (Schonstrom), Swedenborg's paternal uncle, and in 1697, their daughter Anna Catharine
* Note: According to Swedish law, estates must go to the children equally, the sons having 2 shares, the daughters, 1 (Robinson, An Account of Sweden, p. 20).
The children, doubtless poor and pressed for money, were very desirous of selling some or all of this property, their plan being to sell it to a certain Jonas Ahlgren for 32,000 dal.k.m., at 6,000 dalers a year. Swedenborg was agreeable to the proposition, especially since the price of iron had been fixed by the government; its working, therefore, Swedenborg thought, gave very little profit, and he writes: "If I do not find any profit in the works, I shall seek it where I can." (OQ. 1.282 = LM. p. 180)
The family assembled in Starbo to discuss this matter. Lars Benzelius and his wife who resided there - Lars Benzelius being the Master of Mines in the East and West mining districts - Cousin Rudbeck who arrived the day after Swedenborg, and perhaps also Captain Lundstedt. Eric Benzelius was fully represented by Emanuel, and Jesper was in America. (Bergskollegium p. 168)
It was not an harmonious family, and there was much discussion and hard feeling expended on the distribution of their joint inheritance, both at the time of which we now speak and also in 1721 when the dispute concerned another and much more valuable property, and was taken to the law court.
Whether the sale to Ahlgren was agreed on or not, we cannot say; probably it was not agreed to. But in any case, only a part of the Skinnskatteberg property was thus sold; moreover, subsequent to the Ahlgren business, Bishop Swedberg presented the whole of his share to his children, with the pious but unfulfilled hope that they would work in harmony. There is an entry in the Bergskollegium which indicates that Swedenborg and Rudbeck bought out the rest of the heirs. This entry, which must be dated subsequent to Swedenborg's ennoblement in 1719, reads:
Schillon, Skinnskatteberg,
Managers: Erland Cameen and Ludwig v. Hagen.
[Owners:] EMANUEL SWEDENBORG AND RUDBECK,
Iron-furnace and force. (Doc. 1: 373)
In any case, Swedenborg experienced much trouble both from his own family and from his neighbor Ahlgren, probably with regard to payments and distribution. There seems to have been another conference held in Brunsbo the following October, 1718, for Swedenborg in that month writes:
"I wish that it may come out all right. Brother Lars is
somewhat unpleasant toward me. It would be well that he do
not desire to continue in this course, for, to look more to
the benefit of an Ahlgren than to his own brother-in-law does
not seem proper for relatives. Among all my brothers and
sisters," he continues, "I find none who has willed and does
will me well save d: Brother. In this I was singularly
confirmed by a letter which my Brother wrote to d: Father
during my journey abroad.* If I can in any
way show my
gratitude, it shall not be lacking. Brother Unge likes no
one; at least, he has shut off d: Father's and Mother's mind
from me now for four years; yet, it will boot him nothing."
(OQ. 1:287 = LM. pp. 198-99)
* Either Jasper or Eliezer is referred to. Jasper stayed in London during the year immediately after Emanuel's departure; and then went to America where he taught in the Swedish Church School at Wilmington.
And yet, only a few months previously he had suggested that the post of Professor of the Swedish language be created at Upsala, and that Unge be
On his return to Brunsbo, Swedenborg probably continued his Latin Algebra by writing the parts on Calculus (Codex 86: 191-205).
It will be recalled that in answer to a canal plan presented by Christopher Polhem, the King had authorized the formation of a private sluice company with a thousand shares at 100 dal.s.m. a share. (See above, p. 151) The company did not materialize. After finishing the dock work at Karlskrona, Polhem and Swedenborg went to Uddevalla to establish a saltwork in Gullmarsfiord. Polhem proposed to establish also a smithy for iron plates, also tinwork, etc., at Karlsgraf, making use of the water power there. At the end of November, he writes to the King asking for privileges; he also states that this would be the time to build the sluice at Karlsgraf as a part of the canal scheme; and since many hold it impossible to build sluices at Trollhattan, and since this will cause many to think twice before investing their money in the sluice company, even though the King's guarantee be thereby slighted; to avoid this, he suggests a lock should be built in Karlsgraf at public expense in order to demonstrate how locks can be built at little cost without using "bricks, cement, and building masters from Holland at great cost." This demonstration would create the desire to build
canals, not only at Trollhattan but also between Venner and
Norrkoping, etc., and so the company could be established.
Even if no capital came in, yet it would be a model for
posterity; for "who knows when a Swedish mechanic will again
be found who has his four necessary parts, Theory, Practice,
Physics, and Inventions, not counting resolution which is not
the least." (Bring, Troll. p. 326)
The proposed sluice was to be 30 X 8 ells,* and 16 ells
deep, and the estimated cost was 4,000 dal.s.m. or, including
clearing Karlsgraf, 6,000 dal.s.m. For his part in the work,
Polhem asked for himself and heirs the rights to the revenue
of this one lock. (Bring, Troll. p. 328)
* Even now, regret is expressed that the sized locks planned by Polhem were not adopted. The present lock at Karlsgraf prevents large vessels passing through the canal (Guide, p. 52-53).
Polhem has great schemes in his head - including the
establishing of a great manufacturing city at Wennersborg,
which would greatly benefit from the navigation, when the
latter was opened. In the middle of December he is summoned
to Lund to talk with the King, and the result of the
interview was that on January 18, 1718, the King issued a
decree empowering Polhem to build a canal between Stockholm
and Norrkoping and Goteborg. The work was to be completed in
five years, as follows:
1st year, sluice at Karlsgraf; 2nd year, sluices at
Trollhattan; 3d year, navigation between Wennersborg and
Goteborg; 4th year, between Venner and Vetter;* 5th year, to
Norrkoping.
* Via Mariestad (on Lake Venner, some miles below the present canal). Bokwetts Gillets Protokoll, p. 27. - Halno [? Hallna] through Lake Vik down to Vetter.
For this work, Polhem was to have 40,000 dal.s.m. a year at
his disposal, and personal compensation of 5 dal.s.m. a day,
besides his salary as Councillor of Commerce. Moreover, on
completing the work, he was to have 5,000 dal.s.m. the first
year, 10,000 the second, 15,000 the third, 10,000, the
fourth; 10,000 the fifth. This applied either to Polhem or,
in case of his death, to his successor. (Bring. Troll. p.
330)
The work, however, was not to prevent Polhem from going
on with the dock at Karlskrona.
The work was authorized on January 18th, and Polhem went at once to Wennersborg to prepare for the actual work which, in his eyes, gave such bright promise for Sweden. Naturally he turned to his old Assistant at Karlskrona; and very early in February, Swedenborg, in his peaceful retreat at Starbo, learned of the news which was again to bring him face to face with the King, and to give him the opportunity of devoting his talents to his Fatherland.
"Today," he writes, early in February, "I got a letter
from Councillor of Commerce Polhem from Wennersborg, who is
urgent and insistent that I shall go there. He has got the
decree that the work on the sluices is to commence and
navigation be instituted between the Baltic and the North Sea
by way of Venner and Vetter to Norrkoping at his Majesty's
own cost - whereby one is likely to incur a vast amount of
work." (OQ. 1:283 = LM p. 182)
Yet, despite his own eagerness, Swedenborg could not at once join in his new work. He was obliged to remain in Starbo until the middle of February in connection with his work as mine owner, and then, the very necessities of his life demanded a breathing space in Upsala - and perhaps a chance to see personally if he could not persuade his brother into agreeing as to printing the New Reckoning - a work which, naturally, he would dearly love to present printed to the King.
"Let nothing interfere with my Way of Reckoning," he writes
to Benzelius, after telling him of the revival of the canal
work.
"It may be very useful for those who will use it." (Ibid.)
Moreover, Swedenborg, it will be remembered, had two works ready to print, and these he would wish to present to his Majesty whom he would be bound
to see.
Polhem had written that the King had expressed himself as being displeased at the discontinuance of the Daedalus. But somehow, Swedenborg seems to have taken a dislike to continuing this work. It did not advance him, since everything was overshadowed by the fame of Polhem. Moreover, in this journal, he felt under the necessity of presenting some of Polhem's inventions, and perhaps he had none at hand, or perhaps he was so actively engaged on his own ideas which already had been written down in five separate books, that he had neither the time nor the appetite to turn to Polhem's mechanics.
And so he hoped to present to the King something more peculiarly his own, and something also more developed and thought out. Therefore, as soon as the business at Starbo was completed, he rushed post haste to Upsala where at once he began the publication of his Longitude, which was issued a little later. It had been Swedenborg's desire to print a separate and enlarged edition as his Longitude, in time for presentation to the King at
The Longitude is the first of Swedenborg's works to contain his official title on the title-page, "Emanuel Swedberg, Assessor i Kongl. Bergskollegium." It will be noted that he entitles himself Assessor, not Assessor Extraordinary, and, indeed, a careful reading of his warrant of appointment justifies this title. Yet, the fact remains that he received no salary from the Bergskollegium.
The work is dedicated to Herr Edmund Halley*, "Prov. Savill. in Oxford, England." Swedenborg's intention had been to translate the work [into Latin or English] and present it to Halley "in such a way that I hope it will meet some one's approval," but whether he did so is not known. It would seem that Swedenborg had not entirely forgotten that a handsome prize was attached in England to the solution of the Longitude problem; but that this was not in his mind in the writing of the book is shown by its style which stamps it as being addressed and accommodated to the ordinary man and not merely to the learned. Indeed, the fact of its being published in Swedish is in itself sufficient evidence of this. (OQ. 1.284 = LM. p. 183)
* Halley was also Secretary of the Royal Society and, as Savillian Professor of Astronomy, was a member of the Commission on the Longitude. He became Astronomer Royal in 1719 at the death of Flamsteed.
The 1718 edition consists of 25 sections in 38 pages, as compared with the 16 sections and 13 pages of the Daedalus Hyperboreus. It is entirely rewritten with the general motive of making it simpler and adapted to a wider public. Unfortunately, while it refers to ten figures, no copy has ever been found with any figures, whereas the Daedalus article had two figures. We doubt not that Swedenborg left Upsala intending to send the figures on, or perhaps he had left the figures with Benzelius, or given instructions to have them made. But with the stress of work that followed, they were forgotten. Expense also may have been in the cause; this also seems to account for the fact that Swedenborg published only the Longitude and not the Going and Stoppage of the Earth or his Round Particles.
In the Preface, he pays a compliment both to Halley and to his country:
"It is better" he says, "to trust oneself to one who had
understanding in the matter rather than to many who approve
and disapprove a thing, and yet have no wisdom or right
foundation in it." "Among the learned in England, there is
no one," he continues, "who has gained from experience a
better understanding of this subject than the Herr Professor
who has twice been sent out to distant places south of the
Equator and elsewhere, and has there made many investigations
and observations for which the learned world pays him honor.
He has also shown how the east and west longitude might be
found by the eclipse of the large stars by the moon. In
England, others also have been encouraged by the Members of
Parliament, and by the renewed promises of other kingdoms;
but it is unfortunately to be observed that no method has yet
been found which can be generally accepted. What I, in brief,
have comprehended on this matter, I leave first to the Herr
Professor's riper judgment, for he and his knowledge herein
have had rich experience, as already stated. Here in Sweden I
have had no further occasion than to compare it with the
methods which have been given out before; and in this way I
have found many easements and advantages which have given me
the hope that it can be brought into practice for the use of
navigators."
He goes on to say that in Sweden they set high value on astronomy, though they cannot show this like other countries.
"If the Almighty God provides our great Monarch with
long life, then Sweden also will be encouraged ever more and
more in these and like literary arts. For his Majesty," adds
Swedenborg proudly, even though addressing a subject of the
Duke of Hannover, "not only sets great estimation and value
in them but he himself has likewise a lofty understanding and
profound judgment in such matters; so great that many of the
great mathematicians do not measure up to him. And therefore,
we are looking forward to this advantage, that these sciences
will come to their flower, that we will get the encouragement
to make many investigations and tests which may be compared
with those which are made in England and elsewhere, and
perhaps may in many respects be of enlightenment to them.
Astronomy seems to have better opportunities here than in
other places, because we have so pure and clear a sky, such a
good horizon, and also suitable places for observations,"
etc.
In the first chapter, Swedenborg, following the example of his Regel Konst, translates into Swedish the technical terms involved, having in many cases to coin new words. Thus
Eccliptic = sol-linean (sun line)
Zodiac = planet-linien
Meridian = middags-linien
Horizon = watn-linien (water line)
Refraction = Luftbrytning (air breaking)
Quadrant = fierdund (a quarterer)
Then follow chapters on:
(2) Definitions of East and West Longitudes.
(3) The Use to be expected from finding the Longitude.
(4) The methods hitherto suggested. Eleven different ways are pointed out, with explanations and objections, and the chapter shows a wide reading on the subject.
(5) The possibility of finding the Longitude.
(6) The advantages of the new method.
(7) The parallaxes and the difficulty of finding them in the ordinary way
Chapters 8-12 and 21-23 set forth the Author's method in great detail and how to use it.
Chapters 13-20 answer objections to the method.
Chapters 25 and last chapter shows how many natural opportunities are afforded for using this method:
If the learned world would be pleased to test this method and
compare it with others, Swedenborg concludes, "I know it will
at least win the verdict that it is the easiest that has
hitherto been offered for finding the longitude by the moon
. . . Therefore, should the impartial judge be pleased to
compare it with the method of others and try it, then I give
myself the hope that it can be put into practice for the use
and delight of seamen."
Swedenborg's hope was never realized, for though he printed his Longitude twice afterwards - in 1721 and 1766 - yet he never succeeded in attaining his design, namely, its actual use in navigation.
After completing his work at Upsala, Swedenborg joined Polhem at Wennersborg, which was the Headquarters of the canal operations.
A part of Karlsgraf or Charles' ditch was originally a small
stream running into an inlet of Lake Venner. This had been
enlarged by Charles IX and continued all the way to the Gotha
Elf a distance of from 7 to 8 miles. It was necessary for
Polhem to clear out this waterway and prepare it for
navigation, as well as to build the one sluice which he had
planned. There were immense difficulties in the way. There
was no real money in the country. Workmen were hard to get,
since the Army had absorbed one-fifth of the whole
population, and crops must be attended to. This difficulty
was relieved later by the use of Russian prisoners.
Difficulties were also caused by the arbitrary fixing of
prices, sometimes at a figure which made men unwilling to
sell.
(Bring, Troll., pp. 51, 58, 71, Polhem, p. 202,
Chas. XII, pp. 513-14; Lindeberg, p. 103)
When Swedenborg joined Polhem in March, work on the sluice itself was commenced. Swedenborg seems to have been Polhem's chief Assistant in this work, and as such was naturally looked to by young men who were ambitious to be employed - especially under the great Polhem. At the end of June 1718, Swedenborg writes:
"We are daily occupied with the first sluice in bringing it
to completion, which, however, cannot likely be done before
Michaelmas (Sept. 29th). The cost amounts to little beyond
all expectation since all the work is in wood, and yet it is
so constructed that it can endure for a long time and can be
rebuilt at any necessary point without making necessary to
renew the whole work."
(Bring, Pol. p. 202; OQ. 1:284, 286 = LM. pp. 186-7, 192)
There seems no doubt that Swedenborg's admiration was fully deserved, for in several respects Polhem had advanced beyond the Dutch canal builders who hitherto had ruled supreme; not only had he provided stone facings to prevent rotting, and such a mode of construction that any part could be repaired with little delay and without upsetting the whole, but he had also invented a mechanism whereby the lock gates were to be worked by a windmill. (Bring, Polhem, p. 202)
As to cheapness, Swedenborg spoke somewhat too early. When the work was stopped, the actual cost had been 22,000 dal.s.m., as against the estimate of 6,000 dal.s.m. See above, p. 177; also Riksdagerna, p. 540. (Ibid. pp. 200, 203; see Troll. pp. 331, 73)
But with all this, Swedenborg was highly satisfied with his literary prospects. Thus far, literature had brought him nothing but expense, and though he was working with Polhem, the work brought him no financial returns:
"It seems to me," he writes, "that the trouble of further
advancing science receives little reward, both because of the
lack of money to enable one to advance therein so far as one
ought, and likewise because of the jealousy which so strongly
prevails against those who in any matter show more industry
than others; when a country in general is leaning toward
barbarism, it is vain for one or two to hold it up."
(OQ 1:285 = LM p. 187)
The jealousy Swedenborg here speaks of probably refers not so much to the work at Karlsgraf as to Swedenborg's literary work which be lost no opportunity of introducing to the King's notice.
On May 15th, he had the good fortune again to meet the King, who was then visiting at Wennersborg prior to departure for Lund. On this occasion, Charles visited Trollhattan and inspected the scene where Polhem's work was to be in 1719. It would seem that both Polhem and Swedenborg attended him on this occasion, and great stories of their might were told in the country round Wennersborg. It was reported, for instance, that they stopped up the Falls at the moment the King was there: "Such is the confidence they have in art," observes Swedenborg. He writes also that on this visit he talked much with the King, and offered him his last published work, the Algebra and the Longitude, which Swedenborg "left on the table where he sat for a good while and read it." (Bring. Troll. p. 70; Rhysel. p. 83; Nordberg, p. 666, see p. 66; OQ 1:285 = LM pp. 187-88)
When the King returned from Lund in the middle of June his attention was evidently called to the fact that Swedenborg, despite all his work at Karlskrona and Karlsgraf, had not received single penny in compensation, and it was probably about this time that the King orally promised advancement to Swedenborg. At any rate, on June 22nd, Charles issued from Stromstad a royal command to the Upphandlings Deputation which, in effect, was the Kingdom's Treasury in charge of Baron v. Goertz, to pay Swedenborg 3 dal.s.m a day so long as he works at the canal. The sum would have been very satisfactory had it been paid for Polhem himself received only 5 dal.s.m. per day. But like many another salary at that time, it existed only on paper. And when, in the middle of July, Goertz himself, the all-powerful minister who was the actual head of the whole canal work, came to view the work at Karlsgraf, Swedenborg evidently took the occasion to speak of the matter.* The result was that a few days later he received from Secretary Cederholm a copy of a royal order to the effect that he was to receive free board at the canal works - from which it would appear that before then he had been defraying his own expenses in board, (Rhyzel. p. 85; NCL 1896:152; ACSD 162; Bring, p. 68; Riks.bidrag p. 144; OQ 1:285 = LM. p. 187.)
* See Karolinska Forbundets, p. 179, where it is said to be a launching in Iddefjord on July 6-7.
The new order was satisfactory so far as it went, and on August 4th he wrote a letter of thanks to Baron Goertz, and at the same time apologized for not having waited on the Baron at Wennersborg; at the sluiceworks they had not been informed of his presence in the city. He also offered to send the Baron, every now and again, plans of the canal works, showing how matters were progressing. (ACSD 162A bis)
This was all very fine, but it did not give to Swedenborg the salary which, for so long a time he had undoubtedly earned. Therefore at the same time that he wrote to Baron Goertz in person, he also addressed a letter to the Upphandlings Deputation requesting payment of the salary already granted by the King. His appeal was vain, however, and it was not until June 1723 that Swedenborg received a penny of compensation for all the work which he did in the King's service for a period of five and a half years. (ACSD 162)
However, hope was in the air, for the reports spread through Wennersborg by the followers of the French Ambassador who came there to meet Goertz, justified the expectation that Goertz's discussions with the Russians at Aland would lead to that peace which all so ardently desired. (OQ. 1:285 = LM. p. 187)
It was perhaps in connection with his work on the canal sluice that Swedenborg wrote the paper entitled "A new way of sailing against the stream when the wind is contrary." The paper consisted of two folio pages and was illustrated by three diagrams showing how a vessel can be worked by paddle wheels so geared that the power can be supplied by one or two men. (Phot. 1: 86-88, cf. also 90)
The canal was not long to be Swedenborg's only work. Since
the Spring the King had been preparing for the campaign
against Norway, and, with this in view, had spent many weeks
moving between Ed and Stromstad on the Norwegian border.
Except for a month's stay in Lund, during this time and even
until he actually took the field in October, his headquarters
were at Stromstad. The reason was obvious, for here was the
depot for receiving the ammunition and army stores intended
for the attack in Frederickshall. The stores came up by ship
from Uddevalla and Goteborg, but they could go no farther by
water because both of the Danish fleet in the Kattegat and of
obstructions to the Swinesund where the Swedes had sunk two
ships. Charles XII, however, was determined to command
Iddefjord, and for this purpose he conceived the idea of
transporting overland not only stores and ammunition but also
the ships themselves for use in the siege of Frederickshall.
The plans for the work were probably drawn up by Polhem, but
the work was done under the direction of Quartermaster D.
Dahlheim, and the King himself was frequently present,
directing and encouraging the soldier workmen by promises of
rewards. The Danes also were transporting ships overland.
(Kar.For. pp. 155-6, 160, 165-66; Bring. Chas. XII p. 638;
Nordberg p. 667; NP 1926:8-9; SBL 4:35;
ACSD 162A2; Fryx. 29:120)
On June 26th was begun the work of carrying several ships,
including two galleys,* overland to Iddefjord, The first of
these to be launched at Iddefjord on July 7th was in action
within an hour, and its victory was so signal that there was
no doubt as to carrying over more ships. A larger and heavier
ship, the Luren, was ordered from Goteborg to Stromstad. This
ship was provided with a new invention whereby it could be
steered at the bow or stern. It was found that the
arrangements in use for the other vessels would not suffice
for the Luren, and on July 13th, Polham was consulted as to
the matter. Polhem at once detached Swedenborg from the
Sluicework, and sent him to superintend the work at
Stromstad; Swedenborg was
optimistic as to results, but he required the services of 800
men (soldiers and sailors) instead of 500. Even so, the work
was exceedingly hard. It was found that owing to the weight
of the Luren, Polhem's plan would not work, and the old plan
had to be adopted, though with improvements, to which
doubtless Swedenborg contributed. (Kar.For. pp. 166, 168-9;
Nordberg p. 667; ACSD 162:2, 5, 6, 6a)
* The galley of that day was a threemaster, going to the length of nearly 200 feet. The Luren had a crew of 45 officers and men, and carried 100 soldiers (Kar.For. p. 171 seq.).
The Luren had already been carried a little distance, and at
the time of Swedenborg's arrival (July 20th), it was on land
at the foot of a slope up which it must be carried before it
could again be launched, an undertaking which proved to be
harder than was expected.
The transport of the Luren was not completed until September
2nd when it was successfully launched in Iddefjord in the
presence of Charles himself, if we are to believe tradition.
Tradition also relates that from a height in the
neighborhood, "the King, the Duke of Holstein his nephew,
Swedenborg and high officers watched an important engagement
with the Norwegians."
(Kar.For. p. 170; NP 1926:6; ACSD 162:11)
During this period, Swedenborg, who naturally was a person of some consequence in connection with the important work in hand, met the King more than once.
"I found his Majesty very gracious to me," he writes
later, "and more so than I could presume to, which is a good
omen to me. Count Morner has also shown me all the favor I
could ever wish. With the King I had mathematical matters to
the fore every day, and he deigned to be pleased with
everything. When, moreover, the eclipse took place,* I took
his Majesty outside to see it, and talked much concerning the
causes of it. This was only an entree. I hope in time to
achieve something in that quarter for the advancement of
science, being unwilling at the present time to ask for
anything which might seem like an innovation. With regard to
my Daedalus Hyperboreus, his Majesty was quite critical that
I have not followed it up for some time, but I pleaded want
of a means, a thing which he does not willingly wish to hear
about. I hope to get at it with the first help."
(OQ 1:286 = LM. p. 192)
* This was a total eclipse of the moon, which occurred at 9.0 p.m. Aug. 29th.
It seems probable that it was at this time, and in connection with the mathematical conversations, that Swedenborg contemplated showing the King the MS. of his new method of calculation. Though Vallerius and Benzelius had perhaps persuaded him not to print it, he had not given up the hope of presenting it to the King. At any rate, among his manuscripts, we have a copy of it, very neatly written and containing a dedication to the King, dated "Karlsgraf 1718 and which reads as follows:
"Almighty and very gracious King:
"That I come before your Majesty's eyes with a reckoning
which has its turn at 8 instead of the ordinary reckoning
which has its turn at 10, this I should not do of my own
presumption were it not that the good pleasure which was
formerly shown at a like reckoning extending to 64, assures
me that it will be graciously received. The turn is set at 8
for the purpose of
making use of letters, since it is not so easy to procure new
numbers. The use of this octoral reckoning, I have no need to
depict before your Majesty, who has a better understanding of
it and is better able to set forth the most difficult things
contained in it, than any one I can mention; and I present
it, not as to a king, but as to a profound Mathematicus, with
the fear that something will be found to which I have not
given sufficient thought. I remain,
Your Majesty's
My very gracious Lord's
Most humble servant, EMANUEL SWEDBERG" (See LM. p. 200)
The beautiful and ornate way in which this work was written out by Swedenborg suggests that it was intended for a royal presentation; and yet, perhaps Swedenborg hesitated to present it after all, and it is perhaps to this hesitation that he refers in his letter to Benzelius, who had plainly expressed himself as opposed to this novelty. He writes that he was "unwilling, at the present time, to ask [the King] anything which would seem like an innovation."
The same hesitation, however, would not apply to a companion MS., which, from the way in which it is written in clean copy, was also intended or the King's eye. It is entitled "A New Theory concerning the Going and Stoppage of the Earth and the Planets, or some proofs that the Earth's Course is ever faster and faster; that Winter and Summer days might well become longer and longer, even to the world's last time; shown by Emanuel Swedberg." It was a complete rewriting of an earlier draft which Swedenborg had written out in Stockholm, in the Spring of 1717, while waiting for a summons from Polhem. He had probably intended to print the revised work in Upsala but was perhaps prevented by lack of money. This, moreover, would account for his remarks as to the King's dislike to hear of requests for financial support.
After the launching of the Luren some other smaller vessels had been carried overland about the same time Swedenborg returned to his work at Karlsgraf. He is now confident of being occupied with congenial work for some years. He hopes, when the sluices are commenced at Trollhattan to have sole charge of the building of one of them, and he hopes also to receive more pay.
(OQ. 1:286: LM. p. 193)
And now we come to the story of the reputed engagement between Swedenborg and Emerentia Polhem. The story, as it has come down to us, is written in a note dated 1789, and as an addition to Robsahm's Memoirs of Swedenborg. The story is that Swedenborg, when at Stiernsund as Polhem's pupil in Mathematics in 1716, fell deeply in love with Emerentia who later married Ruckerskiold - but as she was a little over 12 1/2 years old, she would not consent to any engagement. Therefore, Polhem gave her to Swedenborg in a written contract which she had to sign. She grieved so over this that her brother [aged 17] stole the contract from Swedenborg. The latter's daily comfort was to read it, and therefore it was soon missed. Polhem wished to renew the paper but Swedenborg, seeing Emerentia's sorrow, gave up his claim and left the house with an oath never again to think of any woman, whereupon he commenced his foreign journey. [Swedenborg did not leave Sweden until June 1721.] "This, in short" the note ends, is all that one can say for certain on this matter." (ACSD 162C; Doc. 1:50)
This account, which contains several known inaccuracies, is confined to an occurrence said to have taken place between April and December 1718, when Swedenborg was very busily occupied with his canal, transport and literary work.
The only account we have from Swedenborg himself remotely touching on this matter is in a letter to Benzelius, dated September 14, 1718:
"Polhem's oldest daughter* is betrothed to a gentleman
of the court, named Manderstrom; I wonder what people will
say of this since this is my post. His second daughter is, in
my opinion, much prettier."
(N. 1:286 = LM. p. 193)
* Maria, who was then in her 21st year and was married two months after the date of Swedenborg's letter.
Swedenborg's indirect testimony is given originally by Tuxen, of whom we have only an English translation, who presents Swedenborg as saying, in 1769, that "once in his youth he had been on the road to matrimony, King Charles XII having recommended the famous Polhem to give him his daughter." To a question, he added: "She would not have me as she had promised herself to another person," (Doc. 2: 437)
The above is the whole evidence. It indicates merely that Charles XII had suggested an engagement between Polhem's elder daughter Maria and Emanuel Swedenborg, but that the former was already betrothed at the time, or soon afterwards. In any case, Swedenborg did not seem at all affected. Emerentia, in his opinion, was "much prettier." These last words, written on September 14th - Swedenborg separated from Polhem in the following November - quite preclude the possibility of the signed and stolen contract with Emerentia, though they may account for the story that has grown up around it. See ACSD 163A.
At Vereborg, Swedenborg wrote the Rise and Fall of Lake Wenner. See p 210 below.
King Charles's words about the Daedalus Hyperboreus evidently had some effect in hastening the appearance of the long past due No. VI. After finishing his work at Stromstad, Swedenborg evidently received leave of absence; for, in a day or two, after September 14th, he went to Brunsbo where he stayed for three weeks, which he occupied by having Daedalus no. IV printed at Skara. The number consisted of 16 pages, like no. II, but unfortunately it lacked plates, although more than one is referred to in the text, Skara had no resources for the making of plates, and Swedenborg was in a hurry to present the printed Daedalus to the King. (Doc. 1:162)
It contents are mainly mathematical. The first article
describes a machine invented by Polhem to show the parabolic
curve made by a shot, and refers to one of the imprinted
plates. In the beginning of this article, Swedenborg gives
evidence of the high esteem in which he held Charles XII as a
practical scientist. "During the time of our great Monarch,"
he says, ". . .Sweden has widely famed advantage arising from
the many men who are prudent and experienced in such matters
as concern artillery, mechanics and shipbuilding; and this
must be ascribed to the great understanding possessed in
these matters by his Majesty himself." (DH. VI:2)
The first article is, as usual, written by Swedenborg;
but it presents Polhem's idea; the rest of the number,
however, is entirely Swedenborg's own. First, he gives some
short-cut methods of reckoning the number of bullets
contained in a pyramid - a useful thing for gunners to know
in those trying days.
Then follows "an experiment or trial whereby
shipbuilding can be advanced." Here again, a figure is
referred to, which unfortunately is not printed. The article
opens with a paragraph which might have been written today:
"As regards shipbuilding, it has now been brought to so
high a state by so many years' experience and by the
investigations of clever men, that it might seem presumptuous
to offer to make an improvement or addition. But the answer
is given that no mechanical art has reached so high as not to
fall far short of perfection or of the impossibility of
betterment, so long as the world has men who have
understanding, judgment and experience. But in some cases,
such improvement comes from blind luck . . . in others, it is
hastened by geometry and its aids. . . The art is still in
its development." (DH. VI: 6)
The article is designed to show how to determine the
proper position of the masts, the ballast; and to calculate
the forces of the sails. It was afterwards rewritten in Latin
and published with a plate in Amsterdam in 1721.
The next article in Daedalus VI contains Swedenborg's
first references to the anatomy of the body. It is entitled
"Arguments showing that our vital force consists mostly of
little vibrations, that is, tremulations." This preliminary
essay confines itself to stating nine rules with brief
comments. Swedenborg gives these rules because he recognizes
the novelty of his position:
"Before what is unusual and unknown can be made
credible," he says, "it is necessary to establish some fixed
and indubitable rules according to which the theory ought to
be proved." Then follow his rules:
1. Hard bodies are subject to tremulation by a slight touch.
2. The best medium for tremulation is a stretched membrane,
e.g., a chord.
3. The next best are hard bodies and then soft.
4. A tremulation in one membrane will cause a tremulation in
another which is tuned to the same key.
5. Air tremulation goes in rings and is heard on all sides.
6. The heavier the atmosphere, the slower the tremulation,
and vice versa.
Thus, they are slow in water, in air quicker; in ether still
quicker; in solar substance from the sun to us, in an
instant. "In the very finest atmosphere, there is probably no
time which can correspond to the undulation."
[This is Swedenborg's first mention of four atmospheres.]
7. One tremulation does not interfere with another.
8. In tremulations, the angle of refraction is equal to the
angle of incidence.
9. There are millions of varieties in tremulations.
On the basis of these simple rules, Swedenborg then proceeds
to show that "much of our vital force consists in
tremulations," a doctrine which he never gave up even in
later years.
This part of the article lays down in general the means
which the different sensations are effected, and holds that
they all go to the membranes of the brain, which, being
tense, readily receive them. To the same mechanism he
ascribes antipathy, for thoughts produce different
tremulations which may be distinguished by the mind as words
are distinguished by the ear (see above, p. 103).
In November of the next year, Swedenborg, referring to his finished work on Tremulation, informs us that in preparing this work
"I made myself acquainted in the most exact way with the
anatomy of the nerves and membranes, and so proved the
harmony thereof in respect to the fine geometry of
tremulations and much else where I later found myself in
agreement with Baglivi's opinions."
(OQ, 1:299 = LM. p. 216; see ibid. 297= 27)
The opinion to which reference is here made is that set forth in Baglivi's De Fibre Motrice, the central doctrine of which is that to the animated dura mater must be ascribed the whole empire of the body. In later years Swedenborg put this empire not in the dura nor even in the pia meter but in what he calls the piissima mater which constitutes the simple cortex.
It will thus be seen that Swedenborg was first led to anatomy by considering the nature of life; and so his first studies were on the brain and nerves. He also studied Borelli's De Motu Animalium, where all the animal motions are held to be mechanical. It is of interest to note in this connection that it was Borelli from whom Polhem drew most of his anatomical knowledge, though Leeuwenhoek "the curious Hollander" was not unknown to him. (Doc. 1:317; Bring, Polhem p. 91)
The last article in Daedalus VI, and the last article to
be printed in this journal, was on a purely mathematical
subject, and even more than the others is by no means clear
in the absence of the plate to which it refers. Swedenborg
doubtless intended to print the plates for this number later.
Perhaps they were actually printed; for, immediately after
Daedalus VI appeared, Swedenborg, referring to the last
article, writes, "I have sent this with accompanying figures
to his Majesty."
(Enestrom p. 6; OQ 1:287 = LM. p. 198)
Summing up Swedenborg's mathemetical contributions to Daedalus Hyperboreus, Enestrom, in his Emanuel Swedenborg sasom matemtiker, Stockholm, 1890, says that, as compared with the knowledge of mathematics in Sweden at that time, they bear witness to a many-sided knowledge, but yet do not contain anything new or particularly remarkable from a mathematical point of view. In one or two cases, he attempts to anticipate matters which, on nearer examination, are not mathematically tenable, and also "to bring forward mathematical and philosophical speculations which lead away from an exact investigation of the subject of investigation rather than facilitate it." (p. 7)
Thus we bid farewell to the Daedalus Hyperboreus. With all the complaints directed against it by Swedenborg himself, it was a noble venture, the venture of a daring mind which had the vision of the means for Sweden's true greatness, and for the progress of mankind itself; which joined itself to the progressive spirits of the age and did not hesitate to spend its substance as well as its time and labor in work which few appreciated.
From the first number of this journal in December 1715 to the sixth and last in October 1718, Swedenborg bore the entire burden of planning, the actual writing and the whole of the financial expense.* It was but a fitting tribute to his memory when, in 1910, the Vetenskapskademien Societeten in Upsala published in magnificent form a facsimile edition of the Daedalus Hyperboreus as being essentially the first Transactions of the Society itself.
* It would appear that the cost of printing and paper was about 45 dal.k.m. per 8 pages (about Kr.23 of our money). This did not include the plates. ACSD 55
It was during this visit home to publish Daedalus VI, that Bishop Swedberg gave his children his portion of his first wife's property upon which occasion, Swedenborg again began to experience something of the ill-will of his brother-in-law Unge; see above, p. 176. However, he stayed home only three weeks when he returned to his work. (Doc. 1:304)
Whether Swedenborg again met Charles XII is not known with certainty but it is most likely that he did, and, indeed, that he came into his disfavor. At any rate, on October 3d, his father writes of him that on the fifth he will leave Brunsbo "for Stromstad where he says he is always most kindly received by the King"; and, on the very day that he left Brunsbo, Swedenborg writes to Benzelius: (Doc. 1:162)
His Majesty is probably coming to Wennersborg at the end of
this month when the army is to be reviewed. I am going to see
if I cannot get leave to go with it to Norway"
(OQ. 1:287 = LM. p. 199)
At Karlsgraf, Swedenborg had been working among the ignorant Russian prisoners, but in July and August and September he had been working in the midst of the fine Swedish soldiers, and often under the eye of his Here King who was so gracious to him. What wonder if, when he returned to Stromstad, he was enamored of the work. Who shall say with what enthusiasm he was fired by the example and the words of the Lion of the North, who, with all Europe secretly against him, was yet feared and treated with respect!
Charles led his troops from Stromstad into Norway on October 25th, and if he reviewed the army in Wennersborg, it must have been a few days earlier. Either at Stromstad or Wennersborg, Swedenborg saw him for the last time. It had been Swedenborg's intention, as already noted, to see if he might not be permitted to accompany the army to Norway. Yet, on December 8th, that is to say, less than five weeks after he had written this wish and intention, he writes in an entirely opposite sense
"Thank God," he says, "I have escaped the campaign in Norway,
which, sure enough, would have caught me had I not used
diplomacy in order to escape."
(Nordberg, p. 677; OQ 1:288 = LM. p. 202)
What lies behind this complete volte face? Doubtless, we shall never know. Did Swedenborg simply change his mind? Had Polhem persuaded him that his place was to remain in Karlsgraf? Had the King graciously consented to his entering the army as an engineer, and had Polhem's earnest entreaty induced him to use diplomacy to get out of the appointment?
It does, however, seem indicated that during the latter part of October, Swedenborg came into great disfavor with the King. Years later he writes in his Spiritual Diary:
"Many transactions between me and Charles XII were recounted,
and it was then manifestly shown that the Lord's Providence
had been in the most minute particulars . . . also that
unless the state of Charles XII had been changed from good
into anger one person would wholly have perished" (n. 4704).
Now this change in the royal favor could have happened only in October, for prior to leaving Bohuslan for Brunsbo, Swedenborg was in high favor. This is shown also by the testimony of his father, who, writing on October 3d, says that his son tells him "he is always most kindly received by the King." What then was the cause of this suddenly developed anger on the part of the King? Surely he was not angry with Swedenborg for desiring to join the army! Was he angry because Swedenborg used diplomacy to escape the campaign to Norway? Had Swedenborg interposed some protests about the state of the country? the conduct of Goertz? the size of the taxes? And then, how shall we account for Swedenborg's expecting financial help for the Daedalus from the King, even after they had met for the last time? or Swedenborg's laudation of Charles XII in his Miscellaneous Observations, and in his letter to Nordberg many years later? and still later, in his work on Rational Psychology. Of course, these are intellectual appraisements, but they have a strong suggestion of genuine affection.
(Doc. 1:162; Miss.Obs, p. 113; Nordberg. p. 601; R.Psych, pp. 211, 226, 249)
Charles XII was shot before Frederickshall on November
30th, and the news arrived in Stockholm on December 5th; but
Swedenborg at that date was still ignorant of it.
Swedenborg had left the work at Karlsgraf in the beginning of December, 1718, and the last news he had heard from the army was that on November 27th, the Swedes had taken one of the redoubts at Frederickshall.
In the peaceful atmosphere of Brunsbo, he at once settles down to literary work. He sends to the Skara Printer his Stoppage of the Earth, now rewritten for the third time. He also prepares the material for Daedalus VII, but holds it "until his Majesty supplies offerings"; indeed, he has the material for no. VIII also, finishing the second year. But neither VII nor VIII ever appeared, and we may presume that some at any rate of the material prepared for them was afterwards incorporated in Miscellaneous Observations (OQ. 1:283 LM. p. 203)
Meanwhile, Swedenborg heard of Charles's death about December 4th or 10th,* Neither he nor Polhem realized at first the effect of this death on the canal work, but Swedenborg did realize that all hopes of getting literary support from his late Hero were gone. The Stoppage of the Earth was
"which has come upon us by the sudden death of our glorious
Monarch; but, on the other hand, to express great pleasure in
the Swedish Kingdom's good fortune in the person of your
Royal Highness on whom, by the gift of God Himself, it now
devolves to be a comfort to our gracious Queen, a Protector
of her Crown and Kingdom, and a new means of help for our
general welfare. May the God of heaven grant you further
prosperity." (Malm., 1: 254)
* The Swedish generals were assembled in Uddevalla when they heard that Ulrica Eleonora had been proclaimed Queen on December 7th; but they refused to recognize her until Frederick, who was present with them, gave assurance both for his wife and himself, that absolutism would be abolished and the Diet called to hear witness to this, They then recognized the Queen and proclaimed her to the army. This was December 9th or 10th, and the news must have reached Skara very quickly. (Fryx. 30:25, 21)
He then sets forth his object in the work, as being to show why Sweden, "which in primitive times was a Canaan and Paradise," has become what it now is. The learned Puffendorf* and others have held that Sweden was inhabited in Noah's time,* but it is wholly unknown what induced men to exchange their golden land for our iron rocks, their bright and lovely summers for our stormy winters, unless the land's general condition was different than it now is.
"Hence, therefore, I will show the reasons for the guessings
of others, such as our late Olof Rudbeck brings forward in
his Atlantica, and that these guessings are not poetic
effusions and fables that Sweden may formerly have been a
paradise and a dwelling for the gods; that Pallas, Flora,
Venus, and other pleasure goddesses might have been born and
brought up here and have lived with Swedish women as one
among them; and that later, from here, they betook themselves
farther to the south in Europe." He hopes thus to show the
truth of what has been considered myth, to please the King
and, lastly, "to win the favor and applause of the learned
world."
* This seems to be an error for Rudbeck or Loccenius. These writers, however, do not speak of the inhabitants of Sweden at the time of Noah, but state merely that after the confusion of tongues, the scythians (descended from Japheth) found their way to Sweden. So far as we know Puffendorf says nothing whatever on the early inhabitants of Sweden.
Olaf Rudbeck, in his Atlantica, had endeavored to show,
on mythological and etymological grounds, that Sweden was the
famed Atlantis, the home of the Greek heroes and deities, and
that they migrated thence to southern Europe. As to Sweden's
climate, however, Rudbeck says nothing more of it save that
the Ancients were drawn to the land by the great healthiness
of its climate, as shown, inter alia, by the large number of
children commonly born from one mother. Swedenborg wished to
prove scientifically that the "guessings" that Sweden is the
Atlantis of the Ancients were justified because Sweden was
then a paradise. (Atlant. IV)
In proof Swedenborg appear (1) to the ancient traditions
of a Golden Age, i.e., of a perpetual Spring which could come
only by the rapid rotation of the earth; (2) to the fact that
primitive creation was possible only in such a Spring; for,
he says, "creation was not effected without means; the one
means was the earth, the other, the warmth of the air of
which we are speaking." (3) A third proof is gathered from
the great age of the patriarchs, which would infer that their
years were shorter; Swedenborg enters much less into the
details of this argument than he did in his first draft.
The fourth reason is drawn from the flood of which he
gives a purely natural cause. "From our new theory," he says,
"it follows first that the great heat played on the water and
separated all the like from the unlike the fat from the wet,
the salt from the unsalted, and thereby made a crust and
vault over the water; and when this heat was lessened, all
this water shrinks together. . . Whence come great empty
spaces between the crust and the water. Then the crust falls
into the deep, first here and then there. The water beneath
would then come up and we should have the flooding water and
therefore rain." This cause, Swedenborg finds to agree with
the event as described in God's Word: "By guessing, one goes
no further than others have gone by their guessing." A fifth
proof is the decrease in all countries of that fertility
which existed in the Golden Age.
Then comes a particular proof, taken from Sweden.
Rudbeck is cited as authority that Sweden was formerly "a
dwelling place for the gods . . . a place of which the poets
sang their fables . . . In a word, it was a land rich of
people, fruitful and green, beautiful as a Canaan." But since
the country is not such now, it has been "supposed that the
late Olaf Rudbeck spoke more from blind love of his land than
from any truth coming from the searching into causes." But if
the earth's revolutions were then quicker, all is clear. The
land would then be like a Savoy or an Italy.
The seventh is a new proof which does not appear in the
work as first written, namely, a proof from the population of
America. According to the new theory, Greenland would have
been in perpetual Spring, and would afford an easy passage to
America.*
* To this proof, an unnumbered proof showing the possibility of a perpetual Spring, provided the earth were quicker in its revolutions, when winter would not have time entirely to destroy the heat of summer, and the latter could not avoid being made mild by the cold of winter. This additional proof refers to a diagram or figure which, however, probably owing to the inadequacy of Skara's resources, was never printed. The original figure in Swedenborg's own hand was discovered bound in a copy of the work - now in the possession of the Linnaean Society, and which had perhaps belonged to Linnaeus's father-in-law, Joh. Moraeus Swedenborg's old tutor. A photo, of this drawing was published in the New Philosophy for Jan.-April, 1927; see also pp. 170-74.
The eighth proof is drawn from the former height of
Sweden, as shown by the fact that shells and other signs of
the presence of the sea are found on heights sixty to eighty
ells above the sea,
as at Uddevalla and Stromstad and also put holes with a
projecting rock above. If the course of the earth was
quicker, so also would be that of the moon, hence tides, if
due to the moon, would be almost constantly at their flood
and the land covered with water. However, Swedenborg adds,
this needs more proof which will be given in a special
treatise.
Then follow some new proofs derived from a consideration
of the planets. The material for these proofs has been
gathered from Gregory's Astronomy, from which Swedenborg was
engaged in making notes during his stay in Brunsbo and
Starbo. (Codex 86: 232seq.)
The final argument refers to what the Word says
concerning the Last Judgment. But here Swedenborg shows a
caution in marked contract to the statements of his first
draft. "But whether this applies to the destruction of
Jerusalem," he now says, "is left unanswered. The words
immediately following tell us of an end to everywhere."
Yet he continues with a description of how, according to
his new theory, the earth could be darkened and the seas roar
from the strife between summer and winter; and he concludes:
"But how, at the end, a planet bursts into a thousand
particles, is scattered in fire, and by a stoppage comes
again to its former atmosphere and condition, this Almighty
God alone knows, and it would be daring presumption to make
any investigation into it."
Despite these words, however, it is clear that Swedenborg saw a difficulty in respect to the formation of a new earth, and though he would not reject the teaching of the Word because he did not understand it, yet his whole philosophy even as thus far formed precluded the possibility of God's acting without means, and means in order.
Before bidding his reader adieu, Swedenborg adds a shorter chapter in which he states his objection to the theory propounded many years ago by William Burnet, the English Bishop. From which objections it may be seen
that "nothing should be approved which does not agree with
God's Word and sound reason. If this our conjecture can give
some light or suggestion of what is truer, we have then
attained the object of our desire."
Before Swedenborg heard of Charles XII's death, it had been his intention to travel through the mining district in order to pursue his researches into the nature of fire, and this determination would, of course, be confirmed as it developed that Charles's death meant the end of the Canal, nay, the end of Polhem as a man of prominence, and the close of Swedenborg's life as a practical engineer. That death may indeed be said to make the close of the first period in the life of Swedenborg's preparation; that period in which practical and ultimate things were to be his most pressing business. From this point, and for the next few years, he is to develop more as a scientific philosopher, occupied mainly in inquiring into the phenomena which so often came to his notice, particularly as seen in metals and iron working. The commencement or opening of this new scene was his travel to various smithies, with the object of acquiring information for the formation of a satisfactory theory of fire.
Polhem did indeed hope to go on with the canal works, and presumably Swedenborg hoped with him; but it developed early in 1719 that there was neither the will nor the means to continue for though the Diet was willing to leave the continuation of the canal works to private capital, times were too hard and the value of money too uncertain. (Riksksdag., pp. 318, 539-40; OQ. 1:289)
Before Swedenborg left Brunsbo to examine the mining regions, he had the pleasure of a Christmas visit from his brother-in-law and family, and it was doubtless during this visit that, in conversation with Benzelius, he learned
"the noteworthy fact that most mountain ridges follow the
compass and the northern line according to the meridian of
their country, so that when the sun is at its height, its
rays and the shadows of the trees fall according to the
ridges - a fact [we are quoting from the Height of Waters,
published in March 1719] which was brought to my attention by
my brother-in-law, the Venerable Herr Librarian Doctor Eric
Benzelius, and which has also given me occasion to think on
this subject much more; for which," Swedenborg adds, "as for
all other encouragement in Mathesis, I proffer due thanks."
(OQ 1:288 = LM. p. 202)
It was perhaps as a result of conversations with Benzelius who would be eager to know the particulars of Swedenborg's work - and even at the suggestion of Benzelius that Swedenborg wrote that interesting little tract: "Information on the Dock, the Sluice Work, and the Salt Work," which a description of Swedenborg's work with Polhem. It was published not only anonymously but also without title-page, though it does have the imprint of 1719. It was printed at Skara* before Swedenborg left for the mining districts.
* In a copy that belonged to Eric Benzelius, after the "1719" are written the words "mense Januario," - January, the month when Swedenborg was in Brunsbo. Probably Benzelius received his copy while visiting there.
At the end of this little work is a political reference which cannot have escaped contemporary readers:
"Had as many ducats been spent there [i.e., on the Dock] as
are now being used for the mint tokens [i.e., to redeem them
at fifty per cent devaluation], yet with its manifold
interests it would have paid for itself."
Swedenborg is here alluding to the economy that had been exercised by the Admiralty perhaps as an actual necessity whereby, as Polhem intimates, the work did not at first turn out so well as had been expected (see above, p. 156)
In this tract, Swedenborg states that the dock was nearly completed
"so that what is left consists only and solely in the setting
of the lock gates, and in some internal construction which
does not so well belong to the actual dock."
It does not appear, however, that the Government was then
going on with the work. The dock was pumped dry in August
1718 so that work on the blasting could then go on
uninterruptedly. Yet, in 1720, the completion was taken over
by the Admiralty, and the dock was not ready for use until
September 1724. (Bring.Pol., pp. 51, 219)
It may be that the printing of this account of the door work was intended, perhaps unconsciously, as a contribution to the continuance and completion of the work; and this motive is tolerably apparent, in the article on the Karlsgraf Sluice.
This article commences:
"As many persons desire to know the object and advantage of
sluices in Karlsgraf and Trollhattan, the following short
account of them is given."
After speaking of the inevitable losses incurred in
transmitting from boat to cart and vice versa, he speaks of
the history of the canal: "In King Carl Gustaf's time, and
likewise in King Carl XII's, much thought was given to this,
so that a Dutch master was engaged who measured off the sites
both there and between Venner and Hjelmar, and plotted them
and the ways around, on maps which are now preserved in the
Royal Chancery Collegium." Then, with pardonable pride, he
adds: "Since the Dutchman did not believe he was able to
undertake so difficult a work, it seemed to him that the best
way to get out of the work with the best reputation was by
giving a great estimate of the cost, which had the effect of
frightening them from the undertaking. . . And now Councillor
of Commerce Christopher Polhem has been newly commanded to
see after this matter, and give his thoughts thereto; and,
when he saw that it was not only feasible but also possible
as regards cost, especially as no material would be required
from foreign lands, it was resolved that the work should be
taken up which has now seen its beginning in Karlsgraf . . .
where a lock constructed of wood has now reached the greatest
part of its completion. And as long as the others in
Trollhattan have not been started through lack of means, this
work will serve for the time being, both because posterity
will see in it the manner and possibility, and also it will
be of use in shortening the land journey." He concludes with
a few words describing the building of the look and the route
to Stockholm.
The third article on Salt Works opens by referring to
the privileges granted to Polhem, "but because of the hard
times, and in view of the coinage and of the high cost of all
materials, and likewise because of insecure harbors during
war time, the work did not get its commencement.
He then shows that not only was Spanish and German salt
imported into Sweden, but also salt made in England from the
same sea that washes the western coast of Sweden,
"For what purpose must one buy in foreign lands," he
asks, "that which can better be made at home? and much
cheaper, especially in war times."
He then gives the advantages of home-made salt: 1. The
assurance of a constant supply. 2. The keeping of the money
in the country. 3. Freedom from compulsion in war time; after
which he takes up and answers the objections.
After his tour of the mining regions, Swedenborg went to Stockholm, and on February 13th reported at the Bergscollegium. Apparently he merely reported. Charles XII, his Protector, was now dead, and it was probable that there was now manifested a disposition, at any rate on the part of some of the Assessors, to question Swedenborg's right to sit in the College.* He seems, however, to have handed in to the College a MS. containing "some new investigations in respect to fire." It would seem, therefore, that this work had been written during and as a result of his tour of the mining district, perhaps at Starbo, in January 1719. The only record we have of such a work is contained in a list of documents to be found among "Handlihgar till Vet. Societ. Historia" - most of them by Swedenborg. No. 5 of this list reads "La mechanique du feu of Svedenborg." Of the MS. itself, nothing is known. (Hyde, no. 162)
* Perhaps partly because he had not served as Auscultant and Bergmastare, which were the usual preliminaries to an Assessorship in the Bergscollegium. (ASCD 225A = LM., p. 243)
It was, perhaps, a working up of the notes on Fire written in January 1718.*
* See above, p. 174; see also letter to the King, July 9, 1720 (LM., p. 241), where Swedenborg speaks of "that writing on Fire and Furnaces which in humility I entered in the Royal Bergscollegium a year ago," i.e., in November 1719 (see below, p. 203).
Meanwhile, Swedenborg was busily engaged in preparing for the press his Height of Waters. In Stockholm also he met his father who was, of course, a Member of the Diet and was shortly to be made a member of that important and dominating branch of the Government, the Secret Committee (Utskottet).
In passing, we may note that at this Diet, Bishop
Swedberg, on February 4, 1718, declared in the House of the
Clergy that while the Formula Concordia was useful as an
explanation of the Creed, yet it should not be required of
the Queen to swear to it or to hold it as symbolical. He was
opposed by the Archbishop. A few days later, he spoke in
favor of religious freedom, appealing to England as an
example, and again the Archbishop opposed him.
(Riksdag., pp. 402, 408)
Stockholm was in a fever of excitement over the special
commission that was conducting the trial of the hated Baron
Goertz. There was also the excitement and confusion resulting
on the determination of the people to substitute a more
responsible government for the previous absolutism.
At the end of the preceding January, the Diet had
elected Ulrica Eleonora Queen, but many questions were yet to
be discussed before a new fundamental law could be adopted.
And after this, came the discussion on the economic and financial situation. An important part of this discussion was what to do with the token money; of this, there was outstanding over 25 1/2 million tokens s.m., besides over 2 million notes.** A number of solutions were suggested in the form of
* According to Bain (Chas. XII, p. 307), L3,724,050 worth of notes was outstanding.
Those who were willing to remit 25 per cent of the face value
would receive obligations entitling them to 10 per cent for
ten years.
Those remitting one-half, to receive payment of 20 per cent
for five years, and those remitting 75 per cent, to be paid
in two yearly payments. To raise the money for these
payments, the memorial proposed the sale of all unneeded
metals in the arsenal, of all unneeded prize ships, the sale
or mortgage of certain crown lands and houses, an export tax
on specified iron goods, tar pitch, etc.; an import tax on
certain specified articles, in addition to the regular
customs, and a contribution by the Crown of one-fifth of its
revenue from the copper mines. (Ibid., pp. 6, 537)
The memorial was not adopted but instead the tokens were devaluated at 50 per cent. It is not in Swedenborg's handwriting, but it is not improbable that he is the author.
On February 19th, Goertz was executed after a trial noted more for its swiftness than for its justice. What were Swedenborg's sympathies as regards the discredited minister is not known. Perhaps his Karlskrona Spy document was directed against Goertz. We can be sure, however, that Swedenborg's sympathies were with his old patron Count Gustaf Cronhjelm (see above, p. 72) who pleaded for a more legal trial.
On February 26th, Charles XII was buried (Nordberg, p. 691).
Having no particular business in the Bergscollegium, Swedenborg, at the end of February or the beginning of March* again visited his brother-in-law in Upsala. Here, as on his last previous visit, he at once commences to put one of his little works in print. This time it is the Height of Waters, a work closely connected with The Earth's Stoppage. And just as he had dedicated the companion work, published in Skara but a few weeks earlier, to the prospective King, her husband, so now he dedicated the present work to the Queen as an offering on the day of her crowning in the ancient city of Upsala.
* Probably in February. This would account for the none delivery of Polhem's letter addressed to Swedenborg in Stockholm (OQ. 1:289).
Toward the middle of March, Upsala witnessed a great influx of the highest persons in the land - the Queen and her Consort, the Count, the Diet, including Bishop Jesper Swedberg, were all there for the solemn act of crowning on March 17th, and it was in honor of this great event, the last of its kind in Upsala, that Swedenborg's new book was dedicated. (Familjebok, 30:942)
It was entitled:
On the Height of Water
and the strong Ebb and Flow
of the Primeval World
Proofs from Sweden
By
Emanuel Swedenborg
Assessor in the Royal Bergscollegium
Then follows the Dedication:
"All powerful and very gracious Queen!
"I present myself before your Royal Majesty's throne in
deepest humility and in company with the many thousands who
wish your Majesty good fortune in her Government; and now one
sees how the learned here in Upsala bring forward their palms
and cast them down at your Majesty's feet, and in every way
give sign of their joy. I come forward among them with
something which is drawn from their Parnassus; that is, with
a page of new proofs as to how in primitive days Sweden was
covered over and diminished by water, and as to how, with the
falling away of the waters, she afterwards became larger and
larger even to the present time, the time of your Majesty's
reign.
"It is my inmost prayer to God that the royal crown
which today with the joy and gladness of all is set on your
Majesty's head, may be as firm and constant as Parnassus
itself, and like the starry crown fixed in heaven, may give
its light for God's glory, your Majesty's undying fame, your
subjects' ceaseless gladness, and also for the flourishing
and advancement of the literary art.
"Upsala, May 17, 1719
I remain,
Your Royal Majesty's
My most Gracious Queen's
most devoted and humble subject
Em. SWEDENBORG"
The Preface opens with the statement that God's Word gives us
our first information concerning the flood which covered the
whole world and, had not Noah been provided with a machine to
navigate the waters, our earth would have become an
uninhabited waste. No one denies the flood, but yet worldly
wisdom wishes to have a say in the matter, and to search out
its traces, and since this confirms the truth, it is useful.
"My curiosity in this direction," says Swedenborg, "has also
been awakened, and from our northern lands I have found many
confirmations of the truth. The work will at least have the
advantage of showing those in southern lands that our north
has more proofs than they themselves have."
The first proof is from the hill Kinnekulle, the position of which, between two mountains, indicates that the waters have rushed in from two sides and have here met and deposited their debris, as seen in the regular strata of the mountain. Here - as pointed out by Prof. Nathorst - Swedenborg has failed to realize that all these hills were formed at the same time. (OQ 1:XXI)
The second proof is from the water lines of adnetddrg and
Billingen. These lines, however, are the demarcation between
strata. (Ibid.)
The third, from the north and south direction of the mountain
ranges, due to the prevailing winds and tides being from east
to west and west to east; any sediment then, which reached an
obstruction, would tend to collect in a line north and south.
The fourth and fifth proofs are from the whale bones found
far inland near Skara, and the mussels, snails, etc.
Swedenborg here refers to his experience of 1709 when the
whale bones were shipped to Upsala (see above, p. 30) and to
his investigations at Uddervalla and Stromstad (see above, p.
141) and the petrifications he found on Mount Billingen in
West Gothland, as noted in his memoranda on Soils and muds.
(see above, p. 117)
The sixth proof is the pot holes indicating the grinding
action of stones set in motion by swirling motions, and which
he had observed during his investigations for salt stations
(see above, p. 141), and also at Trollhattan.
The seventh proof is from the large stones which exist
everywhere, testifying to the action of water in a deep
abyss. He here relates an experience in Kinnskulle when a
violent rain removed large stones more than half a mile.
The eighth proof is from the strata of mountains as observed
in Helsingborg, Kinnekulle, and Bllingen, as showing that
they were deposited in water. Here Swedenborg refers to a
work by Hjarne to the same effect.
The ninth and tenth, from the falling of the North Sea and
from the uneven shape of the ground, indicating the action of
water in its ebb and flow.
The eleventh proof is from the ebb and flow of nature.
With this, Swedenborg ends the work, but there are some indications going to show that considerable haste was observed in putting it through the press probably to have out by the coronation day.
The work gives no indications of completeness, and probably when 1 ark or 16 pages had been printed, the author decided to issue it at this convenient place. At any rate, it is not surprising that a little later a new and enlarged edition was published n Stockholm.
The Queen followed her coronation day by marks of grace to
the University, including among others the granting of
doctorates to four professors, one of whom was Eric
Benzelius. The promotion took place on March 20th, three days
after the coronation, and in the Queen's presence. (UUH 3:5)
It was not long after this honor to Benzelius that an equally great honor was given to Bishop Swedborg's wife and family by elevating them to the privileged class of noblemen.*
* On the same date, the same honor was given to the wife and children of Bishops Spegel, Steuk, Rudeen and Lund (ASCD 175A).
The Swedish nobility consisted of three degrees: Counts,
Barons (Friherren) and Knights (Adel). Prior to Charles XI,
the few Counts had been the absolutely dominating influence
in the House of Nobles; during the reign of Charles XI they
had been reduced to impotence, partly by the King's
assumption of autocracy, and partly by the "Reduction"
whereby they had lost the greater pant of their wealth. They
continued impotent during the autocracy of Charles XII; but
with the reaction after his death, they hoped to regain
something of their old power. Instead of this, however, the
great body of the Nobles took matters into their own hand and
asserted an equality with the Counts and Barons which was
afterwards retained.
In a document dated May 23, 1719, the Queen elevated to the rank of nobility the wife and children of Bishop Swedberg, in view of the latter's faithful and distinguished services; at the same time, she changed their name to Swedenborg and granted them the privilege of a coat of arms. The latter is described in this royal letter as follows:
"A shield divided lengthwise into two like parts, the
right field being red and containing two silver keys placed
crosswise between two bars of silver the left field is
yellow, whereon is seen a black volcano, at the base of which
is an arrow of silver placed diagonally. On the upper part of
the shield is a blue 'Chett' with a golden bishop's hat
between two stars of silver. Above the shield stands an open
helmet, from which rises up a gilded lion between two great
laurel branches, the lion holding in his right paw a blue
key; the wreath and leafwork are of gold, silver, blue and
red." (ACSD 174)
The arrow is taken from the crest of Dalecarlia, which consists of two crossed arrows surmounted by a crown. (Familjebok 5: 1139)
Mrs. Major Swedenborg of Gothenburg told me that a supposed ancestor of Jesper Swedberg was the Dane Stjerna of an old noble family, probably living in Skane; hence the two stars. (NKTid. 1921: 186)
The volcano is taken from the crest of Falun. (Famieljebok 7: 1350) [Diagram of three mountains interlocking at their base.]
There can be no doubt that in the case of Bishop Swedberg who
was well liked by the queen, as he had been by her father,
this honor of nobility was freely conferred in recognition of
the father's services - all of which are recounted in the
warrant of nobility; but there is also doubt that at this
time an unprecedented number of men were elevated to noble
rank for political purposes - namely, to strengthen those in
the House of Nobles who were more or less displeased with the
extreme democracy of the new form of government which the
Queen had been compelled to sign, but the spirit or even the
letter of which she was always prone to neglect or break. At
any rate, that year witnessed the elevation of 12 men to
countship, 34 to baronetcy, and 125 to knighthood, including
Olaf Tilas (June 5), Benzelstierna and his three brothers
(June 25), Anders Swab (June 25), Olaf Rudbeck (July 10) and
v. Gedda (Dec. 22) - of Paris. Rosenadler (Upmark - May 15).
(Kleberg, p. 168s; Fryx, 30: 98)
After his visit to Upsala, Swedenborg returned to Brunsbo, and there devoted himself to literary work,* including the rewriting and enlarging of the Height of Waters, a lengthy treatise on Tremulation, besides other works which will be mentioned later. It was probably during this summer that Swedenborg made excursions to Lake Venner and there observed those remarkable phenomena in respect to the rising and falling of the lake of which he subsequently wrote; and also derived further information concerning them from farmers whose meadows had been flooded. At the same time, he made some interesting experiments to determine how much water flows from Lake Venner by its only one outlet. These experiments were conducted in the countryside at Rannomsbro, the bridge under which the whole of Venner's water flows in a state of calm before hurling itself into the raging whirl of Trollhattan. Under this bridge, he says, "I measured the length, depth, etc. [of the stream]. . . The velocity, I determined by means of chips and other things flowing down stream . . . . and I noticed that a chip will flow over it 3 ells (about 3 feet) every second." From all which observations, he made his calculations. He also engaged in the study of the brain by reading Willis, Vieussens and others even to the study of cerebral pathology. (Sc. and Phil. Tr. I:1:57, 58: Trem. p. 32)
* His studies probably included matter contained in Codex 86.
From Brunsbo he went to the "mining districts" - probably making Starbo his headquarters - and there wrote a very thorough treatment on Blast Furnaces, being the result of his journeys into these districts, and also of his experiences as the owner of smelting works (see above, pp. 193-94). For Experiments, see Miscellaneous Observations, p. 49. (ACSD 204A)
After this literary work, he returned to Stockholm, arriving there at the end of September. Here, in the first days of November, he left his improved Height of Water with the censor for approval of publication, and soon it was approved and it was published in the first days of December, Swedenborg himself speaks of this second edition as follows:
"I have improved the work which was published in Upsala
. . . and have added a number of clear proofs, and likewise
an undeniable demonstration as to how stones have been
removed in a deep sea; also demonstrating arguments with
respect to the changing of the northern horizon, and that it
is reasonable to believe that in former times Sweden was an
island." (ACSD 58. OQ. 1:292 = LM., p. 216)
We may add that, while this second edition essentially
preserves all the parts of the first edition, the chapters
are rearranged and the language added to or altered in a
greater or less degree. There are also additional chapters
dealing with inland seas and their fishes, many of which are
the same as the ocean fishes, river beds, black soil, the
falling of the Baltic and the remains of ships found far
inland, all being adduced as proofs of the contention that
Sweden was once under the ocean, and afterwards an island.
With regard to the proof from the remains of ships found far
inland, Prof. Nathorst observes that such remains have not
been observed by modern investigators. It may be noted in
this connection, that Swedenborg heard of these remains from
Polhem, either orally or
from his papers which were in Benzelius's possession, Polhem
studied the formations of the mountains in Switzerland and
the geologic stratifications in the Hartz and in Harwich,
England. This showed for him that England, Scotland, Ireland
and similar islands were formerly under water, and that the
English Channel was formerly land. From some ship rings which
lay fastened to mountains on the coasts of Gottland, far
above the sea, he concludes that the globe gradually became
higher, or that the water had sunk lower."
(OQ. 1: XXIV; Bring, Polhem, p. 59)
With regard to the falling of the Baltic, Benzelius states
that Swedenborg was the first to publish this fact; but Prof.
Nathorst says he was preceded by Hjarne. (OQ. 1: XXVII)
The special chapter dealing with the way in which great
stones can be moved at the bottom of a deep ocean should be
carefully studied, as its contention is again put forward in
Miscellaneous Observations where it caused some sharp
criticism on the part of a German professor.
The work ends with a chapter entitled "Reasonable Proofs in
support of the opinion of the late Doctor Olof Rudbeck, that
Sweden in heathen times was an island." This, Swedenborg
thinks, would follow from his theory; and so he identifies
Sweden with "the great island of Atlantis; the Hyperborean
Island; the Island of Asir or of the gods; the Island of the
Saints or of the Blessed; the Island of Manheim or Baldor;
Skano, Gothac; Ultima Thule or Thulo; which the late Doctor
Olof Rudbeck without difficulty and most commendably infers
from the writings of many; it can therefore hardly be doubted
that Sweden has been surrounded by water and become a
continent or connected with another country below the pole,
as the water fell and receded, and Neptune, by turning up his
rugged back, exposed from time to time his deep abyss to us
that we might inhabit it."
This book is the first to have the name "Swedenborg." The name, however, does not appear on the title-page as in the first edition but at the end of the Dedication.
A little note at the end of some copies of the work informs us that
"it is on sale at Bookbinder Dalbecks Widow's on Nygatan, for
8 ore s.m."
The work on Tremulations was handed in to the Royal Medical College on Friday, October 30th, presumably with a view to having it approved for publication but nothing has been heard of the MS. ever since. However, we shall again speak of this work a little later.
The work on Swedish Blast Furnaces was the first of a proposed series of works on Swedish mining works. It was submitted to the Bergscollegium on Tuesday, November 3d. Of it, Swedenborg writes:
"What I have been working at is first an exact
description of our Swedish smelting and blast furnaces, and
second, a theory or investigation concerning fire and
hearths. With this, I first procured all that could be found
out from smelting charcoal burners, roasters,* smelting
masters, etc., whereon the theory is founded,
and hope to have made a number of discoveries therein which
in time will likely be shown to be useful; as, for example,
to be able to make fire in new stoves so that the wood and
charcoal which is [now] used in a day can give better heat
for six days. Vice President Hierns has given his entire
approval to this, and on demand, it can be shown in a test.
Today, I am handing the aforementioned work in to the
Bergscollegium" (ACSD 225A; OQ.1: 292 = LM., p. 215; p. 241)
* roasters of ore.
And there in the Bergscollegium - although the College "seems to have received it favorably" - it remained unnoticed until the opening years of the twentieth century when an investigator in one of Sweden's numerous mining archives came across a fragment of a manuscript entitled "On Swedish Blast Furnaces, by Emanuel Swedenborg." It soon developed that this was an exceedingly badly written copy of a larger work which, after much searching, was finally located in the archives of the Kommercekollegium which had taken over the archives of the Bergscollegium, where it had been deposited by Emanuel Swedenborg on November 3d, 1719. The volume was bound in leather and consisted of 87 folio pages which were rapidly moldering. The discoverer then had it printed in Noraskogs Archiv - a journal devoted to Swedish mining history - volume IV, pp. 201-32. (ACSD 225A = LM. p. 241; Noraskogs Archiv, IV:201)
This work constitutes the very first work of its kind in
Swedish literature, but unfortunately it lacks the plates to
which it refers. It is probable, however, that these plates
or some of them could be restored from Swedenborg's later
work on Iron. See Noraskogs pp. 204, 205, 207.
There are also two manuscript copies of the work in the Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien at Stockholm, and one in the Royal Library there; and the existence of these copies and the fragment already referred to, gives rise to some suspicion that use was made of the work perhaps without the author's permission. However this may be, consent to publish the work does not seem to have been given to Swedenborg, probably due to carelessness and loose methods, which resulted in the manuscript being laid aside and then neglected by the officials, (ACSD 60; Hyde, no. 134-35)
The work is dedicated to the President of the Bergscollegium, Jacob Spens, and to its Assessors, namely, Urban Hjarne and seven others including Anders Swab, Swedenborg's stepbrother. And it is not improbable that part of the design in its composition was the wish of the author to prove himself useful to the Bergscollegium of which he was still an Assessor.
The Preface reads in part as follows: (Doc. 1: 404)
"It would be better to present myself before your high
Excellency and the highly renowned Royal Collegium with
something which would be of greater weight and value than a
description of a gross and rude blast furnace. . . But since
my main object has been to search out the nature of fire and
its operation in all kinds of furnaces and smelteries, i.e.,
in all that concerns the smelting, working and roasting of
metals, I thought it the wisest course first to make a
critical examination of the processes, to search out the
nature of fire in the large, and to dissect it in a great
subject, in order later to be the better able therefrom to
make conclusions as to its working and its properties in the
small; for to make trial in the small and in a model, and
then to set it forth in the large, is not so sure a
method. . .
"Your Excellency and the highly renowned Royal College
will, therefore, not look on me unfavorably but will regard
more the view and intention than the actual work that is
offered. If something of service can be obtained from my
work, I beg the liberty of offering it for the use and
pleasure of your Excellency, as indeed is my duty."
Then follows a very complete description of iron smelting,
including how to choose the site for the smelting furnaces,
the building of the foundations and walls, the actual
construction of the furnace a complete description of the
smelting process. The construction and use of the bellows.
There are also sections on the definition of terms; the
improvement of ores; the different qualities of iron; the
causes of failures in smelting; and, finally comes a
description of an improved furnace. (Blast Furnaces was the
basis of pages 1-70 of De Ferro.)
In this work we have the first contribution to what was later to develop into the Opera Mineralogica; for the treatise on Smelting Furnaces was professedly but "a beginning (to use Swedenborg's own words) of a description of all our Swedish mining works," that is to say, not of iron only but also of gold, copper, silver, tin, etc. Thus early, namely, on the first opportunity that he found himself free to serve as Assessor in the Bergscollegium, without distractions - thus early did Swedenborg plan that work which later he commenced to bring out in handsome folio volumes. (OQ. 1:294 = LM. p. 221)
From the description which Swedenborg gives of the work on Smelting which he handed in to the Bergscollegium, it appears that it had a sequel, whether merely projected or actually drafted, being "a theory or investigation concerning fire and hearths" which included a description of an improved household furnace. This work was twice as long as Tremulation, but part of it at any rate was subsequently written in Latin and published in Amsterdam, 1721, as a separate little work on Fire in which also he included something of his treatise on Swedish Blast Furnaces.*
(OQ. 1: 292, 299 = pp. 215, 230)
* Swedenborg had already written a rough sketch on Fire and Colors in January 1718 (see above, p. 174). It was for the purpose of improving this that he went into the mining districts in January 1719, and it would appear that he handed in the rewritten treatise to the Bergscollegium in February 1719 (see above, p. 196). Presumably, he had kept a copy of this MS., and it is to this copy that he here refers.
But to go back to Swedenborg's arrival at Stockholm at the end of September; the first thing of interest that greeted his ears was the news heard from several of his friends that "a new discovery has been made in France respecting us inhabitants of the earth, to wit, that the earth has drawn some 25,000 miles nearer."* The subject is very near to the theme on which Swedenborg had been writing, namely, that the earth is going ever slower. Swedenborg, therefore, is anxious to hear more of this "new discovery," and he writes to his brother-in-law asking
"if observation was taken of the sun's diameter, and its
apparent increase; or, of the parallaxes of the planets and
their presumed
disturbance - which would have been noticed had we drawn
nearer toward our centre."
He adds that "such a phenomenon must manifest itself within
our solar vortex; there is no possibility of it outside, nor
of any parallax with the sun, unless something becomes
visible there which before was not visible."
* About 175,000 English miles.
Swedenborg, although deeply interested in the new theory, is yet distrustful of it. He especially wonders "that such a leap [of 25,000 miles toward the sun]
should have happened in one or two years, since no comet has
recently thrown itself into our great vortex, nor has any
other planet that I know of drawn so near to our tellurian
vortex that it could have forced us in. Had there been any
such violent cause thereof," he adds, "one must suppose that
it [i.e., the earth] will run out again to its right
distance, which always adjusts itself according to the speed
and the course, so that our phaeton must again come to its
right path."
To him, it does not seem reasonable for it to have taken place naturally and without a violent cause. (OQ. 1: 290 = LM., p. 213)
Despite his incredulity, he yet is pleased that he had noted something of the sort in his recently published Stoppage of the Earth, namely, the theory that the earth is going ever more slowly both in its daily and in its annual rotations,
"from which it necessarily follows that it must draw more and
more toward the sun; for the stronger the motion and the
vortical whir in the solar vortex, the farther are its
planats thrown outward from the centre,"* and vice versa,
and he refers to Newton's Principia to show the proportion of centrifugal force in respect to the rate of speed inward or outward, and also gives a simple illustration of his own, showing that
"the slower the course, the nearer the approach to the sun,
which is the theory I speak of in the above-mentioned tract."
What he is doubtful about is not that the earth may be drawn nearer to the sun, but he cannot get it into his head "that this should take place in two or three years," and this even "though our atmosphere itself seems to indicate a change in the air in respect to summers and winters; and likewise to the immensely violent north winds," etc.
* This is a marked addition to Swedenborg's theory as published in Stoppage of the Earth. There, nothing is said about the earth's drawing nearer to the sun; and had it been contemplated by the author, he would surely have mentioned it as apparently offsetting the shorter seasons and caused by a retarded revolution. Moreover, in his first draft of his Stoppage, it is said that the earth will in time be overcome with cold. It would appear that Swedenborg does not necessarily believe even now that the earth is drawing nearer to the sun; he merely observes that, provided this is shown to be the fact, it is not opposed to his theory.
Though Swedenborg is very urgent that his brother-in-law shall give him further knowledge concerning the new theory, yet Benzelius does not seem to have supplied the required information; nor can we find any mention of this new theory in the current transactions and learned journals, although Swedenborg had heard that communications in respect to it had been addressed to the learned Academies.
Benzelius, however, was evidently favorable to Swedenberg's views, for on November 26th, three weeks after the letter from which we have just quoted, Swedenborg writes that he feels encouraged to speak further on the matter. The former objection against the new theory persists. So sudden a change could never have come in so short a time. He cannot imagine our earth to be rushing swiftly toward its center as though driven by a phaeton, and this without the slightest causes as manifested in the sun.
"If the sun grows larger and larger before our eyes," he
adds, "then first would be the time to entertain fear because
of it, and to command ourselves to God's hands,'
He does believe that the earth is drawing nearer to the sun,
but "little by little," and he confirms this by the changes
in our horizon which has "changed considerably" in a hundred
years, so that the sea is rounder "a clear proof that the
earth is going more slowly and, consequently, it is drawing
itself inward." (OQ. 1: 293 = LM. p. 219)
Interesting and important is the outline given by Swedenborg, in this connection, of the Principia theory, that all things consist ultimately of pure and total motion.
"The holding of things together," he says, "comes from the
earth's pressure to the center, and this results from the
tellurian vortex." Thus, if the motion of this vortex ceases,
all gravitation will lease, all up and down; consequently,
all compounds will be dissipated; "thus, in a moment all
things must hasten to their least particles which can justly
be called a fire." And then he goes a step further and
suggests that here we have the explanation of the final
destruction of our earth at the last day. "The fire with
which our planet will be destroyed should result both from
the earth coming nearer to the sun, and from the circumstance
that all matter, . . . is in a moment dissipated into its
most minute particles." (OQ. 1:293 = LM., p. 220)
In these literary labors to which Swedenborg has devoted the Spring and summer of 1719, Swedenborg realizes that he has now entered into the study of deeper and more fundamental problems than engaged his attention when publishing the Daedalus Hyperboreus. Then, he was in the world of causes and effects as seen in nature's ultimate operations; now, he is at the point of entering into nature's inner shrine, and penetrating into the causes of nature herself. And at this thought, he is carried away with the enthusiasm of an eager seeker after truth. In November 1719, after discussing with Benzelius the problems of the earth and the sun, and the site of the hells, he adds:
"The industry I have expended on them [namely, the small
works written during the summer] has caused the former works
which I gave out to appear to me as altogether contemptible,
and I hope to make real changes in them when they are to be
translated."
And this language suggests that something of a similar attitude may be not inappropriate to the student of Swedenborg's life as he advances from the small and miscellaneous preparatory works to the solid volumes which give the thought of the matured philosopher. (OQ. 1:292 = LM., p. 216)
It is at this time that we have one of the earliest of Swedenborg's thoughts respecting purely theological matters. In 1714 an English clergyman, Tobias Swinden, published an anonymous book entitled An Enquiry into the Nature and Place of Hell. This was reviewed in the Acta Eruditorum (1715: 107)
The author held that hell-fire was a real fire but if it were
in the center of the earth, as commonly believed, it could
not be eternal, and, moreover the earth would not be big
enough to contain all the damned. He meets these difficulties
by placing hell in the sun. In this way, moreover, hell is a
center or lowest place more distant from the empyrean sky
beyond all the stars, where is the abode of the blessed. At
the last day, the sun will burn up the earth, but itself will
not be destroyed. The Editors of the Acta Eruditorum poke a
little fun at the author by suggesting that the sun spots are
unclean spirits who sometimes get the opportunity of looking
at our earth.
Swinden's work, which was republished, caused some stir and was only noted by the Journal des Scavans and the Memoirs de Trevoux, and, of course, by the Neue Zeitungen, the Literary Digest of that day. The latter journal, in its issue of August 2, 1719, reviewed an attack on the theory in a German Disputation, and, doubtless in reference to this, Benzelius wrote and asked Swedenborg's opinion of the theory. In his answer, in a letter of November 26th, Swedenborg, of course, entirely rejects the new theory. (J.des S. Jan. 1717; M.de T. Nov. 1718)
"As to what my Brother mentions concerning the [Greek - pou]
of the damned being in the sun, I think just the opposite,
namely, that there, more likely, is the [Greek - pou] of the
blessed." His reasons for this, he adds, are as follows:
1. Because the sun is a center for the whole of our planetary world, and because the motion and essence of all things has its origin in the above-named center of the solar vortex.
2. That the up and the sky of the planets is toward the sun; so that if mention is made of journeying up in the solar vortex, it is always to the sun, while below is to the extremity of the vortex, Saturn, the Tartarean abodes.
3. That the most eminent light and glory is in the sun, while far away therefrom, where a sun is hardly to be seen, is darkness and other terrors.
4. But the main reason is seen to be that the most subtle atmosphere and the finest essences in which are found the finest elements are in the sun; thus, the nearer to the sun, the finer and in its center is presumably such fineness that the particles are almost devoid of composition, and so put off the name of matter and also form, weight, and many other properties possessed by compound particles. It would also seem likely that the finest substances must be in the sun. A god, an angel, a thing which besides has nothing material in its essence, must be the chiefest thing in its element. Like seeks like, and the finer does not naturally go to the grosser.
[5] That it could rather be believed - though I readily leave this to my Brother's judgment - that God has His seat in the sun, as the Bible says. (OQ. 1:293 = LM. p. 220)
"As regards the fire, it would be too gross to think
that the bodies of the damned are to be tormented by this;
for a pain without destruction cannot naturally exist. When
fire burns, it is accompanied with the feeling that it is
tearing asunder, loosening up, and
destroying something; where there is no destruction, there is
also no pain. Thus, a feeling of remorse in a conscience
should be a strong enough fire." (Confer D. 179). And then,
as though recalling himself from such theological
speculations, he adds "I hope it will not be interpreted ill
that I philosophize on this subject. God's Word is still the
foundation."
Besides the literary work already mentioned as occupying Swedenborg's summer, namely, Height of Water, Tremulation and Blast Furnaces, Swedenborg also wrote a little treatise on reform in the coinage and treatises on methods of discovering new mines and the falling and rising of Lake Venner. (See Bok.Gillets Prot. p. 11)
The treatise on the Coinage was in the nature of a memorial or recommendation, and probably did not require censorship before being printed:* moreover, it was printed anonymously during the last days of November. It is entitled "A Suggestion for so dividing our Coinage and Measures that Calculations can be facilitated and all fractions avoided," and was sold "for 4 ore s.m. at Bookbinder Dalbeck's Widow on Nygatan." It consists of 7 pages of text, setting forth the great advantage which would result from the adoption of the decimal system. The same arguments are used here as were used in the "New Method of Calculations;" and, for the same reasons, Swedenborg saw the impossibility of introducing a new system of reckoning, but he also saw that most of its advantages could very easily be secured by the adoption of the decimal system in money and measures. (OQ. 1:295 = LM. p. 21)
* See Brefwaxling imallan E. Benzelius, p. 266, which suggests that Rosenadler was criticized for letting this book be printed.
Finally, another work which Swedenborg wrote during the summer of 1719 was entitled "New Ways of Discovering Mines." In his letter to Benzelius of November 26th, he says he has insinuerade this work, by which he seems to mean that he submitted it to the Bergscollegium. No copy, however, has ever been found in the Swedish Arkives, and if it was actually submitted, it was very probably soon returned. It is more probable, however, that Swedenborg did actually submit it, for the copy which he sent to Upsala and which is now preserved among Benzelius's papers is just such a neatly written copy as would be made for official inspection. The full title of the manuscript is "New Ways of Discovering Mines or some hitherto unknown means for the discovery of mines and treasures deeply hidden in the earth."
The Preface, which was perhaps written in Stockholm, opens
with a more open expression than ever before of the feeling
which was growing on Swedenborg, that science and study could
expect no encouragement in Sweden. "Every effort to develop
and enrich a country by adding to the number of its new
mines," he writes, . . . seems to be unavailing, since no
treasure, either above the earth or beneath, outweighs its
luxurious and extravagant expenditures so that more is
uselessly thrown away with one hand than can be gathered up
by both. It is something like presenting gold and other
valuables to one who sinks them into an abyss and offers his
treasures to a wealthy Neptune, as it were, or to one of his
crew. The best metalliferous veins, and the richest ores
would be to stop extravagance, to practice economy, to see
that debit and
credit correspond; every one should economize for himself and
thus be delivered from the taxes we have imposed on
ourselves. So long as we unnecessarily spend on the body more
gold and silver than is equal to double the yield of our
silver mines, and so long as more shiploads of our metal and
products are squandered than would be consumed by us in the
space of a year, there does not seem to be any urgent
necessity to point out ways and means of finding new
treasures, for this would be to feed and foster luxury which
would increase in like proportion. . . . An order forbidding
the abuse of gold and silver would be a doubly rich
metalliferous vein worth more than all our silver works in
Sweden taken together. . . But so long as a gilded fop and an
imbecile coxcomb has the idea in his head that the only thing
worthy of esteem is that which is seen on the surface, and
that one's merit must be shown by the gold one wears . . . no
perceptible change can be expected. . . Still," Swedenborg
concludes, with a reference to the changed political status,
"it is to be hoped that some change will come in this state
of affairs, now that we can think more freely . . . and are
permitted to see for ourselves, no longer fettered by a
sovereign's caprice which, from politeness, one must submit
to, thus producing merely an emulation and counterfeit and
not the product of ones own enlightened understanding."
This is rather a discouraging beginning for a treatise on discovering new mineral treasures, and yet it is a logical beginning; for the author thus points out how to discover new treasures by political and individual action as well as by mining.
"These," says Swedenborg, ending his Preface, "are the
economic means for the discovery of new treasures, means
which are the most essential and practical; the physical will
now follow, which in time may discover something and be of
use to the country."
The theory underlying this little treatise is that
minerals give off a distinct vapor. "If God most high had
endowed us with senses a hundred-thousand times finer, we
would without trouble" perceive these effluvia. As the case
is, however, we must use observation and reason. These vapors
may even insensibly affect our body and cause relaxation or
weakness, and in this way, perhaps, is explained the
persistence of the superstitious belief in the divining rod.
"It may be that when one walks over such a vapor, the joints
in the finger are rendered tense and limp, and the spirits in
the blood torpid, so that the rod necessarily falls forward
and shows that one has come upon a vein."
Granting, then, the emanation of a vapor from mineral
veins, we must study its effects. For this, Swedenborg
recommends the thorough study of earths, clays, and
vegetation at deserted mines; mines in operation will not do
because the fire and smoke, the persons and horses "may cause
other changes than those which alone are sought for."
The mineral vapors may also cause a new and spontaneous
generation of plants, as shown by the fact that "if gold or
silver be dissolved in its menstrua and something be mixed
therewith, there is at once formed something like a plant
. . . called the arbor philosophy.
But to examine such mines properly, one must first be a
analytical chemist; must have a thorough knowledge of soils
and clays, and also of botany; then he can see and recognize
anything therein that is new and peculiar.
From these principles, Swedenborg then gives suggestions
as to how the knowledge gained at deserted mines might be
used in the observation of vegetation, mosses, insects, etc.,
for the discovery of those signs which indicate the existence
of an underlying metallic vein.
Among these signs, Swedenborg notes "how common it is in
mining districts to observe over the mountains, in the woods,
and in other places, fires shining in the darkness . . .
which disappear as soon as one approaches." These fires he
concludes to be clear indications of the presence of a
metallic vapor. The reports of such lights are too frequent
to be rejected as myths, as shown by Hjal. Sjogren in a
review of the work now under consideration, who gives
excellent reasons why they are not now reported. Sjogren also
relates that the presence of these "metallic vapors" above
metalliferous ores has been shown by photographic plates; in
fact, these "vapors" are nothing less than electric
radiations; and early in the twentieth century an Austrian
savant "called attention to the possibility of using this
method [photographic] for the discovery of mineral deposits
by photographing their electric irradiations from the earth
crust." Sjogren gives a number of modern confirmations of the
statements tentatively made by Swedenborg. It is not that
Swedenborg has here made any contribution to the discovery of
mines - indeed, his work did not see the light of day until
the twentieth century - but that he here displays a
penetration and a power of generalization which enabled him
to suggest a metallic vapor, the actuality of which could be
proved only by the delicate instruments of a much later age.
"God has not given us senses fine enough to discern the
presence of these metallic vapors," he says, and therefore
"subtle observation is required to make use of the means
which have been pointed out, and he who desires to do this
must be a good chemist, at least, a perfect expert in that
which he would discover in hidden places." (NP 1908:118)
Swedenborg's theory is undoubtedly correct, but he himself doubtless saw that in practice, to find minerals by "Rimfrost, vissa Orter, Svampar, Dunster, etc.," is not to be relied on. (Rinman, s.v.Malmletare, p. 91)
The remaining work which Swedenborg wrote in Brunsbo in the summer and fall of 1719 is The falling and Rising of Lake Venner. A clean copy of this work and of the work on Discovering Mines was sent to Eric Benzelius - or, more probably, Swedenborg spent the Christmas holidays in Upsala and brought the MSS. with him. At any rate, the receipt of the former seems to have been reported by Benzelius to the Upsala Literary Society of which we shall speak presently on January 8th; and the MS. was handed to Dr. Martin for reading with a view to its publication on July 29th*; and the latter was read to the Society on February 5th. (Bok.Gill.Prot. pp. 9, 13)
* It was published in Acta Literaria Sueciae, no. IV, issued in November 1720. The work must have been written at Vennersborg; see Trans., p. 24.
The problem which Swedenborg set before himself in his Falling and Rising of Lake Venner was to account for some very remarkable phenomena displayed by that Lake. Lakes Venner and Vetter are among the largest fresh-water lakes in the world, but what specially distinguishes them is that
"they labor even for five or six years," and become from two
to six feet above their former level; and this during the
course of a few weeks. "I have noticed," says Swedenborg
"that Venner has risen 1 1/2 ells in the time of a month, and
maintained that height for three or four months together"
before again descending; and this was confirmed by farmers
with whom he talked.
Now the Lake is supplied by twenty-four streams, and its only outlet is the Elf. From experiments which Swedenborg himself had carried on, he calculates that 100,800 cubic fathoms of water flow from the lake every hour. Considering the great size of the sea, it would take thirteen and a half years to lower its level by one fathom, supposing the lake were fed by no streams whatsoever.
Swedenborg confesses himself unable to explain the phenomenon, though he suggests that it is to be found in the nature of water, and asks his reader to wait for what he proposes to present on this subject.
"In all that concerns the finer constitution of nature," he
concludes, "we are groping in the dark; still, we shall
perhaps gradually be enlightened if we guide ourselves by
experiments, and support our thoughts by geometry and
mechanics."
The feeling of dissatisfaction with his progress in the atmosphere of Sweden is steadily growing with Swedenborg, and he is increasingly anxious to make his entrance into the cosmopolitan learned world; to turn all his thought and study to the subject of mineralogy; and by travel to seek fellowship and encouragement among foreign scholars. On November 26th, he writes from Stockholm: "It is likely that what I have now printed - [Om Docken ?] -
together with an article on the decimal system in our coinage
and measures will be my last, since I notice that Pluto and
the Envies have their seat among the people of the north, and
that one secures greater fortune if one plays the fool rather
than acts as a rational man, etc." (OQ. 1:295 = LM. p. 221)
A few days later, he returns to the same theme when on December 1st he sends his brother-in-law a copy of the just printed Decimal System in the Coinage:
"This is the last of my productions," he writes, "for the
reason that domestic and every-day matters are despised, and
I have already worked myself poor with them. I have sung long
enough to get to see whether any one will up on this account
and put some bread into my hand.* I have long been taken with
some plans on which I have now at last firmly set my mind, to
find out how far they will win my Brothers approval.
(OQ. 1:295 = LM., p. 223)
* Gustaf and Eric Benzelius had the same low opinion of Swedish culture. See Brefwaxling. pp. 71, 74.
"1. To translate what I have printed into Latin or
French, and then to send it out to Holland and England, with
which, though somewhat later, I wish to include some of my
discoveries respecting fire and furnaces and other matters
useful in mining districts, together with something that is
not printed. My Brother will be pleased to be so kind as to
give me the names of those who write the Transactions and
Memoires in those places.
"2. As I opine I have some understanding of mechanics in
connection with mining districts and mines, so far at least
as to be able to describe all that is new and old in
connection therewith better than any one else; and, in
addition, understand the theory of fire and furnaces, in
connection with which I have made a heap of discoveries;
therefore, I am thinking of using all my remaining time on
everything that can advance mining districts and their
subsistence; and to make myself as well informed thereon as
possible.
"3. If fortune so favor me that I can get together the
required means; and if, meanwhile, by means of the
preparatory steps and correspondence I have succeeded in
winning some credit abroad, then it would highly entertain me
to journey to foreign lands and seek my fortune in my craft
which is concerned with all that has to do with the
advancement of mining and mines, etc. For he may well be
regarded as a fool who is a free and independent fellow and
has his name in other countries and yet remains here in the
dark, freezing to boot, where the Erynnider and Envies and
Pluto have their abodes, and where they dispose of all
rewards; where such labors as I have taken on me are rewarded
with misery. Until that time comes, my only joy would be to
successfully conceal myself. I think I could finally find a
corner for this in Starbo or Skinskatteberg. But since that
will likely come after four or five years respite, I see
beforehand that long-laid plans are like long journeys, which
are not carried on for long, and that some circumstances,
both in the community and in the individual, may break them
off and make a change. Thus man proposes, God disposes. Yet,
I have always liked it that one knows what he is aiming at,
and that he always forms for himself a good plan on the most
feasible lines, to carry out in his daily life."
(OQ. 1:295s = LM. pp. 223-24)
While attending to his publications during the month of November, Swedenborg, after giving himself the few days necessary for settling in Stockholm, reported to the Bergscollegium. The records of the College, however, show his attendance only on November 5th, 6th, 14th, and 17th, after which his name does not appear in the Minutes for four years. It is evident he occupied a somewhat equivocal position. Because he was an Assessor Extraordinary, he could attend when he liked, but it seems that he did not sign any of the official documents, and it made no difference to the College whether he attended or not (see below, p. 229). He had no salary and no official work; and that there were forces inimical to him is indicated by his letter to the King of November 21, 1720, and by the fact that in 1723 he petitions the College to decide as to whether or not he had a right to a seat there. (Doc. 1:428, 426; LM. p. 243)
He seems, however, to have had a friend and supporter in Vice-President Hjarne, who had no hesitation in fully recognizing him as an "Assessor in the Bergscollegium" and whom he met from time to time. Hjarne and Bishop Swedberg had been very great friends, but the latter's endeavors to reform Swedish orthography and grammar had been the occasion of a division between them which, in words at any rate, sometimes became quite violent (see above, p. 170). From a letter which Hjarne wrote to Eric Benzelius at this time, it is evident that Hjarne thought he had converted Swedenborg to his views with regard to orthography; indeed, this is difficult to imagine, for both previously and to the end of his life, Swedenborg's Swedish orthography shows many variations and inconsistencies. Hjarnes letter is dated Stockholm, November 26, 1719, and in the course of it he says:
"Bishop Swedberg's son, the Assessor in the Bergscollegium,
seeing from my discourse some rays of the knowledge of nature
which pleased him, tried to establish an amnesty between us,
and to compose our conflicting views, yet against my will:
for it is better for me that the Bishop bursts out in full
wrath and most bitter gall, so that I get full reason to make
an attack on his personalities," etc. (ACSD 189)
Still, however equivocal his official position, this did not hinder Swedenborg from whole-heartedly devoting himself to everything that could advance the science of mining.
He had not been in Stockholm two weeks before he addressed to the Queen, on November 13th, a petition for the establishment of sulphuric acid works at Falun. At this time, sulphuric acid was a monopoly owned by the works at Dylta near Orebro; but Swedenborg had been impressed at the great amount of sulphur at Falun, and the directing of this thought to the profit of his Fatherland led to the writing of his petition. (ACSD 186; Doc. 1:405, 401; Codex 85: 51)
The Memorial, which is now lost, was sent by the Queen with a favorable request to the Bergscollegium, and that body considered it on November 26th; but nothing seems to have come of the matter, perhaps owing to the deeply enrooted unwillingness of the Falun miners to introduce any newfangled ideas, or of the Dylta Monopolists.
Meanwhile, at Upsala the old Collegium Curiosorum was being revived; it had ceased meetings for seven or eight years. In its early days, the new Society was to have much to do with Swedenborg's literary productions.
"On the 26th of November," we read in the earliest
Minutes of this renewed Society, "the undersigned agreed to
hold a literary guild (bokwetts Gille) which shall present an
outline of the new books published in our land in all that
concerns literary matters. Thus:
"1. The giving of a short review of some new book
"2. Literary news
"3. Scientific and Historical Observations.
"4. The Obituaries of learned men."
(Brefwaxl. XXIII; Glas, p. 9; Bokw.G.Prot., p. 5)
The work thus outlined was to be done in a quarterly
Latin journal; and its main purpose was to make Swedish
science known to the learned world.
(Cf. Hyde, n. 119; Glas, p. 10)
The meetings of the Guild were to be held every Friday afternoon, and were practically in the nature of an editorial board.
Of the old Collegium Curiosorum, three members remained in Upsala, Benzelius, Rudbeck and Roberg, and these in the new Society were joined by four other members of the University. (Bokwetts G.Prot. p. 4)
It may be noted as a matter of interest, that while the
Collegium Curiosorum was established at a time of threatened
plague, so the Literary Guild was established at a time of
threatened attacks by Russia. But the Collegium Curiosorum
was rather an informal gathering, and its only printed
"Transactions" were due to the enterprise and liberality of
Swedenborg in the Daedalus Hyperboreus; while the Literary
Guild was a more formal body which undertook itself to print
a learned journal. Moreover,
while the Collegium under the influence of Polhem and
Swedenborg, had largely concerned itself with practical,
scientific, mechanical problems, the Literary Guild, by
Benzelius, was engaged in more purely literary studies; its
organ, the Acta Literaria Sveciae was patterned after the
Aeta Eruditorum, and became the medium whereby the literary
works of Sweden were reviewed and so made known to the
learned Latin world; and lastly, while Daedalus Hyperboreus
was published at Swedenborg's sole expense, the Acta
Literaria Sveciae was supported by the contributions of the
members, the Editor even being paid a small recompense of 120
dal. a year; naturally, it was written in Latin. Its expenses
were defrayed by the sale of iron pipes.
(Glas, p.13; Brefwax., p. XXIV)
The first number appeared in the middle of February 1720, and contained a long and very favorable review of Swedenborg's Height of Water, and also notices of his Stoppage of the Earth, Money and Measures, Algebra and Daedalus Hyperboreus. The review was written by Eric Burman, the Professor of Astronomy. (See NP 1929:45)
This is the first of Swedenborg's works to be publicly reviewed, and the review constitutes the first announcement of his name to the learned world; for the Acta Literaria Sveciae had a European circulation, and, moreover, in the following year the review in question was given an extended notice in the popular Neue Zeitungen for March 1721, this being the first introduction of Swedenborg's name into the literature of Germany. (NZ. 1721: 202-6)
The meetings of the Society, besides deciding as to the books to be reviewed and by whom, devoted itself to the reading of letters and communications - including several from Swedenborg. Thus, on Fridays, December 4th, 11th and 18th, 1719, Prof. Burman read Swedenborg's Height of Waters and on other dates, many of Swedenborg's letters to Benzelius were read and discussed. Benzelius, of course, informs his brother as to the formation of the Literary Society, and this leads Swedenborg to writes him early in 1720 that in Stockholm also they wished to form a Collegium Curiosorum, and had invited Swedenborg to become a member, but he had asked them "as to actualities and not words."
(OQ. 1:297 = p. 227)
The Society at Upsala, however, was an actuality, and when at the end of January Swedenborg was invited to become a member, he very gladly accepted and promised to communicate articles from time to time. As an earnest of this, Benzelius presented Swedenborg's New Ways of Discovering Mines - the neatly written copy already referred to (see above, p. 210) which was read before the Society on February 5th. The reading led to some discussion, and the Society suggested that Swedenborg ascertain whether such strong Wittarung - dancing lights - are found in Swedish mines as at the German mines, and also whether it is only metals in the ground that give forth a vapor. (Bokwetts G.Prot., pp. 12-13)
In sending this MS, (which was accompanied by the MS. on Finding the Longitude) to Benzelius, who was the Editor of the Acta Literaria Sueciae, Swedenborg doubtless had in mind its insertion in that learned journal, and it is to this, doubtless, that he refers when he writes Benzelius early in February: "It is possible that my two treatises . . . could be translated into good Latin; I beg this with pleasure." (OQ. 1:297 = LM., p. 227)
It is owing to the meetings of the Upsala Society that we owe the preservation of the fragments of Swedenborg's work on Tremulation. It will be remembered that the complete work, which was "somewhat lengthy" was handed in to the Medical Collegium* on October 30, 1719. The Minutes of the College for that date state that
"The Syndic [or President] announced that . . . Immanuel
Swedenborg had handed to the College for censure a book
called Anatomy of our Finest Nature, showing that our motive
and living essence depends on co-tremulations. The College
found it desirable that this treatise be read through by all
the Assessors of the College; after which judgment should be
given concerning it."
