Jacob Boehme- Three Principle Divine Essence (excerpts-Part 1)

such Untowardness is found to be in all Creatures, biting, tearing, worrying, and hurting one
another, and such Enmity, Strife, and Hatred, in all Creatures;
and that every x Thing is so at odds with itself, as we see it to be
not only in the living Creatures, but also in the Stars, Elements,
Earth, Stones, Metals, in Wood, Leaves, and Grass, there is a
Poison and Malignity in all Things; and it is found that it must
be so, or else there would be no Life, nor Mobility, nor would
there be any Colour nor Virtue, neither Thickness nor Thinness,
nor any Perceptibility or Sensibility, but all would be as Nothing,

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the Evil belongs to the Forming and Mobility; and the Good to the Love;
and the austere, severe, or contrary Will belongs to the Joy;

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I will describe the Three Divine Principles, that therein all may be declared,
what God is, what Nature is, what the Creatures are, what the
Love and Meekness of God, what God's Desiring or Will is, what the Wrath of God, and the Devil is, and in a Conclusion, what Joy and Sorrow are.

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Now when he [the man] knows himself aright, he knows also his Creator, and all the Creatures too:
Also he knows how God intends towards him, and this Knowledge is the most acceptable
and pleasant to me, that ever I found.

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For the original of Life, and of all Mobility, consists in the Wrathfulness;

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For the divine Essence cannot be wholly expressed by the Tongue; the Spiraculum
Vitae only comprehends it.

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Therefore if I should speak and write that which is purely heavenly, and altogether of the clear Deity, I should be as dumb to the Reader, who has not the Knowledge and the Gift [to understand
it.] Yet I will so write in a divine, and also in a creaturely Way, that I might stir up any one to desire and long after the Consideration of the high Things: And if any shall perceive
that they cannot do it, that at least they might seek and knock in their Desire, and pray to God for his holy Spirit, that the Door of the second Principle might be opened up to them; for Christ bids us to pray, seek, and knock, and then it shall be opened unto us. For he says, All that you shall ask the Father in my Name, he will give it you: Ask and you shall receive; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

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The Word [or Syllable] S U L, signifies and is the Soul of a Thing;
(..) The Word or Syllable P H U R, is the Prima Materia [or first Matter,] and contains
in itself in the third Principle the m Macrocosm, from which the
elementary Dominion, or Region, or Essence is generated.

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Your monstrous Form or Shape indeed is not God, nor of
his Essence, or Substance, but the hidden Man, o which is the
Soul, is the proper Essence of God, for as much as the Love in
the Light of God is sprung up in your own Center, out of which
the Holy Ghost proceeds, wherein the second Principle of God
consists: How then should you not have Power and Authority
to speak of God, who is your Father, of whose Essence you are?

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The Father is the eternal Power, or Virtue, and the Son is the
Heart and Light continuing eternally in the Father, and you continue in the Father and the Son.

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Where will you seek God? In the Deep above the Stars?
You will not be able to find him there.
Seek him in your Heart, in the Center of the Birth of your Life, and there you shall find him.

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I have therefore been desirous to warn you, and tell you beforehand, that you must not look upon Flesh and Blood in these high Things, nor upon the worldly Wisdom of the Universities,
or high Schools; but that you should consider, that this Wisdom is planted and sown by God himself
in the first, and last, and in all Men: And you need only to return with the prodigal
lost Son to the Father, and then he will clothe you with a new Garment, and put a SealRing
upon the Hand of your Mind; and in this Garment only you have Power to speak of the a Birth of God.

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My dear Reader, if you be able, break open all, and look into the Pith, yet you shall not find it, though you should seek in the Deep, in the Stars, in the Elements, in all living Creatures, in
Stones, Plants, Trees, and in Metals; also in Heaven and Earth, you Shall not find it. Now you will say, Where then shall I find it ? Dear Reader, I cannot so much as lend you the Key that will
lead you to it. But I will direct you where you shall find it; it lies in the third Chapter
of the Evangelist St. John, in these Words; You must be born anew by Water, and by the Holy Ghost.
This Spirit is the Key: When you attain it, receive it, and go before the first Principle, out of which this World and all Creatures are created, and open the first Root, from which such visible and sensible Things
did spring.

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the first Principle, and that is God the Father in his Originality, out of which this World has its Beginning.

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So I will now write of the second Principle, of the clear pure Deity, of the Heart k of God.
In the first Principle (as I have mentioned above) is l Harshness, Bitterness, and Fire; and
yet they are not three Things, but one only Thing, and they one generate another.

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Although here the Tongue of Man cannot utter, declare, express, nor fathom this great Depth, where there is neither Number nor End, yet we have Power to speak thereof as Children talk of their Father.
But to dive into the whole Depth, that troubles us, and disturbs our Souls; for God himself knows
neither Beginning nor End in himself.

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In this Consideration you may find what I understand by a Principle.
or a Principle is nothing else but a new Birth, a new Life:
Besides, there is no more than one Principle wherein there is an eternal Life, that is, the eternal Deity.

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And therefore God generated the third Principle, that he might be manifested by the material World.

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if we look upon the starry Heaven, the Elements and living Creatures, also
upon Trees, Herbs, and Grass, we may behold in the material World, the Similitude of the paradisical incomprehensible World; for this World is proceeded out of the first Root, wherein stand both the material, and also the paradisical spiritual World, which is without Beginning or Transitoriness.

