58 HERMES TRISMEGISTUS. 



ledge of It is both divine silence and repose (a) of all the 

 Senses. 



6. For he having understood this is neither able to 

 understand any other thing, nor he having beheld this to 

 behold any other thing, nor to hear of any other thing, 

 neither to move his entire body. For seizing hold of all 

 his bodily senses and motions he moves not (6) ; but 



! shining around all the mind and the whole soul, it en- 

 lightens and abstracts from the body, and transforms the 



! whole of it into the Essence of God. 1 For it is possible, 

 Child ! that the soul be deified (c), placed in body of Man, 

 having beheld the beauty of The Good. 



7. Tat. To be deified how sayest thou, Father ? 

 Hermes. Of every soul divisible, Child! there are 



changes. 



Tat. How again divisible ? 



Hermes. Hast thou not heard in the Generics (d) that 



/ from one soul that of the Universe (e) are all souls them- 

 selves which are rolled about (/) in all the world, as if 

 distributed ? Of these the souls then, many are the changes ; 

 of these indeed into a happier, of those into the opposite. 

 Some then indeed being reptile, are changed into watery 



' beings, but some of the watery into terrestrial, but those 

 terrestrial into winged, those serial into men, and those of 

 humankind possess the beginning of immortality changing 

 into demons. Whence thus they pass into the choir of 

 the unerring Gods. But there are two choirs of Gods; 



(a) KXTotpyix. (6) oirpsftii. (c) 



(d) kv ro7$ ytvixots. (e) rq$ TOV TTOCVTO;. (jf) 



1 f< We all with unveiled face reflecting as a mirror the glory of the 

 Lord, are transformed into the- same image from glory to glory " (2 

 Cor. iii. 18, Revised Version). " That by these " (promises) " ye may 

 "become partakers of the Divine Nature " (2 Pet. i. 4. See 1 John 

 iii. 2). As remarked above (ch. iv. 6), Hermes here enunciates the 

 sentiments and objects of the real Christian Mystics of all ages, espe- 

 cially those of the Fathers of the desert, and of the two Macarii 

 Egyptii, of St Augustine, Fenelon, Malebranche, and many others, 

 -especially of the author of the " Imitation of Christ." See ante, ch. 

 iv. 1 and 6, and note there. 



