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and again under the arches of their churches. and deep attention of a seeker. but convince me that his works contained passages. A longer ac- quaintance with him and closer attention could not. of fasci- very attractive passages. from mysticism to theosophy. to the discourses of Master Eckart and Tauler. to Jacob Bohme. and new light. I was led forward. now in their listened.2 1*1 YW AUTHOR'S PREFACE. Bohme's style and method of treatment struck me as intolerable and not to be entertained. W CD HEN in during my younger days of I was absorbed the study mediaeval mysticism. vivid and revealing lightning. I read several . was true that the its light of the Reformation was . with the quiet cloisters. nating beauty combined with surprising depth. however. here. consequently. and. where there was very much to obstruct the illumination. shining with great and universal energies its but this light had to force ness rays into the narrow- and obscurity of a shoemaker's room. It The first impression was not attractive. indeed. almost inevitably.
Other tasks imposed their claim upon me . A of I point in Bohme which has formed the subject much philosophical discussion. to comprise only seven volumes I was induced. as was personally concerned. at the eleventh hour. and with which had long been occupied. when my whole journey draws near I its close again find and must shortly be completed. although modern philosophy and theology still kept mc life. far Nothing. came I of this and. it seemed to me not wholly improbable that the result of a tracted study would be. my immediate relation to Bohme gradually faded away. undertook the perusal of his complete task. in consequence of record my interpretation of Jacob Bohme as a whole. that myself in direct relation with Bohme and his writings. compelled me head. no insurmountable seeing that they Schiebler's edition. I. notwithstanding the hard nuts that had to be cracked. so to speak. in works. during the whole of It is my now for the first time. its subject. .AUTHOR'S PREFACE. this. however. therefore. in contact with his ideas. and. to seek for myself to return to the fountain grounds of more solid and independent conviction. that more prolove would youthful lead as me so to attempt a work that should have Bohme . of his chief treatises. the undertaking would certainly have been premature.
imply have called them theosophical studies. the great prodigy in the spiritual and intellectual world. was composed especially and that it urges no claim to I exhaustiveness and completeness. and thus to gain deeper comprehension of Divine things and greater earnestness in our religious life. but the actual problems to the solution of which he has offered so remarkable and world-renowned a contribution." of the pearl of great and the gracious in far greater than is my that interest purely historical reminiscences which I feel in the great subject for which he lived. and has so powerfully stirred into activity. in order to indicate that for my own instruction. I have given the name of Studies to it this volume. price. which he However in great as may be the interest that I feel Bohme the highly-enlightened layman. with his single tianity. and always willing shape itself in souls that it. the pious it profound knowledge. will the subject which belongs to every age. made " aim to advance in earnest. practical Chris- in the appropriation lily. and which flow for us.AUTHOR'S PREFACE. all psychological his enigma. are I able and to devote themselves to am interested still in the fountains from which he drew. Under . the unexplained soul who. when we are willing to heed them. to that my main object of interest has not been historical Bohme as a simply phenomenon.
which is. so to speak. the mirror in which one is compelled to behold and to interpret what shows it itself. and that to be feared that the narrator will introduce some- thing of his own. with regard to which.viii A UTHOR S PREFA CE. asserted that all can by no means be mirrors are equally good. is certainly a measure ! of truth in this objection but it cannot be helped No one can interpret an intellectual subject unless through the medium of his own consciousness. But to the specific man who has is no confidence in a interpretation. for in- instance." There . and afraid of missing what . The method of treatment pursued by Jacob it is Bohme presents this difficulty. instead of an interpre. seeing little is to our comprehension of him but that one bound to reproduce him with a certain degree of is freedom. own one subjectivity . him by mere quotations. however. my own conviction of the truth. has so often been urged against the numerable commentaries on Faust and on Dante's " Divina Commedia. at And here the objection obviously close it is hand that this plan is very perilous. that impossible to delineate that they contribute . may give a mosaic of one's own as. it these circumstances will scarcely I be thought unpar- donable loped that. that. and give the subject an admixture of his tation. in these studies. have frequently deve- my own view.
whose hands may And is I append " a all reference to the words of the Apostle : Prove (i things v. herewith. of benevolent into I entrust this volume to the of these circle readers. . and then reproduce it he wishes to understand what he has read. we believe we can answer for the fact that he will be say nothing of compelled to reproduce it ! And. he calls the pure objectivity. it capable fall. For. 21).AUTHOR'S PREFACE. expounding it to others. no other counsel can be given than that he himself should fountain head. to if go to the for himself. inquiries. : hold fast that which " good ! Thess.
the term involves no suspicion of chicanery.TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. The its value of the present work consists partly in and comprehensive summary of Bohme's views. the author's Jacob Bohme completes the triad of most important works. simply a fragment of that larger history of Protestant mysticism which Martensen often thought of writing. or the immense stimulus upon the subjects is which they have given to thought " with which they deal. ENGLISH Martensen's Bishop " readers are already in possession of treatises on It " Christian Dogmatics these and " Christian Ethics. in the case of Jacob Bohme. at present. but which the world will never see from his pen. and partly in the keen and thoughtful criticism to which those views are subjected. own favourite production." would be superfluous to mention the profound esteem in which treatises are held. but it is is. however. Their value " confessedly European. a somewhat discredited needless to say that. . clear Theosophy term. and was his It is.
Thus. These are some of the reasons which induced Dr. Professional soldiers have often distrusted irregular troops and guerilla chiefs who. or crazy eccentricity. may be in enabled to recover truths that had abeyance. to kindle a deeper practical devotion. Martensen to offer to the public his generous but impartial estimate of the great sixteenth century mystic. Dr. men destitute of formal scientific training have often and powerful ideas which became the parents of the great discoveries which enriched generated fresh In like manner. juggling. the rapid flashings of a genius never separated from and the profound belief in the living voice of God which characterise many of these thinkers. and of the action upon render it it of the Spirit of God. . ciation of the constitution of the human mind. lines. or at least less formal.TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. will easily explicable that a man who simply surrenders himself to devout meditation upon Divine things. appear to be elements which the Church of Christ reverence. can never too gratefully recognize. also. and valuably to enlarge the field of our religious knowledge. nevertheless. Martensen wisely deprecates the hostile attitude so frequently adopted by dogmatic theologians towards those who work along freer. been long The delightful freshness. a just appresucceeding centuries. have rendered extraordinary service to the all common cause.
and antique flavour of Law's substantially accurate translation seems more in harmony with its subject- matter than would be the case with any attempt to give it a more modern Sept. But the books with which we most absolutely agree do not always form our most profitable reading. 1 781). 1885. Martensen's speculative opinions. in the humble opinion of the translator. London. dress. The reader may . quarto. that the quotations from Bohme's own works have been taken from William Law's curious and valuable edition of Bohme's The quaint works (4 vols. and may still find portions of it he may find himself occasionally at unintelligible variance with Dr. T.TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. disagree with individual points of Bohme's teaching. Rhys Evans. only remains to add. Brighton. the circum- stances just alluded to will not impair the suggestive and practical value of It this treatise. . and.
. The Wherefore and the Means of Creation 171 Creation and Cosmogony.Principle in God The Illicit Anthropomorphism The Glory of God. The Glory of God. . The Unfathomable Mystery 176 . . l'AGE Jacob Bohme. The Potential Trinity . The Uncreated Heaven II. . The Creation. Seven Natural Properties. The Abyss and the Uncreated Wil. 67 The Relation to the Ethical Conception of God The Relation between the Eternal Nature and the Eternal . . .56 the Eternal Nature. . The Still Mystery. 99 110 126 142 Spirit The Dark Nature. i 1 7 . . .151 God and the Created World. his Life and Teaching bohme and theosophy Postulates for Bohme' s Theosophy . God and the Uncreated Heaven. . The Imagination and the Eternal Idea. The Actual Trinity. The Uncreated Heaven Critical Retrospect. The Manifestation through The .26 36 The Problem I.CONTENTS.
. Redemption in Christ. Is it true of all souls after death. PACK Creation and Emanation 184 The Seven Natural the Apocalypse Properties and the Seven . change 315 . . . Derivative Eternity and Time 195 The Fall of Lucifer and the Appalling " Turba " 204 Tohu Vabohu.. ..324 327 338 . .213 Adam and the Fall of Adam 228 The Creation of Woman. . Regeneration 281 The Last Things 298 Heaven and Hell. The Incarnation 261 The Process of Christ 271 The Exalted Christ 275 The Appropriation of Grace. . The Multiplicity of the Future World The Consummation Postscript (Z' Envoi) . . Adam. Androgyny 233 The Present World 250 The NewThe Atonement. .xvi CONTENTS. Spirits in 187 . The Angels. that they cannot their will ? . The Mosaic History of Creation . . The Unchangeable Will after Death 298 The Magical State after Death. The Regions Beyond 303 .
not only during his lifetime. as a visionary. and have to pass. as is well known. are still of opinion that a query and a corrective must be applied to many passages in his discourse concerning . . applied himself to this kind of wisdom. An attempt philosophus Teutonicus . in addition to this. who his Jacob Bohme. the greatest and most famous cognomen will and has gained the theosophists in the world. but also after believed that they have found in him all the treasures of knowledge and all enigmas solved." writings are to be found under the rubric Others have extolled him to the skies. he was a theoindeed. who recognise and admire his greatness.BOHME JACOB of all maker. has had death. sophist was. a shoeBut. an intuitive apprehension of Divine and natural mysteries. in the Spirit of God (not in the spirit of the world). " Fanatici. good Many have regarded him report and evil report. signifies wisdom in God. be made in of theosophy. that theosophy the sequel to explain the meaning Here we simply observe provisionally. Others again. and have placed his teaching in the In many libraries his history of human follies. Scripture and in the book of nature. through honour and dishonour. on the basis of God's revelation in Holy .
to suppose that Bohme has a mistake. or scientific education. as it were. and that his precious pearls and pure gold need to be cleansed from adherent But he always remains one of shells and scoriae. be called chaotic and shapeless. one is constantly and irresistibly persuaded that a stream flows through them. Divine mysteries. lonely and . without learnthe human mind. his . the most remarkable phenomena in the history of A humble peasant. amid the obscurity and gloom. spirits of mankind Bohme occupies.JACOB BOHME. human. . exercised no influence whatever upon intellectual During his lifetime he endeavoured development. to a deeper and more living he apprehension of the doctrines of the faith sought to promote a true and practical Christianity " which should not be confined to the sphere of the " coincides with the nobler pietism. by lightning which now gladdens and anon appals by the glimpses it affords us of Time and Eternity. it is true. : attempt may have been. and demonic depths. of the Divine. but may. and however much the theologians of futile. in this he letter isolated place. which has its source in the -f eternal hills labyrinths in which one is surprised. and It would be exposes him to a degree of contempt. to recall the clergy of the State Church. a His defective education from polite society. Among the great the . who combined with ing simple Christian faith and piety the most profound who was upborne and philosophical speculation whose works encircled by a gigantic imagination it is true. excludes him. However in many respects. in which. who had entered arid paths. as one roams through their labyrinths. . nevertheless.
Bohme Church. and may different as is their relation to Bohme." as . but the super-sensible realities which this science sometimes. And it is . a later 3 period may have tried to exclude him.HIS LIFE. found no slight echo even beyond the limits of Germany e. and died in its communion.g. without becoming the founder of a sect or a partisan things utterly abhorrent to adhered to the Lutheran he has often gathered round him a quiet congregation which has rejoiced in the light that he kindled in the Divine mysteries.. and by no means least of all in our own day. no less than the eighteenth. where the unfortunate Charles I. There is also the important French author Martin. in so far as it has entered into the realities of life by which we mean not only the sensible and tangible. at his own epoch. edified by his exhortations on the way of salvation and the practice of earnest Christianity. different as these thinkers are from one another. ignores or regards as nondirect or indirect have not found it existent exist this ! (" I do not see them mind. Although Bohme's doctrine. still it has never was greatly become the himself foundation of a religious sect. ") 'philosophy also shows the therefore they do not influences of calls " powerful Hegel him. But. interested in it. himself a theosophist and a disciple of Bohme. St. We especially mention Schelling and Franz Baader. exhibits theological works which bear our own testimony that their authors beneath their dignity to learn of the unscientific but highly-enlightened layman. and during the following century. in England. nineteenth century. Philosophy also. and has been his spirit.
together with some and writing. instruction in reading ." It is this man who has exercised. a village near Gorlitz. with other boys. which consists. A Jacob Bohme was born in 1575 at Old Seiden- berg. the plant in the earth. We will now relate the usual particulars concern- ing Bohme's life. undeniable that there are few men whose life and thought so pregnantly express the saying of the " in God we live. The bird in the air. who were only able to procure for him the usual religious school teaching. whose face bore somewhat of the dreamy exlad. and will continue to exercise. Although these are tolerably well known. that " our being and that whether we regard him on . and move. following the biography of Frankenberg. pression which is frequent in poetic natures. His parents were poor peasants. in large measure. to watch the he He was a quiet. And the Heart of God is Jacob Bohme's element. of information from the mouth of Bohme himself. At an early age was compelled.JACOB BOHME. and have Apostle. Indeed. although it must be adhis special fascination will be expeonly by those who are at the same time religiously and speculatively constituted. they ought not particulars to be omitted here. few points are added from Bohme's writings. introspective cattle in the fields. the side of mind or temper. in the firmament the Sun. a quiet attraction over speculative minds and religious mitted that rienced dispositions. the lines of Angelus Silesius are applicable to him : " In water lives the fish. The salamander must subsist in fire.
alike vanished cavern had As he was not well qualified for agricultural and rural pursuits. come forth stranger should know his name. when very young. he had gone out into the street.HIS LIFE. when the master and his wife were out. and leading into a cavern. thou art as yet but little. Subsequently he often returned to the spot. and he was alone in the house. which for himself assumed the character' of outwardness and reality. earnest. Jacob. come when thou and become another . Jacob obeyed the call. he was apprenticed to a shoeHere also something remarkable happened maker. and said. as something diabolical. ! " " " kindly. seeing that his master had given him no express authority for this. to him. by inward visions. deep. Thus. he was marked by a 5 certain visionary element. soul-piercing gaze. through the brushwood that surrounded the entrance. and. One day. he tried to release himself from the dilemma by demanding a high price for the shoes. As if at ! Jacob did not consider himself empowered to conclude a bargain. toiled panic. when a shepherd boy. and now the stranger looked at him with a shouted. But entrance and accompanied by other boys. a stranger entered the shop and asked for a pair of shoes. required. he once climbed to the " " and Land's Crown top of a mountain called the here he saw a vaulted entrance composed of four red When he had stones. and ran away in alarm. . when Surprised that the Jacob. but the time will shalt be great. he beheld in the depth of the cave a vessel He was seized with inward filled with money. in the hope that the man would be But the man paid the sum disinclined to' buy.
Naturally. But be courageous and persevere.JACOB BOHME. Therefore. experience Jacob became even more and serious. and clave " much more shall especially to Luke xi. be pious. And thus Bohme was compelled to go forth into the wide world as a travelling journeyman. . where thou hast comfort and instruction for thou must endure much misery and poverty. he discovered that the period was full of theological conflicts. In addition to the reading of : the Scriptures. Whether stranger clasped his hand and disappeared. fear God. he was diligent in prayer. and that the Evangelical Church was split into parties that mutually vilified each other. and fell into manifold doubts. for God and is gracious unto thee. and suffer persecution. and the world shall marvel at thee. we leave an open question. and made on him the impression of a Babel. During his wanderings. and devoted himself to pure pensive nor could he remorality and devout meditation frain from words of confession and admonition when the other journeymen on the work-bench indulged After this . . Thereupon the . How . his master dismissed him. all this is to be accepted as an actual occurrence or partly as a vision. in loose conversation about sacred things. and reverence His Word especially read diligently the Holy Scriptures. saying that he would have no "house" prophet to bring discord and trouble into the house. they would not listen to his exhortations and to make an end of the disputes that followed. against which he had to struggle by seeking for himself in Holy Scripture some firm foundation on which he might stand and have full assurance. He was afflicted with profound solicitude." loves. man.
" was a foretaste of the tranquillity that was to be vouchsafed him in contemplation. his eye fell upon a burnished pewter dish. amid the labour of his hands. and married a tradesman's daughter. that lasted for seven days. as it were. he was ! into a condition of blessed peace. the very herbs and grass. He believed that it deepest foundations of things. was only a fancy. which reflected the sunshine with such marvellous splendour that he fell into an inward ecstasy. able about him. He said nothing about this to any one. and during which he was. and was on terms of good-will with all men. of his craft.HIS LIFE. In the year 1594 he returned to Gorlitz. 7 your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them " that ask Him And thus it befell him when. but praised and He continued in the honest thanked God in silence. and in order to banish it from mind he went out upon the green. there was nothing noticeBut " the triumph that was then in my soul I can neither tell nor describe. In the year 1600 he had another remarkable experience. with whom he lived in happy union for thirty years. was attentive to his domestic practice affairs. he was again engaged by a master that. during his wanderings. I can It only liken it to a resurrection from the dead. Ten years later (16 10) he again had another his . inwardly surrounded by a lifted Outwardly. Sitting one day in his room. became a master-shoemaker in 1599. and that actual nature harmonized with what he had inwardly seen. and who bore him four children. a Sabbath of the soul. and it seemed to him as if he could now look into the principles and Divine light. But here he remarked that he gazed into the very heart of things.
for he regarded himself as far too simple and illiterate to He simply write books for the learned world. and. and Theology on the outlines." or. who to possessed religious and philosophical tastes. as a Memorial For it happened that his visions for his own use. . what it was like a heavy shower that sweeps past It was not until his later years. Astrology. by no means his intention to publish it. howimpulse ever. as he himself says. " " Memorial to obviate this by composing a sought and he wrote it in the morning before the toil of the workshop began. and a better style. covered that what he had previously seen only chaotically. It was. it strikes. happened to see the manuscript at Bohme's house. was destined upon him.8 JACOB BOHME. as a friend entitled it. vanished from him. He suddenly disremarkable inward experience. and in isolated glimpses. "Aurora. or description of Nature. Carl von Endern. seized with great enthusiasm." " the Root or Mother of Philosophy. from this was his famous " Morning Redness. that he acquired greater clearness . it strikes." not completely master of himself when he wrote it . " " wished to write it down for himself. He was proper basis. But even before to his this book was it finished according own statement it still lacked some thirty sheets. and that he could occasionally He not afterwards recall what he had thought. A bring heavy persecution nobleman. he now beheld as a coherent whole and in more definite an inward yearning. borrowed it for a few days. a down. felt He fire-like to write it . fragmentarily. and in the evening when he The work that sprang could no longer fit his last.
had only an outward apprehension of the dogmatics of that age. who had suffered themselves to be overawed by Richter. who." was forbidden to write books in future. who had the deepest reverence for authority. dear sirs." But as the magistrates meanwhile began to reflect that they had gone too He far. however. towards Bohme on private grounds. a man who was full of hierarchical arrogance. I am content. as fall otherwise the the Divine self chastisement would upon town. On the next day Bohme was summoned before the magistrates. and was given to understand that. But the Primarius threatened to have him arrested. 9 had some copies made of it. and humbly asked the clergyman wherein he had erred. replied " since it cannot Yes. Bohme. he felt peculiarly called to attack him. and was not even granted time to set his house in order. as a shoemaker. which came into cirA copy also fell into the hands of the at Pastor-Primarius Gorlitz. In a sermon on false prophets authorities he assailed him by name. was himpresent in the church." incapable of understanding And inasmuch as he was antagonistically disposed culation. and invoked the action of the against him. parish clergyman Gregorius Richter. they called him back on the next morning. to deliver up the manuscript Aurora. unless he instantly took himself away. He was ordered to leave the town. being a regular churchgoer. saying that he would willingly receive instruction.HIS LIFE. stationed himself by the door at the close of the service. he must stick to his last. and was Bohme's " Aurora. " . : . it shall be done be otherwise. was of obliged. Bohme.
Dr. Bohme could often. When he once heard the Greek word Idea. as a upon Bohme many Latin himself. men making business gradually learned friends declined. he " became as if electrified. But. He gained learned and influential friends. which he afterwards employed in his writings. as his shoealso. Among his may be particularly mentioned the director of the Chymical Laboratory at Dresden. especially chymists and physicians. technical . Intercourse with these learned friends exercised a refining influence and he learned from them terms. fame to his " Aurora. in order to have the opportunity of undisturbed conversation with him. Kober. and came into personal relations with him. Tobias Kober. and exclaimed I see of a plant its hidden meaning of a foreign : . He was far from despishe greatly lamented that he was not ing culture acquainted with the ancient languages. During his walks with Dr. Walther. Dr. and that he had not mastered the art of dialectic. because themselves attracted by his spirit they they supported him with corn and money. and infer the word from its mere sound. who had made many journeys to the East.io JACOB BOHME. his friends often marvelled at his spontaneous natural sense." and many thoughtful men began to notice him. compensation for this deficiency. There now consequently came a pause in Bohme's But the persecution had given literary activity. noble- who sought his acquaintance. also the physician at Gorlitz. and who once spent three weeks in Bohme's little cottage. felt . divine from the form and colour properties. who was a disciple of Paracelsus. when Kober put him to the test.
At length he gained courage to break He says himself: " I had resolved to do silence. and of man. with it But the precious seed within me sprouted and grew green. who reflects the glory of God. a pure and heavenly ii This pure and maiden plays a great part in Bohme's heavenly writings. were very He often fell into deep grievous years for him. against and reason says It is all over time all is dead.HIS LIFE. but upon a candlestick. The five years during which Bohme felt himself ! maiden " compelled to obey the injunction of the authorities. and to let the devil. it has blossomed forth into a is : ! " lily ! Between 1619 and his death in 1624. of the world. he accused him of obeying man rather than God also thought that the light which had been kindled within him was in danger of being quenched. however. with all his host. For in winterrough weather. not to set his light under a bushel. where she is also designated as the heavenly Sophia or Wisdom. meditated with dismay on the parable of the talents. but to be quiet before God in obedience. oblivious of all storms. because he did not let it shine before men and he often and . were not . and. But it was with me as when a seed sweep over me. which. the servant his and who wrapped His friends nothing in future. hidden all reason. that it might give light to all in the house. conscience for he thought that his melancholy. amid disgrace and ridicule. . pound in a admonished him continually napkin. It grows up in storm and in the earth. not to meddle with book-writing. he com- posed a series of writings.
For the rest we refer the reader to the edition of Bohme's "Collected Writings. Literary-historical sketches of the works will be " found in Fechner Jacob Bohme." The whole forms an outline moredraught of a Psychology {fsychologia vera) " the Incarnation of Christ. who had been led astray " and visionary pantheism." " Concerning Concerning the " Birth and Designation of all Existences {Signatura " MysRerum)" "On the Election of Grace." (which contains an exposition of of Genesis. and answered to his satisterium Magnum " the Book faction " by Bohme. 1857. to which is added an appendix . be noticed below. and of his personal relations. in a speculative respect. e." proposed by Dr. we may mention " : Concerning the the Three of Principles. through which he develops his own ideas) . which treat of the occasion of his writings.g. published by himself. The Inward Eye. Walther.. " Dialogue between an We Enlightened and an Unenlightened Soul. " Forty Questions on the Soul. his Life and will his : Writings. Concerning Other of his writings have a predominantly practical and edifying character. Finally. a Silesian nobleman. Scruples citizens against Esaias Stiefel and Ezekiel Meth." a prize essay. Among the most remarkable of these. and who boasted of their (false) identity with God and Christ also a pamphlet against Gregorius Richter." by Schiebler." over. . we must mention Theosophic Epistles. 1831. of Langensalze." works against Balmay also mention his polemical thazar Tilken.. 7 vols.T2 JACOB BOHME. in which Bohme " Two redargues the false view of Predestination . . which into a naturalistic ." Three-fold Life Man.
and. and wrote a special controversial pamphlet against in which he refutes his libel. and whither he had been invited to . the country. but published an Invective. who had again allowed themselves to be influenced by Richter. May this insufferable stench be far from us. The magistrates." had been printed by his friends." etc. the town. the magistrates against the accusations in question. but notified him that he had made himself liable to be treated as a heretic by the Emperor. that he Gregorius Richter. from the pulpit. with a most hearty gentleness and love which stream forth from the depths of his nature. and does it. should go into voluntary exile. Richter not only attacked him Gregorius Richter. " The be subjected to a new ordeal. Way to Christ. and the approbation with which it was widely received stirred up once more his irreconcilable opponent. where for a considerable time attention had been fixed upon him. however. Amongst other things occurs " There are as many blasphemies this passage in this shoemaker's book as there are lines it smells of shoemaker's pitch and filthy blacking. The Arian poison was not so deadly as this shoemaker's This time. as Hamberger remarks.HIS LIFE. full of abuse and anathema. and then proceeded to the Electoral Court at Dresden. point by point. but published a written defence to : . and that it would be most expedient for himself. and the magistrates. Bohme remained at Gorlitz for two months. with an earnestness that inspires holy awe. at the same time. Bohme did not poison. remain passive. 13 Yet once again before his death Bohme was to His book. did not accept Bohme' s defence.
He is a man of marvellously high mental gifts. among them : Bohme excited the great dogmatist John Gerhard. When the Elector asked their opinion. where he was attended by After an illness of about a fortnight the sacrament. he into a burning fever. and help to condemn this man!" And his colleague Meissner said: "My good brother. Dr. conference took place between Bohme and several eminent theologians. Here a repair. and. which the new clergy- man. was to Gorlitz. which developed into mortal He had a presentiment of his gastric disease. would only administer on condition that Bohme subscribed the a wholly superfluous Lutheran Confession of Faith. While he was staying in Silesia at the house of one of his noble friends. Dr. who at present can be neither condemned nor Thus these learned and upright theoapproved. approaching back Kober. In August 1624 Gregorius Richter died.i 4 JACOB BOH ME. and before his death had to lament that one of his sons had become a zealous adherent of Bohme. behind this man not understood ? How But Bohme himself was very shortly to follow his antagonist to the grave. and had transcribed and circulated his writings. . who trod in Richter's footsteps. " I would the admiration of all. they begged for indulgence and patience until the spirit of the man should express itself more plainly." declared themselves incompetent to judge logians Bohme. to whose estate he had journeyed fell in order to spend a few months. neither would ? I ! Who knows what stands can we judge what we have God convert the man if he is May in error. at his own request. Gerhard said not take the whole world. he asked for carried end.
he suddenly bade them farewell with a morning. he said My time is not yet three hours hence is my time. and expressed the hope that the noble friend whom he had visited in Silesia would provide for his widow. and might the better hear it when he was " told that it had just struck two. grey eyes sparkling into heavenly blue. according to Thy will " afterwards Thou crucified Lord Jesus immediately Christ. patient gentle-hearted. aquiline nose. " Now I go hence into Paradise. November asked him music. unassuming in in conver- lowly conduct. and to write in his albums .HIS LIFE. he shortly after midnight. have mercy upon me. friends' He was : accustomed suffering. : and. He was modest sation." smile. and said he yielded up his spirit." After some " silence he exclaimed Oh. for she died of the At six in the plague in the very next year). but also assured her that she must speedily follow him (as indeed took place. instructions where some of his manuscripts he gave would be found. early in the morning. Thou strong God of : . ance was somewhat mean had a low forehead but prominent temples. in in his bearing. to set wide the door that he then he asked what was the hour. 15 able in all sincerity He awaited death with composure. a feeble but genial voice. 2 1 On Sunday. demand with which Bohme was to comply. and he did not hear that sweet. and take me to Thy- Sabaoth. a rather : : . if st. deliver me " ! : self into Thy kingdom " ! A little later. As Tobias heard Bohme begged him . or called his son Tobias. harmonious nothing. whereupon " His bodily appearFrankenberg writes of him he was small of stature. a scanty beard.
" To whom Time and Eternity Harmoniously as one agree. it was his habit to walk out. born of God. a lion ("vici"). From the outward let us now turn to the inward. but also of laymen. His friends placed upon his grave a cross with a lamb (" veni "). once a week. which is recorded in one of his letters. an incident. Hamberger has written a short and popular re- but be miniscence of this event. On this occasion one could not reminded that God is no Respecter of persons." to which are appended The cross was soon removed his dying words. who desired to honour the memory of their famous brother of the last. to the village where the little girl was living. His battle's o'er. and contemplate Bohme as a Theosophist. deserves to He had a dead brother who had be emphasized. and that He often selects His chief instruments from the humbler classes of society. of his birth. an eagle significant symbols left a little Absorbed : (" vidi "). His soul is safe. girl. . sealed with the Holy Spirit. the tercenwantonness of the rabble. that he might have a glimpse of her. The inscription is: "Here rests Jacob Bohme." As a proof of his loving disposition. from the grave by orthodox fanaticism and the But in 1875. amongst them a great number of shoemakers. which was attended by an assembly not only of scholars.1 6 JACOB BOHME. his strife is ended. though he was in his works and deep speculations. of whom Jacob took tender care. tenary and a great festival was held. died in Christ. his life's amended. a monument was erected to him.
as these first are developed of the 2 from the super-historical commencement . Theosophy seeks to embrace far more than Out of the idea of God it seeks to Theology. .BOHME AND THEOSOPHY. the world. first and foremost. just as it also strives to give a philosophy of history. Theosophy might thus seem to be a branch of Speculative Theology. . that of intuition. a wisdom as its said. I. immediate perception. subject. and it principle revelation in Scripture and in springs from an inward illumination not only has for its by the cf the Spirit of God. is wisdom which has God . in God. to present a philosophy of nature in the light of the Divine idea. as we have THEOSOPHY. But although. under certain narrower limitations. central apprehension of God and existence. but as its basis the Divine it nature. although this is not excluded. a representation of the principles of the kingdom of God. this may be true. but. in all the circles of the universe apprehend to see things as they are in God it seeks to be a sacra in contradiction to a pliilosophia pJdlosophia seeks It embraces nature and history profana. Its form is not that of reflective thought. which makes the contents revelation apprehensible.
and the fall of and of man throughout various a persistent struggle between the periods of time. in terms borrowed " from Leibnitz Theosophy pursues the path of : " light (" In Thy light we shall see light ") " . while purely Philosophy pursues path of because it simply roams among dim shadows gloom. and assigned a place in is not excluded vagary. and on which the foundation tianity is of the world all is laid. but seeks to apprehend its cosmical meaning. Theosophy and purely rational Philosophy may be thus indicated. its significance for the universe. it has been broadly described must be more rigorously defined as . ALTHOUGH Theosophy as mysticism. until the final judgment light In its interand the consummation of all things. non-postulating philosuper-scientific an unscientific to sophy. that Chris- the focus for as world-forces and world- powers. and to prove that the principles of Christianity are identical with those by which the world itself subsists. it of philosophy which belongs department Schelling has styled positive philosophy." rational the II. In so far the as Theosophy or is history of that philosophy. creation kingdom of God. from the the angels. it does not limit itself to its practical ethico-religious import for man. and the darkness. pretation of Christianity. in contrast to a negative. purely rational. which seeks its The difference between principle out of reason itself. with its own faintly-glimmering light.iS JACOB BOHME.
BOHME AND THE Q SOPHY. seeks the union of the individual soul with God. and immediate communion of love with God by means of the absorption of prayer. in order that the flowers might not disturb him in his abstractly spiritual meditations. of the mind Mediaeval mysticism. and emits fragrance in the living and all-replenishing power of God. objective. is subjective and practical. relation to God in believing and Genuine theosophy cannot rest . although in some of the great mystics. not only to the microcosm. is the mysticism of the heart. and drew his cap over his eyes. blooms. Theosophy is attracted. the . on the other hand. the Living and Triune. on the contrary. But. to the universe and universal in all life in it all its multiplicity. that there is no genuine theosophy which is not qualified by the mysticism of the heart. theoretical 19 mysticism as contrasted with it is the mysticism subjective practical mysticism as distinguished from that of the heart. by which Luther also was . like Eckart. but this multiplicity beholds only one God. by a regard for the salvation and by personal prayerful love. but to the macrocosm. is eagerly attracted towards nature. Practical mysticism starts from the soteriological standpoint. and Bohme often says how pleasant it is to wander among the flowers on a fine summer's day. Theosophy. because it is then clearly perceptible how everything sprouts and grows. and world it often manifests Tauler passed once through the convent garden. influenced. it must be emphasized. and perfection of the individual. detachment from hostility to nature. it passes over into Theosophy. As the mysticism of the mind.
From heaven to earth their genial influence bringing. Their golden buckets ceaseless interchange Their flight on rapture-breathing pinions winging. and. to see the But only the pure in heart Living God Himself. because spirit they must remain outside them. but life is upon prayer. as St. and only succeed in catching a glimpse of one detail and another."* all Weave one ! . He admonishes all who desire to peruse his writings. of no kind of utility in themselves. contingent not only This perfor philoso- in God. with the satisfied in its interpretation of the macrocosm. a reflection like that which the poet places in mouth of Faust. a philosophy which is upon sonal intellectual toil. when he beholds the macrocosm : sign of the " Here things live and work. He writes only for but only to make a boast of. for to Faust. in this will the children of * God and for sincere seekers . acute speculation (which seeks only abstract knowledge devoid of religious and ethical interest). as the qualification very frequently emphasized by Bohme. Miss Swanwick's translation. beyond all else. which is also met with among which he pantheists. ever blending. Through the wide whole their chimes melodious ringing. that they must not do so with naked if never so phizing. vast whole from Being's ample range Here powers celestial. rising and descending. its the macrocosm and interrupted harmonies by the discords of sin in this great All. he seeks. Martin and Franz Baader so often repeat. . a philosophy of regards as prayer. very inadequately characterizes Bohme.20 JACOB BOHME. A In view like this. Theosophy is. can see God.
Then met him the gracious Maiden from Paradise. such alone belongs the pearl. consoles him in all his anxiety and distress. he did not seek to know anything concerning the Divine mysteries. who plays so great a part in his apprehension of God. and says. as has often been alleged. reforms him by leading him to God and Christ. but espouses his soul." Or. sought the Heart of Jesus Christ. as where he says to his opponents. This gracious Maiden. Unequivocal passages are to be found in Bohme in which he expounds his doctrine in a prophetic " It is not I who tone. and conducts him to peace and salvation. it is of prime interest to inquire whether. III. And first he must needs pass through the world. it claims to be inspired and infallible ? This charge is not altogether without foundation. who not only reveals to him the Divine mysteries. and offered him her love. he has often prayed God that He For his own part. unless it might tend to the Divine glory and to the edification of himself and his brethren. and showed him the way to Paradise. from the first. the precious Sophia. and the Kingdom of Hell. knowledge is knowledge in God. He has. for example know this. would take this knowledge from him. "You say and is : If. He testifies that. is the Eternal Idea. from the outset. founded upon Divine illumination. that he might there only hide himself from the wrath of God and the malice of the devil. then theosophic .BOHME AND THEOSOPHY. the heavenly Wisdom. It is Christ who knows it in me.
it should not be overlight. unquestionably speak at times as if he had inaugurated a new period of revelation.22 JACOB BOHME." A vague and truly of the . and particularly the "Aurora. on the other hand. fermenting prophetic tendency has often displayed the Church. and that consequently cannot describe it but the Spirit who is in me was present. and were kindred with the sun. we should be unable. and something of this may be found in Bohme and he. . better style that he does indeed behold the Truth within him. light that issues from the sun. and that it is as unreasonable to seek to apprehend God without God. excessively lies the whole. where everything finds it in a complication which he hard to disentangle into shape. by the aid of the But. as to seek to see the sun except by means of the sun itself. the essential proposition of theosophy and also of Bohme may be said to be this that it is only in the Spirit of God and in His : On Wisdom (Idea) that we can search the depths of God. and now reveals it at this time. but that he gradually attained greater clearness that he had . striven after a . This capacity of itself. most assuredly. which was described by the Church theologians as a period of enthusiasm and visionary reliance upon the inward But. enough that I was not present at the creation I world. to see the sun by means of the sun unless our eyes were fashioned for the sun. and that he says in other passages of his itself in writings that several of his works. but as if in a chaos. looked that in Bohme this never developed into sectarianism. either in the sensible or in the spiritual world." present the doctrine imperfectly. and particularly his adherents.
it never It is escapes from the worldly and circumferential. so also in the The natural man has been placed spiritual world. only by a new creation. 23 ours to see the sun. has been banished from its centre to its circumference. simply change their character ad infinitum. Theosophy certainly admits that man's standpoint in the world has been dislocated by the Fall. and man is led back truly to his proper locus. when the Spirit of God is pleased to bestow it upon him. to apprehend God. that man has been thrust out of his original place at the centre of the creation.BOHME AND THEOSOPHY. to the place where he is set right. and is inevitably deceived by optical illusions (a doctrine which Baader has enforced with reference to the Kantian antinomies of Time and Space). and For. a fact which is fraught with the most serious results for human knowledge in the natural and sinful state. That philosophers point from nothing. but am unable to do so. by the Fall. by regeneration in Christ. and the . is based by Theosophy upon the fact that man is created in the image of God. if I am placed in a position where the view is obstructed. Only here can he acquire the spiritual central perception. imagine that they occupy the standwhich truth is apprehensible proves The optical illusions still remain. because he regains his true horizon. For the spiritual gifts are various. man may change that this dislocation is removed. where he cannot but see many things confusedly. Just as when I wish to survey a region in the physical world. in a position where he has lost the right view-point and the true horizon. no matter how persistently the knowledge of the natural its standpoint.
is revelation of the given to every man for him Moreover.. we find passages in which he says dear Moses has here a veil before his eyes." Or " Moses indeed writes quite correctly. chief aim of his investigation of Scripture. has become active and productive. wholly irreconcilable with the text. to use an expression of his own. Theosophy pins itself to Holy Scripture. be a believing professor of the Church Creed. becomes green. Certainly. own purposes Again. we must here again make an admission to the orthodox theologians who charge him with handling the Scriptures arbitrarily. and bears abundant fruit.e. i. but : : suitable to his treatment censure. just as Bohme. his typical of Scripture exposes him to no little Still. and that his soul is a soil in which the seed of the Word sprouts and grows. Spirit to profit withal. as such. the eternal letter. sincerely confessed his adherence to the Lutheran Church. Theosophy. it must be confessed that he lives ! and breathes in the fundamental perception of Scripture. is not to cling to the to the merely historical. but to press the letter and the history to the eternal through postulates for the word and the history.24 JACOB BOHME. or principles which are active in cohesion between the historical them and : to effect a the meta- The same remark applies to his relation physical. as it is the aim of all theosophy. " The Thus. but who under" stands him ? Whereupon he himself gives a novel exposition. for instance. to unfold its properties and The powers. has happened to qualificere. The individual theosophist can to church doctrine. with regard to Bohme. a soil in which the Divine Word. is .
BOHME AND THEOSOPHY. or from which it only partially lifts the veil in isolated super-historical principles. a Catholic. precisely 25 because it moves in the radical conceptions which Scripture postulates rather than expresses. in passages. Bohme. super-confessional. . was able to Franz Baader. For this reason. although call. his real teacher. with whom he was congenial.
" sophical conversations of Rabbi Simeon with his disciples. to a later Some of the books were not composed period. " " or which contains the theoSohar." says Franz Baader. who must have had a deeper knowledge of the mysteries of God than was entrusted to men in general and it has The writings been augmented throughout the ages. composition of the books at a later period no certain conclusion can be drawn as to the antiquity of their contents. themselves belong. to Moses. and was not completed until the twelfth cenBut it must here be observed that from the tury. One important work. A . IV. was commenced in the second century after Christ. are alluding to the Jewish Kabbala. a theosophic tradition. Not only wisdom comes from the Jews." Lustre. is not with IT Bohme in that Theosophy makes It its first appearance history. is dates back to pre-Christian times. and found already salvation.POSTULATES FOR BOHME'S THEOSOPHY. among but the also " Hebrew people. doctrine may be orally transmitted . for the most part. It dates back to the patriarchs. until the time of Christ. which has propagated and developed itself We by the side of the historical revelation.
however. with which the early Church had to tution of the world which contend. is true. which have not borne. the origin of darkness and matter. The Kabbala has a theoretical and a practical The theoretical portion consists of tra- with regard to the Being of God. Trinity. The germs of a in found. although in the Middle Ages it was liable to be coloured by more distinctly Christian to influences.POSTULATES FOR BOHME'S THEOSOPHY. the Mosaic history of creation. nor can bear. for 27 long periods of time before being committed writing. as rank offshoots. and union with God. any fruit for the Christian spirit. ditions which the Kabbala regards not as a history of creation in the most absolute sense of the term. we must maintain that these systems are rather to be viewed as caricatures of Christian theosophy. division. the cleansing of souls. a resti- had been transformed into chaos (Tohu Vabohu) by the Fall of the angels. with Neo- . It treats of the creation and fall of man. but as the history of a renovated cosmic order. of Redemption. and of the consummation of the world by the The practical portion has for its subject Messiah. the Fall of the angels and of the devil. as a species of Christian theosophy. They are medleys of Greek and Oriental Paganism with the admixture of distorted Christian and Kabbalistic ingredients. The religious philosophy of Philo of Alexandria may also be classed with Jewish theosophy. blended. sanctification. in the great it John Scotus Erigena. Although some have regarded the heretical Gnosticism. genuine theosophy are to be the Middle Ages.
and which continued after religious consciousness. which about the time of the Reformation had come had read their works. . tion as special forerunners of Bohme the whole band of German Mystics. searching the book of nature with new and vigorous scrutiny. simply to lay stress upon what relates to our him. Eckart. as well as from the Kabbala. and the multifarious agitation that was 'taking place in the minds of men. into more general knowledge (Pico of Mirandola. still. Reuchlin). Impossible as it may be Bohme an indirect influence from mediaeval Mysticism. an agitation that had begun long before Luther." who to ascertain whether may also be said to have contributed to the Reformation. for the contents of searching which a new sense had been revealed it was also present subject. Here. and more We the author of the " Theologia Germanica. V. general And. platonic and Areopagitic speculation. Suso. but the consciousness of man. also in Thomas But the Middle Ages were more proAquinas. pitious to the culture of subjective mysticism than to that of Theosophy properly so called. then. had been emancipated.28 JACOB BOHME. although the latter is not left without witness among the must menspcculatively-gifted Mystics. can scarcely be denied. which indeed may be done in various ways. who gave such powerful impulses . Tauler. But a leading postulate for Bohme is his epoch itself. Not only the the human mind was not only the Holy Scriptures. must be mentioned the great Bacon of Verulam.
which assumed. with the mysterious Divine forces. Just as to Mysticism seeks to place itself in relation without means. is enabled to produce real . and. an energy which. During the period of transition to the Reformation. it is not Bacon who must be regarded as a presupposing cause for Bohme." ticism is with regard to the soul's relation to God. whose contemporary he was. which is strongly influenced by the Kabbala. Still. Magic is a Nature-Mysticism in which man places himself in immediate relation with the spirit in Nature. indeed. on which account they are usually regarded as chimerical by natural inquirers of the Baconian school. in virtue of a higher spiritual relation. and remained in cohesion with ideas that had arisen This mystical natural during the Middle Ages. Bohme had a quite different postulate for his interpretation of nature. there had sprung up a natural among many of its votaries. There is a will. which based upon the inductive method. What MysPhilosophia Sacra. busies itself with subjects which. upon observation. on which subject Agrippa of Rettesheim wrote " a large treatise. philosophy. a theosophic stamp. wholly evade experimental and exact research. philosophy. to the whole natural science of is 29 modern times. so Magic would set itself in relation to the penetralia of Nature without material God means. One characteristic feature of this Natural Philosophy is Magic. Magic is with regard to the mind's relation to Nature. with God Himself. and to whom he furnishes the most pronounced contradiction. and experiment. and subsequently. wfiose mystery is the innermost thing in Nature.POSTULATES FOR BOHME' S THEOSOPHY. as a rule.
prayer with seeking and knocknor can he ing. and a black magic. In combination with this. and can thus produce the most marvellous effects. they depend upon which. By magic man is enabled partially to regain that dominion over nature which was lost at the Fall. effects of power may proceed. emphasize the value of strong imagination when it is kindled in a moral disposition. according to the good magic and evil spirits with which man has placed himself en rapport. Many researches of modern science prove that magic is not in every sense to be viewed .. a visio et actio in distans). celsus. which dissolved in is which and from which. he accepts a sidereal body. and which must assuredly be conceived as something far more and far higher than the Baconian There is both a white itnperium in naturam. of us.e. the magical operations depend upon an energetic strength of will and a vigorous imagination. as magical means." 93 Carriere. in our According to Para- an inward corporeity. . without the agency of material means. in effects Nature. death. even in this life. but which. in all are fettered. There is a perceptive and an active magic (i." 83. attracts to itself the influence of the stars. The magical operations which transcend the usual conditions of our perception and activity closely depend upon powers which exist habitual state. " Beitrage zu einer Geschichte deutscher Theo" Die philosophische Weltanschauung sophie. He often mentions.* sufficiently * Rocholl. In contrast to our elemental body (composed of the four elements). we bear within us and carry with us after death. . faith which moves mountains .30 JACOB BOHME. in his opinion. der Reformationszeit.
" The the legitimate Alchymist practises his art not for sake of worldly emolument. Fichte (in his "Anthropology and Psychology") has said with regard to the inward corporeity and the plastically-working imagination. also includes AlcJiymy. through continuous transmutations. He is particularly influenced celebrated physician. who has as visionary. by the aid been buried is beneath the earthly An attempt also made to discover. what J. prosecute their work with prayer and invocation of the " holy Name. a universal specific for the healing of disease. . to separate the impure and pure in order. by Paracelsus. This natural philosophy also embraces Astrology. as closely akin to the transmutation it regards in man by Regeneration views it in connection with and. The elements of all this are found in Bohme. but in order to He pierce more deeply into the mystery of nature. Putrefaction (corruption of all that pertains to the old. the his greatly injured Cf. dead. sinful nature). The 31 mystical natural philosophy. upon the innate character and temperament of men. indeed. H.POSTULATES FOR BOHME'S THEOSOPHY. and constellations knowledge of the influence of the stars and upon human fortunes. of chymistry. finally to arrive at the An The Alchymists. the consummation of which is brought about through processes which in is to be effected Christ . who precious essence (residuum). which embraces attempt is made Magic. seek the Philosopher's Stone. to transmute metals by chymical processes. of Digestio?i. and Sublimation (refinement and exaltation of the good that had cerements). Fermentation. the history of the Kingdom of God.
we may etc. this view. A may if it poem. was far higher than a common char" Franz Baader calls him the " Eagle among latan. effect. Sulphur. VI. it rated. produces no In addition Tincture. Mercury. The . a mediating nature between spirit and corporeity. mercury. which is also able to manifest this gross and derives also the in " a higher corporeity than material one. Tincture which gives to metals their lustre. Salt. Paracelsus he derives the three fundamental categories. Matrix power). but a substantia intra substantiam. in this natural philosophy. to be understood as the salt. pallor and decay supervene. and sulphur that are to be found at the apothecary's. but as the spirit within these (" for there is no body without a itself spirit "). ideas. power). however. and to flowers their pleasant colour and fragrance. which term Tincture. From him Bohme which in fluid again does not mean an form. but Bohme was by his influenced not only by his From certainly barbarous terminology. When the Tincture vanishes." artificial drug It is the works both physically and spiritually. But what we must is is specially invite attention to the fact that. a more subtle volatile energy. Bohme confronted by a living intuition of nature.32 JACOB BOHME historic fame by his insufferable boastfulness. we may say. which are not. in harmony with be excellently composed and elabolacks the to Tincture. physicians. also specify the words (the Limbus conceiving (the procreative etc. after all.. but. but who.
of which or concentrathe epitome tion of the universe the universe. and earth save what he also finds in man what is the physician finds nothing in man except also possessed by heaven and earth. Will and imagination diffused throughout are everywhere at work. a mere sympathy and antipathy. there exist in nature. The whole of nature is The higher seeks the pervaded by magic. . and reciprocal influence between the microcosm and the macrocosm. although not self-conscious. All . " If thou eatest a piece of bread. in order to impart itself to it craves the higher. pathetic. in order to participate in it the sun desires to bestow itself upon the earth. No! object." in heaven . not only sym- but also antipathetic forces. matrix to it. in man in a state of concentrated unity. universe is 33 regarded as a total organism. in a universal subjective life is nature. and their effects are in the .POSTULATES FOR BOHME'S THEOSOPHY. the earth . : bread we consequently." There is a living unity. repulsion. in the very simplest things stand in relation to cosmical potencies. but plasticallyworking will and imagination. to produce the bread. cohesion. yearns for the sun and opens its Nevertheless. or macrocosm." says Paracelsus. There 3 is . finds nothing else says Paracelsus. band existing things in nature are encircled by a magical they influence one another by attraction and . is an extension and development of that which exists man is the microcosm . Nor is nature such a manner as that man alone as microcosm is to be regarded as subject. the lower lower. and all the " stars in so far as all these have co-operated viz. " thou dost taste therein heaven and earth. " " The philosopher.
It is by redemption that all things are finally to be restored to "Temperature. in a very brief and cursory way. to give a sketch of this natural philosophy. recognizes in the macrocosm not have now endeavoured." And this is the object of the world's development until the consummation of all things. with due recognition of experimental physical science. to observe that. conflict sophy recognizes nature. when task of explaining details in nature. whereby the Temperature. which certainly conflicts with modern science at very many points. of the forces has been disorganized. we venture But. explain them according is as to the unless one in possession of the natural science which has at the all its same time. it be useless to seek to give a philosophical ex" planation of individual natural Bohme spirit. and the weaknesses of which are so often complained of. starting-point in Bacon. one is under no necessity of accepting the metaphysical conclusions which some students of nature deduce from their researches. in consequence of the revolt of the creation against God. and forces that were once united have now that" a Theosophical natural philodisturbance has entered become mutually It is true that other antagonistic.g..34 JACOB BOHME. i. will it We attempts the Confessedly. or. but also discords.. it But Theosophy is not exclusively optimistic nature ." says.e. Giordano Bruno). thinkers of this period. and hostility. only harmonies. to phenomena. interpret as a total organism. And however visionary . but as an organism which is purely harmonious {e. standing outside the Christian consciousness of sin and redemption. the harmonic concord.
we are bound to repeat that this idea. and and untenable many of its results. and in an eminent degree. kindled in his inward man. so to say. We refer to that idea of Life. which was of such high significance for Jacob Bohme. the validity of which can be questioned only by death and soullessness. we must fix our mystical fruitless however attention upon this idea of Life. was strengthened and developed by the view which confronted him in this philosophy.POSTULATES FOR BOHME' S T7TE0 SOPHY. It is true that he possesses this idea. If we wish to understand Bohme. this old 35 natural philosophy may be. both in the macrocosm and the microcosm. But when we search for the predisposing causes and suggestions of his theory. it has given powerful expression to one idea. . a priori. for it is the radical condition for the comprehension of his theosophical fundamental-problem.
contented itself theology is shown that whereas the Reformation had with reviewing and refashioning for Protestant the dogmas Bohme that belong to practical soteriology. The God. VII. the God who he is is festation absolutely Holiness and Love.THE PROBLEM. it is Trinity in the whole creation. it was Bohme's fundamental task to know God as the Triune. The God whom Bohme seeks know is not any kind of a God. and we may add that his eminent significance by this very fact. but whose It has been said that depths he desires to explore. while the thinker. such as is sought after the fashion of earthly philosophers. is the God of Christianity. speculates in perfect isolation. took up the speculative dogmas which the . admissible to urge. indeed. gazing out from the solitary island of his own thought into the abstract infinity of the ocean and horizon. and in this light to apprehend the world. whose manicertain of. in whom he believes. without any presuppositions whatever. whom Bohme seeks to know. like Robinson Crusoe. and to apprehend the similitude of the This. THE to fundamental task which Bohme has set him- self is to apprehend God. an unknown God. the God of revelation and of the Church.