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Nay, we have it clearly and plainly to be seen in ourselves, and in all Things, if we would not be so mad, blind, and selfconceited, and would not be so drawn and led by a k Schoolboy,
but did stick close to the Schoolmaster himself, who is the Master of all Masters; for we see indeed that all Things spring out of the eternal Mother, and as she is in her own Birth, so she has generated this World, and so is every Creature also generated.

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Although herein I shall be as one that is dumb to the Reader, yet I f know it very well, and I am very
well satisfied therewith. But because the bestial Man is not worthy to know it, therefore I will not here cast the Pearl before the Swine; but for the Children of God, which will be benefited by it, the Spirit of God will certainly teach and instruct them in it.

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But in the Fall of Adam we lost this great Power, when we left Paradise,
and went into the third Principle, into the Matrix of this World, which presently held us captive in
Restraint. But yet we have the Knowledge by a Glance and we see as through a dim or dark
Glass the eternal Birth.

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Therefore though we speak of the Creation of the World, as if we had been by as present, and had seen it, none ought to marvel at it, nor hold it for impossible. For the Spirit that is in us, which one Man inherits from the other, that was breathed out of the Eternity into Adam, that same Spirit has seen it all,
and in the Light of God it sees it still; and there is nothing that is far off, or unsearchable: For the eternal Birth, which stands hidden in the Center of Man, that does nothing [that is] new, it knows, works and does even the same that ever it did from Eternity; it labours for the Light and for the Darkness, and works in great Anguish; but when the Light shines therein, then there is mere Joy and Knowledge in its Working.

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and when we speak of Heaven, we speak of our native Country, which the enlightened Soul can well see, though indeed such Things are hidden from the Body.

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In this manner you must understand the four Elements, which yet are not four divided Things, or Essences, but one only Essence: And yet there are four Differences, or Distinctions in this Birth; and each Element lies in the other, as in a Chest, and it is its Receptacle, also it is a Member therein. Understand and
consider the Ground aright, which follows. The p Sourness is the Matrix, and a Cause of all Things, which in its own Substance is very dark, cold, and as nothing; but the Eternal Deity being there, and speculating or beholding itself in the Sourness, therefore the dark Sourness is desirous after the divine Virtue, and attracts; although there is no Life or Understanding in the Sourness, yet it is the Ground of the first Essence, and the Original whence something comes to be: Here we can search no further into the Ground of the Deity, for it troubles [disturbs, or confounds].

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Therefore, O noble Man, let not Antichrist ahd the Devil befool you, who tell you that the Deity is far off from you, and direct you to a Heaven that is situated far above you; whereas there is nothing nearer to you than the Heaven is. You only stand before the Door of Heaven, and you are gone forth with Adam out of the paradisical Heaven into the third Principle; yet you stand in the Gate, do but as the eternal Mother does,
which by great desiring and x longing after the Kingdom of God, attains the Kingdom of Heaven, wherein God dwells, wherein Paradise springs up; do you but so, set all your Desire upon the Heart of God, and so you will pass in by Force, as the eternal Mother does; and then it shall be with thee as Christ said, "The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth Violence, and the Violent take it by Force": So you shall make to yourself Friends in Heaven with your unrighteous Mammon, and so you come to be the true Similitude and Image of God, and his proper own; for all the three Principles, with the Eternity, are in you, and the holy Paradise is again generated in you, wherein God dwells. Then where will you seek for God ? Seek him in your Soul only
that is proceeded out of the eternal Nature, wherein the divine Birth stands.

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O that I had but the Pen of Man, and were able therewith to write down the Spirit of Knowledge.
I can but stammer of the great Mysteries like a Child that is beginning to speak; so very little can the earthly Tongue express what the Spirit comprehends and understands; yet I will venture to try, whether I may procure some to go about to seek the Pearl, whereby also I might labour in the Works of God in my paradisical Garden of Roses; for the Longing of the eternal Matrix drives me on to write and exercise myself in this my Knowledge.

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The true Heaven, wherein God dwells, is all over, in all Places [or Corners,] even in the Midst [or Center]
of the Earth.
He comprehends the Hell where the Devils dwell, and there is nothing without God.

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for Paradise stands open in the Mind of a holy Soul.

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The Darkness that is in you, which longs after the Light, that is the first Principle;
the Virtue or Power of the Light which is in you, whereby you can see in your Mind without [bodily] Eyes, that is the second Principle; and the longing [Power or] Virtue, that proceeds from the Mind, and attracts and fills, [or impregnates] itself, from whence the material Body grows, that is the third Principle.

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IN the Beginning of the last preceding Chapter, it is mentioned, that it is not strange for a Man to write,
speak, and teach of the Creation of the World, though he was not present when it was doing, if he has but
the Knowledge in the Spirit. For there he sees in the Mother, as in a Glass, the Genetrix of every Thing; for one Thing always lies in another, and the more is sought, the more is found, and there is no need to cast the Mind beyond this World; for all is to be found in this World, yea in every Thing that lives and moves. Whatsoever any looks upon, and searches into, he shall find the Spirit with the Fiat therein; and the divine
Virtue beholds itself in all Things, as it is written, "the Word is near thee, even in thy Heart and Lips". For when the Light of God dawns, or breaks forth in the Center of the Spirit of the Soul, then the Spirit of the Soul sees very well the Creation of this World, as in a clear Glass, and nothing is far off.

Jacob Boehme- 40 questions (excerpts)

For that which hath no ground, hath no number, nor is there any shutting

up or comprehension therein, and that which is within itself, cannot be known externally, but it may be felt by the spirit.

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He is the opener of the power: Nothing is like him, neither doth anything find him, but that which yieldeth itself to be his own, that entereth into him: That which denieth itself to be, in that thing the spirit

of God is all things; for it is one only will in the eternal nothing; and yet it is in all

things as God’s spirit itself is.

