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Eleven books by a shoemaker of Görlitz who wrote, by his own account, because he could not help it. Ten of them stand here in the seventeenth-century English of John Sparrow, who translated Boehme within a generation of his death and whose prose is itself now four hundred years old; where that English has drifted out of reach, the facing pane carries a modern register — the same text with archaic inflection and spelling normalised by rule, never paraphrased. Nothing is reworded, and where no register appears beside a passage it is because the rules found nothing to change.
The eleventh book is not in English at all, and it is the reason this note exists.
Des trois principes de l'essence divine, printed at Paris in 1802, is the same work as Concerning the Three Principles of the Divine Essence, which stands here as the second book — the same twenty-seven chapters in the same order, opening `Du premier principe de l'essence divine` against Sparrow's `Of the first Principle of the Divine Essence`. Its translator was Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, who gave the last years of his life to putting Boehme into French, and who has a shelf of his own in this Lycaeum.
That makes a closed circuit inside this archive, and it is worth naming plainly. Saint-Martin translates Boehme. La Iniciación, printed in Montevideo a hundred and forty years later, traces its own descent through Saint-Martin. A reader can therefore follow one thread from a German mystic of 1619, through the French philosopher who carried him into another language, to a Spanish-language monthly of the 1940s that claimed them both — and read every step of it in the original.
The two are shelved as one work rather than two because that is what they are. They are not set as facing panes: an English translation of 1619 and a French translation of 1802 are two independent readings of a lost German original, and pairing them line by line would assert a correspondence neither translator ever claimed.
1the only way to get happiness; and so, if they have riches, honour and power, then they have goods indeed; but if any consider it, it is no better with these than others, and besides, the poor soul is lost thereby. 20. For the dainties of the rich relish not so well with them as a bit of bread doth to the hungry: There is every where, care, sorrow, vexation, fear, sickness; and at last death: All in this world is but mere foppery: The mighty sit in the dominion of the spirit of this world; and they that fear God sit in the dominion of the divine power and wisdom: The dominion of this world taketh its end with the dying of the body; and the dominion in the spirit of God continueth standing eternally. 21. It is a very lamentable thing that man runneth so eagerly after that which would run after man if he were righteous and honest: he runneth after cares and sorrows, and they run after him; he is as if he were continually mad; he maketh disquiet to himself; if he would be contented, he would have rest and quiet enough. He putteth an eating worm [or cancer] into his heart that a plagueth and tormenteth him, and causeth an evil conscience that gnaweth him, and he is a mere fool with all this: for he leaveth his goods to others, and taketh the gnawing worm in the evil conscience with him from this world; and that which plagueth him eternally, that he holdethfor his treasure.
2There cannot be a greater folly found under the sun than this, That man, who is the noblest and most rational creature in this world, should, in covetousness, be the greatest fool of all, to hunt and press so eagerly after that which he hath no need of; for every one hath his sufficient portion given him from the spirit of this world, if he would but be contented with it. 22. Thus one man is a devil to another; and they torment one another; and all the business is but about a handful of earth, or for a stone, of which the earth hath enough; And must not that be a wonder indeed? Doth not the fierce hellish spirit accomplish its wonders according to its wish in man? As the Book of the Revelation witnesseth; where one seal of anger hath been opened after another, and men are become the servants and ministers of wrath; they have wilfully entered upon it with their blood and goods [or estate], and thought they did God good service in it. 23. O blind man! how art thou captivated in the anger! What dost thou, or where art thou? Why dost thou suffer the devil to befool thee? Heaven and earth is wholly thine, God will give it thee all: He hath given thee all: thou hast a natural right and propriety in it; the sun and the stars are thine, thou art lord of all; let now thy foolish will go: Why dost thou give thyself up into covetousness and haughtiness? Doth not the kingdom of God consist in love and humility?
