The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme · 17 of 159 · tr. Franz Hartmann
Chapter 2 (part 4)
She is passive, but the Spirit of God is active, like the soul in the body." ( Clavis , v.
18.) This eternal Trinity is inconceivable in its aspect as a spiritual potentiality, in the same sense as a fire is inconceivable if it does not burn; but as the burning fire reveals itself by means of the light and the heat, likewise the divine power reveals itself in a threefold aspect in eternal nature.
"The threefold Spirit is a unity, an only being; or to speak more correctly, not a being, but eternal Reason; consequently a mystery comparable to the intelligence of man, which is also incomprehensible." (Mysterium., i.
5.) "God in His primitive aspect is not to be conceived of as a being, but merely as the power or the intelligence constituting the potentiality for being—as an unfathomable, eternal will, wherein everything is contained, and which, although being itself everything, is nevertheless only one, but desirous of revealing itself and to enter into a state of spiritual being.
This takes place by means of the fire in the desire of love, i.e.
, in the power of the light." ( Mysterium , vi.
1.) "Here we have not yet cause to say that God is three persons, but He is threefold in His eternal evolution.
He gives birth to Himself in trinity; and in this eternal unfoldment He is nevertheless an only being, neither Father, nor Son, nor Spirit, but only the eternal Life or God.
The Trinity will become comprehensible in His eternal revelation only when He reveals Himself by p.
65 means of eternal nature—that is to say, in the light by means of the fire." ( Mysterium , vii.
9–12.) "Within the stillness of eternal freedom the Father does not yet appear as a father.
He appears as such only when He is desirous to create, and conceives within Himself the will to generate nature, within Himself." ( Threefold Life , iv.
64.) We cannot conceive of a man without a body of some kind, nor of a universal God without a universal nature.
The very essence which constitutes "man" is will and intelligence manifesting itself in a human form.
God begins to exist as a being only when He is manifesting Himself in nature.
From all eternity has God thus been revealing Himself to Himself; and the cause of this self-revelation rests first of all in the will of God in the Trinity and in the longing of eternal wisdom.
"Of eternity we cannot speak otherwise than as of a spirit, for everything was spirit in the beginning; but it has also from all eternity evolved itself into being." ( Menschwerdung , i.
2.) "That which is tranquil and without being, resting within itself, does not contain darkness, but is a calm, clear, lucid happiness.
This then is eternity without anything else, and means above all God.
But as God cannot be without being, He conceives within Himself a will, and this will is love." ( Threefold Life , ii.
75.) "The whole of the divine Being is in a state of continual and eternal generation comparable to the mind of a man, but immutable.
There are continually thoughts born from the mind of man, and from them arises desire and will.
From desire and will originates action, and the hands do their work, so as to render it substantial., Thus it is with eternal evolution." ( Three Principles , ix.
3 5.) "At first the will is as thin as a nothing, and therefore it desires and longs to be something, and to become p.
66 manifest to itself.
This nothingness causes the will to enter into a state of desire, and this desire is an imagination.
Themes
◆Anthropomorphismtheology
Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
The passage uses human analogies such as 'mother,' 'child,' and 'breast' to explain divine creative processes and relationships.
All passages →◆Birth Of Word In Soulanthropology
Eckhart's signature doctrine that the Father eternally begets the Son in the ground of the soul; the human interior as the actual site of the divine generative act, distinct from inner_light's static indwelling.
Wisdom is the 'outspoken word' and God gives birth to Himself in trinity.
All passages →◆Correspondencecosmology
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The text draws explicit analogies between the divine nature and human intelligence or the child drawing nutriment.
All passages →◆Divine Lighttheology
The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.
The analogy of fire revealing itself through 'light and the heat' is used to describe how divine power reveals itself in eternal nature.
All passages →◆Divine Simplicitytheology
The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.
The text describes the Spirit as 'not a being, but eternal Reason' and a 'unity,' indicating a lack of composite parts in the divine essence.
All passages →◆Ein Softheology
The infinite, unknowable aspect of the divine prior to and beyond all emanation; the hidden root from which the Sephirot unfold.
The description of God's primitive aspect as unfathomable and prior to being matches the concept of Ein Sof.
