HERMES—the fascinating, mercurial messenger of the gods, eloquent revealer of hidden wisdom, and guardian of occult knowledge—has played a central role in the development of esotericism in the West. Drawing upon many rare books and manuscripts, this highly illustrated work explores the question of where Hermes Trismegistus came from, how he came to be a patron of the esoteric traditions, and how the figure of Hermes has remained lively and inspiring to our own day.
»Great erudition blended with a highly refined metaphysical sensibility brings the great Hermes to life and allows this powerful psychospiritual archetype to speak once again (and perhaps even play a few much-needed tricks on us).« —Jacob Needleman, author of The Heart of Philosophy and Money and the Meaning of Life
»Faivre’s remarkable achievement in this single volume is to combine the historical richness of the Hermetic tradition with its relevance to understanding the circumambulations of the psyche today as it pursues its spiritual quest.« —June Singer, author of Boundaries of the Soul: The Practice of Jung’s Psychology
»This book is an impressive and compelling contribution to the puzzling question of both the source and perdurance of Hermes in his variety of shape-shifting guises. From Alexandria to Amsterdam, Athens to America, this thrice-great Hermes keeps showing up, perhaps even more than in antiquity!« —David L. Miller, Syracuse University, author of The New Polytheism
Antoine Faivre, the most prominent scholar of esotericism to have appeared since Mircea Eliade, is Director of Studies at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Section des Sciences Religieuses, Sorbonne), University Professor of Germanic Studies at the University of Haute-Normandie, and director of the series Cahiers de l’Hermétisme (Albin Michel).
Author(s): Faivre Antoine, Joscelyn Godwin
Publisher: Phanes Press
Year: 1995
Language: English
Commentary: scantailor made
Pages: 210
City: Grand Rapids
Tags: hermeticism;eternalhermesfro0000faiv
The Eternal Hermes: From Greek God to Alchemical Magus
Contents
Preface
1. Hermes in the Western Imagination
Introduction: The Greek Hermes
The Thrice-Greatest
The Arabic Idris and the Alchemical Mercury
The Metamorphoses of Hermes in the High Middle Ages
At the Dawn of the Renaissance
Hermes and the New Spirit of Humanism
Geoffroy Tory and François Rabelais
The Return of Trismegistus at the Renaissance
Faces of Hermes in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
Hermesian Perspectives
Select Bibliography for Chapter 1
2. The Children of Hermes and the Science of Man
Hermetica and Modern Hermeticism
Hermes’s Place Today
Select Bibliography for Chapter 2
3. From Hermes-Mercury to Hermes Trismegistus: The Confluence of Myth and the Mythical
I. Thoth, Hermes, Trismegistus; or The Ancient Faces of Mercury
A. The Appearance of Trismegistus
B. Genealogies of the Triplex
C. Books and Seals of Hermes
II. Scenarios and Tablets, or Secrets of the Tomb of Hermes
A. Statues and Cities of Hermes
B. The Book of Crates and the Emerald Tablet
C. The Liber de Causis and other Scenarios
III. The Beacon of Hermes, or Avatars of the Tradition
A. Philosophia Perennis
B. Hermeticism and Esotericism
C. Resistances and Permanencies
Notes to Chapter 3
4. Hermes’s Presence in the City
Hermes the Architect, or Hermetistic Harmony
At the Crossroads of Amsterdam, or the Initiatic Message
Little-Eyes, or the Discreet Presence of Mercury
The Meeting of Two Hermeses in the City of Screaming Metal
Notes to Chapter 4
5. The Faces of Hermes Trismegistus (Iconographic Documents)
6. The Inheritance of Alexandrian Hermetism: Historical and Bibliographical Landmarks
I. The Middle Ages
A. References in the Church Fathers
B. Medieval Authors Mentioning Hermes
C. Medieval Texts Influenced by Hermetism
II. Rediscovery at the Renaissance
A. The Point of Departure
B. English Puritanism; the Situation in Germany
C. Editions and Commentaries on the Corpus Hermeticum
D. Authors Whose Work is Marked by this Hermetism
III. Casaubon’s “Revelation” and the Seventeenth Century
A. Isaac Casaubon
B. Authors Whose Work is Marked by this Hermetism
IV. In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
A. General Remarks
B. German Works
C. Reawakening in England and the United States
V. Tradition and Erudition in the Twentieth Century
A. Persistence of Esoteric Exegesis
B. The Corpus Hermeticum and Academic Study
VI. Studies of the Reception of Alexandrian Hermetism
A. Books
B. Selected Articles
Index of Names
