158. Therefore are the essences of the spirit of
the soul so very sharp and fiery, and [therefore]
the essences go forth out of such a sharp fiery
tincture, wherein now stand the five senses, viz.
seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and feeling ; for
the fierce sharpness of the tincture of the first
Principle, proveth in its own essences [in or] of
the soul, or [in the essences] of the worm of the
soul, in this place rightly so called, [it proveth, I
say] the stars, and elements, viz. the out-birth out
of the first Principle, and whatsoever uniteth [or
yieldeth] itself to it, it taketh that into the essences
of the worm of the soul ; viz. all whatsoever is
harsh [or sour,] bitter, stern, [or fierce,] and fiery,
all whatsoever generateth itself in the fierceness,
and all whatsoever is of the same property with
the essences ; all that which riseth up. along there
in the fiery source, and elevateth itself in the
breaking of the gate of the darkness, and boileth
[springeth, or floweth up] above the meekness;
332 THE THREE PRINCIPLES [Ch. 15
and all whatsoever is like the sharp austere eternity,
and qualifieth [or mixeth] with the sharpness of
the fierce anger of the God of the eternity, wherein
he holdeth the kingdom of the devils captive. 0
man ! consider thyself here, it is the sure ground,
known by the author, in the light of nature, in the
will of God.
259. And in this tincture of the first Principle,
the devil tempteth man ; for it is his source [wellspring, or property], wherein he also liveth. Herein
he reacheth into the heart of man, into his soul's
essences, and leadeth him away from God, into the
desire to live in the sharp (viz. in the fiery) essences,
that it might be elevated above the humility and
the meekness of the heart of God, and above the
love and meekness of the creatures, [on purpose
to seem] to be the only fair and glistering worm
in the fire-flash, and to domineer over the second
Principle. And [thus] he maketh the soul of man
so extreme proud, as not to vouchsafe himself
to be in the least like any meekness, but to be
like all whatsoever liveth in a quality [or property]
contrary to it.
1 the devil. 60. And in the bitter essences * he maketh the
worm of the soul prickly, spiteful, envious, and
malicious, grudging every thing to any; as the
bitterness indeed is friends with nothing, but it
stingeth and grindeth, raveth and rageth like the
abyss of hell, and it is the true house of death as
to the pleasant life.
Ch. 15] KNOWLEDGE OF THE ETERNITY 333
3II. And in the sour [or harsh] essence of the
tincture of the worm of the soul, he infecteth the
sour l harsh essence, whereby it becometh sharply J or astnnattractive, and getteth a will to draw all to itself, ftancT
and yet is not able to do it ; for the conceived will
is not easily filled, but is a dry hellish thirsty
hunger to have all ; and if it did get all, yet the
hunger would not be the less, but it is the eternal
hunger and thirst of the abyss, the will of hell-fire
and of all devils, who continually hunger and
thirst, and yet eat nothing ; but it is their satiating
that they [suck or] draw into themselves the strong
source of the essences of the harsh, bitter might of
the fire, wherein consisteth their life and satiating ;
and the abyss of the wrath and of hell is also such
[a thing].
62. And this is the source of the first Principle,
which (without the light of God) cannot be otherwise, neither can it change or alter itself; for it
hath been so from eternity. And out of this
source, the essences of the worm of the soul, in the
time of its creating, were extracted by the Fiat of
God, and created in paradise, [and set] 2 before the2 Or for.
light of God, which enlightened the fire-flash, and
put it into very high meekness and humility.
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.