Section 1a

Platonic recollection: knowledge as the soul's recovery of what it knew before birth, with learning as remembering rather than acquisition.

Hermes states that for this Race, 'memory is restored by God,' aligning with the Platonic concept of recollection.

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

The text uses human familial terms for the divine, such as 'Father,' 'Son,' 'Womb,' and 'Sower.'

Eckhart's signature doctrine that the Father eternally begets the Son in the ground of the soul; the human interior as the actual site of the divine generative act, distinct from inner_light's static indwelling.

The 'Sermon (Logos) on Rebirth' is given to the soul, suggesting the divine word is born within.

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

The passage contrasts the 'twelve Tormentors' with 'ten divine Powers,' indicating an opposition between obstructing and divine forces.

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

Tat complains that Hermes 'didst hide' his meaning and spoke in riddles until the student was ready.

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.

Hermes attributes the sowing of man to the 'Will of God' and states that memory is restored 'when He willeth it.'

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

Hermes defines the matter of man's birth as 'Wisdom that understands in silence.'

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

The awakening of knowledge of 'the self and God' suggests a merging or intimate connection with the divine.

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

Tat complains that Hermes speaks in 'riddles' and says 'things impossible,' using contradiction to teach.

A spiritual elite who possess the divine spark and are predestined for salvation, contrasted with psychic (faithful) and hylic (material) persons.

Hermes states 'This Race... is never taught,' implying a specific spiritual elite capable of receiving the tradition.

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

Tat acts as a 'Suppliant' and the intro notes mention a litany for worship performed twice daily.

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

The focus on 'Rebirth' and awakening knowledge of God implies a journey back to the divine origin.

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

Tat mentions 'Wending up the Mount' and seeking the tradition of Rebirth as a journey upward.

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 goal of Rebirth is to become 'God's Son' and be composed of 'all powers,' implying transformation into the divine.

Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.

The intro notes mention a 'litany for worship' to be performed, indicating ritual practice.

Malevolent planetary rulers or demiurgic powers that govern the material world and obstruct the soul's ascent.

[auto] The passage describes the replacement of 'twelve Tormentors within the self', which functionally corresponds to the concept of archons in Hermeticism.

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

[auto] The passage emphasizes 'awakening of knowledge' of the self and God as the primary outcome of the practice.

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

[auto] The dialogue is titled 'The Secret Sermon' and includes a 'Secret Hymnody', indicating esoteric teachings reserved for the initiated.

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

[auto] The text locates the 'twelve Tormentors' and the process of rebirth 'within the self', indicating an internal spiritual landscape.

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

[auto] The text directly discusses translation difficulties regarding the 'Greek word logos' within the dialogue.

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

[auto] The text highlights specific numbers as structural elements: 'twelve Tormentors', 'ten divine Powers', and 'twelve signs of the Zodiac'.

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

[auto] The passage explicitly states the focus is the 'awakening of knowledge of the self and God' as the culmination of the system.