The problem which is of cardinal importance for Bohme is : the apprehension of the God of Reveidea of Life is lation as the Living God. If we endeavour to form a conception of life. without more minute qualifications would be to characterize him with extreme inadequacy. undis^ . and he here agrees with the poet.THE PROBLEM. be enveloped in Of seed-corn. and. be well for us provisionally to look away from the subject of the Trinity. vitae deducta. who says : " Kein Lebendiges ist ein Eins.. but which unfolds itself from an internal unity. Immer ist's ein Vieles. Bohme' s original individuality is attested by the fact that to assign the Trinity as his funda- mental problem. it. from the very beginning. e. therefore." It will. Bohme pointed back to the Eastern Church which has absorbed itself in the mysteries of the Trinity and of the Incarnation. Nevertheless. The his fundamental idea. 37 Reformation had passively accepted from Catholicism. which he tries to work out both in the conception of God and in the conception of and his theosophical follower Oetinger the world was moving very closely along his master's path when he wrote his " Theologia ex idea. turbed by Trinitarian conceptions. as an undeveloped irX^payfjua. to think only of Life and the Living God.g. and must consequently. a that empty unity which is barren. and out of which nothing can be born. In this respect. at the head of which stands the doctrine of the Trinity." 82695 . Bohme seeks to know nothing. we must necessarily conceive unity in a multiplicity which is not reduced to unity from without.
then.38 JACOB BOHME. contrasts. and as the mediation of these. a its for Life is will. of Life is teleological. While Mysticism. medium produce of own a tendency which. its own goal. the unity in multiplicity manifest itself as more will this a self-productive unity. there is neither life nor manifestation. much. as own movement its The cause. without stillness. seeks to apprehend. its own effect. separate. he. incessantly self-renewing cycle. as Bohme seeks to know God as the Original Life and the Source of Life. seeks to know Him as the Spirit that manifests Itself to Itself. another. For Bohme. Life from darkness to light. self-evoluit will reveal itself tion by its own native powers . in which Inas- nothing can be distinguished or perceived. there is only immobility. or full of design. as self-consistent and harmonious unity. Without eternal contrast. through the properties and powers. indefinite. and unknowable to the manifested. which has no beginning in time nor any end in time. and knowable. by means of its own inward contrasts. the idea of Life is inseparable from the idea of Manifestation. seeks to itself as its own object. but in which God produces Himfrom eternity to eternity. as self-movement. from . But Life and Manifestation definite. The more fully Life corresponds to its name. from the is an unfolding hidden. The conception of God which is sought by Bohme thus presents the most direct contrast to the conception of the Mystics. at the same time. and combine the momenta in the process of the Divine Life and Manifestation. and repose. of as a movement between can only be conceived Without contrasts. in a blessed and self.
more definite oppo- A sition between two views would not be possible. 39 Dionysius Areopagiticus down to Schleiermacher. the eternal GeneraHe seeks in this tion and Self-production of God. symbolical images must it is incon- seeing that it designates God now as pure Light. deGod as the unvarying nameless One. demanding that and only this God while Mysticism exthe faintest trace of be swept far from sistent. in definite relations is . and who transcends every conception. and again as pure Darkness !). an image-shaping. in differences. Bohme tion. or. to him the true God. and has nothing effected in its doctrines of the Trinity. form-fashioning energy. VIII. But is another question. intention that he seeks to apprehend exclusion is with this what has been termed the theogonistic process. for whom every designation is inadequate. and vital finite life Life and Manifesta- everything that applies merely to the created which is fettered in limitations. is conscious that when he seeks in to appre- hend the Being of Beings. of which more will be said below. Imagination {imago). and ascribes to God Fancy. Bohme teaches an eternal nature in God. as he terms it. while God is above all contrasts. but what the Church has sought.THE PROBLEM. and the is only derivative. Bohme demands a God who manifests Himself in contrasts. because every conception contains fines contrasts. must be exWhether he has always succeeded in this it source of which cluded. God (wherein. And God all cludes from the Being of corporeity. of the eternal . however.
only in and although Procession. must be an original and eternal Duality. Birth. 24). in which nature is the medium and instrument for Spirit. instincOnly when there is in Nature can we know Him as the Bohme's problem is. a resisting and counter-principle. although he sincerely subThe Church representation moves scribes to this. but a problem of unity and duality (of Spirit and nature. (problem of Trinity). conabsolutely-perfect Spirit. its But the contrast of nevertheless Spirit is Nature. it alludes to Generation. succeed in manifesting its own energy. here. seeing that God must be conceived of as at the same time Spirit and Nature).4o JACOB BOHME. self-moving. and this is the problem which for Bohme In the Divine Unity there occupies the first rank. indeed. so that the God an eternal Spirit. the Living God. in life and power and luminous must hold within itself its other. contrast. but tively-working principle. in scholastic formulae. may through the conquest of this counter-principle. in abstract conceptions. not only a problem of unity and triplicity sequently. doctrines of which the Athanasian Symbol is the great memorial. But Bohme seeks it in his own way ! He cannot confine himself to the conception of the Trinity which is presented to him in church-tradition. generation of the Son from the Father. It is only when the theogonistic process moves through a . the unconscious. and it is any full not clearly perceptible that we have The sense. and of the Procession of the Spirit from the Father and the Son. if Spirit is to exist it manifestation. is. doctrine of Scripture and the unanimous Church But doctrine is that God is a Spirit (John iv.
even prior to the creation of ." i. Should it. that in the depth of lies the Omnipotence there a irXyjpcDiJLa of Nature. and will fear that we wish to introduce materialistic views. Nor is the idea of Nature in God so foreign as may appear at in first sight. With the Bohme all postulate of the eternal Nature in God. something infinitely more subtile and super-material. Sul- But we would call phur. especially Salt. in keenest perception. in comparison with what we call Nature. as at the same time they hear mention of Mercury.. the Bitter. will simply of abstract and Church Theology. wealth of colour. the Sour. as in the IX. but rather a source for matter. attention to the fact that these definitions are figurative in and symbolical. etc. and rich fulness of tone. therefore. is not matter at all. the principle of Spirit and the principle of Nature that we dare hope to realize a Living Trinity. an apprehension which will not consist lifeless be an apprehension " in the highest sensuousness. it is. The religious consciousness believes the Almighty God.THE PROBLEM. a totality of forces which the Almighty Will can place outside Itself in what assumes the aspect of a certain separate independence. reciprocity of relation between these 41 two principles. Nature tomed in God ! Many who have been accus- to the idea of the pure spirituality of God will be appalled.e. promises us an apprehension of the Being of Beings. be so alien and remote a thought. a plenitude of living forces and energies. and that when Nature is affirmed God. but conceptions.
The ideal is that which we can absorb in our consciousness. to impress itself upon this. things their form material. must being that not this also apply in the most eminent degree to an outward. if thought is to gain figure and plastic shape. in Bohme have held this idea of a Nature in God. although with That is God as the Nature to say. other thinkers besides modifications. they interpret Nature which is known to us. For. It is the sophy to reconcile idealism constantly repeated endeavour of philoand realism.42 JACOB BOHME. The personal . Thought gives but the form demands matter. It is intention to reconcile idealism and realism conception of God. as it is often illustrated by the example of a work of art. world ? this knowledge that in will certainly Readers with any degree of philosophical be familiar with the thought is every existing thing there a distinction between an ideal and a real aspect. this material universe in which we live. which never achieves perfection by the mere form alone. in our thought the real is that which is never thus absolutely merged in thought. idea and reality. un-ideated reality is as unsatisfactory to our mind as Bohme's in the is an unreal and amorphous idea. but which at the same time is inseparable from thought. to apprehend in God at the same time an ideal and a real side. or by the mere material alone. but by the happy wedding of both. the world An of thought and the world of things. substratum. an inward and it holds true of every dualism is found within it. . in order that it may be able . an aspect of spirit and an aspect of Nature. to God ? Moreover. inasmuch as this the Being of Beings.
a Nature which. and real beginning as the obscure Nature-basis. self-equipped Intelligence . however. God this is 43 thus the ideal principle of the world. although not as. world itself is doctrine only the self-conscious centre of the world. Bohme. as Spirit. on this view. as that wherein God fashions out His ideas. is self- God but is here the ideal-principle of the world. Although is not simple pantheism. But he interprets this fashioning as the same that manifests itself In this to us in our well-known material universe. He figured in Spirit. in his celebrated "Treatise on Human Freedom" (1809). evil). acquire reality and shape. is personality.THE PROBLEM. is only the self-conscious unity in a world. who holds that there must be matter in God. it must be defined as semi-pantheism. Schelling takes and one very different from Bohme's. Through this permanent reciprocity of relation between the Spirit and the obscure basis (in which latter evil has its root. ab initio. and According to Schelling. the various periods of history are evolved with the contrast between Sin and Redemption . and which Spirit requires in order that it may manifest itself. Thus in Giordano Bruno. resisting medium. the Deity proceeds from eternity under two initia : a an ideal beginning as the self-conscious Spirit. requires an eternal Nature as His substratum. is destined to be overcome and trans- conscious. the various stages of natural life are developed. a self- . that is mapped out in time and space. His body. which vividly recalls his own path. actualize itself. while. or as a pantheism of For. as a blindly-working. God. self-reflected. and the God's real aspect. " " connection Schelling claims special notice.
inasmuch as Christianity does not teach a sapless . viewed upon His from the still also a theogonistic ideal side. God conscious Intelligence. is a sapless. Christianity cannot admit that the temporal world is necessarily indispensable to the Being of God. For although. while Jacobi. unfolding epic or drama with its crises and conflicts a cosmogony. being quite occupy the . con- tinued to protest against a developing God. but tianity its postulate. powerless. without. is It is the God of Chris- and desirous of apprehending. He very beginning. the doc.44 JACOB BOHME. and to God as. all time is . self-complete and from the world. It is as the result of this " " becomes that the Becoming One development This view was stated and defended realized Love. by Schelling with strenuous polemic [in his famous " Denkmal "] against the attack of Jacobi. marrowless Theism maintain free Natureless God. however. and whose love is not the result of the world's developperfect ment." higher terms than does Schelling in his But. will agree with Jacobi viz. for his part. is process. but proclaims a God who is and blessed in Himself from all eternity. a cosmogony which certainly. Schelling affirms that a trine of a Theism without Naturalism. in protesting who develops through temporal exist- and who needs to pass through a history in order to become actual.. prosecuting itself throughout . he consequently states the problem in much whom Bohme " Treatise. able to confute Schelling. In one respect all who Christian standpoint against a God ence. from all eternity. selfdoes not become a complete living and actual Personality until the close of the development.
however. although this by no means involves their agreement at all points with the mode in which Bohme has worked out the problem. prior to the Creation. the difficulty here that this eternal Nature in rience. a circumstance which has been partly occasioned by the defects in Bohme's mode of statement. will. moreover. And natural research takes this opportunity of lodging the charge of a charge. which shows at visionariness. much less of so-called exact natural research. Hegel has interpreted Bohme in a purely pantheistic sense. will be formally compelled to think in God an analogon to what we call Nature. But has become very generally known that Hegel. Those whose line of thought is Christian or. a natureless God (a fact to which Holy Scripture testifies on every page). God lies presents itself outside our expe- and thus cannot become the object of our immediate perception. We are well aware that Bohme's doctrine has been variously interpreted. even by thinkers of considerable repute.THE PROBLEM. inasmuch as he constantly speaks in symbols drawn from this present world. had but a very superficial acquaintance with his writings. True. 45 and powerless Theism. when they have gained a general grasp of the gist of the problem. in any degree. notwithstanding his admiration for Bohme's speculative it power. but also in Himself. Bohme supposes an eternal Nature in God. conis theistic. convenient once that those who make it do not at all compre- hend what sistently here being discussed. and. feel the necessity of conceiving God as the God who lives not merely in the temporal world. was disposed to " Hege- .
a great harmony of manifold all tuned into one harmony. No for it began Eternity. prior " and the reply is " God was.46 " JACOB BOHME. that this " joy first was from Not that joy and glory. much upon For God has not brought forth creation that He should be thereby perfect. not so isolated passages. we maintain that careful study of Bohme will establish Franz Baader's conclusion that Bohme's God (as stated above) is the God who is perfect in Himself. alone with creation ? or God was. We view. we may quote the wellpassages known paragraph in the " Signatura Rerum" (16. in another passage. and to make him a herald of his own. if individual are demanded. in the above-mentioned " Treatise. with the creation. and suppose that his view of Nature in lianize God was essentially the same as Schelling's. yet only is." : " What Or. But while Bohme seeks to apprehend God in . where it is asked to the existence of the angels and the was. as upon Bohme's general train of ideas. for the great ! as a spiritual melody and sport in itself. base this prior to creation and the world. centres (the lucid and the dark fire-centre). in the great Mystery. 2). Others interpret Bdhme's doctrine as a pantheism of personality. alone with two firelight and fire : . The creation is the same sport out of Himself. but for His own manifestation. And the angels and the souls of men and all creatures lay in an idea or spiritual model in which God from eternity beheld His works. an instrument instruments which are of the Eternal Spirit." For our own part. him." X. Still.
but angels to live in joy. all the pervading conflict of everything with one thing struggling with. much less that air. is the burden that so heavily weighs is He is incessantly struggling with his mind. His inward life 47 of in apprehend Him manifestation. viz. : evil ? as in what is the prima materia. however. of Himself." 19. upon this " . " dark point. No Scripture could console him. said that Death. buffeting. Hell-fire. water.. not only in the pushing. and earth are in Him only it is plain that all things have proNeither can it be ceeded out of that Original. Evil. else. Therefore. or Sorrowfulness but it is known that these things have is in God come out . What most afflicts his soul." For it cannot be said that fire is in God. to the innermost Birth or Geniture of the Deity" And he discovered the ("Aurora. and that the ungodly as well as the pious prospered in this world. Foundation of Hell. biting. or first matter of and that in the originality of God as well " For all is out of God the creatures. evil in its cosmical sense. (" De Bohme fell into deep dejecTribus Princip. 4-13). Finally. For God has made no devil out of that Original. not indeed manifested but in . tion and gloom. when he saw that there was good and evil in all things. crushing another." 1. 5).THE PROBLEM. human world. the source or fountain of the cause must be sought . as he contemplates the world. he penetrated. but in the whole world. out of the Self-Perfect God he desires to grasp and to explain the created world with all its contrasts. "through violent tempests and through the Gates of Hell. he also seeks to His manifestation in the world . and he fell into heathenish thoughts.
in a and chaotic. searches the depths of wickedness and of Satan. but also the depths of the Redemption. account must be taken not only of the subject matter. but also of the form. in the solution of a philosophical problem. its in which he is overwhelmed vast riches. restored to that proper place which well-pleasing unto God. whereby the world. not as a reality but as a possibility. for which reason his mode of treatment often becomes unintelligible sees everything. although it is also known that on points of detail This pervading defect he has a firm dialectical grip. is once more to " " be restored by Christ to " " Temperature of is (or proper arrangement and harmony powers). the result to which the inquiry has It is led. He mystery.48 JACOB BOHME. which he cannot by by succeed in appropriating by any calm and deliberately reasoned process of thought. tolerably well tical known that in a formal is and dialec- respect exceedingly imperfect. As our purpose in the following pages to a sketch and a criticism of the solution of attempt this problem which has been given by Bohme. himself a theogonistic nature. which stirs and give is He . XI. as it were. his subject. the scientific basis. who desires to birth to the conception of God. He complexity which it is extremely hard to unravel. is largely occasioned by the fact that Bohme is in Jacob Bohme an ecstatic condition. which had lost its Temperature by reason of the fall of Lucifer and of Adam. we it is do not forget that.
When seeks ignore what he has actually is said of him that he is a give birth to wisdom. conscious of the inadequacy of his representation. and that by this birth something was placed in the intellectual world which was not previously present. and roaring forest. which he brought to the birth. among these we must not given nature us. and explaining over again what he has He himself is explained impatient many for the times before. is the fact Bohme constantly employs physical categories where mental salt. nor hear a word. mercury.). sulphur. etc. makes the of modern times. revolves within him an incessantly-whirling wheel. and at the mercy of which he lies (Schelling). (like either logical or ethical. wherein he can neither his diffuse explanations understand defects.THE PROBLEM. but an idea. 49 like throbs and travails within him. ought to have categories. and. 4 . But amid and descriptions the reader too frequently the impression of a vast. and without the presupposition of which it would be impossible to explain that to some of the most profound intellectual movements But what. accordingly. comprehension of these ideas difficult. is for ever repeating himself. undeniably. but cannot do so because he is unable to struggle out of the chaotic and extreme abundance that overwhelms him. this criticism must be qualified by the fact that it was not a system. and often causes him grievous birth-pangs. it Still. and that his great wealth of poetic been used imagery and symbolism continually conceals his that . while the reader is argument to advance. gains only wind-swept. a wheel of Ezekiel which seeks to escape from within him to the light of day.
so to speak. thought. by the side of the barbaric. as so many have complained. that one's attention must be fixed. It is one conspicuous excellence in Bohme's mode of treatment that by philosophizing in his mother " tongue. which have been adopted by later thinkers. light up the multiplicity of the ever-changing phantasmagoria of thoughts and figures. were surprised and enraptured by a wealth of new and previouslyunheard expressions and turns of speech in their mother tongue." he has enriched number of highly expressive words. . to change the illustration. and the calmly-beaming light which shines through the former. abiding thoughts and. which at certain intervals ring so clearly through the roaring forest.50 JACOB BOHME. instead It is absolutely necessary to fasten upon certain recurring their main keep place thoughts." in 1 809. while at the same time often There is impossible to grasp them firmly. on Human . to which one must look or. and fancifully-glittering which often dazzles the eye. that which. so glimmer before one's eyes and beat tumultuously about one's head. and to which the lines may be it is in : justly applied : " Wie durch these " Ewige Sterne schimmern It is des Nordlicht's bewegliche Strahlen " ! eternal stars. flickering. of revealing it. But all of these belong to Bohme. The readers of ScJielling's above-mentioned " Treatise the former with no small Freedom." breaking through the dazzling confusion of splendour. Bohme's writings a twofold light the restless. these voices from a higher spiritual world. it is upon these notes.
is by no means the chief thing the secondary thing. intelligent perception. medium The first progress true philosophical depends. that logic. and shall nurse thee and comfort thee against all the uproar and mother tongue ! ' : ! . upon which all made clearer. boastfulness of thy proud children. and I will give thee a comforting draught in thine old age. not be " Has he reasoned cor" " but " Has he seen aright ? Meanwhile rectly ? . whom thou hast brought forth and thy nursed. The keenest inquiry of a critic of Bohme will.' " Finally.THE PROBLEM. ! to prove that they apostrophizes the learned men " : He thus But hearken. the is in It is by which perception thing. as experience amply proves. in Bohme's favour. we will venture to remark. and will not cherish thee in thine extreme old age. without which all logic is barren. but fancy that they must paste and lard their discourse with are foreign words. is speculative. however great the value that may be assigned to philosophy. and will give thee a young son in thy house as long as thou livest. thou simple mother who dost bring into the world children that are ashamed of thee and despise thee Thus saith the who is thy Father Be not discouraged I Spirit am thy strength and thy might. Because all children. I will console thee in thine he shall abide age. Intuition. therefore. He laments over those who have really beheld nothing of the truth. or are 51 fashioned on the model of his symbolic Bohme himself lays great stress upon language. the fact that he philosophizes in his mother tongue. despise thee. because they will not use their native speech. it. but in whom pride has spoiled everything.
phenomena is. . But the main question Pythawhether philosophy .g. if any should hold that Bohme's standpoint must be defined. on account of its defective form. A synopsis of Bohme-literature lies beyond our present field. I. Our discussion will fall under two main sections : they may God and the Uncreated Heaven.. II. Ancient philosophy presents similar goras. God and the Created World. we shall offer no contradiction.52 JACOB BOHME. a standpoint which lies in advance of science properly so called. especially his Systematic Epitome of to Franz Baader's collected Lectures on Jacob Bohme." and " works. and that he is simply a precursor of Christian science. in about to describe the solution attempted of the all-embracing . as Other works bear will be occasionally upon the matter in hand. and theology can avoid taking notice of his ideas. we refer the reader to the original treatises Schiebler's edition to " : Hamberger's well-known and excellent work Bohme's Doctrine . As we are now which Bohme has problem. however. as a pre-scientific standpoint." cited. that is. e.
: tongue of an angel and thou the intelligence of an angel. ! .I. in order to underGeneration of God Theogonistic process). GOD AND THE UNCREATED HEAVEN. . XII. a particle of the whole. . frequently repeats BOHME and to represent the stand (the in that. that thou mayest at last behold the whole. we should understand one another very well. in an infinite cycle mind But this is precisely where the difficulty lies for our human thought. all at once. and to " If I had the that which advances in succession or circular movement. but in an eternal manner. Yes I must even speak ! sometimes in a diabolical manner. which is chained to the fragmentary and piecemeal. and spark. in Succession. one must always keep it that this does not take place in a temporal manner. in Simultaneity. as if the Light were kindled out of darkness. I must set one thing after another. since I I am only a cannot describe to thee the whole Deity in a circle all at once. or. But now I must speak in an earthly fashion with my half-dead understanding. But beginning it is not so God has no beginning or more truly. and as if Deity had a Otherwise I cannot instruct thee.
where Self-production. with appalling throes and bursts of apprehension. ever. belong to this as severed from its cohesion with the whole. inasmuch as Bohme desires to point out the various momenta in the Being of Beings. be remembered here that Bohme thinks. God would be only dead existence for it is only all is. a history with crises and conflicts between light and darkness. and. Being and Without an eternal life-movement. but also It should. it He undeniably appears as though God by passed through a history. and in the process of the Divine Self-consciousness. has an eternal beginning and an eternal end. Therefore. marked at many points tumultuous and chequered scenes. He Oetinger says. as . Therefore. in figures and symbols. ." seeks to apprehend this in and for itself and to show what condition and quality " moment when it is conceived of. left to itself. like a poet. that is God would be only mere movement that had re- verted to time and history. howwith brilliant victories and spoils. "optice et phcenomenologice.54 JACOB BOHME. he isolates and separates the " individual moment. . at . but to interpret everything in a high and supernatural way. one and the same time. I exhort the reader not to understand me in an earthly sense." When one reads Bohme's description of the theogonistic process. death And without without " process." eternal existence and unchangeable self-resemblance. as it " were." does not mean that God becomes through a temporal but he wishes to consider and point out the history eternal momenta in the Divine Life-movement. and cannot think in any other way that he is compelled to write.
" One must always keep in mind. not. although these elements are conwhole. and is in combination with other qualities. on an abstract consideration. has significance only for our thought. with a stream of metaphors. 55 that. in reality. and by seeing the whole. viewed when it isolated for the taste. constantly to correct tation and supplement his description by transposing the successive into the simultaneous. in contrast to in this this " moment " shall be placed that rhythmic movement and harmony of the whole. when it is subjected to the abstractly constraining power of the sun. is " they manifest themselves is in a pleasant in itself. that he continually moves. to the circular have been separated for in what part they play movement (from which they our instruction). like the gall in a man. by referring the separated and specially prominent elements back to the whole. in the represenof isolated (severed) sentation. was tumultuous and chequered is. so that it becomes pleasant to eat. in the . it does not express itself qua sour or qua tributory to bitter. When is the sour or bitter (separated) . momenta. is viewed in reality. however. It will then often appear that that which. on this account. thus also does God retain His attributes. It is necessary. because it has no corresponding reality. The bitter quality also certainly exists in God.GOD AND THE UNCREATED HEA VEN But he also demands isolation. the while reading Jacob Bohme. it manner. but as an everlasting power. in which it has often an entirely different character from that which it possesses when it is viewed in Just as a sour or bitter apple constrained by the sun. a triumphant fountain of joy. which reprehowever. but abstract isolation.
which applies very deepest calm. no ground. THE ABYSS AND THE ETERNAL WILL. stipulation. Father. THE IMAGINATION AND THE ETERNAL IDEA. or because here there is neither height nor depth. Here as yet basis. as yet is in indifference. we do not comply with Bohme's is. fusion. Here is everything and which nothing stillness. or else he cannot instruct " us here lies the whole creation. actual stirs. to his (A thought forcibly description of the seven natural properties or fundaIf we neglect this. . THE where there first is thought is all link in Bohme's theosophic train of the unit which he designates as the Abyss. nor darkness. Bohme often designates everything all is For in . but in a high and supernatural manner. no defined. in concealment. THE POTENTIAL TRINITY. Bohme " must speak in diabolical fashion as if God had a beginning. nothing. or no centre. This abyss.56 JACOB BOHME. cause or basis. can only appear when the Here there is neither different. thick nor thin. Son. cause. as many neglect mental forces) and pay the penalty by falling into hopeless conit. who have not yet come forth. which is and nothing. evil . and Spirit. great nor small. In this stillness lies the whole Trinity. the definite appears. light nor fire. with everything that is in heaven or upon earth. nothing defining ground. XIII. which that he is not to be interpreted in an earthly. is only in latency. neither good nor light principle.
" itself. because it would disturb confusion. all shapes. " A Will it is it therefore. desirous. where into an undefined. this is Will itself demands or for nothing desires only it to desire . however. XIV. and assigns to itself progressive conditions things exist. but a complex forth. illimitable meets with no object. example. because concealed.GOD AND THE UNCREATED HEA VEN as 57 the " mysterium magnum" and also as the Chaos. there and irXijpojfxa. which only marvels. for called Theosophy. TrXrjpcofxa. In connection with this Will. in Theosophy. unoriginated Will. looks out it infinity. But in the recesses of this abyss. it that might be manifest else its But for still. is thin or obscure. which has not yet developed itself. Bohme in lie it also often speaks of a great. we closely. and figures But this Eye sees nothing. to seek conditions and varieties where no such We can On Will which it is precisely this desires to explore when it steps out of the night. the other hand. determines itself to its own manifestation. are not to explore more us. seeks to possess and to manifest itself in . Bohme or determinations. the chaos of the bird. does not signify Eternal disorder and confusion. there is this mysterium magnum. from which a bird comes in An is egg. and fill us with readily comprehend that it would disturb us to search into this Night of Indifference. in itself. as it were nothing . it willeth to be somewhat. with regard to which it must be observed that chaos. colours. a bottomless which Will. all enormous Eye.
pronounce any of these explanaBohme's mirror is not only tions to be satisfactory. if philosophical parallels be demanded. themselves. but also a mirror of imagination and of fancy. indeed. whose entire theoretic sitionem. per opposubject of Hegel's logic. indeed as we shall figures . in which it can behold itself. and it reveals the whole TrXTJpcjfia. reflects an image of the Triune God . and there are those whom this has reminded of the eternal.58 JACOB BOHME. forms. shapes. certainly only a miniature mirror in comparison with Bohme's. which. universallyand necessary laws of thought. a thought-mirror . without which valid. colours. a thought-mirror. God cannot see Himself and His real side. certainly applies to the earthly. now. : the doctrine intuition in never show us things as they are but only their surface or phenomenon. one must immediately think of Schelling's Bohme's intellectual intuition. a combination of reason and imagination and. The first thing it does is to fashion for itself a Mirror. a reason-mirror. think of Kant. material mirrors we have upon our walls). however. mirror philosophy is a doctrine of the mirror. find in the sequel. transferred to God. mirror shows infinitely more than mere logical ." that viz. of the forms of thought and which not God but man beholds himself and the whole world of experience (with which Kant combines the thought* or " thing unthinkable. To it the imaginative Eye that looks into the mirror. We the mirror in can cannot. the ontological determinations which form the main Or one might. itself. readily disposed to think of it as a reason-mirror. Of what is this Mirror ? One would be most quality.
and impregnates itself with the Imagination out of the Wisdom. as the Glory of God. by showing The Him the exceeding riches of His glory. and that it will with the eternal nature. shall see in the sequel that is it furnishes a contrast Nature (which although subordinate to the manifest itself to us. idea). viz. there. out of the virgin-like looking-glass. without willing. is.. but simply the friend of God. is now a maiden who stands. become manifest in this mirror. and makes to itself in the imagination a ground in itself. at the beginning. it engenders nothing. Bohme designates this mirror as God's visibility. Although co-eternal with God. or Sophia. cc. but only receives and reflects the image. because it We only an' instrument for God's manifestation. described as a maiden. is a mother without generating. then could no fire or light be generated it all takes its original from the " Incarn. in ! the dawn of eternity. eternal Idea. looking-glass of Deity. which. iii. ii. allures Him to manifest Himself." * and the desiring : ." "If the looking-glass of Wisdom were not. and who. One must be prepared for very frequent shiftings of metaphor and symbol in Bohme What just now was a mirror." II. and so it imagines out of the abyss into itself. in union to the eternal also God's instrument. the eternal Idea. is an Imagination wherein the Will in the Looking-glass of Wisdom discovers itself. impersonal and selfless. wherein the mirroring first finds its consummation.. is because it is not God of God. before the God who gives Himself up to Self-manifestation. And he also calls this idea a Maiden. or as the eternal Wisdom. 59 There is nothing either in heaven or upon earth which did not.GOD AND THE UNCREATED HEA VEN Himself. Christ. so to speak. It is however.. .* " For the nothing causes the willing that it is desirous.
. is nothing and yet everything. trinity. and the trinity beholds itself as unity. during the very process of mirroris is What first takes place only this. without beginning. or Being. forth from itself into a moving or life . or Being. x. wherein also calls called Father. of the Will. wherein this primal Will apprehends and finds itself. the conceived or And the exit of the generated Will.). and Spirit (not one individual of these. but the . and which is co-eternal with the unoriginated Will (God of God) ("Election. which only one. in the sequel. mirror in God but fashions itself not complete at the outset. through or Son. The is bottomless incomprehensible Will. and brings itself into an eternal is And that first bottomless Will Visibility of itself. the Wisdom or Visibility of God. and the unity beholds itself as Thus. the first only Will. as Son but that which it.6o JACOB BOHME. is gone Bohme is the fourth effect (or operation). bottomless Will. which is the Son of the abysmal. Son. XV. is called Spirit. c. And the unsearchable bottomless Will goes forth through its eternally found or invented Will. and the second. as a life of the Father and the forth. apprehends and discovers itself. which is neither evil nor good. is called Son. that there arises an abstract outline of that which. is to become full of vivid life and wealth of colour. called Father." I. for it drives out the conceived Ens. The ing. generates in itself the one eternal good as a comprehensible Will. or. the conceived Ens. bottomless will.
and its form is inexpressible. the wonders of eternity (the riches of God). . BUT this in all that has " been hitherto first mirroring. before God as a Virgin. and He beholds in the mirror only a wealth of potential glories or miracles. therefore. and maniIn fest the power." I. which are not yet realized. for it is passive. who is the Word). "just as when the sun's rays shed . in yet reached the It is a life. or influence of the sun:" the Divine Visibility or Wisdom. He is also absorbed in an immediate mystic contemplation. the Spirit of God power plays with the radiated powers as with one single (wherein the multiplicity is consequently restored to unity). virtue. while the Spirit is active. The Wisdom is neither great nor small. Bohme themselves out of the sun's magick fire. we have not considered. and still it is no life.. of life and an image of life" (" Six Theosoph. In this mirror the Holy Trinity beholds itself and all the Glory of nor end. as a potentiality of becoming Trinitarian. must not be confounded with the Son. develops this more fully by sayingthat al the energies or forces of the Father are concentrated in the Son but the Spirit breathes them forth and diffuses them. is still and speechless (and. Nor is it to be confounded with the Spirit. whole triad) 61 ever behold and discover themselves. which have neither beginning XVI.GOD AND THE UNCREATED HEA VEN.). a Living God. figure God beholds Himself thus far only Points. vii. has neither beginning nor end. but is It stands infinite.
for attributes can be found only where there is another. qualified. surges about and yearns for the . but not three Persons. that. a contrasted. in the Will grows eager. When God. moreover. butes. mirrored image without reality. which. eager. Bohme expressly asserts that as yet there are only three operations. and desires that what it sees the mirror shall become something more than artist an image.62 JACOB BOHME. as when an longs to realize the vision. a eternal Nature. How then does God become the living and actual Triune? According to Bohme. this happens only by as if God in a vision. The Maiden stands morning-dream of which prophetically reveals to Him what Eternity. in the tranquil delight means of the as the of contemplation. is consequently as yet no actual it is but a dim and personal self-consciousness the hitherto. shall become actual. by which they can be Here as yet everything is only a Magia. mani- Sophia. beholds Himself and His wonders. wherein the distinctions are only self-entangled. provides a contrast to the Maiden. a Spirit mirroring. And not only does the Will become it. but the Wisdom. He can become. and yet no Spirit. Maiden displays them to Him in the mirror. which means. the image that reveals itself to him in his inward soul. This which is a life and yet no life. For and real thinking Self-consciousness are Here are no Divine attriinseparable conceptions. as a medium of manifestation. on which account. dreamy before self-consciousness. but are not yet actual and separate contrasts. have no real self-consciousness. the eternal Idea. what He can make Himself. we real Trinity simple . in clearer language.
pure thought. Nature depends upon the magic of the eternal desire. an abstract being and not an actual living Spirit. bare and blank intelligence. is actively pervaded by the principium individnationis. for Bohme.GOD AND THE UNCREATED HEA VEN festation 63 of the marvels all of Wisdom. in the last resort. although she In this union of the herself is these marvels. and whatever is born and comes into being arises. inasmuch as this world. And undoubtedly. which manifests itself in an inexhaustible wealth of individual forms that are incapable of being merged in But there could not have been general conceptions. the eternal nature hidden in God is aroused. A God. will and fancy. both in nature and history. without the use of material means. All effective magic depends upon desire and imagination. and now comes forward as the contrast or The generation of the Contrarium of the Idea. is moulded and everywhere influenced by fancy. He is here in diametrical opposition to those who entirely exclude fancy from God. from desire and imagination. is. . joy of contemplation and of desire. who is only pure reason. a God destitute of fancy could not have produced a world like the world we know. and is the power of summoning non-existence into existence. of imagination and desire. It is one of Bohme's most characteristic features even the absolute Spirit of that he interprets Spirit God as desire and imagination. like the world in which Bohme lived and had his intuitions. XVII. destitute of fancy.
"Religion und Kunst. the principle of our We and. love or hatred. Froschhammer. the Will is the inmost thing in man. ? which " is in- separable from the imagination Where thy * Portig. by the very fact that he speaks of a mirror in of Imagination. good or evil. in the form of ideality. hope or fear.* Precisely because God is the unity of Spirit and Nature. but only that which presents itself in an image and shape. hate. or to plement of the Will. The difference between human characters depends upon this. which fancy. must be pictured by the imagination. but also fancy. the connecting link between Spirit and Nature. Fancy the form-fashioning and image-shaping energy. No act of the Will is possible without imagination. . Will must have an object but an object that is posited by the Will lies in the future. and must hover before Will must determine itself according to it.. A . wherein do they set their imagination or their their desire. According to Bohme. or to love the purely abstract.64 JACOB BOHME. aspiration. Fancy in God unless there were Nature in God. their will. must be ascribed to Him." ii. personality . however. and Bohme. and all of these things are imaginations." " Die Phantasie als Weltprincip. is certainly to be conceived of as illuminated and irradiated by Wisdom. 273. already points to Nature as a potency God Himself. notice in passing that we get here the root of Bohme's psychology. not merely reason. not excluding but presupis the necessary composing reason and wisdom. For Fancy is precisely. A motives. It is impossible to will.
unless all these powers of life a gracious Lord. not a self-conscious Will. under whose control they gained may abide. selfless. will. in an infinite For life consists of many wills. and who is able to break their strength their will. that pour forth in an infinity of many thousand times ten thousand particular wills. We grasp Bohme's meaning more accurately when (with St.THE treasure is. a Will that multiplies plenitude of powers. This yet. spiritual 65 where thy and " ! volitional image there also will thy heart be Now. it follows. we define nature as is a spirituous potency. impersonal and it is a Will that has issued forth and separated itself itself from unity. is. Consequently. if man is created in the image of God. from Bohme's train of thought. that a corresponding relation must also be found in God (on the scale. however. of eternity and absolute perfection). its Each of the forces in the eternal Nature has is own these wills be sheer against the other. spirituous potency according to Bohme. With the bursting forth of the eternal Nature there occurs an obscuration. which furnishes a contrast to 5 . and each of And life would and But in Nature there is merely a blind. This t must not be interpreted as Matter For matter is nothing original. Martin and Franz Baader) eternal Nature in God. but is simply a product. a living fountain of forces. STILL MYSTERY. the Nature which is hidden in God is aroused and bursts into activity. XVIII. hostility. [through the medium of] desire and imagination.
The heavenly Eternal Will of Unity is the eternal Yes . We may also say that. unless it doubles It cannot perceive itself in mere unity it itself. wherein the one property beholds and tests the other. And now. that they are two things by the side of one another. the pure spirituality condition in virtue of which the thin. sap and power. in order that the light may succeed in manifesting its splendour.. consist of Yes and No. but no ingoing and retrocession into self. and lead itself into particularity. we get actual contrasts and actual manifestations. . the Spirit. based upon multiplicity and variety.66 THE STILL MYSTERY. but also and Divine. Where there is can perceive itself only in duality. each of which wills and energizes within itself. no contrast. The eternal Will must pass out of itself. The thin is mere the thick is Nature. can gain life and fulness. viz. . there is only a perpetual issuing forth. into two centra. the pure light and spirituality. ideality. with the eternal Nature. . otherwise there were no shape or intelligibility. A thing not has nothing in itself that it can will. affirm that the Yes and No are sundered. Bohme things. But this obscuration is a necessary condition. but they separate themselves into two beginnings. is of contrasts in order to never weary of enforcing the necessity life and manifestation. the thick presents itself in contrast to the thin. All merely earthly and diabolic. They are only one thing. for the first time. but this Yes cannot be manifested without the eternal No. and And yet we cannot posits multiplicity and variety. and all Intelligence is powers would be simply one power. which provides a contradiction to the Unity.
of Life and Manifestation which we are now to consider is that the Nature-Will may be sub- ordinated to the Spirit-Will. as the No-W'Al in contrast to the Yes-Wi\\. ETC.Will in contrast to the Universal Will.THE MANIFESTATION. willing servant of God and of the Idea. or Natural Forms or Properties. to become manifest to Himself as the God. THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES. The first part of the process shows a relation of contrast. an eternal contrast in Himself.Will. THE ACTUAL TRINITY. The Divine Will has had to divide itself into two. XIX. accordingly. to contraposit an anti-Divine Will (that is. more clearly defined by the seven fundamental Forces. THE GLORY OF GOD. shows Nature as the . THE UNCREATED HEAVEN.Will may be more closely defined as the Particular Will. which wills the one and the whole. a hostile relation between Nature and Spirit the second part. and yet sundered from Unity) as a In order condition for its Life of Manifestation. the Self. if we may so speak. for the The process is shaping forth of the Glory of God. two centra in God. has been compelled. as the Will of Dissimilarity in contrast The object of the process to the Will of Similarity. God has consequently been obliged to Living found an eternal distinction. The Nature. 67 MANIFESTATION THROUGH THE ETERNAL NATURE. We have. a Will derived from. the Nature-Will and the Spirit. by which last . as its obedient instrument and medium of manifestation. on the contrary. indeed.
as when we say of a man. is the central point. remains an unsatisfied hunger. shows that. and to have everything for itself. expression fashioning energy. or the transition from the darkness to the light. and an anxiously eager restlessness the second. XX.68 THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES. pendence. It is the austere. and substance. scientific phrase. and is transfigured into the Light. The fourth Natural Property. self-contained. which seeks to go into multiplicity. sharpness. but seeks to absorb everything into itself. hardness. The second Natural Property is the outward- looking forth Desire or Movement. where Nature shows what it is capable of ternaries or triads : Natural Properties the we shall first. and gloomy property which desires to be alone. in order to the fashioning of the eternal harmonies. cold. dark ternary. and will not endure anything outside it. nature without the aid of these seven these seven In two perceive the negative. bright ternary." and To adopt a finds its symbolical expression in Salt. ness. we call it Contraction. Bohme means the form-giving. THE Natural Property is the introspective first " It has harshDesire which demands only itself. the positive. self-contained temperament. natureNothing can gain shape in forces. notwithstanding all its power. by it itself. Four is the centre of Seven. and that he hardens himself in austerity and rigour against everything that is outside him. the symbolic expression of . in which Nature has surrendered its inde. or the Lightning Flash. that he has a gloomy.
a kind of frenzy. and to outpour on every side. and to compress everything into itself. but Contraction. the revofinally lution of a wheel. The more the one tends more does the other tend outwards. the other seeks to manifest itself. expression this again is symbolized by dissension. Expansion. . This restlessness and anguish is the third Natural "One cannot remain in oneself. to go forward. They desire to be separated. The one seeks to be still the other is loud and The one seeks to draw itself back into noisy. cannot escape one another. which is 69 Mercury. Nature itself cannot solve. This conflict but are inevitably forced into collision. call this Property Rotation. The one are now in dead antagonism to each other. The one . forces are inseparable. " Both of the two opposites can go nowhither desire to go their own way. first We is. and to itself. but their union is indissoluble. scientifically. and there ensues an appalling restlessness and Anguish. the tendency to self-diffusion and selfThese two Properties propagation in all directions. and they continue to oscillate about. seeks to 'compress itself. inwards. becomes an oscillation or whirling. in wild confusion. Sulphur.THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES. in company. tends outwards the other tends inwards. nevertheless. Expansion. and itself the . and tension . ! in Anguish is here a symbolic which designates the unsolved dispute. but which we call. a movement that cannot come to an end. Rotaunharmonious a contradiction which thus. but they cannot get loose from one another. . These conflicting fly out into the wide and remote. the other seeks to run. and yet Property. The ternary tion. but which. leads to no goal.
the lower desires the higher. On the other hand. " inmost essence is need of God. faint away. passes through the whole of Nature. sed non invenit). indigentia gratiae. is powerless The contra(Natura quaerit se. own strength. indigentia Dei. its Nature. breaks forth as. There is aroused in Nature an anxious yearning after freedom. The Lightning itself . at once. immediately. will A conquest must take place here. satisfied. and desire only the power of the Light. lets its light stream into the darkness and confusion of Nature. By the Lightning that which is gross. but before Holiness and Love can be manifested. consumed. and subordinate itself to the Idea. dark. They accept the Will of the Light. the Eternal Freedom. which can only be stilled. and selfish in the desire of Nature is The Natural Properties. desires the lower ." a hunger and restlessness. through Nature. when Freedom. freedom yearns after in order that. and become quite meek and gentle. is the fourth Natural Property. and shock which The Lightning. diction can only be removed by that which is higher than Nature. by that which is above and outside of Nature's Nature. something that The higher needs to be released from its torture. fest itself. How torture ? then is Nature to be liberated in its from this Nature. sink out of their selfishness. give up unruliness. not. however. by God. and calmed by freedom. become as those who have no power of their own. a joyous and appalling surprise.THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES. so to speak. the Spirit. the first contact of Spirit and Nature. wholly surrender themselves to it. terror. God is Holiness and Love. and a tremor. it may maniNature. there must be something that needs love and grace.
describe it as the Dark Principle in God. the mild nourishing power is Love and Gentleness. 71 becomes altogether terrified. : full of very life profound practical applications. is enjoyed in freedom. by the Lightning. consuming power the Light. the rigid. many passages. and consuming Fire. of a heavenly which is bright and gentle. symbol for the Nature-Will. and fundamentally different from the dark. we notice a doctrine is that pervades Bohme's writings. or. which so often recurs in theosophy Per ignem maxim.Will. . and again perishes in anguish. speaks. dry. and especially for the Christian Life (" We must through of tribulation enter into the Kingdom God "). must be born twice.THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES. and may. but also as For there is. Here. when we view it as a unit. Bohme. ad lucent . Fire in the the Fire-Principle. strong. as the fourth : Natural Property. as at inbeaming the collision of flint and steel. for the first time. since the Lightning. has for its theosophic-symbolical a thought designation a Cross per crucem ad lucent that has such significance for created Nature. Fire is Bohme's . and viz. however. in order that Nature may traverse the path to the light and to freedom through that every the Hence the old lightning. in Fire. the Spirit. already. as the kindled fire. much Bohme constantly insists that every life is born in fear. but it is latent of the Light. and is transformed into a light which is absolutely white and mildly beaming. have defined the first ternary as the dark We ternary. it is first kindled by the Darkness. .
Expansion. all now bright ternary begins with the Natural Property. Life has now gained shape. need to be quenched and subdued by the cooling streams of heavenly gentleness and love. Natural Properties that we find in the dark ternary (Contraction. under whose peaceable dominion the powers are now collected hostility has .72 THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES. They gain a liking for each other. we must here recal that even upon earth there occurs a birth of Water and Spirit. and moulds the severe and sharp element in nature. And as Bohme's metaphysic is pervaded by practical applications. which release us from the torture of the for this principle or property. and vanished. the one power rejoices over the other. refractory. and formless have figured. and rejoice with each other over the violent transition that has taken and Water and place. the clear Water-Spirit. XXI. the wild emotions that spring from the dark fireroot in our nature. definite limits is . fire. With the conquest and clarification of the dark. the good and bright ternary." Spirit. Here the powers are confifth centrated into the unity of Wisdom. The Property Bohme also designates as the gentle Love. anti-Divine Principle or Property. . " because the dear child is now born. as Bohme expresses it. begins the posiThe same three tive. vanished. or. goal. Rotation) repeat themselves in the bright ternary. but are now transThe savage. This Natural Gentleness. Water and Light are designations which subdues. ripens. and that the fire of concupiscence and of the passions.
of tones it here a great concord of intelliand the audible has in . x. e. and hears within pleasant and sweet tones. and which He desired to behold . There is gible sounds. the peculiarity of their The seventh Natural Property is dwelling-place. upon earth. life. correspondence with light. 73 The sixth Natural Property is intelligible Sound..figures. as when the soul inwardly sports in itself. No human ear can but outwardly hears nothing. the end of the world. All the foregoing powers and are here gathered into a harmonious whole. 18) festation. energies This seventh and the Essential. The Wisdom. distinct separation they become of the manifestation When the Psalmist (xix. and corporeity. 4) says " Their line of the Glory of God in created nature . are called song and sound. which are very coarse. The this But angels alone can perceive anything of this. their perception or hearing is determined by the character of their world. Natural Property Bohme calls Wisdom shaped into reality. perceive the heavenly tones that sound and play before God in His Life of inward Manifestation. The powers that are concentrated in the fifth natural property are now led forth into intelligible and audible. Bohme already discovers something analogous to this in Eternity. the Image which God beheld from the beginning in the Mirror. the concluding one. the visible But in sound-figures and comparison with what are ." and when and their words to Apostle the gives this a higher application. in the Divine life of inward mani- (Rom. in His last eternal Imagination. the heavenly tones are excalled tones tremely subtile. : is gone out through all the earth.THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES.g.
the last of Kingdom {Malkuth). But the otherwise." XXII. the Uncreated Heaven. And in eternity one thing does not stand outside another. because. because there is here a constant reciprocity and mutual influence. circular no temporal succession. Bohme also designates this as God's Corporeity (His aspect of reality. we could not comprehend it. be needful to keep mind Bohme's frequently reiterated declara- tion. movement . His encircling Abode the Heavenly Salnitter. real state of the case is is different. In eternity there but everything is in nothing is first. The Uncreated Heaven possesses unspeakable beauty. compelled to place one thing after another. that this process takes place not in time. which periphery). but the one thing is in the other. . nothing last in point of time. the God. of which scribe this God seven Natural Properties. is now realized. but everything is simultaneous.74 THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES. but It is only our feeble mind which is in eternity. as in our relation of material space. Even if to lead anything of it into our heart. " To deasserts in is the have neither pen nor tongue. IN order not to in misunderstand it this will doctrine of the Seven Natural Properties. the House of the Holy Trinity. yet the whole man is too cold and dark for us to be able to utter of it even so much as it I Maiden (Wisdom) happen a vestige {scintilla). in actuality. the Kingdom. and each individual natural property presupposes all the others. in regard to which Bohme agrees with the Kabbala.
. we should behold nothing but the seventh natural property. we have Contraction.THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES. in which are found natural intelligibility. the Kingdom. sound and elements A world. here only the seventh natural property wholeness. If we were permitted to gaze in harmony. "Aurora. as would not otherwise have been expected. discover even discords. 40). analyse the individual momenta in this movement each by itself. are. is a derivatum of the uncreated. on the other hand. or fundamental forces. whether uncreated or created. and yet is 75 different from it (v. immediately upon these regions. and then we and discern a variety of deeper. would certainly . more gentle tones. stronger. that if we wish to understand this harmony. for the or purposes of contemplation. is The reality. which are most admirably fused into ineffable harmony. indeed. or of darker and lighter colours. just as we pay attention to the individual tones and transitions in a musical composition or a painting . higher. Expansion. Created nature. severance. tones with figures and colours the of a natural world. All the rest lies in concealment." x. according to Bohme. the complete.. seven Natural Properties. Bohme It is this analysis. The Natural Properties. and ultimately consists (however numerous may be the intermediate links) of these uncreated principles. But it must be noted. in contrast to the abstract momenta. and separation. this separation of momenta has attempted in his doctrine of the which Thus. or the Glory of God. Rotation we have the Lightning and the Light we have . the same as those which we know in created nature. the Uncreated Heaven. we must. and.
tlie dark point. and could not perceive Thought " " if He had no sensorium (as also Newton has .76 CENTRUM NATURE. all-feeling. as Bohme expresses were only an all -knowing. but also the point which peculiarly rivets attention. . emphatically urged)." natural c. finally. reader will The doubtless have discovered that the most difficult point. nor a mathematical mid-point. but In order to (following Baader) the first. a pattern of the Glory of the Creation it when is we have. living." comprehend this phrase. all-hearing. : the XXIIL The Self-manifestation is triumphant Trinity here described. the riches of the Glory of God. what brought to perfection. seeing. We of the actual. 3). however. have hitherto been debarred from expressing. all-smell- ing God " (v. and effected through the process must not. . what Bohme calls centrum naturae. which may be called. or if God. all-tasting. " is what we have called negative ternary. it We because Living Word belongs to the Trinitarian process of God as the Word of Power. but not also an allit. that " " Bohme means not simply the midby centrum in a circle. not a point mathematical circle. " be unthinkable if God were only the thin " spiritus if He which Deism imagines were only pure if He had no fancy. we have as the this world its consummation Uncreated Heaven. leave the Nature-process before dwelling on one single point of it. Aurora. In in the next place. it must be observed. in more senses than one. . but also the whole circle.
to on the score of his doctrine of faith and whom. works. and which cannot lead it farther than anguish. contrast of the Nature-centre is the Light-centre. domiThe nating and penetrating the whole region. Luther assigned a very low place. and the primal sources of first life. which is designated now as an apprehensive darkness. and whom Schelling mentions as one who was highly privileged to gaze into the beginning of Nature." "Wheel the Wheel "Wheel of of Anguish. however. themselves in the creation. is in the deepest concealment. only the dark region has come into manifestation. as of which. in which subordination it finds rest. that original variance and conflict between opposing forces with which life begins. a tension." Nature." bright region. but a " circle n is the mid-point of which everywhere. while the other remains The two But in centra repeat one half of we dark centrum and the shall see in the sequel. This it " centrum naturae the " Bohme of also calls the " Life. by reason of sin. There are in God two centra. the first Centrum naturae thing in nature. the creation. or gyration of the forces. in Bohme." active at all points. cujus centrum ubique. but smoulders in the depths.CENTRUM NATURAE. . or two regions. " " is thus. " or Life-centre. and which only the Lightning is able to bring out of this restlessness into subordination to the Light which shines into the higher principle." By this he means what that apostle. vibration. now as a fire which is not yet kindled. and the bright centrum has retired into concealment. but whom Oetinger regards as the most profound of all the apostles. only one. the manifested.
" the beginning natural and creaturely Birth and restlessly circling movement. {jpoyos ttJs yev<rea)<s." the "Wheel the first magical life-circle. what the Apostle James calls the " iii. The " Wheel of Birth. which never dares to catch and to burst into fierce flames (whereby the whole of life would be brought into confusion). or the Mother and Nurse of Life. Dark Fire-root. is the " Wheel of coming into existence. this dark presents itself in its appointed forms and shapes. which. which the womb " life working itself into shape. does not occur simply in God as a foundation for . subordination to the higher principle. because In Bohme. designates metaphor metaphor by another symbol . i. It is only by means of this subordination that the Dark Fireis in root itself can be calmed and maintained in that order which accords with the harmony of the whole. child. therefore. James "Wheel of Birth" does not mean simply of life Birth " Wheel of The 6). womb of The " Wheel of Birth.e." which never stands still. which is the revolving and of the forces of life in general. but as the fire destined to remain in latency. it image succeeds image. under another figure. What is called the "Wheel of Birth" may be described. and basis of the life that is It is " Becoming is . whose function is simply ministerial.78 CENTRUM NATURE. and he. as the Hearth of But the Life. t the Life. so justly comparable to a circling wheel. is far nobler than the mother. (ignis ubique latet). in concealment. and which is liable to be brought into disorder by sin. which is of the all first of Becoming. is fire a secretly-burning wheel." in a stricter sense. arising from fire.
when he spoke of an unwearied incessantly-coursing Fire (aAca/xarov the quenching of which the universe rrvp). this cloud as quivering with flame. In made one with the whirling Fire. becomes increasingly a consuming and devouring fire. it is also present in the whole created universe. indeed. in harmony with the character of this creature.CENTRUM NATURE. it grows fiercer. indeed. Ave have Wheel of Birth. But this " Wheel of Birth in the whole creation was viewed far more clearly. folding We this must think of if circling and whirling about itself. one and the same Fire and Desire are. and he beheld a thick cloud. Ezekiel gives us the ideas. only we must remember that Holy Scripture shows us the Glory of God in that aspect of it which is turned towards The prophet first saw or heard a the Creation. and a fire initself. yg the eternal Nature-process . are taught thing. by " was produced. and in a great and holy connection. and. says Oetinger. We by experience that in proportion as fire gains un- restricted power and scope. at bottom. and finally. passages first which are so vitally important in Theosophy. in the world of souls and spirits is Desire. in every single creature. which runs and whirls in itself. whirlwind out of the north (which may suggest to us the Almighty Will of God as the impelling power). may become unquenchable. and as the " Fire. when he was permitted to behold the Glory of God in the vision which is recorded in the and tenth chapters of his book." It must also be observed . Heraclitus was aware of this Wheel in the universe. In Nature it it is Fire . Among the ancient heathen sages. by the prophet Ezekiel.
a glowing and radiant appearance. was as the noise of great waters. so that each wheel . and these princes itself . ox. " " and the the this " midst transition of the fire into the light. which are emblematic of the circularity of movement in the Divine cosmical order. of Birth. emblems of all that is strong and eagle. x. and who have. were stretched upward with the other two they veil full . each of them has four The prophet observes that faces. without turning." proceed the actual forms of life. as a sign that these wheels. self. Out of of this whirling and self-circling Fire. themselves. are intended to serve the The cherubim go living." this " centrum naturae. 1 2). and man." Fire had a "brightness about and there was brass (amber ?) brightness that the prophet beheld round about the whirling fire is the splendour of light into which the to be transfigured. the living creatures or Wheel cherubim. direct towards the four corners of the earth.80 CENTRUM NATURE. those of a lion. omniscient. of eyes Two of their wings (Ezek.infolding that the it. who represent the creation and the powers of the creation. his vision could. and the burning brass out of the midst of the fire betokens the lightning. round about between the wheels. and wise God. the wheels there was another wheel equally large. fire is the appearance as of burning The out of the midst of the fire. " their The noise of their creaturely nothingness. and could always go forward and their felloes were full of eyes. and For in each of inspires a holy awe. and he beholds " their wings royal in creation . He beholds the marvellous four wheels that move by the side of the cherubim. as the wings Voice of the Almighty.
simply the Vehicle Far above all this. which turns 6 . : and Light. life. a Firmament." or the "centrum Modern naturae. we find Bohme's fundamental categories Darkness. and above the Firmament a Throne. with a brightness round about Him. fire. and into a quite We simply wish to emphasize the fact that here. or to perform the judgments of the the sinful world with great outbursts of the terrible power of God. more minute description and far. the prophet beholds {Merkabali). once more. like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain. from the intellectual and spiritual standpoint. What Fire the inward. In Ezekiel. from the centrum naturae. as the gentle brightness. is vision in question. Desire is in Thus. whether it be to stretch out the make alive. is in the outward region. Nevertheless. on the contrary. all afflict Lord. and the brightness moreover.CENTRUM NATURAE. the last of these which encircles the whirling of the rainbow. and. the Fire proceeds out of the Darkness. hands which they have under and take coals out of the fire. of life 81 their wings." is the restlessness of Desire." in order to execute the Lord's Will. speaks of a blind desire. the "Wheel of Birth. upon the Throne. We have only imperfectly recalled the is the basis for the highest. coals from " the Hearth of Life. the Lord in the appearance of a man. assign- ing instinct as the deepest root in natural restricting desire to self-conscious life. thinkers disagree with Bohme on this point. and the Light out of the Fire. A exposition would lead us too different line of meditation. Fire. and Bohme. and to that has been mentioned thus far but the substratum.
and light descend into it and then it becomes the . immediately to forsake him " the pursue a totally different path. calls for life. of Egoism the self-imparting power of love would lead only to a vague absorption in. be quieted and subdued when freedom. or struggle ask what is it For if we that this blind craving. helpful basis for For love cannot life and exist for the activities of love. but in a selfish manner.82 CENTRUM NATURE. in man can convince himself in he lives in his own egoism. both inwards and outwards. and is in continual resta thought which reminds us of what lessness. of that in us selves from everything whereby we separate ourelse. Without the austere and sharp the illimitable. and to only. of in Self-ness. . however. and fusion with. In none of these movements can it it find satisfaction. to spread itself in the manifoldness of life. the only reply that it really seeks it desires in its itself. without a powerful egoism which surrenders itself to it. gathers itself into and exclude itself. but is in perpetual restlessness a fact of which every proportion as from a Higher One. wisdom. as it were. which does not desire this or that. restlessness. ourselves Egoism as mid-point. centre ourselves." tendency towards. who at many points agrees with Bohme. desires to be and filled desires life (" vitam "). This restlessness and torture can only forget himself. separated whom he may. but is the mother and the nurse of satiated all desire. all establish else. and denies and sacrifices Without the astringent and contractile force itself. love. Desire is the foundation vehementer cupio of Egoism. but is soon impelled to go forth again from itself. is. . Schopenhauer.
can set on fire the introduce disorder into the natural foundation and life. kindled " Wheel of Birth. Desire and Fire that Bohme is thinking of when he traces in the " centrum naturae. he admonishes that the apostle is thinking of when us. because an impure tongue. this restlessness of Desire and Egoism is only like the pendulum of a clock. or like the beating of our pulse. hungering and thirsting. and passionate element. sharp. the gentleness of love would and effeminate sentimentalism. with keen. . over- It is whelmed. In the normal condition." by hell.CENTRUM NATURE. here referred to. and indeed. in the sense perceptible. can also set on fire the whole body. and throw it into confusion. wholesome and sound only when the restin its lessness of Egoism." not only the Foundation of Life. because the fire then makes itself plainly It is this Desire and Fire. which is not noticed unless we expressly direct our attention towards it whereas we are compelled to notice it in fever. to in check. element Life is 83 degenerate into vapid Egoism. its . penetrate the root of intellectual and spiritual constitution. and dominated by blind passions. as when we entire picture to ourselves a man who is disturbed. in a series of practical precepts. we might add. to keep our tongue guard ourselves against sins of the tongue. can produce a pernicious inflammation in the orbit of these blind forces. and which it helps to nurture. which may then spread itself into the whole life of the soul. but also the Foundation of Hell. is subordinated to higher forces and powers by which it is permanently quieted. vehement.
but which has. and simply remains at bottom as a tendency. of the origin of evil here confronts us in the bility This is the theogonistic process. and it creature . life in which all all Heb. everything must have its origin in God. which. issued forth from Unity. necessary in order to the manifestation of Light In God. (CW V the forces are bound together by an and indestructible bond. or with any these ideas must be rejected as and monstrous. that blind nature-will. in which every mediation of the forces. this dark will is continually vanquished and outshone by the Light. form the The possifoundation of Hell. be broken. and vii. which eternity. as well as of Life. a/caraXvro?. DESIRE and Fire. at every transition. on the other hand. in one form or impious another. so melancholy. nevertheless. life is a succeed. midst of the nor can other be congenital with man. according to Bohme. Here. the forces may fall into . incorruptible can never. " and it remains eternally true that " all is God's " " Here now is displayed a centrum naturae in God. that contrarium in God. which is conwillingly allows itself to tinually vanquished and be vanquished for the Life of God is an endless . 1 uninterrupted 6). made Bohme problem Evil cannot exist in God as evil. in which all disorder is unthinkable. with conflict and tension of the forces. XXIV. which cannot lead beyond an unappeased restlessness and anguish. And yet. at an earlier period.84 CENTRUM NATURE. must necessarily In creation. ! is and Love. to disintegrate life.
