CHAPTER XI.

THE WHITE HORSE.*

LIKE the Last Judgement' and the 'New Jerusalem and its 'Heavenly Doctrine,' the 'White Horse' is a treatise suggested by the Apocalypse. It is an explanation of that vision of John's whereof he says

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'I saw Heaven opened and behold a White Horse, and 'He that sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in 'righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire; and on His head were many 'crowns; and He had a name written that no man knew 'but Himself: and He was clothed in a vesture dipped in 'blood; and His name is called the Word of God. And 'the armies which are in Heaven followed Him upon white 'horses, clothed in fine linen white and clean. And He 'hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, 'King of kings and Lord of lords.'†

This vision, says Swedenborg, is representative of the opening of the Spiritual Sense of the Word, and thus wise

'I saw Heaven opened' - signifies entrance into a heavenly state wherein one discerns truth eye to eye with Angels.

* De Equo Albo de quo in Apocalypsi, Cap. XIX. Et dein de Verbo 'et ejus Sensu Spirituali seu Interno, ex Arcanis Cœlestibus. Londini: 1758.' 4to, 23 pages.

† Rev. xix. 11-14, 16.

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HORSE SIGNIFIES UNDERSTANDING.

'And behold a White Horse' - In Heaven whatever is seen externally is a revelation of what exists internally; the meaning therefore of the White Horse must be sought in the Mind of the Seer.

The Horse is frequently mentioned in the Word and always as the representative of the Human Understanding. 'In the Spiritual World,' testifies our Author, 'I have 'often observed when any were thinking from Under'standing, they appear to others as if riding on Horses, 'though themselves quite unconscious of the fact. There 'is also a place in that World where many assemble to 'discuss truths of doctrine, and when others approach 'them, they see the whole plain covered with Chariots and 'Horses. I have likewise seen bright Horses and 'Chariots of fire, when certain Spirits were taken up into 'Heaven, which was a sign, that they were then instructed 'in heavenly truth and become intelligent: on seeing 'which, it occurred to my mind, what is signified by the 'Chariot of fire, which carried Elijah up into Heaven; and

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'what is signified by the Horses and Chariots of fire that were seen by Elisha's young man when his eyes were ' opened.'*

White, as every one knows, is the colour which corresponds to truth. A White Horse is therefore the emblem of an Understanding vivified by truth.

On the White Horse sat a Rider 'called Faithful and 'True, with eyes as a flame of fire, and on His head many 'crowns.' The Rider is the Lord; His flaming eyes, His wisdom alit with His love; His many crowns, 'all the 'goods and truths of faith. Only and in so far as He-as Divine Wisdom-occupies the Human Understanding has it either real vigour or true glory.

INNER SENSE OF GREEK FABLES.

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source of all spiritual wisdom, but an unknown name' to every soul, which has not in some measure by regeneration entered into union with the Lord.

The vesture of the Rider seen as 'dipped in blood' signifies, 'the Word in the Letter to which violence had 'been done' by perversion to false doctrine.

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'The armies of Heaven following Him upon White 'Horses,' are those who by obedience to the Divine Will are transformed to the Divine likeness. Their clothing of 'fine linen clean and white' is the manifest evidence of their spiritual purity.

To about six pages of such cursory exposition, Swedenborg adjoins fifteen pages of references to passages in the 'Arcana Cœlestia' treating of the Sacred Scriptures, their Internal Senses, and the conditions of their apprehension. The pamphlet is a useful digest and index to an important series of statements.

It may please the reader to have Swedenborg's opinion as to the significance of the Horse in the Greek mythology

That a Horse signified the Understanding was quite 'well known in the Ancient Churches, with whom the 'Science of Correspondences was the chief of Sciences. 'From those Churches, the knowledge of the correspondence 'of the Horse was transmitted to the Greeks. Hence when 'they would describe the Sun, in which they placed their 'god of wisdom and intelligence' [Apollo], 'they attributed 'to it a Chariot and four Horses of fire: and when they 'would describe the god of the Sea, since by the Sea was 'signified Sciences derived from the Understanding, they 'also attributed Horses to him' [Neptune): 'and when they 'would describe the rise of the Sciences from the Under'standing, they feigned a winged Horse, which with its 'hoof broke open a fountain, at which sat nine virgins called

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BOOKS OF THE WORD.

'the Sciences. From the Ancient Churches the Greeks 'received the knowledge, that the Horse signifies Under'standing; wings, spiritual truth; the hoof, what is scientific ' derived from the Understanding; and a fountain, doctrine 'from which sciences are derived. By the Trojan Horse 'nothing else is signified, than a contrivance of the Under'standing for the destruction of walls. Even at this day, 'when the Understanding is described after the manner of 'the Ancients, it is usual to represent it by a flying horse

or Pegasus; so likewise, doctrine is described by a fountain, 'and the Sciences by Virgins; but scarcely any one knows, 'that the Horse in a mystic sense is the Understanding; 'still less, that those emblems were inherited by the Gentiles 'from the Ancient Representative Churches.'*

In the 'White Horse,' for the third time,† Swedenborg prints a list of the books which under the cover of our Bibles constitute the Word. Here is the dogma

'Which are the books of the Word. The books of the 'Word are those which have the Internal Sense: those 'which have not the Internal Sense are not the Word.

'The books of the Word in the Old Testament are, the 'five Books OF MOSES, the BOOK OF JOSHUA, the BOOK OF 'JUDGES, the two BOOKS OF SAMUEL, the two Books or 'KINGS, the PSALMS OF DAVID, the Prophets, ISAIAH, 'JEREMIAH, the LAMENTATIONS, EZEKIEL, DANIEL, HOSEA, 'JOEL, AMOS, OBADIAH, JONAH, MICAH, NAHUM, HABAKKUK, 'ZEPHANIAH, HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, MALACHI. In the New 'Testament, the four Evangelists, MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, 'JOHN, and the APOCALYPSE. Other books have not the 'Internal Sense.

BOOKS EXCLUDED FROM THE WORD.

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'Job is an ancient book, which indeed contains an In'ternal Sense, but not in series.'*

It may be useful to bring under the eye the number of books expunged from the sacred canon by this sentence. They are

RUTH, the two BOOKS OF CHRONICLES, EZRA, NEHEMIAH, ESTHER, JOB, PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES, and the SONG OF SOLOMON; the ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, and all the EPISTLES of PAUL, JAMES, PETER, JOHN and JUDE.

I have only seen one edition of the Bible in which this law of exclusion has taken effect: it was published in 1837 by Otis Clapp of Boston for the Swedenborgians of New England. The canon thus reduced, however, stands the chance of enlargement by the discovery of the Word of the Ancient Church, which Swedenborg testifies 'is still

'preserved among the people of Great Tartary,' and is 'in

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use in the Heavens derived from the Ancient Church.'†