The Shorter Works of 1758: New Century Edition

Description

This volume contains four shorter works by the influential eighteenth-century mystic Emanuel Swedenborg. Translators George F. Dole and Jonathan S. Rose have produced an accessible rendering of these important yet easily overlooked works.

New Jerusalem: In this work Swedenborg outlines his theology in twenty-three brief chapters on major Christian topics such as love, faith, regeneration, the inner self and outer self, and the nature of the Bible. Nearly every chapter ends with what is in effect an index to that topic as it appears in his much larger study Secrets of Heaven.

Last Judgment: This work on the “end times” asserts that the Last Judgment foretold in the Bible does not involve the end of the physical world. Rather, the Last Judgment was an event of tremendous upheaval in the spiritual world, a nonmaterial apocalypse which has already occurred and which Swedenborg himself witnessed.

White Horse: This brief work is divided into two parts. The first presents the inner meaning of the white horse mentioned in chapter 19 of the book of Revelation. The second is effectively an index to passages concerning the Bible and its inner meaning in Swedenborg’s much larger work Secrets of Heaven. This work is a good short introduction to Swedenborg’s principle of correspondences between the spiritual and physical worlds, as well as to his unique view of the nature of the Bible.

Other Planets: Building on the eighteenth-century fascination with the possibility of life on other worlds and with traveler’s tales of other cultures, this work describes life on other planets in our solar system and elsewhere in the universe. Swedenborg undertook this work specifically to demonstrate that Jesus is God not just of planet Earth but also of the universe as a whole.

About the Deluxe Edition

The Shorter Works of 1758: New Jerusalem, Last Judgment, White Horse, Other Planets, by Emanuel Swedenborg. Originally published in four separate volumes by Swedenborg in London in 1758. Translated by George F. Dole and Jonathan S. Rose. This Deluxe volume includes a translator’s preface; a note on editions and translations by Jonathan S. Rose and Stuart Shotwell; an editors’ preface by Jonathan S. Rose and Stuart Shotwell; an introduction by Richard Smoley; an explanation of conventions used in the series, along with a list of works by Swedenborg referred to in the volume; the complete, newly translated text of Swedenborg’s works; one hundred pages of endnotes by Susanna Åkerman-Hjern, Glenn M. Cooper, Lisa Hyatt Cooper, George F. Dole, David N. Gyllenhaal, Kristin King, Robert H. Kirven, Grant H. Odhner, Jonathan S. Rose, Fitzhugh L. Shaw, Stuart Shotwell, Jeremy F. Simons, Richard Smoley, and Lee S. Woofenden; a bibliography of works cited in the notes; an index to the preface, introduction, and notes; an index to scriptural passages in the volume; a table of parallels between the shorter works of 1758 and Swedenborg’s other theological works; an index to the translated text of the shorter works of 1758; and a biographical note on Swedenborg. 2018.

About the Author

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was a Swedish nobleman widely known as a scientist, engineer, inventor, and (in later life) visionary theologian. A graduate of Uppsala University, he spent most of his career as an overseer on Sweden’s Board of Mines, and he was also a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and an active member of the Swedish parliament. He is best known for his prolific theological writings, which he produced and published following a spiritual awakening in his mid-fifties, and for the substantial influence those works have had on philosophical thought and spiritual/religious movements in the centuries since his death.

George F. Dole (translator) holds a BA from Yale, an MA from Oxford, and a PhD from Harvard. Now professor emeritus, Dr. Dole taught ancient languages, the Bible, and theology at the Swedenborg School of Religion in Newton, Massachusetts. He has served as translator for other volumes of Swedenborg’s works, and he is also the author of Freedom and Evil, Sorting Things Out, and A Book about Us. He lives in Bath, Maine.

Jonathan S. Rose (translator) is the series editor of the New Century Edition, an ongoing project that incorporates the latest scholarship to produce a modern, accessible translation of Emanuel Swedenborg’s theological works. Holder of a BA and an MDiv in religion and an MA and a PhD in Latin, he has worked for years in the study of Neo-Latin and in Swedenborgian research. He was both chaplain and a tenured professor of religion and sacred languages at Bryn Athyn College before taking on his current position.

About the New Century Edition

The New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg presents a modern-language, scholarly translation of Swedenborg’s theological works. The series’ easy-to-read style retains the dignity, variety, clarity, and gender-inclusive language of Swedenborg’s original Latin, bringing his thought to life. Introductions and annotations by eminent, international scholars place Swedenborg’s writings in their historical context and illuminate obscure references within the text, enabling readers to understand and trace Swedenborg’s influence as never before.

Learn more about the New Century Edition

New Century Edition Subscriptions

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All subscribers get 30% off the purchase price. Instead of $29.95 per volume, you will be billed $20.95, plus shipping.

If you become a member of the Swedenborg Foundation for $25, you will also receive an additional 20% discount on this and all other purchases of books published by the Swedenborg Foundation when you order from us. When ordered as part of a subscription, the New Century Edition volumes will then cost $14.95 each, plus shipping.

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With a subscription, you will receive with our compliments the companion to the New Century Edition, sold separately for $29.95: 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.

