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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.
135. The third sort would be of Ham's nature and generation; and know neither the light of nature nor grace; but walk as the beast, and be only titular verbal praters and literal children, and, moreover, mockers, scoffers, and fleering apes, who would also be called the children of God. But their knowledge would be only of the external stone church; a mere custom, and verbal round of a service of God, 1 where the mouth would use indeed the name of God; but the heart would only bring forth a bestial spirit to earthly pride, lust and pleasure. 1 Or Divine Service as they call it. 36. Thus the spirit of Shem, Ham and Japheth would dwell together in one congregation. Shem's generation in faith hidden among the Japhites, as a poor, disesteemed, contemned, abject people. But the tribe of Japheth would set forth themselves with great plausible words, with great and huge ostentation of God's service; but yet it would be but as an hypocrisy and seeming holiness, proceeding from the light of nature. But Ham's lineage would be full of gluttony and drunkenness, scoffing, and reviling, and they would mock at both, viz. the children of the Cain-like seeming holiness, and also at the children of the true light; and would live as the wild brute beast; and yet in their swinish life would be children of grace by an outward appropriation or adoption.
237. This Ham has now the dominion in Christendom; he has flattered with Japheth, so that he has set him up by the light of nature an external specious divine worship, as a titular God. This titular God has covered Ham, in his bestial Sodomitical spirit, with a very fair and glorious covering, under the purple mantle of Christ; and laid under his head great sacks full 1 of the light of grace; and these the bestial mouth-spirit of Ham must take along with it; and when it must indeed die, then it has whole sacks full of the light of grace. 1 Or satchels full. 38. But the light of grace remains only in the sacks, and Ham's spirit remains in itself an evil beast; and cannot truly open the sacks and take out the light of grace. This Ham's spirit is accursed, and shall not inherit God's kingdom; unless it be really born again out of the light of grace; otherwise the sacks and coverings avail him not at all. 39. For a beast goes into the sanctuary [or to holy service of God] , and remains a beast when he comes thence. Your seeming holiness and devotion, your comforting, flattering and soothing up yourself, avails nothing, unless you return again into your first mother, from whence man is originally proceeded, and become as a little, new born child, and let Ham and Japheth go, with all their arts and pratings.
340. For Japheth obtains it not in his specious glistering kingdom; unless he enter into Shem's tent, viz. into the light of grace, so that the same may be born in him. Outward adopted children avail not in God's account; but innate children, born anew of the heavenly ens in Christ spirit; and whosoever has not the same is already judged (John iii. 18). A TABLE OF THE CHIEF MATTERS TO BE FOUND IN THIS BOOK OF THE MYSTERIUM MAGNUM A CHAP. Abel VERSE 27. why Abel offered sacrifice 9 29. What the name Abel or Habel signifies in the Language of Nature 20 30. why Abel must be slain 16 Ability 61. How the soul may attain ability to receive grace 39,40 69. How man's ability to receive grace is lost 17,18 Abimelech 46. What the names of Abimelech and Gerar signify 2,3 47. How Abimelech made a covenant with Abraham. What that signifies in the spiritual figure; and what Moses here signifies under the veil thereof 1-27 47. The holy figure of Abimelech and Pichol. 6, et seq. Above 43. What is called above and beneath in the text 9, 11, 12 Abraham 37. of Abraham and his seed, and of the line of the Covenant in its propagation 1-61 37. why the Spirit called Abraham out of his father's country 21, et seq. 37. How God appeared to Abraham 45-49 39. How God appeared to Abraham 1 38. How the ens of the Serpent as well as the line of Christ lay in Abraham. 13 39. of Abraham's sacrifice 13-25
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.
135. The third sort would be of Ham's nature and generation; and know neither the light of nature nor grace; but walk as the beast, and be only titular verbal praters and literal children, and, moreover, mockers, scoffers, and fleering apes, who would also be called the children of God. But their knowledge would be only of the external stone church; a mere custom, and verbal round of a service of God, 1 where the mouth would use indeed the name of God; but the heart would only bring forth a bestial spirit to earthly pride, lust and pleasure. 1 Or Divine Service as they call it. 36. Thus the spirit of Shem, Ham and Japheth would dwell together in one congregation. Shem's generation in faith hidden among the Japhites, as a poor, disesteemed, contemned, abject people. But the tribe of Japheth would set forth themselves with great plausible words, with great and huge ostentation of God's service; but yet it would be but as an hypocrisy and seeming holiness, proceeding from the light of nature. But Ham's lineage would be full of gluttony and drunkenness, scoffing, and reviling, and they would mock at both, viz. the children of the Cain-like seeming holiness, and also at the children of the true light; and would live as the wild brute beast; and yet in their swinish life would be children of grace by an outward appropriation or adoption.
237. This Ham has now the dominion in Christendom; he has flattered with Japheth, so that he has set him up by the light of nature an external specious divine worship, as a titular God. This titular God has covered Ham, in his bestial Sodomitical spirit, with a very fair and glorious covering, under the purple mantle of Christ; and laid under his head great sacks full 1 of the light of grace; and these the bestial mouth-spirit of Ham must take along with it; and when it must indeed die, then it has whole sacks full of the light of grace. 1 Or satchels full. 38. But the light of grace remains only in the sacks, and Ham's spirit remains in itself an evil beast; and cannot truly open the sacks and take out the light of grace. This Ham's spirit is accursed, and shall not inherit God's kingdom; unless it be really born again out of the light of grace; otherwise the sacks and coverings avail him not at all. 39. For a beast goes into the sanctuary [or to holy service of God] , and remains a beast when he comes thence. Your seeming holiness and devotion, your comforting, flattering and soothing up yourself, avails nothing, unless you return again into your first mother, from whence man is originally proceeded, and become as a little, new born child, and let Ham and Japheth go, with all their arts and pratings.
340. For Japheth obtains it not in his specious glistering kingdom; unless he enter into Shem's tent, viz. into the light of grace, so that the same may be born in him. Outward adopted children avail not in God's account; but innate children, born anew of the heavenly ens in Christ spirit; and whosoever has not the same is already judged (John iii. 18). A TABLE OF THE CHIEF MATTERS TO BE FOUND IN THIS BOOK OF THE MYSTERIUM MAGNUM A CHAP. Abel VERSE 27. why Abel offered sacrifice 9 29. What the name Abel or Habel signifies in the Language of Nature 20 30. why Abel must be slain 16 Ability 61. How the soul may attain ability to receive grace 39,40 69. How man's ability to receive grace is lost 17,18 Abimelech 46. What the names of Abimelech and Gerar signify 2,3 47. How Abimelech made a covenant with Abraham. What that signifies in the spiritual figure; and what Moses here signifies under the veil thereof 1-27 47. The holy figure of Abimelech and Pichol. 6, et seq. Above 43. What is called above and beneath in the text 9, 11, 12 Abraham 37. of Abraham and his seed, and of the line of the Covenant in its propagation 1-61 37. why the Spirit called Abraham out of his father's country 21, et seq. 37. How God appeared to Abraham 45-49 39. How God appeared to Abraham 1 38. How the ens of the Serpent as well as the line of Christ lay in Abraham. 13 39. of Abraham's sacrifice 13-25
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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