Library / Hermeticism / Corpus Hermeticum 1: Poimandres ← Section 1c Section 1e → Thou seem'st, He said, O thou, not to have given heed to what thou heardest.
Did I not bid thee think?
Yea do I think, and I remember, and therefore give Thee thanks.
If thou didst think [thereon], [said He], tell me: Why do they merit death who are in Death?
It is because the gloomy Darkness is the root and base of the material frame; from it came the Moist Nature; from this the body in the sense-world was composed; and from this [body] Death doth the Water drain.
21.
Right was thy thought, O thou!
But how doth "he who knows himself, go unto Him", as God's Word (Logos) hath declared?
And I reply: the Father of the universals doth consist of Light and Life, from Him Man was born.
Thou sayest well, [thus] speaking.
Light and Life is Father-God, and from Him Man was born.
If then thou learnest that thou art thyself of Life and Light, and that thou [happen'st] to be out of them, thou shalt return again to Life.
Thus did Man-Shepherd speak.
But tell me further, Mind of me, I cried, how shall I come to Life again...for God doth say: "The man who hath Mind in him, let him learn to know that he himself [is deathless]." 22.
Have not all men then Mind?
Thou sayest well, O thou, thus speaking.
I, Mind, myself am present with holy men and good, the pure and merciful, men who live piously.
[To such] my presence doth become an aid, and straightway they gain gnosis of all things, and win the Father's love by their pure lives, and give Him thanks, invoking on Him blessings, and chanting hymns, intent on Him with ardent love.
And ere they give up the body unto its proper death, they turn them with disgust from its sensations, from knowledge of what things they operate.
Nay, it is I, the Mind, that will not let the operations which befall the body, work to their [natural] end.
For being door-keeper I'll close up [all] the entrances, and cut the mental actions off which base and evil energies induce.
23.
But to the Mind-less ones, the wicked and depraved, the envious and covetous, and those who mured do and love impiety, I am far off, yielding my place to the Avenging Daimon, who sharpening the fire, tormenteth him and addeth fire to fire upon him, and rusheth upon him through his senses, thus rendering him readier for transgressions of the law, so that he meets with greater torment; nor doth he ever cease to have desire for appetites inordinate, insatiately striving in the dark.
24.
Well hast thou taught me all, as I desired, O Mind.
And now, pray, tell me further of the nature of the Way Above as now it is [for me].
To this Man-Shepherd said: When the material body is to be dissolved, first thou surrenderest the body by itself unto the work of change, and thus the form thou hadst doth vanish, and thou surrenderest thy way of life, void of its energy, unto the Daimon.
The body's senses next pass back into their sources, becoming separate, and resurrect as energies; and passion and desire withdraw unto that nature which is void of reason.
25.
And thus it is that man doth speed his way thereafter upwards through the Harmony.
Themes
◆ Anthropomorphismtheology Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.
God is referred to as Father and Man is said to be born from Him.
All passages → ◆ Demiurgecosmology A secondary creator deity—often ignorant or malevolent—responsible for fashioning the material world, distinct from the supreme transcendent God.
The 'gloomy Darkness' is described as the root of the material frame, hinting at a secondary principle distinct from the Father-God.
All passages → ◆ Hidden Sayingssoteriology Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The dialogue format suggests esoteric instruction reserved for those who can think and remember.
All passages → ◆ Kenomacosmology The void or emptiness outside the pleroma; the realm of matter, ignorance, and deficiency.
The gloomy Darkness is described as the root of the material frame and deficiency, contrasting with the divine Light.
All passages → ◆ Living Godtheology The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
God is characterized by Life and Light rather than abstract static principles.
All passages → ◆ Monadcosmology The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
The Father of the universals is presented as a singular source from which Man was born.
All passages → ◆ Unity Of Beingtheology The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
The connection between Man and Father-God implies an underlying ontological unity.
All passages → ◇ Cosmic Dualismtheology Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.
[auto] The passage establishes a fundamental opposition between Light/Life and Darkness/Death/Matter.
All passages → ◇ Divine Lighttheology The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.
[auto] The Father-God is explicitly defined as consisting of Light and Life.
