Note 25 — SWEDENBORG’S INVESTIGATIONS IN NATURAL SCIENCE.

See concerning this the above-named work by Hj. Holmquist, in which he says p. 223 concerning Swedenborg’s method of research: ›Swedenborg himself indicates the scientific method which he followed: first, the collecting of as many experiments and investigations as possible, afterwards the working over of these according to the laws of geometry, and lastly, speculation, hypotheses: ’as long as proofs are lacking, principles may not be accepted and hypotheses defended, as they then deserve better the name of fantasies than of principles’. ’Experientia, geometria et facultas ratiocinandi’, experience, geometry and reason, were the foundations of Swedenborg’s work both within the world of nature and that of spirit.›