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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.
116. An exposition of the Lord's Prayer . . . 41-104 16. The Lord's Prayer containeth seven petitions, with an entrance and conclusion; also what the soul attaineth therein. What the Amen is. Also of the subtleness of the will of the soul . . .100 16. Of the three Persons of the Trinity in the conclusion of the Lord's Prayer 103 CHAP. Priest. Priests. VERSE 11. A word to the blind world that supposeth that the Mystery of God should not be touched but by the priest alone 76 14. Admonition to go out from the priest's contentions. Who is a right Christian. Also our duty in the maintenance of the earthly body .... 25 Principle. Principles. 5. How the Principle is divided into two dominions, as into love and anger 19 5. Wherein a Principle doth consist . . . .108 5. How the second Principle is in the midst of both the Principles 113 5. How the second, or divine Principle is the power of the first 114 5. How the second Principle worketh in the outward Principle 115 6. How the third Principle was created, and what it is 62 6. A description of the third Principle .... 63 6. How this third Principle would be if the Sun were extinguished . 66 7. What the third Principle is, as also the third life in God 80 I. The author will shew the ground of the Principles . 43 5. Where the distinction in the three Principles beginneth 100
2II. How all the three Principles desire man . . .107 11. In God there is no dominion, but in the three Principles; also whence the fault cometh that any thing perisheth 108 Rabbis. 13. How thin the Rabbis in Germany are, of a thousand scarce a hundred left 40 14. The school Rabbis hate the example of young Tobiah 59 Rainbow. 6. A description of the rainbow and its colours . . 69 6. How Christ shall appear upon such a rainbow at his coming 7 0 16. What the rainbow, and the body of Christ, is, which Mystery no tongue can express ... 92, 93 CHAP. Reason. VERSE 3. Blind reason will go above the Heart of God like the devil ... 32 5. The glistering art in reason is a hindrance to the light 32 5. Of reason's blindness as to what the earth, stones, and elements are generated of .... 79 6 . This writing is no word of outward reason ... 8 6. Admonition to blind reason to see with inward eyes . 38 7. What reason judgeth concerning the danger of being overcome by the world 15 15. Reason thinketh it will be no otherwise now than in former times 17 15. How reason walketh wisely in outward things, but the soul is forgotten 23 16. How the devil captivateth us in reason, and deceiveth us by it 30 Rest. 4. In the six forms there is no place of rest. The sour mother i s the rest of the hungry nature ... 8 Regenerate. 9. The spirit of the regenerate soul searcheth through all the three Principles 41 Rejoice.
312. They should rejoice who are despised for their fearing of God 39 Revelation. 3. The cause why the Revelation hath not hitherto been fundamentally understood, is because it hath not been in man's ability 39 Riches. 6. What transitory riches, and what eternal riches are . 33 10. How the riches of this world are but dross and dung . 8 Rule. 17. The rule of the spirit of this world, and of the spirit of God . 17 CHAP. Renewing. VERSE 18. How in the renewing of the will the formed substance i s renewed 2 2 Scriptures. 5. The author hath no other knowledge of the creation, than that of the Holy Scriptures .... 80 7. To be able to repeat all the Holy Scriptures without book bringeth no salvation 3 Sea. 5. The Glassy Sea is the water spirit .... 11 8. The cause of the great sea 46 Seeker. 4. The author judgeth not the blind seeker, he shall find his reward 51 Seal. Sealed. Seals. 3. The time from the beginning to the end is the seventh seal, wherein the six seals accomplish their work: . Where (in the Heart of God) men have found wonders 41 3. After the opening of the seventh seal, the Archshepherd will feed his sheep himself ... 80 9. The world since the Fall of Adam hath but one eye; but by the seventh seal it hath two eyes . .107 15. Now is the time of the last seal, wherein the hellish wonders come to light 3
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.
116. An exposition of the Lord's Prayer . . . 41-104 16. The Lord's Prayer containeth seven petitions, with an entrance and conclusion; also what the soul attaineth therein. What the Amen is. Also of the subtleness of the will of the soul . . .100 16. Of the three Persons of the Trinity in the conclusion of the Lord's Prayer 103 CHAP. Priest. Priests. VERSE 11. A word to the blind world that supposeth that the Mystery of God should not be touched but by the priest alone 76 14. Admonition to go out from the priest's contentions. Who is a right Christian. Also our duty in the maintenance of the earthly body .... 25 Principle. Principles. 5. How the Principle is divided into two dominions, as into love and anger 19 5. Wherein a Principle doth consist . . . .108 5. How the second Principle is in the midst of both the Principles 113 5. How the second, or divine Principle is the power of the first 114 5. How the second Principle worketh in the outward Principle 115 6. How the third Principle was created, and what it is 62 6. A description of the third Principle .... 63 6. How this third Principle would be if the Sun were extinguished . 66 7. What the third Principle is, as also the third life in God 80 I. The author will shew the ground of the Principles . 43 5. Where the distinction in the three Principles beginneth 100
2II. How all the three Principles desire man . . .107 11. In God there is no dominion, but in the three Principles; also whence the fault cometh that any thing perisheth 108 Rabbis. 13. How thin the Rabbis in Germany are, of a thousand scarce a hundred left 40 14. The school Rabbis hate the example of young Tobiah 59 Rainbow. 6. A description of the rainbow and its colours . . 69 6. How Christ shall appear upon such a rainbow at his coming 7 0 16. What the rainbow, and the body of Christ, is, which Mystery no tongue can express ... 92, 93 CHAP. Reason. VERSE 3. Blind reason will go above the Heart of God like the devil ... 32 5. The glistering art in reason is a hindrance to the light 32 5. Of reason's blindness as to what the earth, stones, and elements are generated of .... 79 6 . This writing is no word of outward reason ... 8 6. Admonition to blind reason to see with inward eyes . 38 7. What reason judgeth concerning the danger of being overcome by the world 15 15. Reason thinketh it will be no otherwise now than in former times 17 15. How reason walketh wisely in outward things, but the soul is forgotten 23 16. How the devil captivateth us in reason, and deceiveth us by it 30 Rest. 4. In the six forms there is no place of rest. The sour mother i s the rest of the hungry nature ... 8 Regenerate. 9. The spirit of the regenerate soul searcheth through all the three Principles 41 Rejoice.
312. They should rejoice who are despised for their fearing of God 39 Revelation. 3. The cause why the Revelation hath not hitherto been fundamentally understood, is because it hath not been in man's ability 39 Riches. 6. What transitory riches, and what eternal riches are . 33 10. How the riches of this world are but dross and dung . 8 Rule. 17. The rule of the spirit of this world, and of the spirit of God . 17 CHAP. Renewing. VERSE 18. How in the renewing of the will the formed substance i s renewed 2 2 Scriptures. 5. The author hath no other knowledge of the creation, than that of the Holy Scriptures .... 80 7. To be able to repeat all the Holy Scriptures without book bringeth no salvation 3 Sea. 5. The Glassy Sea is the water spirit .... 11 8. The cause of the great sea 46 Seeker. 4. The author judgeth not the blind seeker, he shall find his reward 51 Seal. Sealed. Seals. 3. The time from the beginning to the end is the seventh seal, wherein the six seals accomplish their work: . Where (in the Heart of God) men have found wonders 41 3. After the opening of the seventh seal, the Archshepherd will feed his sheep himself ... 80 9. The world since the Fall of Adam hath but one eye; but by the seventh seal it hath two eyes . .107 15. Now is the time of the last seal, wherein the hellish wonders come to light 3
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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