They did not believe in "casting pearls before swine," but rather held to the teaching "milk for babes"; "meat for strong men," both of which maxims are familiar to readers of the Christian scriptures, but both of which had been used by the Egyptians for centuries before the Christian era.
And this policy of careful dissemination of the truth has always characterized the Hermetics, even unto the present day.
The Hermetic Teachings are to be found in all lands, among all religions, but never identified with any particular country, nor with any particular religious sect.
This because of the warning of the ancient teachers against allowing the Secret Doctrine to become crystallized into a creed.
The wisdom of this caution is apparent to all students of history.
The ancient occultism of India and Persia degenerated, and was largely lost, owing to the fact that the teachers became priests, and so mixed theology with the philosophy, the result being that the occultism of India and Persia has been gradually lost amidst the mass of religious superstition, cults, creeds and "gods." So it was with Ancient Greece and Rome.
So it was with the Hermetic Teachings of the Gnostics and Early Christians, which were lost at the time of Constantine, whose iron hand smothered philosophy with the blanket of theology, losing to the Christian Church that which was its very essence and spirit, and causing it to grope throughout several centuries before it found the way back to its ancient faith, the indications apparent to all careful observers in this Twentieth Century being that the Church is now struggling to get back to its ancient mystic teachings.
But there were always a few faithful souls who kept alive the Flame, tending it carefully, and not allowing its light to become extinguished.
And thanks to these staunch hearts, and fearless minds, we have the truth still with us.
But it is not found in books, to any great extent.
It has been passed along from Master to Student; from Initiate to Hierophant; from lip to ear.
When it was written down at all, its meaning was veiled in terms of alchemy and astrology so that only those possessing the key could read it aright.
This was made necessary in order to avoid the persecutions of the theologians of the Middle Ages, who fought the Secret Doctrine with fire and sword; stake, gibbet and cross.
Even to this day there will be found but few reliable books on the Hermetic Philosophy, although there are countless references to it in many books written on various phases of Occultism.
And yet, the Hermetic Philosophy is the only Master Key which will open all the doors of the Occult Teachings!
In the early days, there was a compilation of certain Basic Hermetic Doctrines, passed on from teacher to student, which was known as "THE KYBALION," the exact significance and meaning of the term having been lost for several centuries.
This teaching, however, is known to many to whom it has descended, from mouth to ear, on and on throughout the centuries.
Its precepts have never been written down, or printed, so far as we know.
It was merely a collection of maxims, axioms, and precepts, which were non-understandable to outsiders, but which were readily understood by students, after the axioms, maxims, and precepts had been explained and exemplified by the Hermetic Initiates to their Neophytes.
These teachings really constituted the basic principles of "The Art of Hermetic Alchemy," which, contrary to the general belief, dealt in the mastery of Mental Forces, rather than Material Elements-the Transmutation of one kind of Mental Vibrations into others, instead of the changing of one kind of metal into another.
The transformation of base substance — outer matter or the inner soul — into a purified, perfected, or 'gold' state; the magnum opus as both laboratory practice and spiritual allegory.
The passage redefines 'The Art of Hermetic Alchemy' not as changing metals but as the transmutation of Mental Vibrations, framing it as a spiritual/mental work.
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The passage explicitly describes the policy of veiling truth in terms of alchemy and astrology so only those with the key could read it, distinguishing between 'milk for babes' and 'meat for strong men'.
Sacred knowledge transmitted as living speech rather than fixed writing — scripture carried in memory, song, and telling, renewed in each generation; the unwritten canon of a tradition.
The text emphasizes that the teachings have been passed from Master to Student, Initiate to Hierophant, and from lip to ear, noting they were not written down or printed.
The Hermetic doctrine that nothing rests — matter, energy, mind, and spirit are a single continuum differing only in rate of vibration, from the grossest matter to the least material spirit. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (affinity resonating BETWEEN separate things) in being a claim about what constitutes any one thing in the first place, and from magical_equilibrium (Lévi's operational balancing technique, which presupposes some vibration doctrine rather than stating this general principle).
The passage concludes by defining Hermetic Alchemy as the transmutation of one kind of Mental Vibrations into others, establishing vibration as a core mechanism.