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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 body the fruit or seed generateth itself, which is the water, fire, air and earth. 80. The earth is the fruit of the seventh spirit of God, which is nature or corporeity, wherein the other six spirits generate themselves again, and figure or frame the Salitter of the seventh spirit into infinite sorts of forms or shapes; so that the earth also generateth its seed, which is the fruit of vegetation, as is apparent to the eye. 81. Now man's house of flesh is also such a house as the dark deep of this world is, wherein the seven spirits of God generate themselves. 82. But seeing man's body is its proper own, and is a son of the whole body of God, therefore it generateth also a proper seed of its own, according to the government or dominion of his corporeal, qualifying or fountain spirits.* * "his corporeal . . . spirits." Presumably "man's corporeal . . . spirits." St M. has, "the corporeal fountainspirits." 83. The body taketh its food from the seed of the seven spirits of God in the body of the great deep, which [body] is fire, air, water and earth. 84. Of or from the earth it taketh the birth of the earth, or the fruit, for it is much more noble than the earth. It is an extracted mass out of the Salitter, out of the seventh nature spirit. 85. For when the body of nature was kindled by the devil, then the word or the heart of God drew together the mass [for man's body], before the corrupted Salitter was pressed together, which now is called the earth, because of the hard fierceness or corruption. 86. But when the earth was pressed together,
2then the mass stood in the dark deep in the created heaven, between the anxious birth or geniture and the love of the Heart of God, till the sixth day; and then the Heart of God breathed the light of life out of or from his Heart into the innermost or third birth or geniture in the mass. 87. Now when this was done, then in the mass the seven spirits of the qualities began to qualify or operate; and in the mass the seed of the seven qualifying or fountain spirits generated itself, as fire, air and water, as it did in the body of the deep. 88. Thus MAN became a living soul, in that kind and manner as the sun is risen or sprung forth, and out of that the seven planets. 89. The light in man, which the Heart of God had breathed in, signifieth or resembleth the sun which shineth in the whole deep; concerning which you will find more clearly about the creation of man. 90. Now behold! As in the deep of this world, through the kindling of the stars, a seed is generated out of the body of the dark deep, like the creaturely body, so also in like manner, in man's house of flesh there is generated a seed, according to the eternal birthright of the seven qualifying or fountain spirits. 91. And in the seed there are three distinct things, whereof the one cannot fathom the others, and yet the others are in that one only seed, and they all qualify, mix or unite one with another, as one being; and they are also one being, and yet also three distinct things, according to the kind and manner of the Ternary or Trinity in the Deity. 92. First there is the whole body of man,
3which is a dark house, and hath no mobility besides, or without, or distinct from the qualifying or operation of the seven spirits, but is a dark valley, as the body of the deep of this world is. 93. Now in the dark body of man there is also such a regimen or dominion, as to the seven spirits, as there is in the body of the deep. And when the seven spirits qualify or operate according to the birthright of the Deity, then, out of the wrestling of the seven spirits, a seed generateth itself, according to their likeness. 94. Now that seed hath first a mother, which is the dark chamber of the house of flesh. Secondly, it hath a mother, which is the wheel of the seven spirits, according to the kind and manner of the seven planets. Thirdly, it hath a mother that is generated in the circle of the seven spirits in the centre, which mother is the heart of the seven spirits. 95. And this now is the mother of the soul, which shineth through the seven spirits, and maketh them living; and in their stead the seed qualifieth, mixeth or uniteth with the Heart of God. But the seed which so qualifieth is that seed alone in which the light is kindled: in that in which the wrathfire burneth, there this third mother remaineth captive in the dark chamber. 96. And though indeed it is the third mother,* yet it remaineth but a foolish virgin, if the light be not kindled in it. Just as the deep of this world is a foolish virgin before the Heart of God, in which deep of this world the wheel of the seven spirits standeth in such anxiety, in so much corruption and redemption, in heat and in cold, as is apparent.
