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ANDERS FRYXELL. 1241
of the "Berlinische Monatsschrift," as endorsed by Nordin ; and he
adopts even all the false historical statements of Nordin and his
chronological errors, which we have exposed in Document 276, p. 676.
(30) In examining the charge of insanity brought against Sweden
borg, Fryxell is guilty of hearing only one side of the question.
On the authority of Mr. White he quotes the testimony of Mathesius,
which the latter says he derived "word for word" from Brockmer,
and he ignores the fact that the whole of Mathesius’ testimony was
declared false by Brockmer himself. This rebutting testimony of
Brockmer is contained in Dr. Im. Tafel’s Urkunden, &c., Part I,
p. 160. et seq., and also in the English edition of his Documents.
The whole of this charge is examined in the light of the original
sources in Document 270, pp. 581 to 612.
Seventhly, An historian of the nineteenth century is expected to
be unprejudiced and liberal, and free from bigotry and intolerance.
Fryxell, on the contrary, in his Biography of Swedenborg shows
himself to be prejudiced, bigoted, and intolerant.
(31) That Fryxell in entering upon Swedenborg’s biography was
not free from prejudice, and that his object was not to find out the
truth in respect to Swedenborg, but to confirm a preconceived notion
which he had formed respecting him; that therefore he appears be
fore us not in the light of an impartial judge, but of a special pleader,
appears from the following consideration: The preconceived notion
which he sought to confirm is that Swedenborg’s character was a
mixture of mysticism and rationalism ; or as he states his theory on
p. 154, "the foundations of Swedenborgianism are two essential, though
altogether contradictory, constituents, which were developed simultane
ously in him, viz., a rationalistic doctrine of religion on the one hand,
and an irrational spirit-seeing on the other;" and in order to establish
this theory Fryxell twists and perverts the genuine facts furnished
by Swedenborg’s biography, and invents new facts himself.
(32) Fryxell’s bigotry is proved by his calling everything
"rationalistic," that differs from the doctrines accepted by the
established Church of Sweden.
And finally, (33) his intolerance is shown by his condemning as
foolish and irrational everything in Swedenborg’s writings that he
himself does not understand, e. g. his doctrine of correspondences.
We have considered it our duty to make this thorough exposure ofthe
nature of Fryxell’s Life of Swedenborg, on account of his occupying
in the eyes of the world a commanding position as a Swedish historian ;
on which account men generally feel more inclined than they other
wise would, to regard as important the opinions and views which
he entertains respecting his great fellow-countryman.
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