“Seeing within myself an immaterial
vision that came from the mercy of God, I went out of myself into an immortal
body, and now I am not what I was before. I have been born in mind!”
‘Hermes Trismegistus’
Hermes Trismegistus, or the “Thrice-Great
Hermes” was not an actual being; rather, he is a syncretism of the Greek deity
Hermes with the Egyptian god Thoth, dating from the Ptolemaic rule of Egypt
under the Greeks. With the true authorship of the work thus shrouded, later
writers created a complete backstory to account for the creation of the text:
apparently, these cryptic words were found in a high mountain cave, carved on a
slab of emerald and clutched in the desiccated claws of Trismegistus’ corpse. A
colourful tale indeed, but this emerald tablet was said to have been removed
and stored in the Library of the Serapeum of Alexandria where it was known
variously as The Emerald Tablet, the Smaragdine Table, the Tabula Smaragdina,
or The Secret of Hermes. It was said to have been stolen and/or destroyed
during the sacking of that great repository. (It is worth noting that many
ancient texts referred to green jasper or green granite, even green glass, as
“emerald”.)
The text upon the Tablet – probably
originally written in the 1st to 3rd Centuries AD - is
the cornerstone for that body of thought known as ‘Hermetic wisdom’. It is the
single most-quoted alchemical text in the Western tradition of that art and is
often incorporated into the works of other authors. It claims to reveal the
secret of the ‘primordial substance’ and its transmutations; in essence a
cryptic formula for the Philosophers’ Stone. Other writings attributed to
Trismegistus, or which were derived from these texts, are referred to as the Corpus
Hermeticum or ‘body of Hermetic lore’.
The earliest known arrival of this text
into the West was as an incorporation to the Kitab Sirr al-Asrar (see image,
above), in Latin translations entitled Secretum Secretorum (“The Secret of
Secrets”). This book is pseudoepigraphical, that is, it purports to be a series
of letters between Aristotle and Alexander the Great, containing many articles
on rulership along with discussions of science, astrology, physiognomy and
alchemy. The first translation from the Arabic into Latin was by John of
Seville (“Johannes Hispalensis”, or “Hispaniensis”) around 1140, while a second
translation was produced by Philip of Tripoli circa 1243. Medieval readers were
absolutely convinced of the prima facie authorship of the work and, since it
formed a part of the body of the works of ‘Aristotle’, it was widely read and
circulated by scholars without fear of retribution.
Other Arabic texts have also been found
to contain The Emerald Tablet: amongst these are the Kitab Ustuqus al-Uss
al-Thani (“Second Book of the Elements of Foundation”) supposedly written by
Jabir ibn Hayyan, and the Kitab Sirr al-Khaliqa wa San`at al-Tabi`a ("Book
of the Secret of Creation and the Art of Nature"), both dated between 650
and 830 AD. It was also to be found in the original Arabic Book of Causes
(Kitab ul-idah li-Aristutalis fi'l-khayri'l-mahd), allegedly written by
Apollonius of Tyana.
Various; ‘Hermes Trismegistus’; 1st to
3rd Century AD; 0/1 Sanity loss; Occult +13 percentiles; 21 weeks to study and
comprehend
Spells: None
English Translation from the Arabic of
the Book of Causes attributed to Apollonius of Tyana:
“It
contains an accurate commentary that can't be doubted.
It
states: What is the above is from the below and the below is from the above.
The work of wonders is from one.
And all
things sprang from this essence through a single projection. How marvellous is
its work! It is the principle [sic] part of the world and its custodian.
Its
father is the sun and its mother is the moon. Thus the wind bore it within it
and the earth nourished it.
Father
of talismans and keeper of wonders.
Perfect
in power that reveals the lights.
It is a
fire that became our earth. Separate the earth from the fire and you shall
adhere more to that which is subtle than that which is coarse, through care and
wisdom.