Moreover. it out of its and to ascend. viz. there the greedy rise egoism abyss. instead of sacrificing its abstract inde- pendence. is For the unfallen the creation. this dangerous moment moment of choice and creation. there a " " to spring up and to come forth. such a temptation. resisting the light. more and more. which. the principle of Life. is now arrested and pushed back. therefore. to illimitable. and should be the servant the ruler. for now it can nowhere find foundation or solid footing. is minded. in " addition to kindling. compelled. and inevitably sinks into itself. sets itself up as Lord. instead of in God. and desirous of centering in itself. is .. the danger of allowing itself a false and negative combination of the forces. there occurs a The pause and a stoppage in the process of Life.CENTRUM NATURAE. in a false desire. in order to outstretch its dark huge wings over the becomes inflamed . that it only becomes darker and darker. that can only take place in 85 a an intelligent creation. and places itself in opposition to the Light. the result of itself together which is." occurs a false For when the obscuration. makes that which makes what ought to be subordinate supreme. as into an abyss. and of suffering that which ought to be repressed Accordingly. and thus a process of obscuration takes place for the creation. for a rupture of their bond is possible rupture. indeed. and constituting itself a servant of God and of the Light. which ought to stream freely into the lower created life. seeks to centralize itself in itself. is for the periculum vitae intelligent creation. now and again. When. disorder. to gather in itself. higher Divine principle.
" According to the legend. in separation from the light. This is what Franz Baader calls " the Wheel of Ixion. instead of the anxious restlessness forming a simple point of transition to the birth of the higher life. and the free shining of which is prevented by unrighteousness." now becomes chronic. and moves in a Then the whirl of sparks and devouring flames.86 CENTRUM NATURE. without attaining actual birth or actual death. becomes actual in an intelligent and happens to work in false independence. The Devil and Hell. where he was bound to an eternally revolving wheel. was hurled by the lightning of Zeus into Tartarus. the " moanguish. of remaining in obedient concealment. that the man who would follow him must creation. consequently. and the Light from above. The the most literal Wheel of Birth " now becomes. flashes amidst this turba with judicial and punitive occurred the process of Life). and collision of the forces being soothed and tranquillized by the Light. and more fiery lightning. We now understand what latency. a perennial birthpang and a perennial death-pang. which has been forced back. " " Wheel of Birth is set on fire. tension. which paused. the restlessness becomes a permanent condition. which was intended to be simply a mentum. in " Wheel of Anguish. a wheel. make their appearance when the negative ternary. a " stead of the anguish. for his arrogance and presumption." Insense. consequence of the pause and confusion that has in (in it becomes more and fiercely-flaming. when Orpheus appeared in the lower world. Ixion was a king who. Bohme means when he repeats so often in his writings. and potentiality. instead . however.
as to to his The same thing happened to God be praised not in the same Lucifer (this difference we shall ! able Adam succour. thou art a Bohme very frequently dark valley!" etc. includes precisely the same momenta as moreover. his light was quenched. so that the fire may not be kindled. Hell He sought to rise keeping it eternally closed. etc. the devil waits for you O pride. and he became a spirit of darkness. above God. when he fell from God. is still because for grace there and O is " this ye children of men. not as flaming. and. and " explain children until later). O worldly security and confidence.CENTRUM NATURAE. therefore.. and let the within you ! Spirit be Lord. manner not be although. that what has been described above again became actual in Lucifer. Triangle." This dangerous Triangle . often. thou art the fire of Hell O and revenge. the 87 For we must pass and I myself through Kingdom should sometimes have fainted unless God and the He tells us gracious Wisdom had kept by me. a horrible firespirit. a into spirit of stinking sulphur. We the " Wheel of Birth.. " designates this "centrum naturae as the Fire-pregnant ! ! ! ! are to conceive of this Triangle as The Triangle. etc." says Bohme so earnest and serious Hell is quite ! near. and that he that the matter is serious. indeed." instead of of will assuredly discover " . Lucifer opened his " centrum naturae. quite dimly burning. it ! is the new Birth Repent and seek Live circumspectly." and again. thou art the terrible wrath self-reliance of God O power and longing after worldly honour. Adam. be well equipped. Hell hath made thee blind O beauty. and was cast out exile.
and may not come to light. and that the fire break not out. so also in every true Christian. in every man. Nature of God but in God it is outshone and covered up by the Light. and humility of We shall be in complete harmony the Holy Ghost. and acquires self-conscious volition.. eternally But it It exists in every creature. the Worm emerges from its fettered and concealed condition. its restlessness furnishes the contrast. by the vanquishing is the restlessness of Desire. how. as long as it ministers to the Life. The Omnis vita a verme. if we give a deeper meaning to the with Bohme " Watch refrain of one of our old watchmen's songs " Light and Fire " Another designation for the " centrum naturae is the Life-Worm. . which. should be our aim to let the Spirit be Lord.e. z. the wisdom. on the contrary. as the Worm is and ruling of which Life acquires true repose and harmony internal.CENTRUM NATURAE. so that the Triangle may be kept in concealment.. would and introduce disease. by every indulgence of it. exists in the eternal . which Ezekiel beheld jectively. the Triangle is to be quenched by the Light. it the self-infolding Fire his vision. gentleness. God. We have daily evidence of the manner in which a desire can grow. it becomes terrible." Viewed objectively. in : ! As Worm is the same as the " Wheel of Birth. it becomes stronger and more powerful. Viewed sub- As long held in subjection by the power of the Light. But if. in viz. disturb the unity of if it life. more full of craving ing tendency. by the Love of Christ. it is the Fire. just as health and the feeling of health depend upon the suppression of an oppos- had free scope.
say of a man, that this or which we mean a tendency Worm, by or inclination within him, in which his Ego is specially conspicuous, and in which he specially
seeks satiety for his self-love. In proportion as the which at the outset is impersonal, becomes Worm, a personal entity, the more it reaches the point at
must be
said, that
personality Worm that
lord over
lord of
much the Worm, as the individual. And when
not so
the the
attains absolute
of Hell,
becomes also be
termed, the burning and gnawing Worm of Hell, " of which Scripture says that it " dieth not." Their Worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched."
But furthermore,
we have been
to these considerations (to which necessarily led in the midst of the state-
ment of the concept of God and of the doctrine of the
where it is not usual to discuss the doctrine of must be added that Bohme specifies the " cen-
trum naturae" as not only the foundation of Hell, but also as the foundation of the Wrath of God. By
generally understood the Divine
displeasure against Although Bohme also prehe nevertheless directs special attensupposes this,
tion to the physical aspect of the
the power of the
Wrath of God, to Wrath of God, the contents of the which, when they are unloosed, become de-
As the eternal nature in the first ternary the contrarium of God, is the anti-Divine principle, so this nature, as a principle of power (for nature
does not cease to be powerful because
of craving and hunger),
the principle, the cha-
racter of
and rigour
provides the
to the
and it thus Love of God,
His essential definition as God. God, as pure Light, absolute Goodness and Benevolence but viewed in relation to His power in the " In centrum naturae," He is a Consuming Fire. God Himself, in His life of inward self-manifestation,
wrath as such never appears. Sternness and severity lie in complete concealment within the harmony of the whole. But, when God comes into relation with the created and sinful world, a severance takes place, and God manifests Himself in duality, both according to His Love and according to His Wrath. And here we may recal the words of the apostle " The Wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." The apostle
here alluding to the power of the
Wrath of God,
and we cannot but
are sent forth to spread destruction and ruin, as a punishment for the sins of men. may think of
the cherubim in Ezekiel, chap, x., who move between the wheels, and take a coal out of the fire, which is
to be cast over Jerusalem, as a righteous judgment upon it. may also recal the words of Scripture, " we by nature are the children of wrath," that
words which signify not only that the Divine displeasure rests upon us, or even that the Divine chastisement must ever go forth against us, but also that within ourselves there is the power of wrath and rigour, viz., our wild desires and fiery dispositions, whereby we belong to the Kingdom of Wrath. In a little unfinished work of Bohme's, which is called
Theosophical Questions, or 177 Questions on Divine Revelation," of which, however, Bohme had only answered fifteen before he was removed by" Had the Foundation death, occurs the following of Hell a beginning in time, or did it exist from
endure eternally or not ? And the answer is, The Foundation has been from eternity, but not in manifestation, for the wrath of God has existed from eternity, although not as wrath, but it has existed, just as fire is latent in a tree or stone, until it is aroused." The rousing,
the kindling, or the opening of the Dragon's mouth took place at the Fall of Lucifer, as in a creature in
self-will or
away from
secondary cause has from an eternal foundation, and has an eternal sprung will, it can by no means pass away. Oetinger, who " in his work on the Princess Antonia's Doctrinal Picture (Lehrtafel)," has attempted a solution of the whole 177 Questions, diverges from Bohme in his
But because
eschatological question (whether Hell can ever pass away ?) we shall return to it in the sequel.*
* Antonia was a princess in Wurtemberg (+ 1679), who caused a large picture, representing the Kabbalistic doctrine in episodes, symbols, and metaphors, to be painted and hung in the church at the Baths of Deinach and Wildbad. The The painting has two divisions, a House and a Garden. House represents the Old Testament dispensation the Garden the New Testament dispensation, with Christ as its central The princess had this picture set up in the church, in figure. order that it might induce visitors to the baths to seek health for their inward man at the heavenly fountains. Oetinger (+ 1782) gave an interpretation of this picture, remarking, however, at the same time, that there is a certain
As we
now God
is light,
the dark point,"
not omit to repeat what
again, that
reiterates again
no darkness.
But now, thou mayest
there in
also a
contrary Will or opposition
Spirits of
or between the
here their earnest birth, how earnestly and severely the Spirits of God are generated, whereby every one
very well understand the great earnest severity yet it does not therefore follow that there
a disunion or discord
among them.
and one spirit always mitigates and loves the other, and so there is nothing but mere joy and But their delight. severe Birth or Geniture, which is effected or done " " in secret, must be so Aurora," ch. x.). (
the spirits
incongruity in the idea of representing these things in a painting. A painting is still ; but the Divine things are full of life and movement, are in a perpetual process, in a "perpetuo fieri." A far better symbol of the sources and powers of life is to be found in the natural springs themselves, in their
multiplicity and variety, salt-springs and sulphursprings, sour, bitter, and sweet (James iii. u), which suggest the contrasts in the eternal Nature in God, and indeed, as Oetinger says, actually include somewhat of that eternal nature, on which account it is that they effect such marvellous He whose health is distempered results upon our bodies. will discover here that which will restore him to "tempera" he who suffers from too much acid will ture find a species he who suffers from an of earth which absorbs the acid internal stoppage will find the solvent forces, etc.
The Princess Antonia was celebrated for her learning. She read Hebrew fluently, and was deeply versed in the Kabbala.
And now
For the whole natural process, which Trinity. has been indicated, forms the medium for the maniin
festation of the Trinity. began with the Abyss, which a Will arose. This Will sought and found a mirror (the Eternal Idea), in which it beheld
itself as
infinite nXrfpwfJLa.
a possibility of becoming three-fold in an But there were, as yet, no real
The whole
a Magia, as a mere
lay order
was life, reality, and actual development, there " is need of a " contrarium," and this " contrarium The eternal Will, united with the eternal Nature.
the idea, posits out of
the eternal Nature, and
thereby gains
in so far as the
and attributes. one eternal Will enthrones itself over the fire and the might-principle
actuality, definition,
(the primary' qualities), God exists as the Father. In so far as the one eternal Will constitutes itself as
Bearer of the Light-principle, which into its unity the plenitude of power that gathers proceeds from the Father, God exists as the Son.
Lord and
Without the Son, the Father would be only a dark But the Father, in His infinite yearning for valley. manifestation and love, begets the Son through the
Fire (through the fourth natural property), through the Lightning, begets Him as the Word of Power, In so far as the Father is contemplated without the
Son, His character
is severity. The Son is gentleness, the Father's Heart, Love, Light, and Beneficence.
unlocks a second
Principium," and is, as it For it is were, the Janitor in the Holy Trinity. when the Son unlocks the second " Principium "
becomes a flowing current, and enabled to stand in the fire of pure everything He reconciles the austere and and heavenly Love.
Him loving and comHis union with the Son only passionate. that the Father is Love and Compassion for in " there is nothing but pure joy, the Son's " centrum But from the Father and the love, and delight.
angry Father, and
It is
Son proceeds the
Spirit, for, when the light of God in the Father, so, in the kindling of the light
in love, odorous,
property, there goes forth a Spirit, rich and of pleasant taste. The Spirit
the eternal Will, in so far as this sets itself as
Lord over the principles of Fire and Light in their union, and develops, shapes, and fashions the manifoldness which is contained in the Son, confirms and ratifies the eternal Birth of the Trinity. The
Modeller), thus
one single inseparable Being, but is threevariety of Person, one God, one Will, one one Desire, one Joy, one Beauty, one Lord, Heart, one Omnipotence, one Plenitude of all things, without beginning, without end (" Three Principles,"
fold in
consequently implies, that the one eternal Will, which arose in the Abyss, unfolds itself into absolute personality, by means of the eternal Nature.
There cleaves to the unity. only one absolute Personality.
only one God,
absolute Personality, there are three Will-centres, three centres of manifestation, three springs of
movement, by which
Bdhme means what church
doctrine calls Persons or Hypostases. Until we have reached the idea of the eternal Nature, we cannot
" centra." These are speak of Three Persons or beheld in the mirror as possibilities. simply They can gain manifestation, as " centra," only in the
eternal Nature, which implies varieties, and the discharge of its own characteristic function or office
by each of the three Persons. But to God as the one central Being
centres of manifestation, there corresponds an infinite Periphery, which is a fourth composite part of the Bohme teaches that there is in God not Trinity.
simply a Ternary, but also a Quaternary. By " we are now thinking of the Trinity, Ternary not of the other " ternaries " that have been dis-
cussed in the nature-process. But a fourth element to the Trinity, not a fourth Person, but an belongs
impersonal thing, which is different from God and yet inseparable from Him, viz., the eternal product which is developed through the process, and
which we have already spoken of as the seventh Natural Property, the Glory of God, the Uncreated Heaven, which Bohme sometimes also designates
Maiden that generates nothing, merely reflects, or beams back the Triune God, In image and His whole developed riches. " " still the Maiden stood before God, mystery
actuality, the
but His
displayed to Him all His hidden wonders now she shines forth in manifestation. The Maiden,
and and
the of the Power of God is visibly in the diffused extension symbolized. Bohme . these Three Glory of God. Son.. spirits the seven lamps of Fire burning eternally before the Throne. and under various . Glory from uncreated. the seven Spirits of God. Son. He is for the lights.96 THE UNCREATED HEAVEN. and only after this can we to speak of the Created World. notwithstanding the fact that. the Glory. and. not stars or created every good gift and not created light. and defraud God of His Heaven. Whereas theology God. so to speak. counts Father. God's own Heaven . the Uncreated Heaven. starry sky. i. not called the Creator of Glory. of i. and reveals to penetrate and of the riches of multiplicity God energizes in the Created powers that Himself both according to His wrath and according His love. deal so loosely and superficially with the conception of the Glory of God (8da). In a certain degree. everything points to this. the created world. Father. says. converges upon it. is is called the Lord of " Glory 7). the seven is every perfect gift. Wisdom. to and the Holy Three in and then proceeds at once is Created World. it is Uncreated Light. World with the powers of His Glory. it eternal fundamental illuminate the infinite the Glory of God. He is called the Father is whom cometh This Light . because they pass immediately and at once from the Triune God to the Creation and the Created World. Bohme (and begin still more his disciple Oetinger) sharply rebukes the Uncreated theologians.e. and but the fourth the Holy Spirit. Bohme and Oetinger remind us that in the New Testament God (Eph. in the New " Testament. usually by the only Spirit.
between esoteric and external. Bohme does tranquil inwardness. as the it God expresses Himself in the Word of Power (\0y05 irpofyopiKoi). through which the Word and the Spirit resound. so to speak. enriched. mystery and revelation. even the above exposition we must in the life of the Divine inward manifestation. God is the true this is but ' God only as He is the unity of the internal and There is external. and in the magical self-mirroring.THE UNCREATED HEAVEN. But. however.' festation through the eternal nature. of Mystery and Manifestation. and from this externality He again returns. Psalms. converses only with without expressing Himself." a later analogy of what had previously occurred in the Uncreated Heaven. between an internal and an an exoteric. or rather. The external is maniivSiddeTos). the tranquil wisdom. symbols. in Himself. simply ponders within Himself what He can be- God. here an eternal going-forth and an eternal enteringin. where is Word. into the This. where pure introspection. where the will come (\6yos is active. 7 . only in mystic self-contemplation. as Oetinger strongly emphasizes. no one prophet ever beheld the Glory of God exactly like another. God eternally goes forth out of His inwardness to manifest Himself in externality. 97 God revealed His Glory to the prophets. The internal is that primal " " still mystery in which as yet God exists. and the firmament showeth forth His handiwork. and no two saints have precisely the same vision of it. said When of the created world. an . In harmony with draw a distinction. in the " The heavens declare the glory of God.
because it is impossible for Outside nature. an Ineffable Thus far the highly-enlightened layman. the Being of all beings. unless it Bohme be Leben. us to know God outside nature. and Holy Ghost and generated from iv. whose doctrine of God. or find it.. X not explain more fully. 86-88).. feel. THE UNCREATE_D HEAVEN. He ! ends. how far we can formally accept this . Son. because I am in nature . nature in cap. but within nature He the Deity is called Majesty . living. in these concrete differences and varieties. " for whatsoever is without nature Counsel. therefore. either see. we have Let us proceed to now endeavoured to reproduce ! inquire doctrine. ! called Father.98 %. is Wonderful." (" Dreifaches can recognise nothing as nature. Power I could not in eternity could in no wise help me. with an Unutterable.
as the latter presented to us in the Athanasian symbol. the postulate (pre-assumption) of the other two forms of existence or hypostases. and believes He demands One God in Three As it has Persons. with it. must same thing. we perceive an immense however. of these three forms of existence there is the whole God. . unity in trinity. Let the us. first harmony of the two truth doctrines. or of being (Person. been objected that the Persons do not attain complete independence in Bohme's scheme.. But the one absolute Personality sets itself in a three-fold form of existIn each ence. ." one Divine Being. we repeat that Person and Personality are not the . trinity in unity. Hypostasis). CONCEPTION IFset is we compare forth. The Father is not the Father prior to the Son and the Spirit. THE RELATION TO THE ETHICAL OF GOD. the doctrine of the Trinity. emphasize the unity and Bohme presupposes wishes to be in himself to be so. There is only one God. xxvii. of the difference. agreement Church doctrine of the Trinity. one absolute Personality. here with the Church doctrine.CRITICAL RETROSPECT.
a God . as also there doctrine evident from : the are not three incomprehensibles. reduces the Persons to mere is simply that of abstract So long as the question harmony with the Church doctrine.. the latter displays to us the most abstract metaphysic. and the Holy Ghost Lord. etc. then. and one inThe Father is Lord. whatever defects of detail there may be in his evolution of the doctrine. stress must be laid upon the On : fact that Bohrrre nowhere forces or attributes. it is scarcely out any vital contradiction. and what constitutes the chief 'interest it God. nor three one uncreated. but like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord. uncreated. and yet they are not three eternals. etc. is of his conception of from many other speculathe Church it his deviation from doctrine terms. ) when he if states his acceptance of in fresh For we compare Bohme's doctrine of the Trinity with that which is contained in the otherwise so admirable Athanasian symbol. but one Lord. and distinguishes tive expositions.ioo CRITICAL RETROSPECT. possible to point But what is characteristic of Bohme. and For yet not three Lords." the other hand. so are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to say There be three Gods or three Lords. Son Lord. but one eternal. the comprehensible. and the Holy Ghost eternal. the Son eternal. which expressly states " The Father eternal. And is that this is the sense of the Church Athanasian symbol.
a God who eternally pro>duces not only Himself. and to there in . which moves exclusively in purely logical categories. XXVIII. By this relation of his to the human heart and affections. is is the eternal Love. in so far as dogmatics are concerned. And since this God is a Spirit. as cerned. points back. of which there absolutely no hint whatever in the Athanasian symbol. is a Roman is it must be added that Bohme. precisely here in his doctrine of the Trinity. an esoteric-and an exoteric mystery and manifestation. on the contrary. It has been justly said that the Reformation. not- withstanding the free attitude which he adopts towards all narrowness and literalism of creed. at the same God is the God of goodness. an inward and an outward. Bohme. Bohme's doctrine of the Trinity is in coherence with the Reformation.whose independent of the Created World. a God in is a Nature. indeed. have. bequeathed an unfinished task.RELATION TO ETHICAL VIEW OF GOD. Catholic. reveals whom us a living Trinitarian God. and with the Evangelical Church. Bohme shows us that this Spirit is the ethical Spirit. inasmuch as it only developed . there is. Franz Baader. so far as Bohme is confact that his greatest and most exponent. by the Still congenial proved. time. but also His Heaven. affirmed that Theosophy contains a super-confessional We element. to that characteristic form of the religious consciousness which was kindled into activity by the Reformation. in whom there is nothing sympathetic for the heart of man and for his religious and ethical consciousness. that this Triune Life. for 101 mere thought.
must become Love. an indifference which. Victor. Nothing would be more subversive of the faith than in who . from but left uatouched the more distinctively theoIt logical doctrines. in the case of many thinkers. had been previously recognized by such mediaeval thinkers as Richard of St. But this One Saving Love reveals Himself to us in three causalities who effect our salvation the Father. in the course of time. its fundamental principle the anthropologicodogmas.102 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. If the doctrine of the Trinity is to become actually significant to the religious consciousness. accepted the doctrine of the Trinity. Consequently. the Triune God must become the God of goodness. the doctrine itself must assume an ethical character. passed over into avowed hostility.the One Himself is Love. simply as an inheritance transmitted from the past. The pre-assumption is that there is one God who is Saving Love. and is to be brought into union with it. the doctrine of the Trinity began to stand in foreign relations to human consciousness and was treated with ever-increasing indifference.e. and Holy Ghost.these Three in unity. Son. and the : unity in trinity. the religious tenets that deal with sin and grace and man's need of redempsoteriological tion. and the consequence was that there occurred a "hiatus" between the anthropological and the theological. while the theological remained absolutely untouched. The new principle. amid Trinitarian varieties.- to conceive of God as . a fact which.. The problem which Christian faith undertakes is to conceive. i. penetrated and inspired only the anthropological side. Trie Creed appeals to' us to form this concepApostles' tion of God.
such is God in Himself. But if this painful dualism is to be overcome. Mary's see as we 'God in in Christ. which latter Will transcends and prevails over the Will of Love. enjoins us Luther. because He does not extend to them the mighty aid of His grace in of the and shall . and hangs upon the Cross of and to feel absolute confidence that such Calvary. even among the Reformers themselves. revealed 103 masks. " work " De Servo Arbitrio Nevertheless. super-ethical Wisdom into which we may not and dare not intrude we find the same thing in some passages of Luther. was only manifested perhaps in His appalling solitude something whollyother than Love. For who is no friend of speculation. but that in Himself to Himself to us under three Himself He was not Love. in the sense above alluded to. when they discuss the doctrine of Election. in accordance with which God : desires that all men shall come to the knowledge be saved. who God in is in preached (Deus praedicatus). and is higher than an unsearchable. after the apprehension of . it must lead us to strive after the his knowledge of the ethical. truth. And yet. to contemplate Christ. in the Christ who lies as a child bosom. one finds a distinction drawn between the revealed Will and the secret Will of God there is a revealed Will. Nor is it in Calvin alone that accepting salvation. unsearchable Will. Luther speaks of the Hidden Will. again and again to confine ourselves to the God this. we find this dualism between the revealed Will and the secret Will. to suppose that God us as Love. in accordance with which He wills that some men shall be lost. . and a secret.RELATION TO ETHICAL VIEW OF GOD.
the Wisdom and the Power. . and must consequently have his eternal pattern in But this especially applies to the new man. in it Himself. the hegemonic. and the unison of these contrasts in God's own inward life. and who is destined to be ever increasingly developed into likeness with In proportion as we are enabled to indicate God. and to view the logical and physical. God. as ' Love God . While the Apostolic ethical this consciousness which was evoked at the Reformation. must necessarily behold the principle and eternal pattern of this contrast in God Himself a fact which certainly does not imply that it must behold sin in God Himself. . but to an ethical Trinity. between the ethically necessitated and the ethically free. who is regenerated in Christ. symbol already demands conception of God (which does not exclude. Righteousness and Mercy. in God. in Christ. as the Being or Nature* of God. as attributes of Goodness and Love it must conduct us not simply to a logical and physical. the logical and physical). The contrasts. but includes. Man is created in the image of God. But it does imply that one must behold the contrasts of the Divine manifestation which stream into human consciousness. which is regenerated and redeemed and which moves in the contrast between sin and grace.1 04 CRITICA L RETROSPECT. It must behold in the inner Life of God the contrast between -Law and Gospel. and also the unity and harmony of these personality. between Holiness and Grace. this demand is even more firmly defined by the religious . who has nothing higher above Him must lead us to strive after a comprehension of the ethical as the ruling factor.
in 105 God Himself the contrasts of manifestation. .t the doctrine of the Trinity must be developed in this direction. It is true that he does . not seek this by the method of scientific reflection." 1879.the God theologians.us.RELATION TO ETHICAL VIEW OF GOD. which constitute the regenerated personality. This is the problem which forces itself with growing urgency upon all modern theology and upon really deserves the certain limitations. as Dorner " Christliche in his* remarkable treatise: Glaubenslehre. He seeks the Living God. the doctrine of the Trinity gains. in human and is brought more closely home to . the triune which interest. those of which that personality has the most vivid experience. there is no one who has so and profoundly pointed out tha. veil that although some mystery will always cling to it. * God. in whom he believes as his Rock and his Redeemer. immediate.. if it is to fulfil the Among modern clearly principle of the Reformation. . all philosophy of religion that name* And. but always * pre-supposes that this God is . or who has himself offered so weighty a contribution to the solution of the problem. some we cannot lift. but only in an instinctive. and in we in it lives and moves. He is anxious to state a conception of God that may fill that hiatus between the theological and anthropological sides of the dogmatic development which was bequeathed" by he seeks to unite the theological the Reformation and the anthropological.although under Bohme may be regarded as a The Living God. whom pioneer of this endeavour. is none other than the God of the Gospel. and in proportion as succeed in bringing these contrasts and their union into association with the trinitarian. and' simplehearted manner. he seeks to apprehend.
and which merits the closest already attention. as conception of God is God as Love.Christian revelation. he rediscovers . simply nature must be born twice. inasmuch. Bohme himself. careful study of Bohme's statements of the conception of God (of which we have been able to give only a brief outline) one gains a prevailing impression that his God is. knows from his and anxieties God and the power of the wrath of God. wrathful Father. And . in His inmost Beiqg. whom he knows in his The central point in evangelical consciousness. noticed in God. the severity and the compassion of God he finds in God 'the union of these attributes.106 CRITICAL RETROSPECT.in the Life of God Himself the very contrast in which the regenerated human personality moves. And. as man is kindred to God. which we have intention. must be transmuted. the wrath of cation. Bohme speaks of a reconciliation in God the Soh propitiates the severe and his . from the conflicts of his own inward life. the love of God and the might of that love. own experience. " From kindred to man. Close regard must be paid to Bohme's One main contrast. and gives them a Trinitarian appli. There is certainly somewhat here that needs clearing up. must be very specially emphasized.as the Father is the Bearer of the . and that presents itself only in vague fermentation. In the eternal nature in God Bohme sees a But everything that is pattern for created nature. of both. is the contrast between the "Wrath of God and the Love of God. this devout soul. of . principle of severity (the Fire-principle) the Son is the Bearer of the principle of gentleness (the Lightand the Spirit is the Bearer of the union principle) .
he postulates the ethical concepis. and this in very The limitation in Bohme's important particulars. this reference to salvation with which Bohme's speculations are saturated. *We have. will show that they this doctrine truth. serious objections to urge against Bohme's doctrine objections which. and that the fundamental view is correct. that theory . as is so frequently the case with the ' * mediaeval mystics.RELATION TO ETHICAL VIEW OF GOD. is the but "transmuted. Protestant ethical mysticism. simply needing to be restated in a more scientific form. and exhorts men to Work out their salvation with fear and trembling. from the deepest practical inspiration." not to be immediately accepted as it needs to be purified and It is true that there are thinkers of that considerable reputation who are of opinion that the perfect truth is here presented. may But be regarded as the mystical element in him. of his metaphysical elucidations ' of the Being of God. We. forth And. not pantheistic it is mysticism. for he has fled to the Heart of God in order to hide himself from the fury and tempest of the Devil. throughout. We . in the course. if are proved to . the pulse-beat of a believing man. at the same time. he glances aside at the terrible Fall of Lucifer and Adam. however. we 107 recognize. who is anxious about his own salvation His speculation streams and that of his fellow-men.be well grounded. tion of his God gold instead of working it out as his express subject. that is And the consequence of this is detect mixed with slag. cannot but maintain that the fundamental view suffers from indistinctness. This practical momentum.
objection. or Spirituality. Thus in St. that the Spirit. the natural aspect. is only the secondary thing. ethical is Spirit. in point of fact. seeks the ethical. eternal Nature as the instrument of the Spirit. Our : that although Bohme. For self-consciousness.predicate. does not receive its full rights in Bohme Realism. . he is nevertheless so. Vast as of life. and that viewed purely in and for itself. is merely a life. according to our judgment. absolute enamoured of the Personality.. may we are be the wealth comprised in the idea not disposed to agree uncon- ditionally with Bohme and Oetinger. and regards Love as the highest thing in God. John's Gospel it is physical category. at Bohme's weakness peculiarly strong. although certainly a necessary. in his deepest intention and in harmony with the inmost yearning of his heart. only the predicate. still Bohme natural form of life.108 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. Idealism." Briefly. that Theology is to be deduced from the idea of life (" theologia ex idea vitae deducta"). gains undue predominance over the ethical. do not receive their due. Not until after this statement do we : : read: "In this (Word) was the Life.. so He life overlooks the fact that^in relation to the Spirit. " whom he seeks My soul thirsteth after God. after the Living God " is Spirit. and improper Although the Living God independence of it. engrossed with the eternal Nature that this. " " In not said In the beginning was the life?* but the beginning was the Word" which points Xo God as Spirit. . is this the very point where he is his treatment of the in viz. remains unduly predominant. stated briefly and generally. and the independent life of the Spirit.
of goodness and who from all . the God who is not only Might. to be so imagined as that the absolute Ego first gradually evolves itself out of* the TrX^poifxa as out of a chaos. an uncondi- shape be deduced from natural " therein. Him a growing and flourishing but also that in God. The spontaneous consciousness demands this. out of To desire the Living the depths of its own being. God is to desire the ethical God. When Jacobi says to Fichte. but is a higher thing.there is spirituality. the conception of the In the history of modern philosophy Living God. nor will it give religious God the name of the Living God either to a God who becomes in time. but Righteousness and Goodness. in His is Life. The God implies not only that there is a nature Living in God by means of which He can summon into The idea of " existence round about life. spirit. And the history of philosophy shows that the same demands have been made by the men who have maintained. we may allude to Jacobi. however. and takes In any case. the to. spiritual life must not life. the absolute Ego'in the absolute TrXTJpcojAd. whom prayer can be made. who man God denied the personality of for God " : Blessed is the whom ' ! the' Living God is simple assurance By the the highest. posits "and shapes the nh/jpcofjia out of itself. but that the absolute Ego. . To desire the Living own independent God to desire the Personal God. 109 love is diately from tional not capable of being deduced immelife." he means the always old righteousness.RELATION TO ETHICAL VIEW OF GOD. as a memorable witness for the Living God. in this domain. in full independence. which has life in itself. which is not. primary. or to a God who is deaf and dumb.
and whose arm is Hot Thus it must certainly be recognized. consequently. are at present only in the undefined Unity. God possesses Himself only^ as in a and that the varieties God are not actual.ilo CRITICAL RETROSPECT. XXIX. eternity says / to Himself. when Bohme pourtrays the Still Mystery. God. in inward contemplation. and yet not life. " " unio mystica as yet. only a with Himself. but only of three energies or We yet arrived at operations. otherwise. exists only in a vague It is Life. and we could not speak of "an arm which is not shortened. as he says. that possibility. he ranks Spirit above But the Nature. there must also be a nature in God. speak Persons. that. He would lack organs of manifestation. involved and entangled in each other. closely Bohme's definition of the relation between the Eternal Nature will We now consider more and the Eternal Spirit. speak. for." . we have not a Triune God. as Jacobi did hot recognize. and. shortened. RELATION BETWEEN THE ETERNAL NATURE AND THE ETERNAL It must be admitted in SPIRIT.. figure or We schema of life. of three cannot as yet. The varieties and differences are. God does not become the . so to . that if the manifestation of- the Living God is to be complete. and defines it as prior to Nature. and truth herein expressed is again obscured by the fact that this condition is as yet to be viewed as merely potential. God and makes the transition to Nature "subsequent to dependent upon this.
Now. . and although Nature is permitted to from Nature. but meditative and apprehensive in the undarkened clearness of the varieties and separations. superiority and. the more Spirit moves and mechanical . then. a shadow and.ETERNAL NATURE AND ETERNAL SPIRIT Living general in the God until the eternal Nature arises . half-darkened What we lack is. Indeed. but to denote the relation of We Living God. we must still regard the that Spirit without Nature is merely potendoctrine a life and yet no life. selfas the result of an inward force. which is not merely dreamy and imaginative. self-consciousness. is the Life is energy. while we admit borrow that Spirit cannot attain complete life or perfect energy without Nature.figure of tial. . subordination). sion prior not in a temporal sense. is although it is Bohme life our present objection. even prior to Nature (employing the expresGod. God in is absorbed mystic introspection. . the more powerful is this inward indwelling force. Self-movement and self-development with conscious self-determinaand the greater tion must be predicated of Spirit the indwelling power.ent. Half-dreamy. for movement is not life. in from the outset. becomes trinitarian. But the same thing' applies to Spirit. that God is not. self-movem. the more independent and perfect is the life. that Spirit ranks it above Nature. Spirit itself that posits its life as conflicting with the essential character of cannot but maintain that the personal Spirit. process does not begin until the eternal It is only by mesfris of Nature Nature bursts forth. In the Still Mystery that God and the inward self-contemplation. pure and perfect self-consciousness. This. mediation.
however. in perfect independence of His own inward power. and He is also Universal. at root. God for Bohme. and General Being. energizes aught else. consequently. and the very beginning." the Living God. has its own "contraria". wills nothing. God. it must be maintained that God. from without limitation. God cannot be living and actual is. as His posits living that Life depends upon " but the " contrari. the The highest Spirit. harmonious Egoism which is with the holy self- inseparable from is eternal Love. only as Spirit. is. spirits. apart from. its morbid restlessness). nature out of Himself. independent of all else.ii2 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. energizes "from within itself and by itself. According to Bohme. But. and is. the mystic freedom which. We. on Bohme's view. or God in the Still Mystery.' Bohme repeatedly affirms contrast (" primo actu. distinguishing* itself from all else. the greater. or the will of unity. from the standpoint of revealed truth. God first acquires His Egoism by His -conquest of Nature. who medium and instrument. and can only become a definite Will through the agency of Nature. living all is Spirit. nothing but Nature.. and outside of. and more . at the same time Individual Being. Nature. the .um with- " contrarium "). the Spirit of absolute Spirit of God is He who. as absolute Personality. bearing in mind the Christian conception of God. is self-concentrated tainly very different Egoism (which is cerfrom simply natural Egoism viz.independently of out which nature. the Being that in itself is good and true. universal will.. must maintain that the eternal Spirit. purely as Spirit. by Himself and all things. mightier.
life and contrasts nature. the union of Severity and Gentleness in the same God ? We not enter here upon the doctrine of the Divine attributes but we maintain that God. the Universal Will and this contrast between God as Individual Will and as Universal Will (with its corresponding contrast between God as .g. Compassion. first acquires attributes by the agency of nature. the God of Love. between the Glory and the Love of God. and Consolation. between His Independence and Self-exaltation (which may also be defined as God's righteousness towards Himself) and His Goodness. upon the that this ethical God. and the long-suffering God. 113 Being whose volition is all-valid.SV^-consciousness and allconsciousness) finds its harmonious reconciliation in the absolute Spirit. will . independently deny that God. is it not true Being of ethical Being ? contains its own immanent contrasts as..ETERNAL NATURE AND ETERNAL SPIRIT. as Spirit. as Bohme teaches. possesses of. and Self-communication ? Does not Scripture point out to us the contrast in the ethical Being of God between the jealous God. a corresponding might-or nature-side. objection to Bohme's definition of the relation between the eternal nature and the eternal spirit OUR 8 . XXX. e. Self-abnegation. who wills and asserts His own Honour. And if we meditate . in Himself. and We excludes the fact spiritual that each determination in the and ethical Being of God has. and must have. although this denial by no means prior to. the contrast between the ethically necessitated and the ethically free.
He is so apprehended only in the ethical conception which regards Him as absolute For Causa Sui. as it may . or Aseitas (which must Personality. and self-defining. at the outset. Self-production is un- He thinkable otherwise than as Self-consciousness and It is only when God is conSelf-determination. Himself. also be expressed. as the eternal Love. and that there can be no single momentum in His being which is not irradiated and encircled in perfect clearness by this self-consciousness. must insist that God be conceived We as Causa Sui. in point of fact. who has Wisdom and Power . self-conscious. but also that His own object. produces Himself. and that He exists in virtue posits of an internal necessity. every philosophical system demands God be thought of as Causa Sui but. as the We absolute Spirit. but as the pervading element in all the attributes of God). be construed not as a single attribute. . as the one Good. independent Being) apprehended as the absolute or all-perfect Being. as absolute operation and His own absolute But Self-positing. must be self-powerful. confronted Him in antagonism. : thus starts more precisely from this Spirit is that God as represented as first acquiring His power (for a Spirit that lies in obscure self-consciousness has no power of its own) by vanquishing a nature which. have to emphasize the fact that God. or. that title He be conceived under the of Aseitas (Self- otherwise He is not caused. implies not simply the negative truth that God has not His cause in any other than Himself. prior to the nature which He posits out of Himself. that Undoubtedly.H4 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. ceived as the perfect Personality.
which is the fundamental condition for the Absolute. and that. 115 that Sui. own produces Himself as His result. and has power and potency ceaselessly to renew and to restore Himself. efficiens). by are deeply conscious of the difficulties which hinder us from conceiving the Aseitas of God. the elements the Living God in ceaseof tune must be in . of itself. He as as Causa can be livingly appreHis own efficient cause (Causa finalis). but also eternally self-presupposing Ego. nevertheless. and is. as truly as He is movement. The incessantly produces Himself. from which succession. incessantly posits Himself as the absolute Ego in threefold relation. nevertheless. The difficulty of thinking and imagining the Eternal Self-Existent One. we must. and to itself. who has life in Himself. which for posits from within itself all the requisite its means manifestation.ETERNAL NATURE AND ETERNAL SPIRIT as His hended attributes. which is more precisely defined in its threefold relation to itself and to its But however difficult it may be to TTk-qpoifxa. but yet He never said / to Himself for the first time. past and future. imagine what we cannot formulate. We accordingly. as His own final cause (Causa as His own teleological self-movement. depends essentially upon the fact that we have to exclude from this conception the element of time. and what is lost from our gaze in excess of light. He lives in an absolute Present. this self-positing. itself. is excluded. but the result is equally eternal with the self-production. apprehend the Divine Aseitas. but He Himself for the first time. our thought and imagination cannot dispense Self-existent One never produced with a beginning. He and less yet.
He never ceases to begin. at once the Living and the Unchangeable God. never ceases go out of Himself. Self-Powerful. and in this to approach more closely when we ourselves have exchanged time for eternity. must be interpreted in a living sense.Existent. It implies only the identity of His Being.n6 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. The final and insuperable word on this subject is " the word of the Lord to Moses I am that I am : : ! ! say unto the children of Israel / am hath sent me " This word. and which Himself. we are nevertheless under the necessity of conceiving even now (unless everything about shall we hope us is to slip into confusion) the Self. When a creature says I am that I am. released from our present enthralled condition. to In abrogated." the phrase merely expresses the simple identical proposition. and not in a dead one. the And for this very reason most carefully which imperil the conception of the Self-Mightiness and the Selfto guard ourselves against the admission of definitions we ought Production. the : " same and not another. amid all changes. He hereby defines . although they are His perfect and blessed Life-movement. the Self-Producing. but that He Himself the Principle of His Being. eternally Him. never ceases to end. when it is uttered by not meaning is infinitely vaster. Even though there be something here which we cannot grasp. God. that this created individuality remains. and thus. never ceases to return into ment He never ceases harmoniously flowing moveto be in perfect rest and undisturbed tranquillity. shall be more fully able to live and think in the forms of eternity. however. is its But.
when we say that His Being is one with His eternal Self-production. is and self-determination. of these predicates. In producing. eternal unalterable by God Himself. the One who is.. does it mean that He meets with eternal truths. this universal validity. which are totally inapceptible viz. the Fundamental Being. PANTHEISM or as is unable to apprehend Sui. the All-Perfect. the laws. . complete self-consciousness. but in God.ETERNAL NATURE AND ETERNAL SPIRIT. and this not only of necessity. plicable to the creature . the internal essential It means that these laws are not outside God. That God Being existent from all eternity does not mean that He happens upon Himself as the necesNor sary Being. a negative conception. XXXI. His nature. and who is to be. only the as Causa and Selfeternally Self-positing Spinoza. but also with freedom. Consequently. we imply that God or the Absolute is the Absolute For only absolute Personality is susPersonality. 117 Himself as the Absolute. these eternal laws are the internal attributes. as a necessity imposed would imply the upon Him nor these does it mean in subjection that He laws. Causa Sui is essentially It God merely asserts that . as the One who was before all things. Causa Sui and Aseitas. prior to His self-determination. the momenta His Being are and have His absolute Will as their principle that this necessity. inherent in determinations of His Will. ordains that all universally-valid means free. from without (which of God to Fate !) arbitrarily It .
proved by the fact that. outside of God. And. as living and active. that can hold God to be His own cause (causa efficiens et causa finalis). and in Himself eternally realized Goodness and Love. the conception which views God as the eter- nally self-realizing. and existing from the instead of allowing self-consciousness and with very God mighty first. from which God comes forth in an infinite process. not His cause in another. independent of temporal existence. of Spinoza is not His own cause. no spring of selfThat Spinoza cannot production and self-renewal. still clearly influenced here by the pantheistic typus. a blindly necessary substance. but is simply abstract lifeless Being. God never succeeds in actualizing Himself. It recognizes only a blind and passive basis. in which process. conceive Causa Sui is due to the fact that he excludes the idea of teleological cause. or as efficient or teleological cause. high as Bohme stands above all pantheistic conceptions of God (inasmuch as he defines God as Spirit in inward self-contemplation. as in Schelling. the higher teleological Pantheism of Schelling and Hegel (whose God is a becoming God) define God as Causa Sui. as in Hegel. as its own absolute goal. or a logical basis. It is only the ethical conception of God. because there subsists an eternal dualism between the ideal and the real. whether it be an obscure nature-basis. however. must be that which there is God Nor can energizes itself. does not God has The God energize Himself and produce Himself.n8 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. in his Life and process are lacking in Spinoza : no living fountain. . instead of beginning in Himself. For absolute cause. he as is is and prior to the eternal nature itself).
and Nature. although at present quiescent.. we must begin by conceiving of God as the Being who In the true is real and actual from the very outset. If we would conceive of the nothing by doing so. who is Love. wherein nature and spirit repose as yet in complete indifference. an undeveloped an Abyss. panand cosmogonic type. enfolded in this. that we are not called upon to train of thought of this heathen. which requires the aid of Nature. good nor and differences are evil. the God of Christianity. Son. on the contrary. reality. ng by their own instrumenhe begins by defining God as potentiality. this stillness without reality. XXXII. a Chaos. and Father. and where all varieties We are well aware that Bohme does not dormant. dreamy self-consciousness. viz. and that we shall gain theistic. We embark on a . here. that Bohme regards link in the theogonistic process as TrXajpcJixa. Nevertheless. as tality. Bohme demands that we also know begin by thinking and picturing to ourselves this mysterium magnum. God and the because the whole creation is germinally World. and power of its own. And the in connection with this stands another point to which first we cannot assent . hold that this Abyss is to be hypostatized as independent and outside the other momenta and we . that the idea of temporal succession must be excluded. and Spirit are this indifference of Spirit maintain. ethical God.ETERNAL NATURE AND ETERNAL Love to mediate themselves SPIRIT. where there is neither light nor darkness. before it can gain life.
grasp the truth that God (Aseitas) if We is shall find it easier to we assign to Him the self-existent Being a postulate inherent in His very Being. Say unto the children of Israel ' : in its the eternally self-presupremacy over all its possiis 7" am " hath sent me ' ! " " : Kant says thought a Being. a ground out of which He comes forth (cf. But it remains totally inexplicable how a who is God. in which the world springs out of chaos. but " sinks beneath us The intolerable. consists simply in this. actuality infinitude. a predication and a postulate which is hidden " from us in the light of eternity. were ' : I is Me there nothing except that which by My Will has become whence am I? Here everything something. all potentialities. which proceeds to define itself as eternal Freedom and eternal God. as from eternity to eternity outside . Pantheistic thought transfers to God Himself this earthly cosmogonic relation. Whence this Will ? The say with the vague emergence of a Will is not Abyss the first thing nor ought it to be conceived of as : We . can come forth out of Bohme's Abyss. here. however. and yet intolerable. and embraces the conception of while in the World. says to Himself. prior to potentiality." Bohme says that in this Abyss there arises a Will. precisely the same difficulty recurs. But. The first thing dicating Spirit bilities. " Love.120 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. all is in his Critique of Reason " The unavoidable. is God. Schelling's "Treatise on Freedom"). that Kant here makes the ! Highest Being think in the category of finite . the first. potentiality always precedes actuality. that whom we conceive as the Highest among it am possible beings.
He might with equal justice have made the Highest Being think in the category of finite purpose (finite teleology). where all further question of Whence For we have here reached and Whither must cease. we ask such questions as these." says that. we Wherefore is This and all kindred questions will be answered if we are able to point out an absolute Final Cause. Thought is not the final end but Thought. in his Philosophy of Revelation. This is given to us only in the Good. " Schelling. Nature. and is to be. unless God is the absolute Personality. But assuredly we have not reached this. is. sphere The truth. that from which everything has its origin. the Eternal Love. and Design exist because of the existence of the Good. that precisely which makes it possible for us to ask the questions whence and whither. however. if our thought is to find its satisfaction.ETERNAL NATURE AND ETERNAL SPIRIT 121 causality. and unto which everything is. Beauty. or that with : must venture upon the question Thought ? To what purpose is it ? . notwithstanding Kant's undemonstrate'd and indemonstrable assertion of the inapplicability of our categories to the Unconditioned. Order. in accordance with which whatever exists had a prior cause. Life. and to what end ? For. in the of finitude. that we have in God the absolute cause and the absolute goal. which can only be real in a Will they exist because Love is. and ask Himself: " " Wherefore am I. which conditions all other values. that which gives to all else its purpose and its meaning. : . Here there " " can no longer be the question for Cui bono ? we have named the absolutely valid and valuable. the Good. .
