Information About the Theological Writings

SOURCES OF THE TEXT OF THE WRITINGS

The text of NewSearch 98 comes from books published by several organizations:

The Academy of the New Church
The General Church of the New Jerusalem
The General Church Translation Committee
The General Conference of the New Church
The Swedenborg Foundation
The Swedenborg Scientific Association
The Swedenborg Society
The Swedenborg Scientific Association

Most of the texts are copyright protected. Where a copyright exists, we have obtained permission to use the texts in NewSearch 98. The "fair use doctrine" of the United States copyright law states that quotations may be taken from them for personal use, scholarship, teaching, research, or comment and review purposes only.

Most of these translations can be purchased in book form from the following:

General Church Book Center
Cairncrest
Box 743
Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
Tel: 215-914-4920
Email: bookctr@newchurch.edu

Books may also be ordered directly through the on-line bookstore at this web site:

www.newchurch.org

Publishing houses to contact directly for purchase or questions regarding their publications:

Academy of the New Church
Box 711
Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
Tel: 215-938-2579

GC Translation Committee
C/o The Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton
Box 743
Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

Swedenborg Foundation
320 N. Church Street
West Chester, Pa. 19381-0549
Tel: 800-355-3222
On the web at www.swedenborg.com

Swedenborg Scientific Association
Box 757
Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
On the web at www.swedenborg-philosophy.org

Swedenborg Society
Swedenborg House
20-21 Bloomsbury Way
London, England WC1A 2TH
Tel: 011-44-171-403-7986
On the web at www.swedenborg.org.uk

It is our hope that exploring different translations in NewSearch 98 will encourage not only the further study of the Writings, but the purchase of books. There are many reasons for this.

• First, reading a book reduces eyestrain that occurs from looking at a computer screen for any extended amount of time!
• Second, the electronic format of NewSearch 98 cannot fully reproduce marginal notes, occasional Hebrew and Greek letters, their extensive formatting, and, in the case of Spiritual Experiences, maps and diagrams. Many of the marginal notes have been included as footnotes; however, they do not faithfully represent the written work.
• Third, purchasing books supports the work of translation. We have been given free use of these texts. The publishing houses derive no income from sales of NewSearch 98. This enables us to keep the cost of the program as low as possible.
• Fourth, written texts are easily transported and so can be read at virtually any time or place.
• Fifth, books enable one to write comments and cross references in the margins.
• And finally, there is a tactile delight in reverently holding the Lord's Word in one's hands.

Accuracy of the Text [top]

Every effort has been made to reproduce the printed versions accurately. However, the plain text computerized format has its limitations. Works that are scanned from printed texts are prone to error. Even with careful editing it is difficult to catch "be" when it should be "he." Moreover, marginal notes, maps and diagrams cannot be reproduced in this format.

The original scanning and editing of the text was funded and supervised by the Academy of the New Church. The project was undertaken in the 1980s when this technology was in its infancy. There were scanning errors which could easily be identified and correctly interpreted by readers - for example, "wag" instead of "way" or "arc" instead of "are." But there were more significant errors which could not be discerned without careful comparison with the written texts - for example, cross references to Arcana Coelestia "2379" which should have been "2829," and entire lines of text omitted.

The text of NewSearch 98 has evolved and been added to, resulting in four levels of accuracy. The first and least accurate consists of works originally scanned for NewSearch 98 that have been lightly edited. This group includes Divine Providence, Buss' translation of Spiritual Experiences (previously entitled Spiritual Diary), and Acton's translation of Conjugial Love.

The second level of accuracy is found in newly scanned and edited translations for NewSearch 98. These include Elliott's Arcana (vols. 1-10), Chadwick's True Christian Religion, and various works from Small Theological Works and Letters. Scanning software has improved significantly so the error rate is much lower than in the originally scanned works.

The third level is found in translations from The Swedenborg Foundation editions. We made the originally scanned electronic text available to them as the basis for their reprinting of the Writings. They edited it extensively and returned it to us for our use. The error rate should now be minimal.

The fourth and highest level of accuracy is found in several works that were made available in electronic form. These include Elliott's 11th and 12th volumes of the Arcana, Chadwick's Conjugial Love, Odhner's Spiritual Experiences, and Roger's Three Short Works - De Verbo, Precepts of the Decalogue, and the Last Judgment Posthumous, and Roger's Divine Love and Divine Wisdom and Conjugial Love. Any errors in these texts are most probably in the printed versions as well.

Any errors found in the text of NewSearch 98 should be communicated to the STAIRS project. These will be corrected in the next release.

Re-named Works [top]

In light of recent scholarship and the requirements of NewSearch 98's program, several works were renamed or not used. The work previously known as The Intercourse of the Soul and Body has been altered to The Interaction of the Soul and Body. Since the word "intercourse" today is used almost exclusively with sexual connotations, this change has been made in the titles and throughout the text of NewSearch 98. Abomination of Desolation is another title for The Consummation of the Age, under which it is listed. The small work entitled On the Natural and Spiritual Sense is actually found within the text of Swedenborg's letter to Oetinger, Oct. 23, 1766. In NewSearch 98 it is found there and has no separate listing. The work entitled Influx is a small fragment found on the fly-leaf of Swedenborg's copy of Swammerdam's Biblia Naturae. It does not refer to The Interaction Between the Soul and the Body, which it had sometimes been called in the past.

