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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.
132. In this power which proceeded forth from the offering, out of the fire and light, the spirit of God which proceeds forth from the Father and Son did amass itself in the amassment of the human faith's desire, and so took the human faith's desire into itself; and did amass itself into a substance of the fire, light and power proceeding forth from the offering; and brought it through the gates of God's anger, upon the holy altar, in the aim of the Covenant, upon which the Lamb of God should be offered for the sins of the whole world. 33. For this Lamb of God, viz. Christ, should complete, perfect, and make this introduced offering fully acceptable upon the great altar of the angelical world; that it might be to God an eternal sweet savour of his deepest love, which he represented in mankind in his introduced offering in the Lamb of God, Christ, and mankind in this representative offering. 34. The human offering was the sojourner of the true Lamb and offering of God in Christ. And now where the offering is, there also is the spirit of man; for man's spirit is gone forth and departed from God into time, and in the time it has defiled itself; therefore it must forsake the pollution, and enter in again through this offering to God.
235. But if it will enter, then it must do it in manner and form as it went out; for it brought itself into false desire and lust. Even so likewise it must introduce itself again by a returning into a sorrow and conversion, and in the sorrow or repentance again [introduce itself] into a divine desire, which is called faith. 36. But that it might apprehend or lay hold on the divine desire, it did bring the faith or the believing desire into an offering; and so amassed or formed the believing desire in the offering into a substance or essence, that the faith also might become essential; and this essentiality of faith received the holy fire of God, which would in the fullness of time open itself in the essentiality of faith, and bring the human substance thereinto; and also bring it forth in itself through God's anger, and change it in itself into a love-fire; for all the words of prayer in the offering were also received into the substance of faith. 37. For as all things were formed, amassed and introduced by the word of God into a substance, so likewise the words of the prayer of Abel and Israel in the offering were formed and amassed to substance, viz. unto an incorruptible essence. In which essence, Christ, God's Son, in the fullness of time brake forth out of the Covenant, and took upon him this same essence, together with the human essence, and as a potent Champion and mighty Conqueror destroyed the kingdom of death and the devil.
338. And to this faith's essence, in the spirit of Christ in all his children and members, was given the judgement over the world, yea, over the kingdom of the devil and of death; thereby to destroy and bring to naught their works, and possess the royal throne. 39. This was the real offering of Abel, for the spirit of the holy love-fire in the aim of the Covenant had opened itself in him, so that he understood it. And therefore he offered, that so his believing desire might be accepted before God, and be brought into a substance to the new regeneration; for he looked upon the promise of the SerpentStrayer, and introduced the desire of his faith into him; and desired that his faith, spirit and life might be confirmed in the SerpentStroyer who was promised. He would fain be therein accepted before God; as it was granted him, so that the fire of God did enkindle his offering, and received his prayer in the love-fire; and in the sweet savour of the offering it was brought by the spirit of God in the power of the light into a holy substance, and it is rightly said, His offering was acceptable before God.
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.
132. In this power which proceeded forth from the offering, out of the fire and light, the spirit of God which proceeds forth from the Father and Son did amass itself in the amassment of the human faith's desire, and so took the human faith's desire into itself; and did amass itself into a substance of the fire, light and power proceeding forth from the offering; and brought it through the gates of God's anger, upon the holy altar, in the aim of the Covenant, upon which the Lamb of God should be offered for the sins of the whole world. 33. For this Lamb of God, viz. Christ, should complete, perfect, and make this introduced offering fully acceptable upon the great altar of the angelical world; that it might be to God an eternal sweet savour of his deepest love, which he represented in mankind in his introduced offering in the Lamb of God, Christ, and mankind in this representative offering. 34. The human offering was the sojourner of the true Lamb and offering of God in Christ. And now where the offering is, there also is the spirit of man; for man's spirit is gone forth and departed from God into time, and in the time it has defiled itself; therefore it must forsake the pollution, and enter in again through this offering to God.
235. But if it will enter, then it must do it in manner and form as it went out; for it brought itself into false desire and lust. Even so likewise it must introduce itself again by a returning into a sorrow and conversion, and in the sorrow or repentance again [introduce itself] into a divine desire, which is called faith. 36. But that it might apprehend or lay hold on the divine desire, it did bring the faith or the believing desire into an offering; and so amassed or formed the believing desire in the offering into a substance or essence, that the faith also might become essential; and this essentiality of faith received the holy fire of God, which would in the fullness of time open itself in the essentiality of faith, and bring the human substance thereinto; and also bring it forth in itself through God's anger, and change it in itself into a love-fire; for all the words of prayer in the offering were also received into the substance of faith. 37. For as all things were formed, amassed and introduced by the word of God into a substance, so likewise the words of the prayer of Abel and Israel in the offering were formed and amassed to substance, viz. unto an incorruptible essence. In which essence, Christ, God's Son, in the fullness of time brake forth out of the Covenant, and took upon him this same essence, together with the human essence, and as a potent Champion and mighty Conqueror destroyed the kingdom of death and the devil.
338. And to this faith's essence, in the spirit of Christ in all his children and members, was given the judgement over the world, yea, over the kingdom of the devil and of death; thereby to destroy and bring to naught their works, and possess the royal throne. 39. This was the real offering of Abel, for the spirit of the holy love-fire in the aim of the Covenant had opened itself in him, so that he understood it. And therefore he offered, that so his believing desire might be accepted before God, and be brought into a substance to the new regeneration; for he looked upon the promise of the SerpentStrayer, and introduced the desire of his faith into him; and desired that his faith, spirit and life might be confirmed in the SerpentStroyer who was promised. He would fain be therein accepted before God; as it was granted him, so that the fire of God did enkindle his offering, and received his prayer in the love-fire; and in the sweet savour of the offering it was brought by the spirit of God in the power of the light into a holy substance, and it is rightly said, His offering was acceptable before God.
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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