Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius
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- Create Date：2021-07-05 08:53:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Hermes Trismegistus
- ISBN：0521425433
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Summary
The Hermetica are a body of mystical texts written in late antiquity， but believed during the Renaissance （when they became well known） to be much older。 Their supposed author， a mythical figure named Hermes Trismegistus， was thought to be a contemporary of Moses。 The Hermetic philosophy was regarded as an ancient theology， parallel to the revealed wisdom of the Bible， supporting Biblical revelation and culminating in the Platonic philosophical tradition。 This new translation is the only English version based on reliable texts， and Professor Copenhaver's introduction and notes make this accessible and up-to-date edition an indispensable resource to scholars。
Reviews
Konrad
，
An interesting collection of Hermetic thought/belief。 The collection gives an interesting insight into Hermetic cosmology， the syncretism of Greek and Egyptian mysticism， gnosticism and other spiritual themes。
David Bou
，
I love this book， did not grasp it fully from my first read but nevertheless grasped some very nice concepts。。 Very clear translation that made it easier to read this。
Yasemin Bozbey
，
Metnin akademik sayılmayacağını söylemek， girizgâhta temellendirilmesi güç iddialar ortaya atmayı meşru kılmıyor。 Yine de Türkçe literatüre kazandırıldığı için şükrana layık bir metin。
Rene Lytle
，
I don’t have much experience with religious texts so this was a lot to take in but the context and the translators notes about each chapter illuminate a lot in the way of Gnosticism。 Also didn’t seem right to rate it since I’m not sure I grasped even a fraction of the writing itself。
Allen McLean
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The texts that have been sourced to Hermes Trismegistus in "The Corpus Hermetica" （translation by Brian P。 Copenhaver） act as the foundation of a dualistic philosophical imagination/fiction。 The book's introduction is an odyssey by itself with its detailing of how the texts have passed through Eurasia， which traces back through pre-Christ prophets， Queens and Emperors。 The main section is composed of over a dozen discourses on the topics of cosmology and visualization that is spoken between a nu The texts that have been sourced to Hermes Trismegistus in "The Corpus Hermetica" （translation by Brian P。 Copenhaver） act as the foundation of a dualistic philosophical imagination/fiction。 The book's introduction is an odyssey by itself with its detailing of how the texts have passed through Eurasia， which traces back through pre-Christ prophets， Queens and Emperors。 The main section is composed of over a dozen discourses on the topics of cosmology and visualization that is spoken between a number of beings， from the cosmic Mind to Hermes， and Hermes to his sons， pupils and Pharaohs。 The purpose appears to be the same among them all， for the enlightened speaker to raise their listeners into the described divinity with them。This book focuses on the working philosophies of holy prophets and beings， but discludes much of what is considered "Hermetic" due to their fragmented and untranslated natures， and to their focus on more esoteric methods and rituals of which the better known parts of the Corpus was derived from。Philosophical/ visualizations， one/ duality forms。https://haikuprajna。blogspot。com/2021。。。 。。。more
Rachel Stewart
，
This book was dope
Shannon
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Magical， magical。 Will read again and again。
Mark
，
Rare is the mind that can meet the Hermetica in the middle。 The profundity enclosed in each sentence comes from understanding that is as far beyond the Modernity as it is coded to confusion。 For me， it is painfully difficult to unpack， but thus is the present state of the patriarchy。One should spend months on this collection and still not plumb its depths。 From the source texts， Brian P Copenhaver has recreated an exact rendition。 It's an astounding work of translation。 The confusion of the Herm Rare is the mind that can meet the Hermetica in the middle。 The profundity enclosed in each sentence comes from understanding that is as far beyond the Modernity as it is coded to confusion。 For me， it is painfully difficult to unpack， but thus is the present state of the patriarchy。One should spend months on this collection and still not plumb its depths。 From the source texts， Brian P Copenhaver has recreated an exact rendition。 It's an astounding work of translation。 The confusion of the Hermetica is placed further back than our oldest copies。 The text itself says it is encoded。 Hardly can I picture an encoded text being passed on without alteration。 And then to be translated across languages。 The Hermetica is truly cryptic。 Truly， it is a deep sea。 。。。more
Christopher Redfern
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Difficult to read and rate if you are not a philologist or religious scholar。 A whole lot of distant and forbidding statements which need illumination from other historical sources to be understood
J Brandon Gibson
