Divine Pymander. Asclepius

them, in translating a book of such infinite worth out of the original into their mother tongue.

Concerning the author of the book itself, four things are worthy of consideration original: "considerable": namely, his name, learning, country, and time.

1. The name by which he was commonly called original: "styled" is Hermes Trismegistus, which means Mercury the thrice greatest original: "Mercurius ter Maximus", or the thrice greatest messenger of knowledge original: "Intelligencer". And he might well be called Hermes, for he was the first messenger in the world (as we read) who communicated knowledge to the sons of men by writing or engraving. He was called thrice greatest original: "Ter Maximus" for several reasons, which I shall mention later.

2. His learning will be shown both by his works and by correctly understanding the meaning behind his name.

3. As for his country—