Page:Swedenborg, Harbinger of the New Age of the Christian Church.djvu/40

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EMANUEL SWEDENBORG

his new Swedish Bible, and a commentary. His autobiography is preserved which he wrote for his children, and he had much correspondence with the colonial missions, especially that of Pennsylvania and Delaware. This mission had been established by his influence with the King and had elected Swedberg their first bishop, as had also the Swedish churches at London and Lisbon, with the King's sanction.

With these functions and labors of the father we are concerned only as they throw light on the character and ability transmitted to the son. We learn his piety, his faith manifested in charity and good works, his loving zeal in the cares intrusted to him, his learning, his integrity and boldness for the right, and his indefatigable industry. All these traits were indispensable for the discharge of the mission to be intrusted to the son. And another characteristic, less common with other races, he held from his Scandinavian ancestry, of utmost importance to the son—his constant sense of Divine and angelic supervision of the affairs of men. In his first year at Upsal Jesper had such a wonderful dream that he did not know whether he ought not to call it a reve-

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