The Worship and Love of God is one of the most unusual writings of Swedish scientist and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772). A "poetical novel," it dramatizes the Creation and examines the life of Adam and Eve as the first truly united couple. Considered Swedenborg's last work before he embarked on his visionary period, the manuscript was left unfinished by its author and published only after his death.

Inge Jonsson, one of the world's leading scholars on Swedenborg's works, offers a scholarly look into a neglected literary achievement. He examines this unique work from the perspective of sources and influences. The literary genre f hexaemeron, ancient and modern philosophy, and scientific discoveries in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries come into play in Swedenborg's richly imagined and beautifully articulated world. Yet The Worship and Love of God also offers an intriguing glimpse into Swedenborg's future as a biblical exegete and revelator.

Inge Jonsson, professor emeritus of comparative literature, was rector of Stockholm University from 1988 to 1994. He is past president of the Royal Academy of Letters, History, and Antiquities in Stockholm and has written a history of that institution. Dr. Jonsson has written many books and articles on Emanuel Swedenborg, including Swedenborgs korrespondenslara, considered the definitive work on the seer’s theory of correspondence, and a classic work on Swedenborg’s creation drama Worship and Love of God.