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.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
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 →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 →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 →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 →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
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