The Corpus Hermeticum: Initiation Into Hermetics, The Hermetica Of Hermes Trismegistus

by G.R.S. Mead

The fifteen tractates of the Corpus Hermeticum, along with the Perfect Sermon or Asclepius, are the foundation documents of the Hermetic tradition. Written by unknown authors in Egypt sometime before the end of the third century C.E., they were part of a once substantial literature attributed to the mythic figure of Hermes Trismegistus, a Hellenistic fusion of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth.
The treatises we now call the Corpus Hermeticum were collected into a single volume in Byzantine times, and a copy of this volume survived to come into the hands of Lorenzo de Medici's agents in the fifteenth century.
The treatises divide up into several groups. The first (CH I), the "Poemandres", is the account of a revelation given to Hermes Trismegistus by the being Poemandres or "Man-Shepherd", an expression of the universal Mind. The next eight (CH II-IX), the "General Sermons", are short dialogues or lectures discussing various basic points of Hermetic philosophy. There follows the "Key" (CH X), a summary of the General Sermons, and after this a set of four tractates - "Mind unto Hermes", "About the Common Mind", "The Secret Sermon on the Mountain", and the "Letter of Hermes to Asclepius" (CH XI-XIV) - touching on the more mystical aspects of Hermeticism. The collection is rounded off by the "Definitions of Asclepius unto King Ammon" (CH XV), which may be composed of three fragments of longer works.

136 pages, Paperback

Published December 22, 2020

About the author

George Robert Stowe Mead, who always published under the initialism G.R.S. Mead, was a historian, writer, editor, translator, and an influential member of the Theosophical Society, as well as founder of the Quest Society. His scholarly works dealt mainly with the Hermetic and Gnostic religions of Late Antiquity, and were exhaustive for the time period.

Reviews

[Whitrose Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brimming with seeds of the Divine, The Corpus Hermeticum when viewed through a Catholic lens is a forerunner providentially compiled from true Wisdom that would go on to inform not merely the Church Fathers, but also the Desert Fathers, and the monastic tradition in both East and West. For those familiar with Christian philosophy this is a must read that will enkindle the mind with renewed interest in the pre-Christian pagan wisdom traditions.

[Joel Birnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Repetitive is not a satisfactory description.
Original Greek text excruciatingly translated into ‘ye olde English’ that is barely comprehensible.
Page after page of the same proto-Christian diatribe repeated over and over in as many ways it can.
A massive disappointment.

[Harry Palacio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hermes expounds truth of cosmos and god mind and soul

[The Vampire Javinus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult to get through, but it was fun to read.