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Eleven books by a shoemaker of Görlitz who wrote, by his own account, because he could not help it. Ten of them stand here in the seventeenth-century English of John Sparrow, who translated Boehme within a generation of his death and whose prose is itself now four hundred years old; where that English has drifted out of reach, the facing pane carries a modern register — the same text with archaic inflection and spelling normalised by rule, never paraphrased. Nothing is reworded, and where no register appears beside a passage it is because the rules found nothing to change.
The eleventh book is not in English at all, and it is the reason this note exists.
Des trois principes de l'essence divine, printed at Paris in 1802, is the same work as Concerning the Three Principles of the Divine Essence, which stands here as the second book — the same twenty-seven chapters in the same order, opening `Du premier principe de l'essence divine` against Sparrow's `Of the first Principle of the Divine Essence`. Its translator was Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, who gave the last years of his life to putting Boehme into French, and who has a shelf of his own in this Lycaeum.
That makes a closed circuit inside this archive, and it is worth naming plainly. Saint-Martin translates Boehme. La Iniciación, printed in Montevideo a hundred and forty years later, traces its own descent through Saint-Martin. A reader can therefore follow one thread from a German mystic of 1619, through the French philosopher who carried him into another language, to a Spanish-language monthly of the 1940s that claimed them both — and read every step of it in the original.
The two are shelved as one work rather than two because that is what they are. They are not set as facing panes: an English translation of 1619 and a French translation of 1802 are two independent readings of a lost German original, and pairing them line by line would assert a correspondence neither translator ever claimed.
1fois , dans les tems saints , il se soit passé eu ce genre de grandes merveilles ; car la foi des vivans , et l'amour des séparés pour les saints vivans ont opéré ceci dans la forte puissance de Dieu j et Dieu l'a laissé arriver pour la conversion des peuples , afin que , quoiqu'on en dise , ils pussent voir la grande puissance des morts en Dieu , comment ils sont dans un autre règne, et comment ils sont vivans , afin qu'ils pussent être surs de la résurrection des morts , par les grands prodiges des âmes séparées , qui , pour la plupart , a voient é^é mises à mort , pour le témoignage de Jésus. Par ce moyen les payens et tous les peuples voyoienl quelle récompense avoit été accordée aux saints qui avoient sacrifié leur vie pour le témoignage de Christ 5 aussi, par de tels exemples , plusieurs peuple* se sont convertis. ^ 3t. Mais que maintenant il soit résulté de la une Babel de confusion, où on aille jusqu'à invoquer les différens saints , comme intercesseurs devant Dieu ,1 et qu'on leur rende un honneur divin , cela n'est pas la faute des saintes âmes séparées , puisqu'elles n'ont point désiré ces choses , et ne portent point les misères de l'homme devant Dieu 5 mais ce sont des superstitions inventées par l'antechrisl qui a établi là-dessus son siège d'orgueil , non comme un saint vivant qui se porte vers Dieu avec les saints, mais comme un Dieu terrestre : ij s'aiiribue par là la toute puissance divine; il n'en a cepenaant aucune , et il est le cupide et orgueilleux ante4christ , voyageant sur la puissante bête de ce mond€. <îR- ^' f Ii3 )
232. Les âmes séparées ne portent point nôsbesoîhi* devant Dieu 5 car Dieu lui-même est plus près dô nous que les âmes séparées : en effet, si elles le dévoient faire, elles dévroient avoir unro7,*etuDe source paradisiaque en éUvement et en opération et cependant elles sont dans un repos paisible ' humble et doux , et ne laissent pas entrer nos besoins en elles ; mais une sainte teinture saisit l'autre dans l'amour et l'attract : toutefois elles ne font pas de leur grand prince Christ , un auditeur sourd , qui n'entend pas lui-même, ne voit ^ ni ne sent;/tf£ qui étend z^^ bras , qui invoque sans cesse avec son esprit saint, et invite tous les enfans des hommes à la noce. Avec quelle bonne volonté il \q^ recevroit, , si seulement ils se déterminoieut à y venir ! 33. Comment donc maintenant , une ame se présentera-t-elle devant le Christ, et prieia-t-elle pour un invocateur vivant , puisque le Christ est là luimême,puisqu'il invite leshommes,et est lui-même le calmant de la colère dans le père ? Car le père a donné les hommes au fils , comme il le témoigne luimême : Les hommes étoient à toi , et tu me \q^ as donnés , et je veux qu'ils soient avec moi, et qu'ils voient ma gloire que tu m'as donnée. 34. O ! toi , confuse Babel , éloigne-toi de l'antechrist, et marche avec un cœur pénitent et humilié devant ton miséricordieux frère et le sauveur de tous les hommes; il te recevra avec beaucoup plus d'ardeur que tu ne viens à lui. Marche seulement hors de cette méchante Babel dans une nouvelle Baissance, et ne permets pas que le royaume de c«
