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

Christianity is the Faith of the Western World — the Faith most suited to it in nature and in form. He who gave that Faith, gave in fullest abundance through many sources ; and the greatest sign of His authority, of His authentia, was the throwing open of some part of the age-long secret mystery-teaching to the many without distinction of age, sex, class, caste, colour, or nation, or of instruction. The inner doors of the Temple were thrown wide open to the Amme-ha-aretz ; but the innermost door still remained closed, for it is a door that is not man-made — it opens into the within of things, and not into some inner court of formal instruction. That door still remained naturally closed to the unworthy and unknowing ; but no Scribe or Pharisee of the established order of things could any longer keep the key thereof in his selfish hands. The key was given to all, but given still mystically, for it is hidden in the inner nature of each son of man, and if he seek not in himself, searching into the depths of his own nature, he will never find it. That key is the opener of the Gate of the Gnosis, the complement and syzygy and spouse of Faith ; the virile husband of the womanside of the Christ-Eeligion.

In the early days that Gnosis was given in greatest fullness ; Faith there was, Faith in mighty abundance, but there was also Gnosis ; and it was because of this Gnosis of not a few that the Faith of the many was so intense. But over these mysterious days, and the inner in-working of the Mystery, a veil has been drawn to hide the holy operations from profane eyes VOL. m. 21

So that to-day, these many centuries after, the foolish of the Faith deny there was ever a Gnosis; just as their still more foolish predecessors persecuted the Gnostics of Christ and howled them down as Anti-christs and First-born Sons of Satan. The natural veil was thus drawn over the too bright light of the Sacred Marriage when Heaven had kissed the Earth once more. So great, then, is my faith in the authentic^ of the Master, so great my assurance of the wisdom of His Gnosis. If this be thought "calumny" of His transcendency, then we are judged "calumniators" with Hermes, a Knower of the Mystery, and so complimented immeasurably beyond our deserts.

CONCERNING DATES

And now let us turn to the Eeligion of the Mind,
which is also the Religion of the Heart — for is not
Thoth Lord of the heart of man ?

In the first place we have endeavoured faithfully to investigate every statement or suggestion that can be thought to be indicative of date, and we have not succeeded in any single instance in fixing a precise date for any sermon or fragment. What, however, we have been able to do, is to clear the ground of many false opinions, and to show the insecurity, if not the absurdity, of any attempt at precision. Every hypothesis of precision of date, when that hypothesis has favoured a late date for any sermon, has broken down. Whenever there has been a clearer indication, as, for instance, in the case of the Shepherd of Hernias, and the Pcemandres of Hermes, it has thrown the time-period backwards and not forwards.

What has been proved, and amply proved, however, is that our literature goes back in an unbroken tradition of type and form and content to the earliest Ptolemaic times. The earliest forms of this literature are lost, but clear records of its nature remain. Of the extant literature there are specimens of varying date, though how they should be ordered is by no means clear ; what, however, is clear is that some of our documents are at least contemporaneous with the earliest writings of Christianity.