God would not be Grounded only when. which are. in which (as Bohme says) there is neither good nor evil. and have established or grounded Myself.contradictory to ask what is the cause of that which is the cause of all else. God can be the SelfSelf-Intelligible. therefore. and who possesses in Himself the is means that are requisite for His manifestation the only Self- the Highest Being asks Himself (according to Kant) "Whence am I?" the "I am from reply (according to Bohme) must be Intelligible Being. In the same way. and also concern- .122 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. must. is described by Plato as the Cause of all Good." But if this were the whole explanation. absolutely-perfect a doctrine which does not prevent. and in the invisible extends to us the truth. in the teleological cycle of eternity. previous to the delineation of the Christian conception. inquiries should be instituted concerning the lower conceptions of God. a series of preliminary and preparatory demands. His own efficient cause. God This " " as the absolute Personality is who. because it higher than the Highest. to reference which all else is. only the rudiments (crrot^eta) of the true. but rather with the that. in addition to being His own He is His own Cause. so to speak. where beginning and end coincide. constantly insist that the delineation of the Christian conception of God does not begin with an obscure depth. : : When the Abyss. His own all final cause. it is self. which in the visible world brings forth light. We but that eternal it begins ethically with Spirit Love. To in ask what lies above is this is a contradiction to ask for that which is terms. as in the Fore-Court of the Gentiles. basis.
for unless the is the holy it : Will of Love will actual fundamentally good. as Love. They thus conceive of God from the outset as in potentid. from whom the actuality. goodness. who is the fountain of absolute When Bohme makes God. he states what is inconceivable .ETERNAL NATURE AND ETERNAL ing the relation between physical elements. It may be noticed. and as irpoap-^T]. consequently. and XXXIII. the Sephirim or Lights. recognize no irpoTrdroip. for Love is the principle of all paternity and maternity and it can. actual God-Father. irdrcop. " the groundless first Abyss which is wedded to the Valentinian system. which also commences with God in indifference. that Bohme's doctrine of the Abyss is closely related to that of the Kabbala. out of which the varieties. from the very outset. is generated. We repeat The the highest ontological. SPIRLT. an obscure possibility out of which He evolves Himself into But this is precisely the conception which must not be entertained. then stream forth. 123 the ethical. if one wishes to think the ethical conception of God. proceed out of an abyss in which there is neither good nor evil. The ethical God. logical. or God as the fundamentally Good. as the eternal Love. the syzygy in beginning before beginning. never be able to ethical is become so. can have neither father nor mother. the . This Bythos (/3v0bss) the Gnostics designate as npoFather. from an historical point of view." Ensoph (not anything). . It also reminds us of the Gnostic Bytkos. Father before Silence.
ethical. should be allowed to rest in the absolute. can only express our astonishment that Baader own most and Hamberger seem to approve of this " Abyss in which there is neither good nor evil. is the eternally in commencement must be with Consummate Love never find with his it. potentiality. and that. we shall influenced here by a theo- sophem which of Pagan origin.124 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. consequently. that He does not develop Himself from incompleteness to completeness. we add Every philosophy that seeks that : . be posited as that which. and which clashes We heart-felt and fundamental idea. from the very beginning. And it is the service of Jacobi to have maintained. but actual Being. Unless we begin Bohme is is perfect reality. the Personal God. the absolutely real." an unfulfilled craving. in abiding opposition to Schelling's doctrine of the Abyss. not simply potential. are concerned." those who supposed But Aristotle long ago attacked that God was generated out of the night (yepvr)cn<s Ik vvktos). during with his own doctrine of the Becoming God. a moment should be affirmed in God (even if only in idea) when Love is only a demand. a " shall be. from the outset. highest and the primal Being. is. It is utterly inconceivable that the ethical. it is quite another matter ! theosophem of the ence. and his earlier " " Abyss. The complete reality." the absolute Indiffer- God in period. as a potentiality which does not become a reality until a later moment. the God of Goodness. on the contrary. from potentiality to reality. that Love. harmonized. Love must. but is absoSo far as we lutely perfect from the beginning." With SchelFor this Gnostic ling.
and is. for the shaping of the Glory of God. but which possesses in and under itself all things both potential and actual our . of the ethical . Love which postulates nothing outside itself. all-revealing Our objections to Bohme's interpretation of the relation between the Eternal Nature and the Eternal Spirit may be thus summarized (1) that he regards : the absolute Spirit as only potential. secondly. life. or whether The answer it is. a manifestatio ad extra. has its is the Holy unfathomable mystery. our objection is that he ranks Nature too highly. prior to creation. Taken as a whole. and actuality (2) that the first acquires its Spirit power by vanquishing a nature that previously confronted it in hostility and. Nature is. (3) an indifference of Spirit and Nature. a condition and medium for Creation and the Created World. in absolute dependence upon His self-conscious- . But this Mystery is and all-explaining.ETERNAL NATURE AND ETERNAL SPIRIT 125 to conceive the absolute. to the question whether nature in God conditions the self-consciousness of God. and ascribes to it too great import- ance. the unconditioned Primal and Our mystery Self-Existent. for the external and phenomenal aspect of the Life of God. and the physical (" there is neither good nor evil "). and which streams from eternity. until . that his theogonistic process begins with finally. as will be more fully shown in the sequel. by making it a necessary condition for the The importance of self-conscious Life of God. nature supplies contrast. inasmuch as it is a condition and a medium only for God's outwardlydirected energy. mystery is the Light wherein is no darkness. as an outgoing manifestation. more subordinate and limited.
THE dark antagonistic Nature-principle in God. " as the "centrum naturae. enuncia- formed an episode in the doctrine of the Trinity. must also furnish a chapter to our critical review. which is out which the whole world would stagnate. makes its appearance in philosophy under a more general heading." the Wheel of designated Fire. the conquest of which God first becomes the by Living God." We must Desire. but The principle.126 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. the forward-impelling element in the process. THE DARK NATURE-PRINCIPLE IN GOD. XXXIV. and which can only be brought into the proper relation of subordination by means of conflict. Who . furthermore. we have to urge a peculiar objection with " reference nature-principle in God. and " remain in dead and motionless tranquillity. is the previously-mentioned negative ternary (ContracIt has been variously tion. the Principle of the condition for Spirit and Life. which Bohme simply passive repose. as the Principle of Principle. with- Negativity. can only thus be placed in its right stratum. Rotation). to this as the " dark point tion It We in to the dark have already alluded Its Bohme. lays the foundation of a grave contradiction within Theosophy itself. But. the " No- " Negation." dimly-burning Triangle. ncss merely a medium for His activity." and here recal Bohme's fundamental view. and will. Expansion." the Foundation of Hell. " Anguish." the " " " finds in God. that without contrast there is no Life and no Manifestation.
He has often repeated that the noblest manifestation of beauty of soul is that which is afforded by tranquil strength amid the tempest of the " Not only in his passions. without the permanent conquest of the Hell of dissension. because it is only thus that they can acquire the stamp of he urges that it is impossible for definite character in the man. and love are useless unless they come forward and arise on the foundation of strength. supreme peace and concord of the forces." but in many other passages. and that we can respect and admire only that gentleness which shines forth out of vanquished and subdued passions. " who has not known pain ? knows joy who has not known and he transfers this same antithesis to God. mildness." ? says Bohme. If God is to live in a man. which is on the point of manifesting itself. and wrath. but is continually forced back." he says in his letter to " rests upon Hell. as when he says that everything that exists is conceived and born in . by Heaven.THE DARK NATURE-PRINCIPLE IN GOD. Just as there is no feeling of health without the conquest of sickness." In many ways . Heaven is the Eschenmayer. the Devil must die Schelling has urged that gentleness. knows conflict " 127 peace. he reminds us of Jacob Bohme. in recent times. discord. There is no possible feeling or perception of Heaven Schelling. Heaven would be lifeless without Hell. severity. Treatise on Freedom. " without Hell. us to feel respect for the sheepish gentleness which is found in many men. Hell is Real concord is vanquished discord and dissension. It has been revived. Who The principle of Negativity pervades the entire history of philosophy from the earliest times to the latest.
full of inward contradictions cannot be approved. not as Contradiction. philosophy great observable in the use of con- these categories contrasts are frequently viewed as Concontradictions." Hegel. modern is and arbitrariness . trasts are necessary differences which emerge from the essence of the thing." has bestowed the highest eulogy on the Principle of asserts that Contradiction is the Relativity. the principle of Negativity Himself. But a character that is without inward contrasts. Severity and But Contradiction is that which -is Gentleness. so far as concerns what is hidden in Him. when he says of God " : We cannot doubt that the Deity is enthroned over a world of terrors.128 CRITICAL RETROSPECT or strife. the Dreadful and Terrible. who said that " war is the father of all things. combats its " and thereby becomes unlicensed and illegiother. Nature and Spirit. and makes repugnant . and in the process of life and spirit he driving-wheel and extols Bohme for having apprehended praises . the contrast oversteps its . must be called. and that God. akin to Heraclitus. and contradictions as contrasts. and which mutually demand one another e. Solemnity and Gladness. its A independence. not figuratively but actually. Necesand Freedom. Self-assertiveness and Selfsity surrender." No moral character can be conceived timate. of Contradiction in God But the Christian view can recognize the principle Negativity as necessary to development only the when fusion Negative In is defined as Contrast.. Created World connot be conceived otherwise appearance when assumes false limits.g. to the essence of the thing.
Bohme the necessity of Evil. that they was necessary.THE DARK NATURE-PRINCIPLE IN GOD. But. impossible to to can by no means be accused of teaching But. like our own. of the good. 129 than as a world of contrasts. we infer that disorder has entered this world. and evil must be necessary to the development of the world. the actuality of Evil. or as necessarily pertinent to a world brought forth by the Holy God. diction sin If not simply contrast. wherein it is incessantly posited. indeed. is the opinion Evil. it is praise him for consistency in his He vehemently the false doctrine. is defined not as the goal. This a momentum in the only process. on the other hand. This. the real contradiction. but also contrabe necessary to the manifestation of Life. again he says emphatically. The Christian view must indubitably recognize the possibility of evil. can never be acknow- ledged as reasonable. and of the Creation in the Divine Image. on the other hand. in order to be incessantly denied and compelled to minister to the manifestation of the light. when a created world displays. this Negative. and that they Again and fell by their 9 . but. This would be in diametrical opposition to the nature of the Creator. opposition defends himself against the view that the Fall of Lucifer and Adam could not have resisted the temptation. if God is to create a world of freedom. and others. it of is Schelling. a multitude of contradictions. medium for the manifestation is itself Evil. many true. XXXV. but as the necessary Hegel.
130 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. no and it must be so and no mobility. and that it is His own substance. . or contrary will are belongs to the Joy. own to " fault. it seems undeniable that Bohme right." gave himself to a false imagination. a poison and otherwise there were In this high consideration it is found that all is through and from God Himself. and thereby introduced appalling confusion ("turba in ") into the world. who applied himself the selfish art. and that He has created it out of And the Evil belongs to the Forming and and the good to the Love. especially Lucifer. was not perfectly clear upon this point and the incautiously. that passages like these. thickness nor thinness. but the evil . severe. is much us moderns. are not to be unfairly pressed. But we also is find passages Bohme when " : as the tendency of which he says in his preface to " wholly different. perception whatever malignity life . mobility. and the austere. Himself. inasmuch as passages are to be found in his works which compel one to say : " The good that he would. he does not . and that he did not establish a thorough-going distinction between contrast and contradiction. but construed . in We which Bohme has expressed himself somewhat be must Bohme's predominant view we by that Bohme's intention was readily acknowledge Nevertheless. who have encountered so many philosophical stumbling-blocks in the application of this principle of relativity). nor would there be any colour nor virtue. indeed. quite willing Hamberger." to accept the declaration of Baader. " The Three is Prin- ciples In all creatures there . great easier for importance of it (which. and Hofmann. or any but all would be as nothing.
towards the heavenly Idea which God desires to shape in Nature. before this harmony is reached. erroneous point Bohme XXXVI." or " Worm. and is co-operant to the manifestation of the Life and the Light. of God be viewed in its and grasped in one intuition. find pleasure in one another. There is an appalling conitself The " ." with its tendency towards selfcentralization. The of powers are all transfigured in the multiplicity " restlessness. it may completeness." The most appears to us to be that in his very conception of God there seems to be a prelude to the doctrine of the necessity of evil in order to the manifestation of the Light." and which is conJust as a sour or bitter it green apple constrained by the sun so that to eat." which we will now express by the one term Nature-Egoity." in its intrinsic power. is sharp birth. be- comes pleasant and still one tastes all its pro- But perties. in the eternal nature. seem as if all on this subject were in due order. with its yearning after another and higher than itself. Light. so also in God. If Bohme's conception The "Centrum Naturae. which he 131 would in not. and yet each one of them possesses in latency the quality which belongs to it in bless consequence of cealed in it its " like a kernel. a perilous prelude has to be gone through." "Wheel of Birth.THE DARK NA TURE-PRINCIPLE IN GOD. that he does. places from the beginning in a hostile relation towards the Light. Nature-egoity. rejoice over and one another . with its consequent self-circling is in its normal bed.
when he says " Nature as such does not simply furnish a contrast to Spirit on the contrary. the fourth natural Property or the Lightning. : moreover. have something to vanquish . which is not different from and this we cannot but regard as a contradiction incompatible with the Being of God as the Holy Franz Baader. the view of Hamberger. as non-Divine He cannot posit it as ^. If it be ob. . hostile contrast in God. That the contrast at the outset is hostile is. tradiction to each other. served that in order that He posits He may this contradiction in Himself. But even if we begin with the Lightning we begin with a violent breach. by beginning his representation with the . Consequently. remarks that Bohme himself has helped to obscure his subject. and absolutely-perfect One. God must posit Nature out of Himself He may but posit as conflicting with Him. . something exists by to be maintained." However far we are from accusing Bohme of Mani- chaeism. or the negative ternary. indeed. three first According to Baader. and terrible anguish. mence. start from the central property.132 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. fail we cannot but hold For that this doctrine verges upon Manichaeism. we have as the first momentum in the process a flict. with the vanquishing of a hostile contrast. they both stand in con.z/z-Divine. that is. one ought to natural Properties. and the three previous ones should be viewed as merely abstract momenta. and it is only subsequently that a violent transition takes place. this hostile contrast cannot to give the impression that If unity is the side of God. and are mighty powers which oppose one another with the utmost veheThis is the view which we are combating.
and must be viewed in its what is hostile to the ethical cannot light. it is only a blind will. is to be conceived as the Union of Spirit and Nature. but with cheerful subordination. as the Being of all beings. and that be found in the Holy God. And if it be said that is this contradiction eternally quenched by the light. tinguish between them and Bohme.THE DARK NATURE-PRINCIPLE IN GOD. although it. not a self-conscious one^ we must reply that Nature sustains a relation to the since ethical. that 133 Nature. we must retort. finally yields. its willing servant.. there must be .difficult to disthings "). first I says will No !" and at the next so moment says that I may be avoid the Yes subordinate myself. incessantly self-repeating process. If God. refractory " and ! insubordinate " at the outset. is still absolutely subordinated to is does not begin with rebellion against Bohme says spirit. that it might be said with equal justice that it is as eternally posited . but an But this view. for we of nature against spirit not discussing a past history in God. a be so conceived that nature. and Grace of God may be manifested. He must vanquished. " in many passages In order that the Holiness and It : and medium. liberated from my torture.possesses life of its own. instrument. spirit." this we cannot conclusion that supposed episode in God Himself forms a prelude for the doctrine of the necessity of Evil in order to the If it be urged that the development of the world. that contradiction is posited in order to be eternally are is precisely the fundamental idea of Hegel and Heraclitus (" War is the Father of all And on this point it is. blind nature principle in God cannot be called evil.
Nature. is itself Light must descend into unable to produce it. even apart from the corruption which has But this longing would diffuse entered through sin. the Creation." This statement we can readily accept and if Bohme had these lines. Nature is eternally posited as the non-Divine. which is tranquillized by the Light that streams into it. self-ness. Earnest expectation or longing is the fundamental characteristic of the creation. is in perpetual restlessness (" Rotation "). and the essence of which is indigentia Dei . created nature in to the Nature vaguely in the Infinite (" Expansion "). and this again forces. unless were a contrasting force. But until the longing has found rest and is tranquillized in the itself there Higher. longing. because it cannot find peace It whirls about itself as and satisfaction in itself. expectation of the creature. a force of Egoity or Self-ness. if in travail. We can illustrate our . there would have been continued along no ground for opposition. when God posits . and fills the poverty of Nature with its riches. with a tendency to concentrate itself and to abide in itself ("Contraction"). anxious restlessness. because it possesses only a possibility it of the Light.134 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. but longing. and the whole creation From groaning and travailing in pain together." this we may transfer our thought God. where the apostle speaks of " the earnest viii. repeats itself at a later stage. self-circling. meaning more clearly by a reference to Romans 1 8. something that needs grace and love. The from above and quiet its We mental find in the Eternal Nature the same funda- and the unsatisfied. which needs God.
and sub-ordination.THE DARK NATURE-PRINCIPLE IN GOD. Bohme's "Worm. changed Our best efforts have not succeeded in gaining into longing until any other impression from Bohme's confused and stormy description of the centrum natures . titanic independence. no perception of the natural self-ness. that the first momentum effort at in the must be conceived as being nature process is or at any rate a wild. is only effected by means of a struggle. who. in his view. all of which symbols " " " when they are kept within proper limits. independently of Bohme. refractory.. yet the restlessness of the Nature-Life must continue to circle in the Abyss for. which is not checked and a subsequent moment. its poverty and helplessness in itself. nor do Baader and Hamberger assist us to any other conWe find the same train of thought in struction. outside Himself a created world and existence. or without naming him. there can be no perception of love and grace. from the outset. and reminds us that the prescient. where there is . develops the same idea in his own way. etc. Where Bohme differs from this is that. Schelling. and the longing of Nature stilled. and its ceaseless longing. the super. and present themselves. this entrance of longing into .." Triangle. the Wheel of Birth infolding Fire " in the Epistle of James. We may here recal the " Selflight and peace. in Ezekiel." retain their truth etc. But although Nature's longing 135 a creaturely is is eternally- eternally- stilled. ancient world expresses this second momentum. begins with wild desire. in that legitimate manner which harmonizes with the Being of God. and does not suffer longing to enter nature until a later period. the harmony.
man save to : When He says to the rich young thou Me good None is good Why He implies that He is subjected as yet God. is But God In is not there tempted. first. we do that in . Him His glory consists of eternal harmonies. own life. quished and never attains reality. and Eros comes into being. and therewith also restlessness. and finds no place in His Exaltation. We venture to remark that longing and egoity. egoity can never (even in idea) appear in the eternal nature The in the shape of wild and refractory desire. in which the possibility of evil is vantemptation. no conflict aTreipaaTos from the very kclkcop. in He is Him He . ferring His own the possibility of evil the possibility of preperceives Ego to the Father's Will. . Nature by the poetic idea. breaks and parts asunder. is He . and in our harmonious contrasts." " callest ? temptation and persecution. the tempted . and that. lament as disorder And we Nature rises is see not regard it as normal. undoubtedly. belongs to His development in Humiliation. that the World's Egg.136 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. from the very first. on the preassumption of the ethical nature of God. the obedient instrument for the Spirit . we certainly perceive nature as a hostile for the flesh lusteth against the contrast to spirit and the spirit against the flesh. But this we spirit. . must be regarded as a single indivisible act. Christ. But this cosmical principle to the holy principle. Christian conception of God recognises in God only In the creation. which is born of Night.
and it is hostile to light and to the this hostile night that is referred to in the old proverb that " the Night is no man's friend. There is a pitch-dark night. 14). 7 : " I form make peace and the light and create darkness. we fall into a semi-Manichaean Dualism. I . which says is no darkness at all" (1 John i.THE DARK NATURE-PRINCIPLE IN GOD. but. And if there be. and eagerly desires to conceive the light." and that. is unFor in order to be eternally quenched. deeds of darkness are concocted. Obscurity is "God is Light. in Bohme's rejected. that they passage in St. the darkness must either be eternal in itself. just as little as unconscious a hostile contrast to self-conscious life. satisfactory. We maintain that this view of : ours is in full harmony with and in Him Darkness is Darkness is the hostile contrast to Light. not the same as natural obscurity or life is not a hostile contrast. on is the contrary. made to Isaiah xlv. Scripture. a hostile principle by the side of Holiness. which longs for the morning-dawn. in the night. in order to swallow it up. But there is also a dim and yearning night. by is justice that the darkness eternally quenched by the light. 5). appeal And when. John. But Holiness cannot posit that which is hostile to itself. or must be eternally posited by God. Light and Darkness can have no fellowship (2 Cor. which must be totally is defence. from the very beginning. vi. The opinion do ample saying of Bohme and to the his disciples. a dim longing after is it. and according to the Scripture. 137 XXXVII. dimness. which day .
do all these things. that the darkness exists in God not actually. when it is conceived as torn out of the harmony. again. on the contrary. the meaning be. ordinate isolated arise in Consequently. of itself. " with the passage in Amos Shall there be evil (trouble) in a city. that the subordinate in God perpetually desires to attain an God. But if. able if the sub- element in God were appalling to independence. and that we must understand by it the calamities in which the Wrath create evil. the Lord. and engenders darkness. admitted that every contrast." it I. but potentially. . : Through what mediating definitions and conditions do we thus deduce it ? Another form of defence of Bohme is. and allowed to pursue its own one-sided tendency. everything depends on the more precise It may certainly be explanation of this assertion.138 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. must be observed that darkness. even evil. is synonymous with misfortune. Here. The words inform everything. His punitive righteousness. must be deduced from Unity. becomes contradiction. in this verse. But all depends on the answer to the following question us that . and I the Lord have not God manifests it Compare it ? : done I forget that the words " form the light and create darkness perhaps may contain a protest against that Persian dualism which : ! " Nor do we " taught two fundamental principles Good and Evil. from the one God and this is exactly what Bohme means. for His Life is an indissoluble life. The potential darkness is thus a possibility which can never be realized. and we can only speak of it in the abstract. darkness assume would But this is absolutely impossible.
yet as a possibility which indeed can. Then the " Founda" is found also in God. which are : " Licht und Liebe sich entziinden sich Strang' und Milde finden Zorn und Finsterniss entbrennen sich Streng' und Milde trennen. XXXVIII. and that on this point Bohme is not clear. 139 towards the wild and self-will. ." Wo Wo . the stern and gentle are only contrasts. become reality. " [ Light and Love catch fire where Stern and Gentle meet . but ought not to. but perpetually represses him. return to the position that the ethical conception of God permits the principle of Negativity only as a principle of contrast. We. when and the contrasts for themselves. moreover. the " Hell " sin of the creation. which is as eternally vanquished.THE DARK NA TURE-PRINCIPLE IN isolated independence GOD. Franz Baader says in that Bohme's doctrine may be expressed suggestive of Angelus Silesius the following lines. and tends ever and unrestrained. and can only become so by the fault and In reality. Wrath and Darkness burn where Stern and Gentle part. Foundation or Possibility of must be sought in the free creation."] But these lines can be brought into unison with the ethical conception of God only In are viewed as harmonious. then it is not wholly indefensible to say that God has the Devil in His Life. it is first manifested in the creation. not of Contradiction. even although. therefore. tion of Hell as Bohme teaches.
and is also gentlewho The one set of ness. there correspond severe natural forces. strength and might. conceived ethically or physically and dissolves into mawkishness and vagueness. gentleness becomes insipid. is the jealous God is holiness vindicates His own honour.. The vision of Ezekiel. self-surrender. own standpoint. we must maintain that from our the contrast between stern is given in God. gentleness can only work on the basis of severity. To ethical severity. which are especially manifested in the relation which God sustains to the world when His wrath is revealed Ethical gentleness and love have from heaven. holiness. begins with a whirlwind from the north and a cloud whence fire issues. is best interpreted in an . Where there is no whether severity. corresponding natural forces which diffuse blessings sphere of the created world. when He God. which the Apocalypse. But. and love. is and righteousness. This conception of the union of severity and gentleness in God pervades the whole of Holy Thus we find it both in Ezekiel and in Scripture. as a Personality. and which ends with Him who sits upon the Throne in the appearance of a man. attributes implicates in the Being of God has also a correspondelement ing physical element as its instrument and medium. with a rainbow about Him. both in the ethical in the physical and gentle is already viewed purely as Spirit. and decay would intrude. and in the physical sphere. dearth. If we are to accept these lines not contradictions.1 4o CRITICAL RETROSPECT. But this ethical the other. give life and growth. severity and self-exaltation. and without which barrenness. and righteousness.
THE DARK NATURE-PRINCIPLE IN GOD. and and of the power of His wrath. and thunderings. which is described as : crystalline. the fire severity. 141 ethical sense. the Seven Spirits of God. And the delineation of " Him who sits upon the Throne " demands special attention (Ezek. a crystal sea. And before the throne there burned seven lamps of fire. For He revealed Himself to the Seer. indicates severity. indicates the ness Light-side in God. and the consummate unity of the contrasts. Jasper. viii. gentleand the sardine. both of the creative power of God. 2). He is at once the gentle and gracious. once more." which . it would be in a grave error vision if we failed also to discern the a representation of real physical forces potencies. God possesses for a moment in Bohme's categories) at (to speak the same time a Light-side and a Fire-side. Here. which has the appearance of fire and blood. . and voices. symbolize the severe judgments of the righteousness of God but " before the Throne there was a sea of glass. 3 that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone '')." indicates gentleness. and the severe and dreadful God." which betokens the waters of Light and of Life. which indicate the . as suggestive of the chastising right- eousness and the love of God. we discover the same contrast. The same remark may be made respecting " Him that sitteth " " And He upon the Throne (Apocalypse iv. "from the appearance of His loins even downward as the fire : and from His loins even upward The brightness appearance of brightness. harmony of the Glory of God. Still. " Out of the Throne proceeded lightnings.
absolutely . has to develop . which position that is man Bohme has overlooked. We and must consequently must. which We will perhaps conduce to greater clearness.i 42 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. are as a medium for the Divine energy. we have already stated. that Bohme all our objections into this one gather has been guilty of an illicit anthropomorphism in his : Not that we reject anthropoconception of God. instead of in absolute dependence upon the self-con- and self-determination of God. however. THE If ILLICIT ANTHROPOMORPHISM. as our chief objection. It is only in this in sense that we can accept the Bohme's doctrine accordance with lines of Baader. quoted above- XXXIX. the course of our previous not only of the dark Nature-Principle. We now pre- pared to state this objection in another form. but the inverted image of God. that Bohme assigns too high a position we glance back upon to Nature by making it a necessary condition for the personal placing it sciousness self-consciousness of God. without them we should be in general morphisms are perunable to speak of God. which implies that the relation between Nature and Spirit in man is the converse of that relation which exists in God. lay emphasis upon the fact. be able to know God. We fectly in accord with Bohme when he created in the starts from the Image of God. exposition but of the general relation between Nature and Spirit in God. the created creaturely being. that man is not the direct. Man.
as out of an abyss of night. Man. in His absolute moves from above downwards. from Nature to Spirit. determination. condition to freedom. viz. to bestow upon His is creatures Aseitas. from a fixed. moves from below upwards. 143 himself from Nature to Spirit. tion after is necessary. or original self-existence. just as he also moves from outwardness to inwardness. an independence which is conditioned by Only on condition that we subordinate dependence. develops itself out of a prescribed natural basis. therefore. because there is always something impenetrable to our sight in the nocturnal abyss of None of us possess complete selfour condition. and posited by its Creator. whose autonomy is an assigned and deduced autonomy. an obscure natural ground. which can only gradually succeed in gaining power. from outwardness to inwardness. if God would produce a creature For there is one thing which His own Image. impossible even to God. Causa every creature is caused. fect self-knowledge. we an But in God we this. and energize our nature (so far as this can be our legitimate task) in progressive development do succeed in taking possession of ourselves in ethical sense. None of us. He can give His creatures a derivative or deduced independence. and out of which we emerge and evolve ourselves by No creature is Sui the impulsion of dim instincts. on the contrary. for we are determined in a multitude This limitaof ways both from within and without. . from the phenomenal to autonomic manifestation. can have per. from Spirit to Nature. absolute contrast self- of are impressed by the God.THE ILLICIT ANTHROPOMORPHISM. produced. and in many respects a Our consciousness fettered..
Being. since what takes is simply place in man under the terms of finitude and temlife-process. We must. the essential. a difference of degree..144 CRITICAL RETROSPECT. and spirituality. and printed in the "Biblical Psychology" of the latter. are those who have pronounced Bohme's standpoint to be that of an idealized Naturalism (Sengler. is for the goal of his development. complete man We may certainly concede that Bohme has in view the ethical conception of God when he teaches that out of pure Love. the first thing. to Bohme's view. That which for God is the last thing. Nature and the phenomenal aspect of His viz. the last thing. in his work . God is is is But as this as Spirit in the inward selfwholly vitiated by the fact Spirit. viz. and that Bohme. that difference between the Divine and the human the according to Bohme. introduces Himself into God. the direct instead of the inverted porality take place in less God in infinity and in a time- manner. unfolds Himself.* * In a letter addressed to Delitzsch. apprehends mirroring. therefore. into Spirit the illicit anthropomor! Nor will it excite much surprise that there phism. Also. not not Life. agree with Molitor (who thus criticizes Bohme. and In reality. prior to his construction of Nature. that God. is for man the first thing what for God is . attains complete possession of Himself. regarded as potential.. God. actual. according through Nature and its And this is what we call manifestation. but a mere figure only through conflict with It is Nature that God first becomes the Living God. Trinity. a Life which and schema of Life. and blames him for viewing man as image of God). Peip). is only quantitative.
with God cannot be accordance with the type of complete created life. that the Life of not enter on a criticism of Giinther's he urges." probably the greatest modern theosophist. in their likeness. a birth-mark of dependency. that which not similar in essence to God. "Vorschule zur Speculativen Theologie. he steadily points interpreted in to the Aseitas of God. Michael. who warred with Lucifer. The " After Baader. as though he too were of himself and by himself. It is undoubtedly important that this contraposed element and essential unlikeness should be kept within due limitations.ILLICIT ANTHROPOMORPHISM.God. but will simply remark that invincible argument. His relation to the Kabbala is very similar to Baader's relation to Bohme. And God is of Himself and that all is of Him. so as not to exclude the true resemblance. in his struggle against pantheism. in his doctrine of creation. Creations-und Incarnations-theorie. who. defines " the Contraposition of God. We shall doctrine. is is We "Not. but there must be. a contraposed element. and refers to the Archangel Michael." the created universe as which he means that the creation. Molitor is Philosophy and Tradition. 145 may also take this opportunity of mentioning Giinther. which is not of by itself. because this archdragon sought to withstand God. creatures made in the Divine Image cannot bear a direct resemblance to Him. with the flashing eye and the glittering sword. the Incomparable." the contrast of God. demands " Who is like God ? Who is as the Lord ? Who " is like Him who is of Himself ? Michael points : to God as the for this very reason that Only One." 10 . and that we fully agree with him when.
seeks. and our higher ideal consciousness is. cannot be self-sufficient. must be receptive of God. That aspect of the Spirit. to condense itself. to be its own midBut then.146 ILLICIT ANTHROPOMORPHISM. the vague and self-diffusive The Ego yearning. and now plunges out but not even into the manifoldness of universal life . and the self-circling restlessness. an obscure nature-depth. and moves in the direction of diffusion. which becomes to God. We evolve ourselves as if out of an abyss. We are the God will take up His abode with His creatures. dreamy. The natural man now seeks to be self-sufficient. is the principle which brings life. to concentrate in itself. movement. Indeed. shuts himself up to himself. as if in a Magia. The doctrine of the the Son. as might easily happen. the Eternal Word of God. unless the contraposition were rightly limited. only vague and But natural Egoity. Creation must not come into collision with the doctrine of the Incarnation. we shall also that Bohme's theogonistic process is capable discover of being transferred into a psychological process when it is applied within If we follow Bohme in Kingdoms of Creation. we we descend within ourselves. at the outset. because it point. And if into our own inward being. it strives and stretches out beyond itself. and real existence. In the Natural Ego we shall easily be able to discover the negative Ternary. relation false between Nature and applies it the his when Bohme are roamings through the often astonished at the appropriate and striking applications which he makes of his principles. the self-concentrated Egoity. Desire. remains true domain of creation. first. creature offspring of God. . will become man.
restlessness. even in perfection. also. and all now depends on what I set my imagination I can imagine back into my Ego. and be master of myself. of dying and losing itself this restlessness is potentiated into anguish. The sinful Egoism has been consumed." Then. satisfaction . but that the natural Ego will not surrender. until a violent transition takes In the Lightning the place in the Lightning. and between the higher and the lower sphere. Or. and a false kindling into evil lusts and passions. Light and Fire. Then arises a Turba. But. nor is it destined to do so. he returns into In and Out. can resign myself to the travail of the new birth. ANTHROPOMORPHISM. : . or confusion. but Egoity consciousness marked out . which Bohme so occurs this characterises as the vibrating movement. that the soul's own yearning urges it to surrender to this. natural obscurity is removed. and to the burning up of my Egoism and then the motto is verified " Per crucem ad lucem. the Natural Ego has not in every sense vanished. between Light and Darkness. liberty of choice now emerges. and the light which is kindled continues to unfold its inward riches through various degrees of sanctification unto perfection. the clearness of selfis a distinction is revealed. immediately caused by the fact that the higher moral and religious world shines into the soul. the revolvThe restlessness is ing of the wheel. the world of light is kindled in me. For the created spirit. 147 And now this Up and Down. is afraid .ILLICIT here can he find himself. upon the Kingdom of God. this Back and Fore. can desire upon ! to centre in myself. I can set my imagination upon the higher religious and moral world.
the It is true that easy births sometimes occur. of the mind with fermenting restlessness.148 ILLICIT ANTHROPOMORPHISM. the swift conception . " It is not I that live. Fr. anguish of production in order that it may subsequently be fashioned in Light. be conscious of an Ego. which are ended by a violent transition in the shape of only the Lightning. unable to escape from one another. that corresponds to the Lightning. and in its infinite is need of God. "Wheel of Birth" continues to revolve to all eternity. because for him the " Birth is transformed into an Ixion's Wheel (Cf. nevertheless. and abides in this " Wheel of false imagination." I must. but God liveth in me.") What is here stated has also an important application to intellectual production in the departments An idea may stir in the depths of Art and Science. When I say. happy light-flashing moment. But. for the holy life . out of which the Light-image arises. The in blessed Life God not a vague absorption perception of self and personality. Baader's treatise. must remain. and yet not fusing into harmonious restlessness may be potentiated unity. but also of the inadequacy and nothingness of this self-life. in every real production. into the And this distinct in severe pangs. something can always be pointed out. different from that of God. "Vom Blitz als Vater des ! Lichts. as the obedient basis as the perception of a self-life. But woe to the man who in the hour of the Lightning imagines back into himself. its momenta may struggle with each other in mutual attraction and repulsion. which would be able to live even without God God without any The (although assuredly only in unblessedness).
Baader. shines with steady It is this that we seek. without effecting any real the toil. without inward fermentation and travail-pangs. and birth-pangs that human society moves forward to higher organic forms of comparative peace and perfection. this that we can find peace and tranquillity after inward struggles and anxieties. and that the light-images had been more completely He says himself that the worked out and finished. that of restlessness and anxiety. In Baader's case one cannot help wishing that the lightning flashes had been less frequent. Bdhme's Natural Properties have also a bearing upon society and history. because new lightnings at once beset him. resultlessly. 149 of genius at the instant of the Lightning. inasmuch as contrasting forces clash with each other. which is decisive of the whole work. and of the lightning as the parent of the light. There are historical epochs (among which our own may be fairly classed) which stand in Bohme's third Natural Form. and it is only in radiance. eg. In our epoch .ILLICIT ANTHROPOMORPHISM. In Fr. while the light. we get scarcely anything but these lightning flashes . conflict. It is precisely the deepest thinkers and writers who know most of fermentations and pangs. lightning quivers and darts in zig-zag erratic courses.. qualm. and. It is through ferment. progress whatsoever. but is never elaborated. indeed. whirling. despite all and tumult. as if the stamp of a great masterpiece were that it is created tout doncement. the light-image appears in his work. on the contrary. And it is erroneous to suppose that in proportion to the profundity and value of a production is the tranquillity with which it is created.
and in Bohme presents us with all the their proper order. Bohme was well aware of this but it is not enough simply God is . and from which. it will reveal whether it comes " for a further turba. In a certain sense." or whether it light. to perceive that what in man exists in finitude and temporality exists in God in an infinite and super- temporal manner. comes. when the world of light is kindled in .150 ILLICIT ANTHROPOMORPHISM. And when for will pass it judgment. it in his pious and practical gloomy torture-chamber in which the itself. we miss . but in his evolution and mediation of these momenta. the soul finds sin. the Lightning has to be long and anxiously awaited. momenta of the conception of God . BOHME in deserves our admiration for developing psychological upon living to be the central thing in the creature He describes natural life the new man. over into the tranquillizing XL. as a life of anguish and continual rest- treatises. and the blessed peace and joy that come. profound and based that which he considers experience tJie Birth of and natural human lessness life . the due relation. cannot pierce through to the light he speaks of the sharp transition. burdened as it is by he depicts. various It momenta in is equally necessary that the the Life of God should be placed in their due relation to one another. the soul. the proper order. But the immediate transference of this to wholly inadmissible. : delineations.
as mere potentiality (a course that we cannot approve). and Holy Ghost. and yet inseparable from Him prior to. For although Bohme views God. like theology. but a Quaternary that he does not. and then posit . afford valuable theology and these for the philosophy of religion. Connected with this is the fact that Bohme phenomenal manifestation teaches not simply a Ternary. the created world as the fourth. remains perfectly independently valid. we have lodged objections against Bohme's no means prevents us from recognizing doctrine. but also the contrast conception Among between an internal and external in God Himself. in the still mystery. God. . the created the first and eternal production of the world the mirror from which His riches Triune God The Glory of God is a are reflected upon Him. conceived posits as an objectivity different from God. the contrast between mystery and manifestation. the Father. and independent of. quite of the created world. yet the contrast between an internal and external in God Himself. . 151 XLI. in the preceding pages. Bohme as the fourth the Glory of God. The fact that. Son.THE GLORY OF GOD. THE GLORY OF GOD. THE UNCREATED HEAVEN. fruit for when properly construed. we reckon not simply the general of Nature in God. by in his conception of God some fundamental defini- very serious tions which. . which has been greatly neglected by conception . count three.
WHETHER we speak of the Glory of God. and valid. or the glory of man. the enjoyment of absolute perfection. the Glory of God ? The most precise definition that we can offer is The Glory of God is the a flower of : splendid manifestation of all the perfections of the Triune God. And an all theology. so is the glory of the world and of transient as and man the field. and always devoured by the worm of death and corruption. conformably appropriate them that are to the character of this volume take occasion from Bohme as a free study. above we may come of into contact with his ideas. as we are studying Bohme not all. on the contrary. we always understand by Glory the external and splendid form in which the invisible essence becomes visible and phenomenal. because the being of the world and of man. The Uncreated Glory of God. but. ception theological statements of the conof Glory are capable of reduction to this . merely that as historical curiosity.i 52 THE GLORY OF GOD. or the glory of the world and the kingdoms of the world. of all the attributes of God reduced to unity. to to offer a few suggestions as to this conception. do we understand by incorruptible. then. is without durability strength. although perhaps independently of the forms in which Bohme expressed them. the corresponding inward reflection of in which God Himself Most is the Divine Divine consciousness and Blessedness. XLII. Now. we must be permitted. in its separation from God. is What.
consists of his possessions. what we have here called and impersonal glory may be easily illuspersonal A man's personal glory trated in relation to man. 153 and But identical with what this thus. my power and honour. his houses and fields. wealth. and which throws a ." i. God possesses not Glory. . glory. his various property. It is said in Proverbs (xiv. his intellectual endowments. his costly garments. in which there is a reflection of Himself. power. view . " : In Holy shall brethren Ye tell Scripture.THE GLORY OF GOD. is thinking of his wife and children. in so far as these shine forth into the outer world. the Glory of God becomes is also called the Majesty of God. Joseph says to father of all my my Egypt. at root. 28): "In a " multitude of people is the king's honour {glory) : . and when it is said in the New Testament that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like the lilies of the field. . merely a subjective personal He also one with His Being splendour back upon Him.e. and his former wealth. the glory I am invested. and reputation in the world. moral excellence. and display themselves to the man's impersonal spectator as a luminous image. does not exhaust the conception. the allusion is to the sumptuous character of Solomon's raiment. Job says dignities with which " " and he 20) My glory was fresh in me (xxix. difference between The inward perfection. XLIII.. and the distinctions that are conferred upon is his his A him by his in society. on the contrary. which is possesses an impersonal objective Glory.
" He referring to the personal glory that to that union of the is God has bestowed upon Him. we shall find this difference in personal and impersonal glory : " read in John's Gospel Jesus Christ. but discernible by And we behold the eye of the spirit and of faith. an external Glory. when His face Transfiguration upon We did shine as the sun. a transsays to Martha see " : If thou wouldest believe. which shines forth in the form of a servant. that He will come in His Glory with the angels. And if we mount between higher. unless it is to be regarded as an empty phrase. and it But Throne judge the nations. Love and Power of God which in now to be displayed the resurrection of Lazarus. and His raiment was white as And we also remark it in the appearthe light. the " of His Glory is a symbolical expression but. thou shouldest the Glory of God. possesses over which He is Lord. as we read in Isaiah. beheld His Glory.154 THE GLORY OF GOD. unre- We We was cognizable by the worldly eye (for the worldly eye " He was without sealed. when the external becomes. Christ's inward perfection of being. the Glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father. the personal glory of Christ in a very special sense. When He is to speak. form (glory) or comeliness ''). " " also perceive a similar in the transparency " the mountain. must not be forgotten that Christ also an impersonal Glory." Here it is the personal glory that is spoken of. He says of Himself. " . so parent vehicle for the inward." ances of the Risen Christ. and that He will sit upon the Throne of His Glory. and in His Ascension into Heaven. it . Unquestionably.
to already reached this supreme conception. a sphere which Bohme " calls the House and Dwelling-place of the Holy We read in Scripture. that they also : . behold His Glory" involves the necessity that " And this they must be with Him." He is speaking higher world. God before the foundation of the world Creation and God's own inward Life of Manifestation. this sphere. "To to these materialized And we have was if we ascend to and corrupted space-relations. dwelling in Trinity. this theatre of His manifestation is eternal. which they are to be with Him. This wJiere. of something more than a personal glory. indeed. uncreated." to . . " God.THE GLORY OF GOD. and of something more than glory in the created world. we can again prior between the personal and the impersonal distinguish The personal Glory is the majesty of God. Redemption. and in where. Is this assigned to sphere of The to be sought simply in the created world ? High-priestly prayer of Christ directs us to a : ! When He prays " Father I will whom Thou hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my Glory which Thou hast given me for Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. points to a sphere of 155 Power which is Him. to the Triune laid." the Light. where He is." this sphere or region in which He is. is closely connected with the Glory which they are to behold. God Himself and. But there for all these perfections belong to Him. is also an impersonal Glory. Glory. whom The immediate no man hath seen or can see. before the foundation of the world was laid it is prior to the relations of created space. which no man can approach unto. and Power in which He rules.
Light. We will ask it not enter into this more deeply. Thyself although and far which God ceive of as an uncreated light. us." rather to suppose that these words actually reveal show us. here. just as Paul says that believers see " only through a Are we not glass darkly and know only in part. dwells we can only conthis with as with a those chiasts. and teaches us that there are distinctions in the one which Light. that God dwells in something to us . mystery there is always some light which shines forth upon revelation. but we may also interpret it of the whole Trinity. indistinguishable unity. but that in This every some St. monks of Mount Athos. Would it be discordant with Scripture to . known as the Hesywho believed that they had beheld it in the moments of their most rapt contemplation. are these words Now embraces under the potency of the Father. or are we to picture : to Scripture ourselves as breaking into rays and beams ? tells us that God is the Father of Lights. is the same as the Father of Glory. intended to tell us nothing else that but us ? God view is absolutely incomprehensible to would wholly overlook the fact that there are no absolute mysteries." even penetrable to us. as in many other passages. reference of this passage is to the Father. has point " we dwelling-place of Light ? on which may recal the words of the Psalmist a : Who coverest garment. Concerning this Uncreated Light there was much discourse among The Light in Light Light may be imabove our understanding.156 THE GLORY OF GOD. but simply Is this uncreated Light nothing but a purely mystical. which the apostle.
157 suppose that the Light in which God dwells is a seven-fold Light? an assumption to which we are led by the Seven Lamps in the Apocalypse. By Heaven we conceive a locality. and yet as we are concerned. and consequently in a world and kingdom of Light. we say that God is in Heaven. we will begin submitting two questions for the reader's conby sideration. is more theosophical than many supBut as we have now to attempt to establish pose. and we pray to our Father iv tois ovpavols. and is the meaning of the Bohme-Baader Quaternary. where existence has attained . different from pertaining to His essence. XLIV. Trinity.THE GLORY OF GOD. with its seven beams. is essential the opinion of the theosophists. His eternal possession. revea4s itself in a natural infinity of shapes and forms. but are in one another. The eternal uncreated Kingdom Holy of Light is the fourth element of the God So we conclude that on Theosophy is right when we abide by its fundamental idea. at once the sphere for His eternal energy and the product of His eternal energy ? This. as the impersonal Glory of God. its seven fundamental powers. this point this thought upon our own premises. at all events. first question " : a sphere or region. The this we propose for consideration is Has God a Heaven ? " Now. and that Scripture here. as in other places. Would it be discordant with Scripture to suppose that this Light. of which Bohme says that they do not stand by the side of one another. far Himself.
because it is only there that God absolutely dwells in His own. 130.. we Heaven is His proper and peculiar House. before He prepares an abode for the blessed angels and for man ? This dwelling-place. and harmony. Quivi e la sua cittade e l'alto seggio. Has God a Heaven ? our Has He an Unquestion means more precisely : say that abode." Translation : " He There governs everywhere." . this Uncreated Heaven." does not represent God in a state of far too great it is dependence upon the created world ? and whether more worthy and accurate to suppose that God prepares a dwelling-place for Himself. * Cf. in order to prepare for Himself an abode. 131. i. as upon earth. integrity.. . and God omnipresent. but is in unity. is His city and His lofty throne. Dante. higher regions. " In tutte parti impera e quivi regge. or merely a Created Heaven ? He simply dwell in the company of the holy angels and the spirits of just men made perfect. " Div. without May possessing a peculiar habitation of His own ? we not ask whether the allegation that " God must create. His Does created Heaven.* But when we thus ask. absolute perfection and when we speak of Heavens. which God although wholly is fills with His still Presence . which must be conceived of as prior to the Created Heavens.158 THE GLORY OF GOD. Comm.. we imagine a system of spheres. is what we have defined above as the objective. and there He reigns. which is not fragmentary and partial. only there does He dwell in the absolute fulness of His perfection." Inf. completeness.
and the Only-Wise. the original essence of which qualities must be sought in God. that it only arises when the transient is touched and illuminated by In this connection the rays of eternity. that corporeity. have sometimes spoken of a purely spiritual Beauty. it is not difficult to apprehend the good and the true in God. according Good. Schonheit. to the usual conception. it may be very It is true that men hard to discover Beauty in Him. an eternal Light. Now. The second question that we have to ask is : World of do we apprehend Beauty in God?" We speak of the Good. from which all corporeity. this world of the senses is also a world of perishableness. the True. and that it is a conception that belongs And inasmuch as only to the finite created world. quote Goethe's well-known distich : we may " 'Warum bin ich verganglich. and yet inseparable from Him. Natureless Spirit. others have perception of Beauty. different from God. seeing that He Himself is the OnlyBut if God. the Beautiful. Spirit without Nature. it is at least equally " How certain Beauty cannot be imagined without merely spiritual Beauty. others have held that the Beautiful is to be found only in the perishable. 159 impersonal side of the Glory of God. A supposed that Beauty is absolutely indiscoverable in God. O Zeus?' so fragte die . is only mere and bare Spirit. But however certain it may be that Beauty cannot be imagined without spirituality.THE GLORY OF GOD. all externality. and all the phenomenal is excluded. is an abstraction which will scarcely commend itself to any man who possesses a keen Accordingly.
We. unless there be a Nature in God. Welche der Reiz der Verganglichkeit schmiickt/'t But we ask whether Christians are prepared to abandon the claim that there must also be an incorruptible and imperishable Beauty. when He Himself exists a definite shape. transient. discover the source of Beauty in the Divine Fancy or Imagination. we shall when God in also regarded as imagining. welche die Evvigkeit druckt. and. cannot find Beauty We * Translation of above: " ' ' Why am I I Because " beautiful. ' ' Macht schon.160 THE GLORY OF GOD. therefore. only the transient : O ' t Translation Whom Whom Say what are the pure. we shall another conception of God than the purely require shall be unable to find Beauty spiritualistic. tender forms the charm of transience adorns. not by Goethe.' "* nur das Vergangliche and also the following lines. indeed. figure. which is to be found in God Himself and whether we can relinquish our hope that the Heaven or Heavens into which the blessed enter will reveal to them an in. was sind die gediegenen. kalten Gottinnen. ich doch. a conception which is certainly unthinkable. however. ' made. Gegen die bluhenden. corruptible beauty We in God." .' replied the god. ? In this case.' sagte der Gott. cold goddesses Eternity oppresses In comparison with the blooming.shaping.' " Zeus ? thus asked Beauty. image-forming. weichen Gestalten. which express the contrast between eternal but abstract : ideas and transient but beautiful forms " Sage. is if He is merely to be conceived of as only find it thinking and willing .
yet no shrink from affirming that God's Heaven.THE GLORY OF GOD. or. But if the idea of Beauty is to be adequately construed. Or. there is a phenomenal element. and " the express image of His Person here it is the The Son is the personal glory that is referred to. say. or. Glory is higher and more comprehensive than Beauty. even although it transcend our faculties of apprehension. while God is good. the Son shines forth like . in the eternal generation. 161 in His purely unseen being. are beautiful. Thus. will we have no God is all-wise. but only in the visible and phenomenal element which belongs to His inward Life of Manifestation. spiritual Fire. the Son " is called The Brightness of the Father's Glory. as Delitzsch has expressed it. the Brightness tion in saying. Beauty must be sought in the Glory of God. conception to ask How do zve deduce the of the Uncreated Heaven from the ethical conception of God ? we proceed II . tions. a radiant image. hesitate God is beautiful. Scripture. it is dom of Beauty we Although we may distinctly. in other words. however. for Glory includes the Sublime as well Having propounded these ques: as the Beautiful. and in this there must be a momentum of Beauty.and LightIn this nature itself that here rises like a sun. find in the to impersonal Glory. Revelation of the Father's hidden perfection and. but of Glory. does not speak of Beauty. there must also be a Kingdom of Beauty. the surroundings of God. . directly and hesita- one that shines around Him as His garment is beautiful. God's supersensuous. a world of This Kingbeautiful individual shapes and forms.
XLV. on the contrary. Himself. We That is start from God as Trinitarian Love. Now. But if we pierce a little more deeply into this mystery. He* apprehends not only . in the Trinitarian relation. that we cannot follow Bohme in his definition of this "still but mystery" as a half-unconscious. God confronts Himself as another . is without egotism. where as yet all We inwardness. the fourth element in the Trinity. are. distinct we shall reach a fourth thing. partly on the fact that when God loves Himself. dreamlike condition. but the Glory of God. there The Himself. our postulate. which is His substance. When God recognizes and views Himself with holy delight. because we are not now considering the mutual relation of the Hypostases. He loves the All. no object Trinitarian His Love except therefore. with this exception. the in itself worthy. and we shall not here develop it further. without selfishness in its evil sense. bound to interpret this still mystery of Love (the primal thing in God) as a state which is fully conscious from the outset. loves Himself in a universal manner. if we imagine God to is be Love. impersonal. and yet inseparable from them. is That this God's relation of Love towards Himself.worthy. intellectual. depends partly on the fact that. How then are we to conceive of this Self-Love of God ? It will be most accurately regarded as God's to contemplative Love contemplation in holy joy. from the Three Persons. of the Creation. independently for relation.1 62 THE GLORY OF GOD. self- Bohme exists in calls the still have here what mystery.
Father Him. the impersonal objective Wisdom that displays itself before God Himself. but and here only in an abstract and purely ideal sense already we have the Light in which God dwells. in which the Triune God beholds the marvels that lie in the abyss of His Being. Even in man we demand that Love shall be practical. generating nothing. His TrXyjpojjxa. Theosophy has also defined this Wisdom as a Veil enwrapping and encircling God. to use Bohme's words. but reflecting all the splendour and riches of Deity. even when it is a Living Love. Here already then we have the Glory of God. the esoteric requires the of exoteric. and yet inseparable from of ideas. 163 irXtjpcjjxa Himself. The con- . meditative Love ? Simply contemplative Love is. but also His contents. or Wisdom as an attribute which appears It is of this objective imperespecially in the Son. not merely contemplative. His Heaven. viz. and is shaped by the Spirit into a world of ideas. His . But can we stop short at the view that the Love God to Himself is a simply intellectual. contemplative. House. and ideal thing. We have here what Bohme calls Wisdom.. a merely But an inward. or. that it stands like a maiden before the Triune God. a splen- dour that encompasses Him.THE GLORY OF GOD. This which is best thought of as a TrX-qpcofxa is streaming forth in multiplicity from the gathered by the Son into intellectual unity. inward demands an outward. distinct from God. a mirror that surrounds Him.manifestation is contingent. distinct from subjective Wisdom. sonal Wisdom that Bohme says. but viewed only from the ideal side. introspective. but a veil on which His self.
! In the other half. eternally produces and energizes an absolutely perfect product. An inert. : practical and energetic. because He is fettered it to the creaturely He needs for the it. by the necessity of His Being. and indeed Christian thinkers. simply meditative. consequently only in half of His Being. To this temptation many thinkers. upon this view.1 64 THE GLORY OF GOD. Now. If we shrink from taking this dangerous step. world. an objectivity which reflects the riches of tion. and is not created For then God is indepurely out of His free Love of the world only in so far as He is Contempendent plative Love. and observant Love is only half Love. But. which is plainly semi-pantheistic. the Created World becomes essentially necessary to God. have yielded. there is a very strong temptation to pass over immediately to the creation of the world. as the Ethical Spirit in an absolute sense. God. if God is to be conceived of as Active Love. ception of ethical spirit carries with it the necessity of being practical. purpose of enerif gizing and operating upon But the creaturely world is metaphysically indispensable to God. independently of the God's active Love creaturely world ? the reply is to Himself in contrast to self-contemplation. productive. if it is a necessary appurtenance of His own Being and His proper Existence. to intellectual and meditative Love is Self-Glorifica- as : is evidenced by the God. and widely And this must apply pre-eminently to energetic. This Self-Glorification fact that . active. is entangled in abstractions. the Love and Grace of God towards the creation are not truly free. and if we ask How are we to conceive of God's Love to Himself .
whose fundamental idea remains means of the valid. We have already cited Bohme's words " Beloved mind behold. and corruption. difficulty that in we must always conceiving a cor- experience immense poreity which is absolutely penetrated and irradiated by Spirit. the externality In this His Heaven dwells God the All-Perfect. eternally produces. darkness. is the impersonal Glory of God. to or corporeity of the imperishable garment of light which God God. to Jacob Bohme. through which the Uncreated Heaven arises before the Triune God. This thing. and. not merely in living but ment.THE GLORY OF GOD. His Being. Self-contemplation and Self-glorification are consequently the momenta in the Divine Self-Love. . Uncreated Heaven transcends human corporeity and that which surrounds us is so grossly material. out of the This formula brings us back depth of Omnipotence. creates it only out of the pure freedom of His Love and Grace. notwithstanding the flaws in its detailed develop- which we have already called attention. Our own death. 165 This perfect product is energized by eternal Idea. in corporeal reality. and is at once an ideal world and a natural world in incorruptible beauty. who does not need the creaturely temporal world. which is eternally and incessantly energized. consider this this now is God and His Heavenly Kingdom. if He creates it. It is God's Uncreated Heaven. so clogged by heaviness. the objectivity that encircles Him. It is true that all to describe this faculty. and in which He arrays Himself. through the eternal Nature which God posits out of Himself. No description can possibly be adequate. even the eternal Element : ! .
with many other modern thinkers. Yet even Rocholl himself. Paradise. and will defer " it Maiden until " we come into the bosom of the Bohme. that he sometimes falls over into the materialism which has exposed him hit to so many the truth Rocholl has certainly he says of Bohme's too advenwhen reproaches. what Joy. has tried his hand if not at detailed. that of the Holy of Holies intrusion into the recesses " terribly presumptuous." or " after each other. indeed. still at vivid descriptions. We earthly tongue . inter-cohesion. often attempts very detailed descriptions. for the is much too insufficient to do it. that our human speech is fashioned to disentangle things from one another. {v. where things stand in a magical inter-weaving. and to place them in relations of mutual outwardness and inde- pendence. inter-implication. notwithstanding this caveat.. I have no pen Delight. Three Principles. and it stands thus in the eternal from Eternity to Eternity." and consequently wrench asunder that which ought to be treated as inseparable unity. a function wholly all unadapted to the subject in hand." xiv. original and Pleasantness is therein. a fact which shows the attractive power which this subject exercises upon us when our minds have once ." and that every delineation of the mysteries of the Eternal Nature will inevitably invest the subject light seen with something grossly material (just as the purest through a turbid atmosphere becomes a dusky red) . while " outside earthly descriptions change them into an one another. all is turous descriptions.1 66 THE GLORY OF GOD. 89). so detailed. that can describe it neither can I express it. Now." " by the side of each other.
