Philosophical texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus
This article is about the ancient texts. For the philosophical and religious system, seeHermeticism. For the Argentine heavy metal band, seeHermética. For other uses, seeHermetic (disambiguation).
TheHermetica are texts attributed to the legendaryHellenistic figureHermes Trismegistus, asyncretic combination of the Greek godHermes and the Egyptian godThoth.[1] These texts may vary widely in content and purpose, but by modern convention are usually subdivided into two main categories, the "technical" and "religio-philosophical"Hermetica.
The category of "technical"Hermetica encompasses a broad variety of treatises dealing withastrology,medicine and pharmacology,alchemy, andmagic, the oldest of which were written inGreek and may go back as far as the second or third century BCE.[2] Many of the texts belonging in this category were later translated intoArabic andLatin, often being extensively revised and expanded throughout the centuries. Some of them were also originally written in Arabic, though in many cases their status as an original work or translation remains unclear.[3] These Arabic and Latin Hermetic texts were widely copied throughout theMiddle Ages (the most famous example being theEmerald Tablet).
The "religio-philosophical"Hermetica are a relatively coherent set ofreligio-philosophical treatises that were written mostly in the second and third centuries, though the very earliest one of them, theDefinitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius, may go back to the first century CE.[4] They are chiefly focused on the relationship between human beings, the cosmos, and God (thus combining philosophicalanthropology,cosmology, andtheology). Many of them are alsomoral exhortations calling for a way of life (the "way of Hermes") leading to spiritual rebirth, and eventually todivinization in the form of a heavenly ascent.[5] The treatises in this category were probably all originally written in Greek, although some of them survive only inCoptic,Armenian, orLatin translations.[6] During the Middle Ages, most of them were only accessible toByzantine scholars (an important exception being theAsclepius, which mainly survives in an early Latin translation), until a compilation of Greek Hermetic treatises known as theCorpus Hermeticum was translated into Latin by theRenaissance scholarsMarsilio Ficino (1433–1499) andLodovico Lazzarelli (1447–1500).[7]
Though strongly influenced by Greek andHellenistic philosophy (especiallyPlatonism andStoicism),[8] and to a lesser extent also byJewish ideas,[9] many of the early Greek Hermetic treatises also contain distinctly Egyptian elements, most notably in their affinity with traditional Egyptianwisdom literature.[10] This used to be the subject of much doubt, but it is now generally admitted that theHermetica as such did in fact originate inHellenistic andRoman Egypt, even if most of the later Hermetic writings (which continued to be composed at least until the twelfth century CE) did not. It may even be the case that the great bulk of the early GreekHermetica were written by Hellenizing members of the Egyptian priestly class, whose intellectual activity was centred in the environment ofEgyptian temples.
The oldest known texts associated withHermes Trismegistus are a number ofastrological works which may go back as far as the second or third century BCE:
TheSalmeschoiniaka (the "Wandering of the Influences"), perhaps composed in Alexandria in the second or third century BCE, deals with the configurations of the stars.[11]
TheNechepsos-Petosiris texts are a number of anonymous works dating to the second century BCE which were falsely attributed to the Egyptian kingNecho II (610–595 BCE, referred to in the texts as Nechepsos) and his legendary priest Petese (referred to in the texts as Petosiris). These texts, only fragments of which survive, ascribe the astrological knowledge they convey to the authority of Hermes.[12]
TheArt of Eudoxus is a treatise onastronomy which was preserved in a second-century BCEpapyrus and which mentions Hermes as an authority.[13]
TheLiber Hermetis ("The Book of Hermes") is an important work on astrology laying out the names of thedecans (a distinctly Egyptian system that divided thezodiac into 36 parts). It survives only in an early (fourth- or fifth-century CE) Latin translation,[14] but contains elements that may be traced to the second or third century BCE.[15]
Other early Greek Hermetic works on astrology include:
TheBrontologion: a treatise on the various effects of thunder in different months.[16]
ThePeri seismōn ("On earthquakes"): a treatise on the relation between earthquakes and astrological signs.[17]
