The Confessions of Jacob Boehme
A copy of the manuscript of the Aurora having fallen into the hands of Gregorius Richter, the Pastor Primarius of Gorlitz, Boehme was violently attacked for his unorthodox opinions, and even threatened with immediate exile. Finally he was allowed to remain in the town but forbidden to continue writing. He obeyed this decree for five years ; for him, a period of renewed struggle and gloom, during which he was torn between respect for authority and the imperative need for selfexpression. His opinions, however, became known. They brought him much persecution—"shame, ignominy, and reproach,"
INTRODUCTION xix
he says, " budding and blossoming every day" — but also gained him friends and admirers of the educated class, especially among the local students of hermetic philosophy and mysticism. It was under their influence that Boehme — his vocabulary now much enriched and his ideas clarified as the result of numerous discussions — began in 1619 to write again. In the five years between this date and his death, he composed all his principal works. Their bulk — and also, we must confess, their frequent obscurities and repetitions — testify to the fury with which the spirit often drove " the penman's hand." Some, however, do seem to have been written with conscious art, to explain special points of difficulty ; for Boehme's first confused and overwhelming intuitions of reality had slowly given place to a more lucid vision. The " Aurora" had turned to "a lovely bright day," in which his vigorous intellect was able to deal with that which he had xx CONFESSIONS OF JACOB BOEHME seen " couched and wrapt up in the depths of the Deity." Thus the Forty Questions gives his answers to problems stated by the learned Dr. Walther, principal of the chemical laboratory at Dresden. His reputation had now spread through Germany, and eminent scholars came to his workshop to learn from him. In 1622 he left off the practice of his trade and devoted himself entirely to writing and exposition.
The publication of the beautiful Way to Christ, which was privately printed by one of these admirers in 1623, caused a fresh attack on the part of his old enemy Richter. For once, Boehme condescended to controversy, and replied with dignity to the violent accusations of blasphemy and heresy brought against him. He was nevertheless compelled by the magistrates to leave the town, where he now had a large number of disciples. He went first to the electoral court of Dresden ; there
INTRODUCTION xxi
meeting the chief theologians of the day, who were deeply impressed by his prophetic earnestness and intense piety, and refused to uphold the charge of heresy. In August 1624, the death of Richter allowed him to return to Gorlitz ; but he was already mortally ill, and died on November 21st of that year, at the age of forty-nine.
II
In trying to estimate the character of Boehme's teaching, it is important to realize the sources of his principal conceptions. Though his early revelations, abruptly surging up from the unconscious region, seemed to him to owe nothing to the art of reason, yet it is undeniable that they were strongly influenced by memories of books read, beliefs accepted, and experiences endured. The " lightning-flash " in which he had his sudden visions of the Universe, also illuminated the furniture of his own mind and gave to it a fresh signifixxii CONFESSIONS OF JACOB BOEHME
A copy of the manuscript of the Aurora having fallen into the hands of Gregorius Richter, the Pastor Primarius of Gorlitz, Boehme was violently attacked for his unorthodox opinions, and even threatened with immediate exile. Finally he was allowed to remain in the town but forbidden to continue writing. He obeyed this decree for five years ; for him, a period of renewed struggle and gloom, during which he was torn between respect for authority and the imperative need for selfexpression. His opinions, however, became known. They brought him much persecution—"shame, ignominy, and reproach,"
INTRODUCTION xix
he says, " budding and blossoming every day" — but also gained him friends and admirers of the educated class, especially among the local students of hermetic philosophy and mysticism. It was under their influence that Boehme — his vocabulary now much enriched and his ideas clarified as the result of numerous discussions — began in 1619 to write again. In the five years between this date and his death, he composed all his principal works. Their bulk — and also, we must confess, their frequent obscurities and repetitions — testify to the fury with which the spirit often drove " the penman's hand." Some, however, do seem to have been written with conscious art, to explain special points of difficulty ; for Boehme's first confused and overwhelming intuitions of reality had slowly given place to a more lucid vision. The " Aurora" had turned to "a lovely bright day," in which his vigorous intellect was able to deal with that which he had xx CONFESSIONS OF JACOB BOEHME seen " couched and wrapt up in the depths of the Deity." Thus the Forty Questions gives his answers to problems stated by the learned Dr. Walther, principal of the chemical laboratory at Dresden. His reputation had now spread through Germany, and eminent scholars came to his workshop to learn from him. In 1622 he left off the practice of his trade and devoted himself entirely to writing and exposition.
The publication of the beautiful Way to Christ, which was privately printed by one of these admirers in 1623, caused a fresh attack on the part of his old enemy Richter. For once, Boehme condescended to controversy, and replied with dignity to the violent accusations of blasphemy and heresy brought against him. He was nevertheless compelled by the magistrates to leave the town, where he now had a large number of disciples. He went first to the electoral court of Dresden ; there
INTRODUCTION xxi
meeting the chief theologians of the day, who were deeply impressed by his prophetic earnestness and intense piety, and refused to uphold the charge of heresy. In August 1624, the death of Richter allowed him to return to Gorlitz ; but he was already mortally ill, and died on November 21st of that year, at the age of forty-nine.
II
In trying to estimate the character of Boehme's teaching, it is important to realize the sources of his principal conceptions. Though his early revelations, abruptly surging up from the unconscious region, seemed to him to owe nothing to the are of reason, yet it is undeniable that they were strongly influenced by memories of books read, beliefs accepted, and experiences endured. The " lightning-flash " in which he had his sudden visions of the Universe, also illuminated the furniture of his own mind and gave to it a fresh signifixxii CONFESSIONS OF JACOB BOEHME
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