Page:Swedenborg, Harbinger of the New Age of the Christian Church.djvu/80

 an honor granted by the new Queen, Ulrica Eleonora, younger sister of Charles XII, out of the friendly regard she had always shown for the independent clergyman, and in return perhaps for his support of the royal power.

The essays here referred to are still preserved, but most of their subjects were afterward treated at much greater length. In the till then little explored field of geology Swedenborg's study of the mines of Sweden gave him eagerly grasped opportunity, and as in everything else, though not making it a specialty, he carried his observations and conclusions far ahead of his time. Prof. Alfred G. Nathorst in his "Geology of Sweden," 1892, credits Swedenborg with being the first to conclude from various observations that Sweden was formerly covered with the sea, a large part of its rocks having been formed of marine deposits. He says—

"As a whole it may be regarded as distinctive of Swedenborg's method of demonstration that where possible he seeks to confirm the correctness of his position by means of experiment. He may therefore be regarded as one of the first in the field of experimental geology. . . . [Quite