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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.
149. Vois, chère ame; U^dedans perce la teinture céleste , qu'il nous i^ut peindre par comparaison, et que nous ne pouvoas nullement exprimer avec des paroles. Oui , si nous avions une langue d'anges nous pourrions bien dire ce que re'ntendemenî conçoit i mais la perle est velue d*uu habit ténébreux. La vierge sovaiï: s'adresse au cœur de Dieu constamment , pour qu'il daigne éloigner de mes diélicieuses jouissances le ver ténébreux. Mais la réponse divine iut : La semance de la femme doii briser la tête au serpent ; c'est-à-dire , les ténèbres du serpent doivent êt^e séparées de ton époux. L'habit ténébreux dont le serpent a revêtu toâ époux , et a obscurci ta perle et ta belle couronne , doit se briser et redevenir terre; et tu dois ta réjouir en Bftoi avec ton époux ; telle a été éternellement ma volonté. Elle doit subsister. 5o. Si nous nous représentons maintenant legrand mystère , alors Pesprit découvre à notre intelligence que le vrai fondement de ceci est eu Adam.'car ^on esprit originel, om l'ame , qui étoit lo ver, étoit né de l'éternelle volonté de Dieu le père, et créé «n nature d'esprit par le fiât, lors de la création, au lieu où le père engendre éternellement sou cœur, entre la quatrième et cinquième forme dan^ le centre de Dieu, là où la lumière de JOieu so contemple toujours , et s'originise éternellement. C'est pourquoi la lumière de Dieu, ou une belU vierge , vi»t h son secours , et prit Famé pour ^q^^ r 212 ^ ck. i2Î époux, el Voulut orner Tame avec sa belle couronne du ciel , avec la noble puissance de la perle , et la parer de ses vêtemens.
25i. Alors la quatrième forme fit son explosion dans* le centre de Tame ; c'est-à-dire, là ou l'esprit de rame fut créé dans le centre , entre la quatrième et la cinquième forme , près le cœur de Dieu ; ainsi la quatrième forme parut brillante dans les ténèbres. De-là est créé le monde qui , dans sa forme, se redivise dans sou centre , en cinq parties, dans son ascension jusqu'à la lumière du soleil. Car les étoiles sont aussi engendrées dans leur centre entre la quatrième et la cinquième forme , et le soleil est la fontaine de la cinquième forme dans le centre, comme l'est le cœur et la lumière de Dieu dans l'éternel centre qui n'a aucun fondement. Mais le centre des étoiles et des élémens a son fondément dans la quatrième forme, dans la bas© affeclive ténébreuse , dans l'explosion de l'éclair de feu éveillé. 52. Ainsi Tamè est engendrée entre deux centres. jo. Entre le centre de Dieu , comprenez le cœur ou la lumière de Dieu , là où il est engendré de l'éternel lieu ; et ensuite , 2^ entre le centre manifesté de ce monde. Elle est suspendue aux deux, el elle inqualifie avec les deux, c'est pourquoi elle a les trois principes , et peut vivre dans tous les trois. 53. Mais telle étoit la loi et la volonté de la vierge SOPHIE. De même queDieu domine sur toutes choses , et se peint par-tout, et donne à tout la force et la vie, et que les choses ne le comprennent poiut quoi^ CH. 12. ( 2l3 ) qu'il soit là ; de même aussi l'ame devoit rester paisible, et la forme de la vierge sophie , devoit régner dans l'ame , et couronner l'ame avec la lumière de Dieu, L'ame devoit être le beau jeune homme qui fut créé ; et la puissance de Dieu , la belle vierge sophie 5 et la lumière de Dieu , la belle couronne de perle , avec laquelle la vierge sophie vouloit parer le jeune homme.
354. Mais le jeune homme vouloit avoir la vierge SOPHIE en propriété , tandis que par sa naissance elle étoit d'un degré au-dessus de lui ; ainsi cela ne pouvoit pas être. Car la vierge sophie étoit de toute éternité , et l'époux lui avoit été donné pour qu'elle eût par-là de la joie et des délices en Dieu. 55. Mais lorsque le jeune homme ou Adam ne put point obtenir cela de la vierge sophie, il se retourna vers le ver, dans son centre. Car la forme de ce monde pressa très puissamment sur lui ; elle étoit aussi dans l'ame, et aurpit bien voulu avoir la vierge en propriété , et en former une femme , comme en effet elle forma une femme , lors de la chute ; toutefois la femme ne vint point de la perle , mais seulement de l'esprit de ce monde. Car la na^ ture de ce monde s'angoisse continuellement après la vierge sophib , pour être délivrée de la vanité ; et elle se flatte d* inqualifier avec la vierge sophie ; mais cela ne peut pas être , car la sophie est engendrée de plus haut. 56. Et si ce monde étoit brisé , et délivré de la vanité du ver, cependant, il n'obliendroit pas pour cela kl vierge sophie, mais il demeureroit sans- ( Î2T4 ) <^- T2r^ esprit e( sans ver, sous son ombre; dans un gracieux et doux repos ; sans pendant et sans désir propre | or il arriveroit par-là à son haut grade et à sa beauté 5 et seroit affranchi élernelleraenl de son travail. Eu effet , le ver qui le tourmente ici s'en va dans son principe et ne touche plus l'ombre et la figure de ce inonde dans l'éternilé. Car alors la vierge sophiB domine de concert avec son époux.
