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.
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.
All passages →◆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.
All passages →◆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.
All passages →◆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.
All passages →◆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.'
All passages →◇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.
All passages →◇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.
All passages →◇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.
All passages →◇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.
All passages →Related passages · 20 parallels
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 10: The Sermon on the Mount|Section 1d
“Spirit pervading [body] by means of veins and arteries and blood, bestows upon the living creature motion, and as it were doth bear it in a way.
For this cause some do think the soul is blood, in that they do mistake its nature, not knowin…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul, its origin, and its relationship to the body. They also explore the concept of divine essence and its interaction with human existence, albeit within different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXI
“Is, therefore, what you add in the third place more true; viz. “ that there is a certain mixed form of hypostasis, consisting of our soul and divine inspiration externally derived ?” Consider this then more accurately, lest we should be dec…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the human soul and divine elements, exploring the nature of their interaction and the implications of their union or separation. They both delve into the metaphysical and theological aspects of this relationship, though from different traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXII
“You say, therefore, “ that the soul generates the power which has an imaginative perception of futurity, through motions of this kind, or 177 that the things which are adduced from matter constitute dæmons through the powers that are inhere…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to the divine, exploring concepts of generation, essence, and the interplay between the spiritual and corporeal realms. They share a mystical perspective on the soul's origin and its connection to higher realities.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter III
“Here, therefore, the same reasoning is likewise sufficient. For with us the enjoyment of bodies which once were united to soul, impresses in us heaviness and defilement, ingenerates in us voluptuousness, and produces many other diseases in…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the physical, particularly in the context of sacrifice or procreation. They explore how the physical realm interacts with the divine, highlighting the impurity or heaviness of the physical compared to the purity of the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter VIII
““The soul is bound to the body, by a conversion to the passions arising from her union with it.” And, “the soul binds herself in the body.” Philolaus also says, that the ancient theologists and prophets asserted, ως δια τινας τιμωριας α ψυχ…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the soul and the body, emphasizing the soul's connection to and interaction with the body. They explore the idea of the soul being bound to the body and the implications of this union, though from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 211 (part 2)
“Thus a patient following his treatment is himself an agent and yet is acting in accordance with the doctor's method inspired by the art concerned with the causes of health and sickness: what one does against the laws of health is one's act,…”
Both passages discuss the concept of the soul's degradation and transformation, linking it to the idea of a fall from a higher state to a lower one. They explore the consequences of this fall and the nature of the soul's existence in its degraded state, though they do so within different metaphysical frameworks.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 341
“Section 21 21. That this is the phase of the human being in which desire takes its origin is shown by observation of the different stages of life; in childhood, youth, maturity, the bodily desires differ; health or sickness also may change…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the soul and the body, discussing how the soul interacts with the physical form and the nature of their union. They both delve into the idea of a higher self or soul that is distinct from the bodily experiences of pleasure and pain.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 343 (part 1)
“Section 23 23.
A first principle is that the knowing of sensible objects is an act of the soul, or of the living conjoint, becoming aware of the quality of certain corporeal entities, and appropriating the ideas present in them.
This appr…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the soul, the body, and desires. They explore how the soul interacts with bodily sensations and desires, with Plotinus describing a hierarchy of desire from body to soul, and the second passage discussing the soul's role in the body and the generation of desires, particularly in the context of human reproduction and the fall from divine state.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 349 (part 2)
“Here we have to enquire into the nature and being of that vestige of the soul actually present in the living body: if there is truly a soul, then, as a thing never cut off from its total, it will go with soul as soul must: if it is rather t…”
Both passages explore the relationship between the soul, the body, and emotional states. Plotinus discusses the seat of passion and its connection to the body and soul, while the second passage delves into the soul's origin and its interaction with the body, particularly in relation to emotional and spiritual states. Both texts seek to understand the interplay between the physical and the metaphysical aspects of human existence.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 368 (part 1)
“Section 2 2.