(See NP. 1900: 122; NC.Mag. 1900:Feb.; ACSD 59; OQ. 1:297)
* The censorship of books was in the hands of an appointed Censor; but the Medical College had the sole right to censure medical books (Hist.Tids. 1893, pp. 130-31). Swedenborg's work was evidently considered to be a medical work.
Nothing is known concerning the fate of this MS. The opinion of the members of the College who read it was evidently favorable; for early in February, Swedenborg writes:
"The medical men in the city take it up and they all express
themselves favorable in regard to it. I will not get it from
them until Bromell also has had it."
(OQ. 1: 297 = LM., p. 227)
Possibly, when at last it was taken by Bromell, it remained in his possession. Swedenborg does not again refer either to this MS. or to the MS. on Blast Furnaces which he had submitted to censure about the same time. This silence on his part may seem surprising. In the case of the Swedish Blast Furnaces, it is possibly due to his having written the work mainly for the Bergscollegium itself; and in any event, he later published the gist of it in Latin. As to the Tremulation, Swedenborg may have decided to give the matter further study before publication
Fortunately, Swedenborg preserved the first draft of this work, and in pursuance of his promise to send papers to the Upsala Society, of which he was now a member, he commenced a clean copy to be sent to Benzelius from time to time.
"The work will be somewhat lengthy,"* he writes, "and I think
I shall continue sending it seven or eight weeks, even though
twice a week." (Ibid.)
* On the basis of what Swedenborg 's says, the finished work would have been about twice as long as the pan now preserved, and would have consisted of 14 - 16 chapters,
In connection with the brief outline of the theory of Tremulation which he printed in the last issue of the Daedalus Hyperboreus, Swedenborg had explained to Benzelius that, in this theory he had found himself in agreement with Baglivi (see above, p. 188). After completing the finished work he is more specific. Writing to Benzelius, who had already received the first two chapters, he says early in February, 1720:
"It is indeed true that Baglivi first advanced the theory;
Descartes likewise touched on it somewhat; later Borelli. But
no one, as yet, has proved it and carried it forward. Thus, I
hold my proofs as new and as my own, and the theory itself as
another's. I may indeed say, however, that what is contained
therein I got for myself, and afterwards noticed that it was
one with Baglivi's - which has pleased my imagination such as
what is said there about the function of the meninges.
(OQ. 1:297 = LM., p. 227)
The theory was that sensations are tremulations of a membrane; Swedenborg defends this theory in his Miscellaneous Observations (English, p. 105).
Chapters I and II were read before the Literary Society on February 12th and 19th. These chapters are designed to show that life is nothing but motion. Therefore the soul through the brains introduces motion into the nerves which thus produce tension of the membranes whereby motions from without can be received, and so sensations, from the highest of them to the lowest
We note in these chapters the germ of several doctrines which subsequently became of dominating importance in Swedenborg's philosophy. Thus the doctrine of forms is involved in what is said of the different forms of motions; and the doctrine of the motion of the brain is clearly stated; also the doctrine of the circulation of the animal spirits; of the cerebrospinous fluid; of cerebral pathology (Trem., p. 42), the ear (ib. p. 62) (Trem., pp. 10, 15, 37, 38, 39)
One must wonder also at the great knowledge of cerebrology which the work displays. Swedenborg's peculiar bent of mind would not seem to suggest the study of anatomy; yet his great friendship for Doctors Roberg and Rudbeck does suggest some instruction in anatomy while a student at Upsala. Certainly, the postulating of this instruction would be in harmony with the natural ability of Swedenborg - first shown in Tremulation and then more fully developed in his anatomical works - to grasp the details of anatomy and see them as a one and in actual working operation; to say nothing of the knowledge of minute anatomy displayed in the present treatise (see chap. III). In any case, it is not surprising that Swedenborg's first writing on anatomy should have a mechanical turn.
Chapter III deals with the nerves, and displays a very considerable knowledge of their anatomy. Swedenborg dwells on the inextricable inter-communication between the nerves all over the body, which he considers as a proof that "every sensation is a tremulation in the whole nervous system," and is not confined to any particular place in the brain but exists in all places simultaneously. In the medulias spinalis and oblongata it must run "like lightning." How these tremulations are communicated by means of membranes, all of which are nervous; and "the principal motions of tremulation" and so "the most subtle sensations," take place in the dura and pia maters. The dura and pia maters are extended to the whole body and are ever held in a state of tension or expansion, and everywhere and especially in the cranium are adjoined to hard bones and cartilages.
After sending chapter III, but before that chapter had been read by the Society, Swedenborg interrupts the series and sends a transcript of chapter XIII as a further explanation of the subject dealt with in chapter III, namely, with the mechanism of the tension of vessels by means of fluids which alone enables sensations once communicated to be spread out everywhere. He interpolates chapter XIII here because, as he writes to Benzelius
"otherwise one might grope for the right meaning. I should
indeed desire," he adds, "that it be taken into full
consideration, and also that objection be made to it,
wherefrom the matter could receive some enlightenment for
myself . . . whether I am on the
right or an erroneous path." (OQ. 1:298 = LM., p. 228)
Chapters I and II had already been read before the Upsala Society, and it would seem that Benzelius had communicated some reflections made by the members. For in the letter from which we have just quoted, Swedenborg says:
"But to imagine much to oneself in respect to the animal spirits, and to pretend to know their chemistry and function but not at all their geometry is too weak a defence. . . I presume that the Academicians are so reasonable as to put away childish prejudices and offer reasons in answer to reasons." (Ibid.)
Chapters III-IV were sent together (and perhaps also XIII) and were read before the Society on Friday, March 4, 1720, on which occasion Professor Roberg suggested that one might put before Swedenborg the following difficulty "that he may express himself concerning it at his pleasure," namely:
"In what way one can explain the fact that through one and
the same nerve, the force possessed by a waking man
continually . . . moves from his brain to the surface of his
body, and, on the other hand, during the same moment and
through the same nerve, the impressions of the objects of the
external senses go up from the surface of the body to the
brain directly contrary to the former stream."
What is most significant in this question is the fact that it was put by a professor of medicine, a man aged fifty-six years, to one who but ten years earlier had been a student and who was not a medical man.*
* That Swedenborg's reputation as a mathematician was high is indicated in a letter by Professor of Medicine P. Martin (April 1723), where he says that the theory that water particles are round "is held by the best mathematicians, such as, here in Sweden, by C. Radet, Polhem, and Assessor Swedenborg (Tissel. Utterligare forsok. pp. 12, 90-91).
Chapters V-VI were sent to Benzelius in two installments.
Chapter IV shows that the membranes are tensed by means of
blood or lymph, and it is in this connection that the author
first teaches that "as the heart is the propelling organ of
the blood, so are the cerebrum and the medulla the fountain
of the circulation of other fluids in the body" (p. 36), for
both the brain and medullas have a reciprocal motion. These
other fluids he here calls nervous serums, "the existence of
which will not be denied by any one of common sense" (ib.),
and he states that serums are formed in the cortical glands
from materials supplied by the blood vessels (p. 37). The
course or circulation of the serum is as follows: From the
meninges it goes to the cortical glands, thence through the
nerves to all the membranes and muscles of the body (p. 39).
But the teaching is rather vague though rich in suggestion.
What is most remarkable is the evidence the work gives us not
only of Swedenborg's keen sight into the uses of the human
forms but also of his natural bent to anatomical studies. He
goes out of his way, for instance, to account for the
different origins of the humors of the eye (p. 39).
From his doctrine that sensation is according to the tension of membranes, and that this tension is due to fluids, Swedenborg explains the different states of sensation. Thus, in fear, when the blood rushes to
the heart, the senses became dull (p. 42). So in swooning
Paralysis closes the passages of the nerves, as observed in
autopsies (p. 43). In courage, on the other hand, the blood
flows freely (p. 44), and so on. Injuries to the dura mater
cause convulsions, swooning, etc., showing "that our proper
life resides especially in the membranes" and is according to
their state of tension (p. 46) and this conclusion that "life
resides in the membranes" (p. 46) is further confirmed by the
fact that in operations, sensation continues even after parts
of the cortical brain have been removed (p. 46). In cases of
petrified brains, the membranes seem to perform "that which
is usually ascribed to the inner part" (p. 47), i.e., it
originates the motion which causes tension and sensation.
Another confirmation is the office of the bark of trees in
transmitting humors (p. 47). Swedenborg ends his fourth
chapter by ascribing temperaments to the amount of blood in
the vessels and the consequent tension of the membranes.
[See The Brain, I: n. 41 seq.]
This chapter evidences the ability to visualize the parts of the human body, and to see them simultaneously in motion; it also evidences some study of the pathology of the brain. See Codex 86, pp. 261 seq. What is here contained from Willis was perhaps written in preparation for Tremulation.
Chapter V deals with the office of the bones in tensing the membranes. Infants are less sensitive because their bones are soft; in old age, when fluids become sparser, the sensations grow dull. So infants are not sensitive in the womb when the dura mater is without motion.
In this connection, Swedenborg makes the interesting statement that man's slowness in maturing is an advantage in that "the understanding is able to increase and be more and more perfected so as finally to present a man who can exhibit a ripe understanding" (pp. 58-59).
The VIth and last of the chapters which Swedenborg copied out is a demonstration of the preceding principles, using the ear and the effects of musical sounds as an illustration. And here again we - who, in following Swedenborg thus far, have had no occasion to think of him as an anatomist - are amazed at the familiarity with his subject which he displays, a familiarity which could hardly have been acquired by a man of thirty in a few summer weeks, but which must have involved previous training.
There is no record that any, save the first three chapters, of this work was read to the Literary Society. But that the rest was read by some of the Professors, and, moreover, was criticized, seems clear from Swedenborg's utterances. Indeed, it was this that finally led the author to desist from further copying.
When transmitting chapter IV, he writes on February 29, 1720:
"I wish it could get the approval of the learned man
concerned. But since there is some doubt concerning it, I
will observe some delay until I got to hear what there can be
to object to it; for if one has an opposite opinion then the
best or reasons would be disregarded. In preconceptions, each
and every man is almost blind. One must indeed look out
that he does not have the disapproval of the learned against
him because of some new finds and hitherto unsolved
arguments. If I can safely send the continuation, it shall be
done as soon as possible; but I do not wish to leave anything
to sinister judgments." (OQ. 1:299, 300 = LM. pp. 230, 231)
On March 3d, when sending chapter V, he writes about waiting until he gets some advice as to whether what has been sent secures approval or censure. A few days later, just after leaving Stockholm for Starbo and Brunsbo, he sends the clean copy of chapters V and I. This is the last. While traveling, he had no time to continue the work, and when he arrived at Brunsbo, he found that the first draft had been left in Starbo. At the end of April, Benzelius writes urging the continuation; but Swedenborg is now concentrating on chemistry and the deeper aspects of metallurgy. Nevertheless, he does not refuse Benzelius. On May 2d, he writes from Brunsbo;
"It will be my greatest pleasure if I were able from here to
continue the anatomy. The draft was left at Starbo, and
without this it would weary my head to follow up the
remaining points, and which are already covered over by
thoughts of another kind. As soon as I get the opportunity,
it shall be done." (OQ. 1:301, 302, 303; LM., pp. 233, 235, 236)
This is the last we hear of Tremulation. Swedenborg's interest in this physiological study had been overcast by other studies in which physical experiments could more manifestly come to the aid of speculation. It is conceivable that now, as when later he had written the Economy, he felt he had gone too fast and must pursue a slower course, abiding more closely by the findings of experience. And this perhaps accounts for his not reclaiming his completed MS. from the Medical College
In addition to Tremalation, Swedenborg had in his mind to write
"something which concerns to mechanism of our passions and of
the emotions of the mind so far as these can be deduced from
the structure of the nerves and membranes; and, in addition,
concerning some unknown properties possessed by the least
ramifications of the arteries and veins for the continuation
of motion."* (OQ 1:299 = LM., p. 230)
* The sketch on the ramifications of the arteries is not improbably the basis for the article published later in the Miscellaneous Observations, entitled "The Blood circulates through the Capillaries more easily than through the arterial trunks" (Miss. Obs., p. 78).
But all this was "not as yet worked out," and, like Tremulation, soon came to be overshadowed by other studies and was not again revived until many years later.
During his stay in Stockholm from the end of September 1719 to the early part of March 1720, Swedenborg was introduced into the House of Nobles as a member - fee was 200 dal.s.m. This was in January 1720 when the House met on the 16th. Doubtless also he took part in the imposing ceremonies which marked the opening of a Diet. Among these was the assembling of the nobles in the great hall of the House of Nobles on January 22d, when they all proceeded in a body to the castle, there to hear a sermon - the other Houses went to the Stora Kyrka - and later, in the Royal Audience Hall, to be greeted by the Queen on her throne.
(Nya Hand., p. 437; Kleberg, p. 186; Adels Riks.Prot., p. 15)
The ceremony of introduction consisted in the Marshal
addressing a few words of welcome to the newcomers, and
receiving thanks from them. (Adels Riks.Prot., p. 177)
With the exception of a few days in November, as already noted, Swedenborg does not appear to have had any work in connection with the Bergscollegium. Perhaps it was a question of salary and times were bad; and so he seems to have occupied himself solely with studying and writing. But though not recorded as attending the sessions of the College, he yet kept in touch with it. For, in February he sends Benzelius a copy of a communication transmitted to the Bergscollegium by one of its auscultants who was making observations in Newcastle, England. This communication is of particular interest inasmuch as it describes one of the earliest known forms of steam engines, a steam-driven pump used in the Newcastle coal mines by Messrs. Ridley, and which could pump water up from any depth. It was evidently not new to Swedenborg for on the extract, he writes:
"My thoughts on this matter in connection with the letter and
also from the models of such machines which were made some
years ago, and likewise how it can be put into practice in
Sweden, I will set forth in detail on another occasion."
(OQ. 1:300 = LM., p. 232)
Such a machine was set up by Triswald in the Danamora mine in 1728. (Act.Lit.S., 1728:453)
With all his work, however, Swedenborg's mind was not at rest. Though nominally Assessor, he was actually without employment and most certainly without a salary. Though thirty-two years of age with two years of active service with Polhem, he had never received a single penny in compensation. It is not surprising, then, to see that his active mind turns back to the earlier efforts made at Lund, to have Charles a mathematical society. Now that the first political excitement over the succession, etc., is past, the Estates will have time to consider other matters. Early in March he writes:
"May not now be the time and occasion to propose to the
Estates that which was projected in the blessed King Charles
XII's time in regard to the establishment of a new
mathematical society as these exist at those places where
studies flourish; in order to encourage that for which there
are indeed clever men in Sweden, but little encouragement,
advancement, rewards, support, etc. In England, such a
project has been established from a small beginning, by the
contributions of many well disposed supporters, and it has
performed great uses for that kingdom."
(OQ. 1:301 = LM., p. 233)
He then suggests that the Estates would probably not refuse to authorize a lottery. Lotteries were new in Sweden, but one had recently been held in Malmo, and Swedenborg follows the plan of this in his suggestion that 15,000 lots be sold, netting 15,000 dal.s.m. that the prizes be, one of 2,000 dal.; 2 of 1,000; 4 of 500; ten of 100; 20 of 50; 50 of 10 and 1,000 of 1; totalling 9,500. Counting 500 for expenses, this would leave a balance of 5,000 dal. annually from the lottery, which Swedenborg suggests might be spent on the proposed mathematical society, as follows:
Annual salary, for 1 man 1000 s.m
" " " 2 men [at 700] 1400
" " " 4 " [" 500] 2000
" " " 4 " [" 100] 400
Total 4800
What response Swedenborg got to this proposal is not known. At any rate, the matter was not brought up in the Diet, and nothing further is heard of it. Swedenborg was destined to be, not a mathematical director of a learned society, but a mineralogist, and all the events of his life tended in this direction even though sometimes he sought to look in other directions. See WE n. 2532 as to the leading of Swedenborg's life by Divine Providence.
In the middle of February, as a member of the newly formed Bokwett Gille, he received his two copies of the first number of the Acta Literaria Sueciae, and there he read a long review of his Height of Water, the first introduction of his name and works to the world of cosmopolitan learning.
"I enjoyed the review," he writes, "even the Latinity is
praiseworthy; but it would not have hurt if a little more
hand been said about the proof . . . As regards the moving of
stones in a deep abyss." (OQ. 1:299 = LM., p. 230)
One cannot but be struck by Swedenborg's insistence on this point.
The prospect of coming into contact with the outside learned world is pleasing to him. He would like his papers on discovering mines and his observations on the rise and fall of Lake Venner translated into Latin for the Acta; is deeply grateful to Magister Vassenius for translating one of his works, probably the Lake Venner. He is pleased also to hear that Benzelius will have his Longitude reviewed in the second number of the Acta.
"I wish that it be done with some care, for the reason that
it may find favor abroad, especially as it may be of such
great use to the public; for in some respects, I am sure that
among the methods that have been found, this is the easiest."
(OQ. 1:297, 301 = LM., pp. 227, 233)
There were certain matters which had to be attended to before leaving Stockholm, such as the inventoring and disposal by auction of the remaining copies and plates of Daedalus Hyperboreus; for, with the appearance of the Acta Literaria, the Daedalus naturally came to an end. But after this, Swedenborg, early in March, left Stockholm for the charming homestead in Starbo.* Here he meets his brother-in-law Lars Benezlius with his wife, sister Hedwig, and their three little children.
* Starbo, which was a valuable property, with homestead, furnaces, mill, etc., was the property of Swedenborg's stepmother, Sara Bergia. She had desired to will it to Emanuel Swedenborg (Doc. 1:374).
From his brother-in-law, he hears of a curious incident that deeply excites his scientific curiosity. A man named Kokk had told Lars Benzelius that one night he and a companion had watched all night on a mountain (Larsberg) about ten miles southwest of Starbo. North of this mountain, directly at its foot, lies a great like. On the occasion referred to, from this mountain Kokk saw the sun over the horizon during the whole night; and at midnight, when the sun went down for half-an-hour, he also saw it in Lake Wssman. (Bok. G. Prot., p. 23)
"If this is true," says Swedenborg, "Wesman must be the
principal cause of it by making the horizon damp and more
suitable for refraction." (OQ. 1:302 = LM., p. 235)
Swedenborg's brother-in-law Lars, told Swedenborg that the man had absolutely assured him of the truth of his statement, but this did not satisfy the mind of Swedenborg which looked rather to the scientific methods of the present than to the easy credulity of the past.
"I do not wish to set faith in it until I myself get to make
the same observation, which would be wholly worthy of the
Acta Eruditorum." (Ibid.)
again the thought of contact with the learned world of abroad.
Apparently, the observation by Kokk had been made in June 1719, and so Swedenborg proposes to return to Starbo on June 10th or 11th and spend the night on the same mountain in order to make the observation "of the setting or refracted sun" for himself. "Until then," he says, "I suspend faith until my own eyes have witnessed it." Whether or not Swedenborg did actually take steps to make this observation, we do not know; it is very probable. (OQ. 1:303 = LM., p. 237)
It was while at Starbo, perhaps, that Swedenborg commenced those experiments on "the decrease and degrees of heat in bodies" which he seems to have continued in June; see p. 224 below. In Brunsbo he made certain observations on ice crystals which were suggested to him by his Bullular Hypothesis. Writing in Miscellaneous Observations on the crystallization of pure water in definite forms, he says:
"I will now describe a new form of the kind, which I
observed as I was traveling in the winter season in West
Gothland in Sweden, not far from the episcopal seat of
Brunsbo. I saw that certain aqueous germinations had shot
forth from the ice. Among these there were several in the
exact shape of hexagonal crystals; but from which they
differed, as their upper plane was not oblique, and also
inasmuch as they were raised by a round stem from their base
on the ice."
After referring to the accompanying figure, he continues:
"The ice was covered with these productions and, as I
was much surprised, I took up a number in different places
and found that they were all crystallized in the same form.
Besides this germination, there were several others upon the
ice, which rose to a height of one or two inches above it;
some were like twigs, others like leaves, some stood upright
like simple threads, others intersected each other
transversely like lines, with a kind of sloping ridge."
He connects their figures with the figure found in figured
stones and also the figures of the frost on our window panes,
and also by snow, and ascribes it to the shape of water
particles. (Miss. Obs. [Eng.], p. 82)
From Starbo, he journeyed down to Brunsbo via rebro, a distance of about a hundred and eighty miles. He was struck with the remarkable number of great isolated stones which he saw, and he at once connects them with his theory concerning the action of the ocean depth. Speaking of his journey, he writes to Benzelius:
"On the way . . . I observed how the very largest stones,
like little mountains, to the weight of 300 or 400
skeppunds,* have come to the greatest altitude. When you
journey down, take note of this. For me, it is a
demonstrating reason that in a deep abyss, stones are rolled
and spread round about; to wit, are brought higher and higher
(since the highest land is in the neighborhood of rebro);
that is to say, nearer and nearer to the edge or surface of
the ocean, until they come to such a depth that it was no
longer possible to roll them away again. This is what I
proved." (OQ. 1:304 = LM., p. 238)
* Referring to these stones in his Height of Water (Proof VI), Swedenborg gives them a weight of A4 to 500 skeppunds." A skeppund equals 20 lispund, equals 20 x 20 lbs., equals 400 lbs.
He arrived at Brunsbo about the end of March. His father had been visited with a great affliction, for on March 3rd, while Swedenborg was still in Stockholm, Sara Bergia, his second wife, died. Of her, the Bishop writes:
"I lived peacefully with her until 1720 when God took her
after three days' severe pleurisy on March third, by a quiet
and peaceful death, to my great sorrow and loss. God give her
joy to all eternity for all the joy she brought to me."
(Tottie, 2:272)
Swedenborg was now thirty-two years old and had lived many years independently of his parents; still, the loss of his stepmother must have been felt by him. She was particularly fond of her oldest stepson who was reflecting honor on his father the Bishop.
At Brunsbo, Swedenborg found a new and unexpected treasure. His gifted cousin, Dr. John Hesselius, had come into the possession of a medical library left by a Dr. Ludenius,* a protg of Skara University who had studied in Holland. What specially interested Swedenborg were the chemical books. ? Swedenborg's first interest in chemistry: see Doc. 1:368. ON May 2nd, he writes:
* His brother Anders Lundstedt married Swedenborg's sister Margareta (Skara Stifts Herdam., I: 16; Lewenhaupt, Carl III's Officerare).
"I am now engaged in running through all the chemical
works which are to be found in the Ludenian stock of books
which now belongs to Hesselius; for I have set before me the
will to penetrate into all that concerns fire and metals from
their first beginnings even to their maturity. In accordance
with the plans of the preceding memorial [see below, p 224],
I am taking the chemical experiments of Boyle, Becher,
Hierne, Lemmery, etc., and am searching into nature in her
leasts, comparing them with geometry and mechanics, and am
daily encouraged by new discoveries in all that concerns the
nature of subtle substances. This I am more and more
confirmed in, since I already notice that experiments, like a
series of links, are in agreement with it. It seems to be a
good foundation to build up on an endless number of
experiments; to make use of other's labor and expenditures;
to wit, to work with the head over that on which others have
worked with their hands. From this a multitude of deductions
could be made for use in chemistry, metallurgy, fire, and all
their phenomena." (OQ. 1:303 = LM., p. 237)
Here we have Swedenborg's first statement of that principle of study which guided him throughout his scientific career, to take the researches of others and from these to make his own deductions.
The "new discoveries" to which he refers in the letter quoted above consisted in his finding out "the interior geometry" of metals, etc., and "the right proofs for the experiments which have been set up by the chemists." He believes these discoveries "will hereafter redound to the science" of chemistry. Subsequently, he developed them in his work on Chemistry, where he seeks to show that the difference between chemical elements is made by the size, figure, and inter-arrangement of their constituent particles. (ACSD 225 A)
The "preceding memorial" to which Swedenborg refers in this letter, as containing the "plans" which were his ultimate object in these chemical studies, was a memorandum, enclosed in the letter of May 2nd, which contained a plan on which he was working for publishing three tomes, namely, 1. On Mechanics. 2. On Fire, and 3. On Hearths and Ores. This memorandum is not now preserved, but a record of its contents is entered in the Minutes of the Upsala Literary Society before which it was read. Those contents constitute the first plan of that work, of which three volumes were published, fourteen years later, as the Opera Mineralogica. Thus, not only was Swedenborg holding fast to his determination to devote himself to the study of mines and minerals, but already in 1720 he was planning his ambitious series on metals. (Bok. G. Prot., p. 24)
Soon after his arrival in Brunsbo, Swedenborg received the second issue of the Acta Literaria Sueciae (published April 6), and was doubtless not displeased to observe that the first article was a long and comprehensive review of his treatise on Finding the Longitude.
In May, Eric Benzelius and his wife, Swedenborg's sister Anna, joined Swedenborg at Brunsbo. Doubtless also, other members of the family were present to attend the funeral of their stepmother. That it was a united family does not seem indicated by what has already been related (see above, p. 176), nor by the fact that it was but a few weeks after their stepmother's death before the division of her property among her stepchildren and heirs came into the law courts. But before proceeding to this matter, we shall first relate a further effect made by Swedenborg to secure a definite status in the Bergscollegium. (Bok. G. P., p. 24; (OQ. 1:303 = LM., p. 237)
He left Brunsbo early enough in June to be able to make the observation on Mount Larsberg on June 11 x 12, in order to test the accuracy of Kokk's relation as told him by his brother-in-law Lars Benzelius.
It was probably while at Starbo at this time (the middle of June), that Swedenborg made those experiments "on the increase and degrees of heat in bodies according to the Bullular Hypothesis" - an hypothesis which he seems now to have formulated as a result of his chemical studies. (But see Chemistry, Preface; LM., p. 281; and above, p. 173) Describing these experiments in his Miscellaneous Observations, published in 1722, he says:
"I exposed flat pieces of copper, iron, stone, oak and pine
timber to the action of the sun from daybreak unto two
o'clock in the afternoon, and the air was found to be pretty
warm, though not by any means sensibly warm to the touch,
like warm water; the pine timber was hotter, the oak hotter
still, so that the hand could scarcely bear it; the stone was
middling hot, but the copper was too hot to touch. On
repeating the experiment, I discovered that
these substances varied in their degrees of heat according to
their bulk and the thinness of the plates; that is to say, in
the same time and from the same fire, a large body did not
absorb the degree of heat proportioned to its compactness so
quickly as the same body divided into plates; and therefore
the experiment was most successful when the plates were of
equal thickness . . . The same rule holds in cold substances.
Thus, on exposing the same plates to the wintry sky, the air
being very cold [see above, p. 222], snow is found to be
still cold to the sense of touch; but iron is so intensely
cold as to adhere to the skin and almost to tear it away from
the finger." From this, he concludes, that "the same heat
and the same cold are much more increased in dense than in
soft bodies, and that they are in proportion to the size of
the pores; hence, that in porous substances . . . heat and
cold are not circumstanced as in compact substances; or in
old hard bodies as in recent" - all of which he explains
according to the Bullular Hypothesis. (Miss. Obs., p. 106)
From Starbo, he went to Skinnskatteberg, the valuable property with its smelting furnaces which he and Rudbeck owned jointly by purchase from the other heirs of Swedenborg's own mother. The town is situated some twenty-five miles southeast of Starbo.
Here, one of his first tasks was to make a formal appeal to the Bergscollegium for ultimate recognition as an Assessor. He had fully made up his mind as to the course he wished to pursue - the study of all things that had to do with mining. He wished now the appropriate position for such a career.
His letter to the Bergscollegium is dated Skinnstakkeberg, June 19, 1720:
"As I desire nothing more highly than to have an
opportunity of being of use and actual service to your
Excellency and the highly renowned Royal Collegium," he
writes, "therefore, in view of this I make bold to come in
with an humble prayer that your Excellency . . . [etc.] will
be pleased to promote my purpose." (Doc. 1:46; ACSD 219 =
LM., p. 238-39)
The prayer was for advancement to "some salary and support in my position of Extraordinary Assessor, or to advance my fortune as your Excellency . . . [etc.] may find most agreeable." He was the more induced to make this application since, "for the sake of improvement in that which I have thought would be of use to my Fatherland, I have already used all that could come to me, whether from inheritance or otherwise, both for foreign journeys during four years, and afterwards in attending Herr Councillor of Commerce Polhem at the establishment of the dock and the sluice work, wherein I assisted him at my own expense, in humble compliance with the most gracious command of the late King Charles XXII. For the fourth year, I have had the honor to be a lowly servant in the Royal Collegium; and all else that I have been able to spare, I have used in the costly publication of printed writings, etc., whereby I have desired to signify my longing and intention . . . to have the opportunity and the means to be of use and humble service to your Excellency . . . [etc.]; and, in this I shall continue to the best of my ability."
The petition was duly received and filled - but nothing more. Bergenstierna appointed.
Swedenborg's presence at Skinnskatteberg at this time had to do with the proceedings in connection with Sara Bergia's will. In that which had been made in November 1713, she declares that "because of the righteous love which
"the property Starbo with the appurtenances belonging thereto
in land, etc., and also one-half of upper Starbo's smelting,
and seven-sixteenths of the hearth at Marns, and [the whole
of] Prsthyttan."
All this was to be divided among Bishop Swedberg's children. See N. K. Tidn. 1927, p. 77. (ACSD 219, 318 C)
In addition to the above will was a document which the courts eventually regarded as having the validity of a duly witnessed will. It was signed by three witnesses, including Doctor John Hesselius, and was to the effect that the day before Sara Swedenborg's death, these three as witnesses had been called to her bedside to witness what she desired seen to after her death, namely:
1. That her granddaughter, Sara Lundstedt, the daughter of
Swedenborg's youngest sister Margaret, should have equal
share in her property with the other children,* "on which the
grandchild who sat on the bed by her grandmother, took the
Biskopinna's hand, kissed it, and thanked her."
* It is evident that since the original will had been made, Margaret Lundstedt, who was to have shared equally with her brothers and sisters, had died.
2. "That Assessor Well-born Herr Emanuel Swedenborg shall
have possession of Starbo, and shall buy the shares of the
other heirs, at a price to be fixed by arbitration,
Swedenborg meanwhile to enjoy the use of the property free
for a year."* (NKTid. 1927:77)
* It had always been Sara Bergia's intention that Emanuel should have Starbo. The Bishop, according to his own statement, "reminded her of this when I found that she was about to die; when she repeated the statement. But I begged her not to exclude the other children, when she said that they may have equal shares but Emanuel shall have Starbo alone, and he shall pay out the others." (Doc. 1:374).
This document, which was in the nature of a codicil, was endorsed by Bishop Swedberg as confirming his wife's will. Herr J. Unge, his son-in-law, likewise wrote on the document that he had nothing to oppose to it, since "it had been his parents' counsel, thought of long ago."
On June 21, 1720, the above documents - the will and the supplementary testament - were filed by Emanuel Swedenborg at Smedjebacken in the mining court for Starbo, and on the same day and in the same court, Petter Bergius, Biskopinna Swedenborg's brother, filed a protest against all the property going to Bishop Swedberg's children. (Acton-Lindh, p. 2; NKTid., 1927:78)
A protest was also file by Lars Benzelstierna on behalf of himself and his brother Eric Benzelius, presumably against the special favor shown to Emanuel Swedenborg. But Emanuel Swedenborg, in a supplementary memorial, explained that Eric Benzelius had given authority to his brother Lars not to protest against the will but to defend it.
On July 4th, the same protests were also filed in another mining court, being the juridical seat of certain of the property.
The will was also filed in Skara by Dean Junge, on October 10th, and at the same time, a protest was filed by Anders Swab and others, the Biskopinna's nephews.* (ACSD 222A)
* Rector Begius
/ / /
Helena m. Petter Sara m. Bishop Swedberg
Anton Swab (Who later m. Christ.
/ / Arhusia)
Anders Anton
The various protests were heard by the Court on February 23, 1721, when Swedenborg was present representing his brother Jesper, his brothers-in-law Unge and Lundstedt, and his niece Sara Lundstedt. The protest entered by Sara Bergia's relatives was declared to be outside the jurisdiction of the court. Lars Benzelstierna's protest was rejected, and the dying declaration of Sara Bergia - which made Sara Lundstedt a co-heir and gave Swedenborg valuable rights - was declared valid. (Acton-Lindh MSS., pp. 1-2)
However, the matter did not rest here, for on April 16, 1721, an agreement was made between Swedenborg and Lars Benzelstierna whereby they became equal owners of the whole of the valuable Starbo property. The agreement reads:
"Since some strife has arisen between us concerning the
arrangement, I, Emanuel Swedenborg, exhibited to the Court
and showed by proof to be orally given by our late mother
. . . just before her death . . . concerning the right of
purchasing the Starbo property with all its appurtenances,
and also concerning . . . Miss Sara Lundstedt's receiving an
equal portion with all . . . Bishop Swedberg's children . . .
against all which I, Lars Benzelstierna, on behalf of my
brother . . . Dr. Eric Benzelius and myself, entered my
protest before the proper court; and, moreover, in view of
the disposition which exists with us on both sides, to settle
. . . this dispute in a friendly way, and in confirmation of
the close relationship between us. . .
"I, Emanuel Swedenborg, on behalf of . . . Anders
Lundstedt . . . and Jonas Unge. . . and my brother Jesper
Swedenborg and myself, give to . . . Lars Benzelstierna the
right of purchase of one-half Starbo and its appurtenances,
such as Prsthyttan. . . Marns, etc., in proportion to the
price which is now fixed between us for the whole property .
. . namely, 32,000 dal. K. mt., and hereafter, freely to work
this property to our mutual profit . . .
"On the other side, I, Lars Benzelstierna, on behalf of
. . . Doctor Eric Benzelius and myself, in view of the love
our stepmother . . . showed to Miss Sara Lundstedt, agree to
pay to Miss Lundstedt in the ratio of the two shares in the
Starbo property . . . which comes to . . . Eric Benzelius and
myself, 1400 dal. K. mt. At the same time, it is also agreed
that since . . . we own equal shares in the Starbo property,
and since I, Lars Benzelstierna, have now paid for that which
was lacking in the right of half ownership in
Skinnskatteberg's forge and Giesberg's smithy . . . neither
of us will lay claim to any right to a share which is in any
part in the other half . . . and, in the bargain, will . . .
share our advantage in whatever profit or loss that the
property . . . can afford or bring in."
With regard to the claims made by Sara Bergia Swedenborg's
children by her former marriage, it may here be noted that in
March 1723, Bishop Swedberg voluntarily settled these, in
order to avoid contention and dispute, for the sum of 12,000
dal. K. mt., in consideration of which payment, these "heirs"
agreed to give up all claims against Sara Swedenborg's
property. (ACSD 318 C)
After filing his petition at the mining court on July 4, 1720, Swedenborg returned to Stockholm. Probably he inquired at the Bergscollegium as to the status of his application for a salaried position, and then learned of the death, only a few days ago (June 25th) of Assessor Angerstein. He then determined to apply to the King himself. This he did in a letter dated Stockholm, July 9, 1720:
"I am impelled in humility to come before your Royal
Majesty and in utmost humility to relate how that in your
Royal Bergscollegium the position of an ordinary Assessor has
become vacant by the removal of Assessor Angersten by death;
and also, at the same time, in humility, to request that on
this occasion your Royal Majesty, with royal grace, will be
pleased to remember me, his lowly servant, who during the
whole of his life has no higher desire than to get an
opportunity, by some humble service to bring into actuality
that duty which a subject owes to your Royal Majesty." (ACSD
220: LM., p. 240)
Thus Swedenborg commences his letter to the King, after which he explains that he puts forward his request because he has spent his means on foreign journeys and afterwards in the publication of his writings, thus, in that which he thought "might in time be of some use and service to your Majesty's Kingdom."
He then speaks of his appointment by Charles XII, of his work with Polhem, of his publishing books - and, in particular, of the book on Swedish Smelting Furnaces which he had handed into the Bergscollegium, and which "can be of use" to that institution. With the death of Charles, his fortune "now seems dead and extinguished," and so "he flees to that Royal Majesty who is now in Charles's exalted place."
Swedenborg's letter was followed a few days later (July 21st) by a letter from his father written to the King in the same sense. Despite this support, however, it was not Swedenborg but John Bergenstierna who later (1735) married Eliezer Swedenborg's widow who, on August 3rd, received the appointment to the vacant Assessorship. (ACSD 221; Almquist, p. 202).
This seems to have brought matters to a head, for after this Swedenborg was denied the right of signing his name to the Bergscollegium letters, and this by David Leijel who had been present in April 1717 when Swedenborg had taken the oath. Swedenborg, however, did not give up, and when on November 11th another of the Assessors died, he fully expected an appointment. But again he was passed over. So he determined, on November 21st 1720 to make a final appeal to the King. This appeal gives us an inner view of the opposition Swedenborg had hitherto been facing in the Bergscollegium. (ACSD 139)
"Most mighty and gracious King," he writes, "I
acknowledge with respect all that your Royal Majesty's
Colleges are pleased
to do . . . yet your Majesty will not receive it ungraciously
that I take the liberty, in humility, to draw near and to
state:
"That half a year ago, after the late Assessor
Angersteen's removal by death, I was passed by, although I
then had the advantage of having been for the fourth year
Assessor Extraordinary in the Royal Bergscollegium; and
likewise, to state that at the same time, Herr Assessor David
Leyel refused to allow me to sign the letters of the
Bergscollegium, as I had one in the time of the late King,
and which, by virtue of my warrant, I have the right to do.
Yet, despite all this, I was in the humble hope of being
favorably remembered at the next opportunity, and
particularly at the present time after the removal by death
of the late Bergsrd passed by,* I am thereby shut out from
the hope of winning, by means of preferment in the Royal
Bergscollegium, any opportunity of showing my humble service
in that which is laid upon me.
* Dr. Magnus Bromell had been appointed in Dec. 1719 assistant to Urban Hierne in the Chemical Laboratory of the Bergscollegium. He was appointed to succeed Kinmunde on Nov. 25th. Kinmunde had die don Nov. 11th, and this involved the promotion of the senior Assessor, and this of a new Assessor. (Almquist, Bergscollegium, p. 180.)
"Since your Royal Majesty's Bergscollegium must
undoubtedly have had some part of justification for this
action, it is my most humble prayer . . . that your Royal
Majesty may be pleased . . . to examine the reason which led
to my being held unworthy.
"I acknowledge that I have not as yet attained by my
years to the same wroth as others who were in service long
before me; nor have I had the good fortune humbly to attend
the Royal Collegium as auscultant or Bergmstare, and, in
consequence of this, have not been advanced to an
Assessorship by the recommendation of the Royal Collegium -
although I did not myself seek this position.* Neither have I
spent a long time in learning the mining ordinances, but have
sought to make up for this by using diligence and experience,
and acquiring such sciences as belong to metals and the
management of iron works." (ACSD 225A = LM., p. 243)
* The meaning is that Charles XII had given it to him without his asking.
He then goes on to tell of his travels and of his appointment as Assessor Extraordinary by Charles XII. He also encloses a copy of the Royal Warrant and of the letter sent by the King to the Bergscollegium on the occasion of the appointment, to the effect that they were "to let him have a seat and voice in the College whenever he can be present." He tells also of his work with Polhem and of his printed works "On Mechanics, Geometry, Algebra, etc.," showing his will to "emulate in Sweden those who give out such things in foreign lands." (LM., p. 244)
He adds that he has made a special study of fire and furnaces, and refers to his projected work on mining.
"For three years," he continues, "I have turned by
thoughts to chemistry and metals, and, besides, have found
out their interior geometry and the right proofs for the
experiments which have been set up by the chemists; and by
this, I suppose, no little use will hereafter redound to the
science in question." (Ibid. P. 245)
He considers it his duty to make this application, in the hopes that he may get the occasion "to strive for an end which I have proposed for myself." He refers to his fixed purpose to pursue the study of mineralogy and mining.
"But," he concludes, "since against all expectation I
find myself twice passed by, no other course is left me than
to approach your Royal Majesty with an humble supplication,
and to request in the most humble way that I may enjoy grace
with your Majesty . . . which would give your Royal Majesty's
subjects encouragement to devote themselves to such work as
would prove to be most useful in your Royal Majesty's
Kingdom." (LM., p. 245)
Like other appeals, this also was without fruit. Swedenborg returned to Brunsbo during the holidays when on Christmas day his father was married for the third time. His bride was Christina Arhusia, daughter of a priest in Swedberg's native town Falun. The marriage took place nine months after the death of Sarah Bergia. In his Autobiography, the Bishop gives the reasons for this seeming haste:
"In my sad and troublesome state as a widower," he writes, "I
learned the truth of the wise Sirac's words, 'Where there is
no watch around, the goods fly away; and where there is no
wife, the servants run wild.' My daughters had left my house,
being married and living at a distance, and each of them had
her own household and her own responsibilities, so that I
could not avail myself of them. I must myself be occupied
with hard household care, and my powers began to leave me
more and more. And so it was necessary, and also because of
my approaching old age, that I should have a good wife."
(Doc. 1:166; Tottie, p. 273)
The bride "with her company" arrived at Brunsbo late on
Christmas eve, and the marriage was celebrated the next day
by Swedberg's son-in-law Unge. "Thank God," writes Swedberg,
on Jan. 2d, "she is a very capable person, so that I could
never have done better. You [Rosenadler] must follow my
example. Do not wait until it is too late." (Doc. 1:165;
Tafel, Letters, p. 65)
Soon after the holidays, the dispute over Sarah Bergia's will was again brought into court, and Swedenborg must perforce attend to it. On February 13, 1721, an objection was filed at one of the mining courts on behalf of Sarah Bergia's children by her former marriage, and the protestants demanded that an exact estimate should be made of all the real and personal property, and that it should not be distributed until the court had decided the matter. The petition was refused prior to a hearing of the heirs. On February 18th, Swedenborg and his brother-in-law Lars Benzelstierna answered on behalf of the heirs. (ACSD 229A)
A similar object was entered at the Stora Kopparberg Court, and this Swedenborg himself answered by the claim that the matter belonged only to the court of appeals.
We have no evidence of what became of these cases, but from the fact that the proof of Sarah Bergia's intentions was again offered to the court, and from the document of which we shall next speak, it would appear that for the present nothing further was done in the matter.
It will be remembered that under the terms of the will, Swedenborg and his brothers and sisters were to share in the profits of Starbo and
Thus, favorably situated financially and relieved of the actual management of his property, Swedenborg now determined to take that foreign journey for study and investigation, especially into mining matters, which he had so long desired. During this journey, he intended to publish several of his works, including Latin translations of works he had written in Swedish and some of which he had already published. His main intention, however, was to publish the three volumes (Mechanics, Fire, Hearths and Ores) of which he had given an outline in his letter to Eric Benzelius of May 2, 1720 (see above, p. 224).
By this time, his chemical studies had led him to a more or less definite formulation of a theory of the constitution of matter; he felt that he had discovered the interior geometry "of nature"; and it was his intention to set forth his new discoveries in their application to minerals and salts, etc., of various kinds. The work was to be entitled Principia Rerum Naturalium. It has been supposed that to this period may be ascribed the Principia Rerum Naturalium which is commonly known as the Lesser Principia (see Hyde, n. 145), but, as will be seen later, this work was not written until some years afterwards. (ACSD 225 A)
During the months preceding his departure, he was busily occupied in revising or writing the chapters of the first volume of his proposed series, namely, Mechanica. By this term, however, he did not mean what is usually designated Mechanics; what he had in mind was a treatise on chemistry, showing that all chemical elements are built up on mechanical principles. Thus he calls his Chemistry, Mathematica. (ACSD 244)
The idea seems first to have occurred to him in specific form in May 1720, when at Brunsbo he was so fortunate as to obtain access to a rich medical and chemical library which had come into the possession of Doctor Hesselius. In accordance with the plan of his proposed volumes on Mechanics, Fire and Furnaces, he writes to Benzelius on May 2, 1720:
"I am taking the chemical experiments of Boyle [etc.], and am
searching into nature in her leasts, comparing them with
geometry and mechanics, and am daily encouraged by new
discoveries in all that concerns the nature of simple
substances" (See above, p. 224)
Before entering upon his journey, Swedenborg had already written out his proposed treatises on Mechanics, Fire, and Hearths and Ores, and, as we shall see presently, he sent a list of the contents of this work for publication in the Acta Literaria Sueciae - a list which shows that the parts of Fire, Hearths, and Ores were dealt with only in very brief form. These were probably written in Starbo. At any rate, on February 21, 1721, he acted at Starbo as Godfather to Hedwig's daughter, Hedwig. (OQ. 1:303 = LM., p. 237; NKTid., 1917, p. 43)
Meanwhile, Swedenborg had the satisfaction of seeing himself introduced to the learned world as a contributor to the Acta Literaria Sucieae. The fourth number of that learned journal, which appeared in November 1720, contained an article based on his manuscript on the Rise and Fall of Lake Venner, which had been sent to Eric Benzelius as a contribution to the Literary Society. Swedenborg had written this article, based on his own observations during the preceding summer (see above, p. 210), and Professor Roberg now made his manuscript the basis of what appeared in the Acta Literaria Sueciae. The manuscript itself was consulted by Daniel Tiselius in preparation for his Utterligare Frsk, published in 1730, for he refers his read to its A' 9" (see pp. 50, 55).
Flattering to Swedenborg must also have been the long review by Professor Burman of his Algebra, which appeared in the Acta Literaria Sueciae in January 1721. The reviewer says of this work:
"Weighty in matter rather than in bulk," it "was at once
received with great acclaim"; and he continues: "The noble
author was born under a lucky star for the advancement of
learning, especially in mathematics, he being the first of
all our countrymen who has taken on himself not, only to lay
down the fundamentals of an analytic science in a remarkable
way, extremely easy and clear to all students even the more
uncultivated, but also to demonstrate, by examples selected
from many sources, the signal use of this most; excellent
art, especially in mechanics. Finally, he has done all this
in the common vernacular, contributing words, even such as
are of a technical nature, in a way which constitutes a most
happy omen for our country." (NP. 1929: 26)
What must have been even more gratifying to Swedenborg, on the threshold of his second journey to the learned world, was a reference to himself which appeared in a learned work, De Lapidibus Figuratis by Jacob Melle, the learned antiquarian and polyhistorian of Lbeck. This reference was only a footnote, yet it was the very first time Swedenborg, now thirty-two years old, had been noticed outside his native land and his own learned circle.
Melle's work was published in 1720, and came to Swedenborg's attention in April or May 1721 when, on his return to Stockholm, he received a copy of the work sent to him by the author, and probably addressed to him at the College of Mines. (LM., p. 247)
The footnote was in connection with the evidences of the existence of a flood in primitive times. It reads:
"Following John Woodward [and other authors], Emanuel
Swedenborg, Assessor of the Royal College of Mines in Sweden,
in a book written in the vernacular and published in octavo,
Stockholm, 1719, under the title 'Arguments taken from Sweden
to show that the heights of the waters and of the sea in the
primitive globe was due to a strong flood,' has recently
shown in clear fashion and with weighty arguments drawn from
the internal and external appearance of the land of Sweden,
and from the various things that have been found therein, how
widespread over our globe was the extension of this
destructive flow, that is to say, the Deluge in former times,
and the nature of the sings and indications of its pristine
fury which it has everywhere left behind it." (De Lap. Fig.,
p. 4; NP 1929:45)
Swedenborg lost no time in making some use of this notice of himself. On May 21, 1721, but prior to his departure for his journeying, he addressed a long letter to Melle. After acknowledging the letter's gift, he speaks of the valuable contributions to the subject of his studies made by Doctors John Hesselius and Magnus Bromell, in their extensive geological collections. He then expatiates on the proofs of a former deluge as set forth in his Height of Waters. In doing this, he instituted the beginning of what soon turned out to be a sharp controversy with a Leipzig professor -- the first and the last controversy in which Swedenborg ever engaged, of this controversy we shall speak later, merely mentioning for the present that in his letter to Melle, Swedenborg tells the learned world in Latin what he had before said in his Swedish work, as to his theory concerning the movement of great stones at the bottom of an ocean. He dwells also on the subsidence of the Baltic, and states that he himself has heard old people speaking of places now under the plough which a hundred years ago were navigable waters. All of this, he adds, tends to show that these changes are due not to Noah's flood but to the fact that long afterwards the lands of the north were buried under a deep ocean. If these conclusions wore confirmed by Melle's researches, he adds, we would have ground for believing:
"1. That the horizontal pressure of our world is subject to change, which follows if the ocean be depressed toward the poles and elevated (as it is said) toward the equator,
"2. And, consequently, the distances between the latitudes would vary.
"3. That, certain lands which are continents may formerly have been islands which in the subsidence of the sea and in process of time were united together." (Ibid. P. 252)
Swedenborg adds that there are other consequences which "I do not venture to present to the public until I am armed with many more proofs of experience."
Swedenborg sent this letter to the Literary Society in Upsala for publication in the Acta, accompanying it with a list of 15 Tractates which he proposed to publish abroad. Both the letter and the list were printed in the June Acta, which appeared in July. The list was prefaced with the
following note:
"On the eve of has extended journey, the noble Swedenborg has
sent us his letter to the learned Jacob Melle . . . He has
gone to the United Netherlands and perhaps farther, in the
company of learned men, celebrated in mathematics and
physics, in order to communicate his clear reflections fear
the purpose of shedding light on this branch of the sciences.
We add a list of the works which he has prepared for the
press, and which we suppose he will publish in Belgium during
the present year." (Bok. G. Prot., p. 50; ALS. 1721:209)
The list constitutes the larger part of the Table of Contents of what was later published as "A Forerunner of the Principles of Natural Things, or of new attempts to explain Chemistry and Experimental Physics geometrically." But, what is of some importance, in view of a question which we will discuss later, the list indicates a numerical designation of the chapters in relation to the whole work different from that which appears in the published work. The items in the list are marked I-XV, and with one variation they follow the exact order of the Chemistry.*
* We refer to the English translation with this title. This translation embraces three works published separately by Swedenborg: 1. Chemistry. 2. Fire. 3. Finding the Longitude; Building of Docks and Testing of Ships.
The last work which Swedenborg did before his departure was the writing out in Latin a brief summary of his new method of finding the longitude, a work to which he seems to have been greatly attached even as late as 1766. In the present writing, he proposes to present this method for the first time to the learned world, and in the last paragraph of the work, he promises to publish "very shortly" lunar tables and calculations. The work was completed by May 28th, and was communicated to the Upsala Society. (Bok. G. Prot., p. 51)
And now Swedenborg had completed the preparation for his second foreign journey. It was his intention, after going to Holland, to publish the works which he had prepared, to visit England, France, Italy, Venice, Vienna, Hungary, and finally Germany, with the main purpose of investigating mining works and the trade in metals. Such a journey would have extended over two years, and Swedenborg's contemplation of so extended a tour, and this when he was without any remunerative employment, is sufficient evidence that he was in comfortable financial circumstances. Doubtless, the whole journey would have been accomplished at this time; but, as we shall see, the discord in his own family on the matter of the inheritance forced him to break it off almost at the beginning, nor did he again have the opportunity of visiting the countries mentioned until twelve years later. (Doc. 1:407)
Swedenborg left Stockholm on June 28, 1721, his route lying via Helsingborg, Copenhagen, over Zealand and Fy to Flensburg and Hamburg, to Amsterdam. (Resebeskrifn., p. 4)
Among the "learned men" in whose company he went was his cousin Doctor John Hesselius.
From 1714, when he finished his medical studies in
Upsala Hesselius was appointed Provincial Physician of West
Gothland, and from 1715 to the time of which we now speak he
had lived in Brunsbo with his uncle, the Bishop. The latter,
in his autobiography, after speaking of his own love of
music, says of Hesselius: "God also gave me the delight that
Doctor Hesselius plays well on the base viol, and every
evening he plays beautiful and godly psalms whereby I go to
bed with peace and happiness of mind." (SBL; Tottie 2:270)
Hesselius and Swedenborg - who was the younger by a few months - were not only close friends but were drawn together by a common love of searching into the hidden secrets of nature by the experimental path. They pursued experiments together in Brunsbo, and Swedenborg undoubtedly availed himself of the rich collection of stones and petrifactions which Hesselius had gathered together while resident in West Gothland, and which Swedenborg, in his letter to Melle, is careful to mention. See Bokwetts Gillets Prot. I:28, 33, 36, 29, 27, 39, 43, 45, 59.
At the time of which we write, Upsala was not able to give a medical degree, and it devolved upon all physicians to complete their medical studies in foreign universities. It was for this purpose that Doctor Hesselius, doubtless at the expense of the generous Bishop, was now Swedenborg's traveling companion on the first part of his proposed extended journey.
So far as the College of Mines was concerned, Swedenborg was quite free to do as he pleased without obtaining any leave; he still considered
On June 30th 1721, when just on the point of leaving Swedish soil, he writes to the College and its President, now Count Bonde:
"As I am now about to undertake a new journey abroad, it
is my duty to make it known in writing to your Excellency
and, to the Honorable Royal College, especially as my only
purpose therein is more closely to inform myself concerning
foreign mining works, their condition and processes, and also
concerning that commerce which purely concerns metals. For
this end, I propose to visit the places where there are
mining works, and where metals are sold." If the College is
pleased with his well meant intention, and will "communicate
to me instructions and suggestions as to what I should
chiefly inform myself concerning, in accordance with this
information, this will be a highly useful assignment for the
better using of my time on that which can be of service to
the publish." (OQ. 1:241 = LM., p. 255; Doc., 1:407)
In three weeks he will be in Amsterdam where he hopes to receive some word from the College.
For observations at Helsingborg, see Miscellaneous Observations, p. 19.
Swedenborg arrived at Amsterdam at the end of July. Here probably he separated for a time from his cousin Hesselius who went to pursue his medical studies at the University of Hardewyk situated on the Zuiderzee, a University which was then much frequented by the Swedes.* In Amsterdam, Swedenborg at once proceeded to the printing of the MSS. He had brought with him, and which he published at his own expense. The publications, which were all anonymous, consisted of three works, namely, the Chemistry, Observations on Iron and Fire, and the Longitude. The first two of these works constitute in effect the series on Mechanics, Fire and Furnaces, of which Swedenborg has written to Eric Benzelius in May of the preceding year (see above, p. 224). Why Swedenborg published them anonymously is not clear - possibly since his name was as yet unknown, that they might receive an unprejudiced hearing. In case, the anonymity was not long preserved, for in the review that appeared early in the following year, Swedenborg was given as the author. Nor does Swedenborg seem to have had any special wish to remain anonymous; for, in a contemporaneous presentation copy he writes with his own hand: "Af Eman. Swedenborg," to say nothing of his presentation copy to Boerhaave, of which presently. (NP. 1929:70, 1900:20; ACSD 246A)
* Hesselius received his M.D. on October 4, 1721 (min.tal . H., p. 9). He then went to Amsterdam where he witnessed human dissections. He went also to Utrecht and Leyden, etc., see min.tal . Hesselius.
The chapter in this work on the round particles of air and water,* or a first draft of it, was originally written in January 1718 at Starbo, and it
* The water particles being round was also Polhem's belief, and in 1730 was the generally accepted theory, though many had "guessed" them long, cubical or parabolical (Tisel. Utterligare Frsk, pp. 12, 90, see also pp. 93, 97, 110).
The Prodromus, which was without dedication, opens with an address to the reader which is characteristic of Swedenborg's thought as to the necessity of now entering upon a philosophical interpretation of the wealth of material with which science had presented the learned world. He is astonished that despite this wealth, "the science of invisibles has remained hidden." Nothing has been discovered in nature that is not geometrical, he continues, and so he proposes to show that salts, metals, and elements are all geometrical and mechanical, consisting of "groups of particles varying in their shapes and portions."
This describes the general character of the work, as an attempt to explain the constitution of matter. Swedenborg's theory differs from the atomic theory inasmuch as (as observed by Mr. Strutt in his Introduction to the Chemistry, p. xxi) Swedenborg atoms were all alike, the differences produced in their compounds being due to their varying positions and arrangements; while the atom of the atomic theory is already a compound and different from other atoms. Thus Swedenborg revives, but in a new form, the ancient doctrine of the materia prima which is the origin of all things.
This is the sublime theory concerning the inmost constitution of matter which Swedenborg's brilliant mind had discovered as the universal key to the inner knowledge of chemistry; and in the Prodromus he applies this theory to the explanation of the phenomena displayed by water, salt, acids, nitre, oils, and lead. Unfortunately, the science of chemistry was as yet in its infancy, and many of the "facts" described by the experiments, were more or less unreliable due to inexact and faulty methods. The result could not be otherwise than that Swedenborg's specific conclusions, admittedly hypothetical, cannot be confirmed by the results of modern research. Nevertheless, his grand conception as to the ultimate constitution of matter remains and is being more and more approximated by the latest researches of the physicists. We may add that as first published, this work contained many typographical errors of a serious nature, all of which, however, have been carefully corrected in the English translation.
As already stated, the chapters in the published work are in the order in which they were announced in the Acta Literaria Sueciae; but after arriving at Amsterdam, and, indeed, after the work had been printed and some copies sent out, Swedenborg decided to add as a prefatory chapter an adapted form of his letter to Melle. The reason for inserting this letter as indicated at the end of Part XI of the Prodromus on the subject of salt. In the last paragraph of the Part, observes the author that a possible objection to his theory, that common salt originates in water, might be found in the existence of extensive salt mines far from the sea. But he promises to meet this objection by publishing a treatise on the depth of the Primeval Ocean (namely, a Latin translation of his Swedish work on the Height of Water) showing that our earth was formerly the bottom of an ocean. It was probably as a preliminary to this contemplated work that Swedenborg, after the whole Prodromus was issued, decided to introduce his Melle letter, which constitutes the first eight unnumbered pages of the work. (NP. 1929:70 note 3)
The fact that the work begins with Part VIII has led to the supposition that the "work itself" to which frequent references are made, was already written out, and that this work is what is now known as the Lesser Principia.* But the conclusion is untenable. This is indicated by the title of the Lesser Principia, namely, "The Principles of Natural Things drawn from Experiments and Geometry, or ex posteriore and priori"; but the title of Natural Things, or of New Attempts to explain Experimental Chemistry and Physics geometrically. Moreover, as indicated in the Prodromus, the contents of Parts 2-4 were to be the motion of round particles (Prod., pp. 1-7, 16, 17-23) in their natural situation (ib., 22); the pressure of the subtle matter around water particles (ib., 22); the pressure of the subtle matter round water particles (ib., 25), and dissipation of vapor in the clouds (ib., p. 19); and this in no way describes the Lesser Principia. Part 5, on particles of water (ib. p 29).
* This appears to have been Hyde's conclusion (n. 145), since he dates the Lesser Principia 1720.
The truth seems to be that the "work itself" had not been written. It was to treat in order of each of the chemical elements, somewhat as in the Prodromus, and Swedenborg probably drew up and numbered the order in which they were to be treated. Before he left home, the chapter on the Particles was to be 1, and that on the interstitices between the water particles to be chapter 6; but as published, these chapters were marked chapters 8 and 10.
The second of the works published by Swedenborg in Amsterdam was a small treatise of about fifty pages entitled New Observations and Experiments on Iron and Fire, and there can be little doubt that this little work is the sketch of parts 2 and 3 of the complete work which Swedenborg outlined to Benzelius, viz., 1. Mechanics. 2. Fire. 3. Hearths and Ores.
A cursory examination indicates that this little work is a resum of part of the larger Swedish work on Blast Furnaces which Swedenborg handed in to the College of Mines in the autumn of 1720, and it may be that the plates in the published work are the same as those referred to in the unpublished but not found there. The tractate ends with a description of a new kind of stove, the idea of which Swedenborg got from his study of blasting furnaces.
The third work published in Amsterdam consists likewise of about fifty pages, about half of which are occupied by the treatise on the Longitude, the rest of the work comprising a description of the Dry Dock similar to that which Swedenborg had already published in the fall of 1719. This is followed by a description of a dam constructed by Polhem and Swedenborg at Karlskrona, at the same time as the work on the dry dock; unfortunately, the three plates referred to in this work were not published and have never been found. And finally comes an entirely new "invention," namely, an ingenious method of testing small ship models with a view of ascertaining speed, loading capacity position of the masts, etc.
This work on Chemistry and its companion volumes may, therefore, be considered as a fulfilment of Swedenborg's wish, expressed in a letter to Eric Benzelius, dated December 1719, to get his works, both published and unpublished, translated into Latin and published in Holland, and himself to
The Prodronus was reviewed in that prince of journals, the Acta Eruditorum in its February 1722 issue, where the review occupies five pages, Swedenborg's name had already appeared before the European learned world, first in Melle's book published in the fall of 1720, then in the Neue Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen, 1721, which reviewed his Height of Water in its March issue; his Longitude in its June issue, and his article on Lake Venner in its August issue. But to be reviewed by the Acta Eruditorum was a distinguished honor which stamped the seal of worthwhileness on an author, "The author of this Prodromus," commences the reviewer, "is the distinguished Assessor in the Swedish College of Mines, Emanuel Swedenborg." The review is, for the most part, a summary of the work; but note is made of the new terms introduced by the author,
"He here [in Part IX] uses terms*," says the review, "which
in the work itself he no doubt explains. But in the absence
of an understanding of these terms, his dissertations on the
figure of the particles of water are obscure." Again he
observes: "Because of the frequent use of new terms, it is
hardly possible to present the special points in a suitable
way." The reviewer concludes: "The author must be regarded
in general as having attempted to give a priori reasons for
the results established by experiments; and, in fact, to have
sought his ultimate reasons in the figures of particles,
their magnitudes, weights and interstices. He has used great
ingenuity and no less industry, but as to how much of truth
he has attained to in his theories, this may be left to the
judgment of others."
* We suppose these terms are "particles of the fifth, sixth, etc., kind."
See New Philosophy 1952, p. 359s for a review of Swedenborg's Chemistry.
The April issue of Acta Eruditorum reviewed the tractate on Iron and Fire, again announcing Swedenborg as the author, and in its May issue it prints a lengthy review of the Longitude, in which it transcribes Swedenborg's method verbatim, and gives his printed figure. A more critical, though much shorter review, by Conrad Quensel, Professor of Mathematics in Lund, was printed in the Acta Literaria Suecia for January 1722, Professor Quensell points out certain deficiencies in the work, and especially in the plate, and also a certain amount of inexactness in the results to be obtained: but he concludes,
"the day, even though cloudy, is better than the mere
darkness of night."
which the editors of the Neue Zeitungen, in their extended notice of this review, render:
"It is perhaps better to know something rather than nothing
at all." (NP. 1929:78, 82, 87; ALS. 1722:270)
The Acta Eruditorum gives most favorable reviews of Swedenborg's description of the building of the dock and dam at Karlskrona, and of his method of testing the capacities of ships; in the last review, it reproduces Swedenborg's picture of his testing machine with the appropriate text.
The publication of these three works was completed by the end of October, and by October 21st, they were ready for distribution. On that day, Swedenborg sent specially fine copies to his old friend Preis, now Swedish Resident at The Hague, and to Doctor Boerhaave, the Professor of Anatomy in Leiden University and the leading physician and chemist of Europe. To Boerhaave's work on Chemistry, which marked a grand advancement in that science, Swedenborg owed much, and it must have been with feelings of peculiar reverence and gratitude that he inscribed on his presentation copy:
"To Doctor Herman Boerhaave, so highly renowned throughout
the world for genius, learning and experience, these attempts
are sent in friendship and respect by the author Emanuel
Swedenborg, Assessor of the College of Mines in Sweden."
With the publication of his manuscripts, Swedenborg has cleared the deck, as it were; nothing more of his writings remaining to be printed unless it be Latin translations from his Swedish tracts. And so, he now gives himself some respite. For a few days he makes a visit of recreation to The Hague, where he renews that acquaintance with Resident and Envoy Extraordinary Preis which had commenced at Utrecht eight years previously. Although twenty-two years younger, Swedenborg with his educated, clear-minded thinker and genial companion. A few days after leaving The Hague, Swedenborg writes to Preis from Leiden on November 8th, thanking him
"for the pleasant discourses concerning our economic
condition in Sweden, which shows the Herr Resident to be a
good patriot and to have clear penetration in all that is
needed by our country for its restoration. If good
intentions and clear understanding could help the raising of
Sweden, the Herr Resident would be the one on whom my vote
would fall, whose counsel should be followed over there."
(OQ. 1:307 = LM., p. 258)
Swedenborg stayed in Leiden during the whole of November, and here probably he heard and perhaps met the celebrated Boerhaave, then Professor of Anatomy. We may note that Boerhaave carried on human dissections, and it is more than probable that Swedenborg here took some medical and chemical lectures. He seems to have remained in Leiden some three or four weeks.
Early in December, he left Leiden for Amsterdam where doubtless she was joined by Hesselius who was to travel with him, at any rate, for a time. There was, moreover, a special purpose either anticipated or fulfilled in this visit to Amsterdam. For there, on December 9th, he witnessed the Russian Resident in Amsterdam stage a most wonderful and costly display of fire works in celebration of the peace of Nystadt and the assumption by Czar Peter of the title "Emperor of all the Russians."* (CMH. V:615, 543).
* In his letter to Benzelius, dated Liege December 15th, Swedenborg states that he saw these fire works in The Hague; but it is evident that this was a slip for "Amsterdam"; moreover, he wrote to Benzelius from that city early in December; see Bokwetts Gillets Protocoll, p. 63.
The Peace of Nystadt (Finland) on August 30, 1721,
concluded the war commenced by Charles XII twenty-one years
before, and whose disastrous point was reached by Sweden at
Pultava in 1709. And now, by the Treaty of Nystadt, Sweden
ceded to Russia all her Baltic possessions, and therefore
ceased for ever to be one of the great powers. In return,
she received from Russia the sum of
two million Riksdalers and the promise to refrain from
interference in Swedish domestic affairs to allow Sweden to
import a certain amount of grain annually from her late provinces.
Naturally, Swedenborg and his cousin were not enthusiastic spectators at this celebration of the hated enemy of Sweden shoe victory had stayed the triumphant career of their beloved Hero, and whose triumph marked Sweden's humiliation.
Among the many Latin verses exhibited during the celebration, Swedenborg notes one in particular which he copies out, and at Leige, a few days later, by changing a few words, he gives it a meaning more harmonious with his Swedish sentiments. As composed for the Russians, the verse reads:
Dec. 12/23 1721: (Op. P. 28)
Eagles triumphant in Mars, now triumph in Peace
Where erst stood Mars sits Peace with tender mien.
Two decades groaned the barbarous North,
But now sweet Peace brings back the day of joy.
Where streams of blood, now nectar stream shall flow,
'Tis Bacchus calls to arms when Mars is chained.
"Had it been permitted," he writes to Benzelius, "this could easily have been made to run as follows:"
Eagles triumphant by death (Morte),* thus triumph in Peace;
Where erst stood Mars,** the Czar himself now sits;
A decade groaned the Russian North,
But now sweet Peace brings back the day of joy.
Where streams of blood, now Nectar's streams shall flow,
When Mars** is chained 'tis Bacchus*** calls to arms.
* The death of Charles XII.
** Charles.
*** The God of the Muscovites.
But whatever his thoughts as to the Russians, Swedenborg must have been greatly charmed at the truly magnificent fireworks which were displayed, and which were described at length in a Dutch journal of the day. They were displayed on the water side on a platform 80 x 44 ells in size, on which was erected a building of four stories representing the temple of Juno, 35 x 25 ells in area, 55 ells high, surmounted by an eagle over 6 ells high. (Eur. Merc., 1721: 282-88)
The first story of this temple was illumined at 5 p.m. on December 9th, after a sumptuous banquet attended by Prince Kuropatkin, the Czar's brother-in-law, and other dignitaries, and then at 8:30 p.m. came the fireworks. The temple of Juno was fired at the top when fiery arrows shot out, balloons were set off, mountains of fire were seen, fiery water wheels, etc. - the whole display lasting about two hours, to the continual accompaniment of music by the military bands.
During these days in Holland, Swedenborg's busy pen was never idle. He was constantly thinking of the consequences and applications of his theory
These "thoughts" he sent to his brother-in-law in Upsala from time to time, in the hope that "they might be of use in my brother's conferences with those in the Society." Evidently, however, Swedenborg made two copies of them, for with a single exception, all these papers, which are still preserved among Benzelius's literary remains, were published a few months later in slightly altered form, together with many others. (OQ. 1:308 = LM., p. 261)
While in Leyden, Swedenborg's mind was peculiarly active on subjects developing out of his recently published Prodromus. In November he wrote an article on a subject probably suggested by the frost which doubtless then made its appearance, namely, the production of figures, particularly vegetable forms, by frozen water. After relating an observation of a mushroom-like crystallization he had noticed on the ice near Brunsbo, in the winter of 1718, he suggests that these formations indicate that hey originate in "the form, position, equilibrium, etc., of particles," and that they are all produced mechanically. (Misc. Obs. Pt. III:81)
These thoughts lead him to write another article on the fluidity of water, which he maintains is due to a "subtle matter" which, under extreme cold, escapes in the form of a hot vapor, or is confined in small cells or holes in the frozen water. (Ibid. P. 94)
An article of a different kind, which he wrote in Leiden - prompted thereto perhaps by a chemical lecture by Boerhaave - was on the impossibility of transmitting metals, especially to gold. This he endeavors to show on scientific principles, by pointing out that each metal has its own peculiar basic particles, and that the particles of gold are larger and heavier as shown by experiments. He ends by the reflection that the attention of the chemist should be given not to the vanity of alchemy but to advancement in the science of separating metals, as, for instance, gold from copper, etc. (Ibid. II:75)
The most important of the articles Swedenborg writes in Leiden was a series of two which were subsequently published in the Miscellaneous Observations under the heading Hypothesis. These are on the Figure and Size of Elementary Particles, on their power and on their undulation and vibration. Here, for the first time, Swedenborg outlines those thoughts which he subsequently developed in the Lesser Principia, and which reached their fruition in the Principia. (Ibid. III:83, 87)
He lays down three things which are essential to any just knowledge of the secrets of Nature "which are involved in the natural mechanism of particles:" (Ibid. P. 84)
1. That nature acts by things most simple, and that her
elementary particles must be of the most simple and least
artificial form. 2. That the beginning of nature is the same
as the beginning of geometry, that is to say, the origin of
natural particles is from mathematical points which form
lines, these forming areas, and these bodies; thus everything
in nature is geometrical.
3. All these elements are together and can be moved in one
place and naturally, without impediment. These are the three
points which must be taken as axioms; then, he adds, we must
be guided by experience and refuse to advance a step without
her leading; for in order to make up nature from one's own
mind, and to proceed ex priori to the knowledge of things
posterior, a man either must be divinely wise, or he will
take the densest shade for light. With these axioms and this
guide, says Swedenborg, "I believe we shall more easily be
admitted to the exploration of natural things wherein is
nothing artificial and alien to the rules of mechanism."
He then goes on to declare that particles of air, ether,
fire, differ only in size; that they must be round or
bullular, must original in mathematical points, and must have
a central, a progressive, and a vibratory motion; and,
finally, that all particles consist of crustals, and he
explains the permanence of these crustals in their place by
the equilibrium exercised by the pressure of the outside
element, and the pressure of the contents of the particle.
All this, however, is mere hypothesis, and it may be noted that when printed in Miscellaneous Observations, this and the following chapters wherein this matter is discussed, are headed "Hypothesis," all other chapters being headed "Observations." The theory put forward is merely an hypothesis, and, says Swedenborg, until it is proved, it "should be held as highly uncertain, hypothetical and imaginary."
Following this, and also written in Leiden, came an essay related to the same subject, namely, on the power and motion and on the undulation and vibration of bullular particles. Here Swedenborg shows that this power and motion increase in the higher order of particles; when air vibrates, ether undulates, thus causing a vibration in our sensory members; this explains how sound can enter where air cannot. So, when ether vibrates, light undulates and results in sight.
Swedenborg conjectures the relative ratio of vibration to be Air 1, Ether 300, and light 900, the vibration of light as compared to air being thus 800,000 to 1. It may be noted that Swedenborg, at this time, seems to take light to be a bullular particle in the next degree above ether; but, as he again emphasizes, his bullular hypothesis is a mere supposition.
The next article written in Leiden, and suggested perhaps by Doctor Boerhaave's lectures, was on the capillary circulation of the blood, giving reasons for his belief that instead of running more slowly in the fine capillaries, the blood moves there with greater rapidity. He illustrates this by the rapid ascent of water in capillary tubes, trees, blotting paper, etc., which he holds is due to the smallness of the water particle. He makes no suggestion of the doctrine of the division of the blood globule which he developed later after reading Leeuwenhoek's works. (Misc. Obs. II:78)
The last article is a very practical one on how to retain heat in rooms, showing the use of wainscoting and tapestry, the desirability of thin or wooden walls, and of low windows, etc. This was never included in his Miscellaneous Observations, but was printed in the Acta Literaria Sueciae after Swedenborg's return from abroad. (Misc. Obs., p. 153)
It would appear that his purpose in sending them was that they might be printed in the Acta Literaria Sueciae. But, if this was the case, he afterwards changed his mind and determined to print them together with other articles yet to be written, in a volume of Miscellaneous Observations. See p. 241 above.
As will be noted later, he sent copies of these Observations to Benzelius on December 12th and December 13th, after which he ceased sending them. The conclusion, therefore, is that after December 15th (probably after April 1722), he decided to publish these articles himself, and wrote to Benzelius to this effect, but gave him permission to publish the article on the Preserving of Heat in Rooms in the Acta Literaria Sueciae. It was printed in that journal for April 1722 which appeared in June 1722. The above conclusion is confirmed by the fact that on April 12th, 1722, the Bokswetts Gille decided to publish Swedenborg's article on Slat in the next number of the Acta Literaria Sueciae, but that instead thereof, his article on the Conservation of Heat was inserted. (Bok. G. Prot., p. 65)
The main reason why Swedenborg went to Amsterdam, the financial center of Holland, was to arrange financial matters in preparation for his further journeying. Here, on December 10th, he posted to Eric Benzelius the articles which he had written in Leiden.
Swedenborg had now given up his first intention of going from Holland to England, and determined instead to visit the mining districts in Germany. From Amsterdam, therefore, he and Hesselius went to Aix-la-Chapelle where they stayed a few days, and while there they examined the strata of shells to be found north of the city - in a site now occupied by the public park. Swedenborg wrote on these and gives a number of illustrations. (Bok. G. Prot., p. 68; Misc. Obs. I:15; see further as to Aachen, I:236-38)
They then went to Liege, then a part of the United Netherlands. There, Swedenborg became professionally interested in the rolling and cutting mills used for the manufacture of iron bars and hoop iron. Much Swedish iron was used here, besides the inferior iron of Leige and Brabant, and Swedenborg saw with regret the loss caused to Sweden by the absence of such works there. He was especially interested in the rolling mills, and they later served him as a means for suggesting something similar for Sweden. (Doc. 1:481)
In Liege he continued that geological curiosity which he had so frequently manifested in his wanderings around West Gottland. His particular interest was excited by geological specimens found in a small hill which is now used as a park; and particularly in a stone there found with vari-colored circles. With these he conducted some chemical experiments in order to ascertain the cause of these circles, and he embodies his conclusions in a paper sent from Liege (Luik) to Upsala. (Misc. Obs. I:23: Phot. 1;193; for experiments at Liege, see MO. I:27)
He and Hesselius stayed at Liege two weeks, during which Swedenborg busily occupies himself in writing, besides chemical experiments. (Ibid.)
Among the papers written here was one of some length on the Circular Crusts found in certain stones in the neighborhood of Liege. This he posted to Benzelius on December 23d N.s., together with his short note on the Fireworks seen in Holland. (Ibid.)
He also wrote an account of salt making in Sweden, and of the attempts made by Polhem and himself to develop it. The article was occasioned by Swedenborg's coming across a number of Sammlung von Natur und Medicin. . . Kunst for September 1717, where reference is made to the salt privileges given to Polhem; together with critical remarks as to the poor results; in any case, this article on salt making is part of the fulfilment of Swedenborg's determination expressed in December 1719, to translate his Swedish treatises into Latin that they might have a wider audience. See Nathorst, page 42. (Saml. V. Nat. u. K. 1717:102; see ACSD 252A; OQ. 1:296 = LM., p. 223)
He also describes an ingenious mathematical way to ascertain the individual weights of mixed metals, and an ingenious device which he calls the Glass of Archimedes, whereby to determine without calculation the proportions of the individual metals found in an alloy. He also wrote a short article on a peculiar stone found in Liege. (Misc. Obs. II:70, 72, 75, I:9)
Perhaps his room in Leige was smoky, or it may be his chemical experiments discovered them to be ill-ventilated, and his active mind at once thought concerning remedies. At any rate, during the few days he was in Liege, Swedenborg took the time to write a very practical little tract on the causes of smoking chimneys and the remedy. The above five articles were sent to Benzelius on December 26th N. S. (Ibid., II:61, I:9)
He left Liege together with Hesselius* on December 27th N. S. (Dec. 16th O. S.), proceeding to Aix-la-Chapelle where also, and likewise in the nearby Stolberg, he made his geological observation. Then to Cologne, Dillenburg, the Castle of Blanckstein, Marburg, Cassel and Leipzig, everywhere observant, everywhere curious; descending pits, being lowered into mines, questioning workmen. (OQ. 1:30 = LM. p. 261; Misc. Obs. I;15, 16, II:44, IV:131, 133)
* Hesselius was in Brunsbo in the summer of 1722 (Bokwetts Gille Prot., p. 73), but he went to Aix-la-Chapelle (ibid., p. 68).
During all this journeying, he was writing on a wide variety of subjects. Thus he writes an essay on the improvement of stoves, and another on fireplaces - perhaps inspired thereto by the discomforts of winter travel. He describes a cheap method of making an air pump with a table, a leather bag, and some mercury; air pumps were then extremely expensive. Many of his essays are on geological subjects with particular attention to the lawyers observed in different mountains, and in this connection he takes occasion in one tract or another to convey in Latin what he had already stated in Swedish in his Height of Water, but now with new evidence. (Misc. Obs. I;4-7, 1, 2, 3)
His mind is always busy as to the causes of the phenomena he observes. What is the origin of the remarkable hot springs he observed at Aix-la-Chapelle, he asks. Many learned men have written on this subject, he says, "yet, without contradicting them, I wish to state my own opinion" - which he proceeds to do. He is doubtful as to there being a fire in the center of the earth but holds that heat is stored up in many subterranean places and may continue for centuries - a position which he confirms from his experience in iron foundries burning charcoal. Water becomes impregnated with various substances, and by these heated subterranean places may become heated, and so our spas. (Ibid., pp. 31, 28)
Theoretical questions occupy him very greatly, but always with a view of testing his hypotheses by experiments. Thus, even on his travels he is constantly making chemical and other experiments. As an example of these, we adduce the following:
He scraped some fine powder from granite rocks and mixed it
thoroughly with water in a large glass vessel. Afterwards it
was left to settle, which it did in about six hours, forming
a sediment which, however, was not compact since it readily
moved on tilting the glass. He then dropped in a little sand
which passed right through the sediment. He then very
carefully placed a wood shaving at the very bottom of the
vessel, but it quickly rose up right through the sediment.
Then he inserted small fish in the same way, but they also
rose. (Misc. Obs., I:14)
From all this he concludes that the power from which granite
mountains came was originally very fine; that it gradually
subsided to the bottom of the ocean; that while it still
retained its fluidity, hard substances would sink through it,
and lighter would rise to the surface, and marine creatures
would escape from it before it had attained too hard a
consistency.
The powder in his experiment had not hardened in two days,
and its surface was disturbed by a disturbing of the
overlying water - which Swedenborg thinks accounts for the
irregularities and inequalities observed in granite
mountains.
The question of the origin of matter is very active with him. Of the primeval matter of the earth, he holds that the planets owe their origin to a hard chaos; but that he does not mean by this anything material is shown by his hypothesis that the original matter of the earth was water, which he confirms in several ways. This water became encrusted with a hard matter on the surface; the crust disrupted and sank; at the same time, salt was formed at the bottom of the sea. (Ibid., p. 28)
This is all theoretical, yet he returns to it again and again, even in the midst of his busy and observing travels. Thus, he writes concerning the figures of fire and water, on the mechanism of the bullular particles, on the centripetency of heavy bodies in a bullular element; and he applies his bullular theory to the explanation of the phenomena of phosphorescence and of other phenomena. (Ibid., III:92, 96, 100, 106)
Swedenborg left Leige for Leipzig via Cologne, Dillenburg, Limburg, Marburg, Cassel,* Stolberg and Brunswick, arriving at Leipzig toward the end of 1721. While in Leige, however, Swedenborg and Hesselius had busied themselves in gathering vegetable petrifactions, a number of which are illustrated by Swedenborg in an article published in the Miscellaneous Observations (I:13). The ten or twelve months occupied by the journey were occupied by visits to mines and by much writing and translating. At Leipzig he at once gathered together his various essays in order to publish them under the heading "Miscellaneous Observations, Parts 1-3." This work, the first fruits of his travels, he dedicated to Count Gustaf Bonde, a
* For an experiment tried at 7 Cassel, see Miscellaneous Observations I: pp. 16, 17, 18.
Swedenborg remained in Leipzig only a short time and partly - as we are told by a writer in the Historie der Gelehrsamkeit "for the most part incognito," whatever that may mean. This Historie der Gelehrsamkeit was a learned or literary journal edited by Professor Clodius of Leipzig University, being in May 1722, and Swedenborg seems to have had some conversations with the writer in question, as shown by the latter's view of Miscellaneous Observations, of which we shall speak later. (ACSD 264A) Swedenborg left Leipzig before the work was issued from the press, leaving the proofreading to be done by another. The result was decidedly unfortunate; indeed, so many were the typographical errors that Swedenborg not only had a page of "Errata" added to the book, but on this page he tells his reader:
"Since by the neglect of the proofreader, innumerable errors
have crept in, it is hardly worthwhile making corrections.
Because of these errors, the reader ought to throw this
impression away as he will soon have another and more correct
one."
The more glaring errata are then pointed out. (NP 1929:100)
It is evident that Swedenborg received the final proof after he had left Leipzig, when it was too late to make the numerous corrections that were needed. Hence the note. But, in order that the reviewers might not be misled, he sent a copy with his own autograph corrections to the Editor of the Historie der Gelehrsamkeit, and probably also to the Editor of the Acta Eruditorium, Johan B. Mencke, who was also the Editor of the Neue Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen. (Ibid.; Brokhaus, s. v. Mencke)
Before reaching Leipzig, Swedenborg had probably received an invitation to visit Duke Ludwig Rudolph of Blankenburg in the Hrts.* This Duke was extremely keen in all things that concerned mining, the principal industry of his dukedom, and was ever ready to support all learned, scientific men who promised to advance that industry. Swedenborg had already been in Blankenburg; see Misc. Obs., p. 118. From Duke Ludwig Rudolph, Swedenborg received not only permission to visit the Hartz Mines but also a grant of money to pay his expenses. Whether he met the Duke in his own capital Blankenburg, or in his brother's capital Brunswick, is not known; it is not improbable that he met him in both places (Resebeskrifn., p. 4)
* Hartz Mountains south of Brunswick.
In any case, it would seem that from Leipzig Swedenborg went to Blankenburg, visiting Eisleben on his way. Here, of course, he examined the copper mines with professional interest. We can well imagine also that his mind was stirred by this visit to the birthplace of Luther, the founder of that church of which his father was a bishop. (See De Cupro p. 168; Misc. Obs., IV pp. 117-18)
Having obtained at Blankenburg permission to visit the mines in Ludwig Rudolph's territory, he then proceeded to the Hartz. Here he visited the Baumann Caverns, famous for their remarkable stalactites; also the caves of Schartzfeld where are found so many petrified bones; and the copper mines of Lauterberg. See Miscellaneous Observations, Part IV, Dedication (p. 112).
The visit to Baumann's Caves led him to write down some thoughts as to the origin of stalactites. These he ascribes to the dripping of water which also, as he thinks, furnishes the origin to "stony crystals." As to its being the origin of stalactites, he confirms this by the resemblance of the latter to icicles caused by dripping water, the difference between them being that whereas in icicles the spaces between the water particles are empty, in stalactites they are filled with a substance carried by the dropping water - a conclusion, he adds, "which may be taken as established until experience teaches the contrary." (Misc. Obs., IV:127)
He confirms this by an examination of the dripping water in Baumann's Caves, which he finds to be impregnated with stony particles, "making the skin dry and rough as if it had been bathed with a solution of vitriol or alum." But he distinguished this water from the water which petrifies vegetables, bones, etc. - of the latter of which he found so great a collection in the caves at Schartzfeld; and this he confirms by the fact that in these petrified bones, their osseous character was still preserved, none of the interstices having been filled, as shown in a number of specimens which he gathered and preserved, including some which were embedded in stalactites. This petrifying water, he conjectures, is more subtle in character than the dropping water, and it oozes through the harder stones. (Ibid., p. 130)
In this connection he is led to some reflections as to the origin of mineral ores.
Some authors, he remarks, referring probably to Urban Hjrne,
have supposed them to be caused by solar or central fire; but
this he doubts on the ground that often the deepest veins are
the richest, and that where these veins are found, the
temperature is sensibly colder. He admits that possibly the
mineral ores themselves might owe their origin to some kind
of fire, even from solar or planetary rays, but he doubts
that fire was the agent which deposits them. This agent, he
maintains, is water which passes through the subtlest pores
of stones. While admitting that this is merely an
hypothesis, he adduces many confirmations from experience,
such as the fact that water is found in all mines, and is
frequently found to be metallic or vitriolic, saline, etc.
This water, running between strata of rock, will frequently
soften the rock and deposit its mineral contents in the form
of veins, as illustrated in Eisleben where ore is found only
on the surface of the strata, without penetrating the
underlying rock. This, he thinks, accounts for wood and
porous stones being frequently found impregnated with mineral
particles. "I myself," he says, "have seen the trunks of
oaks beset with true copper in their filamentary ducts where
water formerly ran; and also fir timber beset with silver."
And he here suggests that the generation of the actual metal
may also take place in water, wherein may lie a subtle
sulphur together with other substances giving rise first to
marcasites (pyrites) and then to minerals. All this he
learnedly supports with a rich store of experience, from
which also he answers possible objections to his theory.
(Ibid., pp. 117s, 123)
In this connection, he enters into a special examination of quartz as being the most common matrix of metals. He considers it to be a deposit
carried by water and gradually filling up great spaces,
caverns or gaps in rocky mountains - as seen in Baumann's
Caves, which he regards as being now in the process of being
filled up in this way by means of stalactites which are
eventually turned into spar or quartz by the presence of a
mineral or saline water.
"I have noticed in many mines that the stalactite stone
occupied an entire strata or cavern, and a vein rich with
some kind of mineral passed through the middle of it"; and he
further confirms his theory by a description of the strata
which he observed when descending a copper mine in Lauterberg
- the latter mine he regards as having been filled by
stalactites. (Misc. Obs. IV:133, 134)
And here, in passing, he tentatively approaches somewhat nearer to theory of creation. The first matter of mountains, he suggests, was soft and clayey, which gradually hardened, enclosing many hollows or caverns in which water may be contained. These mountains may also have subsided, have vomited fire, etc., thus giving new courses for the presence of water and cavities.
All these studies Swedenborg made at different times during his travels in the Hartz Mountains in February and March 1722. In the middle of the latter month (March 18th), we find him at the court of Brunswick, and here probably he presented his Miscellaneous Observations to Duke Ludwig Rudolph of Blankenburg,* who viewed it "with favor and assent." See below, p. 416. (Bok. G. Prot., p. 64; see Acton, Geog. Data)
* Ludwig Rudolph and his older brother August Wilhelm were the sons of Rudolph August, Duke Braunsweig-Lneburg. After the death of their father, the Duchy was divided, the oldest son becoming Prince of Braunsweig-Lneburg, and the younger Ludwig Rudolph, the Prince of Blankenburg.
He then proceeded to Lnberg, to visit the mines there, and from thence to Hamburg, and here, in the neighboring village, Schiffbeck - long since absorbed in the city - he published the fourth part of his Miscellaneous Observations which he dedicated to Ludwig Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick and Lneberg, to whom he addresses himself in the fulsome tone characteristic of that day when the progress of learning depended on the patronage of princes. The book was well received by Ludwig Rudolph, and was perhaps the beginning of Swedenborg's favor with him, and of the presents he received (see p. 250 below). (Pr., Dedication)
This part IV, besides the studies of which we have spoken, includes two articles, the presence of which is probably due to the influence of the author's princely portion.
The first was on the New Calculation invented by Charles XII, in describing which, Swedenborg gives us much knowledge concerning his audiences with the Swedish King.
That the inclusion of this remarkable narrative, which Swedenborg had never before put in writing, was due to Ludwig Rudolph, seems likely. Certainly, one can hardly doubt but that when Swedenborg met the Duke, the latter would inquire about the heroic Charles whose deeds had stirred and disturbed the whole of Europe; and that he would be duly informed by Swedenborg as to his work for the King, and his conversations with him. The new system of numbering which he had invented was well calculated to awaken the interest of the literati, and Ludwig Rudolph, himself an educated man, perhaps urged its publication. At any rate, this new system of numbering,
"when it shall be allowed to bring all the particulars to
open day, of which they are most deserving, I will publish
them," and, he adds, with a glow of just pride, "from them it
will be seen how great was the acumen of the King's
imagination, and how deeply he penetrated into the most
secret mysteries of the science of numbers."
What we have said of the first article of Part IV of the Miscellaneous Observations may also be said in part of the last, which was a somewhat long essay on improvements in smelting furnaces. It is a practical treatise based on Swedenborg's own experiences in the mining districts around Starbo, and it incorporated several suggestions and improvements calculated to the better smelting of the ore, and this with a saving of fuel. This essay incorporates the main features of the author's Swedish work on Blast Furnaces which he had deposited with College of Mines some two or three years earlier.
This subject would interest Ludwig Rudolph above all, for it concerned the means of enriching his own Duchy, and it would not be surprising if it led him not only to pay Swedenborg's traveling expenses but also to defray the cost of printing Miscellaneous Observations IV.
From Schiffbeck, Swedenborg returned to the Court at Brunswick, there to present copies of his work to the Dukes. Here he met Count Mauritz Wellink, formerly a trusted adviser of Charles XII, then disgraced, and now once more in favor. Wellink was in Brunswick as Swedish Plenipotentiary to attend a proposed Congress of Brunswick directed against the Czar, which, however, was never held; and a few weeks after Swedenborg met him, he returned to Sweden where later he came into the bad graces of the Riksdag and was condemned to death. (Malmstrm I:292)
That Swedenborg met Wellink seems probable. At any rate, he looked to him for favor and patronage, and it was with this in mind that he penned and caused to be printed at Schiffbeck a laudatory poem entitled:
"A Fable concerning the Love of Uranies and her Metamorphosis
into a man who was the Servant of Apollo." (OP., p. 29)
It is a pretty but extravagant piece characteristic of the times. For our purpose, it will suffice to present the plot of the Fable as given by the author, by way of an introduction to his poem:
"The Fable tells how that the Muse Uranie was
desperately in love with Apollo, and that on this account her
virginal life and perpetual youth was hateful to her. And
since Apollo was not in the heavens, she adorned herself with
many adornments and went down from heaven. And to the end
that she might find him, she went first to Sweden (which is
represented by the same Nymph) who stood in sadness, and when
she had asked in vain concerning her Apollo, she turned to
Sweden's court. But when she found him not there, she turned
to the high assembly or senate; and when neither there was
her Apollo to be found, she turned to various places in
Europe, and, finally, to Brunswick where, when she beheld the twin
brothers, Castor and Pollux, suddenly she saw her Apollo by
their side; and when she drew near to him, she at once
revealed her love and prayed that if he would not lover her
in return, he might rather deprive her of her youth or change
her into a man - which also was done. Hence Uranie (by whom
in part the poet means himself) became a servant to Apollo
and went to announce the latter's return to Sweden."
The poem is signed: "The most humble servant of his Apollo E. S.
Brunswick, April 27, 1722."
It is a fanciful poem, and in it Swedenborg pays his compliments to Ulrica Elenora and her Consort, and to Duke Ludwig and his brother whom he introduces under the persons of Castor and Pollux; he also makes some mocking allusion to the Russians and their Czar, calling the latter "a new Mars, boastful of speech" and surrounded by new gods.
This poem was presented to Count Wellink on April 27, 1722 - the eve of the King of Sweden's birthday. It was probably at this time also that Ludwig Rudolph crowned his gracious patronage by presenting to Swedenborg "his medal of gold, together with a large silver coffee pot." This coffee pot is no longer in the possession of the Swedenborg family and has probably been lost by fire, but a living member of the family, Major Swedenborg of Gothenburg, assures me that he saw it in his youth. Swedenborg again visited the Hartz mines, intending afterwards to continue his journey to Austria and Italy. But while still in the Hartz, word reached him of a new legal dispute which seemed to require his presence. (Resebeskrifn., p. 4; ACSD 312D; Doc. 1:407)
In 1721, after Swedenborg had left Sweden, the heirs demanded a distribution of the property of his maternal uncle, Lieutenant Captain Albrecht Behm, who died about 1700 leaving his extensive mining property to his sisters and their heirs.* At this time, these heirs were:
1. Brita Behm, Swedenborg's maternal aunt.
2. Peter Schnstrm's (Bishop Swedberg's brother) children by his first wife who was Swedenborg's maternal aunt.
3. Bishop Swedberg's children.
* From his wealthy father, Albrecht had inherited two portions, and each of his sisters one (Robinson, p. 43).
Brita Behm, who had looked after the property during her brother's long illness, was the Executrix, and she refused to distribute the inheritance pending the settlement of another case. After the death of her brother-in-law Peter Schnstrm (Swedenborg's paternal uncle), she had paid to his three children by his first marriage (namely, with her sister) the sum of 8,800 dal.k.mt., in redemption of their mother's claim on a portion of the Behm estate. The children by the second marriage now claimed this was illegal, and brought action against Brita, and this action was adduced by the latter as the reason for her refusal to distribute her brother's estate. The heirs of her brothers, however, contended that the action in question was a purely private one concerning Brita alone. And so on May 23, 1722, the matter was taken to court. (Lindh. Swed. Ekonomi, p. 8; ACSD 270A)
But prior to this there was much quarreling in the family. This we learn from letters addressed by Bishop Swedberg to Sister Brita's son-in-law Rosenadler. On March 13th, he writes:
"I hear that they are now assembled for receiving the
inheritance from the late de Behm. God grant they be united
and not too particular; they are such near blood relations.
More is gained in the long run if they will now give in
somewhat rather than stand on their strictest rights. They
have had not the least trouble over it, but Sister Brita has
had the greatest trouble, which should be honorably
remembered. Had there been any other manager, there would
certainly have been less to share." And then he adds: AN. B.
The poor must by no means be forgotten."
(Doc., 1:174)
On May 15th, a few days before the heirs went to court, he writes:
"It is a pity Major Schnstrm [Swedenborg's cousin] and his
brother-in-law* are so unreasonable. I will probably get
better knowledge of the matter from my son-in-law Assessor
Benzelstierna. It is in this way that Sister Brita gets
thanks for the great trouble she has had. Had any one else
had it in hand, one would have got less to quarrel over. Do
not let the matter come before the court but rather before
good men. This is a fat goose to pluck in court. Rather let
them get 5,000 daler if they have the conscience to take it."
(Doc. 1:179)
* These were: Lieutenant Woltemat and Corporal mskild, who had married Major Schnstrm's stepsisters.
And on July 10th he writes:
"I regret that they are such troublesome and unreasonable
heads that they cannot receive God's rich blessings in
harmony, but commence with wranglings, etc. And it is thus
also that good sister Brita gets such great trouble to reward
her for her pains. We would have seen whether they would
have had so much in expectation if some one else had had it
in hand. Such is the reward of the world. For myself, I
have now for twenty years put such matters entirely out of my
mind, and so no more know how to make account of it than a
child born yesterday. But my son the Assessor will likely
find himself at home in it, and will come to agreement with
sister Brita." (Doc. 1:181)
Prior to the date of this letter, Swedenborg had been informed of the matter, and he deemed it of such importance that he broke off the remainder of his projected journey and hurried back to Hamburg, and so to Stralsund and Ystad.*
* He had been away a few days more than a year, and not one and a quarter years as he wrote many years later. (Resebeskrifningar, p. 4.)
Swedenborg had determined to continue the studies that had been introduced by his Prodromus, by a work on Metals, which seems to be the "work itself" of which the Prodromus had been published in Amsterdam in the fall of 1720.
While on his way to Sweden, he perhaps paused long enough at Schiffbeck near Hamburg to have a prospectus of this work printed, which was subsequently distributed to the learned journals. Only one, however, took any notice of it, namely, the Nova Literaria, a Latin Monthly, supplementary to the German Neue Zeitung. In the August issue of this journal, the prospectus was reprinted in full, and must have raised some lively anticipation in those of its readers who were interested in mineralogy. (NP 1929:113)
The prospectus as printed on four quarto pages, without title-page or name of printer.* It opens with the words:
* The Latin text is printed in the New Philosophy for 1929: p. 115 seq.
"Since a book on The Genuine Treatment of Metals by Emanuel
Swedenborg, Assessor in the Swedish College of Mines, is to
be given to the press; which book will be printed in the
latter part of next year, 1723; therefore, if any person
wishes to pay something in advance, he will obtain a copy
which will cost him hardly one-half of what it will cost
otherwise."
Then follows a list of the proposed chapters, with a brief description of the mode of treatment. The author proposes to deal with the ores found in various countries, their smelting, and with the furnaces used, and suggested improvements in them. The work was to treat of Copper, Silver, Lead, God, Mercury, Iron, Tin, Zinc, Bismuth, Vitriol, Alum, Saltpeter, common Salt, Furnaces, Fire and Wind, and Mineral Matrices. After this list, the prospectus ends as follows:
"Since this work not only contains the particular operations
obtaining in the methods used throughout Europe, but also
discloses their good points and their defects, besides
containing many things as yet entirely unknown, which relate
to the knowledge of metals and their improved treatment, it
is to be supposed that it will be of the greatest use to the
metallic world. Since it exceeds 150 large folio sheets, or
1,200 pages quarto, and will be adorned with more than forty
large copper plates, therefore, any person who asks for it in
advance, will pay only 3 Dutch florins up to the end of the
present year, 1722, and 3 more florins when the work is
furnished to him; but he who has not subscribe will pay 10
florins.
"The above mentioned 3 florins may be deposited with the
following:" Then follow the names of Swedenborg's printers in
Amsterdam, Stockholm, Hamburg, and Leipzig.
On his return to Sweden, Swedenborg did not go at once to Stockholm but instead went to the famous watering place Medevi, beautifully situated near the eastern shore of Lake Vetter.
He did this with a double purpose, namely, to meet his sister and Eric Benzelius, who always spent their summers at the Springs, and also his father was with them, and that he might have access to the King who also was at Medevi to take the waters. See Documents 1:182.
Swedenborg discussed with his father the matter of the de Behm inheritance. The Bishop was anxious that when he arrived in Stockholm, he should discuss the matter with Brita's son-in-law Rosenadler, and do all that he could to "escape quarrel sand law processes which give rise to great delays; and the greatest part comes into the hands of the lawyers." (Doc. 1:183)
Meanwhile, on June 20th, the Swedish court gave out its decision in the Behm will case, ordering Brita Behm to distribute the property, and ordering the heirs to guarantee to her the 8,800 dal. K. mt. In case she lost her private suit. This settled the matter, though there was more unpleasantness; for Fru Brita, who seems to have been a very capable person, seems also to have been somewhat unbending. However, the upshot of the matter was that by this inheritance, Swedenborg became financially benefitted. That he was not a poor man is shown by the fact that when he returned to Sweden he had left a considerable bank balance in Holland. (Doc., 1:37; ACSD 272(2), 273C)
And now to return to Medevi. Here, on July 14th, Swedenborg addressed a petition to the King, setting forth that during his travels he had made a number of discoveries whereby the yield of the Swedish mines could be considerably increased. For the present, however, he confines himself to his discovery of a new method of smelting copper ore, and asks for an opportunity of showing by actual tests that he can extract at least eleven skeppunds (22 tons) of copper from the same quantity and quality of Falun ore from which only ten skeppunds (20 tons) are now obtained. He suggests a test of the old and new processes on a large scale, to be conducted at the Falun mines under the superintendency of the College of Mines, which is to allow to both parties the same quantities of ore and charcoal. Furthermore, in order to forestall all possible objections, he agrees that in case his process results in any loss of coal or copper, he will at once reimburse the mining authorities from his own purse. On the other hand, if his process shows a saving of ten per cent, he asks that
"Your Royal Majesty will most graciously be pleased to grant
me the first year's gains which may accrue therefrom,
reckoned according to the whole yield of copper in Sweden
which may become benefitted thereby; and that this be voted
to me from the public purse as soon as the proofs have been
made." (LM., p. 264; Doc., 1:409)
In addition, he points out that in view of the haphazard
character which enters into the methods now employed, the use
of his method will likely lead to new improvements, in which
case he prays for the same recompense. He also requests a
like reward from the saving of coal due to his process.
As to the trial itself, he lays down the condition that in
case of failure at the first test, another test shall be
allowed; and this, because the man whom he would have to
employ would be new to the process and to the new furnace he
has designed; but the mining authorities shall also have the
right to demand a second test.
