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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.
1and the bitter qualities. 107. But when it cometh forth upon the tongue, then the tongue and the upper gums close the mouth; but when the spirit thrusteth at the teeth, and will go forth, then the tongue openeth the mouth at the teeth, and will go forth before the word, and at the mouth doth as it were leap forth for joy. 108. But when the word breaketh through, then the mouth within openeth wide, and the word conceiveth itself once more with its sound behind the astringent and the bitter qualities, and rouseth them up, as if they were lazy sleepers in the darkness, and goeth forth suddenly out at the mouth. 109. Then the astringent quality drayleth [Drail, to trail] after it, as a drowsy man who is awakened from sleep; but the bitter spirit which goeth forth from the fire flash lieth still, and heareth or regardeth not, neither doth it move. These are very great things, and not so slight matters as the countryman supposeth. 110. Now, that the spirit first conceiveth itself at the heart, and breaketh through all watches and guards till it come upon the tongue, unperceived or unobserved, signifieth that the light brake forth out of the heart of God, through the corrupted, outermost, fierce, dead, bitter and astringent birth or geniture in the nature of this world, incomprehensibly both as to death and the devil, together with the wrath of God; as it is written in the Gospel of St John, [John i. 5.] The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. 111. But that the tongue and the upper gums close the mouth, when the spirit cometh upon
2the tongue, signifieth that the seven qualifying or fountain spirits of nature in this world, at the time of the creation, were not mortified and dead through the wrath of God, but were lively, active and vigorous. For the tongue signifieth or denoteth the life of nature, in which standeth the animated, soulish and holy birth or geniture: For it is a type [prefiguration or resemblance] of the soul. 112. But that the spirit suddenly affecteth the tongue, when the spirit cometh upon it, whereupon it leapeth for joy, and will go before the spirit forth at the mouth, signifieth that the seven qualifying or fountain spirits of nature, (which are called the astral birth), when the light of God, (which is called the day), rose up in them, suddenly gat the divine life and will, and so highly rejoiced; as the tongue in the mouth here doth. 113. But that the fore gums widen inward, and give room for the spirit to do as it pleaseth, signifieth that the whole astral birth yielded itself very friendly and courteously to the will of the light, and did not awaken the fierceness in it. 114. But that the spirit, when it goeth forth at the mouth, conceiveth itself yet once more behind the astringent quality upon the tongue at the hindermost gums, and awakeneth or rouseth up the astringent quality, being as it were asleep, and then goeth suddenly forth at the mouth: 115. It signifieth, I. That the astringent spirit indeed must hold, preserve and image or frame all in the whole nature, but this is [only] after the spirit of the light hath first formed it, and that then the light first awakeneth the astringent spirit, and giveth all into the hands thereof to hold or preserve it.
3116. And that must be, because of the outermost comprehensibility or palpability, which must be held and sustained by the astringent fierceness, else nothing would subsist in its body, neither could the compressed, compacted earth and stones subsist, but would be again a broken, thick, muddy and dark Salitter, such as at first moved in the whole deep. 117. It signifieth also, II. That this Salitter, at last, when the spirit hath done with its creation and work in this world, shall be roused up and revived at the Last Judgment Day. 118. But that the spirit conceiveth itself behind the astringent quality, and not in the astringent quality, and so awakeneth or rouseth it up, signifieth that the astringent nature will not comprehend the light of God in its own proper way, but shall rejoice in the light of the grace, and be awakened or raised up thereby, and perform the will of the light; as the bestial body of man effecteth and performeth the will of the spirit, and yet these are not two severed things. 119. But that the bitter spirit lieth still, and neither heareth nor comprehendeth nor apprehendeth the work of the spirit, signifieth that the bitter wrathfire, which ariseth in the flash of fire at the time of the birth or geniture of the light, is not awakened by the light, neither comprehendeth it, but lieth captive, imprisoned in the outermost birth or geniture, and must give leave to the spirit of light to do its work in nature, how it pleaseth, and yet can neither see nor hear nor comprehend the work of the light. 120. Therefore no man ought to think that the devil is able to tear the works of the light
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.
