The Pimander of Hermes Trismegistus

...of Christ: here is found the judgment to come, the resurrection of the age, the glory of the blessed, and the punishment of sinners. Because of this, it happened that Aurelius Augustine St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD), a foundational Christian theologian who famously critiqued Hermes in The City of God doubted whether he [Hermes] uttered these many things through a skill in the stars astrology or through the revelation of spirits original: "demonum"; in this period, the term referred to spiritual intermediaries or entities, which Augustine viewed with suspicion as potential "demons" in the modern sense. Lactantius, however, does not hesitate to number him among the Sibyls and the prophets.

Finally, out of the many books of Mercury, two are especially divine. One is concerning the divine will; the other is concerning the power and wisdom of God. The former is titled Asclepius, the latter Pimander. Apuleius the Platonist A 2nd-century Roman writer and philosopher to whom the Latin translation of the Asclepius was traditionally attributed made the former into Latin. The other remained among the Greeks until these times.

But recently, having been brought from Macedonia to Italy by the diligence of Leonardo of Pistoia—a learned and honest monk—it reached us. Since I, provoked by your encouragements, had decided to convert it from the Greek tongue into the Latin, I thought it would be fitting, O fortunate Cosimo, to dedicate this little work to your name. For it is proper that I offer the first-fruits of my Greek studies to the very man by whose resources I was helped and by whose books, abundantly supplied, I devoted myself to Greek studies.

Nor would it be right to dedicate the work of such a wise philosopher, such a pious priest, and such a powerful king to anyone, unless the one to whom it is dedicated surpassed all others in piety, wisdom, and power Ficino is flatteringly comparing Cosimo’s virtues to the three roles—philosopher, priest, and king—that gave Hermes the title "Trismegistus". Now, to descend to the writings of Mercury, the title of this book is Pimander, because out of the four persons who debate in this dialogue...