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540 SWEDENBORG IN THE HOUSE OF NOBLES. [Doc. 196.
is now placed upon a standing footing, were at his disposal?
what could the bishops and the clergy, together with the
people generally, do against that force, against the determina
tion of the sovereign, and the cunning of the Jesuits ? Would
they not have to cast themselves out of heavenly light into
barbarian darkness, and call upon idols, false gods, and Satan,
if they would not become martyrs ? All this with every other
kind of slavery, which it would be too prolix to describe here,
our posterity would be exposed to, if our noble form of
government should be transformed, and our invaluable freedom
lost. The only recourse in such a state of things would be
oath and conscience; yet if an oath were sufficient, and if
conscience prevailed with most men, it would be well in all
countries; besides, the papal chair can dissolve all oaths and
absolve every conscience by virtue of the keys of Peter.
Every one indeed protests with every appearance of truth,
that he has no thought of, nor desire for absolute power ;
but what many think at heart and what they studiously conceal
from others is known to God, to themselves, and to their
familiar friends, through whom , however, occasionally that
which is hidden manifests itself. I shudder when I reflect
what may happen, and probably will happen, if private interests,
by which the common good is shrouded in thick darkness,
should gain the ascendency here. Besides, I cannot see any
difference between a king of Sweden who possesses absolute
power, and an idol ; for all turn themselves heart and soul
as well to the one as to the other, they obey his will, and
worship what passes out of his mouth .
With regard to the other fundamental point, the maintenance
of alliances with foreign powers, and especially with France,
it is well known, that at the very commencement of our
excellent form of government, the Honourable Houses of the
Diet, and especially the Private Committee and the Senate
looked upon an alliance with France as being most in harmony
with the interests of the country and its defence, should any
of the neighbouring powers cause us any trouble ; and this
principally for the reason, that France, being situated at a
distance from Sweden, and our relative positions necessarily
precluding the oecurrence of any differences between us
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