第70章

“Where the will of God willeth in anything， there God is manifested， and in that manifestation the angels also dwell； but where God in any thing willeth not with the will of the thing， there God is not manifested to it， but dwelleth” (there) “in Himself without the co-operating of the thing；” in that case that thing is its own will， and there the devil dwelleth and all whatever is without God.”(22)Boehme in his own way sets forth the form assumed in this process in a pictorial manner. This “Separator deduces qualities from itself， from which the infinite manifold arises， and through which the eternal One makes itself perceptible “ (so that it is for others) “not according to the unity， but in accordance with the efflux of the unity.” Implicit Being and the manifold are absolutely opposed through the Notion， which Boehme did not have： Being-for-self implies Being-for-another and retrogression into the opposite. Boehme sways backwards and forwards in apparent contradictions， and does not well know how to find a way out of the difficulty. “But the efflux is carried on to the greatest extreme possible， to the generation of fire” - dark fire without light， darkness， the hidden， the self；(23) - “in which fiery nature，” however， since this fire rises and shoots up， “the eternal One becomes majestic and a light，” and this light which there breaks forth is the form which the other principle assumes. This is the return to the One. “Thereby” (through fire) “the eternal power becomes desirous and effectual and” (fire) “is the original condition”

(essence) “of the sensitive” (feeling) “life， where in the Word of power an eternal sensitive life first takes its origin. For if life had no sensitiveness， it would have no will nor efficacy； but pain”

- anguish， suffering - first “makes it” (all life) “effectual and endows it with will. And the light of such kindling through fire makes it joyous， for it is an anointment，” joy and loveliness “of painfulness.”(24)Boehme turns this round in many ways in order to grasp the something [Ichts]， the Separator， as it “rises”(25) from the Father. The qualities rise in the great Salitter， stir， raise， and move [rügen]

themselves. Boehme has there the quality of astringency in the Father， and he then represents the process of the something [Ichts] as a sharpness， a drawing together， as a flash of lightning that breaks forth. This light is Lucifer. The Being-for-self， the self-perception， is by Boehme called the drawing together into a point. That is astringency， sharpness， penetration， fierceness； to this pertains the wrath of God， and here Boehme in this manner grasps the “other” of God in God Himself. “This source can be kindled through great motion or elevation. Through the contraction the creaturely Being is formed so that a heavenly Corpus may be” intelligibly “formed. But if it”

- the sharpness - “be kindled through elevation， which those creatures only can do which are created out of the divine Salitter， then it is a burning source-vein of the wrath of God. The flash is the mother of light； for the flash generates the light， and is the Father of the fierceness； for the fierceness abides in the flash as a seed in the father， and that flash generates also the tone or sound” - the flash is， speaking generally， the absolute generator. The flash is still connected with pain； light is what brings intelligence. The divine birth is the going forth of the flash， of the life of all qualities.(26) This is all from the Aurora.