TheBook of Asclepius Called Myriogenesis: a treatise on astrological medicine.[18]
TheHoly Book of Hermes to Asclepius: a treatise on astrological botany describing the relationships between various plants and thedecans.[19]
TheFifteen Stars, Stones, Plants and Images: a treatise on astrologicalmineralogy andbotany dealing with the effect of the stars on thepharmaceutical powers of minerals and plants.[20]
Starting in the first century BCE, a number of Greek works onalchemy were attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. These are now all lost, except for a number of fragments (one of the larger of which is calledIsis the Prophetess to Her Son Horus) preserved in later alchemical works dating to the second and third centuries CE. Especially important is the use made of them by the Egyptian alchemistZosimus of Panopolis (fl. c. 300 CE), who also seems to have been familiar with the religio-philosophicalHermetica.[21] Hermes' name would become more firmly associated with alchemy in the medieval Arabic sources (seebelow), of which it is not yet clear to what extent they drew on the earlier Greek literature.[22]
TheCyranides is a work on healing magic which treats of the magical powers and healing properties ofminerals,plants andanimals, for which it regularly cites Hermes as a source.[23] It was independently translated both into Arabic and Latin.[24]
TheGreek Magical Papyri are a modern collection ofpapyri dating from various periods between the second century BCE and the fifth century CE. They mainly contain practical instructions for spells and incantations, some of which cite Hermes as a source.[25]
ManyArabic works attributed to Hermes Trismegistus still exist today, although the great majority of them have not yet been published or studied by modern scholars.[26] For this reason too, it is often not clear to what extent they drew on earlier Greek sources. The following is a very incomplete list of known works:
TheCarmen Astrologicum is an astrological work originally written by the first-century CE astrologerDorotheus of Sidon. It is lost in Greek, but survives in an Arabic translation, which was in turn based upon a Middle Persian intermediary. It was also translated by ʿUmar ibn al-Farrukhān al-Ṭabarī. The extant Arabic text refers to two Hermeses, and cites a book of Hermes on the positions of the planets.[28]
TheKitāb Asrār an-nujūm ("The Book of the Secrets of the Stars", later translated into Latin as theLiber de stellis beibeniis) is a treatise describing the influences of the brightestfixed stars on personal characteristics. The Arabic work was translated from a Middle Persian version which can be shown to date from before c. 500 CE, and which shared a source with theByzantine astrologerRhetorius (fl. c. 600 CE).[29]
TheKitāb ʿArḍ Miftāḥ al-Nujūm ("The Book of the Exposition of the Key to the Stars") is an Arabic astrological treatise attributed to Hermes which claims to have been translated in 743 CE, but which in reality was probably translated in the circles ofAbu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (787–886 CE).[30]
TheSirr al-khalīqa wa-ṣanʿat al-ṭabīʿa ("The Secret of Creation and the Art of Nature"), also known as theKitāb al-ʿilal ("The Book of Causes") is an encyclopedic work onnatural philosophy falsely attributed toApollonius of Tyana (c. 15–100, Arabic: Balīnūs or Balīnās).[31] It was compiled in Arabic in the late eighth or early ninth century,[32] but was most likely based on (much) older Greek and/orSyriac sources.[33] It contains the earliest known version of thesulfur-mercury theory of metals (according to which metals are composed of various proportions ofsulfur andmercury),[34] which lay at the foundation of all theories of metallic composition until the eighteenth century.[35] In the frame story of theSirr al-khalīqa, Balīnūs tells his readers that he discovered the text in a vault below a statue of Hermes inTyana, and that, inside the vault, an old corpse on a golden throne held theEmerald Tablet.[36] It was translated into Latin byHugo of Santalla in the twelfth century.[37]
TheEmerald Tablet: a compact and cryptic text first attested in theSirr al-khalīqa wa-ṣanʿat al-ṭabīʿa (late eighth or early ninth century).[38] There are several other, slightly different Arabic versions (among them one quoted in a text attributed toJabir ibn Hayyan, and one found in the longer version of the pseudo-AristotelianSirr al-asrār or "Secret of Secrets"), but these are all likely to date from a later period.[39] It was translated several times into Latin in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries,[40] and was widely regarded by medieval and early modernalchemists as the foundation of their art.[41]Isaac Newton (1642–1726) still used it as a source of inspiration.[42]