Where there are multiple translations of a work and the translators have retitled works, such as Chadwick renaming Earths in the Universe as Worlds in Space, we have made them conform so the Next Translation feature will operate.

Footnotes [top]

All footnotes denoted by an asterisk (*) are the work of the various translators and editors. Footnotes denoted not with an asterisk but with a number sign (#) are written by Swedenborg himself. These are found in seven works: Heaven and Hell, Last Judgment, Earths in the Universe, On the Divine Love, On the Divine Wisdom, Doctrine of Life, and Doctrine of the Lord. When Swedenborg's marginal notes are inserted as footnotes, an asterisk is usually employed with quotation marks to indicate original text.

When there are multiple footnotes in any passage, the number of asterisks enables you to connect the text with the appropriate footnote. Thus the third footnote in a passage will have three asterisks, as will its footnote at the end of the passage.

Display of Books [top]

The large window on the right-hand side displays a complete list of the Writings contained in NewSearch 98. Rather than artificially group smaller works together, such as has been done in The Four Doctrines or Miscellaneous Theological Works, each work is listed separately. While this makes for a very long list, it respects the individually of each work and enables you to select or deselect any desired work for searching purposes.

To facilitate the ease of finding works, they have been placed in alphabetical order.

Individual works can be moved the top of the list by selecting Frequently Used Books in the menu under Options. Selected works, retaining their alphabetical order, are then placed at the top of the list with a line separating them from the rest of the works. However, this does not change the order in which the passages containing searched for words and phrases appear in the left-hand window.

Individual works can be selected or deselected by clicking on the box to the left of the title of the work. The default position is to have all these works selected so searches will display all occasions when the word or phrase is found in them. When individual books are deselected the program will still search them, but only the selected books will have their numbers displayed in the Search Results window, available for looking up individual passage numbers.

Individual passages can be found by entering the passage number in the box to the right of the book title and hitting the "return" key, or "Search." The range of passage numbers is located immediately following the title of the work.

Brackets and Parentheses [top]

In general, any words or phrases in brackets [ ] are added by the translator and any words or phrases in parenthesis ( ) were written by Swedenborg. There are two primary exceptions to this. The first is passage numbers added by translators. Occasionally Swedenborg did not number his paragraphs. When translators or edited have added them to the text they usually have brackets around them to indicate that. However, the program cannot find numbers with brackets in front of them. Thus works unnumbered by Swedenborg for which translators have supplied numbers, such as Canons, Athanasian Creed, On the Divine Love, and On the Divine Wisdom cannot indicate that with brackets. The second exception is found in Spiritual Experiences. The multiple parentheses surrounding passages are the addition by translators to indicate that Swedenborg put lines through the text, as if crossing it off. It is believed that that this was Swedenborg's notation system to indicate when he had used material from a passage in a later work.

Repeated Numbers [top]

Throughout the Writings, Swedenborg occasionally repeats numbers, or, rather, uses the same number for two sequential paragraphs of text. Usually this involves only one number, such as AC 10249-10250, but on some occasions a series of numbers are repeated, such as CL 151-156, and once a large section is repeated, SE 4545-4791. When a single or a few passage numbers are repeated, only the first passage number is referenced in NewSearch 98. For example, Conjugial Love 444 is used for both the memorable relation at the end of a chapter and the first number of the next chapter. A direct search for CL 444 will place the cursor at the beginning of the memorable relation. The beginning of the next chapter is found further down in the text.

While this occasionally results in a large amount text to scroll through, it removes the necessity of knowing whether a passage is repeated or not, and then whether the translator has labeled it with an "a," "1/2," or "bis," in order to find it. Citing passages in articles should still include the specific number with its means of designating that it is repeated. Thus the internal sense of "And thou shalt put it between the Tent of meeting and the altar" is found in AC 10237a, not AC 10237.

The works included in NewSearch 98 are not intended as a statement about the canon of the Writings - that is, works which everyone agrees are Divine revelation as opposed to works by Swedenborg everyone agrees are not Divine revelation.

There is no formally agreed upon canon in the New Church for the Writings. There is general agreement that works published by Swedenborg himself of a theological nature after his spiritual eyes were opened should be included in any canon. And most would also include theological works that Swedenborg himself did not publish, but were preserved and published after his death. However, material written in the transition phase as his spiritual eyes were being opened and as he was first exploring the spiritual world, such as the early portion of Spiritual Experiences, have sparked debate in the past and are likely to do so in the future.

It is a testament to the freedom of thought in the New Church that no canon has ever been established, but that individuals are encouraged to explore and reach their own conclusions. In keeping with this spirit, NewSearch 98 has attempted to cast a wide net and include as much material as possible that could be considered by anyone as belonging to Divine revelation.

The Latin Text [top]

The General Church Translation Committee has provided the Latin text. They have given us permission to use it in NewSearch 98. The committee funded the scanning of it and is still in process of editing it. So far the works published by Swedenborg himself have been thoroughly edited, but those published after his death are still in the process of being edited.

