SWEDENBORG SWEET POTATO. 



481 



from the divine nature in all things. With regard 

 to regeneration, Swedenborg teaches, that, as the 

 Lord glorified his humanity by resisting and over- 

 coming the infernal influences which assailed it, so 

 man, by following the Lord in his regeneration, 

 through his divine grace, may gradually become re- 

 generated ; that is, receptive of good affection and 

 wisdom from the Lord through the heavens ; and 

 in proportion as his sins are resisted and put away, 

 he becomes thus receptive more and more perpe- 

 tually. Swedenborg teaches that the Lord fore- 

 dooms none to hell, condemns none, and punishes 

 none ; that his divine grace is constantly with all, 

 aiding those on earth who strive to co-operate with 

 him, sustaining and leading forward angels in hea- 

 ven, and endeavouring to preserve the devils from 

 the evils which they love and seek ; but that he 

 always perfectly regards and preserves the freewill 

 of every one, giving to every one the utmost aid 

 that will leave him at liberty to turn himself either 

 to heaven or hell, and to no one more. Salvation, 

 according to Swedenborg, is not salvation from 

 punishment, but salvation from sinfulness. They 

 who co-operate with the Lord, and confirm in 

 themselves a principle of good, in the other life be- 

 come angels, and associate with angels ; and their 

 association constitutes heaven. They who resist 

 the divine grace, and confirm in themselves a princi- 

 ple of self-love, which is the root of all evil, become 

 devils; and their association constitutes hell. Both 

 in heaven and in hell there are many societies, each 

 influenced by some ruling principle of good or of 

 evil, like seeking like, both in general and in parti- 

 cular. None go into the other life entirely good 

 or evil ; while here, the good and evil are permit- 

 ted to endure the conflicts of opposing influences | 

 within them, that the good may thereby be made 

 better, and the evil good ; but after death, when 

 no further radical change can take place, the ruling 

 principle of every one is made manifest, and the 

 whole character conformed to it. This final change 

 is accomplished by degrees ; and while it is going 

 on, deceased men are neither angels nor devils, but 

 are spoken of by Swedenborg as not in heaven nor 

 hell, but in " the world of spirits ;" and, in the : 

 writings of Swedenborg, spirits are thus distin- | 

 guished from angels and devils. With regard to ' 

 the resurrection, Swedenborg teaches that it is not 

 a resurrection of the natural body, but of the spi- 

 ritual body from the natural ; and that this occurs 

 generally about the third day after apparent death, 

 when the flesh becomes rigid, and all vital warmth 

 and motion cease. According to him, the spiritual 

 body forms the natural body, and while within it, 

 uses it as an instrument. Thus the natural eye 

 sees only because the spiritual eye sees natural 

 things through it, the sense strictly residing in 

 the spiritual organ : and so of the other senses. 

 Hence, when the spiritual body rises, it finds itself 

 in perfect possession of the senses and organs, and 

 the man is still perfectly a man. So the spiritual 

 world forms the natural world, and all things which 

 exist naturally in this natural world are spiritually 

 in the spiritual world. There, spiritual things affect 

 the spiritual organs and senses of men, as natural 

 things affect their natural organs and senses here. 

 Hence, says Swedenborg, many who die do not 

 know, upon their awaking, that they are in another 

 world. They who in this life have their spiritual 

 senses opened, as Swedenborg says was the case 

 with himself, see plainly spiritual persons and things 

 as did the prophets in their visions. From this 



VI. 



circumstance, say the Swedenborgians, connected 

 ! with their belief in the active and constant influ- 

 I ence of disembodied spirits upon men in the body, 

 \ has arisen the common notion of their believing in 

 a perpetual intercourse between the living and the 

 dead. Spiritual things have not, however, a simi- 

 lar permanence and independent existence with na- 

 tural things. Swedenborg rather represents them 

 as appearances changing with the states of those 

 about whom they are existing from their relation 

 to them, and exactly reflecting and manifesting their 

 affections and thoughts. From the principle that 

 natural things correspond to spiritual things, and 

 represent them, comes the doctrine of correspond- 

 ences, according to which Swedenborg explains the 

 spiritual senses of the Word ; that is, the senses in 

 which the Bible is read by those in the spiritual 

 world. He teaches that this spiritual sense is within 

 the literal, as the spiritual body within the natural, 

 or as the soul within the body ; that it is in every 

 word and letter of the literal sense, which every- 

 where exist from it, and on account of it, and de- 

 rives from it all its power and use. Swedenborg 

 considers the New Jerusalem, foretold in the Apo- 

 calypse, to be a church now about to be established, 

 in which will be known the true nature of God and 

 of man, of the Word, of heaven, and of hell con- 

 cerning all which subjects error and ignorance now 

 prevail and in which church this knowledge will 

 bear its proper fruits love to the Lord and to one's 

 neighbour, and purity of life. 



SWEDISH TURNIP, OR RUTA BAGA. 

 See Turnip. 



SWEET BAY. See Laurel. 

 SWEET FLAG (acorus calamus}. This plant 

 is widely diffused ; it is found in marshy places 

 throughout the northern hemisphere. In the more 

 northern climates, it is the only native aromatic 

 plant. The leaves are all radical, long, and narrow, 

 sword-shaped, and somewhat resemble those of the 

 iris ; the stem does not differ much in appearance 

 from the leaves, and bears a lateral, dense, greenish 

 spike of flowers, two or three inches in length ; the 

 root is long, cylindrical, and knotted. This plant 

 is referred to the natural family aroidece, although 

 it presents some anomalies in its structure. The 

 root has a strong aromatic odour, and a warm, pun- 

 gent, bitterish, taste : the flavour is greatly im- 

 proved by drying. It has been employed in medi- 

 cine since the time of Hippocrates ; it has some- 

 times been successfully administered in intermittent 

 fever, even after bark has failed, and certainly is a 

 very useful addition to cinchona ; powdered, and 

 infused in old wine, it is an excellent stomachic, 

 tonic, and cordial. Although so common, what is 

 used by druggists is imported from the Levant. No 

 cattle whatever eat this plant. 



SWEET GUM. See Liquidambar. 

 SWEET POTATO (convolvulus batntas). This 

 plant is a native of the East Indies, but is now cul- 

 tivated in all the warmer parts of the globe, and has 

 produced numerous varieties. Formerly the roots 

 were imported into England from the West Indies 

 by the way of Spain, and sold as a delicacy. It is 

 the potatoe of Shakspeare and contemporary wri- 

 ters, the common potato being then scarcely known 

 in Europe. The roots are fleshy and spindle-shaped, 

 giving rise to herbaceous vines, which take root at 

 intervals ; the leaves are smooth, varying in form, 

 hut usually hastate, or three lobed ; the flowers are 

 white externally, and purplish within, disposed in 

 clusters upon axillary foot-stalks. In warm cli- 