TheRisālat al-Sirr ("The Epistle of the Secret") is an Arabic alchemical treatise probably composed in tenth-centuryFatimid Egypt.[43]
TheRisālat al-Falakiyya al-kubrā ("The Great Treatise of the Spheres") is an Arabic alchemical treatise composed in the tenth or eleventh century. Perhaps inspired by theEmerald Tablet, it describes the author's (Hermes') attainment of secret knowledge through his ascension of theseven heavenlyspheres.[44]
TheKitāb dhakhīrat al-Iskandar ("The Treasure of Alexander"): a work dealing with alchemy,talismans, and specific properties, which cites Hermes as its ultimate source.[45]
TheLiber Hermetis de alchemia ("The Book of Hermes on Alchemy"), also known as theLiber dabessi or theLiber rebis, is a collection of commentaries on theEmerald Tablet. Translated from the Arabic, it is only extant in Latin. It is this Latin translation of theEmerald Tablet on which all later versions are based.[46]
TheKitāb al-Isṭamākhīs,Kitāb al-Isṭamāṭīs,Kitāb al-Usṭuwwaṭās,Kitāb al-Madīṭīs, andKitāb al-Hādīṭūs, also known as thePseudo-Aristotelian Hermetica, are a number of closely related and partially overlapping texts. Purporting to be written byAristotle in order to teach his pupilAlexander the Great the secrets of Hermes, they deal with the names and powers of theplanetary spirits, the making oftalismans, and the concept of a personal "perfect nature".[47] Perhaps composed in the ninth century,[48] extracts from them appear in pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana'sSirr al-khalīqa wa-ṣanʿat al-ṭabīʿa ("The Secret of Creation and the Art of Nature", c. 750–850, seeabove),[49] in theEpistles of the Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ ("The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity", c. 900–1000),[50] in Maslama al-Qurṭubī'sGhāyat al-Ḥakīm ("The Aim of theSage", 960, better known under its Latin title asPicatrix),[51] and in the works of the Persian philosopherSuhrawardī (1154–1191).[52] One of them was translated into Latin in the twelfth or thirteenth century under the titleLiber Antimaquis.[53]
TheCyranides is a Greek work on healing magic which treats of the magical powers and healing properties ofminerals,plants andanimals, for which it regularly cites Hermes as a source. It was translated into Arabic in the ninth century, but in this translation all references to Hermes seem to have disappeared.[54]
TheSharḥ Kitāb Hirmis al-Ḥakīm fī Maʿrifat Ṣifat al-Ḥayyāt wa-l-ʿAqārib ("The Commentary on the Book of the Wise Hermes on the Properties of Snakes and Scorpions"): a treatise on thevenom of snakes an other poisonous animals.[55]
TheDāʾirat al-aḥruf al-abjadiyya (The Circle of Letters of the Alphabet"): a practical treatise on letter magic attributed to Hermes.[56]
Contrary to the "technical"Hermetica, whose writing began in the earlyHellenistic period and continued deep into theMiddle Ages, the extant religio-philosophicalHermetica were for the most part produced in a relatively short period of time, i.e., between c. 100 and c. 300 CE.[57] They regularly take the form of dialogues between Hermes Trismegistus and his disciples Tat, Asclepius, and Ammon, and mostly deal with philosophicalanthropology,cosmology, andtheology.[58] The following is a list of all known works in this category:
First Latin edition of theCorpus Hermeticum, translated by Marsilio Ficino, 1471 CE
Undoubtedly the most famous among the religio-philosophicalHermetica is theCorpus Hermeticum, a selection of seventeenGreek treatises that was first compiled byByzantine editors, and translated into Latin in the fifteenth century byMarsilio Ficino (1433–1499) andLodovico Lazzarelli (1447–1500).[59] Ficino translated the first fourteen treatises (I–XIV), while Lazzarelli translated the remaining three (XVI–XVIII).[60] The name of this collection is somewhat misleading, since it contains only a very small selection of extant Hermetic texts, whereas the wordcorpus is usually reserved for the entire body of extant writings related to some author or subject. Its individual treatises were quoted by many early authors from the second and third centuries on, but the compilation as such is first attested only in the writings of theByzantine philosopherMichael Psellus (c. 1017–1078).[61]
The most well known among the treatises contained in this compilation is its opening treatise, which is called thePoimandres. However, at least until the nineteenth century, this name (under various forms, such asPimander orPymander) was also commonly used to designate the compilation as a whole.[62]
