Corpus Hermeticum

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The Corpus Hermeticum is a collection of Greek treatises in the form of letters, dialogues and sermons on the creation of the world, the shape of the cosmos and human and divine wisdom. Even in antiquity, Hermes Trismegistus was considered to be the author , to whom a large number of religious, astrological and magical writings were ascribed, although it was originally a designation of gods. The Corpus Hermeticum is the most important source of the hermetic secret teachings. Direct influences on the Christian Gnosis of the 3rd and 4th centuries can be proven. The treatises include influences from the Egyptian and Orphic mysteries, Neoplatonic thoughts of reincarnation , ecstasy , purification, sacrifice, and mystical union with God.

Emergence

The Corpus Hermeticum was created between 100 and 300, the authors are likely to have been Greeks who processed popular philosophical ideas of the epoch, "a mixture of Platonism and Stoicism , combined with Jewish and possibly some Persian elements". It is controversial whether the interwoven elements of Egyptian mysteries point to the participation of Egyptian Neoplatonists , or whether it is pure fiction aimed at the enthusiasm for oriental cults typical of the time .

reception

From late antiquity to the early modern period, Hermes Trismegistus was the author of a number of philosophical, astrological, magical and alchemical writings, which were valued as evidence of ancient knowledge due to his equation with Thoth , which can at least be dated to the time of Moses.

In the Middle Ages, parts of the Corpus Hermeticum were known not only from Lactantius but also from the church fathers Augustine and Clemens of Alexandria . The full text, however, only became accessible when a monk in the service of Cosimo de 'Medici brought a Greek manuscript to Florence around 1460 . Marsilio Ficino was commissioned with the translation in 1463, it was completed the following year and first printed in 1471 as Pimander (actually the title of the first treatise). In his preface to the client Cosimo de Medici, Ficino summarized the ancient and patristic sources on Hermes and constructed a tradition of original and undivided wisdom, which had already included essential elements of Christianity and was only later obscured and split up into various disciplines. In this respect, Ficino's work with his medical, magical and theological writings was an attempt to restore the old unity:

“For this [Hermes] was ahead of all philosophers in ingenuity and erudition. As a priest he also laid the foundations for a holy life and surpassed all priests in worshiping the divine. Eventually he took over the royal dignity and obscured the glory of the greatest kings through his legislation and deeds. Hence he was rightly called three times greatest. As the first among the philosophers he turned from natural history and mathematics to the knowledge of the divine. He was the first to discuss with wisdom the glory of God, the order of demons, and the changes of the soul. Hence he is called the first theologian. He was followed by Orpheus , who takes second place in the original theology. Aglaophemus was initiated into the mysteries of Orpheus. Aglaophemus succeeded Pythagoras in theology , who in turn was followed by Philolaos , the teacher of our divine Plato . Hence there is a coherent teaching of the original theology, which grew out of these six theologians in a miraculous order, proceeding from Mercury and perfected by the divine Plato. "

- Ficino 1493, fol. a verso
Cover page of the Dutch translation of the Corpus Hermeticum by Abraham Willemsz van Beyerland, 1643

This view, as it is characteristic of the Renaissance Neoplatonism and the hermeticists of the 15th to 17th centuries, was stripped of its foundation by the Exercitationes of Isaac Casaubon in 1614. Casaubon came to the conclusion, based on critical considerations of the text, that these texts must be Hellenistic treatises that could hardly have been written before the 2nd century. According to Casaubon, style and choice of words do not allow dating to the time of Moses. His judgment was ultimately that the Corpus Hermeticum had nothing to do with Egyptian antiquity, but was a Christian forgery that was supposed to serve the Gentile mission. With regard to the dating of the origin of the individual tracts of the Corpus, Casaubon's results have proven to be essentially correct, but a considerable part of his assessments is now considered outdated. According to current research, it is clear that the authors of the ancient hermetic literature were not Christians and that ideas from the ancient Egyptian religion play an important role in the hermetic teaching material. The extent of the ancient Egyptian influence is controversial.

