Corpus Hermeticum 5: The Discourse of Hermes to Asclepius · 3 of 3 · tr. G.R.S. Mead

Section 1c

And for this cause hath He all names, in that they are one Father's.

And for this cause hath He Himself no nome, in that He's Father of [them] all.

Who, then, may sing Thee praise of Thee, or [praise] to Thee?

Whither, again, am I to turn my eyes to sing Thy praise; above, below, within, without?

There is no way, no place [is there] about Thee, nor any other thing of things that are.

All [are] in Thee; all [are] from Thee, O Thou who givest all and takest naught, for Thou hast all and naught is there Thou hast not.

11.

And when, O Father, shall I hymn Thee?

For none can seize Thy hour or time.

For what, again, shall I sing hymn?

For things that Thou hast made, or things Thou hast not?

For things Thou hast made manifest, or things Thou hast concealed?

How, further, shall I hymn Thee?

As being of myself?

As having something of mine own?

As being other?

For that Thou art whatever I may be; Thou art whatever I may do; Thou art whatever I may speak.

For Thou art all, and there is nothing else which Thou art not.

Thou art all that which doth exist, and Thou art what doth not exist - Mind when Thou thinkest, and Father when Thou makest, and God when Thou dost energize, and Good and Maker of all things.

For that the subtler part of matter is the air, of air the soul, of soul the mind, and of mind God.

Themes

◆Active Contemplationpraxis

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

The text emphasizes the mind's active role in contemplating the divine ('He whom the mind [alone] can contemplate').

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◆Divine Hiddennesstheology

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

God is described as 'the unmanifest' and having concealed things, emphasizing radical concealment.

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◆Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

God is described as the giver of all ('Thou who givest all'), implying active ordering and sustenance.

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◆Divine Simplicitytheology

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

God is described as 'the one of no body' and beyond division or composite attributes.

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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.

The text outlines a descending chain of being: matter, air, soul, mind, and finally God.

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◆Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

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

Salvation or connection is framed through contemplation by the mind ('He whom the mind [alone] can contemplate').

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◆Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

The divine is present within the human ('All [are] in Thee... Thou art whatever I may be'), accessible internally.

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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 active and dynamic ('Father when Thou makest... God when Thou dost energize'), not an abstract principle.

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◆Meditationpraxis

Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.

Contemplation is presented as the primary mode of engaging with the divine.

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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 text asserts identity between the divine and the human ('Thou art whatever I may be'), implying the human reflects the divine structure.

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◆Monadcosmology

The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.

God is described as 'the one', 'one Father's', and the singular source from which all multiplicity flows.

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◆Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

The text describes a state of identity where 'All [are] in Thee' and the divine is whatever the human is.

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◆Opposites Transcendedanthropology

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

God is described as both unmanifest and manifest, having no body yet being every body, transcending binary oppositions.

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◆Paradox As Teachingethics

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

The text uses apparent contradictions ('unmanifest, He the most manifest') to describe the ineffable nature of God.

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◆Sacred Namestheology

Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.

The passage discusses divine names ('He hath all names... He Himself no nome') as a theological category.

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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.

Knowing oneself is equated with knowing God ('Thou art whatever I may be'), making self-knowledge a path to the divine.

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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 hierarchy from matter to God implies a path of ascent through levels of being.

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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 human is described as participating in the divine nature ('Thou art whatever I may be'), implying transformation into the divine.

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◇Apophatic Theologytheology

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

[auto] The passage repeatedly negates categories to describe God (beyond all name, no nome, no place, no way), making via negativa a central theme.

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◇Prayerpraxis

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

[auto] The discourse is framed as a struggle to hymn and praise the Father ('Who, then, may sing Thee praise... And when, O Father, shall I hymn Thee?').

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◇Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

[auto] The text explicitly states 'For all are He and He is all' and 'Naught is there which he is not', asserting non-dual divine ontology.

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Related passages · 29 parallels

◆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 describe a divine being that is the source and essence of all things, using similar language to convey the idea of an all-encompassing, transcendent Godhead. They emphasize the unity and immanence of the divine in creation, though from different mystical traditions.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 88

“NINTH TRACTATE. "THE REASONED DISMISSAL". "You will not dismiss your Soul lest it go forth..." [taking something with it]. For wheresoever it go, it will be in some definite condition, and its going forth is to some new place. The Soul will…”

Both passages explore the nature of good and evil, and the relationship between the divine and the material world. They discuss the presence of evil in the context of a higher good, and the role of the soul in this dynamic.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 115

“Section 12 12. All that thus proceeds from the supernal combines into a unity and every existing entity takes something from this blended infusion so that the result is the thing itself plus some quality. The effluence does not make the hor…”

Both passages explore the relationship between the divine and the material world, emphasizing the unity and omnipresence of the divine. Passage A discusses the Soul's interaction with the material world and the influence of cosmic forces, while Passage B describes the divine as being all and in all, transcending and encompassing everything.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 132

“Section 10 10. But how can I form the conception of the sizelessness of Matter? How do you form the concept of any absence of quality? What is the Act of the Intellect, what is the mental approach, in such a case? The secret is Indeterminat…”

Both passages explore the nature of the ultimate reality and the limitations of human perception and understanding. Passage A discusses the indeterminate nature of Matter and the Soul's struggle to comprehend it, while Passage B describes the all-encompassing nature of God and the difficulty in praising or comprehending Him.