In 1462 Ficino was working on a Latin translation of the collected works ofPlato for his patronCosimo de' Medici, but when a manuscript of theCorpus Hermeticum became available, he immediately interrupted his work on Plato in order to start translating the works of Hermes, which were thought to be much more ancient, and therefore much more authoritative, than those of Plato.[63] This translation provided a seminal impetus in the development ofRenaissance thought and culture, having a profound impact on the flourishing ofalchemy andmagic in early modern Europe, as well as influencing philosophers such as Ficino's studentPico della Mirandola (1463–1494),Giordano Bruno (1548–1600),Francesco Patrizi (1529–1597),Robert Fludd (1574–1637), and many others.[64]
TheAsclepius (also known as thePerfect Discourse, from GreekLogos teleios) mainly survives in a Latin translation, though some Greek andCoptic fragments are also extant.[65] It is the only Hermetic treatise belonging to the religio-philosophical category that remained available to Latin readers throughout the Middle Ages.[66]
TheDefinitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius is a collection ofaphorisms that has mainly been preserved in a sixth-century CEArmenian translation, but which likely goes back to the first century CE.[67] The main argument for this early dating is the fact that some of its aphorisms are cited in multiple independent Greek Hermetic works. According toJean-Pierre Mahé, these aphorisms contain the core of the teachings which are found in the later Greek religio-philosophicalHermetica.[68]
In fifth-centuryMacedonia,Joannes Stobaeus or "John ofStobi" compiled a hugeAnthology of Greek poetical, rhetorical, historical, and philosophical literature in order to educate his son Septimius. Thoughepitomized by laterByzantine copyists, it still remains a treasure trove of information about ancient philosophy and literature which would otherwise be entirely lost.[69] Among the excerpts of ancient philosophical literature preserved by Stobaeus are also a significant number of discourses and dialogues attributed to Hermes.[70] While mostly related to the religio-philosophical treatises as found in theCorpus Hermeticum, they also contain some material that is of a rather more "technical" nature. Perhaps the most famous of the Stobaean excerpts, and also the longest, is theKorē kosmou ("The Daughter of the Cosmos" or "The Pupil [of the eye] of the Cosmos").[71]
The Hermetic excerpts appear in the following chapters of Stobaeus'sAnthology (which is organized by subject matter, and contains in the same chapters many excerpts and doctrines attributed to others):[72]
In the chapter "God is Craftsman of Existing Things and Pervades the Universe with his Design of Providence": 1.1.29a
In the chapter "On Justice, Punisher of Errors, Arrayed alongside God to Oversee Human Deeds on Earth": 1.3.52
In the chapter "On (Divine) Necessity, by which things Planned by God Inevitably Occur": 1.4.7b, 1.4.8
In the chapter "On Fate and the Good Ordering of Events": 1.5.14, 1.5.16, 1.5.20
In the chapter "On the Nature and Divisions of Time, and the Extent of its Causation": 1.8.41
In the chapter "On Matter": 1.11.2
In the chapter "On the Cosmos: Whether it Has a Soul, is Administered by Providence, the Location of its Ruling Faculty, and its Source of Nourishment": 1.21.9
In the chapter "On Nature and its Derived Causes": 1.41.1, 1.41.4, 1.41.6, 1.41.7, 1.41.8, 1.41.11
In the chapter "How Resemblances from Parents and Ancestors Are Transmitted": 1.42.7
In the chapter "On the Soul": 1.49.3, 1.49.4, 1.49.5, 1.49.6, 1.49.44 (= theKorē Kosmou excerpt), 1.49.45, 1.49.46, 1.49.47
In the chapter "On the Interpreters of Divine Matters and How the Truth concerning the Essence of Intelligible Realities is Incomprehensible to Human Beings": 2.1.26
In the chapter "On What is in Our Power" ("Free Will"): 2.8.31
Among theCoptic treatises which were found in 1945 in theUpper Egyptian town ofNag Hammadi, there are also three treatises attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. Like all documents found in Nag Hammadi, these were translated from the Greek.[73] They consist of some fragments from theAsclepius (VI,8; mainly preserved in Latin, seeabove),The Prayer of Thanksgiving (VI,7) with an accompanying scribal note (VI,7a), and an important new text calledThe Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth (VI,6).[74] They all share abipartite rather than atripartite anthropology.[75]
TheOxford Hermetica consists of a number of short fragments from some otherwise unknown Hermetic works. The fragments are preserved in pages 79–82 ofCodex Clarkianus gr. II, a 13th- or 14th-centurymanuscript held at theBodleian Library inOxford. The texts, anthologized from much earlier materials, deal with the soul, the senses, law, psychology, and embryology.[76]