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And this, my beloved Friend, is the highest Mystery: Therefore if you would

find it, seek it not in me, but in yourself, though not in your reason either, which

must be as dead, and your desire and will must be in God.

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But follow my counsel, leave off your laborious searching in reason, and enter

into the will of God, into God’s spirit, and cast outward reason away, and then your

will is God’s will, and God’s spirit will seek you within you.

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therefore let none dive deeper in searching elsewhere, or he will find the devil.

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Therefore God is the most hidden, and the most manifest, and that is the

great Mystery, and the abyss is hidden and yet manifest; as the darkness is to our

sight: But the source is unsearchable, till the will sinketh down into it, and then it

will be found and felt, when the will loseth its light: And herein lieth the ground of

true faith: let this be told you, you teachers in Babel.

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(..) therefore searching is not the best way to find the

Mystery in: But to be born in God, is the right way to find it;

for without that all is but Babel.

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All lieth in the will and in the earnestness, viz. that the will enter into the magic,

for the eternity is magical; all things come to essence out of the magic:

for in the eternity, in the abyss, is nothing; but that which is, is magic.

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(..) then he leaveth off from seeking, and is a magus in the first will;

for he seeth he hath all power to find and

to make what he will: and then he maketh himself an angel,

and remaineth in himself, and so he is free from all other things,

and continueth eternally: This is the

highest ground of the Essence of all essences.

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For when I search to the beginning of the essence, then I find the eye, which

is God; which is a desiring will of eternity, which entereth into itself,

and seeketh the abyss in itself.

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And every essence consisteth of two essences, viz. of an inward and an

outward, one seeketh and findeth the other; the outward is nature, the inward is

spirit above nature; and yet there is no separation, but in that which is included in

a time; there the time parteth the limit, so that the end findeth the beginning.

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The inward is a prophet, and the outward apprehendeth it not; but if it do

come to apprehend it, then it hath the essentiality of God in it, that is, the divine

flesh, Christ’s flesh, the flesh of the virgin; and yet the prophet is in the spirit, but

that flesh receiveth its power and virtue, and assureth the outward man that he

doth nothing but what his Maker will have done; and such a condition this pen is in,

and no otherwise.

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My beloved Friend, such things as these are shewn to you, and such as you

are, who seek the beginning: for your mind is our Mystery; you should seek it in Us,

not in me; I (the outward man) have it not; but the inward, in the virgin (wherein

God dwelleth) hath it, which speaketh of itself in the plural number.

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For this hand is simple and accounted foolish in the eye of the world, as you

know; and yet there lieth such a secret therein, as is incomprehensible to reason.

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Therefore have a care, and pour oil into the wounds that require healing;

and consider what Christ saith: How hard it is for that man to enter into the

kingdom of God, who is entangled with worldly cares, having great power and

honour.

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Everything that hath a beginning is sought by the beginning; for the

beginning seeketh through the deep, and would find the ground: and if the

beginning findeth the ground, and that there is a limit in a thing, then the

beginning proceedeth to the limit, and leaveth the first, and seeketh further till it

findeth the abyss; and then it must remain in itself, and it can go no further, for

there is nothing beyond.

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Now the eternal fire in the eye of God is both the fire of wrath, and also the

light-fire of love.

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And thus we understand the soul to be a life awakened out of the eye of God,

its original is in the fire, and the fire is its life; but if it go not forth out of the fire

with its will and imagination into the light (viz. through the wrathful death into the

second Principle, into the fire of love), then it remaineth in its own original fire, and

hath nothing for a body but the turba, viz. the 1 harsh wrath in the desire in the fire,

a consuming, and a hunger, and yet an eternal seeking, which is an eternal

anguish.

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as the will was figured here in this life, it remaineth then naked as it is.

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This we understand of angels and the soul: they proceed from God’s

essences, from the whole tree; the angels from two Principles; and the soul with the

body of the outward life from three Principles, and therefore man is higher than the

angels, if he continueth in God.

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And here we are commanded to leave off diving any further, and to be silent.

For we are a creature, and should speak but so far as belongeth to a creature

to know, in the inward and outward, in body and soul, in God, angels, men, and

devils; also in beasts, fowls, worms, in plants and grass, in heaven and hell; all this

we are able to sound, but not our own making.

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the devil was indeed an angel, but his pride threw him into darkness:

Let none climb above the cross, or if he do, he

will fall into hell to the devil.

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Whence the soul proceedeth. It proceedeth from God,

out of eternity, without ground and number, and endureth in its own eternity;

but the beginning to the moving of the creature, which is done in God, that

should be mentioned no further.

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It is no strange glass; but indeed one glass out of the other, and one essence

out of the other, and all seek the beginning; and it is all a wonder.

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All the three Principles lie in the soul: All that God hath, and

can do, and that God is in his Ternary, that the soul is in its essences, as the virtue

of a tree is in the twig that groweth out of it.

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And as there is nothing higher than the soul, so there is nothing that can

destroy it, for it hath all things under it, and in it; it is a child of the whole Essence

of all essences.

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So we must understand that the soul is in the form of a round globe, according

to the eye of God, through which the cross goeth, and which divideth itself into two

parts, viz. into two eyes, standing back to back, as we have made the figure before

with two rainbows, the cross going through them both, and with one point

reaching upwards in the midst between the bows, which resembleth a sprouting

through the fire, through the anguish as through death, and yet it is no death, but a

going forth out of itself into another source; standing thus in the midst between

the two bows, as a sprout springing out of the cross.

