Thrice-Greatest Hermes, Vol. II (the Corpus Hermeticum) — G. R. S. Mead (1906)
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8., But not only does Hermes set forth a formal exposition of this Eepentance in terms of the conquest and driving out of the Horde of Vices by the Company of Virtues, but at the same time he performs an efficacious theurgic rite of invocation whereby he enables Tat to realize the instruction in immediate experience.
The Virtues that Hermes invokes are not abstractions, but definite substantial powers ; they are, in fact, the " filling up " of Tat's " insufficiency " ; in other words, they are what the Christian Gnostics would have called the ^Eons of the Pleroma.
Behind all there is a definite scheme of numbering.
There is a Twelve and a Ten and a Seven and a Three
and a One.
The Torments of the Darkness are the Twelve ; they are not torments in themselves, but only for him who is in Error. They are Twelve yet are they one, for though they are " pantomorph " or " omniform," yet are they of one nature; the Twelve are thus conditioned by the main irrational "types of life," or animal natures, — the so-called zodiac.
These divisions are not, however, fundamental, they are solely for man's delusion or error ; in action they are one — that is, they keep man in Error or Ignorance. Thus they can be regarded as one, or two, or three, or four, or six ; and so combined and recombined.
Twelve, then, is the nature of the " animal soul " in man — the number of his going-forth into externality. This out-going is arrested when man repents, and turns himself to return, to go within; the cosmogonical is transformed by the soteriological ; the "enformation according to substance " gives place to the " enformation according to gnosis." As Ignorance characterized the Twelve, so does Gnosis characterize the Ten, the Perfect Number or Number of Perfection.
The Going-forth was that of the multiplication of species — Twelve (3x4 or 2x6); the Eeturn is Ten, that is the Seven and the Three ; and Seven is addition (3 + 4) and not multiplication.
Multiplication seems here to mean the generation, by two parents, of things of the same kind and power; while addition signifies the intensification of the same nature to a higher power.
The Ten is " that which giveth birth to souls " — that is, human souls ; and not only human souls, but, in its consummation, to divine souls.
It may, perhaps, be of interest here to set down simple lists of the vices and virtues as given in our treatise, and to append to them the list of vices in C. H., i. 24 and 26.
1. Not-knowing. 1. Gnosis.
2. Grief. 2. Joy.
3. Intemperance. 3. Self-control.
4. Concupiscence. 4. Continence.
5. Unrighteousness. 5. Eighteousness.
6. Avarice. 6. Sharing-with-all.
7. Error. 7. Truth.
8. Envy.
9. Guile. 8. The Good.
10. Anger. 9. Life.
11. Eashness. 10. Light.
12. Malice.
1. Growth and Waning. First Zone.
2. Device of Evils. Second Zone.
3. Guile of the Desires. Third Zone.
4. Arrogance. Fourth Zone.
5. Daring and Rashness. Fifth Zone.
6. Getting Wealth. Sixth Zone.
7. Falsehood. Seventh Zone.
8. Those-that-are. Eighth.
- 9. The Powers in a band. Ninth.
- 10. The Father. Tenth.
It is at once seen that the first seven virtues are arranged so as to be the direct antitheses of the first seven vices. The root of the Twelve is Ignorance ; indeed, all the Twelve are permutations of Ignorance. They seem to be twelve, whereas they are but one in nature ; again, not only are they twelve, but manifold
(§ 12).
Thus, for instance, Eashness and Wrath or Anger are but one, and so of the rest ; the permutations are infinite. This may be seen from the septenary classification in " The Shepherd " treatise, where we have : Guile of the Desires (3), a combination of Guile (9) and Desire or Concupiscence (4) ; Device of Evils (2), a combination of Guile (9) and Malice (12) ; Unholy Daring and Eashness (5), a combination of Unrighteousness (5) and Eashness (11) ; Getting Wealth by evil means (6), a combination of Guile (9) and Avarice (6). So also just as Anger (10) and Eashness (11) are one, so are Envy (8) and Avarice (6) but aspects of the same thing ; and so again Intemperance (3) and Concupiscence or Desire (4), Grief (2) and Ignorance (1), etc.