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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.
129. From which government and dominion the branches or children were born, concerning which the holy spirit complained in Noah, that they would not suffer his spirit to reprove them any more (Gen. vi. 3), for they were a tree or branch sprung forth from the tree ofself-fullness; from which the worldly principalities and superiorities have taken their rise and original. For when the human life fell unto the stars, and the spirit of the outward world, then the same brought the human life into its [the outward world's] own dominion, from the angelical into the astral and outward elementary dominion, according to its figure. This, the city of Cain, viz. Enoch, does signify unto us, viz. the dominion upon the earth. 30. But now Enoch cannot be the ruler, but the city is he, that is, the branch or the country of the children of pride, who departed from God in their own selfish power and authority. Now the multiplicity of wills must have a judge, seeing they would not suffer the Spirit of God to rule them (I Same viii. 7). Therefore the spirit in Moses says, and Enoch begat Irad (Gen. iv. 18). This is now the governor who, out of their own essence, set himself up to be judge and lord over them, viz. a potentate and tyrant.
231. For the name is very pregnant in the Language of Nature, and signifies a forth-breathing of life, where the life doth soon form itself in the centre of the fiery property and strong might; viz. in the anger of God, which was become ruler over the life; the same took Irad, as a lord and tamer of the life, and set him over Enoch. 32. From this root the rulers of the world are arisen; for seeing that man would not have God for a ruler of his life and will, God gave them the ruler in nature from among themselves; that they might lord it over and rule one another. 33. For God has not given mankind any law or government among themselves, but made man to be lord only over all creatures, so that he should rule over all things. But God himself would rule with his spirit over man, and govern the human life. But seeing that self-hood would not, then Irad (that is, the fire's strength and might) sprang forth forcibly out of the human tree, and set itself over the city, Enoch, upon the earth.
334. But now Irad must have something wherein and wherewithal to set up himself to rule and reign, for the fire's wrath and fury would not have suffered them; and also the government must be somewhat profitable and advantageous. Therefore Moses writes now very right and exceeding wonderfully, and says, Irad begat Mahujael, which intimates very emphatically, in the Language of Nature, an assumingl of the outward and inward centre of nature, viz. of the outward and inward world; a self-conceived, bold, courageous, vainglorious, arrogant mind, which would possess the riches of the outward world in its domination and superiority, viz. all manner of creatures and fruits. And especially it denotes a splendour of the inward assuming, viz. an earthly god, which externally sets itself in God's office. Out of this name, Babel, viz. the Beast with the Whore, was afterwards brought forth. 35. And Moses says further: Mahujael hegat Methusael. This is now the right wonderful name, wherein is signified how the life doth arrogate divine power to itself: for Methusael would intimate in the Language of Nature thus much, that is to say, Mine is the divine might: I am an angel, set therein by God, or, I am the ordinance of God. Which indeed is true, but [only] according to the first Principle, by the outward nature, viz. a natural power and ordinance.
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.
129. From which government and dominion the branches or children were born, concerning which the holy spirit complained in Noah, that they would not suffer his spirit to reprove them any more (Gen. vi. 3), for they were a tree or branch sprung forth from the tree ofself-fullness; from which the worldly principalities and superiorities have taken their rise and original. For when the human life fell unto the stars, and the spirit of the outward world, then the same brought the human life into its [the outward world's] own dominion, from the angelical into the astral and outward elementary dominion, according to its figure. This, the city of Cain, viz. Enoch, does signify unto us, viz. the dominion upon the earth. 30. But now Enoch cannot be the ruler, but the city is he, that is, the branch or the country of the children of pride, who departed from God in their own selfish power and authority. Now the multiplicity of wills must have a judge, seeing they would not suffer the Spirit of God to rule them (I Same viii. 7). Therefore the spirit in Moses says, and Enoch begat Irad (Gen. iv. 18). This is now the governor who, out of their own essence, set himself up to be judge and lord over them, viz. a potentate and tyrant.
231. For the name is very pregnant in the Language of Nature, and signifies a forth-breathing of life, where the life doth soon form itself in the centre of the fiery property and strong might; viz. in the anger of God, which was become ruler over the life; the same took Irad, as a lord and tamer of the life, and set him over Enoch. 32. From this root the rulers of the world are arisen; for seeing that man would not have God for a ruler of his life and will, God gave them the ruler in nature from among themselves; that they might lord it over and rule one another. 33. For God has not given mankind any law or government among themselves, but made man to be lord only over all creatures, so that he should rule over all things. But God himself would rule with his spirit over man, and govern the human life. But seeing that self-hood would not, then Irad (that is, the fire's strength and might) sprang forth forcibly out of the human tree, and set itself over the city, Enoch, upon the earth.
334. But now Irad must have something wherein and wherewithal to set up himself to rule and reign, for the fire's wrath and fury would not have suffered them; and also the government must be somewhat profitable and advantageous. Therefore Moses writes now very right and exceeding wonderfully, and says, Irad begat Mahujael, which intimates very emphatically, in the Language of Nature, an assumingl of the outward and inward centre of nature, viz. of the outward and inward world; a self-conceived, bold, courageous, vainglorious, arrogant mind, which would possess the riches of the outward world in its domination and superiority, viz. all manner of creatures and fruits. And especially it denotes a splendour of the inward assuming, viz. an earthly god, which externally sets itself in God's office. Out of this name, Babel, viz. the Beast with the Whore, was afterwards brought forth. 35. And Moses says further: Mahujael hegat Methusael. This is now the right wonderful name, wherein is signified how the life doth arrogate divine power to itself: for Methusael would intimate in the Language of Nature thus much, that is to say, Mine is the divine might: I am an angel, set therein by God, or, I am the ordinance of God. Which indeed is true, but [only] according to the first Principle, by the outward nature, viz. a natural power and ordinance.
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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