ISSN 0969-1049 INCORPORATING THE SWEDENBORG MOVEMENT NEWSLETTER No.71 2013

and that the horses or asses that pull them standfor the motivations – the arguments that propelthem and empower them and keep them going. Itis a neat arrangement. We may not go so far asto think that such ‘meanings’ are the very rea-sons for things to exist but we can surely con-cede at any rate that they work very well assimiles. It’s all in the mind – ultimately.We have all met those who love to show off theirconvictions and to give others the benefit of their

opinion at every opportunity – riding in their‘parade chariots’ so to speak. Some are so keento overpower the opposition they charge aheadin their ‘war chariots’. Then there are those whojust use ‘chariots’ as forms of transport to getthem from one philosophical position to another.There are also ‘hunting chariots’ and ‘racingchariots’, both analogous with thought proc-esses. Carts and wagons are likewise interestingbecause of the variety of their spiritual merchan-dise: after all, we each have our own mental loadto carry.The complicated world we live in now offersmany modes of transport on which to reflect –cars, trains, coaches, aircraft, rockets, ships,submarines and so on – even ‘hot air’ balloons. Ifa divine ‘Word’ were to be compiled today what amedley of psycho-symbols comes to mind todescribe all those making their different ways toheaven.

Biblical LocomotionBiblical LocomotionBiblical LocomotionBiblical Locomotion

Swedenborg reckoned that most of the Bibledoesn’t mean simply what it seems to say. It onlymeans what it says literally and superficially up toa point, but that apparently is not its purpose.There is, he tells us, an inner meaning of divineorigin.Take chariots for example: there are plenty ofBiblical examples – and a few carts or wagons aswell. The general idea seems to be that wheeledvehicles mean religious systems, good or bad,

‘Then you should say what you mean,’ the March Hare went on. ‘I do,’ Alice hastily replied; ‘at

least - at least I mean what I say – that’s the same thing, you know.’

‘Not the same thing a bit!’ said the hatter. ‘Why, you might just as well say that “I see what I eat”

is the same as “I eat what I see! “’ Alice in Wonderland, Ch.7

Heaven resembles the human body. Thecomponents of the body are all represented– not only the inner working parts, but allthe supporting framework as well – not justthe organs within but also the skin andbones. We are talking about different kindsof people all organised as heavenly commu-nities, more or less vital according to theirreligion. The lowly are just as happy ontheir level as are the high-society folk ontheirs.

Take a farm labourer, for example –clothed in good woollen stuff, he sits downto a plain but wholesome meal, and iscontent. Royalty, on the other hand, feelmore at home in splendid surroundings

feasting on six-course banquets, but they areno more satisfied in the end. Everyone isnecessary to fulfil all the functions of theheavenly body.

Thus, even those who never heard ofChristianity but have been true to someother religion may find themselves happilysettled among the tendons and toe-nails ofthe heavenly anatomy. Evidently then,heaven is by no means exclusively Chris-tian. All are welcome provided only thatthey abstain from evil out of respect for theirGod. Ignorance and mistaken notions cansometimes be sorted on arrival in the spiri-tual world so that all might enjoy the kind ofhappiness that suits them.

SeeDivine Providence254[3-4] & 326 [10]

Outlook welcomes contributions on religioustopics, preferably with reference to the work ofEmanuel Swedenborg 1688-1772. See editorialaddress on the back page.

HeavenlyHeavenlyHeavenlyHeavenly AnatomyAnatomyAnatomyAnatomy simp ly swed enb org no.26

Medieval monarch talking on his mobile

Parade Chariot

Handcart

War Chariot

Drawings GRS

Striving persists in Swedenborg’s heaven,though the angels get occasional days off forrelaxation and pure enjoyment.

FromHeavenby Lisa Miller, Harper Collins

Ultramarine was always the mostcostly blue, made by grinding up the rareand precious mineral lapis lazuli. Because ofits brilliance and costliness it came to beused for colouring the robes of the VirginMary in paintings of the Nativity.

Cobalt, a metal with a very high melt-ing point, found as a metallic ore, was usedlong ago by the Assyrians and the Egyptiansfor making blue glass. The Chinese were thefirst to discover that a blue compound ofcobalt could be painted onto porcelain be-fore firing. The technique spread to Europe,the town of Delft in the Netherlands becom-ing famous for the beauty of its blue andwhite porcelain.