Naturally, Swedenborg does not disclose the nature of his new process, but one thing does appear from his letter, namely, that he had assayed the Falun copper ore and discovered that the amount of copper obtained by smelting was less than obtained by assaying. It was this that was in his mind when observing the process used in the copper mines at Lauterbach. His new method was the result of certain adaptations of the German methods and some improvements. It is curious that nowhere in his work on copper does Swedenborg make any mention of any new method of smelting invented by himself. From one passage in that work, however, one might suppose that after all, this new method came into use. The passage occurs in the chapter on Attempts at Improvements, which opens with the statement that the process of smelting used at Falun had not been satisfactory. Then come the words:
"Thirty years ago [i.e., prior to 1733]," etc., but he says nothing of his own process. We may add that it was fortunate for him that he was visiting these mines with the consent of Duke Ludwig Rudolph, as otherwise he would not have been likely to have got any information as to their processes - it being the custom, both there and in Austria and also in Sweden, to keep these processes as closely guarded secrets; a custom which Swedenborg, may years later, greatly deprecates. (De Cupro. P. 42)
King Frederick at once sent this Petition to the College of Mines in Stockholm, and there we will leave it until Swedenborg himself reaches that city. It appears that he talked about these matters with his father, who was at Medevi, partly with the object of securing the King's consent to the printing of a new edition of the Bible for use in America. The Bishop had no skill in mining matters, but naturally he wishes his son well:
"God grant," he writes, after leaving Medevi, "that he gets
forward with his many devices, and that they stand the test.
Probably different ores, different mining methods exist in
Germany than in Sweden." (Doc. I:182, 183)
Eric Benezlius, on the other hand, with his usual caution, reminded Swedenborg of the previous experience in Falun of Johan Kunckel von Lwenstein.* But Swedenborg is sure of success:
* Kunckel was a famous German metallurgist and chemist who, in 1688, was called to Sweden. There he was ennobled, and there he remained until his death in 1703. In 1695, he claimed that he could improve the production of copper, basing his claim or laboratory experiments. At his request, experiments on a large scale like those asked for by Swedenborg were instituted. But Kunckel failed to earn the promised reward of 50,000 imperial dalers (De Cupro, p. 45 seq.)
"I do not proceed on such loose principles as Kunckel," he
writes to Benzelius in August, "but have on my side two new
proofs of importance, many minor proofs, the calculation and
the theory, and also their own uncertainty in their smelting
operations." (OQ. 1:309 = LM., p. 268)
Swedenborg spent the rest of his stay in Medevi in the pleasant company of his brother, his sister Anna and her husband Eric together with their five children.
One day, however, was distinguished from the rest as a day of public festivity, namely, Wednesday, July 18th, which was "Frederic Day," that is to say, the day consecrated to the memory of all the Fredericks, and therefore especially celebrated in honor of King Frederick on this his first visit to Medevi. (OP., p. 38)
For this event, Swedenborg composed a short verse in which he compares the King and Queen to Phoebus and Pallas, and adds that though the Fates alone can know the future, yet, the Medevi Founts give assurance to his wishes for their continued health. Whether this verse was ever presented to the King is not known. It is not improbable, however, that by the influence of Doctor Hjrne, the discoverer of Medevi, and Doctor Benzelius, an old visitor, it was read as part of a public celebration. The verse is of little worth and was perhaps dashed off hurriedly. We are not surprised that it did not appear in the Acta Literaria Sueciae, though the Editors of that journal had referred it to John Malmstrm, Professor of Jurisprudence, for advice as to publication. (Bok. G. Prot., p. 70; LM., p. 263)
Before the end of July, Swedenborg had returned to Stockholm, where he at once applied himself to settling amicably the dispute as to the de Behm inheritance.
"Emanuel gives me good hope," writes his father on arriving
at his home on August 7th, "that those concerned will likely
soon come into agreement. God grant it." (Doc. I:184)
The father's hope was not unjustified, for Swedenborg settled the dispute by buying out the heirs. At the beginning of August, the deed of settlement required only the signature of Peter Schnstrm. By the beginning of 1723, the matter was fully settled, and Swedenborg became a one-fifth owner of the valuable Axmar Ironworks, his sole partner being his Aunt Brita. His payments for this accomplishment amounted to a total of 29,172 dalers k. mt. For Axmar, as follows:
To his brother Jesper } (6,567 = Behm inheritance
To his brother Jesper } (4,571 = Bergia inheritance
To his brother-in-law Lundstedt 15,957
To his brother-in-law Unge 16,000
To his cousin Peter 3,000 46,095
The payments were made in the beginning of 1723, and for this purpose Swedenborg drew on his Amsterdam funds.* (NKTid. 1928:113s [Lindh]; Doc. I;378) See Opera Quaedam 1:310 ] LM., p. 278.
* The difference between the sum paid to Jesper and the other sum arises from the fact that the latter included the sale not only of the Starbo interests but also of the interests in the Behm inheritance, namely, Bergshammar and Skinnskatteberg, Gesberg and Axmar. From a document of sale executed by Swedenborg in 1729, it would seem that by this arrangement, Swedenborg acquired one-half of the Skinnskatteberg property, the other half being acquired by his brother-in-law Lars; but that he obtained only one-seventh of the Gesberg property. Aunt Brita probably owning the balance or the greater part thereof.
The Skinnskatteberg property consisted of two forges with an annual capacity of 1300 tons of iron, besides two farms and interests in other farms. (NKTid. 1927:78; ACSD 488A)
Meanwhile, Swedenborg was busy with his literary work. During his absence abroad he had, of course, read Professor Quensel's criticisms on his method of finding the Longitude, and now that he was again in Sweden, he undertook to answer it, thus entering upon the first of the three and only literary disputes in which he engaged. Swedenborg was not a disputatious man; he was developing rather that philosophical character which is content to give forth its views without either attacking others or giving much thought to defending its own.
His answer to Quensel was written early in August, when it was sent to the Literary Guild in Upsala and was printed in the September number of the Acta Literaria Sueciae, pp. 315-17. It has never been translated. The curious thing about this answer is that not only was it written anonymously but the writer represents himself as a friend of the author, naturally leaving the impression that the author himself was not yet returned to Sweden. He writes:
"If it may be allowed to answer in a friendly way in place of
the author, it should not be forgotten," etc. He then refers
to "the author's" Swedish work on the Longitude, showing that
there Quensel's objections had already been considered at
length; he adds that they had been omitted in the Latin work
for the sake of brevity. This earlier presentation he then
develops.
The matter dropped here, for no answer was made by Professor Quensel. (Bok. G. Prot., p. 70; see LM., p. 268)
Swedenborg had a more serious controversy, which was not without some heat, with a Leipzig reviewer of his Miscellaneous Observations, Parts I-III. The review in question appeared in the Historie der Gelehrsamkeit for August 1722, and was brought to Swedenborg's attention by the Upsala Librarian Benzelius. The review was a sharp one, and Swedenborg cannot have found it pleasant reading. (NP. 1929:99; see LM., p. 280)
The reviewer commences with some short account of
Swedenborg which would indicate that they had met in friendly
conversation. Coming to the work itself, he notes that he
had had access to a copy with the author's autographic
corrections; yet, despite this, he found much that surprised
him. The author, he adds, lacks "a pure, elegant and clear
diction." This might be excused, but "the more one begins to
look into his sentences and the singular elaboration and
connection of his thoughts, the . . . more impossible it is
to be of one mind with him." The observations on things in
Sweden, he continues, "are not to be cast aside," though much
"is of no special interest" and much is not new.
He then turns to the mathematical side of the work:
The author, he says, "has certainly studied
mathematics," but he applies them carelessly and does not
seem to desire the reputation "of being very expert in the
mysteries of higher geometry."
In philosophy, he endeavors
"to investigate the origin, nature, force, and distinction of
the elements"; in this, says the reviewer, he might be
opposed; but he hastens to add: "The author specifically says
in many places that he gives his theories out only as
speculations, to be tested by experience." This would seem a
gracious addition, were it not that the reviewer continues:
"But one easily sees how much these apologies amount to. From
the marvelous and ever active powers of the imagination, both
ancient and modern philosophers have already hatched out so
many sorts of elements, and have played such divers comedies
with them, that it is not likely that an enthusiast will be
able to complain of any lack of them; and since the author
seems to be a very special admirer of Herr Newton, it cannot
be unknown to him now little value this great mathematician
and physiologist was wont to set an all concocted theories of
physics, grounded only in the imagination of their
discoverer. Certainly, one cannot possibly take serious
pleasure in trifles of this sort, when one reflects how many
weighty and highly useful truths have hitherto been
discovered, and also are still possible of discovery in the
future by clever and searching heads, with the help of clear
experiments, careful investigations and well applied
mathematical principles, as being the true, the only, and the
perfect foundations of natural philosophy. Until this source
is exhausted, it is hardly permissible for a natural
philosopher to seek other sources in his own brain."
The reviewer then proceeds to attack the fundamental nature of these theories, and in this respect he is the first of many subsequent critics of Swedenborg's works, both scientific and theological. The theories of others, say this reviewer, one can at least understand, gut this is "by no means the case with Swedenborg's elements," no matter how much one may labor vaguely to assume that which the author himself does not venture to give out as certain.
The reviewer then takes up the first essay in Miscellaneous Observations wherein Swedenborg attempts to demonstrate, by an expression of his "hydrostatic theory," that
great stones were moved at the bottom of the seas with a
force proportioned to the height of the column of water, just
as bodies are moved on land by the force of air. Here the
reviewer is very specific in his attack. Swedenborg's
theory, he says, "is wholly and altogether opposed to the end
and object of hydrostatic principles," and this he proceeds
to demonstrate.
He then turns to the three hypotheses of which we have already spoken, namely, that nature like geometry beings from points which form lines, and these areas; and that all these are in motion. To this, the reviewer objects that motion cannot exist in mathematical points, and he gives Swedenborg's own answer to the objection, namely,
that he "nonetheless assumes a motion, and this of the
simplest kind, being a vortical motion around a central
point."
This is too much for our reviewer who does not even dream of the discoveries of modern physics.
"We are unfortunate," he says, "in being entirely unable to
comprehend this very singular piece of deduction. This much,
however, we know, namely, that there is no line consisting of
points, no plane consisting of lines, and no body consisting
of planes. It is indeed known from Cavallerius, that the
latter was accustomed to call the endless small parts of a
body, points. . . But since these names are entirely opposed
to general usage in mathematical terminology, and so may
easily give occasion to divers errors, modern mathematicians
have not followed Cavallerius in this respect. . . A
mathematical point is an indivisible sign existing in the
imagination alone," and if it describes a line, etc., this
also is purely imaginary. Indeed, he wonders how the author
has come to his "extraordinary and incomprehensible opinion."
This review by a caustic critic, so different from the complimentary review or rather summary presentation given by the Acta Eruditorum, would be injurious enough to Swedenborg's reputation as a scientist and philosopher, even appearing as it did in a newly established and, though ably edited, yet little known journal; but its bad effect was multiplied many times when the highly popular Neue Zeitung published a short resum of it, faithfully reflecting its caustic sarcasm.
This review made Swedenborg indignant, especially the personal criticisms and the element of anonymity. As to the latter, his indignation was not that the review itself had not been signed but that, whereas the editors of all other learned journals were well known, the editors of the journal in question were professedly anonymous, and therefore, of course, could not be held to account for what they wrote.
Swedenborg does not appear to have given any thought to the reviewer's objections to his theory of motion in geometrical points, etc., probably realizing that his theory was somewhat beyond the comprehension of the merely scientific professor. The same was not true, however, of the criticism directed against his hydrostatic law; here his reputation as a natural scientist was involved.
Therefore, in the beginning of November and actually, though not professedly, in answer to this attack, Swedenborg wrote a short article
* As illustrated by rushing streams, dams, strong winds, etc.
At the end* of the article, Swedenborg added a reference to the Historie der Gelehrsamkeit, as though it were a kind of afterthought:
* This end of the article was written later, after Swedenborg had at last got a copy of Historie der Gelehrsamkeit.
"There has lately come to hand a journal published in
Leipzig and called Historie der Gelehrsamkeit, which is
written by anonymous persons who have sharpened their quill
against our Miscellaneous Observations; and particularly
against its printer's errors; against the aforementioned
hydrostatic law; and against our sentiments respecting
mathematical points - of which latter, God willing, we shall
speak elsewhere. But in their Preface, these persons speak
of themselves in the following fashion: That they are
anonymous collectors; that they have no director; no head; no
law as among themselves; and that each one is unknown to the
other; and that yet, and without the aid of inspiration, as
they themselves say, they every year bring forth an offspring
or journal with the name designated above. Who these persons
are or what their quality, does not concern us. But seeing
that hey are anonymous, without a leader, and without law, to
the end that they may safely lie in ambush for the passing
traveler, they must pardon us that we consider it neither
decorous nor wise ever to provoke them to any combat."
(NP. 1929:108-9)
This note reminds one forcibly of Swedenborg's printed note on Ernesti in connection with the latter's bitter review of Swedenborg's theological writings. In this note, Swedenborg refuses to answer Ernesti on essentially the same grounds as in the present case, and then he refers him to TCR 137 where he will find something against himself. (Doc. I:58)
Benzelius (and probably also Swedenborg) eagerly waited to see what effect Swedenborg's article would have in Leipzig. However, before it had appeared in print, Benzelius writes to his brother-in-law:
"I would that the Historie der Gelehrsamkeit would arrive so
that one could look her in the eyes, since she herself would
rather go with a mask before her face, and this is
suspicious." (OQ. 1:311 = LM., p. 289)
But the reply was not to appear for a long time, for the issue of the Acta Literaria Sueciae was, for some reason, not noticed in Leipzig until fifteen months after its appearance, when the Neue Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen, in its issue for February 29, 1724, gave a lengthy resum of
He is not at all surprised that Herr Swedenborg, in the
Acta Literaria Sueciae, desires to make it appear as though
he did not wish to enter into any issue with him; though at
the same time, to some, he has given the impression that by
his article he wished to justify himself as against the
Historie der Gelehrsamkeit. This trick is entirely too
common that one should wonder at it. But it might possibly
bring wonder to some that even now, after so many reminders
have been given him, he makes no due distinction between the
natural pressure of water and its violent onset. The pressure
of water does indeed increase in ratio with the altitude, but
the force of its onset can be estimated only according to the
swiftness and density of the water. The latter is a living,
the former a dead force, and they can by no means be compared
with each other. If, then, the flood not only had moved
immense rocks but had also been able to heap them one above
the other, this must be ascribed, not to any natural pressure
according to altitude, but to a violent and entirely
unnatural motion of the water.
"As to what is written in the preface to the Historie
der Gelehrsamkeit," the answer continues, "this was never
entirely approved of by the author of the review; moreover,
no one of them in particular can be made responsible for it.
But if one did not wish to bind himself to any special laws,
it was because he believed that even in this case the rules
of decorum and fairness were already sufficient to remind
each one of his duty. These rules, moreover, have not been
transgressed as against Herr Swedenborg, to whom his opponent
would make himself known without hesitation if there were any
occasion for so doing; just as, on other occasions, he has
already shown that he does not fear to stand before the eyes
of opponents without a mask."
We may dismiss this subject by noting that Benzelius wrote to Swedenborg concerning this reply soon after its appearance on March 23rd; and in the following May 91924), Swedenborg writes to Benzelius:
"As concerns my antagonist's severe answer, I should like to
see it; for words will not move me, and, as I promised in my
printed article, no answer whatever will be made to it, for
it would be a most ignoble strife - one with a mask, and the
other without a mask. Probably, it is one of the canaille of
the multitude, etc., that I have to do with, since he lays
the greatest stress on words; for he seems to have no
understanding of the matter itself, and barely an adequate
one of my position, seeing that he represents that position
as being that a mountain must have been moved. He does not
know that in Sweden great rocks are found on flat ground,
and that many ridges and mountains consist solely of stones
piled together. Therefore, to please the learned in Sweden,
I will compose right soon a simple proposition, bringing
forward the data together with experiments from hydrostatics
and hydraulics set over against them, and will add thereto
geometry; and so will
makes a clear conclusion without any mention of the canaille
who seeks glory by dragging some one in an ignoble fashion
into a dispute from which he himself can lose no honor,
seeing that he is unknown, but the other can, since he is
known. This demonstration, I will afterwards send to
Councillor of Commerce Polhem, and when he has given his
judgment, my brother might send a copy to Wolff in Halle, and
Julius in Leipzig. For I presume that with their judgment,
my brother and other learned men will be content - which is
quite enough." (OQ. 1:313 = LM., p. 333, 335)
It does not appear that Swedenborg ever wrote this projected explanation of his position. But we learn that on August 14, 1724, at a meeting of the Upsala Society which he attended, he "promised to write something in answer to the criticism of his article made in the Neue Zeitung no. 24," which doubtless he had then himself read. The answer was never made, and so the mater dropped. (Bok. G. Prot., p. 108)
A third work which Swedenborg did in Stockholm was of an entirely different nature, being a work entitled "Thoughts on the Fall and Rise of the Swedish Coinage," which he published in the beginning of November. It was a book of 18 pages of close and exact reasoning, which reveals Swedenborg as familiar with business laws and transactions. The work was published anonymously, though the name of its author was well known in official circles. Chydenius, an eminent author on financial economy, writing in 1766, called this book "a solid treatise," showing the extreme danger of devaluing the coinage. "He brings the matter out with such clearness and force that his work can hardly be improved on and needs no more than to be adapted to the crisis in which we now are." For this reason the work was reprinted in 1771, perhaps by Chydenius. Swedenborg deals with the effect of coinage lowering on mining, particularly the iron trade which he was expertly skilled in, commerce, industry, and the salaries of the people high and low. See Chydenius II:285. (ACSD 289; NP., 1929:122)
His purpose in writing this work was to prepare for the Diet, which was to meet in the following January and at which it was anticipated an effort would be made to lower the value of the coinage. The subject was evidently being actively discussed, and according to Swedenborg's own testimony, his work made somewhat of a stir. In order to further his purpose, he applied to his cousin Rosenadler, the Censor of Books, for permission
"to publish in the Swedish papers an announcement asking for
the expression of opinions opposed to the views set forth in
his work, in order that he might take up and explain them;
and urging this the more because the matter was of the
highest importance for the Fatherland, and should be
discussed before the meeting of the Diet."
(OQ. 1:311 = ACSD 296)
Rosenadler read this application to the Chancery College on December 13th, and after considerable discussion, it was finally refused - although most of the members favored it.
One of the members thought Swedenborg's design presumptuous, but Rosenadler explained that Swedenborg's reason was inspired by the thought that the matter was of the utmost importance to all classes, rich and poor, high and low. Another member, the father of the Count von Hpken who became so friendly with Swedenborg in his old age, was strongly opposed. Swedenborg's book he said, contained not a single argument that had not been considered by one or other of the Colleges; in fact, the question is settled and awaits only the action of the Diet. For a private individual
Rosenadler was supported by Count Gyllenborg who appealed to the freedom existing in England. Another member of the College agreed to this, but was against Swedenborg's announcement going into the papers because it would then be considered as official. Another member also agreed, but he added that, since the King had asked the opinion of the Colleges, it would be presumptuous for a private person to give his opinion. But it was answered that he matter was in every one's mouth, and, in any case, it is the Diet that would decide.
Baron von Hpken then expressed his real opinion. He said Swedenborg's argument all rest on a false basis, and so long as he has no better arguments in so delicate a matter, he ought to refrain from entering into the question. In that case, said Rosenadler, his mistakes should be pointed out so that he might have the opportunity of explaining himself. Moreover, "he had heard this pamphlet commended by men who were familiar with the subject."
Despite this discussion, preponderately in Swedenborg's favor, his request was denied on the ground that the advertisement he contemplated would be taken as official.
Rosenadler seems to have been much disturbed at this
decision for he brought the general question up in a full
meeting of the House of Nobles in the Diet which opened in
January 1723. On January 29th, the marshal Arvid Horn stated
that "Chancery Councillor Rosenadler asks that he may have
permission to allow the tracts on the coinage, economics,
etc., which have been written by various persons, to go to
print." At first it was thought that all such works should
first be read to the House, but due to the influence of Count
Gyllenborg, who pleaded for freedom, the matter was left to
Rosenadler's discretion. (R. O. A. Prot., 1723 I:p. 32)
Nevertheless, Swedenborg's pamphlet, by reason of its sound and unanswerable reasoning, accomplished what he desired; for the Diet left the coinage untouched.
During the literary work which we have been describing, Swedenborg was also occupied with matters connected with the College of Mines, and his suggested improvement in copper smelting, to say nothing of attending to his own affairs at Starbo, which he seems to have visited for this purpose in August and September. Perhaps also in the latter month he paid a visit to Brunsbo where the King and Queen were guests of his father, and where his father wished him to be present. An amusing story is told of this visit, from which it appears that the Bishop's wife was not above secreting some of the royal silver which had been sent to Brunsbo for this occasion. (OQ. 1:309 = LM., p. 268; Doc. I:183, 186; ACSD 297A)
His petition for a test at Falun had been referred by the King to the Bergscollegium. The College took up the matter on October 4th, when
* Through Swedenborg was always addressed as "Assessor," and though in his Prospectus published in 1722 he speaks of himself as "Assessor in the Swedish College of Mines," yet, on his return to Stockholm in 1722, he does not seem to have made any claim to a seat in the College, and there is no record of his attendance at any of the College sessions. The Minutes, however, always refer to him as "Assessor." (ACSD 283)
One of these conditions was that all precautions shall be taken against possible trickery. Swedenborg apologizes for laying down this condition since the test was to be under the superintendence of the College - which, we may add, had long been noted for its thoroughness - but he reminded the latter that the workmen prefer to follow their old methods and are willing to have them changed, no matter what advantage the change may bring. Another condition was that Swedenborg's test was to follow the Falun test lest there be some copying; and still another, that the ore and charcoal were to be divided into two equal parts and then to be assigned by the drawing of lots in the presence of witnesses.
With regard to the reward which he asks, namely, an amount equaling the value of the increased production for the first year, he says:
"I have presumed to request this because, for the
instituting of the operation, great care, expense and time
are demanded, and, in addition, I risk my name, in case by
reason of one thing or another resulting from the
carelessness of the workmen, the test should fail, which,
however, I do not suppose it will. And since, for the sake
of the public use, this process will be left by me without
equitable recompense, therefore, with the deepest respect I
will recognize it as a high favor if I can enjoy a small part
of that which, in the long run, will be gained by this
process." (LM., p. 278)
On October 11th, the Bergscollegium sent to the Falun Mining authorities, for their consideration, a copy of Swedenborg's petition to the King, and of the thirteen conditions which he had drawn up, adding that, since Swedenborg's design seemed a very great benefit for the country, the College would like to see the trial made as soon as possible. (ACSD 285)
The Mining authorities considered the matter and concluded as to their answer on October 27th, and on November 10th this answer as sent to the Bergscollegium. It justified Swedenborg's suspicions as to the obstinate conservatism of the miners. (ACSD 287A)
They answer Swedenborg's conditions one by one, being animated, as they state, by the design that every precaution shall be taken so that no dispute may arise between Swedenborg and themselves, and that they shall with greater security undertake
"so delicate and ticklish a project as changing a smelting
process worked up and authorized for some centuries, which
hitherto has
come from too many burned fingers than that one could bring
oneself to follow other speculations and mental rules than
those which experience itself has taught and shown to be
true, and on which in this Society some hundreds of persons
have worked every year diligently and faithfully, as men
working at something from which came their only livelihood,
prosperity, and means of nourishment, and on which for the
most part these were founded." (Doc. I:414)
But despite all this, despite also the experiments made
in the past by many men, all of whom are mentioned by name,
who had claimed the greatest merits for their inventions but
who in actual tests at Falun had miserably failed "so that
this place has acquired a distaste and weariness for the new
metal men," as "they are called here" - despite all this,
they would not obstruct Swedenborg "since what lies hidden in
nature and art is never fully brought out."
With this preface, they address themselves to Swedenborg's thirteen conditions. We now present these conditions together with the answers by the Falun authorities: (LM., p. 281)
1. All necessary materials to be supplied by the Falun authorities. Answer: they will give him all the assistance which can reasonably be asked for and allowed, provided it involves no injury or expense to them.
2. Swedenborg to have the choice of the place for the test and skilled workmen to carry it out, and also one of the adjuncts of the Bergscollegium. Agreed to, except that they cannot order any one to leave his work until he has finished with the ore he has in hand. But before Swedenborg receives any award, he must see to it that all the members to whom the award would be debited, should have "as good a smelter and as suitable a place" as he himself desires.
To this was added the statement that Swedenborg's conditions implied that many of the sites in use are unsuitable for the new process. Moreover, the workmen are ignorant and many will be unable quickly to learn the new methods. Those who have not all the advantages Swedenborg demands, will not be able to make the extra ten per cent which Swedenborg asks for, and so disputes will arise.
3. All engaged in the trial to pledge themselves by oath to honorable dealing; and no one to be allowed near the works while the trial is in process; and perhaps other precautions to assure all that there is no trickery. Agreed to, but as further precaution, the Bergscollegium should appoint two men who would take turns in attendance at Swedenborg's tests; he to have the same privilege as regards their tests.
4. Swedenborg's trial to come last, for otherwise "one or other of the things which I propose to show in the operation may be found capable of improvement or can be used by them with advantage in the test that follows."
The Tests should be made simultaneously.
The Mining authorities are will to have Swedenborg make this test, and in case his project is an improvement and can be introduced into the whole district "without great trouble and expense," they are willing to recompense him "according to the benefits that can be seen to be derived" from his inventions. But they cannot bind themselves to give ten per cent on the basis of a few tests. (ACSD 287A)
This reply from Falun was referred by the Bergscollegium to Swedenborg, and some two weeks later, on December 7th, the latter submitted his reply.
Here, Swedenborg does not fail to note the mining authorities' attachment to old methods, and their dislike of any change. He, however, unlike the foreigners who had made tests in the past, had no desire to change a process so long built on experiences; his only object being
"by paying more exact attention to the condition of the fire,
the blast, the furnace and the ore," to save that part of the
copper that now goes off in smoke or slag, and thereby
"give surer rules than those which are now known." He did
not wish to escape responsibility if he failed, and if he
succeeded, he had asked the award from the public treasury
without its being any burden on the mining district.
As to the suggestion that he should provide all smelters with equally good conditions as he would have for his own test, he observes that
he had done his duty when he laid all before their eyes and
instructed the more skillful among them. He cannot furnish
men with understanding, and his award should not depend on
other men's will and ability. Moreover, all that he had
promised was an increase of ten per cent over what any
particular smelter had formerly obtained; and as to reckoning
the smelters' increased gains, the authorities would have had
no difficulty in this if it were they who asked for the
payment.
He objected to the tests being made simultaneously because it
would give rise to suspicion, since no one can be in two
places at the same time.
But he agreed that basis for estimating the gain produced by
his process shall be fixed before the tests are begun.
He still insists on the test being made on amounts of ore of
at least 10 skeppunds, partly for a reason he will not
divulge, and partly because similar amounts result in waste
in copper and in time. Incidentally, he here suggests, as a
practical miner, that if most of the smelters can deal only
with five or less skeppunds, they ought to combine their ores
for a single smelting.
As to the miners' statement that, in case Swedenborg is successful they are willing to reward him according to the benefits received, he asks the College of Mines and the Falun authorities how he can proceed with the test on a mere promise, and this by men who had raised up so many difficulties. Even if most successful, he would still be risking his reputation if the results were subject to the judgment of men who were opposed to the whole thing.
The objection based on the uncertainty of the work showed only that in the processes used at Falun is an uncertainty not found elsewhere, and that in one way or another an improvement and remedy is needed.
Finally, he expresses the conviction that the Bergscollegium would surely promote a test which they have granted to so many foreigners and which, if successful, would accrue to their own benefit. (Doc. I:421; LM. p. 284)
The copy of this letter received by the Bergscollegium has a note that it was laid before the Assessors on December 13, 1722, but no mention of the matter is in the Minutes of that day, nor, indeed, on any other date. In fact, from this time, the matter is lost sight of and no further trace of it can be found.
Probably, despite the good will of the College, which, under Count Bonde, may be taken for granted, the Falun authorities made it impossible to arrive at any fixed rules for the test, and Swedenborg was unwilling to risk his reputation by allowing prejudiced judges to determine the award to be paid him.
We have dwelt on this matter because it shows not only Swedenborg's knowledge of men and mining matters but also keenness in nice legal precautions.
The opening of 1723 witnessed the commencement of Swedenborg's participation as a member of the House of Nobles in the business of the government. He had been introduced into the House in January 1720,* but does not seem to have taken any active part in its affairs. In 1723, however, a matter came up for discussion which both awakened his interest and aroused his fears for the welfare of Sweden, especially in respect to her principal industry, her mineral wealth.
* There was no Diet in 1720-21.
The many questions involved in the establishment of political freedom had fully occupied the preceding Diet, 1719-20, and now, at the time of the Diet of 1723, there was an active discussion as to the means to improve Sweden's economic and financial position, and especially to favor Swedish merchants against foreign merchants, who, by their resident agents, etc., then had so great a portion of Sweden's trade. The matter was not discussed openly in the Diet but was referred to the Commerce Deputation. We may add that on February 9th, Swedenborg had been elected a member of the Bergs Deputation* which was closely associated with the Commerce Deputation. On February 6th, the Bergs, Tull and Commerce Deputation were officially recognized as a single Deputation, and to this Deputation, the question of import duties was specifically referred. In these Deputations, expecting perhaps the Bergs Deputation, there was a strong party which wanted measures taken which would raise the taxes on imports, and, what was most stressed, would ensure that the great sums of money which were expended for ocean freights would go to Swedish vessels. It was therefore proposed and generally favored that no foreign ships should be allowed to import into Sweden any goods except those originating in the country to which the ship belonged, and that goods for export must be sold to Swedish merchants. This would, of course, strike hardest on England, which country, however, was by far the best customer Sweden had. Moreover, the whole of Sweden then possessed only 228 ships, of which only 85 were over fifty tones, and only 14 over a hundred. Naturally, the proposal found great favor with the shipping interests. (Hjrne, pp. 708, 730, 731, 718-19, 740, 744; R. o. A. R. Prot. 1723:I:76, 66, 78, 163, 712)
* Swedenborg appears to have acted, at any rate sometimes, as Secretary to the Deputation; for several of its documents are in his hand. See ACSD 317A, 317AA, 321A (fin.), 322, 333, 333A, 334A, 335B, 335C, 335D, 339.
Swedenborg, who as a modern author has declared, was "as good a business man as any one," contributed to the discussion by a written Memorial wherein he sought to point out the true lines along which alone prosperity can be expected. Here he does not enter into any specific plans - it may be even that at this time the proposals to which we have referred had not assumed an active place in his mind. At any rate, in his first Memorial - for, as we shall see, he wrote two - he does not refer to them. The Memorial was presented to the House of Nobles on February 5th. It was read by the Business Council or Steering Committee of the House on February 7th, and referred to the Commerce Deputation which had this subject in hand. (Hjrne, p. 737; LM., p. 289)
"The foremost cause of a country's progress," he says,
"is the balance in commerce. If more is imported from the
foreigner than the land with all its domestic products can
pay for, the consequence is that the country not only loses
considerable sums yearly and places them in the hands of
foreign nations, but thereby diminishes that capital which it
has accumulated in better times and has intended for
posterity. And, as soon as a kingdom, by such imprudent trade
comes into unlooked for poverty, it inevitably follows that
it then falls into the contempt of wealthier nations who
withdraw from having commercial dealings with it although
formerly they drew their wealth from it and sucked in its
juice and marrow. And, what is more lamentable, if one does
not in time keep a watchful eye on the balance in the
kingdom's trade, there can thereby arise a general want which
soon extends to every individual's private economy; the
capital and wealth in the kingdom are diminished; no funds
are found for the assistance of the fleet and army, and none
are obtainable; defence becomes weak and powerless; the
servants of the state must content themselves with small
salaries; Swedish manufactures and agriculture, with all
their assets become inconsiderable, besides other losses
which both knights and nobles and especially merchants would
unfortunately undergo and experience."
To show this from experience, he adds to his Memorial an elaborate calculation showing the exports and imports of today compared with those in the reign of Charles XI when Swedish trade was at its best. The former table shows an excess of imports amounting to over two and a half million Dutch Guilders a year, while the latter shows a balance of exports amounting to four and half million Guilders. Thus, Sweden's products cannot now pay for the surplus of imports, which must therefore be paid for in cold cash.
"For some years, this lack has been lessened and offset by
the capital sums which have fallen to Sweden, and should
still fall, from foreign powers. But as soon as this comes
to an end, the country must necessarily fall into lamentable
poverty, unless the Diet finds means to ward it off.
"And since every one is now left free to give his counsel, it
will not be taken ill if I humbly call to mind, that it is a
matter of importance that the present Diet seek to assist and
forward all suggestions which serve for the righting of the
general economy, and the arriving at a balance."
It is such deliberations, he adds, that occupy the English
parliament and the Dutch States General, "wherefore their
economic position is brought to the highest prosperity, the
balance is held, the land and its people are wealthy, and the
means and the interest of other nations flow into their
treasury."
He points out that his tables show that much as been lost by the loss of the conquered Baltic Provinces, hence it now behooves us to make up these losses by industry. They also show that all the profit of foreign trade and of Swedish freightage are in the ands of foreigners
"Because during the long time of war, Swedish ships have
become ruined, and capital has diminished, so that foreign
merchants now receive the whole of the profit" annually
amounting to many tons of gold. They also show that iron and
copper are Sweden's greatest riches.
Finally he recommends:
1. To procure information as to the condition of Swedish merchant ships, and to see how they can be bettered and brought to their former glory.
2. To examine imports as to how far they are necessary or can be bought cheaper or can be made at home.
3. To examine into the possible improvement of domestic manufacture.
As we have stated, this Memorial was referred to the Commerce Deputation. It was read there on February 22nd, whereupon it was resolved to call Swedenborg to a meeting of the Deputation to explain orally upon what foundations he based his opinion. Presumably he appeared, but we know nothing as to what then transpired. It is certain, however, that the majority of the Deputation were unchanged in their determination to exclude foreign freightage. (ACSD 317)
On April 2nd, Swedenborg therefore addressed a Memorial to the Diet, which was referred to the Commerce Deputation. Here Swedenborg maintained that since the question now being considered by the Commerce Deputation was a question of forbidding foreigners to buy Swedish wares direct from the producer, and since this very especially concerned the mining industry which stood to be utterly ruined if such a measure were passed, therefore, the Bergs Deputation should have an equal part in its consideration, and it should be considered in joint meeting of these Deputations. (LM., p. 305; ACSD 321A)
The result appears to have been that the matter was taken up in the Bergs, Customs, and Commerce Committees sitting as one. At any rate, Swedenborg, on April 13th, as a member of the Bergs Committee, presented to the Diet a Memorial* on this weighty subject. Here he addresses himself to a special point which had been urge din the Deputation, and practically decided on, namely, that the rights of foreigners and their agents be diminished, and that Swedes be obliged to sell only to native merchants. This, he says, would utterly ruin the mining industry, and therefore he feels it his duty, "both as partaker in the prosperity of the mining districts and as a subject," to show the fatal consequences of the proposed measure. (LM., p. 310; ACSD 328)
* This Memorial is not signed by Swedenborg, and the original which was formerly in the Commerce Deputation Handlingar in the Riksarkivet, is now lost. But it is printed in full by Chydenius, who ascribes it to Swedenborg. (See Chydenius, Politiska Skrifter, Helsingfors, 1880, p. LXXXVII, cf. pp. 156, 253, 329.) Hjrne, also ascribes it to Swedenborg (Hist. Stud., p. 733). It has never appeared in English. Chydenius says that Swedenborg here predicted what actually came to pass (Pol. Skrifter, p. 329).
During Charles XII's reign in 1699, under the pretext of
the general welfare, a like plan was carried out, and
foreigners were forbidden to trade. Thereby, exports
threatened to cease, and in fourteen days iron fell from 31
to 32 dalers to 22, and at that the seller had the trouble of
seeking customers. The Colleges then loudly complained, and
the old conditions were restored. This experience should
serve as a mirror wherein we can see the condition the mining
industry which is the Kingdom's greatest wealth, would be
brought into, under the change now proposed.
"The spring and vein of the Kingdom's prosperity is
indeed the mining industry. It is by this that trade is
balanced; the Kingdom provided with all necessities; imported
wares both for food and clothing paid for. By this, the
State's copper coinage is held, and domestic activity
flourishes. Without it, there would be public and private want."
Painting the matter in more lively colors, he gives grain as an illustration:
"If certain parties had alone the right to receive all
the grain which comes from estates and farms, and to handle
it according to their own agreed on plan and object, what
would this amount to other than the throwing down of all that
which comes from the cultivation of the land, and the giving
away of all profit from Swedish properties; the draining off
unnoticed of the juice of all the profits which, in other
kingdoms, belong to the subjects; and the depriving men of
the profit and advantages which should come to them from
their lawful property, thus making them the slaves and
tributaries of the dealers; in return for which, they are
allowed to retain the shell and the name of being masters of
their estates."
So would it be with the iron industry if owners were obliged
to submit themselves to the discretion of certain dealers,
and "to acknowledge and worship them," as the principals of
those effects of which they themselves are the owners, and
from which those dealers receive payment from foreign nations
while, under the decent pretence of the general welfare, the
owner must trade indirectly as to his own property, leaving
the profit to others, being compelled to this because freedom
is taken away from him.
"And if the mining industry is destroyed, then the whole
economy of the Kingdom goes likewise. The strength of
domestic trade, and the profit from the stock of the estates
and farms, and also the activity and the balancing of export
commerce depend and steady themselves on the prosperity of
the mining industry; by this the countryman gets payment for
his grain, the merchant and shopkeeper his profit and the
movement of his goods, and every resident subject an increase
in products of the farm. Otherwise, all movement sin trade
stops, the nobleman no longer has profitable payment for his
cattle, nor the peasant and the priest any special income;
the merchant, with the exception of some who have interests
in the matter, has no trade, and this because the profit
coming from the mineral kingdom would fall into the hands of
a few persons, and particularly into foreign hands."
No King of Sweden, he continues, has ever ordered such a
plan except in 1699, which was soon changed. And still less
should it be done under a free government (when the support
of the economic position is the only object), thus
strengthening monopolies. To do this, would be the same as
bringing into question whether or not an owner may dispose of
his own property, or whether the noblest treasures of the
Kingdom shall be sacrificed for the service of others.
Finally, the author undertakes, if called on, to show at greater length the ills that would ensue from the proposed law.
Of this Memorial, Chydenius, the Finnish Economist and Liberal, cannot speak in terms too high. He writes:
"He [the author] lays the matter out with all the clearness,
strength, and ardor that can never be expected of an
unprejudiced and sincere member of the Diet. He builds his
opinions on reason; he appeals to irrefutable experience
. . . he paints the consequences of this embargo with such
lively colors, not as they would be in the beginning, but as
they would be in the long run. He shows how it would be a
dark invasion of the rights of the citizen which should least
of all be proper in a free republic . . . I would do my
reader an injustice," he adds, "were I to satisfy his
curiosity by an extract from this Memorial," and so he prints
it in full. (Pol. Skrifter, p. 156)
On April 20th, this Memorial was referred by the Diet's Business Committee to the combined Mining and Commerce Committee for Athorough investigation." (ACSD 328)
But the Commerce Deputation were not convinced either by this and other memorials, but necessarily they were silenced by the unquestionable lack of Swedish ships. And so they reported to the Diet that while they held in principle that foreign ships should be excluded from Swedish freightage, the carrying out of this principle must be postponed. It was postponed, however, only for a year; for at the end of 1724 it was adopted by the Diet. The consequence was, as Swedenborg had predicted. Beginning with 1725, the price of iron began steadily to fall; nor was there any regaining of its former prosperity until twenty years later when a "palliative" was supplied by the establishment of an iron office. (Hjrne, p. 747; R. o. A. R. Prot., 1723:338, 346, 348s; Chydenius, p. 329)
As already stated, Swedenborg was a member of the Mining Committee of the House of Nobles; indeed, he seems to have acted, at any rate at times, as Secretary of the Deputation. This Deputation had a great variety of business to attend to, among its other duties being that of hearing petitions and appeals to the Diet for privileges, abatements, etc. See ACSD 3188. (ACSD 317A, 317AA, 321.1)
This Deputation frequently met with the Taxing and Commerce
Committees, the three bodies being considered as one for the
purpose of discussing special questions submitted by the
Diet. (R. o. A. R. Prot., 1723:66)
One of such questions was as to whether the right of taxing imports should be sold to a private society, or should be retained by the crown. This referred more especially to the taxing of imports into certain specified cities which had the privileges of markets. Swedenborg favored the selling of the taxing rights, and in a written vote presented to the combined committee at its meeting in the Stockholm Council room on May 24th, 1723, he gives three reasons for this question: (ACSD 318Abis)
1. It will insure the public a certain and sure income, which otherwise would be fluctuating.
2. It will afford better protection against smuggling. Under the State's management, this would require the appointment of a chief director in every market town.
3. This selling would tend to assist all lawful dealings and discourage all others.
He added that those who oppose it should be indirectly
responsible to the public if the tolls do not bring in a
certain sum.
4. That they shall not profit by the unjust confiscation of goods; and, therefore, that the Commerce Collegium shall always be open to receive appeals.
5. Lest they import a superabundance of goods during any one year resulting in a loss of income to the public on the following year, the contract shall contain the proviso that the Diet can lay new conditions on the purchaser, or can void the contract. (LM., p. 319)
Swedenborg's view was not favored by the majority of the Deputation, and on June 26th, the latter reported that until the next Diet, the Crown should retain its taxing rights. (R. o. A. R. Prot., 1723:349, 384)
By the time Swedenborg presented this last-named Memorial - that of April 13th - he was a recognized Extraordinary Assessor of the Bergscollegium, in addition to being a member of the Mining Committee of the House of Nobles.
On February 12th, he had written to the Bergscollegium enclosing a copy of Charles XII's Warrant and accompanying letter, appointing him Assessor Extraordinary of the College with a voice and a seat in that body,
"from the enjoyment of which advantages I have been hindered
since the King's death, partly by journeys at home and
abroad, and partly because I wished humbly to await the
gracious and voluntary invitation of your Excellency and the
Royal College.
He makes no further allusion to his Warrant of
Appointment, the Warrant itself being sufficient evidence
that legally he was still an Assessor in the Bergscollegium,
never having been dismissed therefrom.
But he diplomatically continues:
"Now, since my only wish and desire is further to perfect
myself in matters which concern both in general and in
particular the economy of the Swedish mining districts, and
since this cannot be attained without attending the sessions
of the Royal College, the obligation rests on me in this
matter, first to await in humility the gracious expression of
your Excellency and the Royal College as to whether there is
anything to prevent re-entrance into those sessions."
(ACSD 314A; LM., p. 297)
This letter was handed into the Bergscollegium, but no action was taken by the body because its members were so occupied with matters concerned with the Diet, of which all the Assessors were members. Therefore, after waiting five weeks, Swedenborg, on March 20th, took advantage of the Easter holidays and again addressed the College, asking for a definite decision. (ACSD 318A; LM., p. 299)
The matter was considered by the College on April 1st, but it seems that prior to this, the College or its President had already appointed Swedenborg as an Assessor; for we find his signature on a Bergscollegium document dated March 23rd, together with the signatures of other Assessors. It is probable, however, that this was merely a recognition of him in his old status of Extraordinary Assessor without pay. At any rate, he does not seem to have been at all satisfied, for on Saturday, March 30th, he addressed a Memorial to the Diet, petitioning for leave to present to the Diet a supplication with respect to his own private business before the Diet after April 13th, in case he had not received by that date an answer from the Bergscollegium with regard to his position. (ACSD 318A, 319)
The Business Committee of the House of Nobles did nothing about the matter because the Estates were sitting "in pleno." However, Swedenborg's petition had its effect, for on the following Monday, April 1st, this meeting seems tacitly to have recognized Swedenborg's right to a full Assessorship, and devoted itself merely to considering the question of precedence.
Swedenborg had been appointed Assessor Extraordinary with seat and voice, in December 1716, and had taken the oath in 1717 (see above, p. 228). Since that time, three other Assessors had been appointed, namely, John Bergenstierna in 1719, Magnus Bromell, 1720 - both of these having been appointed in spite of Swedenborg's applications for the vacant places (see above, pp. 229-29) - and Swedenborg's brother-in-law, Lars Benzelstierna, in 1722. Naturally, therefore, Swedenborg considered that he had the right of precedence over these men - a right which was of importance as it involved precedence in the appointment to a Councillorship in the College.
Swedenborg's two letters and also Charles XII's Warrant and titles were duly read at the meeting of April 1st. After this, Swedenborg himself was called in, and Count Bonde, the President, asked him whether he was willing to yield precedence to Bergenstierna and Bromell so as to avoid any dispute. (Doc. I:427)
The College had already been notified that since Bromell had had a full Professorship in 1716 prior to Swedenborg's appointment, he readily yield to him; and since Bromell, on his appointment to the College, had yielded to Bergenstierna, he would also follow his example.
There then remained only the precedency as between Swedenborg and his brother-in-law, and at Count Bonde's suggestion, Swedenborg readily consented to come to some private agreement about the matter with his brother-in-law.
Swedenborg did meet his brother-in-law, but the meeting does not seem to have been satisfactory. On April 3rd, the two men both attended a session of the College, when Swedenborg took his place below Benzelstierna. This was not a sign of any agreement, however; for, on the same day, the latter wrote a strong protest which he handed in to the College the following
"I could not otherwise than be sensible of a slight if
Assessor Swedenborg, who holds a warrant only as
Extraordinary Assessor and undeniably has his great
advantages in other sciences, but who began to direct his
thoughts to the subject of mines at least sixteen or
seventeen years after me,* and now for several consecutive
years has not been present at any deliberation or occupation
in the Royal College,** is allowed to take his seat before me
and no other."
* Lars Benzelstierna was eight years older than Swedenborg. His statement is correct, for Swedenborg became interested in mining matters in 1717 or 178.
** Swedenborg's last attendance at the sessions had been on November 17, 1717 (see above, p. 212 also p. 272).
The matter was finally settled by Swedenborg's giving way, and this was reported to the College at its session of April 11th, when, although he had already sat in the College as a member, he was called in for this purpose. Swedenborg stated that since his brother-in-law was an ordinary Assessor, and therefore must attend every session, while his own warrant was only as an extraordinary Assessor and he could therefore attend when he pleased, he had consented to sit down Benzelstierna, but with the important reservation that this consent shall not prejudice him in case a new Assessor is appointed; so that he must always have his place immediately after his brother-in-law. (ACSD 322)
And so he took that place as the sixth and last of the Assessors in point of precedence. Still, he was only an Assessor extraordinary and - without pay. The important point was that he was recognized and was a candidate for the next vacant Assessorship. Thus Swedenborg now enters upon the active performance of those uses which, with some intervals of leave, he continued to perform for twenty-three years. He commenced as the sixth and last in rank, rose to the fourth place in 1730, the second in 1731, and the first in 1734.
A law had been made in December 1722, which favored copper
and silver as being the nobler metals above iron. To the
iron miners, and so to Swedenborg himself, this was a matter
of vast importance, as it was also to the whole of Sweden,
for iron was its greatest export. As the mines in Sweden
were worked, the neighboring woods became depleted, and it
became more and more necessary to procure the wood for
charcoal from more distant places. This was particularly
true for Kopparberg which had been worked for many centuries.
In consequence of the law above alluded to, favoring copper
and silver above iron, the mines for the former and
especially Kopparberg had a first call on all wood, and only
when their demands had been satisfied could the iron workers
get their supply. (R. o. A. R. Prot., 1723:187; Doc. I:475)
On February 18th, he had addressed to the Diet a Memorial protesting against the new regulation as arbitrary,
"since it takes into consideration only the nobility of the
metals," and he gives some examples showing how it might work
to the ill of the country, as, for instance, where the silver
ore is poor or scanty while iron ore may be rich. Under the
ordinance, 80,000 pounds of iron would be sacrificed for the
sake of six and a half pounds of silver, which at the best
prices for silver would amount to gaining 1 dalar and losing
8. (Doc., I:475; LM., p. 301)
He therefore prays the Diet to modify the ordinance by applying preferences not only according to the nobility of the metal but also according to the public good.
This Memorial was referred by the Diet's Business Committee to the Bergs Deputation of which Swedenborg was a member, and it was read to that body on March 1st.
On April 24th, the Bergscollegium memorialized the Diet
for appointment of a commission to inquire into the shortage
of charcoal at Falun, which was causing much suffering; and
also to inquire into an alleged illegal use of wood by
certain iron works.
(R. o. A. R. Prot., 1723:186-87; see Doc., I:416 '. 2)
On May 15th, the Diet's Committee on Instruction, a
powerful Committee concerned with giving general instructions
to govern the policy of the different Colleges and provincial
Governors, reported instructions issued to the
Bergscollegium, where "copper and silver mines were very
highly recommended to the Bergscollegium's care, as being
nobler and more precious as compared with the iron mines."
(ACSD 330A, B; (R. o. A. R. Prot., 1723:73-47,261, 6:483)
At the instance of the Land Marshall, these instructions were laid on the table, that the members may have time to consider the changing or bettering of them. They were taken up again on May 22nd, and a Memorial by Swedenborg was read, strongly protesting against the proposed recommendations, and presenting under ten heads, reasons why iron deserves the consideration of the Diet, and the "untiring care and protection" of the College, just as much as copper. (R. o. A. R. Prot., 1723:24)
The annual production of iron is between 500,000 to
540,000 tons, valued from 48 to 50 tons* of gold if paid in
silver dalers, yielding to the Crown tolls amounting to about
6 tons of gold. This gold is brought into the country. The
sale and carriage of this iron brings in another 2 tons of
gold, to which must be added 15 tons of gold earned by the
various contributory industries, such as forestry, wood-
cutting, charcoal, etc.; about 20 tons of gold earned by the
purveyors of food, etc., to the miners, besides other profits
arising from the working of iron into various forms. Al this
wealth is kept in the country and promotes domestic trade.
In addition, it results in copper remaining in the country.
Such an industry surely demands more care than is indicated
in the issued instructions. (Doc., I:477; LM. p. 315)
* Swedish Tunna of gold = L4,166. 12s. Od; 50 tunna = L20,833. Os. Od.
Copper, on the other hand, is produced to the amount of
16,000 tons,* yielding from 14 to 15 tons of gold. These
mines, especially Falun, ought certainly to be protected, but
not at the expense of iron.
* For many years past, the copper mines had considerably decreased in their output in their prosperous days - days which never again returned.
Instead of distinguishing between these metals as noble
and ignoble, the care given to them should have regard to the
public benefit to be derived from them. Here Swedenborg
gives an example taken from his former Memorial. He then
concludes his Memorial with the words: "From this it can be
seen that if these metals, merely in reference to their being
nobler, ought to have the preference and push the others out
of the way, as seems desired by the Instructions, one would
have to fear the censure that the public had received a
miscalculation and mistake in its general financial economy,
and so might find itself the loser of many tons of gold,
merely for the sake of regaining an eighth or tenth part in
that which has the advantage of being placed in a higher
class and possessing a nobler name and a more honorable and
glorious title."
Immediately after the reading of this Memorial, Assessor Bergenstierna, one of Swedenborg's colleagues, stated that the Bergscollegium had no intention of attending to copper and silver to the ruin of iron, which latter might be more important for the public. Most care must be given to that which is most useful. (R. o. A. R. Prot., 1723:216-62)
Swedenborg's Memorial was then referred to the Instructions Committee, which promptly sent a copy to the Bergscollegium; not that the latter may give its opinion, for the instructions given out could not be changed, but for its information. It was discussed in the Bergscollegium on May 24th, but was not approved. Indeed, the College appointed Assessor Bergenstierna to wait on the Committee of Instructions on the following day, May 25th, and orally inform them that the College had never injured any iron owner in his rights, even when a vein of nobler metals was found near his mine; and, on the other hand, has always seen to it that a certain income for the pubic shall not be disturbed for the sake of an uncertain hope. A specific case was given where they had refused to suspend profitable ironworks for the sake of a newly found vein of copper. On the other hand, when a vein of the nobler metals has been found, they have always endeavored to promote it if it could be done without prejudice to the existing and profitable working of the more ignoble metal. Thus, they had acted in accordance with the Instructions, which latter were calculated to the best profit for the Crown and the public.
It was only a copy of Swedenborg's Memorial that was sent to the Bergscollegium. The Memorial itself remained in the hands of the powerful Instructions Committee, who also seemed to have received Swedenborg's first Memorial on the same subject. By them they were referred to the King, and two years later, on August 10, 1725, the King sent them to the Bergscollegium where they now rest. (ACSD 421)
It will be observed that in the Diet activities which we have described, Swedenborg's activity was specially directed to the prosperity of the iron industry, which was then of chief importance in Sweden's foreign
But he was concerned not only in the industry as then established; he sought also to provide for its development. The Swedes had not hitherto shown themselves capable men of business, and outside of raw products, their greatest merchants were foreigners or the agents of foreigners. It was foreigners who contracted for the pig iron; sometimes contracting long in advance of actual manufacture. This iron they then sent abroad, there to be made into bars, sheet iron, etc., and then again imported into Sweden. The Swedish iron manufacturers were perfectly satisfied with this wasteful procedure, and so long as they got their profit, were not desirous of any change in their time-honored customs - indeed, they would the rather resent any change.
Swedenborg, as a mine owner, was well aware of this fact, and his active mind was not slow to grasp its evil consequences in draining the wealth of the country.
On April 11th, he addressed a memorial on this subject to the Diet, in the hopes that some encouragement might be given to the promotion of Sweden as a manufacturing country.
"The most important thing in a country," he writes, "is
to promote the establishment of manufactures, especially when
on has the raw materials ready to hand; by this, the ignoble
is ennobled and is bettered in price, and the public enjoy
the benefit and profit thereof.
It is known everywhere that no country can establish
iron manufacture better than Sweden, but "many complain of
our fatalism in that we ourselves wish for and desire the
starting of manufactures yet without any actualization or
effectuation," and so he presents an active and practical
plan, introducing it by setting forth some points to arouse
the attention of the Diet:
1. Many thousand tons of unwrought Swedish iron are exported to foreign lands where they are made into bars, hoops, etc., which are sold to all countries at a handsome profit which, at the cost of a little money and industry might have been retained in Sweden.
2. This iron converted by rolling and cutting mills into fine articles then serves to promote all kinds of small manufactures, thus saving time, work and money.
3. It also serves for small smithies, supplying them ready-made the materials which would cost them much time and money to make themselves. Thus, manufactures and small smithy-works are both promoted and lowered in cost.
4. A certain part of these manufactures would be sold domestically, and the rest can be profitably sold abroad. And there is more hope of this as a large part of the goods sent from Liege is made of inferior native iron. Were the same goods to be made in Sweden of Swedish iron, it would soon displace the others besides selling at a higher price, as is well known from those who have visited the foreign places.
Should the Diet be disposed to promote the setting up of
such works in Sweden, thus laying the groundwork of an iron
manufactury, it would grant certain privileges which the
Bergscollegium could suggest, in order to promote the work on
a profitable basis. (Doc. I:480; LM., p. 306)
The Memorial is accompanied by a drawing of the rolling and cutlery mill used abroad. This plan is now lost, but it is undoubtedly identical with that which Swedenborg subsequently printed in his De Ferro, Plate XXIX, being a picture of the work at Liege.
This Memorial was read by the Diet's Business Committee on April 20th, and referred to the Mining and Commerce Deputation, where also it was read. But we know of no other results. The future, however, has shown the soundness of Swedenborg's project. See New Philosophy, 1950, January p. 2.
Some five months later in the year, Swedenborg made a similar effort to promote the establishment of manufactures in Sweden. On September 16, 1723, a Swiss by the name of Colonel de Wallair appeared before the College of Mines asking for privileges for a company to manufacture steel by a process he had discovered, whereby there was no loss of weight caused by scoriae and refuse. As he was not versed in Swedish, a draft of the privileges which might be granted was handed to him to be read at his leisure. Swedenborg was present at this meeting, and on that same day he penned a letter to the College to the effect that while on his foreign travels he had "acquired from Vienne [in Dauphine, see Reaumur, p. 3] a knowledge of the process whereby steel can be prepared of such hardness as one may wish." It takes a longer time than the usual method but is cheaper. He therefore requests a test be made of this process before the privilege is granted to Wallaire, and if it is found useful, that he be given the right to enter into this work. (ACSD 335C:2; ALS., 1724:451; Doc. I:430; LM. p. 324)
Nothing further is known as to this matter beyond the fact that de Wallair was granted his privilege.
With respect to Swedenborg's other activities as a member of the Diet, it may be mentioned that he was occasionally appointed a member of a delegation to wait on one of the other Estates to deliver the opinion of the Nobles. (R. o. A. R. Prot., 1723; Aug., p. 8, Sept., p. 113)
A more important business in which he expressed himself was the matter of the right of the nobles to certain exclusive privileges.
In 1719, the nobles retained the exclusive right of
appointment to all higher state offices, and the preference
in appointments to all other state offices; besides the
exclusive rights to tax-free property, being forbidden to
marry taxed people on pain of losing their privileges; the
right to chastise their servants; and the right of patronage
in the local church. (Hildebrand V, p. 34)
In 1720, the matter came up again under the protests of
the priests and burgers, the latter of whom petitioned the
King for the abolishment of the nobles' privileges; but
nothing was done; in fact, the protestors were punished.
(Ibid., p. 35)
In 1723, owing to increasing unrest, the nobles gave up
some of their privileges, including the exclusive right to
frlse property, the marriage provision, and church
patronage. But in September 1723, the Burgers, secretly
supported by the priests and peasants, brought in a Memorial
praying for a right to fill one-half of the state offices.
This, they claimed, was their constitutional right, as indeed
it was. Moreover, it would prevent disharmony and jealousy
and result in better work, since the ofrlse could go on with
their work when the Diet took up the time of the nobles."
(R. o. A. R. Prot., 1723:447, 449)
This raised a storm of angry protest among the nobles,
and the military members characterized it as an attack on
their "well earned freedom and advantages," aimed to weaken
their position as the principle Estate, and which they would
resist "with life and blood."
(R. o. A. R. Prot., 1723:126, 133)
This fiery ebullition was applauded in the House where
it was read on September 23, 1723. At the same time, a
reasoned answer in the burgers was presented. This pointed
out that the latter had all the profits of trade, which were
so great, and contributed little in taxes to the government
as compared with peasants and nobles. For their privileges,
the nobles must risk their life in war. They have already
given up many of their privileges, and now the burgers ask
from them their only means of livelihood, nobles being
excluded from merchant business, the church, and the
magistracy. The burgers have many ways of placing their
children, and this effort to deprive the nobles of their only
way is the fruit of jealousy. (Ibid., p. 451)
This also was applauded in the House, and it was
resolved to draw up a "convention." This was done by
Landmarshal Lagerberg, and it was signed by all the nobles
(430) including Emanuel Swedenborg.
(Ibid., pp. 135, 461, 465)
It commenced with the declaration that the nobles would
never suffer their freedom to be trampled on by any other
Estate. All that is left them to retain their position is
the right to hold estates and their exclusive right to
positions in the State service. (Ibid., p. 461)
They, therefore, bind themselves "on our knightly honor
and faith, to stand one for all and all for one, and not to
spare life or goods when the need arises to defend our
freedom," and Alike honorable knights, to dare the utmost
before submitting" to the burgers' request; and every one who
would not join herein was considered as an unworthy member
who had forfeited his nobility. (Ibid., p. 462)
This was dated September 23rd, and, as stated, was
signed by Swedenborg. The burgers' move was felt to be the
more unjust because the government has always ennobled
ofrlse men who were capable, and at the present time four-
fifths of the state officials were composed of such nobles,
only one-fifth being the sons of nobles. If now, one-half of
the offices were to be given to the ofrlse, no noble could
get an office for fifty years or more. (Ibid., p. 468)
The matter caused the greatest excitement, and there was
talk of breaking away from the Burger Estate; but calmer
counsels prevailed, and finally the matter was settled by the
ofrlse obtaining the right to one-half of the lower offices
of the state. (R. o. A. R. Prot., 1723:138; Hilder. V:49)
This vote is Swedenborg's last recorded activity in the House of Nobles itself. But his time was occupied, not only in attendance at the House, but in the regular sessions of the College of Mines, in whose charge lay the whole administration of the mining laws and regulations, and whose duties were of a very varying character.
Much if not most of his time, however, was taken up by his work as a member of the Bergs Deputation. To this body, the Diet referred all petitions, memorials, etc., respecting mining matters, which were addressed to it, and the recommendations of the Committee were usually accepted as final. But these recommendations frequently required much correspondence and inquiry.
The Bergs Deputation, moreover, was frequently called upon by the Diet to sit with the Commerce and the Tax Deputations, and sometimes matters of the utmost importance were considered by these united bodies.
The Diet adjourned on Wednesday, October 23rd. On the preceding Wednesday, as a part of the closing ceremonies, the House of Nobles assembled in the castle church, and there Swedenborg had the pleasure of hearing a sermon preached by his brother-in-law, Eric Benzelius, on keeping the Ten Commandments (I Chron. 28:8). A few days later, Swedenborg obtained leave of absence from the College of Mines in order to attend to his private affairs, which had necessarily been neglected during the year. (Hildebrand V:288; ALS. 1723:488; Doc., I:430-31)
It may here be remarked that we should probably have known more of Swedenborg's life during 1723 had it not been for the fact that this chief correspondent, Eric Benzelius, was at Stockholm as a member of the Kingdom's Consistory or House of Priests.
After paying his respects to Count Bonde, he left Stockholm on November 6th, probably for his favorite place Starbo where he not only could attend to his iron business, of which he had received very insufficient news from his brother-in-law and partner Benzelstierna, but could also pursue studies for which he had had little time in Stockholm. (ACSD 342A; see Doc. I:334, 335)
During the Christmas holidays, however, he visited his father at Brunsbo, and it was here that he commenced writing the first of his promised work, called by Benzelius "Collectanea Metallica." This was doubtless based on his own extensive experience, supplemented by the many notes he had made during his foreign journey. The MS. is now lost, and we know of its contents only from some descriptions given in the minutes of the Upsala Society to whose president Eric Benzelius he sent the MS. from time to time. (Bokw. Gillets Prot., p. 98)
The first two chapters were written in December. They were entitled AThe Ore of Copper and the Process of Smelting it at Fahlun." In a letter addressed to Eric Benzelius on January 24, 1724, Swedenborg states that the information contained in these chapters has never been given out in print - so far as he knows. (Bok. G. Prot., p. 100; OQ. 1:312 = LM., p. 326)
Swedenborg continued this work after his return to his duties in Stockholm in the beginning of February 1724, and by the beginning of March he had completed the work in 79 pages, containing 15 chapters describing the processes used in various parts of Sweden and also in foreign countries. (Bokw. Gillets Prot., p. 103)
"That which I now send you," he writes when sending the fifth
of his installments, "as well as part of what has preceded,
and likewise that concerning the separating processes,
consists indeed of secrets; for a stranger finds it hard to
obtain knowledge of any thing concerning this matter; yet,
according to my simple
opinion, it seems that nothing ought to be mysterious in
matallicis, for without this science, no one can go forward
to the investigation of nature. Still less should this be
the case with our Swedish processes, since they cannot sere
the foreigner for any information. I hope to increase this
my mineral cabinet or collection as others increase their
stones." (OQ. 1:312 = LM. p. 328)
Benzelius evidently considered this work incomplete, and in February he writes Swedenborg, suggesting he incorporate other features with regard to copper than merely the ore and its smelting. But Swedenborg does not agree with this:
"As to what my brother is pleased to mention concerning
observata metallica, it would be too comprehensive to bring
in everything, for in each of the observata on gold, silver
and iron, I shall have more to say than on copper. But,
should my brother think it worth while, the subject could
first be reviewed in a general way, and then something could
be inserted later."
He then suggests some rearrangement of the work by making chapter 2 on the Falun process follow the chapter on the Hungarian process, and this "for certain reasons." Swedenborg evidently changed his mind when he published the work on copper many years later. (OQ. 1:312 = LM., p. 328)
The second volume of his "metallurgical and chemical work," as Doctor Benzelius also calls it, consisted of 167 pages, called by Benzelius "Sulphurs and Salts." Swedenborg, however, refers to it as "Collections on Sulphur, Vitriol, Alum, Common Salt, and Nitre and Acids." Swedenborg sent the MS. to Upsala by "Brother Swab." Apparently, this second work was not prepared with the care of the first; probably it consisted only of "collections" of materials put together from his experience, his notes and his reading; for in his contemporaneous letter, dated May 26, 1724, Swedenborg says of these collections: "They are as yet put together with little niceness, but hey are as I would have them for my own private use." Indeed, considering the short time in which they were written (two months), they could hardly be anything else. This MS. also is lost. Swedenborg may have continued the work by treatises on gold, silver, and iron. All trace of these works is lost. The two works that were sent to Benzelius were recalled by Swedenborg himself, and were evidently sent to Upsala only for the information of Benzelius and the Literary Guild. Indeed, Swedenborg specifically requests their return "not later than July," probably with a view to doing further work on them during the summer holidays; and, therefore they are not preserved among the Benzelius papers. (OQ. 1:314, 313 = LM. p. 335, 333; Doc. I:336)
At this time, he certainly expected these works to be printed, but decided later to postpone the printing - perhaps because the subscriptions did not indicate sufficient demand.
We have said he returned to Stockholm in the beginning of February 1724. His private affairs, however, still demanded his presence in the mining district, and after attending apparently a single session of the College (February 10th), he again obtained leave of absence. (ACSD 352A)
On February 14th, we find him at Prsthyttan, one of the furnaces inherited from his stepmother. A letter which he writes on this day to his brother-in-law Eric Benzelius gives us some idea of the details to which his mining property demanded his attention, in addition to the writing of his mineralogical works.
It seems that he had ordered grain from Upsala University, presumably for his men and horses, but early in February, Eric Benzelius wrote him that none would be available. Swedenborg is very indignant at his fumbling
"on the part of the University's treasury, in changing what
the Academy had concluded upon. No merchant would wish to do
this. If this happens with many, in the end their credit
becomes poor, for then it were better to deal and make
contracts with an upright and honorable merchant. But I will
see to it that they will not have the opportunity to repeat
this example." He adds that he would have paid the
University's price, and would even have paid beforehand.
(OQ. 1:312 = LM. p. 328; confer UUH 3:12-13)
However, he had had a presentiment of the Academy's refusal before receiving his brother's letter, and had already purchased his grain elsewhere; for the works were in active preparation for commencing smelting, charcoal was being prepared, and ore carted, and it was necessary for him to provide for his men.
We may notice also another letter which Swedenborg sent to Benzelius about t he middle of March, and which shows that his mining business and the legal mattes with which he was then engaged, of which we shall speak presently, by no means repressed his eagerness to investigate the various fields of nature.
The Aurora Borealis had been seen many times during the year 1723; Prof. Burman was especially interested in this and similar phenomena, and somewhat inclined to the opinion that its origin is connected with some subtle sulphurous matter in the lower region of the earth, a theory which was then generally held by the learned. The matter was probably discussed in the Upsala Society, especially in connection with an invitation received in February from the Royal Philosophical Society, to communicate to the Society meteorological observations in Sweden. Benzelius evidently wrote to Swedenborg about the sulphur theory, and referred to a suggestion that the sulphur might originate in active volcanoes, such as Hecla, Vesuvius or Aetna. (ALS., 1724:518, 568; Ph. Trans., 1734:243; B. G. Prot., p. 101)
Swedenborg at once rejects any such theory, and gives reasons showing that it is ridiculous. The air is certainly impregnated with sulphur, he says, as seen from the many meteors, fiery appearances in the sky, the Aurora Borealis, the effect of thunder, the luminous appearances on high towers, sulphurous odors, and the fact that sulphur falls with rain. The latter phenomenon shows that for a time the air had been well sulphurated; but this is probably due to summer heat or winter cold unaccompanied by rain.
"One knows," he continues, "that in summer, in every clod of
earth there are perpetual distillations and sublimations, the
particles being sometimes dissolved, sometimes bound
together, sometimes formed into certain growths; sometimes
the particles vegetate so that, according to the state of the
weather one finds endless chemical operations in the earth."
One or two dry summers preceded by very cold winters might
easily cause the air to be impregnated with "the subtlest
sublimated sulphur." To say that a volcano could fill the
whole air with sulphur would be equal to saying that all the
rain comes from a single river. This sulphur must come from
an enormous surface, played upon by the sun and ever exhaling
particles. On the same ground, one would suppose that there
were many more meteors in Sweden than elsewhere, especially
around Falun where, from the many roasters and furnaces
burning day and night, as much sulphur goes into the air as
from Etna; yet this is not the case.
He thinks, therefore, that the sulphur which is the cause of meteors is much more subtle than that which comes from open fires or a volcano. The latter sulphur is soon precipitated, but
"sulphur which has not yet been in the fire can thrive in
water, as in acid waters, in the air, in the sky; and later,
in dry weather, it can be combined in the air." Lights and
fires appear in the sky while Aetna is burning, but not, "so
far as I know," after the burning.
His conclusion, therefore, is that aerial sulphur originates from the surface of the earth by means of the sun. (OQ. 1:304 = LM. p. 329; Doc. I:327)
Swedenborg was now in a position to carry out his stepmother's wish, that he should buy out his co-heirs' share in the Starbo property, except that, for purposes of convenience he had relinquished one-half of the property to his brother-in-law Lars Benzelstierna, who was to share with his brother Eric, or to purchase for him. Presumably this was done in consideration of Lars Benzelstierna managing the property. It now remained for Swedenborg to come into full legal possession of his half share; for this, he had been well supplied with funds, resulting from his various inherited properties, and especially from his free ownership of Starbo for the first year after his stepmother's death in March 1720.
Accordingly, on March 2, 1724, he appeared in the Court of the Mining District and handed in three documents for registration, namely:
1. His agreement of April 1721, on behalf of himself, his brother Jesper and his brothers-in-law Lundstedt and Unge, with Lars Benzelstierna on behalf of himself and his brother Eric, to share equally in the property at Starbo, Prsthyttan and Marns, being the inheritance left by Sara Bergia, Swedenborg's stepmother; and also as to Swedenborg's Benzelstierna's, and Eric Benzelius's share in the Skinnskatteberg and Giesberg property inherited after the death of Swedenborg's maternal uncle Albrecht Behm.
The 2nd document was a deed, dated march 1723, by which
Bishop Swedberg agreed to pay the children of Sara Bergia by
her first marriage 12,000 dalers in full settlement of all
possible claims; 3,000 of this sum being retained by the
Bishop to be handed over to Sara Bergia's nephew John Hesselius.
This document was accompanied with a receipt for 9,000
dalers, signed by the heirs in question and dated March 30,
1723.
On the following day, March 3, 1724, Swedenborg again appeared in Court and filed three deeds, showing:
1. His purchase from his brother-in-law Unge, for 16,000 dal. K. mt., of his share in the Starbo, Prsthyttan and Marns property, also Skinnskatteberg, Axmar and Giesberg, dated January 26, 1723.
2. His purchase from his brother Jesper, for 4,571 dal. K. mt., of his share in Starbo, dated February 3, 1723.
3. His purchase from his brother-in-law Lundstedt, for 15,957 dal. K. mt., for his share in Starbo, Prsthyttan and Marn, dated March 26, 1723.
This last document was accompanied with a document dated
March 27th, waving all claims by Sara Bergia's brother, in
consideration of the sum of 3,000 dal. k. mt.
(Swedenborg's Ekonomi, pp. 6-7, or NKTid., 1927, pp. 77-78)
It will be seen, therefore, that in the spring of 1723, Swedenborg paid out the sum of nearly 40,00 dal. k. mt., and became the owner or part owner of:
Prsthytta (furnace)
Marns ( " and forge)
Starbo ( " )
Giesberg ( " )
Axmar ( " and two forges)
Two weeks later, March 19, 1724, the same documents were filed in another Court, in whose jurisdiction part of the property concerned was situated; and again, in both Courts, in march and June 1725 and January 1726. (NKTid., 1927:77s)
Swedenborg did not return to Stockholm until May 1724, but in the meanwhile, an event occurred which affected his position in the College of Mines. It will be remembered that he was recognized only as an Assessor Extraordinary and was therefore free to come and go as he pleased; but, also, he was without salary. Magnus Bromell had been appointed President of the Medical College. This left a vacancy in the College of Mines, and at a meeting of the College on April 28, 1724, it was resolved to recommend to the King that Lars Benzelstierna take Bromell's place with a full Assessor's salary of 1200 dal. s. m. - he had formerly been receiving only the Bergmaster's salary of 800 dal. s. m. - and that Extraordinary Assessor Swedenborg be granted Benzelstierna's salary of 800 dal. s. m. (ACSD 361)
The recommendation was sent to the King on the same day, and on May 22nd, the King granted the College's request as regards Benzelstierna but refused it as regards Swedenborg on the ground that this was an appointment as Assessor and for this the law required three nominees to be appointed. (ACSD 363)
It would appear that the College of Mines showed no disposition to take any further action in the matter; and it was probably with a view to reminding them of his position that Swedenborg, a month later (June 16th), addressed to the President and Assessors a letter of thanks for their recommendation. After due thanks, he continues:
"And now I humbly request that your Excellency and the
College, in consideration of the fact that I have now served
in the Royal College for eight years as Extraordinary
Assessor without salary, by virtue of the warrant given me by
King Charles XII, and during this time have journeyed to
foreign mines and spent my time in that wherein I thought to
be able to be of humble service to your Excellency and the
Royal College, still further to continue the favoring grace
hitherto shown me."
(Doc. I:432; LM., p. 336)
The College considered the matter on July 6th, and after reading the King's letter and also Swedenborg's, resolved to write to the King that Swedenborg was in the first place for appointment as Assessor, adding two mining masters in the second and third places. This was done on July 6th. (ACSD 369)
On July 7th, Swedenborg also wrote to the King,* and only July 15th, the warrant on his appointment as Assessor was finally issued, entitling him to a salary of 800 dal. s. m., equal to about L100 sterling without reckoning
* In this letter, Swedenborg repeats his statement as to having served for eight years without salary, and adds: Aand twice at my own cost have made journeys to foreign mining places (LM., pp. 33738).
It will be remembered that the College of Mines recommended Swedenborg as Assessor on April 28th; the King's answer refusing the appointment was dated May 22nd, but it did not come before the College until May 29th, and until that date, Swedenborg was ignorant of what awaited him. He was, of course, in constant communication with Eric Benzelius who seems to have been keenly anxious to help him to a settled place in life. (ACSD 363)
The Professorship of Astronomy in Upsala had become vacant by the death of Nils Celsius on March 21, 1724, and about the middle of May, Benzelius wrote to his brother-in-law, stating that the Chancellor desired the nomination of some clever men, and suggesting the University might appoint Swedenborg to the vacant office. Swedenborg answers him on May 26th - three days before he learned of the King's rejection of his appointment - at the same time that he sends him the metallurgical collections on sulphurs and salts. He definitely rejects all thoughts of entering into academic life.
"My business has now become geometry, metallurgy and
chemistry, and it is a far cry from these to astronomy. To
abandon that in which I think to perform useful work would be
inexcusable. Besides this, I do not have the donum docendi;
my Brother knows well my natural difficulty in speaking. I
hope, therefore, that the Academy will not put me in
nomination. First, this would be the hindering by the
Chancellor of that which is now before his Majesty, namely,
my receiving of a salary in the College, which I propose to
try to get at some time. Besides this, I no longer find
either profit or inclination in academical matters, even
though I were paid a salary of 1,500 Riksdalers, so that it
cannot be. Therefore, if any one in the Consistory should
make reference to me, it would be showing me much friendship
if my Brother answers the reference with an absolute No. But
aside from this, I thank my Brother for having held me worthy
of this question." (OQ. 1:313 = LM. p. 333)
It is interesting to note that in this letter, Swedenborg gives assurance of being in plenty of funds. During the 1723 Riksdag, the Secret Committee had decided to pay to each Professor, as part of his salary, 40 tons of grain reckoned at the state value. The sale of this put Benzelius in funds, and he offered to lend money to Swedenborg. (UUH III:1:13)
"I thank my Brother for the offer of money, but I already
have a good deal in Norrberkie,* which will not come to be
used before next winter, so that I have no occasion for it.
It pleases me that my Brother comes out of it well, but I
should like to hear what price it was sold at."
(LM., pp. 335-36)
* A district which includes Skinnskatteberg, and in which Swedenborg had property.
Until after the middle of July, Swedenborg was occupied with his duties at the Bergscollegium in Stockholm. When the summer holidays commended on July 19th, he went on a commission to the sulphur works at Dylta near rebro, and from there, in the beginning of August, to the iron works at Axmar. (ACSD 371, 370A, 373A, 425C; OQ. 1:315 = LM. p. 343)
This property, which had been under the management of Brita Behm, was left by her brother Albrecht at his death in 1722 to his five sisters or their heirs. The Swedenborg family - Emanuel, Jesper, and the fours sisters - were therefore entitled to the one-fifth of the property which would have fallen to their mother Sarah. Swedenborg had already bought the shares falling to two of his sisters, and probably also the shares of the other two and of his brother Jesper; for it appears that at this time he owned one-fifth of the Axmar property. The other four-fifths were owned by his Aunt Brita in conjunction with her nephew Major Schonstrm - who, in her turn bought the three-fifths shares falling to her sisters other than Sarah, and became four-fifths owner in May 1724. We may get some idea of the value of this property when we know that on Brita Behm's death in 1755, the Axmar works alone were sold for 340,000 dal. k. mt., equal to about kr. 450,000 ($121,500), not counting the modern values of money. Swedenborg's one-fifth would thus amount to over 60,000 dal. k. mt. (Kr. 80,000 = $21,600). (NKTid., 1927:98-99; ACSD 424A)
The property itself consisted of a smelting furnace, two forges, with an annual capacity of 1,5000 skeppunds (3,000 tons) of iron, together with several farms, houses, meadows, hop gardens, a wood, fishing rights, and mills. There was also property outside Axmar, including an estate at Grno. It was Brita Behm's desire that all these properties should be specifically divided or exchanged, instead of being held on shares. During the summer, Swedenborg drew up a plan with this in view; he met his Aunt at Axmar in July. They did not come to any agreement, and further discussion was postponed till later, in Stockholm. (NKTid., 1927:78; ACSD 420A, 415A, 395:2)
Subsequent events indicate that Brita Behm was not satisfied with part ownership of the smelting furnace, and she seems to have made things very unpleasant for Swedenborg, apparently in the hope of forcing him to sell his share, as he subsequently did. There were difficulties in a joint ownership when the smelting was to be done in a single furnace, but these could easily have been amicably arranged. However, these difficulties came later; as yet, all was peaceful. The object of his present visit to Axmar was in connection with the new furnace which he and Aunt Brita were erecting, and on account of which Swedenborg, on this visit, expended 2,000 dal. k. mt., in cash (L55). The old furnace had been destroyed by the Russians in 1721. (ACSD 379A)
On his way from Axmar to Stockholm, he visited his brother-in-law Benzelius in Upsala. The few days he spent there happened to include a Friday, and in his honor a special meeting o the Literary Guild was held. Swedenborg had been a member of this Guild almost from its commencement four years earlier, but the present is the only time he ever attended its meetings. Indeed, it is probable that his membership hardly occurred to him, and certainly in his old age he had entirely forgotten it.
It may prove of interest to consider what was done at this meeting. Four members were present, viz., Benzelius, Swedenborg, Eric Burman - who had reviewed in the Acta Literaria Sueciae so many of Swedenborg's works, and who was now Professor of Astronomy in succession to Nils Celsius - and Peter Martin, Adjunct in Medicine: (Bokwetts G. Prot., p. 108)
Benzelius opened the meeting by reading his Latin review of a
book by Bishop Swedberg, published in 1723. The book is
entitled "The Poor Man's Cottage is the Rich Man's Treasure,"
the sum of which, to quote Benzelius's words is that "living
in accordance with the admonitions of our most Holy Savior
Jesus Christ and of His holy
Apostles, we should be merciful and liberal to the poor and
needy, and thereby testify to our faith by pious works; for
the in future, the reward of this liberality and benevolence
in the heavens will be gracious and glorious."
(ALS., 1721:521)
Benzelius then related an account, proved by witnesses,
of the catching of a young eel that was living on its
mother's navel. A letter was then read asserting that the eel
was both oviparous and viviparous, as in the case of
serpents.
The talk then turned on the criticisms directed against
Swedenborg's article on the Hydrostatic law which had
appeared in the Acta Literaria Sueciae some twenty months
earlier. This article had been sharply criticized by a
former writer in the Historie der Gelehrsamkeit, writing in
the Neue Zeitung last March. Some five months had now
passed, and it was felt that Swedenborg should give an
answer. Thereupon, Swedenborg "promised to be willing to set
up something in answer . . . setting forth the state of the
controversy, and leaving the matter to the decision of
Professor Wolff."
A letter was then read, to the effect that Czar Peter
proposed establishing a Society of Sciences, and suggesting
sending a complete set of the Acta Literaria Sueciae to
Russia.
Also a letter from the Secretary of the Royal
Philosophical Society of London, gratefully acknowledging the
establishment by the Guild of barometrical observations, and
asking to receive other matters of use to natural science.
This particularly interested Swedenborg, and he had some
private conversation with Benzelius as to the possibility of
himself corresponding with the Royal Society.
And finally was read Bishop Swedberg's latest work, a
tract entitled Festum Magnum or the Great Sinners' Great
Festival, wherein the Bishop describes the effect of his
first sermon, preached in 1673. In the evening of that day
was heard in the church much music, with clear voices, saying
Godly Psalms, when yet there was no organ there, or
instrument or person. All in the parish bore witness to
this. It was a sign that angels were present and God
approved his work. "Who knows," he says, "perhaps some
sinner that day became converted." This was the Festum
Magnum which he celebrated in his tract.
(OQ. 1:315 = LM. p. 377A)
This ended the meeting. When he returned to Stockholm, on August 16th, Swedenborg had the pleasure of meeting his brother, Lieutenant Jesper, whom he had not seen for fourteen years. He had arrived at Brunsbo in the spring of 1723, but it does not appear that Emanuel had met him before the present time when he came to Stockholm. (Records of H. Trin. Ch., p. 281; ACSD 375, 377A)
Jesper Swedenborg had led somewhat of a wild life, and
had been sent by his father to the army in Pomerania, to
England, and, finally, to America, at which latter place he
stayed nine years teaching school. His experiences seem to
have had a very sobering effect, for he returned home almost
a pietist.
From Jesper, Swedenborg doubtless heard something of the Indians in America, and among other things, he would hear the same account of their character as was given by Bjorck some nine years earlier, namely, that "they
live in many respects, following the light of nature, a more
reputable life than many who have the clear light of the
Gospel and bear the name of Christ."
(J. Swed., Then Sidste Basun Tyskland, Pref.)
Together with Jesper, Swedenborg met also Andreas Hesselius, his cousin, who for many years had served as pastor of the church in Wilmington, Delaware. Andreas, like his brother John who had been Swedenborg's traveling companion in his journey to Holland and Liege, was a student of nature, and had brought with him a curious collection in natural history, besides a book on Pennsylvania which he had written at Bishop Swedberg's request. Unfortunately, a great storm arose and carried off his collection and many of his books, besides utterly spoiling his MS., and had it not been for financial help from the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, he would have been stranded in London. Even so, he was obliged to remain in London for seven months, and there, to add to his misfortunes, his wife died, leaving him with four children, among them a boy of six years old, named Emanuel after his uncle, who, indeed, was one of the godfathers (by proxy) at his baptism in Wilmington. (Records of H. T. Ch., pp. 281, 243; BL. 6: p. 125; Then s. Basun T., Pref.)
A third person whom Swedenborg met with Jesper and Hesselius was Pastor Nordberg, a fellow student at Upsala whom Bishop Swedberg had sent to London as schoolmaster in 1701, and whom Swedenborg, of course, had met during his stay in London. (Carlson, p. 145)
In a letter to Benzelius, dated August 20th, Swedenborg speaks of meeting these old friends, noting especially the loss of Hesselius's collection and of his MS. book on Pennsylvania, adding, as to the latter, that "he will call it back to memory and will again put it on paper."* (OQ. 1:315 = LM. p. 343)
* The rewritten work was published in Norrkping, 1725, Ber. Om Svenska Kyrkans nuvarande tillstnd i America (BL 6:125).
In the same letter, Swedenborg speaks of having met in the College of Mines, Ren Reaumur, the eminent mathematician, naturalist and practical scientist, who was visiting Sweden in pursuance of his interest in the development of the practical arts and sciences.
Reaumur, who was five years Swedenborg's senior had already
attained high honors in France, had published in 1722 a work
on the art of making steel, which introduced many valuable
improvements, a work of which Swedenborg made great use when,
some years later, he wrote his book on Iron in which, indeed,
he incorporated many of Reaumur's plates. Reaumur was
essentially a practical rather than a philosophical man, but
naturally his skilled knowledge of steel making would
interest Swedenborg.
"Reaumur, who wrote a book on steel in France, has come
here," he writes to Benzelius, "and is now in the College.
So far as I have seen him, he is a very fine and curious
man." (Ibid.)
Swedenborg finds himself very busily employed in the College, especially in making preparations for a journey to rebro as a member of a College Commission, consisting of Assessors Benzelstierna and himself. And, although Benzelius had returned him his two works on metals, he finds no time either to revise them or to commerce a new work.
"When I come back," he writes, "I will always take some fixed
time each day which I will use for useful work in a literary
way." (Ibid.; ACSD 371)
He seems, however, to have given up all hope of getting a sufficient number of subscribers in answer to his Prospectus of two years earlier. On the other hand, the fact - which he had heard at the Upsala meeting - namely, that the Royal Society wished to correspond with the Literary Society on subjects of natural sciences, raised in him some hopes that he might contribute papers to the Philosophical Transactions. (Bok. G. Prot., p. 109)
In the letter to Benzelius, written immediately after he got back to Stockholm, and from which we have already quoted, he writes:
"If my Brother answer Doctor Sloan* of England, the
subject on which we spoke might be mentioned. I would
readily carry on a correspondence on metallurgy with some one
[of them] if it is printed at their expense; for to print
anything more at my own expense were to loss as much as
formerly; nor would I take up my time in afterwards crediting
the copies." (OQ. 1:315 = LM. p. 343)
* It appears that about this time, Doctor Sloan had commenced a correspondence with Benzelius. The latter's (1725-38) are preserved in the British Museum.
Evidently, Swedenborg was keeping track of the sale of his books by the Leipzig and Amsterdam booksellers - a sale which does not seem to have brought him any profit.
Swedenborg returned from his rebro commission work in the beginning of November, and at once took up his regular duties in the College of Mines. These duties were largely of a judicial character, having to do with the application of the mining laws and regulations. But on November 9th, Swedenborg himself became party to a mining process, or rather, he himself instituted such a process before the College of Mines.
It will be recalled that during the summer he had spent 2,000 dalers k. m. in conjunction with Aunt Brita's 8,000, in building up a new furnace at Axmar. The time for using this furnace would be in the winter, and as the work would necessitate his attending to the materials, paying the men and receiving the profits, therefore, on September 12th, while he was still in rebro, he appointed a local man, named Lindbohm - a former clerk at Axmar who had managed three-fifths of the works for the Schonstrms before they sold out to Brita (ACSD 395:3) - to act as his agent herein, "and if any dispute should arise, to report it to me." (ACSD 378A, 383)
He received Lindbohm's first report, dated November 1st, as son as he returned to Stockholm, and thereby received the first intimation of the trouble which his aunt was to cause him.
We cannot do better than quote the words of Herr F. G. Lindh, who is probably the best authority in the world on Swedenborg's affairs as an iron manufacturer. Writing in the Nya Kyrka Tidningar, Mr. Lindh says: (1927:100)
"Ever since the beginning, Brita Behm had a series of
lawsuits with Swedenborg, evidently with a view of
maneuvering him out of Axmar, that she herself may become the
sole owner of the property. Herein also she succeeded after
many years of conflict filled with vexations and annoyances
from her side. Most of the documents in these lawsuits are
preserved in the Svea Hofrtt's Archives. But to enter here
into any account of the contents of these great
bundles filling many hundreds of pages, would serve no
purpose, and the less so, inasmuch as a careful reading
through them gives no light of any value for the judging of
Swedenborg's financial position."
We do not propose to go extensively into these law cases, but since we are not limited, like Herr Lindh, to a study of Swedenborg's financial position, we propose to say something further about them in order to present this side of Swedenborg's character. As to this character, Herr Lindh writes:
"On Swedenborg's side, the documents which were sent in
are written in an elegant and easy style and conclude in a
courteous and polite tone. The writings signed by Brita
Behm, on the other hand, contain in many cases gross abuse
and attacks, both against the Judge in the County Court where
the case first came up, and against County Governor
Stiernmark and against her opponent Swedenborg. And,
therefore, both these [latter] gentlemen requested to be told
the name of the agent who set up Brita Behm's letters in
order to fasten responsibility for the abusive manner of
writing, but without result."
(NKTid., 1927:100; see LM, p. 390)
Lindbohm's letter of November 1, 1724, informed Swedenborg
that the "Fru Professorska, in the presence of Major
Schnstrm" [Swedenborg's cousin], had told him through her
servant Wahlstrm that Ashe will by no means" use the
smelting furnace together with Swedenborg, "although all
these days I have just as good materials as she, and already
have my ore ready roasted for this purpose; and as her action
is quite opposed to the mining ordinance and all custom," he
therefore begs Swedenborg to get the College of Mines to
order the local Master of Mines to assist him, "that I may do
my smelting in proportion, so that I do not have to heat the
furnace later; otherwise, both coal and the other materials
must be fruitless and smelted away. For me, this is very
important in order that I may get my iron to the forge."
(ACSD 378B)
On receiving this news, which, in view of the great expense he had been under in building the new furnace, was, to say the least, disconcerting, on November 3rd, Swedenborg wrote a friendly letter of expostulation to his aunt, which we now present as illustrating the courtesy which Herr Lindh states runs through all his letters in this process: (ACSD 379A; LM., p. 346)
"Well-born Fru Professorska
Highly honored Aunt Moster:
"Two days ago I arrived here in Stockholm from working on the
Commission in rebro. On my arrival, I learned that my aunt
is now in Axmar. I regret I had not the pleasure of
conferring orally with my aunt before she left, which
likewise I had hoped for, had not the Commission, against all
supposition, continued so long. I am writing today to Mons.
Lindbohm, instructing him to conform himself as follows: 1.
That the meadows be divided into five parts, and lots cast on
them. 2. That, as to the dividing of the Gran farm, this
remains as already decided by lot. 3. That the peasants on
the mortgaged arm be divided and likewise be shared by lot.
4. That he keeps the lower room for one peasant, according
to the proposal. 5. As concerns the division of the estate
of the Axmar works, and also the rooms in the house, my aunt
will be so kind as to leave this matter until I have the
honor to
confer about it orally.* 6. My aunt will please be so
gracious as to assist to her utmost Inspector Lindbohm in
recovering from Madam Berglind** my deposit; of this I have
the less doubt, since on my visit in Axmar, of this deposit I
have her nearly 2,000 dalers in cash for the building of the
furnace.
* These arrangements as to dividing the property were made in accordance with a promise made to Aunt Brita to arrange that he and she should have specific parts of the property instead of a one-fifth and four-fifths share in all (see ACSD 394:2).
** The widow of the former master of mines, Johan Bergklind, in Uppland, who had died in 1722 (Almquist, p. 170).
"I hope that all will come to a happy union and
settlement before my aunt leaves Axmar, and should anything
be opposed by Herr Lindbohm, my aunt will be so good as not
further to dispute on the matter but to note it down when, on
my aunt's arrival here, we will probably come to agreement;
for I have always perceived that my aunt never intends
anything but what is just and reasonable."
Whether Swedenborg's aunt answered this letter or not is unknown. At any rate, six days after writing it (November 9th), Swedenborg followed the suggestion of his inspector and entered a complaint with the Bergscollegium.
He wrote to the latter body as follows: (ACSD 381; LM., p. 347)
"Fru Professorska Brita Behm's servant at Axmar, a man
named Wahlstrm, wishes, on behalf it is said of his
principal, to deny Mons: Lindbohm, who is in charge of my
fifth ownership in the furnace which was lately built by us,
the right to blast in conjunction with him, with the
undoubted purpose that I, to my great damage and loss in coal
and iron, may then make a separate smelting or be caused
delay, as seen by a copy of the said Lindbohm's letter
enclosed herewith.
"Now, as I have the coal at hand, the roasted ore is
ready and the materials prepared, and no dispute ought or can
be raised concerning them nor concerning my ownership right
to a fifth, nor in respect to the furnace itself, that I for
my part contributed to its building more than my share and
not less; therefore, I am compelled humbly to inform your
Excellency and the Royal College respecting the servant
Wahlstrm's unreasonable behavior in this matter; this is
against the many times repeated regulations made by the Royal
College in the mining districts, and also against the custom
which obtains everywhere where there are works with part
owners, and in reality against the interests of his
principal, the above-mentioned lady, as well as against mine,
which are bound up with hers. So, if one of the interested
parties, acting according to his own good pleasure and from a
caprice which is opposed to the understanding itself, is not
willing to tolerate any joint use of the work with the other,
but blasts separately for himself, then the furnace must be
heated up many times, and, as a consequence, coal be burned
in useless quantity and the woods belonging to the works be
ruined without the due effect, and the production of iron in
proportion to the quantity of coal used be diminished."
Swedenborg therefore requests the College to order the local Bergmstare
"to assist my servant when he claims protection herein, by
letting the above-mentioned Wahlstrm be advised concerning
the advantage which a joint smelting carries with it, and of
how smelting work ought to be conducted in the usual way, in
case he did not know this beforehand; and also that he should
not, by reason of caprice and self-will, do injury to the
woods, the works, and the smelting. This is so much the more
important for me, since all is ready for the work, and the
smelting will soon commence."
Swedenborg finally asks that Wahlstrm be restrained from commencing the blasting until the College of Mines has made its decision.
This Memorial was considered by the College on the same day, and word was sent to the Bergmstare at Axmar to demand an explanation of Wahlstrm. A copy of Swedenborg's letter accompanied the letter.
Wahlstrm's answer was received by the College of December 22nd, wherein he complains that Swedenborg has directed his complaint to him, and not to his principal; who doubtless will be allowed to give her own answer. He also complains that Swedenborg is acting as principal in the complaint, when yet his servant is the cause of all the trouble.
"That from all my heart I have desired and with prayers have
requested that I might be spared from having anything in
common with the Herr Assessor's servant at these works, this
I do not deny. I am daily confirmed in the same thought."
(ACSD 385)
As an Assessor, Swedenborg, of course, saw the letter as soon as it arrived, and on the next day, December 23rd, he hands in his answer. Referring to Wahlstrm's statement that he acted by order of Fru Behm, Swedenborg says:
"That such was Fru Professorska's order and intention, I am
unable to credit, for it is wholly opposed to justice."
He therefore requests that his two letters be sent to Fru Behm, in order to ascertain
"what gave rise to so unjust a proposal. But since the
blasting must soon commence, and it may be that, contrary to
all justice and in opposition to the Resolution of the Royal
College and the Bergmstare's orders in pursuance thereof,
bookkeeper Wahlstrm will still attempt alone to carry on the
blasting in the furnace before the explanation of this point
can arrive and a conclusion be reached in the Royal College -
therefore, in the event that such should be the case, I claim
for my own account and to the utmost of my power, all
replacement of compensation for the ore and coal which I
should lose in such case by instituting a separate blasting,
and also for the loss entailed thereby at the forge;
especially since, if this should be done, it would be in
contempt of all the Resolutions which the Royal College has
been pleased to make." (ACSD 386; LM., p. 351)
Swedenborg's request was complied with, and his two letters were sent to Fru Behm with instructions to answer within eight days or pay a fine of ten dalers s. m. (L1 15s.). But Fru Behm, in view of the Christmas festivals which in Sweden at that time extended to December 28th, begs for eight days more. This was granted, and on January 9th, the last day of the extended period, she handed in a lengthy answer to Swedenborg. (ACSD 392)
Right in the beginning of her letter, she indicates some
antipathy to Swedenborg, and also gives us what is perhaps
the
291a
[1724
December
key to her character - a person with so strict a sense of
justice and so great a lack of tact that when he thinks
himself to be most in the right, he finds to his great
surprise that he is the more accused of injustice.
"When I wish the most to avoid occasions for quarrels,"
she writes, "the more certainly I am drawn into them." And
then she adds: "Yet I have been able to anticipate little
else since it has come to me to have anything in common with
the aforementioned Herr Swedenborg in the Axmar works."
She asks why Swedenborg did not inform himself of the
cause of the trouble, especially from his cousin Peter
Schnstrm who knew both sides of the case having lived in
Axmar at the time; and why he did not keep his promise to
settle matters with her personally after she returned to
Stockholm.
She defends her action in Axmar on the ground of
Lindbohm's character. "The Herr Assessor knows in his
conscience," she writes, "that in Lindbohm he has a servant
with whom none who know him will willingly have any
dealings." Swedenborg cannot be unaware of how quarrelsome
and captious he is, even in trivial matters. During her last
visit at Axmar, she had seen him knock her servant over
"almost in my own room," and Schnstrm had been obliged to
lock him in a room, otherwise Awe should never had come to
agreement so satisfactorily and quickly as we did." She has
no time to submit proofs, but appeals to the civil
authorities in Axmar who are only too well acquainted with
the lawless character of the man and his abusive language,
even on the Sabbath and in the church grounds, for which he
had been recently fined 400 dal. k. mt. More especially, he
attacks the workmen at Axmar. "If now I try to avoid such a
man, and leave him all reasonable advantages apart and by
himself, especially in view of my servant's lamentations who,
in part, express their desire to leave because of him, and,
in part, compare it to a Marstrand work, to have any work to
be carried on with him. Now they swear that they see nothing
else than that some day there will be murder," etc.
Swedenborg "not only finds no remedy for this state of
affairs, but what is more, avails himself of the curious mind
of such an underling, gives him a warrant and instructions
whereby he gets freer scope for calling everything into
question according to his own pleasure, not as an attorney or
servant but as his own master, right against or parallel with
the orders of his principal." And for all this, Swedenborg
gives no other counsel than to refrain from opposition and to
leave the matter for another time and place, "replying on the
Herr Assessor's reasonable and speedy conclusion and
decision; and when in simplicity and trust I rely on this, I
find that the effect is such as it is today; that the
Assessor and his servant Lindbohm, instead of getting one-
fifth share in the works, have had three-fifths of the works'
profits, ever since Michaelmas, and keep my servants from
what belongs to me, under the pretext that the division is
not yet settled."
She then calls upon Swedenborg to mention any
regulations which prevent separate smeltings by partners; if
such regulations exist, they contemplate peaceful men such as
Lindbohm is not.
Moreover, she instances the case of herself and the
Schnstrms who smelt separately in one furnace without any
trouble.
She had offered Lindbohm the alternatives: 1. To take
the first or second smelting, and she would take the other;
or, if he thinks his separate smelting too costly, she to
contribute four-fifths to this cost if he will give one-fifth
to the cost of her smelting.
If some better arrangement can be suggested, Fru Behm
would readily agree to it, "provided only his servants and
mine be separated." (ACSD 394)
This was handed into the College of Mines on January 9th, and four days later, Swedenborg submits his reply:
"The College will note," he says "how far Fru Behm
touches on the main matter. There is a complete description
of the servant Lindbohm. The lady is careful also to mix
something which concerns my conduct; and I see also that the
lady has been pleased to express with her pen all that
suspicion could offer her. But what has Lindbohm's personal
character to do with this matter? Why so many
circumlocutions, digressions, and stories on all other
matters, when the question concerns only the matter of
blasting? No one who has any understanding can think that a
matter is won by blaming the person. This in itself is
unbecoming and is a procedure already banished from the
honorable world. One can well see what is white, even though
another will mark some black strokes on it. A judge does not
traverse all the byways whither he is meant to be led by
partisanship. Sometimes judges regard such procedure as a
crime against the process, and punish it with a fine of 10
dal. s. mt., in accordance with the 1695 order of procedure.
"In what would it help my matter if I were to
reciprocate the unjust charges here made; for example, if in
this Memorial wherein the subject should concern blasting, I
wished to bring forward how that all the fair proposals for
division which, at the lady's request and advice, I drew up
last summer for the preservation of unity at Axmar, were
disapproved. As to how this came about, another will likely
know better than I; my letters would show that I have always
sought and still seek unity, and these letters the lady will
be so kind as to exhibit according to her promise. One
writing, consisting of ten points with some threat at the
end, was delivered into my hands, whereto I answered in
writing and agreed with almost all that was demanded. But
because I, with all possible courtesy, submitted to the
lady's mature consideration one or two others, it seemed as
if I became a subject for suspicion and enmity. If I now
assented to all the points without reservation, and granted
more in addition, then I would be in friendship. But in
return for my courteous answer, a letter comes back with
expressions such as I would not expect of so righteous a
lady. If I do not answer to every single point, then at once
it is thought something lies behind it. Thus, if the lady
proposes to share with me the stock which I have with
peasants in Moo and Srsta parishes, eighteen to thirty miles
from Axmar, and which in no way whatever belong to the Axmar
works and I give no answer thereto, as stated, then at once
it is thought that I am taking to myself an
improper advantage in respect to my one-fifth share, which is
spoken of in the writing; if I answer and refuse it, then it
is pretended that I am unwilling to be at one with her. But
outside of this, I have much cause to praise Fru
Professorska, who in all things is ready and willing to do
what is just and to come to an agreement; but -
"As concerns the servant Lindbohm, if he makes a stand
on the rights of his principal, this, in the minds of the
other servants, is thought to be unjust. The Lindbohm who is
referred to, is sixty years old, a man of good understanding,
experienced in mining work from childhood, a bookkeeper of
good ability in the management of furnaces and forges. He
is, indeed, somewhat zealous against those who will do him
harm. He has been with Assessor Schnstrm* for a long time
and understood all his works to the late Assessor's
satisfaction; was for a long time with the lady herself at
Longwind,** and, according, to her own expression, kept
correct accounts. He managed the one-sixth part of Longwind
for the Herrar Schnstrm, and three-fifths in Axmar, and now
manages half of Longwind in common with Wahlstrm, the lady's
same servant. He is now complained against for the first
time; were he simple and gave way in everything, then he
would be praised; if he did something unjust as regards my
fifth, then one complains; for this there will certainly be
some remedy, yet no change shall be made in that wherein he
is right.