Editing the Latin text is very challenging work. There are several reasons for it. First, any editing work requires extensive knowledge not just of Latin, but also of the small sub-field of Neo-Latin. This Latin has received little scholarly attention and so there are virtually no grammars or dictionaries extant. Second, Swedenborg used hundreds of unique Latin forms not found elsewhere. It would be easy for a non-expert to assume that there is an error in the text when it was simply a unique form employed by Swedenborg. Third, many of the Latin texts are not perfect. Printers occasionally misread Swedenborg's handwriting and introduced errors in the original printed versions. And finally, many of the manuscripts, such as Apocalypse Explained, have never had a critical Latin edition produced.

If, in using the Latin text, you uncover what you think to be an error, please send it to the STAIRS project. Such potential errors will be communicated to the General Church Translation Committee for examination.

The Latin text is provided for comparison with the English. NewSearch 98 searches the English but not the Latin text. Thus you cannot use this program to find all the times amo (I love), in its various forms, is found in the Latin. A unique search program for the Latin, NeoSearch, will soon be available for PCs. Contact the STAIRS project for further information about it.

COMMENTS ON INDIVIDUAL WORKS

Pentateuch [top]

While this work is not strictly part of the Writings, it is included because it is a recent New Church translation of the first five books of the Old Testament.

Arcana Coelestia [top]

Most of the Elliott translation, numbers 1 - 9111, was not saved in disk form, so we have scanned and edited it. The 11th and 12th volumes were provided in electronic form. However, footnotes had to be connected with the proper place in the text. There may be errors here. All errata which has been noted in the back of these volumes have been corrected in the NewSearch 98 text.

One additional emendation has been made at the request of the translator, the Rev. John Elliott. We have changed the pronouns referring to the Lord in the first volume, numbers 1-1113, from "Thee" and "Thou" to "You." This brings the first volume into harmony with the rest of the volumes.

There is a discrepancy in the numbering system between the Potts and Elliott translation of numbers 10249 and 10250. This is due to an unnumbered paragraph that is given an "a" designation - i.e. there are three paragraphs with only two numbers used and one is repeated. The Potts sequence is 10249, 10250, 10250a. The Elliott sequence, following the new third Latin edition, is 10249, 10249a, 10250. Thus the last two paragraphs in the sequence have different numbers.

To enable the "Next Translation" function to find the same material, it was necessary to make these two systems agree. Since Elliott's translation is based on more recent and complete research, we have changed the Potts' numbering system. Thus previous references to AC 10250 in the Potts translation can now be found in AC 10249 in both translations.

Apocalypse Explained [top]

The lengthy numbers of Apocalypse Explained are divided into the subsections originally employed by Potts in the Swedenborg Concordance. The previous system of identifying subsections by letters, introduced by Dr. Worcester, has been removed. This has been done for two reasons. The first is that this sub-referencing system is rarely, if ever, used. The second is that this eliminates confusion when one seeks to look up a number directly in NewSearch 98. Thus you may enter the number 278 to go directly there and you will not need to know that Worcester numbered it 278a. (In previous versions of NewSearch 98 it was necessary to identify the passage as 278a for the search program to find it on a direct passage search.)

English translations have noted the absence of any explanation for the final sentence of Chapter 12, verse 15. Whitehead's translation draws a brief internal sense from the beginning of that chapter and numbers it 763 1/2. The passage numbered 764 then begins verse 16 and the number 765 is not employed in the translation. Careful research by the Rev. Stephen D. Cole has uncovered the missing passage. It is numbered 764 in NewSearch 98 and what had typically been numbered as 764 in English translations has been changed to 765. See the footnote at 764 for a more detailed explanation provided by the Rev. Cole.

In the Tansley translation, beginning in the third volume at number 415, there were three changes in the style of presentation of the text. These are not discussed in the translator's notes. First, cross-references to previous passages now include subsections. Since subsections were created by Potts and are not in the Latin text, these subsectioned cross-references must have been added by Tansley. However, this is not indicated by the use of brackets by the translator. Second, some bracketed letters were placed in the margins. As these appear to be a previous method of subsectioning the longer numbers. They have been removed as they were from the Whitehead's translation. And third, the format of the text is condensed. Quotations from Scripture are no longer set apart with double hard returns. Because this makes the text more difficult to read, especially on a computer screen, we have maintained the style from the previous two volumes throughout this work.

The Athanasian Creed [top]

This text does not originally contain any passage numbers. However, paragraph numbers have been added which Potts employed in his Swedenborg Concordance.

Canons [top]

The passage numbering system has been added to the text.

Conjugial Love [top]

The three translators have each treated the repeated passage numbers differently, as is most evident in numbers 151-156. These numbers include the last passage of the chapter and then a series of memorable relations. Although the numbers 151-156 are repeated, Acton chose to use one number and attach a sequential letter to it. Thus his numbering of the repeated numbers reads: 156a, 156b, 156c, 156d, 156e, 156f. Chadwick repeats the same series of numbers, but adds "bis" to each - the Latin word for "twice." His series reads: 151bis, 152bis, 153bis, 154bis, 155bis, 156bis. Rogers repeats the same series of numbers, but adds "r" to each - an abbreviation for "repeated." His series reads: 151r, 152r, 153r, 154r, 155r, 156r.