All passages →◆Emanation Hierarchycosmology
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The passage describes an 'eternal evolution' and 'unfoldment' where God reveals Himself in nature from spirit to being.
All passages →◆Inner Lightanthropology
The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.
The text mentions a 'creative spirit existing within the child,' suggesting an internal divine principle or spark residing within the created being.
All passages →◆Inner Silencepraxis
The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence.
The 'stillness of eternal freedom' describes a state of divine quietude.
All passages →◆Logoscosmology
The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.
Wisdom is defined as the 'outspoken word of divine power' and 'eternal Reason,' aligning with the concept of the Logos as the mediating principle of creation.
All passages →◆Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology
The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.
The human mind and body are compared to the universal God and nature, suggesting a mirrored structure.
All passages →◆Monadcosmology
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
References to the 'unfathomable unity in essentiality' and God as an 'only being' reflect the concept of a simple, undivided first principle.
All passages →◆Numerical Mysticismtheology
Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.
The text focuses heavily on the 'threefold aspect' and the Trinity as a structural principle of divine revelation.
All passages →◆Opposites Transcendedanthropology
The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.
The Trinity is described as neither Father nor Son nor Spirit in essence, but only the eternal Life, transcending distinctions.
All passages →◆Paradox As Teachingethics
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
The text uses paradoxical statements like 'not a being, but eternal Reason' to describe the divine nature.
All passages →◆Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
The passage asserts that the 'threefold Spirit is a unity, an only being,' suggesting a fundamental oneness underlying the divine manifestation.
All passages →◇Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
[auto] The passage repeatedly describes God as inconceivable, not a being in primitive aspect, and unfathomable, emphasizing negation over positive definition.
All passages →◇Divine Hiddennesstheology
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
[auto] The text states the Father does not yet appear within stillness and God is unfathomable until He reveals Himself in nature.
All passages →◇Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
[auto] God is described as desirous, continually generating, and actively revealing Himself through will and love rather than static abstraction.
All passages →Related passages · 25 parallels
◆greek_mystery|Orphic Hymns|Front Matter, p. 4 (part 4)
“Hence according to his theology there are two worlds, the intelligible and the sensible.
Hence too his three demiurgic principles: Jovial, Dionysiacal, and Adonical, Δΐι#, ( ) Διονυσιακὴ, Αδωναϊκὴ, from whence many orders and differences o…”
Both passages discuss the hierarchical structure of reality, involving a supreme intellect or divine power that emanates through various levels of being, including soul and body. They share a mystical perspective on the interconnectedness and unity of all existence, though they come from different religious traditions.
◆jewish_mysticism|The Kabbalah Unveiled|Introduction, Section 1o
“And the mother is illuminated (that is, in the second part of the ordinary averse Tetragrammaton, which consists of the letters IH, to the letter I, Yod , which hath the signification of the father, is added the letter H, He , which is the…”
Both passages discuss the interplay between divine and maternal elements in creation, emphasizing the roles of active and passive principles in the manifestation of divine will. They explore the concept of divine unity and its revelation through various aspects, though within different theological frameworks.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter Xa
“After these things, you again subjoin another division for yourself, “ in which you separate the essences of the more excellent genera by the difference of passive and impassive .” But neither do I admit this division.