If sight depends upon the linking of the light of vision with the light leading progressively to the illumined object, then, by the very hypothesis, one intervening substance, the light, is indispensable: but if the illuminate…”
Both passages discuss the interconnectedness of all beings within a larger universal structure and the role of the soul in this context. They also explore the idea of individual contributions to the whole and the influence of one's nature on their place within the universe.
10 more
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 382
“Section 3 3. Anyone who rejects this view, and holds that either atoms or some entities void of part coming together produce soul, is refuted by the very unity of soul and by the prevailing sympathy as much as by the very coherence of the c…”
Both passages discuss the nature and origin of the soul, emphasizing its role in giving life and order to the material world. They both argue for a transcendent principle that animates and unifies the physical realm, though they use different metaphors and conceptual frameworks.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 387
“Section 8 8. It can be shown also that the intellectual act would similarly be impossible if the soul were any form of body. If sensation is apprehension by means of the soul's employment of the body, intellection cannot be a similar use of…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to the body, emphasizing the soul's role in giving life and order to the material world. They share a mystical perspective on the soul's origin and its essential role in the cosmos.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 392 (part 2)
“The other order, the entire corporeal Kind, is process; it appears and it perishes; in reality it never possesses Being, but is merely protected, in so far as it has the capacity, by participating in what authentically is.…”
Both passages discuss the distinction between the corporeal and incorporeal aspects of existence, emphasizing the higher, non-physical nature of the soul or divine principles. They both argue for the existence of non-material powers that govern and influence the material world.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 394
“Section 10 10. (15) That the soul is of the family of the diviner nature, the eternal, is clear from our demonstration that it is not material: besides it has neither shape or colour nor is it tangible. But there are other proofs. Assuming…”
Both passages discuss the nature and origin of the soul, emphasizing its distinction from the physical body and its higher, more refined nature. They also explore the idea of the soul's connection to a divine or intellectual principle that precedes it.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 403
“Section 3 3. The Human Soul, next; Everywhere we hear of it as in bitter and miserable durance in body, a victim to troubles and desires and fears and all forms of evil, the body its prison or its tomb, the kosmos its cave or cavern. Now th…”
Both passages discuss the nature and origin of the soul, emphasizing that all souls originate from a single source and are interconnected. They also touch on the idea of the soul's immortality and its connection to the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 417
“Section 1 1. What can it be that has brought the souls to forget the father, God, and, though members of the Divine and entirely of that world, to ignore at once themselves and It? The evil that has overtaken them has its source in self-wil…”
Both passages discuss the unity and multiplicity of the soul, exploring how a single soul can manifest differently in various individuals and how experiences in one part of the being can affect the whole. They also touch on the idea of the soul's connection to a higher, divine order.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 606
“Section 16 16. But if that Principle can never fall to evil and we have given a true account of the soul's entry or presence to body, what are we to say of the periodic Descents and Returns, the punishments, the banishment into animal forms…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to the body, exploring the idea of a unified soul or spirit that transcends individual bodies and experiences. They share a mystical perspective on the soul's connection to the divine and the physical world.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 616
“Section 9 9. The elements in their totality, as they stand produced, may be thought of as one spheric figure; this cannot be the piecemeal product of many makers each working from some one point on some one portion. There must be one cause;…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the soul and its relationship to the body, emphasizing the idea of the soul's connection to a higher, divine reality. They also explore the concept of the soul's descent into the material world and its eventual return to a state of unity.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 654
“Section 15 15. That Life, the various, the all-including, the primal and one, who can consider it without longing to be of it, disdaining all the other? All other life is darkness, petty and dim and poor; it is unclean and polluting the cle…”
Both passages discuss the relationship between the divine and the animal nature within human beings, exploring how the soul interacts with and influences the physical and spiritual aspects of existence. They both delve into the idea of a higher, divine essence that is connected to but distinct from the material world.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fourth Dialoguei
“And amongst men the same thing is seen, according as some resemble one species of brute beast and some another: these having something of the quadruped, and those of birds, and, may be, some affinity, which I will not explain, but through w…”
Both passages discuss the soul's desire to transcend the material body and its current state, seeking a higher, more spiritual existence. They both explore the tension between the corporeal and the spiritual, and the soul's longing for a purer, elevated state.