was written in the second and third centuries CE. It is a collection of eighteen treatises (I–XVIII). Annexed to it is the
Asclepius (originally known in Greek as
Logos Teleios and translated into Latin in the fourth century), which in early periods was falsely attributed to Apuleius of Madaura. Unlike the
C.H. proper, the
Asclepius has survived in an ancient Latin translation only (the original Greek version has never been found; a large part of it in Coptic translation surfaced only as late as the twentieth century, in the Nag Hammadi Library). The first (numbered I) of these eighteen treatises is the most famous. It deals with the creation of the world, whereas the rest are devoted to the soul's ascension through the celestial spheres and its divine sojourns, a process supposed to bring about the regeneration of the human being. Hermetism is characterized by an eclectic mentality, a philosophical attitude that favors the concrete and eschews ontological dualism. Philosophically, it stresses the positive, symbolic value of the universe. This can be seen, for example, in the treatise in which Nous (Mind) addresses Hermes, who is taught how to reflect the universe in his own spirit, seizing the divine essence of nature and impressing it on the interior of his soul.
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