* He died in 1692.
** An ironworks some fifty miles north of Axmar.
"But all this which I have brought forward merely as an
example, what effect has it on the main question? can I
argue that my right to the blasting is justified thereby?
Therefore, I will now put such matters aside, especially
since I have made this digression for no other purpose than
to overtake the one who went so far aside in his letter, and
to lead him by hand back to the thing itself and the main
matter.
"And now as concerns this thing, the Fru Professorska
wishes to show a regulation that the work should be done
together. There are innumerable precedents on this matter,
likewise College orders which ought to guide us in such a
matter as well as regulations. But why should a regulation
be made concerning that which sound reason dictates? Shall
the law expressly say that one must blast together if this is
to the advantage both to the one party and to the other? for,
if the contrary is done, one loses a great part of his store.
But here there is a difference in that, while the lady loses
one part, I lose four, as should be quite clear for its own
reasons. Shall the law command that one must not throw his
iron into the lake? or burn up his coal for foolish objects?
If the understanding is clear, it knows this of itself. I am
looking out not only for my own interests but equally for the
lady's - I hope the party understands this. Has a private
person leave to handle the economy as he wills? A College is
established which has oversight on such matters, and in such
cases as these, it acts as guardian, and acts to see that the
general welfare shall not be injured by bad private
management, and that in such case rein and bridle are put
upon self will.
"In the mining district, when there are twenty or thirty
parties interested in a smelting works and many of them very
disunited, so far as I know there has never been any
complaint as to the proprietorship and participation; in
this, such firm rules are observed that the one could not say
he had lost on the other a single piece of coal and bit of
ore. There are a hundred examples where one of the parties
has offered to become the proprietor, but as yet, since the
mining regulations have come out, not a single case can be
brought forward of any one refusing a joint smelting; and
should I mention such a thing to a miner, he would deem it as
the most absurd thing he had heard in all his days.
"And now, as I note that the matter and rules in regard
to joint operations are unknown, therefore, for the
information of the servants, I may be permitted to present
them herewith:
"1. A lot shall be cast as to who should blast, first or last, the one on whom the lot falls, to blast first or last.
"2. In the first twelve days, while the furnace is being heated, each shall contribute coal and ore in the proportion of his share in the furnace. If the lady contributes four portions of ore and coal, then I will contribute one, and this will be continued until the furnace is heated, and all is added that is needed, which generally is in about twelve days.
"3. While these twelve days of joint smelting are going on, all the iron that comes out is divided, the lady receiving four parts and I one.
"4. After this is done, the first who got the lot to blast first does his blasting, and this so long as his coal or ore last.
"5. When the coal is finished, the other makes eleven or twelve deposits according to the size of the furnace, or as he desires, and meanwhile the one who blasted first gets the runnings that come out during this time.
"6. Then the other comes in and blasts his store, without the one being said to have anything in common with the other.
"But the Fru Professorska is of the opinion that she has
done all when she offered the servant (which yet has hitherto
been unknown to me - perhaps it was done after my humble
supplique had been handed in) the choice of blasting first or
last; if last, that I, in such case, contribute one part of
coal for the first blasting while the lady contributes four
parts. Is not this a joint blasting; the only thing which is
in common consists in fact in this. The lady offers me to
blast afterwards, being willing to contribute four parts of
the coal for the heating. If the lady then requires that the
iron remaining therefrom shall be divided in the same
proportion, then the blasting is a joint one; in this
consists all that can be called joint in a blasting, for then
each blast for himself, and the one can commence when the
other finishes. But in what way will two heatings serve the
matter? or two joint blastings? one joint blasting is
rejected, but two are proposed and favored. This last
proposition the Fru Professorska is pleased to make, namely,
that she contributes four parts of coal when the furnace is
being heated for me, and I contribute one-fifth of the coal
when the heating is done for the first blasting. This I
accept with all respect and thankfulness. I desire only that
he lady will please lay out all the details belonging
thereto, and then on my side consent will follow.
On January 19th, Aunt Brita entered a sharp reply. The
looseness of Swedenborg's answer, she says, may suggest why
all her conferences with him have been fruitless. After
stating that the specific question is, for what reason a
joint smelting with Lindbohm should be refused, she continued
that she had given that reason and supported it by
Schnstrm's testimony, by an appeal to Swedenborg's
conscience, and by a court action against Lindbohm. All
Swedenborg answers is that persons have nothing to do with
the matter. She was inclined to leave the matter as it was
to the judgment of the College, but knowing the assessor is
pursuing the same tactics as he used with her last summer,
she will examine his points more closely.
It is not against honor to seek a judge's help against
unruly men, and one must do this with just that proof which
the Assessor says is attacking persons, acting against honor,
etc. Yet he himself does not hesitate to accuse Wahlstrm of
caprice and self-will; the difference is that in the one case
proofs are offered, in the other, it is unproved assertions;
and she asks the College to protect her from this.
From his "manifold digressions," Fru Behm gathers "this
to my advantage," namely, that the Assessor cannot name any
regulation forbidding separate smeltings; he merely
ventilates his own objections:
1. By appealing to reason, "which the Assessor somewhat cavalierly deduces from self-interest or profit." But if the rules of reason depend on self-interest or profit." But if the rules of reason depend on self-interest, then each one must judge for himself to set up rules for my interest, I may ask by what warrant he does this. I am the person best qualified to judge of my own interests, and in the present case would readily put that interest back into the fire for the sake of being delivered from the disturbances of neighbors."
2. He appeals to one's obligation not to destroy his own goods. "The resolution I have reached to spend some measures of coal for the Assessor's private use belongs to the exceptions to this rule, namely, that one has leave to throw away much advantage and money for the sake of peace of mind; and of two evils, to choose the least." Here Brita Behm notes that Swedenborg does not deny the charges against Lindbohm's character, but indeed admits that "he is zealous against those who will do him harm, which confirms the charges." A new proof of these charges lies in the fact that though Brita Behm expressly offered him the proposals stated in her letter to Swedenborg, he did not so inform his principal in his letter of complaint, and this because he wished the latter to go to law.
She confirms these proposals, to contribute four-fifths
coal to Swedenborg's first blasting (if he chooses the first)
against his one-fifth to her blasting; she will even grant
more, and let the Assessor blast as long as he will, though
he is entitled to only one-fifth of the time. "My servant
asks every now and again to be separated from Lindbohm."
If this offer is against reason as the Assessor says,
then one wonders why Lindbohm, who, he says, is a man of good
understanding, accepted the same arrangement at Lngvind on
Schnstrm's behalf, and declared it practical.
On February 4th, Swedenborg's and Brita Behm's letters were read at a meeting of the College of Mines - Swedenborg, of course, leaving the room when the reading began. The Assessors were of the opinion that joint smelting would be the best for all. But since the two servants could not be reconciled, they thought Brita Behm's suggestion - which Swedenborg had accepted - the most practical, with the provision that the one who blasts first shall leave the furnace hot, and get a proportion of the coal in compensation therefore. (ACSD 397)
After this conclusion, Rosenadler (acting for Brita Behm) and Swedenborg were called in and informed of the decision, to which both agreed; Swedenborg also said he would take the second blasting if guaranteed a warm furnace; a contract would be presented later for the approval of the College.
The matter, unfortunately, did not end here. When the decision was communicated to Wahlstrm, he accepted it but only with the provision that if Swedenborg took the second blasting, he must either pay one-fifth of the coal for the heating of the furnace, or receive the furnace cold. If Swedenborg agrees to this, there might be a written contract, otherwise, the case would have to go once more to the College of Mines.
Rosendler, on behalf of Aunt Brita, then applied to the College on February 25th for guidance. Count Bonde cited a similar case which had been before the College some twenty years earlier and suggested a similar settlement now, namely, the four-fifths owner to smelt for four weeks, and the one-fifth owner for one week in turn, each to leave a warm oven for the other. No decision was reached, as Swedenborg was not present. (ACSD 408A)
Soon afterwards, Aunt Brita submitted to Swedenborg a draft contract, providing that the respective parties shall contribute four-fifths and one-fifth to the heating of the furnace prior to each blasting; that after his separate blasting, the furnace shall be thoroughly emptied and cleaned and handed over cold; that each shall be allowed to finish his coal and ore even if out of proportion to their respective shares; but with the proviso that enough coal must be left to give the due share to the warming up of the furnace by the next following party; otherwise due compensation must be paid.
Dissatisfied with this, Swedenborg submitted to the College his own draft agreement. This provided that while the furnace was heating, each shall contribute his due proportion of coal and ore, and receive the same proportion of iron produced during this period. (ACSD 408C)
Then lots shall be cast as to who is to blast first; the blasting then to continue so long as this party has coal and ore; then, while the blasting is still going on, it is to be handed over to the second party. So that the one shall not injure the other by leaving the furnace in unfit condition, Lindbohm shall always blast last. But if Wahlstrm is responsible for leaving the furnace in bad condition, then compensation must be made.
All costs for preparing the furnace to be shared four-fifths and one-fifth.
This Draft was submitted to Wahlstrm, and he noted on it: "To this proposal, which is quite opposed to all I have asked, I cannot assent."
The matter came again before the College on March 1st, when all the documents were again read. Swedenborg and his brother-in-law Lars then retired.* Before retiring, however, Swedenborg was asked if he would agree to an arrangement like that made in 1705; to which he answered Ayes," if the draft contract was not accepted. (ACSD 409)
* This indicates that Lars Benzelstierna now represented Aunt Brita; for he had not retired on previous occasions when this matter was discussed in the College. And this again lends some color to the thought that it is he who is meant by the AB" who is said by Swedenborg to have "incited Brita Behm to bring a lawsuit in regard to Axmar" (Drommar, p. 72).
The result of the subsequent discussion was, that while it was the mining custom in all such cases to have joint smelting with a due sharing of the resultant iron, thus saving expense, yet, since the two servants could not work together, the College ordered that Fru Behm shall take the first blasting, including the heating of the furnace, this to continue so long as her coal and ore last out; Swedenborg is then at once to continue the blasting, with the advantage of a ready heated furnace. At the end of his blasting - the fifth (the first four being Behm's) - he is to leave the furnace in the same condition for Behm's next blasting. The particulars in other respects are left to them to determine.
As to the servants, a fine of 100 dal. sm. M. (,12 10s.) will be imposed if either molests the other "by word or deed" while the blasting is going on.
And so the matter was settled, and as to this question at least the joint owners of Axmar rested in peace.
In February he was appointed to carry out a commission, officially to examine and report on those machine models which had been produced by the Mechanical Laboratory established under Polhem in 1697, but completely defunct for nearly twenty years. It will be recalled that during his first foreign journey, his mind had been much occupied with mechanical inventions; and when, on his return to Sweden in 1715, he visited Stockholm in December of that year, almost his first work consisted in an examination of the models left by the Mechanical Laboratory and which were standing neglected and falling to ruin in the Bergscollegium building on Mount Torget. In examining these models in 1715, Swedenborg's object had been to write descriptions of such o them as he thought worthy of note for the Daedalus Hyperboreus. On that occasion, he wrote to Benzelius that the models "are perishing from time to time" (see above, pp. 95-96). And now, ten years later, probably at his own suggestion, he was to examine them officially.
He conducted his examination with two of the College's Auscultants or Apprentices as assistants, and on February 14th he sent his report to the College.
Whole models were missing, or parts of them, and those that
remained were constantly deteriorating owing to the bad
condition of the windows which allowed snow and rain to fall
on them. Before making a specific report, he asked for an
appropriation of 50 dal. s. m.
(about L6) to employ an artisan to assist in completing the
examination by making easy repairs and by specifying the
missing parts, and he further suggested that some of the
funds belonging to the Mechanical Laboratory may then be
appropriated to preserving the models and to buying tools so
that repairs may be made without the aid of workmen.
(ACSD 399)
The 50 dal. s. m. + 100 dal. s. m. was duly granted, and was used by Swedenborg in the way designed; but no report of his expenditure was made until March 1732. See ACSD 542ee. (Ib. 527e, 499e)
At the same time, he memorialized the College about another of Polhem's models - a famous hoisting machine - which was kept in a locked room, that it should be added to the rest of the collection so as to be of use to examiners. (Ibid., 400B)
In a third Memorial of the same data, after referring to the past interest of the King and the Bergscollegium to the establishment of a mechanical laboratory, he suggests the increase of the collection of models by the purchase of an air pump, "which would seem to be so much the more useful, because of such an air pump many hundreds of experiments can be shown in regard to weather, fire and water, and one can thereby acquire experience in much that pertains to physics." Among the existing models invented by Polhem
"are some whereby one can see the power and effects of water
under different conditions; also the gradation in pendulums,
and the rise and fall of bullets, besides other machines
useful for experiments in physics. And since mechanics and
physics are so nearly related that he one cannot do without
the other," these should now be added to by an air pump
"which would add lustre to all the other machines collected
in this room at such great cost."
He recommends the pump be purchased at about 1,000 dal. k. mt. (L28) from the English Hawksbee, as being the very best (see above, p. 48). (ACSD 400)
These Memorials were considered by the College on the following day, February 15th, and Swedenborg was granted 50 dal. s. mt. As requested. The second of Swedenborg's requests was granted with regard to the air pump; the College, after ascertaining that it possessed funds for the Mechanical Laboratory, on February 17th voted 1,000 dal. k. mt. For its purchase by Swedenborg.
In the purchase of this air pump, Swedenborg made use of his friend of London days, Jonas Alstrm, who was then just beginning that career which brought such brilliant success to himself and such benefit to Sweden.
Alstrm had left England, having during a sojourn of
seventeen years become a wealthy man, and after travelling in
France arrived in Sweden in 1724 and took steps to establish
his afterwards famous manufacturing works at his birthplace
Alingss near Gothenburg. He had received valuable
privileges from the government, but his wealth was not
sufficient for the extensive work he contemplated.
Therefore, early in 1725, he secured the support of some
wealthy men in Christinehamn on Lake Venner, and in February
formed a company with shares at 100 dal. s. m. It was
probably in connection with his visit to Christinehamn and
the sale of these shares that he visited Bishop Swedberg at
Brunsbo on February 26th.*
(SBL; Malm. 2:92; see Dalin, s. 24)
* As one of the leading members of the Swedish church in London, Alstrm would naturally wish to visit his Bishop and the father of his London friend, Emanuel.
We learn of this visit from a letter written on that date by Jesper Swedenborg to his brother Emanuel:
"Today Herr Alstrm was here, and then left for Stockholm.
He has a great desire to get an opportunity of talking with
dear brother. He would much like dear brother to journey
with him to England, when he would show dear brother much
which would be highly important and useful for the
Fatherland. He has done great things here at Alingss; has
had such machines made, the like of which are not to be found
in all Europe. Either he will be a very rich man or very
poor." (Doc. I:342)
It was to Alstrm that Swedenborg turned in his purchase of the air pump, the purchase being effected by Alstrm's sister Mary who was in charge of his London business, and the money paid to him in Stockholm, after the safe arrival of the pump which "was shipped by the grace of God in good order." And then there was trouble with customs, for which 300 dal. k. mt. (over L8) was demanded. On May 27th, Swedenborg wrote a Memorial to the College of Mines, to petition for free entry, or that the Crown pay the duty, since the pump is for the public service; and, meanwhile, that guarantees be furnished so that the box can be removed to the AMechanical Laboratory"; for where it is now, being constantly shifted, it is liable to injury. Presumably this was done. (ACSD 410(1), 411)
Swedenborg had not quite finished his trouble as to his seat in the Bergscollegium. It will be remembered he had stipulated that he should have precedence after his brother-in-law Lars Benzelstierna. At that time, Swedenborg was appointed a regular Assessor, and in July 1724 it was generally supposed there were only five Assessors including Swedenborg. But in June 1725, Swedenborg's stepbrother, Anders Swab, who was also his brother-in-law having married the widow of his younger brother Eliezer, applied to the Bergscollegium to be recognized an Assessor as of date 1716, and so the second Assessor in point of precedence. He supported his claim by the fact that whenever he had been in Stockholm, he had always sat at the Assessors' meetings, taking precedence of Assessor Bergenstierna. This, of course, meant a step backward for the three Assessors who had been appointed after 1716, namely, Bergenstierna, Lars Benzelstierna and Swedenborg. (Ib. 442, 444)
Swab's application to the King was referred to the College of Mines which in turn officially communicated it to the three Assessors who would be affected, and this at their own request. Each of these Assessors answered by a petition of protest addressed to the King. In his petition, which he wrote early in July, Swedenborg protested that although Swab had been appointed Assessor in 1716, the warrant shows that it was merely a complimentary appointment; moreover, since 1714 he had been Bergmstare in the copper district without interruption, and a man cannot serve two offices simultaneously, especially when one is subordinate to the other, "so that he would be one of those whose orders he must obey." (ACSD 442, 422aa, 420a, 442, 420)
In the interim, Swab requested from the College copies of these protests, but though this was refused, he was permitted to read them. (Ib., 422aa)
As a consequence, in October he addressed a second petition to the King, advancing new points in answer to the protests; and in December this was followed by a second petition by Swedenborg, wherein, among other things, he called attention to the royal ordinance of 1723 where a distinction was made between those who are taken into the College, and those who actually work in the College. (Ib. 426, 442a)
All these had been given in to the College of Mines for transmission to the King who had asked counsel of the College concerning Swab's original application. The matter was not of pressing importance as it did not involve any immediate benefit to any of the parties concerned. This seems to have been the attitude of the members of the College who were not directly concerned. At any rate, until the correspondence between the contestants was finished, eleven months after Swab's original petition had been handed in, it had not yet been transmitted to the King.
The two Councillors of the College and its senior Assessor, none of whom was involved in the dispute, met together finally to dispose of the matter by formulating their advice to the King, on May 4, 1726. All the documents in this case were read - which took up an entire morning session - and, finally, in the afternoon the conclusion was reached that since the matter concerned the King's own interpretation of Swab's warrant of appointment, and his understanding as to how far the royal ordinance of 1723 applied in this case, it was resolved to send the whole correspondence to the King without recommendation. A few days later, on May 17th, the King, sitting in Council, give his decision in favor of Swab. And so the matter ended. (ACSD 444)
Swedenborg does not seem to have done any literary work during 1724 and 1725 except the "mineral collections" on which he proposed working further in July (see above, p. 280); but we have no trace of any further work in this direction during 1724 or 1725. Indeed, he could not have had much time for literary work. The only thing we know of in this field is that in August 1724 he promised to contribute an article "for the adornment of the Acta Literaria," but in none of the issues put forth after this date is there anything by him, or even any mention of his name. (OQ. 1:316 = LM., p. 344)
In July 1725 he did work out some calculations, for on the thirteenth of that month, Benzelius writes:
"A good friend has translated my Brother's Calculation of the
well-known funeral mound so that it may appear in the Acta.
He has made the calculation based on a conical figure, though
dear Brother's was based on an oval." (Ibid. = LM. p. 382)
What the reference is, is clear from the Bokwets Gille, from which it is seen that the funeral mound in question was at Markim, some 18 miles north of Stockholm. (Bok. G. Prot., p. 121)
At the end of May 1725, Swedenborg had been appointed to replace Assessor Adam Leijel, who was sick, on a Commission consisting of Leijel and Bergenstierna, who had been at work since 1721 in the effort to bring about more economical methods in the iron smelting and forges of Vermland. (ACSD 414, 416)
During the preceding summer (1724), the Commission had assembled the various ironworks in the region of Philipstad with a view to combining forges and furnaces for the saving of the woods and because of other economies. On this occasion most of the parties concerned had consented; but, in a written opinion most of the parties concerned had consented; but, in a written opinion handed in to the College on May 14, 1725, Bergenstierna and Swedenborg had recommended further discussion of the question with the miners in order to avoid undue haste. Another recommendation which they made at the same time evinces considerable prudence. In the town of Philipstad, many smelting houses had been built between the houses, with the great risk of fire. These could not well be moved for they had originally moved to Philipstad some years before by order of the College and at much expense to themselves. The recommendation was that they be allowed to remain, but as soon as they were unfit for use, they must not be rebuilt. (ACSD 410F)
Swedenborg and Bergenstierna left Stockholm for Wermland toward the end of July, and were busily occupied in interviewing the ironworks and arranging for the projected mergers. Finally, after notices had been announced from all the pulpits of Philipstad and the surrounding villages, on September 6th the ironworks assembled at Philipstad where one by one they appeared before the commission and were questioned as to their willingness to combine their works with others and with what others. (ACSD 410F)
Toward the end of September, the Commission left Philipstad for Nya Kopperberg some forty to fifty miles northwest, to investigate into some complains against the master machinist and the crown bailiff. Both these officials were appointees of the Bergscollegium, and it devolved on Bergenstierna and Swedenborg to investigate the complaints against them. They opened the hearing of the accused men on September 23rd, but it was evidently a clear case of guilt for on September 27th both men resigned, the master machinist doing this in a letter to the Commission, dated September 27th, whose language indicates his character: "God beware," he says, "that I should ever have the least thing to do with this mining district." (ACSD 425A)
There remained the appointment of new officers, but this was deferred for a later visit.
On their return to Philipstad, the Commission found a memorial addressed to them by the iron workers of that city complaining of various abuses by the mine workers of Persberg where they obtained their ore.
Accordingly, on their return journey to Nya Kopparberg early in October, they stopped over at the old and rich Persberg mines to investigate these complaints, to the effect that the Persberg miners had raised the price of ore from 4-2 to 6 or even 9 dal. k. mt.; that they demanded in payment hay, rye, or articles of food at their pleasure, and that the richer miners refused koppar money and would take only silver. This complain was accompanied with a request that the Commissioners would consider a proposal that these mines be regulated by the Mining District Board with a central office where all ores will be brought for sale under supervision of the Board; and with charge of seeing that the mines are worked to the best advantage. (ACSD 436app., 436)
On the visit to Persberg, Swedenborg and Benzelstierna descended into each of the five mines, one of them two hundred and forty feet deep, and found all in good condition except one, which, owing to the heavy rains, had several fathoms of water.
After this survey, the Commission, on October 10th, called a meeting of the mine owners, and after reading the bills of complaints, asked them if
"it was true that, against the Resolutions, prohibition, and
proclamation of the Philipstad master of mines, they had
resisted in so wilful a way, to the harm and injury of the
mining district" as to raise the price of ore and to refuse
copper money, etc. "They should know and keep in mind that
the mines belong to the mining district and not to them, and
it was not proper that the district would suffer at their
hand so harmful and ruinous a compulsion, but it would likely
itself work the mines, and make some other arrangement as to
them." (ACSD 436app.)
The miners then explained that the miners were now very
deep and hard to work, the work being made more difficult by
water; moreover, wood was very dear. Their costs were,
therefore, higher than formerly and fully justified a change
of 6 dal. k. mt. A tunna. They had never charged more nor
demanded goods in return for ore, or refused to receive
copper money.
The Commissioners then stated they would look further
into the matter. Meanwhile, they again warned the miners
that they might render themselves subject to being put out of
their mines.
The Commission concluded that the increased cost of
procuring the ore did justify some increase in its sale
price; but it is not reasonable that the miners "who cannot
be considered in any other light than as servants of the
mining district who have been set in occupation under certain
conditions to work the mines, should act as they have; for
the increased cost of ore can but tend to destroy the iron
industry of the region and deprive the crown of its royalties
therefrom. They therefore recommended that the Philipstad
Bergmstare carry on an investigation to fix a fair price for
the ore; also that he inquire into the practicability of the
district establishing a central office for the sale of the
ore, etc., and then report.
The Philipstad iron workers had also complained to the
Commission that the miners cheated them in the matter of
weights, and, moreover, instead of selling the ore as it came
from the mines, gave the small pieces which were richer in
ore to those whom they favored, and the large lumps to the
others. The Commission therefore recommended the
establishment of a public weighing machine and that each
purchaser receive the big lumps of ore and the finer in a
certain proportion per measure. All these recommendations
were subsequently adopted by the Bergscollegium.
Having finished the work at Persberg, the Commission
proceeded to Nya Kopparberg where they took up the matter of
appointments. The candidate for master machinist was not a
competent man, but then "the salary is so small" that one can
hardly live on it, and the necessity of appointment some one
is imperative and, in case of emergency, an experienced man
could be consulted. The Commission found the candidate a
good and energetic man who has the opportunity of learning
more of his business from his father-in-law; moreover, he had
the commendation of the mining district. He was therefore
appointed subject to approval. See further business in ACSD
576. (ACSD 425)
The same was done in the case of the candidate for crown
bailiff, who was found to be a suitable man for the office,
and fulfilled the condition that he was neither a miner nor
had any share in a mine.
These appointments were subsequently confirmed by the
Bergscollegium. (ACSD 425B)
Swedenborg left Philipstad and arrived in Stockholm on October 26th. He was not in Stockholm more than one or two weeks before he found himself a party to suit which his Aunt Brita had entered against him in the Swea Hofrtt. See Documents 3:749. (ACSD 425C)
The matter of the furnace and the smelting had been settled on March 1st, as already related; but this did not meet all Aunt Brita's wishes. She wished to be entirely separated from Swedenborg in the whole of the extensive Behm inheritance. Part of the property had already been apportioned by an agreement between herself and Swedenborg, but the Axmar property itself was still unapportioned.
The matter had been in dispute for some time, in fact, ever since May 1724 when Aunt Brita acquired her four-fifths ownership of the inheritance. On November 3, 1724, Swedenborg had written to Aunt Brita (see above, p. 289) making certain proposals for a division by lot, and suggesting that the division of Axmar itself be settled at a personal conference. (ACSD 424A: LM. p. 346)
Presumably the matter was settled by lot as regards nearly all but the Axmar property, but the latter still remained a bone of contention. Early in December - a month after Swedenborg had begun his action in regard to the furnace - he received a letter from Aunt Brita containing, under 10 heads, a detailed proposition for the division of Axmar property, including a proposal that Swedenborg should include in this division deposits which he had with some farmers in Vroo and Srsta some 20 to 30 miles from Axmar. Her tenth proposition, according to Swedenborg, contained "some threat." (ACSD 415A pp. 2-3, 395 p. 2, 415A p. 3; LM., p. 349)
In his answer, dated December 12th, Swedenborg accepted "almost all" the points suggested by Aunt Brita, and courteously submitted "one or two things" for her approval. To this he received an answer of which he says that it contained "expressions which I did not expect of so just a lady." But then Aunt Brita was right in the midst of her task of answering the summons of the Bergscollegium regarding the furnace. (ACSD 395 p. 2; LM. p. 349)
With this, the matter rested until after the dispute about the furnace was decided by the Bergscollegium. This was finally done on March 1st, as already noted. Five weeks later, on April 17, 1725, Aunt Brita entered suit in the local court, praying that Swedenborg be summoned by the court to show cause why he should not at once enter upon the division of the property; and why he should not pay Aunt Brita compensation because he had been enjoying more than his one-fifth share, and also pay the expenses to which she had been subjected due to his delay. (ACSD 415A; LM., p. 374)
The summons was duly served on Swedenborg, who was then in Stockholm, and he was required to appear before the court in June.
The case was taken up on June 10th, when Swedenborg, by his agent Lindbohm, presented a letter to the court. He (Swedenborg) states that the most important part of the Axmar property had already been apportioned by the casting of lots. "The meadows, fields, hop gardens, horses, tools, workmen, stores, etc.," still remain unapportioned from no fault on his part; in support whereof he enclosed his letter to Aunt Brita of December 12th last, wherein he had accepted nearly all her conditions. He also shows by an attested document that on April 19th, his Agent Lindbohm had proposed a division by lot of the cabbage patches and kitchen gardens. (LM., p. 374)
He then continues that in view of what he had written, the
summons which called on him to see to the dividing of the
Axmar property was of too general a nature, since, as shown,
part of it had already been divided. He requests, therefore,
that he enjoy the legal benefit of a summons from which he
can learn specifically to what he must answer, whether it
concerns the exchange of the forge, the Gran property with
its many important divisions, or the distribution of
something else. For he does not know what is intended,
whether the meaning is that he shall provide himself against
whatever shall run through the lady's thoughts with respect
to the division, or that what has already been divided is to
be undone; or that what he has stated in respect to one thing
or another is not to be accepted; or whether the case is one
which belongs to another court; or whether something else
which he cannot guess at. For he is entirely ignorant as to
what the specific complaint is.
He did find one specific thing aimed at in the summons,
namely, the dividing of the house. But since, reckoning
according to the cost of the building, this would not be of
greater rent value than 3 dal. k. mt. For half a year. In
this house Lindbohm occupies three rooms, the others being
occupied by Wahlstrm. His one-fifth part entitles him to
two rooms and a part of a third room. Lindbohm, therefore,
occupies a little more than his share, and for this, interest
would be paid. The lady, however, could not lay any claim to
this since he had never refused a partition of the property,
and until this division is made, the lady cannot deny him the
use of the room. (LM., pp. 375-76)
He therefore requests a reconsideration of the illegal and
false charges, and the sum of 184.16 dal. k. mt. For
expenses; as per account enclosed. (Ibid., p. 376)
Meanwhile, he repeats his assertion that before he be
obligated to answer to any matter, he shall be summoned in
specific terms, and that the general citation served on him
shall be voided. (Ibid.)
The court ruled that before any further steps could be taken,
the specifications requested by Swedenborg must be supplied.
(Ibid.)
Brita Behm was accordingly summoned to supply these, at which
she is extremely indignant. Nevertheless, on July 22nd, she
supplies them, and from her list we learn that the portion of
the Axmar property still undivided consisted in the eleven-
room house on the estate besides seven other houses
elsewhere, a brew house, stables, barns, three toolsheds,
five workshops, grain house, tract of woods, two meadows, two
kitchen gardens, three cabbage patches; four horse paddocks;
two mills; and various fishing waters.
See ACSD 458(1), 462A. (LM., p. 383)
The court sent Aunt Brita's list to Swedenborg, together with
a new summons commanding his appearance at the winter court
which opened on October 26th. (Ibid.)
Swedenborg was in Wermland when he received this summons, and was too fully occupied to give any thought to the Axmar division. Therefore, on October 13th, he wrote to the district court begging to be excused from
When the court met in October, Swedenborg's request was granted and the matter was further postponed. This aroused Aunt Brita to the utmost degree. She despaired of any relief from the district court and therefore on November 16, 1725, she appeals to the Swea Hoftrtt in Stockholm. (ACSD 424A; LM., p. 385)
Her appeal is a bulky document fortified with many
appendices. Here she complains that she has been rendered so
helpless, both by her opponent and by the undercourt, that
there is no way open to her save by an appeal. (Ibid.)
Ever since she had been associated with Swedenborg in the
Axmar property, she saw she would have no peace. She
complains of Lindbohm's conduct, and says that all her
prayers to Swedenborg had produced no other effect than that
"by his words and promises, now I was enticed up to Axmar,
there, at the time appointed, to complete the division
between us, now was called back to Stockholm, and meanwhile
his servant was making use of my possessions and, instead of
enjoying his one-fifth part in the house, sat there and
enjoyed part of my four-fifths," with the resultant fear of
personal violence whenever he was reminded of his
encroachments. (Ibid.)
The Bergscollegium had freed her from participation in the
smelting, but for the division of the property she had
compelled to go to the district court. Here, her opponent
had escaped by a pretext, and the court by its judgment had
made her effort vain.
Here she expresses her indignation at being called on by the
court to specify the property to be divided. Many fascicles
of paper, she says, could be filled merely with a list of the
contents of the house on an estate, let alone of the whole
estate. Despite this, however, she had made the
specification, and thus all her trouble was rendered useless
by the court's decision.
At the first hearing, her opponent had sated: 1. That part of
the property had been divided; and, 2. that in the division,
something might be demanded which belonged to another court.
Poor defences both; for it but needed to divide what
remained; and if anything belonged to another court, it could
go there.
She had supplied the required specifications, numbering almost forty titles, and however difficult a work this was, "yet I feared that I had forgotten something which my opponent would not have neglected to exclude from the division on the ground that it had not been specified in the summons, rather than that I had made the list too long." At trouble and expense, she herself had sent this list to her opponent who was then in the mining district.
In connection with the second hearing, there were several
irregularities, one being that Lindbohm was allowed to appear
for Swedenborg without producing any power of attorney. But
her chief complaint was that
the court had recognized as valid her opponent's excuse on
the ground that he was engaged on a Royal Commission. This
excites Aunt Brita's hottest indignation. If a private man
can escape from the ills he has done on such a ground, many
would escape justice. The result would be that no one would
have any dealings with one who was in the public service; for
the ill doer would find for himself some work, which
otherwise he would escape from, merely for the purpose of
evading appearing before a judge, and "he who gains time
gains all."
Swedenborg had excused himself from going into the division a
year ago, on the ground of being on a Commission in rebro
(see above, p. 289), and now he repeats the excuse. "He
has, as he himself admits, a part of my property, and among
it, my houseroom; and for the want of house room for myself,
I was unable this summer to go to Axmar and look after the
works." And because Amy opponent willingly allows himself to
be turned aside by the business of a Commission, which,
moreover, cause shim no expense, therefore I must feed his
servant, give up my lawful property, and myself be without
house room." Surely the Hofrtt will not approve of this.
She had no guarantee that her opponent would make the same
excuse next year since he so nicely profited thereby at the
second hearing. The district court bases its decision by the
citation of law, but the law in question contemplates only
one who is called to defend the country against an enemy. No
law can be shown which enables a civil servant to avoid
appearing before a court; and she appeals to the court, that
if this were allowed, there could be no remedy for ills
committed by civil servants. One would first have to appeal
to the King to free the defendant from all business, and this
would cause much delay during which the defendant might
escape; or the King's decision might come too late if the man
were already on a Commission, just as now "I see my
opponent's Commission has already continued for two summers."
But in addition to this, Swedenborg's proof showed that he
was on the Commission on October 13th, and it seemed to her
that the court was incautious in presuming that because he
could not come on the 13th, therefore he could not be present
at the opening of the court on the 26th. He was in Stockholm
some days before the 26th, and from rebro to Axmar is little
farther than to Stockholm. In any case, he could have
appointed a representative.
"The court seeks to mitigate its decision with my opponent's
appeal to the writings, letters and documents which were
lying in Stockholm"; but the court should have required proof
that such documents were necessary. Had the court relied on
the law, she might have had some hope of a decision, but so
long as Amy opponent" is allowed such excuses and by this
means "has the great advantage that meanwhile he uses and
enjoys what belongs to me," she sees no prospect of justice
save in a higher court.
She asks, therefore, that the court's resolution be declared
unlawful, that Swedenborg be enjoined to appear before the
next district court with all necessary documents, and that
the court be required to take the matter up. Also that
Swedenborg "who without reason has caused me this trouble, be
ordered to compensate me for my expenses herewith." Then
follows a bill of expense for 190 dal. k. mt. (L5), 150
dalers of which is for "composing letters of defence and for
copying."
This was the document which Swedenborg received from the Swea Hofrtt two or three weeks after his return from Philipstad. His answer, which is dated November 26th, deserves to be quoted in full, both for its own sake and as further illustration of the character of law processes at that time. (ACSD 428C; LM., pp. 387-90)
"For the very gracious communication on the 19th instant
of Professorska Frue Brita Behm's bill of complaints which
has been received, thanks is humbly given; and I must admit
that I could not but marvel when I saw so bulky a libel, with
so many allegations concerning a small preliminary matter
which might have been embraced in a few lines. But I
wondered still more when I read this libel and saw that so
small a matter was written in rhetorical style and with a
choice assembly of important terms as though it concerned a
part of the kingdom's welfare or the return of the enemy to
the xmar works. Yet, I can swear that all that the lady is
pleased to bring forward and recommend in such high sounding
and weighty terms is little worth the cost which the lady has
used in the setting forth and copy of the libel, namely, 150
dalers k. mt.; for the principal part of all that over which
the lady is troubled is supposedly that Inspector Lindbohm is
occupying the three-fifths part of a room in which I have a
right to only two-fifths, and from which he cannot move until
an adjustment has been made because of my two-fifths part.
And with this and the like, the mountains are in labor.
"As concerns the merits of the several matters that are
brought forward, your Excellency and the Court will not take
it unkindly that they are left unanswered by me, since all
will come to be discussed in its own court and cannot repay
the trouble of answering at this time. But so soon as the
Lady gets her wish, that the main question shall be taken up,
I hope the Lady will come to see better than she does now of
what little value their merits are.
"I may also be graciously excused for not answering at
length the first interim judgment, since no displeasure
thereat is expressed but it has obtained legal force.
"As regards the second interim judgment in which the
county court considered and honored as lawful justification,
the fact that I was engaged on a Royal Commission - the thing
speaks for itself and the County Judge will show that in this
he has followed the law and ordinances. But, to reason as to
whether or not this is a lawful justification, or whether or
not it is agreeable to equity - seeing that the ordinances,
legal practices, justice and the understanding itself dictate
it so plainly, I wonder how it can be drawn into doubt and
dispute by mere reasoning, and, in addition, that a
philosophy should be employed herein which is against all
those things.
"The statement that the attest with regard to my
presence in a royal Commission was given out on the 13th of
October, and that I had time to leave for Gefle before the
26th, has no foundation; for this attest had to be sent by
the post which leaves rebro for Gefle only once a week. Had
I delayed with it eight days more, my exception and attest
would have come too late and I would have been at fault and
would have been judged in contempt of court.
"That I came to Stockholm prior to October 26th before
the Court opened, is not true; for I arrived here from the
Forge Commission ordered by his Majesty, together with Herr
Bergenstierna, on the afternoon of October 26th.
"That Inspector Lindbohm did not have a power of
attorney can likewise be proved false, for I sent him the
power to answer in this matter as on the previous occasion.
"That I was on the same business last year as now, is
also incorrect; for last year I was ordered by his Majesty to
attend to business concerning the Sulphur Works, and this
year was on another Commission which concerns the Forging
Work in Vermeland and Nerike.
"It is unnecessary to bring forward more of this kind
against the voluminous document, especially since what is
petitioned for - after a rather long and, in its own way,
well worked-out preliminary - is very short, namely, that I
must give answer at the next county Court. But since this is
a matter which belongs to the County Judge, and the same
petition was not made to that Court and a new summons will
come to be served on me, I know not in what condition I shall
then be, whether I shall be hindered by sickness or some
other legal excuse. Thus, I am sure, and I humbly pray your
Excellency and the Royal Court, that nothing else shall
befall me but what your Excellency and the Royal Court finds
to be in accordance with law and practice.
"Moreover, to make the one as strong as the other, and
that the expenses may be even with the libel, there is set
out for the composition and copying of this document, 150
dal. k. mt. But since it is no art to write a number, more or
less, it is my humble opinion that 10 dal. s. m. for the
voluminous and unnecessary writing should not be honored and
should be stricken off.
"Meanwhile, since I think my expectations are as
valuable as the libel, I humbly beg to be excused if I
likewise add an expense account of the same kind, though it
is subject to examination by the County Court, and it is not
necessary that your Excellency and the Royal Court bother
about it.
"For the rest, there are found in the supplique one or
two expressions which seem to be offensive, and wherein,
because of some zeal, the pen does not seem to have been
capable of control. Such, for instance, as: 'I see for myself
no end to the injustice and self-will of this opponent'; and
in another place: 'It seems, indeed, that there are those who
when they think they are going to be brought to law, let
themselves be assigned to some extraordinary business which,
otherwise, they would readily escape from, in order to elude
an appearance before the judge.' The application then follows
with much more which concerns not only me but the King's
servants generally. Such expressions and many others the
Lady perhaps had no part in, she being of a good nature and
reasonable in all her ways; but that the libel has been
conceived and composed by some one else, seems clear from the
expense account. And
I humbly request that it please his Excellency and the Royal
Court to command the author to set his name to the document
that I may thereby have the opportunity of seeking legal
satisfaction for such unlawful statements and unconsidered
expressions."
Then follows the account, which accounts to 174.18 dal. k. mt., including an item of 150 dal. k. mt. "For cost of the answer to the complaint."
Whether Swedenborg, in the last paragraph of his letter, is aiming at any particular person, cannot be known; but it may here be noted that in a note written many years later, on the flyleaf of a volume of the Spiritual Diary, he says: "B ... proved to have desired to excite Brita Behm to begin the process concerning Axmar." The "B" probably stands for Lars Benzelstierna. (Drmmar, p. 72)
His judgment concerning Aunt Brita - a judgment to which he more than once gives expression - seems justified. At any rate, after she had petitioned the Court on February 10th, that the local Judge Stiernmarck be requested to make judgment, the case rested in the Swea Hofrtt; for on January 31, 1726, six weeks after Swedenborg's answer, she and Swedenborg join in a petition to the Swe Hofrtt to drop the case because they have come to an amicable settlement between the themselves. Swedenborg, on his own behalf, appeared before the Stockholm Court on April 15th, and promised to appear before the local court (which was to meet in the following June) without any further summons, and Rosenadler, on behalf of Aunt Brita, expressed himself agreeable to this arrangement, and so the matter was disposed of in Stockholm. (ACSD 436A, 437P)
Thus ended for the time the legal disputes with Aunt Brita.
While this case was proceeding, during the fall of 1725 and the first part of 1726, Swedenborg was busily engaged in his duties as Assessor of the College of Mines. It was during this period that the only tender passion in his life occurred - at any rate, of which we have anything like real evidence. This evidence is furnished in a letter from Bishop Steuchius of Karlstad (at the head of Lake Vetter) to his father, Archbishop Steuchius. The letter is dated Stockholm, March 10, 1726, and says in part:
"During this time my dear daughter Stina Maja has had several
wooers such as Magister Arnell, Assessor Swedenborg and
Hofjunkare Cedercreutz, and although I, for my own part, and
also Court Chancellor Duben, have turned our thoughts to
Arnell [a pastor in Stockholm] as being the most suitable to
my station, yet I notice that she is more highly attracted by
Cedercreutz."
The young lady in question whom Swedenborg probably met through his brother-in-law Lars, was only seventeen and a half years old at this time, while Swedenborg was over thirty-eight. His wooing was probably not very serious; at any rate, the lady married Cedercreutz in November 1727. (NKTid. 1917:41)
It was in this year 1726 that Swedenborg wrote his last known letter to his brother-in-law Eric Benzelius, who, on March 7th, had been appointed Bishop of Gothenburg. It was written from Stockholm on June 6th, the day after Benzelius' consecration in Upsala, and deals with his old studies on the Longitude: (UHH. 3:20; Bok. G. Prot., p. 128; ALS. 1726:174)
"A few days ago," he writes, "there was sent me a treatise on
finding the Longitude of places written up by an author in
England whom I did not know of. The method depends mainly on
observing the moon when it comes to the meridian; to find it
there, the author seeks the help of one or two stars."
(OQ. 1:317 = LM., p. 393)
The book here referred to is a Latin work by John Petrus Biester, a German resident in England, entitled A Method of Finding the Longitude by the Meridian, at Sea and on Land, London 1726. The work did not meet with Swedenborg's approval, for in his letter to Benzelius he says:
"Two things seem to militate against this method. 1. That
it is difficult to find the right time when the moon comes to
the meridian of the place; this must be adapted to his
altitude, and although other aiding means are sought for this
purpose, yet one cannot accurately get the position of the
moon or know when its arrival at the meridian occurs, and the
less so at sea than on land. 2. With this method, the
parallax is as hard to ascertain as when it is in any other
position, so that the method has the same difficulties as
other methods. For the rest, the discovery is properly
Kircher's who later himself acknowledges the difficulties."
(Bok. G. Prot., p. 132)
This and another work on the Magnetic needle, published in 1725, were both sent to Swedenborg by one of his scientific friends in England - perhaps Woodward or Halley - and Swedenborg sent both books to Eric Benzelius in Upsala.
During the summer, John Bergenstierna and Swedenborg were appointed to constitute an important commission of inquiry into the charcoal supply available for iron and copper respectively. Their headquarters were to be Falun, but their inquiries concerned also the rising town of Avestad. The Diet of 1723 had confirmed certain past ordinances whereby copper - as being the more precious metal - was favored above iron.
According to these ordinances, the woods of the district were
to be used for iron, only after the needs of Falun had been
satisfied; and with these needs were closely connected the
needs of Avesta where the Falun copper was used especially in
the manufacture of coinage. Falun had been suffering a
shortage in charcoal for some time, and meanwhile many iron
works had risen up in the mining district, and of course made
a great demand on the charcoal supply. Naturally, being
unprivileged, the iron workers offered a better price than
the copper workers who had the monopoly by law; and equally
naturally, all the charcoal owners who could, sold to the
iron workers. Thus, copper was beginning to suffer from a
growing shortage of coal.
Confer Riksdag Prot., Ap. 24 1723, p. 189. (ACSD 445)
It was into this question that Bergenstierna and Swedenborg were to inquire, and, as it turned out, the inquiry continued through many summers and resulted in long and circumstantial reports. It was an important commission and required proclamations to ensure that all who were concerned should be ready with their documents, privileges, etc., to appear before the Commission for examination. By a Royal order of April 1729, this visit to Falun by two members of the Bergscollegium was to be made every year. Swedenborg and Bergenstierna were the appointees for 1729, 1730, 1731, 1732 and 1735 after Swedenborg's return from Europe. (ACSD 446, 572A)
In ACSD, reference to and Reports also, as follows:
1728 = n. 485C
1729 = A 499D Report: 499N(1)
1730 = A 504-5a " 515
During the summer of 1726, Swedenborg and Bergenstierna worked in Falun only five or six weeks, leaving Stockholm July 12th and returning on
"I saw Hedwig my sister with whom I did not wish to have
anything to do. Afterwards it seemed she first said to her
children, Go out and read, and afterwards, that we might play
at backgammon or cards, whereupon they sat down to while away
the time and also to spend time at meal."
(Drmmar, p. 27 = Eng. n. 119)
Therefore, when he returned from Falun in September 1726, he determined to secure bachelor apartments; these he was able to secure in the same building in which Hedwig and Lars resided - evidently a house of some pretensions since it had been the abode of Count Feif, and Swedenborg's new apartment had been occupied in 1725 by the Count's son. Here, at "no. 10 in the Brunkenhuvud quarter," Swedenborg took up his abode in September 1726 together with a manservant Olof to look after his wants, and it was here that he intended to devote himself to his mineralogical work. Here also he remained unto 1728 when his sister Hedwig died in December. (NKTid., 1917:42)
That Swedenborg was well off at this time is indicated by a gift of 700 dal. which he gave to the assistance of his stepbrother Anton Swab; and also by the fact that he owned the smaller forge at Axmar which brought in a net sum of over nine hundred pounds sterling a year. (Doc. I:345)
But he was not to be left in undisturbed peace. Of course, he had his work at the College of Mines, but this, while of importance, was not exacting and left him plenty of leisure. But his Aunt Brita still pursued him.
According to the notification given by the contestants to the Swea Hofrtt, the Axmar case was heard by the local court on June 14th, when doubtless Swedenborg was represented by his agent. Before this, however, it seems they had agreed on the division of most of the Behm property. Thus, Swedenborg by lot had become the sole owner of the smaller forge with a product of 600 skep. (1,200 tons) yearly, bringing in the gross sum of over L900; also of one-fifth of the Gran estate. There remained the Axmar estate itself together with the famous house, the woods which the works had acquired for the sake of charcoal, and also some house sin neighboring villages which were occupied by peasants who were obligated to sell their charcoal to the Axmar works. This charcoal they obtained from woods to which they had rights but which themselves were the general property of the village. It was the division of this remaining part of the Behm inheritance that came before the court on June 14, 1726. (NKTid., 1927:7; ACSD 461A(5), 463 p. 4, 538C)
The Court then ruled that the Axmar property itself with its barns, sheds, etc., and also the houses owned in the villages, could not be divided because of their very nature, and as to the dividing of the usufruct, they referred the matter to the Mining Court for decision inasmuch as this Court was skilled in the matter of the needs of forge owners. (LM. P. 394; ACSD 449D, 462A)
As to the Axmar woods, the division was referred to the parties themselves to arrange for the surveying and division at their convenience.
The meadows and paddocks also were to be surveyed and divided at the same time as the surveyor measured the woods.
As to the fishing waters, the Court suggested the employment of an expert arbitrator; and as to the two mills, it suggested that they be rented out and the yearly proceeds be divided between Aunt Brita and Swedenborg; or, alternately, that one of the mills be destroyed.
Aunt Brita was indignant at this decision. What she wanted above all was to be completely separated from Swedenborg, and the decision deferred this separation to an indefinite time; moreover, it contemplated a continued partnership in some respects. She therefore lost no time in sending a Memorial to the Swea Hofrtt appealing against the decision mainly on the ground that the Court had no right to declare that the property could not be divided, and also that it had referred to the Mining Court a matter which itself should have determined and in which the Mining Court had no jurisdiction. On June 28th, the Swea Hofrtt notified Swedenborg that he must present his case to the Court within eight day or be subject to a fine of 10 dal. s. mt. (ACSD 462A, 449C; LM., p. 395)
This summons reached Swedenborg during his last days in Stockholm prior to his disparture on July 12th for the Commission work in Falun and Avesta. However, on July 5th, he addressed to the Court a long Memorial in which, point by point, he presented his reasons why the decisions of the lower court should be retained. (Ibid.)
He pointed out, the Court had definitely decreed that the
Axmar estate proper could not be divided into five parts,
four for Brita Behm and one for Swedenborg. In this respect,
the Court had denied the petition of Brita Behm, and had not
referred the question to another jurisfaction. "That the
judgment in respect to the desired division has been
negative, is not from any lack of jurisdiction, and still
less is it due to any error in procedure, unless the lady
thinks it to be an error that the decision does not accord
with her pleasure and her claims." (Ibid. 449D: pp. 2, 3)
Further, the Court had decided that the rights to the
peasant's charcoal and labor can be divided, and it is this
division that it referred to the Mining Court. This is
objected to on the ground that the property is held from the
Crown and is not subject to the mining courts, "but in this,"
says Swedenborg, "the lady or her 'conceptist' - [he always
refers to his aunt with this alternative name] either are
ignorant or show themselves to be ignorant" both of the law
and the practice. However, this is a question for the Swea
Hofrtt to decide.
The lady also complains that the division of the Axmar
woods has been wrongly referred to the Mining Court. Here
Swedenborg disputes the fact. What the Court had done was to
leave the parties
to seek the division "at the proper place," meaning that when
we desire the division we can go to the Landshfdning and
secure the services of his surveyor. In appealing against
this, the Lady misinterpreting the Court's language, "seeks
an unnecessary change in what is agreed on by the parties."
The error is not in the judgment "but in the understanding
and interpretation of its words." (ACSD 449D:p. 4)
Swedenborg then turns to the much discussed Axmar house
together with the sheds, etc. Following the law that the
buildings at an ironworks shall be under the charge of the
local Bergmstare who is an official of the Bergscollegium,
the Court had referred this question to the Mining Court. It
is now contended that this law does not give the jurisdiction
to the Mining Court but that it is for the Landshfdning to
determine to what court any given dispute under it shall be
referred. Here, Swedenborg observes, the lady seems to be in
doubt as to how "the law shall be adapted to the case and the
case to the law." That the division of such things as belong
to a forge pertain to the Bergmstare is undoubted, and
therefore he must make the examination of the property.
"Shall thus the Bergmstare journey thither to view some
houses, and the Magistrate to view others? Can it not be
done by one man? and the work not be multiplied beyond
necessity?" But this also is a question for the Swea Hofrtt
to decide.
As to the meadows and paddocks, etc., the Lady complains
that these are to be divided when the Surveyor measures the
woods, and since this latter measuring - according to her
interpretation - is referred to the Mining Court, one cannot
see that the division will ever be made up. The matter
should have been left to the Executor. But, says Swedenborg,
the division of the woods was not referred to the Mining
Court, and as the case now is, "the Lady has the matter in
her own hands, after coming to an agreement with me as to the
time"; thus, it actually is in the hands of the executor as
desired by her. "The error, therefore, is with the party not
with the judge." (Ib., p. 6)
The Lady complains of the expense of an arbitrator in
the division of the fishing waters, but here Swedenborg
sticks strictly to his rights, observing "when two parties
are in opposition . . . no division can be made without a
previous examination."
As to the mills, the Lady complains against renting them
and dividing the proceeds proportionately, and suggests that
she work them for four weeks and Swedenborg for one, and so
on, alternately. For his part, Swedenborg could see no
better plan than the employment of a miller. The other plan
is unfair besides leaving room for quarrels between the
laborers. In the Court, Wahlstrm, speaking for the Lady, had
suggested that Swedenborg might give a release for the mills.
"It would please the lady," Swedenborg adds, "if any judge
had given his favor thereto; but neither the Fru Professor
nor any one else can flatter themselves with any hope of
this, that I shall give a release for the mills or the works;
I think to retain and enjoy what belongs to me"; Wahlstrm's
proposition is both "unreasonable and unthinkable."
(Ib., p. 7)
In connection with this, the Court had said that the
smaller mill should be torn down in order to ease the matter
of working the larger, and with this Swedenborg was content.
The Lady demands her costs, "and I also do the same,"
and "in the proper place will show that I am justified
therein."
Swedenborg sums up that the Lady complains that the
judgment of the Court will cause long delay so that she will
never be able to have the matter settled, and therefore she
prays the Swea Hofrtt to reserve the lower Court and
instruct it to proceed to the settlement of the case.
"Here," says Swedenborg, "it seems that under the appearance
of longing for the division, the Lady seems to wish so to
present her case as though it were her desire to divide, and
to move away all hindrances. But, as shall be shown when the
time comes, I have worked both orally and in writing for a
division long prior to being taken to law; and now every
division which is against her proposals is disallowed."
Swedenborg concludes his Memorial by expressing his
assurance that the Swea Hofrtt would confirm the lower
court, and also would allow him the expenses "whereto the
lady has unnecessarily brought me" - these expenses being
entered in a bill for 132.30 dal. k. mt. which accompanies
the Memorial. (ACSD 449D:p. 8)
The above Memorial was sent in on July 5th; but four days later, Swedenborg against communicated with the Court, stating that he is leaving Stockholm on the 12th on a Royal Commission, and asking that no decision be reached until his return on September 1st. (ACSD 450B)
The case was resumed in the Fall, when Aunt Brita, on October 5th, sent to the Court a new Memorial, repeating substantially but more concisely the points previously made.* Swedenborg handed in his answer to this on October 4th. Here he protests against the proposal to divide the houses in
* This Memorial was given in "loco conferentiae," i. e., in place of a personal hearing before the Court.
the village and to leave the woods which are common to the
village undivided, and this because in an ironworks charcoal
is the most important thing. To divide the houses is
nothing, for they are lived in by peasants, and it is their
labor that is the most valuable thing; but to divide this and
also the use of the woods belongs to the jurisdiction of the
Mining Court. As to the contention that these houses are not
in a mining district and therefore cannot come before the
mining court, Swedenborg explains that these houses "are
situated in villages such as Haeckels Tuga, Axmar and Gran
... but the whole tract with all its villages with their
charcoal woods have twenty-six years past been placed by the
Bergscollegium under the disposal of the Axmar works." The
peasants living in these houses are not free but must sell
their charcoal according to agreement to the Axmar works.
If, then, there is a dispute as to the division of charcoal
rights, this must necessarily go before the mining court.
The Lady wishes clearer light as to whether the division of
the Axmar wood belongs to the one court or the other. "The
light is clear enough," says Swedenborg, "both in the letter
and the context, provided no other beams blind the vision."
No judgment was needed in this matter, for he had long ago
stated his desire to have the woods divided. The Lady needs
only to ask the Executor to act. "To argue about courts in
such a matter, and to make an uncontested thing into a
contested, is indeed to dispute concerning goat's wool. But
it is the same here as in all else to which I have been
summoned to law. Both orally and in writing I have consented
to nearly everything, but since in such case every matter of
strife would seem to be taken away from the lady, no
attention is paid to any consent or approval; but I must go
on and be involved in unnecessary quarrels that so my
opponent may have something in hand with which to amuse
herself and her time, and likewise to cause her partner
unrest; and to make their case favorable, she is pleased to
set on it a colored sheen and fine colors, as though the lady
were the one who desired the division. - But since a judge
can well separate the unright colors and paintings from the
right, so I doubt not that they who rashly go to law, will in
the end be regarded according to the ordinances."
(Ibid. 458(1): pp. 2-3)
As to the six other points in Behm's last Memorial,
Swedenborg declares that "it is altogether the same to me
whether the magistrate's court or the mining court settles
the matter and the division, if only I may be freed from the
unpleasantnesses in which my opponent or her adviser finds
pleasure in continually keeping me." (Ibid., p. 3)
Swedenborg's answer was handed in on October 5, 1726. On October 10th, Rosenadler, on Aunt Brita's behalf, appeared personally before the Court to request a speedy decision.
The Court decided to hear the parties personally, and on November 8th, Rosenadler and Swedenborg appeared for examination. In answer to a question, Swedenborg affirmed that the estates in question could not be divided, but Rosenadler retorted that they could be as easily divided as had been done with the Gran estate. Swedenborg, however, pointed out that the latter estate was occupied by the farmer, whereas the others were occupied by laborers who were bound to the Axmar works. Rosenadler was then asked if he would like the division to take place merely as to the income; to which he answered that this would lead to endless quarrels. Both were then asked whether, in order to avoid lengthy proceedings, they would not agree to a division into five parts. Swedenborg answered that he would be pleased at a reconciliation, and would see what he could do with this in view; but Rosenadler protested "inasmuch as the Assessor, by his unfound objections, had hitherto caused Fru Behm expenses." (ACSD 461A(3))
This ended the hearing, and after the parties had left, the Court proceeded to discuss the matter, the youngest in office being the first to express himself, and the President the last.
Seven members of the Court held that the lower Court had no right to decide that the property could not be divided, and that the case should be referred back for final decision.
But the President and Vice-President supported Swedenborg's contention and held Brita Behm had no case.
The official decision was by majority vote.
The other points in the case, namely, the division of the Axmar woods, houses, gardens, fishery and mills were decided two days later, when again Behm's contentions were affirmed, with the President and Vice-President dissenting.
This decision was not formulated until December, and in the meanwhile another phase of the matter came before the Court.
On November 10th, Swedenborg, in accordance with his promise to the Court to do what he could in the way of reconciliation, addressed the following letter to his aunt:
"Highly honored Fru Moster:
"Since, at the last conference before the Royal Court, I
promised to sound my Aunt as to whether the dispute which we
have between us as to the remaining partition at Axmar could
not be settled in amity, especially since, in itself, the
matter is of little value and my Aunt knows in her conscience
that I am not to blame that the dispute began; and since it
is uncertain as to whether the outcome will be pleasing to my
Aunt; and even more since relationship binds us rather to
live in unity than in disunion; it is my most humble request
that my Aunt will be pleased to let me know whether she is
desirous of having the matter compounded without being
decided by lawful judgment; and in case this is agreeable,
whether one or two good men on either side might not then be
relied on to settle the matters disputed between us; or
whether my Aunt is pleased to think of some other expedient
to end the matter; yet, this suggestion is offered without
prejudice to my rights, and is the result of the promise I
made to the Royal Court. Having the honor to await Aunt's
favorable reply, I am," etc. (ACSD 461A(5); LM., p. 410)
As to how this letter was received can best be seen from a letter which Swedenborg sent five days later to the Swea Hofrtt, and in which he encloses a copy of his letter to his Aunt.
After referring to this letter, he continues:
"I have received no other answer than that I must talk on the
matter with her authorized agent, Counsellor of Chancery,
Herr Rosenadler, the Lady herself taking no part in the
matter. This was the same answer that I formerly received
from the Fru Professorska, namely, that the matter no longer
belongs to the Lady but the Counsellor of Chancery; and since
the Counsellor of Chancery ... has uttered himself before the
... Court to the effect that he will not condescend to any
compounding ... the matter should now be concluded without
further conference." (ACSD 461A(5); LM., p. 411)
Swedenborg then refers to Rosenadler's statement before the Court, that the division was very important "because I would not contribute my share for the taxes as rightly as would the Fru Professorska for hers; but since this property has been free of all taxes for six years,* and this will continue
* This was by Royal Order, as a compensation for the great damage done to the place by the Russians in June 1721 (Hildebrand, 5:43).
"Meanwhile, it will not be taken as unnecessary if I
venture to add what in the hurry of the conference I could
not bring to mind, namely, since the division of the real
property has been decided by the Judge with reasons, and the
dispute now is merely concerning the division of the usufruct
of the estate, whether it belongs to the magistrate's
jurisdiction or to the mining court," etc. What follows is
an argument to show that the division of the usufruct of
labor, charcoal and woods belongs to the jurisdiction of the
College of Mines.
Swedenborg asks that this letter be added to the Court record, and also that the Court confer with Rosenadler on the matter; he would be quite content if this conference took place without his being present.
On November 17th, two days after Swedenborg's letter, both Swedenborg and Rosenadler appeared before the Court by request. (ACSD 461A(5))
In answer to questions, Rosenadler and Swedenborg both told the Court that the Bergmstare had not been at Axmar, and had done nothing as to dividing the house. Asked as to whether they could not agree to rent the mills and divide the income, Rosenadler said the return would be so small that no one could live on it, besides there would be no way to avoid quarrels.
The court gave out its decision on December 6, 1726. After reciting the opposing claims, the Court held that the magistrate's Court had not formally decided that the property could not be divided but had merely made this assertion as a reason for referring the matter to the Mining Court. The Court erred both in declaring the property indivisible, and in referring the matter to the Mining Court.
As to the woods, meadows and fishing waters, the
Magistrate himself should have seen to the division.
As to the mills, the lower Court should have laid down
the method of division, and had no right to speak of
destroying one of the mills. The case was therefore referred
back.
On December 12th - a week after the publication of this judgment - Brita Behm addressed a Memorial to the Court, thanking it for the decision. She added that the decision, however, had been silent on the matter of costs, and she was therefore in doubt as to whether Swedenborg was thus freed from paying them, or whether she must seek the costs at the Magistrate's Court. (ACSD 462B(1))
On the same day that this was handed in, December 12th, the Court called Rosenadler and Swedenborg before them, but the latter asked for a day's delay before presenting his case, and this was granted. Accordingly, on the following day (Dec. 13th), both gentlemen appeared before the Court at 9.0a.m. Rosenadler made his claim for costs orally, but Swedenborg handed in a Memorial, in which he stated that he had reason to thank the Court for its decision of December 6th,
"because by it I attain my object, in that the disputes that
have arisen between us [himself and Behm] will the more
quickly be helped, and the division will approach its
completion."
As to the costs, he observes that the judgment is in no way
against himself, for he had expressly stated that it was
indifferent to him whether the magistrate's or the Mining
Court decided the matter, and he had merely asserted that the
matter of the usufruct and the charcoal belonged to the
Mining Court. (ACSD 462B, 462C)
As to the house, "neither the Magistrate's Court have I
requested, nor afterwards in the Royal Court have defended,
the apartments which should be apportioned by the
Bergmstare, but have merely used the single iron storehouse
situated near the forge, and in this decision is not against
me." So no fault was found with Swedenborg in respect to the
mills, "and since I was not to blame that the lower Court
remitted the matter, and have not defended ought but what
could be defended ... the opponent has so much the less
reason to claim any costs" Indeed, he could produce documents
to show that he has been needlessly brought to law since he
had "previously consented to all that the Lady can reasonably
claim." (LM., p. 414)
After this, the Court informed the two parties orally that the matter of costs belonged to the Magistrate's Court.
The matter did not end here, for when the case came up again in the Magistrate's Court, Behm claimed that "the original Judge was disqualified, and demanded an Extraordinary Court with a special judge. This demand she made in a Memorial to the Swea Hofrtt dated February 13th, which in due course was communicated by the Court to Swedenborg. The latter's answer was made on March 9, 1727:
He points out that no fault can be found with the two
interlocutory judgments made by the Magistrate; as to the
third judgment, the higher Court had found some errors in it,
but the Lady herself asked that the matter be referred back
to the Magistrate's Court, and the Court had so ordered. He
hoped no change would be made in this. "If an extraordinary
Court is set up which has no knowledge of the case, it would
not only cause both the parties work and labor to prepare all
that has been brought forward and with which the ordinary
Court is well acquainted, but the cost ... would mount to
more than the merits of the case are worth, and would run up
to more than the amount of all that is disputed."
(LM., p. 415)
The Court's decision is dated April 15th and ruled that the former Magistrate was disqualified because he had said that the estate could not be divided. An Extraordinary Court was then appointed.
It seems that before this decision had been announced, Swedenborg understood that the two parties would be called to court for a hearing. On April 10th, however, Fru Behm sent in a statement of the case "in place of a conference," and since the Court did not think a conference necessary, Swedenborg was not notified of this until April 13th, the day after the giving out of the decision. However, he made one more effort to avert the cost of an extra Court. In a letter dated April 18th, the writes to the Court:
"Against my expectation, I find that the Court has appointed
an Extraordinary Court." This, of course, he must accept,
"but I may complain that since Fru Professorska handed in a
Memorial on the 10th instant in place of a conference, which
Memorial was first sent me on the 13th, in my haste I have
had no opportunity to enter a respectful answer and contra
Memorial which I aimed to do had I been fortunate enough to
be called for a hearing, when
I thought" to show that "I should not be subjected to a
costly extraordinary Court for no fault of my own." He will
now merely declare that he would consent to a division of the
estate according to the Lady's wish, but with the reservation
that the ordinary Court may take up what remains to be
decided. And since this concession makes an extraordinary
Court unnecessary, "I await the Court's decision on the
matter. Since the main thing itself is not of as much value
as the cost an extraordinary Court would amount to; but my
opponent seeks by this to lead me to costly and drawn out
proceedings; therefore, it is my humble request that the
Court will be pleased, in case an extra court is set up, to
say whether all the extra costs should not then fall on the
opposite party, and this the more, since I could not consent
to such a Court." (ACSD 467B(1); LM., p. 422)
However, Swedenborg had little hope of a favorable decision, and a few days later (April 22nd), he notified the Court that he will appeal to the King direct. (ACSD 467B(3))
Before this step could be taken, however, his opponent entered a Memorial in answer to his of April 18th, so bitter in its tone that it shows her highly exasperated state of mind.
"While we cannot but wonder," Behm writes, "at the
opinionativeness he [Swedenborg] shows, we get form it this
comfort, that we can now hope that the Court, which like all
other judges must have found it very hard to penetrate into
the party's secret objects, will be able to notice, perhaps
more clearly than before, what singular profit the Herr
Assessor has hitherto had from the different interlocutories,
Magistrate Stiernmark has imposed on me, and how highly he
counts on like help in the long run" in this matter which in
his last Memorial he says "is of little or no value." And
so, in order "to get the same judge, he goes so far that he
permits himself to wish herein to follow the Royal Court
decision. I shall account myself relieved of a great burden
when it is found, when appearing before the Judge, that we
have not to do with vain accusations. The Herr Assessor now
reveals himself very plainly; and is not time and delay the
main thing whereby he thinks to enjoy greater profits for the
fourth and perhaps the fifth year? but we, see how at the
end he would find himself before the supreme judgment." The
Assessor," she continues, "has come at the twelfth hour when
the dyes are already cast." But no assent can be given him
since his request is against the Court's decision. He asks
whether the expenses shall fall "on the loser or on me" who
have been compelled by my opponent and by the ordinary
Magistrate to seek another Judge. "The Herr Assessor's own
conscience convinces him in this matter, that he has dealt
unrighteously with me and has lost. Should he, contrary to
my expectation, escape the extra costs caused by the
Extraordinary Court, Herr Magistrate Stiernmark will be
responsible to me for it, and the Herr Assessor may well
believe that we will never for this reason let the main
question come under his judgment." (ACSD 467B(4))
Two days earlier, namely, on April 22nd - the same day that Swedenborg announced his determination to appeal to the King - the Court answered his appeal from its decision. That decision had been made independently of Fru Behm's last Memorial and could not be altered. (ACSD 467E)
Still two days later, namely, April 24th, the Court further notified him that the time for appeal to the King has expired, and no such appeal can be allowed.
What happened at the new local Court we do not know, though it seems that Swedenborg was not dissatisfied, at any rate at first. For on October 24, 1727, he wrote to his cousin Abraham Daniel Schnstrm:
"As concerns the meadows at Osltfors [in Gestrikeland and
probably a part of the Behm estate], the judgment was made
concerning them last week ... the Landshofdingen's was simply
confirmed. As further concerns Fru Behm, nothing further has
been done. The Lady will yield neither to the one nor to the
other, at which, for my part, I am equally content."
(NKTid. 1927:10; ACSD 473; LM. p. 425)
As to the house, Brita Behm seems to have succeeded in her object; for Swedenborg was ordered to pay 484 dal. k. mt. Rent for the part of the house occupied by his Manager from the autumn of 1724 to December 1, 1727, and also 456 dal. k. mt. for costs. However, Bishop Swedberg interposed, with the result that both parties sent a Supplique to the Swea Hofrtt in January 1728, notifying the Court that they had amicably agreed on the division, but in what way we know not; probably by Swedenborg eventually relinquishing his one-fifth part against due compensation - which would have been a great relief to all. However, they were still partners and there were still strained relations in December 1729. (Doc. I:380, 351; ACSD 479B)
We return now in point of time to the September 1726 when Swedenborg returned to Stockholm and set up his bachelor apartment.
The Diet had been called by his Majesty three months earlier
than expected because of important business which had
developed which could not be settled by the Council, namely,
the matter of the Hanover Alliance. At that time there were
no parties in Sweden in the modern sense of the word; but
there was a decided and very bitter contest as to Sweden's
future policy. On the one side was the party headed by the
veteran statesman Count Arvid Horn, who believed in allying
Sweden with England, and who therefore was opposed to the
Holstein party. The latter fastened its faith in Russia,
which had pledged to restore to the Duke of Holstein the
lands which had been taken from him by Denmark. The Duke of
Holstein who, in 1725, had married Anne of Russia, the future
Empress, was the son of Ulrica Eleonora's sister, and Russia
desired a member of his family or even himself to be the
successor to the Swedish throne. The contest between these
two parties was very bitter, and vast sums of money were
spent on either side in the hope of securing Sweden's
cooperation. The immediate question was whether Sweden
should join in Hanoverian Alliance entered into by England
and France in 1725, or should join the opposing alliance
between Russia and Austria. Here was foreshadowed the future
parties, the Caps and Hats - the former desiring peace and
the development of commerce, and the latter seeking by an
alliance with Russia again to regain its lost possessions and
its position of eminence in the European world. The balance
between the parties was close, the vote in the Council being
nine to eight in favor of the Hanoverian Alliance, the
majority including the two votes of the King and also the
vote of Count Sparre who was expected soon to die. Horn,
therefore, decided to appeal to the Riksdag which he
therefore called in September 1726 instead of at the
appointed time, January 1727; for here he expected to get
support for his policy of peace.
(Fryx. 31:123; Nya Hand. p. 137)
It was in the midst of the greatest excitement that the
Diet met. The Ambassadors of Holstein, Austria and Russia,
on the one side, and of England and France on the other, made
themselves the centers of the two parties. Meetings were
being held by the party leaders at the Embassies; the English
fleet was sailing in the Baltic, apparently for no purpose;
bribery was in full swing, and open accusations were made on
both sides. (Fryx. 31;12;5-127, 130; Nya Hand., p. 138)
At the opening meeting of the House of Nobles on
September 6th, the preliminary victory was won by Count Horn,
by a large majority, was elected Landmarshal.
(Nya Hand., p. 127)
The first few days of the session were occupied with
necessary preliminaries, and during these days the College of
Mines had no meetings, in order that its members might attend
these sessions. Saturday, September 10th, was the day
appointed for the attendance of the Diet at worship in the
Stor Kyrka. The nobles assembled in their own House, and at
8.0 a.m. they marched on foot to the church with Arvid Horn
at their head in his official robes. There they found the
three other Estates already assembled, and after they
themselves were seated, came the King with his crown on his
head and followed by his Council. The sermon was preached by
Eric Benzelius now Bishop of Gothenburg.
(R. o. Ad. Prot. IV:13, 10)
In the exciting sessions that followed - and the Diet was an unusually long one, lasting for nearly a year - Swedenborg took no prominent part, though his recorded actions show that he favored the moderate party. Early in the sessions, he was elected as one of the forty-eight Benchmen whose duty it was to elect twenty-five members as a nominating Committee for the filling of various deputations. He was also elected a member of the Deputation on Grievances. But these appointments were small matters as compared with the great events which were soon to come, and which, even from the beginning of the Riksdag, were the animating cause of almost every move, including complaints of the presence of the English fleet in the Baltic, the effort to exclude all persons in foreign service or receiving foreign pensions from the all-powerful Secret Committee of one hundred elected by the three upper Estates, the instructions given to that Committee, and the endeavor to exclude the men in question from the meetings of the House of Nobles, etc. (R. o. Ad. Prot. IV:49, 27; Fry. 31:125; Nya Hand. pp. 138-40)
The first attack on the Holstein Party came on October
19th, when the Secret Committee - which had a majority
favorable to Horn - reported that it was necessary to examine
Count Wellingk's letters and documents, an that meanwhile two
soldiers had been sent to his house to watch closely over him
and prevent all communication with outsiders.
(Fryx., p. 125; R. o. Ad. Prot. 107)
This was an attack directed really against the Holstein
Party. Count Mauritz Wellingk - the same man to whom
Swedenborg, at Brunswick in 1721, had dedicated his amorous
poem about the metamorphosis of Uranies (see above, p. 249) -
was now a man of seventy-six, grown old in the service of
four kings of Sweden. He had been in the intimate counsels
of Charles XII, being closely allied with Baron Goertz; had
served as Governor, first of Vismar and later of Bremen and
Verden when these were Swedish Provinces. At the time
Swedenborg first met him, he was the Swedish Ambassador
Plenipotentiary at Brunswick and a Senator or Counsellor of
Sweden. But, for the ruling Party he had one great fault -
his great devotion to the House of Holstein. He was the very
soul and the clever leader of this Party. The leaders met at
his house, and he was in constant communication with the
Russian and Austrian and Holstein Ambassadors, giving them
complete information of what was going on. Many of Sweden's
highest men were at one with him in this movement, but his
were the brains, the experience, the leadership; and it was
for this that his removal had been determined on. There was
no doubt but that he was in receipt of money from Russia.
But the crime of which he was more directly accused was the
attempt on behalf of King Frederick to borrow money from
Prussia in 1722 by the pawning of Swedish territory. The
Secret Committee learned of this from some documents
transmitted to it by the King, and this led the Committee to
ask the House of Nobles that Wellingk's documents be
searched. Nothing had come of his attempts made in 1722; but
the excited feelings of the time, the great fear lest Sweden
by an alliance with the Holstein-Russian party be embroiled
in a devastating war with England France, made the removal of
Wellingk necessary. (R. o. Ad. Prot. V:580-81)
At the meeting on October 19th, there was great excitement in the House of Nobles, some contending that the Secret Committee should be empowered to search Wellingk's papers, and others that the House of Nobles should first be definitely informed concerning the charges that were made. The latter opinion prevailed, and on October 25th, the Secret Committee communicated the desired information. The reading of this was followed by a Memorial from Count Wellingk protesting against a search of his papers with the object of finding grounds for an accusation against him.
The plea was made by Wellingk's friends that he could
not be tried under the law made in 1723 for what he had done
in 1722; and, moreover, that what he was accused of, had no
connection with present circumstances or the relations of
Sweden to foreign powers, and therefore did not belong to the
Secret Committee; the Committee, moreover, was not a
judiciary body. The contest, therefore, became one as to
whether the Secret Committee should be allowed to search
Wellingk's papers, or a separate committee be appointed by
the Estates. The Secret Committee, it was argued, had
already declared itself against Wellingk; moreover, the
latter had a right to be heard by all the Estates, whereas
the Secret Committee represented only three of them. In the
discussion, it was pointed out that the Secret Committee was
overloaded with business, and the Wellingk inquiry might well
go to a special committee which could include members of all
four Estates. (Ibid., IV:118, 120, 121)
At this point, Swedenborg gave his thought in writing, probably not only because of any defect in his voice but because in the prevailing noise and excitement, it was difficult to speak loud enough to be heard. Swedenborg's speech was as follows: (Ibid., V:156, 158)
"It is my humble opinion that since his Excellency
Counsellor count Wellingk, in his Memorial which was this day
read to the House of Nobles, requests that his writings and
documents may be left in his hands and not be opened by
others and examined, and this for reasons which the
Counsellor brings forward in his Memorial and since this
matter is of not little weight and consequence, and concerns
not only the Counsellor's own person but likewise his
correspondence with ministers and foreign dignitaries of high
standing, and one, moreover, seldom finds in any kingdom that
resort is had to this extreme measure; therefore, I hold for
my part that it would be safest for a Commission of the
Estates to be appointed, subject to the same secrecy as the
Secret Committee, and to consist of twelve persons from the
House of Nobles, but including four members of the Secret
Committee, which shall examine the matter; but it shall first
consider and give to the full session of the House its
conclusions as to whether or not and how far Counsellor and
Count Wellingk's writings and documents should be opened and
examined by the deputies in the same commission."
(LM., p. 407)
This utterance gives token of a spirit of a fairness and of calm which seems to have been little in evidence during this exciting preliminary skirmish over Sweden's European policy. The proposals for a special commission were found by the majority to be a reflection on the Secret Committee; and, moreover, that the law demands that all secret matters shall go to that Committee; on the other hand, it was argued that while the Secret Committee said this matter was a secret, Count Wellingk said it was not. (R. O. Ad. Prot. IV:122)
Great excitement prevailed, and when there was voting, both
sides strove to emphasize their numbers by the loudness of
their ayes and nays.
Eventually, on the following day it was decided to elect a
Commission of twelve who should be chosen from members of the
Secret Committee and should take oath and sit as a judicial
Commission for the legal trial of the case.
Thus ended the first of the long series of acts which led, on
April 26th, to Wellingk's doom to the loss of life, honor and
goods, a doom which was changed to life imprisonment without
the loss of honor or goods. He died on July 10th while on
the way to prison. The case was fought in the House of
Nobles at every stage of its progress, and Swedenborg seems
to have been present at most of the meetings of the House
when this matter was discussed.
The removal of Wellingk, however, was but a preliminary to
Horn's great work of aligning Sweden with England and France
and also Hanover and Denmark, and brining to a decisive and
that chauvinistic spirit which dreamed of the recovery of
lost greatness.
Because of the Duke of Holstein, the nephew of Ulrica
Eleonora, Sweden's position was somewhat complicated. On the
one hand, she was bound to help Holstein to recover the land
of which Denmark had robbed him, and to this recovery his
mother-in-law Catharine of Russia was devoted. On the other
hand, England and France had guaranteed this land to Denmark
who was a member of the Hanover Alliance. The Duke of
Holstein was privileged to address the Swedish Diet direct,
and on December 19th, an address from him was read which
reminded Sweden of her promises. (Ibid., p. 263)
On March 15th, the Secret Committee reported to the House of
"account" of their conclusion of a treaty whereby Sweden
entered into the Hanover Alliance. The account gave the
reasons for the treaty and assurances that it was a purely
defensive alliance, was not in conflict with other treaties,
and was to Sweden's best advantage; but "the most binding and
powerful reasons," it said,
"are ... so bound up with various state secrets and the
interests of foreign powers" that they cannot be
communicated. (Nya Hand., p. 351)
When this "account" was read in the House of Nobles, the
old strife was renewed, though not always by the same
speakers. The contest was to have the treaty itself
submitted for consideration by the House; and opposed to this
was the contention that the Secret Committee was empowered by
law to conclude alliances in conjunction with the Royal
Council and the King. The discussion was prolonged and more
or less acrimonious. The city was full of rumors as to
dissensions in the Secret Committee itself. The Russian
Ambassador had published a memorial wherein he stated that
the treaty was in conflict with the alliance - for which he
was rebuked by Horn speaking in the House. Moreover, various
stories were being spread through the country as to what the
treaty contained, and various fears and apprehensions were
being aroused. Toward the end, Swedenborg handed in his
written opinion which favored publicity.
(R. o. Ad. Prot. IV:449, 448)
Since the Secret Committee has notified the Diet, of
Sweden's accession to the Hanover Alliance, he said, and has
given the assurance that all required caution has been
observed in this matter, "it will not be taken unfavorably
that I, for my part, respectfully suggest - which yet is
submitted to the riper judgment of the House - whether the
treaty itself with all its points might not be read at the
next session, so that the prudence with which it has been
made, may the more clearly be apprehended. The Estates of
the realm are the more entitled to hear it read to them, as
it concerns the whole kingdom, both as regards the individual
and as regards the public; and, in any case, the treaty will
shortly be made public. (ACSD 466A; LM., p. 418)
The majority of the House was undoubtedly in favor of
supporting the Secret Committee without requiring the reading
of the treaty, and the matter was conclusively decided at the
next session of the House when the three other Estates
reported that they also were of this opinion.
We have already spoken of Swedenborg's appointment as a member of the Grievance Committee. This Committee consisted of over forty members, every two of whom were appointed to consider and present the Nobles' grievances in some particular province. Swedenborg, together with his Skinnskatteberg partner, Olaf Rudbeck (see above, p. 176), were the members representing Hlsingland and Gestrickland, in which latter province was Axmar and also a forge belonging to Rudbeck at Forsbacka. As such representatives, they addressed to the House of Nobles a Memorial setting forth the grievances of those nobles therein who were owners of ironworks. (Anrep. 3:536)
The most interesting feature of this Memorial is the light it throws on the checks to which manufactures were subjected by the privileges and monopolies which were so highly favored by the Swedish Diet. (ACSD 463)
The petitions prayed:
1. That they be relieved from the obligation of selling their tax-charcoal to other forges whose owners have bought the right by auction, resulting in coal being transported to forges whose owners might use their own woods; and that they be permitted to purchase this coal at the same price as other purchasers. This petition had no connection with the Amore precious metals provision.
2. That instead of paying church dues, etc., in wood, they be allowed to pay in money. They themselves need the wood.
3. That they be not hindered in themselves shipping their iron, etc., to foreign markets, whether worked on taxed or tax free properties; that when dealing in their own products, they be relieve din such case, of paying a certain percentage to the crown; and that as to the percentage demanded for inward trade, they have an appeal against under charges to the commerce college.
4. That the export of boards, etc., be forbidden. A former Diet had permitted this export but this was because otherwise the timber would be wasted. But now, because of many saw-works, there is in some places great scarcity of wood for the repair of forges, and this will grow until at last wood will have to be imported. The woods should be preserved also for the future development of the metal industry. (Confer A. o. Ad. Prot. VI:280).
5. That measures be taken to inquire into the expense of freightage caused by the monopolies granted by the Borgar Estate at the last Diet. As a consequence, the freight for ore had risen 300 per cent, being almost as much as the freight to England and Holland, and double the price of the ore itself. Should the price of iron fall, the whole industry would therefore fail for this reason only.
6. That they be allowed to cart their iron to the staple cities without passing through Gefle or other places merely to pay the public weigher there. (LM., p. 1419)
The Memorial was referred by the Grievances Deputation to the College of Mines, for only those grievances came before the House which might be presented to the King. But nothing appears to have been done about the matter. (R. O. Ad. Prot. V:75)
Swedenborg, however, expressed himself orally in the House on a related subject. This was on July 29th when the Committee on Justice brought in a recommendation that the renters of a certain property in the Philipstad Mining District whose owner was a forger of iron, be not obliged to pay their rent in charcoal. They needed the coal for their own work, and if, in addition, they had to supply their landlord, the woods would not suffice. Swedenborg expressed his full approval of this recommendation; but he dissented for the further recommendation that the owners of the land could purchase their iron from the tenants only at current rates; his opinion being that, since these owners had purchased the right of renting the land to the smelters, they should have the privilege of purchasing the latter's iron at some special though reasonable rate to be determined by the Bergscollegium. In this he was supported by his brother-in-law Lars, and this part of the Committee's report was therefore referred to the College of Mines. (Ibid., pp. 436-37)
Before leaving Swedenborg's work in the Diet for 1726-27, it should be added that during this Diet the matter of Dippel's expulsion from Sweden was taken up on several occasions.
John Conrad Dippel, because of his attitude to Danish
authorities, had been imprisoned in Denmark for seven years.
In June 1726, when he was fifty-three years old, he was set
free, and was on his return to Germany when he was induced by
an admirer to visit Kristianstad. Here he received word from
the Court to prescribe for the King. The House of Clergy
soon took note of his presence in Sweden, and in September
they sent a delegation to the King Aconcerning an enthusiast
name Dippel who has come into the Kingdom." The House of
Nobles took umbrage at this, contending that no single Estate
should go to the King. But the damage had already been done,
and Dippel received
royal notification that he was to leave the Kingdom, and that
the local Governors had received orders to arrest him if he
came to Stockholm. These Governors, however, were members of
the House of Nobles, and when the protest against the action
of the priests came up, they reported that they had received
orders from the King to see that Dippel left the Kingdom, but
that these orders had not yet been sent off.
(Henning, p. 21; R. O. Ad. Prot. IV:27)
The Nobles were aroused, and the more so since some of
them were more or less interested in pietist, and some even
had sympathy with Dippel's writings. The Houses, therefore,
ordered the Governors to tell the King that the orders had
been given them too late for the post, and to "humbly" ask
him to do nothing until the Nobles had expressed themselves.
The King graciously consented to delay the matter so long as the Nobles desired. (R. O. Ad. Prot. IV:51)
Meanwhile, the House had sent an admonitory note to the
Clergy, and on September 24th, the latter answered by sending
in a short extract of the gross heresies of Dippel, Aor, as
he often calls himself, Christian Democritus," which showed
that it had good reasons for its action. On receiving this,
the Nobles, "although they detested Dippel's gross tenets,"
were not unanimous when Count Horn asked them if they
supported the Clergy's action. There was great resentment,
especially in the back benches, against the high handed
action of the clerical House. Nothing was done, however,
owing to the lack of unanimity, and no further steps were
taken in the matter until August 1727.
(Ibid., pp. 61, 63; Henning, pp. 26-27)
Meanwhile, early in January 1727, two of the nobles
persuaded Dippel to come to Stockholm where he was the guest
of von Valcker,* a pious member of the House of Nobles, who
was greatly distressed as to the abuses which were so rife
among the clergy; indeed, he moved in the House of Nobles to
have a general Consistory appointed over the church to
include both priests and laymen. (R. o. Ad. Prot. V:514)
*Probably a friend of Swedenborg's. See Doc. I:80.
In Stockholm, Dippel excited great interest, and he was
called on by hundreds of persons, including many of the
nobles. He was a learned man in many fields. As a
theologian he was altogether unreliable. Excelling in the
ability to criticize and refute, but without any real
convictions of his own, his writings abound in
contradictions. Yet, such was the force of his character
that he could easily destroy, though without building up.
This side of his character is spoken of in the Diary, no.
3486, where it is represented by his offering what purported
to be wine but which was poisonous. Swedenborg is not alone
in this judgment of Dippel. Dippel was thought to be able to
charm folks and lead them where he will; he "can draw
everything into dispute" is his own admission. As a learned
man, says a Swedish writer, "he wished to show that one can
draw everything into dispute" is his own admission. As a
learned man, says a Swedish writer, "he wished to show that
one can draw everything into dispute, and can dispute about
everything." In the beginning of his stay in Stockholm he
acted prudently, but toward the end of 1727, and especially
when, in July of that year, he
published in German his book entitled The whole Brightness of
the Gospel of Jesus Chris cleared from the Clouds of
Confusion, it became clear that, not pietism was his object,
but mysticism, an inner light which was independent of the
Word of the Church. "Dippel's overbearing behavior toward
opponents," says a Swedish investigator, "depended on the
deep contempt which he cherished in general against all who
took their knowledge from books. He did not wish to be
considered as having got his knowledge in such a way but gave
himself out as getting it by the immediate enlightenment of
the spirit of truth. The many new views with which he came
forward had their origin in no small degree in his constant
desire to say something which had never been said before, to
be noted and recognized as the foremost in everything."
These qualities were clearly seen by Swedenborg when he met
Dippel in the spiritual world; and as they developed during
his stay in Stockholm, many of his pietistic friends,
including his host von Walcker, somewhat cooled.
(SD. 5962, 5995; Henning, pp. 30, 35, 47)
That Swedenborg was among those who met Dippel at this time seems beyond a doubt. In the Spiritual Diary (no. 3486) he writes in 1748:
"I had been with those who adhered to Dippel, and had
heard the Collections he had written, but could not hold the
least thing in my memory and so could not know what his
opinions were, I supposing they were absurd."
The "Collections" here spoken of were perhaps the extracts
from his writings which were translated into Latin and sent
to the Nobles by the House of the Clergy; and perhaps also
similar collections which the clergy sent to the peasants.
(Henning, p. 24)
Von Walcher with whom Dippel was staying was a wealthy man
and kept open house almost every day, and it is highly
probable that Swedenborg was among the visitors at this house
of his fellow member in the House of Nobles. (Ibid., p. 39)
What Swedenborg's attitude toward pietism was, we do not know, His father had always had a leaning in this direction as opposed to the utter worldliness so often shown by the established clergy. As late as 1723, when attending the Diet at Stockholm, he had attended one of their Sunday meetings held after the folk had come from church, and after the service he told his host:
"I had come because I had mostly bad reports of these
meetings. I would that every house-father would do as is
done here. (Tottie p. 254)
On the other hand, Eric Benzelius - now Bishop and a
prominent member in the House of the Clergy (and also his
brother Henry) - had constituted himself the leading spirit
in the endeavor to have Dippel expelled. But perhaps, in his
case, pietism may not have been the leading cause but that
tendency to the denial of the Word which later became plain
to many. (SBL 2:86-87)
But it was not only in pietistic and theological circles that
Dippel excited attention and interest. He was also a
physician and an alchemist. Many hundreds visited his rooms
at von Walcker's to consult him as a medical man. His
knowledge of chemistry even led to talk of his being given a
position in the College of Mines, and there can be no doubt
that his claim to be able to make gold was a point of
attraction to many of the nobles. (Henning, p. 30)
Swedenborg's intercourse with Dippel was probably and perhaps exclusively on the scientific or rather the chemical side of his learning, and among other things, on his claim to make gold - not exactly, as it would seem, a claim totally to transmute metals, but to draw gold from them. Swedenborg briefly refers to this claim in his first work on Copper; but in the published work, he speaks fully and also gives one of Dippel's recipes, which he most probably received from Dippel himself. His words concerning the "Dippelian Experiment" are:
"When Dippel was staying in Sweden, he preached his process
as a sure argument for the transmutation or augmentation of
gold from metals; for he promised by this art and process to
extract more gold from copper than can be done by any common
way." Then follows the recipe itself, after which Swedenborg
adds: "But I fear I have been too prolix."
(Cod. 84, p. 295; De Cup. P. 339)
In August, when the fate of the Hanover Alliance was settled
and politics was no longer the ruling element in every
action, the Diet referred the matter of Dippel to the King
and Council, and by these he was ordered to leave Sweden. He
left Stockholm early in December, and Sweden in March 1728.
(Henning, pp. 43-44, 45)
Read: SD 3485-86 = AC 5567 SD 5962
" 3497
" 3890 = " 3748 LJ post. 40
That Swedenborg was alive to the Dippelian movement seems to be indicated by the fact that one of his fellow Assessors in the College of Mines, John Bergenstierna, the associate with whom more than once he had been associated during the summer as his fellow member on a mining commission, was a member of the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the teachings of Tolstadius, the Pastor of the Skepsholm Church who was accused of Dippelianism. This Commission, consisting of five laymen and four priests, sat from March 1729 to May 1731, during which time they heard scores of witnesses for and against Tolstadius. (Henning, p. 78)
How much interest Swedenborg took in it we do not know. But it must be remembered that pietism with which Dippelianism was mixed, was active not only in Stockholm but in many of the provinces; and when we note Bishop Swedberg's great interest in a revival of true religion, and his belief that there was something of this in the pietists; that this trial of Tolstadius was exciting great interest; that the accused man had views which were precisely those so actively preached by Swedenborg's father; and that one of the judges was Swedenborg's close associate, we cannot avoid the conclusion not only that Swedenborg knew of the trial but also that he followed it with interest, and that his sympathies, like those of Swedish historians and, indeed, of the majority of the Commission, were with the accused pastor.
And this thought opens to us also thoughts of Swedenborg's preparation. Following his father, he never believed in faith alone; and in this trial he saw the attempt to sacrifice the preacher of charity on the altar of solafidianism. What the Commission brought to light was that Tolstadius saw the dreary stagnation into which the church had fallen, its many abuses, the worldliness of its priests, and the opposition to God's Word manifested in the doctrine of the atonement. "God is pure love," he taught, "and what is said of God in the Scriptures as though He were a devouring fire, is so said only because of our weak understanding." Again he urged his people to "read diligently the Holy Word, especially the 5th, 6th and 7th chapters of Matthew, for there is found the heavenly doctrine in a compendium." (Henning, pp. 86, 87)
Christ did not suffer death for us, he declared before the Commissioners,
"that by His death he might leave men free to cover their
sins with a false confidence in Christ's service."
In the final decision, the majority of the Court entirely exonerated Tolstadius; though Bergenstierna and two others thought he ought expressly to reject Dippel. (SBL 18:260)
There is a singular likeness between this trial and that trial over Swedenborgianism which was to take place some forty years later. Moreover, it may not be amiss to note that more than once during this period it was proclaimed that by its pure externalism, the Christian Church had left the Lord and was now corrupt and dead; these statements could hardly have escaped the notice of Swedenborg seeing that they were made by intelligent men such as von Strohkirk, Sven and Gabriel Rosen, etc. (Henning, p. 149)
There is some evidence that Swedenborg was in receipt of a considerable income at this time. Thus, in November 1726, he makes a present of 700 dal. k. mt. (about ,20) to assist his half brother Anton Swab; besides his other property from the Behm inheritance, he is sole owner of the smaller forge at Axmar, which brings him in about ,900 gross every year. Then there is the forge at Starbo bringing in almost double that sum, besides the forges at Presterhyta and Skinnskatteberg, in which latter property he was a partner with his brother-in-law Lars. The value of this property at Skinnskatteberg which consisted of an upper and a lower forge, is indicated by a contract which Swedenborg made in February 1727 with a Madame Ahlgren. It seemed that Madame Ahlgren owed Swedenborg and Rudbeck some 3,000 dal. k. mt., and it was in connection with this debt that the contract was made. According to its terms, Madame Ahlgren was given the use of the upper forge for a term of three years by January 1728, but all the wrought iron she made was to be sold to Swedenborg and Rudbeck f. o. b. at Kping at 16 dal. a ton, she to supply coal, wages and taxes, and Swedenborg and Rudbeck the larger building and the pig iron; during the three years, Madam Ahlgren's original debt to be reduced by her. (Doc., I:345; ACSD 510A, 465A)
While speaking of Swedenborg's mining property, we might here mention a little lawsuit which he and his partner instituted in July 1728, when Swedenborg's nephew, Eric Benzelius - who was then a young man of twenty-three and was an Auscultant in the Bergscollegium - appeared in the proper mining court and entered a suit for damage against the Pastor of Grangrdes Parish, because some peasants had cut down "six large trees" from woods belonging to the Presterhythen ironworks, to be used in the church building. The Pastor stated he would come to some agreement with Swedenborg and Benzelstierna, but the Court would not permit this on the ground that the wood was for the use of the church - and apparently the ironworks were obliged to contribute. (ACSD 485C; Hlpers, p. 620, cf. p. 626)
During this period, July-September 1728, Swedenborg and Bergenstierna were spending their third summer as a Commission of Inquiry at Falun and Avesta. (ACSD 485C)
While on the subject of Swedenborg's mining property, it may here be added that the probability that he sold his interests in Axmar to Aunt Brita is strengthened by the fact that in March 1729 he sold to Count Fredrik Gyllenborg his half of the Skinnskatteberg property consisting of two forges with an annual capacity of 1,300 tons of iron, one farm, and fraction so other farms, a share in a smelting work, besides a saw mill, all debts, including Madam Ahlgren's, etc. for the sum of 45,000 dal. k. mt. (L1,250). The other half was sold at the same time by Swedenborg's partner Lars Benzelstierna. (ACSD 488a, 488A(1), 510A)
Swedenborg appears to have lent Count Gyllenborg, either at this time or later, 20,000 at six per cent interest, for many years afterwards he is regularly receiving 1200 dal. k. mt. a year through his banker. Count Gyllenborg died in 1759, and though the payment of interest was kept up as late as 1766, the estate was in difficulties, and in 1769 Swedenborg had to be content with a payment of 10,000 in full for the principal. (Doc. I:388; Lindh MSS)
This sale to Count Gyllenborg seems to have had some connection with Aunt Brita, probably in relation to the Gesberg furnaces in which Swedenborg owned only one-seventh (see above, p. 255). At any rate, it led Aunt Brita to write a sharp letter to Swedenborg in December 1729, in which she demands Swedenborg's payment to her of certain notes with the sale to Count Gyllenborg.
Swedenborg answers her on December 23rd, and the tone of his letter, which is addressed, not "dear Aunt" as before, but simply "Madam," indicates that he is not quite so sure as formerly of the reasonableness and justice of his aunt. Swedenborg had transferred both cash and iron to Count Gyllenborg in connection with the settlement of the sale, and it was to this that Aunt Brita objected, claiming apparently that this was her property. (ACSD 489; Doc. I:351)
Swedenborg definitely refused to get the money and iron back.
"Should Madam have had such claims in her thought as her
letter speaks of," he continues, "... it is just as well that
in this transaction I used proper precautions. Therefore, as
soon as I am brought to court with respect to such matters,
answer will then be made, it being unnecessary to argue about
it meanwhile. I can say this much beforehand, that in a case
of this kind, Madam will lose more at court than she will
gain." He concludes his letter by disputing Madam's account
as between them - perhaps in settlement of the Axmar deal,
but more probably in connection with Swedenborg's sale of his
share in Gesberg. These accounts, he says, ought to be
settled, for he cannot agree with the figures presented by
his aunt, which indeed must be subject to legal examination
if they are to come to some harmonious agreement.
(LM., p. 438)
The letter constitutes, so far as is known, the last link between Swedenborg and his aunt.
Swedenborg's object in thus disposing of some of his property was doubtless not only to escape the care of attending to it, collecting rents, etc., but also to secure money to carry on his literary work, on which he was busily engaged at this time.
But before we turn to this, we shall note a further incident in Swedenborg's life, namely, his becoming a member of the Scientific Society established in November 1728. This Society was the lineal descendant of that meeting of a few professors in Upsala during the year of plague in 1710. This early Societas Curiosorum was occupied mainly in correspondence with Christopher Polhem and Emanuel Swedenborg who were virtually members, for there was no fixed membership. (Glas. P. 15)
The Daedalus Hyperboreus has not improperly been reckoned as the journal of this Societas Curiosorum, though it would seem that the Society itself had gone into more or less of desuetude during the years when this work was published (see above, p. 213). Not quite, however, for Eric Benzelius, who was its soul, still cultivated occasional meetings with the Professors, and a wide correspondence with the learned. (Bok. G. Prot. P. 3: Glas, p. 8)
In 1719, a newly threatened misfortune again revived the society. In November of that year, during the prevalent fear of a Russian occupation, Benzelius called a new society into being under the name Bokwetts Gille, of which Swedenborg became a member in December (see above, p. 214). (Bok. G. Prot., p. 4)
Living away from Upsala, he was naturally not an active member, though his books were frequently reviewed in the Acta Literaria Sueciae, the official organ of the Society. He attended but one of its meetings, namely, in August 1724, when he happened to be in Upsala (see above, p. 285).
And now, in November 1728, the Society received royal recognition under a new name; The Royal Literary Society and Society of Sciences; and Count Arvid Horn, the Chancellor of Upsala University, became its first president. (Ibid., + Glas, p. 15)
Polhem had been invited to become a member of the projected new society as early as April 1728, and in his letter of acceptance he recommended Wallerius and Swedenborg, saying of the latter:
"I have for a long time had experience of his capacity and
cleverness during the time I had the honor of being
acquainted with him in my modest home."