For no one of the mo…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine beings and their relationship to passivity and activity. They explore the idea of divine immutability and the distinction between the divine and the material or corporeal, though from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 93
“Section 3 3. We have to ask, that is, how Matter, this entity of ceaseless flux constituting the physical mass of the universe, could serve towards the immortality of the Kosmos. And our answer is "Because the flux is not outgoing": where t…”
Both passages discuss the interplay between spiritual and material elements, emphasizing the role of an active principle (soul or spirit) in maintaining the order and immortality of the cosmos or divine nature. They share a conceptual parallel in their exploration of the dynamic yet stable nature of reality through the interaction of these elements.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 125
“Section 3 3. Now it may be observed, first of all, that we cannot hold utterly cheap either the indeterminate, or even a Kind whose very idea implies absence of form, provided only that it offer itself to its Priors and [through them] to th…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and its relationship to the material and intellectual realms, exploring the concepts of form, matter, and the eternal. They both delve into the idea of a higher principle influencing lower realms, though from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 127
“Section 5 5. It may be objected that the Intellectual-Principle possesses its content in an eternal conjunction so that the two make a perfect unity, and that thus there is no Matter there. But that argument would equally cancel the Matter…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the divine and the material, discussing the nature of the divine as a form of light or reason, and the material as a form of darkness or passivity. They also touch on the concept of eternal generation and the interplay between the active and passive principles.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 159
“Section 3 3. Ever illuminated, receiving light unfailing, the All-Soul imparts it to the entire series of later Being which by this light is sustained and fostered and endowed with the fullest measure of life that each can absorb. It may be…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a divine, eternal, and interconnected reality that sustains all existence. They describe a hierarchy of being where the divine principle emanates and sustains lower forms of existence, using metaphors like light and fire.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 217
“Section 3 3. What, then, is the spirit [guiding the present life and determining the future]? The Spirit of here and now. And the God? The God of here and now. Spirit, God; This in act within us, conducts every life; for, even here and now,…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the individual spirit, emphasizing the hierarchical nature of spiritual beings and the influence of higher spiritual principles on human life. They also explore the concept of the divine as an active force that guides and shapes existence.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 226
“Section 5 5. But what is the Nature of this Spirit- of the Supernals in general? The Spirit-Kind is treated in the Symposium where, with much about the others, we learn of Eros- Love- born to Penia- Poverty- and Poros- Possession- who is so…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine emanation and the nature of love as a hypostasis or emanation from a higher divine principle. They explore the idea of a higher soul or divine being giving rise to love or desire, which in turn influences the lower realms.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 255
“Section 3 3. What, then, can this be, this something in virtue of which we declare the entire divine Realm to be Eternal, everlasting? We must come to some understanding of this perpetuity with which Eternity is either identical or in confo…”
Both passages explore the concept of eternity and the divine nature, emphasizing unity, diversity, and the eternal, unchanging essence of the divine. They share a mystical approach to understanding the divine realm and its perpetuity.
15 more
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 276 (part 1)
“Section 10 10.
And what will such a Principle essentially be?
The potentiality of the Universe: the potentiality whose non-existence would mean the non-existence of all the Universe and even of the Intellectual-Principle which is the prim…”
Both passages discuss the concept of an ultimate, transcendent principle that is the source of all existence and life. They describe this principle as beyond being, essence, and life, and emphasize its unity and potentiality.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 280 (part 1)
“Section 3 3.
(A)...
How, then, does Unity give rise to Multiplicity?
By its omnipresence: there is nowhere where it is not; it occupies, therefore, all that is; at once, it is manifold- or, rather, it is all things.
If it were simply an…”
Both passages explore the concept of a divine unity that manifests in multiplicity, discussing the nature of divine will, intelligence, and the process of self-revelation. They share a mystical approach to understanding the divine as both immanent and transcendent.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 333
“Section 13 13. But what is the difference between the Wisdom thus conducting the universe and the principle known as Nature? This Wisdom is a first [within the All-Soul] while Nature is a last: for Nature is an image of that Wisdom, and, as…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between a higher, intellectual principle and a lower, natural principle. They describe a hierarchy of being where the higher principle is active and the lower is passive, with the lower being an image or manifestation of the higher.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 419
“Section 3 3. The Soul once seen to be thus precious, thus divine, you may hold the faith that by its possession you are already nearing God: in the strength of this power make upwards towards Him: at no great distance you must attain: there…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between a higher divine principle and a lower, yet still divine, aspect of reality. Passage A describes the relationship between the Intellectual-Principle and the Soul, while Passage B discusses the relationship between the eternal Trinity and the divine power revealing itself in nature. Both emphasize the hierarchical and generative aspects of these relationships.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 430
“Section 1 1. The One is all things and no one of them; the source of all things is not all things; all things are its possession- running back, so to speak, to it- or, more correctly, not yet so, they will be. But a universe from an unbroke…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between a divine progenitor and its offspring, emphasizing the idea of emanation and the hierarchy within the divine realm. They share a conceptual parallel in describing the process of divine generation and the nature of the divine intellect and soul.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 482 (part 2)
“The greatness and power of the wisdom There we may know from this, that is embraces all the real Beings, and has made all, and all follow it, and yet that it is itself those beings, which sprang into being with it, so that all is one, and t…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine principles or reasons that govern the creation and individuality of beings. They explore the idea of a higher, unifying principle that manifests in diverse forms, though they use different metaphors and frameworks to explain this concept.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 593
“Section 3 3. But are we to think of this Authentic Being as, itself, present, or does it remain detached, omnipresent in the sense only that powers from it enter everywhere? Under the theory of presence by powers, souls are described as ray…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as an active, self-revealing principle that manifests in a trinity or triadic form. They explore the concept of divine presence and the relationship between the divine and creation, though from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 640 (part 2)
“If then the future is present, it must be present as having been foreconceived for later coming to be; at that divine stage therefore it lacks nothing and therefore can never lack; all existed, eternally and in such a way that at the later…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine reality as an eternal, unified whole that contains all potentialities and manifests itself in a process of unfolding or revelation. They share a mystical perspective on the divine as both immanent and transcendent.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 641 (part 2)
“The why is inherent, therefore, in the entity, that is to say in every thought and activity of the Intellectual-Principle.
