The Animal Kingdom: Considered Anatomically, Physically, and Philosophically

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W. Newbery, 1843 - 526 pages
 

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Page l - I do not like thee, Doctor Fell. The reason why I cannot tell; But this alone I know full well, I do not love thee Doctor Fell.
Page lxiii - In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land : whom the Lord of Hosts shall bless, saying, " Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.
Page 10 - In order therefore to follow up the investigation, and to solve the difficulty, I have chosen to approach by the analytic way; and I think I am the first who has taken this course professedly. "To accomplish this grand end I enter the...
Page 33 - The use, or effect," says he, " which produces the end, must be the first object of analytic inquiry. The nature of the member or organ is known from the use. The use determines what the organ is in itself, or in its own form; what it is, in series, with other organs which are contiguous to it or surround it, and which continuously precede and continuously follow it; and what it is, in order, with those which are above and below, or prior and posterior to it. All these, and their uses, indicate the...
Page 1 - Specimen. Nothing whatever is more to be desired, or more delightful, than the light of truth : for it is the source of wisdom. When the mind is harassed with obscurity, distracted by doubts, rendered torpid or saddened by ignorance or falsities, and truth emerges as from a dark...
Page 12 - I made a rapid passage to the soul and put forth an essay respecting it. But on considering the matter more deeply, I found that I had directed my course thither both too hastily and too fast, — after having explored the blood only and its peculiar organs. I took the step impelled by an ardent desire for knowledge.
Page 10 - I purpose afterwards to give an introduction to Rational Psychology, consisting of certain new doctrines, through the assistance of which we may be conducted from the material organism of the body, to a knowledge of the soul which is immaterial : these are, the Doctrine of Forms ; the Doctrine of Order and Degrees ; also, the Doctrine of Series and Society ; the Doctrine of Influx ; the Doctrine of Correspondence and Representation ; lastly, the Doctrine of Modification.
Page 126 - Meanwhile, for the better understanding of the subjects mentioned in this chapter, I will here state, that forms ascend from the lowest to the highest, in order and by degrees, as do also the essences and substances of all things. The lowest form is the angular ; which is...
Page xvii - The doctrines made use of by Swedenborg in the " Animal Kingdom," are the Doctrines of Forms, of Order and Degrees, of Series and Society, of Influx, of Correspondence and Representation, and of Modification. These doctrines themselves are truths arrived at by analysis, proceeding on the basis of general experience; in short, they are so many formulas resulting from the evolution of the sciences. They are perpetually illustrated and elucidated throughout the
Page 126 - Our science of geometry rises almost to this form, but dare not enter it, or peruse its spires ; for at the first glance it strikes us as inextricable, and seems to sport with our ideas. This form never exists or subsists without poles, an axis, foci, a greatest circle, and lesser circles which are its diameters ; and as it again assumes a perpetuity which is wanting in the circular form, namely, in respect of diameters and centres, therefore it emulates and breathes a natural spontaneousness in...

About the author (1843)

The son of a Swedish Lutheran pastor, professor, and court chaplain, Emanuel Swedenborg first became a scientist and mining engineer. Of brilliant intellect and wide-ranging interests, he explored many areas of nature, doing pioneering work in several fields. In 1743 he began to experience a series of visions of the spiritual world. Over subsequent years he maintained that he held conversations with angels, the departed, and even God, and that he had visited heaven and hell. Swedenborg penned a lengthy series of writings inspired by these encounters, based on the concept of a spiritual cosmos as model for the physical, an educative view of the afterlife, and the allegorical interpretation of Scripture. In 1774 the small Church of the New Jerusalem was founded explicitly on the basis of his revelations. Swedenborg's influence has been much wider than its membership. His teachings entered American culture generally through the popularity of several of his books and his impact on Spiritualism and the New England Transcendentalists.

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