Page:Emanuel Swedenborg, Scientist and Mystic.djvu/223

XVI ] Consult whom?

In automatic writings the "writer" often announces himself to be a spirit, "controlling" the medium, or at least controlling the medium's hand. Swedenborg mentions that "infants" not only guided his hand but spoke through his mouth. Several modern mediums claim to have child "controls." This, if one likes, is the infantile form taken by the dissociated element of their personality, that subsystem of the psychon-system, which, according to Mr. Carington, one could imagine as forming a sort of stereotyped combination with elements from a discarnate psychon-system, viz., a "spirit."

But whatever tried to control Swedenborg did not stereotype in infant form. The messengers from his subconscious, or from the world-subconscious, took different forms in this transition period (indeed during the rest of his life), at first puzzling him considerably.

"These words," he notes in one place, "were written by my hand, and dictated by Isaac, the father of the Jews . . ." 17 Abraham too, he affirms, used his hand as an instrument, but "they were dictated of the Messiah himself through Abraham . . ."

In another place he wrote (and crossed out) "this was written by my hand as an instrument; indeed it was even said it was by Jacob himself, who is somewhat indignant that I should write such things concerning him." 18

What he had been writing was that Jacob was inferior to Esau, who "represented" (was symbolic of) the Messiah, but Jacob then "said" he was now in a better frame of mind, to which Swedenborg added, "whether this is true I cannot myself confirm, but I write what is said by him, because it is permitted him, or someone in his place, to insert these words." 19

In a marginal note to these paragraphs, which have been crossed off, he writes that they are by no means to be inserted here. Indicating the draft character of the notes, he also says that he does not know if they may be included for printing later on; this "cannot as yet be clear to me, I being merely an organ, as also is Jacob himself. If they proceed from the latter, such as he has been described, then a conclusion can be formed as to what faith is to be put in them." 20