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We mean thus: the soul in itself is a globe with a cross, and two eyes, a holy

divine one, and a wrathful, hellish one in the fire; this it should shut and secretly

reign therewith, through the anguish (viz. through death) in the second Principle in

love.

And if love embraceth it, then the wrathful fire is as it were dead, and not

perceived, but it becometh the joyful life of paradise; otherwise there would be no

life nor dominion in the meekness, if the fire did not put itself into it; but the still

eternity would remain without essence; for all essences arise in the fire.

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And this is now our direct answer to this question:

That the soul in the first Principle, according to the original, hath the form of an eye,

and yet twofold like a heart, wherein there is a cross.

And in the second Principle, it is a spirit, and a whole image, as the outward

man is.

And in the third Principle, it is a glass of the whole world;

all whatsoever is contained in heaven and earth,

every property of every creature lieth therein; for that glass is like the firmament and stars.

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And therefore heaven is a middle between God and hell, viz. between love and

anger.

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the spirit of the soul hath such power, that it may and can seek

all wonders that are in nature, viz. all arts, languages, building, planting,

destruction, knowledge: It can command the starry heaven, as Joshua, when he

commanded the sun, and it stood still; and Moses the sea, and it stood up; also he

commanded the darkness, and it came: it can make an earthly life, as Moses made

the lice and frogs, also serpents and other wonders.

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As to the soul only, besides the spirit, it is a globe

of fire, with a fire-eye, and a light-eye, which turn back to back, one within another,

as the wheel in Ezekiel, that could go on all sides;

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we shall see henceforward with clear paradisical eyes;

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As you know that the woman hath the one half cross in her head, and the

man the other; for in the head, in the brain, dwelleth the soul’s spirit, out of which

God hath taken a branch, viz. a child out of Adam’s soul’s spirit, and given it to the

woman.

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And he hath given the tincture of the water to her, that she should not bring

forth devils; and the man hath the tincture of fire, viz. the true original of life.

And therefore the woman hath gotten the matrix, viz. the tincture of Venus,

and the man hath the tincture of fire: understand, the woman hath the tincture of

light, which cannot awaken life; the life ariseth in the tincture of fire.

~

Consider this, ye evil parents; you gather money for your children;

get them good souls, that is more necessary for them.

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there is nothing else in this world, no fire, nor sword, that can touch

the soul, or put it to death, but only the imagination; that is its poison.

For it originally proceeded from the imagination, and remaineth in it

eternally.

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And therefore God’s eye is twofold, standing back to back, as before in the

Figure; one part goeth forwards into the still eternity, into the eternal nothing, viz.

into the liberty. And the other part goeth backwards into the desire, and maketh darkness and

the centre of nature therein, and driveth it to the greatest anguish and sharpness.

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Behold, thou beloved soul, if thou wilt attain the light of God, and see with

the eye of God, and wilt also enjoy the light of this world, and sustain thy body, and

seek the wonders of God, then do it as God himself doth it.

Thou hast in thy soul two eyes, which are set together back to back; the one

looketh into eternity, the other looketh backward into nature, and proceedeth

forth always, and seeketh in the desire, and always maketh one glass after another:

let it be so, it should be so, God will have it so.

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Let the devil roar at thee, making a noise before thy left eye: he cannot get in,

unless thou sufferest thine eye to receive in matter.

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Thus, when thy earthly body perisheth, thou shalt see with the right eye all

the wonders in the left eye, which thou hast wrought and found out here; and

when the earthly life is gone, then thy left eye is free from the nature of wrath.

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Behold! if thou wilt see God’s light in thy soul, and would be

enlightened from God, then do thus.

Thou art in the world: hast thou an honest calling void of deceit? Continue in

it, work, labour, finish thy business, as necessity requireth; seek out wonders, both

in the earth and other elements; let the art be what it will, it is all the work of God:

seek silver and gold in the earth, and make artificial works of them: build and

plant: All serves to manifest God’s works of wonder.

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Set thy left will upon the work which thou doest, and consider that thou art

God’s servant in the vineyard of God, and labour faithfully.

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The outward man eateth earthly bread, and the soul eateth the bread of God;

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The magia maketh substance: for in the eternal nothing there is nothing;

but the magia createth where nothing is.

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this world outwardly is a similitude of the inward world.

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The will ought to incline to nothing, but to meekness and love, as if it were a

nothing, or dead; we should only desire to live to God, so that God may work in us,

and whatsoever we do besides, our will must be directed so, that we do it to God.

~

For the soul hath the government of the fire, and it is the cause of the life of all

three: and the spirit hath the government of the light, in which the noble

heavenly image consisteth with the divine body: and the outward spirit hath the

government of the earthly life; this should seek and manifest the wonders, and the

inward spirit should give it understanding to do that; and the soul should manifest

the abyss (viz. the highest secret) to it.

~

The soul is the Pearl, and the spirit of the soul is the finder of the Pearl, and

the earthly spirit is the seeker: the earthly body is the Mystery, wherein the

secret of greatest abstruseness lieth: for the Deity hath manifested itself in the

earthliness, viz. in a comprehensible essence; and therefore now three seekers

belong thereto.

But you must not suppose that we undervalue the outward life, for it is most

profitable to us, as to the wonders of God: there is nothing more profitable to the

whole man, than to stand still in his threefold dominion, and not go back with the

outward into the inward, but with the inward into the outward.

~

as there is an enmity between God

and hell; and yet hell, or the fire of wrath, is God’s.

