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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.
1117. But that the astringent and bitter spirit doth so grumble and murmur, when the spirit from the heart goeth through its house, and ruleth powerfully, signifieth that the wrath of God, together with the devils, are, in the house of this world, set in opposition to the love, so that both these, all the time of this world, must fight and strive one against the other, as two armies in the field; from whence also wars and fightings among men, and among beasts, and all creatures, have their original. 118. But that the astringent and the bitter qualities conceive themselves together with the word, and unite and agree one with the other, and yet the spirit of the heart alone speaketh forth the word at the mouth, signifieth that all creatures, which were produced and put forth by the word alone, viz. the beasts, fowls, fishes, worms, trees, leaves, herbs and grass, were formed from the whole body, being good and evil. 119. And that in all these there would stand both the angry and corrupt quality, and also the love of God; and yet all would be driven on by the spirit of love, though those two would disturb, rub, plague, squeeze and vex each other. Note. 120. Whereby then, in many a creature the wrathfire would be so very hard kindled that the body, together with the spirit, will afford and produce an eternal wrathSalitter in hell. 121. For the spirit, which is generated in the heart, must in its body walk through the midst or centre of the hellish gates, and may very easily be kindled; they are as wood and fire, which will burn, if thou pourest no water in among them.
2122. O man, thou wast not, by the Word, created together with and as the beasts, from good and evil; and if thou hadst not eaten of good and evil, then the wrathfire would not have been in thee; but by that means thou hast also gotten a bestial body: It is done: The love of God take pity, and have mercy in that behalf. 123. But, that after the conceiving and compacting of the word together in the astringent quality at the hinder gums upon the tongue, the mouth openeth itself wide, and the compacted and united spirit goeth forth together at the mouth, which spirit is generated out of the heart and also out of the astringent and bitter quality, signifieth that the creatures would live in great anguish and adversity, and would not be able to generate through one body, but through two. 124. For the astringent and bitter quality receives the power from the spirit out of the heart, and infecteth or affecteth itself therewith: Therefore is nature now become too weak in the spirit of the heart, and is not able to deliver [itself from] its own innermost birth of the heart; and for that cause nature hath brought forth a male and a female. 125. Thus it denoteth also the evil and the good will in the whole or universal nature, and in all the creatures; that there would be a continual wrestling, fighting and destroying; from whence this world is rightly called a valley of misery, full of crosses, persecutions, toils and labours. For when the spirit of creation entered into the midst, and interposed its power, it was fain to make and form the creation in the midst or centre of the kingdom of hell.
3126. Now seeing the outermost birth or geniture in nature is twofold, that is, both evil and good, therefore it is that there is a perpetual tormenting, squeezing, lamenting and howling; and the creatures in this life are subject to torments and afflictions, so that this evil world is justly called a murderous den of the devil. 127. But that the astringent and bitter spirit sitteth still in its seat at the hinder gums on the tongue, and thrusteth forth * the word at the mouth, and yet cannot get away from thence, signifieth that the devil and the wrath of God would indeed be domineering in all the creatures, yet would not have full power in them, but must stay in prison; and that there they would belch forth or blow into all the creatures, and plague them, but would not overcome them, unless the creatures themselves are minded to tarry there in that place. * "thrusteth forth" (bellet), "soundeth forth," or "crieth forth." The literal meaning is, "barketh forth." 128. Just as the meek spirit of the heart goeth through the astringent and bitter quality, and overcometh it; and though it be indeed infected with the astringent and bitter spirit, yet it teareth and breaketh thorough, as a conqueror: But if it should wilfully sit still in the hollow hole * in the astringent and bitter spirit, and suffer itself to be taken captive, and would not fight, then the fault were its own. * " in the hollow hole." This rendering is correct according to the 1682 ed., but the 1715 and 1730 eds. have, "in der Hölle," " in hell." 129. Thus it is also with those creatures that will continually sow and reap in the hellish fire,
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.
