52 HERMES TRISMEGISTUS. 



part of the world being vacant from the Demon; that 

 Demon to be separated from The God ; who entering in 

 unawares (a) sowed the seed of his own energy, and the Mind 

 conceived what was sown : l adulteries, murders, parricides, 

 sacrileges, impieties, stranglings, hurling down from pre- 

 cipices, and all other such the works of evil demons. 2 



4. For the seeds of The God are few, but great and 

 both beautiful and good: Virtue, and Temperance, and 

 Piety. But Piety is Knowledge of God, 3 which he who 

 recogniseth (fr), becoming full of all the good things, pos- 

 sesses (c) the divine thoughts, and not like the many. 

 Because of this, those being in knowledge, neither please 

 the many, nor the many them ; they seem to be mad, and 

 occasion laughter, and being hated and despised, and per- 

 haps also murdered. For we have said that wickedness (d) 

 must dwell here, being in its own region ; for its region is 

 the earth (e), not the World (/) as some may say blas- 

 pheming. But the Godfearing man will contemn all 

 things, perceiving the Knowledge. For all things to such 

 an one, although to others the evil, are good ; and taking 

 counsel he refers all things unto the Knowledge, and what 

 is wonderful, alone renders the evils good (#). 4 



5. I return again to the discourse of Sense. Human, 

 then, is the common Union (A) in man, of sense with under- 

 standing. But not every man, as I said before, enjoys 



(a.) vmiathQuv. (6) /Iflr/yvovf. (c) 



(d) xoix.iotv. (e) % yij. (/) 



(g) dy a, Gorton*. (Ji) TO xouHMqaett. 



1 See the parable of the Sower, Matthew xiii. 39. " Out of the heart 

 of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries" (Mark vii. 21). "When 

 lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin" (James i. 15). See also 

 Galat. v. 19. 



2 See Lactant., Div. Instit., ii. 15, 16, where these sentiments are 

 quoted as from Hermes. 



3 Quoted by Lactant., ibid. 16. See John xvii. 3. " And this is 

 life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus 

 Christ whom Thou hast sent." That this wisdom and knowledge is 

 identical with piety, St Augustine maintains in his Eucheiridion. 



4 It is superfluous to refer to the numerous passages of Holy Scrip- 

 ture which enunciate the same doctrines as those here set forth. 