~

You must understand, that this life is the life of the spirit of the soul: the soul

is the centre of nature, and the spirit is the precious and noble image, which God

created for his image; herein standeth the high, royal, and precious image of God;

for God is thus, he is comprehended in the same source of life.

~

the fire is wrathful, the light is meek and lovely: in the light is the life, and in the fire the cause of the life.

~

Thus you may well understand the contrariety of flesh and spirit, and

apprehend very well that two spirits are in one another, one striving against the

other; for one desireth God, the other desireth bread, and both are profitable and good.

~

For a man must walk in obedience in great humility, and only cast his will

into God’s will, that God may be both the will and the deed in him: This is the way

to salvation, and to the kingdom of heaven, and no other; let the Pope or doctors

preach what they will to the contrary, all is but lying, and mere hypocritical juggling.

~

 The soul is proceeded out of the mouth of God; and when the body dieth, it

goeth again into the mouth of God: It is in the Word, the essence; and in the will, the deed.

~

If the eternal nature in the fire of anger should die, then also God’s Majesty

would be extinguished, and the eternal something would again become an eternal

nothing; and that cannot be, but whatsoever is from eternity, that continueth eternally.

~

in God there is no limit, near and far off is all one in him.

~

A living man hath such power that he is able with his spirit to go into heaven

to the separated souls, and stir them up about some question by a hearty desire; but

it must be earnest, it must be faith that can break open a Principle.

~

the son seeth very well what the father doth in his house, and so likewise the soul seeth what is in heaven.

~

For the spirit goeth forth in two Principles in God; that is, in the anger or fire,

it goeth forth as the earnest wrath of the fire-life; in the light of the love it goeth

forth as a flame of the divine Majesty; and in the spirit of this world, it goeth forth

as a wonder of life; and all this is undeniable.

~

We shall have no stomach or entrails, which we shall need to fill, as we do here

this devouring stomach, but all there is in power; we shall eat in the mouth, and not

receive into the belly; we shall need no teeth to chew withal; there is mere power,

and yet in a true natural form and manner, with shining colours.

~

None shall say to another, Thou art my husband, Thou art my wife, Thou art

my daughter, Thou art my son, my servant, or my handmaid; all are alike there; we

are all children; there is neither husband, nor wife; neither child, man-servant or

maid-servant, but all are free; every one is all: There is but one sex, viz. heavenly

virgins full of modesty, chastity and purity.

~

We are all God’s spouse, and he is our husband.

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then the outward body is in the Mysterium, and the inward body in the Arcanum, a heavenly Mystery;

~

 Therefore we may say upon good ground, that a simple plain man, who in
simplicity, without multiplicity of science, dependeth on God, hath the Mysterium 

Μagnum better and surer, and less decayed, than a high learned doctor, who
soareth aloft in reason, and spoileth the jewel and setteth it in Babel; this will not
be well relished, but that is nothing to us, we must speak the truth without partiality.

 

~

 (..) for the wicked world is not worthy of an open, plain, and manifest
discovery, because thereby the great secret, which belongeth only to the children of
God, would be defiled; for God will not have us cast pearls before swine, but give
them to the children for their delight; and thus do you also.

Άπεφθο σκόλιο

δε λέμε "μη σφάζετε τα έρμα τα αρνάκια" επειδή παθαίνουν κάτι τρομερό. pas du tout! 
εσείς όμως παθαίνετε: αποκτηνώνεστε! 
ο θάνατος είναι κάτι τέτοιο: τα κοσμήματα λιώνουν και ξαναφτιάχνονται με την ίδια ή με άλλη μορφή. 
ο χρυσός όμως άπεφθος!
πού να χαθεί ο χρυσός! και πού να πάει!
ήταν από πάντα εδώ. 
και θα είναι για πάντα εδώ.

Άφελε Πάντα (και το Πάσχα)

Jesus Δεσμώτης την Παρασκευή, 
Jesus Λυόμενος το Σάββατο, 
Jesus Πυρφόρος την Κυριακή.




"Ερωτηθείς δε υπό των Φαρισαίων, πότε έρχεται η βασιλεία τού Θεού, 
απεκρίθη προς αυτούς, και είπε, Δεν έρχεται η βασιλεία τού Θεού ούτως,
ώστε να παρατηρήται' ουδέ θέλουσιν ειπεί, Ιδού, εδώ είναι, ή, Ιδού εκεί'
διότι ιδού, η βασιλεία τού Θεού είναι εντός υμών." (Κατά Λουκάν, κεφ. ιζ',20-21)

Σκόλιον

γυναικεία ποίηση (κανουν κι οι άντρες κατά κόρον). που πάει να πει: υπαρξιακές φτήνιες (στα καλά καθούμενα, κι ενώ ο ήλιος καίει και τα πουλάκια τιτιβίζουν, φαντάζονται αγωνία και άγχος -απ' το πουθενά- μόνο για να "βαθύνουν" το ποίημα. -η κατάθλιψη και τα χαπάκια θεωρούνται τεκμήρια διανόησης), κλάψα να συγκινήσουνε, τα πράγματα και τα φαινόμενα να "μιλάνε" (τα ψυγεία οι σερβιέτες οι μπάμιες -και εν τέλει η αμμηνόρροια, αχ!), οι άνθρωποι έχουν προσωπεία κι είναι ψεύτες (νιώθουν σταθερά αδικημένες όπως οι παλαιοί λαϊκοί αοιδοί κι οι σύγχρονοι σκυλάδες), ο μπαμπάς της -ο άντρας της -το παιδί της, και δωστου έννοιες δανεισμένες απ' την ψυχολογία τού βάθους για επίφαση βάθους.. μπούρου μπούρου/μπούρου μπούρου. καμιά πρωτοτυπία. επευφημούν οι φτηνοί, με το μυαλό όχι μεγαλύτερο από μια κοτσιλιά (ίσως στο κέντρο του κεφαλιού τους έχουν μόνο μια κοτσιλιά, ωχρολευκη, και στη θέση της καρδιάς ένα μπολ εμετό, λέω γω..), παίρνουν θάρρος οι παραλογοτέχνες. Ποίημα είναι να γράψεις αυτό που πρέπει, όταν πρέπει, όπως πρέπει. διαφορετικά, για κλάψα και νταλγκά υπάρχουν οι ψυχολόγοι, τα κέντρα διασκεδάσεως, τα καλλυντικά κτλ. Τουλάχιστον φίλη/φίλε, πολέμησε τη νεύρωση μόνη/μόνος σου, μη διασπείρεις κακία και μιζέρια και κακοτεχνία.

