Memoirs of the life, death, burial, and wonderful writings, of Jacob Behmen

reading. This he at last complied with. The result was that, upon his first reading of them—since they were presented all at once—he was far from thinking them either clear original: "perspicuous" or consistent as a whole. However, the various parts of them were not only clear and distinct to his mind, but also deeply moving to his heart.

On this basis, he concluded that he ought to read them again and again with simple faith, steady patience, and earnest prayer to God for the true light of His own holy and heavenly truth. During this process, he resolved to enjoy what was clear and plain, instead of straining his understanding or racking his brains over anything that remained obscure or unintelligible to him.

By following this method, he can truly state original: "aver" that, over time and to his own great surprise, he found the sense and meaning gradually and subtly revealing itself to him. He was as certain of this as a person who first tries to read a book with great difficulty without glasses original: "spectacles", only to find that with their help, they can later read the same book with the greatest ease and pleasure. This had been his exact experience with reading the Holy Scriptures all along, and it remains so to this very day.

Thus, prompted and encouraged by Mr. Law’s works—and further confirmed by two long and interesting personal interviews he had with him personally only a few months before his death—the Translator original: "Tr." felt very inclined to read some of the simpler parts of Jacob Boehme's original: "Jacob Behmen’s" — the English spelling of Jakob Böhme (1575–1624), a German Lutheran mystic whose complex writings deeply influenced William Law. works as well. He did so with the same positive result.

Consequently, he can have no doubt that the Holy Scriptures, Jacob Boehme, Mr. Law, and every other truly spiritual writer possess a sound and valid meaning, even in places where he has not yet been able to fully understand it. He hopes that, if God is willing, he may progress even further "unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:2–3).

It is therefore his constant and sincere wish for himself that, in this and in all other respects, he may from now on—during this dangerous original: "perilous" time of religious division and delusion—be as little reluctant