In daylight, in the absence of cloud,earth’s sky is blue, but truly awe-inspiringwas the revelation of earth as a blue planet,in the photograph taken from the Apollospace mission.

Gertrude Jekyll was an artist and em-broideress before her eyesight began to fail.She then became a gardener, and blendedcolours in herbaceous borders. She consid-ered that blue flowers looked more trulyblue when juxtaposed with white or palelemon yellow flowers, and spoke of a yel-low border ‘crying out for a touch of blue’.

Swedenborg says that the colour bluecorresponds to truth from a celestial origin;and that, in the spiritual world, there aremost beautiful colours never seen on earth.Perhaps some of these wonderful unearthlycolours will be blues.

CLB.

Considering the vast extent of the plantkingdom, there are relatively few blue flow-ers. Even some flowers commonly calledblue have a tinge of purple, and are not trueblues.

There are thousands of hues, tints andshades of all colours, distinguishable by thehuman eye. The colours of objects are pro-duced by refracted light waves of differentlengths and the colours seen depend uponthe effect of the light waves upon the eye. Itis thought that different people perceiveblues differently, so that one person mightsee a purple shade in a flower which anotherperson might see as true blue. Blue, itseems, like beauty, is in the eye of the be-holder.

Throughout the ages plant material hasbeen used to make dyes, but blue has alwaysbeen elusive.

Indigo is the world’s oldest and onlynatural blue dye. It can be obtained fromover eighty species in eleven plant families,but the main source in Europe was fromWoad (Isatis tinctoria), and in other parts ofthe world from the tropical plant Indigoferatinctoria. The plants from which indigo isobtained are a normal green colour. Thestems and leaves are crushed and soaked inwater, and then allowed to ferment. Thebacteria responsible for releasing the bluecolour were identified from samples onethousand years old, from Viking woad-vatsin York.

Indigo has been used from prehistorictimes. When Julius Caesar first landed inBritain, he found that the native people dyedtheir skin blue from woad, and after theRomans, the Anglo-Saxons imported woad,which must have become less plentiful inBritain, for dyeing cloth. Indigo was tradedfrom East to West in classical times, andmade the fortunes of merchants in the Mid-dle-Ages; and the East India Companiesfought battles for control of the indigo trade.

Indigo can now be manufacturedchemically. It was the first aniline dye, acoal tar product, and was put on the marketin 1897. For hundreds of years, effortsclosely allied to alchemy were made to tryto make blue dyes.

Prussian blue was discovered quiteaccidentally in 1704 by a painter who wasactually trying to make crimson

But is it blue ?But is it blue ?But is it blue ?But is it blue ?HORTICULTURAL HOMILIES No.53

awe-inspir ing wasthe revelation of ear th

as a blue planet

Photos: GRS

© A Perennial, Gardeners’ Benevolent SocietyGreeting card, published by Ling Design,artist Carolyn Carter

Just down our lane there is a farm, and whenthey are muck-spreading with a favourablewind we get the full benefit of the aroma.Motorists, no doubt, will recall a similarperfume when driving through the depths ofthe English countryside. Strangely, how-ever, some drivers, I notice, may pinch theirnoses, close the car windows, and acceleratepast the offending farmyard until it is safelyleft behind. The stalwart farmer himself, ofcourse, having trodden field and furrow allhis life, savours the familiar cowshedsmells, and thinks of home.

Beauty, they say, is in the eye of thebeholder. So, also, it seems, fragrance is inthe breath of the personal nostril whilst, aswe all know, a rose would certainly smell assweet by any other name. So what, pre-cisely, is the difference between a pong anda perfume? Why do our olfactory sensorstell us sometimes one thing and sometimesanother? Most people prefer Chanel No.5 toa dunghill, so I suppose it might be some-thing to do with our motivations and asso-ciations, whatever they may be.

Swedenborg somewhere describes theother-worldly dwellings of certain evil spir-its who live in dark and dismal caverns fromwhich arises a noisome stench – but theylove it: it perfectly suits their state of mind.If any should inadvertently stumble into theopen-air of heaven he would soon scuttleback to his stinking burrow to escape thesuffocating smell of pure goodness.

So why does it matter, we may ask. Solong as everyone is happy and, unlike here,good and evil keep to their respective realmsthen all should be well. The idea that heavenand hell are somehow relative and inter-changeable is definitely not, I hasten to say,what Swedenborg means. He also insiststhat a loving God reigns supreme and as anyfool can see, it is clear which the Almightyprefers.