Angelus Silesius-2nd part Fragments

Thou art not in a place.
The place thoult find in thee.
Discard it, and e'en now Appears eternity.

~
The sage will never die?
Why, dead e'en now is he;
Alive alone in God,
Dead to all vanity.

~
This all is but a play
Made by the Deity,
Who for His very sake
Designed creatures to be.

~
What in eternity God
wants and has devised.
His thoughts in me
He now Beholdeth symbolized.

~
A heart that to God's will
Submits in patience mute,
Loves to be touched by Him:
It serves God as His lute.

 ~
Whoever with one glance
Above himself can soar,
He with God's angels
can Sing Gloria evermore.

~
In spirit senses are One and the same.
'T is true, Who seeth God he tastes,
Feels, smells and hears Him too.

~
The rose is without why.
It blows because it blows.
It thinks not of itself
And no display it shows.

~
The world too narrow is For me,
and Heav'n too small
Where then for this my soul
Shall I find room at all?

~
Naught is without a voice;
And God in million ways
In all His creatures hears
The echoes of His praise.

~
God hath no preference
With all He is in tune.
As gladly with the fly
As thee, doth He commune.

~
All works are same to God;
He loves the saint while drinking
As much as when in prayer
Upon his knees he's sinking.

~
I am as great as God,
He is as small as I.
 He can't above me stand,
Nor I beneath Him lie.

~
Walk out, God walketh in;
 To God live, die to thee ;
Do naught, thy duty's done;
Be not, and God will be.

~
A soul redeemed and blessed
No more knows otherhood
It is with God one light
And one beatitude.

 ~
Man should essential be;
For, when this world is gone,
All accident is past,
The essence still lives on.

~
I do declare that death,
Because he makes me free
The best thing in the world,
The very best must be.

 

Δημήτρης Μητρόπουλος- αποσπάσματα αλληλογραφίας

 Γι' αυτό, επειδή σήμερα οι τύποι των martyres δεν υπάρχουν όπως στον μεσαίωνα,
γι' αυτό το καλό είναι ίσον με το κορόιδο.

~
Διερωτώμαι μόνο αν αξίζει τον κόπο να υποφέρω τόσο στη ζωή μου
για να έχω μερικές καλές εκτελέσεις στην ορχήστρα. Έχω ανάγκη να τροφοδοτήσω,
σαν θνητός, και την ψυχή μου, την καρδιά μου, δεν μπορώ να ζω όλο τρώγοντας τις σάρκες μου,
τρέφοντας μόνο το μυαλό μου.

~
Επικίνδυνο σημείο συγκρίσεως ο Wagner. Ακριβώς η δύναμή του είναι και το ελάττωμά του,
όταν το occulte στοιχείο ενός καλλιτέχνη υπερβαίνει τα όρια, παύει ο καλλιτέχνης να είναι pur.
Αυτό ακριβώς προσάπτουμε στον Wagner.
(..) Φυσικά, θα έπρεπε να είμαι υπερήφανος που με συγκρίνεις με ένα genie σαν τον Wagner,
μα genie είναι και ο Hitler και ο Al Capone...και κάμποσοι άλλοι. Μη χειρότερα λοιπόν!

~
(..) εμείς οι προορισμένοι να δίδουμε ευτυχία και απόλαυση στους άλλους
ειμαστε καταδικασμένοι σε αδιάκοπη μελέτη, προσπάθεια και αυτοθυσία.

~
Είμαι στο δωμάτιό μου, εργάζομαι όπως συνήθως τις παρτιτούρες μου,
οι οποίες περνάνε καθημερινώς και ολοταχώς σαν κινηματογράφος. Πολλές φορές διερωτώμαι
πώς εισέρχονται τόσο γρήγορα στο κεφάλι μου.

~
Ο Rachmaninof δεν θέλησε να βγει να χαιρετήσει ούτε μια φορά χωρίς εμένα και,
καθώς δεν παίζει ποτέ bis, ήμουν αναγκασμένος να βγαίνω κάθε φορά,  πράγμα που σημαίνει
άπειρες μετακλήσεις στη σκηνή. Μου είπε πως αισθανθηκε πως έπαιξε μαζί μου,
επομένως δεν μπορούσε να χαιρετήσει χωρίς εμένα. Και ήταν η αλήθεια, αγαπητή μου φίλη,
εκείνος χωρίς παρτιτούρα, εγώ το ίδιο, κοιταζόμαστε στα μάτια και ένιωσα ότι οι ψυχές μας
ενώθηκαν ερωτικά μπροστά στο κοινό!!