3«.onde le soi. si cher , puisque lu n'y es .ou.efois ;„e comme hô.e. Que .e sert «on élévaUou passaSre que tu fondes sur les hommes , e. qu. dure a Se un instant , tandis que tu peux dans la uou- :^e naissance recevoir «ne bien plus grane.o.e .t un plus grand honneur , puisque les sa.ules aLs dans'le ciel , et les anges se réiou.ront avec S Considère quelle joie tu réveilles par la dan. e ^urde Jésus-Christ ; car là aussitôt, on te donnera U Précieux gage de l'esprit saint , e. tu obt.endras a cltr du royaume du ciel, a.inque.u puisses o„- L Lêm'e. Mais penses-tu que cela ne so.t pas vrai? îais-en seulement l'essai avec une smcere I deur,tuépro«yerasdesmerveilles; tu reconno.- Is Ja »oi^ême,et tu verras sans le moindre a::,eTda„stondiscerneme«t.dequelleéco.ecetécnt "'sT'Maintenan. la réflexion se dit : Puisque ,ou les œuvre, ^es âmes qu'elleson. o^r es es suivent en figure . qu'arrivera-t-.l donc s. une Il à fait ici pendant loug-tems de grands menTnges e de grands péchés? Elle aura alors une ;3e honte puisqu'ils paroîtront en figure de- ":6 'S'esTu l'arme puissante du démon , avec la- „„âe il poursuit lésâmes pour les pousser dans e dol Jn qu'elles aient toujours leurs grosi^chés a:;L'tyeux,etqu'eHesdou.entdelagrâcede ^t' Or donc , vois , toi , chère ame , délivrée au J;;«d'l'précieu.e rançon par le sauveur CH. 19. ( ii5 )
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
1ly, in the holy times, there came to pass in this kind great marvels; for the faith of the living, and the love of the separated for the living saints have operated this in the strong power of God; and God let it come to pass for the conversion of the peoples, so that, whatever one may say of it, they might see the great power of the dead in God, how they are in another reign, and how they are living, so that they might be sure of the resurrection of the dead, by the great prodigies of the separated souls, who, for the most part, had been put to death, for the testimony of Jesus. By this means the pagans and all the peoples saw what recompense had been accorded to the saints who had sacrificed their life for the testimony of Christ 5 also, by such examples, several peoples converted themselves. 3t. But that now there has resulted from thence a Babel of confusion, where men go so far as to invoke the different saints, as intercessors before God ,1 and that men render them a divine honour, that is not the fault of the separated holy souls, since they have not desired these things, and bear not the miseries of man before God 5 but these are superstitions invented by the antichrist who has established thereupon his seat of pride, not as a living saint who bears himself toward God with the saints, but as a terrestrial God: he attributes to himself thereby the divine omnipotence; he has however none, and he is the covetous and proud ante4christ, voyaging upon the powerful beast of this world. <îR- ^' f Ii3 )
232. The separated souls bear not at all our needs before God 5 for God himself is nearer to us than the separated souls: in effect, if they were to do it, they would have to have unro7,*etuDe paradisiac source in raising and in operation; and nevertheless they are in a peaceable repose, humble and sweet, and let not our needs enter into them; but one holy tincture seizes the other in love and in the attract: however they do not make of their great prince Christ, a deaf auditor, who himself hears not, sees not, nor feels; but who extends his arms, who invokes unceasingly with his holy spirit, and invites all the children of men to the wedding. With what good will he would receive them, if only they determined themselves to come thither! 33. How then now, shall a soul present itself before the Christ, and pray for a living invocator, since the Christ is there himself, since he invites men, and is himself the appeaser of the anger in the father? For the father has given men to the son, as he testifies himself: Men were thine, and thou hast given them to me, and I will that they be with me, and that they see my glory that thou hast given me. 34. O thou, confused Babel, withdraw thyself from the antichrist, and walk with a penitent and humbled heart before thy merciful brother and the saviour of all men; he will receive thee with much more ardour than thou comest to him. Walk only out of this wicked Babel into a new birth, and permit not that the kingdom of this
3world be so dear to thee, since thou art there however but as a guest. What serves thee thy passing elevation that thou foundest upon men, and which lasts scarcely an instant, whilst thou canst in the new birth receive a much greater glory and a greater honour, since the holy souls in heaven, and the angels will rejoice with thee. Consider what joy thou awakenest thereby in the heart of Jesus-Christ; for there immediately, there will be given thee the precious pledge of the holy spirit, and thou wilt obtain the key of the kingdom of heaven, so that thou mayest open thyself. But thinkest thou that that is not true? make only the trial of it with a sincere ardour, thou wilt experience marvels; thou wilt recognise the way thyself, and thou wilt see without the least a::,eTda„stondiscerneme«t. of what school this writing is. sT' Now reflection says to itself: Since all the works of souls that they have operated follow them in figure, what then will happen if a soul has done here for a long time great lyings and great sins? It will then have a ;3e shame since they will appear in figure be- ":6 That is the powerful weapon of the demon, with which he pursues souls to push them into doubt, that they may have always their gross sins before the eyes, and that they may doubt of the grace of ^t' Now then, see, thou, dear soul, delivered by means of the precious ransom by the saviour CH. 19. ( ii5 )
Our translation, period-faithful. Citable as our translation, never as the source.