Rocholl has quite correctly perceived that the approximately best symbol of the Uncreated Heaven Music* In the evoluand its harmonious unity is tion of harmonies in the upper and lower notes. it is now the Eternal Being. the symbols which express the process. On the contrary. of which the Created Heaven with which we are familiar is but a feeble copy. We can only speak of it in symbols of more or less perfect correspondence. . symbols of this eternal but also the movement in its exhaustless multiplicity. familiarized with it. those symbols indeed may be which vividly express not only the eternal tranquillity. in the constant re-appearance of the motif. and their mutual conflict. we are enjoined by Scripture to postulate it. expression of the life of the Paradiso. and also to point out the necessity of our pre-assumption. His Strength. Rakia). and now the Eternal The Uncreated Movement that predominates. It will have been observed that. become 167 are not. a shining Firmament (the outspreading of Relatively more perfect nature-world which is absolutely transparent to Spirit. We man can approach unto. in the transmutation of theme into new phases. ignore Heaven may thus be conceived of as a Starry Heaven. of the question * Thus also it was finely imagined by Dante. in these symbols and images.THE GLORY OF GOD. where- by we separate ourselves from those who wholly it. in the solution of strife and tension into And the ever-recurring blessed calm. to attempt an intrusion into the sanctuary we are it is the incapable of doing so Light which no . . God's own Paradise. indeed. Music and the myriad gleamings of precious stones form his symbolic Translator's Note.
where melodious colours and radiant notes where nothing interwoven with each other where lies in stagnant repose. but all is in motion and harmony are eternally effected by means unity of the contrasted movements and actions. Harmony is a word which Holy Scripture does not know. and which leads the reply into a new process. a stammerYet this." . is quintessential . If the validity of this conception be granted. parcelled A truth that reminds us of the Vision of St." out in the earthly world is in union above. that if we could gaze into this may harmony. XLVI. however. But what we call our as the Peace would be the same of God which Harmony. . be said. the Bible calls Peace. And let us lay special stress upon the " melodious What is separated and colours and radiant notes. Martin. that the Uncreated Heaven forms the pre-assumption and foundation of the whole Created World. " I saw flowers that sounded of which he says I The quality of this Nature heard notes that shone. : . ing utterance. it imagination passeth understanding is to the heart of the Christian who has received grace. at least. the theosophic doctrine.1 68 THE GLORY OF GOD. is par- This. it holds in unity all that celled out among the four elements. which seeks a reply through every evolution of the notes. is only a faint symbol. observe and hear to it. will not be judged baseless. The . are the eternal circular a temporal symbol of the eternal movement in God's Heaven. in this we see Rhythm. a feeble groping.
from His Heaven. ix. this parti-coloured veil with the visible heaven and earth. Paradise into may be us. His radiant Glory. with images. within Blessing. 169 created universe hovers in this Uncreated Heaven. fade quickly away and be quenched if they lost connection and communication with the heavenly vital forces and the This Uncreated Heaven. Every good from the Father of Lights. 24). But. figures. permeates it. bringing life and prosperity. is both From this springs everything it and without. subject to the laws of this material world. and perfect gift descends from above. encompass as absolutely near us. both physically and spiritually. from the created heavens. all-pervading and everywhere at hand. bestowing good. strength. Heaven itself (Heb.THE GLORY OF GOD. imparting as it the Scripture calls it. is called which. This veil is the material world of the senses. amid the usual circumstances of earthly there is life. Created life and created light would. which prevents us from seeing it. us by material distances in for it is not It is. heavenly forces exert an influence upon lower nature. it If this word is not a mere empty sound. Heaven of Heavens. certainly in different modes in relation to the different circles of Creation and the various God's Heaven and qualities of created things. which encircles the created. with flowers and stars. whether in spiritual or physical sense. thereby distinguishing is not divided from space . implies that super-terrestrial. may invisibly is confirmed by those glimpses to indivi- Heaven which have been vouchsafed dual saints under extraordinary conditions. and a veil . in its very nature. the heavenly Light.
last things into Eschatology. many which as know that the true and abiding realities are first found behind or within the veil (Heb. in rebellion to the glory which encircles us. .170 THE GLORY OF GOD. with closed eyes and sealed ears. and death. behind what they term the Laws and Forces of Nature. which is subjected. must not. vi. And up to this point of our inquiry. pursue these conjectures they would lead us from the first things into the We . our gross corporeity. we have not yet grasped the idea of the Creation. like the whole physical world. a Veil which is treated by were the thing itself. inasmuch as they do not if it enigmatical symbols. to heaviness and darkness. however. 20). It may also be said that the Veil is this flesh of ours. corruption. nor. we move. and in which. even the thought of a created world. indeed. the finality to one must cling. as it were.
II. but outside Himself. creates THAT that God means not only that an eternal He energizes and realizes produces a life spirit-world over against Himself in relative independence. He produces a world which fection to be developed from imperfection to pera development which has to proceed through time and temporality. GOD AND THE CREATED WORLD. consequently gradually and fragmentarily. while decomposableness. disintegrability. While the eternal inward energy of God depends upon a necessity of His Being. XLVII. and a nature-world as a qualification and presupposition creates for He object. quite differently from the Glory of God or the Uncreated Heaven. lability are abso- aid is lutely impossible in the Glory of God. which is produced by the inward working of God. to evolve itself into indissolubleness). CREATION. That God implies further. that is . THE WHEREFORE AND THE MEANS OF CREATION. Creation must depend . and stands in absolute perfection from eternity to eternity. The Uncreated Heaven is an indissoluble life the Created World is a disintegrable life (but a life which by the Divine . places a the spirit-world.
Consequently. God created the world out of love. one of Bohme's fundamental thoughts. seeing that He conceived the idea of another existence. has already found application in the Inward Life of God. and by which He. create it. with regard to the nature in God which needed to be released from its torture but it gains new and more striking application when one thinks of did not create : He for . free resolution. Wherefore. needy. in turn. has it God created the world.. although creation harmonizes with His It He Being. God is can acquire a derived selfcreates the world with perfect freedom. not compelled to is. in the sense that creation is not. hungering and thirsting after the freedom and fulness of life. and is able. the good pleasure of His Will to so to speak. glorification. viz." i. to be transfigured into likeness to Him. which God alone can bestow upon them. viz.172 CREATION. through free surrender. and yet helpless. since His own perfection ? Bohme " We can only say in answer to this that it replies pleased the Trinity to have children in Its own likeness" ("Forty Questions. necessary to His own perfect metaphysical Being or Existence. . but which needs God. which is Love.. and poor.. This thought. It is impossible for Glory and Love to be manifested unless there be something that needs Glory and Love. upon a God not XLVIII. which is not God. 279). then. like His inward energizing. create it. actual creaturely existences in derivative independence over against God. to It must have been possible for have created.
which the fons originis of matter. " The Eternal God in Trinity has created all things with and by His eternal Word. not created the usual signification. yet not then as creatures. as when a man beholds his face in a In His eternal Wisdom." iii. . viz a Divine Imagination. its He world out of any alien has not drawn from any other fountain material. 40: "Now this world.. that the world out of the Eternal Nature. in which the Ideas of Angels and Souls have been seen from Eternity in a Divine type and resemblance. God has the Form glass. He has created is God has accepts it. Divine Chaos. in which there a countless multiplicity of forces." for the Created World in His eternal Nature He has its matter . out of the seven Natural Properties or Forms which compose the Glory of God." . in Creation ex rejects. semblance. means for His creation. but His own. but in re." ?iihilo. God is Himself. in which there is a countless mul" The Wisdom is the true tiplicity of thoughts.CREATION. not as though there were matter in . from all eternity. 173 XLIX. God has possessed in Himself. in the sense. out of the seven seals of the Eternal Nature. out of Himself. as well as man. but rather an energetic potency. and out of the Eternal Wisdom.* that the world is * " De Triplici Vita. may also say We created. according to Bohme's view. Bohme however. with all that belongs to it. is created as an Outbirth out of the Eternal Nature understand. wherein all things lie. and which themselves contain the mediation of Idea and Nature.
" and that it is quite possible to distinguish it from the essential Wisdom or Uncreated Heaven.174 CREATION. not merely an infinite wealth of eternal reality." includes far more than the God possibility. in which we relation. in The question arises how the Wisdom. God beholds the whole created world as related to which is future. this must also display itself to Him in inward objectivity. i. utterly be a double Wisdom in God it must be however. God would have no other suba conclusion which stance than the created world clashes with our premisses. On this point. possibility of creating. and of gaining thereby a The essential Wisdom certainly derivative Glory. can picture the the thought of another existence outside Himself. in His essential Wisdom or Uncreated Heaven. has His own substance and His own Glory. Hamberger says. that the in which God sees the created world." is. Undoubtedly. inde- . . the idea of Creation actuality. This last is pure life and The World's idea. the same Wisdom. out of this nX^pcofjia. on the contrary. the essential Wisdom. Wisdom . is. is the same as what Plato calls " The Divine World of Ideas. the World's Idea. The only mode. one must draw a distinction here for. but also an infinite wealth of eternal a world outside Himself. and which is an indispensable condition for the Uncreated Heaven itself. and only gains life and existence by being actualized. that when God grasps He beholds. " World's Idea. which we have previously considered.. " without life and without being. There cannot. Bohme gives us no further guidance. viewed under the ideal aspect.e. if the World's idea were immediately one with the Uncreated Heaven.
" this thought of the possibility of a created world. nature." His this she played. if He would call the non-existent existent. as an objectivity which displayed itself to God In Proverbs before the times of the actual world. when He strengthened the fountains of the deep. but God's earth. in the Uncreated Heaven. before God upon earth. which then was Before the times of non-existent. rejoicing in the habitable parts of His earth. When there were no was brought forth. and revealed to Him. is depicted. I was set up from everold. not this earth of ours. we viewed. Life of God also contains resources or means for the creation of a think. When He estafountains abounding with water. in any world outside of God. the clouds above. rejoicing always before Him. viii. from the beginning. in a circle of visions. all that might become real in a future natureit. This " World's Idea. or ever the earth was. when there were no depths. she rejoiced before God in the eternal world. in the Old Testament. if and He would bestow His willed spirit-world. and I was daily His blished delight. Wisdom is introduced in as saying: "The Lord possessed me before His works of I the beginning* of His way. lasting. if ratification on the as yet He shadowy and transient visions that she evoked befoi e Him. 175 pendently of the Glory that He is able to bestow upon Himself in a created world. 22. and my delights Like a maiden child were with the sons of men. as one brought up with Him. . then was I by Him.CREATION. the matter must be So. case. But the essential Wisdom includes the " World's Idea " as its momenThe exceeding wealth of Glory in the Inward tum.
even if he met with it in a profane author. and in division." essentially. self-implicated Mirror of Love. It impresses him like a breeze from some. coming forward after one another..176 CREATION AND COSMOGONY. he would pronounce it to be inspired. and he says that. the link between Nature and Spirit. " " The whole corporeally. Schelling also speaks it with the greatest enthusiasm. certain sense. and utters the a new thing arises. fragmentarily. with and elements. in the Word. important part in Theosophy. although not in a palpable and tangible It was in God. and outside one another . Man. viz. But now. THE UNFATHOM- ABLE MYSTERY. of L.e. CREATION In a AND COSMOGONY. as Bohme expresses it. Above she revealed to Him the lovely creation which might become His image. and the Wisdom rejoiced with itself in virtue thereof. their whole life moving in the relations of succession show and mutual independence. when the Will of God eternal defines itself Fiat. in the forms of Time . and in which she found her This passage plays an highest delight. sacred morning dawn. unknown in the Inward Life of God begins now to itself. pre-existed in God. manner. the whole created world. Creatures manifest themselves." but not stars Universe stood in the Wisdom of God as in a self- entwined. men and spirits. i. all. For that which in God had been implicit and self-entwined in unity now steps out in separaThat which is tion..
with increasing surprise. Middle. CREATION is inseparable from Cosmogony. but even the Triune God. which fills us. being compelled to lose his For he may retain thought or productive power. Son. World is created by God by the eternal Fiat nevertheless. and produce external effects. Not only the seven Natural Properties. God thereby loses them and is impoverished for His depth is inexhaustible. man who may and indeed impart his thoughts to others. world. Consequently. and end are blended In the creaturely together in the circle of eternity. and. LI. however. suffering these innumerable forces and powers to come forward out of Himself. Middle.CREATION AND COSMOGONY. for God shows Himself in were. without. and live a secret life of his own. may be said that the world 12 is born . and need to be harmonized. middle. we may think of a . As an analogy. and End are outside of one another. God by is disturbed by this revelation outwards. " Now " and " Here. but. it The . in division various times of revelation. publish works. where beginning. and Holy here manifest themselves in separation. as we ponder it. to suppose that the Inward and Blessed Life of or that. Father. and Space. and End fall outside of one another. we have here a wholly new form of Existence. where Beginning. We are not. Spirit. within himself the springs of production. on that account. while in 177 in God and the Uncreated Heaven. it as . Beginning." everything stands in an eternal which "near" and "distant" are unknown.
" or develop itself from this. It is summoned forth from non-existence to existence. on no account. give themselves shapes. Light of . from that which is the Externality in God. but the expressed and formed Word of God. of this Will." viii."* The World does not arise immediately from God." if only this " out of God be rightly understood. so also do they form themselves." and has to to grow and elaborate itself. a mirror of the Spirit which is called God. Wheel assigned to it by the Wisdom. then. As all the creatures are summoned forth from the " eternal Centrum Naturae. God can only create a living thing every living thing must then develop itself. the life of the created World advances through continuous births. * "Mysterium Magnum.178 " CREATION AND COSMOGONY. so also every living " creature " has its own partial Centrum Naturae. while the Creative Will presides over the whole. from possi- Light. " out of God. It its is trum NaturcB as Properties. wherewith the Spirit manifests itself. The Son is not created He is God of God. but from the seven Natural Properties. Thus. 25.." the Hearthstone of Life. . understands the whole. seeing that the eternal Nature and the eternal Idea are only the instruments And as all created things are born and formed. The World. and incorporate themselves. . although " bility to reality. it is taken out of God. according to the destiny of Birth. be confounded with the Birth of the Son from the Father. It must. cannot be called God. and is generated out of the Cenmatrix. out of the lower Natural shaped by the higJur Natural Properties.
that the bond which consequently. or Representation. Gratiae. and expressed it forth out of the first Principle of the painful dark world. a countless " De Elect. left free There thus * to express itself according to its own arises. and let the Science or Root out of the only one Will go the itself. so that every power in the separation introduced itself into a Self-Will in the Science. or Representation of the inward spiritual world. Idea. ." iv. in a wrestling sport of Love. "And that is now the outward visible world with the stars and elements. and that now every power is released and will. which was left free. It was not in creaturely spirits. but in the science or root of such a Model and Representation.. Wisdom free. and out of the holy light-flaming Love-world. which has ever been from eternity. as a Type. wherein " has thus in the Power sported with This Model. that it was in a palpable substance before in Distinction.CREATION AND COSMOGONY. represent to ourselves in the Inner Life of God held the forces entwined in unity is unloosed by the Creative Fiat. wherein things stood in the Wisdom in a Spiritual Form in the Science of the Fire and Light. not so to be understood. God has comprehended and moved with the Science of His abyssal Will. at the creation."* We must. all It was the Mysterium Magnum. Model. into a Form according to its property. the one only Will has comprised in the Word. " 179 The same one only substance of the Divine Operation. 21-24. and comprised it in the Word of His speaking.
" thing stands as yet in We find in Bohme the symbol of a colour. which determine themselves each after its own character. distinctive own Each of the But they flowers has are not in they rather serve to enhance one another's glory. Every creature is fashioned by the seven Natural conflict . no strife or confusion occurs here. without of the others. in others He is revealed in the character of His Love. and at the beginning of the Creation. as an unfathomable mystery. but in some special Property is paramount each creature. The Unity of Wisdom rules the whole. he is far from supposing that he has fully He regards it. before the Fall of Lucifer. relative " number of Still. field full of flowers on a its fine summer's day. and are most lower Natural Properties others bear more of the stamp of Gentleness and But. in each necessitating the repudiation Some creatures bear more of the individuality. This is an earthlyparable of the Creation in a state of temperature. stamp of severity. God the power of His is revealed in some according to Wrath. on the contrary.180 CREATION AND COSMOGONY. LII. His severe and terrible Might . . ALTHOUGH Bohme points out the factors of the Creation. allied to the temperature. He " What is here hidden from us is says explicitly : . every" often temperature. grasped the meaning of Creation. with each other Properties. and even enters upon a descriptive sketch of it." of particular wills. since the Creation has passed out of Light. centra.
regarding the temporal as a phantasm. for it has nothing that could awaken that and it has an Eternal Will." i. which is without beginning and * that which . nevertheless. eternity. a beginning is posited but how can anything to Creation in the . the leap from the Infinite to the Finite. begin in the Unchangeable. from circular movement to linear movement. must not search deeper here.CREATION AND COSMOGONY. how was in its essence from eternity is become movable. which has only a vanishing value for Bohme cannot treat the subject so lightly. from the circle Eternity to temporal division and succession. that 181 create we know. by denying the problem of Creation and accepting simply an eternal Universe. " that God hath moved Himself. The enigma to him is the actual transition. but . thought. unchangeable. Pantheism treats this matter very lightly. in whom time does " not exist ? How came it. . 344. wherein the changeable has existed from eternity together with the unchangeable. the actual transposition of the essential * into the sub- " Forty Questions on the Soul. not that which first moved God to we know well the making of the soul.. the of temporal together with the eternal by denying the reality of the world. Bohme also finds unfathom- able that which has been called the transition. ." asks Bohme." What he finds unfathomable is the first movement God who is unchangeable from When God moves Himself to Creation. He " is an unchangeable God ? This God has kept in His own power. when. we know no ground of that. We for this confuses us.
Walther had asked " A . that it perceive. To those who pore over the mystery of Creation. destitute stantial. self-incorporating thing." not. . to have recourse to it here. in the wonder. . which no understanding can grasp. has shaped the eternal into corporeal (actually and." : and Will. itself. which undergo a change or transposition by this magic of the Word whence the Soul pro" ceeded originally at the beginning of the World ? " and Bohme replies No created spirit can posit We can it fathom itself. a moving self-moving. into actual This is the greatest miracle that Eternity existence. It is a mystery which God has reserved for Himself" ("Questions. is The core gathered Notwithstanding Bohme's opposition to Creation ex nihilo. of that which has stood in eternity. humility. nor. physically existing) spirits. he seems compelled. Will. child knows its father and mother well. and obedience.1 82 CREATION AND COSMOGONY. or else " our proceeding from God avails nothing. our Potter. however. a spirit in the wonder. Bohme recommends patience. not our Making. excluding the possibility that there may be eternal essences in God. no sense has wrought. but we know behold. into a beginning thing. indeed. but it knows not how its father made it it is also as highly graduated as its father. Ex NiJiilo would then imply " only by the magic of the Word and : of the mystery into the creative Fiat. Dr. of a beginning. but it is hidden to it how it was in the seed. therefore. The soul grows like a bough of the tree of humanity but the first movement to creation is not to be named. in a certain sense. and which we cannot fathom. indeed. our Maker." i).
being. and which natural abyss. if he does. as against all false autonomies. wholly ignorant whether this night end. deny their creatureliness. who claim for human self-consciousness absolute autonomy or their self-legislation. and what we all lack. or even to enthrone their understanding in created the place of God. In these closing words. What these would-be lords lack. is again to be quenched in the night of death. seek to be lords instead of children. existence. Self-Existent God alone Being. absolute autonomy. he will fall into Hell to the Devil. above the Cross. and which it be the Birth and Death. to possess humility. and the whole night-side of our establish the fact that God will not have lords but children. Notwithstanding the authority of ever so many great names. it is palpably absurd to ascribe absolute is autonomy to a self-consciousness which. Unless one possesses possesses Aseitas. . is Aseitas. or. By this : 183 Let he implies Pantheism profits not. which belongs to God alone. or a new awakening. and not none climb lords. one ought. and is obscure natural basis master.CREATION AND COSMOGONY. to place themselves on an equality with God. God ivill have children tiear Him. with Jacob Bohme. born out of a dim continually supported by an (of which it never becomes cannot see through). the unfathomable mystery. after having and inquired upon this earth for a number pondered of years. The philosophers. Bohme has clearly and simply expressed the canon of theonomic thought.
where the finite monads are represented as radiations. . from the Glory of * Stockl. or the Primitive Monad. but from the Eternal Nature.1 84 CREA TION AND EMANA TION. " Geschichte der Philosophie des Mittelalters. clear Deity (the Heart and Light of God). or. Thus we find Emanation in Leibnitz. that Bohme does not really teach Creation. distinctly teaches that the Creation does not proceed from the pure. greatly modified. standpoint. or. is as pantheistic as Spinoza's doctrine in which the relation between God and the world is simply one between cause and result. outgleams. and Leibnitz's doctrine of Monads. tion means that the World is a necessary effluence But Bohme teaches very perfect freedom if Bohme had taught simply Emanation. from what has been said above. that God creates with . in his doctrine of monads. effulgences. never leads to anything which is really other than God it raises no question of anything that conflicts with God. and corruscaBut by tions from God." . that the often -repeated assertion. viewed from this or radiation from God. It will be obvious. distinctly. Bohme. this we never emerge from God Himself. from the seven Natural Properties. he would not have invented a crux for the thought in the The doctrine of Emanation shape of Creation. in any case. on the contrary. LIII.* must be Emanarejected. CREATION AND EMANATION. but Emanation. no question of physical or moral evil. as it may be more concretely expressed.
the independence of the Creation. we would not quote this remark as if it were a * " Signatura Rerum. in- press single Bohme. but child. Still. is simply to prove sufficiently hedged that one has no proper love for symbolism. of that also is the Creation. but like an apple which grows upon the tree. ottierness. the seed is no longer hers. but not in the omnipotence and power. f becomes the property of the Here the Bohme says. however. which have not been and guarded. and is the progeny of God. then. t "Aurora. an unfolding of the world out of God. of Oetinger's that to cautious expressions of We recal. when isolated and wrenched from their general context. may be adduced as evidence that he teaches an Emanation or EvoluThus tion. of further testimony. " he says Whatever God is in His eternal unbeginning generation and dominion. 1. but grows from the power of that in : the tree. and from which it is summoned forth by the Creative Fiat. is more But in many other places." xvi. a saying passages. So long as she . 1 85 God. from the Externality in God.. that the creatures have " issued forth " from God and it might seem that we have no need ..CREA TION A ND EMA NA TION. it belongs to her but when a grows from it. Bohme is when he who has seed in mother. consequently from God which is not God Himself. child has seed in herself." * In harmony with this illustration. 51. distinctly emphasized. which is not the tree itself. more felicitous gives us the symbol of a herself. as an apple out of the tree. ." iv. the world has grown out of God. And yet one cannot help recognizing that there are passages in Bohme which.
writings almost turbid ferment. to overlook his unmistakable fundamental thought and groundThe intention. while he does not always and . whether Creation ex nihilo. however. are mutually-exclusive it conceptions ? a position which is extremely difficult to maintain. without laying sufficient weight upon the fact. Creation and Cos- mogony. bolism any unimaginative dulness towards symacknowledge that Bohme (who is a lover of Life. which. question. and that we yet say of the things born that " creatures of God. more senses than one. and that. and whose favourite illuspassionate to mark and bearing trations are those of being born. fruit. whether Creation and Generation.1 86 CREA TION A ND of EMA NA TION. a lover of the Scripture parables of the Sower. flowering. that this . which is that of Christian Theism." This question they are the seeing that we also arises. in the usual sense of the term. the Tree and the Branches. growing. he requires But it would be highly unreasonable to be rewritten. generation is conditioned by a determination of the creative spirit that everything stands for him in a perpetuo fieri. and has failed raise into their proper place the categories of that he often speaks of the generation of Spirit the world and of the creatures (cosmogony). is the interpretation which has . many passages. he does emphasize in is undesirable that Bohme's bear the trace of a everywhere It not clarified. and the welling fountains) has often moved with far too great to partiality in the categories of Life. at all points lay stress upon the creative unsearch- able Fiat. finally resolves itself into this. are daily encircled by innumerable births. which has in however.
This." etc. with His un- the world by means of the seven Natural Properties. that is the doctrine of the seven Natural Properties unauthorized by Holy Scripture. therefore. by Scripture. have. Theosophy ap- We peals. and which unto you was. 4. but it ? ETC. what is ? faithful Witness. viz. ovra is not jxi) but that that which which only is no sense whatever exists. not existent actuality. to the seven Spirits in the Apocalypse. to inquire how far this appeal is justified. a certain limited sense does not exist. which are the creative searchable' 'Fiat. in which the seven churches " are saluted with the following greeting Grace be and peace from Him which is. and how far it is not. We examine the often-quoted and classical passage Apocalypse i. 7) is not the same as ovk ovra in in ovra (in Rom. in any Since Bohme teaches that God. and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne. but only possibility while . who is the Now.THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES. we must allude to another objection. For yutr) . 187 it is cannot be substantiated iv. and from Jesus will : Christ. to be understood by the seven Spirits We will not pause to refute interpretations . THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES AND THE SEVEN SPIRITS IN THE APOCALYPSE. produces forces. etc.. unqualified right to be called Christian true. and which is to come. is the opinion of many. LIV.. however. ovk ovra implies that which does not exist sense whatsoever.
who all worship. relation iv. Spirit Spirit. And why is ." This explanation. been made sometimes to Isaiah xi. if the intention is merely to 14). are clearly ETC. and we also find the cherubim and the But the seven twenty-four elders. clear. brought into immediate God and Jesus Christ.1 88 THE SE VEN NA TURA L PR OPERTIES. seven " that preposterous. and which shows us that the Spirits Holy Spirit. is inadequate. instead of being simply place before Jesus suffered to follow Him. and that they are conditioned by holiness but they must This is also have an aspect of strength. the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding. far more probable interpretation is that the seven A form an expression or designation for the whose powers they are. Spirits do not worship they are immediately united with God Himself they are supercreaturely. of Nature. We must certainly admit however. 5. the Spirit of Knowledge and of the Fear of the Lord. created Spirits. and in whom Reference has also they have their personal unity. which describes the powers and gifts that are to descend upon the Messiah " The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him. as seven lamps burning before the throne . that the seven Spirits have an ethical aspect. creatures cannot be For " grace and peace from with that which comes from In Apocalypse Spirits. un. is here designated. . Holy Holy iv. not simply as the but also as the Spirit of Glory (1 Peter the Spirit assigned this peculiar Christ. 2. when we note the connection between this first salutation and the whole sequel which is to be unrolled in the Visions. as that the Spirits are Angels. we again discover the seven namely. although certainly impersonal Spirits. : . the Spirit of Counsel and Might.
it is the purpose of all the visions in the Apocalypse to show that the Kingdom of Grace and Holiness. which is now subjected to such great persecutions and tribulations. is the same Spirit churches in the epistles. in whom the seven Spirits have their . who addresses the churches. . as the Spirit that works in the Kingdom of grace and redemption. but also in His cosmical The cosmical significance of this Spirit significance. is here to be apprehended. to whom the Father has given all power in heaven and upon This is what is told to the churches for earth. but also strong Spirits. when Grace and Peace are brought to them from Him which is. not merely in His significance for the Church and for the society of the saints. to which the Apocathe Church ? lypse points. has. not simply as the Kingdom of Grace. but as the Kingdom of Glory and Victory. in The final goal. 189 designate the Holy Spirit as such. whose power embraces everything. ETC. and who is faithful to His promises) and from the seven Spirits. with which God will establish His cause to His own Glory. and to the Glory of Christ. But the Kingdom of Glory is the And union of the Kingdoms of Grace and of Might.THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPER'! IAS. at its service world-conquering powers and forces. personal unity. nevertheless. even the future. and before whom all kindreds of the There can be no doubt but that earth shall wail. and which is to come (wherein we must think especially of the Father. who cometh Spirits of Power with clouds. But who this addresses the Spirit. which are not only Spirits of grace and peace. and which was. their consolation. the Spirit. is the Kingdom of God. and from Jesus Christ. .
1 90 THE SE VEN NA TURA L PR OPERTIES. who. who is the Father of Glory. worked mightily. the Father of the seven Lamps which burn before This is still the throne. which is to is be triumphantly accomplished. brooded over the waters. fact. will produce. the Father of Lights. When the reader is led back to the Old Testament circle of thought. more plainly by the that the seven Spirits point back to the seven Eyes in the prophecies of Zechariah. where mention is made of the Building of the Temple. even when the fashion of this world passes away. relation His But they also occupy an altogether unique If they are towards the Lord Jesus Christ. by means of His mighty workings. as the Creative Spirit. They stand in immediate relation to God and the Father. he is reminded of the activity of He is the Spirit before the manifestation of Christ. in the heroes of Israel. before the manifestation of Christ. and. with the Resurrec: tion of our Body. reminded of the Spirit of God. the Spirit The of potencies and in God worked powers with which the Creation and Government of the World. who produces new conditions upon the earth. imparted Himself to the prophets. more apparent when we consider the seven Spirits in their relation to Jesus Christ. and who. that which is the final vista of prophecy a new Heaven and a new Earth. as the Spirit of Power. are the same with which He works still. and where the seven Eyes are to watch over the sacred enterprise. . a symbol of watchful and protective Providence. indeed. as the Spirit of Wisdom. disclosed to the reader even ETC. and are the fundamental forces in Glory. He still works as the world-ruling and creative Spirit.
having seven horns and seven eyes. That these potencies are not merely ethical. in thus holds The Lamb who His Hand the is also world- directing. sent forth into all the earth. 1). and to co-operate towards the victorious establishment of the Kingdom of Peace. and washed us from our sins with His blood." The horns symbolize the powers by which the hostile powers of the world are crushed. and because their energy is determined by Him who loved us. and without Him was made. and the Eyes symbolize the Wisdom which us of the they remind corresponds to the power seven Eyes in Zechariah. but will simply glorify Christ. who is the Lion and the " Lamb." He is " the Firstborn of every whom were all things created that are creature. is also the Eternal Logos." He must. Just as it is He also who sends the Spirit. but cosmical potencies. . world-ruling potencies. this is simply because they belong to Christ.THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES. is evidenced in the fifth chapter. 191 able to bring grace and peace. as if searching out and having the care and superintendence of the Lion ! all things. ETC. and avails Himself of them as media through which to work. where Jesus Christ is named as " the Lamb. consequently. which run to and fro through the whole earth. And this same One. by in heaven and that are in earth. by whom all things are was not anything made . because the Father has given unto Him all power in heaven and upon earth. which are the seven Spirits of God. have the seven Spirits from the beginHe did not first acquire them by His Incarnaning that . who will not speak of Himself. made. is Jesus Christ " He that hath the seven " Spirits (Apocalypse iii.
and it is by For . they are the cosmical. organs. and that the Church can absolutely rely upon Him. And it is ETC. it many because He is the Lord of the whole Creation only that He can be the Lord of the Church. it this is precisely the idea of Theosophy. we may proceed to say : Divine Glory Without. or to fulfil His mighty promises." Or. tion. or fontal spirits of life means (although he takes no notice of Schelling . and world-governing potencies. that He can hold the seven He Stars in His hand. Without waters. whose eyes are the sound of is as a flame of fire. If what has here been advanced be essentially Within. these seven Spirits. or fundamental forces. in the Inner Life of God. at these general considerations. the seven Spirits are the uncreated potencies. only because.i 92 THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES. as the Lord of Glory." with its potencies. principles in the Inner Life of God. the prin. at the same time. sustaining. in God's relation to the created world. principles God avails Himself If as His instruments. and media. and walk in the midst of the seven candlesticks only for this reason can He reveal Himself so majestically to the seer. He would be unable to establish the Kingdom. these metaphysical possesses and cosmical potencies. as " He . cipia both of natural of which life and of historical world-life. in the seven Spirits. stop short must be said that we This " is what ' . the Kabbala implies Sephiroth this is what Bohme means by his seven Natural this is what Properties. which constitute the correct. and His voice as other words. with its seven the " Apocalypse or of the number seven) in his Philosophy of Revelation. " the Schellingian " potencies are. creative.
although he makes some attempt at this. is what special activities are to Here Spirits ? and gives us no reply. must be admitted. on this point. 193 emergence. be ascribed to each of the seven but the intimations of Scripture perfect. that meditation into Scripture leads our becomes our problem to apprehend more closely the uncreated potencies through which the Will of God works in its manifestation. and by it where its harmony with the from single here. which ventures into details. itself at least. An endeavour may be made to combine the passages in the Apocalypse with the passages in Ezekiel Scripture silent. its Proofs admissible Biblical view. and tension. suffers us to lack on these points. and to which Scripture itself makes unmistakable allusion. taken as a whole. that they Thus it may be said potencies. who makes free use of Bohme and the Kabbala. . Oetinger. passages of Scripture are inThat which Scripture. must demonstrate itself by its own internal truth and necessity. in general that. notwith- standing veiled suggestions. separation.THE SEVEN NATURAL PROPERTIES. deniably. their ETC. LV. the theosophers have attempted to supply by recourse to the Book of Nature. Theosophy by no become cosmical means lacks Scriptural corroboration. But the validity of this or that conjectural interpretation. has treated Natural Philosophy 13 . a difficulty presents itself when But. it is unasked what special functions. IT will be vain to seek in Bohme a thorough-going Natural Philosophy. still remain ima path This.
viz. to the contrast between Darkness and Light. and the other patriarchs. the severer and the milder potencies. that every life has a double " centrum. versant with the natural science of his age. .. and himself made chemical experiments. with greater explicitness. and to seek a higher unity of Theism and Naturalism. a contrast which. to abandon his pantheistic standpoint. the seven Natural Properties are reducible to a duality. Fire and Light. in order to realize its destiny. Noah. Although Oetinger desires to hold fast by the naTve and simple physics of " which he Abel. Baader's Natural Philosophy is an attempt to develop Bohme's fundamental idea. between Weight (gravity." a Nature-czxxXxum and a Lifeox Light-centrum that it begins with the first. nevertheless. and is consummated in the second and that every life.1 94 CREA TION A ND EMA NA TION. very conmatical abstractions. must be born twice. as we have seen. with many transLight. where the fundamental contrast is that between the Real and the Ideal. and thence makes its way into history. At this point Franz Baader already stood. . on more mature reflection. may The same thing is repeated be discerned in Ezekiel. formations. In practice. so much the more was he led back to Jacob Bohme. the more Schelling was induced." highly recommends to learned natural inquirers in order that they may not be led astray from life and from a living intuition of Nature by their mathehe was. through the various stages of natural And life. . in the Natural Philosophy of Schelling. heaviness) and a contrast which is carried.
The first diversity of circles of creation. The Angels dwell in a wonderful natural world. the perfection of which far transcends that of our earth it is akin to God's own Paradise. for no creature can come into being without having the fiery Triangle. They have under them seven other Throne-angels with the heavenly hosts. Lucifer of the Son. The Angels are created out of Fire and Light. Heaven. Uriel of the Holy Ghost.THE ANGELS LVI. Michael is the symbol of the Father. the Uncreated . and by this it is encircled. are Spirits. Michael. others of are like clearest crystal. Bohme says that some angels are light-brown in in itself They colour. that others have the appearance of lightning. Uriel. DERIVED ETERNITY AND TIME. of a that others are heavenly blue. circle of creation which God produces is the Angelic World. others is shining white. although not destitute of corporeity. a Kingdom of pure Spirits of Light. Archangels. the obscure nature-basis. each of whom has his own three kingdom with a multiplicity of angels. THE Work Bohme and of Creation unfolds itself through a Here specifies the Lucifer. to whereby allusion made the seven Natural .
" nature is transfigured in the light and love of God. from and without temporal succession. and to the contrast between the severer in the qualities which predominate It its is Properties. and hold communion of love with each other in common joy. proper place and region. " The astringent and sharp in their temperature. of God. in the natural creations. but exist adoration Their life-employment is simultaneity. But what must be specially emphasized is that with the the life of the Angels their is not fettered by the limitalife is tions of time and space. ministers in later in participation the nevertheless.196 THE ANGELS. circle of eternity. They live in the undivided Trkr\pu>\La. as our human . of Life . blessed contemplation of His . and are raised above the contrast between near and far. They have indeed their their . the beginning. So also But everything stands in holy Angels. in this material world spatially free. and by means of which their relation to God is to be established and confirmed and although they may acquire a relation to time by becoming God's fellow-labourers and . without history. and in milder various angelic classes. : as with the flowers a meadow each has specific colour. they are. They roam among one another in the three kingdoms. they are free from time. existence is temporally and locus. the momenta in of their life are not parcelled out. and by their history of man. but are not restricted to it they can exist where they please. Although they may acquire a history by reason of the trial which they have to undergo. In a similar manner. And yet each of them retains its own region as its property and possession.
" . a deduced Eternity Jacob Bohme does not employ the term.DERIVED ETERNITY AND glory. LVII. as the phrase is. But now. for a fuller and richer form of being. because He is self" " Aseitas is His attribute. "to exchange time for eternity. ! . TIME. eternity of God. and receives its contents from this. 197 and reciprocal love. we look forward. " The creation of angels born ? the angels had a beginning but the powers of which Does this they are created had no beginning. and creature can only possess an eternal life which is imparted to it. and undivided. The existent. certainly able. We are life in during this temporal order but still. but it harmonizes with his thought and this thought is not without validity." to exchange this form of existence. whole. and participates in this. to have eternal faith . A DERIVED. and is the gracious gift of God can live only in an eternity which is deduced from the Primitive original alone . instead of looking forward. . They live their life in a derived or derivative eternity. as Christians. But this eternity. where everything is simultaneous. we look back into the morning of creation and ask. who Eternity belongs only to Him hath immortality. we cannot designate otherwise than as a derivative and communicated eternity. When When were the did the derived Eternity begin ? Bohme replies. which for us lies in the future. which participates in the Eternity of God. where everything is fragmentary and sundered into succession.
time must have elapsed before they were Time is nothing in itself. no time when the Hallelujah of . temor that they have an eternal beginning ? is very hard to imagine. which here co-eternal means the angelic world with * made God Himself.* What Or does it mean they have an eternal beginning. but in those of Eternity and Not to mention the fact that. because poral beginning mean A the angels were not created to live in the forms of time and succession. was itself eternal ? But if we say this. their heaven and glory. poral beginning means that they were created in time. consequently. if temCircularity. is not this a denial of the concep. all at once. they are not created at any point of time there has been no time when there were not angels before the throne of God. that the angels have a temporal beginning. that they sprang from that movement in the unchangeable God which Bohme regards as unsearchable. temporal existences preceded the angelic ? The whole representation of the angels includes the idea that they were created with the natural world that belongs to them. as if a space of time had elapsed in God Himself before He began to create. Is not this Pantheism ? And is then thus it will If the world be asked. we say.198 THE ANGELS. but which does not presuppose time. form for existence and then it must be asked. it is might have . . but is only a created. We are thinking here only of the primitive Hierarchies for certainly conceivable that later hierarchies arisen. a movement which. creatures did not ascend to the Eternal One who alone hath immortality.
. These created beings. 199 We are unable to perceive this. posited. Eternity of God are eternity of the angels . know themselves God. and were as yet exempt from succession. upon by Him. ? an act of the freedom of God. who does not need a world. although origin. even although they had not entered into history. a world which stood in the light of Eternity. . and surrounded the throne of God a kingdom prior to the creation of our world. independently of Bohme.DERIVED ETERNITY AND tion TIME. in a metaphysical respect. a world of pure spirits. but wills it out of pure love and this freedom and love are not impoverished by the supposition that no time elapsed in God before the world was created nor are they magnified by the of creation is Creation . The main point here. in his excellent dogmatic has been led to the same view. he expresses himself thus " We have no right to say that there may not have existed. We brought into existence have no recollection of a they cannot avoid calling attention to the fact that Dorner. in : . is this. but who stood in the simultaneity of all the elements that pertained to their existence. as to be in absolute dependence temporal treatise. that the Eternity of the Angels and the supposition that God. . arbitrarily postponed the execution of His design. whose resolution to create must certainly have been eternal. essentially is dissimilar. following his own train of thought. prior to this palpable world which is subjected to time. and. assigned " " Aseitas and this is the important they lack point if a fundamental distinction is to be drawn between God and the angels. The God by the angels.
183.> living creatures (a>a) in Ezekiel and in the Apocalypse. and because for this kingdom itself there had as yet arisen no Time. for Bohme. S. as we have seen. it remains clear that. no Succession. are uncreated.g. but of eternity .. which would not endure to be without a world. . that for * Dorner. s. because there was no time before it was.. Can one imagine the throne of God into existence in time ? as coming LVIII. the representatives of created life. We may add the seven Angels who stand before God (Apocalypse viii." I. 2). and answer the question as to the temporal or in eternal origin of the angels. With respect to ."* Dr. . Dorner reminds us that many passages of Scripture seem to point to such a heavenly world which belongs to the throne of God the e. had always its abode a kingdom of which it cannot be said that there was a time when it was not. 471." ii. " System der christlichen Glaubenslehre. "Philosophic und Tradition. no Becoming. the throne it we note j" that Jewish Mysticism regards as the point of transition from the Divine to the creaturely. and are not to be confounded with the seven Spirits who. But whatever manner one may interpret Bohme.200 THE ANGELS. t Molitor. Cherubim and Seraphim. which the creative love of God. the fundamental type of the angelic life is not that of time.
indeed. standing in derivative eternity in which there is as It is incontestably yet neither time nor history. Creation into which the whole is also Perfection. and acquire a living view of the unity of the universe. the region where means and object. according to Scripture.DERIVED ETERNITY AND him the primal TIME. there is a connection between the angels and the mysterious that. his view that the angels are prior to man. where beginning. it must be remembered stars. and here he is in harmony with the declaration of Scripture (Job xxxviii. middle. is But of the creation of this earth of ours. take our standpoint with Bohme in this beginning. 20 x circle of creation is a Spirit-world. when the corner-stone of the earth was stars laid. and end. 7) that. a derived Eternity. the first circle If we of Creation is The final circle of a spirit-world in a derived Eternity. but one far richer than the former." God it created the heaven and the altogether arbitrary to assign the creation of the angels to the Mosaic creative The angels were prior to the whole history days. and all the sons of God is shouted for joy." The creation of the angels " In certainly included in the general description : the beginning earth. pours itself. Thus. . "the morning sang together. the angels are compared in Job. we gain the best position with regard to this temporal world. prior to this earth . because it embraces the heavenly Jerusalem with the Church of Christ. while he maintains absolute silence with When the morning-stars and regard to the angels. which Moses narrates. the Future World. past. But in the midst lies the temporal world.
circular movement. abstract conception of the world exclusively through logical. Should then the universe. and regards this purposeful. This middle has not always existed. lack this symmetrical self-completeness. be in without ? object or limitation. but linear movement. we require a terminus demand therein We and a terminus ad quern. and conditioned elements. the predominant feature is not rhythmic circulation. but a world of spirits and souls). and that a quo of every shall it have its own inward infinity. actual. progressive serial movement where that congeries of events and . we call history. and physical categories. future are outside one present. for instance. when one looks wholly aside from its teleological. begin and end mist We ask with . rent ideas of the infinity of the universe with unlimited time without beginning or end and illimitable space are only valid in a purely abstract view of the world. This theory releases us actions occurs which from the dreary and nebulous conception of the The curinfinity and boundlessness of the world. when one discusses the infinite divisibility of matter.202 THE ANGELS. of being an intermediate world. most assuredly. accordingly. work of art that it shall be finished and symmetrically rounded off in itself. nor will world. while these are within one another where . teleologically-defined world (the characteristic of which is to be not only a natural world. which must. mathematical. and in eternity all another. a world simply that of transition to eternity. But if we are to apprehend the living. as. be the most consummate work of art. we need finiteness and limitation. it Its significance is always continue to exist.
before.DERIVED ETERNITY AND : TIME. Bohme Schelling. middle world between . in relation to which the angelic world. to imagine. in other. and teaches that time This temporal originated in a Fall from Eternity. indeed. and issues with into something definite this reason. in its derived eternity. and would thereby receive a qualification of time. this process did not take place so peacefully and harmoniously as one might be disposed work of lines. for But how. would then be placed as an antecedent world. this and around it. world arose. 203 " Which is the more perfect. a new creative act.. 97. how did world is some mode or out of Eternity it come into being ? That. must be did this temporal world. disorder. or as. Time must have proceeded obvious. . above. it would have done if the creation had advanced along strictly normal He sented to us in Revelation points to the suggestions which are preitself. then." book 9. for whence else could have come ? The clearest conception that we can frame is. it and perfect self-limited. that it arose by a new creative determination. as an Eternity broken and shattered. at the outset. flung into confusion * and i. and is here in close accord with Scripture. two eternal worlds. or a universe which issues " forth into something definite and consummate ? * Bohme expressly teaches. beneath. According to Bohme. an endless Schelling series of worlds. that the Universe begins something definite and perfect. this and that. which may be well compared to an island floating in a vast ocean with eternity behind it. an eternal circle of existences with no goal of perfection. "Werke.
and a multitude of his subordinate angels shared his fall. AND THE APPALLING " TURBA. of temptation more profoundly than other thinkers have done by his the Nature-centrum and doctrine of the two centra. indeed. and the first thing on which we must fix our We Bohme certainly Temptation. did not continue in the truth he conspired against God. and But Lucifer did not maintain himself . as a Spirit of Light. . standing then in marvellous beauty ruled over a glory. THE FALL OF LUCIFER. here face the mystery of the Origin of Evil .204 THE ANGELS. but of which this earth of ours formed a part." in the angelic world and amongst the primitive hierarchies. the mightiest of all created spirits he had above him only the Son of God. according to either of which . being that can be tempted must have within himself two attention indicates is the the possibility A contrasting principles. And this forms the starting-point of a directs morning of world ! long history. our attention to a great catastrophe in the a rebellion in the Spiritcreation. the effects of which also extended to the natural world that was subject to him. and he Lucifer. which for us indeterminable. Egoism and Love. was a mighty Spirit of Light he was. : is domain of natural worlds. LIX. the Light-centrum.
he may determine himself. It is necessary that even the angels should be tempted and proved, in order that their holiness may not be simply nature, but may be conditioned by their own free-will.
Temptation takes place in the fourth Natural Property, where Fire and Light, Darkness and Light
It is the will of God that the separated. creature shall sacrifice the Fire-principle, Egoism
Selfishness, to the Light-principle; shall sacrifice the Fire-life, the " Own "-life, by absolutely surrenderWith this ing it to the Light, to the Life of Love.
He beheld his comply. he beauty, marvellously beautiful his power, for he was a most powerful Lord regarded and he passed into the realm of false imagination. Instead of setting his imagination upon God, and serving Him in obedience and meekness, he fixed his imagination upon himself, envied the Son of God, who was even more beautiful and mighty than he he looked upon the created world and understood its foundation. Then he fancied that he also could become a God, and rule over all things by the power of fire, that he could become a Fire-Lord with a Fire-regime and that, by bringing his own into shape, he could destroy what God had thoughts
Will Lucifer would not
it by something altogether new. burned within him and sought Fire-ground to be manifested, and the darkness in him sought to become creaturely. He opened his "centrum and thereupon his Light was quenched. naturae," The beautiful star was wholly darkened. The foundation of Hell, hidden from all eternity, was now revealed. He aroused in himself Hell and the
made, and replace
of God the three first now have dominion over
principle of the Wrath natural properties that
His torment consists
he per-
petually climbs up to destroy the Heart of God, but, as often as he reaches the height, he is plunged
back into the deepest abyss.
himself shall be abased
that exalteth
Exhaustive knowledge of the Temptation and Fall in the angelic world is certainly impossible for us, because the angelic world and that potent angelic prince, whom we firmly renounce in Christian Baptism, is too high for our comprehension, particularly as we can form but a very imperfect conception of the power that was bestowed upon
But the general metaphysic Creator. which is here necessary is accurately given in It might Bohme's doctrine of the two centra. seem incredibly absurd that a creature certainly could desire to undertake a conflict against its Creator, and to enter upon an utterly hopeless But if we reflect upon all the absurdiopposition. all the hopeless revolts against God and His ties, world-order, and all the illusions of possible victory which highly-gifted human spirits so often to abandon themselves, we cannot deem it incredible that a corresponding event, on a higher scale, should " have taken place in the angelic world. Lucifer," " knew well that he himself was not says Bohme, God, and he foresaw the judgment of God but he had no sensible perception of it, but only a bare
him by the
knowledge (something merely theoretical) his sensible perception was only of the Fire-ground that burned within him, and incited him to wish some;
* kingdoms and above the whole Deity."
thing altogether
new, to
himself above
In additional explanation of the illusion to which he abandoned himself may perhaps be adduced the fact on which we have previously touched, viz., that the angels stand in derivative Eternity, and that
thus the illusion lay ready to Lucifer's mind, when the Fire-principle tempted him, that he was not created;
that a
was also
and that he might
veritable God, an
This Anti-God, into conflict with the Most High. is a feature, at all events, which the great poets have ascribed to Lucifer. Thus, for instance, Byron, whose Lucifer in Cain distinctly says that " he does not believe that God created him," whereupon he proceeds to question and argue away all moral
attributes in
God, and grants validity only to the Another trait which the poets of might. conception have assigned to Lucifer is his confidence in his
immortality, his belief that God cannot annihiand that thus he may enter into conflict him
God with impunity. " What tho' the field be
In Milton, Satan says All is not lost ?
the strength of gods and this
real substance
for to
Titanic thought
expressed by the Prometheus of the consciousness of being spirits,
be a
spirit is to
be immortal, imperishable,
and unquenchable,
emboldens the
In their spiritual
Mysterium Magnum,"
9; "Aurora," xiv.
by which they are certainly in kinship with God, they delude themselves into the idea that an absolute autonomy belongs to them, and they
reject all
Theonomy. They simply forget that they are not self-existent, that they do not possess the " attribute of Aseitas," that their Eternity is not
and that the final meaning primitive but derived of their unquestioned deathlessness is merely this,
their Fire
not quenched."
Bohme, the
reality to the
of evil must
predominates in be traced back
again and again that the idea was impossible for Lucifer to have resisted
Lucifer, like the other
Throne Angels, had the
of the Majesty of he had centred his imagination upon this, he would have continued to be an But he withdrew himself from the Love, and angel. into the Wrath of God. It is true that God passed foresaw his fall, but He was unable to prevent it. True also that the realm of imagination had existed from all eternity, and that it provided him with the
before him.
opportunity of
was, nevertheless, absofree-will,
and entirely of
that Lucifer entered the
and without realm of false
The pervading thought in Bohme's imagination. doctrine of the Election of Grace is that the intelligent creature possesses in
the "centrum
which good and
evil originate.
It is false to
not the will of
to admit all
It is
should be assisted.
But every being arouses Heaven or Hell within What thou stirrest up within thee, whether it be Fire or Light, is accepted by its like, either by the Fire of the Wrath of God, or by the heavenly If one will be a devil, the Light- Fire of Love. wrath of God will have him if one will be an angel, God chooses him to be an angel. If a man has entered into wickedness and selfishness, the wrath of God judicially confirms him in his choice. If a man has entered into the word of the Covenant, God confirms him to be a child of Heaven. It follows from this view that what has been called the Mystery of Evil, or the Sinful Fall, is one
No other with the Mystery of Freedom of Choice. than this can be given to the question why reply Lucifer placed himself in hostility to the Will of
Because he willed
because he willed to
centre in himself.
the question reason for this can be assigned except the will itself; it cannot be supposed that outside the
The same reply must be given of Adam's Fall is proposed. No
some other cause is to be sought, which is hidden only from us, which we do not know, but which we may perhaps discover some day. The
no other
when he made
Act ii., and placed the same reply in the mouth of 2), For, if the Shylock in the Merchant of Venice. cause were outside the will, a will- coercing cause,
{Julius Ccesar,
power to
beginning, were not a primal thing and a principiating element.
the outset, the electing will
lies in
impelled by no It is certainly necessary that various motives motive. should present themselves to the will, in order that it may choose from amongst them. Here, now, the
has not yet characterized
itself, is
great significance of
Fancy or Imagination displays motive presents itself to the electing Every will as a phantasmal image of the good, be it a The image on real good or only an apparent good. which the free-will dwells with pleasure assumes
more and more magic of colouring, grows definitely And into shape, and becomes magically influential. at length, the free creature wholly fixes his when,
surrenders himself to
to himself,
image becomes a
and takes it fructifying and
impelling power for
it is
or death.
If the will has
no longer free. The motive for Lucifer chosen, was the phantasmal image of his own greatness and glory, and of the novelty which he desired that his
revolution should introduce into God's world.
have said that this is Bohme's fundamental it is undeniable that isolated expressions are to be found which suggest that Evil could not These utterances harmonize but become actual. with Bohme's conviction of the necessity of contrasts for the manifestation of life, wherein, as we have already pointed out, he sometimes fails to distinguish between contrast and contradiction, between possiBut if we dismiss from our bility and reality. and inconsistencies these contradictions regard
(which must be viewed as partly casual expressions), and keep to Bohme's distinctly-marked and general meaning and intention, we cannot but admit that no philosopher has given a truer and more profound Evil is, as is well known, the explanation of Evil. weakest point in philosophical systems it is, so to
their "partie
The majority
philosophical systems regard evil and sin as necesa view by which God sarily attached to finiteness
the origin
of Evil, or
by which Evil
abolished as Evil, and, from a higher standpoint, is resolved into defectiveness and mere semblance.