TheVienna Hermetica consists of four short fragments from what once was a collection of ten Hermetic treatises, one of which was calledOn Energies. The fragments are preserved on the back sides of two papyri,P. Graec. Vindob. 29456 recto and 29828 recto, now housed inVienna. The front sides of the papyri contain fragments ofJannes and Jambres, a Jewish romance.[77]
Written in Arabic and probably dating from the twelfth century, theKitāb fi zajr al-nafs ("The Book of the Rebuke of the Soul") is one of the few later Hermetic treatises belonging to the category of religio-philosophical writings.[78]
Fragments of otherwise lost Hermetic works have survived through their quotation by various historical authors. The following is a list of authors in whose works such literal fragments have been preserved:[79]
Apart from literal fragments from Hermetic works, testimonies concerning the ideas of Hermes (likely deriving from Hermetic works but not quoted literally) have also been preserved in the works of various historical authors:[81]
During theRenaissance, all texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus were still generally believed to be ofancient Egyptian origin and to date from before the time ofMoses, or even from before thebiblical flood. In the early seventeenth century, the classical scholarIsaac Casaubon (1559–1614) demonstrated that some of the Greek texts betrayed too recent a vocabulary and must rather date from the early Christian period.[82] Other authors made similar criticisms of theHermetica, largely as a means of undermining various religious and esoteric movements of the time that drew inspiration from them. By the end of the century most scholars had ceased to regard them as sources of primeval wisdom.[83]
Studies in the early twentieth century sought to discern who had written theHermetica.Richard Reitzenstein first argued that theHermetica were a product of a coherent religious community whose ideas derived from Egyptian religion, although in later years he thought Hermetic beliefs were largelyIranian in origin, a position that received little support.[84] Scholars in the middle of the century, such asArthur Darby Nock,C. H. Dodd, and most influentiallyAndré-Jean Festugière, argued that the intellectual background of theHermetica was overwhelmingly Greek, with possible influences from Iranian religions and Judaism, but little connection with authentic Egyptian beliefs.[85] Festugière believed the philosophicalHermetica had only slight connections to the technicalHermetica, and that the former originated with a small philosophical school rather than a religious community.[86]Birger A. Pearson has argued for the presence of Jewish elements in theHermetica,[87] whilePeter Kingsley discounts Christian influence in favor of Greek and Jewish elements.[88]
More recent research suggests a greater continuity with the culture of ancient Egypt than had previously been believed.[89] In the 1970s and 1980s,Jean-Pierre Mahé analyzed theDefinitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius together with the recently publishedHermetica fromNag Hammadi.[90] Mahé pointed out that the earliest Greek Hermetic treatises contain many parallels with Egyptian prophecies and hymns to the gods, and that close comparisons can be found with Egyptianwisdom literature, which (like many of the early GreekHermetica) was characteristically couched in words of advice from a "father" to a "son".[91] Soon afterward,Garth Fowden argued that the philosophical and technicalHermetica were distinct but interdependent, and that both were products of complex interactions between Greek and Egyptian culture.[92] Richard Jasnow and Karl-Theodor Zauzich have identified fragments of aDemotic (late Egyptian) text that contains substantial sections of a dialogue betweenThoth and a disciple, written in a format similar to theHermetica. This text probably originated among the scribes of a "House of Life", an institution closely connected with majorEgyptian temples.[93][94] Christian Bull argued in 2018 that theHermetica were in fact written by Egyptian priests in late Ptolemaic and Roman times who presented their traditions to Greek-speaking audiences in Greek philosophical terms.[95]
In contradistinction to the early Greek religio-philosophicalHermetica, which have long been studied from a scholarly perspective, the "technical"Hermetica (both the early Greek treatises and the later Arabic and Latin works) remain largely unexplored by modern scholarship.[96]
^A survey of the literary and archaeological evidence for the background of Hermes Trismegistus in the Greek Hermes and the Egyptian Thoth is found inBull 2018, pp. 33–96.
^Copenhaver 1992, p. xxxiii;Bull 2018, pp. 2–3. Garth Fowden is somewhat more cautious, noting that our earliest testimonies date to the first century BCE (seeFowden 1986, p. 3, note 11).