1and the bitter qualities. 107. But when it cometh forth upon the tongue, then the tongue and the upper gums close the mouth; but when the spirit thrusteth at the teeth, and will go forth, then the tongue openeth the mouth at the teeth, and will go forth before the word, and at the mouth doth as it were leap forth for joy. 108. But when the word breaketh through, then the mouth within openeth wide, and the word conceiveth itself once more with its sound behind the astringent and the bitter qualities, and rouseth them up, as if they were lazy sleepers in the darkness, and goeth forth suddenly out at the mouth. 109. Then the astringent quality drayleth [Drail, to trail] after it, as a drowsy man who is awakened from sleep; but the bitter spirit which goeth forth from the fire flash lieth still, and heareth or regardeth not, neither doth it move. These are very great things, and not so slight matters as the countryman supposeth. 110. Now, that the spirit first conceiveth itself at the heart, and breaketh through all watches and guards till it come upon the tongue, unperceived or unobserved, signifieth that the light brake forth out of the heart of God, through the corrupted, outermost, fierce, dead, bitter and astringent birth or geniture in the nature of this world, incomprehensibly both as to death and the devil, together with the wrath of God; as it is written in the Gospel of St John, [John i. 5.] The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. 111. But that the tongue and the upper gums close the mouth, when the spirit cometh upon
2the tongue, signifieth that the seven qualifying or fountain spirits of nature in this world, at the time of the creation, were not mortified and dead through the wrath of God, but were lively, active and vigorous. For the tongue signifieth or denoteth the life of nature, in which standeth the animated, soulish and holy birth or geniture: For it is a type [prefiguration or resemblance] of the soul. 112. But that the spirit suddenly affecteth the tongue, when the spirit cometh upon it, whereupon it leapeth for joy, and will go before the spirit forth at the mouth, signifieth that the seven qualifying or fountain spirits of nature, (which are called the astral birth), when the light of God, (which is called the day), rose up in them, suddenly gat the divine life and will, and so highly rejoiced; as the tongue in the mouth here doth. 113. But that the fore gums widen inward, and give room for the spirit to do as it pleaseth, signifieth that the whole astral birth yielded itself very friendly and courteously to the will of the light, and did not awaken the fierceness in it. 114. But that the spirit, when it goeth forth at the mouth, conceiveth itself yet once more behind the astringent quality upon the tongue at the hindermost gums, and awakeneth or rouseth up the astringent quality, being as it were asleep, and then goeth suddenly forth at the mouth: 115. It signifieth, I. That the astringent spirit indeed must hold, preserve and image or frame all in the whole nature, but this is [only] after the spirit of the light hath first formed it, and that then the light first awakeneth the astringent spirit, and giveth all into the hands thereof to hold or preserve it.
3116. And that must be, because of the outermost comprehensibility or palpability, which must be held and sustained by the astringent fierceness, else nothing would subsist in its body, neither could the compressed, compacted earth and stones subsist, but would be again a broken, thick, muddy and dark Salitter, such as at first moved in the whole deep. 117. It signifieth also, II. That this Salitter, at last, when the spirit hath done with its creation and work in this world, shall be roused up and revived at the Last Judgment Day. 118. But that the spirit conceiveth itself behind the astringent quality, and not in the astringent quality, and so awakeneth or rouseth it up, signifieth that the astringent nature will not comprehend the light of God in its own proper way, but shall rejoice in the light of the grace, and be awakened or raised up thereby, and perform the will of the light; as the bestial body of man effecteth and performeth the will of the spirit, and yet these are not two severed things. 119. But that the bitter spirit lieth still, and neither heareth nor comprehendeth nor apprehendeth the work of the spirit, signifieth that the bitter wrathfire, which ariseth in the flash of fire at the time of the birth or geniture of the light, is not awakened by the light, neither comprehendeth it, but lieth captive, imprisoned in the outermost birth or geniture, and must give leave to the spirit of light to do its work in nature, how it pleaseth, and yet can neither see nor hear nor comprehend the work of the light. 120. Therefore no man ought to think that the devil is able to tear the works of the light
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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