The Pimander of Hermes Trismegistus

...and I extinguish all the kindlings of lusts. Conversely, I dwell very far from the ignorant, the wicked, the lazy, the envious, the unjust, the murderous, and the impious, leaving them to the judgment of the avenging demon original: "demonis ultoris". In this context, the 'demon' refers to a punishing spiritual force or the personification of the soul's own self-destructive impulses. who, striking with the sharpness of fire, afflicts the senses and further arms the man to commit crimes, so that as one guilty of a fouler fault, he may be subject to a more piercing punishment. It inflames him without pause toward insatiable desires, fighting against him in the darkness; it exhausts the soul through sin and, in a marvelous way, stirs up and increases the force of fire for his torment.

TRISMEGISTUS. O Mind, you have diligently explained everything to me just as I requested. But answer me further: what will happen after the ascent? original: "accēsionē". Referring to the soul's journey upward through the celestial spheres after death.

Pimander says: First, indeed, in the dissolution of the material body, the physical body falls into transformation. The form which it previously held fades and becomes imperceptible hereafter. The idle disposition of one's character original: "morum otiosus habitus". This refers to the habitual behaviors or personality traits that are no longer active once the physical body is gone. is surrendered to the demon and dismissed. The parts of the bodily senses, having become parts of the soul, flow back to their original sources, to rise again at some time into their own activities. The powers of anger and desire turn back into a nature lacking reason.

Thus the remainder then hastens back through the harmony original: "per harmoniam". In Hermetic cosmology, the "harmony" refers to the system of the seven celestial spheres or "zones" governed by the planets. to the realms above. From there, it returns to the first zone the capacity for increasing and decreasing. To the second zone, it gives back the machination of evils and idle deceit. To the third, the idle deception of desire. To the fourth, domineering and insatiable ambition. To the fifth, profane arrogance and the rashness of audacity. To the sixth, wicked and idle opportunities for wealth. To the seventh zone...