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This is my favorite version of this collection of texts。 2nd favorite is the one by Walter Scott， and I also enjoyed the one by G。R。S。 Mead。Copenhaver really puts a brilliant translational spin on this collection， and I enjoyed his thorough commentaries on each text。 And yes。。。 I know "translational" isn't a word。 This is my favorite version of this collection of texts。 2nd favorite is the one by Walter Scott， and I also enjoyed the one by G。R。S。 Mead。Copenhaver really puts a brilliant translational spin on this collection， and I enjoyed his thorough commentaries on each text。 And yes。。。 I know "translational" isn't a word。 。。。more
Brian Cham
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Corpus Hermeticum: It's hard to comment on this book because so much is written poetically and so much of it seems inconsistent。 Even the clarification within the text just leads to more conflict and contradiction。 In general， I like the ideas about personal transcendence beyond the limitations of the material world and our senses。 This brings it in line with other esoteric and mystical texts。 I also have to give it credit for its historical influence on spirituality and chemistry （of all things Corpus Hermeticum: It's hard to comment on this book because so much is written poetically and so much of it seems inconsistent。 Even the clarification within the text just leads to more conflict and contradiction。 In general， I like the ideas about personal transcendence beyond the limitations of the material world and our senses。 This brings it in line with other esoteric and mystical texts。 I also have to give it credit for its historical influence on spirituality and chemistry （of all things）。 However， this is let down by sheer incoherence。 I found that the best English translation is the one by Salaman， et al。 （avoid the Mead translation at all costs！） but even that was densely inscrutable at times。Asclepius: This text is a bit better than the main Corpus Hermeticum because it's far more coherent。 It explores a simple pantheistic view of the cosmos and our souls as spiritually linked to it。 It's generic enough to apply to readers of all cultures and time periods because it doesn't have the classical baggage of the other Hermetic texts。 。。。more
ShionS3
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Este fue un audiolibro， pero no he encontrado la versión en audiolibro。La verdad es que había oído hablar mucho de este libro y tenía ganas de leerlo， pero a la vez me tiraba para atrás porque esta clase de libros escritos hace tanto tiempo， con una perspectiva cultural y temporal diferentes son muy densos y no son del todo comprehensibles。En el mismo contenido del libro lo dice: que ese texto se acabaría traduciendo， pero que perdería la mayor parte del significado en el proceso。 Esto no se deb Este fue un audiolibro， pero no he encontrado la versión en audiolibro。La verdad es que había oído hablar mucho de este libro y tenía ganas de leerlo， pero a la vez me tiraba para atrás porque esta clase de libros escritos hace tanto tiempo， con una perspectiva cultural y temporal diferentes son muy densos y no son del todo comprehensibles。En el mismo contenido del libro lo dice: que ese texto se acabaría traduciendo， pero que perdería la mayor parte del significado en el proceso。 Esto no se debe sólo al cambio de contextos entre la fecha y situación en que fue escrito y la actualidad， sino que la mayor parte de la gente suele interpretar todo de un modo muy literal， o， deformando según interpretación personal， cosa absolutamente normal。Igual， es una descripción de la vida。 De lo que es la vida， lo existente， de que contiene todo， lo ocurrido y lo no ocurrido， lo que existe y aún no existe。 Es una forma para describir conceptos cuánticos con un tinte excesivamente religioso， llamando Dios a la vida。Había dos descripciones， una hacia su propio hijo， neófito。 Con una descripción mucho más alegórica， y otra a alguien ya iniciado， con ejemplos mucho más concretos y entendibles a día de hoy， yo creo。Lo que no me termina de gustar， a parte del misticismo religioso que le da a todo el tema， es que al final le lame un poco el trasero al rey de turno （llamemósle faraón， para entendernos）， supongo porque se decía que eran descendientes de dios。 Pero， vamos， que esa parte no me ha parecido muy normal xD 。。。more
Ben
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Very informative， although it is a tough read， certainly esoteric， and very dense。
Pedro Henrique
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Um antiga visão sobre Deus， Matéria， Psique e Nous， traduzida de forma brilhante。 Interessante visão egípcia de mundo。
нєνєℓ ¢ανα
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One of the best from Ancient World。。。
Kristina Spralja
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The text is obviously beyond reviews。 The more I read into it， the sadder I became knowing that such incredible book was about to end。 I asked myself 'What else will I be reading from now on？ There are hardly any more books of this type left that I'm able to obtain。 What am I going to do for knowledge after this？ Keep rereading。。。 The text is obviously beyond reviews。 The more I read into it， the sadder I became knowing that such incredible book was about to end。 I asked myself 'What else will I be reading from now on？ There are hardly any more books of this type left that I'm able to obtain。 What am I going to do for knowledge after this？ Keep rereading。。。 。。。more
Andrew Fairweather
，
