Concerning the Three Principles of the Divine Essence

58. 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;

p. 332

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.

59. 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

II. 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.