Heaven and Hell: The Portable New Century Edition

416 Pages·2011·1.2 MB·English

H
E A V E N
a n d
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E L L

H
E A V E N
a n d
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E L L
The Portable New Century Edition
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG
Translated from the Latin by George F. Dole
SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION
West Chester, Pennsylvania
Originally published in Latin as De Coelo et Ejus Mirabilibus, et de Inferno, ex Auditis et Visis,
London, 1758
© Copyright 2010 by the Swedenborg Foundation, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage or retrieval system, without prior permission from the publisher.
First printing, 2002
Second printing, 2008
Third printing, 2010
Revised fourth printing, 2016
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN (library) 978-0-87785-475-3
ISBN (paperback) 978-0-87785-476-0
ISBN (portable) 978-0-87785-406-7
The following is the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data from the Deluxe
edition of this title, which contains, in addition to the material found in this Portable edition,
a translator’s preface, introduction, and annotations, with lists of works cited, an index of
scriptural passages, and a table of parallel passages. The ISBN in the Library of Congress data is
the previous, 10-digit ISBN.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Swedenborg, Emanuel, 1688–1722.
[De coelo et ejus mirabilibus. English]
Heaven and its wonders and hell : drawn from things heard and seen / Emanuel Swedenborg ;
translated from the Latin by George F. Dole ; with an introduction by Bernhard Lang ; and notes
by George F. Dole, Robert H. Kirven, and Jonathan S. Rose.
p. cm. — (The new century edition of the works of Emanuel Swedenborg)
Includes bibliographical references (p.) and indexes.
ISBN 0-87785-475-0 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper)
1. Heaven—Christianity. 2. Hell—Christianity. 3. Future life—Christianity—Early works to
1800. I. Dole, George F. II. Lang, Bernhard, 1946– III. Kirven, Robert H. IV. Rose, Jonathan
S. V. Title.
BX8712.H513 2000
236'.24—dc21
00-037533
Text designed by Joanna V. Hill
Ornaments from the fi rst Latin edition, 1758
Index by Bruce Tracy
Typesetting by Alicia L. Dole
Cover designed by Karen Connor
For information contact:
Swedenborg Foundation
320 North Church Street
West Chester, PA 19380 U.S.A.
Telephone: [phone]
Web: www.swedenborg.com
E-mail: [email protected]
Contents
Short Titles and Other Conventions Used in This Edition ix
Part I. Heaven and Hell
§1 [Author’s Preface] 3
[1] §§2–6 / The Lord Is God of Heaven 5
[2] §§7–12 / It Is the Lord’s Divine Nature That Makes Heaven 8
[3] §§13–19 / The Lord’s Divine Nature in Heaven Is Love
for Him and Thoughtfulness toward One’s Neighbor 10
[4] §§20–28 / Heaven Is Divided into Two Kingdoms 15
[5] §§29–40 / There Are Three Heavens 18
[6] §§41–50 / The Heavens Are Made Up of Countless Communities 23
[7] §§51–58 / Each Community Is a Heaven in Smaller Form
and Each Angel a Heaven in Smallest Form 27
[8] §§59–67 / The Whole Heaven, Grasped as a Single Entity,
Refl ects a Single Individual 32
[9] §§68–72 / Each Community in the Heavens Refl ects
a Single Individual 36
[10] §§73–77 / Therefore Every Angel Is in Perfect Human Form 38
[11] §§78–86 / It Is Owing to the Lord’s Divine Human That Heaven,
in Its Entirety and in Its Parts, Refl ects a Person 42
References to Passages in Secrets of Heaven Concerning the Lord
and His Divine Human 46
[12] §§87–102 / There Is a Correspondence of Everything
in Heaven with Everything in the Human Being 50
[13] §§103–115 / There Is a Correspondence of Heaven
with Everything Earthly 56
v
vi HEAVEN and HELL
[14] §§116–125 / The Sun in Heaven 64
[15] §§126–140 / Light and Warmth in Heaven 69
[16] §§141–153 / The Four Quarters in Heaven 78
[17] §§154–161 / How the States of Angels in Heaven Change 84
[18] §§162–169 / Time in Heaven 88
[19] §§170–176 / Representations and Appearances in Heaven 91
[20] §§177–182 / The Clothes Angels Appear In 94
[21] §§183–190 / Angels’ Homes and Houses 96
[22] §§191–199 / Space in Heaven 100
[23] §§200–212 / Heaven’s Form, Which Determines How People
Associate and Communicate There 103
[24] §§213–220 / Forms of Government in Heaven 110
[25] §§221–227 / Divine Worship in Heaven 114
[26] §§228–233 / The Power of Heaven’s Angels 117
[27] §§234–245 / The Language of Angels 121
[28] §§246–257 / How Angels Talk with Us 126
[29] §§258–264 / Written Materials in Heaven 133
[30] §§265–275 / The Wisdom of Heaven’s Angels 136
[31] §§276–283 / The State of Innocence of Angels in Heaven 145
[32] §§284–290 / The State of Peace in Heaven 151
[33] §§291–302 / The Union of Heaven with the Human Race 156
