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272 DOCUMENTS CONCERNING SWEDENBORG.
be enough, you may well imagine, to employ the above
mentioned weapons, which others have heretofore em
ployed with so little success. You will leave to the
Memorialist of Jacobinism,* and to others, the vain
expectation of battering down the strong fortress of truth
and order, by the weak and illegal engines of unfair and
partial quotations, forced misconstructions, and abusive
appellations ; and perceiving that men of understanding
are too enlightened to be convinced by mere railing,
declamation, and subterfuge, you will abandon all depen
dence on such vain artifices, and will apply to methods
of refutation more becoming the dignity of your sacred
character and station, and better adapted to answer the
purposes you have in view.
" You will perceive that I am here arguing on the
supposition that the testimony of Baron Swedenborg is
groundless, and that his doctrines are deficient, both in
point of authority and of truth. But what if the con
trary should be found to be the case ? What if the
honourable author should prove to be a Scribe in
structed unto the kingdom of heaven,’ and his doctrines
to be those new and old things which the householder
bringeth out ofhis treasure P’ What ifthe days should
now be fulfilled for the descent of the Holy City, New
Jerusalem, announced by a sure prophecy, which must
needs be accomplished ? And what if that pure order of
heavenly truth, signified thereby should be contained and
published to mankind in the writings of the Swedish
Scribe? What if the God of Infinite Mercy should
hereby intend to check the growing powers of ungodli
ness and infidelity in the earth ; to dissipate the clouds of
error; to open human minds anew to the reception of
goodness, truth, and order, from Himself and His Holy
Word; and to build, thus, His tabernacle again amongst
men, that He may be their God, and they may be His
people Your duty, on this supposition, is surely too
plain to need pointing out; and you will spare me the
pain of supposing that Christian ministers, with the ex
6
*The Abbe Barruel. + Matt. xiii. 52. +Rev. xxi. 3.
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