It
ascends from the earth to the heaven. It extracts the lights from the heights
and descends to the earth containing the power of the above and the below for
it is with the light of the lights. Therefore the darkness flees from it.
The
greatest power overcomes everything that is subtle and it penetrates all that
is coarse.
The
formation of the microcosm is in accordance with the formation of the macrocosm.
The
scholars made this their path.
This is
why Thrice Hermes was exalted with wisdom.
This is his last book that he hid in the
catacomb.”
The Medieval alchemist Ortolanus wrote an
exegesis of the ‘Tablet, a massive examination and interpretation which had a
heavy influence on the development of the Western alchemical tradition. Known
as The Secret of Hermes, many copies of this work survive, dating back to the
15th century. Other works were not so lucky: due mainly to Papal interference,
most other texts concerning the Hermetic Tradition were consigned to the
flames. It was not until the Renaissance that many of the texts attributed to
Hermes Trismegistus – in fact the whole Corpus Hermeticum – were rediscovered
from Byzantine sources.
De Potestate et Sapientia Dei
Spearheading this revival was a work
entitled De Potestate et Sapientia Dei, a series of thirteen tractates written
by Marsilio Ficino and published in 1471, to the delight of Cosimo de Medici’s
court. This book, containing The Emerald Tablet in Latin translation, went
through eight incunable editions before 1500, and a further twenty-two by 1641.
Latin; Marsilio Ficino; Florence, 1471;
0/0 Sanity loss; Occult +10 percentiles; 15 weeks to study and comprehend
Spells: None
Interestingly, due no doubt to the work’s
reputation as being difficult to penetrate, the term ‘hermetically sealed’ came
into common parlance. From this time on many alchemical and occult writers turned
their hands to producing a copy of the ‘Tablet, possibly thinking along the
lines that a different interpretation of the words might reveal some heretofore
missing insight or clue:
Latin text translated by Chrysogonus
Polydorus, Nuremberg 1541, with English Translation:
Latin
“Verum, sine mendatio, certum et
verissimum: Quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius, et quod est superius
est sicut quod est inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei unius. Et sicut res
omnes fuerunt ab uno, meditatione unius, sic omnes res natae ab hac una re,
adaptatione. Pater eius est Sol. Mater eius est Luna. Portavit illud Ventus in
ventre suo. Nutrix eius terra est. Pater omnis telesmi totius mundi est hic.
Virtus eius integra est si versa fuerit in terram. Separabis terram ab igne,
subtile ab spisso, suaviter, magno cum ingenio. Ascendit a terra in coelum,
iterumque descendit in terram, et recipit vim superiorum et inferiorum. Sic
habebis Gloriam totius mundi. Ideo fugiet a te omnis obscuritas. Haec est
totius fortitudinis fortitudo fortis, quia vincet omnem rem subtilem, omnemque
solidam penetrabit. Sic mundus creatus est. Hinc erunt adaptationes mirabiles,
quarum modus est hic. Itaque vocatus sum Hermes Trismegistus, habens tres
partes philosophiae totius mundi. Completum est quod dixi de operatione Solis.”
English
“[It is] true, without error, certain and
most true, that which is below is as that which is above, and that which is
above is as that which is below, to perform the miracles of the one thing. And
as all things were from the one, by means of the meditation of the one, thus
all things were born from the one, by means of adaptation. Its father is the
Sun, its mother is the Moon, the Wind carried it in its belly, its nurse is the
earth. The father of the whole world [or "of all of the initiates"?]
is here. Its power is whole if it has been turned into earth. You will separate
the earth from the fire, the subtle from the dense, sweetly, with great skill.
It ascends from earth into heaven and again it descends to the earth, and
receives the power of higher and of lower things. Thus you will have the Glory
of the whole world. Therefore will all obscurity flee from you. Of all strength
this is true strength, because it will conquer all that is subtle, and
penetrate all that is solid. Thus was the world created. From this were
wonderful adaptations, of which this is the means. Therefore am I named
Thrice-Great Hermes, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole
world. It is finished, what I have said about the working[s] of the Sun.”