Because few would recall how each translator treats these repeated numbers, the text of all of them is found at number 156. This makes for a very long passage, but it seemed the least confusing way to give access to the text.

De Verbo [top]

This work is one of the posthumous works for which Swedenborg did not provide Arabic paragraph numbers. However, he did number sections using Roman numerals. Rogers, in his Translator's Remarks to Three Short Works, makes a strong case for using these numbers rather than introducing an additional numbering scheme. Accordingly, we have used the numbers supplied by Swedenborg himself, but employed Arabic numerals in addition to the Roman numerals.

Earths in the Universe [top]

The new translation by John Chadwick was entitled Worlds in Space. Unfortunately, for NewSearch 98 to find the Next Translation they must have the identical titles. So we have used the title under which the work is most usually known. No other changes were necessary within the text itself.

God the Savior [top]

To harmonize Dr. Whitehead's and the Rev. Duckworth's translations of God the Savior, required some adjustments to Duckworth's material. The British spelling of "Saviour" could not be used in the title so the Next Translation function will operate. However, it was retained throughout the rest of the work. Duckworth rearranged the material itself. No explanation is given in his preface. Neither did Duckworth give any numbers to the material. We have included the numbers added by Whitehead. But we have retained the order of material that Duckworth presents, assuming it is more accurate scholarship. Thus the material in Whithead's translation was rearranged to agree with Duckworth's. A number-by-sequential-number search through Whitehead's translation will reveal this order: 0, 14-48, 1-13. This does not adversely affect comparing numbers between the two translations.

Justification [top]

The numbering of this work presents some challenges. It has three distinct sections. It begins with very brief unnumbered or undesignated preliminary notes. Duckworth notes, "Most of these preliminary notes became the titles of sections in the material that follows." Then follows a short section with each individual paragraph having an Arabic numeral, numbers 1-9. Finally, there is the largest section that is divided into Roman numerals (I-IX). The translations by Whitehead and, more recently, by Duckworth have two different numbering schemes to deal with this dual system employed by Swedenborg.

Whitehead does not have the initial very brief section in his translation. He uses the Arabic numbers of the second section and extends them through the third section. However, in the third section he does not connect the numbering system he introduces to the Roman numeral system already present. Thus, within the 9 Roman numeral sections he uses 48 Arabic numerals - the number of individual paragraphs contained within the 9 Roman numeral sections - producing a range of numbers from 1-55. The Roman numerals are present in the text; however, it is presumed they should be ignored for citing material from this section.

Duckworth does not attempt a universal numbering system within the work and leaves the three sections appearing as they do in Latin - the first unnumbered, the second with Arabic numerals, and the third with Roman numerals. He separates them by brief editorial comments.

While Duckworth's scheme is a more accurate depiction of the Latin, it presents problems for an electronic search program such as NewSearch 98 that requires a universal numbering system. Also, to use the Next Translation feature that allows users to compare translations in NewSearch 98, the numbering systems must be identical. One, or the other, or both of these numbering systems had to be altered for this program.

Because we cannot use Duckworth's system, and because Whitehead's system unnecessarily creates numbers for the largest section, we have decided to re-number the work in the least disruptive way. The very brief preliminary material has been given the designation of "0." The second section uses numbers 1-9 as they appear in the Latin text. In the third section we have continued the Arabic numbering in sequence, but placed them where the Roman numerals are. (I.e., Roman numeral section IV is now paragraph number 13.) This follows the principle elucidated in the Rogers' translation of De Verbo of reflecting Swedenborg's own numbering systems as closely as possible. The Roman numeral sections are not overly long, so this should present no problem when citing this work. This produces a scale of 0-18, rather than 1-55, as in the Whitehead translation. Whitehead's numbers are included in both texts in bracketed numbers so earlier citations to this work can be found.

Last Judgment Posthumous [top]

Recent scholarship by the Rev. N. Bruce Rogers shows that the material of Last Judgment Posthumous became mixed up. In his "Translator's Remarks" of Three Short Works (included as a plain text file on the CD of NewSearch 98) an explanation is given for this. The Rogers' translation thus has an entirely different numbering sequence than Whitehead's previous translation.

Unfortunately, for NewSearch 98 to be able to find and display the same passage between these two translations, the numbering schemes must agree. In light of Rogers' scholarship, the material in the Whitehead translation has been rearranged and re-numbered so that it is identical to the Rogers' translation. The original numbers are retained within brackets in both translations. A printed table of equivalency can be found in Appendix D.

Also included in the Rogers' translation is a corrected footnote at passage 103 regarding the Bull Unigenitus. This correction was made by Rogers after Three Short Works was published.

Letters [top]

The collected letters of Swedenborg are taken from three sources: Dr. R. L. Tafel's Documents Concerning the Life and Character of Emanuel Swedenborg, Dr. A. Acton's translation in Letters and Memorials, and from Doris Harley's translation in The Small Theological Works and Letters. These collections do not contain the same set of letters, so occasionally there will be no other translation available for one or more of these translations.

The letters are placed in the order in which they were written and each is given a number for facilitating searching and retrieving information. In citing letters the numbers should not be used, but the traditional form retained, such as: Letter to Beyer, Nov. 14, 1769.