Skriber

Infernal FragranceInfernal FragranceInfernal FragranceInfernal Fragrance

The Heavenly JobThe Heavenly JobThe Heavenly JobThe Heavenly Job----centrecentrecentrecentre

G Roland Smith

If I am not mistaken, one of philosophy’sfavourite notions – or revelations – is theprofound observation that Heaven orParadise is a kingdom of uses. Thus no-oneis idle and there is job satisfaction for every-one. Surely we cannot complain about that,but I am a little uneasy. What will doctorsdo when there is no injury or disease? Whatwill lawyers do, or policemen if there is nocrime? Military personnel will no doubt beredundant, and in a world where nothingever goes wrong how will the technicianskeep themselves busy? Teachers will be allright, of course: there will still be plenty tolearn. Musicians, artists and writers shouldbe secure so long as they avoid anythingviolent or controversial. I am not sure aboutsports people: spiritual health will no doubtbe quite important but I am unhappy aboutcelestial competitions – this is dodgyground. How shall we all occupy our time,assuming that something resembling timemay prevail. We cannot all take holy orders!

These reflections were prompted by therealisation that most great fiction seems torevolve around the presence of evil. Anyauthor writing simply about goodness wouldscarcely win the Booker Prize. It would, inany case, be a very dull book.

I am driven to the conclusion that wereally don’t know anything much aboutwhat the angels actually do. Their employ-ments are on quite another level, beyond ourunderstanding.

Here in this world most people, Isuppose, unless they are self-sufficient, earntheir living by supplying the everyday needsof others: they may make a tidy packet inthe process, but that is not the point. Godonly supplies basic raw materials: then it isup to us to turn them to uses, good or bad.On a heavenly plane, however, everyonewould presumably be motivated entirely bya spirit of community service. So in such alofty environment what could the needs ofthe people possibly be?

We may assume, I think, that we aresubtly different one from another, each withsomething unique to offer. Another notionsuggests that the features of a heavenlylandscape – its trees, buildings and animals– are, so to speak, tangible symbolicprojections of the inhabitants’ mental states.If so, the people there may serve to modifyor enhance their mutual experience. Iimagine some sort of telepathic exchange tobe going on.

Whatever the angels do, I expect theyenjoy their ‘work’ because it is presumablythe very reason for their existence and not,as here, something to be avoided

Falling Stars In its letter the Word is like a case that has precious stones,pearls, and gems laid out in a pattern inside. When we regard the Word as holyand read it in order to have a useful life, our minds have thoughts like a jewelcase that someone takes hold of and sends up to heaven. As the jewel caserises, it opens, making the precious things inside accessible to the angels, whoare profoundly delighted to see them and to hold them up to the light. Theangels’ pleasure is shared with us; this process brings angels into associationwith us and allows them to share with us not only that pleasure but also theirperceptions. Extract from True Christianity No.238 by Emanuel Swedenborg

Whatever spiritual quality we take on in the worldremains after death. It is also increased andmade more perfect to the extent that we love anddesire goodness and truth, but not beyond it. Forour character is measured by our desires.

GRS

Also as described by Emanuel Swedenborg,readers may note Pope’s allusion toEmanuel’s concept of the Grand Man –here in the following couplet:

Thomas Gray

This subject was the son of a scrivener and amilliner. Of their 12 children, only he sur-vived beyond infancy. He spent a happytime at Eton College, then to Cambridge(later appointed a professor there). He trav-elled extensively in Europe. He developedan interest in Icelandic and Celtic poetry,this being reflected in his later work.

Gray is remembered particularly forhis first poem, Ode on a Distant Prospect ofEton College and later Elegy in a CountryChurchyard. Limitations of space preventOutlook from printing extracts of Gray’spoems, but readers will have little difficultyin finding them at libraries or on the inter-net.

In conclusionBeyond much of what purports to be cultureof today; the poets and poetry in the 18thcentury remain a major part of the Englishheritage and will survive and be cherished.

Introduction

During Emanuel Swedenborg’s lifetime,poetry was undoubtedly commonplace; forthose who composed it, those who read it,and those who heard it declaimed. I havebeen obliged to be selective in the space thatOutlook permits, as there were so manywriters. Of my choice of poets (and indeedothers), what may such poets have sought toconvey and achieve? Perhaps only the livetheatre of that era has a parallel now. 20th

and 21st century amusements (mass leaguespectator-sports, cinema and television andinternet) were yet to be part of everyday life.

