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496 [Doc. 258.
TESTIMONY OF CONTEMPORARIES.
This Arcana Calestia gives me fullest satisfaction of
," &c. A
copy of this letter was printed at large in the Daily Advertiser
of Christmas-day, 1749. Now this delightful, instructive, and
necessary knowledge cannot be expected from this part of
Holy Writ, unless the historical part of the Old Testament
be allegorized in some such manner as our Latin author has
here done it. And the great and learned, as well as the in
spired Apostle Paul, clearly give encouragement to this way
of writing (Gal. iv, 24). And our author neither rejects,
nor disturbs the literal sense by his allegorical exposition.
Soon after the publication of Mr. Penny’s letter before
mentioned, a grave, judicious, and learned gentleman was
pleased to call at one of the bookseller’s where this famous
Latin book was appointed to be sold : and when he had cast
his eye over part of the work, he inquired who the author
was ; but being told that the author would not be known,
"Well," said the gentleman, "I confess that at these years I
am not fond of new acquaintance, but should be extremely
glad to have some conversation with him ; for," continued he,
with great earnestness, "I never saw, nor heard, nor read of
so surprising a man in all my days !’"
Any one of small judgment may guess at the cheapness of
the work, when he finds that six hundred and forty quarto
pages, in Latin, of the first volume, are sold for no more than
six shillings unbound. But this second volume, which is now
publishing in Latin and English, will be unaccountably cheap,
as any one may conclude, even by the postage of the Latin
copy from abroad : for the bare postage of this first number
cost no less than twelve shillings, and now it is printed, does
make fifty-two quarto pages in the English tongue ; and all to
be sold for no more than eight-pence, which is not half the
price that such a quantity of paper and print is generally sold
for. The postage of the second number came to eighteen
shillings; and that of the third amounted to one pound two
shillings ; and yet these two numbers are to be sold for no
* Swedenborg, while preparing the MS. for the second volume of the
Arcana Calestia, was at Aix-La-Chapelle, as appears from Documents 210
to 213.
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