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.
149. See, dear soul; therein pierces the celestial tincture, which we must paint by comparison, and which we can in no wise express with words. Yes, if we had a tongue of angels we could well say what the understanding conceives; but the pearl is clothed in a tenebrous habit. The virgin SOPHIA addresses herself to the heart of God constantly, that he may deign to remove from my delicious enjoyments the tenebrous worm. But the divine answer was: The seed of the woman must bruise the head of the serpent; that is to say, the darkness of the serpent must be separated from thy spouse. The tenebrous habit wherewith the serpent has clothed thy spouse, and has obscured thy pearl and thy fair crown, must break and become earth again; and thou must rejoice in me with thy spouse; such has been eternally my will. It must subsist. 5o. If we represent to ourselves now the great mystery, then the spirit discovers to our intelligence that the true foundation of this is in Adam. For his original spirit, or the soul, which was the worm, was born of the eternal will of God the father, and created in nature of spirit by the fiat, at the creation, in the place where the father begets eternally his heart, between the fourth and fifth form in the centre of God, there where the light of God contemplates itself always, and originises itself eternally. That is why the light of God, or a fair virgin, came to his succour, and took the soul for her r 212 ^ ck. i2Î spouse, and would adorn the soul with her fair crown of heaven, with the noble power of the pearl, and deck it with her garments.
25i. Then the fourth form made its explosion in the centre of the soul; that is to say, there where the spirit of the soul was created in the centre, between the fourth and the fifth form, near the heart of God; thus the fourth form appeared brilliant in the darkness. Thence is created the world which, in its form, redivides itself in its centre, into five parts, in its ascension even to the light of the sun. For the stars are also begotten in their centre between the fourth and the fifth form, and the sun is the fountain of the fifth form in the centre, as is the heart and the light of God in the eternal centre which has no foundation. But the centre of the stars and of the elements has its foundation in the fourth form, in the tenebrous affective base, in the explosion of the flash of fire awakened. 52. Thus the soul is begotten between two centres. jo. Between the centre of God, understand the heart or the light of God, there where it is begotten of the eternal place; and then, 2^ between the manifested centre of this world. It is suspended to the two, and it inqualifies with the two, that is why it has the three principles, and can live in all the three. 53. But such was the law and the will of the virgin SOPHIA. Even as God rules over all things, and paints himself everywhere, and gives to all the force and the life, and that the things comprehend him not although CH. 12. ( 2l3 ) he be there; so also the soul was to remain peaceable, and the form of the virgin Sophia was to reign in the soul, and crown the soul with the light of God. The soul was to be the fair young man that was created; and the power of God, the fair virgin Sophia 5 and the light of God, the fair crown of pearl, wherewith the virgin Sophia would adorn the young man.
354. But the young man would have the virgin SOPHIA in property, whilst by her birth she was of a degree above him; thus that could not be. For the virgin Sophia was from all eternity, and the spouse had been given to her so that she might have thereby joy and delights in God. 55. But when the young man or Adam could not obtain that of the virgin Sophia, he turned himself back toward the worm, in his centre. For the form of this world pressed very powerfully upon him; it was also in the soul, and would indeed have had the virgin in property, and formed of her a woman, as in effect it formed a woman, at the fall; nevertheless the woman came not of the pearl, but only of the spirit of this world. For the nature of this world is in anguish continually after the virgin SOPHIA, to be delivered from vanity; and it flatters itself to inqualify with the virgin Sophia; but that cannot be, for the Sophia is begotten from higher. 56. And if this world were broken, and delivered from the vanity of the worm, nevertheless, it would not obtain for that the virgin Sophia, but it would remain without ( Î2T4 ) <^- T2r^ spirit and without worm, under its shadow; in a gracious and sweet repose; without leaning and without desire of its own | now it would arrive thereby at its high grade and at its beauty 5 and would be freed eternally from its labour. In effect, the worm that torments it here goes away into its principle and touches no more the shadow and the figure of this world in eternity. For then the virgin SOPHIA rules in concert with her spouse.
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.