◆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 explore the nature of the divine and its relationship to the material world, emphasizing the abstract and absolute nature of the divine principles. Plotinus discusses the concept of Magnitude as an abstract principle, while the second passage describes the divine as the essence of all things, both manifest and unmanifest.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 134

“Section 12 12. It is the corporeal, then, that demands magnitude: the Ideal-Forms of body are Ideas installed in Mass. But these Ideas enter, not into Magnitude itself but into some subject that has been brought to Magnitude. For to suppose…”

Both passages explore the nature of the divine and the limitations of human understanding. Passage A discusses the indeterminate nature of Matter and the Soul's struggle to comprehend it, while Passage B describes the omnipresent and all-encompassing nature of God. Both texts grapple with the concept of the ineffable and the challenge of describing the ultimate reality.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 135

“Section 13 13. Are we asked to accept as the substratum some attribute or quality present to all the elements in common? Then, first, we must be told what precise attribute this is and, next, how an attribute can be a substratum. The elemen…”

Both passages explore the nature of reality and the relationship between form and substance. Passage A discusses the concept of Matter and its relationship to form and extension, while Passage B describes the divine as the ultimate reality that encompasses all things. Both texts delve into the metaphysical aspects of existence, though from different perspectives.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 200

“Section 13 13. And we must not despise the familiar observation that there is something more to be considered than the present. There are the periods of the past and, again, those in the future; and these have everything to do with fixing w…”

Both passages explore the nature of the divine and its relationship to creation. Passage A discusses the Reason-Principle as the sovereign creator that wills all things, including what may be perceived as evil, to maintain a graded succession. Passage B describes a divine being that encompasses all things and is the source of all creation, emphasizing the unity and omnipresence of the divine.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 231

“Section 10 10. "Our way of speaking"- for myths, if they are to serve their purpose, must necessarily import time-distinctions into their subject and will often present as separate, Powers which exist in unity but differ in rank and faculty…”

Both passages explore the nature of the divine as an all-encompassing, unmanifest yet manifest entity. They discuss the divine's relationship with creation and the difficulty of describing or comprehending the divine, showing a genuine conceptual parallel.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 276 (part 2)

“It cannot be, itself, The Good, since then it would not need to see or to perform any other Act; for The Good is the centre of all else, and it is by means of The Good that every thing has Act, while the Good is in need of nothing and there…”

Both passages explore the concept of a supreme, transcendent being that is the source of all existence. They discuss the nature of this being as prior to and beyond all things, yet encompassing all things, though they do so within different philosophical and theological frameworks.

19 more

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 297

“Section 10 10. In view of all this we must now work back from the items to the unit, and consider the entire scheme as one enduring thing. We ascend from air, light, sun- or, moon and light and sun- in detail, to these things as constitutin…”

Both passages explore the concept of a unified, transcendent soul or divine principle that permeates and shapes all existence. They discuss the emanation of reality from this principle and the hierarchical structure of being, though they use different terminology and cultural contexts.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 433

“Section 1 1. Are we to think that a being knowing itself must contain diversity, that self-knowledge can be affirmed only when some one phase of the self perceives other phases, and that therefore an absolutely simplex entity would be equal…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as an all-encompassing principle that transcends being and is the source of all existence. They also explore the relationship between the divine and the individual soul or mind.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 447 (part 1)

“Section 15 15. Conferring- but how? As itself possessing them or not? How can it convey what it does not possess, and yet if it does possess how is it simplex? And if, again, it does not, how is it the source of the manifold? A single,…”

Both passages explore the nature of the divine and the relationship between the divine and the created world. They discuss the multiplicity and unity of the divine, and the necessity of distinction for the divine to act or be known.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 463

“Section 10 10. Still, do not, I urge you, look for The Good through any of these other things; if you do, you will see not itself but its trace: you must form the idea of that which is to be grasped cleanly standing to itself not in any com…”

Both passages describe a transcendent, all-encompassing divine principle that is beyond names and forms, yet manifest in all things. They share a mystical emphasis on the unity and omnipresence of the divine.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 464

“Section 11 11. It is infinite also by right of being a pure unity with nothing towards which to direct any partial content. Absolutely One, it has never known measure and stands outside of number, and so is under no limit either in regard t…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as an infinite, formless unity that transcends physical perception and human understanding. They emphasize the divine as the source of all being and reality, and critique the limitations of sensory experience in comprehending the divine.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 469

“Section 2 2. Thus there is the primally intellective and there is that in which intellection has taken another mode; but this indicates that what transcends the primarily intellective has no intellection; for, to have intellection, it must…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as being both present and not present, containing all things while being uncontained, and transcending spatial limitations. They share a mystical perspective on the ultimate reality.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 470