Other 18th century uses of poetry writingwere more devious: to gain favour (indeedpensions were awarded on occasions!) toflatter or compliment persons, or to mock ordefame them. There’s a parallel with Face-book and Twitter of today!

And so to remarks about just threepoets, though I hope to write a subsequentarticle about the religious poetry and hymnsof such as Isaac Watts, Anne Steele, Charlesand John Wesley and William Cowper.

Henry Carey

Possibly the illegitimate son of George Sav-ile, Marquess of Halifax; Henry Carey wasa musician and poet; author of numerousfarces and burlesques. He may have com-posed the National Anthem God Save theKing. My acquaintance with his poetry cameat a village school in Derbyshire. There,then a 10-year-old, our class sang Sally inOur Alley. This ballad of Carey’s relates thethoughts and hopes of a young swain en-trapped in a mean neighbourhood. It begins:

Of all the girls that are so smartThere’s none so pretty as SallyShe is the darling of my heartAnd she lives in our alleyThere is no lady in our landIs half as sweet as Sally;She is the darling of my heartAnd she lives in our alley

The ballad continues, telling of Sally’s fa-ther’s and mother’s work as sellers ofcabbage-nets and lace; the swain’s despair athis master’s assaults and jibes (relievedsomewhat on Sundays). The hero’s joyousexpectation once his indentures shall bespent, closes the ballad:

And when my seven long years are outO. then I’ll marry Sally;O, then we’ll wed and then we’ll bed –But not in our alley!

Carey wrote a poem to ridiculeAmbrose Philips (1675?-1749). It was enti-tled Mamby Pamby –still found in expres-sive English.

Alexander Pope

Pope wrote prolifically – and ranks in thetop tier of persons quoted in English; beatenonly by Shakespeare and Tennyson in theOxford Dictionary of Quotations.

Firstly a few biographical details.Pope was disadvantaged by being born ofdelicate constitution, and of Catholic par-ents: thus depriving him of opportunity tofollow a university education, to be eligiblefor high office, liable to double taxation, noryet to own a top-class horse!

In spite of those restraints, Pope isremembered particularly for his poems inearly age, initially copying the styles ofearlier poets. His poem Messiah, in thestyle of Virgil, is alight with rich imageryand spiritual meaning:

A Virgin shall conceive, a Virgin bears a sonAll crimes shall cease, and ancient fraud shallfail;Peace o’er the world her olive branch extendAnd white-robed innocence from heaven de-scend.

Today Pope’s memory is kept alive by thequotations that still fall from lips and pen:

To err is human, to forgive divineA little learning is a dangerous thingFools rush in where angels fear to treadHope springs eternal in the human breast.

Pope’s writings certainly contain some pro-found pearls, both temporal and spiritual.The following are particularly rich:

Some people will never learn anything becausethey understand everything too soon.So vast is art, so narrow human wit.Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shallnever be disappointed.

Some Poetsof the Enlightenment

Peter Cunningham

Henry Carey (1687? -1743)Alexander Pope (1688 -1743)Thomas Gray (1716 -1771)

Em a nue l Swe d e nb o rg a nd h is C o nte m p o ra rie s

All are but parts of one stupendous wholeWhose body nature is, and God the soul.

Also here are some couplets -

the style in which so much

of his work is presented:

True ease in writing comes

from art, not chance

As those move easiest

who have learned to dance.

Drawing by Steve Erspamer

Wood Engraving byThomas Bewick 1752-1828

that may feel, while making clear our horrorat their actions, and urging them to recon-sider the specific beliefs which lead to them.

Naming God

God has many names – hundreds orthousands, according to some religioustraditions. Most we might prefer to calltitles, and nearly all, I think, have meanings.For instance, Jesus is indirectly based on thephrase ‘Yehovah is salvation’, and Christ isa title meaning simply Anointed. So ofcourse, as Swedenborg often says, ‘in thename of God’ means in accordance with hisnature or character, and ‘walking in hisname’ means living our lives as he wouldwish us to.