(OQ. 1:320 = LM., p. 435)
Benzelius was no longer living in Upsala, his place as the
soul of the new society being taken by Prof. Anders Celsius,
who some years later disputed the correctness of certain
calculations in Swedenborg's Principia. (Prosperin, p. 30)
None were to be received as members of the society "who had
not by some proofs made themselves known to the society and
were recommended in the same way as in the foreign
societies." However, the question of inviting members was not
taken up until October when it was proposed to invite various
members of the Privy Council as honorary members, and as
"members who could work": Swedenborg, Prof. Alstrin,
Swedenborg's old friend in London, Vallerius, and some
others.* (Bok. G. Prot., pp. 165, 169)
*A list of the members of the Society in 1733 is published in Commercium Litterarium ad rei medicae et scientiae for 1733, pp. 218-19.
Swedenborg's letter of acceptance is dated November 27, 1729. After expressing his thanks, he assures the Society that he will not neglect to serve it "in such way as can be afforded by my small experience, which can
then be submitted to the Society's ripe judgment as to how
far it merits appearing in the Acta or not. Otherwise I have
now for the past ten years been gathering everything which
serves for shedding light of metallurgy and the mineral
kingdom, and am now thinking of beginning in a few weeks to
bring this assemblage and excerpta into order and then having
them printed abroad. Yet, before I send them off, I shall
first have the honor of communicating the same, in order that
something may be gathered from them, which may serve for a
contribution to the Acta. This work will be quite extensive,
as can be seen from a specimen I shall have the honor of
sending over this winter, and which deals with iron and its
working, together with all other observations which have been
made on this metal by various authors. If life permits, I am
thinking of making use of such a collection, and on the basis
thereof, of showing ex priori et posteriori, the principles
of
nature; and in this connection, I expect to have hit upon one
or two things which concern the magnet and its operations,
etc.
As soon as I have some spare time, I will write up what
I have gathered on native copper and its precipitations
whereby copper is obtained from different Swedish mines, with
one or two things which the learned world has not yet known
concerning it, together with observations which have been
made with precipitant water in Falun, whereby the iron in
that mine is turned into copper." (OQ., 1:321 = LM., p. 436)
The fact that Swedenborg was still a bachelor, although thirty-nine years of age did not escape the attention of his friends, or, at any rate, of his brother-in-law Unge, whose letter to him on this subject clearly indicates the current thought which prevailed as to the reasons for marriage. He concludes a letter addressed to Swedenborg on March 18, 1728, with the following paragraph:
"Finally, I shall leave it to my Brother to think about,
why dear Brother lets all good opportunities for marriage go
by. Major Otter is engaged to Tham's* oldest [unmarried]
daughter. Now the younger daughter is left, who is better
and prettier. Will not Brother now take his measures
accordingly? I do not think other than that Tham would like
it well. The means coming to each of his children will, I
think, be considerable, so that there is no better parti for
Brother in the whole Kingdom. In God's name a good
resolution and trust in His gracious providence for the
result. Time does not admit of slow remedies and long
deliberations, and there is danger in delay."
(Doc. I:350) (LM., p. 433)
*Sebastian Vollrathsson Tham (1666-1729), a Counsellor in the Commerce Collegium. He died in June 1729. He had nine children, of whom Johanna Christina, to whom Unge refers, was now eighteen years old. In 1735 she married her brother-in-law Otter.
All this time, Swedenborg was in daily attendance at the College of Mines, considering the many cases which came before that body; and, during the summers of 1726-1729 was on the Commission to Falun to which we have already referred (see above, p. 310) and which, in the summer of 1730, involved a journey to Gestrikeland; and in the summer of 1731 to rebro - a commission which the bad weather prevented the fulfilment of in 1730 on the way home from Falun. It would not be profitable to review the many cases on which Swedenborg, as a member of the College of Mines, delivered his judgment. These cases mostly concerned disputes between partners in forges and smelting works, testamentary bequests, wood rights, and other matters of a like judicial character. They were unusually decided on in the College, but occasionally they were referred to the Court of Appeals. Often also, Swedenborg was appointed to test suspected iron. (ACSD 524G)
One case of a non-technical nature may be given, in which Swedenborg delivered an opinion in which all the Assessors concurred. This was in May 1730:
In a certain case, the College had inflicted fines on
three iron merchants for failing to make correct returns for
the years 1725-29 inclusive, of the iron of which one-tenth
was due to the crown; in addition to the fine, they had also
to pay the value of the one-tenth that had been withheld.
After the case had been thus settled, a workman of the name
of Swn Joenson claimed a share
of the fines as having been the informer in the case; the
fiscal of the College also handed in a memorial asking for
his share as informer and prosecutor, and, in addition, he
asked for one-third of the value of the crown's one-tenth.
Swedenborg's judgment was that the Fiscal was the only
informer as to false returns of the smeltings of these men
for the years 1725-26 and is therefore entitled to one-third
both of the fines inflicted for the said years and of the
crown's one-tenth.
As regards the smeltings for 1727-28, the local crown
bailiff had brought action for the false returns for 1727
before the workman Joenson had given his information to the
College of Mines. But it appears that Joenson had first
apprized the bailiff of the fraud, and his information had
also led the bailiff to the discovery of the fraud in 1728;
therefore, one-third of the fines and of the Crown dues for
1727 should be divided between the bailiff and Joenson, and
one-third of the same for the year 1728 should be divided
between the Fiscal who investigated the case and the informer
Joenson.
As regards the fines for the year 1729, Joenson had no
part in the discovery of the fraud for this year, which had
been unearthed by the Fiscal alone; but since the latter had
stated that on account of Joenson's poverty, he would let him
have half the reward, the matter may be so decided.
(ACSD 5010)
Another case was of a criminal character and reveals Swedenborg as a mediator.
In the preceding October, a certain miner named Poik was
found guilty of appropriating to himself a heap of copper
ore, and was condemned by the mining court to run the
gauntlet twice and to work in the mines for one month in
irons. In addition, he was fined 20 dal. s. mt. for
unbecoming language against the court. The miner appealed to
Bergscollegium, and the latter body took up the case on
October 9, 1730. Assessor Vallerius, who had succeeded in
Swedenborg's place, on the basis of the evidence believed in
his mind that Poik was guilty beyond a doubt; still, in a
case involving such severe punishment, the accusation should
be proved beyond possible doubt; therefore he thought it
better to leave Poik to God's judgment save as regards the
obligation laid down by the College of Mines for those who
damage another's ore heap. For his expressions against the
court he should certainly be fined.
Swedenborg's judgment was as follows: "As concerns the
circumstances against Poik, they have already been brought
forward by the Advocate Fiscal [Porath] and also in the
judgment, and I think it unnecessary to repeat them. But, on
the other hand, by means of one witness there exists a
mitigating circumstance which was not known at the first
hearing, namely, that Poik had given to stberg the last bid
for the centonal* heap, and had lifted up his hat as a sign
that he had bought up the centonal heap. In addition comes
the fact that he does not seem to have had the intention of
seizing the ore heap in question since in open day he ordered
the laborers to add the old ore to it, had gone to the
Sexman's** office and inquired if
he were not put down for the centonal heap, and had not taken
more from it than he had added to it. In addition to this,
one frequently hears cases where mistakes happen, the wrong
mark is affixed, and that it is not customary to go to the
Sexman's office after the auction.
* This was a heap of ore consisting of the percentages drawn from the various lots of ores as a tax for the benefit of the mining district and the local overseers. It was sold by auction.
** An official at the mines probably chosen from the miners by rote or lot.
"Under these circumstances, I cannot say on my
conscience that Poik acted in this matter from purpose or
with the object of stealing. It would therefore be best, if
he were of such reputation, that he might absolve himself by
an oath.
"As regards the 20 dal. s. mt., the meaning of Poik's
utterance, as he afterwards explained it, need not be taken
into consideration, especially since it is not to be wondered
at that in a matter which concerned his honor he fell into
some hasty expressions by which, however, he declared that it
had not been his intention to be disrespectful to the court."
The report of this proceeding continues to the effect
that the other members of the Bergscollegium were in general
of the same opinion as Swedenborg as regards Poik's deed,
though half of them, three in number including President
Ribbing, thought the fine was justified. Finally, it was
resolved that though Poik had not been proved guilty of
complete theft, yet, in view of the many circumstances which
go against him, he ought to give solemn assurance by oath
that it had not been his intention to steal the ore heap in
question. Yet, in view of the fear of perjury and soul
destruction, etc., the Bergscollegium will not administer
such an oath to him; but, in accordance with law and despite
the many circumstances against him, it absolves Poik from
theft and from the punishment of running the gauntlet and
working in chains, laid on him by the mining court. The fine
for contempt was, however, confirmed. (ACSD 514B)
The trial of this case reveals Swedenborg in the light of a merciful judge, disposed to give careful consideration to the evidence, and to take into full consideration the question of intention. We shall later see the same characteristics in Swedenborg's conduct in other cases that came before the Bergscollegium.
Another case which also came up in October 1730 shows the paternalistic character of the control exercised by the Bergscollegium.
A smelter had applied for permission to move his
smelting house from Uddeholm to a more advantageous location,
and also, at the same time, to add some forges for the
smelting of his own iron. The members of the College,
including Swedenborg, granted permission to move the smelting
house but refused to allow the building of new forges. The
reason for this decision was that the removal added no
privileges to the smelter beyond those which he had been
granted at his old location; these privileges did not include
the right to build forges for the smelting of his own iron,
but it was stipulated that his iron should be sold to the
Uddeholm forges. And since in his new location he would not
smelt enough iron to supply the Uddeholm forges and also his
own contemplated forges, the erection of the latter would
necessarily injure the prosperity of the former.
There was but one dissentient to this opinion, namely,
Lars Benzelstierna; he held that the request to build new
forges was founded on reasonable grounds.
In addition to these open hearings by the Bergscollegium, Swedenborg like the other Assessors was frequently appointed as referee in disputed cases, his duty being then to hear the case and to present his judgment to the Collegium for final action. These cases frequently concerned testamentary bequests, disputes between part owners in smelting houses, etc.
In June 1730, on the occurrence of a vacancy caused by the death of one of the College's Counsellors, there was a general promotion in the Bergscollegium, and Swedenborg became the next to the last instead of the last Assessor; and, what doubtless was more important, he now received the full salary of an Assessor (1200 dal. s. mt.), whereas previously he had received only the salary of a mining master, namely, 800 dal. s. mt. Soon after this, namely, in the middle of July, he and Bergenstierna left as a Commission to investigate the important question of coal supplies for the mineral industry. First they went to Gestrikeland to settle a dispute as to whether the use of the woods by a certain iron furnace was harmful to the Kopparberg district, this being the old question against which Swedenborg had written - the question of favoring the more precious metals. This work involved an extensive judicial inquiry with witnesses, etc. From Gestrikeland they went, in August, to Falun. Their work here was both extensive and important. The Fauln copper works had for some time been suffering from shortage of coal and also of timer, and the College of Mines had given them temporary permission to make use of the most distant woods in their district. It was the work of Begenstierna and Swedenborg to inspect these distant and extensive woods, and to make recommendations as to the best way to use them, which might be used for coal, which for time, etc. Their report, made in the middle of September, is a document of five hundred folio pages. From Fauln they were then to go to their old place of inquiry in rebro Province, to settle a dispute concerning woods that had arisen there. (ACSD 503, 511A, 504-6, 509, 512A)
The last part of this work was prevented by the bad weather, and it was performed by the same Commission in the summer of 1731 (ACSD 524EE, G, 523)
Swedenborg was now in a good financial position. He had sold his Skinnskatteberg property for 45,000 dal. k. mt., and of this sum he had invested 20,000 dal. k. mt., bringing him in an income of 1,200. Then he had probably sold his share of the Axmar works, worth about 30,000 dal. k. mt.; besides this, there was also the profits from the Starbo works and sundry farms, etc. Altogether his income at this time must have been over L200 a year, besides a large capital sum. And his expenses were those of a bachelor living a quiet life. (NKTid. 1927: 101)
We have evidence of Swedenborg's circumstances in the fact that, in the summer of 1731, he defrayed the entire expenses of a trip to the German mines which he counselled his nephew Eric, now a young man of twenty-six, and a mine Bailiff at Falun, to take. Another little indication is given by a letter written to Emanuel by his father who, after the recent burning down of Brunsbo, was feeling very poor. This letter, dated March 1, 1731, deserves to be quoted in full: (ACSD 524A, 519(1); LM., p. 443)
"I have written to their Majesties to get some of my
Psalm Books from Skepsholm. Look after this. If you get
leave for ten, then take fifty. Find out quietly whether
their Majesties lately got my newly printed Catechism which I
sent by Heinrich Kohlmter. Let me know what news is going
at the Riksdag. I am writing this day to the Herr
Landmarskall Count Arvid Horn on an important matter which
should
be discussed at the present Riksdag. [See Adels Riksdags
Prot. VI:324] Let me know how it is received and decided ....
Thy dear Father
Brunsbo, March 1, 1731 J. SWEDBERG"
"My Epistle Postilla is now ready and censured. If you will
pay the cost for it, you will have a fine profit therefrom -
or some other persons in Stockholm. Find out whether their
Majesties have not received my America. My copy was burned.
The Queen must certainly have got hers." (LM., p. 443)
During all the years since 1725, Swedenborg had not neglected to pay occasional visits to the machine room where the models of Polhem and other machines were kept. In February 1725, he had recommended an appropriation of 50 dal. s. mt. for repairs, and had actually be granted 150 dal. s. mt. (see above, p. 298). It was not until February 1732, however, that he gave an account of his expenditures. From this account it appears he had been looking after the repairs all these years, and had spent for repairs over 100 dal. s. mt. out of his own pocket besides the 150 dal. s. mt. which had been appropriated. When handing in this account, he asked not only for the balance due him but for an additional appropriation of 150 dal. s. mt., "so that if one thing or another should be needed in connection with the machine room, I may not so often make demands for every little expenditure." This was granted, and on March 3rd, Swedenborg was paid the sum of 252.27 dal. s. mt. (ACSD 527E, 529B(1))
Besides a general interest in mechanics, it is not improbable that at this time he had a more particular interest in the study of Polhem's machines. The idea of publishing his great work was now actively before him. This work, when published, included copper plates of a number of machines invented by Polhem. True, these machines were in use in Falun, but it may be that they were copied by Swedenborg from models in the model room at the Bergscollegium, over which he seems to have had charge. (De Cupro. pl. 7-10)
And now we turn back some years in order to learn concerning the literary work in which Swedenborg has been engaged.
During his visit in Germany and Belgium, he had made extensive notes of all things pertaining to mineralogy, notes which he intended to use in the preparation of his contemplated opus magnum on minerals. The notes themselves are lost, save perhaps for one page which seems to have been taken from them and inserted in a later work on Sulphur. This page consists of a drawing of the method of smelting copper in Gosslar, Germany, and is paged "535." (Codex 82:p. 22)
Also during his summer Commission, Swedenborg was continually making notes to be used in his mineralogical works. Thus, in the MS. on Sulphur are two drawings illustrating the Sulphur works at Dylta - which place he had been commissioned to inspect in the summer of 1724. These drawings, judging by the writing on their backs, are evidently cut out from a manuscript book where Swedenborg made his observations at the time; and another drawing in the same work, copied from the Acta Eruditorum, is written on a slip of paper cut from a manuscript which also seems to have been written at Dylta in 1724. (Ibid., pp. 46-47, 82)
At the end of 1723, Swedenborg had already commenced fulfilling the promise made in his prospectus for a large mineralogical work which he had
It was certainly Swedenborg's intention to continue his "Collectanea" with a view to publishing them as promised, but during the summer of 1724 and the year 1725, he must have had little time at his disposal. In the summer he was on the Commission to Dylta and, moreover, was obliged to see after the building of a new furnace at Axmar, to say nothing of the care of his other mining properties. Then there was the legal dispute with Aunt Brita over the smelting rights at Axmar, and the subsequent long drawn out dispute in the Fall of 1726 concerning the division of the Axmar property. There were also the duties at the College of Mines whose sessions Swedenborg attended every day.
In addition, until the Fall of 1726, Swedenborg does not seem to have had any quiet place of abode where he could settle down to serious work. After returning from an important Commission in the summer of 1726, however, he hired bachelor apartments, as already mentioned (see above, p. 311). He did this probably with a view of securing a quiet place for study. But there must have been many discouragements to study. Not only did Aunt Brita resume her legal action as to the division of Axmar, but what must have taken up more of Swedenborg's time was the Diet, which, instead of lasting from September to December 1726 as had been expected, continued until August 1727; and, during the whole of this time there was great excitement in Stockholm.
However, commencing in the Fall of 1726, Swedenborg did actually resume his interrupted mineralogical writings.
The first of these Collectanea was a work on gold, or perhaps more probably "on gold and silver"; see volume II of Opera Philosophica (published 1734), where reference is made to a work with this title. No copy of this MS. has ever been found. That the work was actually written, however, is shown by the fact that in the Collectanea on Copper - of which we shall speak presently - there is a note reading: "See Dippel's method in gold, p. 254." This shows that the work was a considerable one, and also that it was written in 1727 when Swedenborg first came in contact with Dippel. (Cod. 84; 295; see also pp. 302, 305)
After the work on gold, Swedenborg wrote a continuation of his earlier work on Copper, entitling it: "On the Secretion or Separation of Silver from Copper," an MS. of 364 pages. That this was written in 1727 is indicated by the fact that it contains quotations from a work by Krauterman which was published in 1726. Practically all the contents of this MS. were transferred by Swedenborg to his published work on Copper. (Ibid., pp. 248-69, 345-49)
The third of the Collectanea is on Vitriol, a manuscript of 446 pages. This is shown by the fact that it is referred to by page in the next following work on Sulphur, which was undoubtedly commenced at the end of 1727. Large parts of the contents of this work were transferred by Swedenborg to his published works on Iron and Copper. (Codex 85:p. 111)
The fourth work was entitled on Sulphur and Pyrites. It is a work of 446 pages. That it was written in 1727 is directly stated in the MS. itself,
The fifth in the series is the work on common Salt; 343 MS. pages. This is the only one of the series which has been printed. That it was written in 1729 is indicated by a reference on page 41 of the printed work to a man who "died in 1728," that is to say, not "this year" but "1728." (Codex 83)
Swedenborg also wrote a work on Iron, for in his letter to the Upsala Royal Society, written on November 27, 1729, he says that he will send to the Society "a specimen" of his mineralogical works
"which deals with iron and its working, together with all
other observations which have been made on this metal by
various authors."
This MS., however, is lost; there can be little doubt, however, that the whole of its contents were incorporated in the printed work De Ferro. The passages which we have just quoted indicates that this work was the last of the series; it may be noted, however, that in the MS. on Sulphur, there is a general reference to a work "On Iron." (OQ. 1:321 = LM., p. 436)
Summing up, the works written between the Fall of 1726 and November 1729, given in chronological order, are:
1. On Gold and Silver - LOST
2. On the Secretion of Silver from Copper (Cod. 84:364)
3. On Vitriol (Cod. 85:446)
4. On Sulphur and Pyrites (Cod. 83:446)
5. On Common Salt (Cod. 83:343 - pub. pp. = 153)
6. On Iron and its working - LOST
All these works have several features in common:
1. They consist mostly of citations from leading mining authorities, beginning with Agricola and ending with the latest publications known to the author, together with Swedenborg's own descriptions of what he had learned or observed.
2. With the exception of De Vitriolo which contains some pages to be inserted in the body of the work, they are all furnished with a table of contents, are neatly written, and have the appearance of more or less being ready for the printer.
3. They contain illustrations, sometimes original sketches, sometimes copies, and sometimes cut out from the pages of the author who is quoted at the time.
But though these writings consisted very largely of citations, this statement does not truly express their value. It must be remembered that much of the information contained in these citations was but little known; moreover, Swedenborg adds also the observations made by himself during his travels, or learned from others. The value of these observations will be appreciated if we keep in mind the jealous care with which miners and metallurgists held close the secrets of their art (see above, pp. 279-80).
Original observations were notably to characterize the next volume with which Swedenborg proposed to continue his Collectanea.
"As soon as I have some spare time, I will write up what
I have gathered on native copper and its precipitations,
whereby the copper is obtained from different Swedish mines,
with one or two things
which the learned world has not yet known concerning it,
together with observations which have been made with
precipitated water in Falun, whereby iron in that mine is
turned into copper." (OQ. 1:321 = LM., p. 437)
As we shall see, Swedenborg did not carry out this intention at once,* for his mind turned to other studies.
* As to the latter part of his proposal, he never carried it out.
Swedenborg had moved his lodging when he wrote the last, or last two, of these works. In December 1728, his sister Hedwig died whose apartments were in the same building as his. It was this event, or perhaps also the desire to be nearer to his work or both, that led Swedenborg to move to new bachelor quarters. As moving day in Stockholm was on September 29th, he perhaps moved in September 1728. His new quarters were on Stora Nygatan at the corner of Gran Helsingengrand* in the old city or "city between the bridges." The house was owned by a master painter to whom Swedenborg paid 600 dal. k. mt. (=16 13s 4d) a year for his rooms. Swedenborg had also changed his manservant, the name of the servant who waited on him in Stora Nygatan being Jean Brandell. (NKTid. 1917:42; ACSD 518AA)
* In Svenska Dagblat Sund. April 5, 1908, the number is given as 143, but in Nya K. Tidning, as An. 7 dr firman Waleen o. Bloch har sina lokalet."
It was in this new abode that Swedenborg continued his mineralogical works. From the letter of November 1729 addressed to the Upsala Royal Society from which we have already quoted, one would gather that he had only recently commenced this work:
"I have now for the past ten years," he writes, "been
gathering everything which serves for shedding light on
metallurgy and the mineral kingdom, and am now thinking of
beginning in a few weeks to bring this assemblages and
excerpts into order, and then have them printed abroad ...
This work will be quite extensive."
(OQ. 1:321 = LM., p. 436)
But by "bringing them into order" was probably meant arranging their order, combining, preparing title-pages, and perhaps recopying parts.
Swedenborg was now in a financial position to publish some at least of this "extensive" work, even had he received no response in answer to his 1722 prospectus. But during the writing of these Collectanea, his mind had not ceased to dwell on those researches into the principles of natural things which were the ultimate object of his studies. He had already in 1721 published a Prodromus or Forerunner of these principles as then understood by him. And now that he had made some progress in his Collectanea, his thoughts turned on the setting forth of the principles themselves:
"If life permits," he writes in the letter just cited, "I am
thinking of making use of such a collection, and on the basis
thereof, of showing ex priori et posteriori the principles of
nature, and in this connection expect to have hit upon one or
two things which concern the magnet and its operations, etc."
(Ibid.)
From this passage, and also from some considerations to be adduced presently, it seems probably that by November 1729 Swedenborg had already finished or nearly finished that work on the Principles of natural Things of which he had published in 1721 a Prodromus or Forerunner. The title of the work is: "The Principles of Natural Things educed from experiments and Geometry or ex posteriori et priori." The Latin text was published in 1904, and an
This work differs in many important respects from the
later work which is commonly known as the Principia. In the
latter, the cosmological system is described as consisting of
six finites, - namely, from the first finite to the water
particle - and four elementary particles which are bullular
and compound and which constitute respectively the first or
universal aura, the magnetic aura, the other of sight, and
the air.
But in the first Principia, the division is into ten
orders of particles, from the first which is the first
natural point at rest to the tenth which is the water
particle. Of these ten particles, the third, the sixth, and
the ninth are compounds and constitute the universal aura,
the ether, and the air respectively.*
* An excellent and very complete analysis of the system laid down in the first Principia, and of the differences between this and the system of the published Principia, was made by Prof. R. W. Brown in 1913, and published in the New Philosophy for that year, page 136 seq.
The earlier work makes no mention of a magnetic aura, in
fact, it has not a single word to say about magnetism - a
fact which seems plainly to indicate that at the time when it
was written, Swedenborg had not yet commenced his study of
the magnet. In his preceding Collectanea, he had naturally
copied something on the magnet. It is possible that, without
giving much thought to the matter when he wrote his first
Principia, he had supposed that the phenomena of magnetism
were ascribable to what he calls the ether. However this may
be, by November 1729 his mind had turned to a particular
study of magnetism, and with this in view, he wrote his
Collectanea de Magnete, a MS. of 266 pages.
The scheme for Swedenborg's proposed work on Metals was growing in comprehension. It was now to include a "Theory of the Earth," that is, a philosophy of creation, and also a theory of Magnetism, in addition to the treatises on metals and their working promised in the Prospectus of 1722.
This involved far more than metallurigcal collections. Many experimental data as to magnetic observations must be obtained, and in the working out of a theory, many calculations must be made involving the higher mathematics.
It is in connection with his studies on Cosmology, and perhaps before the Lesser Principia, that Swedenborg seems to have written that work on Algebra and geometry which occupies some 170 pages in Codex 86. This work - a few pages of which are missing - has never been published and can be consulted only in the original manuscript or a photostat copy. (Codex 86)
It commences in the simplest way with the elements of
Algebra, as though intended as a textbook for students, and
passes on from addition and subtraction, etc., to fractions,
square roots, equations. In this beginning and also in other
places, the work follows in general the order of Swedenborg's
earlier work which was published in Swedish in 1717, thirteen
years earlier. It may be remembered,
however, that this earlier work contained only seven of the
ten books which it was to have included. The present work
supplies the omission in part by treating of the differential
and integral calculus. The work is advanced, but the large
number of examples that are given, suggest a textbook for
students. This part of the work fills 51 pages. The second
section, which fills 104 pages, deals with geometry. It
opens with a chapter on analogies or proportions in numbers,
including Harmonic Proportion. Then comes a corresponding
chapter on Analogies or proportions in lines, including
geometric proportion. After this follow chapters on the
Circle, the Ellipse, the Parabola, the Hyperbola, the
Cycloid, Spiral Lines, Logarithmic Curves, the Rules of
Mechanics, Geometric and Algebraic Rules in Physics; all
abundantly illustrated by figures. The chapters on the
Ellipse and the Parabola (some 28 pages) are crossed off,
paragraph by paragraph; but for what purpose is not apparent.
That these works on Algebra and Geometry were written in conjunction with Swedenborg's study of Cosmology is indicated, not only by the remaining contents of the volume - of which we shall speak presently - but also by the last three pages of the Geometry which consist largely of quotations of mathematical calculations from David Gregory's Astronomia. (Codex 86:162-64)
But even granting that this mathematical treatise were written in connection with Swedenborg's Cosmological studies, one yet must feel some wonder at the complete character of the treatise, as though it were designed for a textbook. Perhaps Swedenborg did design to publish it as a Latin companion to his Regel Konst; perhaps he designed it to help one or more of his youthful nephews; perhaps it was intended not only to refresh himself in mathematics but as a recreation from his more tedious labors. That he was fond of mathematics is indicated by the readiness and speed with which he wrote Regel Konst. A later instance of this inclination to mathematics, and also of Swedenborg's tendency to freshen up his mathematics when occasion demanded, is afforded us many years later when, in 1744, on the eve of his writing on the Senses, he made a comprehensive abstract of Benjamin Martin's Elements of Geometry - extracts which fill over twenty printed pages. (A. Phil. N. B., xiii)
The works on Algebra and Geometry of which we are now speaking are contained in a manuscript volume which seems to have first been intended as a general notebook, designed to contain notes on primitive Swedish history. At any rate, on over twenty widely separated pages - p. 163 to p. 355 - are entered sundry headings, some of which are followed by shorter or longer quotations from a work by the early Swedish historian Joh. Loccenius on Swea-Gothic Antiquities. Among these headings we may mention the following:
"Fables" followed by notes on the deification of Odin and Freja.
"Studies of the Ancient Times," with notes on Eric the First, the origin of the Swedish kings in Asia; then
"Magic," which, Swedenborg himself adds, "perhaps was nothing else than science when in astronomy or geometry or mechanics - which science came over from Asia together with Odin and his companions."
"The State of Government."
"The Kings," "Popular Habits," "Wars," etc.
Many of these entries are mere headings without any notes, but which Swedenborg intended to fill in during his reading. Under "Religion," on the other hand, are a number of extracts from Loccenius, and the same applies to several other headings. Among these extracts, we note the statements that Odin was elected king of the Swedes because of his science and culture; that Eric I was the first historical King of Sweden, etc. (Codex 86 = 163, 183, 209, 239)
These notes may have had some connection with Swedenborg's Cosmological studies;* but it is equally probable that they are simply a testimony to Swedenborg's habit to make notes of whatever he is reading. Certainly the manuscript volume is arranged to receive a large assortment of notes on ancient Swedish history and mythology. The writing, however, did not get very far before the manuscript volume was used for the treatise of mathematics to which I have already referred.
* Note the many references to mythology at the end of vol. I of the Opera Mineralogica.
As already stated, the end of Swedenborg's Geometry contains a note referring to Gregory's Astronomia; this, perhaps, as we have already suggested, supplies the reason for the writing of the mathematical work; but, in any case, it clearly shows that Swedenborg is now engaged in a special study of astronomy with a view to his proposed theory of the earth.
It is not surprising, therefore, that in Codex 86, immediately after the work on Algebra and Geometry come several pages of extracts from Burnet's Sacred Theory of the Earth, and this is followed by nine pages from Gregory on the Planets and their Satellites, their distance from the earth, their inclination, etc. And then, after twenty-seven pages of extracts from Musschenbroek twenty-two more pages from Gregory on the Sun and Planets in particular, and on Comets, followed by various astronomical theories which he quotes from other authors. (Codex 86:165-71, 176-86, 232-60)
The quotations from Musschenbroek show us that Swedenborg had now the opportunity of getting a rich supply of magnetical observations, gathered from many published sources and carefully tabulated. Without these, it would not be possible for him to test and perfect his theory of the magnet. But now, in the summer or fall of 1730, he was fortunate enough to obtain a copy of the latest and most authoritative work on the subject of the magnet that had thus far been published. This was the Physicae Experimentales et Geometricae de Magnete by the learned Dutch Physicist Pierre van Musschenbroek, and published in Leiden in the autumn of 1729. (See Neue Zeit., Sept. 15, 1729)
On securing this work, probably in the summer of 1730, Swedenborg eagerly entered into a study of it and, following his usual practice, he copied many extracts from its pages. Those relating to the magnet he entered in the volume which he had already partly filled with extracts on that subject; other passages from Musschenbroek, particularly on the subject of adhesion and capillary attraction, he entered in his other notebook where they fill twenty-seven pages (as already noted), not including two pages of tables which Swedenborg took out of his precious new book and inserted in his notebook. (Codex 81; Codex 86:205-31)
In the MS. on the Magnet, he copied out page after page the observations found in Musschenbroek on the declination of the needle, and to these he adds some rough notes of his own calculations made with a view to forming a theory of magnetism. (Codex 81:268-93, 267-68, 294-95)
After this, and probably in the beginning of 1731, Swedenborg sketches out in the latter pages of his Collectanea on the Magnet, a work on the Declination of the Magnetic Needle. This sketch reads as follows: (Ibid., p. 297)
"1. Introduction (inventio) to a preface and the beginning of the treatise.
"2. Reasons why the needle may err and render the observation uncertain up to one degree.
"3. How a trigonometric calculation is to be instituted.
"4. How the conception is to be aided by means of two eccentric circles."
Here he ends his sketch and commences again on a new page as follows:
"Preface. That this is the golden apple which goes to the victor. That he who carries this off, wins the race. That, nevertheless, the discovery is difficulty, and why. [Confer Principia II:xiv:p. 273) (Codex 81:299)
"Error is easy. Various reasons why an observer may err. [This is followed by a description of ten such reasons.] (Ibid., p. 299)
"The Trigonometric Calculation: [Here Swedenborg gives what are the necessary data for this calculation. After this come eleven paragraphs sketching a proposed treatment of the subject as follows:] (Ibid., p. 300)
"1. There is a magnetic element coherent in perpetual nexus from pole to pole, whereby the earth turns round. (Ibid., p. 302) This element flow sin by the one pole and out by the other, and so gradually renews itself from the solar vortex, but slowly (lente), and is more truly a pressure than a continual efflux and influx. How this is effected, and how it flows in spirally through cones, as it were, and likewise flows out, will be told in the following theories when the elements surrounding the earth come to be treated of, and also the state of the earth in relation to the elements which surround it.
"2. The north and south poles are not poles of the earth proper but are the poles of the universe and, indeed, of the great solar vortex.... Thus, if the earth be divided along the axis of the poles, the one part or the one half globe will not equilibrate the other. But there must be other poles in the earth or in the tellurian vortex which will pass through its center, and which perhaps will present an equilibration. Such are the magnetic poles which are not the same as the poles of the earth but are in other places somewhat distant from the poles of the earth.... It is to be shown that this distance comes from the figure of the vortex surrounding the earth.
"3. How far ... magnetic poles are from the poles of the earth is a matter of length investigation. I ought first to give the theory of the tellurian vortex, and to show its figure, and to treat of the influx of the magnetic element through cones formed in the vortex; and this cannot be done unless I have first given the theory of the earth and its vortex floating and turning in the great solar vortex.
"4. [In this paragraph, Swedenborg goes on to show that the magnetic pole, especially the northern, passes round the poles of the earth in an eccentric path]; respecting which," he concludes, "we shall speak in the theory of the tellurian vortex."
"5. According to the situation of the particles of the magnetic element, such also is the declination of the magnet or needle. This element does not operate immediately upon the needle by transflux, but it operates upon its sphere, finally reducing the latter to its own situation.
"6. The question therefore arises, What is the situation of the particles of the magnetic element in any given place on the earth? First it tends in a circle or are between these two poles, directly toward the poles; but since this arc is not any meridian of the earth, therefore, in respect to the pole and its meridian, it is in a situation other than rectilinear. [Swedenborg then speaks of the angles between the meridians and the path of the magnetic flow; and this is followed by directions as to calculations.]
Here we have Swedenborg's first formulation of his theory of the magnetic vortex - a formulation which he elaborates, still observing the same order of sequence, in the fifth chapter of his published Principia on the "Causes of the Declination of the magnetic Needle." Indeed, the likeness between the sketch and the elaboration is so striking as even to suggest that the former was written somewhat later than we have supposed, and, at any rate, served as a guide in the writing of Part II, chapter V of the Principia.
It will be observed:
1. That in this sketch, Swedenborg, for the first time, declares that the magnetic vortex exercises a pressure on the earth, thus suggesting the cause for the phenomena of gravity.
2. That he uses the word "element" to describe the magnetic aura. This term he had used in his Miscellaneous Observations, published in 1721, but in a loose way, to describe air, ether, light, etc. In the first Principia the term is not used anywhere. (Miss. Obs. Pp. 84-85)
3. That now, for the first time in all his writings he recognizes the existence of a magnetic element or aura. This is unknown to the first Principia.
4. That he here proposes to follow the treatise on the Magnet by a Theory of the Earth or of the Tellurian Vortex.
While Swedenborg was engrossed in this literary work, the new Diet assembled in Stockholm in January 1731. Swedenborg, of course, attended, but he does not seem to have taken any active part in the meetings. Indeed, a great calm had come over Sweden since the 1726-27 stormy Diet, and the meetings of 1731 were the calmest ever experienced by any Diet during the whole of the frihetstid. There was in general harmony between all the Estates. (ACSD 518; Hildebr. 5:66)
Yet it was just before and during this Diet that we must date
the beginning of the Hat Party. It arose from the disharmony
between Arvid Horn and the King which became especially acute
on account of the King's disgraceful love affair with the
sixteen-year old daughter of Count Taube.
In opposition to the conservative and popular Horn, many
prominent men gathered themselves around the King, and by
forwarding his amour were received with ever growing favor.
The leaders among these were Counts Karl Gyllenborg, his
brother Frederick, Daniel v. Hopken (the father of Anders),
Count Fersen, etc. - the future leaders of the Hat Party and
formerly the adherents of the Holstein Party.
(Hildebr. 5:68; Fryx. 34:9)
As already observed, Swedenborg took no active part in this Diet, though he seems to have attended most of the sessions. But he was not appointed on any committee, and he did not take part in any of the discussions, though he
* A body which prepared the annual budget for the Secret Committee (Nord. Familjebok, s. v., Statskommission).
One of the notable things done by this Diet was the revision
of the national laws. These revised laws were reported to a
meeting of the House of Nobles on several days in March and
April, when the laws respecting marriage, inheritance, landed
property, buildings, breach of the peace were revised. In
general, the revisions looked to greater equality and
liberality. On one occasion this led to violent opposition
from the Nobles. The priests and burghers favored the
proposal that every one should have the right to shoot hares
and birds on his own land. This the nobles, without
exception, opposed as a diminishing of their privileges. The
discussion waxed so violent that the meeting broke up, and
the Minutes taken at the time were subsequently omitted.
(Sv. R. o. Ad. Prot. 6:199s; see also p. 205s.;
Malmstrm 2:139-40)
Another matter that came up was the question of religious
freedom. As a result of the Pietist and Dippelian movements,
the Council had appointed a Commission to hear the case of
Tolstadius; it had also made regulations for the strict
examination "in the Packhouses" of all books entering into
any Swedish city. These actions were favorably reported to
the House of Nobles on March 13th, together with regulations
whereby those who spread heretical writings, etc., shall be
called before a local judge for examination, who shall then
refer the matter to the higher court who may refer it to the
King. All this was approved, but the discussion developed
that some of the nobles were anxious that there should be no
compulsion of conscience, and especially that such matters
shall not depend on "the caprices of priests."
(R. o. Ad. Prot. 6:592, 597)
The matter of freedom of religion came up again in June in
the closing days of the Diet, where it was favored by some as
a necessary means to induce foreign workmen to come to
Sweden. The majority, however, were opposed. Thus, one
nobleman said: "I shall never consent to free religion,
especially during these times when one sees so many new sects
insinuating themselves, and our Lutheran religion stands in
danger; moreover, it behooves us to teach manufacturing to
our own youth." These sentiments were agreed to by
Swedenborg's brother-in-law Benzelstierna, his cousin
Schnstrm, and his close associate Bergenstierna.
Eventually it was decided to allow freedom to workmen of the
Reformed Church and of the Church of England, but only in one
city - namely, lings where were Almstrm's great
industries. Even this was not carried without strong
opposition. And the resolution was explained as applying
only to foreign workmen but not to their children who must be
brought up as Lutherans. (Ibid., p. 530)
Another matter that came up when Swedenborg was at the House of Nobles as a series of propositions brought up by Swedenborg's cousin Peter Schnstrm, one whereof was in the direction so earnestly but unsuccessfully urged by Swedenborg in the Diet of 1723 (see above, p. 273), namely, the giving of preferential rights to metals, not according to their nobility, but according to their value to the kingdom. Among Schnstrm's proposals was that preference
During the summers of 1731 and 1732, Swedenborg and Bergenstierna were again sent on a Commission. Earlier in the year 1732, there had been the disastrous cave-in of one of the larger mines at Falun, called Carl den XII's pit, and it was the inspection of the results, and the advising as to what could be done that was the work of the Commission. Evidently nothing could be done, for the pit was still out of use thirty years later. (ACSD 534A; Hlphers, p. 395)
Meanwhile, Swedenborg, during 1731-32, had been busily gathering together his Collectanea and putting them together with a view to their publication.* At this time also, he wrote his Principia and the accompanying work on the Magnet. In the genesis of this literary work we see the reason for the seeming lack of continuity between the Principia and the works on Iron and Copper which constituted volumes 2 and 3 of the Opera Mineralogica. This work was originally intended to be purely mineralogical in fulfilment of the prospectus printed in 1722. As the preliminary studies proceeded, however, Swedenborg dwelt more and more on those theories of which he had given a specimen in his Prodromus or Chemistry. Then he wrote his first Principia, and afterwards was led to the study of the Magnet, and so to a complete revision and rewriting of his Principia.
* That the Principia proper was written in 1731 is indicated by the closing words of the published work; "In my Principles, formed and written two years before seeing his [Wolff's] works," namely, Ontology and Cosmology. That Swedenborg first saw these works (or, at any rate, the Cosmology) in Dresden on July 10, 1733, see p. 370 below.
The volumes of the Opera Mineralogica were to cover far more than Iron and Copper; but since the latter works were completed, or nearly so, Swedenborg determined to publish what was ready, and for this purpose once more to visit the German mines with a view to making any necessary additions and of gathering further material for the future volumes.* Indeed, in the summer of 1732, Swedenborg seems already to have sent at least some part of his MS. to Henkel, a printer in Dresden and Leipzig; for he had no intention of employing the publisher who, in 1722, had printed the Miscellaneous Observations with its numerous and glaring typographical errors (see above, p. 246). But some delay or other difficulty had evidently arisen, and this caused Swedenborg to make some inquiry through Joh. Fre. Henkel of whom he had probably heard during his visit to Leipzig in 1721.
* Was Iron completed on January 20, 1733? See Codex 86:231.
Doctor Henkel had made a great name for himself as a chemist
and mineralogist, though his gifts were more of a practical
than of a literary kind. He had specially distinguished
himself by discoveries in the manufacture of porcelain at
Meissen, and in recognition of his services, he was appointed
by King Augustus of Saxony to be Counsellor of Mines at
Frieberg. Here, in 1725, he published his Pyritologia, the
most complete work on practical metallurgy of its day - a
work of which Swedenborg made frequent use in his
Collectanea. His fame as a practical and advanced authority
on metallurgy and mining was widespread, and in Freiburg he
was visited by many young Swedes who wished thereby to
advance themselves and their fatherland in the practical
sciences. (Alg. Deu. Biog., 11:760)
Swedenborg had probably heard much praise of Henkel through Swedish friends who had studied with him; probably also he had not failed to notice the reference to his own Prodromus (Chemistry) which Henkel had inserted in the last chapter of his Pyritologia. In the summer of 1732, as already stated, he wrote to this distinguished metallurgist, presumably in Latin, concerning the Dresden-Leipzig printer, and at the same time offered to be of service to him in the field of Swedish mining and metallurgy; perhaps also he included some comments on Henkel's reference to his Prodromus.*
* The reference in question is on pp. 1006-7. Here Henkel notes that "in a notable investigation," Swedenborg, in a Prodromus, teaches that the nature of natural bodies is geometrical. But he adds that in his opinion, in the absence of further experiments, it is too early to hold or prove this theory.
In writing to Henkel, Swedenborg's object was probably not merely to inquire about the printer but also to come in contact with the wider sphere of European learning. One is reminded of his letter to Melle, in 1721, just prior to his journey to Amsterdam to publish the Prodromus or Forerunner of the Principia.
Henkel answers him in French from Freiburg on October 21, 1732:
"I am happy at having the honor of making your acquaintance,"
he writes, "and the more so since I have long desired it
because of your great merit, as your fellow countrymen who
have honored my abode with their presence could testify. And
you would infinitely oblige me if you would have the kindness
to assist me with some observations and notes in the
mineralogy of your country, according to the offer which you
were so good as to make me; for I shall have much need of it,
in connection with a practical mineralogical dictionary which
I am planning....
"Monsieur Henkel, an honest man, understands his
business, and therefore, Monsieur, you will have patience
with him in case he does not fulfill what he undertakes in
the time desired. I can assure you that one will hardly meet
booksellers in our neighborhood who, in these times, will
risk a contract en question." (OQ. 1:322 = LM., p. 450)
By 1733, Swedenborg had determined himself to visit Leipzig and Dresden, there to superintend the printing of his work, and in the Spring of that year he seriously set about making arrangements for this, his third foreign journey, undertaken not only to superintend the printing of his work but also to enlarge his knowledge of mining and metallurgy by visits to new fields.
On April 13th, he applied to the King for permission to "make a journey to Dresden, to be present at the printing of a work I have written, and which
I now have under press there.* This I find to be the more
necessary as otherwise it will come out with errors,
incomplete, and little to my honor; and I have used time and
money on it. And as this work treats of how ores are broken
and smelted in all places in Europe, with more concerning the
working of each of the different kinds of ores and metals;
besides other matters which I think will prove to be of
general use; and as about nine months will likely be required
for the completion of this work since it will be a somewhat
extensive work and will consist of several volumes in folio,
I am in the humble hope," etc. (NCL 1896:167; LM., p. 451)
* Swedenborg's Opera Cosmologia et Mineralia was printed not at Dresden but at Leipzig. See De Cupro ad fin. But perhaps Swedenborg did not know at this time that Henkel had an establishment in both cities - Dresden apparently for engraving, and Leipzig for printing.
Swedenborg's request was referred to the College of Mines, which, on April 14th, favored it in a letter to the King, wherein it stated that the College had no comment to make on Swedenborg's request.
"except that it is well known to the College that with
commendable diligence, tirelessness and care, he has written
many useful things on mining matters, and one would willingly
see them in print." They added that arrangements could
easily be made to have his duties performed during his "short
absence." (Doc. I:p. 442)
It is illustrative of the jealousy with which the government regarded the granting of every favor, that this matter was formally considered in the Royal Council on April 17th, when the desired leave was duly granted. (ACSD 544)
Before he left Stockholm, however, Swedenborg made some notes which give us a plain intimation that in his cosmological studies his ultimate aim was the search for the soul. In writing the Principia, he had been dwelling on the activities of his four elements or atmospheres in the universe and the world, and in this connection his mind reverted to his earlier studies on Tremulation, when he had advanced the thought that all life consists in motion, and that, like the external sensory organs, so all parts of the body receive motions, being empowered to do this by the soul.
And now he turns his thought to the applying to this doctrine the theory of the elements set forth in the Principia; and he jots down some notes.
These notes are contained in the opening pages of a volume in which Swedenborg designed to enter his Diary and sundry observations made during his forthcoming foreign journey. It would seem that they must have been written in Stockholm during April, for they are immediately following by his Diary entry for May 10th. (Codex 88)
The notes are entitled: "Generally concerning the Motion of the Elements." The Latin text has never been published, but an English translation by Mr. Alfred H. Stroh is printed in Scientific and Philosophical Treatises, Part I, Fascicle 2, pp. 99-105. Here Swedenborg advances the theory that the animal kingdom - his first use of this term, so far as I know - displays the same motions as the elements, and this by means of
"membranes prepared and adapted to the motion of the enclosed
elements." These elements, he adds, not only impart a
tremulatory motion to the membrane, but "they can also be
transferred locally from one place to another, either to a
fixed boundary or in a circle, like the blood, and perhaps
various other liquors" (chap. 3).
Consequently that there is a harmony between the
elements and the membranes; and that in the latter, motions
are transmitted from a membrane to a gross, and vice versa,
the character of the motions being changed accordingly (chap.
4); and since the membranous system in continuous, therefore
there is a constant nexus throughout the body (chap. 5).
Here he enumerates six membranes in the body, being Aas many
in order as are the atmospheres," namely, the bony membrane,
the blood vessel, the dura mater, the pia mater, a still
subtler mater proceeding from the pia, and a still subtler
proceeding again from this (chap. 6).
He maintains also that "one and the same membrane
consists of ... grosser and subtler membranes which enclose
in order grosser and subtler elements." Thus the tunics of
blood vessels include nervous tissue;
this consists of a thinner membrane "enclosing a juice still
more subtle than the blood; and also of a still finer
membrane which encloses a more subtle element, perhaps ether"
(chap. 7).
Therefore, a membrane can become more subtle as it
passes over subtler bodies, and vice versa; as, for instance,
the pia mater as it passes into the cortex (chap. 8).
It is then stated that the tension of membranes is
maintained by the contiguity of the enclosed elements; thus,
by the blood, by a subtler fluid, and by "an element like the
ether" (chap. 9).
In the motion of membranes and its transmission to more
subtle membranes consists all sensation, the subtler
sensations being in subtler membranes, and so on (chap. 11).
The membranes are always put in motion whenever there is an
impelling force, such as saline particles, air, ether, etc.,
and the motion so induced continues in every direction
(chap. 12).
Finally, Swedenborg says that the most subtle parts are
configured variously, sometimes by cultivation and use as in
the cerebrum; whence arise varieties in their motions.
In this work we have the doctrine which Swedenborg first laid down in his Tremulation - written in 1719, see above, p. 215. The doctrine itself is by no means treated so fully in 1733, but, on the other hand, Swedenborg then speaks more particularly concerning the differences in the membranes, and above all, he connects the tremulations in the body with the motions of the auras of the world. This could not have been done until the doctrine in the Principia had been formulated.
Yet the work is but a sketch; a jotting down of ideas which needed further development; and we shall show presently that their immediate fruit was an explanation of the mechanism between the soul and the body. One point which is made in these notes, Swedenborg did not subsequently adhere to, namely, his statement that the elements are enclosed in the membranes. His subsequent and consistent position is that the elements or atmospheres act upon the membranes - gross or subtle; while what are contained within the membranes are not elements but finites. Even in the present work, Swedenborg on one occasion seems to be referring to finites rather than to elements or atmospheres - namely, in chapter 6, where he speaks of six degrees of membranes corresponding to the six elements. The Principia gives only four elements, but it gives six finites.
And now Swedenborg began to make that foreign journey, the object of which was to publish the philosophical work, the Prodromus or outline of which had been published in 1721 when he was last in Germany; and also to publish the first of those mineralogical works which he had publicly promised in 1722.
Of this journey, Swedenborg kept a very full Diary, which he maintained until the day when he put his Principia into the hands of the Leipzig printer, and it is to this Diary that we must turn for almost all the information which we have concerning him at this time.
He left Stockholm on Thursday, May 10th, in company with Count Frederick Gyllenborg and a number of other gentlemen. On the way, he was joined by Lars Benzelstierna and his second wife, and the three went together to Linkping, about 125 miles from Stockholm. Here they made a visit to their brother Eric
"This battle," writes Swedenborg, "should be celebrated
by posterity, in which the contest seems to have been
concerning the fate of religion, as to which should rule in
Sweden. Had victory gone to the side of Sigismund, perhaps
the inhabitants of this northern land would now be living
devoted to the Papist religion. But God decreed it
otherwise." Posterity did celebrate the event - but many
years later; for in 1898 a monument was dedicated in
Linkping to the memory of the battle. (Resebeskrifn., p. 5)
They also took a pleasure trip to the Castle of Sturefors, beautifully situated at the junction of two rivers, about six miles south of Lipkping. Swedenborg greatly admired a painting by Ehrenstrahl which he saw there; but, as so often in his travels, it is the scenery that principally attracts him.
"What most commends this palace," he says, "it its
situation which is most delightful, being able powerfully to
exhilarate and expand the mind; for the eye has a widely
extended view over lakes, rivers, meadows and fields to the
distant woods."
There must have been some drawback to this, Swedenborg's last visit to the home of his brother-in-law Eric and his sister Anna; for the latter was in poor health, and the former was quite ill from the effects of a fever. (OQ. 1:323)
Added to this was the frightful ending to the unhappy marriage of their daughter Greta (Margaretha).
A little over five and half years previously, when she
was eighteen years old, she had married a learned pedant at
Upsala, twenty-nine years her senior; a careless and
pleasure-loving girl with a heavy-minded man old enough to be
her father. The marriage was marked by constant quarrels and
repeated separations; and, finally, this daughter of a bishop
gave birth to an illegitimate son, and in March 1733, less
than five weeks before Swedenborg's visit, she was brought
before the Civil Court. On May 9th she was condemned to pay
a fine and to do public penance for three Sundays running;
and on June 13th was divorced by the Upsala Consistory. She
steadily refused to do the penance, and the Consistory did
not insist. It would have been altogether too great a
scandal to have the granddaughter, daughter and niece of
three living bishops do public penance - and this in the town
where all three had earned high reputations.
(Frn det forna Ups., pp. 114, 165, 166)
Swedenborg left Lipkping on Thursday, May 17th, journeying to Grnna and then along the beautiful eastern shore of Lake Vetter to Jnkping, and so due south to Ystad. Writing in his Diary on Sunday, he says: (Resebeskrifn., p. 6)
"Having passed through Smland, I have arrived at Skna.
Here, owing to some difference in the climate and in the
polar altitude, not only is the air changed but there is a
variety in the soil; for the country was observed to be
flatter ... and to have a more sandy soil. The forest land
is not fertile and usable except in those parts which produce
and nourish beeches and hazel trees. The
pine, the fir, and the birch gradually disappear, and in
their place come trees suitable to the land and the soil. The
only thing occurring to me that is worthy of note is, that
necessity and the lack of forests have compelled this people
to mark and preserve their boundaries with hedges different
from those used in Sweden. I observed that their boundaries
are made sometimes of stone, sometimes of the branches and
twigs of trees woven together, sometimes of roots, and
sometimes of both together. These hedges furnish a very good
protection and make a better distinguishing mark between
their domains than in Sweden. Those made of stone are
constructed in the ordinary way. In the case of those made
of ranches, stakes and sticks are set in the ground, two feet
apart, and the branches are then woven and bent between them
in a serpentine manner, and thus firmly bind and connect
together the stakes fastened in the ground. At every space
of from four to six ells are wooden supports which are
fastened in the ground in a position oblique to the hedge to
prevent the latter from being thrown down by the wind. Those
hedges which are made of roots are mostly made of the dug up
roots of the hazel tree; sometimes there are set between
stakes and sticks as described above, for they are put
between them and roughly woven in; sometimes they are without
order, being merely thrown one on the other; sometimes they
are set on the top of a stone wall. They are a good
protection against all transit." (Ibid.)
As Ystad, Swedenborg found a ship ready to sail, but he had to wait three days for a favorable wind. Finally he crossed the water and arrived at Stralsund in the early morning of May 25th. Probably stayed at Altmarkt. This city still belonged to Sweden though the latter had been compelled by the Stockholm treaty of January 1720 to give up to Germany the greater part of the old Swedish Pomerania, for which, however, she was paid two million riksdalers. (Hildebrand 5:28; ANC illustn. 2a)
This was Swedenborg's first visit to Stralsund, the scene of Charles XII's last and fateful struggle on the Continent, and naturally Swedenborg viewed the city with interest. On the day after his arrival, he
"walked around the city for the sake of viewing the walls and
ramparts, and likewise the remains of the siege.... I went
to the gate called Knipendohr, in the assaulting of which,
hostile crews and the armies of three kings [Prussia,
Denmark, and Hanover] long wasted all their toil and labor.
It is very strongly fortified by numerous earthworks,
ramparts and ditches. I then went to the Trippteerdohr where
there is now being built a new fortification. Then to the
gate called Frankendohr. Here, near the bank of the flowing
waters, in the night time, the enemy, after passing the
fortifications extended to some distance beyond the city,
entered the fortified and protected positions ... and came
between the Swedish army and the fortification nearer to the
city, and cut the Swedes off from the entrance to the city.
(Illustn. 2D)
"I also happened to see the place where the King's house
had been. (Ibid. 2E)
"Moreover, I examined three larger churches of the city.
The most distinguished is St. Nicolas near the market place;
then comes the church of St. Mary, in no way yielding to the
former in size; and then the church of St. Jacob.... The
place for baptisms in St. Nicolai is celebrated and very
conspicuous. (Ibid. 2F-G, H, I, J) (Resebeskrifn., p. 7)
Swedenborg left Stralsund on Sunday, May 27th, for Anklam via Greifswalde where he had spent several months in 1715 (see above, p. 71) when he had published Camena Borea, Ludus Heliconius, and Festivus Applausus in Carolum XII. At the time of his former visit, Greifswalde was in the temporary possession of Saxony, but by the Stockholm treaty of 1720 it had again been restored to Sweden. It was, however, the last Swedish town through which Swedenborg passed on this journey, for the next town Anklam, where he arrived in the evening, had been ceded to Brandenburg, and here, for the first time, Swedenborg came into contact with the Prussian Government. (ANC illustn. 3A-D)
"The way from Greifswalde to Anklam," he writes in his
Diary, "is very flat and is all country. The banks and the
flowing streams are everywhere covered and beautified with
the most beautiful oaks.... From here, and also from the
region approaching Stettin, a large number of oak trees are
sent off to foreign ports for use in ship-building. At
Anklam I had the first opportunity of seeing the Brandenburg
soldiery, being those who are called grenadiers. They all
march holding their tall and slender bodies erect, wearing on
their heads hats ending in a cone and conspicuously marked by
an abundance of brass in the shape of names and figures.
They were clothed in a military coat, shortened, reaching to
the middle of the thigh. Their breeches so tightly fitted
the lower extremities of their body that no wrinkle arising
from looseness could hide any blemish, and one could see the
harmony of the parts at first sight. The legs were enclosed
in buttoned leggings reaching from the thighs to the shoes.
They execute their military exercises or drill with the
utmost promptitude and uniformity, if also perhaps a little
theatrically. The soldiers in line are exactly the same in
body and age, and with their faces turned in one direction.
The head is most finely adorned; the feet, arms, and other
members are the least burdened and bound, being so accoutered
that they can attack the enemy with promptitude, and in the
same way can betake themselves to flight. Thus, they are
ready for either of the fortunes of war. The King* seems
greatly desirous of splendor and magnificence in his
soldiery, yet he so restrains and curtails luxury that the
signs of toughness are apparent.
(Reseb., p. 7; ANC illustn.4; Abbott, pp. 43, 246)
* Frederick William I of Prussia, father of Frederick the Great and Louisa Ulrica of Sweden.
On May 28th he went to Friedland in Mecklenburg, "passing the
most beautiful oak forests on the way" which lay through a
region "most fertile in grain and geese." Passing through
Friedland, he continued to Neu Brandenburg where he stopped
over night. He describes these two cities, both of which
were (and still are) walled, as "not distinguished for size,
ramparts or houses"; but he "had the opportunity of enjoying
their delicious fruits." Of the country between them, he
says it bears "an abundance of the best hops, equal to the
Brunswick hops. The best of the crop was exported into
Sweden, but now that this is prohibited, it has little
value." (Resebeskrifn., p. 8)
In Neu Brandenburg, he was fortunate enough to see the Schtzen Festival, which is celebrated annually at Pentecost* or Whitsuntide. The winner of this shooting
"I happened to see their annual sport, namely, the way in
which they exercise with shooting once every year for the
honor of being king. He who, aiming and shooting, hits the
target and the mark, is made Schutz Knig, and for a year is
freed from all taxes; and the next year, adorned with certain
silver insignia, he marches in front of the company of
shooters to a new contest and a new scene." (Reseb. P. 8)
(ANC illustn. 5, 9-,6A)
* Although Swedenborg, at this time, still dates his Diary by the Swedish or Old Style, yet when he left Greifswalde he came into the New Style. Thus he arrived at Neu Bradenburg on Whitmonday June 8th N. S.
On May 30th he arrived at Old Strelitz, first passing through Neu Strelitz three or four miles distant. Swedenborg notes in his Diary that the Duke [of Strelitz] has made the new city his capital, and "has now built a new palace there" - a building with a most charming outlook and backed by beautiful woods. (Ibid.)
Traveling through Mecklenburg, Swedenborg had undoubtedly heard much of the strife of the nobles with the Duke of Mecklenburg, and of the latter's insane obstinacy. Writing in his Diary at New Strelitz, he notes that
"Mechlenburg was formerly divided into three Duchies, which
afterwards came to one heir who is now living at Schwerin.
His second wife," Swedenborg continues, "with her daughter,
is now living at St. Petersburg with her sister the Empress
of the Russians*.... Both mother and daughter refuse to
return to their husband or father. He now lives at Schwerin,
a Duke almost without an empire,** and a husband without a
wife.... The nobles, because he did not wish to preserve
entire their rights and privileges, decreed his fate, and
with the consent of the Emperor he was removed from his
throne.... By so many reverses and misfortunes, by so many
admonitions and exhortations of two Emperors,*** by the most
diverse and unhappy fates which seem to have removed from him
all hope of further fortune, it has yet for these thirteen
years even to the present not been possible to reduce him to
a better mind and better counsels; he prefers to live an
exile and deprived of rule rather than give way an inch in
his opinions. Habits arising from one's nature cannot be
expelled even when crossed by misfortunes, and by a long
series of sinister events; and if they should be expelled,
they would yet come back. For the rest, Mecklenburg is a
very noble country, for it abounds in nobles who long to
abound in wealth."
(Resebeskrifn., pp. 8-9) (ANC illustn. 7A)
* Empress Anne, niece of Peter the Great.
** He was deposed in 1708, being succeeded by his brother Christian Louis.
*** Namely, his uncle-in-law, Peter the Great, and his suzerain, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Swedenborg stopped at old Strelitz for two nights - probably for necessary rest - and left on the morning of June 1st for Frstenberg and then Zehdennick, the first town in Brandenburg, of which he observes that "it is a finer town" than either of the others. Here also he stayed over night. June 2nd was the last stage of the journey to the capital of Brandenburg, now some fifty miles
Finally, in the afternoon of Saturday, June 2nd, Swedenborg arrived at Berlin.
Berlin was then being developed into a great city by Frederick William I, the terrible father of Frederick the Great. Many years before, Frederick William's
grandfather, the great Elector of Brandenburg, had admitted
five thousand French Huguenots, Waldenses and other refugees,
and had built the city of Frederickstadt just west of the old
town, and also Dorotheenstadt. Some twenty years before
Swedenborg's visit, the four adjacent towns - the two already
mentioned and Berlin and Kln - had been amalgamated into one
municipality under the name Berlin. The population was not
seventy-five thousand, of whom one-fifth were soldiers.
As soon as he arrived, Swedenborg "wandered alone through the
city, that I might take in with the eye all that is wont to
present itself to the first gaze of a stranger. First coming
to my notice on the bridge leads to the Castle* or Royal
Palace was a metal statue of pure bronze erected in 1703 by
King William,** which is very remarkable because of its
weight, size, and art. It is well worth seeing. The first
King of Prussia,*** in large size, sitting on a great horse.
At each corner are sitting four men, or rather giants two or
three times larger than men, sad mournful, and with joyless
countenances, fettered with chains of bronze (but they are
rendered very grave and motionless because of the metal and
its weight). The work is surely worthy of the bronze.
(ANC illustn. 10A)
* This indicates that Swedenborg was lodging in the old town northwest of and not far from the Royal Palace. All vestiges of this town are now entirely gone.
** This is an error. The Elector, Frederick William, died in 1688. The statue was erected by his son Frederick, the first King of Prussia (died 1713) and the grandfather of Frederick the Great.
*** No the first king of Prussia but the Great Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick William.
"The Royal house is most magnificent, a work of great
cost exceeding in size and height the palaces of many kings.
On its one side is a meadow or military camp, a place capable
of holding from twenty to thirty thousand soldiers, horses
and foot, and their exercises and maneuvers can be seen from
the royal house. I omit a description of the palace itself
for it would fill many pages, whereas a painter could
represent it more to the life on a single page. (Ibid. 10B)
"Not yielding to this is the armory [Zenghaus], which
lies near by.... Also the poorhouse or Weisenhaus. The
Church of St. Peter is likewise sublime and extremely
beautiful.... As regards the houses
of the citizens or subjects, they are numerous and well worth
seeing; all of them, even to the roof, clearly imitate the
houses of Italy and Paris.
(ANC illustn. 10C; ill. In Brokchuas, 2:768)
"It must also be mentioned that outside the city proper,
or that which is surrounded by walls, is founded a new and
not smaller city called Frederickstadt.* The present King has
made it larger and more populous. In the Frederick Street,
nearly three and a half miles long, toward the middle, a row
of new houses commences, all so exactly alike both in height
and as to their whole facade, from ground to roof, that you
would think them to be a single house; and yet they are from
four to five hundred contiguous houses; at the Market Place,
however, the row is broken. The work is still going on, and
by the King's order they are keeping to the work with energy.
The street ends in a forum which is elegantly round, and the
forum in a gate which closes the city. The largest part of
it has been built by those who carry on manual trades and
arts, and likewise by the nobles. One would think that there
were here a hundred ducal homes, when yet they are the houses
of workmen and artificers who, in other places, are wont to
dwell in little settlements, cottages and huts. What most
pleases the eye and exhilarates the mind is the wonderful
evenness and contiguity, so that it might be said that many
thousands of men have their comment seat and their associated
roofs in a single house, as it were.
* This is now among the busiest parts in the center of Berlin.
"The city is very populous, for trades are vigorous and
flourishing, since a great many exiles and fugitive workmen
from France have fixed their abode here. A vast stream of
people march through the streets and lanes [this was on
Saturday] and is mingled in crowds about the public offices,
but the greater part of it is in military service. Moreover,
posts of soldiers are seen at every corner. It may,
therefore, be concluded that both trade and manufactures can
makes cities opulent, for no merchandise is brought here by
sea; but it is the manufactures that attract the wealth and
hold it from going abroad and being scattered."
(Resebeskrifn., pp. 10-11)
Such were Swedenborg's observations made on the day of his arrival in Berlin. They indicate a busy day and some reading or conversation - perhaps with his landlord.
He pursued his sightseeing on the following Sunday and Monday, seeing among other things a drill of cavalry and infantry which took place outside the city. This he much admired, especially the great uniformity "in motion, turning and step."
"The whole mass" he writes, "as though made by hand and art
and gathered together in that place, was ruled in a moment at
the will of the maker. There is nothing uneven that comes
before the eye. If they should be as unanimous in battle as
they are in their exercises, they would conquer the army of
Alexander, and would subject the great part of Prussian
Europe, but --" (Ibid., p. 11)
and here he breaks off, but one can readily imagine the continuation. Swedenborg naturally had no great love for the Prussians, who had taken most of Pomeranis out of Swedish hands.
On Sunday he went to the church of St. Peter, which was then being rebuilt after a destructive fire three years earlier. He notes that it is devoid of interior columns for the support of the roof, and also that "around the building, under the roof, are set round windows directed toward the center of the building, which give considerable light," and also that "there are two rows of seats around the walls, so that there is room for a large number of auditors."* (Resebeskrifn., p. 11)
* This church was again burned down in 1809.
Of course he visited the library, where he found
"an abundance of books, but old. Not many are added at the
present time, money being lacking for this use. Many MSS.
are exhibited such as the Bible of Charlemagne which was
brought here from Aix-la-Chapelle and written eight hundred
years ago."* (ANC illustn. 10D)
* Swedenborg is here repeating what was then believed; subsequent investigation has shown, however, that this Bible was written in the eleventh century, and that the four ivory plates on the front cover date from 962-63. The Bible was brought to Berlin from Magdeburg.
He was shown some historical books in Italian which had belonged to Queen Christiana, a number of ancient MSS., a Chinese Bible, a Koran of exquisite workmanship,* and "a Koran, almost round, enclosed in a case of the most exquisite form."** He also saw the famous large atlas, an immense book, four feet by six, bound in thick wooden boards covered with leather and ornamented with heavy brass fittings and three clasps. It was presented in 1665 by the Prince of Nassau to Frederick William, the last great Elector of Brandenburg. (Ibid. P. 11)
* MS. 336. It is written on parchment with gold and blue borders.
** MSS. 80, 81.
Swedenborg also visited the Museum, called the Kunst-Cammer from the fact that it was a room in the royal Castle. Here he notes seeing
various objects of amber, elaborately wrought, such as
"caskets, statues, crosses on which was the Messiah," etc.,
which were represented from "large pieces of amber put
together and fused."
He speaks also of having seen
"different kinds of corals, especially the red; likewise
flower of iron, white and very beautiful and large. Also
gold ore, a large piece of native gold embedded in quartz;
likewise silica polished on the outside and variegated and
interspersed with thick rich veins of gold, so that within it
there was more gold than silica; also pieces of native
silver, and choice ores of other metals."
All this would naturally be of special interest to Swedenborg. He also notes
having seen objects wrought of silver, "Chinese vases and
other work, besides animals of different kinds, such as
crocodiles, sea horses, boars of great size, unicorns,
various kinds of elephants' teeth. There was shown also a
knife which had been swallowed by a man, and half eaten away,
and then cut out, the man living afterwards for twenty
years," also many wax figures of the royal family.*
* Many of the articles in this Museum were removed to Paris by Napoleon and never returned (Harnack, Gesch. Der K. Preuss Akad., 1:558).
Swedenborg also visited Doctor Kaspar Neumann (F. R. S., 1683-1737), the Professor of Chemistry in the Medico-Chirurgical College, and who was also chief apothecary to the King. Doctor Neumann was an active chemical
experimenter, who formerly had had a chemical laboratory in
the Royal Castle; for some reason this could not be
continued, and since mars could spare no money for chemical
experiments, the Doctor had established his laboratory in his
own house, and it was presumably here that Swedenborg visited
him. Here he found "many small hearths and furnaces
constructed for the purpose of chemical experiments,
especially for distillation in a hot water bath and in sand
... the water runs down from above, and the superfluous
portion flows off and this turns a little wheel by whose
names at tiny millstone is turned which pulverizes whatever
is desired." (Alg. Deu. Biog. 23:535; Resebeskrifn., p. 12)
Swedenborg left Berlin on Tuesday, June 5th, going due south to Dresden in Saxony. On the way, he notices the
"beautiful clay chimneys, stamped with the figures of men,
dukes, and trumpets, which were prominently conspicuous; the
corners are set with clay columns. Everything was covered
with an iron color." (Ibid.)
During this journey, Swedenborg's many-sided interests led him to read a little work on the Friesian Seaworm which had just been published in Leipzig;* and so interested is he in the subject that he fills three pages of his Diary with a digest of the book, giving the story of injury to ships by worms, a minute description of the newly discovered Friesian work, and the various remedies proposed to resist it. At the Inn, Swedenborg talks to a Jew about the matter, who informs him that a sure remedy had now been found in the application of an ointment made from powdered sulphur, pitch, white lead and mercury. Swedenborg does not seem to be taken with this; at any rate, he proceeds to give his own remedy.
* By Christoph Gottl. Meinigen (Putoneus). It had been published in March 1733. See Neue Zeitungen, 1733, pp. 174-75.
This is essentially the Portugese method spoken of by
Putoneus, namely, by charring. But Swedenborg goes into
details which show his familiarity with the work of the
charcoal burner. He recommends that the wood used for piles
or ships, that is, exposed to water, be charred to such a
depth, no greater than a quarter of an inch, that no sap or
oil remains within reach of worms; hence they cannot get to
the interior parts. For added safety, the charred wood may
then be covered with pitch. He then gives directions as to
how the charring can best be done, namely, by a strong swift
flame, which can be best secured by smearing the wood with
pitch before exposing to fire. The flame must be swift in
order to leave the inner wood untouched. Finally, turning to
methods, he adds that Ars mechanica will supply a thousand
ways whereby the wood can be exposed to the flames, and the
latter extinguished at the proper time, "provided only the
method of having the beams charred before being put into the
water be approved and accepted." (Resebeskrifn., pp. 12-15)
All this is noted in his Diary. Did Swedenborg intend to publish it? or was it merely an intellectual exercise? The latter is not probably; Swedenborg's mind was too keenly practical, too concerned in securing technical progress for the arts. Rather is it probable that in making his notes, he had in mind the possibility of adding a few more chapters to his Miscellaneous Observations - perhaps when redeeming his promise to reprint the faultily executed first edition.
Swedenborg arrived in Dresden on June 7th, having taken only sixteen days' actual traveling from Stockholm, as he notes in his Diary. This was good traveling, averaging over fifty miles a day.
In Dresden he was in territory of the Duke of Saxony, and if he had anything like the experience of John Wesley, he was made to realize the fact. Wesley, writing on July 28, 1738, says:
"In Dresden we were carried for about two hours from one
magistrate or officer to another with the utmost impertinent
solemnity before we were suffered to go to our inn."
Dresden was then a walled city.
In Dresden, Swedenborg was at the end of his journey proper, for here his works on Iron and Copper were already being printed, and the purpose of his journey was to see after these works as well as to give his Principia to the press. But before taking up serious work, he spent a few days sightseeing.
Dresden is described by a Swedish traveler in 1759 as one of
the finest capitals in Europe, with fine houses on the Neu
Markt, all of stone. It is neat and clean, the streets
having troughs where the rain water carries off the dirt into
the stream or into pits.
(Appleblad, J., Resebok fwer Sachsen, r 1759, p. 18)
Swedenborg's lodging was probably on the Neu Mrkt, abutting on which is the Frauen Kirche. At any rate, this church was the first point of interest that he visited when he started out to view the town on Saturday, June 9th. The Frauen Church was then in the course of erection, having been commenced seven years earlier (1726); but it must have been fairly well on the way to completion as it was wholly finished in 1738. Swedenborg descries it as "most elegant."
It is "circular within," he notes, "and around the walls,
under the roof, is adorned with a triple row of seats....
Under the ground are ample vaults and cells or places of
burial occupying considerable space."
(ANC illustn. 11, 11A, B; Resebeskrifn., p. 15)
Swedenborg makes no entry for Sunday, but on Monday he viewed the outside of the Royal Castle and the adjoining Princes' Palace which he describes as
"highly ornamented with images and statues of clay and
plaster." He also visited "the adjacent rural or mountain
cave, called the grotto, where there is contrived a descent
of water over some steps and out of the rock. Going into one
of the entrance halls, one could see the most elegant
paintings under the roof. The floor was paved with marble,
and in the center I was shown a marble slab of great size
and, consequently, of great value."
(Ibid., 11C; Ibid., p. 15)
The next day he went with a companion to the royal garden situated just west of the present opera house.
"It consists entirely of Indian and foreign trees," he
writes. "The garden to the left is conspicuous by its
cypresses and laurels, while at the right are citron and
orange trees. Within the walls, it consists
of trees of various kinds, Indian fabas (coffee), a fig tree
with an enormous trunk. Here one can admire the great number
of laurels and orange trees gathered into one place; for one
can count over five hundred laurels trimmed in the most
elegant way, and five hundred orange trees - almost exactly
alike in height, in thickness, and in growth, the trunk of
each tree equaling at least eight thumbs in diameter [about
one foot], but the diameter of the fig tree was twenty-four
thumbs. This garden certainly seems to take the palm over
all other European gardens which are furnished with gardens
of this kind." (Resebeskrifn., pp. 15-16)
Swedenborg paid another visit to this garden three weeks later, namely, on Sunday, July 1/12. On his return, he notes in his Diary the various trees he has seen, probably all of them for the first time. Among them were a
palm tree in fruit, "a tree on which grow coffee berries; the
outer part is edible; the beans are within. An orange tree, 2
ells in circumference, 10 centennials in weight, and 2 ells
in length. The trunks are transported from Italy without
roots and leaves, both being cut off. It is then put in a
pot of earth and tied around with moss. In a year the trunk
gives off a root and produces branches and leaves."
(Ibid., pp. 23-24)
The next day, [June 13] Swedenborg went outside the city walls to the Grossen Garten (now the beautiful public gardens northwest of the city) (ANC illustn. 11D)
"for the sake of walking and of seeing the wood which is so
remarkable for its marble statues and images. The long road
or street* which leads to it is lined on both sides with
trimmed trees, and adorned likewise with clay statutes. And
then comes the area itself, the great theater distinguished
and exceedingly beautiful with its marble statues and images,
all worked in white and dazzling marble; and all the figures
are sculptured to the life, as it were. There are large
statutes and small, and they are so many that they can hardly
be numbered. They do not yield much to Versailles save in
size. It is a place where one can expand his mind to the
delights of the country." (Ibid., p. 16)
* Swedenborg seems to have walked on Landhaus, Pinnaischer and Grunner Streets.
On this same day, he describes the bridge which leads from the old city to the new - Swedenborg was lodging in the old city: (ANC illustn. 11E)
"It is a most magnificent structure," he writes, "standing
high above the river and supported by seventeen arches. On
both sides are seventeen places provided for sitting down and
resting. At one side is a brass cross with the hanging
Christ, built up over a rock made of stone; and facing it on
the other side are two images or statutes."*
(Resebeskrifn., p. 16)
* This bridge was torn down in 1908.
After these preliminary sightseeings, Swedenborg devoted a week to "running through and correcting" his Principia, a work which - arguing from a note on page 231 of Codex 86 - he finished on the morning of June 20th.* On this same day, June 20th (July 1st - Swedenborg now changes to the New Style), he again resumes his sightseeing by a visit to the New City (Neustadt)
"for the sake of seeing the house** which the Duke of Saxony
built,*** where also I saw a most delightful and well-
furnished garden in which, at one time, when King August was
still living,*** porcelain vessels were displayed." (ANC
illustn. 11F; Resebeskrifn., p. 16)
* The note in question reads: "finis 1733 d. 20 Junii." This may possibly refer to the fact that in his Diary, Swedenborg changed from Old Style to New Style on June 20th.
** The Japanese Palace, now the Royal Library.
*** It was built for Count Fleming, but August the Strong bought it about 1725, and enlarged it in 1730.
**** August the Strong died on February 1, 1733. He was succeeded by his son, August III.
The next morning, Thursday, he visited the Sophia Kirche
"for the sake of seeing services celebrated in the Catholic
manner," and on this occasion he was fortunate enough to see
the Royal family. "Nothing in the service could be wanting,"
he says, "that all the senses might enjoy their pleasure
there: the hearing from the drums, flutes and trumpets, which
grow in volume from the very bottom; from the singing of the
castrates or eunuchs imitating the virgin voice; and from the
full harmony of all the instruments. The smell from the
fumes and perfume of the incense, the odor and smoke whereof
are scattered far and wide by boys. The sight from pictures
of every kind which are displayed around the church; from the
magnificent vestments with which the monks walk in
procession, clothed and masked; from the multitude of
ministering monks who make turnings and steps in this
direction and that, after the manner of actors, and from
their various gesticulations; and especially so for me who
was able for the first time to see the Duke and Duchess with
their sons and daughters, all with the utmost devoutness, and
showing the greatest attachment to that religion. The
internal senses had their pleasure, in that everything
breathed of the sublime and the holy; at the least tinkling
of the bell, the people fell on their knees; and all was
carried on in the foreign Latin tongue which is wont greatly
to impress the minds of the people. In a word, the sacred
rites of the Roman Catholic Church seem to be especially for
our external senses, to the end that they may allure all the
organs of the body, and so soothe the senses."
(Resebeskrifn., p. 17)
In the afternoon he joined five others in a little excursion on the Elb or, as he quaintly puts it,
"by the Elbian waters" to some vineyards on a neighboring
mountain. The view there obtained is truly magnificent, and
Swedenborg duly notes the fact, noting in addition that "the
mountain was covered with elms and vines, and likewise with
peasants' cottages scattered and located over the whole
mountain." (Ibid.)
Swedenborg was probably tired with this excursion and the stiff climbing, for on the next day, Friday (June 22/July 3), he stayed in his rooms and read two books, making notes of their contents in his Diary. Of these books, one was in French and consisted of over 140 pages plus 60 pages of letters - which Swedenborg probably did not read, though he makes a note of their presence; and the other, a German work of over 470 pages. The reading of these books surely indicates that Swedenborg read French and German with ease. As for German, he must have been using it ever since he left Sweden. It is also clear that he
The French book was an Essay on the Movements of Ships (Basle 1714) by the famous Swiss Mathematician Johann Bernouilli who treats the subject mathematically. In his Diary, Swedenborg copies out the table of contents of this work, though with some summarization.
The work treated of 1) The action of fluids on the surface of
a resisting body. (2-3, 6, 8) The course and speed of a
vessel according to its shape. 4) the best position for the
sails and the best figure for the keel. 5) The best position
for the helm in order to effect a speedy turning of the ship.
(9-10) the movements of curved bodies in fluids. 11) A
method of constructing tables of a vessel's course. 12) The
best position for the mast. 13) The axis and center of the
resistance of the water. (14-15) The curve of the sails, and
the axis and resistance of the winds striking them.
(Resebeskrifn., pp. 17-8)
The work must have had a special interest for Swedenborg, in view of the suggestions made by himself in his essay on AA mode of discovering the powers and qualities of ships" which he had published in 1721 and which had been favorably reviewed in the Acta Eruditorum (see above, pp. 237-38).
The second or German work was also of a very practical nature. It is by Julius Bernard von Rohr, and is entitled Compendieuse Haushaltungs Bibliotheke (The Householder's Library), wherein not only the newest and best authors are reviewed, who have written of householding as well as farming, beekeeping, hunting, gardening, cooking, brewing, vineyards, woods, mines, etc.,... but in addition the author's own meditations together with other curious observations from antiquity wherein physics and mathematics are intermingled. Swedenborg read the second edition, published in Leipzig 1726, and which is somewhat larger than the first of 1716, and he still had this book in his library at the time of his death (Catalogus Bibliothecae E. S., n. 103, p. 15)
As is the case of Bernouilli, Swedenborg notes down in his Diary the chapter headings, but when it comes to the chapter on mining, he enters also some details. His entry is:
"[1] Generally concerning the study of economy. 2)
financing. 3) The art of domestic housekeeping, especially
land and field management. 4) Farming. 5) Wine making. 6)
Beer brewing. 7) The art of coking and confectionary. 8)
Gardening. 9) The woods and hunting. 10) Pools and
fisheries. 11) Beekeeping. 12) Mining matters and the mineral
kingdom." Here, Swedenborg adds, the author "treats of the
mines and metal works in Germany, which he enumerates and
reviews. He treats also of peat, charcoal and coal; of
dangers and of the reasons why these works are not developed.
He does not give many authors [on the working of ores],
merely Kircher's Mundum Subterraneum, of which, however, the
Englishman Webster and also Morhoff judge that it contains
mere figments. Another author is Ulyssis Aldrovandi Musaeum
Metallicum, which tells of many different metals but makes no
judgment concerning them. Also Beccher Physicam suberrraneam
with Stahl's observations, 1703. For the rest, a certain
author published in French a Treatise on Metals and Minerals,
and the Remedies which can be used
by Mons: Chaubon, Paris 1713, 12mo. There are also other
authors, such as Joh. Matthesii Berpostille oder Sarepta.,
fol. 1587. Meizers Gangraena Metallica, oder bericht von
berkwerken. Abrah. Schnbergs ausfhrliche Berginformation,
Leipzig 1693. Sebastian Spahns Bergrechts Spiegel, Dresden
1698 fol: Georg Caspar Kirchmeyers instructiones metallicae,
with copperplates, 1687, 4to; also his Opera, Wittenberg,
1698, 4to. He also mentions Lhneis; and a certain
Councillor of Mines, published in 1717 in 12mo a book with
the title kurzter Unterricht von bergwercken."
(Resebeskrifn., p. 18)
After this entry, Swedenborg notes that von Rohr had also published a compendieuse physikalische Bibliothek, Leipzig 1724, 8vo. This work, moreover, he took the opportunity of purchasing, for it was of particular interest to Swedenborg to know what had been written on any given subject (Cat. Bib. E. S. 8vol, n. 58, p. 6).
In his Diary, he merely notes that chapter I of this physikalische Bibliotek is a general view of natural philosophy, and the authors pertaining thereto; and then the book treats of
"the elements [Swedenborg here refers to the chapters on
Fire, Air and Water]. The vegetable kingdom. The mineral
kingdom. The animal kingdom. Meteors.* Warm springs."
(Resebeskrifn., p. 18)
* This is probably a slip on Swedenborg's part; for the chapter in question is headed "Menschen."
Probably Swedenborg continued his reading of the Bernouilli and von Rohr works over Saturday and Sunday, for the next entry in his Diary is on Sunday, June 24/July 5, when he writes:
"I wandered outside the city for the sake of seeing the
Turkish house, as it is called; there is also a charming
garden there.* In the house itself are seen many women,
Turkish, Chinese, Persian, Greek, depicted with their
customary vestments; likewise famous and exalted men such as
sultans, viziers, mufti, etc., also Turkish and Persian
carpets both on the floor and set on the walls, which were of
the utmost value. Also their silver work which, for the most
part, is of the kind called filigree, distinguished here and
there with crystals of glass; also silver inserted in the
crystal itself; silver of white and black color, varied into
the forms of roses. Also leather interwoven with good
threads - a work utterly unknown as yet to Europeans. There
was also a representation of some parts of Constantinople,
with the Peloponnesus and the sea. It is a city with
buildings exactly alike, fully built up, on the mountains and
hills, with the water flowing between. It shows also the
Sultan's palace, with the abodes of his wives; also their
mosques or sepulchres and temples. One can here see
Constantinople in idea, and even can all but see the Ottoman
Court." (Ibid., p. 19)
* Neither house nor garden is now preserved. They are shown on old maps as being just southwest of the southwest corner of the city wall. The site is now occupied by the Vitzthumschez Gymnasium. (See Gurlitt. Bau u. Kunstdenkmler, St. Dresden.)
In our day, we can hardly realize how fortunate Swedenborg must have felt himself to be in a city, one of the foremost in Europe and within easy approach of another city, Leipzig, one of the leading publishing centers of Europe. Here, every week, came out the Neue Zeitungen von Gelehrten Sachen, giving literary news from all over Europe; and every month was
There can be little doubt but that while he was in Saxony, Swedenborg bought the current copies of the Neue Zeitung (and perhaps also of the Acta Eruditorum) as they came out. At any rate, this Sunday, July 5th (June 24th*), he has seen an issue of the Neue Zeitungen for the week of July 2nd, for he writes in his Diary:
"In the news, the following books are annotated:
Histoire metallique des pays bas by Dni von Loon, in French
and Dutch, and Discours sur les differentes figures des
astres, with an exposition of the Cartesian and Newtonian
systems, by Maupertuis" - both of which entries are copied
from the Neue Zeitungen of July 2nd. (Resebeskrifn., p. 19)
(NZ., 1733: 466, 470)
* Swedenborg has "A25," but this is an error.
He again walked out of the city the following day, and this time to that part of the city where were manufactures; probably to the suburb Friederickstadt just west of the Altstadt. Here he happened upon
"a manufactory where paper is made in the Dutch way, as I
think, with a cylinder furnished with brass cutters.... But
around the one rotator was merely a simple grinder or
cylinder and not four as in Holland." (Resebeskrifn., p. 19)
He then inspected a works where copper was stretched into thin plates by means of three hammers. A pound of copper thus hammered, he found, was sold for 9 groschen or 27 Swedish re (about 14 cents). From here he turned to a place where mirrors were made even in sizes as large as 4 ells high. The work was probably new to Swedenborg, and he describes it in detail on more than three pages of his Diary:
"The glasses brought here from the furnace and still rough,
are more than half a thumb thick, but by polishing are made
quite thin; so that they retain hardly half of their former
thickness." In the polishing, "the glass is [not] inserted
in a frame but is laid on a polished stone, being well fitted
thereto, and fastened by plaster or clay of a yellowish red
color." Sometimes as many as ten are placed on the one
stone. The stone is then laid on a table, and on it is set
another stone but with the glass facing downward; upon this
stone is placed "a wooden frame divided into six or seven
compartments into which are put sand and similar weights that
it may lie the better and serve for polishing the glass
beneath. It should be observed that the polishing is always
done by two glasses, the one above the other.... The machine
is run by water and a wheel." (Ibid., pp. 19-20)
Swedenborg then describes the mechanism of the turning,
whereby the upper glass is moved in every direction by a
circular motion to preserve evenness in the polishing, and to
avoid grooves being made by the polishing sand.
"At first the coarsest sand is used, and this for nearly
eight days; then a rough sand, but somewhat smaller grained -
and this for six or seven days; then a still finer sand, and
lastly the finest white sand, from five to six days being
given to each grinding.... This is to be called not
polishing but grinding. After this, the glasses are polished
by emery of a red color and of a somewhat coarse substance.
After the glasses have been reset, the emery is mixed with
water and is inserted between them by a sponge or by hand,
and the polishing goes on for three days. After being thus
worked on, being thus made thinner, and having received their
first polishing, the glasses are turned over to women. These
take two glasses, place them one above the other, and with
hands and arms move them to and fro for a whole day,
interjecting a yellower and firmer emery which is compacted
into the form of cones." The sixth polishing is done by the
machine as before, save that instead of emery, an English
earth is used which is very red and oily and very fine and
smooth. This is applied by water, and the polishing goes on
for twelve hours, a smaller table being used on which the
glasses move only up and down, and the upper or polishing
glass being smaller.
For attaching the foil, they use highly polished tables
of stone, marble or glass, furnished with a rim. Tin foil of
such fineness is used that 100 sheets put together would
scarcely make half a thumb. "This tin foil is laid over the
table, and quicksilver is poured over it, with which it
amalgamates. The glass is then laid on top, and over it are
set weights, of brick in the middle and of lead at the edges,
with which it is fully loaded. It is left in this condition
for a whole night. The mercury amalgamates with the tin and
disperses it, and the two are thus united to the glass, being
firmly adherent and turning the glass into a mirror....
Lately," he adds, "there has been discovered a way of cutting
figures on the opposite side of the glass, which presents the
appearance as though the cutting were only done on the
reverse side. That the foil may enter into these grooves and
folds, it is placed on a cloth made of Indian wool and
several times folded; several weights are placed on top, and
so the foil can be insinuated into the folds and hollow
grooves of the glass." (Resebeskrifn., pp. 20-21)
As a metallurgist, Swedenborg is naturally much interested in the preparation of the tin foil. He notes that only East Indian tin is used for this purpose, since the Saxony tin goes into pieces under the hammer and wrinkles.
"When the tin is continuously until he is able to put 100
sheets under his hammer. He strikes the sheets with the
hammer only lightly. At last, a sheet of half a foot square
is pressed and attenuated until it is from 1-2 to 2 ells
square. When 100 such sheets are made, the work is said to
last from five to six weeks." (Ibid., pp. 21-22)
The next few days, Swedenborg devoted to reading, and as usual made abundant notes. On July 8th, for the first time he came across the Bibliotheque Italique, or the Literary History of Italy, a French literary journal published in Geneva every four months. Being a literary review which included all scientific works in its scope, the work naturally was of interest to Swedenborg, and the more so since, not only were there scholarly reviews of various Italian publications, but the journal included literary news from every learned center in Italy - a country whose scholarship was comparatively little known outside her own borders.
Swedenborg's notes state that the first article in the Bibliotheque is a review of Rerum Italicarum Scriptores, edited by Ludov. Ant. Muratorius, Tom. I, pars 2, Milan 1725. The work was the product of the sixteen members of the Palatine Society of Milan. Swedenborg continues:
The author of this work treats first of the laws of the
Lombards in Italy. He thinks that from their laws can be
learned the manners and customs of peoples. The laws of the
Lombards," Swedenborg continues, "Awere written down in 638,
and were maintained in Italy for a long time, continuing till
the year 1137 under the Emperor Lothaire II in 1137. During
this period, there were three simultaneous laws, the Roman,
the Salic, and the Lombardian. It is uncertain, however,
whether they were then so abolished that judgments could not
be made in accord with them. They are of the same tenor as
the laws of northern nations; they permit duels with staves
or clubs, etc.; if a wife is killed [by her husband] without
just cause, a fine is imposed; a natural son must be given
his share of the inheritance," etc. (Resebeskrifn. p. 22)
And then Swedenborg, perhaps mindful of his own unfinished study of Loccenius on Swedish law, adds the following note:
"It is worthwhile examining whether or not the ancient
Swedish laws coincide with these laws of the Lombards, or
what is the difference. From this it can perhaps be
concluded whether the Goths subjugated Italy together with
the Germans." (Ibid.)
One is reminded of Swedenborg's Festivus Applausus in Carl XII, where he dwells so much on the Goths going to southern Europe.
The second article in the Bibliotheoque Italique also interested Swedenborg. It was a review of Michael Mercati's Metallotheca [Rome, 1717, 1719]. In his diary he copies out the names of the early writers on metallurgy, from Albertus Magnus to Agricola, "but the latter with greater success." And then he notes that Mercati was a pupil of Caesalpinus; that he died in 1593; and that his posthumous work was given to the public by the liberality of Pope Clement XI, twenty years after the death of the author, with notes added by Lancisi. Then follow the contents of this work.
Swedenborg did not neglect the literary news of the Bibliotheque Italique, and it is significant of his reflections as to the application of the doctrine of the Principia to the human body, that he should make the following extract from the News from Turin:
"Mons. Bianchi, the anatomist, has put out a number of
anatomical disputations, and shown the mechanism of the parts
of the human body. He wishes to publish two volumes in
folio, on all the parts of the human body and their
mechanism, all applied to their diseases and their cures."
(Ibid., p. 23)
Swedenborg's tastes can also be discerned in the extract which he made from the Venetian news, noting that Jean Jerome Zannichelli has put forth a Natural History of an island belonging to Venice.
"Last year he published a fine dissertation on Iron and [the
preparation of] a certain tasteless crystalline salt which is
extracted [from it]." (Ibid.)
On July 11th, he read a work by the Danish Astronomer Peter Horrebow, Clavis Astronomise, published in Copenhagen, 1730. Evidently he did not think much of it, for he writes in his Diary:
"I observed there nothing of moment except some hypotheses.
In addition, some experiments made by others are adduced,
which are worth nothing." (Ibid.)
Of these experiments, Swedenborg quotes one, the principle involved in which, he has already made use of on the basis of Experiments made by Boyle, and which he is frequently to appeal to in his anatomical works. It was made by the Professor of Medicine at Jena, the celebrated physicist Teichmery:
"In the hottest weather, when the sky was perfectly serene,
he exposed to the air a glass cylinder filled with ice and
common salt, but the outside of which was thoroughly dry, and
he noted that in the space of an hour, an icy encrustation
resembling a kind of hoar frost had grown on the sides of the
vessel, almost to the thickness of the little finger."
Another of Teichmayer's experiments which Swedenborg notes is
one in which he partly filled a phial with refined oil of
vitriol, and observed that though this was during the driest
and warmest days, the quantity of liquor was increased.
(Resebeskrifn., p. 23)
Swedenborg further notes Horrebow's collections regarding the swinging of a pendulum, showing that to secure exactly the same time of oscillation, a pendulum at the Equator must be two lines shorter than one at Paris; and he copies a table compiled by Horrebow, showing the lengths required at the different degrees of latitude to secure the same times of oscillation. (Ibid.)
From no. 2 of the Bibliotheca Metallica, he judged "worthy of copying" in his Diary Dr. Woodward's Classification of Fossils, using the French names.* Dr. Woodward, it will be remembered, had shown considerable kindness to Swedenborg when he was in London in 1712. (Ibid., pp. 24-25)
* This classification is translated from Woodward's Natural Hist. Terrae, London, 1714. Appendix, where the names are given in Latin and English.
Swedenborg also notes the description of a fiery meteor seen in Venice in 1791, when were seen
"various colors in the sky, a certain flamy appearance, a
globe from which proceeds smoke." "From all the
circumstances," he notes, "some think that it was some sort
of sulphur. The author says that chemists can produce the
same phenomena, such as fiery dragons and balls, by means of
a mixture of sulphur, nitre, camphor, and petroleum
penetrated y the spirit of wine and then well evaporated."
(Ibid. P. 25)
It will be remember that in 1724, Swedenborg also had favored the sulphur theory as the cause of meteors (see above, p. 281)
Swedenborg's interest in anatomy is shown by the note he made when reading the third volume of the Bibliotheque Italique, the last issue of 1728. Here, in an account of the opening of an anatomical theater in Turin, the writer speaks of the wonderful art of injection invented by Mr. Ruysch, as removing the horrors of anatomical specimens. This was perhaps Swedenborg's first acquaintance with the name Ruysch, and his first knowledge o that new art from which he himself would later derive so much benefit in his anatomical studies. He notes also the mention of "Mons. De Nou who has constructed the bodily organs of wax"; and from the Bibliotheque Italique we learn that this was done with such skill that "the most experienced anatomists were deceived by their great conformity with natural dissections." But what must most greatly have aroused Swedenborg's admiration was the account of a remarkable anatomical demonstration made by the Professor of Anatomy, Mons. Bianchi, at the opening of the anatomical theater, and made possible by the wonderful use of different
"all the parts were opened up and laid to view without any
study; and this so naturally that the entire body of a woman
- which, however, had previously been dissected - was laid
open in a moment; the skin is drawn off; all the arteries and
veins are exposed to view; the internal organs are examined
in their natural position, including the womb containing a
fetus; and many other parts - all of which were again put
together in a moment." Swedenborg then speaks of the
wonderful delineations shown by Bianchi, "showing the ear and
eye with the greatest accuracy," with other delineations
showing "the mechanism of sight and the influx of the ether"
- "ether" being the word which Swedenborg uses in place of
the author's Alight rays." "Other delineations shown the
veins, the brain, nerves, etc., all drawn with the utmost
nicety." (Resebeskrifn., p. 26) (Bib. Ital., 3:63-64)
Interesting in connection with his theory of Cosmogony was a review of some observations made by a Venetian chemist, Franciscus Travagini, on the daily movements of the earth. Travagini's Observations were based mainly on the tremblings of the earth observed in Ragusa in 1667. Of these Observations from the third number of the Bibliotheque Italique, Swedenborg notes the following conclusions made by Mr. Travagini:
"That the times when these motions of the earth take place
are those which precede and follow the equinoctial. That the
vibration runs from east to west and vice versa, as can be
observed by one in a standing position, and likewise can be
seen by the waves, the canals, the houses and buildings and
their lamps and bells. It was observed that the reciprocal
motion [up and down] is always joined with a lateral
vibration; but this is not so strong near the locality of the
earth's movement. This vibration diminished according to the
distance, but it remains sensible in places far distant from
its source." (Resebeskrifn., p. 26)
From the news pages of this number of the Bibliotheque Italique, Swedenborg notes that
"Mons: Rizzetti has published in Traviso a System of Colors,
and his objections to the Newtonian System." (Ibid.)
Swedenborg was specially interested in the theory of light and colors, and eventually took a position opposed to Newton's.
Swedenborg makes note of a French book published early in 1728, and of which he sees a notice in the first issue of the Bibliotheque Italique for that year, namely,
"Mons: Bourguet, Letters on the Formation of Salts and
Crystals, and on the generation and mechanism of plants and
animals suggested by the stones belemnite and the lenticular;
together with a memoir on the theory of the earth. The
Author is a Genevan; the book is printed in Amsterdam by
L'Honore in 1729." (Ibid.)
In the fifth number of the Bibliotheque Italique, Swedenborg appears to have read the life of the celebrated anatomist Antonio Vallisnieri. At any rate, in his Diary he makes a note of the only works not in Italian which are included in a list of Vallisnieri's writings, namely, Journal latin de l'Academie des cruieux de la nature. Also Journal des savans de Venise." Swedenborg precedes this entry with "N B" which would seem to indicate that he intended to look out for the work, or purchase it; and the same applies perhaps to the notices of the other books. (Ibid.)
In the seventh number of the Bibliotheque Italique, Swedenborg read the review of a small Latin work by Francisco Bianchini, on the Planet Venus, published in Rome. From this review, he notes in his Diary:
"There are spots there as in the moon, which perhaps are
seas. The planet was seen through the telescope magnified
112 times. The spots succeed in regular order and then
vanish because of the planet's diurnal motion. The equator,
being differently situated [than in the case of Mars or
Jupiter] makes the observation of the spots to be varied.
There was one spot which was permanent, while the others
revolved - that spot being in the center.... Because of the
great obliquity of its equator with its orbit or globe arise
great differences for the different seasons ... while Mars is
in a perpetual equinox. According to the general opinion,
the daily revolution of Venus is only 23 hours ... but
according to this author's observation, it [the revolution of
the spots] is 24 days 8 hours ... Jupiter, however, revolves
still more rapidly than the earth. Venus is distant from the
earth 8,000 semidiameters of the earth."
(Resebeskrifn., pp. 26-27)
Swedenborg's interest in scientific progress led him in the course of reading the Bibliotheque Italique for 1730 (published in 1731) to enter into his Diary long extracts giving the leading men in the scientific field in Italy. Thus he notes that Cavalieri was the first man to invent the
"Calculus of Infinites, in a book published in 1653, entitled
Geometris indivisibilibus continuorum."
We may add that in this work, Cavalieri brought out the thought that points in rapid motion make a line, and this in rapid motion a plane, etc. - a thought which Swedenborg had already developed in his first Principia. (NP 1929:105)
Swedenborg lists other Italian writers on mathematics; also writers on hydrostatics, optics, astronomy and navigation, physics and anatomy. On the last named subject, he lists many authors with whose works he himself is soon to become very familiar. Thus: Vallisnieri, Leeuwenhoek, Malphigi, Bellini, Morgani and Lancisi - this being probably his first knowledge of many of these men. He particularly notes Valsalva on the Human Ear - a work with which he was to become thoroughly acquainted - and he notes the date of its publication as 1704. He notes also, with the emphasis of an underscore, a work by Riccato on "the proportion of objects," in which "he presents the sensations in a manner almost mechanical" - a subject which would have special interest for Swedenborg, to whom all nature was mechanical, and who himself, in his last little sketch on the Motion of the Elements had endeavored to demonstrate the actual mechanism of sensation. (Resebeskrifn., pp. 27-28)
From science he turns to the arts, and extracting from a continuation of the same article which appeared in the first number of the Bibliotheque Italique for 1731, he lists the names of Italians famous in painting, sculpture and architecture, for - as shown several times in his journals - he was an appreciative viewer of works of art.
"The first who gave vivacity to paintings," he quotes, "was
Giotto; after him came Raphael who died at the age of 37;
also Correggio and Titian." He then gives the names of the
best contemporary painters, and some of whom he notes "have
not their equal in perspective painting"; also the different
schools of painting to which they belong. He gives a similar
list of sculptors and architects, particularly noting Michael
Angelo Buonarroti who practiced all these arts and who "had a
wonderful skill." (Ibid., p. 28)
He notes also in his Diary for July 15th, from the news notes of this
In the last number of the Bibliotheque Italique for 1731, which he reads on the same day (July 15th), his attention is attracted to a review of the Mathematical Letters of the Astronomer and Mathematician Poleni, published in Padua in 1729. From this review, he extracts in his Diary:
"It must be observed: 1) That he frequently saw Mercury in
the solar disc, and that when it entered, it was of an oval
figure and was afterwards round, a sign that the planets have
an atmosphere around them. At Paris, however, they say that
Mercury was round when it entered the disc. In the sun,
Mercy appeared like a minute black spot and equaled ten
degrees." (Ibid., p. 29)
From the review of another of Poleni's letters, Swedenborg quotes some experiments made to determine the speed of falling water - a subject in which he is enough interested to make note of a work by Buteoni on the measuring of flowing waters, which was published "in 1554 with notes." (Ibid.)
