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The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme · 89 of 159 · tr. Franz Hartmann

Chapter 9 (part 7)

Even in its best aspect the performance is disgusting before the sanctity of that which is divine, it having been caused by sin in consequence of primordial man's degradation, but being patiently submitted to by that which is divine in man, because it is a necessity of his present animal state." 1 ( Stiefel , ii. 396.) It is an error to suppose that one person is a descendant from others merely as far as his corporeal form is concerned. The human soul is likewise generated in that manner. If the heart were absent even the body could not come into existence. 2 "The soul is not every time created anew and breathed into the body, but she is reproduced according to human natural law, like a branch growing out of the trunk of a tree, or as a kernel or seed that is sown. Thus the soul is sown that it may grow to be a spirit and body." 3 ( Forty Questions , x. 4.) p. 194 "The souls of men, all taken together, are as only one soul, for they have all been generated out of one soul." "The soul is a cause of the existence of all the members necessary for the life of man, for without the soul no organ would come into existence to live in the life of man." ( Three Principles , xiv. 14.) "The heart is the true origin of the soul, and in the interior blood of the heart (the will) is the soul, the fire, while in the tincture the soul is its spirit (its light); the spirit floats above the heart, and communicates itself to the body and to all of its organs." ( Forty Questions , xi. 3.) In so far as by the connubial act a soul is generated, there is in it even something of a paradisiacal nature. 1 "While Adam remained in the love of God, and the woman (the female principle) in him was a chaste virgin, the tincture of the fire (in him) could have experienced much joy in the embrace of the tincture of the light contained (in him); but the present external body is not worthy of enjoying such an intercourse with the kingdom of delight, wherein the life of the soul is sown. Only the inner essences, which originate (directly) from the Eternal, are capable of participating in such happiness; external animal man merely gratifies an animal desire, and knows nothing of the delight of the (spiritual) essences. If, however, the (external and internal) tinctures intermingle, then there is therein something (a sensation) belonging p. 195 to Paradise; but the earthly essence (lust) soon becomes mixed therewith." ( Menschwerdung , i. 7, 6.) "The desire for conjunction in men and women results from the separation of the fire and light-tincture in Adam. These principles in their own essence are still much more noble and pure than the flesh. It is true that they are now separated, and do not contain the true life; but they are full of desire for that true life, and when they again meet with each other in the unity of all being, they then awaken the true life to which their desire is directed. They want to be again that which they were in the image of God when Adam was man and woman." 1 ( Stiefel , ii. 388.) "When the two tinctures are brought together into one, then the quality of the eternal kingdom of joy, the highest desire and its fulfilment, becomes manifested. If this could be done in purity, and without the admixture of that which causes disgust, then would it all be holy; but even the sulphur (the terrestrial element) of the seed is a cause of disgust in the sight of true holiness." ( Stiefel , ii.
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Themes
Alchemical Workpraxis

The transformation of base substance — outer matter or the inner soul — into a purified, perfected, or 'gold' state; the magnum opus as both laboratory practice and spiritual allegory.

The passage utilizes alchemical terminology such as 'tincture,' 'fire,' and 'sown' to describe the spiritual generation and transformation of the soul.

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Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

Describes the animal state and reproductive act as disgusting before divine sanctity due to sin and degradation.

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Divine Marriagesoteriology

The reunification of complementary divine principles (male-female, spirit-matter) as a symbol of wholeness and salvation.

[auto] The passage centrally discusses the 'desire for conjunction' and the reunification of male-female principles (Adam as man and woman) to restore the image of God.

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Divine Sparkscosmology

Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.

References 'that which is divine in man' as enduring the necessity of the animal state.

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Monadcosmology

The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.

It states that 'The souls of men, all taken together, are as only one soul,' implying a singular origin or unity.

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Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The text describes the desire of separated principles to 'be again that which they were in the image of God.'

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Separation From Sourcesoteriology

The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.

[auto] The text attributes current human degradation and the 'external animal state' to a primordial separation of fire and light-tinctures in Adam.

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Tripartite Soulanthropology

Division of the human being into three principles: spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche), and body/matter (hyle or soma).

[auto] The text distinguishes between the soul, spirit, and body, noting the soul is sown to grow into spirit and body.

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Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

[auto] The passage explicitly states that all human souls taken together are essentially one soul generated from a single source.

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Related passages · 10 parallels
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