the authority of the scriptures. On the
contrary, he made them the foundation of his
doctrines, expounding them in the spiritual
sense revealed to him, for the first time, by
direct communication with the world of
spirits. The Swedenborgians still call
themselves Christians, though none of them, we
believe, now hold communion with any
Christian sect. They are united under the
denomination of the New Jerusalem Church
—a body, which, in Great Britain alone has
several thousand members. They have places
of worship in London and most of the
principal towns. Their church has a regular
constitution, holds annual conferences in the
metropolis, and has its own liturgy and ritual
modelled on the forms of the Church of
England.

The Swedenborgian books form a library
by no means inconsiderable. More than forty
years ago a society was formed in London for
the purpose of publishing and circulating the
writings of Swedenborg. This society, which
still exists, has been active in its vocation;
and the translations of these works, with the
dissertations and commentaries of the English
editors, evince learning and literary ability.
From these voluminous writings we have
picked a few passages in which Swedenborg
describes his intercourse with spiritual
beings and the inhabitants of the other
worlds.

It is observable that wherever he wanders,
though it be into the remotest regions of the
universe,—with whomsoever he holds
converse, though it be with the Supreme Being
himself, with his angels, or with the
illustrious dead of every age and every nation—
all is very commonplace, and nothing is
removed an iota above the level of our
ordinary earthly existence.

One of his books—a goodly volume
published by the society aforesaid—is entitled,
"On the Earths in our Solar System which
are called Planets, and on the Earths in the
Starry Heavens; with an account of their
Inhabitants, and also of the Spirits and
Angels there; from what has been heard and
seen." This will afford several extracts.

Swedenborg visits the planet Mercury,—
"I was desirous to know what kind of face
and body the men in the earth Mercury had,
whether they were like the men on our earth.
Instantly there was presented before my eyes
a woman exactly resembling the women in
that earth. She had a beautiful face, but it
was smaller than that of a woman of our
earth; her body was more slender, but her
height was equal. She wore on her head a
linen cap, which was put on without art, but
yet in a becoming manner. A man also was
presented to view, who was more slender in
body than the men of our earth are. He was
clad in a garment of a dark blue colour,
closely fitted to his body," and so forth. He
also saw oxen, horses, sheep, &c.
Notwithstanding the nearness to the sun the
temperature was moderate; a phenomenon for
which supposable scientific reasons are
assigned.

Then he went to Jupiter. But he did not
(like Voltaire in his Micromegas) find that
the inhabitants of that immense planet were
giants. He tells us that the inhabitants of
Jupiter "are distinguished into nations,
families, and houses, and that no one covets
another's property. When I would have told
them that on this earth there are wars,
depredations, and murders, they instantly
turned away from me and expressed
aversion." Here we are reminded of Gulliver's
journey to Brobdingnag. When Gulliver has
given the king of that country his bitterly
satirical description of Europe, his majesty
replies, "Your natives must be the most
pernicious race of little odious vermin that
nature ever suffered to crawl upon the face
of the earth." The people of Jupiter, we are
further told, "do not walk erect, nor creep on
all fours, but, as they go along, they assist
themselves with their hands, and alternately
half elevate themselves on their feet, and also
at every third step turn the face sideways and
behind them, and at the same time bend the
body a little, for it is thought indecent to be
seen in any other point of view than with the
face in front." These good people, moreover,
sit cross-legged. They who live in warm
climates go naked, but all are perfectly chaste.
When they lie in bed they turn their faces
forward, but not towards the wall, "because
they believe that in turning the face forward
they turn it to the Lord, but when backward
they avert it from the Lord. I have
sometimes (adds Swedenborg) when in bed observed
in myself such a direction of the face, but I
never knew whence it was."

Such are the manners and customs of the
people in the planet Jupiter. Similar descriptions
are given of the inhabitants of Venus,
Mars, Saturn, and several of the fixed stars.
Of Saturn Swedenborg borrows his ideas from
known astronomical facts. That planet, he
avers, is illuminated at night by light from
its satellites and its belt or ring; which last
object appears to the inhabitants as
something whitish, like snow in the heavens. As
to the people, they are very like ourselves,
and are clothed with coarse skins or coats,
"to," (oddly enough) "keep out the
cold." In one of the stars the wonderful
Seer witnessed a scene like the last
judgment. "There was seen an obscure cloud
towards the east descending from on high,
which, in its descent, appeared by degrees
bright and in a human form; and at
length this human form appeared in beams
of flaming lustre. Thus the Lord presented
himself before the spirits with whom I was
discoursing. At His presence all the spirits
were gathered together from all sides; and
when they were come they were separated,
the good to the right, the evil to the left, and
this in an instant of their own accord; and