There are two reasons I’ve been meaning to read this book—the first is the incredible influence that ‘Corpus Hermeticum’ has had on European thought。 The second reason is that Hegel is said to have been influenced by CH， which is enough for me to give it the time of day。 Well， I think the connection is there， but…。What’s immediately obvious is that CH has an extreme mistrust of the corporeal。 The visible world is treacherous。 A series of analogies reveal themselves the further we get into ‘Corpu There are two reasons I’ve been meaning to read this book—the first is the incredible influence that ‘Corpus Hermeticum’ has had on European thought。 The second reason is that Hegel is said to have been influenced by CH， which is enough for me to give it the time of day。 Well， I think the connection is there， but…。What’s immediately obvious is that CH has an extreme mistrust of the corporeal。 The visible world is treacherous。 A series of analogies reveal themselves the further we get into ‘Corpus Hermeticum’， such as Invisible : visible， rest : motion， mind : body。 The prior term is the divine， naturally。 Here’s another set， just for kicks: matter > air > soul > god。 These divine are extremely ridge and impermeable。 CH explicitly states that while mortals may， through cultivation of mind （and neglect of the body）， ascend， the higher realms do not descend to the lower realms。But how did all this come about？ God obviously， at the very top。 This god is the cause of all， including mind and spirit。 He is the creator not just of humankind but of gods themselves。 It’ll help us to once again elucidate our point through a hierarchical chain。 At the top is god the father， who is the eternal unchanging reality of all entities。 God then created the cosmos， the son， and its attendant deities。 The Cosmos is changing， but cyclical， in accordance to the unchanging realities of the eternal to which it was begotten。 The cosmos is god as manifest， materially， though not god itself。 Because the cosmos is god as manifest， nothing in the cosmos can be evil。 Finally， there is the mortal realm， us lesser gods， the grandchildren， to whom the word always seems to be in flux and evil is present。 Movement， however， is an illusion。 The grasping of Mind is the way in which mortals may gain purchase on the truth of the unceasing nature of reality eternal。Mind is another way of saying a connection with god， who is also at rest （again， see above）。 Bodies， contrary to mind， are in movement constantly。 Yet， for the CH， movement is an illusion， thus the business of the body and its affairs are an illusion o what is real—eternity at rest。Some interesting admissions come from the passages where it is stated that it is folly to think that mortals can shun evil。 In fact， the mortal realm is plagued by demons， but not all of these demons are harmful。 Some are like Socrates’ “daemon” who may be a guiding spirit， though a guiding spirit who does good is not typical。。。 while reason is what is common to humankind， and unique in addition， it is not the essence of humankind。 This is where I begin to see vague connections with the Hegelian project。 For Hegel， reason does not necessarily hold a special position。 *All* have reason， but few have mind， and I think Hegel would make a similar point。 Though reason is a guide， it can often lead us astray—mind is what matters in the end， whose judgement may confirm the harmonies of the discoveries of reason。 The divine realm of mind can only be revealed through lessening the influence of the body。Another interesting facet that reminded me of the Hegelian movement of spirit was the fact that ‘Corpus Hermeticum’ admits no exit from being—everything which has been always was， changed but not dissolved。 An especially Hegelian point in regard to change and the divine is that god is infinity beyond magnitude （much like Hegel’s distinction of good and bad infinite）。 I’m afraid the immediate similarities to Hegel end there， however。 There is a brief passage in CH XI where it is mentioned that “just as a human cannot live apart from life， neither can god exist without making the good。 For in god this making is life and movement， as it were， moving all things and making them live。” I wish I could make more of this passage， but on the whole， Hermetica is a very top heavy hierarchy wherein the is very little for mortals to realize。 It just seems as if some mortals have access to mind and some don’t… but to speak of a social project stemming form Hermetica would be absurd， it seems to me。I guess this is what I was hoping to find—more of a porous relationship between these hierarchies。 For Hegel， “what goes up must come down。” Success is failure， failure success。 In the ‘Hermetica’ we may see interesting parallels to Hegel every now and then， but we do not find even an especially convincing account of Hegel the tragic philosopher， which is， I think， essential to understanding his work。 For Hegel， god *needs* recognition to properly exist。 For Hegel， god does not simply bring forth a cosmos of eternal recurrence which brings forth mortals， for Hegel god *becomes* mortal and doubts his own existence on the cross。 Human beings become immortals， sometimes heroes， sometimes monsters， sometimes both depending on who （or when） you ask。 Hegel’s philosophy is one which allows for the body and the mind to have a role in the movement of spirit， and as such， is a philosophy which calls upon us to realize our destiny rather than live under the shadow of eternity。 There are many question marks in Hegel， and I’ve it—be wary of texts which provide all the answers。 Hegel provides all the *questions*—this is why he is the most important philosopher to read in the 21st century。I apologize that this review has become a love letter to Hegel， but anyway， this was an interesting book to read。 I’m hoping it ripens in my mind to become something more than just a curiosity。 But for now， I can’t help but come to the conclusion that while this text may be interesting for the tracer of intellectual currents， for true philosophical merit I might suggest just going to the source and reading Plato。 。。。more
