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

It is, of course, not certain whether the Tat Sermons were divided simply into these two classes, for though we are certain in a number of instances that we are dealing with an extract from an Expository Sermon, we are often in doubt when the heading is only " From the Sermon," or " Sermons to Tat," how to classify it. We do not know how many General Sermons there may have been, or whether they were divided into Books as were the Expository Sermons and the " To Asclepius," at anyrate in the Corpus of CyriL For convenience of classification, however, we may consider, though perfectly arbitrarily, that all the sermons and fragments which cannot fall under the heading of "Expository" may be treated as " General."

The General Sermons

C. H. (IL).— " The General Sermon." l

C. H. viii (ix.).— "That No One of Existing

Things do Perish."

Ex. x, — " Concerning the Rule of Providence." 2
Ex. XL— "Of Justice."3
Ex. xx.—" The Power of Choice."
Fragg. vi and viL
C. H. x. (xi.).— "The Key."

1 The text has bodily fallen out of our Corpus with one of the quires.

2 This seems to be a complete sermon, and to be presupposed in
C. H. xii. (xiii.) ; as also Ex. xi.

3 Exx. x.-xiii. probably go here as being part of the " Sermons on Fate to Tat * ; but they are assigned otherwise by Stobaeus.

This last is stated to be the epitome or summation of " The General Sermons." It is addressed to both Asclepius and Tat, and is to be taken in connection with " The Perfect Sermon."

The Expository Sermons

Of these there were in the Corpus of Cyril three
Books — to the First of which are assigned :

Fragg. xx. (?), xxii., xxiii., xxiv.
Ex. ii. and Fragg. iii., xi., xii., xv.1

To be assigned to "The Expository Sermons" in general without any clearer indications :

Exx. iii. (?).—" Of Truth."2

Ex. iv.3

Exx. v., vi., vii., viii., ix.4

Ex. i.— "Of Piety and True Philosophy."5

From the Corpus Hermeticum we may conjecturally assign the following to this class :

C. H. iv. (v.).— "The Cup."6

C. H. v. (vi.).— "Though Manifest."

C. H. vii. (viii.).—" About the Common Mind." 7

1 These all seem to go together from the same Sermon or Book, which in the case of Frag. xv. is definitely assigned by Cyril to the "First of the Expository Sermons." The beginning of the Sermon is given in Lact. xxiv., and a reference in Lact. xiii.

2 Seems to be a complete tractate.

3 By comparison with Ex. vii.

4 Ex. ix. is characterised as " the most authoritative and chiefest of them all," and therefore came, presumably, at the end of one of the Books of these Sermons.

6 A complete tractate, containing heads or summaries of previous sermons, and probably one towards the end of this collection.

6 The esoteric counterpart of which is C. H. xi. (xii.).

7 These three sermons are too advanced to be classed among

Finally, the whole course of these "Expository Sermons " is consummated by what we may call " The Initiation of Tat":

C. H. xiii. (xiv.). — " The Secret Sermon on the
Mountain."

We next pass on to what Cyril calls the "To
Asclepius," of which, as of " The Expository Sermons,
there were in his Corpus at least Three Books.

To ASCLEPIUS

In our Corpus Hermeticum the following are assigned to Asclepius :

C. H. ii. (in.). — " An Introduction to the Gnosis of the Nature of All Things."

• C. H. vi. (vii.).— "In God Alone is Good."
• C. H. ix. (x.).— " About Sense." l
• C. H. xiv. (xv.).—" A Letter to Asclepius." 2

From the "To Asclepius" in Cyril's collection we have:

Frag. xxv. (?).
And definitely from the Third " To Asclepius " :

"The General Sermons," and in the case of the last, Tat is a questioner and not a hearer as he indubitably was in the introductory instruction.

1 This is said to follow on " The Perfect Sermon," which was not included in our Corpus among the selections of the Pcemandrist apologist who redacted it.

2 This is said by the editor to be an expansion of an
instruction already given to Tat, in Asclepius' absence, and
the doctrine is very similar to that contained in C. H. xi.
(xii.)— "Mind unto Hermes." It also stood in Cyril's (viii.)
"To Asclepius."

Fragg. xvi.-xviii.