English translation from the Latin in
Georgio Beato’s Aurelium Occultae Philosophorum:
“This
is true and remote from all cover of falsehood.
Whatever
is below is similar to that which is above. Through this the marvels of the
work of one thing are procured and perfected.
Also,
as all things are made from one, by the consideration of one, so all things
were made from this one, by conjunction.
The
father of it is the sun, the mother the moon.
The
wind bore it in the womb. Its nurse is the earth, the mother of all perfection.
Its
power is perfected.
If it
is turned into earth,
Separate
the earth from the fire, the subtle and thin from the crude and coarse,
prudently, with modesty and wisdom.
This
ascends from the earth into the sky and again descends from the sky to the
earth, and receives the power and efficacy of things above and of things below.
By this
means you will acquire the glory of the whole world, and so you will drive away
all shadows and blindness.
For
this by its fortitude snatches the palm from all other fortitude and power. For
it is able to penetrate and subdue everything subtle and everything crude and
hard.
By this
means the world was founded
And
hence the marvellous conjunctions of it and admirable effects, since this is
the way by which these marvels may be brought about.
And
because of this they have called me Hermes Trismegistus since I have the three
parts of the wisdom and Philosophy of the whole universe.
My speech is finished which I have spoken
concerning the solar work.”
Interest in the Hermetic Tradition and
alchemy continued to grow throughout Europe even into the Age of Reason. In
England, the fear that someone would unearth the Philosophers’ Stone and thus
devalue the worth of gold, led to the passing of laws whereby alchemists could
be hung from gilded gibbets for the practise of their art. Nevertheless,
alchemical pursuits continued. The Emerald Tablet was re-published along with
the rest of the recovered Corpus Hermeticum, in various translations:
The Divine Pymander in XVII Books
John Everard (1584?–1641) was an English
preacher and author, as well as being an Hermetic thinker and alchemist; his
translation into English of the Corpus Hermeticum has become a standard work on
the subject. Called The Divine Pymander (from the Greek, poimandes, or
“shepherds of men”), the work remained in manuscript form until after Everard’s
death, being published in 1650; a second and more complete version was released
in 1657.
English; John Everard; London 1650 (again
in 1657); 0/1 Sanity loss; Occult +10 percentiles; 20 weeks to study and
comprehend
Spells: None
Unbeknownst to many, Sir Isaac Newton was
a diligent and dedicated alchemist, along with all of his other scientific
pursuits. Taken all-in-all, Newton’s view of Reality was essentially holistic
and his examination of the world necessarily required him to explore the occult
as a part of his everyday experience. His alchemical notes comprised a huge
number of written manuscripts which were largely destroyed in a laboratory fire
which, quaint legends would have us believe, was started by his dog. In 1936,
after a clutch of these manuscripts were discovered and sold at auction, John
Maynard Keynes (who bought them) declared that Newton was “not so much the
first of the Age of Reason, but the last of the Magicians”. Newton’s
translation, from Latin into English, of The Emerald Tablet has become the
standard form of the work familiar to most modern readers:
Newton’s Translation:
“‘Tis
true without lying, certain most true.
That
which is below is like that which is above that which is above is like that
which is below to do the miracles of one only thing.
And as
all things have been arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have
their birth from this one thing by adaptation.
The Sun
is its father, the moon its mother,
The
wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nurse.
The
father of all perfection in the whole world is here.
Its
force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.
Separate
thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great
industry.
It
ascends from the earth to the heaven again it descends to the earth and
receives the force of things superior and inferior.
By this
means ye shall have the glory of the whole world thereby all obscurity shall
fly from you.
Its
force is above all force, for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates
every solid thing.
So was
the world created.
From
this are and do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (or process) is
here in this.
Hence I
am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the
whole world.
