The Meaning and Significance of the Word of God, the Life of the Angels, and Service to God; a Biography
By Lars Bergquist
Swedenborg’s Secret is the first major study of the eighteenth-century Swedish philosopher and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) to be published in English for over fifty years. Using a wealth of historical material, Lars Bergquist paints a vivid portrait of an ambitious and practical man who was one of the greatest figures of the Enlightenment and who captivated generations of thinkers with his stunning vision of human destiny.
Hardcover, 538 pages
Description
Swedenborg’s Secret is the first major study of the eighteenth-century Swedish philosopher and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) to be published in English for over fifty years, being a translation of the critically acclaimed Swedish biography Swedenborg’s Hemlighet (1999). Beautifully designed and illustrated throughout with ten color plates and forty-four black-and-white pictures, Swedenborg’s Secret is an authoritative and full-length biography that is immensely readable.
Using a wealth of historical material, Lars Bergquist paints a vivid portrait of an ambitious and practical man who was one of the greatest figures of the Enlightenment, a polymath who was a poet, inventor, mathematician, mineralogist, anatomist, and cosmologist. Bergquist also reveals Swedenborg to be a “man of two worlds,” someone who not only played an active part in the political life of his nation but who was also a spiritual visionary, setting out a stunning vision of human destiny in works such as Heaven and Hell and New Jerusalem. Swedenborg’s Secret reclaims Swedenborg from the margins of contemporary thought and places him where he belongs: as a founding figure of modern spirituality and Western philosophy.
The book also contains a chronology of Swedenborg’s life and contemporary events, an appendix listing the contents of Swedenborg’s personal library and other books he was known to have owned or read, a comprehensive bibliography, and a full index.
Reviews
“This immensely detailed and authoritative book is essential reading for anyone interested in Swedenborg”
—Karin Petherick, The Swedish Book Review
“[Bergquist] shows how Swedenborgian ideas have had a concrete effect on our world”
—Gary Lachman, Independent
Book of the Year, 2005
—Jah Wobble, Independent
“His book will be the standard biography for the foreseeable future”
—Britt Dahlström, The Metro, Sweden
Established in 1810, the main aim of the Swedenborg Society is to translate and publish the works of Emanuel Swedenborg. The Society was incorporated in 1925 and has since become a registered educational charity. Housed in a historic building in central London, they sell not only their own books but Swedenborg-related titles from other publishers, as well as offering a reference and lending library.
Complete list of Swedenborg Society books we carry >
All Swedenborg Society books we carry are imported and contain British spelling, punctuation, and word usage.
To learn more about the Swedenborg Society, visit their website.
Additional information
Author | Lars Bergquist |
---|---|
Format | hardcover |
ISBN | 978-0-85448-143-9 hc |
Length | 538 pages |
Release Date | 2005 |
Series | Swedenborg Society |