IAMBLICHUS ON THE MYSTE- RIES.

a 3

On the knowledge of divine things.

Ornate woodcut initial 'A' featuring two figures (possibly cherubs or putti) holding onto the letter's crossbar and legs, surrounded by decorative floral or leaf patterns within a square frame. Egyptian writers, believing that all things were discovered by Mercury The Roman name for the Greek Hermes, specifically referring here to Hermes Trismegistus, a legendary Egyptian sage regarded as the author of a vast body of sacred texts., used to dedicate their books to Mercury. Mercury presides over wisdom and eloquence. Pythagoras, Plato, Democritus, Eudoxus, and many others visited the Egyptian priests. The teachings of this book belong to the Assyrians In this context, often referring to the Chaldeans, associated with the mystical oracles and astrological wisdom of the East. and the Egyptians, and are drawn from the pillars of Mercury According to legend, Hermes/Mercury inscribed the sum of ancient wisdom on pillars of stone or brick to ensure it survived the Great Flood.. Pythagoras and Plato learned philosophy from the pillars of Mercury in Egypt. The pillars of Mercury are full of teachings. Before any use of reason, there is an innate and naturally implanted concept of the gods; indeed, there is a certain "touch" of divinity original: tactus quidam diuinitatis; a Neoplatonic concept suggesting a direct, intuitive contact with the divine that precedes intellectual thought. that is better than mere knowledge, from which the natural desire for the good, as well as reasoning and judgment, are stirred. This essential knowledge of divine things is perpetual to the soul, and in truth, this is not the kind of knowledge by which we enjoy God. In the knowledge