13. And although I write now, as if there were
a beginning in the eternal birth, yet it is not so ;
but the eternal nature thus begetteth [or generateth]
itself without beginning. My writings must be
understood in a creaturely manner, as the birth of
man is, who is a similitude of God. Although it
be just so in the eternal being [essence or substance],
yet that is both without beginning and without
end ; and my writing is only to this end, that man
might learn to know what he is, what he was in
the beginning, how he was a very glorious eternal
holy man, that should never have known the gate
of the strong [or austere] birth in the eternity, if
he had not suffered himself to lust after it through
the l infection of the devil, and had not eaten of
that 2 fruit which was forbidden him ; whereby he
became such a naked and vain man in a bestial
heavenly garment of the divine
power, and liveth now in the kingdom of the devil
3 Or poisonous in the 8 infected Salnitre, and feedeth upon the
infected food. Therefore it is necessary for us to
learn to know ourselves, what we are, and how we
might be redeemed from the anguishing austere
birth, and be regenerated or born anew, and live in
the new man (which is like the first man before
* who bring, the fall) in Christ our 4 Regenerator.
eth us forth °
out of the 4. For though I should speak or write never so
wrath into
the love of much ot the fall, and also of the regeneration in
God.
1 Or tempta
tion.
22 Viz. the
fruit of the
austere ma-
££ or gene- fornlf ^fl lost
Ch. 3] OF THE ETERNAL NATURE 21
Christ, and did not come to the root and ground,
what the fall was, and by what it was we came to
perish, and what that property is which God
abhorreth, and how that was effected, contrary to
the command and will of God, what should I understand of the thing ? Just nothing ! And then
how should I shun or avoid that which I have
no knowledge of? Or how should I endeavour
to come to the new birth, and give myself up
into it, if I knew not how, wherein, nor wherewith
to do it ?
5. It is very true, the world is full of books and
sermons of the fall, and of the new birth : But in
the most part of the books of the * divines, there : theology,
is nothing but the history that such a thing hath
been done, and that we should be regenerated in
Christ. But what do I understand from hence ?
Nothing, but only the history, that such a thing
hath been done, and done again, and ought to
be done.
36. Our divines set themselves hand and foot,
with might and main, with their utmost endeavour,
by persecution and reproach, against this, [and say]
that men must not [dare to] search into the deep
grounds what God is ; men must not search nor
curiously pry into the Deity. But if I should
speak plainly what this trick of theirs is, it is the
dung and filth wherewith they cover and hide the
devil, and cloak the injected malice and wickedness
of the devil in man, so that neither the devil, nor
22 THE THREE PRINCIPLES [Ch. 3
1 Or evil will, the anger of God, nor the l evil beast in man, 2 can
2 But remain- i j • i
eth hidden DC discerned.
7. And this is the very reason, because the devil
smelleth the matter, and therefore he hindereth it,
that his kingdom might not be revealed, but that
he might continue to be the great prince [of the
world still]. For otherwise, if his' kingdom were
known, men might fly from him. Where is it
more needful for him to oppose, than on that part
where his enemy may break in? He therefore
covereth the hearts, minds, thoughts, and senses of
the divines ; he leadeth them into covetousness,
pride, and wantonness, so that they stand amazed
with fear and horror at the light of God, and therefore they shut it up, for they are naked, nay they
grudge the light to those that see it ; this is rightly
called the service and worship of the devil.
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.