“Section 3 3. We may be told that nothing prevents an identity being thus multiple. But there must be a unity underlying the aggregate: a manifold is impossible without a unity for its source or ground, or at least, failing some unity, relat…”

Both passages describe a supreme, transcendent deity that is the source and essence of all things. They emphasize the ineffable nature of this divine being and its all-encompassing presence, though they use different metaphors and philosophical frameworks.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 471

“Section 4 4. Another consideration is that if The Good [and First] is simplex and without need, it can neither need the intellective act nor possess what it does not need: it will therefore not have intellection. (Interpolation or corruptio…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as an infinite, formless unity that transcends physical perception and human comprehension. They emphasize the divine as the source of all being and reality, though they use different metaphors and theological frameworks.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 472

“Section 5 5. And again: the multiple must be always seeking its identity, desiring self-accord and self-awareness: but what scope is there within what is an absolute unity in which to move towards its identity or at what term may it hope fo…”

Both passages explore the nature of the divine and its relationship to the world, emphasizing the primacy of the Good (or God) and the secondary nature of Beauty. They also discuss the ineffable nature of the divine and its all-encompassing presence.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 502

“Section 10 10. All, then, that is present in the sense realm as Idea comes from the Supreme. But what is not present as Idea, does not. Thus of things conflicting with nature, none is There: the inartistic is not contained in the arts; lame…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as an all-encompassing, ultimate reality. They explore the idea of the divine as the source of all things and the unity of existence, though they use different terminology and frameworks.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 509

“Section 1 1. Philosophy at a very early stage investigated the number and character of the Existents. Various theories resulted: some declared for one Existent, others for a finite number, others again for an infinite number, while as regar…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as an all-encompassing, ultimate reality that is both manifest and unmanifest. They explore the idea that the divine is the source of all things and contains all things within itself, though the Corpus Hermeticum passage is more poetic and the Select Works passage is more philosophical.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 617

“Section 10 10. It remains, then, poised in wisdom within itself; it could not enter into any other; those others look to it and in their longing find it where it is. This is that "Love Waiting at the Door," ever coming up from without, stri…”

Both passages explore the concept of a divine unity that is both immanent and transcendent, emphasizing the idea that the divine is all-encompassing and beyond individual names or forms. They share a mystical perspective on the nature of the divine and its relationship with creation.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 627

“Section 7 7. It is inevitably necessary to think of all as contained within one nature; one nature must hold and encompass all; there cannot be as in the realm of sense thing apart from thing, here a sun and elsewhere something else; all mu…”

Both passages explore the concept of unity and the nature of the divine. They discuss the idea of the One or the divine being the source of all and the means by which individuals can attain wisdom or union with the divine. The passages share a mystical perspective on the interconnectedness of all things and the ultimate reality.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 638

“Section 18 18. It appears then that Number in that realm is definite; it is we that can conceive the "More than is present"; the infinity lies in our counting: in the Real is no conceiving more than has been conceived; all stands entire; no…”

Both passages explore the nature of unity and multiplicity, and the relationship between the absolute and the manifest world. Passage A discusses the concept of Number and Unity as preceding principles, while Passage B describes the divine as both manifest and unmanifest, encompassing all things. Both texts delve into the metaphysical principles underlying existence and the nature of reality.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 691

“Section 9 9. If we cannot but speak of Happening we must not halt at the word but look to the intention. And what is that? That the Supreme by possession of a certain nature and power is the Principle. Obviously if its nature were other it…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the Supreme or Divine as being beyond definition, beyond happening, and the source of all existence. They emphasize the uniqueness and completeness of the Supreme, which is not subject to external influences or compulsion.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 700 (part 1)

“Section 18 18. Seeking Him, seek nothing of Him outside; within is to be sought what follows upon Him; Himself do not attempt. He is, Himself, that outer, He the encompassment and measure of all things; or rather He is within, at the inne…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the Supreme or Divine as being beyond definition, beyond happening, and the source of all existence. They both emphasize the unity and transcendence of the Divine, though they use different language and cultural contexts.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 700 (part 2)

“Thus we must speak of God since we cannot tell Him as we would.…”

Both passages explore the nature of the divine as the ultimate source of being and reason. They discuss the divine as being beyond chance and necessity, emphasizing the divine's self-determination and completeness.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 707 (part 1)

“Section 3 3. What then must The Unity be, what nature is left for it? No wonder that to state it is not easy; even Being and Form are not easy, though we have a way, an approach through the Ideas. The soul or mind reaching towards the fo…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the Supreme Being as being everywhere and nowhere, self-originating, and the source of all existence. They share a mystical perspective on the divine as both transcendent and immanent.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 713 (part 2)

“Any that have seen know what I have in mind: the soul takes another life as it approaches God; thus restored it feels that the dispenser of true life is There to see, that now we have nothing to look for but, far otherwise, that we must put…”

Both passages describe a mystical union with the divine, emphasizing the transcendence of the self and the all-encompassing nature of the divine. They share themes of divine immanence and the transformation of the soul through union with God.