Jakob böhme quotes
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Thy life is in God, from whence it came into the body, and as thou comest to have thine own power faint and weak and dying, the power of God will then work in thee and through thee.”
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Source: GutenbergJakob Böhme, Dialogues on the Supersensual Life
“Know then, my son, that when the Ground of the Will yieldeth itself up to God, then it sinketh out of its own Self, and out of and beyond all ground and place, that is or can be imagined, into a certain unknown Deep, where God only is manifest, and where he only worketh and willeth.He combined the mind of a craftsman with the spirit of a mystic.
His “talent” was less scholarly learning than his capacity for symbolic vision, his ability to weave together theology, nature, and personal revelation into a grand cosmic narrative.
Famous Quotes of Jakob Böhme
“For in Yes and No all things consist.”
“You are in God and God is in you.
— Jakob Bohme
The soul shall mightily rule in all hidden secrets: but it must not let in the devil. But its substance which it [Pg 41] loves, namely the poor soul, being in trouble and pain, it hath thence cause to love this its own substance and to deliver it from pain, that so itself may by it be again beloved.
Its power is through All Things; its height is as high as God; its greatness is as great as God. Its virtue is the principle of all principles; its power supports the Heavens and upholds the Earth; its height is higher than the highest Heavens, and its greatness is even greater than the very Manifestation of the Godhead in the glorious light of the Divine Essence, as being infinitely capable of greater and greater manifestations in all Eternity.”
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Source: GutenbergJakob Böhme, Dialogues on the Supersensual Life
“There can be no selfishness in love; they are opposite to each other.— Jakob Bohme
All that men will serve God with must be done in Faith, viz. Though poorly educated in the academic sense, his writings reveal a profound originality and daring imagination. — Jakob Bohme
Just as a drop of water in the ocean cannot avail much; but if a great river runneth into it, that maketh a great commotion.
Known as the “Teutonic Theosopher,” he sought to explain the nature of God, creation, good and evil, and the human soul through symbolic and mystical insights. For sorrow is a thing that is swallowed up in death, and death and dying are the very life of the darkness. — Jakob Bohme
The will leadeth us to God, or to the devil; it availeth not whether thou hast the name of a Christian; salvation doth not consist therein.
He died on November 17, 1624, in Görlitz, at the age of 49.
Historical Milestones & Context
Reformation Era: Living in post-Reformation Germany, Böhme was influenced by Lutheran thought but diverged into his own mystical path.
Conflict with Clergy: His writings challenged rigid orthodoxy, making him a controversial figure.
Spread of His Works: Though censored locally, his manuscripts spread across Europe, influencing early modern philosophy, German Romanticism, and mystical literature.
Influence on Later Thinkers: Figures such as Hegel, Schelling, Schopenhauer, William Blake, and Russian mystics like Vladimir Solovyov found inspiration in Böhme.
Legacy and Influence
Böhme’s reputation grew significantly after his death.
It is the work of visible religion to teach by signs and parables, embodying the mystery in symbols, and clothing it with adoration.”
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Source: GutenbergJakob Böhme, The Signature of All Things — Chapter XI(1650s)
“The Sunshine is neither hot nor cold; only Mercury in the Spirit of the great World makes in Mars and Saturn's Property a Heat therein; for the Sun enkindles their Desire, upon which they grow so very hungry, eager, desirous, and operative, that even a Fire is found to be in the Light, which Heat is not of the Light's own Property, but of the Soul of the great World, which does so sharpen the pleasant Light in its Splendor, that it is unsufferable to the Eye.”
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Source: WikisourceJakob Böhme, Dialogues on the Supersensual Life
“Body of Christ, whence they have all the same heavenly goods in common and all live in one and the same Love of God, as the branches of a tree in one and the same root, and spring all from one and the same source of life in them.It was a complex, symbolic exploration of God, creation, and the struggle between light and darkness.
Local clergy, particularly Pastor Gregor Richter of Görlitz, accused him of heresy and forced him to stop writing. Neither could any one know what Love is, if there were no Hatred; or what friendship is, if there were no foe to contend with. And it is impossible that these [Pg 40] two should stand together, or subsist in one person; the one driving out the other by a necessity of nature.
Yea, it is in a certain sense greater than God; while yet, in the highest sense of all, God is Love, and Love is God. Love being the highest principle is the virtue of all virtues; from whence they flow forth. He seeketh but one way, which [Pg 2] is the desire always to do and teach that which is right; and he putteth all his knowing and willing into the Life of Christ.
It appeareth only through the Manifestation of God”
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Source: GutenbergJakob Böhme, The Signature of All Things — Chapter IX(1650s)
“For if my Will is a Nothing, then he is in me what he pleases, and then I know not myself any more, but him; and if he will that I shall be something, then let him effect it; but if he wills it not, then I am dead in him, and he lives in me as he pleases, and so then if I be a Nothing, then I am at the End, in the Essence out of which my Father Adam was created; for out of Nothing God has created all Things.”
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Source: WikisourceJakob Böhme, Dialogues on the Supersensual Life
“All is confusion if thou hast no more than the dim Light of Nature, or unsanctified and unregenerated Reason to guide thee by, and if only the Eye of Time be opened in thee, which cannot pierce beyond its own limit.— Jakob Bohme
It is not to be thought that the life of darkness is sunk in misery and lost as if in sorrowing. Love is greater than the Greatest.
So, in the outer world, the seed buried in earth contains a power kindred to the virtue of the sun.