Thrice-Greatest Hermes, Vol. I — G. R. S. Mead (1906)

For the last six years I have myself been publishing, in the pages of The Theosophical Review, translations of the Trisiuegistic Sermons and also a few of the studies now included in these Prolegomena ; all of the former, however, have been now carefully revised, and the latter have for the most part been greatly enlarged and improved.

Finally, in 1904, E. Eeitzenstein of Strassburg published at Leipzig his illuminating study, Poimandres, in which he gives the critical text of 0. JS., i., xiii. (xiv.), (xvi.)-(xviii.), based on five MSS. and the best early printed editions, with all that minute care, knowledge of palaeography, and enthusiasm for philology which characterises the best textual-critical work of modern scholarship. Why, however, Eeitzenstein has not done the same good service for the whole of the Corpus as he has done for the selected sermons, is a mystery. He is the very man for the task, and the service he could render would be highly appreciated by many.

So much, then, for the existing partial texts and translations of the extant Trismegistic literature. Of the translations with which I am acquainted,1 Everard's (1650), the favourite in England, because of its dignified English, is full of errors, mistranslations, and obscurities ; it is hopeless to try to understand " Hermes " from this version. Chambers's translation (1882, from the text of Par they) is so slavishly literal that it ceases to be English in many places, in others goes wide of the sense, and, in general, is exasperating. Menard's French translation (1866, also from Parthey's text) is elegant and sympathetic, but very free in many places ; in fact, not infrequently quite emancipated from the text. The most literally accurate translation is Parthey's Latin version (based on the Latin translation of Ficino, as emended by Candalle and Patrizzi) ; but even in such literal rendering he is at fault at times, while in general no one can fully understand the Latin without the Greek. To translate " Hermes " requires not only a good knowledge of Greek, but also a knowledge of that Gnosis which he has not infrequently so admirably handed on to us.

1 As already remarked, I have not been able to see a copy of the German of Tiedemann.

II

THE HISTORY OF THE EVOLUTION OF
OPINION

THE CHIEF POINTS OF INTERROGATION

WE have now to consider the following interesting points :

The early Church Fathers in general accepted the Trismegistic writings as exceedingly ancient and authoritative, and in their apologetic writings quote them in support of the main general positions of Christianity.

In the revival of learning, for upwards of a century and a half, all the Humanists welcomed them with open arms as a most valuable adjunct to Christianity, and as being in accord with its doctrines ; so much so that they laboured to substitute Trismegistus for Aristotle in the schools.

During the last two centuries and a half, however, a body of opinion was gradually evolved, infinitesimal in its beginnings but finally well-nigh shutting out every other view, that these writings were Neoplatonic forgeries and plagiarisms of Christianity.

Finally, with the dawn of the twentieth century, the subject has been rescued from the hands of opinion, and has begun to be established on the firm ground of historical and critical research, opening up problems of the greatest interest and importance for the history of Christian origins and their connection with Hellen-

VOL. I. 17 2

istic theology and theosophy, and throwing a brilliant light on the development of Gnosticism.