Page:Swedenborg, Harbinger of the New Age of the Christian Church.djvu/231

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MANNER OF LIFE IN LATER PERIOD

Von Höpken,[1] holding office under the Swedish Government equivalent to Prime Minister, to his friend General Tuxen, another friend of Swedenborg's, who held important office under the Danish Government at Elsinore.

"I have not only known him these two and forty years, but also, some time since, daily frequented his company. A man who like me has lived long in the world, and even in an extensive career of life, must have had numerous opportunities of knowing men as to their virtues or vices, their weakness or strength; and in consequence thereof I do not recollect to have known any man of more uniformly virtuous character than Swedenborg—always contented, never fretful or morose, though throughout his life his soul was occupied with sublime thoughts and speculations. He was a true philosopher and lived like one; he labored diligently and lived frugally without sordidness; he travelled continually, and his travels cost him no more than if he had lived at home. He was gifted with a most happy genius and a fitness for every science, which made him shine

  1. Called in the Swedish Biographical Dictionary "The Swedish Tacitus."

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