According to Bohme's doctrine, rightly understood and cleared from its obscurities, it is not the reality of Evil, but simply its possibility which is associated with finiteness, and with the conception of a free
creature. According to Bohme, Evil is not a semblance, but an actual abnormality which has entered the creation for it is the result of a real
an actual rending asunder from unity and wholeness it depends upon the perversion of the originally moral and good powers, a perverted relation of supremacy and subordination
depends upon the fact that the creature is in antagonism to God, and posits itself as a false centrum, which seeks to gather about itself, both from within and from without, a multiplicity of forces, which
its sphere of power. Nevertheless, in spite of all the disturbances it occasions, Evil continues, in the main, to be power-
continues to be only an effort which never its purpose continues to be merely sub;
and can never bring
and seeks to effectuate itself in a particularistic fashion. and death. introduces a reaction. God that confusion should be the final He. with the fierce consuming fire. the Days of creation of the earth. all his disturbing is compelled the slave of God power. notwithstanding is still . The devil. relation to this earth. darkness. Turba ! There now occurs The bond of the in forces Nature an appalling is broken and. which bears the fundamental stamp of the wrath of God. instead of harmoniously co-operating. LXI. Thus arises a state of Chaos. the Will of condition But it is not materialization. he drags down with him in his Fall his subordinate Nature-world. in self-despite. every force is now left to itself. God submerges a new creation. which describes the in new the various stages advancing history of Creation. to contribute to the Glory of God. an explosion so to speak. only in the Divine economy to be the instrument of God. Spirit is connection and subtile. was a magical Nature. and there between Spirit and forces. the uniting dynamic centre of the Natural and when a disturbance. loses his normal God. according to Bohme. therefore. the the whole under water. it is transmitted throughout the whole circle. The then-existing thin Natural World was. the unity of Nature.212 THE ANGELS. takes place at the centre. WHEN in by his self-kindling. and. . and begins This forms the subject-matter of Mosaic history of Creation. The . which has its centre Lucifer.
until the perfect triumph of the Light. and the Divine reaction that was then in now that induced. If THE MOSAIC HISTORY OF CREATION. According to Bohme. makes its appearance. his Judas Iscariot. and Space the form for corporeal relations. it must be with the understanding that we do not expect to find in Scripture other than isolated and obscure suggestions upon this . in viewed the origination of Time and Space Lucifer. conditioned. Time begins at the Fall of Lucifer. whereby the fettered Light-forces are restored to their former relation. TOHU VABOHU. strictly and throughout. until the whole work culminates It is Man. Daub. that other normal relations of Time and Space would have arisen if Lucifer. 213 Creation. as a consequence of the Fall of which point we observe. and Time would subsequently Adam. The fundamental meaning of Time is the struggle of the Light against the Darkness. we ask whether Bohme's interpretation of the Mosaic history of Creation has any foundation in Holy Scripture. what Daub omits to notice. what we call Time. On LXII. has In the same way. are to be interpreted as the stages of a progressive struggle between God and the Powers of Darkness. both in the spiritual and physical world.TOHU VABOHU. by idea and spirit. then have been the form for a rhythmic evolution. had not fallen. successivelyadvancing Teleology.
that the earth had been. well reserved devil in its known that Scripture information with reference is very the to and the demonic kingdom. from the very first. we should be unable to explain. dare not trust so disputed a rendering. now to be stated. therewe abide by the old " The earth was without : (Tohu Vabohu). otherwise. ness. a catastrophe. that the distinctly into demonic kingdom the first comes more The which can be imposed upon no one as an article of faith. with " : read In Lindberg and others. This especially to the Old Testament. then. The most accurate interpretation. but which relies upon data of Holy Scripture combined with the conclusions of Natural The question is whether this hypothesis Science. and darkness was upon the face of the deep. If. we ventured to the beginning God had created the heaven and the earth. in an unformed condition. form and void " . can be spoken of only as a hypothesis. For it would then have been the distinct teaching of Revelation. that a great change had taken place upon the earth. can explain what. It is subject.2i 4 TOHU VABOHU. seems certainly to be that which is the general one in theology. interpretation of the Mosaic history of the Creation. It is in the New applies Testament." the matter would be as good as settled. which would naturally direct the mind to a catastrophe in the spiritual world. but the earth had become without form and void (Tohu Vabohu). and. when Christ appears. and when men can endure a fuller explanation of the powers of dark- foreground. as a preBut we supposition of that in the natural world. fore.
Jer. is not Tohu Vabohu reckoned among the creative days themselves as the work of the first day ? " And God said. Tohu Vabohu. why. Let the Why do we not read : * Delitzsch. on the contrary." may. with the implied notion of the wrath and punitive righteousness of It is God (Isa. and whose Spirit brooded over the face of the waters. verse in the Bible " : . the imperfect and the as yet undeveloped but. On this interpretation. the only question is that of a primal creation. by no means unjustifiable to ask : Can Tohu Vabohu be an immediate product of creative Is it not. fashioned and finished this formless matter through a series of creative periods. and darkness was upon the face of the deep. which proceeds quite normally." and it is obvious that this mere verbal sound contains means not simply something sinister and terrible. 23*). then. and needed to receive life from the Spirit. 215 had been a chaotic mass. " Commentar iiber die Genesis. however. who willed to develop His work from the imperfect to the perfect. and that the Creator. it includes the idea of the disturbance and destruction of a previously orderly condition." which. the expression activity ? If it is an for a "turba" which has entered in? immediate product of creative activity. " in prima materia. was spiritless. iv. in itself. until it had attained the perfection for which it was destined." S. excite doubt as to the " correctness of this view. xxxiv. .TOHU VABOHU. 104. 11 . closer consideration of the remarkable second A And the earth was without form and void. when this expression occurs in other parts of Holy Scripture.
Apostle says. its is Scripture. unscriptural error to treat the Darkness as a mere deficiency. an absence of Light. called the Light good. The judgment day is depicted in the Bible as a dark Darkness and Death. are realities It is a great and an realities can be divided. In so the counterpart of the ethical. According to and Darkness are contradictory Scripture. the for only Light and the Darkness.216 TOHU VABOHU. Darkness and Hell are day. signifies Evil. is traced back to God. conflicting forces which is hostile to Light. and the Spirit of God moved upon the Is the darkwaters. with a manifest allusion to the his" God. sin. and and we recollect that the overwhelmed by it . : " God said. Nor do we read closely cognate conceptions. makes appearance with and the physical darkness it is far as darkness. . . Let there be : darkness " ! but " God said. Light Darkness is the power principles. Light from the Darkness shows that the Light must have been imprisoned in the Darkness. who commanded the light tory of Creation : . assert this is equally discordant in with ScripIt Darkness. Let there be Light and He divided the from the darkness. We also read that God . we must ask ness an immediate product of the creative activity ? ? : : " To ture." That God divided the light Light from the Darkness implies that both." Again. then. in Scripture. earth be without form and void let there be Tohu Vabohu But to this is added the sentence of " There was darkness over the face of Scripture the deep. as a manifestation of the wrath of God. while He did not say that That God divided the the Darkness was good.
the Tohu is " Vabohu." which seem to denote the abyss. unanimously stated that the fashionof the earth did not proceed by the path of ing peacefully progressive evolution. The more attentively we study the darkness. viz. a revolt in the spiritual world. we naturally abide by the simple facts which those. a logically defensible or not. made in the image of God. became the scene of a catastrophe. and the troubled agitation. Man. the conception to which we are led back. " The earth had become without form and void." which betokens a bottomless " waters. we can cite here only the barest subject. purpose. however. hearts 6). nevertheless. as a between creation and confusion.TOHU VABOHU. iv. created of God. sufficient for our generalities the ." in which the earth was placed. the deep. who are conversant with nature. but by that of the It is contest most violent and tempestuous revolutions. or "turba. believe themselves to have discovered. The creative days advance from as a light to light. between . to shine " 217 out of the darkness. they are. the more are we strengthened in the conviction that all this cannot have belonged to God's original creative order but that it represents state in which the earth.. this is. reserving our own opinion as to metaphysical or supersensuous aspect of the Moreover. If we ask what Natural Science teaches us with regard to the history of the earth's development. which had transplanted itself to nature as an appalling tempest in the morning of time." be philo. until at length Paradise appears who home of light. And whether Lindberg's rendering. destined for the Light-creature. hath shined in our (2 Cor.
that the joy of rapine and murder. almost instantly. We appearance contemporaneously with the formation of the mountains.. multiperished worlds of plants and animals tudinous swarms of living creatures. that many of them. was an of this animal world. an emerging world of living creatures. . It is stated that a power of Death. Unless one were well " aware that naturalists aim at the " Der Geschichte der Urwelt. surged forward in all heights and depths. such as human . i. others irresistibly of by torrents of all fire that burst forth with fury from volcanoes. which is here conspicuous in its utmost ferocity. 376. and. imagination were essential feature scarcely able to invent. some by precipitated masses of the self-shaping mountains. by which they were buried. and the doom With regard to we are informed so-called of petrifaction. with desolation and silence. were enormous monsters and Plesiosaurus. the whole transformed into a huge field of death. the powers of life and death. his of which reminds us Bohme's three first Natural Properties. bordering on the incredible.. coupled with the most exquisite torments. Negative Ternary. animals. ." 531.* the animals of these early worlds.218 TOHU VABOHU. Keerl. especially the Saurians. which made their diluvian flora. Megalosaurus.. and plants. some by floods and deluges. etc. exercised a widely-extended dominion in the ante- hear of destroyed fauna and world. Mensch das Ebenbild Gottes. And a similar experience repeats itself in subsequent geological periods. but suddenly met their death." Wagner. Ichthyosaurus. etc.
who inhabited the same waters. of the Megalosaurus. What a moment when these scaly masses clashed against each other. hosts of such monstrous Ichthyosaurians * Steffens." i. one would be tempted to regard many of their descriptions as It is said that the mouth visionary and romantic. whose acquaintance with physical Dragon. 213. " Religionsphilosophie. fed Flying serpents swept hissing through the air. pursued the same prey." descriptions also remind us of the mythological # Keerl. Of the " Plesiosaurus Cuvier says If anything could justify those hydras and other monsters whose shapes recur so frequently in the monuments of the middle ages. was furnished with teeth like razors and saws that its . These it would undoubtedly be the Plesiosaurus. Swarms of such winged creatures in the air. whale-like in size. that with a single bite of its teeth it could crush an animal of the size of an ox. and when their furious wrathful movements troubled the ocean " This enmailed race of Saurians depths!" Again: not only occupied the great waters even the air was allotted for the extension of their dominion.. one can hardly refrain from imagining the appalling battles between these sea-serpents. . 219 utmost possible exactness of research. . and researches in this alists.TOHU VABOHU. its : head was so huge. domain is acknowledged by naturSaurians " : writes concerning the At the sight of these incredible remains and these gigantic weapons. jaws could open so wide. a colossal lizard. on which they pounced like swallows. and upon fish and insects. and were forced by their growing multitude into ever closer proximity.
tentative experiments. fate as the destroyed and buried fauna and flora. there is a We chaos of uncertainty and doubt amid an infinity of are well aware that many of the hypotheses. that inadequate God. and were compelled to make room for a Creative Work of which God said that it was good. so quickly and . in His creative work. . No one denies that in the antediluvian world death ruled as a destructive and disturbing power. Is this in character with a creative history that unrolled itself along normal lines ? Can this be in harmony with that God whose essence is Holiness. while these revolutions would force us to the conclusion that He takes delight in death and the ruin of the creation ? It is quite to seek to explain this by saying.220 TOHU VABOHU. Accordingly. where. the same and that others are destined to experience. or that the animal world was full of horrible monstrosities. hypotheses of natural science have already expe- We rienced. before the perfect could appear that these races of living creatures." will not venture further into these drearyregions. And now we ask. and Love Must instrument ? is . for naturalists themselves. and giant crocodiles on the banks of the lakes and rivers of composed the marvellous population of These monsters were swept away. who it has Omnipotence as His is not rather be founded in the not of that condition of a nature which God who a Lover of Life. we hold fast simply to that which is generally acknowledged. that epoch our earth. advances from the less in perfect to the self more perfect that the Creator Himwas obliged to undertake certain crude and . Wisdom. and Plesiosaurians in the ocean depths.
not merely contrast. these monstrosities. and start from blindlydeny working nature. or can be indicated. the presence of which in nature and why this reason they cannot deny. in a certain sense. produce itself. to the actual facts as that . these perished fauna and flora are the postulate for that which was intended to be permanent . and why it did not at once They do not attempt to produce the normal. but contradiction of life they constitute a hostile principle There are naturalists who within Nature itself. these as they call them. that was to be without assertion this. this nature it is the highest (although unconscious) incumbent upon them to explain how reason. God and creation. is . came about was compelled first to produce these worlds destined " crude experiments. necessity for definite creative purpose therein has been faintly indicated. suffers the Creation to But advance from the imperfect to the perfect. is precisely the no : even ask proof. kind of blind credulity. suddenly destroyed. the latter could not have that a life come into being. this violent and destructive death." to death and destruction. with a explain this. without this postulate. But since even these affirm that . all this irrationality. and. and that. This assertion. then. which requires No We Why. but are accustomed to point.TOHU VABOHU. the postulate permanent could not arise of Death. this reciprocal murder and poisoning are not simply imperfection. was God unable to allow His creatures to advance in calmly progressive evolution ? Whence the necessity for all this revolution ? We can readily understand that God. whose Will it is that the Creation shall develop itself.
Only will can Evil and who undertake to prove that cannot also introduce disturbing energies into nature. and dare not. of a sinless. have passed T e are very far from supposing that temperature. remained in latency and concealment. and that these evolution. both by false admixtures and by false separations and divisions. deduce all this confusion. peaceful. would have the which. . . matter of course. a which. seeing that nature is the extended body of ? spirit cannot but hold that God has established His the possibility Creation upon a double possibility. are liberated into reality and destructive and this explains why nature bears the energy stamp of mixture and struggle. harmonious evolution . as Bohme phrases it. as necessary. in the free in creation. cannot. must be rationally who believe in God and Creation. of potencies and forces normal development." this would be a the demoniac powers can create Manichaean admission but it is not Manichaean to admit that the forces.222 TOHU VABOHU. can produce deformities. The disturbance must have originated in the We Creation itself. W . in Spirit the created originate spirit spirit-world. because now the " out of forces. all these graves. : phenomena diluvian world themselves in the antepresented upon a colossal and gigantic scale. and acknowledge a Divine revelation in the Mosaic record of creation. in mere possibility. We a multiplicity in . and all this murder from God. working in false isolation. and an In this latter evolution through sin and death.
as Bohme says. cannot but possess. 223 LXIII.. it must be a mixture of Glory and Terror. must World which thus comes into being cannot The but bear the stamp and signature of conflict. what above on the subject of Tohu Vabohu.TOHU VABOHU. has here been set forth. but simply in a relative sense." not to be taken absolutely. inIf this struggle is deed. therefore. as Steffens expresses it. is He had It is at the conclusion. in Tohu Vabohu. the stamp of Love and Wrath or. where every Light-Creature that God produces must be regarded as a prey which is snatched away from the hostile powers. and it was good. as a progressive contest between God and the powers of darkness that sought to check and hinder the work of God. says Stefifens. when God looks upon pronounces that it the whole. we have stated Darkness and the Deep. often " repeated in " the history of the Creation that God saw what " the word good made. This. we combine what that the creation of the earth as must be apprehended during a progressive its contest with an arresting and obstructing itself manifestation of the Divine Will principle. it is . the Mosaic history of Creation must be regarded as the restoration of a world which was sunk in ruins. is enigmatical of nature and the earth. that it is good as a means of attaining the design of the new Creation. viz. that He first is very . which arresting and obstructing principle be a Will. When. The the very history in almost all the writings of Stefifens thought occurs .
undertaken. for Scripture. old serpent sits in the how otherwise could he have midst of the Creation entered into the Paradise which man was appointed Outside Eden. namely man. Consequently. whom it was the will of God to fashion in His entire conflict for whose sake the and the whole work sustained. days advance from light to light by the continuous conquest of the darkness until at length the goal is reached in Eden. It must certainly be acknowledged that this series of revolutions. not only to till. But it was the vocation of earth man to spread Paradise over the whole by subduing and overcoming the hostile and restrictive. is own image. as if by a kind of exorcism. in brief and sharp outlines. Parathe subject of the Fall and Confusion of the Devil. and the struggle between the . the creative good. in Paradise. is not mentioned in the Mosaic account of the Creation. and finally. as the perfect abode of light for the creature of light. God's advancing work of creation. and In Paradise . to expel the demonic powers themselves. in order to point to us instruction in what. natural science it simply aims to represent.224 TOHU VABOHU. On the chief consideration. The . dise is and Man. there were wild and venomous beasts and destructive forces. but also to guard ? there was confusion. that give point of the silence of the for the often-misapplied not the purpose of the Bible to this . But on is it Bible there room is maxim. which is brought to light by geology." the rest of the earth was still a Paradise. there in is nothing " mixed. nothing impure must not imagine that also all stands all But one temperature.
which also confronts us elsewhere. He would bring to victory the kingdom of light and far. the immense range that God has conceded to the power of the creature . bitter sting. accordingly. but Death with its viz. compelled.. the Death which is not merely a change. assured that. a transfiguration into the higher. replies. Light and the Darkness. love. through the whole process. 225 allusions. Omnipotence reserved to itself " Thus and no farther LXIV. the interpretation here given serves to strengthen a postulate which is essential to the Christian view of the world. However many enigmas may remain before we can comprehend the history of Creation. sometimes appears to our feeble vision as if creatures with an overmeasure of freedom and independence. it confines itself to obscure which can only be understood when the work of Redemption is studied as a whole. THIS interpretation of the Mosaic history of Creation as a history of renovation and new creation is met 15 . the indissoluble (" Death. God was.) The chief enigma." that is. To this we can only for it God had endowed His reply. was the will of God should that be a kingdom of freedom and and this should be effected along the path of freedom. it as the Christian Theodicy formally that there love.TOHU VABOHU. to agree to the double possibility. so to speak. because. is the wide scope. to consent to all the misuses of freedom. connection between Sin and Death entered into the world by sin. " ! in relation to the misuse its of freedom.
the celebrated reign. as the relations between and natural science become more intimate. . Through him and after him it has gained no small circulation." : . in order that righteousness mayAnd in the seventh century. In imitation of Caedmon. goblins cold. He has appointed kings. . . but also among philosophers and naturalists. not only among theologians. . with prior to Jacob Bohme. in consequence of the fall of the He must here have had some tradition to angels. . the Anglo-Saxons.226 TOHU VABOHU. . being universal. We recall a controversy maintained in our own Danish literature. and this doctrine cannot have been so strange to the Church as many suppose. . that. find it But in Jacob Bohme we stated with the greatest profundity and force. guide him. Grundtvig has given expression to this view in a Biblical-historical poem. Spirit brooded over the deep. theology the question here stated will rise into prominence by an internal necessity. dead forces Work thereafter Angels fell confusion all Tr. although it is far from We find it. .* safely said that. because God had banished their fall. Winter night. It is said in a document among of King Edgar. rocks bare. . the angels from the earth after which had reduced the earth to chaos. between It may be * I can only venture on a rough literal rendering of " World dead Grundtvig's lines empty and desolate Hellwilderness Gloom and darkness the Shadow-kingdom the World's corpse. in the Middle Ages. for the precise reason that in him it forms part of a rigorously coherent system. Anglo-Saxon poet Caedmon begins his Scriptural poem by describing the earth as having become formless and void. in the tenth century.
for which there is a wide field in a darkness which is illumined by so few rays." : " Our numerous researches into the internal struc- ture of the globe and the laws of its development have proved that.TOHU VABOHU. disinclined as we are to riot in hypotheses. distinct traces of disease have been found in the bones of animals of the ante. and affirmed the old " Death entered into the world by Scriptural text. C. To this Mynster replies: permit ourselves to "We shall. nor will we question been established with adequate validity but since an attempt is made to lead us back into these Pre-Adamite regions. there occurred a multiplicity of great and startling changes. the of latter that the laws of nature are eternal laws of reason. Mynster laid stress natural Oersted retorts that this proposition conflicts " with our " definite knowledge sin. long before man made his appearance upon earth. thus. C. Oersted. of natural attack that have results science. Man). and. diluvian world. and indeed generations. there ' is clear proof that physical evil. Oersted is only thinking of the Fall of however. . disease. during these times. upon the irrational element in many phenomena. on the rights no account." the In opposition to H. still we are at a loss . ' And. Oersted. during which entire species. many creatures devoured others moreover. Mynster and treatise 227 on the subject of on "Mind in Nature. we have already observed that we recognize an Apostasy anterior to that of man . and death are " older than the Sinful Fall (in which expression. . destruction. who had asserted H. of animals perished that.
. because they briefly and plainly indicate the very kernel of this great From Mynster's remarks (rendered controversy. although perhaps with some modifications. the facts which natural science has disinterred by from the shadowy and uncertain regions of the ante- diluvian world. development of the Scriptural proposition that Death entered into the world by sin position is . of three and body. LXV. little " world. The . this pro- confirmed. know what can prevent us from maintaining evil. soul." We have quoted these utterances of two men. spirit.228 ADAM AND THE FALL OF ADAM." a little God. natural science is unable to refute the viz. which we cannot accept as original. Mynster confined himself to the apologetical and practical part of the subject. a a great universe is . with extreme generality) it would certainly not be legitimate to infer that Bohme's view. and consists principles. but that. He was it and a further which he formulates thought would necessarily end in this. as ' for concreated/ or as a necessary path of progress has also introduced disorder spiritual beings into the physical world. so eminent in our Danish literature. an epitome of microdeus. throughout its whole extent. Man is created in the image of God. on the contrary. that this But hypotheses. Man the a microcosm. ADAM AND THE FALL OF ADAM. that that to moral is." tend in pressions is he absolutely accepted " not fond of rioting in undeniable that his exdirection.
. But he most frequently means by the third principle the created. strictest literal is most Man darkness and is fire. sets its desire and imagination upon the Light. appeased and tranquillized by the Light the Ego sacrifices itself in love. So far the Soul is Spirit. Bohme also accepts this third principle in another sense. viewed apart from the Spirit. which is fashioned by the Holy Spirit. The and soul is tripartite. free-will. universal. as the Union of Fire and Light in God. the third principle. also. the contrast to Spirit as the The Soul. and points back to the Father as the Bearer or Conveyer of this principle. but only one soul. the Worm. and Soul the dark torture. and wholly surrenders itself to it. The spirit descends from the The light-principle. for the idea. although there are not three souls. or His Uncreated Heaven. body which descends is from this world of the senses. soul 229 descends from the dark fire-principle. natural " Self-ness. physical world. which is destined to become a copy of the Heavenly Glory of God. with its passions and lusts. and points back to the Son. and the soul is blessed. But there is also in the Soul a yearning after the light. its The soul. viz. in sense. or God. it is truly The austere and savage elements are spiritual. When the Soul. the idea and ." In the the glowing Triangle.ADA M AND THE FALL OF ADAM. the individual. he interprets the whole man from the standpoint of the Soul.chamber. and perfected in the Corporeity of God. which is endowed with angelic.. is the himself. visible. The Soul has an aptitude or native turn and is destined to receive into itself God. Occasionally. after the idea. the restlessness of the Ego.
that we are .. thou mayest say. what we awaken in us. Truth or falseness of or falseness of imagination. spirit and and vision. with the stands in the abyss of Hell he stretches upward into Heaven and in his body he has an extract of this whole world of the senses. spirits. ! man we make of ourselves. Here stand now the three worlds ' ! World. spirit and eye. the heavenly LightWith the this World of the Senses. If we now first to the return from these psychological elements man. this comes to rule in and thou takest on (or dost receive) its prothee Take heed to thyself. into breath of life. * " Mysterium Magnum. . * thee. the dark Fire-World. spirit So also are spirit and depends upon truth For Bohme." Thus. the spirit's instrument for its activity in the external world. spirit. . whom God had fashioned out of the dust. " Sex Puncta t Theosoph. Adam. word. and soul. Dumb spirits are half-dead The body of man is destined to become the temple of the spirit." xv. therefore for what perties. 15. whom He had breathed the and who had become a living soul . and three " When thou seest a man stand before Kingdoms. In so far as the soul it corporeity. idea. that lives and moves in us. are inseparable.." is the principle of " as the rational soul in designated " * or as the bestial soul.230 ADAM A ND THE FALL spirituality OF ADA M. To whichever of these three worlds thou dost surrender thyself. spirit and voice. ." viii. 21. . there are three Principles in Man." f LXVI.. is the bestial life.
mechanical. " 231 him the three principles stood in temperature. and were in unqualified subordination to it. and plants he discerned invisible. His when He passed through dominion over nature the closed was not In this paradisiacal state. human. doors. the dark Certainly. in a false independence. It may rather gross and coarse materiality of ours. and natural things. They were both. trees. LXVII. 2.. world in quite another manner than we do for." in perfect concordance. Since Adam's life was a disintegrable life. but neither of these was independent. the figures (signature) of their internal properties. like the angels. He understood the speech of God and of the angels.world . He had a clear apprehension alike of Divine. all the visible was illuminated by the In animals. he had in himself Fire-principle. that principle which had become enkindled in Lucifer. as it does to us." should be tempted vii. for him. but magical. just as he understood the language of nature. it was needful that he. as is shown by the fact that he He beheld the sensegave names to the creatures. and the outward did not reveal itself to him. but always in # His body had not the unity with the inward. Adam knew nothing of time. " Signatura Rerum. . the principle of the sense. aftd for which Lucifer had sought to procure the supremacy he had also .ADAM AND in THE FALL OF ADAM. quenched and illuminated by the Light-principle. . be compared with the corporeity of Christ after the Resurrection. so to speak.
* " De Tribus Princ. similitude out of my fountain-source.232 ADAM AND THE FALL tried. This is My likeness and Likewise. and has issued forth him. And as he fond of the earthly visions. and its foolishly The World and the Spirit of the World glory. him great and mighty power!" of the World said. {spiritus became back in him. in OF ADAM. ableness. for " ! it " said. the wet and the dry.. he went foolishly into a false reflection. how it was when the " temperature " was how the properties. " He is mine. . . and tion order that by the conquest of tempta- might acquire indissolubleness. and * shall display my strength and my marvels. The Heart of God desired to have him in Paradise and to dwell in he him. He shall be my steward. fond of the world of the senses. imperishIt was a severe conflict ." Then Adam permitted himself to be excited by the devil into false lust. and I in him he must obey me I have all my members in him. for it said. and he in me and I am stronger and greater than he. the kingdom I will . out of the eternal temper of darkness (out of the three first Natural Properties) I will be in him. display through Finally. lives in me. to exercise government over him. For he desired to mundi) grew mighty ascertain dissolved . he shall live under my dominion. for all three principles contended for mastery over Each of them sought to have dominion and him. the kingdom of cruelty and darkness (the principle of Lucifer) sought to have " He is mine. for he bears my likeness. 33." xi. and set his desire and He became imagination upon the great world. and blessedness. ! .
he can be saved. he cerpossessions tainly was compelled to yield to the devil. The Fall of Adam. He is attracted on sides but the tendency towards hell or towards . feature of this Bohme's doctrine of the Sinful place in several different that takes . ANOTHER Fall is Androgyny. the hard and the in their diversity soft. The Divine heavenly Idea. Then the Maiden. however.THE CREATION OF WOMAN. the bitter and sweet. and became disobedient to God. whether we study the history of the world or of the individual. precisely because his opposition to God was indirect. tasted He fell and the . Man's relation to God and to . is very different from that of Lucifer. man only in indirect. he inevitably ends by wholly surrendering himself either to the Light or to the Darkness. In comparison with Lucifer. in order to secure these. LXVIII The Creation of Woman. 233 from each other. . But. for man is inclined Certainly. he only wished for earthly enjoyments and but. departed from him. the devil to serve is that of indecision . two a straight and vertical line. and we note here the prelude of that indecision which is a peculiar characteristic of man. Lucifer placed himself in direct opposition and hostility to God. the temperature was dissolved. heaven becomes increasingly predominant. Man did not wish to oppose himself to God. the sinful fall of man is simply an indecision. Image in him grew pale and he became earthly. But no man goes to Hell in two masters.
and is not limited to the fact that man ate of the Tree of Knowledge. the heavenly Sophia. at the same time. woman. as Theosophy so frequently re-iterates. diffuse created space. centrate soul. to whom he became unfaithful. all Wisdom. strength and beauty. pure. According to Bohme. Namely. and dwell absolutely in one individual was way." over which he was to have been The heavenly. and throughout most subtilely permeate all things. which union was subsequently sundered into the contrast between man and woman. to union with this heavenly spouse. Adam had already sinned prior to the creation of Eve. was the pure. " spiritus mundi. Adam have multiplied himself in a supernatural and was to have produced out of himself In beings like himself. that dwelt him. . Certainly. he had a bride. But this bride. the itself can. this wife of his youth. . chaste in maiden.234 THE CREATION OF WOMAN. in whom the maiden could dwell. But when Adam " in a " bestial fashion. assembled the animals and gave them names. Then the Sinful Fall had for he had now set his imagialready commenced nation upon the natural world and the nature-spirit. a union of severity and gentleness. which does not imply that he was hermaphrodite (hermaphrodism being the caricature of androgyny. momenta. he saw that they were paired he was then seized with an earthly lust to propagate himself . and highly exalted. Wisdom. Idea. can pervade. and can also conitself. was a higher unity of man and woman. modest. Adam was or the unity of man and originally androgynous. the merely outward junction of the Adam already separated masculine and feminine). For.
this however. . from But there stood beside him the woman. she was subject to the influence of the she stars. if Adam was not to sink still lower. They mirrored . Adam also had become and she suited him.THE CREATION OF WOMAN. He had made hard bones. vegetative sleep. the Divine Image grew pale. Adam slept away from the heavenly world.fall Then the Lord upon him. out of woman his rib. and returned into the aether. Eve was lovely and graceful. the When Adam awoke heavenly maiden had vanished. and Adam became absolutely powerless. she set hers upon him. i. During his sleep a great change had occurred. He set his imagination upon her . which flesh leads us to think of the belly. if a greater calamity and crime was to be averted. The woman had been taken out of his side. earthly. which is the most fleshy part of the human body (KotXta 1 Cor. the elements. themselves in one another. where the difference between male and female is specially localized. into which creature the devil had insinuated himself. there was no other expedient than that of giving him a caused a deep sleep to as his helpmeet. 235 chaste Virgin departed from him. Thus. and had brought into distinction separation the organs that belong to sexual as well as those that belong to the processes. They did not. vi. During the slumber. notice as yet that they were naked they did not discover until the sin was complete. Eve allowed herself to be deluded by the serpent. Eve. the wife. . God had closed up the place with flesh. and the spirit of nature was an earthly woman. 1 3). but she was a " cagastric " person.e.. For God saw that. and awoke in the earthly.
and gave her husband thereof. LXIX. and by the spirit of which they were now constrained. Sometimes she in sense abolished. It deserves. When they had tasted this fruit unto death. they could no longer remain in Paradise. chaste. modest. The conception . the heavenly shall ! woman every " For she. " The seed of the Nor was Sophia. paradisiacal regions. at the first glance. with the promise. now she seeks those true lovers who are willing to prepare for her an abode in their hearts. and met him in solitary paths just as even stirring in .236 THE CREATION OF WOMAN. as yet dimly understood. however. and now both of them had death in their life. bruise the serpent's head the relation to the maiden. to which they had surrendered themselves. reminding him of the eternal. hours. ate of the fruit of the forbidden tree. howmany ever. not forget her favourite. THIS is a brief abstract of the theosophic doctrine It will naturally be regarded by of Androgyny. They consoled themselves. very careful inquiry what it was that could have led profound thinkers into a conception which. him wondrous yearnings and mighty Sometimes she sought him at lonely thoughts. her Adam. could heavenly. From this time forth. She in order to be able to tempt and seduce her. and lived in manifold earthly miseries and troubles in this great world. as romantic and visionary. they begat children. the and pure maiden. displayed herself to him by night as a constellation shining before him at an infinite distance. heavenly. is so visionary.
the great John Scotus Erigena." that vagueness our human nature was not constituted of yore as it is that there were then now. because he would not abide by the order decreed by God would have multiplied himself . were now severed into two pieces. He says explicitly that on account of man's guilt. . As two." " De Divisione Naturae. albeit only in jest " . but quite otherwise : men-women. like the cattle. in which case he according to the his nature was divided. and aspired to grow But turning from So far Plato. they missed one another. angelic manner." II. et futurae resurrectionis simili- praestitit. together again. occurs as far 2tf also found in Plato. each ran in make them its other half. It is back as the Jewish Kabbala. 6. and in heathen for it is said." * Visionary as this may be thought at present. in the Symposium. qui in se ipso humanae restaurationis exemplum tudinem veraciter ostendit. however. who united in themselves the male and female sex. would not destroy them. but resolved to cut them men So he into weaker beings. we may mention. embraced one another. et quoniam ille divinum modum multiplications suae observare noluit. naturae suae divisionem in masculum et feminam est passus. magically halved into man and woman and he sank into this " bestial mode of propagation. yet..THE CREATION OF WOMAN. in the middle ages. * "Homo reatu suae praevaricationis obrutus. They had a highly ambitious spirit. arrogance attacked the very gods themZeus. just as one slices a fruit. in pecorinam corruptibilemque ex masculo et femina numerositatem justo judicio redactus est. and in their selves. lovingly towards this jest to Christian authors who have viewed the matter seriously and from the standpoint of revelation. Quae divisio in Christo adunationis sumpsit exordium.
the " bestial element in the sexual relation. to whom it seems absolutely self-evident. because this contrast . to throw a veil over it ? Is the supposition to be at once unceremoniously branded as visionary. peculiar sanctity has been ascribed to there is rights pure virginity many errors ? that celibacy. notwithstanding the that have attached themselves to it. who. to inquire whether they may not. but also in heathenism. that not only in Christendom. " with its bestial propagation. at root. must also have been intended to furnish a contrast to the whole of nature and to the " bestial propa. must be man and woman. and strive. provides a contrast to the rest of the creation. it will be perceived that the the question why the human being problem of sex. is not so easy to solve as it appears to the majority of people. Neither Erigena nor Bohme was able to free himself from the idea that the sexual relation. and of those who have attached themselves to them.238 THE CREATION OF WOMAN. if not purity ? because the child sexless. something in the sexual relation that by How comes ought not to have been in it ? it. that their side all ashamed of. since they are all " and blush at. who is created in the image of God that man. because it liberates man from a relation of thraldom that binds him to a lower world the child an emblem of is Why do we see in and innocence." is degrading to man. then. in every possible way. claim as on races of men. gation. with a little meditation. as the image of God. presents itself again and again as something that harmonizes with a higher order of things." And is it so absolutely gratuitous and unreasonable on the part of these thinkers.
36). neither can they " die any more for they are equal unto the angels (Luke xx. even if manifoldly disguised ? What. They are to be sexless. c. but reach precisely that perfection for which they were destined as human ? The answer is Sexual contrast is not simply to vanish. then. egoism. ! if they are still to continue to be human are not to be transformed into angels. between man and ? 239 woman has not yet distinctively does the Bride. then. shall be equal unto the angels. no sense implies that they cease to be human but that they. and lust are excited by the sexual inclination. becomes of innocence ? Both Erigena and Baader refer to a saying of Christ.THE CREATION OF WOMAN. . . in her glowing pasappeared Why " sion for her lover. as human beings. raised above the contrast of sex like the angels. and the resurrection from the dead. do not propagate themselves by procreation and birth. but is to be transfigured into a higher unity. which certainly includes a whole world of metaphysics. who are not men and women. Each of the saved is to be androgynous. cry (Solomon's Song. . : combine the essence of the male and female nature. is to . " But how. neither marry nor are given in marriage. like ourselves which recalls to us the saying of an old Thibetan " Those who do not die have no need to myth. "They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world. are we to picture beget children to ourselves this exaltation above sexual contrast. 8) O " that thou wert as my brother unless because she has some suspicion that sexual contrast is a barrier to true love ? And does it not indeed happen that : ! natural selfishness. That they are equal to the angels : in beings.
he also have commenced by being androgynous. accordingly. as one all human . Men did tion into sexual contrast in not begin as the only natural creatures characterized the animals made their by sexual distinction . we have one cardinal objecmake against this doctrine. being. it who at included a in himself humanity and was subsequent moment that the severance took place. must For that which is the goal of a process of development must be somehow already present at the beginning of the development. the old Jewish tradition of the severance was conditioned by a LXX. Notwithstanding this. Man was single created. appearance in pairs. What we are doubtful of is this. and. if it is the destiny of man to become being. and. The differentiation. and also according to Kabbala. this Sinful Fall. must begin in sexual indifference. is to attain therewith the true complete human Now. This is the line of which lies at the foundation in Erigena thought and Bohme. androgynous.*40 THE CREATION OF WOMAN. as a plurality of lies and s/ies. whether the severance into man and tion to woman. to become equal to the angels. and consequently the be viewed as conditioned by a unable to harmonize this entire racial sinful Fall ? life. is to We are with Holy Scripture. according to them. at the outset. or separa- man and woman. Man. and secondary one belonging to an intermediate stage. as a unity. is a and subsequently introduced process. by his exaltation above sexual and contrast. We .
was androgynous. both in a corporeal and spiritual sense. for. but " God way this is interpreted. have been androgynous . and no one will interpret it in a purely sensuous fashion. woman. the primitive man for the man also first becomes Man. but being well assured that these things can be dealt with only upon a Scriptural basis. When Adam 16 . like and that Adam. he must. are well 241 made." the masculine and the feminine. Here. This was not the of procedure in the animal world . ever that she was taken out of Adam. in Adam had the woman in himself. the woman he had appears. taking no notice of those who hold that not only Theosophy. for it evidently contains a mystical meaning. woman ? She was not created God create her out. was fashioned. the contrast between the male and female must. or man-woman. in Bohme's phrase. the animals made their appearance in pairs. himself that out of which the woman gave names to the animals. from the very outset. and closed up the flesh instead thereof. prior to the crea- tion of Eve. on the contrary. the first human mode makes its appearance by a severance out of the one Man. have possessed the two " tinctures. aware that the concession must be and it is a concession often overlooked by that theologians the other animals man . must have possessed. but Scripture itself is in many places visionary. when pair . of took one of the ribs of Adam. For whence came the woman ? Here we must abide by Scripture." In whatstill less did nothing .THE CREATION OF WOMAN. Consequently. the . the main point is this. does not begin as a pair. as yet. Whence came out of the earth the . in the more rigid sexual sense. before the crea- tion of the or.
It is needless and useless to tell us that we can form but a very abstract conception of this first man. at best. " the earth! * Keerl. we can conceive that the whole earth lay in travail-pangs and that everywhere. 7. think of him as the postulate of the race. viewing the creation of woman as. But we cannot discover his Scriptural authority for permitting the severance which now took place to be occasioned by a sinful Fall. But in Paradise. a remedial provision against a disturbance which had taken place. It is true that Bohme and Baader have supposed that they find such a it. At this point. under the poles and under the equator. according to Genesis ii. stern Spirit." but points out the sexual relation. . a countermeasure. but is on his side. east and west. there appeared only one being. Indeed. and replenish Nor do we find the faintest suggestion that Adam was tempted and had fallen into sin when he gave names to the creatures. nevertheless. the fire-Spirit and the water- strength and gracefulness in combination. If we picture to ourselves the creation of the animals. He was the whole complete human being. a royal being. and gentle. north and south.242 THE CREATION OF WOMAN. Scripture does not give us the remotest hint that Adam was active magically. animals swarmed * forth. destined to rule over the whole of nature. with which we are acquainted. God blesses to intended propagate himself " "Be fruitful and multiply. and for . . and not allow him to be etherealized into an idea. as the original one. and says. That cannot be helped we must. Scripture is not against Bohme.
an almost ecstatic absorption into see We the Nor does Scripture give us the slightest indication Adam's sleep_. the severance must take place. suggestion in the word of the Lord.was the result of a sinful Fall. There must be man and woman. but which was in reality a yearning after an Alter Ego. as He now says that there is that which is not good something . " Ueber das Zweite Capitel der Genesis. in company with teachers. if God was to effect a new creation with regard to him. In the satisfactory. which ought not to have entered in. this meaning. admit that this argument is We words quoted we can find only not good that the work of If man is to creation should pause at this stage. : ! In his slumber. Man requires a helpmeet. from considering this sleep as a blessed sleep. and which must now be counteracted. he himself knew not what. a Thou. attain his perfection. and * Baader. " God giveth His cxxi. It was God who caused the sleep to fall upon Adam. stands in need of society and sympathy. God gave him this good gift . " that the man should be alone ! 243 " " It is not good previously said that all was very good. in order that this The words of Psalm creation might take place. however. It is that nothing to prevent us." . it was necessary that he should be placed in an unconscious state." * cannot. And we understand that.THE CREATION OF WOMAN. God had must have meanwhile entered in. many church bosom of the eternal love. were fulfilled in Adam " We cannot but imagine that beloved sleep Adam had an unconscious yearning and longing after something.
6." : ! " or semi-paradisiacal . sine ullo labore et dolore pariendi. " Non video quod prohibere fideliter "De Genesi. and flesh of my flesh was no "cagastric" person. Aquinas. and became the slave of nature. that they both became or earthly. neither was she "iliastric. It was not until they had eaten of the tree. when he awoke. even as Adam was. ut sine ullo inquieto ardore libidinis. the element would not have been absolutely quenched by the higher and spiritual elements of the relation. must have become materialized.244 THE CREATION OF WOMAN. Augustinus. ut essent eis etiam in paradiso honorabiles nuptiae et torus immaculatus hoc Deo : viventibus. relation especially by Thomas obvious that. eique obedienter sancteque servientibus. she was wholly paradisiacal. praestante justeque . and exclaimed in rapture " Eve bone of my bones. 3. inasmuch as man sank. by the dependence upon natural instincts. This is now another." And. the sexual must have assumed another character than that which it previously possessed. That we are a fallen race is peculiarly and precisely demonstrated Fall. c. Patrologia Latina. " cagastric.." xxxiv. into a false by the sexual relation. it quite clear that there is ought not to have been.* which great It is is shared by many the scholastics. the corporeal Alter Ego stood before him." ad litteram lib. felt himself to be . destined to become the mother of the living and he himself had become another. ix. is in reference to the sexual relation itself. something here which But the question is " bestial whether. but for the entrance of sin. fetus ex eorum semine " gignerentur" Migne. with its accompanying dis- grace and shame. potuerit. " This of is Augustine's view. at the Fall.
as was pointed out above and man. and the birth of children. to which we add the third. moral world. then. and. of the state with the whole infinity of contrasts which this embraces the family church and congregation. furnished with the richest contrasts. Man is to reach his ethical goal through history. development is the more complete the richer it is in contrasts. We may reflected in all the between moral circles also say. Man was destined to have become equal to the angels. so long as . But through an ethical development. to which truth belongs also the contrast between nature and spirit. or with the contrast between man and woman. the child. was androgynous. through a social evolution of successive generations .2HE CREATION OF WOMAN 245 LXXI. must the separation take place ? why must the woman be created. why. the family is the basis of the nation. the family cannot arise and A . can make its appearance only with woman. Without the woman. We can imagine no more complete ethical development than that from the helpless and nature-fettered his eternal goal Now. so that the most extreme contrasts in existence may finally be harmonized in man. an ethical condition of childhood to the highest spirituality under the educating guidance of grace. But the development of man from nature to spirit is impossible without woman. is also the basis of the contrast The man and woman is of life. of society. at the outset. . unless a Sinful Fall had made it necessary ? We have no other answer than this. But he was to attain .
paradise after the creation of Eve. But sexual life is at home only in this earthly intermediate sphere. woman must be given in marriage. in which there must in and following 1. family life. children must be born.246 THE CREATION OF WOMAN. life after the sinful Fall. 2. 3. man and woman. Consequently. The androgynous condition in the resurrecwhere sexual life has ceased. But the it is For paramount conception we form of them in the blessed circles of a is as exist- To ing those blessed circles of eternity man also aspires. only in a very circumscribed sense that the angels possess a history. be sexual life. is time and history. Sexual Death. if we view man from the standpoint of sexual life. momenta life in : Adam Sexual as androgynous. They have to undergo a test of obedience. we have to distinguish the through time. . when those who are counted worthy become equal to the angels. 4. created. must be sexual life. but where the tion. enriched with the harvests of a previous history which is far richer and more copious than that of the angels. which human beings must marry and be For this reason. which lies between the two extreme points Adam in his androgynous relation and the resurrection. type of the masculine and feminine is still preserved. and the good angels participate in the history of man as ministering spirits. 5. but he has previously to undergo development derived Eternity. and there there : are again restored to the androgynous state.
But it does mean that the relation between man and woman is not exhausted by the act of propagation. and which will wed itself to each of them or. who has restored to us the heavenly Idea which had departed at the Sinful Fall. In marriage. 247 Although we and cannot accept the doctrine of Bohine for Baader as to the reason are in the creation of their woman. the united ones are not simply to propagate themselves and to continue to beget children. introduced into our souls the true human ideal. and she to assist him by liberating him from one-sided manhood.THE CREATION OF WOMAN. are not to continue to bring unsolved problems into . are to aid one another in becoming whole and complete human beings. both of which are swayed by egoism and egoistic lusts. as it may be expressed in a manner universally intelligible to Christians. in the heavenly Idea. whereby one does not rise above the mananimal and the woman-animal. is The man of them. seeing that each is semi-human. we demand that absolute harmony with the sexual relation shall be viewed in the light of androgyny. But this will be possible only when both of them are combined in the maiden. It means that man and woman. and who has once more . is only to assist the woman by liberating her from one-sided womanhood. LXXII. they must both be united in Christ. in their relation of love. and ethically treated in This does not involve the accordance therewith. apart. recommendation of celibacy and false asceticism. which displays to them the ideal of man.
it must rise above the sexual contrast. The Apostle . But a combination of the essence of the man and of the woman is necessary for human perfection. " says. poetry and art. The highest be androgynous. LXXIII. warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus" (Col. Every human being is destined to become androthe world. But marriage is to produce in them this transformation. Christ 28). to become themselves regenerated as children of God. as man. but they absolutely remain unchangeably what they are. The doctrine ethical of androgyny has not simply an has also its significance for it meaning . to solve their gynous. every child fail is while an unsolved problem own problem. and express a combination of the nature of the man and woman. But if the masculine or feminine form is to be beautiful in the highest sense of the term.248 ANDROGYNY. ourselves the Certainly. in whom the ideal existence of the man and woman is combined. and must conceive of in Adam androgynous condition. Franz Baader has his . and can be developed into this even in the unwedded state. will make us perfect and complete men. human beauty must we cannot picture to in human being unless masculine or himself. and thereby to be ripened for eternity and for their higher form of existence. Whom (Christ) we preach. feminine form. if he or she is married to Christ. i. that they assist one another to beget the child of God in themselves.
and that in this creation the artist has achieved his supreme victory. at the same in time. gentleness. leave the question open We whether Baader here is right in his assertion that Raphael Baader's won his supreme triumph. But meaning must be. of simply mansufferings. but a kindred sense " The time has not yet come. And now let this be sufficient upon so difficult a subject. language has not yet : . satisfies animals and woman-animals. while. We end by quoting a sentence of Steffens. 249 affirmed that Raphael's Sistine Madonna is androgynous. itself consisting. uttered in another. and passions a course which fully the taste of the great public. and that every sensual lust and craving is silenced in the spectator. one must undoubtedly assent remark that the artists and poets whose art is centred in sexual love have been quite too little alive to the fact that sexual love ought to be lifted above itself into the androgynous. ought to be and transfigured into the true and complete human that they devote their artistic and poetical resources on this subject And to Baader's . the figure reveals to us a transcendent loveliness before which we stand enraptured as if a vision. . far too exclusively to the delineation of the mananimal and woman-animal with their appetites. that in this woman we behold between the masculine and feminine harmonized that we are impressed with unqualified self-surrender and world-conquering strength. and severity. in a preponderant measure. that in this figure every trace of female animalism is extinguished. blessed joy and holy solemnity the contrast .ANDROGYNY.
Air. and depth to permit us to speak freely. which." LXXIV. and. Fire. with sin and death and all kinds of miseries. were only one element (" quinta essentia "). The physical world has consequence of the Fall assumed the character of the gross. The four elebeen brought into actual harmony.)." Nature has become materialized. now stand against one another in painfully eager desire. teaches that the and sighs subjected to the after redemption bondage of corruption. provoking misunderstanding. and material. we have reached this present world. the hard and impenetrable. and that this is a . coarse. rigid and stiff. They anxiously desire . to the Fall. The Present World.250 THE PRESENT WORLD. and Earth. clearness. upon a subject in which the deepest enigma of existence is concentrated. and which then appeared only in harmonious contrasts. acquired the requisite purity. of that which evaporates and vanishes like smoke and this contrast has not . and without. By the dissolution of "temperature. in harmony with the Apostle creature is (Romans viii. Bohme. now for the first time. but the world also into which Christ has come to redeem us. it has assumed the character of the fluid and volatile. Water. this world men and women. of with And which we have experimental knowledge. after all the preceding discussions on themes that lie beyond the region of experience. both of Lucifer and of Adam. previous ments. on the other hand. in some respect or other.
monstrous. there sunshine. decay. a a death-pang. by natural law. exposed. by the influence changefulness. now there is Now is of the stars. and desolate rocks and which testify to the power of death and dark. of Nature is pervaded by anguish. is and " now cloud but nothing per- manent. to 251 unity. and everywhere thou dost find thyself in a The whole world of unreconciled contrasts. venomous and savage animals seest also useless fantastic beasts. . fire and light. and emeralds. ' tasy. an agony of silent expectabirth-pang. and corruption. else but monkeys and strange birds which do nought torment and vex other creatures but . at one time is it hot. rubies. but ness and the might of the kingdom of death thou seest also noble and precious stones. which cannot but have descended from the kingdom of Light. stones. We behold at once the manifestation of Thou the wrath of God and of the love of God. but dost also behold the power of blessing. which the nature-spirit. Thou beholdest in the vegetable world curse.' has fashioned out of the kingdom of phan. which brings forth the most beautiful verdure and the most In the animal world thou seest delicious fruits. Everything in this earthly nature is return to and .THE PRESENT WORLD. Throughout all nature runs a discord between life and death. but are compelled to struggle with each other in an empty resultless fight circle while. tion. at the same time. at another there is now . spiritus mundi. to great there are storms of rain and dead calm cold . . snow. God sustains them a powerful bond to which they are subjected. dost behold huge. carbuncles.
serpent. Man has sunk. and the human body It is not a simply and obedient instrument.252 THE PRESENT WORLD. willingly dependence upon nature. through false itself in the sin. the one thing with the other know not what occurred before all this being. they say regard this nature subjected to All this has God created out of " ! nothing. into a has become materialized. which occasions us many sufferrespects. But they came into LXXV. With this immersion in nature ings and troubles. in many a burden. dependence upon projects itself. ape. but is figured in their disposition. * Bohme "Drei Princ. or such-like. spiritus tendency towards the lion. which presents a glaring contrast to the dignity for which he was designed. fox. or vain There are also men who peacock. toad. so to speak. their body. dog. have within them some good and upright animal or The animal form does not manifest itself in other. What has been said of nature repeats world of man. gentle." and has acquired a bestial. Fall. natural instincts is closely connected the fact that the animal world. into world." When simple men " : vanity. and useful animals. an animal in his life. thou tame. by Adam's most lamentable and man has become the property of the " mundi. terrible in a certain the human For. as it were. Every man has. but is." . wolf. seest * also friendly. and sense. a nature-spirit.
and. They thus suggest human is strongly indeed. the crafty fox. for enjoyments and luxuries. . honour and distinction. The majority of men are ruled by the third principle. phenomenal world. But we are all to take heed lest the beast-image in us (the greedy hound. Some devote themselves to and sciences. and is and how it will fare with come depends upon which of the that what every man in the life to him three principles it is that has dominion over him. hereby to win great power. the maiden. may be brought to vanish entirely image. For we are to give good attention that all to this fact.) gain the mastery. by this their Still. can here appeal to 253 Scripture. which wholly ambition. when the beast will arise us that. bears and leopards. etc. in is heavenly light-world which comparison with the behind it and shines . as will be particularly seen in the times of the Antichrist. and in which they live engrosses for their daily provision. that it character of bestiality. the lustful goat. sometimes totally assumes the to tainted from the sea and the abyss. Holy Christ calls Herod a . inasmuch as and the Pharisees vipers fox. and politics. and wholly quench the human in us and are to make it our aim that the beast-image cat. the deceitful the venomous toad. in this world. in penitence and and may thus give place to the Divine conversion.THE PRESENT WORLD. the with the bestial. reputation. this great world is. and are enabled worldly arts. and celebrity. the prophet Daniel and John (in the Apocalypse) call the tyrants and the kingdoms of this world by the names of wild animals. three principles are active in this world. the foolish monkey.
fragments of the Glory of God. envy. The law is written Living God. as ! many regard it who "). by the Sinful Fall. and some of them aspire to become Others tyrants. God sometimes . but principle. man's heart. incessantly It is say nor devil Devil devil (" " ! and know neither what God is Mysterium Magnum true that the heathen worshipped the powers of nature. Mythology is not to be unceremoniously regarded as the and thirst after the work of the " devil. stand in the LightFor although man. surrendered themselves to the dark Fireentirely into principle they live in arrogance. who exercise a fire-government. " begins with the dissolution of TemperaConture. " The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's the God redeem and . and pernicious scheming. it. Other men have only like vapour and mist. . a hunger by far the fewest. to That it is the will of world was regenerate manifested immediately after the Fall in the promise. lost communion with the Light.254 THE PRESENT WORLD." so must it end with its restoration. there is still in the human heart a yearning for the Light. 23). since they forgot they were animated by strong spoke to them through nature. and adored natural properties." 20. and there are pagans who have upon striven to live in purity ("Aurora. As Time is a history of redemption. Bohme has conceptions of heathenism which are far higher than those current in his time. 2 2. God Himself but when faith. again. LXXVI. the essential import of history is that it sequently.