Marriage Indices [top]

The first and second Marriage Indices have no inherent numbering system. Due to the length of these works, and, again, the need for paragraph numbers for the search program, we have introduced them. Paragraph numbers are inserted at the beginning of each new word in the index. These should not be used in citing the work. See Appendix E for a complete list of the words and the numbers associated with them.

Nine Questions [top]

These questions posed by Thomas Hartley, one of the earliest adherents to the New Church, and Swedenborg's answers, are traditionally presented as a separate work. While they can rightfully be classified as a letter, they are so well known by the title of Nine Questions that we have left them in this form.

Passage numbers have been supplied according to the numbering of the questions.

On the Divine Love and On the Divine Wisdom [top]

The numbering system for these two works is unique to NewSearch 98. Each section of text identified by a Roman numeral (I, VI, IX, etc.) has been given a number. In addition, the sub-points in the original text of On the Divine Wisdom have been given a subsection number in brackets. This creates an easy and logical numbering sequence with the exception of number 11 in On the Divine Wisdom. Because that section has two sets of sub-points, the second set had to be given the next sequential set of numbers. Thus the second set of sub-points, numbered 1-8, has subsection numbers of 9-16.

In the text of On the Divine Love we have also included the subsections of Whitehead's translation in brackets, since there is no conflict due to there being no sub-points in this work. In the text of On the Divine Wisdom, the subsections of Whitehead's translation are included in double brackets. Subsections with single brackets in this work align with Swedenborg's sub-points. And in Mongredien's translation we have retained his numbering system in single brackets.

We did not want to create a new system, but previous referencing schemes were not suitable for NewSearch 98.

Swedenborg did not provide paragraph numbers as is occasionally found elsewhere in the Writings. He did provide Roman numerals for large sections of text and Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3,…) for sub-points in On the Divine Wisdom. On the Divine Love employs section numbers I-XXI, and On the Divine Wisdom employs section numbers of I-XII.

Whitehead's translation uses the Roman numerals for section headings. Subsections with Arabic numerals, encased in brackets, were added. However, these subsections bear little relation to the sub-points Swedenborg inserted in the original text of On the Divine Wisdom.

Mongredien's translation has merged these two works together as if they were one, and has introduced a numbering system that is sequential through them both. (i.e. number 85 is actually section V in the second work, On the Divine Wisdom.)

While we were averse to creating yet another numbering system these two previous systems either would not work in our format or did not seem to faithfully represent the organization of the material. Because NewSearch 98 requires paragraph numbers for searching and we think it important to maintain the distinction between these works, there seemed to be no alternative. As in De Verbo, this system of numbering comes closest to respecting the original organization of the material.

Prophets and Psalms [top]

The structure of Prophets and Psalms, with two sets of subjects related to most verses - a particular statement of the internal sense next to the verse and a number indicating the general topic - is very difficult to portray sensibly in a computerized search program. The numbers placed at the end of each verse indicates the general subjects. These refer to the Table of Subjects found in the beginning of the work. In NewSearch 98 this table is found at passage 0. It is also found in printed form at the end of this manual in Appendix F. The numbers in the text that refer to it are found at the end of the statements of doctrine associated with the verses. Thus for example, Jeremiah 12 is found at number 78. Appendix G has a list of passage numbers associated with Biblical references. These have been added to the text for the search program and should not be used when citing this work.

Scriptural Confirmations [top]

As this is a list of passages from Scripture under various headings, it contained no passage numbering system. We have introduced a numbering system to make logical breaks in the text. These should not be used in citing the work.

Spiritual Experiences [top]

The Latin

The Latin text is taken from the new Latin edition, Dr. Durban Odhner, editor, 1991. An electronic text form is woefully limited in its ability to reproduce the information contained in this printed text. And an examination of the manuscript shows how little of the emendations and texture of Swedenborg's handwriting can be conveyed even in the printed text. Numbers which are crossed out in various directions, maps, and notes that are written in the margins in several directions, are examples of visual information that is lost when transferred into an electronic format. Also, most of the critical footnotes indicating various readings are currently missing in the electronic text. Readers are therefore encouraged to use this Latin text as a non-authoritative version of the Latin. The printed works should be referred to for any extensive research.

The English

Spiritual Experiences has previously been known as the Spiritual Diary. When it was given a title there was no evidence that Swedenborg had provided one. Recent scholarship has found that he did consider it to be his spiritual experiences, and hence the new and proper title. (See Dr. Odhner's translator's remarks for further details.)

The Buss translation is actually the work of four translators -

• 1-1538 - A. W. Acton
• 1539-4544 - George Bush and John Smithson
• 4545-5659 - George Bush and James F. Buss
• 5660-6110 - James F. Buss
• SE Minor - James F. Buss

This has produced some stylistic and formatting variety within the work. We have attempted to bring many of the formatting differences into harmony. We have also used Buss' name for the sake of convenience.

Translators use different approaches to indicating words which the translators have added to the text for clarification. Since Spiritual Experiences had numerous translators, the formatting is not consistent throughout. Initially, brackets were employed to indicate words not actually in the Latin text and parentheses were used to indicate the underlying Latin text. However, this distinction is only used for the initial portions of the translation. Thereafter, brackets are not found.