Turn that round and it means that theway we live shows keen observers thenature of our god – the god we really be-lieve in, who may be a caricature of the Godwe profess! If we’re dogmatic, persecuteanyone who disagrees with us, or use crueltyto make others conform, then surely we‘give God a bad name’! Or rather perhapswe give religion a bad name which is whymany sincere people are wary of religiousbeliefs and organisations. I certainly sympa-thise with them, more easily than with‘believers’ who set a poor example – thoughmany of those have no doubt been misledbut really mean well.

One nation – one God?

It has been a persistent idea through thecenturies that in each nation everyoneshould accept the official religion. ‘All thenations may walk each in the name of itsgod,’ declares the book of Micah; ‘we willwalk in the name of Yehovah our God forever and ever.’ That verse seems to showwelcome respect for national variety, yet

I used to enjoy reciting in worship, ‘those inevery nation who believe in God and lovetheir fellow men….enter heaven after deathto enjoy a life of use to eternity’, and I’mglad that the British New Church now in itsmission statement professes ‘an inclusive,non-judgmental vision of God’s kingdom.’A welcome contrast to the dogmatism ofmany Christian groups!

We’re indebted to Swedenborg forassuring us, ‘it is a foolish heresy that onlypeople born within the church are saved.Others also have a form of religion fromwhich they know that there is a God, andthat they ought to live well,…and so becomespiritual in their own degree…’ Nowadayswe can realise just how many ‘forms ofreligion’ there are, and how many peoplewho, though wary of any traditionally-understood God, acknowledge in some wayan inner or higher authority by which theyare guided. They may call it ‘the Source’,‘the Great Spirit’, ‘the Light’, or just bystraightforward words like love, justice, ortruth, but these surely are essential elementsof God’s kingdom. We do so need that‘inclusive, non-judgmental vision’!

All-inclusive?

But can we manage to include in our visionthose African Christians who accuse youngchildren of being witches and punish themcruelly to drive the evil spirits out of them?Or the radical Islamists who wage violentwar against those of us they see as enemiesof Islam? Western Christians who attackabortion clinics and the workers there, orEast Africans who think it their religiousduty to mutilate (or ‘circumcise’) theiryoung daughters’ genitals? Can these be partof God’s kingdom?

In our own country we should certainlyprosecute them for breaking our laws, andI’m sure we should put pressure on othercountries to insist on international standardsof human rights. But where it is clear thatpeople see these actions as carrying outreligious duties, how can they be changed? Ithink we should show respect for their sin-cerity and good intentions, however difficult

none for individual conscience. And sooften rulers have decreed what the nation’sreligion is to be, then anyone presuming tochoose differently has been persecuted as aheretic. Think what confusion and sufferingthat caused in Tudor England!

Respect for individual conscience isquite a recent development. Even now indi-viduals look for others who share their view,and try to set up an organisation with a com-mon approach – as it were, a new nation. Isuppose it is common to feel tension be-tween wanting to follow conscience andneeding to be accepted by a group.

Swedenborg only some 250 years agostill felt the need to emphasise, ‘Now it ispermitted to enter with the understandinginto the mysteries of faith.’ Priests, he said,should not try to compel belief, ‘since no-one can be forced to believe what is contraryto what he thinks in his heart to be true.’ Adissenter should be left in peace, providedhe did not make trouble, but trouble-makersshould be expelled from the church.

Perfection in var iety

Heaven is united in loyalty to the one God,yet infinitely varied, says Swedenborg. Iwonder whether that chapter 4 of Micah ispredicting the same for this world? It startswith picturing many nations coming up tothe mountain of Jehovah, eager to learn hisways, and to walk in his paths. Then followsthe famous picture of universal peace, withswords being beaten into ploughshares, andthen the verse quoted above about eachnation and its god. I feel it is saying that,although cultures seem very different inwords and customs, there may be a deepunity of spirit underneath – genuine rever-ence for the divine and goodwill to all.

There is still in our world sadly a lot ofdogma, intolerance, and inter-faith strife, butalso mercifully a growing inter-faith move-ment – people who realise that they cangladly and confidently express faith in theirown way, without worrying that other peo-ple’s faith appears rather different. The oneGod has many names, many beautiful as-pects, but all can be in harmony and bringheavenly peace.