It can. . born of a woman. at whose advent the whole creative work first reached its goal the being who and in design is the first. has become man. man is the central creature in God's world. head " ! 255 it Abraham and Moses spoke at was manifested in the covenants with and by the fact that " God sundry times and in divers manners by the . His pessimism and optimism this contrast. for the whole creation. although in the ideally order of execution he comes last. BOHME'S view by the Sinful of the world is thus conditioned * "Three Principles in Man.* . For Bohme. But the fulness of the times had come. . but for the universe. God sent His Son. and emphasize of man's significance.THE PRESENT WORLD. .. Moreover. the allconcluding creature." God and of the Light passes through time from the beginning. and which spoke to Adam and Eve concerning that Bruiser of the Serpent who was to come. and has its contrast in that succession of when children of the world which began with Cain. whereat all the angels marvel the greatest miracle that has happened from all for it is against Nature it must then eternity indeed be Love. 43. the Word which was in the world from the beginning. In Christ. a succession of children of prophets. therefore. We must particularly depend upon his conception of man's lofty destiny. : LXXVII. not only for the earth. The Lord has entered into the form of a and this is servant." xviii. Fall.
who by him his fall has drawn his whole kingdom with exile. made subject . but of the whole creation. be viewed as merely accidental when it appears from some isolated passages as if it were Bdhme's opinion that man was created only to fill the place that had become void by the Fall of Lucifer. completely. this a king in that man's in Christ. especially in St. which by the Fall of Man human became subject to corruption. and he lost it ! It is in consequence of this that the whole present world. His whole nXrjpwfjLa. but a cosmical significance. For Bohme Jesus Christ has not simply an ethical. tion of work. cannot but view himself opened as a dethroned king. Martin and Baader. but nature. It is is into misery. and dignity first re-established. by whom and in to for whom all things Him they may all be gathered whom also the angelic world are created. it was possible for him to lose developed it. Bohme's fundamental view is obviously that which is also found in other theosophists.256 THE PRESENT WORLD. when his eyes are to its true destiny. God might and into whom God might for find compleHis enter with which reason the concep- man points forward to the conception of the Incarnation. It is true that this exaltation of man was . not yet he was to be firmly established in the first Adam into it . reveals so painful a contrast And man. between spirit and nature. that together in one is . the creature tion in whom. after the of the creative Sabbath rest. that man was destined to be the mediator between heaven and earth. not only the world. Christ is not only the Head of the human race. to his actual state. the new Adam.
shall arise new heavens and a new earth. Col. the view of Scripture. Bohme lives and breathes in the Reformation-period consciousness of sin and grace. des Menschen im Namen Jesu vor der Welt Schopfung. is repeated by no small number of modern great thinkers. as it seems to us. Certainly. i. which is also. through Him. does this view stand against the so-called modern view of the world ? How is it consistent with the Copernican system.).THE PRESENT WORLD. whose coming is occa- sioned by sin.). . Heb." Werke. occurring as early as Irenaeus. with inconsistency. which to the is his all-pervading postulate. By Him is not only the human world but for. i. iv. would yet have come. But his conception of Christ's cosmical significance. although many. at His second coming. Christ Saviour This ancient theologoumenon. . i. leads necessarily theory that. Bohme represents Christ essentially only as the Atoner and Redeemer. in the main. and the recognition of which no theologian will be able to evade without how doing violence to Scripture (Eph. decline to it. 17 . which is said to be so dangerous to the Bible and to the Biblical view ? With regard " Uber das Versehensein Cf. (Col. nature also to be redeemed . not indeed as the who was crucified.* accept But how does this view of the cosmical significance of man and of Christ. even if sin had not occurred. and more copiously developed by many of the mediaeval theologians. wherein dwelleth righteousness. 257 Eph. i. i.. Baader's Letter to Molitor. but as the Consummator of man and of the whole creation.
. He is not. and opened to us the vista of an outward infinity." he says. from the insignificance of the earth. This earth. but of which the system itself is absolutely innocent. there are those who have supposed that they could prove. Bible and a certain application which has been made of this system. and with it also man and Christ. The retort. the untenableness of the Biblical view. we remark that he is acquainted with. 65). to Bohme. and accepts the Copernican system. and does not go away from that place where it came to be at the first. opinion is false" ("Aurora. however." xxv. is only a vanishing point in this immensity and it is highly immodest of man to ascribe such importance to himself and to the earth. be true. that this rational- argument from the insignificance of the earth depends upon a confusion between the quantiistic-fantastic . although some suppose that it runs round But this about the globe in a day and a night. " The Sun. is obvious. "has its own royal place to itself. contradiction between the Bible LXXVIII. Nor position in the universe. as if it imperilled the Biblical view of man's central is there really any and the Copernican But there is a contradiction between the system.258 THE PRESENT WORLD. a certain argument which some have fancied that they could construct upon it.. therefore. however. The revelation which confirms man in such immodesty cannot. Because the Copernican System has given us a view of the world. in the slightest degree affected by this.
from the externally great to the small and outwardly insignificant. But. not in the outward eminently but in the inward that His path proceeds infinity. we return reveals to the discovery that God pre- His glory. because man has sunk into false dependence upon nature. arises as He forgets that when the which is the greatest in question value. centrality it is very possible that metaphysical and invisible In so far as we are capable of centrality may. internal greatness. seductive. the world of thought and speech is infinitely higher than the silent and unconscious natural worlds and hence he falls into self-depreciation reason of his false modesty and servility to by With great truth does St. : thy destiny with thy bodily eye admiration. which. He allows himself to be overawed by material mass.THE PRESENT WORLD. in internal respects. tative 259 and the fact qualitative. by that which is great to . is the fullest of meaning. man " Dost thou dare to measure thy being and to that . he is readily disposed to estimate the spiritual according to an external and material standard. by those who judge everything according to the outward appearThese words may ance. that hath God chosen. Martin say to nature. although physical does not belong to man and to the earth. from outwardness to inwardness. also be applied to the earth. the wisdom of God in Nature and Revelatracing tion. The is overlooked that. ? Beware. lest this terrible spectacle of . this Bethlehem of the universe. outward between external and and inward infinity. That which is despised by the world. and has the whole nXijpofJLa intensively concentrated in it. the man of the senses.rousing.
people them." says Steffens. not. A closely associated question is whether the earth's physical position in the universe was at the beginning the same as now. I refer the reader to my treatise in Heiberg's Urania." Hegel expresses the same thought.* After the famous treatise of Fontenelle. as the phenomenal but as the internal spiritually. an expulsion from the central point has occurred. tion." For the rest. Schubert. certainly in his own peculiar method. "is rapidly approaching when our planetary system will be recognized as the most highly organized point in the universe and the time is not distant when our earth will be recognized. body as wholly vanishing and separate thyself from these over-awing but dumb existences by the superiority of thy thought " and speech This same view of the centrality of man and of ! ! the earth is also to be found. Steffens. to which Schelling alludes. although discussed along different lines of proof. " Baaders Lehre vom see Lutterhed's Weltgebaude. just as man is 141 the Total-Organism. however. * viewed central point in the planetary system. " Entretien " de la Plurality des Mondes (Paris. which shows thee thy Step into thy rights. speculation the purpose spheres. as well as Schaden in his "Orion. 1686). "The Church-Year and the World.260 THE PRESENT WORLD. immeasurable space and the countless bodies that float in it crush thy thought. etc. or whether a displacement.Year. . the idea that the heavenly spheres must necessarily be inhabited by rational beings gained wide acceptance and arguments were drawn from it against the This whole assumpdignity and centrality of man. On this whole question." . Hegel." 1866. the contrary the time "Astronomy. indeed. in thinkers like Schelling.. as to depends upon a purely subjective what must necessarily have been of to God in creating as. this in infinity of viz.
visible and invisible. We dwellers are not creatures of imagination. Revelation speaks of only two classes of created shall continue to spirits angels and men. the image of the visible God. RECONCILIATION AND REDEMPTION BY CHRIST THE NEW ADAM THE INCARNATION THE NEW ADAM. but will limit ourselves to the observation that. If any as being the talent that is committed to us. BOHME expresses a firm belief (in harmony with the creed of the Church) in the historical Christ. " who . one human man. : We whom also the angels are subject . 261 He would have made something wholly super- will not enter into barren prolixities. LXXIX. whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers were created by Him and for Him (Col. one Christ to who is . but that they actually exist. CHRIST. when it has been experimentally proved that these star- fluous. 16). . abide by this postulate. was revealed in the fulness of the times. ETC. all i. and the firstborn of every creature for by Him were all things race. things 15. souls are worth we must give a strict account of it. we shall be prepared to enter upon the discussion of their ability to affect the centrality of in Of this there is not the remotest prospect. created that are in heaven and that are in earth. we write no conceits and tales and it is as much as our bodies and earnest. such as one reads of romances.REDEMPTION B Y case. let them take heed what Beloved mind ! it is : . will be scandalized at it. One earth.
and there sits at the Right Hand of God. which is begotten in His blood and death. to be one only Body in Himself. V. Also we believe that He willingly died for our iniquities. and redeemed the soul of man. Bridegroom truly it is We Christians believe and acknowledge that a true in Word of God the Father became self-subsisting Man (with Body and Soul) the Eternal or the body (womb life) of the Virgin Mary. VII. . and condemn the ungodly. they do for the I. and born of the Body of the Virgin. high time to awake from sleep. ETC. and ascended into Heaven.262 REDEMPTION B Y : CHRIST. and unites it continually by the Baptism of His own appointing and by the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. without any blemishing of her virgin chastity. and governs with His Spirit and Word. and has broken the bands of the devil. II. and so made one Body with many members. Also we believe that He shall come again at the Last Day to judge the living and the dead. comes. and has brought us into favour with Him. IV. Also we believe that He descended into Hell. without man's interposing. Also we believe that He rose again from the dead on the third day. VI. which He cherishes. and reconciled His Father. Also we believe that He has a Christian Church here upon earth. He died and was buried. in pieces. wherewith he held men captive. Also we believe that. in His human Body. and take His Bride with Him. III. For we believe that He was conceived by the Holy Ghost.
however. She was not. one Fulness {Tr\r\po)\x. according to thy Eternal Word passed into her flesh and blood. pointed to Him who was to be born. and when she said she received the Annunciation . The Being of God and the human being has become one being. on that account. at the same Bohme no thorough-going He sees in time. was the " daughter of the Covenant. when it In Nazareth. 263 Also we believe that it He in protects and defends the same. by the power of the Holy Ghost : to the angel " Be it unto me word " ! she conceived. The Virgin Mary was the daughter of Joachim and Anna. like other daughters of Eve. God manifest in the flesh. and keeps one mind. of the essence of Mary and the essence of God. a most profound religious interest. ETC. a pure Virgin. The . It is one of Bohme's most characteristic features.(x) of God. The Eternal Word. By the Incarnation." The whole of the ancient covenant pointed to her. together with the heavenly Virgin Sophia. who has what was and flung into confusion by the first Adam. Christ the great mystery of godliness. who passed into her to become flesh. cease to abide in the Father. that he predominantly conceives restored of Christ as lost the New Adam. and the Divine Fiat stood in her matrix. CHRIST. LXXX." We He for find in lays especial stress him Christology. the points which possess upon a metaphysical.REDEMPTION BY VIII. but assuredly. there has arisen one Person of Deity and Humanity. an She ordinary woman. . did not.
who entered into Mary in order to become flesh. one and the same time. attained perfect virginity. But the Word was in the drew Mary's essences to Itself. she was yet only able to become righteous and to be saved through her Son. but this human became absolutely penetrated and pervaded by the Eternal Word and the heavenly Virgin. the essence of His Mother Mary. But this is false. that. a complete man. withstanding this her exaltation. indeed. The soul of Christ is of the soul essence of the Virgin Mary. notmorning-star. For then. ETC. He the Bruiser of the Serpent ? would have been unable to be like us. and to be tempted at all points like ourselves. The child possessed. There are those who have supposed that the Eternal Word. brought with It not only the Heavenly Virgin through whom Christ became a Heavenly Man. without any separation.264 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. would have been unable to suffer in our stead and to bear our sin. and flesh. For nine months Jesus was shaped in her womb. without sin. . and of the Heavenly But this whole conception and birth was Virgin. but also brought from heaven the soul of Christ. heavenly Maiden. What better should I be if Christ had brought His soul ? with Him from Heaven What would then become of the promise concerning the seed of the woman. because she put " on the Heavenly Virgin. " maiden. and and arrayed Itself in her flesh. at spirit. who penetrated her essences. It was by this very conception and birth that Mary first became an absolutely pure with soul. She achieved perfection as a shining But we must not forget. the essence of the Word.
" xviii. It awoke has often been described as one of the most obscure points in Bohme. the Wisdom that Wisdom. viewed in the proper light and apart from poetic colouring. and who. indeed. how the relation between Christ and the heavenly Virgin is to be apprehended? Some have supposed that in reality. subsequently. God personal expresses and the * " Three Principles in Man. in is He is and He a double sense. point. who is to restore her to us. in far-off visions that revealed herself to him his longings. from another stand- united herself with Mary. the Son of the Son of the earthly Virgin Mary. the Son of the heavenly Virgin. undeniable. and say that the heavenly Virgin is wedded to Him." But the Word. It We. This Idea has absolutely entered into the Second heavenly Adam. do not thus read Bohme. the Virgin is not distinguishable from Christ. is. ETC. would LXXXI. who in Scripture is certainly called Wisdom. and that Christ made unto Wisdom. is thus.REDEMPTION BY CHRIST.* Brother. is It was this very indissolubly joined to Him. 34). the bride of his youth. . 265 Then He would not have become our not have become the Son of Man. when he fell and the Divine Image grew pale in him. however. or Idea who departed from Adam heavenly Virgin when he became unfaithful to her. Christ Virgin. who the But. and that she is Christ Himself. that Christ designates Him" is of self as Wisdom (Luke vii. we may employ another metaphor.
but the gift of the Holy Ghost. the Idea. in its most general and comprehensive gift sense. of Grace. which is the servant of the Word.266 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. beholds His own ing about Him. therewith. which pervades all special gifts of Grace. and places the special gift of Grace in its right relation The more completely the to the Kingdom of God. ETC. it must be observed that. Christians. to realize. which is united with Him. is the shining spirit-image always hover- a mirror and of the Kingdom of God. beholds the true world-ideal. for Bohme. which Christ introduces into our souls. The Virgin is the ideal of the Kingdom of God. Idea is wedded to a man. and wherein. An analogy of this is often which He found in life of the regenerated. into which also Bohme introduces the heavenly Virgin. as inward heaven. objective Wisdom. reveals and the Father is one thing the itself. He beholds the in visions ideal is as the Head of the human race. . as a rule. of which Christ and the Holy This is the Ghost certainly constitute the principle. the ideal of man and of the Church. together with this. we must formally construe it as a Spirit-being. and. attributes to the Virgin. the Virgin is not the Holy Ghost. And if we are to indicate latter more precisely what significance the has for Christ. of It is man. that Christ through faith dwells in his heart. But. a Light-being. is another thing. and gains life and heavenly power in his personality. the more possible will it be to say of that man. the noticeable that what Bohme. are wont to ascribe to the Holy Ghost. . and that he has put on the wedding- garment. impersonal. speaking of the life of the regenerated.
as God is. which is not We a personal Being. he ETC. . when she appeared to promise. . 267 speaks from his own personal exdescribes the Eternal Sophia as his heavenly Genius.. me. then she came and comforted me. and care not for fore. all the storms and winds beat upon me." [It is the ideal that went forth from Christ. through all kinds of jeering and infamy as well as I can. When Bohme perience. He laments that he cannot always embrace and hold the Virgin. 52. and includes his own personal life" Thereproblem. but the fulness of thought. which has wedded itself to him. these terms. the world's ideal.REDEMPTION B Y CHRIST. and married herself to me. . until I find again my fatherland. that his heart some" times falls into sins. I will venture it. and I will go through thorns and thistles. and midnight. which makes its abode * "The Three Principles. Therefore.] I am but the more cheerful. on bring . and Antichrist gaped at me with his open jaws to devour me. But the Virgin has promised to be faithful to me. given to him of the Lord to lead and direct him. where faithful my upon her I rely dearest Virgin dwells. mournings into mountain at lay upon great joy so that all the trees fell upon me. that she would turn my when I the ! It is asked whether any parallel to Bohme's doctrine of the Virgin is to be found in philosophy. might refer to the Logos in Philo. and never to forsake me in she will come to my succour in any adversity her Son I am to cleave fast to Him He will me back to her in Paradise. " # Antichrist all ." xiv.
After the fashion of the external world. for All these. however. are but faint analogies and to that vision . in order to lead in which it higher wholly absorbs itself in the Divine depths. the Bruiser of so also must second Adam the Serpent features but . in God all a man's soul. before the the Sinful Fall. 21. in Bohme's whole delineaa spiritual sense. has entered into the to purity human soul. Christ was a man. As the first Adam. however. for this would Not. who is created in the image of God. in World's idea. which embraces . wedded man. as Wisdom. a warrior. itself to in different human personalities. Bohme. conflict with Luke ii. therefore He assumed masculine it is clear from tion that Christ. as we have seen. Christ was to be a hero. one of the two forms had to be selected. and is a guide and conductor to to the Universal Idea in Plato. and now variously individualizes itself creation. androgynous. and which. the masculine or the feminine. in a physical sense. was restored to him in Christ. LXXXII. When the Word was to be arrayed in flesh. . . prior to the played before the Face of God. and which. was be. an effulgence of God.268 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. in the Stoics is which it to the ideal-world in the Neoplatonists. which is not different from the idea of the Kingdom of God. She is. that the Love . ETC. has quite other postulates and surroundings. the the Maiden. departed from him because of sin. models and archetypes of that which makes its appearance in the actual world to the world-soul .
in so a contrast to the feminine. 28). Can a woman forget her sucking child. saith the Lord How often would I have Jerusalem thy children together. and not those of the woman also. iii. was androgynous for He was destined to restore the sundered properties to " temperature. " forget. 15). there is neither this man view nor woman " And with we must (Gal. The Love of Christ would not be the complete Divine-Human Love if this Love had simply the properties of the man. certainly coincide. the incorruptible ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. yet will I not forget xlix." and to conduct us to that grade of life " where . that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb says ? Yea. a world-subduing. and self-abnegation fidelity.REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 37). world-conquering heroism. 269 of Christ. ETC. but also as a mother's " love. strength fundamental of endurance. and the woman's characteristic capacity for passive obedience. even as a hen " gathereth her chickens under her wings (Matt. full of unspeakable The Divine Love to man is pictured in the Bible not only as a father's love. still. Here most assuredly we of the have its the metaphor mother's love in infinite . purity and chastity of sentiment. Although we cannot fail to recognize in Christ the highest excellencies of the masculine character. the observance of the most delicate moral conditions. we cannot far call Him as this presents find in a masculine character. to (Isa. For we also feminine Him virtue. infinite the highest attributes of self-devotion and affec- tionateness of disposition. they may " : thee. And Christ gathered ! xxiii.
he compares cherishes her children. solicitude. and wandering children under her wings. was powerfully energetic. and one in whom the principle of strength. indeed. lacking critics in taste. may be regarded as very naive and paradoxical. after the resurrection. compares rebellious himself. himself to a nurse who In ancient Christian art. and now leads Him to pour forth His blood in order to save them. to a travail" little children of whom I ing mother : My ! travail " in birth i again. if one please. it we think of the Crucified Christ. not enough to see in His Love simply that of the hero. and to draw them to Himself beneath the Cross. the fire-principle. the King. ETC. until Christ be formed in you ! In Thessalonians. . androgynous pictures of the Crucified One are to be met with. and. in the Epistle to the Galatians. The Apostle Paul. Archaeologists and arthave here attempted manifold historical and learned elucidations. except any meaning in virtue of the conception alluded to above ? It will scarcely be doubted by any one that Christ. for all races we must also see in it the mother's love which vainly seeks to gather her . even in a physical sense. who sacrifices Himself for is His people. but with total failure to arrive But we ask the question whether at unanimity.270 REDEMPTION BY And if CHRIST. who was undoubtedly a heroic character. These. can be found in these symbols. was androgynous.
CHRIST. but also. in this struggle. 271 THE PROCESS OF CHRIST. It would have been little benefit to us if. The of central point in the work of Christ is the Atonement and Redemption. be tempted of the devil. and fulfilled the law in But this is not sufficient. and the principle of this world . but in Him the last-mentioned is in proper : subordination. however. must here be repeated that Bohme interwrath not merely on its ethical side. Temperature life has been disturbed. special In the Process Bohme upon the Temptation and Death. " and two temperature of Christ." : be re-established. actual " may take stress place. The material It . prets and quite as fully. Christ wholly fixed His imagination upon the Father and the Kingdom of Light. our stead. He must. bear the wrath of sacrifice God in of propitiation. without the occurrence of any actual change in the world. on its material side. He must our stead. vanquished the temptations of the senses and those During of arrogance and ambition. then. God had simply proclaimed that He is gracious and merciful to us. a and new in process of order that " and suffering must be healing lays initiated. in order that He may be able to prevail that trial in which Adam did not prevail. Christ. precisely as in Adam the dark Fire-principle. with the history points All three principles are present in of the Passion. must bring the must quench wrath with love.THE PROCESS OF LXXXIII. the Light-principle. Thus. Life " in the creation " is veritably lost.
with his and abandon "* this beggarly King love- kingdom. side wrath consists of the first three natural properties which are released into independence. must die upon the Cross. Process of Christ " " is. some form of wrath came was always vanquished by " manifestation. . . in order that should surrender He might vanquish it from within. and He conquers them. we we will will rather abide in our power. treats with great minuteness. 79." xi. to the end that the power For this reason * " Signatura Rerum.. and quenches wrath by His voluntary self-devotion in the Passion. and God's Spirit might be and the Self only His instrument"! it was necessary that Christ Himself unto death. t Ibid. then take worldly magistrate thought. pour in upon Christ.272 THE PROCESS OF of CHRIST. This our might away man is too mean for us we will have a Messiah the will ! He . 10. they made Him prisoner and in every momentum of the Passion-history which Bohme . " He said that ' He was a King of Love ' . all suffer- ings and pains which have been evoked by the sin of man. and the priests thought. and often into allegorically. respect. then. the humanity. and authority. . and The aim of the love. His outward body.. x. All the disturbing and destructive forces. and which men have to bear as the penalty of sin. which was in the likeness of sinful flesh. who may bring us to worldly dominion he is too poor for us not receive him . that Self might cease in all in all..' Thus.
. that which makes it capable of love. of Love the human in to live must resign and give itself in unto the wrath All must fall down into Death. cried out with the same. . Divinely-imaged in human nature. soul. Thus must not only the selfishness of ' ! property. rule in inward and outward humanity. but was again quickened in Christ. 28.. and was again quickened in " Christ. the power of eternal life. the Paradisiacal source in the resignation. cried. * the most the " Signatura Rerum. that which is.THE PROCESS OF of His " CHRIST. and of union with the Idea. 273 might come to heavenly Blood. my God why hast Thou forsaken me ? For the anger of God was by the soul's property entered into the image of the Divine Essentiality. which Adam.. that God's Spirit might be in all in all. which was dead in Adam. die and be drowned in the image of Love. the Virgin."* When Bohme was dead says that the Essentiality. 84. and had devoured the image of God. My God." xi. Spirit in in this if we take rigid marvellously profound but obscure " " to mean the Essentiality distinction from the sense. Christ And when was upon the Cross. it came about thereby that God's speaking Word stood still now in the human property and the new-born Essentiality. My ' God. viz. but also the image. in order to arise in God's will and mercy through Death in itself of Death. because this image was to bruise the head of God's wrath in the Fire-soul. my God why hast Thou " forsaken me ? we believe that we can approximately ! understand expression. the soul's own self-will the Fire's might.
that floatest about a dark pool. and . will forgive . is precisely this which is now. the Will towards the Kingdom of God. This also must die as Egoism. however. which He is to establish. cleave fast to the Crucified Christ Forgive them that trespass against thee (thy debtors). and Thou as in ! entreat God that He. in the Father's Will. where thou canst not see in or out. but also the spiritual Ego. . annihilated in this sacrificial Death only the humanity in Him had wholly But this was absolutely surrendered its own Will. and wrath itself was sunk in death. the Will of Love. " " Temperature vicariously was restored for in Him. Christ's Soul-life and Spiritlife were not. when God's speaking Word stood It may be truly said that Christ. even His Work and His Kingdom should sink into death before Him. but all as the Father's. for Christ's sake. but the Father's. self-preservation and earthly enjoyments. as its possession. who had creation. thee thy trespasses then He will hear thee. as the First Root. as something which was Christ's own. in the Passion and Death. that He did But it not seek His own Glory. merged in in the First Will. whole of His active Life. when He has to sacrifice everything. during the still. because Love is to have nothing It was necessary that as its own. When He had absolutely sur- rendered everything into the hands of the Father. Love had swallowed up wrath. to constitute His trial. not only that the body must die upon the and not only the soul-element which craves Cross. " acted the fallen dear. sought to have nothing as His own.2?4 THE PROCESS OF It is CHRIST. seeking Heart.
as a testimony that it was He Himself. in a paradisiacal body. that He is true all and that upon you earth. Lord over Heaven. By the Resurrection of Christ it is demonstrated . through closed . in bodily shape. and became visible to sat is them and finally He ascended into Heaven. at the midnight hour. and down at the Right Hand of the Father. doors.THE EXALTED thou shalt CHRIST. the inward basis . moreover. Beware only. Heaven and foundation of this visible and the Right Hand of God is the Might of world. He manifested Himself to the at various times. ' 275 be in led into the Process of Christ/ which ends Light and the Kingdom of Light. THE EXALTED CHRIST. all ye Jews. and heathen it profits you nothing that " ! expect another. through all things. lest the Fire of Wrath and Judgment descend upon you During disciples . Saviour rose from the grave. and Hell power is given to Him in heaven and " Let this be told you. forty days. His Omnipotence. Earth. He was able to pass. in which His earthly body was. ! Turks. That the stone was rolled away from the sepulchre was only for a sign to the disciples and to the Jews for Christ Himself it was unnecessary. swallowed up. He was able to manifest it to The His disciples. as it were." LXXXIV. on which account.
that he did not pass beyond Lutheran idealism. but that He everywhere. under which we are Even although held. however correct it may be that all material ! " space-limitations." and that Christ is in no definite place. and want Christ to have a place in ! heaven. which by no means implies that these material space definitions. ? and where is is the Right of the Father Bohme in absolute agree- ment with the old Lutheran dogmatic which teaches that " dextera Dei ubique est. like a stork that has a nest in a tree But. and Christ sits at the right hand of the Father in a chorister's mantle " " and with a golden crown They talk childishly about heaven. a however. the Right Hand it where. cannot conceive of the heavenly indiexistence. is everyfollow from this that the seat at the Right is Hand of God is is everywhere in ? When Luther says that Christ a single spot. are the only ones possible.276 THE EXALTED CHRIST. His Omnipotence. and it must be regarded as a defect in Bohme. viduality of Christ. nevertheless. fact. borrowed from this world of the senses. this ubiquity becomes a diffused and not . " : Luther combats the mediaeval scholasticism They invent a phantom Heaven. Where Hand then is Christ. and that he did not here maintain his We cannot imagine any actual own realism. inadequate. and that Christ is not circumscribed this by any definite and fixed place in Lutheran definition is. LXXXV. without some relation to space. heaven. does of God. where stands a golden throne. must be rejected.
with His powers and gifts can make Himself where He wills. . We tain. while the lower cannot penetrate the this itself. with the Father and take up His abode with us and can walk in the Church in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. The higher region can penetrate the lower. and the Holy Ghost. hovers around us. can "be with us actually present " unto the end of the world can. a Holy of Holies in Heaven itself. not visibly distinguishable from a pantheistic Immanence with a pantheistic nature Christ although mainthis is very far from Luther's thought. We do not hesitate to say that Christ is where the Throne is. The Throne is precisely But the central place in the inmost sanctuary. . 277 indefinite extension throughout the whole creation. wherein the perfect Presence dwells and that we cannot imagine the omnipresent . that is. that there must be a Central Place for the Omnipotence and Glory of God. be also centralized in Oetinger. notwithstanding Luther's polemical utterances. As the One who is in the midst of the Uncreated . and where the seven Spirits or Lamps stand before the Throne. although the higher region is quite to us. Power of God. indeed. by means of the the Sacraments. unless . higher. goes farther than Bohme. when he speaks of a concentrated ubiquity. come Word. although it may have been arrayed sometimes in puerile forms. can be the centre of His Church. close For there can be no question here of material distances. that which was perfectly true in mediaeval realism.THE EXALTED CHRIST. He is not circumscribed there as if in an earthly From thence He can penetrate all things space. and encircles us.
also the centre of the
whole creation,
the centre of the Church.
his interpretation of the incident of the Ascension " He was taken up, and a cloud received itself, when Him out of the disciples' sight," as Scripture relates,
" counts opposes the scholastic view which thousand miles it is to the Heaven whither Christ is gone" ("The Three Principles," xxv., 101). Because Heaven is
and measures how many hundred
and basis of the outer world, Bohme teaches, in harmony with Lutheran theologians, that Heaven is quite near us, and that
the internal ground
has been expressed, for instance, by old Philip one does not need to undertake a journey after death in order to reach Heaven,
who are counted worthy to enter It may simply require to open their eyes. be regarded as a view of the Ascension of Christ, which has become more and more general among Protestants, that the way to Heaven does not
but that those
through infinite expanses of starry space, a mediaeval conception which many opponents of Christianity in our days give themselves the trouble
confute, as
were the only conception
old dogmatists rightly interpreted the Ascension of Christ (which, in so far as it was
as a requires to be considered persisting over a longer time) as a sign,
crr)ixeLOv (SeiKTiKws), in order to acquaint
which was necessary
for the
them with the
that the
of Christ was now concluded, and had now exchanged life in the earthly sphere, wherein is sin and death, darkness and heaviness, for Heaven, the imperishable Kingdom of Light, where He will henceforward exercise His invisible activity. For Christ Himself this visible was unnecessary. It is scarcely too bold uplifting to suppose that He, whose corporeity was now
wholly transfigured in order that He might enter into Heaven, might have remained where He stood, have become invisible to the disciples, and might then have been in Heaven, as a movement ad extra ad intra, a return to the mysterious regions that lie behind this world.
And yet, although we thus reject material spacedeterminations with their measures of length and miles, we are again compelled to posit, even in
Heaven itself, space-determinations of another and For it is expressly stated in Scripture a higher kind. " He has passed into the Heavens, and has that entered into Heaven itself," which latter can only
be the Heaven of Heavens, where the throne stands. Indeed, it is said of the beggar Lazarus that the Here, angels carried him into Abraham's bosom. consequently, we have both movement and space-
good reasons, we are incapable of apprehending more closely, so long as our eyes are shrouded by the veil of materiality. may
relation, which, for
a cloud which conceals these regions our sight, and this cloud is essentially our
material nature. We can only affirm here corporeity must there be extension extended relation. single question then
this material corporeity which and passes into corruption is the Scriponly corporeity which is possible and real ? ture tells us that there is a spiritual and heavenly body, from which it follows that there must be
continually dies
for this appropriate space-relations.
If Christ
a transfigured and glorified corporeity (which is an articulus fidei statitis ant cadentis), there must also be a
Now, although region that corresponds with this. this region or these regions must, in comparison with our material region, be called spaceless, super-spatial,
yet absolute spacelessness cannot be attributed to them. For, if it be true that in the Father's House
there are
to ourselves in
mansions, and that we must picture Heaven the Throne with the seven
this point,
must prevail
necessity of a
he Heaven, this is the very point on which he might He has not gone farther be expected to dilate. than the old Lutheran dogmatic, which, in its
struggle with mediaeval scholasticism, the essential contents of which are embodied by Dante, sacrificed
Locality in the other world, has not entered more minutely, although, so energetically maintains the Uncreated
the substance with the accidents.
to the subject in discussing
shall return
day of Pentecost, the forth from the centre of
the Trinity, and
the doors of the wonders of
God were
for the
men, Hearts, mouths, and spoke out of all the centres. ears were opened, and the Apostles spoke in the
of the
passed into the essences of Spirit into their inmost basis of life, filled them, and
Christ* began to repeat itself in all that Christ has done outside
souls, for
within us, and
us is to repeat ourselves are to return into
and pass out of the
which we are buried."*
Christ and the
of is accomplished by the Spirit means of grace, the Word and the But however high a place Bohme
assign to the Word and the Sacraments, he repeatedly insists that the object and matter of chief importance is what is to be effected by these
Regeneration, the
new man
after the
similitude of Christ.
reason he contends
so strongly against Babel, the existing Church, in
which the Sacraments are only outwardly used, the Word is only outwardly preached and heard, without the true dispositions of the heart, without the inward doors being really opened.
It profits " that nothing," he says to the clergy,
* " The Three Principles,"
xxvi., 4, 5.
you shout and bawl from the pulpit;
you have not
the right hammer to strike the clock that awakens the hearts, you are really dumb for those who hear
and power of Christ must be
your words, so that your hearers may be able to observe Christ in your words, and to hear the Voice
of the
Good Shepherd.
It is
the historical faith.
to be saved
In Babel one finds only mere childishness to think
by a simply historical faith, as is heard every Sunday in the churches. They suppose that it is enough to admit and agree that Christ died
for our sins,
to us,
and that His righteousness is imputed and that then they may continue as they are, In and go on in their old worldliness and sin."
many parts of his writings, Bohme is exceedingly violent against Babel. He strives against all these nominal Christians, sham Christians, Christians of
habit, all these clergy,
are only sounding brass
and tinkling cymbals,
slow-bellies, etc., etc.
every period
earnest Church-revival.
no use
are not saved
by a merely historical faith by which you imagine that you can throw the robe of grace around you,
O man
be a wild beast. can stand in three
principles, the dark fire-principle, or the devilish principle, the principle of this world, with the world's lusts and appetites but that it behoves us to enter
into the Light-principle
Light, Christ
which we
and into the Kingdom of by Adam's fall, and which
back to
The important
World of Light
that the Light and the
should be
kindled world are as
if in
Consider that we in you. a field. all grow in
and when our hour-glass has run out, and this outward body becomes a corpse, and this outward world is taken from us, then it shall be made manifest whether the new man has been born and has grown in you, or whether it is only the old man that has been growing, with his old and attributes, covetousness, pride, envy, wrath. Then shall it be seen whether you belong
to the children
who have comforted themselves
of the Spirit of God, or to those in stone churches
with an imputed righteousness, and still have conto be greedy dogs, vain peacocks, lustful
and other such pernicious beasts. great change must take place in you. You must die with Christ, die away from your sinful egoism and
propensities, that Christ
There must be a violent transition you. into the fourth natural property, into the Lightning, so that you may come out of the wrath of God,
out of the torture-chamber, in which you are secretly a captive.
Per ignem, per crucem ad lucem
there are some who will ask here whether has forgotten that Regeneration takes place at Baptism, that Baptism is a bath of Regeneration. He has not forgotten this. He teaches that God, by
Covenant of Grace
humanity, that the whole
man, both soul,
body, needs to be baptized, needs a fresh unction, a
tincture," so that a
new life may bloom and The heavenly element is imparted through
the element of water, by means of the Word, and it The Father is the whole Trinity that baptizes.
baptizes with Fire unto repentance and conversion, and assails the soul with the Law, with His severe
whereby the foundation is laid for and sorrow over sin. repentance The Son baptizes with Love and Grace, with the gentle Light, quenches the Father's wrath, and heals
the soul by the Forgiveness of sins. The Holy Ghost baptizes with a
bestows the right understanding and the true belief, which we recognise and accept as such. And all this is not metaphorical. An essential operation takes place, a union of the essence of Grace and the essence of man. The sinful human nature acquires a new tincture, a new life stratum, which, however, cannot unfold its power until faith
But what does it avail us that there is preaching Babel concerning Baptism and the Covenant of Baptism, when there is no regular preaching conin
cerning Faith
are taught an imputed righteousness
and an
imputed grace
but what Faith
it is
in its
is, how it is born, and nature, and how it appro-
these are priates the merit of Christ, which the majority are absolutely dumb
are they blind
points on
and there remains a simply historiwhich gives us only nominal Christians.
not merely to accept as true, to agree
Faith is great and mighty earnestness is requisite. . Not that this is to be understood as implying a fatalistic election of grace.REGENERATION. If I am to believe. Although faith itself is an effect of grace."46). with all its perishableness. to of the being of God and in order to this a partake . it is not simply a thought. Bohme : frequently repeats the Lord's words to Jerusalem " Ye would not ! " . is. yet the natural man has the choice whether he will surrender himself. profound act of the will the most no one can believe simply by his own power. the introimagination upon duction of it into. is in His Will my (" will. still. . Christ oneself. and the embodiment of it in Spirit of Christ. into my will with the highest tincture of the Divine Will. forward with His Will before God. ' which ' I tinctures surrender to Him. the Spirit of Christ. to believe is to partake of grace. a knowledge. which even devils possess nay. Faith consequently. that 285 the matter stands thus and thus . the desire of Christ. In Faith. Then and steps He and guides it to God. then draws His Will : my He will. or whether he will resist grace. the Will of Christ must believe in my desire and will. For Bohme. a hunger and thirst after Christ and the and the setting of the whole that which one desires. and leads it into the Gate that is opened in Christ. and let himself be grasped by grace. the soul leads its will out of this corrupted flesh. a strong desire. and I become accepted as a child of grace" Epistles.
for Christ's sake. an indwelling . my sanctification is an unfinished fragment. I base upon an insecure foundation . I can have firm assurance only when it is built exclusively upon the Grace of God. appropriate in faith the merit of in His Grace. in the remotest degree. that kernel of the Lutheran because he does not establish a thoroughgoing distinction between Justification and SanctifiThis distinction is undeniably of great cation. in which there is both progress and retrogression. And of great consequence to develop this it must also be granted that his doctrine of an indwelling grace. and per- must certainly be admitted that Bohme has it not deemed distinction. This is the source from which sanctification can first proonly grace it which I ceed. as an endeavour after righteousness fection of It life. imputes to me.286 REGENERA TION. It : is is. which God. not on the ground of any merit or work of mine. my own simply the organ by which I receive I so to speak. not. is do importance. is willing to forgive me my sins and to accept me I am then recognized as just before as His child. The does not assign justification objection has been raised against Bdhme that he its due place to the doctrine of by Faith. but because Christ. LXXXIX. when the question I base my assurance that I am grace of for God ? If I it base this asked Upon what admitted into the assurance upon my : sanctification. is This faith merit. merely the hand with reach after and grasp grace. Creed. who. God.
the restoration of the broken covenant. is open to misconception. unless close attention be paid to his precise meaning. in the actual cleansing and liberation from sin and sinful propensities. and the removal of guilt. not be separated from the other life-momenta. participate in the atonement of Christ. 287 righteousness. without the necessity of any earnest spiritual desire for sanctification. But it must not be overlooked. justifying Faith is no external but a life-momentum in the soul. and without coming into any really living fellowship with Christ. may be dispensed with.REGENERATION. at a pinch. which. which must dogma. so truly must the whole will. The inmost meaning that it of Bohme's so to polemic is this : distinguish Justification and Sanctification as thereby to deny their necessary connection. without also wishing to participate in His redemption. it was supposed by many that if one simply accepted justification by Faith as an axiom to which one gave one's assent. I cannot believe in Christ as cess of : For a . that he really wishes to supply a corrective against an abstract and mechanical distinction. and without also setting my will upon the new life. but must continue to form an integral part of the " proHis meaning is As truly as Faith is life." which grasps Christ. and to make Sanctification appear as an accidental appendage. a false separation and illegitimate severance of Justification and For Sanctification. on the other hand. is unavailing between Bohme. which had become very general. Christ and communion with Him be the object of I cannot earnestly will to this will. one could then array oneself in the robe of grace.
upon the Sufferings and Death of Christ (the central point in his Christology). devil-image and the world-image. that it is not and assent (notitia. in many passages. " even in his dying hour. lutely to develop our will. (Justitia extra nos posita). a grasping of grace as it is also a grasping of Christ. Justification. there must also in Faith be an : ! : actual union with Christ. in which we are wholly to absorb ourselves. and these false images from my soul. and absoAnd he proved this. that Bohme must be his main intention is regarded. and perhaps without being fully conscious of it. but simply knowledge a hearty reliance upon the Grace of God in Christ. But if Faith be this.288 REGENERATION. assensus). my and set Light-image. and take me into Thy Kingdom!" But he demands that Faith shall be regarded as an earnest and serious thing. and when isolated and unguarded expressions in the understood. he thus points back to the original doctrine of Faith. by praying Thou Crucified Lord Jesus Christ have compassion upon me. held by the Reformers and by our Church. his assurance of the grace of God not upon anything in himself. viz. He has never denied that the whole fountain-spring of our justification is Christ. when course of his polemic are not unduly pressed. as it my imagination upon His without also forsaking the banishing seems to us. but exclusively upon the compassion of God in Christ. the Crucified and Risen He shows most clearly. glorious It is thus. that he builds his salvation. Without saying so. Nor is it astonishing that unable to rest satisfied with the position that Justification is only an external act of judg- Bohme was .
Then must there subsist between Christ and the believer a unio mystica. the quiet gracious will." This " is what Bohme " expresses by saying that Christ tinctures our will and. sanctifying Faith. in its complete moveIt is the living Christian process. containing in itself the new principle of obedience. he returns so often to the life. which is to grow and increase during the development of life. communication of the Righteousness of were it only in a small beginning. in its " before us in his doctrine of Regeneration." personality. ment. by which man is declared just. without any real Christ. must be. may become an indwelling grace.REGENERA TION. which. during the progress of life. We have in our nature two wills. 19 . imparts to it a living power. the one. the restless pernicious is It for this reason that conflicts of the Christian . but also a vitalizing. like a grain of mustard-seed. which continue until this life's end. Bohme's leading idea is life. calls " the beginning of the Gifts or of the Spirit. without the occurrence of any kind of inward change. in order to lead it into a higher form of life. what Luther. not only a living. in his preface to the Epistle to the Romans. which is the will of the new man and the other. justifying Faith Sanctification. XC. What he is urging in the present connection is. the whole Christian man that he brings ment. the scope of which he regards as stretching through the whole life. that Christianity in the individual man must be life. If the will is tinctured by must contain the germs of Christ.
" xi. at last. this life it We and these are have a lily- and the storms of that sweep often so tempestuously over the lily. and whatever is spoken through this gate reaches the ear of God . and must next examine yourself. whether there be anything you more highly desire But if God's compassion is than God's compassion. As a resource against everything that would hinder our salvation. might seem at times as though the lily must But. and if your prayer is For to pray is not only earnest. in the name of For we are tempted now by our own proud Jesus. By prayer. . now by the devil. But if you Christ. you shall prevail. which is veritably a thistle. by the grace of God. child and a thistle-child within us. In to desire. so that. into the Light. It is simply a question of perseverance in the con- flict. the highest thing to you. which is thistle. the spirit of this world. into the Heart of God. utterly perish. he recommends prayer in the name of Jesus. would pray.290 REGENERATION. v. the abyss of hell. when this body falls off like a husk.. and of resistance to temptation. it may blossom in eternity. ego. it grows and becomes green. but to work in the strength of God. true prayer the soul becomes a hungry magical fire which draws the Being of God out of the Incarnation into itself. while in the into world it has only anxiety ("Epistles. means of and penetrates into the other principle. the soul soars up above the centrum of anxiety. He hears it. you must first cleanse yourself of all your abominations.). in which it can find rest. and now by our flesh. the old Adamite will : always at strife with each other. and the soul becomes clothed with a Light-body. For the name of Jesus is a gate.
and thou shalt enter into the will of God. on no condipursued tion to relinquish the strong resolution to be saved.REGENERATION. when all fell over him. and His merits are thy merits. and the soul is disconsolate. Thou shalt hold fast to this resolve Do with Lord I will not lose Thee ' : ! ! me as Thou wilt. And even if thine own heart says nay the trees : ! that shall not appal thee. and Resurrection are all thine. and Christ's goods belong to thee. and comforted him. His Life. " Even if thou hast no strength in thy heart. and that the lily within him may succeed in growing. when the devil and hell storm in against His own and would tempt it to despair. and all that thou doest. thou doest unto God (" Incarnation of Christ "). Death. and when. Bohme often returns in his 291 meditations to those states of anxiety in which the soul falls into doubt of its salvation. it. and Antichrist opened his jaws to devour him. finally. We have already heard him concerning the hour when he lay on the mountain at midnight. the Sophia came. He leads thee in right " paths. thou shalt yet let God's promises to thee be more certain to thee than thy own heart. and His Spirit is thy spirit. experience has made him acquainted with such conditions. that the hard rocks in which it is imprisoned may be burst asunder. and the devil binds thy tongue. the storm swept about him. He advises to all men the course that he himself on no account to lose faith. for he himself is in a perpetual process. when sins oppress. and thou art a member of His Body. and then thou art God's child. I will be Thine ' ! Then will He have compassion upon thee. . in order that his gold may be refined.
in which the various souls must dwell during this out- ward life.292 REGENERA TION. dark. on which subject he displays a profound knowledge " of the human heart. They are to know that in this dark chamber they certainly have the devil for a neighbour. dry. where they often lament that God has forgotten them. and it depends upon the influence of the stars and the nature-spirit which temperament one receives. belongs his Treatise on the Four Complexions. which he compares to the four elements the sanguine to air. : the phlegmatic to melancholy to earth. the power of wrath. The complexions do not belong to the eternal essence water. To Bohme's teaching with regard to despondency. but from the natural temperament. They are only inns. without comfort. but that he cannot hurt them. that they are forsaken." written as a direction to an ever-sorrowful and anxious heart. since he dwells in darkness. but possess a merely temporal significance. and believe although . and cannot receive grace. The melancholy temperament is melancholy temperais dark and prone to consume itself inwardly in its own being. the choleric to fire. and is continually afraid of the wrath of God and Souls that dwell in this inn. the which is of the soul. cold. places of abode. if they only hold and fast to the promise of God. They are given to man at his conception and birth. are to take note that there are many anxieties which do not come from the devil. dry. By the Four " " he understands what we call the Complexions Four Temperaments. and hungry after light. Bohme now especially for the applies this to consolation and advice ment. It abides always in the House of Sorrow.
but least of all such as treat of election by grace . yield to false imaginations. and that they are to fight and wrestle with themselves. and that while God House of Sorrow. 293 They are to know that it is the to try them in this dark chamber. . for it will see therein its own ground and cause and then all fear and sorrow will vanish away from it. thoughts. they do not will of see. melancholy inn. dwelt in the . XCI. As remedies against the anxieties of the melanthe soul dwelleth in the in the House of choly nature. melancholy chamber give solitude. and it will find rest. such as delude us into the idea that God will not be gracious to us. then let it. reflecting that this is for their profit . We will close this description life picture of under sin by recalling a simple and wrath. But if a soul in the dark chamber is naturally endowed with a mind and thoughts that are deep. to speculations and inquiries. seek for the opening of the centre of nature in itself. in this world. in all questions of this character it should attach itself simply to surrender itself is not to It Holy Scripture. so that it must search and cannot avoid inquiry. Bohme advises industry. it is not but that it is a great sin to Sin. This testimony Bohme gives from his own experience for he himself. for idleness Nor should a soul in the only nourishes sorrow. and life under . in order to lose its heavy It ought not to read too many books. and converse with them. itself up too much to but should seek the society of men. in the fear of God and with constant prayer.REGENERA TION.
viz. itself in the tail. if thou only wilt arouse it in thee by breaking off thy will from the Will of God. arose a desire to uplift itself over ness. of Birth burst into flames." The soul let thus be seduced.294 REGENERATION. which had precisely the biting sketched in a " . and there all. ." in a letter to a soul that hungers and thirsts after the love of Christ. centrum natures. opened " and went out of " temperature itself its . There was a poor soul had wandered out of Paradise and come into the kingdom of this world and there the devil met with it and represented to it that. appearance of a Fire-wheel natures. the Worm /). and Thou art thyself such a Fire-Wheel. Envy. Bohme has grace. Pride and HaughtiThere arose a desire to draw all things to There was itself and to possess all. (a symbol of the centrum said to " it. such a Mercurius in Vulcano . thorny lust in the fiery life. all The Wheel all. and rule in the world The devil showed it a serpent with great might. which would murder and destroy all that which would not be subject to this pride. in the following of Christ. and from God lead its will into nature and the creatures. kindled a stinging. thou shalt bring all things into thy power. if it would break its will off from the Will of God. it would be able to know all things. And there awoke a a poison of hell. torment like fire. Covetousness. and open its centrum natures. and become its own lord upon the earth. and each of introduced itself with its own lust and craving. in and now awoke the soul them the properties of nature. to rule over and to despise humility. which Dialogue between an Enlightened and Unenlightened Soul..
like the and the Kingdom of Heaven. sought to pray and lead its will into God. a Worm. and called into itself. and Paradise. when then it all it could not attain peace. the devil brought it on from one vice to another. yet it will Hath not Christ well enough for all that lives ! . and the soul lost God. Then said the Lord Jesus Christ. Paradise again. and that it had preserved all its old evil inclinations in their ! false natural right. and then He would deliver it from the monstrous deformed shape.. met our dear Lord Jesus Christ. 295 The whole Foundation of Hell was Wrath. therefore the soul went before God. Then the soul considered and was affrighted with the greatest possible anguish. with the " voice of His grace. it. For. and intreated for grace. who was come into the world to destroy the of the devil. and was strongly persuaded in atonement of the itself. that the satisfaction and But since Lord Jesus Christ did belong to it. and went into earthly things. viz. and became Fire-serpent which the devil had it shown In this plight. Repent. the serpent-symbol was not abolished. for God's righteous judgment was manifested in it. how be saved in jollity and mirth. and forsake vanity. The torment devil it tempted in ? it in all manner of ways. Why dost thou it thyself Behold the world. It was to repent and be converted.REGENERATION. " and thou shalt attain my grace Now. and " said to its restlessness. manifested in this soul. and He looked upon it with works His it back. and bring it compassion. and the soul did not observe that it was still monstrous. its thoughts fled away from God.
of not possibly in this world come to have any feeling God take care for thy body. temporal glory. who sought to lead it from the world unto Himself. solitary and it Then happened it. the then. I may attain peace?" Soul replied. some private . that in the solitude an enlightened and regenerate soul came to it. thereby. became sick with apprehension and anxiety. Now would it betake itself to the pleasures of the world. find rest. and could not find a single consolation. from Christ. but thou shalt wholly forsake Enlightened thine own will . by the providence of God. and now it yearned after God. Then it resolved to be free from all business cares and the hindrances of the world. And when the am I to do. and thoroughly acquainted it with the fact that devil.296 REGENERATION. and betake itself to repentance place. but sank down into the deepest misery. and look after . to perform true thought also to be bountiful and But neither in solitude could it pitiful to the poor. it bore the monstrous shape of the its and that believe error was in fancying its that will it could dying. and did not know that this its longing came from God. Unenlightened Soul asked. and then thou shalt be saved. And it knew not that itself was a monster. " Thou shalt do absolutely nothing. Thou paid the ransom and satisfied for all men ? is done for needest only to comfort thyself that it Thou canst thee. all thine evil grow weak and faint. without forsaking so that own and "What. propensities will and then. and ready . the last!" Salvation this comes well enough find at But with all the soul could not rest.
and was assaulted by the shame and reproach of the world. 297 and thou wilt sink down again into that one For thing from which thou art sprung originally. so long as we hate men. and our will is not free. to die. the creatures. and it was enabled to pray and to rejoice exceedingly. now thou liest captive in the creatures. through joy and anxiety. and said. ! God . the soul. We captive by the creatures. For this reason we also are unable we must forgive our enemies. it without letting its itself be captured by the creatures. that We see Bohme has sought to indicate. stay and hinder thee that thou canst not come to God. between between a spurious an outward appro- . we are held captive in hostile creatures. which. for. with their evil will die in thee. because it was released from Death and Hell. for the present. the soul began to practise this when it wholly ab- sorbed itself in Christ's Suffering and Death. whereby to follow Christ.REGENERATION. in this simple sketch. must not allow ourselves to be held inclinations. And although it fell subsequently into great contempt. and although the devil " It is only an imagination tempted it. in deep repentance and off-dying. and the Lord Jesus Christ went with it. that thou is not of hast partaken of the grace of God " nevertheless. until at last it entered into the great Kingdom of Grace. yet it did not all at once come to peace but at last God let His face shine upon it. ." And when now course with much earnestness. went way through inward and outward tribulation. the difference and a real conversion. and if thy will forsaketh them.
on this subject also. The third prinroot in the eternal Love of God.298 THE LAST THINGS. is temporal and when the ciple. the eschatology of which has well-known defects essentially still. development of the subject has its own peculiar character. WHITHER does the soul go when it is separated from the body ? He who rightly understands the three Principles has no need to ask this question. from a thorough resolution to forsake enter inseparable sin. and to upon the new XCII. because it has its Light-principle. the in the Wrath of God. is also eternal. which attaches us to this external world. The first principle. the dark is eternal. . The second principle. Fire-principle. . and leads us back to the depths of his fundamental view. HEAVEN AND HELL THE UNCHANGEABLE WILL AFTER DEATH. because it has its root in the eternal centrum natures. As we now the proceed to notice Bohme's doctrine of Last Things. pass beyond the old Lutheran dogmatic. supplied a corrective to the church theology of his day for he does not . Righteousness of Christ and that is priation of the faith in the atonement of Christ which life. . In this life man can stand in three principles. THE LAST THINGS. his detailed XCIII. this external world. we cannot refrain from wishing that he had. is body.
For it must then retain what it has taken along with it in its desire and imagination. death this is no longer possible.HEA VEN AND HELL. anything in which it can can break its images in change and set its will upon another but after pieces. but only sink deeper wrap themselves up in their false opinions. 299 broken asunder and becomes a corpse. the evil quality which was Antistrongest here becomes even stronger yonder. in the ungodly. for if This is a great consolation to thou here dost struggle earnestly against thine evil habits and subdue them. its Here it . deeds. That wherein it has developed its body it has no longer will. nor can it be released therefrom. during this present life. christian Souls do not ask for the Gate of Christ. that does it retain. . the soul has still a Here it choice. in Heaven or Hell. but in their figures or The quality which images in the magic mirroring. will during this life. . thou hast still to lament and sigh that thou canst not always accomplish what thou willingly wouldst so thou art know that much that here was only smoking flax becomes a mighty flame yonder. and again They unwrap themselves. was strongest in the soul during this life grows even stronger believers . not indeed in reality. can still change its will but after the death of the . because they have nothing to hold fast by. Here. the soul must stand in one of the two eternal principles. in these. to But. and can let itself be born again. when this corruptible body is laid aside with its evil vapours. yonder. It has entered into the still " it dwells in a Eternity Magia" and gains a simultaneous view of its whole life and of all its .