~
Οι παρτιτούρες διαδέχονται η μία την άλλη στο μυαλό μου
με την ταχύτητα κινηματογραφικής ταινίας, πράγμα που είναι πολύ διασκεδαστικό
και μου δίνει ακριβώς τη χαρά ενος ωραίου sport. Κοινό και μουσικοί τρελαινονται
να το διαπιστώνουν, και εγώ ρονρονάρω σα γάτος μακάριος! Δεν έχω άλλες διασκεδάσεις
παρά μονάχα αυτό.

~
Καμιά φορά λέω, δεν θα μπορούσα κ'εγώ να πάω λίγο να χαρώ σε έναν κινηματογράφο;..
Όχι, το καθήκον πρώτα απέναντι στην τέχνη μου, απέναντι στον εαυτό μου.
Και έτσι περνάνε οι ημέρες και οι νύχτες ανάμεσα στις παρτιτούρες μου και στη σκέψη μου.
Βρίσκω πως είναι ένα πολύ καλό training της σκέψης και του κεφαλιού.
Αρχίζω λίγο-λίγο όχι μόνο να μη φοβάμαι τη μοναξιά μου, αλλά να την αποζητώ ως ύψιστη απόλαυση.

~
Είναι λυπηρό να είσαι καταδικασμένος να ζεις πάντα τούτη τη ζωή που ζω,
αλλά ο Θεός έτσι το θέλησε και πρέπει να υποταχθώ. Αν τουλάχιστον ήμουν βέβαιος
πως κάνω καλά τη δουλειά μου!

~
Είμαι πολύ γεμάτος από ξένη μουσική, για να μπορέσω να βγάλω ακόμα δική μου.

~
Κανένας δεν θα το πιστέψει, αλλά εγώ ο φημισμένος μαέστρος με τις τόσες επιτυχίες
δεν έχω χρήματα, αλλά υποθέτω ότι εσύ γνωρίζεις πως κανένας φιλάνθρωπος
στην ιστορία δεν τελείωσε τη ζωή του δίχως χρεοκοπία.

~
Τους αρέσει να φαντάζονται ότι ο μαέστρος τους είναι πλούσιος.
Αν δεν είναι, θα μπορούσαν ν' αμφισβητήσουν και τη καλλιτεχνική του αξία.

~
Πόσο θα ήθελα να καταντήσω τσοπάνος, για να μπορούσα να αφοσιωθώ ολότελα σ' αυτά.
Μα η τύχη με έριξε στη δύσκολη ευθύνη του να δημιουργώ φύση και όχι να απολαμβάνω.

~
Πώς μπορεί κανείς να μείνει ουδέτερος, πώς μπορεί να μη μισήσει και τον Bach
και τον Beethoven ακόμη, που αντιπροσωπεύουν τη συστηματοποιημένη σκέψη της γερμανικής
ολέθριας ράτσας. (..) Εν γένει δε η τέχνη σήμερα μού δίνει την εντύπωση μιας γελοίας
και sterile masturbation και με προσπάθεια συγκρατώ την πίστη μου προς αυτήν.

~
Η ιδέα ότι προσφέρω υπηρεσίες στο ανθρώπινο γένος γενικά δεν με πείθει και τόσο.
Στις στιγμές που είμαι μεθυσμένος μέσα στη δουλειά μου, φαντάζομαι πως αντιμετωπίζω
τον κόσμο και ότι εργάζομαι και θυσιάζομαι γι' αυτόν! Τι μεγάλα λόγια, πόσο αβέβαια,
όταν συλλογίζομαι πως μόνο οι πλούσιοι σε χρήματα είναι σε θέση να παρακολουθούν
τις συναυλίες, ότι η ύπαρξη μιας ορχήστρας και επομένως της τέχνης εν γένει
εξαρτάται από αυτούς και ότι το περισσότερο μέρος της ανθρωπότητας ζει, χαίρεται, δυστυχεί,
πεθαίνει χωρίς την ανάγκη μας!

~
Ο Ernst Krenek και ο Schoenberg και άλλοι, και πίστεψέ με υπάρχουν πολλοί τώρα σε τούτο
τον τόπο, είναι για μένα οι εκλεκτότεροι εκπρόσωποι της σημερινής καλλιτεχνικής ζωής-
απόλυτοι και δυστυχώς όπως σ' όλες τις εποχές πεθαίνοντας της πείνας και ζώντας με ιδανικά,
επειδή βεβαίως δεν μπορείς να κερδίσεις τη ζωή σου όντας μονάχα ένας μεγάλος διανοούμενος
και σοβαρός καλλιτέχνης. Δηλαδή, εάν δεν είσαι ένας από τους τύπους της επιδέξιας
και προικισμένης εκείνης νοοτροπίας όπως ο Stravinsky π.χ. ή ακόμα και ο Hindemith, που βρήκαν
μια δικαιολογία για να γράφουν αυτό που αποκαλούν "Gebrauchs Musik" και να μπορούν έτσι
να κάνουν μια επικερδή δουλειά. Όπως βλέπεις, υπάρχουν πολλοί τρόποι να κάνει κανείς
συμβιβασμούς και αρνούμαι να αποκαλούμαι καιροσκόπος, επειδή προσπαθώ να εξομαλύνω
και να συντομεύω την τρομερή απόσταση που χωρίζει τον πνευματικό άνθρωπο από τον κοινό άνθρωπο.

~
Πάντως, αυτό που θέλω να πετύχω δεν γίνεται με το να περιφέρομαι σαν τομ Σαβοναρόλα
φοβερίζοντας τους ανθρώπους με τις φωτιές της Κόλασης επειδή χαίρονται και γελούν
και θέλουν να καλοπεράσουν, λέγοντάς τους ότι αν δεν πάψουν ν'αγαπούν τον Puccini
θα καταδικασθούν εις το πυρ το εξώτερον.

