The 4th Epistle.

To Christian Bernhard / from November 15th.

Thursday after Martinmas, 1619. Martinmas is the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, traditionally celebrated on November 11th.

1.

God’s salvation and light in the life of Jesus Christ enlighten you / and further grant you to recognize His will.

2. My friendly, right good heart and friend / that you have yielded your life to become a growth of God original: "Gewächse Gottes." Boehme frequently uses botanical metaphors to describe the soul’s development and flourishing within the divine life. / and thus flourish in the body of Jesus Christ the Son of God / who has reborn us as a living creature in Himself / and presented us to His Father / as a lovely plant in His paradisiacal pleasure-garden / for His joy and wonder-deed / in this I rejoice alongside you / and I find also / if I remember correctly / that you are not just a growth of God for yourself alone / but like a lovely herb and flower you do not keep your power only within yourself / but you let your power go forth from you / to provide a taste for all living essences original: "Essentien." In Boehme’s thought, these are the spiritual qualities or fundamental building blocks of being. / and you offer yourself freely to all creatures / regardless of how it might go for you / for you do not spare yourself at all / but bring forth your power and fragrance without ceasing.

3. Thus I also find / it is the same with the soul of man / which flourishes without ceasing / and gives its power freely / to provide a taste / to him who desires that taste / and who is capable of that power / whether it be for love or for wrath / for the life of God in Christ / or for the life of pride original: "Hoffart." A term Boehme often uses for the self-centered arrogance that characterizes the "fallen" state of man, leading away from the divine source. in the ultimate pursuit of misery / which follows as the outcome / for those who are not grown in God.

4. But praise, honor, and glory to those / who are reborn in Christ / who although they lose their life here / and appear before the stings of the thorny thicket like a simple herb / which is trodden underfoot; yet like a herb that is cut down / where nothing more is seen / and reason says / "it is finished" / but it has its root in the earth / and flourishes forth once again; so also the soul of the saints is grafted original: "eingepfropft." This horticultural term emphasizes that the soul's new life is not its own, but is joined to the life of Christ, the true vine. into the holy life of Jesus Christ / and stands in God His Father / and flourishes again through death.

5. In this we / who have recognized such things / greatly rejoice / and therefore we regard the life of this world / which stands in the stars and elements' torment torment original: "Quall." For Boehme, this term is a play on words between Qual (torment/pain) and Quelle (source/fountain). It refers to the intense, vibrating activity of the natural forces that drive the material world. / as the very least of things / and rejoice in this / that we are children of God.