We have attempted to make this consistent by changing the parentheses to brackets where there are clearly words added by the translator. Often this is seen where the translator provides an alternative rendering. For example we find: "and bonds [restraints] [vinculum]," (2321) "a crowd [confusion] of spirits," (2342), and "distances from [by] intermediates" (2333).

The new English translation by Dr. Durban Odhner is in process. Currently it covers passage numbers 1-3427, the first two volumes.

Including the Odhner translation required two minor changes to the Buss (Acton) version. Acton uses paragraph number 171, although a footnote to the text states the material in this paragraph is unnumbered in the Latin. Odhner does not give the material a number but includes it at the end of 170. We have adjusted the Acton translation to agree with this.

The second change concerns several passage numbers from the first 148 paragraph numbers. Material from this section is missing from the manuscripts, but it has been reconstructed based on Swedenborg's own index to Spiritual Experiences. However, some passage numbers are never mentioned in the index. Acton either omitted these passage numbers or grouped them together. Odhner's translation sometimes presents material that belongs in these numbers, or has rearranged the material in the numbers, differently. To minimize confusion, NewSearch 98 lists each number separately. Where either one or both translators have left it blank, we have indicated it by using the phrase "[No references.]." Where Odhner has grouped a series of numbers together and supplied text from the Index, we have separated each number and repeated the text with a footnote to indicate this.

A minor confusion could also result due to how NewSearch 98 is handling some minor reordering of Acton's and Odhner's translation. On several occasions Swedenborg reviewed what he had written and indicated some rearrangement of it - usually moving a few passages to a page or two away. However, Swedenborg did not change the numbers for the paragraphs to be moved. Both Acton and Odhner generally, although not always, followed Swedenborg's instructions, resulting in small sections of the moved text's numbers being out of sequence. The earlier version of NewSearch required all numbers to be in sequential order, so Acton's material was rearranged, with footnotes indicating Swedenborg's directions for where the material should be placed.

NewSearch 98 does not require strict sequential order, so we have returned Acton's material to the order in which it appears in his printed translation and left Dr. Odhner's translation as it appears. This dual-ordering system is not evident when the Next Translation button is selected. The corresponding passage number appears regardless of whether it was moved or not. The only time it may become evident is if you are moving through the passage numbers using the Next Number button. It will follow the order of the material, not the passage numbers themselves.

Spiritual Experiences - Word Explained [top]

Dr. Odhner's translation includes material from the Word Explained, an unpublished work that predates the Spiritual Experiences. This is because Swedenborg's own index to his Spiritual Experiences cites certain experiences, usually set off as indented paragraphs, recorded in the Word Explained. Using the same rationale that has been used to reconstruct the first missing 148 paragraphs, material from here is included

This material appears at the beginning of Odhner's translation and is set apart by adding paragraph numbers with a small "a" after the number, and then placing it in brackets. This distinguishes the material from the first 148 reconstructed numbers that follow immediately after it. However it results in the dual use of numbers 1-403.

NewSearch 98 cannot find replicated numbers, so it must treat this material as a separate work even as it does the Spiritual Experiences Minor. This required some minor formatting changes.

We have removed both the brackets and the small "a" as they are unnecessary in a separate work. Since this material does not have a separate title, in consultation with Dr. Odhner, we have named it "Spiritual Experiences - Word Explained" and abbreviated it "SE WE." While this is cumbersome it seemed the most accurate way to identify the material. Citing material from this section could be done either by using numbers 1-403 with the small "a" after the number, or the abbreviation in NewSearch 98.

Spiritual Experiences Minor [top]

Spiritual Experiences Minor (previously known as the Smaller Diary, Lesser Diary, or Diary Minor) is located between the numbers 4544 and 4545 in the printed version of Spiritual Experiences. This is accurate and appropriate because it is a duplication of numbering that resulted from an inadvertent reuse of the same set of numbers during Swedenborg's journeys. NewSearch 98 treats it as a separate volume from Spiritual Experiences because the program cannot function if there are identical numbers in the same work.

Within Spiritual Experiences Minor Swedenborg himself numbered passages 4545 up to 4715. He did not number the remaining paragraphs in this volume, which amount to over 40 pages of printed text. Two conflicting numbering systems have been used for the second part of Spiritual Experiences Minor. George Bush used numbers 4716-4792. Rev. J. F. Potts employed numbers 4716-4832 in references found in his Swedenborg Concordance for the same material. Most English readers are more familiar with the Bush numbering scheme since it is the only printed version available. However, in the revised second Latin edition the Potts' numbering system is employed. Odhner's translation, which is in its early stages, is undoubtedly based upon the new Latin edition and will employ Potts' numbering system.

However, because the only English translation currently available in NewSearch 98 uses Bush's numbers, and virtually all scholarly references to Spiritual Experiences Minor employ Bush's numbering system, we are also using it. To avoid confusion and provide more complete information we have also added Potts' numbering system, which is found in the bracketed numbers. These have been included in both the English and the Latin.

Summaries in Explanation of the Apocalypse [top]

The text of this work does not have any paragraph numbers. Again, for the search program to find and display text there must be numbers. We have attached paragraph numbers to the explanation of each chapter. Thus the explanation for Revelation 16 can be at paragraph number 16.