1117. But that the astringent and bitter spirit doth so grumble and murmur, when the spirit from the heart goeth through its house, and ruleth powerfully, signifieth that the wrath of God, together with the devils, are, in the house of this world, set in opposition to the love, so that both these, all the time of this world, must fight and strive one against the other, as two armies in the field; from whence also wars and fightings among men, and among beasts, and all creatures, have their original. 118. But that the astringent and the bitter qualities conceive themselves together with the word, and unite and agree one with the other, and yet the spirit of the heart alone speaketh forth the word at the mouth, signifieth that all creatures, which were produced and put forth by the word alone, viz. the beasts, fowls, fishes, worms, trees, leaves, herbs and grass, were formed from the whole body, being good and evil. 119. And that in all these there would stand both the angry and corrupt quality, and also the love of God; and yet all would be driven on by the spirit of love, though those two would disturb, rub, plague, squeeze and vex each other. Note. 120. Whereby then, in many a creature the wrathfire would be so very hard kindled that the body, together with the spirit, will afford and produce an eternal wrathSalitter in hell. 121. For the spirit, which is generated in the heart, must in its body walk through the midst or centre of the hellish gates, and may very easily be kindled; they are as wood and fire, which will burn, if thou pourest no water in among them.
2122. O man, thou wast not, by the Word, created together with and as the beasts, from good and evil; and if thou hadst not eaten of good and evil, then the wrathfire would not have been in thee; but by that means thou hast also gotten a bestial body: It is done: The love of God take pity, and have mercy in that behalf. 123. But, that after the conceiving and compacting of the word together in the astringent quality at the hinder gums upon the tongue, the mouth openeth itself wide, and the compacted and united spirit goeth forth together at the mouth, which spirit is generated out of the heart and also out of the astringent and bitter quality, signifieth that the creatures would live in great anguish and adversity, and would not be able to generate through one body, but through two. 124. For the astringent and bitter quality receives the power from the spirit out of the heart, and infecteth or affecteth itself therewith: Therefore is nature now become too weak in the spirit of the heart, and is not able to deliver [itself from] its own innermost birth of the heart; and for that cause nature hath brought forth a male and a female. 125. Thus it denoteth also the evil and the good will in the whole or universal nature, and in all the creatures; that there would be a continual wrestling, fighting and destroying; from whence this world is rightly called a valley of misery, full of crosses, persecutions, toils and labours. For when the spirit of creation entered into the midst, and interposed its power, it was fain to make and form the creation in the midst or centre of the kingdom of hell.
3126. Now seeing the outermost birth or geniture in nature is twofold, that is, both evil and good, therefore it is that there is a perpetual tormenting, squeezing, lamenting and howling; and the creatures in this life are subject to torments and afflictions, so that this evil world is justly called a murderous den of the devil. 127. But that the astringent and bitter spirit sitteth still in its seat at the hinder gums on the tongue, and thrusteth forth * the word at the mouth, and yet cannot get away from thence, signifieth that the devil and the wrath of God would indeed be domineering in all the creatures, yet would not have full power in them, but must stay in prison; and that there they would belch forth or blow into all the creatures, and plague them, but would not overcome them, unless the creatures themselves are minded to tarry there in that place. * "thrusteth forth" (bellet), "soundeth forth," or "crieth forth." The literal meaning is, "barketh forth." 128. Just as the meek spirit of the heart goeth through the astringent and bitter quality, and overcometh it; and though it be indeed infected with the astringent and bitter spirit, yet it teareth and breaketh thorough, as a conqueror: But if it should wilfully sit still in the hollow hole * in the astringent and bitter spirit, and suffer itself to be taken captive, and would not fight, then the fault were its own. * " in the hollow hole." This rendering is correct according to the 1682 ed., but the 1715 and 1730 eds. have, "in der Hölle," " in hell." 129. Thus it is also with those creatures that will continually sow and reap in the hellish fire,
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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