Text editions and translations

(in chronological descending order)

  • Maria Magdalena Miller: The treatises of the Corpus Hermeticum. Novalis Media, Schaffhausen 2004. ISBN 3-907260-29-5 (German translation of tracts I to XVII and Asklepius).
  • Folker Siegert (ed.), Karl-Gottfried Eckart (transl.): The Corpus Hermeticum including the fragments of the Stobaeus. LIT, Münster 1999, ISBN 3-8258-4199-5 (German translation).
  • Jens Holzhausen (translation and commentary), Carsten Colpe (introductions): The Corpus Hermeticum. Translation, presentation and commentary. 3 vol. (2 published) Frommann-Holzboog, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt 1997ff. (German translation of the Greek text by Arthur Darby Nock in the Budé Festugières edition).
    • Part 1: The Greek treatises and the Latin "Asclepius". Stuttgart 1997. ISBN 3-7728-1530-8 .
    • Part 2: Excerpts, Nag Hammadi texts, testimony. Stuttgart 1997. ISBN 3-7728-1531-6 .
    • Part 3: Research History and Continuous Commentary. With a contribution to Hermetism from the 16th to 18th centuries by Wilhelm Kühlmann (in preparation).
  • Brian B. Copenhaver: Hermetica. The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a new English translation, with notes and introduction. 3. Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1996, ISBN 0-521-36144-3 (contains an extensive bibliography on hermetic literature).
  • Arthur Darby Nock (ed.), André-Jean Festugière ( transl. ): Hermès Trismégiste. 4 volumes. Les Belles Lettres, Paris 1945ff. (Greek and Latin text with French translation, standard edition).
  • Emma Jeannette Edelstein, Ludwig Edelstein : Asclepius. A collection and interpretation of the testimonies. Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore 1945, 1998, ISBN 0-8018-5769-4 (English edition).
  • Walter Scott, Volume 4: Alexander Stewart Ferguson (Ed.): Hermetica. 4 vols. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1924–1936 (original Greek and Latin text with English translation and detailed commentary).
  • George Robert Stow Mead: Thrice-Greatest Hermes. Studies in Hellenistic Theosophy and Gnosis. 3 Vols. Theosophical Publishing Society, London / Benares 1906, S. Weiser, York Beach 1992 (new edition in one volume), ISBN 0-87728-751-1 (English translation with detailed commentary, informative with the author's theosophical background).
  • Heinrich L. Fleischer: Hermes Trismegistus to the human soul. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1870 (Arabic and German).
  • Louis Ménard : Hermès Trismégiste. Traduction complète précédé d'une étude sur l'origine des livres hermétiques. Didier, Paris 1866 (French translation).
  • Dieterich Tiedemann: Hermes Trismegistos. Pömander or from the divine power and wisdom. Nicolai, Berlin / Stettin 1781, results, Hamburg 1990 (new edition). ISBN 3-87916-000-7 (German translation with annotations and text improvements).
  • Alethophilo: Hermes Trsmegisti Discovering nature and the great God revealed in it. Hamburg 1706 (first German translation).
  • John Everard: The divine Pymander in XVII books. London 1650 (first English translation).
  • Franciscus Flussas Candalle (d. I. Francois Foix de Candalle):
    • Mercurii Trismegisti Pimander. Improved Greek text with Latin translation with the help of Scaliger . Bordeaux 1574.
    • Le Pimandre de Mercure Trismegiste de la Philosophie Chrestienne. Bordeaux 1579 (first French translation).
  • Marsilio Ficino : Hermetis Trismegisti Poimandres sive Liber de potestate et sapientia Dei… Treviso 1463 (first Latin translation).

literature

Overview representations

Investigations

  • Josef Kroll : The teachings of Hermes Trismegistos (= contributions to the history of the philosophy of the Middle Ages XII, 2-4). Aschendorff, Münster 1914 (out of date, largely outdated state of research)
  • Martin Mulsow : The end of hermetism. Mohr-Siebeck, Tübingen 2002, ISBN 3-16-147778-2
  • Frances A. Yates : Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition. London / New York 1964, London / Chicago 1991, ISBN 0-226-95007-7

Web links

Wikisource: Corpus Hermeticum  - Sources and full texts

Remarks

  1. ^ Frances A. Yates: Giordano Bruno and the hermetic tradition , London / New York 1964, p. 3.
  2. ↑ Lactantius, Div. inst. I, 6, 1-5; De ira Dei XI.
  3. ^ Augustine, De civitate Dei VIII, 23-26.
  4. ↑ Clement of Alexandria, Stromata VI, 4, 35-38.
  5. ↑ Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana , Codex Laurentianus LXXI 33 (A).
  6. ↑ Isaac Casaubon: De rebus sacris et ecclesiasticis exercitationes XVI. Ad Cardinalis Baronii Prolegomena in Annales , London 1614, pp. 70-87; Frankfurt edition: Bring 1615 , pp. 51–65.