True Christian Religion [top]

Ager's and Chadwick's translations cover the same material with the exception of the last passage. Ager includes a brief memorable relation about a Theorem proposed by a Duke, and Swedenborg's own Index to the Memorable Relations in the TCR. This index contains statements not necessarily found in the memorable relations themselves.

Appendix A [top]

TRANSLATORS, DATES, AND LOCATION OF WORKS

* Although there were four translators who, over time, produced Spiritual Experiences, NewSearch 98 lists only Buss as the translator. This is because to separate out the volumes in order to acknowledge individual translators would have made searching and retrieval extremely cumbersome.

Translators

Acton - Alfred Acton
Acton - A. W. Acton (SE volume 1 only, numbers 1-1538)
Ager - John C. Ager
Bush - George Bush
Buss - James F. Buss
Chadwick - John Chadwick
Coulson - Frank F. Coulson
Dick - William C. Dick
Duckworth - Dennis Duckworth
Elliott - John E. Elliott
Harley, Clifford
Harley - Doris H. Harley
Hartley - Thomas Hartley
Hyde - James Hyde
Johnson - P. H. Johnson
Mongredien - E. C. Mongredien
Odhner - Durban Odhner
Potts - John F. Potts
Pulsford - E. J. Pulsford
Rogers - N. Bruce Rogers
Rose - Don L. Rose
Schreck - J. E. Schreck
Smithson - John H. Smithson
Stanley - Rupert Stanley
Tafel - Rudolph L. Tafel
Tansley - Isaiah Tansley
Vickers - Paul Vickers
Whitehead - John Whitehead
Worcester - Samuel H. Worcester

Publishers

ANC - Academy of the New Church
GCNC - General Conference of the New Church
GCNJ - General Church of the New Jerusalem
SF - Swedenborg Foundation
SSA - Swedenborg Scientific Association
SS - Swedenborg Society

Appendix B [top]

LIST OF WORKS WITH TRANSLATORS AS THEY APPEAR IN THE LOOKUP WINDOW

Pentateuch
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott)
Arcana Coelestia (Potts)
Arcana Coelestia Index (Hyde)
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley)
Apocalypse Explained (Whitehead)
Apocalypse Revealed (Coulson)
Apocalypse Revealed (Potts)
Athanasian Creed (Harley)
Athanasian Creed (Worcester)
Brief Exposition (Stanley)
Brief Exposition (Whitehead)
Canons (Mongredien and Coulson)
Canons (Whitehead)
Charity (Coulson)
Charity (Whitehead)
Conjugial Love (Acton)
Conjugial Love (Chadwick)
Conjugial Love (Rogers)
Consummation of the Age (Buss)
Consummation of the Age (Whitehead)
Conversations with Angels (Chadwick)
Conversations with Angels (Whitehead)
Conversations with Calvin (Duckworth)
Conversations with Calvin (Whitehead)
Coronis (Whitehead)
De Conjugio (Chadwick)
De Conjugio (Whitehead)
De Domino (Harley)
De Domino (Worcester)
De Verbo (Chadwick)
De Verbo (Rogers)
De Verbo (Whitehead)
Decalogue (Chadwick)
Decalogue (Rogers)
Divine Love (Mongredien)
Divine Love (Whitehead)
Divine Wisdom (Mongredien)
Divine Wisdom (Whitehead)
Divine Love and Wisdom (Ager)
Divine Love and Wisdom (Harleys)
Divine Love and Wisdom (Rogers
Divine Providence (Dick and Pulsford)
Doctrine of the Lord (Dick)
Doctrine of the Lord (Potts)
Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture (Dick)
Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture (Potts)
Doctrine of Life (Dick)
Doctrine of Life (Potts)
Doctrine of Faith (Dick)
Doctrine of Faith (Potts)
Earths in the Universe (Chadwick)
Earths in the Universe (Whitehead)
Ecclesiastical History (Elliott)
Ecclesiastical History (Whitehead)
Five Memorable Relations (Chadwick)
Five Memorable Relations (Whitehead)
Formula Concordiae Index (Elliott)
Gad and Asher (Tafel)
Gad and Asher (Whitehead)
God the Savior (Duckworth)
God the Savior (Whitehead)
Heaven and Hell (Ager)
Heaven and Hell (Harley)
Heavenly Doctrine (Whitehead)
Influx (Tafel)
Interaction of the Soul and Body (Hartley)
Interaction of the Soul and Body (Whitehead)
Invitation (Buss)
Invitation to the New Church (Whitehead)
Justification (Duckworth)
Justification (Whitehead)
Last Judgment (Chadwick)
Last Judgment (Whitehead)
Last Judgment (Continued) (Chadwick)
Last Judgment (Continued) (Whitehead)
Last Judgment Posthumous (Rogers)
Last Judgment Posthumous (Whitehead)
Letters (Acton)
Letters (Harley)
Letters (Tafel)
Marriage Index 1 (Whitehead)
Marriage Index 2 (Whitehead)
Miracles and Signs (Johnson)
Nine Questions (Potts)
Nine Questions (Rose)
Prophets and Psalms (Schreck)
Scriptural Confirmations (Whitehead)
Specimen and Sketch (Duckworth)
Specimen and Sketch (Whitehead)
Spiritual Experiences - Word Explained (Odhner)
Spiritual Experiences (Buss)
Spiritual Experiences (Odhner)
Spiritual Experiences Minor (Buss)
Summaries in Explanation of the Apocalypse (Chadwick)
True Christian Religion (Ager)
True Christian Religion (Chadwick)
True Christian Religion Additions (Whitehead)
White Horse (Whitehead)
White Horse (Willmott)
White Horse (Appendix) (Elliott)
White Horse (Appendix) (Willmott)