He also notes that Borelli, in his work on the motion of animals,
"has opened a spacious field for mathematicians and
physiologists," and that Bernouelli "has written much
concerning the motion of animals." (Ibid.)
Evidently, he is interested in the mechanical side of the study of anatomy, for the only entry he makes from the next number of the Bibliotheque Italique - the first number for 1732 which, however, appeared about July 1733 - is a note that
"Vercelloni has published at D'Asti a work called Psychologia
or a medical theory of animals' motions, and of the
reciprocal motions of the animal machine, explaining all
human actions before the sight, and by a method which though
easy has hitherto been unheard of."
(Ibid.) (NZ. 1733: [Aug.] 592)
When Swedenborg left Sweden, it appears that he had already sent to Dresden his MS. on Iron or on Copper or perhaps both. What he was now engaged on was superintending the printing of these works, and the making of the plates - the work on Iron was now probably well on its way to completion.
He had not, however, sent the first volume of his mineralogical series - the one entitled the Principia and the Magnet - but took this volume with him; and, as we have already seen, early in June he ran through this MS. and gave it final corrections (see above, p. 359). The MS. as brought from Sweden did not include the chapter on "The means which lead to true philosophy, and on the man who is truly a philosopher," which, in the printed work, is called chapter or "Paragraph" 1. This is not essentially the first chapter of the work but is rather a general introduction, wherein the author dwells on the spirit in which the matters considered in his Principia must be thought out and weighed. Perhaps in Sweden, Swedenborg had not thought of writing this chapter at all; but be that as it may, the chapter was not written until he came to Dresden.
It was after the week of reading which we have just described that Swedenborg wrote out the first sketch of matter to be included in this introductory chapter which has been so highly praised for its simple but profound
* This sketch is translated by the Rev. Reginald W. Brown and printed in Scientific and Philosophical Treatises, Part I. fascicle 2, pp. 109-13.
This sketch he entitled "On my Preface to the Principia" - showing that chapter 1 of the printed work was really intended as a preface. See Scientific and Philosophical Treatises, part I, fas. 2, pp. 109-10.
We note here the continuation of the thoughts respecting the mechanism of sensation which had first been put forward in an article printed fifteen years earlier in the little known and less read Daedalus Hyperboreus.
He continues his sketch with the thought that the necessity under which man is, that education shall form the "organs and motions in the most subtle pores of the membranes" - this necessity gives the reason why man matures more slowly than animals.
"Meanwhile our organs are yielding and soft like wax, and are
able to receive and gradually adapt this very simple motion
to themselves; so that, so long as they are in the process of
becoming hardened, the traces and the elements or figures of
the motions are able to be fashioned therein."
(Sc. and Phil. Tr., I:2:110-11)
It may indeed be objected, he continues, that at this day many things are discovered merely by the medium of thought, and so are derived into the organs of the body immediately from this source. But, he asks, what is it that is thus derived?
"Do you think that much is produced analogically which gives
the reasons for effects? Pray, what knowledge of analogy
would exist with a man uninstructed by any master? Would
there be more than with a bird? Whence comes the ratio that
one thing is to another as this is to a third, if it be not
that masters have taught it to us? If they had not been
taught by others, and these by experience? Afterwards, the
rule can be made use of at pleasure for the forming of
conclusions, but the rule itself is the offspring of
experience; and its application is solely in things to which
experience consents." (Ibid., pp. 112-13)
Therefore, he concludes, man can become wise only in the degree that he has an abundant store of experience properly "distributed throughout the organs"; and in the degree that these organs have "a more exact harmony and a more suitable figure, and that through their series and continuity, a deep pathway opens to the most subtle organs. But alas! What is our wisdom? Compared with the wisdom of the Infinite, it is nothing. (Ibid., p. 113)
Such are the sentiments sketched out by Swedenborg, to be laid before the learned world as an introduction to his great cosmological work - the necessity of education, of truth, of revelation! humility! The adoration of the Deity!
On July 10th, in the commencement of this week of reading, Swedenborg had paid a visit to "Secretary Rger," a man with whom he had evidently formed very friendly relations. Here, for the first time, he came across the Cosmologia Generalis of Christian Wolff, who, as he noted in his Diary, "has endeavored to establish elementary nature from merely metaphysical principles, which surely
Wolff certainly uttered and demonstrated many philosophical
truths which Swedenborg also had dwelt on, but as to the
actual mode of creation by the Infinite, he is silent. He
denies that extension can arise from the points of Zeno. The
"irresolvable internal beginning of bodies," he calls
elements, and also "simple substances"; they are without
figure, extension and magnitude, occupy no space, are devoid
of motion, and are indivisible. They are the non-material
atoms of nature, and contain the reason of all the things
that follow. No one element is the same as another, and each
contains a different series of mutations; they exist outside
each other, and their aggregates are things extended. What
they first produce is a "primitive corpuscle" which is a
simple and not a compound; and that philosophy which derives
its reasons from such corpuscles is called Corpuscular
Philosophy. AS to how the elements arose, Wolff is silent,
maintaining indeed, that this question is beyond the filed of
corpuscular philosophy. In regard to motion, he holds that
all motion naturally progresses in a straight line.
(Cos. Gen. pp. 218, 181, 182, 184, 185, 187, 191, 195, 198,
219, 221, 244, 229, 236, 243, 310).
To one who had read the criticisms which Swedenborg made on Wolff's philosophy some nine or ten months later, it requires no stretch of the imagination to include that as Swedenborg turned the leaves of this book with its promising title, his reflections were that, while metaphysically satisfactory, it yet led the mind to no definite conclusion as to the origin of the world.
At any rate, he determined to study the book. Probably he bought a copy for one was contained in his library. He writes in his Diary:
"I desire to make a comparison of our principles with
metaphysical rules; whence it will be possible to judge, to
some extent, upon what foundations our philosophy and theory
rest, whether upon those which are geometrically and
metaphysically true or not; this cannot be deduced from any
better sources than the rules and axioms in the Cosmology of
a man so learned as Christian Wolff, of whom it may be said
that he is truly a philosopher, and that he has exhausted the
principles of true philosophy by constant examination,
scrutiny and cultivation; also, that he has taught them
metaphysically and according to the most exact rules, and
scientifically as well as experimentally." He then quotes
from Wolff himself, as follows: "Complete freedom of
philosophizing must be granted to those who philosophize in a
philosophical manner, and no danger is to be feared from
this, either to religion, to virtue, or to the state."
Without this freedom, says Wolff, "there is no progress in
science."
Again: "In philosophy, a place is to be granted to
philosophical hypotheses, so far as they prepare the way
leading to evident truth. (See Resebeskrifn., p. 65)
And further: "If any one philosophizes in a philosophical
manner, he has no need to refute opposite opinions"; a
sentiment which Swedenborg many times expressed in his later
works, and which completely dominated those works.
The citations which Swedenborg here makes are taken from Wolff's Logical Philosophy (published in 1728), and show that Swedenborg had already entered upon a study of that work.
Swedenborg appears also, at this time (or probably a little later), to have seen for the first time Wolff's Ontology, for we find an entry in Codex 86 - that MS. where, in Stockholm, he had entered so many notes pertaining to his studies, particularly of mathematics and astronomy, and which he took with him on his travels (see above, p. 359) - headed "Ex Memoires de l'Academie de Sciences pro anno 1733." Under this heading, at two short paragraphs from the work in question, he enters a long quotation from the Ontology on the subject of lines and curves - thus, in accordance with the general character of the citations in Codex 86. Moreover, as we shall see later, Swedenborg's Diary MS. affords conclusive evidence that while in Germany, Swedenborg painstakingly studied, not only the Cosmology and Ontology, but also the Empirical Psychology which Wolff had published in 1732 as a continuation of the series of works commenced with the Ontology.
It was a result of these studies that Swedenborg added to the Principia the paragraph which closes the brief Appendix to that volume. His words are:
"By means of a connected use and cultivation of the trained
reason, Christian Wolff, the philosopher of our age, has made
many signal contributions, both scientifically and
experimentally* to the growth of true philosophy"; especially
in his Ontology and Cosmology, "where he has formulated rules
and axioms leading to further progress in principles. By
these, I see that I am greatly confirmed in my own principles
which were formulated and written down two years before I saw
his works; and I confess that afterwards, in reviewing my
work, I was instructed in many points; so that, if my reader
wishes to compare the works, he will see that our principles
which are special and applied to the world and its series are
almost exactly coincident with the metaphysical and general
axioms of this most eminent author. And so, in agreement
with this learned man, it must be acknowledged that in
philosophy a place is to be granted to philosophical
hypotheses so far as they prepare the way leading to evident
truth" - this is followed by quotations from Wolff's Logical
Philosophy as quoted above.
* This refers to Wolff's earlier works on physical experiments which Swedenborg had studied in writing his Collectanea, particularly the Collection on the Magnet.
Another book which came to Swedenborg's attention at this time was an imperial folio volume on the minerals in the Hungarian region near the Danube, by Count Marsigli,* published in Holland. From this work, Swedenborg enters into his Diary five pages of excerpts on copper and iron. The excerpts on copper he subsequently included in his work De Cupro, but those on iron, which might have found an appropriate place in his De Ferro, are not included there; from which it would appear that this latter work was either already in print or well on to completion.
* Danubius Pannonico-Mysicus by Aloysius Ferd. Count Marsili, 6 vols., Hague and Amsterdam 1726.
From Count Marsigli's work, Swedenborg also caused a plate to be engraved, which he included in his work De Cupro, but inasmuch as the plates for that work had already been engraved and numbered, this additional plate is inserted as an extra and is unnumbered. (De Cupro, pp. 58-59)
It might be well at this point to say something of the great number of copper engravings included in the three folio volumes of the Opera Philosophica et Mineralia.
The three volumes of this work contain a total of 137 copper
plates in folio size. Most of the plates in the Principia
were naturally Swedenborg's own designs, but the greater
number of all the others were taken either from published
works or from copies made by Swedenborg from MS. reports made
to the Bergscollegium. If Swedenborg wished to reproduce a
published picture, he simply tore the picture out of the book
and handed it over to the engraver to copy.
The evidence of the plates themselves shows that they were
made in Dresden - those for the Principia and copper plates
1-23 of the work on Iron in 1733, and the remaining plates
for Iron together with an extra plate for Copper in 1734.
The finest plate of all - plate 29 in De Ferro - was made
from a sketch which Swedenborg obtained, or himself drew,
during his visit to the ironworks in Liege in 1721 (see
above, p. 277).
It was probably the superintending of the drawing of these illustrations which mainly occupied Swedenborg's time while in Dresden.
However, it was in this mind not only to see to the printing of his great work but also to pursue his studies in mineralogy; and, situated where he now was, he was too near the Bohemian mines to omit the opportunity of visiting them.
Before leaving Dresden, he took another day of relaxation with two friends - one of them being the Secretary Rger who had introduced him to Wolff's works. On Monday, July 20th, these three gentlemen visited the
"Chamber of natural history" - a part of the Zwinger, a
building left unfinished in 1722, and not finished until the
next century. Of the mineral kingdom collections, Swedenborg
was interested in a collection of petrifactions. He notes
seeing native gold in great lumps and in foils. Also lumps
of silver, specimens of copper, iron, etc. - all of which he
was so well acquainted with. In the vegetable kingdom, he
notes that over 400 kinds of wood were on exhibition. There
were also "sweet-smelling statues of cyprus, and corals of
different kinds of colors." In the animal kingdom, he is
interested in the many kinds of animals and skeletons shown.
He saw also a "stag made merely of burned horns; a horse with
an extraordinary long tail." In the anatomical section he
saw an extremely thick human cranium, a beared woman, and
infant with an immense head, and - what must have interested
him more than all - a living mechanism of the interior
organs, nerves and muscles. In the astronomical collection,
he mentions great burning glasses, large watches, etc.
(Resebeskrifn., pp. 29-30)
The next day, July 21st, he left Dresden via Budin for Prague, about 102 miles southeast. It was a two day's journey, but one that gives the traveler the greatest delight with its enchanting scenery. The road runs for miles along
Swedenborg had provided himself with a Guidebook to Prague (Das Sehenswrdige Prag. Nurnberg und Prag. [1729]; see p. 296). Signs of his use of this book are plainly apparent in his Diary. (Ill. Familjebok 22:114)
He arrived in Prague on July 23rd, entering the Alstadt through the Neu Thor, now called the Pulver Thor, and took lodging in "a house or inn near the Custom House called Tein." The Pulver Gate was the usual gate for all wares and market goods to enter the Alstadt, and near by was situated the market, called the Tein from the former royal residence which was close by. The inn to which Swedenborg refers is probably an old inn situated near the Tein Church. (ANC illustn. 1A-c; Fam. Bok., 22:14; Sehens. Prag., p. 433)
After viewing the near by market place with its wonderful Radhaus and clock, Swedenborg probably occupied himself with looking through his guidebook and in making a long entry in his Diary on the subject of the first natural point. Not only was the subject an active one in his mind, owing to his Principia, but it had been made more active by his reading of Wolff's metaphysical works. And so, on his first day at Prague he wrote in his Diary some reflections on the first natural point,* which he entitled "Definition of the natural Point." Since it furnishes the origin to natural entities, he compares this point to the point of Zeno, which by motion gives rise to lines, areas, etc. he defines it as "purely motion" or as an entity existing from the infinite by motion, "and thus mediate between the infinite and the finite." It is the "simple," the "mere," the "pure," being the first offspring of the infinite. "We seem to play with words," he adds, "but this is unavoidable."
* A translation of these "reflections," by Reginald W. Brown, is published in Scientific and Philosophical Treatises, part I, fascicle 2, p. 114.
This note is but a short one, filling less than a page of his Diary. There are many erasions as though the author were feeling his way to a satisfactory definition, and finally the whole passage is crossed off, though probably at a later time.
The next day, July 24th, after sightseeing, he returns to the subject, and now he fills six pages with his notes. First he writes on the attributes of the point - raising the question as to whether philosophical reasoning
can show that the point is a medium between the infinite and
the finite. He answers that all the attributes of the point
can be understood only by analogy. Its motion is not finite
or geometrical such as exists in compounds, but is
"imaginary" and "hypothetical"; it is a "pure motion, and
thus also a figure of motion which geometrically is nothing,"
and this for the simple reason that finite motion must come
from infinite - a reason which also justifies us in
establishing this point as the origin of creation.
Then comes a paragraph on the motion of the point, and the figure of that motion. Here again he appeals to analogy; but he adds an illustration,
showing that a thing can exist from motion which would not
otherwise
exist, such as a line or area from rapidly moving corpuscles.
By analogy, the case is the same with the point; it also, by
motion, produces something which is not itself. But what, he
asks, is that motion itself? and he answers that, being
produced from the infinite, it also must be infinite - a
motion devoid of center or periphery, geometrically
considered, but with infinite centers and peripheries, every
point in the motion being both center and periphery. But
this is paradoxical, he adds, and "I seem to make sport with
our senses." Yet the matter can be seen if we remove the
finite from our predicates.
Following this come two paragraphs headed respectively "Geometrically on the Point" and "Metaphysically on the Point." The point is above geometry
since it is its beginning; therefore, geometry cannot
commence its predications until after it is hatched out from
this its egg. And here a comparison is drawn between the
finite entity and the natural point, on the one hand, and
geometry and the mathematical point on the other. Swedenborg
therefore concludes that we can reason concerning the point
only metaphysically.
This finishes the discussion of the point. In the next note, Swedenborg sketches out the manner of taking up what follows after the point, namely, that which is actually geometrical. Here he lays down the rule that each chapter on the separate particles - he does not use the word finites in these notes - should be divided into four divisions or parts. The first division must
1. definite that particle;
2. perfect the definite by describing its motion, attributes, etc.;
3. give the origin of those attributes.
In the second division, the subject must be presented
geometrically, and it must be shown that the geometrical
arguments agree with the metaphysical.
In the third part, the various positions must be shown
experimentally and physically.
The fourth division is to show the connection between
the first origin and the attributes, etc., of the particle
being treated of - that perpetual thread and connection, the
result of which is that, "What is touched in one extreme is
touched, as it were, at the other."
So much for the plan of his chapters. He then gives a
"definition of the first particle" (finite). It is the least
entity, geometrical and limited, and occupies the least
possible space. Its motion is of the utmost swiftness, and
the figure of that motion is the least possible figure. In a
word, it is the first substantial; the medium between the
simple and the compound. It itself is produced "from points,
or rather from their fluxion into a most perfect figure."
Finally comes a paragraph on the "active of the point." Of this, we shall say more presently.
This finishes the notes made on July 24th, but three days later Swedenborg returns to the subject, and enters into his Diary a short paragraph on "the Order of the Particles." This also we shall pass by for the present.
The general thought that is suggested by these Prague notes, or rather the suggestion that they bring up, is that at this time the Principia was not as yet finished; that at best it was only in sketch form. The suggestion is especially strong in the entry describing how that the chapters on the separate particles are each to be divided into four parts, or at any rate are to deal with the subject in four set aspects.
Yet we have Swedenborg's own word that the Principia was already finished at this time. For on June 20th he wrote in his journal, "Went through my Principia and corrected it." Moreover, in the Principia as published, not only is it the fact that some of the points made in the Prague notes are not included, but those notes seem in part to be alien in the Principia, and certainly they use a nomenclature which does not seem at first sight to fit in with the published work. Moreover, the chapters do not discuss their subject matter in the order of our divisions ad recommended in the Prague notes. Nor does the published work follow the suggestion made in the note on the Active of the Point. We have deferred the description of this note until now, because we wished to show its contrast with the printed Principia.
This note is headed: "Concerning the Active of indefinite
Celerity arising from the Point; to be inserted at the end of
the treatment of the fourth particle" (that is, at the end of
the chapter on the Active of the second finite; see below).
Under this heading, Swedenborg states that he has omitted a
description of the first active ens arising from the point
"in the same manner as the third particle active [the active
of the first finite] arose from the first passive [first
finite], or the fourth [the active of the second] from the
second. After explaining that the purpose of the omission
was to avoid dwelling on purely metaphysical axioms, he
continues: "Still, I dare not deny that an ens in the highest
degree active could have existed from the point."
In the printed Principia, at the end of the chapter on the active of the first finite, there is indeed what appears to be an addition to the chapter headed "Whether there can be an active of the point, and if so, what is its nature." But excepting in the most general way, there is nothing here to suggest the Prague note.
We note here Swedenborg's use in the Prague note of the word
"particles" instead of the word "finites." This would seem
to indicate that in these notes he has reverted to the
language of the earlier Principia. As a fact, however, he
has reverted to the earlier Principia only in the use of the
word "particle," and he seems to have done this with no other
object than concise writing. He has taken the finites of the
Principia, the actives of the finites, and the elementaries,
putting them in their proper order, and called them all
"particles" in order to avoid the long terms. The following
list shows what he meant by the particles of the Prague notes:
Prague Notes Principia
1 Particle 1 Finite
2 " 2 "
3 " Active of the first
4 " " " " second
5 " 1 Elementary
6 " 3 Finite
7 " 2 Elementary
This interpretation of the "particles" of the Prague notes is confirmed by the note written just before Swedenborg left Prague. It is headed "The order of the Particles." This order is given as follows:
"The first from the spiral motion of the entities [i.
e., of the points]. The second from the spiral motion of the
first particles. The third from the second motion of the
first particle. The fourth from the second motion of the
second particle. The fifth, the first elementary particle,
the smallest and magnetic; also the manner of its
compression. Sixth, its globe by means of compression [of
the fifth or first elementary particle]. The seventh, the
second elementary particle or the truly magnetic."
It will be noted that here Swedenborg identifies with
magnetism both the fifth elementary particle and the seventh.
At the end of the note last adduced, Swedenborg, giving the order of the particles, adds the words:
"From the fourth tome of the Principia may be adduced what is
said concerning vortical motion and the first obscuration of
the sun and the breaking up of its crust" - subjects deal
with in the third "tome" or part of the Principia. There is
no fourth part.
Perhaps Swedenborg here made a slip, or it was a lapsus memoriae. What he seems to have had in mind in the note was the preparation of an appendix giving a brief outline of his system, such as is found in the printed work.
With the exception of the two notes last discussed, all the Prague notes are crossed off by the author; but what this signifies is not apparent. The notes in regard to the natural point are in substance included in the printed work, but only in substance; there is no suggestion of any copying from the Prague notes. The same is true of the note on the definition of the first particle, and here the order of treatment is pretty much the same. But as to all the other notes, their influence cannot be seen in the printed work.
Yet, the fact that these notes are crossed off would seem to indicate either that Swedenborg rewrote his chapter on the Point and the First Finite, or that on his return to Dresden, he looked them over to see whether any of the points noted in Prague had been omitted.
And now we turn to Swedenborg's sightseeing in the ancient city of Prague. On July 24th, Swedenborg set out to view the city. Prague consisted of three cities:
The Kleine Seite on the west bank of the Moldau, guarded by a
wall extending from bank to bank. Here were the richest
churches and monasteries, the royal castle, and the palaces
of the wealthy nobles - all situated on a hill overlooking
the surrounding country. The Kleine Seite was connected with
the Altstadt by the Karlsbridge. The Altstadt was also
walled from bank to bank. Here was carried on the principal
trade; here was the Radhaus, the University, the Jews'
quarters.
Lastly, on the outskirts of the Altstadt was the Neu Stadt
which also was called from bank to bank. These divisions of
the old Prague are still plainly discernible.
(Ill. In Sehens-wrd. Prag.)
Swedenborg first crossed the famous Karlsbridge.
"It is furnished with 18 arches," he writes, "and contains
the utmost diversity of statues. There are towers at both
ends, where are still to be seen the bullets shot by the
Swedes in 1648." (Resebeskrifn., p. 30)
The reference is to the invasion of the Swedes under
Konigsmark as a part of the thirty years' war. Konigsmark
had seized and pillaged the wealthy Kleine Seite, but when
later he crossed the bridge to seize the Altstadt, he was
bravely repelled, first by three men and afterwards by the
citizens and students. The fight was at the tower on the
Altstadt side, and it is here where the bullets are still to
be seen. There is also an inscription reading: "The Swedes
came thus far but no farther." This bridge was reckoned the
longest and finest in Europe.
(Illustn. ANC 2A-C; Sehens-wrd. Prag. P. 343)
From the Bridge, Swedenborg toiled up the steep streets to the Cathedral of St. Vitus. Here, as he notes, he saw
"the tomb of Martyn Sobieslav. Here, on either side, are two
silver altars. Above are silver lamps and a heart made of
pure gold. Likewise altars of pure gold at the side. Around
the altar are sacrificial gifts of great number and immense
value consisting of hearts, feet, urns, and a thousand other
things.*
* Much of this treasure became the prey of war.
"Outside the temple I saw a tower of considerable size, and a
picture which occupied almost the whole wall, which is now
for ten years still uninjured by the weather."
(Resebeskrifn., p. 30)
He did not see the Chapel of St. Wenceslaus at this time as it was closed, but he was more successful a few days later when (July 28th) he describes it as
"very beautiful, its walls consisting of precious stones,
such as Jasper or pellucid stones, but set in a rough form.
They are colored blue, violet, red and yellow."
(Ibid., p. 33)
From the Cathedral, Swedenborg visited the Archbishop's Palace, besides other palaces, a large number of which are to be seen west of the Cathedral. Thence he went to the Capuchin Church of Loretto, and was shown the famous treasures.
"The church itself," he writes, "is small and is surrounded
with cloisters full of pictures, shrines, and altars." Here
also he obtained admission to the treasure room where he saw
"monstrances, urns, crosses, vessels, hearts, altar
ornaments, etc., of pure silver, and many of chains of gold.
In one monstrance was so large a mass of pearls that I could
not admire it sufficiently; one pearl was so large that its
value could not be estimated. There were many other such
pearls, but they were irregular. From it hung a large pearl
exactly round, besides many others. The finest monstrance,
given by a Countess, consists of 6666 diamonds, many of them
large sized so that they must be worth two to three thousand
imperial dalers. The whole work must have cost from ... 75
to 100,000 imperial dalers. The entire treasure would cost
form 6 to 850,000." (Ibid., pp. 30-31) ANC illustn. 3 A-J)
Swedenborg does not express what his thoughts were at the sight of this heaped up treasure, and carefully guarded without any use except to excite the awe and admiration of the pious and the travelers. But many years later, when writing the Apocalypse Revealed, the memory of it perhaps came back to him.
He was talking in the spiritual world with the good Pope
Sixtus V. concerning the great wealth of treasure kept in the
Castello del Angelo in Rome. "While speaking with him,"
Swedenborg writes, "I told him that the treasure in Loretto
had been immensely increased and enriched since his time ...
and I added that they guard them without any end
which is of use, other than to delight themselves in their
possession ... like those infernal deities whom the ancients
called Plutos." (AR n. 752)
From Loretto, Swedenborg proceeded to the Burg or Castle, where he saw the great Council room where the Royal Court of Appeals meets quarterly for from two to three weeks. (Sebens-wrd. Prag., p. 148)
He notes also that he saw "the place where three men were thrown out of a window and fell unhurt." This was from a window in this same Council Room. Swedenborg's words, however, somewhat exaggerate. His guidebook says of this event:
"But the greatest wonder, the grace of God is that, though
they were thrown neck and crop from the Hof Chancery, a
height of 28 Prague ells [about 50 feet], yet they escaped
with their lives." The event occurred during the Thirty
Years' War, and was owing to religion. (Ibid., p. 100)
When Swedenborg was in Prague, there were three statues and three columns erected to commemorate the place of the fall, but they have since been destroyed.
In the castle court, he saw the great copper statute of St. George on horseback which he admired as being skillfully executed and lifelike; it dates from the fourteenth century and is truly a marvelous piece of work.
Swedenborg does not fail to note the wonderful view which was open to him from the castle grounds.
"From there, he writes, 'I could see the whole city, which is
quite large. I could likewise see the place where the women
fought against their husbands.'"
This last place is the ruined castle Diewin up the river,
somewhat south of Prague and on the same side of the river as
the Kleine Seite. Swedenborg had read the story in his
guidebook and apparently had been interested in its
quaintness, quite apart from its horror.
(Resebeskrifn., p. 31)
In the ninth century, Queen Libussa was the head of a
Priory or Nunnery, and she had much more to say about the
government of Bohemia than had her husband King Przemislaus.
When she died, however, "the leaf was turned" - to use the
language of the guidebook. The sisters resented this, and
they appointed Libussa's most trusted confidante, Wlastra, to
protect them. The latter then sent an embassy to the King,
proposing that she marry him, and the government be continued
as before. But the answer she received was so insulting that
she gave the women a magic potion whereby they were aroused
to hatred against all men. They at once took up arms against
the Kings' forces, and in this they were exercised merciless
sway over the surrounding land. They even carried on a
propaganda among the married women, that the latter should
stab their husbands in bed and then escape and join forces
with them. Eventually they were defeated by the King, and
Wlastra was put to death. (Sehens-wrd. Prag., p. 329 seq.)
Swedenborg read also in his guidebook another story of ancient Bohemia, for he notes:
"I saw also the palace and citadel where Drahomera* the
mother of
Wenceslasu [the first Christian King of Bohemia] sank in the
earth and was swallowed up together with her carriage and
horses, and many other persons." This was on the Hradshin
Platz, south of the Archbishop's palace.
(Resebeskrifn., p. 31)
* Swedenborg has Lobomisia, but this is a slip.
The story is that Drahomera, in 989, procured the murder
of her son St. Wenceslaus by the brother Boheslaus, in the
hopes of thus destroying Christianity. She then proposed to
offer sacrifices to her gods to further her in this end.
Driving past the St. Mathias Chapel (destroyed during the
Hussite troubles, but replaced by a beautiful chapel), she
heard the sound of the bells indicating the elevation of the
mass. At once her coachman who was a Christian jumped off
his horse and knelt down in front of the church. This so
enraged Drahomera that she fell to reviling the name of God,
and cursing both her coachman and the Christians generally,
when suddenly the earth opened beneath her and swallowed up
both her and the carriage and horses. The place was
commemorated by a stone column which was still standing when
Swedenborg was in Prague. (Sehens-wrd. Prag., pp. 288, 290)
On his way from the heights down to the bridge, Swedenborg again notes the scenery, and he connects it with a legend culled from his guidebook.
"On the hill which rises up toward the Cathedral," he writes,
"I could see the whole city and also the church where is
preserved the wood carried thither by the devil."
(Resebeskrifn., p. 31)
The church referred to is the church of St. Peter and St.
Paul, situated in the Wysellrad at the extreme south of
Prague on the Altstadt side of the Moldau. Here, in
Swedenborg's day at any rate, was preserved a column (of
stone, not wood) which, tradition says, was brought from Rome
by the devil. The story is that a priest of the church
offered to bind himself to the devil if the latter would
bring to the church a column from the St. Maria Church in
Rome, doing this in the time of the reading of a mass. The
devil rushed to Rome, broke off one of the columns, but
arrived in the Prague church too late, as the mass was
already over. The column, however, remained, though it broke
into three pieces. The author of the guidebook evidently
placed implicit faith in this story, for he quotes a man in
the Altstadt who had been to Rome and found a column missing
from the St. Maria's Church, and who testified that the
Prague column was very like those that remained!
(Sehens-wrd. Prag., p. 401)
On his way back to the Altstadt, Swedenborg visited the Jesuit Church of St. Nicholas. The Jesuits were by far the most powerful of the Catholics in Prague, and - besides "many churches and beautiful buildings" - they also owned the University with its great library. The great number of churches in Prague is noted by Swedenborg, who copies from his guidebook: (ANC illustn. 3 K)
"In Prague there are over a hundred churches and fifty
monasteries," while the population is 80,000 (Ibid., p. 13)
On his way he passed through "the Jewish market and the Jewish quarter," where he found "everything unclean and filthy."
Finally, from the Jewish Quarter, Swedenborg wended his way to the Rathhaus near his hotel, and there saw "the wonderful clock which shows hours of every kind; also the lunar periods." His guidebook has much to say about this remarkable clock which was built in 1490 by a mathematical professor in
It formerly showed the time of sunrise and sunset, the
eclipses of the sun and moon, the positions of the planets,
the time of Easter, etc., etc. Neither the guidebook nor
Swedenborg say anything of the procession of the twelve
apostles who appear when the hour strikes, and which always
excites admiring interest.
(ANC illustn. 3LM; Sehens-wrd. Prag., p. 445s)
On the next day, Saturday, Swedenborg again went sightseeing. Most of his time he spent in the Jesuit College - now the University Library - in the Altstadt near the Bridge. (ANC illustn. 3 N.O-P)
"First I admired the magnificence of the building, very
spacious, equaling if not excelling the palaces of kings.
There are spacious passages both round about in the lower
story and also in the upper. There is no palace in Prague
that excels it in magnificence and size." He particularly
admires the church which, though small, is extremely elegant
with its columns of marble around the altar and at the sides.
"There is no marble that is more precious; its figures sport
by the variations of the colors, as though they were Italian
dendrites. I have never seen more beautiful marble, which is
said to have been quarried in Bohemia."
(Resebeskrifn., pp. 31-32)
Swedenborg was interested in the 'Mathematical Room, where he saw the utmost diversity of mathematical instruments." But what especially attracted his attention were
"their mechanical and optical contrivances, of which they
possess a store, that by their means they may delude the
simple." Thus he saw "a machine by means of which drums are
beaten by a young man, and at the same time, his lips, eyes,
and head are set in motion. Also cunningly contrived globes
which, by their interior mechanism, showed the steps of the
sun in the ecliptic; a clock which not only struck the hours
and played tunes, but also showed on a globe the motion of
the sun, and what countries had the sun in the meridian, that
is, what countries it was passing over, and what was the time
in each country. There were also pictures which assumed a
change in their appearance - this being effected by machines;
thus, through holes, one could see a man rising up and
blinking, when a house was opened where was no one." He saw
also "Camerae Obscurae of different kinds - glasses showing
figures in perspective as to the life, and on the inside
barking dogs and the utmost variety of painted glasses
representing something in front of the glasses; also some
burning glasses ... Chinese letters and books ... letters
written by their Emperor; besides many other things which
tend solely to delude the simple." (Ibid., p. 32)
He notes also their astronomical tower, which though not high yet affords a fine view. (Sehens-wrd. Prag., p. 467)
Swedenborg also visited the great and beautifully ornamented library, but found it consisted only of old books and ancient MSS. Here he saw a German Bible printed in 1483, 34 years prior to Luther's version. Later he saw
"their pictures with the emblems which they set forth to be
publicly defended in place of disputations."
(Resebeskrifn., p. 32)
He notes also the activity of the inhabitants of this great
building. "In this one building there are 200 men, not
counting servants'* and there are 200 more in another
building. None but the rich and talented are received."
* According to Swedenborg's guidebook, p. 467, there were in 1729 two hundred and fifty fathers and brethren.
From the College he went to "that hill or fiery heap where fire is said to have issued forth for some months." This was probably on the Moldau in the Jewish quarter. He found the "hill" to be a mass of all kinds of rubbish
"gathered there for almost a thousand years and grown to an
immense heap. This heap" he writes, "abounds in nitre and
sulphur, and with the approach of water, it takes fire. This
can be seen from the fact that near this hill or heap is
built a house where nitre is boiled from this soil which is
mots highly suitable for this purpose. The house was built
many years ago, and much of the soil has been taken from here
alone. Thus it abounds in nitre and sulphur."
(Resebeskrifn., p. 32)
After writing this account of his sightseeing for the day, Swedenborg adds:
"I also made inquiries as to the orders of monks. There are
four main orders: The Capuchins clothed with a grey robe of
the coarsest kind, girded with a cord. The Benedictines, in
white. The Jesuits in black. The Dominicans in white and
black. (Ibid., p. 33)
The inquiries here referred to were caused probably by the immense number of monks which Swedenborg must have met everywhere during his promenades.
For Sunday and Monday, July 26th and 27th, the Diary has no entry. On Tuesday he went again to the Kleine Stadt where he succeeded in securing admission to the tomb of St. Wenceslaus in the Cathedral. (Ibid.)
On July 29th he left Prague for an extended tour o the Bohemian mines, his first stop being the famous watering place of Carlsbad, about a hundred miles northwest of Prague by stage. Swedenborg must have traveled all night for he arrived at Carlsbad the next day, Thursday, and stayed there until the following Thursday, August 6th. It was during this week that Swedenborg made in his Diary another entry which was to form a part of his Preface to the Principia - an entry which was to be inserted in the middle of that contribution to the Preface which he had written in Dresden. When it came to the actual writing of the Preface, however, the "addition" made in Carlsbad, instead of being inserted into the Dresden note, was substituted for the later half of that note.
The Dresden note dealt with the effect of education and use in adapting the membranes to more subtle motions. Of this subject, we shall have more to say when we speak of the Preface to the printed Principia. But here we would speak of a passage in the first Dresden note which is not included in that Preface - a passage which indicates Swedenborg's first philosophical thoughts as to the human form of the soul. The passage reads:
"If we take the beginning to be fine things most utterly
subtle and simple, it is well known that these grow in
circumference and little by little adapt parts round about
them such as fibres, membranes, nerves, etc., and little by
little take on hardness, and enclosed everywhere is that
which is most utterly subtle. Thus, little by little they
put on the human form.
This passage, as we have said, is omitted in the Preface to the Principia; possibly because Swedenborg was not yet prepared or did not consider this the place to bring in the nature of the human soul. The passage itself, however, foreshadows the doctrine set forth in his later physiological and psychological works, and also in the Writings, namely, that while the soul is truly human, that human is not seen and can never be comprehended as to figure save in the human form.
The town of Carlsbad is but a long narrow valley shaped like
a sickle. On both sides rise the mountains, and the only
exits from the town are the places where the river Tepl, on
either side of whose banks it is built, enters and leaves the
valley. This is duly noted by Swedenborg in his journal.
(Resebeskrifn., p. 33)
There also he speaks of
"the very hot spring in the center of the town which gushes
up with force and is boiling hot. From this spring, the
water is carried by pipes to all the houses situated on the
bank of the river where the waters and baths are provided."
The spring here referred to is called the Sprudel, situated opposite
the market place but on the other side of the river.
Swedenborg also notes - apparently quoting from some work -
that the Sprudel water originates "in a source whose course
is under the river; its murmur can be heard. Once it broke
out, and then the flow cased until, by much labor, the
opening was again closed" (confer Berger, De Thermis
Carolinis, pp. 5, 10, 12, 15). He gives other particulars
about these waters, evidently quoted from some guidebook,
including the remark that "they rarely baths in this water
because, by reason of its abounding in lime, it obstructs the
pores, and does not open them like other waters."
(Ibid., pp. 33-4)
He notes also that outside the city are iron works and a paper mill, both of which doubtless he visited. (Ibid., p. 34)
From Carlsbad, Swedenborg made a tour of the various "mineral towns," as he calls them, scattered here and there in the Erz Gebirge Mountains, nearly all of which are now abandoned. At that time, however, they each had something distinctive, and it was this which Swedenborg sought to know, especially with a view to his future volumes on mineralogy.
First he visited the various tin mines and smelting works southwest of Carlsbad in Slackenwald, Schnfeld and Lauterbach, where the ground is rich in tin. Swedenborg devotes seven pages of his journal to a description of these tin mines and the method of smelting the ore. Traces of these mines and smelteries are, for the most part, completely gone. Between Schnfeld still remain, belonging to the Elizabeth Tin and Wolfram Mine; but the place is no longer worked, and only a watchman is to be found there. The mountain scenery, however, is as beautiful as ever and must greatly have charmed Swedenborg. Even now there are no railway lines here, and one must still go to Schnfeld, Lauterbach and Falkenau by bus. From Lauterback, which is now but a wayside village, Swedenborg drove through magnificent mountain scenery to Altsattel, now also little more than a small village. On the way, he passed a small iron smelting works. This he noted in his journal, and from the latter he copied the entry to his De Ferro, which apparently was not yet all printed (De Ferro, p. 173). In Altsattel, Swedenborg visited the
From Altsattel he passed through the Avery elegant" town of Falkenau, some three miles to the west. Here, as he notes, dwelt Count von Nostitz, the owner of the works at Altsattel. Swedenborg continued on his way to Bleistadt where he stopped over night. He does not fail to note the magnificent scenery at this small town:
"Toward evening," he writes, "I came to Bleistadt, a
town situated on a high mountain and likewise engirded by
other high mountains, while deep below flows the brook [the
Zwodan which runs into the Eger]. The situation of the city
is most delightful." He notes the presence of lead ore,
which "is sold to Joachimsthal and there smelted."
(Resebeskrifn., pp. 38-39)
This lead mine is on the lower road far below the city and
about half a mile from the railway stations. It was used
during the war in 1915-17 by the Austrian Government which
employed about a hundred workmen there. It is now closed up,
and one sees only the closed stoll or horizontal entrance
from which comes a little stream of pure water which is used
by the women for washing and drinking. (Very fine water.)
At Bleistadt, Swedenborg stayed over night, enjoying the pure mountain air. The next day, he departed fro Graslitz, a considerable town belonging to Count Nostitz - situated a few miles north of Bleistadt. Here he spent the day and stayed over night. (Ibid., p. 39)
He gives three pages of his journal to a description of the copper smelting at Graslitz, which subsequently he copies with some changes into his De Cupro, pp. 184-85:
"In Graslitz," he writes, "the mines are about 1000 places
from the city, and are many and various, but there is the
same kind of ore in all of them. The vein was opened 100
years ago, and the work is still being continued, but the
veins are now very poor." (Ibid.)
Yet the mines continued to be worked until 1900, but the
number of workmen dwindled from 1800 to 100. They are
completely closed now, though still guarded by a watchman.
The oldest mine in Graslitz (Grnberg, established 1500) is
now blocked up and its surface used as a playground.
The next day, Sunday, August 9th, Swedenborg drove to Platten, some 10 or 15 miles east of Graslitz, and here "the last town of Bohemia" - he stayed over night. His object was to visit the tin mines, of which there were three in Platten, though not one of them is worked at the present day. He gives two pages of his journal to a description of this tin ore and its working. He was also greatly interested in color manufactory, and he gives three pages of his journal to a description of how cerulean blue is prepared in the neighborhood of Platten, a work which is carried on in the valley between Platten and the neighboring Saxon border. (Ibid., p. 41seq.)
It was probably on Monday that Swedenborg examined the color-works around Platten, and on the same day he went to Hansjrgenstadt, the first town in Saxony, about 4 miles from Platten.
Here he enters two pages of notes on an ironworks which was then situated just on the Bohemian side of the border, but which has long since disappeared. Some of these notes were copied into the work Der Ferro (p. 274).
In the Saxon town itself, there was a fine collection of noble and rare minerals made by an Herr Derfler who had been in foreign parts for fifteen years for the purpose of buying specimens of minerals for King Augustus. Swedenborg notes the fact in his journal, but whether he saw the collection does not appear. (Resebeskrifn., p. 46)
He seems, however, to have visited the silver mines which extend under the town, of which Derfler was probably the inspector. The mine was entered by about twenty horizontal entrances, called stoll, but this is not the case today. He gives two pages of his journal to describing the mode of crushing the silver ore, which is then exported to another town for smelting.
After passing the night in this town, Swedenborg, the next day, returned to Platten where he visits the tin smelteries whose processes he describes in his journal. He did not stay here, however, but went on to Joachimsthal, some ten miles to the west, where he stayed Saturday and Sunday. On the evening of his arrival, he writes in his journal:
"There are many things which I learned at Hans
Jrgenstadt and Platten, namely: 1) That at Hans Jrgenstadt
and likewise at Joachimsdahl they have water wheels and
machines in the mines at the depth of 100 ells, by which to
pump out the water; likewise a wheel which can be turned by
the wind.
2) At Platten I saw how that from one stockwork* went out
many strata, arteries or ramifications. This was seen in a
mine that has collapsed and was defective.
* At mass wherein tin is mingled with other layers.
3) That air can be pumped into the deepest places by bellows,
the latter being worked by the same machine whereby the ore
is hoisted. The air is led to these places by wooden pipes
which have no outlet save in the place where there is no
ventilation, or where it is continually stagnant and warm."
(Ibid., p. 48)
There were two other observations of a technical nature connected with the crushing hammer and the bellows The entry indicates that improved methods were in use in Saxony which were wholly unknown in Sweden, and possibly in other parts of Germany. It was the discovery of just such improvements that was one of the objects of Swedenborg's travels as an Assessor of the College of Mines.
It was on the way from Platten to Joachimsthal that he saw those curious Seifenwercks which he describes in his journal and many of which are to be seen in the neighborhood of Seifen halfway to Joachimsthal, all containing, or formerly containing, tin, with which the whole district abounds.
The town of Joachimsthal is practically one single street,
one and a half miles long, lying in a deep valley between the
opposing mountains. The oldest of the mines is on a height
facing what was the center of the old town where was
Swedenborg's inn. It is the Einigkeit discovered in 1516
where silver was formerly mined. It had given very rich
yield for about two centuries, though at the time of
Swedenborg's visit, the amount of silver obtained annually
had shrunk very considerably.
The mine is now used only for uranium but is still in active
operation with a large body of workmen. (ANC illustn. 4G-H)
In 1518, the Joachimsthal silver was used to make a new
coin which was therefore called the Joachimsthaler; hence the
word thaler and dollar.
Swedenborg notes the number of underground passages in these mines, from four to fourteen thousand yards long. In the IEinigkeit at a depth of seventy fathoms, there is a machine worked by the water found in the mine. (Resebeskrifn., p. 51)
Swedenborg was evidently greatly interested in the work at Joachimsthal, and he gives three and a half pages of his journal to describing the mode whereby the ore is crushed, and the silver smelting done.
Swedenborg also visited some arsenic works about four miles outside Joachimsthal, and he gives two and a half pages of his Diary to describing the work here. The cobalt is burned in an ordinary oven, but the smoke, instead of being allowed to escape, is conducted along twisted paved channels with an opening which can be opened or shut at pleasure. The arsenic settles on the paved way and amounts to about 230 cwts every twelve days. The silver is then extracted and the arsenic flour refined. (Ibid., pp. 50-51)
On Monday, August 13th, he returned to Carlsbad, riding down hill in the beautiful valley, and so to the comparatively flat country. Settled at Carlsbad, even on the day of his arrival, he wrote in his journal another of the sketches which were to be included in his preface to the Principia; and this time it was to note the quaint yet suggestive idea that "Nature is like a spider's web," while
"natural philosophy is like the spider. She builds her web
in places where it is possible to fasten her threads on all
sides, and to draw them together into a center; the radii
which she then forms she makes to meet in a center, and she
ties and binds them together at various distances by circles
or polygons, so that she may have contiguous connection, by
means of intermediate threads, throughout the whole sphere
which she occupies; she, however, betakes herself back to the
middle or to the center, and so applies her feet to the
threads or radii as to be able to perceive if the least
particle touches any radius at any distance. In this way,
therefore, she prepares herself to entrap flies and other
insects; if anything falls upon the threads or snare, she,
lying in ambush, as it were, in the middle, knows immediately
where and in what part of her web it fell, for she rushes out
instantly by that very radius and no other, and seizes upon
her entangled victim. Nature herself, therefore, closely
resembles this spider's web, for she consists, as it were, of
infinite radii proceeding from a certain center, and infinite
circles or polygons, so that nothing can happen in one of
them which does not immediately refer itself to the center,
and which is not dispersed thence through a great part of the
web. By means of such a contiguity and connection, nature is
able to sport in her operations, and in this consists her
very essence; for where her contiguity ceases, or her
connection with the center and with the rest of the
peripheries, there nature herself altogether ceases. Natural
philosophy is capable of taking its station with nature, near
to the center, to which all natural things refer themselves,
or in which all the motions of the peripheries are
concentrated; it is able to perceive and to know immediately
everything
which occurs in the peripheries - that it is and whence it
comes; and is able to render back to nature the reason why
the phenomena must needs occur successively, and from a
certain physical necessity, at such a distance, in such a
manner, and in no other; in a word, from the center, natural
philosophy is able to view simultaneously those infinite
peripheries, or to measure her whole world at a single
glance; she does not, as has been supposed, stick to the
outmost peripheries, and like the fly, by means of much labor
and effort entangle herself more and more in the web and
become the prey and sport of her own wisdom and philosophy."
Swedenborg was evidently pleased with the conceit, for he rewrote the passage, making some changes, and when he cam to write the Preface (or chapter 1) of the Principia, he incorporated in his Carlsbad draft practically word for word.
Swedenborg stayed in Carlsbad for five days, from August 13th to 18th, and apparently took full advantage of his stay in this brilliant watering place, fitting for health or recreation or both. At any rate, the Diary has no entries for those days except a note of Swedenborg's attendance at the Roman Catholic church on Sunday, August 16th.
There, writes Swedenborg, "I saw their second rites, that is,
the celebration of the mass, and I observed that all was most
full of delight and suited to all the senses. The ear had
the finest harmony of instruments, for there was no singing
by the people but in its place the most complete music by
instruments. The eye saw the most diverse shows and
gesticulations made both by boys and by others; it saw the
burning lamps, the wax candles, the magnificent clothing of
the priest, the boys likewise so clothed; before these lamps,
all things gleamed from gold and silver. The smell had the
choicest incense with which the altar and the holy place were
performed. The touch had the water which the priest, on
entering, sprinkled on the people round about. The interior
sense had the great veneration of the Deity seen in the
priest, his numberless gestures, and likewise those of the
boys. The taste had nothing except that the priest could
have it, partaking of all such pleasures from the wine which
the alone drank. The sacred rites are made for the pleasure
of the external senses, but yet they are pleasing to the
people because all recollection of the Deity ought first to
enter in with them through the external senses."
(Resebeskrifn., p. 52)
On August 18th, Swedenborg left Carlsbad for Prague where he arrived on the following day. Here he again visited the Cathedral, examining the many golden and silver offerings around the tombs, and again visiting the tomb of Rudislai "radian with silver." He also visited other churches, including one in which he saw "an altar picture with lamps burning within and representing a transparent sky." (Ibid.)
On the 21st, he left Prague for a trip to Eule (or Jilovy), some fifteen miles south of Prague, in order to inspect the gold mine there. This gold mine is near the village proper, some three or four miles from the railway
station. It had not been worked for some years on account of
the poor yield. But there is some talk of resuming
operations if due arrangements can be made with the French
owner of the mine. At present it consists of not more than
one or two sheds, in one of which is the boarded up entrance
to the pit.
Swedenborg was evidently deeply interested in this mine and its working, for not only did he stay in the village overnight - and even now the accommodations at the inn are but meagre - but he fills over fifteen pages of his journal with notes on the copper mines at Cuttenberg (presumably near Eule) and the gold mine at Eule. The notes on Cuttenberg were subsequently incorporated into a special chapter in his De Cupro. The notes on Eule were reserved for a future volume on gold. (De Cupro. pp. 268-71)
He notes that the Eule gold mine is said to have been
commenced in 300 A.D., but there were frequent interruptions
in the working. The yield was formerly very rich. The mine
has been thoroughly explored, and there are many miles of
underground passages. Formerly the gold was found near the
surface, but now the mine is 1200 feet deep. The yield in
Swedenborg's day was from 10 to 12 lbs. A year of twenty-
three carat gold.
"There is nothing else than native gold in grains,
sheets, lumps, etc. There are layers of quartz wherein gold
is to be found mingled with red and also yellow scissile,
where the gold clings so that it is for the most part
invisible. There is no gold ore, nor is there any silver or
copper or any other noble metal attached to the gold, except
for a little iron and pyrite, but the gold is not contained
in the pyrite save in grains as native gold. It has also
been notice in lead, but the lead contained much gold and not
silver." (Resebeskrifn., pp. 52-3)
Swedenborg then describes the three crushing mills used in Eule, according at the gold is abundant or not; he also describes the washing processes. (Ibid., p. 53)
After spending one night at Eule, Swedenborg returned to Prague on August 22nd, on which day he went to the Barnabite Monastery or cloister in the Kleine Seite in order to view a collection of minerals. (Redeln, p. 305)
"It was a collection of artificial minerals neatly arranged,
but more for show than for me." (Resebeskrifn., p. 55)
The next day, Sunday, August 23rd, he left Prague for Dresden where he arrived on the 25th, having been absent a few days more than a month. On the journey, he notes seeing at the border
"a garden filled with Indian trees, oranges and citrons ...
and so great an abundance of oranges hanging from the tree as
can be seen nowhere else. It belongs to Count Nostitz" - a
high Boehemian overlord. (Ibid., pp. 55-56)
A day or two after his arrival, he meets a Mr. Leisner, a man who was endeavoring to introduce the use of peat into Saxony. The subject is of great interest to Swedenborg, and he fills one and a half pages of his journal with an account of his conversation and of his own reflections and conclusions with charcoal. However, he gives certain directions as to how it may be used. This note, like some preceding notes, perhaps has in contemplation a continuation of the Miscellaneous Observations. (Ibid., p. 56)
On Sunday, August 30th, in company with the mineralogist Henckel and Councillor Christian Heinrich Dreyer - both members of the Saxon College of Mines - he made a special call on Councillor of Mines Trier, in order, presumably, to inspect his remarkable collection of fossils. It was on this occasion that he saw "a skeleton of a marine cat with its joints and legs impressed on a scissile stone," besides many mineralogical curiosities. (Ibid., p. 57)
The fossil of the "marine cat" was of the greatest interest to Swedenborg, not only because it had been found only recently, but also because it was the finest animal fossil that Swedenborg had ever seen, and it is indeed "an unusually well preserved specimen." (Nathorst, p. 45)
It had been discovered a short time before Swedenborg saw it,
at Glucksborn (or Glucksbrun), south of Eisenach in Sachsen-
Meiningen, on some property on a large strata found in a vein
of copper lying between scissile stone.
In his work De Cupro, in the chapter on Copper Smelting at Eisleben and Mansfeld, Swedenborg inserts a paragraph on fossils "which represent fishes of various kinds, of which an immense number can be collected." These, he adds, have been delineated by authors, and it is presumably from some published work that he publishes three plates showing fossil remains of sheels, ferns, fish, a spider, etc. But beyond what has been mentioned, nothing further is said of them. The plates are referred to in the text as "38 and 39" but actually they are marked "38.1, 38.2 and 38" (a misprint for 39). These plates were already engraved when Swedenborg saw the Trier specimen, but the latter was so perfect a specimen that at Swedenborg's request, Trier sent him a drawing of it. This was received by Swedenborg when he was in Leipsig, and on January 5, 1734, he writes to Trier thanking him for the "fine drawing" of the marine cat. With Trier's permission, he desired to insert it in his work "as the finest and most complete" specimen it has ever been his lot to see. But before having the drawing engraved, he would "greatly like to know in what place and at what time this figure stone was dug up," and this that he might insert these particulars, "together with thy illustrious name," in his copperplate. The particulars were evidently given by Trier, and Swedenborg had the plate engraved probably at Leipzig. It is marked "Table 2," but according to the directions to the binder, was to be inserted after Tab 38 no. 2. It was evidently intended as Tab. 39 no. 2 to follow Tab. 39 (marked by error 38) of which no mention is made in the directions to the binder.
Of this specimen, Swedenborg writes in the text of De Cupro. He added, to what we have already cited, some particulars respecting this Trier fossil, stating that he had seen it at Dresden, "and because it is the
finest and most perfect of all the forms of fishes and
animals impressed on stones which I have even seen, I desire,
with permission, to show a picture of it. Moreover," he
adds, "in the same stratum were dug up many other specimens
of fishes, plants, etc." (De Cupro, p. 169)
As to the animal represented on this specimen, Swedenborg speaks of it in very vague terms as "a marine, an amphibian or other animal; from the tail, one might suppose it to be a species of marine cat."
Though the finest of its kind and the first to be portrayed,
Swedenborg's specimen was not the first to be described, a
description of the same animal fossil having been published
in 1706, and by another author in 1718, and all three
descriptions are mentioned by Cuvier in his work on Fossil
Bones, where he prints a reduced copy of the engraving in the
De Cupro "by the famous Emanuel Swedenborg." The author,
says Cuvier, "regarded it as a species of monkey." This is
funny though not true. Cuvier evidently had before him the
Directions to the Binder where this "Table 2" is listed as
"meerkatz."
Meerkatz is a literal translation of fedis marina, but
Swedenborg may well be excused for not knowing that it is a
very unusual German word meaning the long-tailed monkey.
(Nathorst, p. 44)
The specimen itself can now be seen at the Natural History
Hofmuseum at Vienna. In 1771, Prof. Beckman supposed it to
be the fossil of a seal. It is now held to be the fossil of
a species of reptile. (NP 1930:192)
Before leaving Dresden, he had sat for his portrait, which was drawn by the Noremburg artist and engraver J. W. Str who had drawn practically all the plates for Swedenborg's great work. This portrait was done at the expense of Swedenborg's publisher who evidently had become both his friend and admirer.
This portrait, which is the earliest absolutely authentic portrait of Swedenborg known to exist,* is a fine piece of work, representing Swedenborg as he was then, forty-five and a half years old, and clothed in his robe as a member of the Swedish House of Nobles. In the panel beneath is inscribed Swedenborg's name and title, and in the center, an exquisite drawing of his shield of nobility; finally, at the bottom of the panel come the words: "Fred. Hekel dedicat." The portrait was subsequently engraved at Leipzig by the engraver Bernigroth, and was published as the frontispiece to thePrincipia, but was bound only in those copies which were printed on finer paper. The result, of course, was that most copies of the Principia lacked this portrait. This may have been one of the causes which led Mr. Hodson, an earnest member of the New Church, to have a copy made by an English engraver but omitting the panel, for which a smaller panel with English inscription is substituted.**
* Mrs. Alfred Stroh of Upsala possesses a portrait of a young man who is said to be Swedenborg - but on no documentary or even traditional authority. It was purchased from a Westmanland farmer who stated that it was a portrait of Swedenborg preserved in his family. A copy is printed in The Nortal Remains of Emanuel Swedenborg, p. 93. Another portrait, now in possession of the Academy, was purchased from the Rev. A. Th. Boyesen. It is reputed to have hung in Swedenborg's house (Hultkrantz, pp. 92-93).
** A copy of this engraving may be seen in the Academy Library in a copy of the Principia formerly owned by Mr. Cowherd.
Cuno, who knows Swedenborg well, says of the original
portrait: "If any one desires to have an idea of Swedenborg's
looks, he will find his portrait in his work entitled,
Emanuelis Swedenborgii Opera Philosophica et Mineralia. Tres
tomi in folio, ... MDCCXXXIV; which portrait, although
finished forty years ago by the skillful engraver Bernigroth,
is still perfectly like him, especially in respect to the
eyes, which have retained their beauty , even in his old
age." (Doc. 2:p. 453)
On Wednesday, September 2nd, a day or two after his visit to Trier, Swedenborg left Dresden for Leipzig, some seventy-five miles northwest, and there, on Monday, September 28th - as he notes in his journal on October 5th "a beginning was made with the printing of the Principia, and six folios were printed that week"; adding "May God grant his favor. On the same day commenced the Leipzig Fair." This was the Michaelmas Fair which lasted three weeks.
Before his first week in Leipzig, Swedenborg came across a book, Machrichten von Italien, by Joach. Christ. Nemeitz, a German Swede born in Wismar, and whom Swedenborg probably met during the Congress at Utrecht. The work had been published at Leipzig. Swedenborg seems to have read the work with interest, for he devotes over seven pages of his journal to extracts from it. Perhaps he was already contemplating the long visit he was to make to Italy a few years later.
Among the more interesting things he notes, may be quoted the following:
"Trent is ruled by a bishop. In the Maria Maggiore is to be
seen the Council of 1545; all its members are delineated.
The crucifix which is said to have bowed its head has been
carried off to the principal church." (Resebeskrifn., p. 57)
"Venice. One of the Procurators of St. Mark is chosen; he is
a civil prisoner, as it were. He is the head of all the
Councillors. He proposes all things together with the
others. He has two votes. All letters are signed by him
even the financial. All rise when he enters; he rises for no
one, nor does he take off his hat; he is called Most Serene.
Outside of Venice he has no authority ... while he is living,
all his relatives must live outside the walls. If a man is
elected, he cannot refuse without being deprived of all his
gods. The Inquisitors of the state can enter within his
doors day and night, and observe what he is doing.... There
are about two thousand nobles.
"A noble who is an ecclesiastic is at once excluded from the
Council even if he be also a cardinal. In time of peace, the
republic has thirty-two ships afloat, and sixteen thousand
soldiers, besides galleys, etc.
"The church and forum of St. Mark is where most of the
mosques are at carnival time. The place is called the
Piazzo.
"The carnival begins on the second day of Christmas, and
lasts till Shrove Tuesday. It consists mainly in masquerades
from morning till night. This is allowed to all but not in
the churches and monasteries. Liberty is also given to
women, especially in the forum of St. Marks. In the redoubt,
all enter who wish, and they play basset. The masks must be
inviolable. There, all kinds of liquors and confetti can be
procured. They have also sports with bulls which are roused
up. There are also fireworks and especially at St. marks.
They reckon the inhabitants as two hundred thousand souls....
"There are 70 churches, 27 monastery churches, and 24
nunneries; 17 hospitals, 53 market places, 337 bridges of
stone and 113 of wood....
"Padua ... In the city of Loretto, in the church is a
treasure which exceeds all fame, likewise all sorts of
artificial contrivances. The treasure is estimated at nine
million riksdalers. There is there a miraculous statue of
Mary with her son with crowns of pure gold and diamonds; 12
golden censers, and 16 silver; a silver altar. The treasure
abounds in diamonds and gold. (Ibid., p. 58)
"Rome: There are only 200,000 souls in Rome.... The papal
revenues are 1,000 scudi per hour. A single episcopal cape
costs 20,000 riksdalers.... In the gilded metal dome of St.
Peters there is room for 16 persons; from there one can see
the sea, 40 Italian miles distant.... Peter and Paul are
buried in St. Peters, and their lamps are continually
burning. The church of St. John Leteran is said to have been
the first Christian church, built in the year 324. The popes
have two palaces,
the Vatican and the Quirinal, but they live for the most part
in the Quirinal....
"At Rome scarcely any others are seen in the streets save men
clothed with short black cloaks and a collar around their
necks. They are men of all classes."
(Resebeskrifn., pp. 58-9)
There are also short notes on the different cities, and the whole ends up with a list of the different societies existing in Italy.
These notes on Italy (ending on p. 1150 are the last entries in the journal for 1733, nor do we find any further journal entries until we come to p. 214 of his MS. book, when the journal is resumed though entries are made only for two days, March 1st and 3rd, 1734.
The one hundred pages which precede this resumption of the journal give us very precise information that, during his stay in Leipzig from October 1733 to the end of February 1734, Swedenborg was very busily engaged in specific studies.
Before taking up these studies, we may say a word about Swedenborg's leave of absence. This had been granted him for nine months without reduction of salary. Evidently the work was proceeding somewhat more slowly than he had anticipated. The plates for his great works had all been made in good time, but the printing had not proceeded as quickly as anticipated. The printing of the Principia had commenced on September 28th, and six sheets were printed the first week; the whole work consists of 450 pages, and it was issued in the beginning of May. But Swedenborg's leave of absence was up at the end of January. Swedenborg therefore determined to ask for an extension of leave, and on January 19th (Jan. 8th in Sweden), he writes from Leipzig to the College of Mines to this effect.
Inasmuch as his leave expires at the end of the coming
February, he writes, he humbly requests "some months'
extension, this time being of importance to me solely because
I have finally got to the printing; it is now in full swing,
and I am assured, and find also from the measures that have
been taken, that all will be ready by next Easter [April
25/14]. During this work, it is highly necessary that I
remain here if it is to be brought to a conclusion in the
style required. Moreover, during this or the coming month,
it would be almost impossible for me to betake myself on the
home journey and in the height of winter make so extended a
journey as that via Hamburg to Copenhagen and onward - this
my health does not permit." If this request for extended
leave be granted, he continues, "then I might be permitted,
and this I likewise humbly pray for, to make a tour from here
to Luneberg and Cassel, on account of some important business
of my own; and since only four or five weeks is required for
this, I hope to be able to be back in good time in the coming
summer with my work completed." (Doc. I:444; LM., p. 454)
The College considered the letter on the day it reached them, and at once concluded that in view of Swedenborg's reason, "permission cannot be refused him." (ACSD 558)
It would seem from Swedenborg's letter, either that the volumes on Iron and Copper were printed before the Principia or, at any rate, were well advanced, or that the three volumes must have been set simultaneously; otherwise it would have been impossible to have completed by Easter, that is to say, in
While reading the proof sheets of his Principia, Swedenborg's mind was already occupied with the psychological conclusions involved in his cosmological principles, and more especially with the question of the intercourse between the soul and the body. Accordingly, he beings in Leipzig to set down on paper some thoughts of this subject. He had already touched on it his Tremulation and also in the last work he wrote before leaving Sweden, namely, the Motion of the Elements (see above, pp. 348-49), but now he approaches the matter ex professo.
The sketch or outline is contained in his journal, pp. 116-31 and is entitled "The Mechanism of Soul and Body." The Latin text has never been printed, but there is a typescript in the Academy, and an English translation by Mr. Alfred H. Stroh is printed in Scientific and Philosophical Treatises Part II, pp. 13-32.
Swedenborg commences by repeating the doctrine that sensation
consists in the communication of tremulations by means of
membranes; but he emphasizes that these tremulations must be
"imprisoned" in certain definite membranes, otherwise there
could be no sensation (n l) - thus, he here seems to
anticipate the doctrine of cerebral sensory centers.
On the basis of this doctrine of sensation by tremulation, he
shows what it is that causes sensations to be delightful, or
the reverse, clear or confused, etc., showing also that the
undelight or disharmony is increased as the medium is
grosser, as, for instance, disharmony in the taste may
produce actual nausea, but not so with disharmony in the eye.
In all this, he is giving the general doctrine of his
Tremulation - though he introduces a new term, namely,
simile, using it in a sense not unlike "correspondence"; but
from this point he advances on a new path.
First he defines love as sensation, namely, a sensation of
the sweetness and harmony of a simile passing through the
contigum without torsion. From this he passes on to a direct
consideration of the soul. The soul, he says, is bound by
mechanical rules and "can be explored by mechanism and
geometry." Being created, the soul is finite, and being
finite it has space and figure and therefore is subject to
the rules of mechanism and geometry. That by these rules,
Swedenborg does not mean rules such as apply to things
terrestrial is clear, for he adds that these rules must be
known to angels since the soul is angelic. In this world,
the soul cannot know its own nature, but in the other world
it can know this, and also "how large it is." (n. 11)
He then states - and this for the first time in his writings
- that the rational, i.e., the human soul, "consists of the
actives of the first and second finites," around which "are
surfaces of passives or finites," i.e., "of second finites."
Thus he compares the soul to the first element. These
surfaces, by a sort of magnetic colligation, bend together
and so make an extense which he calls a membrane. (n. 12)
This membrane is extended throughout the body, and by its
motion creates sensation. (n. 13)
The brute soul is a similar expanse, but the fact that brutes
have the sense of quarters indicates that this soul is from
the magnetic
atmosphere. And since the human membranes are finer, men
have more distinct sensations and also rational ideas.
(nos. 14, 15; CL 183:5)
He then considers the soul after death, and maintains that by
the virtue of the colligating power of the enclosed actives,
the parts of the soul will at once be bound together into an
unbreakable globule which will indeed occupy space, but the
least space. It will be beyond the influence of any element
or fire save the first element from which it will obtain
sense and action. (nos. 16, 17)
Brute souls, on the other hand, perish, though not at once,
and this because their expanse is "subject to the action of
fire and air," and can be dissolved by assailing parts. The
"enclosed actives or elementaries then withdraw to their
places." (n. 21)
The next point made is that the understanding and ideas are
nothing but motion. (n. 22)
Then comes the argument that we can deduce the existence of a
God and Creator only "by a knowledge of the soul and of the
mechanism of the body"; while to suppose the soul to be
something unknown "is the nearest way to atheism." Here
Swedenborg returns to his idea concerning mechanism. What
mechanism it is Awe do not understand ... and because the
world does not wish that the matter shall be understood, we
remain in obscure darkness concerning it, believing it to be
something of the infinite," whence come doubts and finally we
shall see mechanism in the soul but none in the infinite.
"Let us stand still before the first simple or the first
created entity, and adore the origin of all things as utterly
unknown to our senses ... but without which there can be
nothing." The more deeply we enter into nature, he adds, the
more we come to the knowledge of God, "thus natural
philosophy will lead us truly to a confession of the
infinite.... The philosophy is ignorant and stupid ... which
does not acknowledge God." (n. 23)
In the passage, we note for the first time in Swedenborg's writings his estimation of the state of the learned world. There is a note of sadness here, and this note is continued through the other works written in Leipzig. Yet it could not have been openly avowed atheism which Swedenborg had in mind, for all the learned then professed to be deeply religious. We can imagine that he frequently talked on these subjects with his learned friends in Dresden and Leipzig, and it is not difficult also to imagine with what feelings these men would listen to an argument that would derive creation from the infinite mechanically, and in Genesis, and assailing the idea of a spiritual substance not consisting of parts. This was the attitude of mind which Swedenborg's works were subsequently to arouse, and it is this attitude, Swedenborg affirms, which leads to doubt and finally to atheism.
In the next paragraph of the work we are considering, Swedenborg gives us for the first time a clear glimpse of the literary plans that are developing in his mind as the fruit of his theory of creation.
"If the literary world takes increase as it has for some
centuries past, it will finally arrive at a knowledge of the
mechanism of the animal body and the soul," and then it will
laugh at our ignorance. "Let us therefore hasten in the same
direction, even in our own age." The time is ripe, the
wealth of experience is abundant. (n. 24)
Here, then, Swedenborg avows his purpose to investigate "the mechanism of the animal body and of the soul" - a purpose which he steadily pursued from this time on; here is the parting of the ways between the mineralogist and the physiologist, for Swedenborg never again returned to his mineralogical studies.
After this, Swedenborg turns to the nexus between the
infinite and the finite. This connection does indeed exist,
but, being beyond mechanics and geometry, not even the angels
can penetrate into its nature. (n. 25)
In this connection, Swedenborg now considers the question of the Divine Providence as being the influx of God into the universe answering to the influx
of the soul into the body. "The Divine Providence," he says,
"does not act immediately into men but mediately," acting
even into the grossest finites and the ultimate human body.
To illustrate the point, he adds: "it does not rain save by
the mediation of nature." So man does not sensate or think,
save by media; the soul does not expand to the willing of
anything, save by media. (n. 26)
These media "are intermediate and angelic substances or souls
like ours. Since many actives are possible, and these more
and more subtle - inasmuch as there is a soul, and inasmuch
as we see that the soul is frequently ruled not by itself but
by another - what hinders us from rightly thinking that there
are intermediate intelligences. Though we are ignorant of
them, still they can exist. How did the Deity make provision
without intermediates? was it ever by miracles? But, if
there be intermediate substances which are intelligent, which
are active, would not Providence put itself forth into the
soul in this way?" (n. 27)
These intermediate substances, he continues, "cannot but
actuate all things most justly, and according to God's
bidding. The nearer they are to things most simple, the
nearer are they to such things as are in the infinite, the
less can they deviate from a course which is supremely just
and simple, the less can they err or do aught that does not
come from a nexus and series that is infinite and supremely
simple, the less can they rule our actions in any other way
save after Gods' bidding. In compounds, we ordinately depart
from things supremely simple, going from similitudes to
things dissimilar, from modes to pluralities of
modifications. The more simple and subtle substances are,
the more perfect they are. Therefore, such substances are
possible, and substances even more subtle, even to the
infinite, by the mediation whereof exist contingencies and
the signs of Providence. Theology, moreover, declares that
there are angels; that there are angels of divine orders;
that there are those who carry out and follow up the commands
of God; those who are man's guardians; that with the
individual man there is an angel or genius who rules
according to God's bidding; that there are good angels; that
there are those who carry the soul to heaven; that there are
evil angels of a grosser kind, etc. Thus, I speak in accord
with the Scriptures if I say that there are angels, and that
the whole world is ruled by the Deity with the mediation of
angels. In this way we have also natural causes of Divine
Providence." (n. 28)
At first sight, this teaching seems to be nothing more nor less than the well known church doctrine that angels were created before the creation of the world, and that it is by means of these angels that God now rules mankind and the universe. And the student of Swedenborg will associate the teaching
Yet, deeper examination gives just cause to doubt whether this explanation is in accordance with Swedenborg's real meaning; whether, after all, it is based on a mere superficial appearance. Swedenborg's deeply philosophical mind is searching into inmost causes. The infinite, he sees, cannot operate immediately upon the finite any more than it can create the finite without means, and, indeed, means subject to the laws of mechanism and geometry. Here he parts from the theology of his day. He dares to ascribe laws to the infinite, and order to the God of the universe. There must be a nexus, he says, a first simple; and it is by these that all things are created; by these that all things are continually sustained. Are we to suppose then, that Swedenborg identified the simple? or that he was satisfied to rest halfway in the course of his inquiry with the thought that God rules by means of these angels? and this without inquiry into the means by which God rules these angels themselves?
Moreover, if Swedenborg had the thought of created angels in his mind, why does he speak of them as "intermediate substances," why does he contrast them with "compounds"? Why does he call them "things supremely simple," "similitudes," "simple substances," and "substances ever more subtle even to the infinite"?
No just idea can be obtained of Swedenborg's real meaning unless the reflections which he here commits to paper are considered in connection with the doctrine he has laid down in his Principia - a doctrine which is actively present in his mind, and the logical conclusions of which are the subject of his deepest reflections.
The world was not created out of nothing! It was not created by fiat! By a mere dixit! Here was a break with the theologians, and while this is not noticed in the learned reviews of the Principia, we cannot doubt that Swedenborg himself was not unaware that many maintained the objection, voiced many years later by Cuno, that this theory militated against the Word of God. (NP 1930:191)
In his work on the Infinite, Swedenborg carried out this doctrine to its logical conclusion, and taught that the soul also is mechanical; and here, even the learned reviewer is alarmed by what seems to be a denial of the generally accepted notion of the soul, and a materializing of the soul itself. (Ibid., p. 198n)
But Swedenborg is logical. As the earth was created by successive means, so also is it sustained or perpetually created. Hence God governs the world - the Divine Providence operates - by means of the nexus and the first simple; and by the same means He governs the individual man.
But though Swedenborg held the first substances of the world and of the soul to be subject to mechanism and geometry, yet, and this is the important point, he did not mean by this what so many would thoughtlessly suppose, that these mechanical and geometrical finites were more passive tools, like the parts of a machine. They were active - active in se---- active with the end of the Divine. And in what better way can this thought be expressed than by calling them "intelligent subjects"? This, we believe, is the reason why Swedenborg
Having so named his intermediate substances, Swedenborg then, knowing he was treading on sacred ground, seeks confirmation in theology, and finds it there in the doctrine concerning the angels by whom God rules man and guards him. He therefore joins this doctrine with his philosophical reasoning; indeed, so far does he do this that he does no hesitate to call his intermediary substances "angels or created substances." (Sc. And Phi. Tr. Pt. II:28:n.42)
A similar question arises in connection with the "evil angels of a grosser kind." Here Swedenborg merely mentions them, but in the Worship and Love of God he meant the love of self and its derivations, created by God to be the servants to man's heaven, but it will be sufficient to note Swedenborg's own explanation as to why he used terms current in the theology of the day, namely, that the things involved "could have been put in no other way because the whole Christian world believes no other than that the devil was created a good angel but afterwards fall" (SD. N. 3217; see Acton, Introduction to the Word Explained, pp. 151-52).
What Swedenborg wished to establish in his notes on the mechanism of soul and body, was that the Divine ruling of the universe was effected by means, mechanical and geometrical means; that the Divine Providence had "natural causes." And it is clear beyond a doubt that in the first cause, these means were the nexus and the first substantial.
We must fasten our attention on this point, and not allow our gaze to be diverted by the mere use of words. That Swedenborg believed in angels created before the world, must seem altogether impossible to one who has studied his works. The Principia, wherein he gives his doctrine of creation, affords no place for such a creation, nor, by any interpretation whatsoever, can it possibly be twisted to afford any place. Moreover, Swedenborg himself some years before his spiritual eyes were opened, speaks explicitly against this doctrine (R. Psych. N. 555).
But after all, what Swedenborg's private thoughts were do not so much concern us, and in any case, we can never know them with certainty. What does concern us is his system of philosophy, and this can be learned by a study of his meaning as shown by his whole work.
Continuing his argument in the Mechanism of Soul and Body, Swedenborg clearly perceives that his way of reasoning might have its danger:
"If it should go naked and in the manner of a forerunner," he
writes, "it would so expose itself that it might lead many to
naturalism." And so he holds that "if the right way is to be
opened to the confession of God," then what is said
concerning soul and body "must be proved by ... metaphysics,
by the analysis of things natural, by geometry and mechanism,
by figures and calculation, by experience, by the anatomy of
the human body, by effects, by the passions of the body and
the soul, by sacred Scripture. It is thus that this theory
must be investigated." (n. 29)
Here comes more clearly before us the dawning of that plan of work which was to dominate and direct Swedenborg's studies for the remaining years of his philosophical studies. In his search for the soul, his mind was beginning definitely to turn to the study of anatomy, whereby he could test by "analysis," by "geometry and mechanism," by "experience," the truth of the ideas he entertained; could test his doctrine that God ruled the universe and man by
He then turns to a consideration of the question of generation and heredity. The subtle membrane of he soul, he holds,
"must be configured according to the motions impressed by the
senses and motions of the body," and this because it is bound
to the membranes of the body by an unbroken series of
connections. (Sc. And Phil. Tr. II:25:n. 30)
By the "subtle membrane of the soul," he means a most
delicate meninx such as might be imagined to clothe the
simplest substances of the cortical glands. The impress of
notions on this meninx, together with a "gentle heat" will
result in its expansion "into an animal similar to its
genitor which will have not only all the organic parts
similar but also an almost similar face and mind." (n. 31)
In a later paragraph, he adds:
"A part of the soul from any part whatsoever of the brain
produces seed from which nothing else can exist than a
similar animal." But to do this, it must be enclosed in
"three or four tunics" taken from the body. When the
enclosed soul then "expands," i.e., develops or clothes
itself, "it must needs expand into a similar animal." For
the soul contains motions or "habits of the parts to this
motion or that," and from this "first seed of mechanism" it
must produce a like mechanism in the greater system. (n. 36)
In this passage we have a suggestion as to the mechanism of the transmission of acquired traits from parent to offspring.
The passage also gives us a reason why Swedenborg was led so minutely to study the anatomy and physiology of generation. Prior to this study, he observes, little further can be said on this aspect of his theory.
It "is a matter of deeper investigation," he says, "and
requires a most lengthy geometrical and anatomical
demonstration"; (n. 31) and so he passes on to his next
point, namely, that "the soul is the pare maxima of the
body," and that it communicates with the body throughout the
whole of the latter. (nos. 32-33)
Swedenborg does not mean that the soul is the pars maxim in size or bulk, but in the sense that it is most universally present in the body, in every membrane, nerve, and in all the bloods. In fact, as he adds, "in all the extremities there is an expansion of the soul."
It is especially present, however, in the whole of the brain, both cortical and medullary, and even in the cranium. All that is in the brain
"ends in the soul, and from the brain the soul takes on all
the mechanical parts, and so acts upon the organic and
mechanical parts of the body by means of compression and
dilatation." (nos. 34-35)
Here we see the reason why Swedenborg subsequently made so intensive a study of the brain; we see also the reason why he insisted so emphatically that the brain had a motion of expansion and contraction; and we shall see later that the brain was the first subject that Swedenborg took up in the series of his physiological writings.
From this doctrine concerning the soul, Swedenborg proceeds to give a theory of spontaneous generation. He realizes that if a living creature is created, it must have a soul, and that this soul must belong to the sphere of finites. His thought seems to be that since the soul is in every part of an animal (or of a vegetable), it must manifest its presence by an activity of the parts. Under normal conditions, this soul clothes itself as seed and so produces "similies." But the question arises whether this activity of the more subtle parts, produced by the soul, is the cause of spontaneous generation. Swedenborg concludes that it is, and in this way he accounts for the presence of a living soul in the insects of spontaneous generation. In his theological works, he ascribes the existence of these souls to "influx from the hells," i.e., from the spiritual world; but he says nothing as to the mode or mechanism of this influx save only that there must be corresponding receptacles. Here, however, where he is endeavoring to present the principles of the Principia as explaining the existence of all living organic forms, he seems to hold that the mechanism of the influx of life in cases of spontaneous generation is, that lower finites set in motion by the soul of an animal, can themselves become the soul of a lower form of life, provided the conditions are suitable. The question indeed may be asked whether it is not along some such lines that the influx from the spiritual world in effected. Spontaneous generation cannot essentially be effected by any other law than the law of normal generation. In the latter case, however, it is clear that life is transmitted to the newborn animal by the transmission of finites - of whatsoever degree - which derive their activity mediately or immediately from Life itself. Something of the same kind must take place in spontaneous generation - unless, indeed, we are to suppose that the influx from the spiritual world in such case is a sudden connection between the "corresponding matters" and a general spiritual atmosphere.
But let me now quote Swedenborg's own words as translated with the most exact literalness:
"That each part of an animal can give [rise to] some new
animal, as also the other animals [i.e., to a "simile" to
itself, or of some other animate creature]. We see that from
a putrefying animal are born an infinitude of animals. We
see that from a putrefying calf or other animal came forth an
infinitude of insects; for by putrefaction the animal part is
altered, and what [then] is wanting that it may create a
simile? Thus we see that similars are born from the [burnt]
ashes of an animal; similars from the least part; and this in
the absence of seed and egg. Thus, in the seed of man are
myriads of seeds, one of which will prevail if only the
subtle depart joined with another, enjoys elasticity; and
when the surface has induced an aptitude for the motions of
the sense, then at once the animal is born. From the
excrement of insects, an animal [animated creature] is born."
(n. 37)
In the paragraph that follows, Swedenborg states that when the soul has developed into a body, then
"from every part of that body can go forth a new soul and
life." (n. 38)
This is a consequence of the position that the soul is present everywhere in the body.
The next paragraph continues the theory of spontaneous generation, making it clear that in Swedenborg's view, everything proceeding from a living body contains actives in its recesses. He states this more plainly in a later paragraph where he says "that nothing animal [or animate] can be produced without an animal"; for since the soul is present almost everywhere in the body, something animal must go forth from the least part of that body. (n. 44)
"That from our breath and mouth go forth on infinitude of
souls which can present (i.e.., represent, set up) animals.
We see that there are an infinitude of animalcules in the
mouth and between the teeth; from the mouth, moreover,
liquids go forth by means of the breath, and it can be no
otherwise than that there also have a part from the soul
endowed with most subtle tunics, etc. Therefore, there go
forth every moment such things as can present animal
offspring. That it shall present a simile, it must go forth
from the brain and from some medullary part thereof."
(n. 39)
"Or from the nerves, membranes and brain." (n. 45)
To this, Swedenborg then adds that the same reasoning may perhaps account for insects born on vegetation. (n. 40)
In a later paragraph, he expresses more specifically his idea as to the mode whereby one animal may furnish the souls of different kinds of animals - though his reasoning could apply only to a man.
"In an animal there is almost every animal which it
produces, both by the soul [i.e., in normal generation] and
by its effluvia ... so that, provided only a part of it goes
forth, an animal is born therefrom." In every fibre and
nerve and in the humor adherent thereto, there is something
"most delicate and animal," and it is this which goes forth.
But this animal (or animate) is always clothed with
membranes, and on these membranes are impressed all the
motions that come from the senses; "hence the soul becomes
accustomed to these motions ... and hence is mechanically
unable to unfold itself in any other way than into material
forms in accordance with the impressed motions." (n. 45)
"These motions have become habits, so that the membranes
can spontaneously take on no other form. "Therefore, when
such part expands, it must take on the figure of [its]
motion, i.e., on animal with all the senses, etc. from which
the motions come." (n. 46)
Swedenborg further shows that this animal something which
goes forth from the least parts of an animal goes into the
ground and rots, or is carried about in the air, or cleaves
to plants, etc., and thus "with the approach of heat, animals
are born." (n. 44)
One statement he makes in this connection, which we are wholly unable to understand, is the following:
"It has been observed in crabs that from every part of them,
roasted, boiled, and prepared, comes forth a crab, etc."
(n. 45)
Swedenborg then turns to first creation, and in a very general way sketches out what later he develops in his Worship and Love of God. He holds
that at first creation, the primitive seed receives its
necessary motions from the elements, but that later seeds
receive them from the organs of the body by means of
membranes - with the result that seed now is formed only in
living bodies. (n. 41)
"In the first seed, the Divine Providence was so present
that by the mediation of angels contingent things might
exist," and so exist that nothing pertaining to the motions
of the elements might be lacking. The Infinite can act upon
the gross finite only mediately. The first means are
"angels," the second are "the innumerable changes undergone
by the earth" so that the first seed should be created,
brought forth, and developed at a time of perpetual spring.
"Thus we owe
the creation of animals to God mediately by angels or created
substances, which then create Divine Providence, which also
puts itself forth mediately by means of such substances."
(n. 42)
It is in this first creation, he adds, wherein all things
were present, that we must marvel at the Divine Providence,
even though, from ignorance, we may not marvel at the
creation of animals as it now exists. (n. 45)
As to the separation of the soul from the parent, Swedenborg says:
"A separated part does not have the same sensations as the
contiguous [that is, as those membranous connections which
are in the body of the parent] unless there should be some
sympathy." The reason is, he continues, because the
separated part is not now embodied in the former contiguum.
"Hence its sensation is no longer in the body." Hence also
"children are no longer joined to their parents except
sympathetically." But of this matter, he adds, "God willing,
I shall write elsewhere." (n. 47)
Swedenborg concludes this sketch with a few words as to the soul after death:
"When the man dies his soul still lives, for it can
never perish because it consists of subtle parts, being much
that it cannot rot, nor can it perish by fire or air or
otherwise." (n. 48)
By death, however, a great part of its perishes, or is
loosed from its connection with the rest. (n. 50)
But the soul itself betakes itself more and more into a
unit and remains in one place.* (n. 50)
* Swedenborg explains this further in his last paragraph (n. 53). As the body becomes flaccid with death, "this most subtle soul, where all the parts, fluid in se, can recede more and more; and finally so recede that they betake themselves into a unit ... exhibits an entire soul flow together into a unit which cannot be separated by any terrestrial thing, and so is cleansed from all things terrestrial."
"By the mediation of angels, it thus comes into heaven;
without their mediation, I know not whether it can thus live.
Therefore it is carried into heaven by angels, after it has
undergone its purification." (n. 52)
Such then is this remarkable document penned by Swedenborg in Leipzig in October or November 1733. In places it is obscure but, as already observed, if we would understand its import, we must study it and interpret its obscure passages with the fact always kept in mind, that it was written as the development of the principles of creation laid down in the Principia. Attention must also be paid to what Swedenborg later developed in his physiological and psychological writings. There can be no doubt that in this first attempt at an inquiry into the human soul, Swedenborg sketched out in one comprehensive view the whole of the field to which he was henceforth and for many years to devote himself.
The work we have been considering is but a sketch, written probably with a view of presenting to its writer the extent of the field before him, the points to be studied, and the positions to be inquired into, and, if true,
It is not unnatural that after this sketch of his ideas or speculations concerning the soul, involving so many points concerning propagation and heredity, that Swedenborg should next turn to the subject of generation. Whether this is what led him to follow his little sketch by the study of that learned and curious works of Doctor Martin Schurig of Dresden, we cannot say - but it is certain that the subject was interesting to Swedenborg, and that he considered it an important one in the series of his proposed studies is indicated by the fact that he gives twenty-one very closely written pages of his journal to extracts from Schurig's works. These works had all been published from 1729-1732 by "the son of the late Christopher Hekel" of Dresden and Leipzig, one of them being published at this expense. This son was, of course, Frederick Hekel, Swedenborg's publisher and friend, and it is probably to Hekel that Swedenborg owed his introduction to those valuable works of which he was to make such frequent use. It is not improbable that Hekel presented him with a set of all the work she himself had published - he may even have introduced him to the Dresden physician. These were five in number:
Muliebria, Parthenologia, Gyneacologia, Syllepsilogia and Embryologia, all of which were in Swedenborg's library at the time of his death.
Swedenborg's quotations are from all five of the above-mentioned works, and at the end of these quotations, he expresses his appreciation of the value of these works by noting that in 1720 Schurig had published another work on the same subject, under the title Spermatologia. This work, however, had been published in Frankfurt-au-Main and so was no among the works obtained of Hekel. Swedenborg, however, succeeded later in purchasing a copy and, as with the others, he mad copious use of it.
To Swedenborg, the discovery of Schurig's works must have been the discovery of a veritable treasure-house. For these works are a careful and very complete compilation, with complete references, of all that was known concerning the subject dealt with - whether in the way of reported cases or in the way of theories and speculations, all of which are quoted from thousands of printed sources. In a word, he presented all the known facts on his subject together with the various views concerning these facts and the reasons for them.
It may here be noted that in the quotations which Swedenborg extracted from these works during the close of 1733, many of the doctrines which he subsequently outlined in his work on Generation were shown to be the doctrines or theories held by one or another of the authorities concerning the course of the seed. Here Swedenborg quotes varying and opposing views, but he underscores those views which he himself afterwards taught with such cogent reasoning.
The perusal of these five large quarto volumes must have occupied a long time, especially when accompanied with the entering of copious notes. And it was probably the beginning of 1734 before Swedenborg completed this reading.
After reading Schurig, Swedenborg continued his anatomical studies by reading a curious German work, published in Leipzig in 1722. Swedenborg evidently bought a copy of this work, for a copy was included in his library.
The work in question was by Christian Fred. Richtern, a physician of Halle. Its long descriptive title reads, in part, as follows:
"Highly necessary knowledge concerning man, especially
concerning his body and its natural life; or plain
information concerning his body and its natural life; or
plain information concerning health and its preservation; and
also concerning the causes, symptoms, and names of sickness,
and their tried remedies, whereby every one, even the
unlearned, in the absence of a physician can cure the
ordinary and even the more difficult sicknesses," etc.,
Leipzig, 1722.
It is a bulky octave volume of over 1200 well printed pages,
and has an excellent index. In effect, this work was what
would now be called "A Household Medical Guide" or some such
title. But in addition to the ordinary contents of such a
work, it also contains a long chapter of 65 pages on the
anatomical structure of the body, followed by chapters on the
mechanism of the body and its director or soul, the memory
and imagination, the affections, etc., and the circulation of
the blood.
Swedenborg was probably interested in all those chapters, but the only evidence of his study of them is contained in his journal where, immediately after his extracts from Schurig, he enters five pages of extracts translated into Latin from the German of Firchtern's chapter on the Structure of the Body. In effect, this chapter is a very excellent general presentation of the whole of human anatomy. Swedenborg heads his extracts "Observata," and they have been translated into English by Mr. Alfred Stroh and published in Scientific and Philosophical Treatises under the title "Observations on the Human Body." In these extracts, Swedenborg covered only 27 of the 65 pages occupied by the chapter from which he quotes. His notes comprise the skin, the brain, and the eye, but had he continued, he would of course have completed the whole body. (Sc. And Phil. Tr. II:p.33s)
But he was interrupted by the reading of a work which was more immediately connected with the psychological speculations that had been occupying his thoughts. This work had been published at the end of 1732, and was the latest of Wolff's philosophical writings. It was entitled:
"Empirical Psychology treated in a scientific manner, wherein
are contained those teachings concerning the human soul which
become evident on the undoubted testimony of experience, and
the path is laid for a solid treatment of the whole of
Empirical Philosophy and Natural Theology."
(Psychlogica p. xii)
It was a scientific doctrine of the soul that Swedenborg had attempted to sketch out in his "Mechanism" and now he discovers that the great Wolff has also written an Empirical Psychology (published 1732). This enlists more than his ordinary interest; and, therefore, he enters into his journal not merely extracts from the work but extracts with comments so extended as practically to constitute a psychological essay by Swedenborg himself. As such also it has been treated by the Swedenborg Scientific Association, which body, in 1923, published the Latin text and an English translation under the title Psychologica. It is to this work - the continual and development of the "Mechanism" - that we shall now give our attention.
Swedenborg's plan was to run through the work page by page, making comments and occasionally entering on diversions concerning the soul and its connection with the body, the human will, etc. His comments bear the impress of the same line of thought that runs through the Mechanism of the Soul and Body, and much in them is further explained in his later work on the Infinite.
In connection with Wolff's opening statement, that God is a Spirit,
Swedenborg defines spirit as being "all things that are
active per se even though in material things."* Being
created, all spirits must be finite and therefore "mechanical
and geometrical with an active added thereto." Thus they are
subject to mechanical rules.
* Apply this definition to the intelligences and wisdoms of Worship and Love of God. See above, pp. 395-96.
The infinite is devoid of geometry.
The only middle term is that which "has not been so finited
as to have the attributes of the finite, though in potency it
is similar to the infinite. There is no mechanical or
geometrical nexus between the infinite and finite. The
infinite is the cause, and the effect is immediate." The
only nexus is, therefore, by the Son appearing in ultimates;
and not by anything geometrical.
(Sc. And Ph. Tr. II:22 n. 25)
Swedenborg therefore concludes that the infinite is not a spirit, the term spirit being more properly predicable of the Holy Spirit. We note that the same line of thought is followed in de Infinito, pp. 95-165-66.
Later on in his notes, Swedenborg returns to this subject of spirits.
"When they can make no further advance to indivisible
elements, our modern authors take refuge in spirits, where
the ancients betook themselves to atoms. The taking refuge in
spirits is the worse course ... being a refuge in something
unknown. In this unknown, men see something active, and at
once they call it spirits i.e., animal spirits.... They have
merely clothed the unknown with a new name, and this because
they see an active ... operating upon a finite. They call
God a Spirit but Infinite; they call angels spirits, but
finite; they call the soul a spirit, and so also its animal
spirits; they call the devil a spirit ... they say these
spirits are finite ... are endowed with active forces, that
they can act upon what is material; can be enclosed in
nerves. And yet they say that certain spirits are not
capable of extension, and cannot be considered as being in
space. What is all this but mere contradictions in
predicates. That which is not infinite must be finite....
If the spirit is created, it is finite and must have the
attributes of the finite, such as figure, space, and, in
motion it must have moments, degrees, and therefore must be
geometrical and mechanical.... If we had the microscopes, we
might be able to see the entire structure both of the soul
and of the spirit." (Psychologica, n. 75)
To a vague thought about spirits, atheism is due to a large extent, as
Swedenborg shows in one of his diversions from Wolff's text
where he shows that from ignorance atheists fall into doubt,
ignorance being the shortest path to denial. Being ignorant
of the soul, we doubt its existence, and confused doubt leads
to denial. See Inf., p. 198. Believing the souls of men and
brutes will both die, from confusion men are unable to
distinguish between them; for never having been
brutes, they are unable to speak from experience. Being
ignorant of the soul, they doubt concerning God. "Moreover,
if a thing is mechanical, they think that therefore it must
perish (see Inf. p. 191). The soul is indeed mechanical, but
there is a mechanical which cannot perish, and if this were
shown, I do not think so much doubt would arise.* From
preconceived opinions, men think that mechanically a
communion of souls is not possible, but if they knew the soul
was mechanical, they would think differently." Swedenborg
does not, therefore, wonder that men doubt the existence of
spirits seeing they are said not to be mechanical. Spirits
are finite not infinite, but according to common opinion,
they are neither finite nor infinite, which is an
impossibility. Therefore, being unable to have any
conception of them, men come to denial "the refuge and last
boundary of ignorance." Not knowing that the soul has a most
subtle sense, they deny, but if this were shown, they would
not deny. "With the opening of the mechanism of the soul,
they will come to know the nature of the soul if life, its
nature as formed in life by means of the body, and its nature
thus formed after death." They will come to know that the
soul can derive its origin only from the Infinite in whom is
the cause of every finite - a fact which spirits themselves
know and yet do not know, and which consequently they highly
venerate." (Psych., n. 52; see also n. 91)
* Swedenborg returns to this thought later (Psych., n. 116), saying that if it is shown that the soul and its operations are mechanical, "not only is the doubt removed (concerning the soul and immortality), but we shall be able to learn concerning memory, intellect, imagination, the passions, all of which are now unknown because we do not know this mechanism, and therefore we doubt concerning the soul" Yet there is a mechanical which is immortal, as witness "the supremely subtle elements and the sun which were created simultaneously."
In these passages we see the motive which led Swedenborg to publish his Infinite and the Mechanism of Soul and Body. Similar sentiments are expressed in that work in chapter II #ii ("From ignorance." = p. 110, London 1847).
Self-consciousness is the result of the elements of the world
acting on organs conspiring therewith. (Ibid., p. 4 n. 2)
This self-consciousness, as Wolff observes, is evidenced by
the fact that we doubt. But Swedenborg argues, Why argue
that I am? What I am is the real question. The clearest
definition is: "I doubt, therefore there is a rational soul,"
for doubting involves arguments, thoughts, ratio.
Mere thought can be applied to brutes, and to man in dreams,
and in the foolish. Rational thought consists of corporeal
thought and thought from the soul combined. Though the soul
is the origin of thinking, yet there are thoughts which have
another origin; the soul then runs into the traces impressed
by such thoughts spontaneously. (Ibid., p. 6 n. 3)
Mere perception is common with brutes, but distinct
perception is the property of man only. The one terminates
in the animal soul, the other in the rational soul.
(Ibid., p. 8 nos. 4-5)
Animals can note that the sun is, but man goes further and
notes what the sun is. (Ibid., pp. 10 n. 6)
After various notes wherein Swedenborg expresses more or less agreement with Wolff, Swedenborg inserts some observations respecting the soul, which bear on his Principia doctrine in a very definite way. (Ibid., pp. 10-14 = nos. 7-14)
Tremulation, he says, is the cause of sensation in the soul,
and granting that the soul is a spiral with cones and thus
can be moved differently, he considers the resultant effects
in their relation to the doctrine of the Principia. This
leads him to draw a diagram of the soul with its successive
coverings. (Psych. Pp. 16-20 nos. 15-17)
The inmost, and in figure of snail's shell, consists of
actives of the first finite. (See de Infinito p. 183 = Eng.
p. 102, where the same statement is made.) These form a kind
of spiral membrane consisting of third finites enclosing
first and second finites. Then comes a membrane enclosing
the first element; then a membrane enclosing the second
element. (See Ibid., p. 263 = Eng. P. 146.) Then a membrane
enclosing ether. Then a grosser membrane and finally the
blood vessel. Confer Psych., n. 228 and de Infin. P. 258 =
Eng. Pp. 142-43. (Psych., n. 17)
In animals, the membrane of the soul is lacking; and in all
men this membrane is similar. See de Infin. P. 266 = Eng.
p. 147.
Tremors in these membranes cause sensations. The lowest
membrane gives sensation which we have in common with brutes.
See de Infin., p. 266 = Eng. P. 147; the highest belongs to
men alone. (Psych., n. 18, p. 26)
The tremulations themselves come from use and cultivation.
Hence training ought to be by similar tremulations, otherwise
the tremulation will be judged according to its disharmony,
or else the man will reason foolishly. (Ibid., n. 19)
And so Swedenborg agrees with Wolff, that if a compound is
confused, the soul is in confused perceptions.
(Ibid., p. 28, n. 20)
All perceptions of things in the world depend on mutations in
our body. There must be something that does the moving.
Imagination does not exist from itself. On the other hand,
the motion must go to a definite terminus; but the terminus
may be in some subtle organ or in the soul itself.
(Ibid., n. 21)
It is this, that is to say, tremulation, that makes presence.
In brutes this presence goes no further than to the sensitive
soul. See de Infin. P. 266 = Eng. P. 147.
(Ibid., p. 30 n. 23)
Thus sensation becomes perception but only so far as the
membranes have been cultivated by use. (Ibid., n. 24)
Here Swedenborg again introduces an independent observation
by raising up the question why nature has raised up in our
senses what is delightful. His answer is that "all the way
to the soul, all things must conspire to the production of
harmony. Such harmony reaches even to the soul; hence come
such great delights. The same thought is expressed in de
Inf., p. 81 = Eng. P. 45. (Ibid., p. 32, n. 26)
Commenting on Wolff's statement that a strong sensation
obscures a weak, he says that "sensations may be possible
without perceptions, and such perhaps are the sensations of
worms and imperfect animals." (Ibid., nos. 27-28)
Turning to another subject, he says, while the soul cannot
alter its sensations so long as an object is before its
sensory organs, yet "it can receive motions from the first,
second or third element from whatsoever cause arising which
can act immediately upon the organs or
proximate membranes of the soul, and actuate them into a
tremor ... and by means of phantasy or appetite can produce
some effect on the body." This is an intimation of
affections arising from spheres other than those of visible
objects. (Psych. P. 36: nos. 30, 31)
After the Fall, vitiated states may so fix impediments in the
membranes that the soul cannot be moved save agreeably with
sensations which are the origins of vices. Hence a kind of
callosity or disease. There may also be impediments which
prevent the tremulation caused by the first and second
elements from carrying a genuine motion to the grosser
organs. (Ibid., p. 38: n. 33)
Sometimes, moreover, sensations may be defective, not from
defective organs but from a defect in the middle path between
the organ and the soul; as in melancholia and when the
membranes are occupied with their own tremors and not those
of the senses. (Ibid. P. 42: n. 37)
From the law that Nature is ever like herself (n. 34),
Swedenborg deduces the laws of understanding from the laws of
sensations. Thus, from the fact that if two objects produce
the same sensation the objects must seem to be the same,
Swedenborg argues that in the understanding, the same lack of
distinction may exist as a result of excessive tensions.
Here is the need of a good methodic education.
(Ibid., p. 40: n. 36)
A tremor in the most subtle membranes is an idea, and if the
tremor be great it may communicate itself to the senses,
resulting in seeing images in wakeful moments as in dreams;
as in dreamers and somnambulists, this idea seems to be
directed to some end. In brutes it ends in the organ below
our soul, but in man it passes to the soul and then becomes
reasoning. See de Infinito p. 266 = Eng. P. 147)
Speaking more specifically of these tremulations, he notes
that a membrane has sensitive tremulations in the degree that
it is divided into its least parts. Thus these tremulations
increase as they pass to the "second, third, and fourth pia
mater," for there it is less subject to mutation.
(Ibid., p. 46: n. 41)
Later, Swedenborg returns to this subject of the pia mater,
showing its wide extension, and that sensation comes because
it covers the nerves. Its being devoid of nerves but crowed
with blood vessels indicates the influence of the blood upon
the emotions. (Ibid., p. 52:n. 46)
Turning to imagination, Swedenborg suggests modes of
education when he says that the cause of imagination is that
a simile excites its simile, and if the motion of the simile
has been made stronger, as by dwelling on it, the power of
imagination becomes stronger. This, however, is effected
only by means of an organ with the addition of will.
(Ibid. p. 48: n. 42)
Here Swedenborg makes another diversion to point out that
ideas and imaginations can never be in the soul only; they
must also be in the organ proximate to the soul, and there
they become first confused and then clear. When it comes to
the soul we have the rational. It is confused in animals and
clear only in the human soul. Subtle membranes receive
tremors first confusedly then clearly. (Ibid. P. 50: n. 44)
Commenting on the statement that imagination is stronger when alone, Swedenborg says:
This "is seen in dreams; when we are alone; and when we are
in ecstasy" - the word "ecstasy" here suggests that deep
thought into which Swedenborg was sometimes sunk.
