Page:The Wine Question in Light of the New Dispensation.djvu/137

Rh falsities on the subject of alcoholic stimulants, their use and their abuse. Among these is a pamphlet, by John Ellis, M. D., entitled, 'Pure Wine, Fermented Wine, and other Alcoholic Drinks in the Light of the New Dispensation.' Written under such an illumination, the reader would expect a clear and complete exposition of the whole subject of intemperance, both as to its prevention and removal. But instead, he is introduced to partisan selections from physiological experiments, and, what is more lamentable, to such perverted interpretations of Swedenborg's teachings that he finds himself groping in hopeless darkness."

The following is the first illustration of the writer's so-called "perverted interpretation of Swedenborg's teachings," which we will quote, and then quote the passages from the documents; and then the reader will be able to judge who has been guilty of perverting Swedenborg's teachings:

"Beginning with the title-page," says the Academy's serial, "he (Dr. Ellis) reads a selection from the Documents, which is so quoted that it holds Swedenborg responsible for what he never taught, and it even makes him dispute the plain dicta of the writings of the Church. The passage referred to, when read as it is in the Documents, shows that Swedenborg had reference to a people who were dissolute in the extreme. They were consuming the distillation of a grain which was sadly needed as an article of food. Foreseeing the ruin of his own people, he urged that the authorities forbid, or at least limit, the sale of what was indeed, under the circumstances, 'a. pernicious drink.

The following is what was printed on the title-page of our tract, to which reference is made above.

"Total abstinence from an intoxicating drink, more desirable for the country's welfare and morality than all the revenue to be derived from licensing the manufacture and sale of '. Emanuel Swedenborg. (See page 34.)

And the following is what was printed on page 34 of our tract, and the reader can judge whether the above lines misrepresent Swedenborg's teachings or not, and we do not fear the judgment. It was not intended as a verbatim quotation, and therefore, with the