Page:A brief discussion of some of the claims of the Hon. E. Swedenborg.pdf/9

 to have deliberately concocted, and frequently to have announced, a blasphemous pretension, with the superlative greatness of his mind, the magnanimous goodness of his heart, and the profound and uniform virtues of a life extending over a period of upwards of 80 years. Such a phenomenon could not exist. The elements necessary for its production are incapable of coming into contact. A bad man may knowingly speak the truth; but for a good man to invent a falsehood of such a nature, to utter it with frequency and solemnness, to persist in it with inimitable coolness for nearly 30 years, and to die with declarations of its truth upon his lips, is a thing impossible. The facts of his goodness refute the imagination of his falsehood.

But it may be insinuated that he had recourse to such extraordinary pretensions in order to become the founder of a sect. This, however, is denied by the excellence of his character, and contradicted by the dignified principle of his writings. The idea originates in the presumed falsehood of his assertions, and it imputes to him motives of a diabolical nature. The person who can state a falsehood upon such a subject, and solemnly maintain that it is true, and that, too, merely for the purpose of laying the foundation of a future greatness among his fellow-creatures, is of all others the most to be detested: first for attempting to deceive mankind in matters pertaining to their eternal life and interests; and, second, because the intention for so doing must be infernal, being grounded in the love of self and of the world. The notion of his having been a deliberate impostor is founded in such utter ignorance concerning him, and so truly ridiculous, that it has never yet obtained a serious attention among well-read and sensible men.

The doctrines of the Church, the commencement of which we regard him to have announced, are such as to prevent the possibility of his ever being looked upon as its founder by any of its members. Moreover, this Church has not anything sectarian in its principles; for the good and the true, wheresoever and with whomsoever they may be found, whether professing to be a Jew or a Gentile. Greek or barbarian, are by us regarded as brethren, having in them something belonging to that Church of which the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Head. All the doctrines of this Church tend to promote, in