[34] §§303–310 / Heaven’s Union with Us through the Word 162
[35] §§311–317 / Heaven and Hell Come from the Human Race 169
[36] §§318–328 / Non-Christians, or People outside the Church,
in Heaven 174
[37] §§329–345 / Children in Heaven 181
[38] §§346–356 / Wise and Simple People in Heaven 190
References to Passages in Secrets of Heaven Concerning
Different Types of Knowledge 199
[39] §§357–365 / Rich and Poor People in Heaven 202
[40] §§366–386 / Marriages in Heaven 210
[41] §§387–394 / What Angels Do in Heaven 222
contents vii
[42] §§395–414 / Heavenly Joy and Happiness 226
[43] §§415–420 / The Vastness of Heaven 237
Part II. The World of Spirits and Our State after Death
[44] §§421–431 / What the World of Spirits Is 245
[45] §§432–444 / Each of Us Is Inwardly a Spirit 249
[46] §§445–452 / Our Revival from the Dead and Entry
into Eternal Life 254
[47] §§453–460 / After Death, We Are in a Complete Human Form 258
[48] §§461–469 / After Death, We Enjoy Every Sense, Memory,
Thought, and Affection We Had in the World:
We Leave Nothing Behind except Our Earthly Body 264
[49] §§470–484 / Our Nature after Death Depends on the Kind
of Life We Led in the World 274
[50] §§485–490 / After Death, the Pleasures of Everyone’s Life
Are Turned into Things That Correspond 286
[51] §§491–498 / Our First State after Death 293
[52] §§499–511 / Our Second State after Death 296
[53] §§512–520 / Our Third State after Death, Which Is a State
of Instruction for People Who Are Entering Heaven 305
[54] §§521–527 / No One Enters Heaven on the Basis
of Mercy Alone 311
[55] §§528–535 / It Is Not So Hard to Lead a Heaven-Bound Life
as People Think It Is 316
Part III. Hell
[56] §§536–544 / The Lord Governs the Hells 327
[57] §§545–550 / The Lord Does Not Cast Anyone into Hell:
Spirits Cast Themselves In 330
[58] §§551–565 / All the People Who Are in the Hells
Are Absorbed in Evils and Consequent Falsities
Because of Their Love for Themselves and the World 334
[59] §§566–575 / Hellfi re and Gnashing of Teeth 344
viii HEAVEN and HELL
[60] §§576–581 / The Malice and Unspeakable Skills
of Hellish Spirits 351
[61] §§582–588 / The Appearance, Location, and Number of the Hells 354
[62] §§589–596 / The Equilibrium between Heaven and Hell 359
[63] §§597–603 / Our Freedom Depends on the Balance
between Heaven and Hell 364
References to Passages in Secrets of Heaven Concerning
Our Freedom, Infl ow, and the Spirits Who Are the Means
of Communication 367
Index and Biographical Note
Index to Heaven and Hell 371
Biographical Note 401
Short Titles and Other Conventions
Used in This Edition
MOST of the following conventions apply generally to the translations
in the New Century Edition Portable series. For introductory mate-
rial on the content and history of Heaven and Hell, and for annotations on
the subject matter, including obscure or problematic content, and extensive
indexes, the reader is referred to the Deluxe New Century Edition volume.
Section numbers Following a practice common in his time, Swedenborg
divided his published theological works into sections numbered in sequence
from beginning to end. His original section numbers have been preserved
in this edition; they appear in boxes in the outside margins. Tradition-
ally, these sections have been referred to as “numbers” and designated by
the abbreviation “n.” In this edition, however, the more common section
symbol (§) is used to designate the section numbers, and the sections are
referred to as such.
Subsection numbers Because many sections throughout Swedenborg’s
works are too long for precise cross-referencing, Swedenborgian scholar
John Faulkner Potts (1838–1923) further divided them into subsections;
these have since become standard, though minor variations occur from one
edition to another. These subsections are indicated by bracketed numbers
that appear in the text itself: [2], [3], and so on. Because the beginning of
the fi rst subsection always coincides with the beginning of the section proper,
it is not labeled in the text.
Citations of Swedenborg’s text As is common in Swedenborgian stud-
ies, text citations of Swedenborg’s works refer not to page numbers but
to section numbers, which are uniform in most editions. In citations
the section symbol (§) is generally omitted after the title of a work by
Swedenborg. Thus “Heaven and Hell 239” would refer to section 239
(§239) of Swedenborg’s Heaven and Hell, not to page 239 of any edi-
tion. Subsection numbers are given after a colon; a reference such as
“239:2” indicates subsection 2 of section 239. The reference “239:1” would
indicate the first subsection of section 239, though that subsection is not
in fact labeled in the text. Where section numbers stand alone without
titles, their function is indicated by the prefixed section symbol; for
example, “§239:2”.
ix