324. Or dost thou suppose it is so good to dwell in the wrath ? Behold, when the light of thy eyes doth cease, then thou goest into darkness, and takest thy folly, to which thou hast here addicted thyself, along with thee: Is then the darkness better than the eternal light? Ask the night whether it is better than the day. Or dost thou suppose that we are mad that we speak thus? We speak what we see, and testify what we know, and thou art blind. 25. Thus art thou blinded by the Babylonish whore, which the covetous devil brought forth when men were secure and careless, when they loathed the word and spirit of God, as the Revelation of John testifieth, saying; / will come and take away thy candlestick from thee: And Paul saith; God shall suffer powerful errors to fall among them, that they shall believe the spirit of lying, which speaketh lies in hypocrisy and deceit; [So that] they will stick close [cleave] to the devils. But in the Last Time (saith the prophet David) shall the word of the Lord spring up like grass upon the earth: open wide the gates in the world and set open the doors, that the Lord may enter in: Who is the Lord? He is the champion in the battle; all swords and spears shall be turned into ploughshares and sickles (saith the prophet of God), and it shall be done: whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
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.
1the only way to get happiness; and so, if they have riches, honour and power, then they have goods indeed; but if any consider it, it is no better with these than others, and besides, the poor soul is lost thereby. 20. For the dainties of the rich relish not so well with them as a bit of bread doth to the hungry: There is every where, care, sorrow, vexation, fear, sickness; and at last death: All in this world is but mere foppery: The mighty sit in the dominion of the spirit of this world; and they that fear God sit in the dominion of the divine power and wisdom: The dominion of this world taketh its end with the dying of the body; and the dominion in the spirit of God continueth standing eternally. 21. It is a very lamentable thing that man runneth so eagerly after that which would run after man if he were righteous and honest: he runneth after cares and sorrows, and they run after him; he is as if he were continually mad; he maketh disquiet to himself; if he would be contented, he would have rest and quiet enough. He putteth an eating worm [or cancer] into his heart that a plagueth and tormenteth him, and causeth an evil conscience that gnaweth him, and he is a mere fool with all this: for he leaveth his goods to others, and taketh the gnawing worm in the evil conscience with him from this world; and that which plagueth him eternally, that he holdethfor his treasure.
2There cannot be a greater folly found under the sun than this, That man, who is the noblest and most rational creature in this world, should, in covetousness, be the greatest fool of all, to hunt and press so eagerly after that which he hath no need of; for every one hath his sufficient portion given him from the spirit of this world, if he would but be contented with it. 22. Thus one man is a devil to another; and they torment one another; and all the business is but about a handful of earth, or for a stone, of which the earth hath enough; And must not that be a wonder indeed? Doth not the fierce hellish spirit accomplish its wonders according to its wish in man? As the Book of the Revelation witnesseth; where one seal of anger hath been opened after another, and men are become the servants and ministers of wrath; they have wilfully entered upon it with their blood and goods [or estate], and thought they did God good service in it. 23. O blind man! how art thou captivated in the anger! What dost thou, or where art thou? Why dost thou suffer the devil to befool thee? Heaven and earth is wholly thine, God will give it thee all: He hath given thee all: thou hast a natural right and propriety in it; the sun and the stars are thine, thou art lord of all; let now thy foolish will go: Why dost thou give thyself up into covetousness and haughtiness? Doth not the kingdom of God consist in love and humility?
324. Or dost thou suppose it is so good to dwell in the wrath ? Behold, when the light of thy eyes doth cease, then thou goest into darkness, and takest thy folly, to which thou hast here addicted thyself, along with thee: Is then the darkness better than the eternal light? Ask the night whether it is better than the day. Or dost thou suppose that we are mad that we speak thus? We speak what we see, and testify what we know, and thou art blind. 25. Thus art thou blinded by the Babylonish whore, which the covetous devil brought forth when men were secure and careless, when they loathed the word and spirit of God, as the Revelation of John testifieth, saying; / will come and take away thy candlestick from thee: And Paul saith; God shall suffer powerful errors to fall among them, that they shall believe the spirit of lying, which speaketh lies in hypocrisy and deceit; [So that] they will stick close [cleave] to the devils. But in the Last Time (saith the prophet David) shall the word of the Lord spring up like grass upon the earth: open wide the gates in the world and set open the doors, that the Lord may enter in: Who is the Lord? He is the champion in the battle; all swords and spears shall be turned into ploughshares and sickles (saith the prophet of God), and it shall be done: whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
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.
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