^Bull 2018, pp. 163–174; cf.Copenhaver 1992, p. xxxiii. On the identification of Nechepsos with Necho II and of Petosiris with Petese, see the references inBull 2018, p. 163, note 295.
^The Arabic translation of the first book was edited byToral-Niehoff 2004. The Arabic fragments of the other books were edited byUllmann 2020. The Latin translation was edited byDelatte 1942.
^Van Bladel 2009, p. 17, note 45, p. 21, note 60. The Arabic version of the first book was edited byToral-Niehoff 2004. The Arabic fragments of the other books were edited byUllmann 2020.
^Copenhaver 1992, p. xliv;Bull 2018, p. 32. The sole exception isThe Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius, which may date to the first century CE (seeBull 2018, p. 9, referring toMahé 1978–1982, vol. II, p. 278; cf.Mahé 1999, p. 101). Earlier dates have been suggested, most notably byFlinders Petrie (500–200 BCE) and Bruno H. Stricker (c. 300 BCE), but these suggestions have been rejected by most other scholars (seeBull 2018, p. 6, note 23). Some Hermetic treatises of a generally religio-philosophical nature were written in later periods (e.g., theKitāb fi zajr al-nafs or "The Book of the Rebuke of the Soul", dating from the twelfth century; edited byBardenhewer 1873 and byBadawi 1955, pp. 53–116; English translation of Bardenhewer's Latin translation inScott 1924–1936, vol. IV, pp. 277-352), but these appear to be rather rare, and it is not clear whether they bear any relation to the early Greek treatises; seeVan Bladel 2009, p. 226.
^SeeHanegraaff 2006, p. 680. The Chapter no. XV of early modern editions was once filled with an entry from theSuda (a tenth-century Byzantine encyclopedia) and three excerpts from Hermetic works preserved byJoannes Stobaeus (fl. fifth century, seebelow), but this chapter was left out in later editions, which therefore contain no chapter XV (seeCopenhaver 1992, p. xlix).
^Copenhaver 1992, p. xliv. These were all translated by James Brashler, Peter A. Dirkse and Douglas M. Parrott in:Robinson 1990, pp. 321–338. Edition and French translation inMahé 2019, German translation inGall 2021.
Some pieces ofHermetica have been translated into English multiple times by modernHermeticists. However, the following list is strictly limited to scholarly translations:
Brashler, James; Dirkse, Peter A.; Parrott, Douglas M. (1990). "The Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth VI,6". InRobinson, James M. (ed.).The Nag Hammadi Library in English (3rd ed.). New York:HarperCollins. pp. 321–327.ISBN978-0060669355.
Brashler, James; Dirkse, Peter A.; Parrott, Douglas M. (1990). "Prayer of Thanksgiving (VI,7) and Scribal Note (VI,7a)". InRobinson, James M. (ed.).The Nag Hammadi Library in English (3rd ed.). New York:HarperCollins. pp. 328–329.ISBN978-0060669355.
Brashler, James; Dirkse, Peter A.; Parrott, Douglas M. (1990). "Asclepius 21–29 VI,8". InRobinson, James M. (ed.).The Nag Hammadi Library in English (3rd ed.). New York:HarperCollins. pp. 330–338.ISBN978-0060669355.
Mahé, Jean-Pierre (1999). "The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius". In Salaman, Clement; van Oyen, Dorine; Wharton, William D.; Mahé, Jean-Pierre (eds.).The Way of Hermes. London:Duckworth Books. pp. 99–122.ISBN9780892811861.
Scott, Walter (1924–1936).Hermetica: The Ancient Greek and Latin Writings Which Contain Religious or Philosophic Teachings Ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus. Vol. I–IV. Oxford:Clarendon Press.OCLC601704008. (older edition and translation of theCorpus Hermeticum, theAsclepius, the Stobaean excerpts, and various testimonia; vol. IV [pp. 277–352] also contains an English translation of Bardenhewer's Latin translation of the ArabicKitāb fi zajr al-nafs or "Book of the Rebuke of the Soul")
Alfonso-Goldfarb, Ana Maria; Abou-Chahla Jubran, Safa (1999).Livro do Tesouro de Alexandre: Um estudo de hermética árabe na oficina da história de ciência. Petrópolis: Editora Vozes.ISBN9788532614988.
