1nor brought to the understanding by the tongue of
man ; for God hath no beginning. But I will set
it down so as if he had a beginning, that it might
be understood what is in the first Principle, whereby
the difference between the first and second Principles
may be understood, and what God or spirit is.
Indeed there is no difference in God, only when it
is enquired from whence evil and good proceed, it is
to be known, what is the first and original fountain
of anger, and also of love, since they both proceed
Ch. 1] FIRST PRINCIPLE OF THE DIVINE ESSENCE 3
from one and the same original, out of one mother,
and are one thing. Thus we must speak after a
creaturely manner, as if it took a beginning, that it
might be brought to be understood.
25. For it cannot be said that fire, bitterness, or
harshness, is in God, much less that air, water, or
earth is in him ; only it is plain that all things have
proceeded out of that [original]. Neither can it be
said, that death, hell-fire, or sorrowfulness is in God,
but it is known that these things have come out of
that [original]. For God hath made no devil out
of himself, but angels to live in joy, to their comfort
and rejoicing ; yet it is seen that devils came to be,
and that they became God's enemies. Therefore
the source or fountain of the cause must be sought,
viz. What is the prima materia, or first matter of
evil, and that in the originalness of God as well as
in the creatures ; for it is all but one only thing in
originalness : All is out of God, made out of his ,
1 essence, according to the Trinity, as he is one in * being or
essence and threefold in Persons.
6. Behold, there are especially three things in
the originalness, out of which all things are, both
spirit and life, motion and comprehensibility, viz.
2 Sulphur, 3 Mercurius, and * Sal. But you will say 2 wherein the
that these are in nature, and not in God ; which cousisteth.
indeed is so, but nature hath its ground in God,
according to the first Principle of the Father, for
n i n i i • i /-N i
<jrod calleth himself also an angry zealous God ;
which is not so to be understood, that God is angry
THE THREE PRINCIPLES
[Ch. 1
or attraction.
2 Observe or
consider.
1 generated.
3in himself, but in the spirit of the [creation or]
creature which kindleth itself; and then God
burneth in the first Principle therein, and the
spirit of the [creation or] creature suffereth pain,
and not God.
7. Now to speak in a creaturely way, Sulphur,
Mercurius, and Sal, are understood to be thus.
S U L is the soul or the spirit that is risen up, or
in a similitude [it is] God : P H U R is the prima
materia, or first matter out of which the spirit is
generated, but especially the harshness : Mercurius
hath a fourfold form in it, viz. harshness, bitterness,
fire, and water : Sal is the child that is generated
from these four, and is harsh, eager, and a cause of
the comprehensibility.
8. 2 Understand aright now what I declare to
you : Harshness, bitterness, and fire, are in the
originalness, in the first Principle : The water-source
is generated therein : And God is not called God
according to the first Principle ; but according to
that he is called wrathfulness, angriness, the earnest
[severe or tart] source, from which evil, and also the
woeful tormenting, trembling, and burning, have
their original.
9. This is as was mentioned before ; the harshness is the prima materia, or first matter, which is
strong, and very eagerly and earnestly attractive,
that is Sal : The bitterness is 3 in the strong attracto
ing, for the spirit sharpeneth itself in the strong
attracting, so that it becometh wholly aching
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.