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Excerpt from Prof. Bush's Reply to Ralph Waldo Emerson on Swedenborg: A Lecture Delivered at the Odeon, Boston, on the Evening of Jan. 16, 1846
Ir would be easy to assign a multitude of causes which go to prevent the intelligent members of the New Church from being surprised to find attention awakened widely and deeply at this day to the character and the claims of Emanuel Swedenborg. They see that it must necessarily be so. If the reve lation of which he professes himself the instrument, be indeed of God, the era of its announcement is as much a matter of the divine counsel, as an of the truths involved in it. It is in fact the declaration of a grand event - the Second or Spiritual Advent of the Lord in the glory of the inner truth of his Word - and if this is an occurrence of such august character as to make it impossible for it to escape the notice of the human mind, inquiry must inevitably be awakened, not only as to the event itself, but as to all its most prominent accompaniments. It is not, indeed, to be doubted that the moral and intellectual illumination in which the event in great measure consists, may, for some time, make its way in a silent progress, of the fact and the nature of which the world may be little aware; but eventuaily the phenomena will begin to be looked upon in their true character, as the e¿'ects of some adequate cause; and this cause re¿ecting men will aim to investigate. What are termed the signs of the times - the genius of the age - cannot be regarded as vague fortuities - as the chance medley of Providence - as mere matters that happen, no one knows why or wherefore-but they will constitute a legitimate problem to be solved, and minds enlightened and wise will set themselves to solve it.
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