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Doc. 6.] 57
PERNETY’S ACCOUNT.
5. His wardrobe was very simple, but becoming. In
winter he wore a fur-coat of reindeer-skin, and in summer,
when at home, a dressing gown.* The only remarkable piece
of furniture which he had in his drawing-room, was a table
of black marble, upon which, at a first glance, it seemed as if
a pack of cards had been thrown ; so well were they imitated.
He made a present of it to the College of Mines, which
preserves it with great care.37
6. Ordinarily Swedenborg pronounced very distinctly; but
he stuttered a little when he tried to speak quickly. As
soon as he commenced speaking in company, all kept silence,
partly on account of the pleasure which they experienced from
his conversation, and partly on account of his well-known
erudition, which, however, he did not display, except when he
was obliged to furnish proofs of his assertions or to show the
insufficiency of the arguments of those with whom he con
versed.† Moreover, he was unwilling to enter into any dis
putes on matters of religion; and if obliged to defend himself,
he did it with gentleness, and in few words. If he was urged
beyond this, he drew back, saying: “ Read attentively and
without prejudice my writings, they will answer for me, and
you will then change your ideas and your opinions.”
7. A clergyman, a follower of Zinzendorf, 4 and a doctor
of theology in Gottenburg, undertook to controvert the writ
ings of Swedenborg, and after stating that he had not read
them , continued his preliminary discourse by the coarsest
invectives, and the most malignant and stinging expressions
against the person of Swedenborg. The latter spoke with so
much modesty and gentleness, without referring to the person
of his antagonist, that all applauded what he said, both in
regard to its substance and its form .
8. A certain critic [Dr. Ernesti38], who was well-known
for being very unsparing in his comments upon books and
their writers, wrote a bitter review of Swedenborg’s writings.
The latter replied to it in a very short article, which he
* Cfr. Robsahm’s Memoirs, § 11.
+ Cfr. Robsahm’s Memoirs, $ 12.
† The founder of the sect of the Moravians.
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