Take for example the Idea of Man; Man entire is found to contribute to it; he is in that Idea in all his fulness inc…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine or intellectual principles and their manifestation. Passage A from Plotinus explores the completeness of the Idea of Man within the Intellectual-Principle, while Passage B from the mystical tradition describes the divine Trinity's self-revelation and manifestation in nature. Both texts emphasize the inherent completeness and eternal nature of these principles.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 652 (part 1)
“Section 13 13.
For Intellectual-Principle is not a simplex, nor is the soul that proceeds from it: on the contrary things include variety in the degree of their simplicity, that is to say in so far as they are not compounds but Principles…”
Both passages discuss the nature of a divine or intellectual principle that is both one and many, emphasizing the interplay of unity and multiplicity. They explore the concept of an eternal, active principle that manifests in various forms, though they use different metaphors and terminology.
◆platonism|Plato: Timaeus|Section 1k
“Such was the whole plan of the eternal God about the god that was to be, to whom for this reason he gave a body, smooth and even, having a surface in every direction equidistant from the centre, a body entire and perfect, and formed out of…”
Both passages discuss the creation of the universe and the relationship between the divine and the material world, emphasizing the primacy of the divine or spiritual aspect over the physical. They also explore the nature of the divine as a unified yet complex entity.
◆platonism|Plato: Timaeus|Section 1v
“In the same way that which is to receive perpetually and through its whole extent the resemblances of all eternal beings ought to be devoid of any particular form.
Wherefore, the mother and receptacle of all created and visible and in any…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and its manifestation, emphasizing the concept of an eternal, formless, and incomprehensible essence that reveals itself through creation and nature. They share a mystical approach to understanding the divine as an unfathomable will or reason that becomes manifest through various aspects or elements.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|Third Dialoguee
“This alone I will not leave (unsaid) that it is not without reason that the affection of the heart is said to be the infinite sea by the apprehension of the eyes.[X] For the object of the mind being infinite, and no definite object being pr…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as a trinity or tripartite manifestation, emphasizing the concepts of will, desire, and manifestation in the process of divine revelation. They also explore the idea of the infinite and the eternal nature of the divine.
◆western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|Fundamentals of Qabbalistic Cosmogonya
“THE Qabbalists conceive of the Supreme Deity as an Incomprehensible Principle to be discovered only through the process of eliminating, in order, all its cognizable attributes.
That which remains--when every knowable thing has been removed…”
Both passages describe an incomprehensible, transcendent divine principle that is the source of all creation. They share the concept of an ultimate, undefined essence from which all things emanate and to which they return, using different terminology and symbolic frameworks.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 3)
“These Eleatic ideas—namely that there is and there can be only One Absolute Being, infinite., unchangeable, without a second, without parts and passions—are the same ideas which underlie the Upanishads and have been fully worked out in the…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a singular, divine essence that manifests in a trinity or unity, emphasizing the incomprehensibility of the divine nature and the idea of self-revelation or self-knowledge as a path to understanding the divine.