The Hermetic Writings, Volume 1

ASCLEPIUS I: 2 a

...organism, the individual animal ceases to live. Man also, as long as he is embodied on earth, possesses a quasi-material and perishable soul, of the same nature as that of the beasts (the "mortal form of the soul" original: "θνητὸν εἶδος ψυχῆς" spoken of in Plato’s Timaeus). However, in man, the nous Intellect or divine mind. is added to this mortal soul, and it is imperishable (see ch. 6 b, "which fifth part is granted to man alone," and ch. 7 b, "for man alone is a dual animal," etc.). The human soul, by virtue of its possession of nous, is immortal. (Compare Hermetic Fragments from Stobaeus XI. 2. 8: "Of the soul, the sensitive part is mortal, but the rational part is immortal.") If this is the author’s view, his doctrine of the soul must have been arrived at by a blending of Platonic and Stoic theories.

The inappropriate words "or by time" original: "vel tempore" may have arisen out of a variant reading of "time" original: "χρόνῳ" for "manner" original: "τρόπῳ".

In the manuscripts, the words "For not every soul, O Trismegistus, is of one quality" are given as a question asked by Asclepius: "Is not all soul of one quality?" followed by "No; for all things have been created by God." But that is nonsense; the answer has nothing to do with the question. The reproachful reply of Hermes ("O Asclepius, how quickly," etc.) must have been called forth by some remark of Asclepius which has fallen out of the text. The point on which Hermes insists in his reply is that all things without exception have been created by God; Asclepius then must have suggested that there is something which has not been created by God, but exists independently of him. Since the subject Hermes has been speaking about is the anima (soul), it may be conjectured that Asclepius said, "Is not the soul uncreated?" original: "ἀγέννητος" or something to that effect. But if Asclepius asked this question, there must have been something in the preceding speech of Hermes to suggest it; and the needed suggestion might be supplied by inserting the words "souls were created" original: "creatae sunt animae" after "some in one manner, some in another," where there appears to be a gap in the text.

I have said that all things are one, and one is all things. In chapter 1 a, something is said about the "one" and "all things," but that passage contains nothing to the effect that all things have been created by God, which is the point emphasized here. The words in chapter 2 a therefore cannot very well be explained as a reference to chapter 1 a; we must conclude that Hermes is here referring to previous dialogues in which he taught this doctrine to Asclepius. The writer, no doubt, found it repeatedly expounded in the Hermes to Asclepius documents in his possession. If the Prologue was added by the editor, he...