Hermeticism, or Hermetism, is a philosophical and religious tradition rooted in the teachings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretic figure combining elements of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth.A survey of the literary and archaeological evidence for the background of Hermes Trismegistus in the Greek Hermes and the Egyptian Thoth may be found in . These teachings are contained in the various writings attributed to Hermes (the Hermetica), which were produced over a period spanning many centuries () and may be very different in content and scope.The oldest texts attributed to Hermes are astrological texts (belonging to the 'technical' Hermetica) which may go back as far as to the second or third century BCE; see ; . Garth Fowden is somewhat more cautious, noting that our earliest testimonies date to the first century BCE (see ). On the other end of the chronological spectrum, the Kitāb fi zajr al-nafs ("The Book of the Rebuke of the Soul") is commonly thought to date from the twelfth century; see .
One particular form of Hermetic teaching is the religio-philosophical system found in a specific subgroup of Hermetic writings known as the 'religio-philosophical' Hermetica, which were written in Egypt between approximately 100 and 300 CE. The most famous of these are the Corpus Hermeticum (a collection of seventeen Greek Hermetic treatises) and the Asclepius (a closely related treatise mainly surviving in a Latin translation).On the dating of the 'philosophical' Hermetica, see ; . The sole exception to the general dating of c. 100–300 CE is The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius, which may date to the first century CE (see , referring to ; cf. ). Earlier dates have been suggested, most notably by Flinders Petrie (500–200 BCE) and Bruno H. Stricker (c. 300 BCE), but these suggestions have been rejected by most other scholars (see ). On the Asclepius, see . This specific, chronologically and geographically limited form of Hermetic philosophy is sometimes more narrowly referred to as Hermetism, to distinguish it from the philosophies inspired by the many Hermetic writings of a completely different period and nature.This is a convention established by such scholars as ; ; . Other authors (especially, though not exclusively, earlier authors) may use the terms 'Hermetism' and 'Hermeticism' synonymously, more loosely referring to any philosophical system drawing on Hermetic writings.
A more open-ended term is Hermeticism, which may refer to a wide variety of philosophical systems drawing on writings attributed to Hermes, or even merely on subject matter generally associated with him. Most notably, alchemy often went by the name of "the Hermetic art" or "the Hermetic philosophy".. A famous use of the term in this broader sense is in the concept of Renaissance Hermeticism, which refers to the wide array of early modern philosophies inspired by Marsilio Ficino's (1433–1499) and Lodovico Lazzarelli's (1447–1500) translation of the Corpus Hermeticum, as well as by Paracelsus' (1494–1541) introduction of a new medical philosophy drawing upon the 'technical' Hermetica (i.e., astrological, alchemical, and magical Hermetica, such as the Emerald Tablet).See . In 1964, Frances A. Yates advanced the thesis that Renaissance Hermeticism, or what she called "the Hermetic tradition", had been a crucial factor in the development of modern science.; ; While Yates's thesis has since been largely rejected,; the important role played by the 'Hermetic' science of alchemy in the thought of such figures as Jan Baptist van Helmont (1580–1644), Robert Boyle (1627–1691) or Isaac Newton (1642–1727) is now widely recognized.; ; .
Throughout its history, Hermeticism was closely associated with the idea of a primeval, divine wisdom, revealed only to the most ancient of sages, such as Hermes Trismegistus.Among some medieval Muslims, Hermes was regarded as a "prophet of science" (see ). For Hermes' status as an ancient sage among medieval Latin philosophers like Abelard or Roger Bacon, see . The ancient wisdom narrative as such goes back to the Hellenistic period; see ; ; ; . During the Renaissance, this evolved into the concept of a prisca theologia or "ancient theology", which asserted that there is a single, true theology which was given by God to some of the earliest humans, traces of which may still be found in various ancient systems of thought. Thinkers like Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494) supposed that this 'ancient theology' could be reconstructed by studying what were then considered to be the most ancient writings still in existence, such as those attributed to Hermes, but also those attributed to other ancient sages such as Zoroaster, Orpheus, Pythagoras, and Plato, as well as anonymous works such as the Chaldean Oracles and the Kabbalah.. This soon evolved into the idea, first proposed by Agostino Steuco (1497–1548), that one and the same divine truth may be found in the religious and philosophical traditions of different periods and places, all considered to be different manifestations of the same universal perennial philosophy.. In this perennialist context, the term 'Hermetic' tended to lose even more of its specificity, eventually becoming a mere byword for the purported divine knowledge of the ancient Egyptians, especially as related to alchemy and magic. This generic and pseudo-historical use of the term was greatly popularized by nineteenth- and twentieth-century occultists, despite their occasional use of authentic Hermetic texts and concepts.; (pp. 193–198 on some similarities between the Kybalion and ancient Greek Hermetica)
Etymology The term Hermetic is from the medieval Latin hermeticus, which is derived from the name of the Greek god Hermes. In English, it has been attested since the 17th century, as in "Hermetic writers" such as Robert Fludd.
The word Hermetic was used by John Everard in his English translation of The Pymander of Hermes, published in 1650.Collectanea Hermetica Edited by W. Wynn. Westcott Volume 2.
