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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.
114. But it is said, the angel generated a new light, or a new spirit. That is to be understood as followeth: 15. When the qualifying or fountain spirits were incorporated or compacted together, then the light shone much brighter and clearer in the body, and from or out of the body, than it did before, in the Salitter; for there then rose up a much clearer and brighter flash in the body than before, whilst the Salitter was thin and dim. 16. Therefore the qualifying or fountain spirits became stately and proud, and supposed they had a much fairer little son or light than the Son of God was; and therefore they would also the more earnestly and eagerly qualify or operate, and elevate themselves, and so despised the qualifying or acting which is in God their Father; and they despised the birth of the Son of God, as also the exit or going forth of God the Holy Ghost, and supposed they could do it; because they were so gloriously incorporated or compacted together, therefore they would now exalt themselves gloriously and stately, and shew forth themselves, as if they were the most fair and beauteous bride of heaven. 17. They knew very well that they were not the whole or total God, but were only a piece or part thereof; they also knew very well how far their omnipotence reached or extended; and yet they would no more have their old condition, but would be higher than the whole or total God, and supposed thereby that they would have their place, region, quarters or court above the whole or total Deity, above all kingdoms whatsoever.
218. Therefore they elevated or extolled themselves, intending to kindle or inflame the whole God, and to govern or rule the whole God by their power and might. All forms and ideas should rise up in the qualifying and acting of his [Lucifer's] spirit. He would be lord of the Deity, and would not endure any corival.* * "would not endure any corival," lit., "no other was to be lord beside him " (neben), alongside, by the side of. 19. Now this is the root of covetousness, envy, pride and wrath [anger]; for in the fierce qualifying or acting and boiling rose up the wrath, and burnt like fire of heat and cold, and was also bitter as gall. 20. For the qualifying or fountain spirits had in themselves no impulse from without, but the impulse to pride elevated itself within the body, in the council of the seven qualifying or fountain spirits; these agreed and united in a compact, that they alone would be God. 21. But because they could not begin it in their old seat, and so bring it to effect, therefore they dissembled or played the hypocrite together, and flattered one with another, and so combined, intending to extol themselves against the birth of God, and would needs qualify or work in the highest depth, and then nothing could be like them, seeing they were together the most mighty prince in God. 22. The astringent quality was the first murderer, flatterer and hypocrite, for when it saw that it generated so fair and bright a light, then it compressed itself together yet harder than God had created it to be, intending to be much more terrible, and to draw together all in its whole region, circuit or circumference, and keep it fast, as a stern severe lord.
323. So then, in a degree, it effected somewhat, from whence earth and stones have their original; which I will write of when I treat concerning the creation of the world. 24. The bitter quality was the second murderer, which, when it rose up in the flash, did tear with breaking and great power in the astringent quality, as if it would break the body in pieces. 25. The astringent quality permitted this tearing, or else it was very well able to have staid and captivated the bitter spirit, and to bathe or steep it in the sweet water, till its high mind had been allayed and gone: But the astringent quality would needs have such a little brother, because such little brother was so serviceable to its turn; else, seeing the bitter spirit taketh its original from the astringent quality, as it were from its father, the astringent quality could well have stopped or hindered that. 26. The heat is the third murderous spirit, which killed its mother, the sweet water; but the astringent spirit is the cause thereof, for by its stern, severe attracting together and hardening, it hath thus vehemently awakened and kindled the fire by the bitter quality; for the fire is the sword of the astringent and bitter quality. 27. But since the fire riseth up in the sweet water, therefore itself hath the whip or scourge in its own power, and might have staid or kept back the astringent quality in the water, but the heat also became a flatterer or hypocrite, and dissembled with the great quality, viz. the astringent, and did help to destroy the sweet water.
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.
114. But it is said, the angel generated a new light, or a new spirit. That is to be understood as followeth: 15. When the qualifying or fountain spirits were incorporated or compacted together, then the light shone much brighter and clearer in the body, and from or out of the body, than it did before, in the Salitter; for there then rose up a much clearer and brighter flash in the body than before, whilst the Salitter was thin and dim. 16. Therefore the qualifying or fountain spirits became stately and proud, and supposed they had a much fairer little son or light than the Son of God was; and therefore they would also the more earnestly and eagerly qualify or operate, and elevate themselves, and so despised the qualifying or acting which is in God their Father; and they despised the birth of the Son of God, as also the exit or going forth of God the Holy Ghost, and supposed they could do it; because they were so gloriously incorporated or compacted together, therefore they would now exalt themselves gloriously and stately, and shew forth themselves, as if they were the most fair and beauteous bride of heaven. 17. They knew very well that they were not the whole or total God, but were only a piece or part thereof; they also knew very well how far their omnipotence reached or extended; and yet they would no more have their old condition, but would be higher than the whole or total God, and supposed thereby that they would have their place, region, quarters or court above the whole or total Deity, above all kingdoms whatsoever.
218. Therefore they elevated or extolled themselves, intending to kindle or inflame the whole God, and to govern or rule the whole God by their power and might. All forms and ideas should rise up in the qualifying and acting of his [Lucifer's] spirit. He would be lord of the Deity, and would not endure any corival.* * "would not endure any corival," lit., "no other was to be lord beside him " (neben), alongside, by the side of. 19. Now this is the root of covetousness, envy, pride and wrath [anger]; for in the fierce qualifying or acting and boiling rose up the wrath, and burnt like fire of heat and cold, and was also bitter as gall. 20. For the qualifying or fountain spirits had in themselves no impulse from without, but the impulse to pride elevated itself within the body, in the council of the seven qualifying or fountain spirits; these agreed and united in a compact, that they alone would be God. 21. But because they could not begin it in their old seat, and so bring it to effect, therefore they dissembled or played the hypocrite together, and flattered one with another, and so combined, intending to extol themselves against the birth of God, and would needs qualify or work in the highest depth, and then nothing could be like them, seeing they were together the most mighty prince in God. 22. The astringent quality was the first murderer, flatterer and hypocrite, for when it saw that it generated so fair and bright a light, then it compressed itself together yet harder than God had created it to be, intending to be much more terrible, and to draw together all in its whole region, circuit or circumference, and keep it fast, as a stern severe lord.
323. So then, in a degree, it effected somewhat, from whence earth and stones have their original; which I will write of when I treat concerning the creation of the world. 24. The bitter quality was the second murderer, which, when it rose up in the flash, did tear with breaking and great power in the astringent quality, as if it would break the body in pieces. 25. The astringent quality permitted this tearing, or else it was very well able to have staid and captivated the bitter spirit, and to bathe or steep it in the sweet water, till its high mind had been allayed and gone: But the astringent quality would needs have such a little brother, because such little brother was so serviceable to its turn; else, seeing the bitter spirit taketh its original from the astringent quality, as it were from its father, the astringent quality could well have stopped or hindered that. 26. The heat is the third murderous spirit, which killed its mother, the sweet water; but the astringent spirit is the cause thereof, for by its stern, severe attracting together and hardening, it hath thus vehemently awakened and kindled the fire by the bitter quality; for the fire is the sword of the astringent and bitter quality. 27. But since the fire riseth up in the sweet water, therefore itself hath the whip or scourge in its own power, and might have staid or kept back the astringent quality in the water, but the heat also became a flatterer or hypocrite, and dissembled with the great quality, viz. the astringent, and did help to destroy the sweet water.
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.
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