All passages → ◇ Divine Sparkscosmology Fragments of divine light or spirit trapped inside material bodies, awaiting liberation and return to their source.
[auto] Man is described as being born from the Father-God who consists of Light and Life, implying a divine origin within humanity.
All passages → ◇ Emanation Hierarchycosmology A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
[auto] The text describes a flow from Father-God (Light/Life) to Man, and from Darkness to Moist Nature to Body.
All passages → ◇ Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
[auto] Salvation is explicitly tied to learning to know oneself rather than faith or ritual.
All passages → ◇ Inner Lightanthropology The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.
[auto] Since Man is born from Light and Life, this divine quality resides within the human person.
All passages → ◇ Kingdom Withinanthropology The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.
[auto] Reaching the Good is achieved through internal self-knowledge rather than external action.
All passages → ◇ Logoscosmology The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.
[auto] The passage explicitly references God's Word (Logos) as declaring how one goes unto Him.
All passages → ◇ Mystical Unionsoteriology The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
[auto] The goal is described as reaching the Good and going unto Him through self-knowledge.
All passages → ◇ Pneumatic Electsoteriology A spiritual elite who possess the divine spark and are predestined for salvation, contrasted with psychic (faithful) and hylic (material) persons.
[auto] A distinction is drawn between those who know themselves and the ignorant who remain in Darkness.
All passages → ◇ Return To Sourcesoteriology The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.
[auto] The text asks how he who knows himself goes unto Him, implying a journey back to the divine origin.
All passages → ◇ Self Examinationpraxis Daily review of thought and action as spiritual practice.
[auto] Knowing oneself is presented as the primary method for reaching the Good.
All passages → ◇ Self Knowledgesoteriology The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.
[auto] The central theme is that learning to know oneself leads to the Good and deathlessness.
All passages → Related passages · 13 parallels
◆ christian_mysticism | The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme | Chapter 13 (part 11)
“27.) No Christian should contemplate his own holiness, or fancy himself to be better than others; but he should rather realise his own unworthiness, and regret the perverted state of himself and of humanity as a whole.
"No one should want…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of self-knowledge and the transcendence of the material body to achieve a higher spiritual state. They also highlight the contrast between those who are spiritually aware and those who are not, with the latter being subject to suffering and darkness.
◆ gnosticism | Pistis Sophia | Document THIRDk
“Answered Maria, said she, Now therefore, my Lord, then thou didst not bring Mysteries indeed unto the World, that the man should not die by the death which is reckoned unto him by the Rulers of the Destiny: because if it is being reckoned u…”
Both passages discuss the concept of transcending the physical body and achieving a higher state through mystical practices or self-knowledge. They emphasize the idea of escaping the sufferings of the material world and attaining a state of light and life.
◆ gnosticism | Pistis Sophia | Document THIRDl
“He who taketh up a mystery and completeth it, afterwards therefore whenever he should ask any (every) thing, poverty and riches, weakness and strength, disease and sound body, with every healing of the body, and with the raising of the dead…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of spiritual knowledge and self-awareness for achieving transcendence and overcoming the limitations of the physical body. They also highlight the role of divine mysteries or gnosis in attaining a higher spiritual state.
◆ greek_mystery | Orphic Hymns | Hymn LXXXVI. DEATH (part 1)
“LXXXVI.
TO DEATH.
The FUMIGATION from MANNA.
HEAR me, O Death, whose empire unconfin'd, Extends to mortal tribes of ev'ry kind.
On thee, the portion of our time depends, Whose absence lengthens life, whose presence ends.
p.
225 Thy sl…”
Both passages discuss the concept of death and the soul's relationship to the body, emphasizing the importance of self-knowledge and the separation of the soul from the body. They share a mystical perspective on the nature of life and death, though they come from different traditions.
◆ greek_mystery | The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 4 (part 2)
“Wherein have I done amiss?
What have I done?
What have I omitted that I ought to have done?
43.
If in this examination thou find that thou hast done amiss, reprimand thyself severely for it; 44.
And if thou hast done any good, rejoice.…”
Both passages emphasize self-examination, the importance of understanding one's actions, and the pursuit of divine or immortal qualities through knowledge and purification. They share a focus on the soul's journey and the avoidance of bodily influences.
