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lesa and less literal as he abstracted his philosophy from its first matrix,
al-though remaining a devout believer in the Deity (Numen), identical with
the Infinite of the Principia. In his later theological works the accounts in
Genesis are continually referred to as being not literally, but spiritually,
true. In his Latin Principia Swedenborg had already so far separated
him-self from the Lutheran theology that his De Infinito, 1734, was criticized as
being materialistic, which it certainly is not; and that there must have
been a very considerable freedom in Sweden with regard to such questions
would seem to be indicated by the faet that the De Infinito was dedicated to
Eric Benzelius, who had become Bishop of Linköping and who later became
Archbishop of the Swedish Church. The Roman Church was, however, less
complacent and honored the Principia of 1734 by placing in on the Index
Expurgatorius.
The Texts and Translations.
The texts of the Prodromus and other short treatises1-227 were
published at Amsterdam in 1721, and the Index140 shows that they were all
in hand and possibly in the press at the same time. No trace has ever
been found of the Principia referred to in the Prodromus, although it seems
certain from the references that Swedenborg had actually committed it to
writing, or at least drafted it. The Principia references of the Prodromus
evidently have no connection with the second Principia, as some have
sup-posed. (See R. L. Tafel’s Documents concerning Swedenborg, London, 1875
—1877, Vol. IL, p. 899). In a monumental work published in 1906 by
the late Rev. James Hyde, A Bibliography of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg
London, 1906, the second Principia is still dated 1720 (p. 32). But immediately
after the publication of An Abridged Chronological List of the Works of Emanuel
Swedenborg, Stockholm, 1910, I had an opportunity of thoroughly discussing
this question with Mr. Hyde, when we agreed that the true date is mueh
later, probably about 1729. The evidence for this is contained in
Sweden-borg’s letter to Anders Celsius, the secretary of the Royal Society of
Sciences of Upsala, (Vol. L, p. 321).
Swedenborg’s reference to »ex priori et posteriori principia Naturae»
reminds one strongly of the title of the second Principia, and the reference to
magnetism indicates that the questions treated of in Part II. and other portions
of the »Principia» of 1734 were in the author’s mind as early as 1429.
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