xvi PREFACE. 



The genuine works of our Hermes now extant and here 

 translated, and presumably belonging to the latter part of 

 the first century and beginning of the second, are 



1. The " Poemandres," of which he is by common con- 

 sent the author, which consists mostly of dialogues after the 

 manner of Plato. The first alone bears that name, being a 

 colloquy between that personage who represents "NoDg," 

 or "Mind" the Wisdom and Power and Providence of 

 God, Life, and Light with Hermes himself. The eleventh 

 chapter also contains a dialogue of a similar character. In 

 the remainder Hermes instructs his son Tat and his dis- 

 ciple and grandson Asclepius, and in part mankind gene- 

 rally, in the wonderful Knowledge of God and of the Crea- 

 tion and of Piety, which he had learned from Nofe. 



2. Several portions of the books of Hermes and his son 

 Tat, for which we are mainly indebted to the excerpts 

 made by Stobseus in his "Physica," "Ethica," and the 

 " Florilegium." Also fragments of the first book of the 

 "Digressions to Tat," which are quoted in the works of 

 Cyril of Alexandria against Julian ; and some portions of 

 the books of Hermes to the earlier Ammon, which are 

 extracted from that work by Stobaeus in his " Physica," 

 with a few sentences quoted by Lactantius which are not 

 to be found elsewhere. The citations from Hermes con- 

 tained in the Christian Fathers will be found in Part III. 



Other discourses commonly called " Hermaica," but 

 which are not his, because containing statements and 

 doctrines which are inconsistent with his, and are either 

 of Egyptian and heathenish origin, or savour of the later 

 teaching of Plotinus and Jamblichus, and besides contain 

 evident anachronisms, are therefore not included in this 

 volume, although we find there plagiarisms from the 

 original Hermes and many statements accordant with 

 Christianity. These are : 



1. The "Perfect Discourse" (\dyoc, reXziog), which bears 

 the title of Asclepius. The author speaks of Hermes as 

 "my grandfather," and calls Ammon into council pre- 

 sumably that Ammonius Saccas who was the master of 