(Psych. P .60: n. 56)
Swedenborg makes many comments on Wolff's treatment on the imagination, sometimes approving sometimes disagreeing. In all of these comments, we see the doctrine of tremulation as developed in his earlier works; we see also the gradual formation of those ideas on psychology which six years later were formulated in the Rational Psychology.
Turning to Wolff's chapter on Sleep and Dreaming, Swedenborg defines sleep as a relaxation of the nerves so that no tremule can run through them, and there can therefore be no communication between the world and the cerebrum, and no will can be effected.
"But a tremor is present in the more subtle membranes where
is the seat of phantasy, and which are not relaxed.
Therefore, phantasies are ... possible and the operation and
communication of such phantasies with the soul. Hence we
have dreams." Phantasies, therefore, do not have the same
seat as sensations, their membrane being more subtle. If we
lost our senses, phantasy would still continue. But not so
with those born deaf and blind because their membranes have
not been cultivated. (Ibid. P. 72: n. 72)
As to the physical aspects of sleep, long continued tension
brings pain and hence general relaxation. The veins also
relax and therefore admit of more and grosser blood; thus
greater purification is possible. Hence from lack of sleep
the blood becomes impure and causes fevers.
(Ibid, p. 74: n. 74)
With noctambulists, while a large part of the body is
relaxes, another part is so tense that there is a
communication between the organs and the pia and other
maters; but this communication is not effected by a sure and
unimpeded path, being in one place considerable and in
another absent. Hence there is no definite reasoning or
phantasies. "It is a kind of apoplexy in the brain."
(Ibid. N. 73)
In dreams, etc., one operation of the imagination calls forth
another, and therefore they seem to tend to a definite end -
though we know it not, except as the end of the dream. It is
the soul that thus directs the end. (Ibid., p. 78: n. 76)
Thus we can remember the dream if it has come to the soul and
excited pleasure, or if the pleasure has excited the blood;
then some activity still continues in the nerves when we
awake. (Ibid. P. 80: n. 77)
The inconsequential character in dreams comes "either from
the parts coming from the blood and nerves which cause
tremors, or from a series of tremors one after the other."
(Ibid. P. 82: n. 83)
A dream penetrates to the soul if it is a clear dream or
continuous, or if added force comes from the parts of the
blood or nerves or from some motion of the nerves.
(Ibid., n. 85)
Here Swedenborg makes the special observation that if the
cerebellum were rightly joined to the cerebrum, the
communication between them would be such that we would know
all that took place in our body. Hence if God had willed
this, we would have known all anatomy "almost without a
master." (Ibid. P. 82: n. 86)
This is the first mention in Swedenborg's works of the effects of the separation of cerebrum and cerebellum.
Later, Swedenborg makes mention (from Wolff) of Egyptian hieroglyphics and of Comenius's method of teaching children by pictures. (Psych. P. 90: n. 97)
Later, he agrees with Wolff, that the memory and imagination is a hieroglyphic writing, and he adds that a kind of writing might be invented which would express more in a line than our writing expressions in pages. But to understand it, would require a man of knowledge. (Ibid. P. 92: n. 99)
He specially emphasizes his divergence from the Schoolmen,
who say that the whole soul is in the whole body and in its
every part. "They are mistaken," he says, A... the soul is
in the whole brain and is grosser in the body; and the soul
consists of many parts though the parts are all similar."
See de Inf. P. 257 = Eng. P. 142. (Ibid. N. 98)
This he illustrates by worms, "in that from worms of any
given kind, none but worms of the same kind can be produced"
(confer Sc. And Ph. Tr. II: p. 27: nos. 36-37).
(Ibid. P. 94: n. 105.
Memory he defines as "the same tremor recurring."
(Ibid. P. 94: n. 105)
Commenting on the memory and imagination, Swedenborg gives as the reason why men need cultivation but not brute animals is
"because they possess a soul which, by reason of its
subtlety, cannot be opened and be connected with the body
except by exercise. Men are not so gifted as brutes, because
with men the path [to the soul] is longer and does not
terminate in proximate things; hence comes confusion." He
adds that some men are naturally better connected up.
(Ibid. P. 106: n. 123)
Will is defined as the state resulting from the delay causes
by pleasure when the membranes and their liquid contents are
harmoniously affected by the tremulations coming from the
senses. This is effected in the "third meninx," the soul and
the second meninx remaining over the same. Thus, will is
preceded by pleasure which causes delay whence comes
attention and reflection.
(Ibid. pp. 110, 112: n. 133; see n. 200)
Judgment is formed by exercise in joining things together and
seeing the result. In this formation, words are more
important than sights since words contain this judgment.
(Ibid. p. 118: n. 147)
Pleasure is defined as the perception of harmony. Then comes
appetite and aversion. Hence affections and joy.
(Ibid. nos. 159s, 165s)
Wolff defines loves as "the disposition of the soul to
perceive pleasure in the happiness of another." This
Swedenborg denies and defines loves as the effect or
inseparable companion of pleasure, and as arising from
harmony. (Ibid. n. 170)
After a few brief notes, Swedenborg's comment on Wolff's Empirical Psychology comes to an end. (Ibid. nos. 170-99)
He then adds a number of independent reflections, all of
which plainly have in view the writing of a work dealing with
God and the soul.
He first treats of the will and its determinations, and
points out that the will is to be formed with man, but not
with brute animals. With man it comes from custom and habit,
appetite and pleasure. (Ibid. n. 200)
Its proximate cause is the motion of the parts, this motion
being a subtle undulatory motion whence comes an appetite for
like motions. (Psych., n. 202)
The determination of these motions into action by the soul is
from desire, imagination and habit which will cause an
undulation of grosser membranes and finally of muscles.
(Ibid. n. 203s)
Swedenborg confesses himself not in a position to demonstrate all these points, partly because
"in the cares of a foreign journey, no aids are at hand,
there is neither time nor opportunity, and other cares and
pleasures do not permit." (Ibid. n. 205)
At the close of this section, Swedenborg says that
"In the human soul are actives of the first and second finite
-- the finites, namely, which are contained within the second
element. In brutes, the soul is the first element contained
within the ether." See de Inf., pp. 183, 258, 263 = Eng. Pp.
102, 143, 146 (Ibid. n. 208)
He then treats of the constitution of the soul and of the soul after death, and concludes that it cannot then be dissolved (de Inf. P. 248 = Eng. P. 137).
It then has a center and peripheries. It receives the
tremulations of the elements and reciprocates them, but in a
different way after death than when in the body. In the
cause of the evil, the soul has not been made conscious of
the more subtle tremors; thus it is small and gross and
undeveloped. "Therefore, the first element -- the element of
angels and the like -- makes no impression upon it; an
impression is made upon it by the second element, but only in
a gross way; and also by the ethereal and aerial elements,
likewise in a gross way. It is not flexible to all manner of
tones. It is not finely elastic but is somewhat hard. Hence
it suffers ineffable torments. But the subtle soul, because
it receives tones from all the elements and is elastic,
[receives also] the larger tones or those of fire and air;
this torments the vicious soul inasmuch as it is not elastic;
and it suffers in this way every moment to eternity." See de
Infinito p. 254 = Eng. P. 140 (Ibid. n. 209)
Brutes, on the other hand, are endowed not with actives but
with the first element. Hence "also their soul consists in
the fact that they know the quarters, the south and the
north; for it is the magnetic element that is their most
subtle endowment. This is perishable." See de Infinitio p.
266 = Eng. P. 147. (Ibid. n. 210)
"Angels still more subtle may exist who, interiorly have
actives of the first finite with their surface occupied by
the second finite -- like the first element." (Ibid. n. 211)
"There are still grosser beings who consist of fifth finites
and of the first and second elements. Such are the spirits
of the devil, who continually suffer from fire and the motion
of the aerial element. They receive no sensation from the
more subtle motions." (Ibid. n. 212) The reference is
perhaps to the loves of self and the world.
Finally, something is said of the communion of souls, and
here Swedenborg anticipates what is the ultimate end of his
studies, namely, the City of God. This communion is the
sensation of an harmonious undulation which is quire
independent of distances. This results in an harmonious
motion of souls. (Ibid. n. 213)
Then follow sundry notes; and first a paragraph entitled "Concerning the Philosophy of Particles," but which appears to be an outline of a projected work on the soul which was to follow and crown the Principia, and of which the Infinite was the forerunner. We shall present this outline later, when we speak more nearly of this projected work. (Psych. n. 217)
Some subsequent notes add details which are to enter into the proposed work. Among these we note the statement that since philosophers see that
sensation consists in tremors, and hope it will be
demonstrated therefore, if it is demonstrated they will favor
it. (Ibid. n. 220)
Also some notes concerning membranes and glands which are apparently based on Heister.*
* Swedenborg used the fourth and improved edition of Heister (Nuremburg 1732). He quotes from it in the Infinite.
Then follows a passage as to how investigations had shown that what
formerly had been regarded as mysterious was purely
mechanical; and that, therefore, we must proceed onward and
show how that all finite things are mechanical, and in course
of time the learned world will come to see this. See de
Infinito p. 196 = Eng. P. 109. (Ibid. n. 227)
Lastly comes what appears to be a sketch of the work on the Infinite or Forerunner of the magnus opus on the Soul. The headings are:
1. Concerning the infinite and God.
2-3. That all creation is geometrical and mechanical, including the soul, angels and men.
4-5. Any other thought leads to atheism, which is then refuted.
6. The soul, its essence, and immortality and the communion of souls can be demonstrated in agreement with Scripture.
7. On the elements, tremulation and membranes, and on life in general. See de Infinito pp. 221-37 = Eng. Pp. 124-32.
8. The senses. (Ibid. n. 231)
The MS. ends with a touching paragraph on Faith in Christ. Here it is
shown that Christians can be saved only by such faith, but
gentiles are saved by faith in God or the Infinite. Yet even
this salvation is effected by Christ since he suffered for
the whole world. Before Christ, not one-thousandth part of
the Jews believed that a Christ would come for the salvation
of souls, they expecting an earthly Christ who would restore
their dominion. (Ibid. n. 232)
This paragraph is a first draft of de Infinitio, p. 147 = English p. 80.
In many places, these notes on Wolff are obscure, yet they indicate that as a result of his Principia doctrine, Swedenborg had already formulated a general theory as to the human soul, and that the search into the soul was already the main object of his studies.
They also indicate that he had an extensive knowledge of anatomy, at any rate, of the anatomy of the brain, and, more particularly, that he had studied Heister's Anatomy, which was then the leading textbook of Europe. He had evidently bought the last and best edition of this work published a little over a year before in Nuremburg (1732), for this edition was among the books in his library.
There is one note that is conspicuous throughout both the MS. and the published work, namely, the desire to meet the doubts of atheism by demonstrating that spiritual things are not subversive of the laws of things finite. But this will be seen more clearly when we come to the work on the Infinite.
From the writing of these notes on Wolff, Swedenborg seems at once to have proceeded to his composition of his "Forerunner of a Reasoning Philosophy concerning the Infinite and the final cause of creation, and concerning the Mechanism of the Operation of the Soul and Body." This was written in Leipzig, in January-February 1734, and appears to have been written in four weeks. (de Infin. p. 210 = Eng. P. 117)
When Swedenborg left Stockholm in order to print the Principia, he does not seem to have contemplated the writing of the Infinite, but rather to have had in mind the continuation of his mineralogical works. It would seem that the idea of following up the Principia with a study of the soul, first came to him just prior to his journey from Stockholm to Dresden, and that it was in connection with this idea that he wrote his notes on the Motion of the Elements (see above, p. 348). However this may be, the idea grew with him, as seen in his MS. work on the Mechanism of the Soul and the Body, and also in the notes on Wolff which we have just been considering. And now, with the writing of the Infinite, he seems to have abandoned the idea of continuing his mineralogical volumes and to have definitely determined to devote his studies to the philosophy of the soul. The publication of the Infinite was itself a promise to publish later a treatise on this subject. That Swedenborg so regarded it, and that he also regarded the Economy of the Animal Kingdom as the partial fulfillment of the promise, is shown in his letter to the King of Sweden in 1736, asking for leave of absence. There he refers t the publication of his Opera Philsophica et Mineralia and also to "some new principles in philosophy," and continues:
"But as that work was only a beginning and part of what I had
intended to work out more fully, as I had announced and
promised in my former work, I therefore feel bound to do what
I have promised and to accomplish what has been begun.
(LM. n. 478)
It is not improbable that Swedenborg, in conversation, had greatly interested his friend and publisher Fred. Hekel in the subject of the Soul and how best to meet the growing spirit of atheism; and that Hekel was the immediate cause of the writing of the Infinite; at any rate, the Infinite was published at Hekel's expense.
After delivering the MS. of this work to the printer, Swedenborg left Leipzig on March 1st. It may be recalled that in January, Swedenborg had requested of the College of Mines extension of his leave of absence. His reasons were that he might superintend the printing of his Opera Philosophica et Mineralia and also "to make a tour from here to Lneberg and Cassel on account of some important business of my own" which will require "only four or five weeks" (see above, p. 392). It is this business which now took him from Leipzig on the afternoon of Monday, March 1st.
He first went to Halle, about twenty miles north of Leipzig, and here he stayed some days, which he seems to have devoted to visiting the learned and seeing the city; for, writing a few weeks later, he says that during this 1733-34 journey, he "never missed an opportunity" of becoming acquainted with the learned and of examining libraries, collections, etc. (Doc. 2:p. 6). He stayed at the Gulden Stierne, a building which is no longer a hotel but which has a plate in the wall informing the passer-by of what it was.
Wednesday, March 3rd, he spent with Hermann Lange, Professor of Physics and Mathematics in the University, and son of the famous theologian Joachim
to the all-prevailing Wolffism philosophy. This philosophy
had many admirers among the Halle students, and doubtless it
had some part in Swedenborg's conversations with Prof. Lange
the younger. The latter, says Swedenborg in his journal,
"showed me every civility, showing me his curiosities, and
giving me petrified specimens, etc. here also I saw a green
ink which disappeared with cold and come back with heat.
(NZ 1726:78; Resebeskrifn., p. 62)
On the following day he visited Magister Christopher Semler, a man of his own age who was then the Pastor of the Ulrican Kirche on Leipziger Strausse.
Though a minister, Semler's tastes went rather to astronomy,
physics and mechanics, then to theology, and he invented many
ingenious instruments, among which were an arithmetical
cylinder for the working out of proportions; an ingenious
clock; a ship which sailed by means of a wind mill; many
ingenious astronomical globes and instruments; a model of
Jerusalem, and another of Canaan. He had also invented a
method of finding the longitude at sea. His greatest fame,
however, rests in his establishment of the first realschule
(technical school) designed to prepare children of ten to
fourteen for their actual work in life, when non-
professional, by the use of models and the teaching of
practical mechanics. (Alg. Deu. Biog. n. 33:694)
Altogether, Semler was surely a man with whom Swedenborg must have found much in common. At his house he saw
"many magnetical things; declinations of the needle according
to Halley's method, together with the instruments, and the
inclination of the needle according to his own method. These
were drawn on the same chart, and formed the same declination
by a straight line." He also saw a wonderful stove invented
by Semler, built with a hollow jacket through which the air
circulates and finally escapes by an opening above; this was
calculated to heat the largest room, and could itself be
placed outside the room. Remembering Swedenborg's own
descriptions of an improved stove, this anticipation of hot
air heating must have been viewed with great interest. He
also saw an arrangement by which coal was put into a furnace
by double wheels which were then withdrawn; likewise "a
plough of a peculiar form." This plough could simultaneously
plough, sow and harrow, and was one of Semler's ingenious
inventions.* (Ibid.; Resenbeskrifn. p. 62)
* In his Journal, Swedenborg says he saw the double wheels and the plough at Lange's, but this must be an error.
Swedenborg also visited the Orphan House or Weissenhausen which stands today practically as it stood when Swedenborg visited it, the 350 pupils of today eating in the same dining room which presented the same appearance as when Swedenborg saw it. But when Swedenborg was there, 600 orphans sat down to dinner. (Ibid.)
In the Weissenhausen he also saw some curious models of the Copernican and Ptolemaic Systems. These models, being great mounted globes made of different iron circles, are still preserved in an attic where they are thickly covered with dust. (Ibid.)
Swedenborg also relates that he met Prof. Ursinus with whom he "disputed." This was probably Theod. Christof. Ursinus, Professor Philosophy at Jena.
After visiting Semler, Swedenborg took the occasion to visit salt boiling works which were situated behind the Ulric's Kirche - but which, of course, are all gone now. He gives a drawing of one of the boilers - not included in the printed volume.
Here Swedenborg's journal ends, and the next hundred or so pages of Codex 88 are filled with anatomical and philosophical excerpts. From Halle, Swedenborg probably proceeded to Blanckenburg and Brunswick on the business he had in hand. What this was, is not clear, but not improbably it was connected with the printing of his Opera Philosophica et Mineralia. The first volume of that work was dedicated to his former patron Duke Ludwig Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick Luneburg,* and Swedenborg's business may have been to get permission for the Dedication, and to pay his court to the Duke. It would seem also that Duke Rudolph defrayed the expenses of the whole work, as he had defrayed the cost of the Miscellaneous Observations (see above, p. 246).
* But the death of his brother without heirs, Ludwig Rudolph had now become Duke of Brunswick. See above, p. 248.
On his return to Leipzig, Swedenborg occupied his time both in reading proof and in continuing his excerpts on Generation from Schurig, with which he filled twenty-one pages of his journal (Cod. 88). These extracts now include the Spermatologia which he had procured by this time (see above, p. 402).
The Opera Philosophica et Mineralia and de Infinito were published by the end of April or the first day of May, and it was perhaps in celebration of this auspicious event that Swedenborg and Hekel together with a Leipzig business friend, "Factor Bartheln," who probably had to do with the dispatching of the books to foreign parts, went off on a pleasure excursion to the ancient castle of Knigstein, a fortress on the river Elbe, some 25 miles southeast of Dresden, and 10 miles northwest of the Bohemian border. This was an ancient
fortress, the strengthening of which had been completed by
the King of Saxony in 1731. Besides its natural strength from
its high position at a turn of the Elbe, this huge fortress
was famous for a well, 470 feet deep, pierced into the solid
rock. Of course, it was not easy to obtain permission to
visit this fortress which was sometimes used at the Duke of
Saxony's residence, and we learn of
Swedenborg's visit from a pass issued by Gen. Major B. von Riedesel, and dated May 3rd, 1734, permitting
"Herr von Schwedenborg, Assessor of the Bergscollegium in
Stockholm, together with Herr B. v. Cederstrohm, Factor
Bartheln of Leipzig, and Court Bookseller Hekel of this city,
and their servants,"
to visit the fortification Knigstein. This pass is now preserved in the Land Archive of Dresden. (Acton Notes: Dresden)
The Opera Philosophica et Mineralia, now happily published, was truly a great work, Acostly and magnificent," to quote from the Deutsche Acta Eruditorum.
"a work in which nothing whatever has been neglected which
could in any way contribute to its adornment and
embellishment. So clear is the print, and so fine the paper,
that the most magnificent books of Holland and other
countries show nothing superior." (NP 1929:129)
The Infinite appeared a few days after the larger work, and Swedenborg made arrangements to forward copies of both works to friends and learned Academies in Europe. Among them were copies of de Infinito sent to Doctor Boerhaave of Leiden, and to Bernard Walther Marperger. The latter, who was about Swedenborg's age, in 1724 had been appointed court preacher and church councillor to the Duke of Saxony at Dresden, being Pastor of the Lutheran church. Swedenborg presumably attended his services and became friendly with him. (Alg. Deu. Biog. 20:405)
Shortly after their publication, the Opera and de Infinito were reviewed in the biweekly Leipzig paper Neue Zeitungen - the Opera in the issue of may 20th, and the Infinite in the issue of May 27th.
Of the Opera Philosophica et Mineralis, the Neue Zeitungen for May 20th
says that the reviewer omits to say anything of the author of
this "splendid publication," who is a Swedish nobleman,
because he is already known by some small works on natural
science. Turning then to the work itself, the reviewer
observes that the principles laid down in the first volume
"are a new and remarkable structure which is founded on
mechanism." This structure, "as the author hopes, may in
future times engage the labors of the learned in experiments
until, by this proving-stone, it is ascertained whether the
author has at last discovered the way so long sought for by
many men, so that his System not only agrees with all
experiments but furnishes the ground from which all phenomena
can be derived and solved." Since these principles are new,
the author has been obliged to use new terms, and as these
cannot well be translated into German, the reviewer quotes in
Latin Swedenborg's own summary of his doctrine as given his
Preface. The reviewer then adds:
"Among the remarkable statements which are everywhere to be
met with (in this volume) is especially to be noted the
author's claim to have demonstrated a priori the experiments
with the magnet which are thus far known" and also all
Kepler's laws.
As to the volumes on Iron and Copper, nothing but admiration and praise is expressed by the reviewer. They contain descriptions of the methods of
smelting so "full and clear, that while reading them, the
reader might believe he was seeing the work itself."
The second volume of Iron contains "a learned and practical
treatise on steel,"* and the third volume contains a like
treatise on Brass, Zinc, Bell Meal, etc.
* In 1737, this was translated into French and published in Strasburg as part of work on steel. This work constitutes the first appearance of Swedenborg's name in French literature.
The reviewer notes that while these two volumes necessarily
contain such that is quoted from other authors, yet all this
matter constitutes only one-third of the whole work, while
the remainder of the volumes consists of Anew things, for
which we must here thank the industry of the learned author
and experienced miner." What he says concerning smelting
processes "consists for the most part of information hitherto
unknown and never before printed."
All things "are treated of with exactness and faithfulness,
as their importance demands, without making a secret of
anything or holding it back." They are also treated of "in a
practical way," and so are excellently illustrated by
abundance of plates. The reviewer wishes the author "health
and leisure" to complete his volumes on the mineral kingdom.
The three volumes are highly praised for their excellence as
to paper, type and illustrations, and the reviewer concludes:
"Even granting that the theory in this work is carried
somewhat too far, nevertheless, it contains experiments and
observations which are to be esteemed very highly."
The reviewer's last remarks, as we shall see, called froth a protest from one of his readers, perhaps from Mr. Hekel.
The review of the Infinite which appeared in the Neue Zeitungen of May 27th, is very short, being in the effect that in this work of the author seeks
"to prove the immortality of the soul on the ground of its
operations and passions as they are known to us."
The reviewer then refers to his review of "De Metallicis," and says:
"Since there are some who understand the last words of our
review as affirming that the theory contained in the work was
carried too far, we will avail ourselves of the present
opportunity to make it known that our meaning was not this
but simply that the evaluation of the new theory rests with
the individual scientist.
Having thus brought to a successful finish his literary work, Swedenborg now started on his return journey. He went first to Cassel. This city was the residing city of Hesse Cassel where dwelt the King of Sweden's brother William who was the Rogent in his place. Swedenborg's visit was, of course, with the object of presenting to Duke William in person a copy of the Opera Philosophica et Mineralia, the second volume of which had been dedicated to him. From Cassel, Swedenborg went through the mining regions of Hesse Cassel as far as Schmalkalden, doubtless having been granted special privileges in the way of examining mines. From Schmalkalden he went to Gotha and Brunswick, where the doubtless he presented in person his great work to the reigning Duke; and so on to Hamburg and, via Ystad, to Stockholm where he arrived in "July 1734 when the Diet was in progress" (May 1st to Dec. 14th). (Doc. 2:p. 6)
While Swedenborg is pursuing his homeward way, we will take the opportunity of examining more closely the works he has just published.
THE PRINCIPIA:
The Principia is dedicated to Ludwig Rudolph, Duke of
Lneberg and Brunswick, the dedication being couched in the
flowery language characteristic of the period, but in this
case not altogether unjustified in view of the great
liberality with which the Duke had encouraged and supported
Swedenborg's researches and publications.
After referring to the ancient custom of making
offerings to the gods who showed favor, even were it only the
poor gifts of a few grains of corn, Swedenborg continues:
"Twelve years ago I ventured to offer to thy Serenity
some grains of this votive corn, that is to say, some pages
from a rough and unadorned Minerva, and I recall with
gladness that on seeing them thou adorned Minerva, and I
recall with gladness that on seeing them thou didst deign to
view them with favor and assent. Considering this as a sign
of favoring approval, thou wilt therefore pardon me if,
following the customs of the ancients, I return to thy altar.
And if I am not able to bring rich honors to thy temple ...
yet, as the testification of a grateful mind I venture to
offer a casket containing incense of the same kind, but in
greater abundance.... Permit, then, that this work, filled
with new principles, may adore thee as its tutelary deity;
and that this new philosophy may come to thy altars as my
votive offerings, since I am unable to bring better gifts.
The Principia itself contains a theory of creation which
distinguishes its author as one of the world's greatest
thinkers, profound in his conceptions, and daring in his
expression of them. It was a
theory entirely new, and necessarily was couched in terms
hitherto unknown in the sense in which they were here used.
Swedenborg went further back then any other cosmologist, and
essayed to deliver a doctrine concerning the mode of creation
by the Infinite. He precedes this by an Introductory Chapter
remarkable both for the depth of its thought and the beauty
of its style. Here he discusses the three means to become a
true philosopher, experience, geometry and the faculty of
reasoning. Here Swedenborg develops the need of abundance of
experimental facts before venturing on the task of searching
into causes, but he also emphasizes that facts are now
gathered in rich abundance, and that it is due time to form
doctrines to guide us in the maze of facts, lest the latter
blind us by their very abundance. As to the art of
reasoning, he shows that the pursuit of this is impossible
without not only study and deep thought but also the turning
away from the love of self and the desire to see and adore
the Deity.
It will not be necessary to go through his system of
finites, actives and elementaries. Suffice it to say, that
the fundamental thought that runs through this remarkable
theory is that Nature includes all that is finite, from the
first finite to the last, that she is everywhere mechanical
and geometrical, and that she is everywhere like herself.
All finites, all actives, all elementaries, from firsts to
lasts, are like to each other, differing only in degree and
dimension. Thus, in the earth as a great magnetic finite, he
sees an image of the first finite; and he proceeds by the
laws of geometrical and philosophical though to deduce this
from the first natural point, and to compound it into the
matters of the earth. The daring boldness of this doctrine,
its sublime construction, its conception in the realms of the
deepest philosophical thought, and its confirmation at the
bar of reason, are all convincing signs of truth, and however
much a future age may modify or develop it, its essential
features, that creation was effected by motion, and that this
motion being the origin of mechanism and geometry is itself
mechanical and geometrical, must ever remain as a lasting
moment to the lofty thought of the Christian Philosopher.
Swedenborg's contemporaries are struck with the newness of the thought, and show great respect to the philosophic author whose practical learning is so eloquently testified to his volumes on Iron and Copper.
The Deutsche Acta Eruditorum, in its review published in July 1734, describes these principles as "entirely new and singular," and "based on mechanism," and it continues:
"Seeing that neither Descartes nor Newton nor any other
of the famous natural philosophers had obtained general
approbation for their theories, the author wished to make the
attempt to see whether he perhaps might be able to attain
this end and to discover the right and true way to reach
solidity and correctness in natural philosophy. And since
his principles of natural philosophy come nearest o the
opinion of Herr Councillor Wolff, Swedenborg by no means
denies that he was signally confirmed in his thoughts by
reading the Ontology and Cosmology of this famous philosopher
two years after he himself had completed the composition and
design of his own Principia. For the rest," continues the
reviewer, quoting from the Appendix to the Principia, "in
this whole first Part he has not brought forward one single
philosopher, not even by name; for it was not his purpose to
attack the opinions of others, much less to detract aught
from their fame. For this reason also, he
promises himself that he will be spared from bitter and
quarrelsome controversy and should one wish to enter into a
dispute with him, he declares that he will not answer.
Should it happen, however, that one would desire from him in
a serious way further explanations of his principles, to
this, as being only fair, he pledges himself. For, in the
degree that he has written the truth, so there will be no
need of any dispute; the truth will be sufficient to defend
itself. If, however, he has propounded what is erroneous and
false, it would not be reasonable stubbornly to maintain it.
He says further that he has not written in order thereby to
gain fame or a great name in the learned world; and it would
not concern him whether he obtained acclaim or not. If he
did obtain it, it would bring him pleasure only as it was a
sign that he had come upon the truth." The reviewer than
quotes Swedenborg's own summary of his doctrine, but adds
that while this gives a general idea of the author's
position, "yet we imagine that a philosopher will not easily
be found who will make shift with this summary sketch.
Rather will each one be anxious attentively to read the work
itself; therefore, we have striven so much the more for
brevity. And now, as to whether the author has really
attained the end which he sought ... this seems to us to be a
question which perhaps does not give promise of being decided
in the space of a year; for we are thoroughly convinced that
students of natural philosophy will here find new inducements
to enter into the hidden mysteries of nature by further
attempts and experiments. Meanwhile, we can be assured of
this, that throughout the whole work, there shines out
solicitous diligence in the search for the truth, and a rare
insight into natural philosophy."
The review is continued in the same journal for October,
where a long passage on the solar vortex is printed in full,
and also an extract from the chapter on Paradise and the
First Man.
We have some interesting information as to the reception of the Principia hypothesis in France and England. This is contained in a letter written to Eric Benzelius by the young Professor of Astronomy Anders Celsius, who was then in Paris. Celsius writes:
"Herr Swedenborg's Principia is very pleasing to those here
who are still Cartesians and delight themselves with the
particle philosophy. But Englishmen and Frenchmen who follow
Venetanus's and Newton's method in physics, hold that perhaps
100,000 years from now is still too early to wish to
determine the figure and size of the elements. (ACSD 572)
Swedenborg had presented a handsomely bound copy of his work to the Royal Philosophical Society (and of course to other learned bodies), and in London it attracted the attention of a Fellow of the Royal Society names James Theobald who in March 1737 prepared a long abstract of the three volumes.
The Acta Eruditorum did not review the work until 1737, when
it presents the whole doctrine of the Principia at
considerable length and with great fairness, using, so far as
possible, Swedenborg's own words; and (the reviewer adds) if
the author "should, nevertheless, find some gaps and
some statements which are not in agreement with his
opinions, we trust that he will readily pardon us; for
he himself will probably be aware that a first reading
of his philosophy, and a cursory one at that, would be
hardly sufficient for the perceiving of all the
subtleties with which it is abundantly filled, or for
constructing them into an epitome."
For the rest, the Principia devotes many of its pages to a treatise on the Magnet, using the phenomena so recently discovered by Musschenbroek to confirm the new theory of the Magnet Element. A large part of this work is now of purely historical interest, modern information being far more exact than that in Swedenborg's day. It may be noted, however, that Swedenborg was the first to note the progression of the magnetic pole, and to form a satisfactory theory accounting for the phenomena of magnetism and the deviation of the magnetic needle.
Then comes his theory of the creation of the earth with its atmospheres, and finally, something about Paradise and the First Man. The concluding words of the volume are the statement that man's chief glory is his ability to worship the Creator. Into paradise, says Swedenborg
"was then introduced the first man, created according to the
whole harmony of this world; who was made a partaker of a
more subtle aura, that is to say, was made rational, to the
end that he might know how to render the world, in respect to
its parts and specifically, still more perfect, to wit, may
bring forth into act things which cannot be brought forth
without a living and also a rational being; who might enjoy
its delights and its variety; who might be wise, that so he
might known how to venerate, love, worship this supremely
provident Deity, the Author and Founder both of the world and
of himself; and, finally, whose better and lighter part
covered over with his material part, might aspire to heaven
itself. O thrice happy being, born to the delights both of
the world and of heaven."
This was the original ending of the Principia, but during the printing of the work, Swedenborg added an Appendix wherein he makes a summary presentation of his doctrine, disclaims all desire to seek fame (as already noted), and finally remarks on the agreement of his theory with the principles laid down by Wolff in his Cosmology, which he had lately seen for the first time.
THE WORKS OF IRON AND COPPER
It was with peculiar felicity that Swedenborg made Iron and Copper the subjects of volumes 2 and 3 of his great work, for these metals constituted Sweden's greatest treasures, and he himself had been at pains to show that to Sweden, iron was more precious than gold.
The volume on Iron is dedicated to William VIII, Landgrave of Hesse, acting as Regent for his brother Frederick, King of Sweden, who had inherited the Principality of Hesse-Cassel by the death of his father in 1730.
"I hope," says the Dedication, "most Serene Prince, that
thou wilt not refuse this little offering of Iron thy
approval and favor. Although, being Iron, it is too lowly
that thy illustrious name should crown the face of the work;
yet, if that iron lies under the shield and protection of so
great a Prince, then from the resulting rays its darker color
will be changed to a bright and silvery sheen.... What
better can I offer than the offspring of my native land?
What more worthy than the Mars of the Swedes (for by this
name did the ancients designate iron), who in thy brother's
Kingdom is rich in arms because abundant in iron."
In the Preface that follows, Swedenborg declares at the outset his intention to continue the work here begun by treating of all the remaining metals as well as of salts and stones. Yet, when these words appeared in public, he had already practically given up all idea of further mineralogical studies. His aim now was higher.
He goes on to give a lively picture of the men among whom he had mingled when visiting mines and, at the same time, to rebuke those who would withhold the secrets of their art. In the science of smelting, he writes, "there are innumerable facts which are mysteries to the learned
world, being known only to the ignoble class of workmen,
smelters, and others of the same class, being of that
darksome crew which goes with faces black like Cyclops-faces,
from which we would think nothing white or ingenuous were to
be hoped for. But their science alone is practical and
founded upon experience and actual data; and in this measure
it is either to be preferred to many of the sciences, or
merits comparison with them."
Later he adds: "I know beforehand that some will whisper to
me that the methods of smelting peculiar to different places
which have been cultivated and searched out through long
years and by the labor ... of many ages should not lightly he
made known to the world. Each class of workers in metal has
its own secrets which it deems it a crime to publish... Some
secrete their scales and their instruments in corners in
order to remove them from their comrades. Like these also
are those men of better name and fortune who in equal measure
wish to be wise for their own sake only, and love to be
reputed possessors and guardians of secrets, that so by the
unlearned they may be called learned. Men of this kind
grudge the public everything; and if anything comes to light
whereby art and science may take increase, they regard it
askance and with scowling visages, and perhaps revile the
author as a babbler of secrets. I know it is impossible for
me to gain the good will of this class.... But ah! how far
removed is this sort of envy from the temple of the learned
virgins! from the altars and sacred shrines of Apollo! ... No
one ought to possess skill for his own sake alone but for
others and for the whole of the lettered world....
Therefore, in the first Class of our work such mysteries are
laid before the public, nor do I care if the bowels of
Codrus* burst, provided only the wise are gladdened."
* Quoted from Virgil, Bucol. vii. 26. The line is: "If Codrus' bowels burst from envy." Codrus was a contemporary poet.
Swedenborg then alludes briefly to the writings of the Alchemists who "cram their books with a farrago of fictions." He does indeed bring forward a few extracts from the writings of the more celebrated of them, though he has lacked the time to verify their statements, but he cautions his reader to believe nothing but actual experience, and advises him "to provide himself with an interleaved copy of my work, and to write therein the various desiderata that strike him."
The volume on Copper is dedicated to King Frederick of
Sweden. "Pardon me, most clement King," writes Swedenborg,
"that I have ventured to adorn these pages on Copper with thy
August name; it would have been more worthy had I offered a
work on Gold
or Silver. But thou doest not despise lowly gifts, if the
mind of the giver is richer than his gifts. Gold is indeed
at the head of the family of metals, but yet Copper is
comparable with it, since Copper in its native vein sparkles
with living colors and golden splendor; whence the ancients
bestowed upon it the name Venus as being the most beautiful
of metals....
"I remember how often thou hast been with the natives
and workers of the mines of thy northern Kingdom; how often,
with favoring countenance, thou hast received the men of thy
copper mountain* who hastened from their gloomy caverns and
dark crypts, climbing into open day by means of ropes and
ladders in order to gaze upon these during thy visit; being
not unlike black and sooty Cyclops in the hope of seeing
Jupiter; whose glad and revering minds, which they displayed
obscured by the dust and dirt and smoke of copper, thou
couldst yet discern.... So most clement King, I also hasten
to thee from this subterranean kingdom, with a work rude and
not well polished; who am of that crowd, cherish the hope
that your royal Majesty will not disdain to receive me also
with favoring approval."
* King Frederick visited Stora Kopperberg five times between 1717 and 1728.
In the Preface that follows, Swedenborg among other things recalls some poetic phases of his Principia:
"It cannot be denied," he says, "that before the
universal inundation of the flood, our planet was perfect in
beauty, delightful in variety, and everywhere like a
paradise; that its surface, devoid of the ruptures of
mountains and rocks, of deep valleys, of lakes and seas, was
unbroken and utterly smooth; and that afterwards its crust,
broken up by the Flood, became deformed and torn. Yet, it is
not to be doubted but that this inundation performed the use
to the future inhabitants of the globe, that it opened veins
which lay deeply hidden in the bosom of the earth, and, by
commingling the lowest part with the highest, drew forth and
brought to light things which otherwise would have lain
deeply hidden ... and, likewise, that from one corner of the
world it carried and distributed substances and matrices the
best adapted both for generating and for receiving metals,
and scattered them throughout the earth."
The follows a geological explanation which, in effect, serves as a further chapter to the Principia. In brief, it is that a thick crust covered the primeval ocean, being continually added to by additions from
below. The fissures in this crust were filled with water,
and the pressure of this water, acting on the ocean below,
the latter would exert an upward pressure on the
superincumbent crust, causing the latter to become slanting
and producing further fissures, again to be filled with
water; and so on, until at last the crust thus broken up
would subside and a flood would cover the earth lasting until
it had time to fill all the fissures, caverns, etc., when the
ocean would return to a level with the earth. Meanwhile, the
conveyance and mingling of ores, etc., previously spoken of,
would have been effected.
In a philosophical sense, the Principia was an epoch-making work, but the volumes of Iron and Copper were of more practical and immediate value, and they were loudly acclaimed and eagerly studied. They were filled with
In their day, these volumes constituted the most comprehensive work on mineralogy ever published by any mineralogist, and they seem to have been the most frequently cited during the whole of the eighteenth century. As we have already noted, the chapter on Steel was translated into French and published in Strasburg in 1737. This was translated from French into Swedish and published in Stockholm in 1753, and in 1762 the whole work was published in French translation by the Royal Academy of Sciences of Paris as a part of the magnificent series Art des Forges. (NP 1926:40)
The volumes were very favorably received by the reviewers. Mention is made of the amount of new material here given to the public, and one reviewer, nothing the secretive habits of miners, opines that Swedenborg must have spent much money in obtaining their secrets. (NP 192:139)
Of course, both these volumes are now of purely historical interest, yet that interest is so important that it has led to the translation of De Ferro into Swedish, when it was published in a magnificent edition (Stockholm 1923); and the Stora Kopparberg Company has now in hand a Swedish translation of De Cupro.
DE INFINITO
We turn to the De Infinito. This work is described to prove the existence of God and, more especially, the immortality of the soul (n. 134 p. 268 = Eng. P. 148). Swedenborg seems to have been impressed by the materialism which he found in conversing with the learned, though, as he himself writes, they did not venture to express it in their writings; and, thinking that this growing denial of God and the soul springs from ignorance arising from the current theological conception of the soul as a "spirit," he thinks to afford a remedy by showing what the soul really is, and that it is finite, mechanical and geometrical.
The work is one of the most deeply philosophical works on an abstract subject that Swedenborg has ever written. The reasoning is close and logical; rational, yet deeply imbued with Christian faith; profound, yet couched in the simplest language.
It is dedicated to his brother-in-law Eric Benzelius. After acknowledging his indebtedness to Benzelius for the influential art the latter has played upon the direction of his studies, Swedenborg then says:
"From veneration of thy merits; from acknowledgment of
benefits received; and from relationship ... comes the love I
have give witness to." These fruits are in part thine, and
to thee must they be dedicated.
In the Preface to the Reader, Swedenborg states that he purposely uses simple words and a lowly style, that words may be no hindrance to understanding True philosophy, he goes on to say, can never be contrary to Revelation. The end of reason is to perceive things revealed.
The treatise itself opens with the statement that the mark of a true philosopher is that he does not assent to things of an obscure faith for he can acknowledge nothing superior to reason. So baffled is the philosopher in his inquiry into the Infinite, that he is apt to think it is merely the indefinite and is the first of nature, and thus that nature is God.
This state must be met, not with prayers, but with rational arguments. Reason shows that we must first ask, Is there an Infinite? not, What is the Infinite? Swedenborg then proves that there is an Infinite because the finite cannot finite itself. (III:pp. 27, 28 = Eng. Pp. 14, 15)
Thus acknowledging the Infinite or God, he then asks whether this can be proved a posteriori, and in this he will join with him who thinks all things came from nature. Suppose the primitive of nature is the origin of all things; then it must contain in itself all that follows, and also the power of producing them; and this power is something superior and therefore the Infinite. This he illustrates by a machine, in which we admire first the maker, then the intelligence that foresaw the effect; thus, not the causate but the very cause. (IV p. 36 = Eng. P. 19)
In this way, the more one worships nature, the more he worships the Infinite. (P. 45 = E. p. 24)
Nature is a mechanical something or a machine, because the first cause so wills; and the contemplation of this machine leads to the acknowledgment of its maker. This is illustrated by the stars and by various things in the human body adduced from Heister. (V: p. 50, 50 = Eng. Pp. 27, 30)
Now all created things tend to the one end, that man may enjoy the delights of the world, that these delights may cause rational, and that they may terminate in divine delights, this being the final end of creation. Having come to the acknowledgment of God, partly from the soul and partly from reason, we find that the soul gives tacit consent to this acknowledgment. Therefore, there is no mortal, if he has not too much or too little rational, who does not acknowledge God. But he cannot know quale Infinitium, and it is in seeking this that the philosopher with too much reason falls into the worship of nature, and the ignorant with too little reason falls into idolatry. There is no essential difference between the two save that the one is more subtle. (V:77 = Eng. P. 43, VI:82 = Eng. P. 46)
The objection is raised that we should simply believe in God as Creator and Provider, those especially making this object who think of God as a human ruler who can order what he wills, his will thus being dependent on things unstable. I will agree, says Swedenborg, if you will agree that being Infinite, all future things are present in him, and that his providence and previdence cannot be distinguished; otherwise, there is something of the finite in the Infinite. If some think that we thus bind God by rules, there is no reasoning with them.* (VII:87 = Eng. P. 48)
* It is probable that what Swedenborg here and later writes on Providence is what he refers to in the Journal of Dreams 206: "My father said to me, what I had written about Providence as the finest. I called to mind that it was only a small treatise." Swedenborg's father died in 1735, and we cannot question but that he saw De Infinito.
Swedenborg then turns to the question of the quality of the Infinite, and he notes that inquiries into this have necessarily limited God with finite qualities, and thus men take their God only from admiration or
Others, again, seeing that God is infinite, in their search for the quale have made the universe infinite. Swedenborg's argument here is that while we can see that there is an Infinite, we cannot see the quale of the Infinite. (Ibid. 97 = Eng. P. 54)
Some suppose the present argument leads to thinking of the Infinite as nothing. It is nothing as compared with the finite; so the finite is nothing as compared with the Infinite - yet neither is nothing. Ex nihilo nihil fit. Thus then there is an Infinite and He is the cause of the finite. (Ibid. 100 = Eng. P. 58)
It can at once be seen that there can be no intermediate between the Infinite and the Finite, for this also would be infinite, and so there would be two infinites, or it would be finite and thus not a nexus. The conclusion is that the Infinite created the finite immediately, and that the nexus is itself infinite. Thus we can see that there is a nexus, but not its quality. (Ibid.:103 = Eng. P. 60)
The nexus is the final cause of creation, the why of creation. This cause must terminate in the Infinite, for if creation were for the sake of finite things, we would have an efficient from will without an end. Thus creation as for the sake of the Infinite. (Ibid: 108 = Eng. P. 63)
We are confirmed in our rational deduction by Revelation, which teaches us
"that from eternity he begat a Son, an only Begotten, and
that the only Begotten is infinite and is God, and that the
nexus between the Infinite and the finite is by the only
Begotten Infinite and God, and that the Father and the Son
are one God and both Infinite, both the Creator of the finite
universe, and yet are so distinct that the former is Father
and the latter Son, the former the first Person, and the
latter the second, that, in respect to the name Father and
Son, the name person, etc., they are two, but in respect to
infinity and divinity they are one and the same." Thus
revelation agrees with reason. (Ibid. 116-17 = Eng. 64-65)
Some may think that the Son is therefrom the means by which creation was effected. But why reason so naturally. The nexus is infinite, and the Infinite cannot be divided. This we see. (p. 119 = Eng. P. 65)
Can we go further? (XI:120 = Eng. P. 66)
Since the final end is obtained by finite, therefore there must be two finite limits. The first is the simple of the world; the second is man to whom all created things conspire. If it is said that there are occult things in the world which do not conspire to man, such as souls and angels, "I say that nothing exists in subtlest nature, not even
angels, save that they may concur in man - not for composing
him but that the divine end may be obtained in the ultimate
end, man." (pp. 121, 125 = Eng. 67, 69)
But why are not animals also the ultimate end? Because it is not man as a machine that is the ultimate end; it must be something contributing to the final end, something which can acknowledge and believe the Infinite; thus a soul, a conjunction of soul and body, and so a rational man. (XI:127 = Eng. p. 70)
Moreover, there must be something divine and infinite in this ultimate effect, for the Infinite cannot obtain the final end in the finite. This does not lie in the body or the soul, because these are finite; nor does it consist in reason which is from body and soul; but it consists in man's ability and actuality to acknowledge God, and by this faith to feel a connection with the Divine, in the pleasures we speak elsewhere). If man does not acknowledge God, the Divine is not in him. (XII:128 = Eng. p. 70)
The question then arises, if the end is not obtained in the ultimate effect, does this involve something imperfect? Our principles show that the first finite, though not infinite, is still more perfect and similar. But successives and compounds involve contingencies and degrees, and thus decrease in perfection, this coming from the finite. So in man. (XIII:128 = Eng. pp. 72-76)
The Divine foresaw and provided that in man the final end and would be attained by the soul ruling the body that it may tend to the final end. But the soul alone does not rule the body, but the rational which is from soul and body. (XIV:138-39 = Eng. p. 76-77)
Why, then, did not the Infinite make such a soul as would prevent the fall? The answer is that all means were given man to realize the final end if he wiled, and this does not take from perfection since the final end can exist only in the ultimate effect. (p. 142 = Eng. p. 78)
But foreseeing the body would rule the soul, He provided that there should be a nexus between the ultimate finite and the Infinite, and this by the Infinite or only begotten Son who "put on the ultimate effect of the world, or man and his figure, and thus was infinite in and with the finite ... that by Him there might be in us something of the Divine, viz., that we might know and believe that there is a God, and that He is Infinite ... that we may belong to God and not to the world.... Thus there is a nexus in the ultimate as in the first." (p. 143 = Eng. 79)
This applies even to those who do not know Christ, for they still can acknowledge the Infinite, and with them this does not exclude belief in the Only Begotten; for the one Infinite cannot be separated from the other. (p. 146 = Eng. p. 80)
Swedenborg concludes this first Part with a definition of Nature and the Divine: "All that which exists from the primitive to the greatest compound is natural." This natural is mediately divine, for it comes from the primitives by finite means, and so from the Infinite as the cause. Thus, God is the All in all, and the connection of the Infinite is as that of soul and body. (Pp. 156-57 = Eng. p. 86-7)
Part II deals with the soul and body. First Swedenborg establishes that the soul is finite; and so, that it is extended and occupies space. (II:i:165 = Eng. p. 93)
He then asks whether it is the purely simple, and answers in the negative, because the purely simple cannot be said to be finite. His conclusion then is that it is the active of the first finite, having local motion, for it acts upon corporeal parts. (II:p. 178 = Eng. p. 101)
He also shows that the soul must have a passive, otherwise it could not feel the actions of its body. Therefore, its active must be enclosed in some passive expanse or membrane. For the same reason, it can have sensation after death. He adds that in the soul, the actives do not form a contigum as in the elementary (II:p. 183 = Eng. p. 102)
The soul flows into the body, and being finite, it must do this mechanically and geometrically. The soul, therefore, is in nature and is a part of the created world, and is subject to mechanical and geometrical rules. (II:ii:p. 185 = Eng. p. 104)
But to conclude from this that the soul is not immortal arises from a gross idea concerning purer mechanism. There is a gross world and a pure world; both are natural, but the one will not perish with the other. What is subject to destruction is the material which is made by a mutable and imperfect succession of things. It would be contrary to the Divine essence that the higher should perish with the lower; otherwise all creation would become noting. (II:ii:p. 191 = Eng. p. 107)
Because men saw there was a nexus between soul and body, they established the animal spirits to carry out the behests of soul and body, and they called them spirits and animal in order to express this mediation. Still, men deny that these spirits act by mechanical laws, saying that they act by laws unknown, and so they learnedly discuss the commerce of soul and body, but in the end and leave their readers in the same ignorance as themselves. (II:ii:pp. 193-94 = Eng. p. 108)
But why should we be opposed to laws inscribed on nature by the Infinite? are they imperfect because mechanical and geometrical? cannot there be something perpetual in them? Let us not, then, remain in ignorance like our ancestors, but let us advance onward, lest our successors laugh at our puerilities.* (p. 195 = Eng. p. 109)
* We may note here the statement in Psychologica n. 75, that if we had the microscope, we might be able to see the entire structure of the soul and spirit.
Ignorance of the soul begets denial. Hence many have asked themselves, though they have not committed their thought to writing, Is there a soul? and have concluded that everything is material and mortal. (p. 198 = Eng. p. 110)
Had they reflected that the final cause of creation is Divine, and that man is the ultimate effect by which the end is obtained, they sight have seen that there is a God, and that in man is something divine; and that, therefore, man is a partaker of the final end, and that the soul can desire a more perfect state and so cannot die. (p. 198 = Eng. p. 112)
The immortality of the soul can also be confirmed from bodily effects. Love which arises from harmony is in a purer nature and is thence derived into the body that the body also may aspire to perpetuity. This is done by offspring; love of fame after death shows that in man there is something higher than in animals. Those in the love of God, therefore,
It is seen also in the love of others or of oneself in others. From God's love for the soul comes the soul's love for the body. Can it therefore be concluded that the body can be considered as part of the purer world and thus immortal?
"That such was the state of the first man, formed after every
harmony of the world, in whom all the grosser parts could
have been ruled by the soul, and, consequently, have also
enjoyed immortality seems probable"; but, by the fall,
mortality of the body has succeed its immortality. But it
seems capable of being restored "if the soul be clothed with
a body which she does not take immediately from the imperfect
parent." (pp. 204-9 = Eng. pp. 114-16)
Turning now to the nexus between soul and body, Swedenborg states that the only nexus is by contiguity. This nexus has its limits within the man, or within the space of his body.
"The connection of the sensible limits within the space by
motion makes the space living." This supposes, however, that
the intermediates shall be entire. Whatever then subsists
with the space is felt by a man as life. Mutation of states
within the space is therefore felt as evidences of life.
"Thus, perception, intelligence, memory, etc., since they
involve motion, can be explained mechanically and
geometrically." (iv:214-20 = Eng. p. 119-22)
The elements of the world are in like manner mechanical and geometrical. No element can be moved without the motion being felt in some way in another element, and it becomes more subtle as it progresses to interiors. (iv:221 = Eng. p. 123)
In man it is membranes that receive the motions of elements, as seen in ear and eye (see Psychologica, n. 218), and the membranes are formed to receive them mechanically and geometrically. Thus the laws of motion in the elements and in membranes are the same. (iv:221 = Eng. p. 123)
Other philosophers have seen this, but they have been prevented from pursuing the thought because they could go no further than to animal spirits. See DLW 394 and confer n. 283. (iv:p. 252 = Eng. p. 139)
Thus, man is a microcosm, his soul belonging to the purer world, and his body to the grosser. Here Swedenborg lays down some laws of the motion passing between soul and body, showing that if the motions are harmonious with the soul, the result is interior pleasure, otherwise there is confusion. Yet, discordant motions may become habitual, and then the soul seems to love discord more than harmony, and so to be formed after the imperfect world. After death, such a soul perceives dissonance and pain in harmony, "especially if something from the purer world be present." (pp. 252-55 = Eng. pp. 139-41)
Where, then, does the soul actually reside? What is its figure? its immediate operations? It resides, not in any gland or meninges (Cartesius and Baglivi), not everywhere in the body (the Schoolmen), but in the cortical substance of the brain, in the finest membrane there. (p. 257 = Eng. p. 142)
Nor is the soul the same in every man, for it can be cultivated and made more apt for the reception of motions; can be more intimately connected with the membranes, etc. Hence heredity. (p. 261 = Eng. p. 144)
Actually it is not unlike the first, second and third actives, but it is these actives together with membranes. Both together are the soul. Brute souls are an elementary and not an active. (p. 265 = Eng. p. 146)
Swedenborg concludes his work by saying that we may therefore not despair of coming to a knowledge of the soul, if we now run through the anatomy of the body and brain and senses.
"When I have made such investigation, if God grant me life
and leisure, it is my intention to present it specially."
Here my purpose is merely to establish the immortality of the
soul.
In these closing words, Swedenborg promises the work itself, of which the Infinite is the Forerunner. (pp. 266-68 = Eng. p. 147-48)
The Infinite was reviewed by only one journal, namely, the Acta Eruditorum in its issue for December 1735. In general, the reviewer confines himself to giving a short summary of the work, but he adds one or two comments of his own. Thus, to Swedenborg's statement that the Only Begotten Son became the nexus in ultimates, he adds the "warning" that
"the incautious will take these statements to mean that all
men are to be blessed in Christ, because they had each been
blessed in the sate of perfection"
a somewhat surprising comment in view of Swedenborg's insistence on human freedom as essential to the attainment of the final end. On Swedenborg's statement that the soul is immortal by the grace of God, he comments:
"The grace of God cannot have regard to the souls of the
wicked; and thus, according to this doctrine, they would be
mortal." (NP 1930:195)
There are indications that the reviewer, while performing "the office ore reviewer, not of judge," is somewhat alarmed at Swedenborg's doctrine of the soul, and especially at his teaching that the tremulations of membranes are perceived by the soul as ideas.
"If we mistake not," says he, "according to this, thoughts
are the effects of motive forces inseated in nerves and their
fibrils; and, this dogma being granted, then matter can
think, and bodies are capable of reasoning. Thus the soul is
a compound substance, and is naturally dissolved and
destroyed, despite anything that may be specially objected to
this, or that may be advanced against it, on the ground of
the final cause of creation. The Influxionists have here
clear consequences which by their principle of a physical
union, they are compelled to admit."
Yet the reviewer is impressed with the genius of the author. He lauds his "endeavor to explain the commerce of soul and body by means of physical influx," and awaits "further fruits of his highly refined mind which so greatly excels in its fitness for lofty subjects."
According to his Journal, Swedenborg arrived in Stockholm in July 1734, while the Diet was going on, which had opened on May 1st. (Doc. 2:p. 6)
In Stockholm he established his residence on Slussplan no. 63B, in what is known as "Lilla Rntmstare huset" - a very pleasant location. Here Swedenborg remained until he departed from Stockholm in 1736 for what proved to be the longest of his foreign journeys. After then he lived in his own house in Hornsgatan, Sdermalm. (NKTid. 1923:134)
Of course, one of his first duties was to wait on the King and present him with a copy of the works published abroad, and more especially, of the volume which had been dedicated to him (Copper). (Doc. 1:445)
On Wednesday, July 3rd, Swedenborg resumed his duties at the Bergscollegium, and on that day, Councillor Leijel and he were to conduct an examination of candidates for an assayership, a duty which extend over several days. On the 4th, the Queen's name-day, he and Leijel attended the Court at Carlberg, a royal castle and Queen Ulrica Eleonora's favorite resort, situated about 4-2 miles from the center of Stockholm. It was this occasion that Swedenborg took advantage of to present the King with one of the fine copies of his Opera Philosphica et Mineralia. (Ibid.)
From time to time he also attended the Diet - which was attended also by Eric Benzelius (Brefwxling XXVI) - though we have a record of only ten days' attendance from July to December 14th when the Diet closed with stately ceremonies including Divine Service attended by all the Estates.
Swedenborg took no active part in the discussions in the House of Nobles, and his name appears only once in the Minutes, namely, on December 10th when he was appointed one of a committee of twenty-four to meet corresponding committees from the three other Estates, for the purpose of nominating three men from whom the King was to choose one to fill a vacancy in Riksrad. (R. o. Ad. Prot. 8:1:403)
The immediate cause of the calling of the Diet was the conflict between Arvid Horn and his opponents headed by Karl Gyllenborg and Daniel v. Hpken (see above, p. 344), the conservatives and the jingoists.
Horn wished for peace, that Swedenborg again enter into
prosperity, but Gyllenborg and his followers were
chauvinists; they desired war with Russia since by this alone
could Sweden recover her Baltic Provinces,* and her position
as a great power. After the death of August the Strong of
Saxony, Stanislaus, the choice of Charles Xii, was again
elected to the throne of Poland. But Russia opposed this
both by armed force and by working upon a faction of the
Polish electors which elected the son of August the Strong.
In consequence, Stanislaus became a refugee in Denzig where
he was besieged by the Russian fleet. It was France's policy
to prevent any accession to the power of Austria, with which
country Russia was now allied; and for this purpose, she
sought in every way to induce Sweden to enter into a war with
Russia, that she herself might be surer of success against
Austria, and for this she offered subsidies and the promise
of aid in the recovery of the lost provinces; Horn, however,
while at first favorable to France, came to see that her
promises of cash and other aid were somewhat illusory, and
that she wished merely to use Swedenborg against Russia,
while she herself combined with Turkey to fight Austria;
moreover, he feared to oppose England who was Sweden's best
customer; and so he did all in his power to hold back the War
Party led by Gyllenborg. He succeeded during this Diet, but
yet the War Party ruled in the Secret Committee, and during
this Diet it added greatly to its strength and laid the
foundations for its coming into power in 1738, and for the
thirty years that followed. (Fryx. 33:215-216)
* All she now retained of these Provinces was the city of Wismar and the northern part of Pomerania together with the island of Rgen (Fryxell 33:215-16)
Swedenborg was not a party man, but a document - translated in the Letters and Memorials of Emanuel Swedenborg - shows unmistakably that he supported the party of Horn; the Caps as against the Hats* (see Doc. 1:538-39). Moreover, the interests of the Bergskollegium were all opposed to war; for most of the Swedish iron went to England, who would view with great displeasure any war on Russia by Sweden.
* These names did not come into use until 1738. As their origin, see Fryxell 34:p. 53.
Swedenborg also favored Horn in one other point, namely, in that he sought to strengthen Parliamentary government as against as increased power in the Royal House. (See Doc. 1:538-39.)
The document to which we have just referred is a "Project" of twelve pages found in Codex 56 of the Swedenborg Manuscripts. This Codex consists of those of Swedenborg's papers which concern his activities at the Diet. This "Project" appears to have been addressed to the Secret Committee or the Subcommittee thereof, which had control over the foreign relations of Sweden. While Swedenborg here was evidently favorable to friendly relations with France and resistance to Russia, even to the extent of war, he yet held that Sweden was in no condition to enter into war at this time; that her policy was to regain her financial health and strength by the encouragement of trade whereby she could easily gain more than was ever lost by the sacrifice of her provinces; and that in this way only would she be in a position to oppose Russia in the future.
In the Secret Committee, the War Party was decidedly in
the ascendent, and on November 18th, that Committee decided
that "friendship with France, the humiliation of Russia, and
the support of King Stanislaus" should be the central
objectives of Swedish policy; and, furthermore, that in
return for financial subsidies from France, Sweden might bind
herself not to enter into any treaty with a power opposed to
France. (Fryx. 34:60 seq.)
This constituted a decided defeat for Arvid Horn; but it
met also with the determined resistance of the King and the
Council of State, and when these were supported by the
Peasant Estate, the Secret Committee was compelled to a less
chauvinistic programme.
This latter appears in its Minutes of December 4th.
Here, the Secret Committee expresses itself as desirous of
putting Russia off, if she desired to renew the Nystad Peace
of 1724 which was to remain in force till 1736, by saying
that Sweden intended to abide by this treaty, but the time
for renewal was not at hand. Sweden would thus have a free
hand to discuss whether or not to renew the treaty, and could
postpone renewal until she had recovered her strength, when
an occasion might offer which could be used for offensive
action against Russia. The Committee also expressed itself
as wishing to remain free as regards treaties with powers
other than France.
These conclusions of December 4th are so in line with the suggestions contained in Swedenborg's "Project," that it seems not unreasonable to put the date when the latter document was presented to the Secret Committee as the latter half of November. The reader, however, can form his own conclusion from the Project itself - see Letters and Memorials, pp. 468-75.
Before leaving the Diet, we may note that when, on November 18th, Swedenborg attended the House of Nobles in company with Bergsrad Bergenstierna, they listened to an animated and acrimonious debate which deeply concerned themselves. (ACSD 564D)
The new form of government adopted in 1719 had been jealously guarded
by the Diet, which never lost an opportunity to assert itself
as the supreme power in the land. It was partly in this
spirit that the Diet of 1734 appointed a Protocol Committee
to examine the Minutes of the various Colleges. Early in
October, this Committee visited the Bergscollegium where they
had much fault to find. And what is more, they went into the
merits of a judicial case entered in the Minutes of June 31st
which had been decided by the Bergscollegium after long
consideration. (Malmstrm 2:221; ACSD 564C)
This was a case of dispute, as to the ownership of an iron
mine, between General Adjutant Lowen and an Englishman John
Montgomery who, in accordance with law, had been represented
in his mining business by a native Swede as factor. It is
not necessary to go into the merits of the case. Suffice it
to say that it involved a very large sum of money, and
General Adjutant Lowen, in the presentation of his case, had
much to say about foreigners squeezing native Swedes. The
case was decided on very clear evidence in favor of the
Englishman by Bergsrad Lejel and Assessors Benzelstierna and
Swedenborg. Their decision was later reviewed by the Royal
Law Commission and confirmed by the King. (ACSD 522B)
The Protocol Committee reported that the General Adjutant had
been refused a full hearing. The three members of the
Bergscollegium who were concerned in the matter were
naturally indignant at this attempted review of their
official acts, and they sent a Memorial* of Protest to the
Diet. (ACSD 654C)
* I have not seen a copy of this Memorial.
Encouraged, perhaps, by this action of the Protocol
Committee, General Advocate Lowen appealed to the Diet, and
the matter was referred to the latter's Law Committee. The
Committee reported that a majority of its members advocated
that the Royal Decree in the case be altered in certain
important aspects in the General Adjutant's favor.
(R. o. Ad. Prot. 7:600, 8:95)
The General Adjutant, as a member of the House of Nobles, was
of course present at this reading, and at its conclusion
thanked the Committee and hoped the House of Nobles would
adopt the recommendation on which "his whole worldly welfare
depended," and would not permit "a foreigner in so
unreasonable a way to encroach upon the property of a Swedish
subject."
The subsequent discussion was a heated one, and turned not on
the merits of the case but on the legal rights of the Diet to
revise the judgments of Royal Courts and the Royal Colleges.
The battle, which was ably led by the minority members of the
legal Committee, lasted the whole session but ultimately the
recommendations of the Committee were rejected by a vote of
164 to 126. (Ibid. p. 104)
Another matter on which the two parties clashed was the
appointment of Erland Broman, a panderer to the King's vices,
to an Assessorship in the Commerce Collegium; after much
strife, however, the appointment was confirmed.
(SD 5492 Jan. 22, 1757; Malm. 2:168, 190)
Because of the excitement brought about the question of the
French Alliance, the Diet was unusually well attended, and
there were fewer powers of attorney than usual. These powers
were much sought after, and in 1738 the Hat Party by the help
of French gold purchased them in sufficient number to ensure
their own victory. (Ibid. p. 180)
It may be added that Eric Benzelius took an active part in
this Diet, where his influence was against the French
Alliance. (Ibid. p. 266)
We may also note, as a matter of interest, that on Sunday
evening a concert was given at the House of Nobles by Joh. H.
Roman, "the father of Swedish music." That Swedenborg was a
friend of Roman, we shall see later. Such concerns had been
held in the Riddarhus several times during the Diet of 1731.
(R. o. Ad. Prot. 1731:130, 164, 204)
With respect to the literary work done by Swedenborg on his return to Stockholm, he appears first to have copied out all the italicized headings of his printed Principia, with a view to having a handy volume to serve as an index to refer to when writing his contemplated continuation on the Soul and the Body. This copy occupies thirty-seven closely written pages in Codex 88, and was published in English under the title of "Summary of the Principia."
While on the subject of the Principia, we may note that, soon after his return to Stockholm, Swedenborg received some gratifying evidences of the high esteem with which his Opera Mineralia was held.
In August he received a letter written in Latin by a Jacob Forskl of "Koskis Works" - probably an ironworks in Finland where Forskl was either manager or owner. He had heard of Swedenborg's mineralogical works, and very humbly prays to receive a copy for which he will remit payment. He concludes by
thanking God, "who by His blessing has made our country
worthy of so great a genius, so that from thy labor, most
noble and eminent master of many sciences, even I, sweating
in the dust, might be able to bring a highly necessary light
to my darkness; for I am ardent in the intention to possess
whatever has regard to metallurgy." (OQ I:324 = LM. p. 455)
We doubt not that Swedenborg sent him the books as a gift.
The second testimony received by Swedenborg concerning his Mineralia was from Saint Petersburg. The copy of the Opera Philosophica et Mineralia which Swedenborg, soon after his arrival in Stockholm, sent to the Imperial Academy of Sciences, was received by that body on November 11th, and on the 18th, a committee of three of the learned members was appointed to study the work and, in collaboration with one of the Councils of Mines, to give their report
"If there be anything therein in regard to minerals that
would be of use to the Russian Kingdom."
Meanwhile, the Royal Academy wrote to Swedenborg on November 11th, acknowledging receipt of the work and referring to the appointment of the Committee. (ACSD 565; NP 1934:Oct.)
The report seems to have been favorable, as was naturally to be expected, and on December 28th, the Secretary of the Society wrote a Latin letter to Swedenborg of which a draft is preserved in the Bibliotheque Publique in Leningrad. It reads:
"Meanwhile, since some of the members of our Academy have
read through your work, wherein with happy genius and
praiseworthy diligence you investigate the secrets of nature,
with the purpose that they might be able to communicate to
you their judgment concerning so important a work, it was
certainly not a matter of indifference to me that in the name
of the whole Society I should give you the utmost thanks for
the fine gift you have bestowed on us, and should invite you
to enter into a literary correspondence with the Society."
(ACSD 565C; LM. p. 465)
The letter then continues that the Imperial Academy is in its turn sending to Swedenborg some books "printed in the St. Petersburg printing office."*
* Swedenborg does not appear to have answered this letter, perhaps for reasons connected with the political tension between Sweden and Russia. See Brefwxling Benzelius p. 190.
It is probably owing to this letter that the myth has grown
up that Swedenborg was a corresponding member of the Imperial
Royal Society. See, for instance, the books published in the
1850's by the Swedenborg Society; see also White's Biography
(I:111) and Doc. I:22.
We may add that in the University of Helsingfors, Finland, a
German MS. has been discovered which is a review of the work
on Iron. It is written by a Russian, who was also a learned
and practical miner, as a report to the President of the St.
Petersburg Royal Academy of Sciences, and probably by
Councillor of Mines Reiser. It is a witty, searching and
very just review, pointing out the great merits of
Swedenborg's work, and also its failings - the latter being
in confirmation of the fact that Swedenborg was not a teacher
or a textbook writer. The same reviewer gave his attention
to the work on Copper, but the whereabouts of this review is
not known.
While in Dresden or soon after his return to Sweden, Swedenborg had made several purchases of books to aid him in the study of philosophy and anatomy. Among these we note the following, all of which were found in his library:
Wolff, Ontologia, 1730; Elem. Matheseos II 1733; Cosmologia
1731; Psychologia Empirica 1732; Psychol. Rationalis 1734
Heister, Compen. Anatom., Horimb. 1732
Verheyen, Anatomia, Napoli 1734; besides six volumes of works
by Schurig.
After finishing the abstract of his Principia, Swedenborg commenced to make a thorough study of Wolff's works, and also of a French metaphysical work, Corps de Philosophie by Scipion Dupleix (1569-1661). From these works he copied out long extracts, all classified under different headings and filling altogether 92 pages of Codex 88. The headings are:
Science in General.
Substance, force, matter, corpuscle.
The Prima Nateria, force, conatus.
The Soul, representative force [physical influx].
Power, possibility, faculty, impossibility.
Universal, singular, general, specific, individual, particular, differences.
Quality, degree,
Form, organ, figure, state - (under this heading, Swedenborg emphasizes Wolff's definition of form as "essential determinations.")
Quantity, size, multitude, measure, part, whole, entire.
Number, one, unity, multiplex.
Finite, indefinite, infinite, limit, determinate and undeterminate; single and compound.
Nothing, the imaginary, something.
Privation, positive, opposite.
Ens, essence, essential.
Categories, predicates; metaphysical truth and goodness.
Homonyms, synonyms.
Subject, attribute, predicate, adjunct, affections.
Accidents, modes, modifications.
Hypothesis, assumption.
The necessary.
Various quotations from Dupleix on a variety of subjects, including the operations of the understanding, the principles of natural things, the origin of the world, motion, vacuum, material of heaven, etc.
Under the last heading, Swedenborg marks with an N - the words:
"The ancients believed the heavens are alive and
animated.... Origen went further and attributed to them
reason and inclinations and virtue and vices... Aristotle
said the heavens were indeed animated but not like others; he
attributes to them an assistant soul which does not have
intelligence. Some philosophers, even Christian theologians
... any angels rule the motions of the heavens so that each
province has its own tutelary angel."*
* This passage is quoted in 2 Econ. N. 635.
Further excerpts from Dupleix and Wolff concern metaphysical definitions.
Those philosophical excerpts and with three pages quoted from Newton's Options, and headed:
"The Newtonian Principle of Natural Things."
In these excerpts we note the teaching of Newton that there is
"an incorporeal, living, intelligent, omnipresent being who
is infinite space inmostly discerns things as with his
sensory."
That rays of light are corpuscular.
That "in the beginning of things, God so created matter that
its first-born particles, from which was afterwards to arise
the whole of corporeal nature, were solid, firm, hard,
impenetrable; inert, mobile, endowed with magnitudes and
figures and also with properties, and number, and quantity
proportionate to the space wherein they will be that they may
be moved; whereby they could best be led to those ends fro
which they were created; far more durable than any bodies
with their hidden interjected passages, which were afterwards
created from them; so perfectly hard that they can neither be
worn away nor lessened." These first-born particles not only
seem to have in themselves the force of inertia and those
passive laws of motion which necessarily arise from that
force; but also they seem perpetually to receive motion from
certain actuating principles which are not gravity and the
force of the coherence of bodies. Newton conceives of these
"principles" not as "occult qualities" but "as the universal
laws of nature."
These 92 pages in Codex 88, of which we are now speaking, do not all consist of excerpts. In the very beginning, and in connection with excerpts from Wolff on "substance, Matter, sorporeity," Swedenborg adds a page (p. 277) of his own reflections, as follows:
"My opinion concerning substance, matter, body. Because
man confound substance with matter, and call it the first
natural substance, they also confound natural substance with
Divine substance, and this especially by their definitions.
Hence I say:
1. That the first substance is the cause of natural things or of the world; the first force is the efficient of things in the world or nature; substance with force [1st nat. point] is the efficient cause of all natural things and of the world, consequently, it is the primitive in every existing thing or the first in all, all other things being succedants, the first of quality, of quantity, of form, of degrees, of moments, etc.
2. The first matter [1st finite] is thus that which acknowledges its esse in a one only Divine Substance or Essence, which is in it, under it, and with it.
3. Thus and no otherwise can we found a universal philosophy.
4. All that is beyond that substance we have no comprehension of, because it is beyond the sphere of our soul, nor is it possible to move a step in that direction; but it is something without which nothing would be, and thus not nature. This destroys idealism.
5. Thus all men tacitly agree, but some do not dare, some dare but do not have the conception. Confer DLW n. 283.
6. That it is the first natural substance, the prima materia most perfect, most highly similar, inseparable from its force [i. e. from 1st nat. point].
7. Force is proper to it in that it is the force of the whole or in the whole; nor is it force separable from substance; in successives it is separable.
7[a]. Thus you can call it the prima materia, the first corpuscle, the first form, not material, however, but substantial, the first natural substance, not the first of all as to existence, for it does not exist ex se; it is not from nothing but from something. That it cannot be changed in respect to state is another matter; in that it is endowed with force, it can.
8. What is above it, is not above.
9. In a word, it is the first natural cause of all things, and is the natural all or whole in the world. Its force is either internal - this being called conatus, which is its, in that it belongs to the whole of it; or external, which is a mode. The internal force is not a mode since it is the whole, the pure, the all.
10. From its successives, it is clear what it is in the primitive, but the conception transcends comprehension because the whole, the pure and the all transcends the soul's power of judging.
11. It is the first subject of all things natural; it is object, prima material, first and only natural essence. The first natural, in whatever respect you wish, supposes a prior which is not natural; the universal in nature; the universal outside nature which is God C natural in whatever respect you will; but it supposes a prior which is not natural; it is the universal in nature; it cannot be called the most universal beyond nature, which is God.
Following these philosophical studies, Swedenborg now girds himself for the more thorough inquiry into the soul, by a minute and painstaking study of the anatomy of the brain. This study is given witness to in 348 pages (in Codex 88) of excerpts from the anatomists on the brain and nerves, besides at least 70 pages of excerpts referred to in Codex 88 (p. 547) but which are lost.
The excerpts in Codex 88 (which are numbered 1-425) are based on the best authorities of the day, including such authors as Verheyen, Heister (last ed. 1732), a French Commentary on Heister published in 1724, Winslow - whose Anatomy
* The excerpts on the Brain, etc., are contained in Codex 88, as follows:
pp. 366-495 Acont'd on p. 550
" 496-97 - Title-pages described in the text
" 498-501 - missing. Contained, perhaps, title-pages, sketch of proposed work.
" 502-42 - Journal of Travels, 1736-39; preceding which are brief notes on travels of 1710, 1721, 1733.
" 543 - Title-page of EAK.
" 544-48 - Index to anatomical tables.
" 549 - blank
" 550-714 - Continuation of excerpts from p. 495.
" 715 - Commencement of index to excerpts.
It was while writing these excerpts that Swedenborg wrote out the title-page (draft and clean copy) of his internal Opus of which the Infinite was the Forerunner. The first or draft title-page reads as follows: (Cod. 86; 497; Doc. 3:916; NP 1950:74s)
The Animal Kingdom
both
Physical and Psychological*
or
A System of
Natural Principles** and Phenomena
concerning
the two parts of man
that is
concerning
the Soul and Body***
and concerning
the Causes**** and Effects, the Actions and the Passions*****
of each
(and at the same time concerning
the Elementary World wherein they live)******
explored and demonstrated
both from Principles and from Experiments
Physically, Chemically, Anatomically, Mechanically
and Philosophically*******
Usque, diu quae latuere, patent********
* In the clean copy, Psychological is crossed off and Moral substituted.
** In the first draft, principles is substituted for Causes.
*** In the clean copy, Soul and Body are reversed.
**** In the first draft, Causes is substituted for Affections.
***** In the clean copy, etc. is added
****** In the first draft, the words between parentheses are an addition entered at the foot of the page.
******* In the clean copy = Philosophically, Mechanically, Physically, Chemically, and Anatomically.
********What long has lain hidden now comes to light.
The clean copy is practically the same as the corrected draft, but the
Latin motto is crossed off and some variations of it are
tried, ending finally with the two lines:
Quam multa diu, quae patuere, latent?
" " " " Latuere, patent?
That this is the title-page of the work that was to supplement The Principia and fulfill the promise of The Infinite, is further confirmed by the list of contents of a proposed work which is entered in the notes to Wolff's Psychologia Empirica to which we have already referred (see above, p. 411). See Psychologia n. 217 for this list of contents.
In The Infinite there are several references to this proposed work,* among which we note the following:
* These are quoted in Psychologica, pp. xvii-xix.
Concerning the necessity of first writing the Principle, he says:
"Unless the theory of the elements be promised, we would
labor in vain to come to a knowledge of their operations in
human life." (p. 235 = Eng. p. 130)
Referring presumably to the work itself, he says that in a
"special theory" he will treat more particularly of the
membranes and elements, and show that the motions of the
latter are spread through the whole body; thus showing that
"the undulatory motions in the enclosed elements are the
verimost animal spirits."
(p. 247 = Eng. 137, cf. p. 251=139)
On page 266 (Eng. p. 147), he promises that in a "special exposition"
he will show, with respect to the souls of brutes, many
arguments "which perhaps are not as yet well known."
A little later (pp. 267-68=Eng. p. 148), he states it as his
intention to present the geometry and mechanism of the human
soul "in detail, if God grant me life and leisure. Here," he
continues, "nothing can be presented as affirmative and
positive; for experience and geometry are the only things
which must affirm and establish.... The principal end of this
proposed work is that the immortality of the soul may be
demonstrated before the very senses."
Further particulars concerning the proposed work are given on p. 192 = Eng. p. 108:
"In the work itself," he says, "so far as possible, I desire
to demonstrate to the eye that the soul is perfectly and
purely mechanical; that the soul is immortal; and that it
cannot perish unless the universe be annihilated."
And now, before writing the work, and even in the midst of his studies of the Brain in preparation for the work, he draws up a tentative title-page - a page which clearly indicates the general line he intended to follow.
The Animal Kingdom
Physical and Moral
that is,
concerning the Soul and the Body
with their Actions and Passions, and
at the same time concerning the
Elementary World
wherein they live
Later, and while still engaged in his studies on the Brain, he outlines a new title, which indicates that he has now decided to approach the study of the soul by a treatise on the Brain.
This new title is contained in Codex 88 at the end of the Journal of Travels from June 1736 to March 17, 1739. This fact, however, does not indicate that it was written after March 1739, by which time the Economy of the Animal Kingdom, as it was subsequently published, was already planned. For, preceding the first entry of the Journal from 1736 come a little over two pages headed "Description of my Travels," under which heading Swedenborg gives a summary account of the three foreign journeys he has thus far taken. (Cod. 88:502-4) It is probable that this description was written in the very midst of his studies of the Brian, and that he then left a number of pages blank for further journal entries, and, skipping these blank pages, continued his excerpts on the Brain on page 551 which he heads "Continuation from p. 495."
The title-pages which we have already considered are on the pages immediately preceding the "Description of my Journeys." On the page immediately following the Description is a very different title-page. Before writing it out in full, however, Swedenborg appears to have written an outline of it in a blank space left at the bottom of his first draft title-page, which is crossed off. There we read the uncrossed words:
"The Animal Economy concerning the two parts of man, that is,
the Cerebrum, Cerebellum, Medullas Oblongata and Spinalis,
and the Nerves, demonstrated physically and psychologically."
At the end of the pages containing the "Description of my Journeys" this title page is enlarged and written out in the style of a title-page, as follows:
The Animal Economy
or Transactions concerning
the two parts of Man (Cod. 88:543)
This was then altered to read:
The Animal Economy
concerning
the two parts of Man, divided into Transactions
here, concerning
The Cerebrum, Cerebellum, Medullas Oblongata and Spinalis
and concerning the Nerves
examined*
Anatomically, Physically and Philosophically
To which is added
The Pathology of the Head and nerves
by Aphaneis
* Swedenborg first wrote demonstrated.
This, however, is crossed off and in its place is written: "The Animal Kingdom according to its degrees and series." this in turn is crossed off, and since the pages that followed were already being used for entering excerpts concerning the brain, Swedenborg turned to the first page of his MS. which he had left blank and there entered still another title-page, as follows:
Deo Auspice
Transactions concerning
The Animal Economy
or Concerning the two Parts of Man
that is
The Cerebrum, Cerebellum, Medullas Oblongata and Spinalis
and concerning the Nerves
This he crossed off and substituted: "Transactions concerning the two parts of Man, that is, the Animal Economy."
This he again crossed and finally wrote:
"The Animal Economy or Transactions concerning the two parts
of Man; here, concerning the Cerebrum, Cerebellum, Medullas
Oblongata and Spinalis, and concerning the Nerves,
demonstrated Anatomically, Physically and Philosophically.
By way of Appendix is added the Pathology of the Head and
Nerves."
These title-pages were probably written in Venice or Rome - after or just before the writing of The Cerebrum; see below, p. 455, 497.
Finally, Swedenborg wrote a title which closely approximates to that which finally appeared in the printed Economy. This he wrote after he had abandoned his previous determination to commence his work with a treatise on the Brain, probably in Rome or Amsterdam before I EAK was written; see below, p. 455, 497.
It would therefore appear that at the time this new title-page was written, he had completed his excerpts on the Brain, and having filled every page of his volume, he wrote his first draft of the new title in a blank space at the bottom of one of the preceding title-pages, where it reads as follows:
"Economy of the Animal Kingdom divided into Transactions of
which this first, treats of the (heart, arteries, veins and*)
blood, its arteries, veins and heart, and in general of the
muscles; investigated anatomically, physically and
philosophically." (Cod. 88:543)
* The words in parentheses are crossed off.
But enough of title-pages.
From the first of these title-pages (see above, p. 437), it appears that Swedenborg's first intention was to fulfill the promise of The Infinite by a treatise on the Soul and Body. In fact, he actually wrote such a work; for, in the middle of April 1735, he presented to the Censor for permission to print "An extensive work entitled De Anima et ejus cum Corpore Commercio." Of the present existence of this work nothing whatever is known, and the fact of its having been written would also have been unknown were it not for the Minutes of a meeting of the Board of Censors, to whom Censor Rosenadler had to report. In a Minute of the meeting of April 21, 1734, we read the fact cited above, and also the Censor's report on Swedenborg's work, who stated that
"in going through it, he had observed some profound
physiological views on this difficult subject, differing from
the sentiments of other writers." He asked for permission to
print, but the Council decided that he should examine the
work more closely, and that permission "might be granted if
he found that it did not contain anything offensive to
religion, the State, and good morals."
We read nothing more of this work. Rosenadler may or may not have reported favorably; the probability is that he did, even though he had represented Aunt Brita in her suit against Swedenborg. At any rate, the sensitive fear felt by the Board of Censors lest the religion or morals of their country be hurt, has certainly succeeded in depriving us of a priceless treasure. (NKTid. 1915:75)
Swedenborg had now (beginning of 1736) definitely passed the Rubicon. His mineralogical studies were forever behind him. Physiology and Psychology were now his sole field of study. But before publishing anything in this new field, so foreign to his position as Assessor of the Swedish Royal College of Mines, he felt the need of extended study. He was, therefore, bent upon again visiting the Continent to pursue his studies in a wider field than Sweden could possibly offer.
But before we accompany him on his fourth foreign journey, we must go somewhat backward in time and see what his doing shave been other than the literary work which we have thus far been considering.
We have already seen something of his work in the Bergscollegium and also in the Diet during 1734 after his arrival home in July. In 1735 he was present at the College daily, from January 3rd to May 16th when he departed for Falun on an official commission of inquiry. This was to prove the last of Swedenborg's services on a Commission to visit mines. He and his superior Bergenstierna had served as the Commissioners for visiting Falun every summer from 1728 to 1732, and now, after Swedenborg's return home, he was again appointed in 1735.* On this occasion, Swedenborg became the Senior Commissioner, his colleague being Wallerius, a man who later made important contributions to the science of mineralogy. They were accompanied as usual by a clerk.
* There had been no Commission in 1734 owing to the sitting of the Diet.
Their work was not only to gather information as to conditions at the great copper mine, its machines, buildings, water power, and possible improvements, but also to inquire as to what improvements might be made at Avesta Copper Works and Coinage, and at the Garpenberg Copper Mines northeast of Avesta which was privately owned by Thomas Funk, a Stockholm merchant. (ACSD 572A)
Swedenborg and Wallerius left Stockholm on June 17th, arriving at Avestad, some ninety-five miles northwest, on June 19th. Here they found the buildings of the crown works in very bad condition, especially the dam for supply water power to the mint works. They recommended the rebuilding of this wall. They also inquired into some doubtful searchings for precious metals instituted by a German by the name of Neuslein, at Bjufors, a few miles from Avesta. From Avesta they went to the copper mines at Garpenberg. Here they were mainly occupied in inquiring into searches which had been instituted by the orders of the above-mentioned Neuslein, both in the old mines and in the whole territory where Neuslein had staked out parts to be dug where, as he claimed, were to be found gold, silver, copper, quicksilver, antimony, etc. All the mine owners, prompted by Neuslein's alluring promises, had given written orders to their servants that they should be ready to carry out Neuslein's orders. Swedenborg and Wallerius found it advisable to hold two hearings at the copper works, to make inquiry into the measures set up by Neuslein. They also found it necessary to write to Bergmastare Eric Esberg, an old protg of Swedenborg's, reminding him of his duty to visit Garpenberg to give oversight and assistance; and also asking him to report on two neighboring mines which also were being run according to Neuslein's ideas, but which they themselves had not been able to visit. (ACSD 579D)
Swedenborg and Wallerius were not favorable to Neuslein's
undertakings. "Although considerable cost had already been
expended on them, they seemed not to have the least
foundation or any likelihood of securing for the public, or
for the mine owners, any of the promised advantages or uses."
In consequence of their report, the Bergscollegium in
October decided to call the attention of the civil
authorities to the matter, and also to admonish Bergmastare
Esberg to visit the works at Garpenberg and neighborhood as
often as possible, and take diligent oversight of all that is
being done there which belongs to his office.
Swedenborg and Wallerius arrived at Falun at the end of June, when they at once set to work examining one of the disused mines with a view to its reparation. They also investigated the possibility of the sinking of new shafts, or the opening of new passages for the better ventilation of the mines, and also of the draining of mines that had become filled with water, improvements in hoisting machines, and the setting up of new machines, etc., on all which matters the Commissioners talked not only with the chiefs but also with workmen. They inquired into the progress being made in the examination of the mining accounts from 1715, which had been ordered by the King, and their report on this matter caused the Bergscollegium to send letters to the local authorities to proceed with greater speed. The Commissioners' duty also required them to examine into the condition of the orphanage for women and children. They transmitted to the Bergscollegium the suggestion of the local Governor that suitable manufacturing, such as weaving, stocking-making, etc., be established whereby they could support themselves. This work had been discontinued by order of the Royal Commission of 1724, and this the Bergscollegium abided by; but they gave permission for the carrying on of private manufacturing. (ACSD 576A, 579 I)
The work at Falun occupied Swedenborg during the whole of July and August, but we can hardly doubt that some time during July, Swedenborg left Falun for a brief visit to Brunsbo where his father, who remained in active service to the end,* passed peacefully away on July 26th, at the age of eighty-two, "after having taken a heartfelt leave of those who were around him and wished the highest blessing on the superior authorities, and church and the fatherland." (Brefwxl. p. 96n, cf. Tot. 2:275)
* Old age, however, did induce the Bishop to secure, in 1732, release from the Consistory.
Swedenborg returned to Stockholm from his summer work on September 1st, and the next day he resumed his varied duties at the Bergscollegium. To give some specimen of his duties, and the importance of the College's decisions to iron workers, we may cite the discussion of October 1, 1735, where a certain iron forger requested permission to move from Vermland to Wster Gttland.
This permission was refused for several reasons, Swedenborg
adducing the reason that this would constitute a drain on fir
woods which had been assigned to certain cities, with the
result that young fir trees would be taken to be used for
charcoal, so that in time the extensive fir forest would be
destroyed. (ACSD 579C)
A smaller matter which, however, indicates the form of Swedenborg's mind, came up in January 1735. It concerned the old Swedish and English disputants, Adjutant General Lwen and Mr. Montgomery.
The latter requested the Bergscollegium to order Bergmastare
Bellander to examine a caved-in mine and report as to its
repair. This mine was claimed by Lwen, and, therefore, by
his legal representative he requested the College give him a
copy of Montgomery's communication. Swedenborg was opened to
this on the simple ground that such an investigation was
within the duties of the Bergscollegium quite apart from any
request by Montgomery, and in this he was supported by
Councillor Leijel; but the majority was of a different
opinion, and the decisions of the College were made by
majority vote. (ACSD 569B)
Swedenborg seems also still to have continued in charge of the machine modes which, but for him, would probably have gone to ruin. (ACSD 584A(1))
At this time it was the custom in Sweden to defer burials until several months after the death, the body being meanwhile kept in a vault. In accordance with this custom, Friday, January 29, 1736, was appointed for the interment of Bishop Jesper Swedberg, some six months after his death. For the purpose of attending this interment, Swedenborg and also his brother-in-law Lars Benzelstierna obtained leave of absence from the college for "three or four weeks."
Swedenborg and his brother-in-law left Stockholm on Tuesday, January 19th, to commence their two hundred and fifty mile journey in the middle of winter. Of course they had their own sled, but the journey must have been at trying one, and must have taken at least five days.
The burial took place in Varnhem's cloister church, some 15 miles west of Skara. "Varnhem's Cloister" is one of the oldest and most beautiful churches in Sweden, and many Bishops of Skara are buried there. The funeral sermon was preached by Jacob Benzelius, Bishop of Gothenburg, on a text chosen by Bishop Swedberg himself. (Familjebok, picture; Tot. 2:275)
Further details of the visit to Brunsbo are not presented. Doubtless, all the living children were present: Anna, Catharine, with their husbands, and Jesper with his wife. According to Swedish custom, after the sermon, Bishop Jacob Benzelius read the Personalia, which together with the sermon was later printed. Jesper Swedberg left minute instructions for his own funeral, and it would be in accord with his character that he discountenanced that costly pomp and ceremony which then distinguished the funerals of the higher classes in Sweden. But to judge from universal customs of the times among rich and poor, there was much feasting, to which however only the immediate family were invited. (Lloyd, pp. 121, 125, 124; Brefw. p. 21)
As to Swedenborg's relations to his father, we know little, in fact, after Bishop Swedberg left Upsala from Skara, Swedenborg did not live with him for more than a year when he made his first foreign journey. His visits home after that time would not amount to more then about a year altogether. That the Bishop admired his son, is shown by an entry in his Autobiography - written in 1730 (see Doc. I:352) but doubtless continuing after his retirement - where, in chapter 25, he says:
"God has to this hour been with him, and may He be further
with him until he be eternally united with Him in His
kingdom."
The father could not but be proud of the author of the Opera and De Infinito. But prior to this, owing apparently to jealously, Swedenborg's brothers (excepting Eric Benzelius) succeeded for three or four years in somewhat estranging his father from him; see above, p. 189. (Doc. I:195, 304)
Swedenborg mentions his father only in his Journal of Dreams and in the Spiritual Diary.
In the Journal of Dreams, he records that in a dream he lived
again his childhood days, and heard his father say, "You are
making such a racket Emanuel." Another dream suggests
familiar relations between father and son. He spoke with his
father "who kissed me because I reminded him not to swear."
He records also that his father counseled familiarly with
him, and he called him, not father, but brother. In another
dream he saw himself a member of the spiritual society where
his father was; and still later, he saw his father "in a
beautiful surplice before a congregation," who wished to take
him into another room; this Swedenborg interprets
as meaning that he had begun to read the Bible in the
evenings - an interpretation which suggests that in
Swedenborg's mind, his father was associated with a love of
the letter of the Word. (JD nos. 123, 215, 58-59, 213, 226)
The same suggestion is seen in the Diary, where Swedenborg
states: "I dreamed that my father in life fell into the
water, so that he was immersed, and I then lifted him out."
When he woke from this dream, spirits told him that they had
been speaking about what he had written from the word, and he
then adds: "The Word was represented with me on a former
occasion* by my father in life." This was the reason why the
speech of these spirits had been thus represented.
(SD. N. 4191)
* The "former occasion" here referred to, doubtless refers to a dream which he had five months earlier, when he saw beds, one above the other. The lower bed where lay "no one save my father and myself, signified the Word." (SD n. 3790)
In an earlier dream, his father told him that what he had
written about Providence was the finest. "I remember," he
continues, "that it was only a small treatise" - referring to
De Infinito. (JD n. 206)
That he admired his father as a man active in performing uses, is indicated in a paragraph in the Diary handed "On Uses." There Swedenborg writes that
his mother said "that my father during the life of the body
was frequently absent, and they knew now where; and that he
always returned with delight." He then adds that from this
"It was perceived that by the Lord he was sent forth, now
here and now there, to various uses among men, because his
delight consisted in an active life. It was also said that
without an active life he could not have been in delight.
Therefore, after such activity, he came back in delight."
(SD. n. 4182)
We have already suggested that Swedenborg's little treatise on Faith and Good Works may have been inspired by thought of his father.
Swedenborg's leave of absence was for "three or four weeks," but he did not get back to the Bergscollegium until March 1st. The leave, therefore, had extended to six weeks. This is easily explained, however.
Swedenborg had hardly been absent from the Bergscollegium a day, when a cavalry captain appeared before the College and reported that he had found a deposit of good mineral coal on his estate Mlltorp, about 20 miles northeast of Skara. Since Swedenborg and Lars Benzelstierna were already at Skara, the College informed the Captain that it would instruct them to visit Mlltorp before returning to Stockholm, and examine the coal find and instruct the Captain as to how further exploration of it should be carried on. They were then to report the matter to the College on their return. Probably they had not much to report, for no report is mentioned in the Bergscollegium Minutes. There is but little coal to be found in West Gttland. (ACSD 592, 592A)
Among the cases that soon afterwards came before the
Bergscollegium for decision was the ever recurrent
Montgomery-Lwen dispute. It seems that a phase of this
controversy was to come up before the Mining Court, over
which Bergmastare Bellander would preside ex officio.
Lwen now appealed to the Bergscollegium for the appointment
of an extraordinary judge to hear the case, on the ground
that he had called upon Bellander as a witness. The opinion
of the College was that, since Bellander had already sat as
judge in several matters between the two parties, he could
not be called as a witness in respect to these. Lwen
should, therefore, apprize the College as to the matter on
which he wished Bellander to testify. Otherwise, says
Swedenborg, should we approve his mere request to call the
ordinary judge as witness without reviewing his reasons
therefor, this would be prejudicial to justice as leading
many disputants to resort to the same device, and so would
exclude the ordinary judge from the exercise of his office.
(ACSD 593(3), 593B)
To secure justice both to the judge and to the
contending parties, he continued, there were only two courses
to be pursued. Either the judge should himself declare
whether he ought or ought not to be a witness in the matter,
as in ordinary cases of incompetency; or the Bergscollegium
should first examine whether the call of the judge as a
witness is a mere pretense or has reason behind it.
In cases of incompetency, the law allows the judge to
declare himself incompetent, but in a case where he is called
on by one of the parties as witness, he may not know as to
what testimony will be required of him, and so cannot judge
as to his own competency. It seems, therefore, in the
absence of a special law covering such a case, that another
should judge of this matter. Lwen should, therefore, give
the Bergscollegium specific information as to the subjects on
which he wishes Bellander to give sworn testimony, and the
College can then itself judge whether his request for another
judge is or is not reasonable, and so can assure justice both
to the judge and to the parties in the suit. Lwen would not
be prejudiced by giving this information to the College, for
whether his opponent knew of the matter beforehand, or
learned it for the first time at the Court, Lwen was yet in
a position to give answer. Swedenborg therefore agreed with
the others that it behooved the adjutant to place the matter
specifically before the College for their decision.
Therefore, Lwen's request for an extraordinary judge was denied.
Another case may be cited as a further illustration of Swedenborg's work on the Bergscollegium. A widow owner of a free forge prayed to be allowed to forge more iron than was allowed by the law of 1695.
Swedenborg was the first to give his opinion, to wit, that
the Royal Ordinance of 1731 did not give the owners of free
forges - whether in or outside the mining district - an
unlimited right to forge all the iron up to the capacity of
the raw material or coal they possessed. The Ordinance of
1734 gave this right to forges outside the mining district,
but expressly forbids this to those living within the mining
district. "I do not deny," he continues, "that it seems
somewhat hard for those within the mining district ... when
their circumstances would permit of their forging a larger
amount, but for my own part, I also understand that it is not
for me to counsel something against the Royal letter of
November 25th, 1734, this being a matter for which appeal
must be made to the Diet."
Before his return from Skara in march, Swedenborg began to entertain the thought of again visiting France, this time with a view, not to mining researches, but to the study of anatomy. However, he seems to have given up the idea for a time, and then again to have entertained it. This we learn from a letter
"In the degree that I liked my Brother's former letter
wherein he told me that the foreign journey was off, so did I
become displeased at my Brother's last letter which again
affirms the French journey."
Swedenborg's determination, however, was taken, and it certainly would not have been weakened by the treatment which his book on the Soul and Body received at the hands of the censors. He was not in better financial circumstances than ever before to undertake an extended foreign journey; for, in addition to his other possessions, he now received a share of the not inconsiderable wealth of his father; see Documents I:123, 352. We see evidence of his improved financial condition in the fact that in April he lent his cousin Schonstrm a sum of 7,600 dalers Koppermt, being the value of iron he had given him from his Smithies at Starbo. This sum Schonstrm was to repay in June 1738, with interest at 6 per cent to start from June 1736. IN addition, on April 30th, he lent him in case 2,000 dalers Koppermt at 6 per cent interest, which also he was to repay in 1738. (ACSD 598, 597)
It seems clear that Swedenborg was now able not only to take a foreign journey but to take an extended one, and to resume that journey to Italy which had been interrupted by the lawsuit in 1722; see above, p. 250. Accordingly, on May 24th, he presented a petition to the King; see Letters and Memorials pp. 478-80) (Doc. I:448)
The King referred this letter to the Bergscollegium, and at its meeting on April 26th, Swedenborg made his proposals. After he had then left the room, these were discussed by the College, and after being accepted were duly communicated to the King. (ACSD 601)
These proposals, together with the recommendation of the College, were:
1. That Swedenborg's office should be filled by some able man to whom Swedenborg would resign half his salary, being 600 dalers silvermint.
2. That after his return, Swedenborg would not demand the restoration of his full salary until there was a new vacancy in the College, so that this 600 d. smt. Would be at the disposal of the College.
3. That on his return, he should again have his former seat and vote in the College. (Doc. I:452 ' LM p. 480)
The College suggested to the King that its Secretary Nils Porath be appointed Extraordinary Assessor in Swedenborg's place, with an addition of 300 dal. sil. mt. to his present salary; that its Treasurer, Hans Bierchenius, become Secretary, and its senior Notary become Treasurer, both at their former salaries; and that the remaining 300 dalers of Swedenborg's salary be devoted to the salary of the appointee for Notary, who [as Extraordinary Notary] hitherto has served without salary. (Ibid.)
On the day this letter was sent to the King, Swedenborg addressed a letter to the College thanking them for their assent to the "reasons and motives" submitted to the King, for his desiring leave of absence "for the carrying out of a useful work which is a continuation of the former which I had printed three years ago"; see Letters and Memorials, pp. 480-81. (Doc. I:450)
By "continuing the former work," Swedenborg had in mind anatomical and not mineralogical studies, but the wording of this petition fully justified those concerned in supposing that the work in question concerned further publications on mineralogy and metallurgy; and, therefore, the Royal permission was given to Swedenborg in order that he might "bring to an end the work on Metals together
The royal consent was granted on June 1st, but Swedenborg continued with his work in the College of Mines during the month of June when he took part in making the changes and appointments made necessary by his long leave of absence. On June 21st he formally thanked the King for the leave granted him, and at the same time applied for a passport. (Resebeskrifn. p. 63s)
On July 3rd he went to the royal residence at Carlberg to take leave of the King and Queen, but even after this he continued his work at the College, nor did he finally give up that work until July 8th, two days before he left Stockholm for his long journey.
Of this journey, Swedenborg kept a journal which lasted for over four years, written in Swedish in that MS. volume, Codex 88, wherein he had written the journal of his last foreign journey. This Codex contained also the many excerpts from printed book which he had read during that journey, including extensive excerpts on Generation from Schurig. It contained also his Mechanism of the Soul and Body, and his Comments on Wolff which are published under the title Psychologica, and his Summary of the Principia. He had continued to use the same bulky volume when he returned to Swede, and there we find his copious excerpts on Philosophy from Wolff and Dupleix and also from Newton's Optics, and his even more copious excerpts on the Brain from Vieussens, Winslow, Heister, Ridley, etc., see above, p. 433 seq.
From this Journal, which we may add is preceded by a brief description of Swedenborg's three earlier journeys, we learn that he left Stockholm by the public stage on Saturday, July 10th, at 2.0 o'clock in the afternoon, and in company with an Englishman of the name of Fennick, and also his own Bankers Bohman and Hultman - to whom, on July 10th, he had executed a power of attorney for his financial affairs. The coach proceeded by Hornsagatan past Swedenborg's future home, and so on up the hill and past the windmill on the highway to Fittia and Nykping. (ACSD 608D)
At Nykping, where he stayed over Sunday night, he heard of a frightful lightning and thunder storm that had raged all day, although, as he observes,
"from Stockholm to Nykping I heard not the least thunder nor
saw any lightning though I rode all night."