Saint-Martin's French rendering of Boehme's 'Von den drei Principien göttlichen Wesens'. The same work stands in this estate in English as boehme:2. The title page also advertises 'L'Aurore naissante, du même Auteur' from the same booksellers — Saint-Martin's translation of the Aurora, whose English counterpart the estate holds as boehme:1. Reading the two versions against each other shows what a Martinist made of a German shoemaker's theosophy.
→ boehme:2
This work carries, in the author's own voice, both a set of hostile comparisons drawn against named peoples and an explicit refusal of any such boundary, and the Press publishes both rather than either alone. At Ch.25 §85 he calls the Jews blind; at Ch.17 §106 he warns of a coming visitation of the Jews and the Turks; and at Ch.26 §32-33, asked whence the Turks are grown, he answers "From thy perverted sense" — laying the rise of Mahomet at the door of christian pride and disputation. Against these stands Ch.25 §72, which opens the grace with no boundary at all: all men are invited to it, of whatever race, "whether Turks, Jews, Pagans, Christians", and no one is excluded. The same chapter that indicts turns the indictment inward at §105-106 — each believes not to dwell in Babel, and the author includes himself — and §33 concludes that God should be as near the one as the other. The contradiction is the author's, it is not resolved by him, and removing either half would misrepresent the work. Operator ruling, 2026-08-29.
This work carries, in the author's own voice, both a set of hostile comparisons drawn against named peoples and an explicit refusal of any such boundary, and the Press publishes both rather than either alone. At Ch.25 §85 he calls the Jews blind; at Ch.17 §106 he warns of a coming visitation of the Jews and the Turks; and at Ch.26 §32-33, asked whence the Turks are grown, he answers "From thy perverted sense" — laying the rise of Mahomet at the door of christian pride and disputation. Against these stands Ch.25 §72, which opens the grace with no boundary at all: all men are invited to it, of whatever race, "whether Turks, Jews, Pagans, Christians", and no one is excluded. The same chapter that indicts turns the indictment inward at §105-106 — each believes not to dwell in Babel, and the author includes himself — and §33 concludes that God should be as near the one as the other. The contradiction is the author's, it is not resolved by him, and removing either half would misrepresent the work. Operator ruling, 2026-08-29.
This work carries, in the author's own voice, both a set of hostile comparisons drawn against named peoples and an explicit refusal of any such boundary, and the Press publishes both rather than either alone. At Ch.25 §85 he calls the Jews blind; at Ch.17 §106 he warns of a coming visitation of the Jews and the Turks; and at Ch.26 §32-33, asked whence the Turks are grown, he answers "From thy perverted sense" — laying the rise of Mahomet at the door of christian pride and disputation. Against these stands Ch.25 §72, which opens the grace with no boundary at all: all men are invited to it, of whatever race, "whether Turks, Jews, Pagans, Christians", and no one is excluded. The same chapter that indicts turns the indictment inward at §105-106 — each believes not to dwell in Babel, and the author includes himself — and §33 concludes that God should be as near the one as the other. The contradiction is the author's, it is not resolved by him, and removing either half would misrepresent the work. Operator ruling, 2026-08-29.