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322 [Doc. 245.
TRIAL AT GOTTENBURG.
port had been favoured by Bishop Lamberg’s letter of De
cember 4, 1765 (No. I). Such, however, as we have seen,
was by no means the case. But one of the results produced
by the Royal Resolution was this : not only Dr. Beyer, but
also Dr. Rosén , in conjunction with Dr. Ekebom, in letters
addressed to the King, expressed their views respecting the
theological writings of Swedenborg, while Dr. Beyer had, be
sides, to defend himself from the charges which had been
brought against him personally.
The author of " Nya Kyrkan" continues, "With a result
before their eyes such as was indicated by common rumour
and in the letter of Bishop Lamberg, it was by no means
surprising that both Beyer and Rosén, who held ecclesiastical
offices, should obey the royal injunction with a certain feeling
of apprehension, and that with a trembling hand they should
sign the papers containing their defence, which possibly might
become the means of their being sacrificed to their religious
convictions. These papers manifest on the one hand a free
and undaunted spirit, and on the other they give evidence of
a humble disposition, showing that their authors in the course
they had chosen had taken fully into account both their privi
leges as men of science, and their duties as servants of the
state and of the church. Their apologies seek to determine
more accurately the terms symbolism and orthodoxy, and are
of an historical, as well as dogmatic interest, because they
seek not only to indicate, but also to develop, the relation of
the new doctrine to the prevailing faith of the church. As
Rosén’s defence has hitherto existed only in manuscript, and
as only a part of Dr. Beyer’s has appeared in an English and
German translation, this seems to be the place to make the
reader acquainted with the first apologetic writings of the New
Church in Sweden. Besides, from these papers we are able to
form an idea of the individuality of these two men, both wherein
they agreed and wherein they differed. Both apologies bear
the impress of the interior character of their authors, and are
in a certain sense an image of their souls ; for the words of
both speak the language of their hearts. Rosén, however,
understood better than Beyer how to impart elegance to his
language, and how to awaken an interest in the views he
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