Durham E-Theses The inuence of Jacob Boehme on the work of William Blake Aubrey, Bryan How to cite: Aubrey, Bryan (1981) The inuence of Jacob Boehme on the work of William Blake, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/7518/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk BR YAW AUBREY THE INFLUENCE OF JACOB BOEHME ON THE WORK OF WILLIAM BLAKE ABSTRACT Boehme's influence on Blake, although often acknowledged, is frequently underestimated and has never been comprehensively investigated. Much modern criticism regards Blake's work as non-transcendental, even secular. This is partly a reaction against earlier criticism, which was more sympathetic to Blake's connection with the mystical tradition. The argument of this thesis, however, is that Boehme exerted a continuous and pervasive influence on Blake, and that recognition of this can illumine some of the most difficult and contradictory elements in Blake's work. These include the attitude to the body and the senses, and the metaphysical status of the selfhood and the created world. Chapter One discusses Boehme's system, noting that it represents a synthesis of many different currents of thought, including the Dionysian via negativa. the Hermetic tradition, the Kabbalah and the Lutheran faith. It is emphasized, however, that his philosophy arose from intense mystical experience rather than academic study, and that he chose to express it in symbolic and mythological terms rather than rational concepts. Chapter Two, on The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, suggests that Blake was pursuing his central concern, of how to unify existence without destroying its essential polarity, in the wake of a study of Boehme. Chapter Three views The Book of Urizen against the background of Boehme's first four properties of Eternal Nature and his account of the fall of Lucifer and Adam. The final chapter presents a synoptic examination of The Four Zoas, Milton and Jerusalem. Among the topics discussed are: the designs by Dionysius Freher in the context of Blake's unfalien Albion; the Behmenist 'lightning-flash' compared to Blake's experiences as recorded in Milton; the concept of eternity, shared by Boehme and Blake, which combined stasis and activity; Blake's use of the 'language of nature' in the context of the risen Albion., and the connection between Bl^.e's figure of Los and Boehme's Mercurius, as transmitters of the divine Word. The Influence of Jacob Boehme on the Work of William Blake by Bryan Aubrey The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. t7 HAY im Contents Acknowledgements iii Note on Text and Abbreviations iv Introduction 1 1o Jacob Boehme 29 - God and Eternal Nature 35 - The Angels and the Fall of Lucifer k6 - uicaliOu M-y - Man and his Fall 50 - Regeneration 55 - The Language of Nature 62 2. 'Morning Redness in the Rising': The Marriage of Heaven and Hell 66 3. The Angst of Unfulfilled Birth: The Book of Urizen 106 h. 'The end finds the beginning': The Four Zoas? Milton and Jerusalem 159 i) The universal man 161 ii) Fall 171 iii) Ulro and the dark world 179 iv) Clouds of mercy 192 v) Transition (1) : Los and the lightning-flash 196 vi) Transition (2) : Self-annihilation 209 vii) Transition (3) : Opening the Centers 219 viii) Memory, History and the Seven Eyes of God 225 ix) Faith and Forgiveness 235 x) Ololon, Jerusalem and Sophia 237 xi) Rest and activity : the divine play 2M+ xii) Albion, Los and the Word 251 Epilogue 26*+ Notes and' Freher Diagrams 269 Bibliography 308 (iii) Acknowledgements I am grateful to Mr. P.R.P. Malekin, of the University of Durham, who first suggested that I should read Boehme and who supervised the writing of this thesis„ Without his advice and encouragement it would not have been written,. My thanks also to Miss Kay Spirit and Miss Helen Lishman, who typed the manuscript. (iv) Note on Text and Abbreviations All quotations from Blake are taken from The Complete Writings of William BlakeT edited by Sir Geoffrey Keynes, Revised edition, Oxford University Press, 1§66. Reprinted, 197^. Quotations are identified by the abbreviated form of the poem, followed by plate and line number, and the page number in Keynes, thus: F.Z. 8:l1*f-6, K3M+. Where there is no line number in Keynes, I have just used plate and page numbers. In the chapters on The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and The Book of Urizen. it was unnecessary to continually repeat the abbreviated form of the poem, so I have used only plate, line and page number. Abbreviations B. A. The Book of Ahania B.L. The Book of Los B.U. The Book of Urizen E. Europe F. Z. The Four Zoas G. P. For the Sexes : The Gates of Paradise J. Jerusalem M. Milton M.H.H. