Concerning the Three Principles of the Divine Essence
"The reader must know that all things consist in " Yes or No, whether Godly, devilish, earthly, or whatso- " ever it may be called. The One, as the Yes, is pure "power [virtue] and life, and is the truth of God, or " God Himself. But God would be unknowable to " Himself, and would have in Himself no joy, perception " or exaltation without the No. The No is the opposite " [antithesis] to the Yes or the truth. In order that the
INTRODUCTION lix
" truth may be manifest as a Something, there must be " a contrary therein " (Theosoph. Quest, iii. 2. 4). As the light of the sun is made visible by the dark pewter vessel, so can God manifest Himself only through contrariety in Himself. ' Boehme construes this contrariety or opposition by taking as starting-point the two fundamental attributes of Divine Being, as revealed in Holy Scripture, namely, the Wrath and the Love. These further branch out into the seven throne Spirits (Revel, i. 4 ; iv. 5), the first three of which represent God's wrath, and the last three, God's love ; while the central fourth constitutes the pivot-point of both worlds, being common to the wrath or darkness and to the love or light. These seven forms, to which Boehme constantly refers, and which he describes again and again as being his fundamental idea, are however not the basic powers of actual nature; but constitute what our philosopher calls "the eternal nature in God." Now he had of course to borrow the colours wherewith he pictures this eternal nature, from the world of our experience, and the difficulty to understand him arises from his ever renewed endeavours to describe each of these properties or forms and their inter-relation and operation ; whereby the picture becomes so overdone, so complex and variegated, that it is scarcely possible to follow the main conception. Indeed, it almost becomes doubtful at times, owing to the many variations of symbol and imagery, whether any main idea underlies the whole scheme as a unifying foundation. Thus, for instance, he describes the first form as the astringency, the hardness, the coldness, attraction, desire ; the second as motion, perception, sweetness, the sting, the fleeing; the third arises from both the others, and is called anguish, wandering, the wheel of life, etc. " In these first three forms consists " the essence of anger, of hell, and of all that is wrath- " ful." The fourth form is the fire, the origin of life, the desire ; and is a fire of anger in relation to the first three, and a love-fire in relation to the last three. And
Ix THE THREE PRINCIPLES
these last three forms which constitute God's eternal kingdom of joy are, (5) the light, love, (6) the sound, intelligent life, (7) the (ideal) loveliness, in no corporeal sense, but essential and manifest ; the eternal, substantial Wisdom of God ; the epitome of all forms, all colours and all beauty.
The first four forms constitute the first Principle, corresponding to the " Father " ; the last four (beginning again from the fourth) constitute the second Principle, corresponding to the "Son." By the third Principle, Boehme understands, now the interaction of both Principles, as the Holy Spirit; now the corporeal nature derived from the seven forms.
"The reader must know that all things consist in " Yes or No, whether Godly, devilish, earthly, or whatso- " ever it may be called. The One, as the Yes, is pure "power [virtue] and life, and is the truth of God, or " God Himself. But God would be unknowable to " Himself, and would have in Himself no joy, perception " or exaltation without the No. The No is the opposite " [antithesis] to the Yes or the truth. In order that the
INTRODUCTION lix
" truth may be manifest as a Something, there must be " a contrary therein " (Theosoph. Quest, iii. 2. 4). As the light of the sun is made visible by the dark pewter vessel, so can God manifest Himself only through contrariety in Himself. ' Boehme construes this contrariety or opposition by taking as starting-point the two fundamental attributes of Divine Being, as revealed in Holy Scripture, namely, the Wrath and the Love. These further branch out into the seven throne Spirits (Revel, i. 4 ; iv. 5), the first three of which represent God's wrath, and the last three, God's love ; while the central fourth constitutes the pivot-point of both worlds, being common to the wrath or darkness and to the love or light. These seven forms, to which Boehme constantly refers, and which he describes again and again as being his fundamental idea, are however not the basic powers of actual nature; but constitute what our philosopher calls "the eternal nature in God." Now he had of course to borrow the colours wherewith he pictures this eternal nature, from the world of our experience, and the difficulty to understand him arises from his ever renewed endeavours to describe each of these properties or forms and their inter-relation and operation ; whereby the picture becomes so overdone, so complex and variegated, that it is scarcely possible to follow the main conception. Indeed, it almost becomes doubtful at times, owing to the many variations of symbol and imagery, whether any main idea underlies the whole scheme as a unifying foundation. Thus, for instance, he describes the first form as the astringency, the hardness, the coldness, attraction, desire ; the second as motion, perception, sweetness, the sting, the fleeing; the third arises from both the others, and is called anguish, wandering, the wheel of life, etc. " In these first three forms consists " the essence of anger, of hell, and of all that is wrath- " ful." The fourth form is the fire, the origin of life, the desire ; and is a fire of anger in relation to the first three, and a love-fire in relation to the last three. And
Ix THE THREE PRINCIPLES
these last three forms which constitute God's eternal kingdom of joy are, (5) the light, love, (6) the sound, intelligent life, (7) the (ideal) loveliness, in no corporeal sense, but essential and manifest ; the eternal, substantial Wisdom of God ; the epitome of all forms, all colours and all beauty.
The first four forms constitute the first Principle, corresponding to the " Father " ; the last four (beginning again from the fourth) constitute the second Principle, corresponding to the "Son." By the third Principle, Boehme understands, now the interaction of both Principles, as the Holy Spirit; now the corporeal nature derived from the seven forms.