Swedenborg Foundation

Explorations of spiritual love and wisdom inspired by Emanuel Swedenborg

The New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg

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  1. Free E-Books
  2. PDF Guide
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  4. New Century Edition Team Blog
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  6. NCE Subscription Discounts
  7. New Century Edition Reviews
  8. Support the New Century Edition

The New Century Edition (NCE) is unique in Swedenborgian scholarship in that it’s the first translation of Swedenborg’s eighteenth-century Latin writings to be produced using a unified set of standards. Internationally recognized scholars have been recruited to write introductions that set each work in its historical context. The text is extensively annotated, explaining the meaning of obscure terms, the personal or historical context behind particular passages, and other tidbits of information that give deeper meaning to the work. In addition, translator’s prefaces give notes about the original Latin and tables of parallel passages show where Swedenborg discusses similar topics. There are indexes not only to the biblical references in each work, but to the prefaces and introductions as well as (separately) the works themselves. In short, the New Century Edition is the ultimate reference tool for anyone who wants to delve into Swedenborg!

Read more about the history of the project and key members of the team >

Free E-Books

As part of our mission to make Swedenborg’s writings accessible, every NCE book we’ve published to date is available as a free e-book in our online bookstore!

Bookstore

PDF Guide

Download our Guide to the Theological Works of Emanuel Swedenborg for a list of Swedenborg’s published theological writings with descriptions of each volume.

Download the Guide

NCE Versions

The New Century Edition is printed in two different editions:

Purple and gold cover of the hardback version of Heaven and Hell by Emanuel Swedenborg

Deluxe Editions contain introductions, notes, and supplemental materials by Swedenborgian scholars. All Deluxe Editions are available in hardcover, and Swedenborg’s most popular works are also available in Deluxe paperback.

Cover of the portable paperback version of Heaven and Hell by Emanuel Swedenborg.

Portable Editions are smaller paperbacks that include the complete text of the translations, but none of the introductions, notes, or other supplemental materials.

All printed editions are also available as e-books, and we are in the process of creating audio versions as well. Find our entire NCE collection in our online bookstore.

New Century Edition Team Blog

NCE Minute: More on Swedenborg’s “Goods” and “Truths”

The truths that God sets up as commandments were not given to us to be considered in the abstract; they are to be acted on. This sets up a dynamic between goodness and truth: to think of doing something good is itself a truth, and likewise a truth becomes a good thing when we will it and do it

NCE Minute: Talking about Goodness and Truth

Among the recurring difficulties faced by translators of Swedenborg’s works are his repeated references to goodness and truth. The difficulties lie not so much in what he has to say about them (though that is certainly extraordinary), but in the way he chooses to say it.

More NCE Team posts >

Off The Left Eye Channel

Swedenborg’s theological writings and members of our New Century Edition team are an integral part of our Off The Left Eye YouTube channel! 

Check out our OTLE videos >

NCE Subscription Discounts

If you would like to receive each hardcover Deluxe volume as it comes out, you can become a New Century Edition subscriber. All subscribers get 30% off the purchase price.

To become and NCE subscriber, call us at 610-430-3222 x 100, or e-mail us at info@swedenborg.com. Include your name, address, and phone number with your request. Please also let us know if you would like to purchase any of the volumes that have already been published. You may subscribe for the full series or only for the remaining volumes that have not yet been published.

With your NCE subscription, you will receive Emanuel Swedenborg: Essays for the New Century Edition on His Life, Works, and Impact. You may cancel your subscription at any time without penalty and keep the premium Essays volume as our gift.