And even if St. natural properties. For the soul is separated from the Bond of Christ.g. : into the shape of their ruling hound-temper. a serpent-temper. and surrenders itself altogether it Finally. like an imprisoned malefactor who continually listens when anything stirs. and a hostile For such a soul there is no against God. Such a soul rich in man : the " Gospel. 26). The ungodly grow a passion {e. It cannot come into the light of God. that have died in the Lord. The ungodly have no this light. and so forth). canremedy. fixed after death is he is in great like one who lies and dreams that agony and dread." Those souls. neither can they pass to us that would come from thence" (Luke xvi. not a single one of them could open Heaven for it. yet no help can find. as if the executioner should come and execute judgment. Peter had left many thousand keys upon earth. as it is said of the will There is a great gulf so that they which would pass from hence to you. on the contrary. it despairs to the devil. with terrible lightning. and produce in their essences remorse. and everywhere seeks help. in ever- increasing gladness and refreshment. God is with them only according to His wrath. neither the light of Their own ever- mounting fire is their light. eternal despair. cannot .300 HEA VEN AND HELL. and in delightful expectation of the future. world nor the light of God. and is It is in continual " apprehension of the final judgment of God. Their works do follow . and there is a whole birth between it and God. are in blessed rest. All their sins stand before them. Then reverts to the three if in first as a dark torture-chamber. not come into Heaven.
greater joy in Heaven over one sinner that repenteth than over ninety-and-nine Such a godly just persons who need no repentance. the damned soul in Hell.HEA VEN AND HELL. and rests peacefully. they realize that there is asleep in the Lord. believers roam in Heaven but their eyes are held by this flesh." xix. then the holy soul is already in Heaven. they hold see. consequently. yet each of them in his own kingdom. has run out. as fast in if faith by what they do not with blindfolded eyes. and from the Virgin the splendour of the Holy Trinity shines forth into it. It is in the bosom of the soul. rests thus this : After death. " heavenly. surrounded by heavenly images. 62-67). God and the devil are there. when our saeculum and our constellation. 301 and although they in a figure and shadow also have sinful deeds. there is Heaven and Hell. yet these are forgiven them. fallen in Virgin . And here . The matter. we stand in one of the two eternal principles. When the body comes to be broken. when we have done with outward world. It needs no going out or in Even (" The Three Principles. our hour-glass. XCIV. " For far-off and near is all one and the same thing with God. the time allotted to us. and blossoms in expectation of the Resurrection. Its lily grows green. Not that we are to suppose that there is need of any long journey when we part company with this world. them . here upon earth. is like one who lies sweet slumber. but.. And at that place where the body dies. and they do not see the . and are blotted out by the atonement of Christ and .
properly lighted. I leave it to him to try who wilfully persists in sin until his end. and are held by their Turba. how they are held and tormented. from worldly affairs and distractions. Heaven may finally be opened. . and seek to lay hold of the Kingdom of Heaven. that always seeks For such souls. But what it is thus to stand at the Gate^and in a Turba. . and in their anxious apprehension they hang by a thread. although they do not see it for their eyes are holden and blinded by the distractions of this world and the many things in which they take delight. The world and under! does not believe stands nothing. this . already do the ungodly walk in Hell. to criticism. They stand in the Gate. and then first desires to be saved. where Fire and Light sever themselves. feeble thread. What such souls must undergo.302 HEA VEN AND HELL. however. These stand neither in Hell nor in Heaven. xxiv. that no one experienced would willingly keep silent about it * We have here attempted to give a very high abstract of Bohme's doctrine of the Intermediate I Would God State. is it utterly indescribable. We will and inquire how * now submit the doctrine far we can accept it. and how woefully they groan. or whose faith is like tinder which has been unable to be kindled. souls that have only attained a half-regeneration. " Answers to XL Questions on the Soul. Some of these come at last to repentance. whose faith is mixed with doubt. because of the damp and moisture which comes from sin and the world. There are. so that it has never been ." c. it is far too clever. clinging to Christ by a the fire. tempted and afflicted.
XCV. which he calls the it is taken from the four elements. in fact. a finer body imperceptible to sense. that world. however. because spirit and nature. which the pious not beyond. farther into these surmises. indeed. indeed. that behind this sidereal body. THE first take a general view of the physical of the subject the doctrine of Bohme conaspect the form of existence in which souls abide cerning we death one must certainly agree with his deof the state after death as a state of Inwardscription ness and of the kingdom beyond as a Kingdom of Inwardness. which he calls the sidereal . If 303 DEATH. But in so far as it may be urged. with Paracelsus. behind our material body. that there is an inward and finer corporeity imper- ceptible to our senses. because there is and blessed develop into greater perfection as their We will not venture to plunge heavenly attire. We simply maintain the unavoidthis able necessity of agreement with Bohme on . that an absolute non-corporeity is unthinkable. but a corporeity which we do take with us from this elemental. there is a Light-body. cannot be entirely separated. THE MAGICAL CONDITION AFTER REGIONS BEYOND. inasmuch as this does not make its appear- ance until the Resurrection and final Consummation. acquire He teaches. in which there is not this outward after corporeity. in which.THE REGIONS BEYOND. Bohme teaches. there is no real corporeity. because they lead us into obscure subtleties. the inward and the outward. which we retain for only a brief period after death. in many places. and.
fragmentary." * J. : ! Must give us pause. it as a figure of corporeity. teaches that souls rest in sweet slumber. independently of They are in a " . seeking help. We are here reminded of Hamlet's words in : the famous monologue " To die. " " we must be contented upon As a symbol Bohme refers us blessed of this magical to the Dream. stands in diametrical opposition to the doubtedly. to sleep. as modern students have a symbolical body. unsense-apparatus. when the hour of the Resurrection arrives. encircled by blessed images. a view which. may or. this brain-consciousness. and lacunated knowledge with which earth. and that the ungodly are in anxious and disturbed dreams. materialistic view which affirms that there can be no a material other form of consciousness than that which ditioned is con- by these physical organs. He consciousness. "Anthropologic" .304 THE REGIONS BEYOND. discursive. that the soul exist hereafter in a certain intermediate corporeity. known by magia" that is. * So also must we agree with the description of the form of consciousness which belongs to the departed. When we have shuffled off this mortal coil. Fichte. which can only make shining and sounding. and the therewith-associated. and which is destined to be succeeded by an actual body. B. he often terms called itself it. point. they are selfconscious in a condition of relative non-corporeity they perceive and comprehend. but unable to find it. : ! To sleep perchance to dream ay there's the rub For in that sleep of death what dreams may come.
The future is not a fect symbol of the future. And this means work in an outward direction for the fundamental character of the night is In Scripture. moreover. however. is corroborated by Holy Scripture. those that are asleep 1 Thess. then. 20 .: the faculty of imagination. In dreams we are relatively independent of the material senses. . or lighted by a faintly-glowing midnight sun. it does not tell us. meaningless. moonlight. with profound divination. plastically-working imagination. that this state of sleep is a 3). without the co-operation of the material sense-apparatus. In a wider sense. Seeing. alluded to the Dream. speaks of things beyond. the that of inwardness. deny the possibility of visions that are fashioned by objective. such as we are acquainted with. we may give the name of Dream to every state in which perspicuous rise before us with the stamp of reality. as to a quiet midnight hour. and one-sided dream.THE REGIONS BEYOND. we cannot but be led to the dream. instead of sense-perception. sleep accompanied by consciousness. as the form of consciousness. or starlight. confused dreams many empty. is but an imperEternity. this natural contrast to our day-consciousness. This view. and may now occur no one will . in so far as Scripture alludes to the night when it and to sleep. ( 1 iv. as a symbol of the form of consciousness that awaits us after death. matters not how viz. dead are called " " which includes the religious and ethical content of The dream. 305 Both Bohme and Shakspeare have. Scripture refers us to night . another images faculty It is prominent. and in which. The Lord speaks only of a night when no man can work. moreover.
must suppose them to be most intensively conscious. the rich man. We can here only recall the Gospel narrative of Dives and Lazarus." imagination display themselves as the source of his Instead of speaking of the state of the torment. the future dream standing. it dissimilarity is is. departed as a dream-state. as it were. to the so-called clairvoyant and ecstatic states. and that everything in clairvoyants betokens the most inward and The limitations of time and intense consciousness. modern inquirers have pointed to the dream which " takes place in the Mesmeric sleep. Each of the conspicuous personages. in lifelike distinctness. Lazarus. in which the soul is. in which stands contrast to the awakened underis On the contrary. we must conand yet we ceive of as in a relative non-corporeity . So far are these clairvoyants . are in a " magia. XCVI." even although we must admit that our conception of this state can be only imperfect and approximate.306 THE REGIONS BEYOND. that the soul lives an inward life. no slight Although there between these states. nevertheless. true of the highest clairvoyance. these space are here abolished in the most unusual and extraordinary manner. As " a symbol of the magical condition after death. desire and tion of the magical. inasmuch as everything stands out in bodily shape. rapt from the body. characterized by the most alert wakefulness. and Abraham. which is precisely the defini" In the rich man. it would be more correct " " The departed to speak of it as a magical state.
from losing is is 307 their memory. i. in the strictest sense. like that of the dead. by Franz Baader and Schelling. they are sensitive to the most delicate sounds. for instance." Haddock. although in a fettered condition. in which past. at the outset. And while our earthly life is in a continual " Uber Lebens* Passavant. 67 magnetismus.THE REGIONS BEYOND. . in us all. and even to distant tones inaudible to others. the departed are attracted into a wakeful state. Although. the contrast between near and far is extraordinarily abolished It is as though their whole being were concentrated into a single focus. this condition. near and remote are blended. future. that a more distant past illuminated for them.. the condition itself after death. on which account these clairvoyants are described as anticipations of the state after death. Nor can any human voice whom reach them. 9. before they fall into this state. Moreover. Schelling's Werke." that the blessed are Schelling's Of In sleeping wakefulness and a wakeful slumber. and a not-immediate future unrolled before them. in " " in a Clara. Thus. they cannot now be aroused by the rumbling of wagons or the thunder of artillery. in comparison with which this our earthly consciousness is but as a sleep and a vague dream. and not We destined to be liberated and to gain power until death. for them. In present. their attitude towards the external world is." their very slumber. except that of the person with they are en rapport* are compelled to postulate in them an inward a sensorium which must be supposed to exist sense." . it is said. "Somnolismus and Psycheisraus.
change between day and night, the externality of the day and the inwardness of the night, it is only " a nightthe saved who are received yonder into Is this the reason, like day and a day-like night."
asks Clara, why the moonlight so sweetly touches our heart with its tremulousness, and fills us with
surmises of the nearness of the spirit-world
magnetic and mesmeric states are desig-
nated as anticipations of the future condition, it is not superfluous to observe that these states, viewed in and for themselves, ought by no means to be overvalued.
For the very reason that an organ, the proper function of which lies only in the world beyond, becomes active here, these states are not Stress, moreover, only extraordinary, but abnormal. must be laid upon the fact that in the magnetic
we are acquainted, the The Eternity are absent. When clairvoyant looks only into the present world. anything of an ethical and religious character occurs
magnetic states, it and uncertain.
very frequently turbid, con-
The resemblance is thus only simply to the form of conscious-
a resemblance which has at the same
obvious limitations.
are certainly very far from being able to " " prehend the magical conditions ; nor ought
comwe to
expect to be able, by any kind of mental effort here upon earth, to gain any adequate knowledge of the
Life Beyond.
we must
maintain, in
accordance with what reflection and Scripture teach us with regard to those regions, that the material relations of Time and Space are abolished, even
although these
be conceived
in various
For those who have exchanged time
eternity, the successive, the incessant sequence, the constant severance and separation, the lacunated,
and protracted, the intolerable delays and restraints, which are the cardinal features of our development in time, must be replaced by circularity and simultaneity, where everything exists all at once, whole and complete. Those beyond live in
a derivative eternity, be
But although the form of Eternity is paramount, there is still time. For the intermediate state is a of expectation, during which all souls await period the last and final Judgment with the Resurrection of " the Body, a state in which the " magical is to become the most perfect reality.
same thing applies to the relation to Even now, when we speak of the relation space. between this world and the world beyond, the relation beween earth and heaven, material spacelimitations must be abolished, and we are compelled
to admit objectively magical relations.
heavenly regions must be presupposed as encircling and penetrating the lower, in a supermaterial
Nor can one avoid agreeing with Bohme
when he
says that the distance between heaven and earth cannot be defined by miles or by any kind of
earthly standard of measurement, and that we are not to suppose that we need to take a long journey
when we go hence, because everything is near us. This abrogation of space-relations is also shown in those to whom it has been granted, according to Scripture, to gaze into heaven even during their " " residence upon earth. They were in a magia and, although they were still in the body, they were rapt away from the body. In order to gaze into heaven, they did not need
their place, to
surmount opposing
or to traverse intervening distances.
in his dying hour saw the and the Son of Man at the right opened hand of God, did not need to gaze through vast expanses of sky but what he saw, he saw immedi;
Thus Stephen, who
ately at hand.
who was caught up
heaven, did not know whether he was in the body or out of the body but he did not require, in any
material sense, to change his place. The disciples stood and gazed into
Heaven when
Christ was taken up, and the cloud had hidden Him from their eyes. But the essential veil which prethem from seeing Him was their own flesh, vented
If this veil could
limiting, oppressive,
have fallen and darkening
in the case of
power had been only momentarily suspended, as Stephen and Paul they would have
been enabled to gaze into Heaven. passage in the Old Testament, which shows that the heavenly is not separated from us by material distances, is 2 Kings vi. 15, where it is
of the
narrated that the prophet Elisha sent his servant out city, and that this servant, when he beheld the
compassed by a host with horses and chariots, and said, " Alas my master, how shall we do ? " Then said the prophet, " Fear not for they that be with us are more than they that be with them " and Elisha prayed and said, " Lord I pray " And behold, Thee, open his eyes, that he may see the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha This passage shows that heavenly forces and powers may be quite close to us, but that our eyes
are holden.
applies to the relation between earth and so no less does it apply to Heaven itself, Heaven, that material space-relations have no validity there.
if it
this subject we will limit ourselves to the consideration of Heaven, because it is the perfect and normal, and is far more accessible to our thought
It is to Heaven that those words of than Hell. " Far off and near is all one and the same Bohme, " have their closest application. thing with God As we must imagine existence in Heaven to be absolutely free from time, seeing that, as Master
Eckart says of eternity,
everything stands in
present now" so we must also say that everything In Heaven in Heaven stands in an immediate here. " " hie est The this is perfectly true quod petis, between near and far, under which we so separation
that belongs
consummation and
fulness of
must be conceived
as being together. Separation, impenetrability, indistances cannot be imagined in Heaven ; superable
although the existences are outside one another
and beside one another, they are no
analogy to this
in the
organism, where indeed
are outside
one another, and yet are not in abstract separation, but are also in one another, as is plainly evidenced by the fact that when one member suffers, the whole
Nevertheless, however true this may be, when we speak of Heaven in general terms as the perfect
place, Scripture
compels us to recognize in Heaven a contrast between near and far, here and
For Scripture teaches us of many heavens, yonder. and, consequently, of higher and lower regions in
we must complain, as an essential defect Bohme, that he construes Heaven only in general
terms, without noticing the contrasts and varieties which Heaven includes, or heeding the glimpses and
suggestions afforded by Scripture on this subject. shall see very shortly that this defect in the physical is accompanied by a remarkably significant
defect in the ethical.
Here, however,
lay stress on the fact that Paul speaks of the third heaven to which he was caught up ; and that it is
said of Christ, our
High Priest, that He has passed through the heavens into Heaven itself, which can be interpreted only as the highest, the Uncreated Heaven and that, in the Lord's Prayer, we pray not merely to our Father in Heaven, but to our Father in the Heavens.
It is true that we are not now to attempt to frame a topography and, as it were, to design a map of the regions beyond, as some have attempted to do, whose efforts may be easily shown to be fruitless, and may indeed easily provoke our ridicule. But just as it is wrong to desire to know more than can be known on these subjects, so it is no less blameworthy to desire to know less than, on the basis of We are, thererevelation, can and must be known.
not to slight the intimations that are afforded
us by revelation, even though our comprehension of
them may be but fragmentary, and even though
these very intimations should compel us to modify our preconceived views. Thus, we are not to reject
the suggestion which Scripture gives us with regard what has been called the " Configuration of the Universe," the World-Edifice, the situation and relathe circles of creation, which remains so incomplete in Bohme, notwithstanding the great and
foundation which he has
us to
the tabernacle in
which Moses made " according to the pattern which the Lord showed him on the mount," and in which
we, in
common with more ancient teachers, discern a symbol of the whole creation in its relation to In the tabernacle was the Holy of Holies, God. with the perfect presence of the grace of God next,
Holy Place
the Fore-Court.
encircling, visible, starry
corresponds heaven.
Holy Place
correspond the created, but to us invisible Heavens, which form a habitation for the blessed Spirit-world, holy angels and men, who, in harmony with their
in relation to their
gaze adoringly into the Holy of Holies, where is the throne of God, the central seat of His selfconcentrated glory, the innermost centre of that
And, according
to the intimations of
Scripture, there are also created spirits who allowed to dwell in the Uncreated Heaven.
add that, outside of the Heavens, Scripture speaks not only of hell, but also of Hades, which it and from places under the earth {KarayOovLoC) this also we must exclude material space-determinations, and must, consequently, conceive of it as a
non-material cosmical "Below."
the fact must
be emphasized
that, according to Scripture, there is also a Paradise, which, in a certain sense,
which is also which the Lord promised to the penitent thief, and to which He Himself descended, according to His words " This day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise." Many ancient church teachers hold that Christians who are saved must first enter this Paradise, in order
be ranked as heaven.
Abraham's bosom
they may traverse absolutely the same path which the Lord Himself has trodden. Thus, there are both lower and higher regions and a distinction between near and far, here and For the tJiere will be valid even in these regions. inhabitants of the lower heavens, there must thus be " in relation to the an appointed limit, a " thus far We can but and the highest Heaven. higher
suppose that
of their
this limitation
depends upon the degree
dominion over near and far
that after the lay- the soul in the world . the imaginations that he brings with him from this lower world and he can only roll and his BOHME bases doctrine its will after . the soul can no longer change its will. that the soul cannot death upon the argument that. DOES IT APPLY TO ALL SOULS AFTER DEATH THAT THEY CANNOT CHANGE THEIR WILL ? THE MULTIPLICITY OF THE FUTURE WORLD. change after death. there are only two This latter docSalvation and Damnation. to which Bohme has not done justice. Bohme gives us nothing. and the many manregard to the sions. this But on the : . and the intermediate regions. It is only thus that we are capable of understanding our Lord's words with " Father's House. Bohme thus seems that no new problem can be presented to beyond. again. many mansions. states. Jiere 315 and yonder is defined in accordance with the limitation of their spiritual attainment. in accordance with what they still lack. after trine. This death. or tantamount to nothing." whole subject of the Created Heavens. harmonizes with his assertion that. He is aware of only two regions beyond Heaven and Hell and this is in entire correspondence with his doctrine that. C. for it leads us back to a highly important article of our Christian Faith. Everyone is there entangled in the spiritual contents. unroll these to assert among themselves. after death.THE FUTURE WORLD. assertion must be examined more closely. it has nothing in which it can change its will.
in its then existent it appears that weighty objections can be However true it may be urged against this view. we need not sustain ourselves by our own conjectures and arguments we may decide . excluded . viz. body it can acquire no new material and that it must. Why. that the soul takes with it its will-contents from this lower world. with regard to which the soul may have to determine itself ? And how does he know but ? How that fresh problems may arise out of the native The spiritual contents depths of the soul itself ? we bear within us are far richer than those which by this lower world and the distincbetween the day-side and the night-side of the soul is very correctly drawn. how does he know that the world But and the scenes that surround the soul may not set it new tasks. then. inasmuch as time is not. ing aside of the for its energy. continue state. is it inadmissible that there should be that in this nocturnal depth which in the world above will burst into clear consciousness. in that higher world.. which most certainly must be viewed in connection with the state of consciousness in which the soul are absorbed tion . and that this fact must decide its immediate destiny. the matter by an authority which is unimpeachable by Christians. then finds itself ? Meanwhile. with new and unsuspected problems. the third principle above may still be active in the world does he know that. therefore. the article of Christ's descent into the regions of the dead.3i6 THE FUTURE WORLD. there may not be new manifestations of the Divine Will. in every and on this account something of sense. If the Gospel is .
then. 317 preached to the dead. on the contrary. together with all life wicked sprang and death was destroyed. and if there are those who received the joyful message beyond the grave. and to shatter the power and vanquish " kingdom of the devil (Hase. and wrath now became reconciled in love. The old orthodox view in the Lutheran Church ascribes to the descent of Christ a judicial. according to the Apostles' Creed. themselves. the devils were held captive in the wrath in souls." Bohme rejects this doctrine without suggest788). sustained in chains. His Soul penetrated into death and the wrath of God. that. the devil. F. and up through . of Christ. have been converted. apart from the body. and have become believers after death. Thus. He calls it erroneous to suppose ing an alternative. And since the energies that issue forth from Christ in the kingdom of the dead cannot be conceived as simply momentary and limited to a single group of those who were unable to know the Gospel upon souls earth. and thus shattered Hell. who had been unable to hear it as an effectual call. Although of Christ. that the Soul and that He there. there must be souls there who have changed their wills. Divine strength.THE FUTURE WORLD. bound them He teaches. at the moment when Christ laid aside the kingdom of this world. with the general dogmatic of his period. a conflict with devils. C. he has absolutely no comprea defect which he shares hension of this article. in His descended into Hell . may change their will Bohme confesses the descent the possibility stands open that many after death. but no He descended in order to redemptive significance. Libri Symb.
in innocent ignorance of the way . be saved. heathen. considers them as children. profound eschatological meaning of the is wholly hidden from Bdhme. Here there is really no Descent . and which both asserts that no man cometh to the Father except by the Son. and have sought God with says in Bbhme and Jews can earnestness. then. difficulty is removed only by the Article which he did not understand. from an eschatological standpoint. in the Light-principle (in the non-incarnated Logos). provided they have only stood in the otlier principle. and Jews. even although they have not known the Christ who has come in the flesh. but Christ's victory over the devil and hell takes place at once upon the Cross. most vigorously maintains. We the question arises Why is the Incarnation necessary ? a necessity which Bohme. and his doctrine of the Intermediate State could not fail to be unsatisfactory. Christ come in the flesh. Turks. not what they say. and also embraces Jews. It does not depend would not depreciate the deep human feeling that expresses itself in these utterances. on knowledge. who know God. because it lacked this important The Descent foundation. in accordance with : fundamental view. Turks. many places that heathens. in the Light-principle. they are altogether If it be sufficient for salvation to stand inadequate. The here upon earth of salvation. From this indistinctness spring also many strange and baseless utterances on the subject of the salvation of heathens. but on the will.318 THE FUTURE WORLD. But. embraces all men who have lived his . Turks. death.
and that unbeand the ungodly suffer from appalling penal The souls are fantasies. the Northern seer. CI. and unsaved. in which he is also influenced by Swedenborg. although the contrast between believers infinite unbelievers. 319 its Bohme's one-sidedness upon this article has found corrective within Theosophy itself in Oetinger. But all the organs of certainly outside the body. has preached when Church Oetinger often refers to the three first centuries. etc. viz. Oetinger apprehends the Descent of Christ not only in its judicial. lievers and the body. have bequeathed their form to the souls.. teachers held the correct view. remains the He agrees with Bohme in the view that souls take with them from this world the plastic image form-fashioning imagination. the eyes. conse- . : the doctrine of an multiplicity and variety of states after death. the tongue. Upon this presupposition he founds his Scriptural Meditations on the subject of the Intermediate State. the invisible that He has the Himself in Kingdom as the Vanquisher of the devil. and brought revealed all to its consummation. teaches that Christ has conquered the devil and death. He thus succeeds in formulating a doctrine which furnishes a counterpart to Bohme's.THE FUTURE WORLD. who alternately attracts and repels him. which. and in whom he is resolute to accept only that which is good and consonant with Scripture. the ears. generated by themselves. and gospel and life to the captives. saved and fundamental contrast. but in its redemptive aspect.
and shapes. on the contrary. they take with them the form of their previous condition. and the joyous school of believers after death. fire. and other physical forms are round about them. but became indifferent and never formed a decision . This view of schools after death Bohme utterly rejects. Oetinger teaches the dead those who have never heard the Gospel after : On . above all. and that there are many kinds of Schools in after death. are surrounded by things that belong to these physical organs. next. torments and horrors. precisely as they have surrendered themselves to this with their whole appetite. as Bohme would say. with their imagination and desire. after exist. They behold and fields In short. around them. preached a sermon on the sorrowful school of the ungodly. the subject of the possibility cf Repentance There are amongst death. sounds. countless varieties teaches that fancy and imagination. forests mountains and hills before them. but there are also others call who in every possible way disregarded the of the Gospel. abodes. but. but the last must endure their punishment.3 2o THE FUTURE WORLD. in understanding and conceptions. But. such as have heard it. quently. and must . Colours. death. Oetinger. conditions. there is a possibility of forgiveness and salvation in the world beyond. in contrast to the there orthodox monotony. Oetinger innumerable varieties of souls. and rejected it with contumely. For the two former classes. words. after the pattern of those that they were acquainted with in this world. or. the purification and amelioration of the Will. The idea of a school suggests not simply better instruction.
But this restless selfnot. Jesus guides us from station to station with His shepherd's staff. or. the grace-gift of eternal life {irapaO-qKiq^ 2 Tim. thinks it common clergy to beguile the with the error. i. must bear the judgment of which Jesus speaks (John iii.THE FUTURE WORLD. or desire). because in their sermons they cut off all clergy. from grade to grade. 321 pay the uttermost farthing. according to the sins and vices of men during this life. the first also. That the Soul Worm Worm implies that it is energy of the soul receives countless modifications. which burns like a fire. but there are many degrees of progress. is it is a called a nothing but an indescribably restless self-torturing energy (Bohme's third natural property. to the higher heavenly region. With regard to the ungodly. that they are to enter people perilous for the 21 . development and progress in the Intermediate State. and yet is never reduced to ashes. in other words. 12). the indifferent classes. and thus make this into a wilderness and he torturing . who take with them what God has here bestowed upon them. from Abraham's bosom. he teaches that they advance from class to class. but that one is first He censures the grasped by His mighty Hand. Concerning the saved. Moreover. or the lower ParaAfter death dise. Oetinger agrees with that one does not come into the arms Swedenborg of Jesus immediately after death. we shall most certainly not at once be at home with the Lord. 19) for a considerable period after their death. Oetinger teaches " that their soul is a " Wheel of Birth which has been set on that dieth fire.
and that they are at once to embrace Jesus. currently-accepted doctrine after death. nevertheless. same time. because one exposes oneself to odium by stating any other doctrine of the Future State than the one commonly proper conception of the most of them are received. without successive transitions. supposes that there are some souls which attain the Resurrection at the of the body prior to the general Resurrection. Chrysostom. into complete salvation immediately after death. although Oetinger teaches a general Resurrection in a transfigured corporeity at the end of the world. whereas they ought to remember that the Lord Himself. hold quite another view . however. be observed that those who to the Apostles. ascended from the lowest to The clergy are indisposed to form a silent state after death. Tertullian. This first resurrection are. us an example.. is that. Cyprian. sideration. he. centuries. etc. and. one either into immediately passes Heaven or into Hell. goes on throughout the even now before the time. Irenaeus. attain perfection. and on the subject. and there this 5. It must be added that. who has left the highest. souls which may be compared to which the gardener is able to pluck from the tree before the harvest. perfect. before the time of the general ripening. because they are fruit ripe for it. idea can be reconciled with Apocloser con- we simply suggest for .322 THE FUTURE WORLD. many souls that are made Whether calypse xx. But the It came next for should. they all teach the doctrine of gradual transitions.
although Bohme does not deduce from these what Oetinger deduces. CII.THE FUTURE WORLD. and. cry. after Oetinger's by Jung-Stilling's well-known treatise." as well as by the book that caused so much excitement in its day. as it were. When one speaks of spirit-manifestations from ! the other world. " Die Seherin von Prevorst. He leads us here into a domain into which we are time. Oetinger adduces the many spiritual manifestations from the other world which were accepted in his time as well-authenticated. But. " Theorie der Geisterkunde. and denies the conceptions of spirit and the spiritthis . on which account he very frequently alludes to such manifestations in his sermons. and in which he sees a sign and testimony against the negligent silence of the clergy with respect to the Intermediate State. we will. by Swedenborg. examine the hypothetical meaning that can be ascribed to this argument in favour of Oetinger's doctrine. one is usually met by the uncritical cry that such things are absolutely impossible But one must not allow oneself to be overawed by Unless one professes pure materialism. no less also led we are not disposed to resort to these arguments." and also by the so-called For our own part. seeing that Bohme also accepts manifestations and phenomena of spirits that move about houses or show themselves in churchyards. in the form of an appendix. spiritualism of our own period. 323 As a special argument in favour of his doctrine of the great diversity of souls and of spiritual states after death.
" no one will describe as a credulous " expresses himself (within the philosophy) upon this subject in a manner that merits great attention. some credence to spiritual manifestations on the whole. I do . but by no means uncritical standpoint precisely the also to accept. and the manifestations in question. how an immaterial nature can be active in. Then he goes on to say " In consequence of this ignorance. and by means of. that he does not even know how a man's soul is present in this world. somewhat truth to the many kinds of although with the usual. one cannot deny the possibility that spirit may be able to manifest itself to spirit . according. is one which it would become others The hypothetical meaning which belongs to If the Oetinger's argument is thus the following facts are correct. reservation of challenging all each single instance. a body. nor is it possible to perceive a purely spiritual Kant or limits whom what natural laws can prevent commercium. if remarkable. : some of them. are adequately substantiated. world. supplies additional evidence in favour of the theory that there are many kinds of spirits in the or even this other world. as he knows how it comes into this world (that means. that is. nevertheless. : not presume to deny spirit-manifestations. uncritical man of his He confesses that he knows just as little how a man's soul goes out of this world (that means.324 THE FUTURE WORLD." This modest. that there are various degrees and a constages in relation to Light and Darkness . its precise relation to generation and propagation) indeed. what its condition is after death).
Nothing is more preposterous than to suppose . of spirits or souls which manifest themselves upon earth after death belong. as that in which they An themselves at home. to that of those who roam about in a dark valley from which no exit is discoverable. neither to Heaven nor to Hell.THE FUTURE WORLD. 325 tribution to the establishment of the conception of The kinds non-finality in the Intermediate State. and which is their proper element. striking feature in many of them is that feel A they experience a necessity of confessing to earthly beings this or that sin or misdeed which particularly burdens them. metaphorically speaking. the predominant impression that we gain from most of the descriptions is that these souls are homeless. that they have not succeeded in finding their abode in Heaven or in Hell . for instance. as. that. Dippel. explanation of the fact that they find themselves again attracted to this earth must be sought in the impurity that oppresses them. upon the whole. in the law of moral gravitation which drags them back to the earth and to earthly concerns. cannot properly establish themselves in the world where their condition may be compared. it is related of Czar Peter that he manifested himself to Dr. or to that of wanderers in a forest where they cannot find the right path. if one analyses the dominant impression one receives from what is related of them in the above-mentioned books. neither to the perfect Light nor to the perfect Darkness. but to the twilight . and self-accusingly bewailed the perennity of his murderous crimes. they beyond. but seek it while they feel the impossibility of finding it.
which one cannot already know from Revelation. are to be regarded . and perhaps even to apprehend eternal truths. cannot let go. in so far as it is not pre-occupied with sins. and error with regard to the means that can promote their own amelioration. at bottom. that there should be those who suppose that these spirit-phenomena. temporal. which form the habitation of a multitude of spirits. that by coming into closer relations with these souls one would be able to gain deeper insight into the mysteries of the world beyond. But it must arouse great astonishment. These spirits are incapable of divining mysteries. is filled only with trivialities. and they often say If things that cannot but strike us as ridiculous. If one would draw inferences. death where unreasonable to seek the spirit after was not before death.326 THE FUTURE WORLD. And. with which spiritualism makes us acquainted. subordinate interests which they finite. one can arrive at no other conclusion than that these spirits are. what we are wont to call spiritless. full of ignorance. they reveal themselves most frequently as beings totally adrift. that they are cha" racterised by " poverty of spirit in the worst sense of the term. one cannot but suppose that there are in the other world peripheral regions. this can excite no surprise except among those who have established so often found in funeral themselves in the idea hymns that the spirit of every one who departs this life is lifted in It is it ethereal clearness to the blessed regions. whose imagination. any reliance can be placed in the information which the spiritualism of our day gives on the subject of spirit-manifestations. folly. as a rule.
Bohme says but little who is influenced by Bengel's surpassed by Oetinger. because it contains so important a corrective of Bohme's. base nothing upon the phenomena in question. Bohme His doctrine has an eye only for the conclusion. He will . . the second time to the Incarnation. we dogmatic of the present century. but We build only let them stand aside altogether. at the end of the world. which belongs to the Son but. is To have the a miserable con- have been somewhat minute in our account of Oetinger's view. attained wider expansion only in the Personally. which belongs to the Father : . and betokens a new We momentum which has of development in Protestant eschatology. do the same upon that authentic Lord wherein one cannot go " wrong They have Moses and the prophets let " hear them them and advise others to Word of the : : ! cm. God has from thus be briefly summarized. We doctrine of the history return from this digression to epitomize Bohme's Consummation of all things. meditations on the Apocalypse.THE CONSUMMATION. 327 as a consoling substitute for that Christian faith in immortality which many have prospect of joining such society solation ! lost. and has a keener . THE CONSUMMATION. eye for the ways of God throughout the ages. Of the and fortunes of the Church in the Last he is here far Times. may the first time to the eternity moved Himself twice creation of the world.
love and wrath. And now Crisis. good and evil. as being eternally con- . and bursts occurs the Last Judgment. The mixture of sundering." a season of " peace " during which all religious dissensions are to cease. the Philosopher's know spirit by which we shall be enabled to all things and to extract from the metals their and heart. and the dead shall After the world has enjoyed a spring-tide " in the upon earth thousand years' reign. the new world arises in unspeakable glory. This fire is not an ordinary is Fire from the " centrum naturce" which sets the world on a blaze from within. and the world Stone. in the nature of the Holy Ghost. will fire . in which everything that cannot endure the ordeal by fire must sink into the darkness. Heaven and earth are united. will be discovered. the Final forth at every point. The twilight is to cease . and believers ascend to perfect blessedness. when the Holy Ghost is to reveal Himself not only as the Spirit of the Church. When Christ is revealed in His majesty. but as the Creator Spirit with the seven spirits or lamps. move Himself for the third time. abolished and return into aether. everything is to be sharply separated into light and darkness. and separation. Everything is penetrated and filled with the Light of God. the devil and the ungodly are seized with indescribable despair . as the Judge. and when Christ is to rule over the Church like a shepherd over his flock. Out of this crisis. which is the fundamental characteristic of the present world. and.328 THE CONSUMMATION. is now to be abolished. and then the third principle or this world shall be arise. perish it by fire.
often BOHME's doctrine of the conclusion of met by the objection that his damnation conflicts with his the world doctrine is of eternal idea of creation." but in Their bodies are reality. but Christ. for the first time. In reality. demned. CIV. who neither marry nor are given in marriage. angels and men. is premises. and continues to be of this no longer our Head and world The whole blessed now abides in perfect and unchangeable " temperature" in And all indissoluble harmony of spirit and nature.THE CONSUMMATION. They are now. like the Body of Christ. are now the willing instruments and ministers of God. are in which are He passed through closed doors. But believers arise in a transfigured corporeity after the likeness of the Risen Christ. free from time and space. delivered up but the Father. into the deepest darkness. are equal is to They live under the Kingdom to Redeemer. perfect human beings. spirits. in complete unison with God and each other. . suggests that to The the to be restored . The risen androgynous the earthly relations of sex and family endure only in recollection. a They the Intermediate State spiritual-corporeal palpable. Redemption certainly disturbed by sin. and yet spiritual and incorruptible. in now no longer as in a mere " magia. Brother. who has now our the angels. must sink. each one man or woman has in himself or herself the perfect combination of masculine and feminine. with their character 329 and with all their deeds.
as evil. is Whenever the question presented to him whether Hell must not. said of devils applies equally to ungodly. just as the dark nature-principle in God Himtemperature. cannot do for there is no inclination in them and no Their whole life desire for repentance and humility. may Bohme stand with regard to holds very deliberately his doctrine of the eternity of Hell. at some time or other. with the Foundation of Hell.330 " THE CONSUMMATION. . tion of the Light. He maintains that the free-will of the creature can . humility. and Salvation become universal throughout the whole creation. must be reduced into a mere possibility as a ministering basis for the Kingdom of God. Bohme thus essentially takes his stand upon a basis which goes back into the mystery of free-will." that." and it. Evil. And what is here . according to Bohme. who harmony with Church doctrine. at the close of the system. condemned men. for they love is death to their false life. ! . If the devil were again to become an angel. they flee away. come to an end. is here in and the cannot be restored to However by the case scientific consistency. the devil damned remain out of " temperature. he must again draw out of God's unity and love his fire-life. It seems quite natural to expect must be annihilated. " " is nothing else than a Nay against God's "Yea!" and when is nothing else but poison and stench hear of love and humility. self is only the ministering basis for the manifestaBut. he replies that it is this is and that totally in conflict not to be thought of. his life of pride must be transformed into But this the devil and the devils will not.
THE CONSUMMATION. because freedom of choice is lost. perpetual captivity as vocable. will. He combats the usual conception that the ungodly are placed in Hell by an arbitrary fiat of God against their own will. vocably lost." They cannot will anything but evil their free-will has become an unalterable necessity and this self. . against his will. It is not fortified. Leibnitz states essentially the same thought in his observations on the possibility of an eternal Hell. on the contrary. and that they suffer a punishment which is regarded as too severe by those who deny the eternity of Hell. arbitrarily assigns the eternal punishments The ungodly have themselves unlocked kindled the fire Hell. powerless. since the divine image in these creatures has absolutely paled. just as the Foundation of Heaven is the good will. because they themselves are . in the strictest sense. and no longer changing Will. a fixed. that it is the ungodly themselves who build the prison. darkened in God who of Hell. from which there is no exit. have selves. of Hell within themtheir choice as irre: and must now abide by will not will not be in Heaven They have fellowship with God and be saved. Both to heaven and hell there belongs. and has be- come a lifeless. attain 331 such a degree of obduracy and darkness that a change of the will is no longer possible. a punishment which the ungodly would eagerly flee from were it possible. has been placed in rigorous. just as a criminal would flee who. It must be maintained. in which Love is a holy necessity. which freedom of choice is irreBohme regards as the Foundation of Hell. a punishment for his crimes. inoperative " Figure.
332 THE CONSUMMATION. says Leibnitz. a yearning to give themselves a reality which they can never attain. but that they are. never willing to leave it. desires to be the view of He adds that. compelled incessantly to contend against Him. and no longer has any support. and the Kingdom of Glory has . when all has become Heaven. but. that they and it is absolutely will not implore His grace damned. eternal damnation consists in this that the damned certainly perceive that after : As the last catastrophe (the final Judgment or Crisis) it is absolutely hopeless to contend against God. they must continue endlessly to prosecute and repeat their false movement of the w'll. into the abyss of destruction. according to pious men. It will no longer have anything to do with God. and which that significance. is this new order of nature is established. just like a weight that has torn itself loose. because a spirit cannot die. spirit must incessantly move and energize. it falls of by a kind of voluntariness or spontaneity. precisely thus eternal misery. nevertheless. when the Hell has an end. they and abide that adjudge in it. They cannot be annihilated. the hatred borne by the damned towards God is so great. many . because the damned cannot acquire motives for a new movement of the will towards A humility and love by means of repentance. themselves to will a consequence of Bohme's conception of the of the creature. even although this is not an actual struggle. It itself. even on the assumption Where is Hell. but a hunger after it. dies in a temper of hostility against God. When a soul. A has question that its may be proposed : here.
conse- quently. in damnation. and answered it in a manner which is in constructive harmony with Bohme's view. in contrast. which . When eternal Bohme. naturally asks whether the Divine image. of the world of the blessed spirits. not. just as nature is the substratum of Heaven. by physical means. below or under nature. evil no longer exists in actual relation to God and the universe it .THE CONSUMMATION. absolute isolation. but includes. According to Schelling. CV. of the creature. may refer to Schelling. so that Hell is the substratum of nature. separation from the general and Divine It is delivered over to the agonies of its own egoism. to the Fatherly power of God. to the mystery of Divine love. it wants only in itself. But we not enter more closely into this subject. to the hunger of selfishness. which does not exclude. continues to exist what World. points order to support his doctrine of to the mystery of the will and to that self-darkening in which freedom of choice is lost. the most serious One and severe punishment and chastisements. There appears to be no room and Bohme does the quest after a locality seems vain. who proposed this question to himself. arrived ? m for it. Schelling affirms that Hell is in the most utterly deep abyss. and to ask whether that which is possible for the creature may not be possible for God whether God is unable to change the will created . It has now and. it immediately occurs to us to point. indeed. but along the path of freedom and educating develop- ment.
so to speak. and freedom of choice be restored to them. ' CVI. But is Teacher who is unable of the creature. it is true. a postulate. in lies not once more be recalled to these lost spirits like a lifeless corpse. the Final Judgment. may life by these chastise- ments and by the influences of Divine grace. saved and unsaved. is Love .334 THE CONSUMMATION. and the separation between believers and unbelievers. may come to the conclusion that he must give up some of those who were entrusted to his care. which they hold in virtue of the power of the eternal Love of God. yet this restoration is an assumption. Undoubtedly. that God's essence and that the Wrath of God. His the universal. teaches with reference to the Lord's second coming. Within Theosophy as having laid itself. everything must be fulfilled which Scripture Bohme's. in comparison with His Love. and must object. and. However inadequately they may be able to explain how the restoration of the devil and of ungodly men to God is to be effected. A human teacher. we first mention Oetinger down a doctrine which contrasts with His starting-point is. endureth but for a moment. an article of secret hope. . all- embracing Kingdom of Love ? This is the thought which forms the starting-point of those who deny the doctrine of eternal damnation. so that they may rediscover the motives of humility and love. and confess that all his toil for them has been will fruitless God to to be conceived of as a partially overcome the abandon and wasted.
because it is grounded in God Himself. Oetinger does not 335 deny the reality of hell. for the first time. Oetinger lays stress on the point that the word alojvLOS (eternal) also means. a mystery hidden from " the eternal ages ." the word " strued when one speaks of must be without end. and must consequently come to an end at some time or other. that which " is indefinite in duration. in which also run the aeons of the damned. with God. he emphasizes. e. and Death is very far from Father. 10: An to " which All Thy . For Hell is precisely these words remain unfulfilled. the words will be completely fulfilled " The last enemy that shall be destroyed is Death. in Scripture. important passage in Scripture Oetinger appeals is Psalm cxlv. with his utmost power. He imagines that the catastrophe which we are accustomed to regard as the final one (when Christ comes to judge the quick and the dead) is the beginning of a series of aeons. Eternal life .g. this Kingdom of Death. but have only a temporal beginning in the will of the creature. and which are closed by the teaches it in the fact that Christ delivers up the kingdom to the Then." So long as Hell endures. . who has no " end but " eternal damnation can only mean that for sin and death of which the end is undefined have not their ground in God and in communion in the same sense as eternal life. and that in the expression eternal " " eternal must not be condamnation. Still. the idea that this reality must some time come to an end. which for us stretch into the infinite distance.THE CONSUMMATION.. : being merely physical death. but most definite way with all its terrors.
. and recognise and confess all their unrighteousness and all their falsehoods. but believes that He thinks that Scripture is entirely on his side. Oetinger is well aware that he is here at issue with the Augsburg Confession. and that here grace still But in Hell. considers the conception of an endless Hell to be wholly untenable. of opinion that it necessarily to Pantheism and Atheism. and is. And here it is true. Franz Baader opposes Bohme's doctrine upon this subject. indeed. and change the But he conception of Hell into that of Purgatory. shall These words are not even the damned offer praise in Hell.336 THE CONSUMMATION. " " he has paid the uttermost farthing before (a passage also quoted by Oetinger). justice goes before goes before justice. v. power and unto the Lamb for ever and ever " (Apocal. In a similar manner. No one has ever expressed himself more strongly than Baader in favour of the reality of Hell no one has more the infernal state. and glory and be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne. and that God alone is right. They are not fulfilled until this cry goes up from the whole works praise ! Thee " fulfilled until Blessing and honour. specially accentuates the fact that in Hades leads He much can again be made good. and before the severe judgment of righteousness has been accom- . that no one escapes grace. He is vehement vividly depicted in his opposition to those who shrink back effeminately from the reality of Hell. creation : ! " 13). the Church doctrine upon this point rests upon a misinterpretation of the word Eternity. thank God for their punishment.
as we have lengthily and explicitly stated our view elsewhere the on careful especially declarations of Scripture We (" Dogmatics But. 337 wicked are must pass through the sulphur-pool and the stifling smoke. and says to be thought of! It is at variance with the * Hamberger. But Death and Hell must be absolutely vanquished limits.* left For our own unsurmounted of part. and stretch out their hands for mercy and that. 22 . we cannot but hold that each of the views here brought forward presents us with difficulties. however. all investigation that bear upon this subject. at length. in it "). concerns our old theosophist unquestionable that. and Scripture remains unfulfilled. or else the last enemy is not How not destroyed. shall not. indefinites. plished. the restoration is to take place he certainly does tell us. The punishments but at some period or other . He will then acquire a place undeterminable by us in the Blessed Kingdom. so is Bohme. Lucifer will find himself . and ungodly of Hell are not infinites. utterly alone. Their duration is indeterminable. that ascends throughout the aeons." 479. whenever he hears far as : of a general and universal restoration and an end of " This is not Hell. Hamberger represents the transition in such a way as that the hosts of Lucifer will gradually rebel against him. and will then. as the last creature. But the Divine Righteousness is not without measure or without all Here the deeds the of the burned in the fire. " Gott und seine Offenbarungen. discuss the matter more fully here.THE CONSUMMATION. entreat mercy. he shakes his head.
which is certainly rather of an introductory than of a conclusive character. become humble. would not not " ! " ! but " The Lord does Ye would not " ! not say. between them. " Ye could and. words. of defending Theosophy Theosophy against its assailants both theological and philosophiand of proposing terms of accommodation cal. "Ye ! and conversion. I shall confine myself to a very few remark. to to eternity. they cannot. But by way of admonition to himself and others. He the Amen. Church With regard to . where everything depends upon grasping ofttimes repeats: "A ! tains and valleys in that seeketh findeth proffered grace. that in Theology I make the general my judgment a judgment which has been greatly confirmed by these studies. betake himself Never. But I have no intention of attempt- ing this." l'envoi. The devil cannot. the opportunity might now appear to be naturally presented of instituting a series of I As inquiries with regard to the relations of to Theology and Philosophy. Foundation of Hell. have now completed this sketch.tf8 L'ENVOI. all and will not. will he repentance " Neither he nor any of his adherents will be saved When the agonies of the ungodly are dilated upon. he blossoms upon the mounLily all the ends of the earth. he repeats the words of Christ to Jerusalem. because they continue in the evil of their sins. and in order to excite rejoicing over the Gospel of Christ in this world of troubles.
bility of theosophical exegesis. 339 Theology is not wise in assuming a hostile attitude towards Theosophy and in endeavouring to exclude altogether (a course. there is cerno one who is prepared to assert the infallitainly far So as the " It must. it not wise in this course. exposed as it is to the danger of stagnating in barren and dreary scholasticism and cold and trivial criticism. may the Glory of God and the Uncreated Heaven. because it is not in possession of the categories which are As one great instance. indeed. and. its discrepancies with current exegesis.D ENVOI. requisite for their treatment. non. be obvious to every theologian who has a more than superficial acquaintance with Theosophy. that it has aroused and attracted attention to a circle of Scriptural conceptions which theology has disregarded or to which it has devoted very slight pains. however. be mentioned the conception of among many. No one will deny that these are fundamental conceptions Holy Scripture. which TheoIt is logy so greatly needs. and to against the " some explanation of them. because it hereby deprives itself of a most valuable leavening influence. unscientific Next.which has not been adopted by all the representatives of theology). however.Scriptural" charge of a element in Theosophy." which it is best to avoid. a source of renewal and rejuvenescence. as to the outcry . it will hardly be denied And yet in that it is the fundamental offer the duty of the theologian to bring to light conceptions of Scripture. while in theology they are scarcely even accessory notions. are referred to " in many theological systems as dark points. that is. . is concerned.
or what may be called. the mystic or the immediate intuition of that new and higher world of experience of the heavenly realities which Revelation unveils for us. when it lacks the emotion of element. for an experimental mysticism. undoubtedly kept Theosophy. or of both combined. but is remarkable.340 V ENVOI. is in a wider to sense. No one denies a measure for the matter is so absoof truth in this outcry lutely clear as not to require diffuse and tautological repetitions which are very far from repetitions. and thorough-going analysis and combination of conceptions. not simply to its admirable dialectic or to its intellectual standpoint (in which there is so much . the scholastic But it is indispensable theology. Church history shows also that it is scarcely possible to point out a single important dogmatic work which has been able to restrict its operations within the narrow domain of the School. or of Theosophy. indeed far too has from his " Reden " iiber die Religion. to suppose that this scholasticism has very illusory any value of its own." That Schleier- macher's Dogmatic" has been enabled to exert such widely-spread and living influence until the present day is due. proving that the man who takes delight in them is a No one denies that genuinely scientific theologian. important. and to dispense with the influence of a fortifying element either of mysticism. . mediate or reflective knowledge. on the other hand. in element Theosophy. " Thus it merits attention that the most epoch-making dogmatic work " of this century The Dogmatic of Schleiermacher free. the presence of which manifests itself in Schleiermacher as early as itself free.
out of which it is it has no further than its original. which is extremely a propos amid a sentence from existing things. among its strongly-marked " Schleiermacher's " Dogmatic was greatly against the author's will. and But ecclesiastical in opposition to neo-rationalism in in systems. into its mother. to look into another . own natural impossible for any spirit. but also theology. It must undoubtedly be admitted as expedient that ecclesiastical tradition should be preserved. and the mystical relation of Love to the Saviour. in the name of modern With regard who science. attack not only Theosophy. which are characteristics.U ENVOI. and wherein in its stands . 341 must now be regarded as obsolete) it is essentially due to the vivid perspicuous image of Christ. to philosophers and other disputants. that there should now be any who occupy a position in which do nothing else but repristinate the old orthothey dox theology. I shall simply confine myself to quoting Bohme's doctrine of knowledge or apprehension. the living experimental consciousness of the Grace of God in Christ. and even Christianity itself. that . but by an obvious necessity to lead younger theologians who had studied it attentively to speculative theo- destined logy and Theosophy. as was evidenced by subsequent dogmatic works." he for says. real such the testimony maintained. And it must be regarded as a sign of retrogression. power. not of progress. " controversies with " respect sees to Divine Every it spirit. and all its cognate circles there can be no apprehension of progress Christian truth.
All that lies beyond this must necessarily blind nature or unconscious them as fantastic and visionary." Such diatribes. % Principle. or. tinue to gaze into their mother. And thus it is often one's best plan to refuse to enter into any discussion. One ought to feel absolutely no surprise at this.. i). and out of which they are spiritually born. and cackle out of their mother. scream. and atheistic spirits continually appear. materialistic.e. and rejected all that their calvish understanding could not grasp. allowed himself to be carried away by impatience. are useless For the spirits "will conthey convert no one. and behold it. when he had to defend Theosophy against its opponents. strike mother. to speak with Bohme. to speak about.. but simply to place the for recognised truth before those who are able to be in" fluenced by it. . but to remember that these spirits cannot speak with regard to Divine things otherwise than they do. " who butted against his doctrine like cows against a freshly-painted stable door. out of that principle which them is the constitutive. according to circumstances.e. except it be regenerated therein" ("The Three Principles. i. with attacks and objections against Christianity. whom he desiga strong nates as sophists. however.342 L ENVOI. the fundamentallydeterminant. to write . and. in which naturalistic. This sentence closely applies to the literature of the present day.." vii. They can only testify of that which they have seen and heard in in their reason." i. It is perfectly true that one may sometimes be tempted to impatience by hearing these objections urged with Bohme sometimes Even assumption of superiority.
Divine things. 343 simply for seekers and for children of God.' which means their mother. which is a Wisdom in Mystery. to leave the spirits to shout or cackle in the name of what they call science. increasingly be made manifest. whether they in which case they will remain in their darkness and in secret Bohme's meaning is this that only those anxiety. that a little mustard-seed of the . and that otherwise." whether this can it like lightning. and descends from Him in whom all the treasures of . may us. who came to Him by understand one another in discourse night. they remain mutually dumb to one another that only those who speak out of this principle can discourse of the Wisdom in God." ' Bdhme's is not to be construed fatalistically. but seek from God the humble heart Thereby thou shall all We says in : ! ! wilt attain this. : who are regenerated to by the principle of which our Lord spoke can Nicodemus. as they will continue to do so long as the As this sentence of course of this world abides. howconcerning ever loudly they may speak or shout. and appropriated by do well to lay to heart what Bohme " Dost thou not understand gentleness these Scriptures ? Then do not behave thyself like Lucifer Do not give thyself to arrogance and scorn. wisdom and knowledge order that they they may ever are hidden. remain hidden. and for the rest. or persist regarding as visionary. not in but in order that secret. it must depend upon the inward leadings and inward decisions of the spirit whether opponents will be able to accept the one word which sums up the whole matter: flash in will "Ye must be born upon them in again.V ENVOI.
Limited. Christ ' says ' : My strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. xii. Watson. Thus it has been with the present author for he is a very But simple person in comparison with the learned.344 V ENVOI. . . and out of it will spring a great tree. growth of Paradise will be brought into thy heart. London and Aylesbury. 9)." THE ENDy' Printed by Hazell. & Viney.