A Thoughtful Soul: Reflections From Swedenborg

by George F. Dole (Editor)

George F. Dole, Harvard Ph.D., has translated and arranged by theme a selection of passages from Swedenborg's works on life, heaven and hell, and the nature of God. This book is an accessible introduction for the reader new to Swedenborg, as well as a concise reference for those familiar with his philosophy. [Swedenborg's] philosophy is about as practical as one could ask. Ascetism is not the way to God. ... A good person can be saved with any religion or with no religion.

"George F. Dole ... has done us a great service in bringing Emanuel Swedenborg back to the attention of our distracted age."
-from the foreword by Huston Smith

184 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1995

About the author

Rev. Dr. Dole is an Emeritus Professor with Adjunct status at the Center for Swedenborgian Studies at GTA. He was born and currently resides in Maine. He holds a B.A. from Yale, an M.A. from Oxford, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Reviews

[Owlseyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

"On the night of Easter Sunday after distressing dreams and severe temptations, "I awoke and slept again many times; and all I dreamt was in answer to my thoughts; yet so, that in everything there was such life and glory, that I can give no description of it; for it was all heavenly; clear to me at the time, but afterwards inexpressible. In short, I was in heaven and heard a language, which no human tongue can utter with its inherent life, nor the glory and inmost delight resulting from it....(...)
Again and again he dreamt of dogs, sometimes friendly, sometimes fierce and dangerous. Once he was entangled in the spokes of a wheel, again he was hanging over an abyss, or walking upon treacherous ice. He dreamt of palaces, churches, kings, men and women- both individuals and in great processions and armies- amazingly large and high windmills, going at a fruitfull speed; of a terrible executioner who roasted the heads he struck off, of animals, real or mythical and endless other things. (...)
These dreams and visions were often accompanied by violent tremors, prostrations, trances, sweatings and on one occasion at least by swooning. During their continuance he enjoyed preternatural sleep, often lasting from ten to thirteen hours."
In: Emmanuel Swedenborg: his life, teachings and influence, by George Trobridge (1910)

"Thoughtful soul"? I would add he was a dreamer too. The book captures mainly these mental, rational, scientific but also theological facets of Swedenborg. With few elaborations, the book is foremost a collection of extracts from Swedenborg's volumous production. So, this very human facet ("the dreamer") of Swedenborg is left aside. True, he was a great visionaire, a Seer, a talker with spirits [some from afar in the Solar System and beyond 🤔...] and a fantastic dreamer, at times, one can even imagine by reading his recorded dreams, a tormented soul.

Had he been born in our times, he wouldn't have escaped some labels, like the ones I have already read about, say, "Messianic prophet", "psychotic, "paranoid" ,.... why not hit by Schizophrenia? Maybe he would be under electroshocks therapy (why not lobotomy?), interned in some kind of psychiatric hospital, if we consider the 1930s.

I am glad he lived in the 18th century. The ways Science and Religion took in our century are so regrettable. So far apart, in some instances.