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DECLARATION OF DR. G. A. BEYER. 139
of God, and is proved thereby, and as the privilege of avowing it, when in con-
formity with the law of God, is allowed, I venture in tny wealvness, yet with
humble confidence, to pour forth the deepest sentiments of my heart, respecting
the theological writings of Assessor Swedenborg.
•’Convinced by experience, I must in the first place observe, that no man is
competent to give a just and suitable judgment of those writings, who has not
read them, or who has read them only superficially, or with a determination in
his heart to reject them, after having perused, without examination, some de-
tached parts only : neither is he competent who rejects them as soon as he finds
anything that militates against those doctrines, which he has long cherished and
acknowledged as true, and of which perhaps he is but too blindly enamoured
:
nor is he competent, who is an ardent, yet indiscriminating Biblical scholar, that,
in explaining the meaning of the Scriptures, confines his ideas to the literal ex-
pression or signification only : and, lastly, neither is he competent, who has alto-
gether devoted himself to sensual indulgences, and the love of the world.
" But, on the other hand, the lover of truth, whose head and heart are free from
the foregoing shackles, —who will impartially try the spirits, whether they are of
God (1 John iv. 1), and who prays to the Lord for illumination, will discover
many remarkable circumstances in the works of this enlightened author which
give them a claim on his attention. For instance, though it is now twenty years
since they were first published and spread abroad amongst most of the European
states, universities, libraries, and learned men, they stand, as far as we know,
without a single refutation to this hour, if we except some partial reviews, filled
with crude and calumniating judgments, and void of all rational arguments. It
will also be seen, that there beams forth throughout the writings of Assessor
Swedenborg the most satisfactory evidence of his intimate acquaintance with
the Hebrew, Greek, and Arabic languages, to say nothing of the Latin; and a
most abundant illustration and corroboration of the subjects he treats of, from
all the commendable and useful scien3es ; —such as philosophy in its deepest
and most exalted recesses, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, experimental
philosophy, natural history, architecture, history, and, above all, anatomy. And
further, throughout all his works, there is discoverable a complete harmony, an
uninterrupted order in the subjects, and such a coherence in their proofs, as
links them together in as close a connexion as those of any mathematical dem-
onstration: indeed, when viewed by those who are willing to accompany the
author in his chain of evidence, they are such as must carry conviction to every
candid mind. It will likewise be discovered, that the fundamental opinions
with which the author first sets out are the same throughout, and are proceeded
upon in the other works, which everywhere harmonize and agree with them.
In short, it will be found, that in the whole history of learned men no example
can be produced, which can, in all the above considerations, be compared with
that of our author.
" It may be further remarked, that all his theoretical positions lead to a prac-
tical result; for which purpose amendment of life is every where insisted upon, to-
gether: with the necessity of bringing it into agreement with the order and com-
mandments of heaven. It will also be discovered, that better subjects of the
state cannot be desired than those whose principles are formed upon these doc-
trines.
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