"Most Powerful and Most Gracious King:

"I feel compelled at this juncture to have recourse to Your Majesty's protection; for I have been treated as no one has ever been treated before in Sweden since the introduction of Christianity, and still less since the establishment of freedom here. I will first give you a brief account of things as they have happened. Upon my return from abroad the last time, I was informed that Bishop Filenius had confiscated my work entitled De Amore Conjugiali, which had appeared in Holland and had been sent to Norrk-ping. I therefore immediately inquired of some bishops whether this had been authorized by the House of the Clergy; they answered that they were aware of the confiscation, but that no general action had been taken, and that not a word about it had been entered upon the Minutes. Immediately afterwards the clergy from Gottenburg made a noise in their House about my books, and pushed matters so far, that the House appointed a committee de Swedenborgianismo [on Swedenborgianism], which consisted of bishops and professors. This committee sat for several months, and at last reported handsomely and reasonably on that subject, and thereby suppressed completely the disturbance which had been made; but to put an end to it still more effectually, it was resolved that a humble memorial should be addressed to Your Royal Majesty, requesting that the Chancellor of Justice should inquire about the disturbances which had arisen in Gottenburg. When the Bishop and the Dean of that place, who are the torch and trumpet [fax et tuba] in this affair, discovered that they made no progress in the reverend House of the Clergy, they, to stir up and kindle the flame anew, commenced a publication of twenty sheets or more about 'Swedenborgianism,' which is filled with invectives; and after this had been sent to Stockholm, the matter was taken up and settled by Your Majesty in the Privy Council, in consequence of which the Chancellor of Justice dispatched to the Consistory of Gottenburg an official letter, wherein, I have reason to think, he assented to the opinion expressed by the Consistory. "I received no more intimation than a child in the cradle of all that took place, of the committee in the reverend House of the Clergy, of the memorial they submitted to Your Royal Majesty, of the publication in Gottenburg on 'Swedenborgianism,' of the resolution which was passed by Your Royal Majesty in the Privy Council, and of the letter embodying it which was dispatched to the Consistory in Gottenburg. Of all this, from beginning to end, I received not the least intimation: all was done without my receiving a hearing; when yet the whole matter was about 'Swedenborgianism,' and the papers printed in Gottenburg are filled with coarse and reprehensible language without touching materially on the subject of 'Swedenborgianism,' which is the worship of the Lord our Saviour. Of these printed papers I had no other knowledge than what I received from a general commissary of war at Elsinore, and afterwards from a friend here in Stockholm who lent them to me for a day. Wherefore I still insist that everything that has taken place since my return home, has from beginning to end, been done without giving me a hearing. "From a rumor which has spread here in town I have learned that from the office of the Chancellor of Justice a communication has been made to the Consistory of Gottenburg, to the effect that my books have been entirely forbidden to be imported into this country, and, further, that the same office has stigmatized my revelations as untrue and false. In reply to this I humbly beg to make the following statement: That our Saviour visibly revealed Himself before me, and commanded me to do what I have done, and what I have still to do; and that thereupon He permitted me to have communication with angels and spirits, I have declared before the whole of Christendom, as well in England, Holland, Germany, and Denmark, as in France and Spain, and also on various occasions in this country before their Royal Majesties, and especially when I enjoyed the grace to eat at their table, in the presence of the whole royal family, and also of five senators and others; at which time my mission constituted the sole topic of conversation. Subsequently, also, I have revealed this before many senators; and among these Count Tessin, Count Bonde, and Count Hopken have found it in truth to be so, and Count Hopken, a gentleman of enlightened understanding, still continues to believe so; without mentioning many others, as well at home as abroad, among whom are both kings and princes. All this, however, the office of the Chancellor of Justice, if the rumor is correctly stated, declares to be false; when yet it is the truth. Should they reply that the thing is inconceivable to them, I have nothing to gainsay, since I am unable to put the state of my sight and speech into their heads, in order to convince them; nor am I able to cause angels and spirits to converse with them; nor do miracles happen now; but their very reason will enable them to see this, when they thoughtfully read my writings, wherein much may be found which has never before been discovered, and which cannot be discovered except by real vision, and communication with those who are in the spiritual world. In order that reason may see and acknowledge this, I beg that one of your Excellencies may peruse what has been said on this subject in my book, De Amore Conjugiali, in a memorable relation on pages 314 to 316; his Excellency Count Ekeblad and his Excellency Count Bjelke possess the book. If any doubt should still remain, I am ready to testify with the most solemn oath that may be prescribed to me, that this is the whole truth and a reality, without the least fallacy. That our Saviour permits me to experience this, is not on my own account, but for the sake of a sublime interest which concerns the eternal welfare of all Christians. Since such is the real state of things, it is wrong to declare it to be untruth and falsity; although it may be pronounced to be something that cannot be comprehended. "If now the rumor which has been spread is correct, namely, that such things are contained in the letter which was sent from the office of the Chancellor of Justice to the Consistory of Gottenburg, it follows hence that my books are declared to be heretical, and that I am declared to speak untruths and falsehoods in matters of revelation, and further, that from beginning to end, all this has been determined upon without giving me a hearing. What else results from this, but that in agreement with the resolution any severe treatment may be brought forward by the Consistory of Gottenburg and Bishop Filenius, and my sentence may be pronounced upon me, without my being heard in the affair at all; for of what use is a declaration or a defense after the sentence has been pronounced? "This is the reason why, as I said above, 'I am compelled to have recourse to Your Majesty, since I have been treated as no one has ever been treated before in Sweden since the introduction of Christianity, and still less since the establishment of freedom;' by being treated as I have been, without a hearing being granted me. "As this, however, concerns not only my writings, but as a natural consequence my person also, I make a humble request, that the memorial should be communicated to me which was addressed to Your Royal Majesty in this matter by the House of the Clergy, likewise the minutes of the Privy Council, and the letter which was dispatched from the office of the Chancellor of Justice to the Consistory of Gottenburg, in order that I may at once be heard, and may show forth the whole of my treatment before the public at large. "In respect to Doctors Beyer and Rosen of Gottenburg, I have given them no other advice than that they should approach our Savior, Jesus Christ, to whom all power has been given in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18), and should strive after their salvation; and as far as I have been able to learn, they have affirmed and insisted on this one point, which is also in conformity with the Augsburg Confession, the Formula Concordiae, and the whole Word of God; nevertheless for this acknowledgment alone they have become to a certain extent martyrs, at least so far as regards the cruel persecutions of the Bishop and the Dean of that town. The same expression also I apply to my books, which I regard as my own self, when, nevertheless, all that the Dean of Gottenburg has poured out against them, consists of sheer invectives, which do not contain a particle of truth.

"Your Royal Majesty's most humble and most dutiful servant and subject, "Emanuel Swedenborg. ["Stockholm, May 10, 1770.]

"I enclose two letters I have addressed to Dr. Beyer; the first of these concerns the worship of the Lord which is shown to be in agreement with the Augsburg Confession, the Formula Concordiae, and the whole Word of God." * Documents Concerning Swedenborg, Vol. 2, pp. 373-377