Each nation in the name of its godEach nation in the name of its godEach nation in the name of its godEach nation in the name of its godIan Johnson

the way we liveshows the nature

of our god

(Passages by Swedenborg referred to:Divine Providence 330.5, True Christian Religion508.3, New Jerusalem 318, Heaven and Hell 20)

Photos: GRS

ANGER Ira It is called anger, when evilassaults good, but zeal, when good rebukesevil. Arcana Caelestia 2351

BROTHERHOOD Fraternitas In theother life, all are consociated according toaffections, and they who are consociatedconstitute a brotherhood. Arcana Caelestia4121

DELIGHT Jucundum Those who are inheaven perceive delight in what is good andtrue, while those who are in hell delight inwhat is evil and false. True Christian Religion570

FEAR Timere seu timor Fear, like everyother affection, involves in it several things,although it appears simple, namely, the lossof life, of reputation, of honour and of gain,in worldly things: but the loss of good andtruth, and consequently of life, in heavenlythings. Arcana Caelestia 2543

FREE-WILL Liberum arbitrium What isfree-will, but man’s power to will, to act, tothink, and speak, to all appearance as fromhimself? True Christian Religion 489

HORROR Horror Horror is aversion con-joined to fear on account of spiritual death.Arcana Caelestia 8162

INTERIOR Interiores Good spirits, whoare in the first heaven, are external; angelicspirits who are in the second heaven, areinterior; and angels, who are in the thirdheaven, are internal. Arcana Caelestia 1799

MIND Mens Man has two faculties whichconstitute his life: the one is called the will

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Life brings many challenges that may jolt us out of our comfortable and perhaps complacent existence. Thiscan offer the opportunity to look deeper into our life and see what is of real and lasting value. An inner lightcomes into being deep within that draws us in a new direction. This spiritual awakening and change canalso bring the experience of seemingly chaotic and confusing energies.

The seven lamp-stands at the beginning of the book ofRevelation symbolise and highlight the importanceof the Christ-flame bringing inner light to this process of awakening. We also find vivid images that depictboth the conflicts and the power of divine love to transcend and protect what is of spiritual worth and value.

Using the rich resource of images from the book ofRevelation designed and drawn by G Roland Smith, wewill explore these universal themes and find how we can open up to the flame of the Christ-spirit within andallow it to guide us and be embodied in our life.

Facilitator: Helen Brown Helen Brown is a spiritual seeker whose journey has taken her down manyinspirational paths. Life opened up her interest in psychology, spirituality and healing. Helen is both aJungian psychotherapist and Swedenborgian free-lance minister. She is married with grown-up childrenand has written short courses entitled Nurturing the Souland Beyond the Rainbow. Helen Brown is also anUsui Reiki healer

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and the other the understanding. These aredistinct from each other, but so created as toform one; and when they are one, they arecalled the mind. New Jerusalem and its Heav-enly Doctrine 28

RELIGION Religio What is religion unlessit be that a man live well, so as to come intoheaven, and also to know how he must live?To know this is called doctrine; and to be-lieve according thereto is called religion.Apocalypse Explained 805

SOUL Anima As to the soul, of which it issaid that it shall live after death, this is noth-ing but the man himself who lives in thebody; that is, it is the interior man, who bythe body acts in the world, and enables thebody to live. Arcana Caelestia 6054

TIME Tempus Time is only an appearanceaccording to the state of affection fromwhich thought comes. Divine Providence 49

TRUTH Veritas Truth, or faith, in the inter-nal sense, is the same as charity; for all faithis from charity, and faith which is not there-from is not faith. Arcana Caelestia 3121

TRUTH Verum Good, when it is formed soas to appear to the mind and through themind in speech, is called truth. ApocalypseExplained 136

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Meanings of MeaningsMeanings of MeaningsMeanings of MeaningsMeanings of Meanings

Nearly a hundred years ago in 1915 the Swedenborg Society published a most curious andremarkable book – ‘A Glossary of Specific Terms and Phrases used by Swedenborg’compiled by John Stuart Bogg. I think I might simply have called it ‘Bogg’s Guide toSwedenborgian Jargon’. This worthy gentleman clearly spent much of his life gathering anamazing list of words and phrases together with their original Latin, each item havingexamples culled by way of explanation from Swedenborg’s own various writings. So Mr.Boggnever wrote a word of it himself: it is just a brilliant compilation of extracts. They are in arather stilted kind of English, having been translated from the Latin. The style is utterlydogmatic throughout, and some entries are seemingly only endless permutations of the samefew basic theological concepts: they are all to do with mind and spirit and so on. Sometimesthe definitions are more obscure than the words they are meant to explain, but here are a fewexamples of the simpler, more accessible ones.