Corpus Hermeticum 2: The Serapeum · 3 of 4 · tr. G.R.S. Mead
Section 1c
H: Alack, Asclepius, for thy far-wandering from the truth!
Think'st thou that things most full and most replete are void?
11.
A: How meanest thou, Thrice-greatest one?
H: Is not air body?
A: It is.
H: And doth this body not pervade all things, and so, pervading, fill them?
And "body"; doth body not consist from blending of the "four" <elements>?
Full, then, of air are all thou callest void; and if of air, then of the "four".
Further, of this the converse follows, that all thou callest full are void - of air; for that they have their space filled out with other bodies, and, therefore, are not able to receive the air therein.
These, then, which thou dost say are void, they should be hollow named, not void; for they not only are, but they are full of air and spirit.
12.
A: Thy argument (logos), Thrice-greatest one, is not to be gainsaid; air is a body.
Further, it is this body which doth pervade all things, and so, pervading, fill them.
What are we, then, to call that space in which the all doth move?
H: The bodiless, Asclepius.
A: What, then, is Bodiless?
H: 'Tis Mind and Reason (logos), whole out of whole, all self-embracing, free from all body, from all error free, unsensible to body and untouchable, self stayed in self, containing all, preserving those that are, whose rays, to use a likeness, are Good, Truth, Light beyond light, the Archetype of soul.
A: What, then, is God?
13.
H: Not any one of these is He; for He it is that causeth them to be, both all and each and every thing of all that are.
Nor hath He left a thing beside that is-not; but they are all from things-that-are and not from things-that-are-not.
For that the things-that-are-not have naturally no power of being anything, but naturally have the power of the inability-to-be.
And, conversely, the things-that-are have not the nature of some time not-being.
14.
A: What say'st thou ever, then, God is?
H: God, therefore, is not Mind, but Cause that the Mind is; God is not Spirit, but Cause that Spirit is; God is not Light, but Cause that the Light is.
Hence one should honor God with these two names [the Good and Father] - names which pertain to Him alone and no one else.
For no one of the other so-called gods, no one of men, or daimones, can be in any measure Good, but God alone; and He is Good alone and nothing else.
The rest of things are separable all from the Good's nature; for [all the rest] are soul and body, which have no place that can contain the Good.
15.
For that as mighty is the Greatness of the Good as is the Being of all things that are - both bodies and things bodiless, things sensible and intelligible things.
Call thou not, therefore, aught else Good, for thou would'st imious be; nor anything at all at any time call God but Good alone, for so thou would'st again be impious.
16.
Though, then, the Good is spoken of by all, it is not understood by all, what thing it is.
Themes
◆Divine Simplicitytheology
The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.
God is described as 'Good alone and nothing else' and 'whole out of whole,' emphasizing undivided nature.
All passages →◆Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
The dialogue functions as a correction of ignorance ('far-wandering from the truth') through direct intellectual instruction.
All passages →◆Sacred Namestheology
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The text prescribes honoring God specifically with the names 'Good' and 'Father,' which pertain to Him alone.
All passages →◇Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
[auto] The passage centrally defines God through negation, stating He is not Mind, Spirit, or Light, but the Cause of them.
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 term 'logos' is explicitly used by Asclepius to acknowledge Hermes' argument as an ordering principle of truth that cannot be gainsaid.
All passages →◇Paradox As Teachingethics
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
[auto] Hermes employs the paradoxical reversal of 'full' and 'void' to destabilize Asclepius's ordinary understanding and induce insight.
All passages →◇Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
[auto] The passage argues against the existence of true void, asserting that all things are full of air, body, and spirit, implying a unified plenum.