◆ greek_mystery | The Golden Verses of Pythagoras | Section 7 (part 2)
“Understand that no dissimulation can be long concealed.
24.
The unjust man suffers greater evil while his soul is tormented with a consciousness of guilt, than when his body is scourged with whips.
25.
It is by no means safe to discours…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of self-knowledge and the purification of the soul. They highlight the contrast between those who are mindful and virtuous, leading to divine connection and immortality, and those who are ignorant and depraved, leading to suffering and darkness.
◆ platonism | Plato: Phaedo | Section 1d
“Socrates replied: And have you, Cebes and Simmias, who are acquainted with Philolaus, never heard him speak of this?
I never understood him, Socrates.
My words, too, are only an echo; but I am very willing to say what I have heard: and in…”
Both passages explore the concept of self-knowledge and the soul's journey towards transcendence or understanding. They emphasize the importance of the mind or soul in achieving a higher state of being, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆ platonism | Plato: Phaedo | Section 1h
“And now that the hour of departure is appointed to me, this is the hope with which I depart, and not I only, but every man who believes that he has his mind purified.
Certainly, replied Simmias.
And what is purification but the separation…”
Both passages emphasize the separation of the soul or mind from the body as a means to achieve a higher state of existence. They both advocate for the purification and liberation of the soul/mind from the constraints of the physical body to attain wisdom and union with the divine.
◆ platonism | Plato: Phaedo | Section 1k
“That is clear, he replied.
Then the inference is, that our souls are in the world below?
That is true.
And one of the two processes or generations is visible-for surely the act of dying is visible?
Surely, he said.
And may not the othe…”
Both passages explore the concept of the soul's immortality and the idea of a cycle of life and death. Plato's Phaedo discusses the soul's existence after death and the process of revival, while the second passage from Hermeticism talks about the soul's journey back to life through self-knowledge and the distinction between those who attain immortality and those who do not.
◆ platonism | Plato: Phaedo | Section 1w
“And now I must begin again and find another argument which will assure me that when the man is dead the soul dies not with him.
Tell me, I beg, how did Socrates proceed?
Did he appear to share the unpleasant feeling which you mention?
or…”
Both passages explore the theme of the soul's journey and the importance of self-knowledge. Plato's Socrates discusses the immortality of the soul and the danger of misology, while the Hermetic text emphasizes self-knowledge as the path to transcendence and the avoidance of darkness and death.
3 more ◆ platonism | Plato: Phaedo | Section 1|
“For any man, who is not devoid of natural feeling, has reason to fear, if he has no knowledge or proof of the soul's immortality.
That is what I suppose you to say, Cebes, which I designedly repeat, in order that nothing may escape us, and…”
Both passages explore the theme of self-knowledge and its relationship to immortality or the nature of the soul. The Corpus Hermeticum emphasizes the importance of knowing oneself as a path to transcendence and immortality, while Socrates in the Phaedo discusses the fear of death and the inquiry into the soul's immortality. Both texts highlight the importance of understanding one's true nature beyond the physical body.
◆ taoism | The Writings of Chuang Tzu (Inner Chapters) | Book 125 (part 2)
“or from Man?' Then he added 2 , 'It must be from Heaven, and not from Man.
Heaven's making of this man caused him to have but one foot.
In the person of man, each foot has its marrow.
By this I know that his peculiarity is from Heaven, a…”
Both passages discuss the concept of self-knowledge and the divine nature within individuals, emphasizing the importance of understanding one's true nature to achieve transcendence or harmony. They also contrast the fate of those who are mindful and those who are not, highlighting the consequences of neglecting one's divine or heavenly nature.
◆ western_esoteric | The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall) | The Life and Teachings of Thoth Hermes Trismegistusi
“Knowing only the body which is subject to death, they believe in death because they worship that substance which is the cause and reality of death." Then Hermes asked how the righteous and wise pass to God, to which Poimandres replied: "Tha…”
Both passages describe the ascent of the soul after death, the role of the divine Mind in guiding the righteous, and the punishment of the wicked. They share structural elements such as the journey through celestial spheres and the renunciation of the senses.
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