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 body the fruit or seed generateth itself, which is the water, fire, air and earth. 80. The earth is the fruit of the seventh spirit of God, which is nature or corporeity, wherein the other six spirits generate themselves again, and figure or frame the Salitter of the seventh spirit into infinite sorts of forms or shapes; so that the earth also generateth its seed, which is the fruit of vegetation, as is apparent to the eye. 81. Now man's house of flesh is also such a house as the dark deep of this world is, wherein the seven spirits of God generate themselves. 82. But seeing man's body is its proper own, and is a son of the whole body of God, therefore it generateth also a proper seed of its own, according to the government or dominion of his corporeal, qualifying or fountain spirits.* * "his corporeal . . . spirits." Presumably "man's corporeal . . . spirits." St M. has, "the corporeal fountainspirits." 83. The body taketh its food from the seed of the seven spirits of God in the body of the great deep, which [body] is fire, air, water and earth. 84. Of or from the earth it taketh the birth of the earth, or the fruit, for it is much more noble than the earth. It is an extracted mass out of the Salitter, out of the seventh nature spirit. 85. For when the body of nature was kindled by the devil, then the word or the heart of God drew together the mass [for man's body], before the corrupted Salitter was pressed together, which now is called the earth, because of the hard fierceness or corruption. 86. But when the earth was pressed together,
2then the mass stood in the dark deep in the created heaven, between the anxious birth or geniture and the love of the Heart of God, till the sixth day; and then the Heart of God breathed the light of life out of or from his Heart into the innermost or third birth or geniture in the mass. 87. Now when this was done, then in the mass the seven spirits of the qualities began to qualify or operate; and in the mass the seed of the seven qualifying or fountain spirits generated itself, as fire, air and water, as it did in the body of the deep. 88. Thus MAN became a living soul, in that kind and manner as the sun is risen or sprung forth, and out of that the seven planets. 89. The light in man, which the Heart of God had breathed in, signifieth or resembleth the sun which shineth in the whole deep; concerning which you will find more clearly about the creation of man. 90. Now behold! As in the deep of this world, through the kindling of the stars, a seed is generated out of the body of the dark deep, like the creaturely body, so also in like manner, in man's house of flesh there is generated a seed, according to the eternal birthright of the seven qualifying or fountain spirits. 91. And in the seed there are three distinct things, whereof the one cannot fathom the others, and yet the others are in that one only seed, and they all qualify, mix or unite one with another, as one being; and they are also one being, and yet also three distinct things, according to the kind and manner of the Ternary or Trinity in the Deity. 92. First there is the whole body of man,
3which is a dark house, and hath no mobility besides, or without, or distinct from the qualifying or operation of the seven spirits, but is a dark valley, as the body of the deep of this world is. 93. Now in the dark body of man there is also such a regimen or dominion, as to the seven spirits, as there is in the body of the deep. And when the seven spirits qualify or operate according to the birthright of the Deity, then, out of the wrestling of the seven spirits, a seed generateth itself, according to their likeness. 94. Now that seed hath first a mother, which is the dark chamber of the house of flesh. Secondly, it hath a mother, which is the wheel of the seven spirits, according to the kind and manner of the seven planets. Thirdly, it hath a mother that is generated in the circle of the seven spirits in the centre, which mother is the heart of the seven spirits. 95. And this now is the mother of the soul, which shineth through the seven spirits, and maketh them living; and in their stead the seed qualifieth, mixeth or uniteth with the Heart of God. But the seed which so qualifieth is that seed alone in which the light is kindled: in that in which the wrathfire burneth, there this third mother remaineth captive in the dark chamber. 96. And though indeed it is the third mother,* yet it remaineth but a foolish virgin, if the light be not kindled in it. Just as the deep of this world is a foolish virgin before the Heart of God, in which deep of this world the wheel of the seven spirits standeth in such anxiety, in so much corruption and redemption, in heat and in cold, as is apparent.
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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