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Corpus Hermeticum 1: Poimandres · 6 of 6 · tr. G.R.S. Mead

Section 1f

All this befell me from my Mind, that is Man-Shepherd, Word (Logos) of all masterhood, by whom being God-inspired I came unto the Plain of Truth. Wherefore with all my soul and strength thanksgiving give I unto Father-God. 31. Holy art Thou, O God, the universals' Father. Holy art Thou, O God, whose Will perfects itself by means of its own Powers. Holy art Thou, O God, who willeth to be known and art known by Thine own. Holy art Thou,who didst by Word (Logos) make to consist the things that are. Holy art Thou, of whom All-nature hath been made an image. Holy art Thou, whose Form Nature hath never made. Holy art Thou, more powerful than all power. Holy art Thou, transcending all pre-eminence. Holy Thou art, Thou better than all praise. Accept my reason's offerings pure, from soul and heart for aye stretched up to Thee, O Thou unutterable, unspeakable, Whose Name naught but the Silence can express. 32. Give ear to me who pray that I may ne'er of Gnosis fail, [Gnosis] which is our common being's nature; and fill me with Thy Power, and with this Grace [of Thine], that I may give the Light to those in ignorance of the Race, my Brethren, and Thy Sons. For this cause I believe, and I bear witness; I go to Life and Light. Blessed art Thou, O Father. Thy Man would holy be as Thou art holy, e'en as Thou gave him Thy full authority [to be].
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Themes
Apophatic Theologytheology

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

God is described as 'unutterable, unspeakable,' with a Name that 'naught but the Silence can express.'

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Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

The text states 'All-nature hath been made an image' of God, reflecting the divine structure in the cosmos.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

God is described as 'unutterable, unspeakable,' emphasizing radical concealment beyond ordinary speech.

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Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

The speaker seeks to 'give the Light' and goes to 'Life and Light,' treating light as a divine quality.

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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 outlines a hierarchy from Father-God through Powers and Logos to Nature.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

The speaker prays specifically to 'ne'er of Gnosis fail,' defining it as the nature of common being and the path to Life.

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Inner Lightanthropology

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

The goal is to give Light to those in ignorance, implying the light resides within the knower.

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Inner Silencepraxis

The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence.

The text praises 'pregnant with Good my silence' and states God's Name is expressed by Silence.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

God is addressed as 'Father-God' whose 'Will perfects itself by means of its own Powers,' indicating active agency.

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Logoscosmology

The divine reason, word, or ordering principle through which the universe was created; mediates between the transcendent God and the material world.

The text explicitly identifies the 'Word (Logos)' as the agent of creation and revelation from the Mind.

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Love Of Neighbourethics

Active compassionate care for others as a central spiritual obligation or expression of divine love.

The speaker prays to 'give the Light to those in ignorance... my Brethren,' showing concern for others.

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Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

The human ('Thy Man') is called to be holy as God is holy, mirroring the divine nature within the human.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

The prayer asks to be filled with God's Power and for the human to become holy as God is holy.

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Opposites Transcendedanthropology

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

The text presents paradoxes where 'body's sleep became the soul's awakening' and 'closing of the eyes - true vision.'

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Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

The passage uses reversals like sleep becoming awakening and silence expressing the Name to convey truth.

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Pleromacosmology

The divine fullness or totality of the highest realm, populated by aeons and divine attributes, contrasted with the deficient material world.

The 'Plain of Truth' suggests a divine realm or fullness distinct from the material.

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Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

The passage is structured as a litany of thanksgiving and petition ('thanksgiving give I', 'Give ear to me who pray').

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Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The speaker declares 'I go to Life and Light' and seeks to be filled with God's Power, implying a return journey.

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Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

Gnosis is defined as 'our common being's nature,' linking salvation to knowing one's own divine essence.

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Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

The soul is 'stretched up to Thee' and the speaker goes to 'Life and Light,' indicating upward movement.

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Theosis Deificationsoteriology

The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.

The prayer concludes with the aspiration that 'Thy Man would holy be as Thou art holy,' indicating transformation into divine likeness.

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Related passages · 11 parallels
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