The Pimander of Hermes Trismegistus

"Be silent, for I have just completed the first part of my discourse." TRISMEGISTUS
"Behold, I am now silent." PIMANDER.

The generation original: "generatio". This refers to the creation or birth of the physical world. of these seven The "seven" refers to the seven Governors or planetary spheres that control the material world and Fate., as I said, was brought about in this way. For the female was Air and Water, and a composite of these; she took her ripeness from Fire, and her spirit from the Ether. Nature then joined these bodies together to shape the appearance of man. However, man did not proceed from life and light into soul and death. For Life indeed bestowed the soul, and Light finally bestowed the Mind original: "mortē". While the Latin text here reads "death," in the context of Hermetic philosophy and parallel manuscripts, this is widely recognized as a printer's error for "mentem" (Mind). The doctrine states that the divine Light becomes the human intellect.. In this way, all the members of the world remained within the senses until the end of the circuit of principles and kinds.

But now hear the rest of the discourse which you so greatly desired. Finally, when the circuit of all things was completed, by the will of God, the knot The "knot" represents the original unified, androgynous state of living beings before they were divided into two sexes. was untied. For all living creatures, which were previously of both sexes, were separated along with man. Some were made male and others were similarly made female. Immediately, God cried out with a holy word:

"Increase and multiply! Propagate all my seeds and works! And you, to whom a portion of Mind has been granted, recognize your own race and consider your immortal nature. Know that the love of the body is the cause of death; learn the nature of all things."

With these words spoken, Providence original: "prouidētia". The divine plan or foresight of God., through Fate and the Harmony The celestial mechanism of the seven planetary spheres., brought together the mixtures and established the generations. Wherefore all things were propagated according to their own kind.

Finally, he who has known himself has attained that Good which is above essence. But he who, through the error of love, embraced the body, has wandered in the darkness of death, perceiving evil with his senses.

"I ask: what is the sin of those who are ignorant, that for this reason they should be deprived of immortality?"

PIMANDER. "You seem, O Mercury original: "Mercuri". The Latin name for Hermes Trismegistus., not to have sufficiently understood..."