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MR. WHITE. 1307
The respecta
Mr. Bergström in the same Document on p. 611.
bility and trustworthiness of Mr. Bergström as a witness is
vouched for by the "Records of the Swedish Church," p. 86 (see
Note 224).
From all this it appears that the testimony which Mr. White
adduces from Mathesius in respect to Swedenborg’s alleged insanity,
breaks down completely both when considered intrinsically in itself,
and also in connection with the personal character of Mathesius ;
while Mr. White, on the other hand, is utterly unable to rebut the
testimony which is brought against the personal character of his
witness, and against the sanity of his mind at least during a portion
of his life.
In conclusion we have to state, that, although Mr. White himself
refuses to draw from Mathesius’ account, as furnished by Mr. White
himself, the inference that Swedenborg was insane, his "Life of Sweden
borg," published in 1867 and 1868, is nevertheless appealed to as an
authority proving this charge by men such as Dr. H. Maudsley in
the "Journal of Mental Science," July, 1870; Mr. A. Fryxell, the
Swedish historian, in his "Biography of Swedenborg," published in
1876 (see Note 254) ; and by a number of smaller lecturers and
journalists who, in writing lectures and articles on Swedenborg, have
drawn mainly on Mr. White’s book for their information- so that
in the face of the world he is in a great measure answerable for
the slander and calumny which since the year 1867 have been raised,
not only against the moral character of Swedenborg, but also against
the sanity of his mind.
V.
CHARGES OF ERROR REFUTED.
Thus far it seems that Mr. White’s aim in writing his "Life
of Swedenborg" in 1867 and 1868 has been to throw discredit
upon, and contradict the "Life of Swedenborg" which he published
in 1856, forgetting that his "Life" of 1856 throws just as much
discredit upon, and contradicts just as strongly, his "Life" of 1867
and 1868. We have seen also that he seems to be particularly
anxious to blacken the moral character of Swedenborg, and to bring
forward evidence by which it may be proved that Swedenborg was
insane. We shall now see him equally anxious to disprove the
scientific character of his writings by attempting to show that they
contain erroneous and false statements.
69
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