Preface.

[They] can see with their eyes / smell with their noses / hear with their ears / taste with their tongues / and grasp with their hands / and yet stray from the truth. Epistle of Jude v. 10. Much less should they perceive the sense and meaning of the Spirit through their carnal reason / 1 Cor. 2 v. 14. especially regarding the humble Jacob Böhme Jacob Böhme (1575–1624) was a German mystic and theologian who worked as a master shoemaker. / whose nature did not come from the schools of this world; and therefore in his Aurora Böhme's first work, Aurora: The Root of the Day-Redness (1612), which explored the relationship between God and the world through the lens of nature. / which he initially wrote without the slightest interaction with learned people / he had to express the sense of the Spirit according to his unlearned tongue. In this, however, it should be well considered / how falsely it is attributed to him / that he had borrowed such Mysteries original: "Mysterien" from the Chemists original: "Chymicis"; referring here to alchemical writers like Paracelsus. / as he himself confesses / that at that time he had not yet read any such books / much less afterwards "put his hands into the coals" A metaphor for practicing physical alchemy in a laboratory. / but rather remained at his craft.

It is true, however / that / after he was defamed by Gregorius Richter The head pastor of Görlitz who was Böhme’s primary legal and theological persecutor. / many learned people—Barons / Noblemen / Patricians original: "Patricii"; members of the high-ranking urban ruling class. / Jurists original: "Juridici" / Physicians original: "Medici" / and others—subsequently conversed with him / and through their scholarly interaction caused him to change some words / so that he became accustomed to a certain extent / to presenting his spiritual and divine secrets / which no carnal reason can grasp / let alone any tongue worthily express / according to their manner of speaking. Whoever will not believe it / let him read the description of his life / as well as the works of the profound Mr. Franckenberg Abraham von Franckenberg (1593–1652), Böhme’s friend and earliest biographer.; likewise / alongside the two-part Apology original: "Apologia" of the late Mr. von Tschetsch / also the two-part Böhmian Psychology original: "Psychologiam Bœhmianam"; a study of Böhme's concept of the soul. translated into Latin by Mr. Werdenhagen Johannes Angelus von Werdenhagen, a diplomat and scholar. / Doctor of Civil and Canon Law original: "J. U. D." / he will soon [see] other [sides...]