All passages →Related passages · 10 parallels
◆buddhism|Prajña-pâramitâ-hridaya (Heart Sutra)|Section 1
“THE SMALLER PRA GÑ Â-PÂRAMITÂ- H RI DAYA-SÛTRA. ADORATION TO THE OMNISCIENT! The venerable Bodhisattva Avalokite s vara, performing his study in the deep Pra gñ âpâramitâ (perfection of wisdom), thought thus: 'There are the five Skandhas, a…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality and emptiness, with the Corpus Hermeticum discussing the pervasiveness of air and spirit, and the Prajnaparamita Sutra discussing the emptiness of all phenomena. Both texts emphasize the interconnectedness and ultimate nature of reality beyond physical form.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 4, Section 1a
“CHAPTER IV Concerning ” Good ,” ” Light ,” ” Beautiful ,” “ Desire ,” ” Ecstasy ,” “ Jealousy .” Also that Evil is neither existent nor Sprung from anything existent nor inherent in existent things .
1.
Now let us consider the name of “Go…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as the source of goodness and the relationship between the divine and creation. They emphasize that the divine is the cause of all things and that goodness is inherent in the divine nature, extending to all creation.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 133
“Section 11 11. "But, given Magnitude and the properties we know, what else can be necessary to the existence of body?" Some base to be the container of all the rest. "A certain mass then; and if mass, then Magnitude? Obviously if your Base…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the void and the presence of an all-pervading substance (air in the Corpus Hermeticum, Matter in Plotinus). They also explore the concept of a bodiless or unextended principle (Mind and Reason in the Corpus Hermeticum, Soul in Plotinus) that contains all things.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 248
“Section 16 16. An Ideal-Principle approaches and leads Matter towards some desired dimension, investing this non-existent underlie with a magnitude from itself which never becomes incorporate- for Matter, if it really incorporated magnitude…”
Both passages explore the nature of reality and the interaction between the divine and the material world. They discuss the concept of non-being or emptiness and how it relates to the divine, showing a genuine conceptual parallel across different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 430
“Section 1 1. The One is all things and no one of them; the source of all things is not all things; all things are its possession- running back, so to speak, to it- or, more correctly, not yet so, they will be. But a universe from an unbroke…”
Both passages explore the nature of the divine and the relationship between the ultimate reality and the manifest world. They discuss the concept of the One or the Good as the source of all things, and the nature of being and non-being.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 466
“Section 13 13. The Supreme, as the Absolute Good and not merely a good being or thing, can contain nothing, since there is nothing that could be its good. Anything it could contain must be either good to it or not good; but in the supremely…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the Supreme Good or God as transcendent, containing nothing, and being the cause of all things. They emphasize the inability to ascribe qualities to the Supreme and its absolute nature.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 473
“Section 6 6. If this reasoning is valid, The Good has no scope whatever for intellection which demands something attractive from outside. The Good, then, is without Act. What Act indeed, could be vested in Activity's self? No activity has y…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the Supreme Good or God, emphasizing that it is not to be confused with any particular attribute or substance but is rather the cause of all things. They both argue for the transcendence and absolute nature of the Good, which contains nothing but itself.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 605
“Section 15 15. But how did this intruder find entrance? It had a certain aptitude and it grasped at that to which it was apt. In its nature it was capable of soul: but what is unfitted to receive soul entire- present entire but not for it-…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine or ultimate reality, emphasizing its immaterial and all-pervading qualities. Plotinus describes the divine as an unfailing, undwindling principle that is not limited by mass, while the Hermetic text describes the divine as the bodiless, self-embracing Mind and Reason, which is the cause of all things.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 629
“Section 9 9. It remains then to consider whether Being by its distinction produced Number or Number produced that distinction. It is certain that either Number was the cause of Being, movement, rest, identity and difference, or these the ca…”
Both passages discuss the omnipresent nature of a divine or fundamental principle that permeates all things. They emphasize the idea of an infinite, all-encompassing power or being that is not limited by physical boundaries or matter.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 635
“Section 15 15. We must repeat: The Collective Being, the Authentic, There, is at once Being and Intellectual-Principle and the Complete Living Form; thus it includes the total of living things; the Unity There is reproduced by the unity of…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and the structure of reality, emphasizing the role of an intellectual principle or Mind that pervades all things. They also explore the concept of unity and the relationship between the divine and the created world.