New Century Edition Reviews

“Read against the backdrop of the emergence of higher criticism of the Bible in the eighteenth century, Swedenborg’s emphasis on Scripture’s inner, spiritual meaning represents a striking alternative to the historical inquiry that would come to reign in biblical studies. This new translation gives us fresh access to an important chapter in the history of biblical interpretation.”
Joel B. GreenCompProfessor of New Testament Interpretation, Fuller Theological Seminary
“Emanuel Swedenborg’s work is a vast, complex, dazzling world, filled with lands and seas of extraordinary beauty and richness. . . Now George F. Dole has swept away the stuffiness and stiffness of earlier [translations] and given us Swedenborg as he is meant to be: a thrilling visionary, a poetic seer of the first order. In every respect, this is a triumph.”
Philip ZaleskiThe Best Spiritual Writing series
“The Swedenborg Foundation has done handsomely by its eponymous visionary with this first volume in a new 25 part set of translations for his of his work. They have begun with a fine new translation of Emanuel Swedenborg’s most famous work, a description of the many heavens and hells that make up the great 18th-century thinker’s cosmology, at once perfectly logical and perfectly eccentric. Swedenborg’s afterworld is a kind of reflection and amplification of our own, and his vision of moving and active collective of heavens, occupied by the very real blessed dead, has been a tremendous influence on Goethe, Emerson, and Jorge Luis Borges, among many others. Dole’s translation has the clarity and simplicity of Swedenborg’s Latin, and the notes and supplementary material are wonderfully balanced and informative. Highly recommended.”
Library Journal
“Anyone interested in Western spirituality and esotericism should read Swedenborg. He is a Master. Western culture after his passage was transformed. Those who read him will likewise be transformed. This new translation—crisp, accessible, and even elegant—is a blessing.”
Christopher Bamfordreview in Parabola
“Divine Love and Wisdom contains many rare treasures, not only for seekers of spiritual truth, but also for scientists exploring the reach and nature of human consciousness. There are few books that I would praise so highly.”
Jeffrey Mishlove, Ph.D.host, Thinking Allowed
“Divine Love and Wisdom contains Swedenborg’s major statement on two fundamental aspects of God’s nature. These two basic cosmic forces intimately determine our life as human beings. “Love” denotes the vital, valuing, and active powers of the soul, deciding the ultimate goals of our thought and action. “Wisdom,” by contrast, represents the cognitive power of the soul, providing the technical means for these goals’ realization. Swedenborg’s work shows how God is love and life itself, bestowing these gifts on all other creatures. This highly readable New Century Edition in George Dole’s sensitive translation admirably reflects the coherence and consistency of Swedenborg’s language.”
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
“Written at a time of intense philosophical and theological debate on the nature of God’s governance of the world, Swedenborg’s Divine Providence is in many ways far more original and thought-provoking than anything produced by his contemporaries.”
Glenn A. Magee, Ph.D.author, Hegel and the Hermetic
“Divine Providence is a challenging essay on the nature of human freedom, a forceful attempt to justify God’s ways to humankind. . . Dole’s eloquent new translation . . . brings an important and much-needed eighteenth-century treasure to a twenty-first-century world.”
Gary Lachmanauthor, A Secret History of Consciousness
“This freshly translated work is of the most profound significance for anyone interested in understanding Swedenborg’s thought. In my judgment, it is essential for both students and scholars, who will find it both a fascinating read and an invaluable addition to the field. The comprehensive and illuminating preface, introduction, and notes bring new insights to the text and its contents; they are truly distinctive contributions that make this edition of True Christianity a must for any good library.”
Dr. Antoine Faivreprofessor emeritus of History of Esoteric and Mystical Currents in Modern and Contemporary Europe, Sorbonne
“True Christianity is the capstone of Swedenborg’s thought and probably the best summation of his theology. It is invaluable for understanding the deeper meaning of Christianity. This new version, the best ever produced, presents this magisterial work with clarity and grace. The notes and introduction are not only helpful but fascinating.”
Richard Smoleyauthor of Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition and Forbidden Faith: The Gnostic Legacy
“With regard to Swedenborg’s Secrets of Heaven, there never was a time more pressing than now to understand that the internal spiritual meaning of the Christian Bible refers not to the special dispensation of one sect, but to the evolution of a higher spiritual consciousness within each individual.”
Eugene Taylor, Ph.D.director of the Cambridge Institute of Psychology and Religion

Support the New Century Edition

Your donation will provide direct support to our ongoing scholarly research, Latin to English translations, and publication of the New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg! You have the option of making a donation directly to the NCE to support our day-to-day translation work or giving to the Jonathan S. Rose Translation Endowment Fund, where donations are invested to provide long-term income and ongoing support for our translation efforts.

You can make a donation online now or contact Membership and Development Coordinator Gwen Williams at 610-430-3222 x 109.

If you’d like to learn about other giving opportunities, such as IRA distributions, legacy gifts, trust funds, and more contact Director of Development Tim Bilger at 610-430-3222 x 101.

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