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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.
118. Now when, as the spirit of Moses had pointed out the figure of Adam and Christ under a history, he proceeds, and further relates how it must go with the children of God in this time, showing in what desire the poor soul in flesh and blood lies captive, and is continually vexed and tormented, as here Isaac and Rebecca. For the text says, When Esau war forty years old he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, which were a grief of mind to Isaac and to Rebecca (vv. 34, 35). And in this place he speaks no further of these wives, or their children; to signify that it is a figure, whereby he alludes at something else; which reason looks upon as very strange, and wonders that God should yet permit two evil women to be with holy Isaac, through his son Esau; with whom he and his fair, blessed Rebecca must live in trouble, vexation and opposition: so very secretly does the spirit of Moses set forth his figure, that reason must even be blind in it. 1 Or, inspoken. The spiritual figure is thus: 19. The forty years of the age of Esau, or of Isaac after he begat Esau, signifies, that Adam with his Eve, when as he was man and woman, and yet neither of them, did stand in Paradise forty days in the temptation or proba, and had joy with his fair Eve, viz. with his female 2 property in himself: 2 Or, feminine.
220. But Abimelech, viz. the king of this world, had introduced his lust into this fair female 1 rose-garden, viz. into the tincture of Venus; understand, into the holy life of love in Adam; and stirred the centre of the soul's nature, whereupon Adam became lusting and longing to take to him in his property yet two wives, viz. the bestial wife, according to the beast-like property out of the four elements; and the astral [sidereal or starry] wife from the constellation [or astrum of this world]; which wicked woman did awaken in Adam's female property, which he took up to wife for his lust. As Esau did the wives of scorn and mockery, with whom he caused mere grief of mind, and lamentable perplexity to himself and his right female property: and we indeed do still suffer and endure the same, and must consume our time with them in misery and lamentation. 1 Or, feminine.
321. Further, this figure denotes the forty years of Israel in the wilderness, when they did eat manna, and rejoiced with Rebecca under a strange king; where they lived in the kingdom of this world, and yet were led, preserved and nourished in the divine arm; and therefore they grew great before the world, as Isaac under king Abimelech. And when Israel, after forty years, pitched their tent at Beer-sheba, viz. in the promised land, they yet took these two wives to them in their fleshly lust; which caused mere grief of heart to them, for which two wives' sake they were sorely punished of God, and were at last for their sake, driven from Beer-sheba. 22. Thirdly, this figure denotes the hard combat of Christ in the wilderness, in Adam's stead, where Christ in our humanity took these two wives (which were manifest in Adam through his strange son, or will) unto his heavenly essentiality, and suffered them to hunger forty days, so that they must resign and give in their desire to the divine essence, and learn to eat heavenly manna. To signify that this earthly lust [in us], from the stars and four elements, should be broken in Christ's death, and cease. 23. Fourthly, it denotes the forty hours of Christ in the grave, where these two wives of unquietness in the human property were changed again into one eternal wife, viz. into the true Rebecca, and right Adamical Eve, which was in Adam before his Eve.
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.
118. Now when, as the spirit of Moses had pointed out the figure of Adam and Christ under a history, he proceeds, and further relates how it must go with the children of God in this time, showing in what desire the poor soul in flesh and blood lies captive, and is continually vexed and tormented, as here Isaac and Rebecca. For the text says, When Esau war forty years old he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite, which were a grief of mind to Isaac and to Rebecca (vv. 34, 35). And in this place he speaks no further of these wives, or their children; to signify that it is a figure, whereby he alludes at something else; which reason looks upon as very strange, and wonders that God should yet permit two evil women to be with holy Isaac, through his son Esau; with whom he and his fair, blessed Rebecca must live in trouble, vexation and opposition: so very secretly does the spirit of Moses set forth his figure, that reason must even be blind in it. 1 Or, inspoken. The spiritual figure is thus: 19. The forty years of the age of Esau, or of Isaac after he begat Esau, signifies, that Adam with his Eve, when as he was man and woman, and yet neither of them, did stand in Paradise forty days in the temptation or proba, and had joy with his fair Eve, viz. with his female 2 property in himself: 2 Or, feminine.
220. But Abimelech, viz. the king of this world, had introduced his lust into this fair female 1 rose-garden, viz. into the tincture of Venus; understand, into the holy life of love in Adam; and stirred the centre of the soul's nature, whereupon Adam became lusting and longing to take to him in his property yet two wives, viz. the bestial wife, according to the beast-like property out of the four elements; and the astral [sidereal or starry] wife from the constellation [or astrum of this world]; which wicked woman did awaken in Adam's female property, which he took up to wife for his lust. As Esau did the wives of scorn and mockery, with whom he caused mere grief of mind, and lamentable perplexity to himself and his right female property: and we indeed do still suffer and endure the same, and must consume our time with them in misery and lamentation. 1 Or, feminine.
321. Further, this figure denotes the forty years of Israel in the wilderness, when they did eat manna, and rejoiced with Rebecca under a strange king; where they lived in the kingdom of this world, and yet were led, preserved and nourished in the divine arm; and therefore they grew great before the world, as Isaac under king Abimelech. And when Israel, after forty years, pitched their tent at Beer-sheba, viz. in the promised land, they yet took these two wives to them in their fleshly lust; which caused mere grief of heart to them, for which two wives' sake they were sorely punished of God, and were at last for their sake, driven from Beer-sheba. 22. Thirdly, this figure denotes the hard combat of Christ in the wilderness, in Adam's stead, where Christ in our humanity took these two wives (which were manifest in Adam through his strange son, or will) unto his heavenly essentiality, and suffered them to hunger forty days, so that they must resign and give in their desire to the divine essence, and learn to eat heavenly manna. To signify that this earthly lust [in us], from the stars and four elements, should be broken in Christ's death, and cease. 23. Fourthly, it denotes the forty hours of Christ in the grave, where these two wives of unquietness in the human property were changed again into one eternal wife, viz. into the true Rebecca, and right Adamical Eve, which was in Adam before his Eve.
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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