Concerning the Three Principles of the Divine Essence
the third centre of the 2 great desire springeth up * Or hot zeal, along with it, out of which the fierceness [grimness, or wrath], and the house of flesh, are generated. For the pure love, which reacheth the element, and consequently the paradise, hath a wholly modest
1 perfect or complete.
2 Text, Menschen.
3 Or flower.
4 mixeth or uniteth.
5 Or marry.
' Or brand, or last burnt to ashes, as it were a firebrand.
7 Or warm.
8 wanton lust.
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and chaste centre, and it is * fixed in itself, of which I here give you a true example.
Diligently and deeply to be considered.
34. Behold two young 2people, who have attained unto the 3 blossom of the noble tincture in the matrix and limbus, so that it be kindled, how very hearty, faithful, and pure love they bear one towards another, where one is ready to impart the very heart within them to the other, if it could be done without death ; this now is the true paradisical blossom, and this blossom * qualifieth, with the [one] element and paradise. But as soon as ever they
6 take one another, and copulate, they infect one another with their e inflammation [or burning lust] which is generated out of the outward elements and stars, and that reacheth the abyss ; and so they are many times at deadly enmity [or have venomous spiteful hatred] one against another. And though it happen that their complexions were noble, so that still some love remaineth, yet it is not so pure and faithful as the first before copulation, which is
7 fiery, and that in the burning [or burnt] lust, [is] earthly and cold, for that must indeed keep faithful while it cannot be otherwise ; as it is seen by experience in many, how afterward in wedlock they hunt after whoredom, and seek after the devil's
8 sugar, which he stroweth in the noble tincture, if man will let him.
35. Whereby then you see here, that God hathCh. 15] KNOWLEDGE OF THE ETERNITY 319 not willed the earthly copulation. Man should have continued in the fiery love which was in paradise, and generated out of himself. But the
1 woman was in this world in the outward elementary l the divided kingdom, in the inflammation of the forbidden fruit, and wantonof which Adam should not have eaten. And now he hath eaten and thus destroyed us ; therefore it is now with him [the Adamical man] as with a thief that hath been in a pleasant garden, and went out of it to steal, and cometh again and would fain go into the garden, and the gardener will not let him in, he must reach into the garden with his hand for the fruit, and then cometh the gardener and snatcheth the fruit out of his hand, and he must go away in his burning lust and anger, and come no more into the garden, and instead of the fruit there remaineth his desirous burning lust with him ; and that he hath gotten, instead of the paradisical fruit, of that we must now eat, and live in the 2 Woman. 2 in the divid36. Thus I give you accurately to understand in the earthly what man is, and what man soweth, and what and feed and groweth in the seed, viz. three kingdoms, as is above-mentioned ; and seeing the three kingdoms are thus sown, so are they in like manner before the tree of temptation ; and there beginneth the struggling and great strife ; there stand the three kingdoms in one another. The element in paradise will keep the pure mind and will, which standeth in the love in the tincture of the seed ; and the
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the third centre of the 2 great desire springs up * Or hot zeal, along with it, out of which the fierceness [grimness, or wrath], and the house of flesh, are generated. For the pure love, which reaches the element, and consequently the paradise, has a wholly modest
1 perfect or complete.
2 Text, Menschen.
3 Or flower.
4 mixes or unites.
5 Or marry.
' Or brand, or last burnt to ashes, as it were a firebrand.
7 Or warm.
8 wanton lust.
318 THE THREE PRINCIPLES [Oh. 15 and chaste centre, and it is * fixed in itself, of which I here give you a true example.
Diligently and deeply to be considered.
34. Behold two young 2people, who have attained unto the 3 blossom of the noble tincture in the matrix and limbus, so that it be kindled, how very hearty, faithful, and pure love they bear one towards another, where one is ready to impart the very heart within them to the other, if it could be done without death ; this now is the true paradisical blossom, and this blossom * qualifies, with the [one] element and paradise. But as soon as ever they
6 take one another, and copulate, they infect one another with their e inflammation [or burning lust] which is generated out of the outward elements and stars, and that reaches the abyss ; and so they are many times at deadly enmity [or have venomous spiteful hatred] one against another. And though it happen that their complexions were noble, so that still some love remains, yet it is not so pure and faithful as the first before copulation, which is
7 fiery, and that in the burning [or burnt] lust, [is] earthly and cold, for that must indeed keep faithful while it cannot be otherwise ; as it is seen by experience in many, how afterward in wedlock they hunt after whoredom, and seek after the devil's
8 sugar, which he strows in the noble tincture, if man will let him.
35. Whereby then you see here, that God has
Ch. 15] KNOWLEDGE OF THE ETERNITY 319 not willed the earthly copulation. Man should have continued in the fiery love which was in paradise, and generated out of himself. But the
1 woman was in this world in the outward elementary l the divided kingdom, in the inflammation of the forbidden fruit, and wantonof which Adam should not have eaten. And now he has eaten and thus destroyed us ; therefore it is now with him [the Adamical man] as with a thief that has been in a pleasant garden, and went out of it to steal, and comes again and would fain go into the garden, and the gardener will not let him in, he must reach into the garden with his hand for the fruit, and then comes the gardener and snatches the fruit out of his hand, and he must go away in his burning lust and anger, and come no more into the garden, and instead of the fruit there remains his desirous burning lust with him ; and that he has gotten, instead of the paradisical fruit, of that we must now eat, and live in the 2 Woman. 2 in the divid36. Thus I give you accurately to understand in the earthly what man is, and what man sows, and what and feed and grows in the seed, viz. three kingdoms, as is above-mentioned ; and seeing the three kingdoms are thus sown, so are they in like manner before the tree of temptation ; and there beginns the struggling and great strife ; there stand the three kingdoms in one another. The element in paradise will keep the pure mind and will, which stands in the love in the tincture of the seed ; and the
320 THE THREE PRINCIPLES [Ch. 15