Theos-Talk Archives (March 1998 Message tt00185)

Blake may have been a member of the same group, but he wasn't completely
enamored with Swedenborg.  Here's an excerpt from Blake's The Marriage of
Heaven and Hell:

   I have always found that Angels have the vanity to speak of themselves
as the only wise; this they do with a confident insolence sprouting from
systematic reasoning.
  Thus Swedenborg boasts that what he writes is new: tho' it is only the
Contents or Index of already publish'd books.
  A man carried a monkey about for a shew, & because he was a little wiser
than the monkey, grew vain, and conciev'd himself as much wiser than seven
men.  It is so with Swedenborg: he shews the folly of churches, & exposes
hypocrites, till he imagines that all are religious & himself the single
one on earth that ever broke a net.
  Now hear a plain fact:  Swedenborg has not written one new truth.  Now
hear another:  he has written all the old falsehoods.
  And now hear the reason.  He conversed with Angles who are all religious,
& conversed not with Devils who all hate religion, for he was incapable
thro' his conceited notions.
  Thus Swedenborg's writings are a recapitulation of all superficial
opinions, and an analysis of the more sublime --but not further.
  Have now another plain fact.  Any man of mechanical talents may, from the
writings of Paracelsus or Jacob Behem, produce ten thousand volumes of
equal value with Swedenborg's and from those of Dante or Shakespear an
infinite number.
  But when he has done this, let him not say that he knows better than his
master, for he only holds a candle in sunshine.

********
The above is presented for discussion --I've never taken the time to digest
enough of Swedenborg to say I agree or disagree.

But the last two paragraphs are among my favorites of Blake's writing.  It
speaks to the role of intellect versus intuition in spiritual awareness.
We can expend large amounts of time on intellectual analysis or this
person's work or that person's work, without allowing our intuition to be
aware of the sunshine, the light of Truth that surrounds us.

Pam
pgiese@snd.softfarm.com

"Blessed are the cracked, for they shall let in the light..."

----------
> From: "Jeff Needle" <jeff.needle@general.com>
> Subject: Re:Swedenbor
> Date: Friday, March 20, 1998 9:48 PM
>
> >
> Again, thanks for the insight!
>
> Blake certainly had contempt for the impulse toward organization,
> didn't he?
>
> Take care.
>
> > The group was in London, and poet William Blake was a member.
> > jhe
> >
> > Jeff Needle wrote:
> >
> > > > Dear Jeff,
> > > >
> > > > Yes, Swedenborg is considered a "theosophist" in the 18th century
> > > > meaning of that word. After Swedenborg's death, his followers
formed an
> > > > organization dedicated to the study of his writings.  The
organization
> > > > was called "The Theosophical Society."  sometime before 1825, it
was
> > > > re-organized into today's Swedenborgian Church.  Of course, there
is no
> > > > organizational connection between this and the Theosophical Society
that
> > > > was founded by Blavatsky, Olcott, Judge and others in 1875.
> > > >
> > > > jhe
> > > >
> > > Very interesting!  Another bit of information that I'm glad to
> > > have.
> > >
> > > Do you happen to know where "The Theosophical Society" was
> > > organized?  Was it here in the US, was it in the UK?
> > >
> > > Thanks so much.
> > >