Page:The Life and Mission of Emanuel Swedenborg.djvu/9



good name of is no longer in question. In place of being denounced as a heretic, he begins to be recognized by Christian students in all denominations as a pioneer of the advanced theology fast finding its way into the thought of the Churches.

We need not now documents to prove the ability, the soundness of mind, the laborious acquisitions, the deep philosophic insight, the sincerity and the honor of the man. Rather, we want to be shown from the limitations of his human nature, from the trials and the training given his heart and mind, from the grace and the new spirit vouchsafed him, on the one hand; and on the other hand, from the need, the nature, and the result of his mission, — that this was the work, not of his own will and unaided intellect, but of the will of the Lord Jesus Christ, under the guidance of His Holy Spirit.

In this study, while the spirit of adulation finds no place, our love, esteem, and sympathy cannot but