Hadley Riodal
，
I heard about this ancient book while listening to an old recording of a lecture by Neville Goddard， who referenced it。 There was a quote about how the gift of "reasoned speech" and though gives human beings eternal life。 I heard about this ancient book while listening to an old recording of a lecture by Neville Goddard， who referenced it。 There was a quote about how the gift of "reasoned speech" and though gives human beings eternal life。 。。。more
Ryan Freeman
，
Of literary value？Yes。Important obscure mysticism？Yes yes。Dry as all get out？Ugh。 Yes。
Les75
，
Ottima edizione con un esaustivo impianto critico。 L'edizione è impreziosita dal testo a fronte greco e latino e la traduzione è molto accurata e fedele。 Il "Corpus Hermeticum" è una lettura fondamentale per l'esoterista， è il compendio della dottrina ermetica， è il verbo del tre volte grande Ermete （Trismegisto）， che spiega ai suoi adepti i segreti dell'antica sapienza iniziatica。 Ottima edizione con un esaustivo impianto critico。 L'edizione è impreziosita dal testo a fronte greco e latino e la traduzione è molto accurata e fedele。 Il "Corpus Hermeticum" è una lettura fondamentale per l'esoterista， è il compendio della dottrina ermetica， è il verbo del tre volte grande Ermete （Trismegisto）， che spiega ai suoi adepti i segreti dell'antica sapienza iniziatica。 。。。more
Conor Fogarty
，
A unique spiritual vision which transitions into a pre-scientific treatise。 This book is more remarkable for， as Copenhaver suggests， despite the complex dialogues and illustrative imagery， not only is this text not a product of modern pseudo-scientific literature， but is in fact an ancient text which inspired the progenitors of modern science and humanism。
Lesley-anne Brewster
，
So much to think about; so many pathways to follow。。。。。。。。。。
Carlos Rendon
，
"Hold your tongue！" "Hold your tongue！" 。。。more
Berfin Kanat
，
Çevirene， basana， dilimize kazandırana bin teşekkür。 Tek seferde bütünüyle kavranacak bir metin değil （bkz。 kavrayamadı :D） bu sebeple mutlaka tekrar okuyacağım。
Abdullah
，
As within， so without。 As above， so below。The quote is one of the seven principles of Hermes Trismegistus， author of Hermetic Corpus As Within – What we think within ourselves So Without – Will be expressed or reflected on the world we live in。 As above – As in Heaven – （Your own mind） So below – So on Earth – （In your body and environment） If we think good， good will follow; if we think evil， evil will follow。 Whatever we think or accept will be the circumstances of our life。
Aveugle Vogel
，
"in the shapes of the stars and all their constellations" "in the shapes of the stars and all their constellations" 。。。more
Eric Willeforde
，
Very comprehensive notes accompany superb translations of these very important texts。
Marius
，
Asemenea abrambureli fascinante și creative n-am mai citit decât pe site-ul Marii Loje Naționale din România :）Bineînțeles， aceast Corpus de acum 2000 de ani nu e cu nimic inferior față de Science Magazine de azi sau față de oricare carte e popularizare a științei， cum ar fi cele scrise de Hawking。 Bunul meu mentor Montaigne a avut dreptate; sunt cu atât mai convins cu cât încerc să înțeleg mai mult。
Robert Mitchell
，
First of all， one must write two reviews: one of Brian Copenhaver's brilliant and enthralling introduction and very readable and definitive translation， and a second of the Hermetica themselves。 Both are excellent。The depth and detail of Copenhaver's citations is a book in and of itself， a resource that at once closes the doors of ambiguity and opens secret passages to new realms of exploration。As for the Hermetica， my respect is unparalleled and my amazement complete。 In this book， written in a First of all， one must write two reviews: one of Brian Copenhaver's brilliant and enthralling introduction and very readable and definitive translation， and a second of the Hermetica themselves。 Both are excellent。The depth and detail of Copenhaver's citations is a book in and of itself， a resource that at once closes the doors of ambiguity and opens secret passages to new realms of exploration。As for the Hermetica， my respect is unparalleled and my amazement complete。 In this book， written in antiquity， there is talk of evolution， heliocentricity， and prophesy of a future time when humanity will cease its worship of God。The authors of the Hermetica were among the most brilliant and insightful philosophers of old， and Copenhaver has clearly and succinctly delivered their ideas into the hands of modern readers。 This book will never be shelved。 It will be sitting on the corner of my desk until God pulls the shade and turns out my office light。 。。。more
Michael Bibow-Finucane
，