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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.
1THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER Of the lamentable and miserable State and Condition of the corrupt perished Nature, and Original of the four Elements, instead of the holy Government of God. 1. ALTHOUGH God be an eternal, almighty regent or governor, whom none can resist, yet nature in its kindling hath now gotten a very monstrous strange government, such as was not before the times of the wrath. 2. For the six qualifying or fountain spirits did generate the seventh naturespirit before the times of the wrath, in the place of this world, very meekly and pleasantly, as is now done in heaven, and not so much as the least spark of wrath or anger rose up therein. 3. Moreover, all was very bright and light therein, neither was there need of any other light; but the fountain or wellspring of the Heart of God enlightened all, and was a light in all, which did shine everywhere all over incessantly without any obstacle. For nature was very rarified and thin or transparent, and all stood merely in power, and was in a very pleasant lovely temper. 4. But as soon as in nature the fight began with the proud devil, then in the seventh naturespirit, in the court, region or extent of Lucifer, which is the place of this world, all gat another form and operation. 5. For nature gat a twofold source, and the outermost birth or geniture in nature was kindled in the wrathfire, which fire now is called the
2wrath of God, or the burning hell. Note. 6. Here is required most inward sense or perception to understand this; for the place where the light is generated in the heart alone comprehendeth it, the outward man doth not comprehend it at all. 7. But behold! when Lucifer with his host or army stirred or awakened the wrathfire in the nature of God, so that God was moved to anger in nature in the place of Lucifer, then the outermost birth or geniture in nature gat another quality, which was very fierce, astringent, cold, hot, bitter and sour. 8. The moving or boiling spirit, which before qualified or operated very meekly in nature, became, in its outermost birth or geniture, very exhalted and terrible, which now, in the outer most birth, is called the wind, or the element of air, in regard of its elevation or expansion. 9. For when the seven spirits kindled themselves in their outermost birth or geniture, then they generated such a violent moving spirit; and so the sweet water, which before the times of the wrath was very rarified and thin and incomprehensible, grew very thick and elevated and swelled, and the astringent quality grew very sharp and coldfiery or fiercecold, for it got a strong attracting together, like salt. 10. For the saltwater or salt [or saltpetre], which still to this day is found in the earth, hath its original and descent from the first kindling of the astringent quality; and so the stones also have their beginning and descent from thence, as also the earth.
311. For the astringent quality now attracted the Salitter very strongly together, and dried it, whence the bitter earth is proceeded; but the stones are from the Salitter which at that time stood in the power of the tone or tune. 12. For as nature, with the working, wrestling and rising up of its birth or geniture, stood in the time of the kindling, just such a matter attracted itself together. Now it may be asked, How then is a comprehensible or palpable son come to be out of an incomprehensible mother? Answer. 13. Thou hast a similitude of this, in that the earth and stones are proceeded out of the incomprehensibility. 14. For behold, the deep between heaven and earth is also incomprehensible, and yet the elementary qualities sometimes generate living comprehensible flesh therein, as grasshoppers, flies, and worms or creeping things. 15. Which is caused by the strong attracting together of the qualities, in which attracted Salitter the life is suddenly generated. For when the heat kindleth the astringent quality, then the life riseth up, for the bitter quality stirreth itself, which is the original of life. 16. So in like manner the earth and stones have their descent; for when the Salitter kindled itself in nature, then all became very rugged, thick and dark, like a thick dark mist or cloud, which the astringent quality dried up hard with its coldness.
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.
1THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER Of the lamentable and miserable State and Condition of the corrupt perished Nature, and Original of the four Elements, instead of the holy Government of God. 1. ALTHOUGH God be an eternal, almighty regent or governor, whom none can resist, yet nature in its kindling hath now gotten a very monstrous strange government, such as was not before the times of the wrath. 2. For the six qualifying or fountain spirits did generate the seventh naturespirit before the times of the wrath, in the place of this world, very meekly and pleasantly, as is now done in heaven, and not so much as the least spark of wrath or anger rose up therein. 3. Moreover, all was very bright and light therein, neither was there need of any other light; but the fountain or wellspring of the Heart of God enlightened all, and was a light in all, which did shine everywhere all over incessantly without any obstacle. For nature was very rarified and thin or transparent, and all stood merely in power, and was in a very pleasant lovely temper. 4. But as soon as in nature the fight began with the proud devil, then in the seventh naturespirit, in the court, region or extent of Lucifer, which is the place of this world, all gat another form and operation. 5. For nature gat a twofold source, and the outermost birth or geniture in nature was kindled in the wrathfire, which fire now is called the
2wrath of God, or the burning hell. Note. 6. Here is required most inward sense or perception to understand this; for the place where the light is generated in the heart alone comprehendeth it, the outward man doth not comprehend it at all. 7. But behold! when Lucifer with his host or army stirred or awakened the wrathfire in the nature of God, so that God was moved to anger in nature in the place of Lucifer, then the outermost birth or geniture in nature gat another quality, which was very fierce, astringent, cold, hot, bitter and sour. 8. The moving or boiling spirit, which before qualified or operated very meekly in nature, became, in its outermost birth or geniture, very exhalted and terrible, which now, in the outer most birth, is called the wind, or the element of air, in regard of its elevation or expansion. 9. For when the seven spirits kindled themselves in their outermost birth or geniture, then they generated such a violent moving spirit; and so the sweet water, which before the times of the wrath was very rarified and thin and incomprehensible, grew very thick and elevated and swelled, and the astringent quality grew very sharp and coldfiery or fiercecold, for it got a strong attracting together, like salt. 10. For the saltwater or salt [or saltpetre], which still to this day is found in the earth, hath its original and descent from the first kindling of the astringent quality; and so the stones also have their beginning and descent from thence, as also the earth.
311. For the astringent quality now attracted the Salitter very strongly together, and dried it, whence the bitter earth is proceeded; but the stones are from the Salitter which at that time stood in the power of the tone or tune. 12. For as nature, with the working, wrestling and rising up of its birth or geniture, stood in the time of the kindling, just such a matter attracted itself together. Now it may be asked, How then is a comprehensible or palpable son come to be out of an incomprehensible mother? Answer. 13. Thou hast a similitude of this, in that the earth and stones are proceeded out of the incomprehensibility. 14. For behold, the deep between heaven and earth is also incomprehensible, and yet the elementary qualities sometimes generate living comprehensible flesh therein, as grasshoppers, flies, and worms or creeping things. 15. Which is caused by the strong attracting together of the qualities, in which attracted Salitter the life is suddenly generated. For when the heat kindleth the astringent quality, then the life riseth up, for the bitter quality stirreth itself, which is the original of life. 16. So in like manner the earth and stones have their descent; for when the Salitter kindled itself in nature, then all became very rugged, thick and dark, like a thick dark mist or cloud, which the astringent quality dried up hard with its coldness.
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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