Appendix C [top]

LIST OF WRITINGS IN NewSearch 98

A. Alphabetical [top]

B. By Date Written [top]

C. By Date Published [top]

Appendix D [top]

COMPARISON OF THE NUMBERS OF THE LAST JUDGMENT POSTHUMOUS

Potts' Translation - Left Number
Rogers' Translation - Right Number

Appendix E [top]

MARRIAGE INDICES

Passage Number - Subject

Marriage Index 1

2. Adulteries
3. Affection
4. Angel
5. Beast
6. Beauty
7. Betrothal
8. Birth
9. Bridegroom
10. Bride
11. Betrothal
12. Cause
13. Center
14. Chastity
15. Church
16. Coldness
17. Concubinage
18. Confirmation
19. Conjugial
20. Conjugial Love
21. Conversio
22. Correspondence
23. Defloration
24. Degrees
25. Delights
26. Disease
27. Divorce
28. Duties
29. Effect
30. End
31. Erudition
32. Eternal
33. Evil
34. External
35. Favor
36. Female and Male
37. Form
38. Fornication
39. Friendship
40. Garden
41. Generation
42. Good
43. Heaven
44. Hell
45. Immortality
46. Impotency
47. Inclination
48. Infants
49. Infinite
50. Influx
51. Innocence
52. Intelligence
53. Jealousy
54. Judge
55. Lasciviousness
56. Last
57. Lust
58. Life
59. Lord
60. Love in General
61. Love of Children
62. Love of Sex
63. Lust
64. Male
65. Man
66. Marriage
67. Marriages in Heaven
68. Marriage, Spiritual
69. Mind
70. Mistress
71. Mohammedans
72. Nativity
73. Nature, Natural
74. Nuptials
75. Offices
76. Offspring
77. Organs of Generation
78. Outmost, Last, Ultimate
79. Own
80. Parental Love
81. Pellicacy
82. Polygamy
83. Potency
84. Procreation, Offspring
85. Qualities
86. Rational
87. Religion
88. Seed
89. Semen
90. Separation Between Consorts
91. Sex
92. Similitude
93. Soul
94. Sphere
95. Spirit
96. Spiritual
97. Spiritual Marriage
98. State, Changes of State
99. Storge
100. Substance
101. Son
102. Touch
103. Truth
104. Ultimates, Last
105. Unclean
106. Understanding
107. Intelligence
108. Use
109. Variety
110. Violation
111. Virginity
112. Whoredom
113. Widow
114. Wisdom
115. Word
116. World, Spiritual and Natural
117. Zeal, Jealousy

Marriage Index 2

1. Angel
2. Beast
3. Case
4. Conjugial Love
5. Conversion
6. Daughter
7. Delights
8. Effect
9. End
10. Evil
11. External
12. Feminine, Woman
13. Garden
14. Generation, Organs of Generation
15. Heaven
16. Image
17. Immortality
18. Influx
19. Intelligence
20. Life
21. Lord
22. Love
23. Male, Masculine
24. Man
25. Marriage
26. Masculine
27. Mind
28. One
29. Perception
30. Providence
31. Repentance
32. Son, Daughter
33. Soul
34. Sphere
35. Spirit
36. Tree
37. Turning, Conversion
38. Unit
39. Woman

Appendix F [top]

TABLE OF SUBJECTS IN PROPHETS AND PSALMS

1. The Lord's advent.
2. The successive vastation of the church.
3. The church totally devastated, and its rejection.
4. The rejection of the Lord by the church.
5. Temptations of the Lord in general.
6. Temptation even to despair.
7. The combats of the Lord with the hells.
8. Victory over them, or their subjugation.
9. The passion of the cross.
10. The glorification of the Human of the Lord, or its union with the Divine.
11. A new church in place of the former.
12. A new church together with a new heaven.
13. The state of humiliation before the Father.
15.* A last judgment by the Lord.
16. Celebration and worship of the Lord.
17. Redemption and salvation by the Lord.

* Editor's Note - No. 14 is crossed out by Swedenborg in his MS., and is never referred to in the text. It reads, "The state of unition with His Divine," which is the same as No. 10.

Appendix G [top]

PROPHETS AND PSALMS

Book-Passage Number Equivalence

Each chapter is given a number in NewSearch 98. They are numbered sequentially throughout the work. The numbers at the right are those for the first chapter of the book. To find the number to look up for any chapter identify the book, take the number associated with it on the right, add the desired chapter number to that, and subtract one.

Formula: Book number + Chapter number - 1 = Passage number to look up

Examples:

If you are seeking Jeremiah chapter 29 -

67 + 29 - 1 = 95 (the number to be looked up)

If you are seeking Psalm 37 -

251 + 37 - 1 = 287 (the number to be looked up)

There is another Extended Overview of the Theological Writings for those who are interested.