Page:A brief discussion of some of the claims of the Hon. E. Swedenborg.pdf/6

 originated the London society: since its establishment, the whole of the New Church writings have been published by it: and some of the works have gone through two editions. By these means mankind have been better and more extensively informed of the nature of their contents; and now a period has arrived in which it has become necessary that these extraordinary writings should be printed in a uniform and elegant manner, and be offered to the public at prices exceedingly low. For some years, the London society, formed of members residing in various parts of the kingdom, has been endeavouring to accomplish those purposes; and with the view of increasing the efficiency of its labours, it has appealed for pecuniary assistance to the societies of the New Church throughout the kingdom. We, as one of those societies, are desirous of acting upon one of its suggestions for this purpose, namely, that of making, after a sermon, a collection once a year.

This being the first occasion, we considered it as a suitable opportunity for stating what are the claims of the illustrious Swedenborg upon the attention of mankind: we, also, thought that the public has a right to enquire what the peculiar pretensions of that distinguished individual are, particularly when we were about to solicit its pecuniary assistance for the publication of his writings. To answer this is no inferior inducement. We wish to inform the public correctly concerning a man of whom they have heard but little, and that little either from the tongues of malevolence and slander, or from the pens of ignorance and prejudice.

The pretensions of Swedenborg, as we understand them, are, that he was chosen by the Lord for the purpose of announcing the commencement of his second advent to mankind, and thereby the beginning of a New Church, signified by the New Jerusalem described in the Revelation, xxi. That to this end the Lord opened the eyes of his spirit, and vouchsafed to him a spiritually visible and oral intercourse with the spiritual worlds, so that by information thence de