(Resebeskr., p. 63)
Among the men in Nykping whom Swedenborg met, was the rising
young Stockholm merchant, Joh. H. Lefebure, who owned an
extensive brass foundry in Nykping where he did much for the
extension of Swedish manufacture of goods previously imported
from abroad. (BL)
On Monday, Swedenborg arrived at his sister Anna's home in the episcopal palace in Linkping, where Eric Benzelius gave him a letter of introduction to Pastor Wolff of Hamburg; but the next day he resumed his journey and arrived at Helsingborg on the following Friday. Here he met the Commander of the Fort, Colonel Lannerstierna, and also the Mayor of the city, Henrik Sylvius, and a prominent member of the House of Burgers at many Diets. Swedenborg evidently moved in an important social sphere, but in view of his birth and learning, this is not surprising.
The journey he now planned was by the same route that he had previously taken with his cousin Hesselius in 1721, namely, across Denmark through Schleswig Hotstein (then a part of Denmark) to Hamburg, Hannover, Rotterdam to Paris which
After a short but stormy passage over the Sound separating the Danish fortress of Helsingor from the Swedish fortress of Helsingborg, he took his pass to the Danish Commandant at the former fortress, which to him, as the place from which Denmark had so often exercised their arbitrary power over Swedish commerce, must have been viewed with considerable interest. He must also have been struck with the contract between the compact little city of Helsingborg and its Danish vis-a-vis whose streets were swarming with people of many nationalities; for the constant arrival of ships of all nations, for the purpose of paying the Danish toll, was a constant source of business. At 2.30 in the afternoon, he took coach to Copenhagen which was a five-hour journey along the seashore. This was Swedenborg's second visit to the Danish Capital, and he stayed there a whole week, taking lodging at the Krmer Compagnie "vid Stranden, Natricul n. 251." (Gjrwell, Anteckningar; Resebeskrifn., p. 64)
This was one of a number of hotels kept by a Guild of linen,
silk, and woolen merchants in several large cities. It was
situated opposite the new Royal Palace which had been in
course of construction for three years and was not completed
until 1741. Since the Krmer Compagnie Hotel (built before
1661) together with its next-door neighbor abutted too far on
the street, and, moreover, was in danger of falling, it was
torn down in 1749 and erected anew in 1750. From 1734-77,
the landlord was George Ludwig Meurer, a Catholic. The house
shown in the picture was built in 1750, and on the site a
"modern hotel" was erected. Later, both buildings were
completely destroyed by the disastrous fire that swept the
city in 1795, and on their site was built "The Royal Hotel."
This is still standing with the name on the walls, but it is
now used as the office of the National Ridende and three
other papers, all controlled by the Levin family.*
(ANC phot. Coll. 1, 2, 3)
* Information supplied by Mrs. Levin, the owner of the building. See her Danish article with picture of hotel.
The next day, Sunday, Swedenborg attended services at the City Church. "The service differed from the Swedish service only in a few ceremonials; thus,
the priest had ruffed collar with black lining beneath; the
blessing was read from the pulpit [now-a-days, there are two
blessings, one from the pulpit and the other from the altar];
on the altar burned two large candles because of the
communion which was administered. The communion cape was put
on the priest by the church warden at the altar itself.
"There were no ornaments or epitaphs in the church except the
organ and the altar picture. Instead of the bag used in
Sweden, the collections are made in boxes," of which four are
used. The same is the case today. (Resebeskrifn., p. 64)
Later, Swedenborg, wandering around this city, visited two public gardens,
one, a round one, containing in its center a statue of
Christian the Vth (father of the reigning King Christian VI)
in copper - but no solid - on a horse, under which lies a
person with a worm in his hand who is trampled on by the
horse. "On the one side were two figures in copper, namely,
Hercules and Pallas, and on the other, two more with fire and
sword; on the third and fourth sides were coats of arms."
(Ibid.)
"The other garden which is tolerably large and includes
a considerable part of the city, is given its charm by
varieties, allays of
different kinds, clipped trees, statues of gypsum, one of
copper where a lion has beneath it a horse, tolerably well
done; also Samson tearing the lion, done in marble; together
with many other statues, small and large. The orangery
deserves the most attention. In it were one hundred and
sixty orange trees which are not planted in tubs but stand
all the time in their own earth without having been
transplanted; also laurels, cypresses, etc. In summer, the
windows and roofs are removed and they then stand under the
open sky. In autumn they are put back again.
(Resebe., p. 64; ANC phot. 4-8)
On Tuesday he spent the whole afternoon with the Swedish Envoy Anders Skutenhjelm, a man of his own age, and - being a protg of Arvid Horn - Swedenborg probably found him congenial in his political views. Swedenborg had known him in London where he was attached to the Swedish Embassy (1710-14). He was also acquainted with Skutenhjelm's wife, the former Countess Dben. See Documents 2:78, (Sv. Ad. Attar-taf. Skutenhjelm)
At Skutenjelm's, Swedenborg informed himself concerning the learned man in Copenhagen whose names - Hans Gram [1685-1748] the following historian and Royal Librarian; Prof. Hollberg [1684-1754], the poet and savant who at the time of Swedenborg's visit was the Rector of the University; Ivor Rosenkrantz [1674-1745], a learned diplomat and patron of the University - he duly notes in his Journal, after which he adds, with pardonable pride,
"the lettered men have spoken well of my work."
(Resebeskrifn., p. 64)
Here, or at any rate, on the same day, he saw Wolff's Theologia naturalis which had been published in the preceding Spring. Naturally, Swedenborg looked through this work with interest, though he can hardly have done more then skim over its thousand pages. One thing, however, he notes about the work, namely, that "in it the author seems in a way to refer to me but not by name." What the specific reference is that Swedenborg had in mind is not certain, but it seems very probable that he is referring to Wolff's notes to no. 761 of his work, where he says:
"God produced simple substances which are active and within
which are forces modifiable in one way and not in another,
and which are modifiable in another way, and not in this,
when other simple substances of the like kind might be
produced....
"Hence can be understood the mode of demonstrating a priori,
the contingency of the order of nature arising from the
nature of the elements, though it may not yet be fully
perceived, if we would inspect a little more deeply the rise
of the phenomena in the material world from simple substances
as from their fount, before demonstration can come in to
harmonize."
It is more probable, however, that he refers to Wolff's note to no. 787. There he says:
"In the doctrine of creation, it is usual with philosophers
to adapt an interpretation of the Scriptures to the
hypotheses which they themselves adopt. Hence we see some to
whom the hypothesis of a chaos is pleasing, and in defence of
it they say that God first produced a chaos and then formed
the world by reducing this chaos to order, according to the
words of Moses."
These two passages do indeed occur toward the end of the book, but they occur in the chapter on Divine Creation and Providence, which would be the main chapter to attract Swedenborg's interest. Confer Deutsche Acta Eruditorum 1736:193.
The next day he devoted to copying from Wolff's Ontologia and Cosmologia as he should need "during his journey," and also in a "closer examination of his Principles of First Philosophy." From which it would appear that Swedenborg carried these two works by Wolff with him. (See ACSD 542)
Thursday, July 22nd, in company with the legation Secretary, he visited the Royal Library which was situated not far from his hotel.
"A magnificent library," he writes, "and very well arranged.
Counsellor of Justice Gram (the learned Librarian) was away.
It consisted of 70,000* volumes, the octaves being above
where they can be reached by a gallery running lengthwise."
Among the books he was shown, he notes a Cicero [de Officiis]
of 1465, "which is supposed to be the first book ever
printed." This is an error as the first book printed was a
Bible printed in 1455. "There was also shown me," Swedenborg
continues, "my own work but without their knowing that I was
the author." (ANC phot. 9-12; Resebe., p. 65)
* It is now over a million.
On the same day, Swedenborg visited the famous dry dock, a visit which must have had unusual interest for him in view of his own work at Karlakrona. This dock was commenced many years before, and was still not completed, though the dry dock on which Swedenborg worked in 1717 was open for use in 1724. Of the Copenhagen dock, Swedenborg writes in 1719:
"In Copenhagen a dock has long been desired and much
larger sums of money have already been spent on it for its
completion." He was now able to see with his own experienced
eye the dock itself, though he was not allowed Ato go
altogether in." It is a great undertaking, he writes. "It is
supported at the sides with planks and beams, being about 180
ells long. It is said that springs rise up which hinder the
work or make it both costly and troublesome. If this is so,
there must always be the expense of pumping out the water.
They are said to be stopped up with clay, etc. As yet no
work has been done on the side toward the sea or at the mouth
where the greatest skill and labor will be demanded so as to
fasten the gates firm and tight and free from any sinking the
displacement of the weight of the water; and also to dredge
away what lies at the side toward the sea - as time will s
how." (Om Docken)
From the dock, Swedenborg went to view the King's stables, the stalls and mangers of which were of pure marble. Here, notes Swedenborg,
"stand one hundred horses, all with their names written over
their stalls," The castle was also examined, he continues.
"It is lined with hewn stone which, however, is very massive;
the rest of the building is of brick, the wells are 3 ells
thick and the length is 120 ells. The building is square and
will be quite magnificent. The machine for hoisting up the
stone was a curious one. It is a machine with shelves
fastened together which went up on the one side and down on
the other, each shelf holding two or three stones. Thus a
considerable quantity can be hoisted up by a single base."
(Resebeskrifn., p. 65; Gjrwell)
As to the city itself, we learn from another source that it
was much smaller than Stockholm, being about equal in size to
the northern quarter of that city and with a population of
100,000. Few of the houses are very solid. Moreover, the
streets are very dirty. Swedenborg himself notes that "the
city is tolerably magnificent, with horses, carriages,
liveries, entertainments, two hundred public coaches."
(Rese. Ibid.; Gjr. Bref)
"The city is also infected with pietism or Quakerism, with
the foolishness that they think to please God by doing away
with themselves or others - of which many examples were
heard.
"The harbor is a very good one so that a ship can come even
into the city - even an East Indian ship.
"The country is governed by an intelligent King who is
prudent and serious minded; gives large pensions amounting to
from 5 to 6 thousand Riksdalers. The prince, who is 13 years
old, also shows an inclination to every good virtue."
(Resebeskrifn., p. 65)
"Swedenborg of course, looked at these matters from the
aristocratic point of view. The judgment of history is that
Christian VI, while well meaning, yet did little for his
country. He lightened the burdens of the peasants, but even
so, the latter were little better than serfs to their
landlords. The King was also a despotic pietist, and the
laws with regard to the Sabbath were both stringent and
enforced. (CMH)
"In the great garden is the treasure chamber or regalia, to
which the King himself is said to have the key. In the
summer he usually lives at Fredericksberg, 4 miles from the
city, where is a beautiful garden." (Resebeskrifn., Ibid.)
Swedenborg, being specially interested in the matter, then notes the high amount of the duty on Swedish iron, and he is convinced that they want to keep it out altogether. "All gold and silver on the clothes," he adds, "and also precious stones are forbidden." (Ibid.)
On the following day, Friday the 23rd, he visited the Royal Museum at the south of the Castle above the Library, which Idden has said to be the finest in Europe. (Dagbok, June 6, 1768)
It consisted of six rooms devoted to different classes of
objects. Swedenborg describes a number of the objects that
he saw, including "a little elephant and a very large ape"
(now in the Geological Museum), "a horse in plaster, which
was in Denmark." (This is an error; it was a horse around
which a tree had grown, and it is now preserved in the
Zoological Museum.) "It looks like gypsum. A facsimile of
staghorns, 4 to 5 ells high" (now in the Zoological Museum).
"The drawing of a giant which had been found 13 ells high"
(now in the Geol. Museum). (Resebeskrifn., p. 66)
He also notes [in the first room] the many paintings, old and
new, some of very great value, and he specially notes a night
scene with an extraordinary light. [After thorough
investigation, the Director of the Art Museum informed me
that this picture cannot now be found.] In the second room,
he mentions seeing the collection of medals, including Roman
and Greek, with which his brother-in-law would have been
delighted. In the third room he saw various kinds of
minerals, especially an immense lamp of pure silver from
Norway, "which stood in the corner" (now in the Geological
Museum), and another specimen sharing a lump of silver
sticking out of its matrix, which was Aright curious." He
describes quite a number of the things in this room,
including petrifactions, jewels, mummies, rarities from
Japan, etc. In the fourth and fifth rooms were objects made
of ivory, wood, amber, mother of pearl, etc., and in the
sixth room various astronomical instruments. Here also he
notes seeing a wax figure of a monstrous child with two
hands, a gold horn, dug up from the ground some years
earlier; and Queen Margaret's goblet (now in the National
Museum). (Ibid.)
The collection was a very miscellaneous one, and much of it,
as being of little scientific value, has since been destroyed
or otherwise lost.
And so ends Swedenborg's sightseeing in Denmark's capital, for, after visiting the Museum, he goes to the Post House and arranges to leave for Hamburg on the next afternoon. At the Post House, "he examined the route on the map," which
This journey he commended at 4.0 o'clock in the afternoon of the following day, Saturday, the 24th, arriving at Hamburg at 5.0 o'clock p.m., the following Friday, after what must
have been a wearisome journey even for the healthiest of men.
His companions on the journey were two Danish merchants, one from Bordeaux, and the other from Copenhagen. It was from these that Swedenborg got the information which he notes in connection with the arrival of the stage coach at Roskilde, the ancient capital of Denmark. He writes:
"Here the Roskilde Peace was concluded. A quarter of the
city is destroyed by fire, the work of 12 to 13 murderous
ruffians who are now in prison" - perhaps this was but one of
the outbreaks of the hardly oppressed peasants.
(Resebeskrifn., p. 66)
Ringstedt, through which he passed on Sunday, the 25th, he notes received its name from King Ring. Swedenborg's course, being right across the Island of Zeeland from Copenhagen to "Cosseur" (Korsr), a distance of "14 miles [about 90 English miles], consisted mostly of a flat plain with cultivated fields and also some fine tracts of birch trees." At Korsr, his mind goes back to earlier studies, for he notes observing there "an ebb and flow which is seen nowhere else in Denmark." He also notes seeing there "a lantern for the seafarers; also another at Nyborg," on the opposite side of the Great Belt. (Ibid.)
The latter place he reached after a 15-mile passage over the Great Belt. His course then lay over the Island of Fnen (some 50 miles), where he notes passing through Odense, the future birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen. Swedenborg notes it as "a large city with 4 churches."
At Assens he must cross the Little Belt, a channel about 8 miles wide which even today is crossed in a primitive fashion.* (Ibid., p. 67)
* The distances noted in Swedenborg's Journal become correct only by taking the Swedish mile to equal about five English miles. Thus:
Swed. Actual 1 Swed. Mile ' 5 Eng.
Copenhagen to Korsr 14 70
Nyborg to Assens 9 45
Great Belt 4 14 3-1/2
Little Belt 2 8 4
Copenhagen to Asrs? 29 137 5
Beyond the Little Belt, Swedenborg was again on the mainland, then part of Denmark but now belonging to Germany. Here he proceeded south to Hamburg. The first considerable town he passed through was Flensburg,
"a pretty town, but consists of one long street. Here also
come ships dealing with hemp, flax, wool, wine, to supply the
neighboring country." Flensburg is an ancient city. The
gate of the old city wall is still kept intact. The Along
street" is still there, a curving, intriguing street, 1-1/2
miles long. (ANC phot. 1-3; Ibid.)
Swedenborg also notices Hamburg, some 40 miles farther south,
"a fine fortress, the most beautiful in Denmark, with 3 to
4,000 garrison. The town has nothing special except the
storehouse and arsenal." (Ibid.)
From there to Itsehoe, "a tolerably large city," past the for fortress of Gluckstad, through "a flat land dyked in from the sea almost like Holland, flat and beautiful
"as a garden, with water ditches separating the properties,
groves of trees, fine grain, much cattle, rich people,
populous and built up; most of the revenue comes from here."
(Ibid.)
Thence to Pinneberg and to Hamburg where he lodged at the Schwartze Adler, an hotel situated at the corner of Grossen Johann Strasse and Steen Strasse next door to the Krmer Company Hotel. (ANC phot. 4-50
This was Swedenborg's third visit to Hamburg where in 1722 he had been Part IV of his Miscellaneous Observations printed.
On the next day, Saturday, July 31st, he called on Commissary John Frederick Knig (1690-1759) at the Swedish Posthouse nearby.
Knig, who was a member of a wealthy Stockholm merchant
family, had been Swedish Post Commissary in Hamburg for over
15 years, and was soon to become the commercial agent. He
had literary taste and is "the author [really the patron; the
translator was J. H. Heubel] of the German translation of
Nordberg's Life of Charles XII."
(AA, Notes on Persons, etc.)
Swedenborg also met an army man, a Captain Jurgen Schnaider who was Post Commissioner for Holland. (Resebeakr, p. 67)
Knig lived on Grumen Strasse, an evil-smelling street
containing, of all that is old, merely an old portal and two
or three of the old houses facing on the Canal, which
however, show their old grandeur). The Harrlichkeit where
Captain Schnaider lived is now a dirty street bordering on
the Canal, with mostly wholesale business houses. In olden
times, it was a beautiful location with gardens.
Swedenborg made arrangements for the next day when, in company with Knig and the son of the Swedish Secretary of State, Bror Cederstrm, a lad of sixteen, together with the latter's Governor, he visited the porcelain factory, as he called it. This, however, was a Faience (glazed earthenware) factory, as porcelain has never been made in Hamburg. (Ibid.)
From Knig, Swedenborg learned about the government of Hamburg which was then a free city.
It consists of 4 burgomasters, 2 of whom are changed every
two years; 24 councillors, 5 Syndics, 3 secretaries, and 1
notary. The Burgomasters got a salary of 4,000 Riksdalers,
and the next best salaries are the notary's and Secretaries'
who get from 8 and 10 to 12 Riksdalers. (Ibid.)
On the following Monday, August 2nd, Swedenborg called on Pastor Wolff to whom he had a letter of introduction from Eric Benzelius, but whom he seems to have met on a former visit to Hamburg. The Pastor lived near his church of St. Catharine.* He showed Swedenborg his (OQ I:325)
"collection of original letters from many learned men,
amounting to 60 volumes folio and quarto, containing the
names of many 1000 learned men in the original." (Resebeskr.
p. 67)
This collection, which Wolff willed to the Hamburg Library,
now comprises 198 volumes and over 35,000 letters to and from
over 8,000 persons, including Luther, Malpighi, Melancthon,
Mosheim, etc., etc.
* Although only five years Swedenborg's senior, he had already acquired some fame by his learning as a theologian and philologist.
Swedenborg also saw Wolff's collection of oriental MSS. (mostly Hebrew) which he had bought from a Burgomaster of Frankfurt. (Ibid.)
Swedenborg evidently made a good impression on Pastor Wolff, for a little later the letter writes to Eric Benzelius concerning Swedenborg, whom he had previously known, that in his own studies which pertain to natural history.
"he is the best and most sagacious man of this age, and has
none or few who can be compared with him in this subject."
(OQ. I:327)
After his visit to this learned man, Swedenborg notes that at his hotel, he
"dined with a so-called Prince of Mogul"
who seems to have given him some amusement. (Resebesrkifn. p. 67)
Tuesday, August 3rd, was spent studying at the hotel, and later in the day in arranging money matters with the Dutch Agent, Capt. George Schneider. (Ibid., p. 68)
On Wednesday, August 4th, he left Hamburg, taking boat up the river Elbe to Hamburg and then the stage to Hanover. He notes in his Journal that
from Hamburg to Celle, about three-quarters of the way to
Hannover, the country is all heath and unbuilt on, "though it
can be built up." Celle he describes as a "fine town."
Thence he passed through "Longthal" (? Langenhagen), of which
he writes that it is "a village about a mile (5 miles) long,
pleasant throughout with oak woods."
And so to Hannover, which he reached on Friday, August 6th. This was Swedenborg's first visit to Hannover where was a court of considerable magnificence, the Duke of Hannover being also King of England. He took lodgings at the English Crown over the Post House. The building is now torn down, but the street remains pretty much as it was during Swedenborg's visit. (Ibid.; ANC phot. 6, 7)
Swedenborg's visit was at a time when he could see the town in its gayest activity, for the Duke (King George II of England) was living there. Of course he visited the beautiful Herrenhausen wherein was the Ducal Palace.
It was then about two miles from the city walls, but now it
is well within the city limits. "The garden is large," he
writes. "The entrance is a sundial calculated for all
obliquities. Then come plaster statues right large in size
and numbering 24; 8 urns, fir trees clipped into pyramids,
comes and segments, and this in great number both where are
the statues and on all sides; lengthwise on the sides are
hedges, 6 ells high. There are two small parks with large
trees, and in the distance are two pleasure houses. On the
left is a theatre, with a basin in front wherein are 3 water
flows, one over the other. In the theatre are many gilded
statues. Further forward is an amphiteatre with small
statues; lower down, 4 of the Royal family, and nearer to the
castle some small ones of bronze, together with cascades in a
grotto wherein the water is received into larger and larger
shells." (ANC phot. 8, 9, 10; Resebeskr., p. 68)
As to the city itself, Swedenborg had wished to visit it in 1712 with the object of seeing Leibnitz, but unfortunately Leibnitz was away at the time. He can hardly have made his present visit without visiting the Leibnitz house, though he does not mention it in his Journal. (ANC phot. 11-12)
He is greatly interested in the water works by which the city was furnished with water through pipes; also a Jewish Synagogue.
Over the entrance to the Synagogue is the inscription in
Hebrew "This is the entrance gate to Jehovah." "The city,"
he says, "is tolerably large; it consists of two old cities,
the new city being called Neustadt. It is tolerably well
fortified." (Resebeskr. p. 68)
On Sunday, August 8th, Swedenborg visited different churches, of which
there were 5 in the city, including a reformed and a
Catholic. "They all have their burying places," he observes,
"outside the city where are the large church gardens."
(Ibid.)
This is still the case in Hannover, but the churches insert grave stones in their walls. St. Asgidius has stone in memory of 185 soldiers killed in the first World War.
The next day, Monday, August 9th, Swedenborg inspected the King's stables
"which are provided with some 100 horses chosen both for
their size and their color. There are also many mules of
good size." (Resebeskr. p. 68)
These stables still stand, being now used partly as stables
and partly as a rag shop.
Swedenborg also went to the so-called Mummel Garden, a popular name given
to the smaller garden attached to Herrenhauser (now called
Berggarten), which, he writes, "is very pretty with hedges
and trees clipped into different shapes, an orangery, 5 water
works and a row of small brooks." (Ibid.)
These last works refer to the artificial irrigation. One of
the mills for lifting up and pumping water for the garden was
made in England and presented by the King of England to
replace an earlier machine.
On the 10th and 11th of August, Swedenborg studied the
Ontology and also saw "the situation of the city, its walls,
and all that might be called curious." (Ibid.)
On Tuesday, the 12th, he left Hannover on his way to Paris via Holland. His way lay through Wunsdorf to Leese where he passed the night. Over the Weser to Stoltzenau, Diepenau, and Bohmte where he arrived Friday evening, August 13th, but went on to Osnabrck where he seems to have made a stay though not over night. He writes of it:
"Osnabrck belongs to the Kurfurst of Cologne. There are 3
Catholic churches and 2 Evangelical; Jesuit Schools; 4
cloisters, including Gertrude Cloister for noble ladies, in a
castle; the garden outside is called Petersburg. The
Catholic and Evangelical Kurfursts are alternated. (Ibid., p. 69)
From Osnabrck he went on Sunday, August 15th, through Ibbenburen, Rheine, and Bentheim. The latter (Swedenborg notes) lies on a hill and is of little
importance - an old castle on top. It belongs to the Count
of Bentheim and is a Cologne garrison. (Ibid.)
On Monday, August 16th, a few miles beyond Bentheim, Swedenborg passed into the Netherlands. There, via Delden and Deventer to Naerden, which he describes as the best fortress in the seven Provinces, besides being a fine city. Here he stayed over Monday night, lodging Aright over the Posthouse."
"On the way," he writes, "I observed Ammersfort is a fine
large city; surrounding it are plantings of tobacco in great
abundance; for the most part, it goes to Norway and Sweden.
Except for this, I observed that nothing else had been
planted but buckwheat. In many places were groves of oak.
For the rest, up to Ammersfort there are many uninhabited
heaths which are preserved partly for peat." (Ibid.)
As Naerden he took a treckschout over the Zuyder Zee to Amsterdam where he lodged in the Vergoude leuwen (Gilded Lion), not far from the Bourse. Here he remained from Tuesday, August 17th to Friday the 20th, doubtless revisiting the sights he had seen during his former visit in 1721 when he published his Chemistry, and calling an old acquaintances. He mentions being Awith H. Clifford & Son, and many others." The Cliffords, however, were probably Bankers. Swedenborg certainly got the atmosphere of Amsterdam, for he writes:
"The whole city breathed nothing but lucre." (Ibid.)
This is all we read about Swedenborg's stay in Amsterdam. Yet there is good reason to suppose that this stay was marked by the first of a series of events which was to culminate in Swedenborg's being admitted to the spiritual world.
Before giving this reason, we will note:
1. That Swedenborg is now well launched on the study of the human body, his work on the Brain, written prior to his journey, giving evidence not only of a good anatomical knowledge but also of a far-reaching insight into the operations of the soul.
2. That Swedenborg's sole object in these studies was the study of man as a microcosm, answering to the macrocosm of which he had treated in his Principia.
3. That, running through all his work, was the thought of demonstrating to the rational mind the existence and operation of God, and His Divine Laws for the salvation of man.
4. He had embarked on his present journey with the sole purpose of devoting his whole time and attention to the pursuit of studies which, as he himself says, demand Along and deep reflection." (See Lm. p. 479.
Naturally, during his journey Swedenborg did not have opportunities for study; we note, however, that now and again he spends some time studying Wolff's Ontologia, and it is not difficult, in view of the object of Swedenborg's journey, to suppose that this led him into deep thought.
However this may be, we have the following statement made by Swedenborg in his Journal for October 27, 1744:
"In the morning, when I awoke, there came again upon me such
a swoon as I experienced six or seven years ago in Amsterdam
when I began the Economy of the Animal Kingdom, but much more
subtle.... It signifies, as at the former time, that my head
is being put in order and is actually being cleansed of that
which might obstruct these thoughts; as also happened at the
former time, because it gave me penetration, especially with
the pen." See Introduction to W. E., p. 27.
Six or seven years from October 1744 would be 1737 or 1738. Swedenborg was in Amsterdam in August 1736, which would be eight years; and he was again in Amsterdam from the summer of 1739, which would be five years. There is no doubt but that Swedenborg commenced the Economy of the Animal Kingdom in Paris, for at the commencement of his stay there, he writes under date of September 6 and 7, 1736, that he is making a commencement of his Transaction, i.e., the EAK. That work, in very different form than was first planned, was finished at Amsterdam on December 29th, 1739. Presumably that he then finished was the copy he had commenced when he arrived in Amsterdam in the summer.
I am inclined to think, however, that the "six or seven years ago in Amsterdam when I began the Economy" refers to 1736. Though the matter must remain in some doubt, yet there is some confirmation of the conclusion that it was in 1736 that Swedenborg had his first manifestation of those phenomena which afterwards became so familiar to him. For in the Heirs' Catalogue of Swedenborg's MSS., it is said that Codex 88 - the Codex containing the Journal for 1736, and to which we have so often referred - contained
"descriptions of several of Swedenborg's dreams during the
years 1736, 1737, 1738, 1739, 1740, pp. 730-33 and again pp.
741-45,"
but that these pages "were removed from the volume and are in the safekeeping of the family." From which it would appear that Swedenborg's significant dreams began during the same year when he started his EAK. (Doc. 3:784)
In view of the above, it seems probable that the swoon at the commencement of the Economy of the Animal Kingdom occurred in Amsterdam during Swedenborg's stay there, August 17th to 20th, 1736.
For the rest, Swedenborg must have welcomed the stay in Amsterdam after his arduous travels.
He left Amsterdam in the afternoon of August 20th, by treckschout for Rotterdam, taking the route via [Utrecht and] Gouda, which latter, he writes,
"is a fine city." (Resebeskrifn. 69)
This was a pleasant journey of fourteen hours. At Gouda, he probably stayed overnight; for there, one must leave the Canal. (A Descr. Of Holland, p. 350)
On the next day, Sunday, August 21st, he took the stage from Gouda to Rotterdam, a journey of three hours; to use his own words:
"In Gouda I sat me in the carriage wherein there was room for
about 6 persons, done easily and in a polite manner. The
road to Rotterdam," he continues, "and all around Rotterdam,
is completely laid with Holland blocks of stone set on end.
Along the way are found many brickworks, collections of peat
from the dykes and ditches which is a kind of massed mud,
which is dried in the sun like bricks, and during wet weather
is covered with mats made of reeds of which there is great
abundance growing. There are no farms but only meadows for
cattle feeding, from which comes the plentiful supply of
cheese. And so we came to Rotterdam where I had to remain
for a day." (Resebeskrifn. p. 69)
This day was a Saturday, and there was a fair in the city
"at which I admired a number of fine paintings which were
auctioned off. To pass the time, as it was evening, I
visited a public show, a balancing act on a strong stretched
rope on which a man walked; he walked also up an erect
ladder, and at the top made a number of turns and also stood
on his head upside down, and then turned down by the latter,
during which time the ladder was always balanced. I saw also
the marionettes, wherein was the curious novelty that they
changed in a moment from a woman to a statue, so that above,
where the head had been, there was shown a basket with little
persons in it, a seat to sit on; from a woman to a man; also
to a windmill with sails which went round. In this I noted
special skill and practice." (Ibid., p. 70)
Touring the city, he continues:
"The Bourse is the finest I have seen, but it is not adorned
by such a multitude of people as in Amsterdam, who yet are
the chief ornaments of an exchange." (Ibid.)
"For the rest," he continues, "I came to reflect how it was
that our Lord has been pleased to bless so gross and heedless
a people with so fine a land; has protected them for so long
a time from all misfortunes; has given them command in trade
and commerce over all other nations; has made their country
an emporium gathering to itself the greatest wealth from
other lands, both in Europe and elsewhere. Yet, it occurred
to me that the main reason is probably that it is a republic,
wherein our Lord seems to have greater pleasure than for the
monarchial country, as also is seen from the case of Rome.
From which it follows that no individual finds
himself obliged or in duty bound to give honor or veneration
to any person, but thinks the lesser folk as well as the
higher to be equally worthy and good as kings and emperors.
This can be gathered from the mind and disposition of every
one in Holland. The only one for whom they can then have
veneration is our Lord, setting no flesh whatever as their
strength; and when the Most High is venerated above all, and
no human beings set in His peace, this is pleasing to our
Lord.
"As to the other reason, each individual has a free will, and
from this comes their Divine worship. They are all their own
kings and regents, as it were, under the government of the
most High. From which it follows, that they do not lose
their courage or free rational thoughts, because of free or
fright or providence, but with full freedom, free from an
oppressed mind, they can set or elevate their soul to the
honor of the most High, who will not tolerate divided worship
from any one.
"At any rate, under monarchies such men become oppressed in
mind, trained to flatteries and falsehoods, to speak and act
other than they think; and when by custom this becomes
enrooted, it puts on a kind of nature, and causes one to
speak, even in Divine worship, differently than they think,
and to extend to our Lord their flattering manner which
surely must displease Him.
"This seems to be the reason that they enjoy a perfect
blessing above all other nations. As to the fact that they
worship Mammon as their god, and strive after nothing
whatever save money, this is a matter that does not seem
fitting for the receiving of a continual blessing; but yet
there are likely 10 among 1,000 or among 10,000 who turn
aside the punishment and make the others to partake with them
in temporal blessings." (Resebeskrifningar pp. 70-71)
Swedenborg may well have been impressed by the prosperous state of Holland. There was absolute freedom of religion, the Demonstrants, the Anabaptists and the Quakers as well as the Roman Catholics enjoying equal freedom of worship as the Reformed. (Guide d'Amsterdam, p. 19)
In addition, to quote the words of a contemporary author:
"All languages are spoke, and all the different Modes of
Religion are exercised in the Province of Holland.* The Roman
Catholic, Mahometan, Persain, Chinese and other Heathans are
here to be seen at their worship, with their Habits, Customs
and daily Intelligence from the remotest corners of the
globe. Here also is ... a well constituted government, wise
Laws, and an excellent Ministry, with clear Heads and clean
Hands, for the Imitation of Statesmen; an unparallaled
decency, order and regularity in all things, for Magistrates;
Fleets, a boundless Commerce, with inexhaustible methods and
secrets of trade, for the improvement of merchants; well
disciplined Troops and regular Fortifications for the
Soldier; Universities, Libraries, and a thousand Curiosities
for the entertainment of the Learned; Works of amazing art
for the ingenious and mechanical; Manufactures of all sorts
carried to the highest perfection, for the imitation of
Tradesmen; Florists cannot fail of being most agreeably
amused here, where flowers are of such exquisite beauty ...;
Cattle and Country Affairs for the Farmer; in a word, objects
for the admiration, imitation and improvement of Strangers of
all ranks and conditions." (Descript. of Holland pp. 346-47)
* Swedenborg was now in this Province, the most cultured part of the Netherlands.
Swedenborg left Rotterdam on Sunday, August 22nd, going by canal to Dort which he found to be a fine city with an abundance of well built windmills
around it. A great many cement mills were seen which are
provided with cement stones from a distance, being taken from
ruins and stones that have lain in the earth for many years.
There is also a salt refinery. (Resebeskrifn. p. 71)
From Dort, Swedenborg sailed a narrow branch of the Mass into the Hollandsch Diep, which is a part of the inside sea route to Antwerp, a distance of over 50 miles by water. This route is still in use for vessels.
Swedenborg mentions the fortifications of Willemstad, on the Hollandsch Diep, from which place they went on to Bergen op Zoom, a town on the eastern branch of the Scheldt river.
The Zeeland Province, he notes, with its islands, was seen
all the time on the right. It lies well below the water, and
must always be protected by walls to prevent any flooding.
On the [left] side were seen gardens, flat and level, and
groves. (Ibid.)
On Tuesday, August 24th, his boat arrived at Lillo, a small town on the Scheldt proper, some 10 miles below Antwerp, and so on to Antwerp where he arrived at 4.0 o'clock in the afternoon. The voyage had not proved a pleasant one.
"On this sea journey," he writes, "the only thing which made
it unpleasant was the skipper was morose, and that at night
one could rest only with great discomfort among so many in
the cabin. The tides hindered our arriving as soon as was
due." (Ibid.)
If the wind is favorable, the journey should take 24 hours.
(Descript. of Holland, p. 405)
Swedenborg - who thus had left the United Netherlands and was in the Austrian Netherlands - remained at Antwerp only till 11.0 o'clock at night when he took another ship; but during these 7 hours, he seems to have made good use of his time to see something of the city:
"I saw the beautiful Notre Dame church wherein were 2 rows
with altars, 12 in number, besides those on the sides and
around the choir; a nice painting was shown at one of the
altars by the high door, where Christ was represented as
being taken from the cross [Ruben's masterpiece]. This is
very seldom opened and shown. The tower is pierced through,
and one saw in the church far up in the tower a roof which
represented the ascension of Christ." (Resebeskrifn. p. 71)
On the night of August 25th, he boarded a large vessel which carried him some 12 miles up the Scheldt to Boom not far from Malines. There he boarded a
"large treckschut, 40 ells long and 6 broad with fine rooms,
namely, deckhouse, cook's galley, etc., and in front a roof
under which the people could sit. The treckschuyts were
changed 5 times; they were drawn by 2 horses. It was a
glorious and beautiful journey. On both sides of the whole
way were plantations of trees. Moreover, the people were
more civilized, and one could now visibly notice the Dutch
clownishness and coarseness when compared with such
politeness."
From a contemporary author we learn that "these treckschuyts
go at the rate of 4 miles an hour, stopping only about half
or a quarter of an hour at certain villages to give the
passenger an opportunity of stretching himself and taking a
little refreshment in the inns. The fare is about 3
farthings a mile.... The boat is drawn by a horse,
and contains 25 or 20 passengers. It is very clean, with a
deck over it which covers them from rain, etc., so that they
are as much at their ease as in their own houses. They talk,
read, sew, knit, as each one likes best; and do not know they
are going by water, except they look out and see they are
moving, the motion is so insensible. The canals are deep but
not above 30 or 40 feet broad; and there is no more danger
upon them, nor indeed less pleasure, than upon canals in
gardens. The boat has windows on the side to let in the air;
from which also the passenger may see the country a they
travel.... Strangers are equally surprised and charmed with
this way of travelling, as it is indeed the most commodious,
best regulated and the cheapest in Europe."
(Descr. Of Holland p. 349n)
The journey from Boom to Brussels, bout 25 miles, was by canal via Malines and Vilvorde, though Swedenborg mentions only the latter place, which
"had a very ancient fortress" - in fact, Vilvorde is the most
ancient city in Brabant. "The land on either side," writes
Swedenborg, "was noticeably lower than the water; yet, as it
rose, booms or sluice gates must be provided and one must
walk from one schout to the other." (Resebeskrifn. p. 71)
One thing Swedenborg noted during the course of this voyage leads him to some reflections on prayer. There were two Capuchin monks on the schout,
"one of whom stood in one place on the deck for about 4 hours
and was engaged in prayer with steady devotion - probably the
prayer was for the travellers. This does not seem to be
other than pleasing to God so long as they are made from a
faithful and true heart, and the devotion is genuine and not
like the Pharisees; for prayer avails much, as it availed for
Moses when the people were slain [Exod. 32:25-35], and there
are many other examples. Paul desired that others should
pray for him"
[I Thess. 5:25, II 3:1, Hab. 13:18]. (Ibid., p. 72)
Swedenborg arrived at Brussels at 11.0 in the morning. There he took lodgings with a man named Cauter in the Runsefall, back of the Council Chamber, where he remained from Wednesday to Saturday (Aug. 25th to 28th), during which time he viewed the sights of the city.
First he visited the Cathedral "called the Golden Church" [? St. Gudolphs]
where the greatest adornment was provided by 14 pillars, each
covered with leafwork, and at each a statute and an altar."
Swedenborg also visited other churches, but he specially
notices the main room in the Council House or Hotel de Ville,
"wherein one could admire the tapestries which were made in
Brussels and which excel the Coblentz' tapestry in Paris. It
was of life-size, and not painter could have made it more
beautiful. Even today they practice their workmanship."
Now, however, all the ancient craftsmen have disappeared.
"The house on the Place [de Ville] and many others in the
city are richly gilded, most of them containing many windows
and being of ancient architecture."
(Lands & Peoples pp. 211-12; Resebeskr. p. 72)
Swedenborg also notes the weapons and other war materials he saw in the Arsenal; most of these were the gift of the Emperor of Austria, the ruler of Belgium. He describes "a shield of iron inlaid with gold of very beautiful
workmanship; another iron shield of very great value where
the figures were damascened; and lastly, we were stirred by
the Kaiser's sword." (Resebeskrifn. p. 72)
On Thursday, August 26th, he again visited the Cathedral, where he noted
in the Choir on the left side, an altar with an altarpiece of
silver and also many silver lamps, large and small. He seems
this time to have been present when mass was being said, for
he notes that "the only thing that seems worth reflecting on
is that all is carried so as to take hold of and fill the
senses, by an outward way, leading to higher and higher
thoughts on religion or on the Most High; for everything is
instituted with so much devotion from bowing, bending,
kneeling. What takes the eye is all that is thought to be
magnificent and high; what fills the ears is the beautiful
music, both instrumental and vocal. For the nose is the
sweet-smelling incense. In addition, many holy objects are
put forward, all to charm the senses, and by an outward way
to lead to devotion - which with mankind seems to be the
means to the uplifting of the mind, since their external mind
usually leads them to reflection." (Resebeskrifn. p. 72)
Swedenborg left Brussels at 8.0 a.m. Saturday, August 28th en route for Paris. His road lay through Tubize, Braire and Casteau, all of which, he writes
"are villages as fine as towns." "In the afternoon," he
continues, "we came to Mons, a well built city with an
uncommon fortress provided with many outworks, almost
impregnable. A large garrison, a multitude of people, many
churches, a large market place. The whole of the road [from
Brussels, 38 miles] was paved with stones beaten level, with
trees planted on both sides like a garden."
(Ibid., pp. 72-73)
Swedenborg stayed at Mons over night, and resumed his journey on Sunday morning, August 29th, when at Quievrain he crossed the border to France and proceeded to Valenciennes, which, he observes,
"is a city of fine houses, yet not specially large. The
fortress is mediocre but, on the side toward Cambrai, was a
height from which the city could easily be bombarded; so it
seems that it could not defend itself for long." Swedenborg
saw something of the town, for he stayed there over Sunday
night. "Was in the church of Notre Dame," he writes.
"Because there was then a fair and a church festival, the
larger part of the church's silver was on exhibition. It
consisted for the most part of coffers wherein lay the bones
of saints and martyrs. The coffers were all of pure silver
and of considerable size, especially two in the Choir. The
silver coffers were 45 in all. In addition, there were 45
other silver ornaments scattered over the church, besides
candlesticks, etc., all of which were of such a size and
antiquity that one can suppose that more of the smaller and
newer ornaments were concealed. A tolerably rich
collection." (Ibid., p. 73)
From Valenciennes he went, on Monday, August 30th, to Cambrai, where he arrived at 4.0 o'clock in the afternoon and stayed over night.
"It is a town of old houses," he observes, "two market
places, large churches, an extraordinary fortification with
many outworks. The whole road was country with cultivated
farms as far as one could see." (Ibid.)
The next day, August 31st, he left Cambrai and, entering France travelled to Peronne in Picardy.
"The whole road was again all country with towns of little
value, yet with many large and beautiful churches and some
forts. The villages were miserable, the cloisters
magnificent, the people poor and wretched. (Ibid.)
At Peronne he passed the night, and on the next day, September 1st, resumed his journey, going via Omiecourt to Roy, "which is a miserable town," where, however, he passed the night. His experiences in France, which he had not visited now for twenty-three years, led him here to write down the following observations:
"In general, the cloisters, churches and monks are the
richest, and occupy most of the country; the monks are fat,
overfed, well paunched, and a whole army of them could be
taken away without being missed. Most of them give
themselves a jolly life, seek to secure for themselves ever
more and more, give nothing to the poor save a word and a
blessing, and yet always wish to get from the poor something
for nothing, for which purpose the Capuchin* monks are
useful. The rest of them again are slender, lean, and
active; readily walk instead of driving or riding, readily
give away what they have, indifferent as to good living, have
wit, etc." (Resebeskrifn. p. 73)
* The austere branch of the Francescan Order.
From Roy, Swedenborg went to Pont Ste Naxence,
"which is a town where a bridge crosses over a branch of the
Seine [the Oise], which latter now divides into four
branches, Paris lying in the middle of them." (Ibid.)
The next day, September 3rd, was the last of his long journey, when he went via Senlis to Paris, where he arrived at 6.0 o'clock in the evening, and so concluded a journey which had lasted eight weeks and which had brought him to five different countries.
Swedenborg reached Paris via the rue Saint Martin, crossing the Ile de la Cit by the Pont de Notre Dame, thus passing the stately Cathedral of Notre Dame. The surroundings, however, were very different from what they now are. (Paris p. 226; Force 3:34, 412 = picture, 1:329)
He took a room in the Hotel d'Hamburg on the rue Jacob, about where the Ecole des Beaux Arts now stands, in the Quartier St. Germain, better known now as the Latin Quarter, but then the most fashionable quarter of Paris. This hotel was almost next door to the Academy of the Sorbonne, being separated from it only by the width of a street. There were eight other hotels in the same short street, all well recommended. (Plan Topogr. p. 100, 87; Force 7:1; Alam. p. 2:135)
On Saturday, September 4th, he took his first walk in the great French Metropolis.
"I visited the city on this [the southern] side of the Seine
or the Faubourg d'Germain. Was in Notre Dame, the Jardin de
Luxemburg and the Comedy, which in Paris is brought to such a
height that I would not deem it possible for it to mount
higher." (Resebe. p. 73; Les Cur. de. p. 2:423)
The Comedy here referred to is the "Hostel des Comediens du
Roy." This hotel was a building erected at great cost by
Louis XIV on the east side of the rue Mazarin, a little north
of the present Boulevard St. Germain, and very near
Swedenborg's hotel. It was under the patronage of the King,
and its actors were of the finest to be procured. Indeed, so
perfect was their pronunciation, that attendance at this
theatre was recommended to all who would perfect themselves
in French pronunciation. (Force 6:257-59, map = p. 214)
On the next day, which was Sunday, September 5th, Swedenborg crossed to the north side of the river and visited the Tuilleries and the Louvre. He notes
in the Tuilleries "all the splendid things, large marble
statues; and along side the building, a park which goes all
the way to Versailles" [now part of the Bois de Bologne].
Only "gentlemen" were allowed in these gardens, which were
guarded by soldiers from the Invalides. (Resebeskrifn. p.
74) (Force 2:149 = Louvre, 78, 215 = maps; Alman. p. 2:456)
In the afternoon he visited the "Hotel Royal des invalides" on his own side of the river.
"It is a palace of marvellous construction," he writes; "the
beautiful church is most to be admired, and also the many
costly palaces seen on the way there." (Ibid.)
This sufficiently indicates the route he followed, namely, west along the rue de l'Universit, which is a continuation of the rue Jacob, returning along the rue Dominique or Grenelle or Varenne, all of which streets contained the palaces of the nobility. (Force 7:120-21)
The church to which Swedenborg refers is l'Eglise St. Louis des Invalides near the tomb of Napoleon. (Ibid. 7:120, 121)
On Monday, September 6th, Swedenborg was busy working, but on Tuesday, September 7th, in the morning - probably via left bank of the Seine and Port Neuf - he visited the old Royal Palace on the Ile de la Cit. The royal family no
longer resided here, but the palaces was used for the
residence of the President of Parliament and for the meetings
of the Parliament itself. All these buildings are now torn
down, and their place taken by the Palace of Justice, except
la Chapelle and one or two towers. (Ibid. 1:328 = map)
Swedenborg notes seeing the shops, probably on the Pont Neuf, and the bookstalls, which are still to be seen on the banks of the Seine. He also saw the beautiful La Chapelle, and afterwards the Hotel de Ville on the north side of the river near Pont de Notre Dame. This building was destroyed by the
Communistes in 1871, and the present Hotel de Ville,
occupying the whole space between the rue de Rivoli and the
Quai, was erected in its place.
(Les Cur. de p., p. 60; Force 5:452, 445 = map)
On Wednesday, September 8th, he visited a church near the Luxemburg Gardens, called Les Carmes des Chausses, founded in 1613 by Marie de Medici. It was a
small church but in extensive grounds, situated on ground
bounded by the rue Vaugirard and the rue Bonaparte, which
latter street and also the barracks run over or near the site
of the old church. (Force 6:214 = picture)
He also walked along the south bank of the Seine, and saw all the bookstalls stationed there, "which (he observes) are of no special value." Crossing over to the Cit, he then visited Notre Dame and its hospital, the Hotel
Dieu, probably the oldest hospital in Europe, having been
founded in the Seventh Century. They are now demolished, and
a new hospital was built on the north side of the island.
Swedenborg notes that "there are many beds" in this hospital.
He also saw the entrance to the near-by Hospital des enfans
trouvs, and he adds that he saw also the Queen of Spain -
who was the granddaughter-in-law of Louis XIV. (Resebeskr. p.
74; Force 1:370, 329; Baed. p. p. 215)
The next day he again visited Notre Dame, and crossing to the north bank also visited the church of St. Paul on the rue St. Antoine. In the afternoon, he visited St. Sulpice, a short distance from his hotel, and one of the richest
Saturday he spent with his old friend Gedda. When Swedenborg as in Paris in 1714, Gedda was Secretary of the Swedish Embassy. Now and since 1730, he was the Swedish Envoy. See above, p. 61.
On Sunday, September 12th, he walked over the north bank of the Seine and along this to the rue St. Paul, and so to the rue St. Antoine to the Place Royale (now Places des Vosges), a public square surrounded with houses built
on one side by Henri IV for workers in cloth of silk, gold
and silver, and on the other two sides, by the workmen
themselves. Swedenborg notes the statue of Louis XIII in the
center. (Resebe. p. 74) This was destroyed in 1792, but many
years later another statue was erected in its place.
(Force 4:269, pict. = 310; Baed. p. p. 202)
On Monday, September 13th, he went to the Comedie d'Italiens,
situated on the rue Mon Conseil. This quarter is now much
changed; still, the location can be identified as on the
north side of the first street to the right on the rue
Montorgeuil north of its juncture with the rue Montmartre or
the street south of rue St. Marcelle on north side. It was
used by a troup of Italian comedians under the patronage of
Louis XV. Swedenborg also again visited the bookstalls.
(Plan Topogr. p. 48)
The next day he viewed the Opera House, which he describes as
magnificent. The Opera House was then a part of the Royal
Palace on the rue St. Honore. It would hold 3,000 auditors,
and was designed by Cardinal Richeliue for operas.
(Force 2:15 = map. 248)
Swedenborg also visited the Royal Printing House in the
Louvre,* or, as he calls it, "the Chamber of the Printers";
likewise the Library in the same building. This was the
Library of Charles V, one of the greatest libraries of its
time, comprising about 900 volumes in MS. of course, and
filling three rooms. See Memoires litteraires, article by
Bowin. He notes also that this day, he went to the Comedy -
probably in the evening. (Ibid. 139)
* In the Louvre (Room of the Gladiators) is to be seen the Borghese Gladiator which Swedenborg saw and admired at Rome.
The next day, he had the pleasure of welcoming to his hotel
General Stenflycht who, for some months, had been an officer
in the French army.
On Saturday, September 18th, Swedenborg continued his wanderings in Paris when he visited the Royal Palace and particularly the Royal gardens. From there he proceeded along the rue St. Honore to the Place de Louis le Grand (its
name was changed by Napoleon to Place Vendome). In its
center was a statue of Louis XIV, "a collosus of brass," 22
feet high, as Lister informs us - but this was removed during
the revolution, and subsequently by Napoleon's order the
Column de Vendome took its place. (Les Cur. de p. I:p. 135,
155, 2:400; Baed. Paris p. 84)
Swedenborg also visited the Capuchin Church facing the Place de Louis le Grand, and also the Church of the feuillantes (an austere order found in the latter
half of the 16th century and welcomed to Paris by Henry III).
This monastery, though smaller than the Capuchina, was yet of
considerable size. All these buildings have now disappeared,
and the rue Castiglions marks the passage that ran between
them. (Force 2:414, 364)
Swedenborg probably went through this passage, for after viewing the churches, he again visited the Tuilleries.
It was probably in one of these churches that he
"discoursed with an Abb concerning the adoration of the
saints. He denied in totum that there was any adoration; but
worship and adoration belonged to God alone."
(Resebeskrifn. p. 74)
Swedenborg adds to the notes of this day, that he also went
to the Italian Comedy, which indicates that he probably
attended a performance there.
On the next day, Sunday, September 19th, Swedenborg went into the famous Ste. Chapelle, the ancient Palace Chapel of the French kings which is still preserved in its entirety. It was erected in the thirteenth century for the reception
of the sacred reliques bought by St. Louis from
Constantinpole, being a part of the crown of thorns, a piece
of the true cross, the largest known; the head of the lance
by which Jesus was pierced, part of the sponge, etc., etc.
It would seem that Swedenborg went to see the reliques, for
he writes that he was "in the St. Chapell to see la
suspection - [? The exhibition] of the reliques of our
redemption." This is one of the most beautiful stained
glass. This is noticed by Swedenborg who writes: "All the
painted windows made a beautiful appearance."
(Resebeskr. p. 74; Singleton p. 59; Fam. 21:71c; Force
1:551)
On the following day, Monday, September 20th, Swedenborg visited the Place des Victories near the Royal Garden, and notes there the gilded statue of
"Louis XIV on a pedestal, with four statues at the sides.
The Place itself," he adds, "is round with houses all alike"
- in one of which lived Swedenborg's Bankers. (Resebe. p.
74)
This monument was destroyed during the Revolution, and after
many years an equestrian statue of Louis XIV was erected.
(Force 2:475 = pict.; Baed. p. p. 165)
From here, he walked a little east to the Church of St. Eustache at the end of the rue Montmartre. (Paris p. 353)
For four days he then remained in his hotel, studying; but on Saturday, September 25th, he took a "tour in the city, which can well be reckoned as about one Swedish mile."
First he went to the Luxemburg, then along the rue de l'Infer
(now the Boulevard S. Michel) to the Observatory, returning
by the rue St. Jacques which went straight through the city
across the Pont Notre Dame on through the Porte St. Martin.
The walk was a very delightful one for, some distance beyond
the Observatory, the road was planted with trees. The way
led past the Capuchine Monastery (now destroyed) and the Val
de Grace Church (a copy of St. Peter's). Arrived at Porte St.
Martin, Swedenborg, who was not alone on this walk, walked
west along the city wall, from which he saw the Hospital de
Louis which he was told, "had 10,000 bed mostly for the
plague." It had been built outside the city walls in 1607 on
account of the great plague of 1606. The present hospital is
on about the same site. (Rese. pp. 74-75; Force 5:397 =
pict., p. 1, 364, 3:304, 427; Les Cur. 1:375)
Arrived at the rue du Temple, they turned south and saw the
ruins of the vast establishment of the Knights Templars
which, when the Templars were disbanded, was taken possession
of by Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, but afterwards was
occupied by various sorts of private persons. Here they saw
the Gothic Chapel modelled after that of St. John of
Jerusalem, and also the garden of the Hotel de Grand Prieur
"which in tolerably beautiful. Just opposite is the Eglise
d'Elizabeth." The original Temple buildings have now
entirely disappeared, but the Church of St. Elizabeth still
stands, though it was enlarged a century later.
(Resebeskrif p. 75; Force 4:223, 219 = pict.)
So they went down the rue du Temple to l'Egliste S. Jacques
de la Boucherie (now represented by the Tower of S. Jacques)
on rue de S. Martin "and so home." The walk must have been
well over eight miles, though Swedenborg writes, "it can well
be counted fully a Swedish mile."
(Paris p. 266; Fam. 21:71 = pict.)
On the following Tuesday, September 28th, he went to the Opera at the Royal Palace, where he saw L'Europe galante."*
"A fine representation," he says, and then gives the names of
some of the actors and dancers. Doctor Martin Idster tells
of having heard this same Opera in the same place in 1698, 38
years previously. He says: "I was several times at the
performance of L'Europe gallants which is considered one of
the very best. The scenery is very fine, an the music and
singing are admirable. The stage is large and magnificent
and well filled with actors; the scenes are well suited to
the subject and as quick in the removal as can be imagined.
The dancing is exquisite, and by the best masters of that
profession in the city. The dresses are rich, proper, and of
great variety. It is surprising that these operas are so
well frequented; even great numbers of the nobility, many of
whom can sing them all, attend daily."
(Acc. Of Paris p. 137)
* "La Europe Gallante was an opera or ballet first produced in Paris, October 24, 1697. Words by M. de la Mottu and music by M. Camp. It is simply a series of episodes on the subject of love. The Prologue shows forgers and smiths who are addressed by Venus to the effect that her chains are more powerful than Vulcan's. Then follow the episodes, Love Scene in France; ditto in Spain, in Italy, in Turkey.
On Thursday, September 30th, he writes:
"At my bankers, Tourton and Baur, and also at Lavalle and
David; the former lives on the Place de Victoire, and the
latter on the rue Honor; they deal in galoons* and
porcelain." (Reseb. p. 75) (Alamn. p. 2:29)
* Galonterie. The dealers in gold and silver galoons were on the rue St. Honore and rue Roule, etc. (Alamn. p. 2:121)
Saturday, October 2nd, he changed his quarters to a more permanent lodging on "the rue de l'Observance, vis-a-vis des Cordeliers."
It is impossible to identify the exact location of this spot
since the monastery of the Cordeliers has been torn down and
many streets have disappeared. It can be located with
sufficient exactness as on rue Racine between the Boulevard
S. Michel and the rue de Mons. Le Prince. But the
significant thing in Swedenborg's removal is that he thereby
came within a stone's throw of the School of Chirurgy.
(Force 5:419)
On Sunday, October 3rd, the day following his change of residence, he visited the Church of the Cordeliers, the beautiful portal of which almost faced his lodging.
The church "is double. I went also into their convent which
is a magnificent palace." (Resebeskrifn. p. 75)
The church in question was one of the finest in Paris. The
same applies to the cloisters of the monastery.
(Force 6:76, 49, 77)
On Monday, October 4th, he took a long walk
"along the avenue des Tuilleries to a little village called
Chaillot where are two convents; farther on was the Palace of
Madrid which is very old." (Resebeskrifn. p. 75) (Plan Topo.
p. 27; Force 2:215 = pict.; Mead p. 222)
This village with its two convents has long disappeared.
Where Swedenborg walked is now the Champs Elyses to the
Place d'Etoile and along the Avenue de la Grand Arme; the
village of Chaillot was to the left of the road and is now
part of the Bois de Bologne. On the other side of the Seine,
Swedenborg saw "the Hotel de la Duchesse, which is
magnificent. It is a fine walk," he adds, "and I speculated
on the forms of the parts in the atmosphere." (Rese. Ibid.)
On Sunday, October 10th, he writes some political item, probably from some book together with some of his own reflections:
"I see that the great treasure of France, which is
called the tithe, amounts yearly to 32 million [livres] or,
with us, 192 'tunnor' of gold, and that Paris, in respect to
rents, contributes 2/3rds of this. In the most distance
places, it is not imposed very justly since the return is
given less than it is, and comes to hardly 3 per cent; also
that the ecclesiastical state possesses 1/5th of the property
in the kingdom; and that will ruin the kingdom if this long
continues." (Ibid.)
The reason for the discrepancy between the taxes paid and the
money turned in was, of course, the farming of the taxes
which was then so common." (Idster p. 43)
Hitherto Swedenborg had been viewing Paris, whether alone or with some friends, without a guidebook. But this week he purchased Description de Paris from which he makes some notes on the Royal Library and the Royal Collection of Medals.
The Library did not open until October 11th, and on the following Saturday, October 16th, Swedenborg paid a visit to the Palais Royale.
"Therein," he writes, "is a fine palace [to the left of the
central court], with ships in the niches [of the columns],
built by Cardinal Richeliue,* when it was called the Palace
of Richelieu and afterwards the Palace of the Cardinal, and
was willed to the King that it might not be alienated. It
was given to King Louis XIII, to his wife during her life,
when it was called the Palais Royale. [The palace first
referred to] was the Audience Room where the Duke of Orleans,
[acting as Regent for Louis XV] directed the government.
There are found fine paintings; also a chemical laboratory
which is separated from the great garden by a little one
wherein is an Orangerie, where balls are held during Carnival
time." (Resebeskrifn. p. 76) (Les Cur. de p. p. 135; Force
2:223; Baed. p. p. 56)
* To commemorate the fact that he had been Minister of Navigation. (Force 2:223)
On the following day, Sunday, October 17th, he went to the Royal Library on the rue de Richelieu behind the Palace gardens, and on the site where the present National Library is built.
"It is a fine building," he observes. Previously he had
noted that the Royal Library contains 70,000 volumes besides
15,000 manuscripts. At the head of this Library, and,
indeed, of all the King's libraries as well as his extensive
collection of medals, was Swedenborg's old acquaintance Abb
Bignon, but whether Swedenborg met him on this occasion is
not known. (Force 2:593)
After his visit he went to the Opera House "where Genies was acted; fine representations." (Resebeskrifn. p. 76)
This refers to Les Genies, a ballot which had been "presented
for the first time at the Royal Academy of Music on Thursday,
October 18th (O. S. Oct. 7th) 1736." This opera or ballet
was composed by Fleuri, music by Mlle. Duval. Its full title
is Les Genies ou les Caracteres de l'Amour. It can hardly be
called a plot but rather a series of talks on l'Amour by
Daius, Gnomes, Elves, Salamanders, Genies and Plaisirs. Mlle.
Pellicier sang the part of Azire, and Melles Autier and Fell
were also "Actors Chansants." The four scenes of the opera
were: L'mour Indiscrete, l'Amour Ambitieuse, l'Amour
Violent, and l'Amour Leger. Swedenborg then gives the names
of the dancers and of the actors.
(See letter from Lib. of Congress to AA)
A day or two later he attended the Sorbonne near his residence, and
"heard their disputes in theological matters, which went
tolerably well. Each opponent had a lined cloak. But all
was done by syllogism. The Sorbonne is a fine house. It was
first presented as a gymnasium by a certain Sorbon in 1260,
who exchanged lands with St. Louis and got additional land.
By Richelieu it was built up to what it is now. His tomb is
in the church. 6 professors deliver lectures daily. It has
a valuable library."
(Resebeskrifn. p. 76) (Force 5:526, 499, 515, 529)
On Monday of the next week, October 25th, Swedenborg visited the cloister of St. Victor (on the site of which, now stands the Zoological Garden). Here, he writes:
"is a great cloister which is built up with passages in the
old style; there is also a tolerably big and fine garden.
The cloister consists of a church which is small, and a
cloister built in 1115. The Abb has 35,000 livres per year.
The cloister consists of Augustines. The Abb must be a man
of quality. It has a fine library with 3,000 manuscripts
gathered by many persons. It is open three times a week,
Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
"The Royal Garden, or Garden of the King, is next to it.
It is of great extent, with many foreign plants to the number
of 4,000. It contains also a grove of wild trees and a tower
of a height so that from it one can see a great part of the
city. The garden was begun in the time of the great Henry.
The chief Physician to the King has superintendence of it.
Every week public lectures are held in botany, chemistry and
anatomy. At the entrance are two apartments; here is found
Pitton Tournefort's cabinet of rarities and also an herbarium
of 6,000 plants." (Resebeskrifn. p. 76; Force 4:640)
The garden here referred to was the King's "Medicinal
Garden." The present Botanical Garden is now on its site.
The lectures were free to the public and were given in June
and July in one of the buildings referred to in which was a
chemical laboratory. (Force 4:439)
Swedenborg does not omit to note the existence of the great neighboring wood yard between the Royal Garden and the Seine. (Force 4:524)
Immediately south of the Garden, on the other side of the
street, is the "Hopital de la Pitie, an old building where
boys and girls were supported by work, and leaving there to
go into service or to be married; they are also sent to the
colonies. It is under the jurisdiction of the General
Hospital, of which it is a branch." (Resebeskrifn. p. 77;
Force 4:642-3)
This hospital, which was part of the General Hospital, is
still in existence on the same site.
On the way he passed the Cloister and Church of St. Genevieve, the Patron Saint of Paris.
The church fell into decay and was pulled down and replaced
by the Pantheon. (Force 1:102)
Swedenborg notes that the "Abbey is from the Fifth or Sixth
century and consists of Augustines. The Abbey receives
70,000 livres a year. The Abbot has great power. When the
procession takes place with [the relics of] St. Genevieve, he
goes with mitre and cross [borne before him] and gives
benediction on the streets, over the Archbishop of Paris.*
This church is greatly renowned," continues Swedenborg. "It
has a beautiful garden and also a fine library. St. Genevieve
is there by the Choir of the altar, richly adorned; her
procession is magnificent with its richness. In the Church
Cardinal Rochefoucauld is buried, and also Des Cartes."
* The privilege of having the mitre and cross in this procession was a special privilege granted to the abbots of St. Genevieve in 226. In the procession, the Archbishop walks on the left, and the Abbot on the right - thus taking precedence - each preceded by his mitre and cross; and along the course to Notre Dame, the Archbishop gives the blessing to the people on the left, and the Abbot to those on the right (see Sevigny's Letters, no. 64). It may be added that the relics of St. Genevieve were scatted to the winds by the revolutionaries of Paris, and the gold chest containing them was melted into money. (Force 5:102-3, 239)
The tomb of Des Cartes was adorned with a bust of the
philosopher. (Force 5:244)
On the following Saturday, October 30th, Swedenborg went to the Pont Royal, the only bridge then in Paris which crosses the whole river. It is a solid structure of stone, and still stands as built in 1685. (Plan Topo. p. 44)
Here, on the south side of the Seine, he visited the Church of St. Theatins (an austere religious Order of Monks). It is now entirely destroyed.
He then crossed the pont Royal and, passing the Tuilleries, visited the Convent of the bare-footed Augustines, just northwest of the Place des Victoires.
In their church he heard a sermon by Guillaume, one of the
Royal Chaplains. "He acted as a Comedian at the theatre, but
much better." (Rese. Ibid.)
A few days later, on Wednesday, November 3rd,* he attended the solemn opening of Parliament, which sits at the old Royal Palais on l'Ile de la Cit.
* Swedenborg has probably erred in entering this date, as the opening of Parliament was on November 12th (Force 1:149).
"In the great hall on one side," Swedenborg notes, "where is
an altar with a beautiful altar cloth, a sermon is preached.
There are lights lit and music. The members are in their red
robes. A bishop gave the potential mass."
(Resesbeskrifn. p. 77)
Later in the day he again visited the beautiful St. Chapelle which, as he notes:
"was built by St. Louis in 1245. There was shown two
enamelled pictures, the one representing Christ on the Cross,
and the other His resurrection. They were in oval form,
three-quarters of an ell; around them were 4 small round
pictures, and between them still others, all of great value.
The original was also shown, where the Emperor Broudowin
[Baldwin] presents to St. Louis a quantity of relics
consisting of [a piece of] the cross, [of] the crown of
thorns, the lance head, clothing, sponge, etc. [see p. 464
above] all of which are hidden away here. They were secured
in Constantinople, and were bought at a very high price."
(Ibid.)
These relics are now at Notre Dame. A case enclosing a piece
of the true cross was exposed every Friday.
(Force 1:557, 554; Baed. Paris p. 210)
Swedenborg makes no note in his Journal from November 3rd [? 12th] till January 1737, when he writes:
"I was in St. Genevieve's, who is the Patroness of Paris.
There here tomb is set in the front of the church, resting on
a high altar, with a multitude of genuine diamonds,
surrounded by light." (Rese. Ibid.)
The tomb of St. Genevieve behind the grand altar is truly
magnificent, and is supported by four great ionic pillars,
two of marble, and two of jasper, on which stand four virgins
over life size, who seem to support the tomb; each of them
holds a candelabrum in her hand. There was also a priceless
crown of diamonds. (Force 1:238-39)
The above brief journal entry is followed by some notes, copied perhaps from the Description de Paris, but certainly indicating Swedenborg's desire to know something of the constitution of the country where he was going to live for more than a year.
He notes the names of the great officers who constitute the Council of State, namely, the King, the Prince of Orleans, the Cardinal Premier, the Keeper of the Seals, the Marshal of the Army, the Secretary of State and the Treasurer. (Resesbeskrifn. p. 77)
In notes further, that there are 14,777 convents in France, and from 3 to
400,000 devotees. The churches possess 9,000 palaces, 1,356
abbeys, 567 abbeys for women, 13,000 priories, 15,000
chapels, 140,000 parishes and curs, 18 archbishops, 112
bishops, 776 abbs and 280 abbesses, all being nominated by
the King. Some notes follow enumerating the members of the
Royal family. (Ibid. p. 78)
Then comes the last entry of his movements in Paris. It is dated January 23rd, 24th (Sunday and Monday) and reads:
"I was in St. Denis and saw the King's vaults and the
treasurer there found, of which more below." (Ibid.)
The St. Denis here referred to is the Basilica of St. Denis,
some two miles north of the Port St. Denis, and some six
miles from Swedenborg's lodgings. The Basilica was completely
destroyed during the Revolution, as being the burial place of
the French kings. The treasures here referred to are
preserved in the Abbey St. Denis,
which was at the side of the church. They included sacred
relics, and were kept in five closets or cupboards. (Baed.
p. 306; Force 8:17)
This visit was perhaps inspired by Swedenborg's reading concerning the Royal family. At any rate, the note concerning it is immediately followed by a list of the reigning Royal families.
On his way to St. Denis, Swedenborg describes the "pyramids in memory of
Philippe Hardy, St. Louis' son, who carried his father's
bones in 1271." (Resesbeskrifn. p. 79)
These "7 pyramids are of stone, and on each of them were the
statues of three kings, and over all a crucifix." They were
planted at equal distances between the Port St. Denis and the
Basilica, in memory of Philippe's carrying on his shoulders
the bones of St. Louis to be buried at St. Denis.
(Force 8:18)
He then continues:
"In St. Denis many curiosities were to be seen: 1) A clock
which showed the sufferings of Christ and much else merely by
weights, the one after the other."
Coming to the church itself, Swedenborg notes: "The church is
an ancient one, having been brought to perfection mainly by
Dagobert. Inside were windows curious from their paintings
and figures. The chapels there are all said to be rich. Saw
a cross of solid gold." This cross was 2-1/2 feet long and 2
feet across, and it enclosed a piece of the true cross. It
was a most beautiful piece of work, and was set in with
rubies, sapphires, emeralds and pearls. It had been
presented to Philippe Augustus by Baldwin, Emperor of
Constantinople. (Rese. Ibid.; Force 8;18)
Swedenborg then speaks of the tombs:
"The first to be buried there, so far as one knows, was
Dagobert, the son of Chilperic in 580.* St. Louis caused a
great number of epitaphs to be set up for his ancestors.
Charles VIII's tomb is of black marble and bronze. Louis
XII's is the finest in architecture." This was the first tomb
to be carved in France in the style of the old architecture.
The King and his consort are represented on their knees and
in life size. (Force 8:10, 13)
* He was buried in St. Denis in 638. His tomb was, however, destroyed by the Mormans but was restored when the church was rebuilt in the thirteenth century.
Louis XIV's tomb is still covered over; for, so long as the
successor is living, the Royal tomb is not uncovered. In the
Vallois' grave are buried Catharine de Medici and her Consort
Henri II, together with many others" [being their eight
children]. This tomb had been in the Chapelle des Valois
built by Catharine de Medici, but owing to decay it was
removed to the body of the church in 1719. (Ibid. 14-15)
"In addition to kings," Swedenborg continues, "there are
buried there Vicomte de Turenne who has a fine epitaph."
This was the last tomb to be erected prior to Swedenborg's
visit, and was justly esteemed as a great work of art.
Swedenborg also mentions some other no-royal names, and he
adds:
"Yet these tombs have been injured in part by domestic wars.
The Emperor [Charles] le Chauve [the Bald] is the only
Emperor one knows of to be buried there. He is in his
imperial robes." (Rese. p. 79) (Force 8:11)
"In the Treasury des armoires [of the closets] is much that
is remarkable, including genuine stones, diamonds, solid
gold, agate, crowns, crucifixes, monstrants. Here was the
largest diamond I have ever seen, which was in the coronation
crown of the present king; also a great number of reliquaries
which are said to be enclosed [in various articles] there,
for instance, in a large ruby; [this was a ruby of rare value
in which was inserted at horn from the crown of thorns];
besides other works of gold [containing relics] such as
Christ's cross, and various things belonging to St. Denis. I
was shown a vase of porphyry of great size which is said to
be the most beautiful porphyry ever seen; it was brought here
from Poitiers by Dagobert. What it was used for is doubtful.
(Resesbeskrifn. p. 79) (Force 8:33, 29, 22, 35)
This sightseeing evidently took up the whole day, for
Swedenborg adds that he stayed over night at the Hotel Au
Mouton.
He concludes this part of his Journal by a list of the Royal
personages in England and of the Provinces in France.
Then follows the last note of trips while in Paris, namely,
"1737 July 30 [a Saturday] I journeyed to Passy and saw
the Passy Springs. There are two of them, both quite deep in
the ground as though in a cellar. In each of them are two
streams, there being thus 4 streams in all. In the new
spring, however, there are 3 streams. The waters are
feruginous or vitriolic, as with us. For the rest, they
usually take the iron from these waters by pumping them into
clay pots which are covered with slate and left standing for
a month when all the ochre settles to the bottom. The water
is then almost sweet. It is then put in earthen bottles and
so is sold. It sells for 5 stywers a pint."
(Resesbeskrifn. p. 80)
These walls are still in existence. Their location is about
on the inside of the angle formed by rue Victor Herbert and
the rue Henri Martin. (Baed. Paris p. 161)
From Passy, Swedenborg continued his walk through Chaillot and the Bois de Bologne, crossing the Seine at Neuilly. Here he turned left and visited the monastery Calvaire near the village of Suresnes. This would make a walk of some nine miles one way only. Calvaire, he writes,
"is on a high mountain near Suresnes. There are 7 chapels
where the pictures are tolerably well done, which represent
the holy passion. In the church is the sepulchre of Christ
in the same form as found at mount Calvary. Here is a large
and beautiful garden from which one can see the country on
all sides and many small towns." (Rese. Ibid.)
The mountain in question is called Mount Valerien; the
monastery has long been destroyed, and it is now occupied by
one of the most important defensive forts around Paris. The
place is noted for its fine panorama. Swedenborg probably
stayed in the village over night and returned on Sunday. See
Mead. p. 223.
This is the end of Swedenborg's sightseeing in Paris so far as his journal is concerned. This sightseeing indicates that he had a vigorous constitution and a healthy interest in his surroundings and in the government of the country in which he was. Doubtless he took many excursions during the intervals of his studies; but as those studies more fully occupied his time, he omits to enter any account of his walks and other experiences. The quotations on the Brain are practical evidence of Swedenborg's studies. See above, p. 436.
What was the nature of those studies? It seems certain that from the beginning he had had the determination to come to Paris, nor merely to consult books in a library, but to take a definite course of study; and, from the fact of his moving to the neighborhood of the Ecole de Chirurgie as well as from more conclusive indications, there can hardly be a question but that his object was the study of anatomy, and especially dissection - for Swedenborg was already well read in anatomy. The school of Dissection was but a stone's throw from his new lodgings.
That Swedenborg practiced dissections is well known from his own statement in the Preface to the Economy:
"When I was stretching my sight and my mind in deeply
searching into the recesses of the human body, I found that
as soon as I came across anything not previously observed, I
began (perhaps from self-love) to be blind to the most sharp-
sighted investigations and examinations of others, so that I
wished to lead the whole series of rational inductions in
this direction, and, consequently, could no longer sincerely
look to an comprehend the idea of universals in individuals,
and of individuals under universals, in the way the subject
demanded. Nay, when from my observations I formed
principles, I seemed to myself to see in the former much to
confirm them, when yet such was not the real case, as I saw.
Wherefore, laying aside my instruments, and restraining my
desire, I chose rather to accept the investigations of
skilled men than to rely on myself." (Econ. 1: n. 18)
Later he returns to this theme when, after speaking of the necessity in these studies of a thorough knowledge of anatomy, he says:
"I admit that I have made use of the vigilant labors and the
ocular evidences elaborated with great care by men
preeminently worthy of credit, and have not drawn from my own
store save in a few cases; but I have preferred to learn by
sight rather than by touch, for I have found that those who
are furnished with particular and private experience are more
readily carried off to the wrong side and to perverse notions
than those who are furnished with general experience common
to all; for, besides giving greater study and favor to
external sensation than to the mind within the sensation, and
prejudging concerning all things from their own little store,
there is also this, that in all that has been discovered,
conceived and hatched out by themselves, they are smitten
with love, contemplating, as it were, an image of themselves
as a father does in his offspring. This is the reason why so
often they look down with royal disdain on those who do not
honor and worship what they themselves so desperately love."
(Ibid. N. 214)
See The Cerebrum nos. 99, 339 (on the brain of a sheep), 562,
1023 (as observed by Dr. Petit.)
In the Economy, Swedenborg gives specific instances of his dissections. In no. 403, he speaks of the result of his dissection of a sheep's heart. Later he says:
"Sometimes, following the directions of the muscular planes,
by carefully picking them out, I found little ducts which
finally applied themselves to the coronary vessels of both
kinds" (no. 409).
Again, speaking of the difficulty of tracing the course of the par vagum, he writes:
"Yet, when I was occupied in exploring this nerve, I followed
it up to many regions, and did not see a single region into
which it turned for the sake of receiving sensation or
producing voluntary motion," etc. (no. 485)
He seems even to have done some vivisection; at any rate, this is suggested by a passage in his Economy where he gives the results of his dissection of a
"flows into the respiration of the lungs by natural
necessity; and there are amphibia which alternately live
under water and in the air, or which alternately draw the
breath of their lungs and retain it. Hence the desire came
to me to examine the brains of such animals; but though I
opened many, I wish to set forth only those of the drake,
this being an aquatic bird, as well know, which immerses into
the water sometimes his whole body, sometimes his neck and
head, and so for some time holds the breath, if not of his
brain, still of his lungs. Certainly a remarkable spectacle
presents itself, and one well worth seeing, if after the
cranium has been removed their brain is laid bare, either
while they are living or when they have been put to death by
twisting their neck; for in either case the arteries of their
brain come to view being plainly see through the dura
maninx." He then continues with a long description of what
he has observed, and he illustrates it by a figure "drawn
with an unskilled pen." (EAK 2:n. 43)
He speaks elsewhere of dissecting brains, and suggests that he has had in mind the study of comparative anatomy. In this connection, he makes the remarkable observation:
"From the brains which I have examined, I am persuaded that
there is as much difference between the animal fluid and the
human spirituous fluid, as there is between an inferior
degree and a superior" (n. 340).
That before writing the Economy of the Animal Kingdom Swedenborg's studies in anatomy had been thorough and comprehensive, is attested to by himself when writing on the cortex of the brain:
"Here examination of the cortex brings little light;
examination of the whole brain brings more, and examination
of the nerves of the body still more. Hence I ought to
follow the cortical substance even to the nerves, and
afterwards it will easily be seen whether the things
discovered are truth; for every following Transaction on the
brain and body, with their infinitude of particulars, will
then surely range themselves on their side. From a careful
scrutiny of these nerves - for I have run through the whole
of the animal system, as here I have done with the cortical
and afterwards with the medullary substance - I finally
acquired for myself this universal idea concerning the
circulation of the animal spirits" (n. 117)
Again, when speaking of the soul and the impossibility of studying it unless certain doctrines are formulated, and unless there is a good knowledge of anatomy, pathology, and psychology, he writes:
"This and no other was the reason why I have diligently
examined the anatomy of the body, especially the human body,
with assiduous researchings and intense study of mind, so far
as experience has laid it bare, examining its several parts
with the same industry as I have used here in the examination
of the cortical substance." (n. 214)
When we consider the immense detailed and comprehensive knowledge of anatomy displayed in Swedenborg's first physiological work, The Cerebrum, we can come to no other conclusion than that Swedenborg's object in visiting France was the study of anatomy.
If we look back upon Swedenborg's life, we shall see that his visit to France was the first opportunity he had of making a special study of anatomy.
After then his mind was taken up with chemistry and mineralogy. It was when the Principia was finished that Swedenborg first turned to anatomy as a special subject, and it was at this time that he wrote from a German work his notes on the human body, and also made long excerpts from Schurig's works which he came across in Dresden. In the Infinite he promises to write more specifically on the commerce of soul and body, and, as we have seen, he contemplated fulfilling this promise by a work to be entitled "The Animal Kingdom concerning the Soul and Body" and to deal with the Brain and Nerves. See above, pp. 436, 438-39.
In the early months of 1735, he actually wrote "an extensive work on the soul and its commerce with the body." But besides the fact that this work was lost at the Censors (se above p. 439), Swedenborg probably felt the need of more special anatomical knowledge, and it was this in view that in 1735-36 he made those copious extracts on the brain that fill one hundred and thirty closely written pages of Codex 88 prior to the Journal of his French journey. It was in writing these that Swedenborg was still more impressed with the need of special anatomical studies. As a consequence, very early in 1736 he laid his plans accordingly. He seems, however, to have abandoned them for a time (see above, pp. 444-45, Unge's letter), but early in April he reached his final determination.
And now we must go back to the time of Swedenborg's arrival in Paris, on September 3, 1736, to note so far as possible the nature of his studies in the intervals of sightseeing. And here we would point out that the Paris journal goes from September 1, 1736 to November 3rd, with a few entries for June 1737 and one for July. While he saw much of Paris, yet most of his time was given to study.
On September 6th he writes:
"Drafted my entrance to the Transactions that the soul of
wisdom is the acknowledgment and cognition of the Deity."
(Resesbeskrifn. p. 74)
On the following day, after a visit to the city, he writes:
"Drafted the first Transaction that the time is at hand that
we must search into nature from effects." (Ibid.)
On the 10th and 11th he writes:
"Worked on the plan of my work concerning the auras in
general." (Ibid.)
This is the last note concerning any actual writing.
On October 2nd he moves to his new lodgings near the Anatomical School, and two days later, after speaking of a long walk through the Bois de Bologne, he writes:
"A pleasant promenade, and I speculated on the forms of the
parts in the atmospheres"; (Ibid. p. 75)
and then complete silence so far as studies are concerned.
Examining the dates in the Journal when Swedenborg took trips, these would indicate that his serious studies commenced early in November; that he made a holiday in the early days of January and again in July; and after this there are no Paris entries.
The brief notes of his study which we have cited from the Journal indicate that Swedenborg, in his contemplated work on the Soul and Body had in mind the
In the second volume of his Economy of the Animal Kingdom, Swedenborg gives us some idea of his thoughts when thinking of the plan of this work, and also a suggestion as to why he decided not to commence with the Brain.
"When contemplating a treatment on the Brain," he writes, "I
was long swayed in doubt from what point to commence, whether
from the dura mater which first meets the eye of him who
opens the head, or from the arteries proper to the brain.
But whithersoever I turned, I could not but see in the brain
a knot more intricate than the Gordian, and that the several
parts were so concatenated that the one was to be sought in
the other. Thus, unless I would unravel the whole brain, I
could never set out to unravel any part. Therefore, a
special Transaction concerning one part of it only would do
nothing more perhaps than to put off the desires of the
reader and refer him to connections yet to come.... What
then was to be done? Commencement must be made from some
part of it. Therefore I deemed it best to commence
specifically from its cortical and cineritious substance, the
reason being that this substance is proximately the principal
cause of the operations not only of the brain but also of the
body." (No. 69)
Originally the work was to have treated of the cerebellum and the two medullas, but the time when Swedenborg finished the Cerebrum is probably the time when he commenced to think of altering his plan.
He also decided to continue his anatomical studies in Italy where, at that time, were many famous schools of anatomy.
Swedenborg left Paris for Italy by diligence on Wednesday, March 12th (N. S.), at the early hour of 3.0 a.m. He arrived at Chalon sur Saone some 200 hundred miles southeast of Paris on the 15th, going via Auxeree. From Chalon he went down the river Saone by treckschuyt, "so-called diligence, per eau," via Macon to Lyons where the Saone joins the Rhone. Describing this journey, he says:
"We passed through [Champagne,] France de Comt, and the
whole of Burgundy and so [to] Doub [Dauphine 7], past
different chateaux, one a magnificent one which belongs to
the Comte de Clermont where is found the best wine, 1500 en
qusue. The wine of Macon is tolerably good. The diligence
par eau passes the Rhone which flows through Lyons and takes
its source from many streams in the Alps. Lyons* or the
ancient Lugdunum is a tolerably large and seemly city,
containing many large houses and palaces, especially on the
Place Royal." (Resesbeskrifn. p. 80)
* Swedenborg spells it Lion, which is a spelling used at that time as well as Lyon. See Force, Description de Paris 2:1.
Lyons was then the second city in France with a flourishing
trade and a large population - 90,000 with about 4,000
houses. But Hazlitt writes of it in 1824: "Lyons is a fine
dirty town. The streets are good but so high and narrow that
they look like sinks of filth and gloom. The shops are mere
dungeons." (Hazlitt p. 182; Force, Descr. De France 1:57)
Lyons is about a hundred miles south of Chalons, and Swedenborg arrived there on Monday, the 17th, and stayed four to five days, during which he visited the sights of the city, not forgetting a visit to the library. This library was one of the richest in France, having about 40,000 volumes. One unique book in this library was a General History of China in 30 volumes, 14 x 7 inches, printed in Pekin on fine paper and with beautiful print. As this book had only been in
Swedenborg notes on the "Place Royal" "the statue of Louis
XIV on a horse with two fountains at the sides." The statue
had been erected in 1713 in the Place Belle Cour which from
that time was called Le Place de Louis le Grand. The
pedestal of the statue is ornamented with two beautiful
bronze figures representing the Rhone and the Saone. On one
its other faces were the arms of the Governor of Lyonnais,
Marechal Duo de Villeroy. This statue was destroyed, but in
1825 was replaced by the present statue. (Ibid. 2:68; Baed.
S. Fr. p. 236)
Swedenborg writes of Lyons: "The city abounds in manufactures
of galoons, gold and silver laces, cloth of gold and silver
gros de tour, silk wares. Most of the gold thread is sold
unworked, being 7/8 as against what is sold worked. Here
there is consumed annually in gold thread from 3 to 400,000
marks of silver which comes to Lyons via Genoa; thus it
amounts to 70 to 80 tuns of yellow silver.
"The Archbishop is the primate of the clergy in France; has
his jurisdiction from the Pope. Villeroy is the Governor of
the Province. He has survivance and the governorship is
hereditary. The Jesuits have here a great convent. They
make opium; they have a fine library which I visited."
(Resesbeskrifn. p. 80) (Force, Descr. De Fr. 11:16)
One thing Swedenborg must have experienced with pleasure, though he says nothing about it, namely, his first view of the snow-clad Alps. Mount Blanc presents a fine picture from the quays of the Rhone.
Swedenborg left Lyons for Turin on Saturday, March 22nd, apparently in company with other diligences, for he writes: (Resesbeskrifn. p. 80)
"We were in company with 12 persons together with 6 carmelite
monks," - but these may have joined later. The diligence did
not travel at night. Even as late as 1824, Hazlitt writes:
"There was a diligence for Turin over Mount Cenis which sent
only twice a week (stopping at night)." The fare was 70
francs at seat. It seems also that it was the custom to
start "three hours before daybreak ... and stop two or three
hours about noon in order to arrive early in the evening."
(Hazlitt pp. 183, 188)
Excerpts for a single incident, Swedenborg gives no further particulars of this journey than the names of the towns he passed. But from a diary of a traveller who passed the same route some fifty years later, we gather a good account of what must have been Swedenborg's experiences.
The road from Lyons passes from the Place Bellecourt over the
Rhone by the old bridge - the only one on that side in
Swedenborg's day - almost in a straight line through a "flat
and sombre" country to Bourgoin which was a town of some size
some 25 miles from Lyons, where doubtless Swedenborg passed
the night. The road lay through Brom, now a suburb of Lyons,
St. Laurent du Mure and La Verpiliere. (Young, p. 282)
From Bourgoin the scenery becomes interesting with hill and
dale well planted and with numerous chateaux and farms and
abundance
of beautiful mulberry trees, but the peasants' houses present
a miserable appearance, being "ugly, thatched, mud cabins,
without chimneys, the smoke issuing at a hole in the roof or
at the windows. Glass seems unknown, and there is an air of
poverty and misery about them quite dissonal to the general
aspect of the country." (Young, p. 281)
The road passes La Tour du Pin to Pont Beauvoisin, some fifty
miles from Lyons. Here, as Swedenborg notes, "France ended
and Savoy began. Here the King of Savoy met his last
Queen";* and here, of course, came the showing of passports
and the examination for customs. Savoy, which is now a
Department of France, was at that time a part of the Kingdom
of Sardinia whose King was also Duke of Savoy and Piedmont.
Here Swedenborg spent Sunday night, his last night in France.
We can imagine something of his experience in the Custom
House (for undoubtedly he carried books with him) from
Hazlitt's account in 1824:
* This was Charles Emmanuel's third wife, Elizabeth of Lorraine, whom he married in 1731 before the trouble with his father was even threatening. The marriage took place at Chamberg.
"It was striking to have to pass and repass the piquets
of soldiers stationed as a guard on bridges across narrow
mountain streams that a child might leap over. After some
slight dalliance with our great coat pockets, and significant
gestures as if we might or might not have things of value
about us that we should not, we proceeded to the Custom
House. I had two trunks. One contained books. When it was
unlocked ... there could not have been a more sudden start or
expression of surprise had it been filled with cartridge
paper or gunpowder. Books were the corresive sublimate that
cast out despotism and priestcraft.... A box full of them
was a contempt of the constituted authority; and the names of
mine were taken down with great care and secrecy."
(Hazlitt pp. 186-87)
His box was sealed but he could not have possession of it; it
would be forwarded to him (at his own expense) to any place
in Italy outside the King of Sardinia's domains. "However,
the showing of a royal passport relieved one from Customs'
examination" (Mead, p. 152)
To compensate for these inconveniences, the traveller had at
Pont Beauvoisin got a full view of the Alps, "a magnificent
sight" and "a new sensation." Although at a considerable
distance, "they appeared to be over our heads."
(Hazlitt p. 188)
On the following a.m., March 24th, he entered Savoy, riding
through a country that was becoming wildly mountainous yet
with culture that made it beautiful. Owing to the
obstructing mountain ranges, the travellers must make a
journey of twenty-five miles to reach Chembery, their
objective, which in a straight line was but fourteen miles
off. (Young, p. 281)
The road went through magnificent scenery, a precipice of
rocks rising up abruptly on the left, hanging threateningly
over the road. "It was a scene dazzling, enchanting."
(Hazlitt, pp. 188-89)
It turns south to Echelles, where they crossed the mountain
by a tunnel cut in the rocks some sixty years previously, to
avoid a road that was exceedingly dangerous, "a noble and
stupendous work." This road is now impassable to carriages,
its place being taken by a long gallery cut in the rock by
Napoleon. (G. E. 15:303)
Having crossed the mountain, the road then turned
northeast to Chambery. "The descent into Chambery (writes
Hazlitt in 1824) was the most dangerous part of the road ...
which was narrow and slippery." (Hazlitt p. 190)
At Chambery, Swedenborg passed the night, and which he
describes as a fine town. This city was the capital of Savoy
and the winter residence of the Savoy nobility.
Swedenborg left the capital on March 25th, the road again turned, after a few miles, northwest and passed through a wide valley between high mountains via Montmellan to Aiguebelle, a distance of 27 miles. Here probably was the night's lodging. This town was near the commencement of the course south, which runs in a narrow valley between ever higher mountains following the river Aro to Mount Cenis.
The mulberry trees now become scarcer, and the villages are
"rather shapeless heaps of inhabited stones than of houses.
The people are in general mortally ugly and dwarfish."
(Young p. 278)
"A scene of desolation," writes Hazlitt, "... Lofty mountains
reared themselves in front of us - horrid abysses were
scooped out under our feet." (Hazlitt pp. 190-91)
Passing La Chambre, the road follows the river to St. Michel, 130 miles from Lyons. Another stop for the night, leaving there March 27th.
They are now in the midst of the high Alps with forests of pine harboring wolves and bears, and here they journeyed to Lans le Bourg where the final ascent of Mount Cenis begins. Their way turned north a little west of Modane where the present Mount Cenis tunnel commences.
There the mountain is over 11,000 feet high, whereas on the
road via Lans-le-Bourge, the highest point is 7,000 feet.
The night's stay was at Lanslebourg where, sixty years later, Young
got a dinner "that had we been in England we should have
consigned very readily to the dog kennel."
The present Mount Cenis road from Lanslebourg was built by
Napoleon, doubtless following the route of the old road. The
latter, however, was rather a mere beaten path in the snow
than a road, just wide enough for a mule and sled, and often
there was mishap and danger when travellers tried to pass.
(Young p. 277)
Swedenborg commenced the ascent on March 28th, the conveyance used being perhaps the diligence and perhaps the same sort of sled which is described by Young, namely,
"a machine on four sticks dignified with the name traineau; a
mule draws it, and a conductor who walks between the machine
and the animal serves chiefly to kick the snow into the face
of the rider." (Ibid.)
In this crossing, Swedenborg had a mishap, and whatever his conveyance he had to walk.
"We had the greatest trouble and were in danger of losing our
life because of the snow which had fallen the night before,
so that the mules had almost to swim in snow and we must
walk. It was fortunate that we were in a chain of 12 persons
with 6 Carmelite monks, and so, including the porters, a
company of from 50 to 60 persons who trampled the road.
Slept at night on the mountain the 'grand croix'" [175 miles
from Lyons, and 70 from Turin]. (Resesbeskrifn. p. 80-1)
This Grand Croix is probably the old Hospice on the shore of
Lac du Mont Cenis, 9 miles from Lanslebourg and just within
the Piedmontess border. But the journey must have been a
hard one; for, in addition to the deep snow, the wind here
(La Lombarde) is often of extreme violence. As a
consequence, Napoleon built 25 shelter huts which are still
in use. (Baed. S. France p. 358)
Swedenborg writes:
"Pass mount Cenis. Then, in front of one, goes the Grand
Cross, from where one has a wide outlook over Farrara and
Novara." (Resesbeskrifn. p. 81)
On Saturday, March 29th, Swedenborg left the Grand Croix down hill to Susa, "with its fine old drawbridge and castellate walls." (Hazlitt p. 195)
From Susa, through an ever widening valley, following the river Dora through Ambroglio and Rivoli, and for 30 miles "of the straightest, flattest and dullest road in the world" to the broad plain on which stands Turin.
Of Susa, a very ancient Roman town, Swedenborg notes that it has three fortresses.
These fortresses were destroyed by the French in 1798
(Baed. Italy p. 26).
Swedenborg arrived in Turin on Monday, March 31st, having been nine days on the road from Lyons - a distance of over 240 miles. He notes that prior to entering the city, he saw
"a fine large cloister which belongs to the Carthusians."
He also notes, apparently at the west entrance gate - which no longer exists-
"a metal bull of natural size, standing on top of a tower.
It represents Turin." (Rese., ibid.)
He stayed in Turin for a week. This was the first Italian city he had ever visited, and he must have walked its streets and viewed its new scenes with great interest.
Turin, the capital of Pedimont, was then a city of over
50,000 inhabitants. (Mead. p. 284)
This was Swedenborg's first visit, but it must have been some satisfaction to him to find that French was widely spoken here.
Swedenborg entered Turin via what he describes as an "allee of 6 miles or 3 French leagues."
This is now called the Strade di Rivoli, and it leads via
what is now Piazza dello Statuto to the via Garibaldi, ending
at the Piazzo dello Castello.
Swedenborg's lodging must have been somewhere in the
neighborhood of the Piazzo dello Castello, which is Turin's
only mediaeval structure; for the first place he visited was
the Palazzo Rale. Externally, this palace is a plain brick
edifice.
"The body of the Palace," Swedenborg notes, "is not large,
but it is handsome. The houses at the sides are large."
(Rese. Ibid.) (C. E., 15:94 = pict.)
It was probably from the Palace garden that Swedenborg got a view of the Superga, situated on some mountain about four miles east of the town.
The Superga was a Royal burial church, a beautiful domes
building, very conspicuous from the town because of its
position. It had been built in 1718 by Victor Amadeus II,
the father of King Charles Emanuel, who was reigning in 1738,
as a thank offering for the relief of Turin in 1708 by Prince
Eugene. (Baed. Italy p. 70)
The great beauty of the building misled Swedenborg to thinking it a Royal pleasure castle.
"One sees also," he writes, "a pleasure house superbe
[Superga, Italian = Soperga], built by King Victor, the
present King's father who [in 1730] gave the government over
to his son in order, with decency, to marry his mistress.
Afterwards, [in 1731,] he desired to take it back but was
anticipated by his son who arrested him in Rivoli and held
him prisoner for 6 or 8 months when he died" [in 1732.]*
(Resesbeskrifn. p. 81)
* From Rivoli he was later taken to Moncalieri, and he died there in piety and peace.
Summarizing what he had seen in Turin, Swedenborg writes:
"Observations made in Turin 1) that the King, who is 37-1/2
years old, seems to be fifty.* 2) The houses in Turin are
magnificent; because 10 to 12 together make a single house,
the magnificence is seen. 3) All who have possessions, even
merchants, are called Counts or Comtes. 4) The streets are
not named but only the corners which are marked with some
saint's name."
* This was owing to the grief suffered by Charles Emanuel in being compelled to imprison his father who had been spurred on by an ambitious wife. The father subsequently slightly lost his reason and became ultra pious. It was then that it was considered safe to release him from Rivoli and return him to his own home in Moncalieri. Still, even here precautions were taken against any further attempt on his part. Charles Emanuel was greatly stricken by this affair and never afterwards, up to his death in 1773, was the matter ever alluded to in his presence. See G. E. 29: 590-93 (Histoire de la Savoie II:354, 371). The queen dowager retired to a nunnery in Turin after Victor Amadeus' death. (Chambery, H. de la S. 1884, 3 vols.)
Here we may remark that then, as now, the streets of Turin are arranged
into squares or blocks with almost mathematical precision
like a modern American city. (Baed. Italy p. 59)
"5) The room are not numbered but are called by the name of
some saint. 6) The magnificence consists in this, that a
sedan chair accompanies them. 7) The Duke de Carignano's is a
large one this is now the Natural History Museum on the via
La Grance and the via Principe. 8) M. d'Ormea is the Prime
Minister; he is a man of great intellect and has obtained
from the Pope all that he desired.* 9) Of the convents, the
Carmelites Cloister is the largest; the church is of the
finest taste I have seen. In the Cloister are only 25, but
it is large enough fro from 1 to 200. Then there is the
Jesuit Cloister now the Academy of Sciences. The Capuchin is
outside the city. This was situated on the other side of the
Po near the Ponte di Po. It is no longer in existence but on
its site was built, in 1818, the present Gran Madre di Dio.
(C. E. 15:93) Philippi, a monk, is the one who designed the
building of the Carmelite church. The church of Lorraine
near the castle; the castle of S. Lorenzo; it has a peculiar
dome and is destitute of facade. It is in the northwest
corner of the Piazza Castello; see Baed. Ib. p. 59 is
magnificent but small. 10) The rooms in the castle are
superbly
furnished with gold and silver and mirrors and paintings,
among which 4 by Albano [Fr. Albani] excel. They represent
the 4 elements [now in Room XI of the Picture Gallery in the
Academy of Sciences]; also some small miniatures newly
purchased from Rome, 48 for 18,00 florins. Among them is
Luther and his wife. Luther and Calvin are there, Luther
being one-eyed. The paintings on the ceiling are
magnificent." (Resesbeskrifn. p. 81-82)
* From 1713-27 Turin had had difficulties with the Pope, and in consequence, the See had been vacant. The difficulties arose from Victor Amadeus having ascended the throne of Sardinia without papal investitutre; he also claimed and exercised the rights over clerical benefices in his own country. Charles Emmanuel continued the same policy, but he sent Marquis d'Ormea to the Pope (Benedict XIII) who proved not so imperious as his predecessor Clement XII (C. M. H. 6:589; see H. de Savoie II:372).
April 3rd was Maundy Thursday, and Swedenborg had a unique opportunity of seeing some of the many religious processions.
"On Sheerthursday I saw their magnificent processions,"
he writes. "I counted them up to nine; there were seen 20 to
30 with many large wax candles. 6 whipped themselves so that
much blood ran; others carried crosses of considerable
weight; others stretched out their arms; others bore insignia
of the crucifixion. Afterwards was borne a kind of
contrivance* with a large number of light candles, among
which Christ was represented in large size in different
positions, and also Mary. On this same day, their Majesties
went all round the city." (Resesbeskrifn. p. 82)
* This contrivance (machina) consists in a large heavy scaffold borne by strong men "who are always willing to sweat under the enormous weight, having a notion that the carrying it about does a deal of good to their souls" (Baretti. 1:117-18).
Of the next day, April 4th, he writes:
"On the evening of Good Friday there is also a great
procession with a contrivance which is carried where Christ
lies in a shroud; also the head of John the Baptist; and Mary
with a sword in her heart. All the men are masked or have
their faces covered; their dresses are white, red, black, and
blue." (Ibid.)
The following Sunday, which was Easter, he writes:
"I was in the Royal Chapelle and heard some fine music. A
Eunuch sang. Saw the King and Queen." (Ibid.)
On Easter Monday, April 7th, Swedenborg left Turin for Milan, going via Chivasso, Vercelli and Novara. Such a journey now would be an easy matter, but in Swedenborg's time it meant the passing from one kingdom to another, from Piedmont, belonging to the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia, to Lombardy then in the possession of Austria. This, with consequent passports and customs examination, involved trouble, delay, annoyance, and most probably more or less of mild bribery of custom officials, which was then the customary thing for all travellers to do if they wished a modicum of trouble.
It involved also passing from one language to another, and from one kind of people with its own peculiar food, customs and manners to another.
From Turin to Milan is about 9 miles over a flat and easy country. Swedenborg evidently hired his own Vetturino (as was perhaps the case in his journey from Lyons). He seems to have made the journey without any overnight stay, simply changing horses. At Novara, the last town of Piedmont, he had a mild adventure. Novara had been ceded by Austria to Piedmont only three years previously, and this, together with the constant battles that had been going on for the past thirty years, was probably evidenced in a certain unrest among the people.
"In Novara," writes Swedenborg, "my vetturino left me and I
had to journey alone and with a vetturino who was not to be
trusted. To prepare his tool, he often had his dagger out.
But I took precautions and made him think that I had no money
with me." (Ibid.)
It would seem that the Turin Vetturino had no desire to travel outside his native Piedmont:
"The Provinces of Novara and Tortona," Swedenborg adds, "are
fallen to the King of Sardinia." (Resesbeskrifn. p. 82)
Swedenborg arrived in Milan on Wednesday, April 9th, and stayed there till Sunday, April 13th, when he left for Venice which was his first immediate