Contents of the Deluxe Edition

Translator’s Preface, by George F. Dole
Works Cited in the Translator’s Preface
A Note on Editions and Translations, by Jonathan S. Rose and Stuart Shotwell
Selected Works Cited in the Note on Editions and Translations
Editors’ Preface, by Jonathan S. Rose and Stuart Shotwell
Works Cited in the Editors’ Preface
Glimpses of a Larger Vision: Swedenborg’s Shorter Works of 1758, by Richard Smoley
Appendix: Some Theories about the Problems Posed by Swedenborg’s Other Planets
Works Cited in the Introduction
Short Titles and Other Conventions Used in This Work

New Jerusalem

[1]       §§1–7 / The New Heaven and the New Earth, and What Is Meant by “the New Jerusalem”
[2]       §§8–10 / Prologue to the Teachings
[3]       §§11–19 / Goodness and Truth

   §20–27 / From Secrets of Heaven

[4]       §§28–33 / Will and Understanding

   §34–35 / From Secrets of Heaven

[5]       §§36–46 / The Inner Self and the Outer Self

   §47–53 / From Secrets of Heaven

[6]       §§54–61 / Love in General

   §62–64 / From Secrets of Heaven

[7]       §§65-–80 / Love for Ourselves and Love for the World

   §81–83 / From Secrets of Heaven

[8]       §§84–105 / Love for Our Neighbor, or Caring

   §106–107 / From Secrets of Heaven

[9]       §§108–119 / Faith

   §120–122 / From Secrets of Heaven

[10]     §§123–128 / Piety

   §129 / From Secrets of Heaven

[11]     §§130–138 / Conscience

   §139–140 / From Secrets of Heaven

[12]     §§141–147 / Freedom

   §148–149 / From Secrets of Heaven

[13]     §§150–157 / Taking Credit

   §158 / From Secrets of Heaven

[14]     §§159–169 / Repentance and the Forgiveness of Sins

   §170–172 / From Secrets of Heaven

[15]     §§173–182 / Regeneration

   §183–186 / From Secrets of Heaven

[16]     §§187–195 / Crises of the Spirit

   §196–201 / From Secrets of Heaven

[17]     §§202–208 / Baptism

   §209 / From Secrets of Heaven

[18]     §§210–214 / The Holy Supper

   §214–222 / From Secrets of Heaven

[19]     §§223–229 / Resurrection

[20]     §§230–240 / Heaven and Hell

[21]     §§241–245 / The Church

   §246–248 / From Secrets of Heaven

[22]     §§249–254 / Sacred Scripture, or the Word

   §255–266 / From Secrets of Heaven

[23]     §§267–275 / Providence

   §275–279 / From Secrets of Heaven

[24]     §§280–297 / The Lord

   §298–310 / From Secrets of Heaven

[25]     §§311–325 / Ecclesiastical and Civil Governance

Last Judgment

[1]       §§1–5 / “Judgment Day” Does Not Mean the End of the World
[2]       §§6–13 / The Reproduction of Humankind on Earth Will Never Cease
[3]       §§14–22 / Heaven and Hell Come from Humankind
[4]       §§23–27 / All Humans without Exception Who Have Been Born and Have Died since the Beginning of Creation Are either in Heaven or in Hell
[5]       §§28–32 / A Last Judgment Must Take Place Where Everyone Is Together, So It Must Take Place in the Spiritual World, and Not in the Physical World
[6]       §§33–39 / A Last Judgment Occurs When the Church Is at Its End, and the Church Is at Its End When There Is No Faith Because There Is No Caring
From Secrets of Heaven
[7]       §§40–44 / Everything That Was Foretold in the Book of Revelation Has Been Fulfilled at the Present Time
[8]       §§45–52 / The Last Judgment Has Taken Place
[9]       §§53–64 / Babylon and Its Destruction
[10]     §§65–72 / The First Heaven, and How It Was Done Away With
[11]     §§73–74 / The State of the World and the Church from Now On

White Horse

[1]       §§1–5 / The White Horse Described in Revelation 19
[2]       §§6–17 / The Word and Its Spiritual or Inner Meaning from Secrets of Heaven

Other Planets

[1]       §§1–8 / The Planets in the Universe
[2]       §§9–45 / The Planet Mercury and Its Spirits and Inhabitants
[3]       §§46–84 / The Planet Jupiter and Its Spirits and Inhabitants
[4]       §§85–96 / The Planet Mars and Its Spirits and Inhabitants
[5]       §§97–104 / The Planet Saturn and Its Spirits and Inhabitants
[6]       §§105–110 / The Planet Venus and Its Spirits and Inhabitants
[7]       §§111–112 / The Moon and Its Spirits and Inhabitants
[8]       §§113–122 / Why the Lord Wanted to Be Born on Our Planet and Not on Some Other
[9]       §§123–126 / Extrasolar Planets
[10]     §§127–137 / A First Extrasolar Planet and Its Spirits and Inhabitants, Based on Things I Heard and Saw for Myself
[11]     §§138–147 / A Second Extrasolar Planet and Its Spirits and Inhabitants
[12]     §§148–156 / A Third Extrasolar Planet and Its Spirits and Inhabitants
[13]     §§157–167 / A Fourth Extrasolar Planet and Its Spirits and Inhabitants
[14]     §§168–178 / A Fifth Extrasolar Planet and Its Spirits and Inhabitants

Notes and Indexes

Notes
Works Cited in the Notes
Index to Prefaces, Introduction, and Notes
Index to Scriptural Passages in the Shorter Works of 1758
Table of Parallel Passages
Index to the Shorter Works of 1758
Biographical Note

Additional information