~
Θαρρείς πως περιμένουν καραδοκώντας την ευκαιρία να θολώσουν την ατμόσφαιρα
με ένα σωρό περιγραφές μεταφυσικές, ενώ η μουσική είναι καθαρή φόρμα ήχων.

~
Δεν είναι η πρώτη φορά που εδιάβασα τέτοιες δραστικές κριτικές για τον Mahler
και εν τούτοις εξακολουθώ να αισθάνομαι τρομερή συγγένεια με την έκφρασή του.

~
Αλλά τι τραγωδία το κοινό της όπερας, να είναι τόσο ανάγωγο, και αυτή η παράδοση
να χειροκροτείται το κάθε τι φωνητικά υψηλό είναι αλήθεια ένα βάρβαρο στοιχείο,
που παρ' όλη την πρόοδο του κόσμου δεν εχει ακόμα παραμερισθεί.

~
Πίστεψέ με πως χρειάζεται μεγάλη υπομονή και καρτερία να στυλώνεσαι σε μια παρτιτούρα
8-10 ώρες την ημέρα. Και επειδή δεν έχω άλλες διασκεδάσεις στη ζωή μου, έχω συνδυάσει
σπουδή και διασκέδαση, μαζί με τη διακοπή για να μαγειρέψω το λιτότατο φαγητό μου,
ούτως ώστε να μην αναγκάζομαι να βγαίνω από το δωμάτιό μου.
Εκτός αυτού, σαν τον Δημοσθένη, δεν ξυρίζομαι, ώστε να μην μπορώ να βγω στον κόσμο
εν περιπτώσει πειρασμού!

~
Ο Shoenberg ήταν μεγάλη απώλεια, αλλά κατά τα τελευταία αυτά χρόνια ήταν τελείως άχρηστος,
μικροπρεπής και δυσάρεστος, επειδή η υγεία του ήταν πολύ κακή.
Πάντως είμαι ευτυχής οτι βρισκόμουν σε αδιάκοπη αλληλογραφία μαζί του και του έδωσα
την ευχαρίστηση και την ελπιδα ότι στο πρόσωπό μου άφηνε πίσω του ένα από τους πιο
ένθερμους αποστόλους του. Μια εβδομάδα μάλιστα πριν πεθάνει μού είχε υποσχεθεί να μου στείλει
μια αγγλική μετάφραση του erwartung, έχοντας τη σφοδρη επιθυμία αυτό του το έργο να γίνει
κατανοητό από το Αμερικανικό κοινό, ή να γίνει πιο "δημοφιλές", όπως πίστευε ότι κάποια μέρα
η μουσική του θα γινόταν "δημοφιλής" -μια από τις παιδιάστικες εκείνες χίμαιρες από τις οποίες
ακόμα και μεγαλοφυΐες σαν τη δική του δεν είναι προφυλαγμένες.

~

Δωρεάν Ornstein

κατεβάστε όλα τα έργα του Leo Ornstein, δωρεάν

πατήστε στο παραπάνω λινκ.
αρκεί να έχετε mozilla, το οποίο κατεβάζει αυτόματα
 τα κομμάτια και δεν τα αναπαράγει απλώς.

Angelus Silesius-In Oneness with the Divine

If thou art one with God, truly it may be said
Thou eat'st and drinkest God in every piece of bread.

~
Ask not what is divine. It were too great a task
To comprehend—unless thou art what thou dost ask.

~
Naught is but I and Thou. Were there nor Thou nor I,
Then God is no more God, and Heaven falls from the sky.

~
I am as rich as God. He owns no particle
Of dust—believe me, Man!—that is not mine as well.

~
I know God cannot live one instant without Me:
If I should come to naught, needs must He cease to be.

~
Thou shalt become that thing itself
Which thou dost deem of dearest worth—
God shalt become if thou lov'st God,
And Earth if so thou lovest Earth.

~
'Tis easier, Man, to see thyself and God all one
Than open a closed eye—will it and it is done.

~
No man can ever know perfect Felicity
Till Otherness be swallowed up in Unity.

~
I will be Phoenix, burn myself in God, and then
Nothing shall sunder me from Him ever again.

~
I must be Mary and myself
Give birth to God, would I possess
—Nor can I otherwise—God's gift
Of everlasting Happiness.

~
Into this little drop, this I, how can it be
That there should flow the whole Sea of the Deity?

~
The more thou lovest—Love's the very heart
Of Holiness—the holier thou art.


~
Και σας λέω, στην ουσία όλοι τα ίδια είπανε.
(Οι φιλόλογοι θα έβρισκαν πολλή δουλειά στις διαφορές και όχι στη μία, τη σπουδαία ομοιότητα)

Ορφικοί, Πυθαγόρειοι, Παραπυθαγόρειοι, Πλατωνιστές, Νεοπλατωνιστές, Νεοπυθαγοριστές, Χριστιανοί, Βουδιστές,
Σουφιστές, Ινδουιστές, Advaitins, Dvaitins, Bhaktas ή yogis, θεοσοφιστές, μυστικιστές.

Ο Sankara κι ο Πλωτίνος ήταν το ίδιο.
Ο Εμπεδοκλής κι ο Al-Hallaj, επίσης.
Ο Χριστός κι ο Πιλάτος ήταν το ίδιο.
Μην αγαπάτε περισσότερο τον Ιησού απ' όσο τον Πιλάτο..
Δεν υπάρχει διαφορά.

Αμήν και Ομ!