Page:Swedenborgs Maximus Homo.pdf/9

 —than this. It is usually one of the first things which an opponent of his teachings seizes upon and flouts. It is often referred to by Christian ministers as sufficient evidence in itself of the wild and fantastic character of his teachings. Thus the Rev. Dr. Pond, in his "Swedenborgianism Reviewed," after devoting two or three pages to a statement of the doctrine, adds—

"To my own apprehension, the whole account is supremely ridiculous; being destitute alike of sense and decency, and worthy only of contempt." (p. 196.)

Let us see, then, if this doctrine be either ridiculous or unreasonable. But first let us endeavor to learn what the doctrine is—what the author means, and what he intended his readers should understand, by the term Maximus Homo.

When Swedenborg says that heaven is in the human form, he uses the word form in the sense in which we use it when speaking of civil, social, or ecclesiastical affairs. We speak of a form of government; but when such expression is used, no one thinks of any external or visible shape, but of the nature and adjustment of the various parts composing the government, and by means of which it is administered. A person who reads and understands the constitution or organic law of the State, sees therein its form of government.