Alfonso-Goldfarb, Ana Maria; Abou-Chahla Jubran, Safa (2008). "Listening to the Whispers of Matter Through Arabic Hermeticism: New Studies on the Book of the Treasure of Alexander".Ambix.55 (2):99–121.doi:10.1179/174582308X255426.PMID19048971.S2CID20127962.
Bausani, Alessandro (1983). "Il Kitāb ʿArḍ Miftāḥ al-Nujūm attribuito a Hermes: Prima traduzione araba di un testo astrologico?".Atti della Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Memorie. Classe di Scienze Morali, Storiche e Filologiche.8/27 (2):84–140.OCLC718412090.
Bausani, Alessandro (1986). "Il Kitāb ʿArḍ Miftāḥ al-Nujūm attribuito a Hermes".Actas do XI Congresso da UEAI (Evora 1982): 371ff.
Dobbs, Betty J. T. (1988). "Newton's Commentary on The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus: Its Scientific and Theological Significance". In Merkel, Ingrid;Debus, Allen G. (eds.).Hermeticism and the Renaissance: Intellectual History and the Occult in Early Modern Europe. Washington, D.C.: The Folger Shakespeare Library. pp. 182–191.ISBN9780918016850.
Gall, Dorothee, ed. (2021).Die göttliche Weisheit des Hermes Trismegistos: Pseudo-Apuleius, Asclepius. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.doi:10.1628/978-3-16-160108-8.ISBN978-3-16-160108-8. (German translation of theAsclepius, with essays by Sydney H. Aufrère, Dorothee Gall, Claudio Moreschini, Zlatko Pleše, Joachim F. Quack, Heike Sternberg el-Hotabi, and Christian Tornau)
Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (2006). "Lazzarelli, Lodovico". In Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (ed.).Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism. Leiden:Brill. pp. 679–683.ISBN9789004152311.
Jasnow, Richard; Zauzich, Karl-Theodor (2014).Conversations in the House of Life: A New Translation of the Ancient Egyptian Book of Thoth. Harrassowitz Verlag.ISBN978-3-447-10116-5.
Kraus, Paul (1942–1943).Jâbir ibn Hayyân: Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam. I. Le corpus des écrits jâbiriens. II. Jâbir et la science grecque. Cairo:Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale.ISBN9783487091150.OCLC468740510. (vol. II, pp. 270–303 about pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana'sSirr al-khalīqa or "The Secret of Creation")
Newman, William R. (2019).Newton the Alchemist: Science, Enigma, and the Quest for Nature's Secret Fire. Princeton: Princeton University Press.ISBN9780691174877.
Norris, John (2006). "The Mineral Exhalation Theory of Metallogenesis in Pre-Modern Mineral Science".Ambix.53 (1):43–65.doi:10.1179/174582306X93183.S2CID97109455.
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Vereno, Ingolf (1992).Studien zum ältesten alchemistischen Schrifttum. Auf der Grundlage zweier erstmals edierter arabischer Hermetica. Vol. Islamkundliche Untersuchungen, band 155. Berlin: Klaus Schwarz Verlag.ISBN978-3879972067. (Arabic texts of theRisālat al-Sirr and theRisālat al-Falakiyya al-kubrā)
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Burnett, Charles (2001). "Aristoteles/Hermes: Liber Antimaquis". In Bos, Gerrit; Burnett, Charles; Lucentini, Paolo (eds.).Hermetis Trismegisti Astrologica et Divinatoria. Corpus Christianorum, CXLIV. Hermes Latinus, IV.IV. Turnhout:Brepols. pp. 177–221.ISBN978-2-503-04447-7. (Latin text of theLiber Antimaquis, a translation from the ArabicKitāb al-Isṭamākhīs)
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Kunitzsch, Paul (2001). "Liber de stellis beibeniis". In Bos, Gerrit; Burnett, Charles; Lucentini, Paolo (eds.).Hermetis Trismegisti Astrologica et Divinatoria. Corpus Christianorum, CXLIV. Hermes Latinus, IV.IV. Turnhout:Brepols. pp. 7–81.ISBN978-2-503-04447-7. (Arabic and Latin text of theLiber de stellis beibeniis)
Steele, Robert (1920).Secretum secretorum cum glossis et notulis. Opera hactenus inedita Rogeri Baconi, vol. V. Oxford:Clarendon Press.OCLC493365693. (Latin translation of theSirr al-asrār; pp. 115–117 contain a version of theEmerald Tablet)