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell N.N.R. There is no Natural Religion S.B.D. Legends in a Small Book of Designs S.I. Songs of Innocence T. Tiriel V.D.A. Visions of the Daughters of Albion V.L.J. A Vision of The Last Judgment Blake's marginal annotations are abbreviated to Ann., followed by the name of the author. References to letters and notebook entries are to the page number in Keynes. Quotations from Boehme are taken from the following editions: i) The Works of Jacob Behmen. edited by George Ward and Thomas Langcake, London, 176^-81. In four volumes. Known as the 'Law edition'. The contents of each volume, with the abbreviations I have used, are as follows: Volume 1: The Aurora Aur„ The Three Principles of the Divine Essence T.P. The Life of the Author (v) Volume 2: The Threefold Life Of Man T.F.L. The Answers to Forty Questions concerning the Soul F.Q. The Treatise of the Incarnation : In Three Parts inc. The Clavis : Or an explanation of some principal Points and Expressions in his Writings CI. Volume 3: The Mysterium Magnum : or an Explanation of the first Book of Moses. called Genesis ; In Three Parts M.M. Four Tables of Divine Revelation Volume if: Signatura Rerum; the Signature of all Things S.R. Of the Election of Grace; or. Of God's Will towards Man, commonly called Predestination E.G. The Way to Christ (Discovered in The Following Treatises 1. Of True Repentance W.C.1 (Of Rep.) Of True Resignation W.C.2 (Of Res.) Of Kegeneration W.C.3 (Of Reg.) Of the Supersensual Life W.CA (SSL) A Discourse between a Soul hungry and thirsty after the Fountain of Life? the Sweet Love of Jesus Christ; and a soul enlightened. Of the Four Complexions F.C. Of Christ's Testaments, Baptism? and the Supper Each volume also contains 'Figures, illustrating his Principles left by the Reverend William Law, M.A.', (The Freher diagrams). As each work is separately paginated, quotations are identified by the abbreviated title, followed by the chapter and section number, e.g. M.M. 28:36. For the Treatise of the Incarnation, reference is to part, chapter and section number, eTg. Inc. 1:^:31. (The Mysterium Magnum is also in three parts but has continuous chapters; the inclusion of part number was therefore unnecessary.) The treatise Of True Repentance has no chapter or section numbers, so reference is to page number. For Of the Supersensual Life, some editions have the translation by John Sparrow, others the Francis Lee translation. Some editions include both. The Lee translation has no section numbers, so reference is to page number. Reference to a section number indicates the Sparrow translation. (vi) I have retained the original capitalization and punctuation, but not the italicization. ii) Six Theosophic Points and Other Writings. Translated by John Rolleston Earle, with an introductory essay by Nicholas Berdyaev, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, 1958, Reprinted 1971. Six Theosophic Points S.T.P. Six Mystical Points S.M.P. On the Earthly and Heavenly Mystery E.K.M. On the Divine Intuition D.I. Reference is to chapter (or its equivalent), section and page number, except in Six Theosophic Points, where the reference is to point, chapter, section and page number. iii) De Electione Gratiae and Questiones Theosophicae. Translated by John Rolleston Earle, Constable, London, 1930. Questiones Theopsophicae T.Q. Reference is to question and section number. In the footnotes, I have given full details where a work is mentioned for the first time. Subsequent references are abbreviated to author and short title. The bibliography is a list of works consulted during the preparation of this thesis. Note: I had intended to include copies of all seven of the Freher diagrams referred to in the text, but have unfortunately only been able to obtain four of them.