Leseprobe

1685 the critic Erasmus Francisci complained that Jacob Böhme’s writings “for some time now have been coming out of Holland like toads crawling from a bog.” 2 As a place of religious tolerance, the Netherlands played a special role in the transmission of Böhme’s writings. Religious nonconformists who had been exiled from Germany sought refuge in the Netherlands and especially in Amsterdam, which soon developed into a center for the publication of Böhme’s works. These were then sold in Germany through underground networks and in England in translation. Soon English adherents of Böhme’s thought were writing their own tracts, which they in turn translated into German and Dutch and sold on the continent. A triangle of exchange and influence developed between Amsterdam, London and German centers such as Frankfurt and Magdeburg. Böhme’s ideas saturated German Pietism but also appealed to French and Scandinavian reformers. Through religious refugees influenced by Böhme, his thought reached the North American colonies and made a contribution to discussions about civil rights. In the eighteenth century, Böhme continued to influence religious and ethical debates, but from that time to the present, it has increasingly been philo­ sophers, artists and literary authors who have been inspired by his ideas. Böhme’s claims about the role of the Divine in human imagination have struck a chord with poets and painters. It was especially his ideas regarding the dynamics of good and evil in God and in nature that appealed to philosophers, and his innovative, metaphorically rich language has engaged philosophers and poets alike. His mythical imagery has been a source for psychologists but also for writers of fiction, and his writings on the human being “made in God’s image” and endowed with a conscience have kept Böhme alive in debates about human freedom and responsibility, making him more relevant than ever. Notes 1 The list of Böhme’s contacts is based largely on the research of Leigh T.I. Penman. The texts have been written by Lucinda Martin (LM), Cecilia Muratori (CM), Leigh Penman (LP) and Mike Zuber (MZ). 2  Francisci 1685: 755.