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

In 1842, Minoides Mynas, a learned Greek, sent on a literary mission by the French Government, discovered in one of the monasteries on Mount Athos the only MS. (generally ascribed to the fourteenth century) which we possess of this extremely valuable work. It was originally in ten books, but, unfortunately, the first three and the beginning of the fourth are missing from our MS. The first book, however, was already known, though previously erroneously ascribed to Origen, and was accordingly prefixed to the text of the editio princeps of our work by Emmanuel Miller (Oxford, 1851).

The missing Books II. and III. dealt respectively with the doctrines and mysteries of the Egyptians and with those of the Chaldseans. Hippolytus (Prooem.) boasts that he has divulged all their mysteries, as well as the secrets of those Christian mystics whom he stigmatises as heretics, and to whom he devotes Books V.-IX.

It is a curious fact that it is precisely those Books wherein this divulging of the Mysteries was attempted, which should be missing; not only have they disappeared, but in the Epitome at the beginning of Book X. the summary of their contents is also omitted. This seems almost to point to a deliberate removal of just

1 F. F. F., pp. 188 ff.

that information which would be of priceless value to us to-day, not only for the general history of the evolution of religious ideas, but also for filling in an important part of the background of the environment of infant Christianity.

Why, then, were these books cut out? Were the subsequent Christian Orthodox deterred by religious scruples, or were they afraid to circulate this information ? Hippolytus himself seems to have had no such hesitation ; he is ever delightedly boasting that he is giving away to the multitude the most sacred secrets of others ; it seems to have been his special metier to cry aloud on the house-tops what had been whispered in their secret chambers. It was for him a delicious triumph over " error " to boast, " I have your secret documents, and I am going to publish them ! "

Why, then, should those who came after him hesitate ? Surely they were like-minded with Hippolytus, and would have been as delighted as himself in humbling the pride of the hated Mystery-institutions in the dust ? Can it possibly be that they saw far more clearly than he did that quite other deductions might be drawn from his " startling revelations " ?

THE NAASSENES

That far other deductions could be drawn from the Mystery-rites and Mystery-myths was at anyrate the view of a tradition of early Jewish and Christian mystics whom Hippolytus calls Naassenes. The claim of these Gnostics was practically that Christianity, or rather the Good News of the Christ, was precisely the consummation of the inner doctrine of the Mysteryinstitutions of all the nations ; the end of them all was the revelation of the Mystery of Man.

It is further to be noticed that these Naassenes, " who call themselves Gnostics " (v. 2), are the very first school of Christian "heresy" with which Hippolytus deals; he puts them in the forefront of his Refutation, as being, presumably, in his opinion, the oldest, or, at anyrate, as representing the most ancient form of Christian " heresy."

Although the name Naassene (Naao-cnfi/oi) is derived from the Hebrew Nahash (Serpent), Hippolytus does not call them Ophites ; indeed, he reserves the latter name to a body to which he also gives (viii. 20) the name Cainites and Nochaitse (Noxaira/) — ? Nachaitae, again, from Nachash1 — and considers them of not sufficient importance for further mention.

These Naassenes possessed many secret books or apocrypha — that is, books kept back from general circulation — and also regarded as authoritative the following scriptures : The Gospel of Perfection, The Gospel of Eve, The Questions of Mary? Concerning the Offspring of Mary, The Gospel of Philip, The Gospel according to Thomas, and The Gospel according to the Egyptians. All of which points somewhat to an Alexandrian or Egyptian circle.

ANALYSIS OF HIPPOLYTUS' ACCOUNT OF THE
NAASSENE DOCUMENT

One of their secret MSS. had fallen into the hands of Hippolytus. It is in the Bishop of Portus' quotations

1 Both h and ch being transliteration devices for the same Hebrew letter n in the word viji.