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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.
1135. Now that the word conceiveth itself first at the heart, and grunteth with or in the astringent quality, signifieth that the Holy Ghost conceived itself in the darkness upon the heart of God in the astral birth or geniture of the seven qualifying or fountain spirits: But that it grunteth within or at the astringent quality, signifieth that the darkness was a contrary or opposite will against the Holy Ghost, at or against which the spirit was displeased. 136. But that it goeth likewise through the dark way or passage, signifieth that the spirit goeth forth also through the darkness, which is yet in a quiet rest, and generateth it to be light, if it holdeth still, and doth not kindle the fire. 137. Here is the cause for the judging world, which condemneth man in his mother's body or womb, to see and consider (for it doth not know) whether the wrathfire of the parents be fully kindled in the fruit or not, since also the spirit of God moveth in the darkness which standeth in quiet rest, and can easily generate the darkness to be light. Towards this, moreover, the hour of man's nativity is very helpful to him; and to many [it is] very harmful. 138. But that the mouth shutteth, when the spirit conceiveth itself upon the heart, and that the astringent quality grunteth against and with or in it, signifieth that the whole court, extent or place of this world was very dark in the astral, and also in the outermost birth or geniture, and by the strong going forth of the spirit became light. 139. But that the bitter spirit is not awakened, whilst the spirit goeth through its place, signifieth that the dark night in the outermost birth or geniture of this world hath never comprehended
2the light; also never will comprehend it in all eternity. 140. Hence it is that the creatures see the astral light with their eyes alone, else, if the darkness were not yet in the outermost birth or geniture, then the astral spirit could see through wood and stones, as also through the whole earth, and could not be hindered by anything, just as it is in heaven. 141. At the present time the darkness is separated from the light, and abideth in the outermost birth or geniture, wherein the wrath of God resteth till the Last Judgment Day; but then the wrath will be kindled, and the darkness will be the house or habitation of eternal perdition, wherein lord Lucifer, together with all wicked men who have sown into the darkness in the soil of the wrath, will have his eternal dwelling and residence. 142. But the astral birth, in which the natural light now standeth, and wherein the holy birth is generated, will be also kindled at the end of this time, and the wrath and the holy birth will be separated asunder, for the wrath will not comprehend the holy birth or geniture. 143. But the wrath in the astral birth will be given to the house of darkness for a life, and the wrath will be called the hellish fire: And the house of darkness, which is the outermost birth, will be called death: And king Lucifer will be the god therein, and his angels and all damned men will be his ministers, officers and servants. 144. In this devouring abyss will rise up all manner of hellish fruits and forms, all according to the hellish quality and kind; as in heaven
3there spring up heavenly fruits and forms, according to the heavenly quality and kind. 145. Thus you may understand what the creation of heaven and earth signifieth and is, also what God made on the first day. Though indeed the first three days were not distinguished or severed asunder by evening and morning, but a time is to be reckoned and accounted as of twentyfour hours, as there is on high above the moon such a time and day. 146. Secondly, it is also therefore counted for a human day, because, doubtless, the earth instantly began its revolution and did turn round about once in such a period of time, while God was separating, and so till he had separated, the light from the darkness; and thus it [the earth] performed and finished its course the first time. THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER Of the Second Day 1. CONCERNING the second day, it is written thus: [Gen. i 68] And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it be a distinction or division between the waters: So there God made the firmament, and divided the waters under the firmament, from the waters above the firmament, and it was so done. And God called the firmament, heaven; and so out of the evening and the morning the second day came to be. 2. This description sheweth once more that the dear man Moses was not the original author
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.
1135. Now that the word conceiveth itself first at the heart, and grunteth with or in the astringent quality, signifieth that the Holy Ghost conceived itself in the darkness upon the heart of God in the astral birth or geniture of the seven qualifying or fountain spirits: But that it grunteth within or at the astringent quality, signifieth that the darkness was a contrary or opposite will against the Holy Ghost, at or against which the spirit was displeased. 136. But that it goeth likewise through the dark way or passage, signifieth that the spirit goeth forth also through the darkness, which is yet in a quiet rest, and generateth it to be light, if it holdeth still, and doth not kindle the fire. 137. Here is the cause for the judging world, which condemneth man in his mother's body or womb, to see and consider (for it doth not know) whether the wrathfire of the parents be fully kindled in the fruit or not, since also the spirit of God moveth in the darkness which standeth in quiet rest, and can easily generate the darkness to be light. Towards this, moreover, the hour of man's nativity is very helpful to him; and to many [it is] very harmful. 138. But that the mouth shutteth, when the spirit conceiveth itself upon the heart, and that the astringent quality grunteth against and with or in it, signifieth that the whole court, extent or place of this world was very dark in the astral, and also in the outermost birth or geniture, and by the strong going forth of the spirit became light. 139. But that the bitter spirit is not awakened, whilst the spirit goeth through its place, signifieth that the dark night in the outermost birth or geniture of this world hath never comprehended
2the light; also never will comprehend it in all eternity. 140. Hence it is that the creatures see the astral light with their eyes alone, else, if the darkness were not yet in the outermost birth or geniture, then the astral spirit could see through wood and stones, as also through the whole earth, and could not be hindered by anything, just as it is in heaven. 141. At the present time the darkness is separated from the light, and abideth in the outermost birth or geniture, wherein the wrath of God resteth till the Last Judgment Day; but then the wrath will be kindled, and the darkness will be the house or habitation of eternal perdition, wherein lord Lucifer, together with all wicked men who have sown into the darkness in the soil of the wrath, will have his eternal dwelling and residence. 142. But the astral birth, in which the natural light now standeth, and wherein the holy birth is generated, will be also kindled at the end of this time, and the wrath and the holy birth will be separated asunder, for the wrath will not comprehend the holy birth or geniture. 143. But the wrath in the astral birth will be given to the house of darkness for a life, and the wrath will be called the hellish fire: And the house of darkness, which is the outermost birth, will be called death: And king Lucifer will be the god therein, and his angels and all damned men will be his ministers, officers and servants. 144. In this devouring abyss will rise up all manner of hellish fruits and forms, all according to the hellish quality and kind; as in heaven
3there spring up heavenly fruits and forms, according to the heavenly quality and kind. 145. Thus you may understand what the creation of heaven and earth signifieth and is, also what God made on the first day. Though indeed the first three days were not distinguished or severed asunder by evening and morning, but a time is to be reckoned and accounted as of twentyfour hours, as there is on high above the moon such a time and day. 146. Secondly, it is also therefore counted for a human day, because, doubtless, the earth instantly began its revolution and did turn round about once in such a period of time, while God was separating, and so till he had separated, the light from the darkness; and thus it [the earth] performed and finished its course the first time. THE TWENTIETH CHAPTER Of the Second Day 1. CONCERNING the second day, it is written thus: [Gen. i 68] And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it be a distinction or division between the waters: So there God made the firmament, and divided the waters under the firmament, from the waters above the firmament, and it was so done. And God called the firmament, heaven; and so out of the evening and the morning the second day came to be. 2. This description sheweth once more that the dear man Moses was not the original author
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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