Abstract

The article is an attempt to outline, in broad terms, the complex, controversial, mysterious, and intriguing figure of Swedenborg and his work. The Polish reader often deals with more or less competent second- or third-hand accounts, or with subjective interpretations (Polish Romanticism, Czesław Miłosz, mysticism and esotericism of dubious quality). Meanwhile, the works of the Swedish scientist and theosophist remain largely unknown or even inaccessible to them, which is due to the lack of competent, critical translations, as well as academic studies (despite some changes in this regard in recent years). Aside from the language (and – importantly – the style, which will not gain in clarity even in the most ‘accessible’ translation), a barrier is posed by the shortage of reliable – including critical and polemical – literature, but also by the cultural distinctiveness or even foreignness of the phenomenon in question: Swedenborg the mystic grew out of the soil of Swedish Lutheranism, and his concepts, which struck at Christian and Catholic dogmas (negating the Holy Trinity and the divine sonship of Christ, as well as the absence of Marian themes), had little chance of taking broader root on Polish soil. In radical interpretations, the Swedish theosophist is sometimes perceived as possessed by demons (R. Tekieli) or at least as a psychological deviant (K. Jaspers). His penchant for trances or erotic visions is undoubtedly attractive from a literary standpoint, and also provides rewarding material for psychological or psychoanalytical analyses; however, they cannot foster the broader establishment of this author as an authority or a significant point of reference. Despite all this, Swedenborg remains important due to the mark he left on culture – Euro-American, but also Polish, starting with Mickiewicz and Słowacki. His scientific and technical achievements, both in the conceptual-speculative sphere and in the sphere of praxis, from the period before his mystical breakthrough, are sometimes excellent, or even astonishing – and as such, they should undoubtedly enjoy greater recognition.