Mary Anne Atwood mentioned the use of the word Hermetic by Dufresnoy in 1386.See Dufresnoy, Histoire de l'Art Hermetique, vol. iii. Cat. Gr. MSS.A Suggestive Inquiry into Hermetic Philosophy and Alchemy by Mary Anne Atwood 1850.
The synonymous term Hermetical is also attested in the 17th century. Sir Thomas Browne in his Religio Medici of 1643 wrote: "Now besides these particular and divided Spirits, there may be (for ought I know) a universal and common Spirit to the whole world. It was the opinion of Plato, and is yet of the Hermeticall Philosophers." (R. M. Part 1:2)
Hermes Trismegistus supposedly invented the process of making a glass tube airtight (a process in alchemy) using a secret seal. Hence, the term "completely sealed" is implied in "hermetically sealed" and the term "hermetic" is also equivalent to "occult" or hidden.
History
Late Antiquity
In Late Antiquity, Hermetism distinguish Hermetism in late antiquity from Hermeticism in the Renaissance revival. emerged in parallel with early Christianity, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, the Chaldaean Oracles, and late Orphic and Pythagorean literature. These doctrines were "characterized by a resistance to the dominance of either pure rationality or doctrinal faith.".
Plutarch's mention of Hermes Trismegistus dates back to the first century CE, and Tertullian, Iamblichus, and Porphyry were all familiar with Hermetic writings.Stephan A. Hoeller, On the Trail of the Winged God—Hermes and Hermeticism Throughout the Age, Gnosis: A Journal of Western Inner Traditions (Vol. 40, Summer 1996).
The texts now known as the Corpus Hermeticum are dated by modern translators and most scholars to the beginning of the second century or earlier. These texts dwell upon the oneness and goodness of God, urge purification of the soul, and expand on the relationship between mind and spirit. Their predominant literary form is the dialogue: Hermes Trismegistus instructs a perplexed disciple upon various teachings of the hidden wisdom.
In fifth-century Macedonia, Joannes Stobaeus or "John of Stobi" compiled a huge Anthology of Greek poetical, rhetorical, historical, and philosophical literature. Among the excerpts of ancient philosophical literature preserved by Stobaeus are also a significant number of discourses and dialogues attributed to Hermes.English translation in .
Renaissance After centuries of falling out of favor, Hermeticism was reintroduced to the West when, in 1460, a man named Leonardo di PistoiaThis Leonardo di Pistoia was a monk , not to be confused with the artist Leonardo da Pistoia who was not born until c. 1483 CE. brought the Corpus Hermeticum to Pistoia. He was one of many agents sent out by Pistoia's ruler, Cosimo de' Medici, to scour European monasteries for lost ancient writings..
In 1614, Isaac Casaubon, a Swiss philologist, analyzed the Greek Hermetic texts for linguistic style. He concluded that the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus were not the work of an ancient Egyptian priest but in fact dated to the second and third centuries CE.Tambiah (1990), Magic, Science, Religion, and the Scope of Rationality, pp. 27–28.
Even in light of Casaubon's linguistic discovery (and typical of many adherents of Hermetic philosophy in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries), Thomas Browne in his Religio Medici (1643) confidently stated: "The severe schools shall never laugh me out of the philosophy of Hermes, that this visible world is but a portrait of the invisible." (R. M. Part 1:12)
In 1678, flaws in Casaubon's dating were discerned by Ralph Cudworth, who argued that Casaubon's allegation of forgery could only be applied to three of the seventeen treatises contained within the Corpus Hermeticum. Moreover, Cudworth noted Casaubon's failure to acknowledge the codification of these treatises as a late formulation of a pre-existing oral tradition. According to Cudworth, the texts must be viewed as a terminus ad quem and not a terminus a quo. Lost Greek texts, and many of the surviving vulgate books, contained discussions of alchemy clothed in philosophical metaphor.
In 1924, Walter Scott placed the date of the Hermetic texts shortly after 200 CE, but W. Flinders Petrie placed their origin between 200 and 500 BCE.
Modern era In 1945, Hermetic texts were found near the Egyptian town Nag Hammadi. One of these texts had the form of a conversation between Hermes and Asclepius. A second text (titled On the Ogdoad and Ennead) told of the Hermetic mystery schools. It was written in the Coptic language, the latest and final form in which the Egyptian language was written..
According to Geza Vermes, Hermeticism was a Hellenistic mysticism contemporaneous with the Fourth Gospel, and Hermes Trismegistus was "the Hellenized reincarnation of the Egyptian deity Thoth, the source of wisdom, who was believed to deify man through knowledge (gnosis)."
Gilles Quispel says "It is now completely certain that there existed before and after the beginning of the Christian era in Alexandria a secret society, akin to a Masonic lodge. The members of this group called themselves 'brethren,' were initiated through a baptism of the Spirit, greeted each other with a sacred kiss, celebrated a sacred meal and read the Hermetic writings as edifying treatises for their spiritual progress." On the other hand, Christian Bull argues that "there is no reason to identify [Alexandria] as the birthplace of a Hermetic lodge as several scholars have done. There is neither internal nor external evidence for such an Alexandrian lodge, a designation that is alien to the ancient world and carries Masonic connotations."Bull 2018, p. 454
Philosophy
God as 'the All'