That which I have said of the operation
of the Sun is accomplished and ended.”
Hermetica
Interest in the Secretum Secretorum faded
after about 1550, but the Corpus Hermeticum, as we have seen, still attracted
attention. The existence of Hermetic writings in other, unexplored, languages
including Syriac, Armenian and Coptic among others, fuelled the thought that
there might be undiscovered texts beyond the 17 (or 18) codified by Everard, or
at least, new interpretations of the well-thumbed codices already discovered.
Walter Scott (no relation to the novelist Knight) brought together much of this
new-found information in his 1924 publication Hermetica, a massive work which
became a touchstone for many hermetic organisations including the Hermetic
Order of the Golden Dawn and the Rosicrucians. Interestingly, the work also
touches upon the translation by James Sheffield of The Chronicles of Nath and
its hermetic interpretations of the material within the original German text.
English; Walter Scott; 1924; 0/1d2 Sanity
loss; Cthulhu Mythos +1 percentiles; Occult +13 percentiles; 30 weeks to study
and comprehend
Spells: None
Chronike von Nath
In 1653, with his eyesight failing,
German mystic Rudolf Yergler penned this disturbing work of fantasy. After its
release, the Authorities saw fit to confine the now totally blind Yergler to a
madhouse where he died shortly afterwards. An attempt to suppress the work
resulted in copies being smuggled out of the country and a second print run was
made: this edition is substantially the same as the original save that the
publication date is 1658 and the title page lists “Rome” as the city of
production (although this is unlikely).
The text is lugubrious, dealing as it
does with the creeping destruction of the fictional Land of Nath. A presence
makes itself felt – a dark formlessness that seduces the minds of the locals.
The population turns to sorcery to combat the evil and invokes terrifying
forces to oppose the threat. Nothing helps however, and the shadow takes over
and then consumes the land.
A hallmark of the evil presence that
besets Nath is that it manifests through the playing of an increasingly complex
tune which roots itself in the minds of the populace and, as the music
perpetuates, so too does the Shadow. The musical notation for this tune is
reproduced in the text.
German; Rudolf Yergler; 1653/8; Sanity
Loss: 1d4/1d8 ; Cthulhu Mythos +6 percentiles; average 22 weeks to study and
comprehend
Spells: Baneful Dust of Hermes
Trismegistus; Dampen Light; Enchant Book; Enchant Pipes; Soul Singing;
Summon/Bind Dark Young; Summon/Bind Star Vampire
The Chronicles of Nath
“So in the year of the Black Goat there
came onto Nath a shadow that should not be on the Earth, and that had no form
known to the eyes of the Earth. And it fed on the souls of men; they that it
gnawed being lured and blinded with dreams till the horror and the endless
night lay upon them. Nor did they see that which gnawed them, for the shadow
took false shapes that men know or dream of, and only freedom seemed waiting in
the Land of Three Suns.”
-James Sheffield, Chronicles of Nath
James Sheffield came upon a copy of
Yergler’s book during an extended stay in the Alsace. Returning with it to
London, he began translating it from the German. As he did so, he became
convinced that Yergler’s text was an elaborate construction, a coded – possibly
steganographic – re-working of Hermetic thought; possibly even the
Philosopher’s Stone itself. His version of the Chronicles includes a straight
translation of the German on one page, and then his tortuous rationalisation of
it on the next. It must be said that the constructions which he places upon
Yergler’s words do not always follow logically, and there is a sense of
Sheffield’s frustration that things don’t fall neatly into place.
Failing to gain satisfaction from his
interpretation, he published the book in 1781, probably in the hope that
another researcher might succeed where he had not.
English; James Sheffield, trans.; 1781;
Sanity Loss: 1d2/1d4 ; Cthulhu Mythos +3 percentiles; average 4 weeks to study
and comprehend
Spells: Baneful Dust of Hermes
Trismegistus; Dampen Light; Enchant Pipes
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