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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.
1thy hands: Why dost thou sleep? Behold, he knocketh! 179. O gracious, amiable, blessed love and clear bright light, tarry with us, I pray thee, for the evening is at hand. O truth! O justice and righteous judgment! what is become of thee? Doth not the spirit wonder, as if he had never seen the world before now? O, why do I write of the wickedness of this World? I must do it, the devil's and the world curseth me for it. Amen. THE NINTH CHAPTER Of the Gracious, amiable, blessed, friendly and merciful Love of God. The Great, Heavenly and Divine Mystery. 1. BECAUSE I write here of heavenly and divine things, which are altogether strange to the corrupted, perished nature of man, the Reader doubtless will wonder at the simplicity of the author, and be offended at it. 2. Because the condition and inclination of the corrupted nature is to gaze on high things alone, like a proud, wild, wanton and whorish woman, who always gazeth in her heat or burning lust after handsome men, to act wantonness with them. 3. Thus also is the proud, corrupted, perished nature of man, it stareth only upon that which is glittering and in fashion in this world, and supposeth that God hath forgotten the afflicted, and therefore plagueth them so, because he
2mindeth them not. 4. Corrupt nature imagineth that the Holy Ghost regardeth only high things, the high arts and sciences of this world, the profound studies, and great learning. 5. But whether it be so or no, look but back, and then you will find the true ground. What was Abel? A shepherd. What were Enoch and Noah? Plain, simple men. What were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Herdsmen. 6. What was Moses, that dear man of God? A herdsman. What was David, when the mouth of the Lord called him? A shepherd. 7. What were the great and the small prophets? Vulgar, plain and mean people: some of them but country people and herdsmen, counted the underlings or footstools of the world: Men counted them but mere fools. 8. Though they did miracles and wonders, and shewed great signs, yet the world gazed on high things alone, and the Holy Ghost must be as the dust under their feet: For the proud devil always endeavoured to be king in this world. 9. How came our King JESUS CHRIST into this world? Poor, and in great trouble and misery, and had not where to lay his head. 10. What were his Apostles? Poor, despised, illiterate fishermen. And what were they that believed their preaching? The poorer and meaner sort of the people. The High Priests and Scribes were the executioners of Christ, [they] who cried out, Crucify him, crucify him.
311. What were they that in all ages of the Church of Christ stood by it most stoutly and constantly? The poor, contemptible, despised people, who shed their blood for the sake of Christ. 12. But who were they that falsified and adulterated the right, pure Christian doctrine, and always fought against and opposed it? Even the learned doctors and scribes, popes, cardinals, bishops, and great dons or masters and teachers. And why did the world follow after them, and depend on them? But because they had * great respect, were in great authority and power, lived stately, and carried a port in the world. Even such a proud whore is the corrupt, perished human nature. * "But because they had," etc. "Only because they had a high standing and made a great show before the world." 13. Who was it that purged out of the Churches in Germany the Pope's greediness of money, his idolatry, bribery, deceit and cheating? A poor despised monk or friar Luther]. By what power and might? By the power of God the Father, and by the power and might of God the Holy Ghost. Question. 14. Then what is yet concealed or remains hidden, the true doctrine of Christ? Answer. No; but the philosophy [Gnosis], and the deep ground of God; the heavenly delightful habitation and pleasure; the revelation of the creation of angels; the revelation of the horrible fall of the devil; from whence evil proceedeth; the creation of this world; the deep ground and
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.
1thy hands: Why dost thou sleep? Behold, he knocketh! 179. O gracious, amiable, blessed love and clear bright light, tarry with us, I pray thee, for the evening is at hand. O truth! O justice and righteous judgment! what is become of thee? Doth not the spirit wonder, as if he had never seen the world before now? O, why do I write of the wickedness of this World? I must do it, the devil's and the world curseth me for it. Amen. THE NINTH CHAPTER Of the Gracious, amiable, blessed, friendly and merciful Love of God. The Great, Heavenly and Divine Mystery. 1. BECAUSE I write here of heavenly and divine things, which are altogether strange to the corrupted, perished nature of man, the Reader doubtless will wonder at the simplicity of the author, and be offended at it. 2. Because the condition and inclination of the corrupted nature is to gaze on high things alone, like a proud, wild, wanton and whorish woman, who always gazeth in her heat or burning lust after handsome men, to act wantonness with them. 3. Thus also is the proud, corrupted, perished nature of man, it stareth only upon that which is glittering and in fashion in this world, and supposeth that God hath forgotten the afflicted, and therefore plagueth them so, because he
2mindeth them not. 4. Corrupt nature imagineth that the Holy Ghost regardeth only high things, the high arts and sciences of this world, the profound studies, and great learning. 5. But whether it be so or no, look but back, and then you will find the true ground. What was Abel? A shepherd. What were Enoch and Noah? Plain, simple men. What were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Herdsmen. 6. What was Moses, that dear man of God? A herdsman. What was David, when the mouth of the Lord called him? A shepherd. 7. What were the great and the small prophets? Vulgar, plain and mean people: some of them but country people and herdsmen, counted the underlings or footstools of the world: Men counted them but mere fools. 8. Though they did miracles and wonders, and shewed great signs, yet the world gazed on high things alone, and the Holy Ghost must be as the dust under their feet: For the proud devil always endeavoured to be king in this world. 9. How came our King JESUS CHRIST into this world? Poor, and in great trouble and misery, and had not where to lay his head. 10. What were his Apostles? Poor, despised, illiterate fishermen. And what were they that believed their preaching? The poorer and meaner sort of the people. The High Priests and Scribes were the executioners of Christ, [they] who cried out, Crucify him, crucify him.
311. What were they that in all ages of the Church of Christ stood by it most stoutly and constantly? The poor, contemptible, despised people, who shed their blood for the sake of Christ. 12. But who were they that falsified and adulterated the right, pure Christian doctrine, and always fought against and opposed it? Even the learned doctors and scribes, popes, cardinals, bishops, and great dons or masters and teachers. And why did the world follow after them, and depend on them? But because they had * great respect, were in great authority and power, lived stately, and carried a port in the world. Even such a proud whore is the corrupt, perished human nature. * "But because they had," etc. "Only because they had a high standing and made a great show before the world." 13. Who was it that purged out of the Churches in Germany the Pope's greediness of money, his idolatry, bribery, deceit and cheating? A poor despised monk or friar Luther]. By what power and might? By the power of God the Father, and by the power and might of God the Holy Ghost. Question. 14. Then what is yet concealed or remains hidden, the true doctrine of Christ? Answer. No; but the philosophy [Gnosis], and the deep ground of God; the heavenly delightful habitation and pleasure; the revelation of the creation of angels; the revelation of the horrible fall of the devil; from whence evil proceedeth; the creation of this world; the deep ground and
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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