MAGIA E HERMETISMO NAS ORIGENS DA CIÊNCIA

Este artigo realiza um estudo introdutório sobre a relação entre Hermes Trismegisto e os textos atribuídos a ele (especialmente o Corpus Hermeticum) com o pensamento filosófico do Renascimento. Conduz uma investigação a respeito da influência dessa eminente figura na mentalidade renascentista sobre a construção de uma ciência moderna. Para este fim, levamos em consideração a sua recepção, leitura e interpretação por parte dos homens do Renascimento. Palavras-chave: Hermetismo. Hermes Trismegisto. Corpus Hermeticum. Filosofia do Renascimento. Ciência. Abstract This article carries out an introductory study on the relationship between Hermes Trismegistus and the texts attributed to him (especially the Corpus Hermeticum) with the philosophical thought of the Renaissance. It conducts an investigation into the influence of this eminent figure in the Renaissance mentality on the construction of a modern science. For this purpose, we take into account its reception, reading and interpretation by Renaissance men. Keywords: Hermetism. Hermes Trismegistus. Corpus Hermeticum. Renaissance Philosophy.

The painter Meri Genetz and the endless quest for spiritual wisdom

Meri Genetz (1885–1943) was a Finnish painter, esotericist, and a spiritual seeker. Around 1925, she began truly dedicating herself to spiritual seeking and started to make notes of her studies in black notebooks. This article will go through four of those notebooks which today offer a vivid picture of Genetz’s seeking between the years 1925 and 1943. In the beginning, Genetz acquainted herself with Gnosticism, Theosophy, and Kabbalah, as well as the works of Christian mystics, such as Emanuel Swedenborg and Jakob Böhme, the writings of, for example, Paracelsus, and texts attributed to the mythic figure Hermes Trismegistus. Gradually Genetz started to outline her own views, ideas, and theories regarding higher truth and spiritual wisdom. In the beginning of the 1930s her main quest came to be to find her ‘other half’ and become whole. She started attending Spiritualist séances, where she would ask about her other half and discuss the state of her soul, the souls of others, her art and marriage, and the books she had read. In time, Genetz’s quest for true wisdom and self-fulfilment became more and more restless and impatient. When she died in 1943, she was still seeking.

Prophesying the Demise of Egyptian Religion in Late Antiquity: The Perfect Discourse and Antoninus in Canopus

When the demise of traditional Egyptian religion took place is much debated. Some scholars have portrayed vibrant cults continuing well beyond the 4th century, embattled by Christianity, whereas others see a marked decline in the late 2nd and early 3rd century, leaving a blank slate for Christianity in the fourth century. The present contribution interprets the apocalyptic prophecy of Hermes Trismegistus in the Perfect Discourse to reflect a priestly insider’s perspective of the decline in temple-cult in the early 3rd century, and its projected catastrophic consequences for Egypt and indeed the cosmic order. Yet, despite the general neglect of temple-cult and literacy in the Egyptian priestly scripts, certain temples remained in use. The second part of the article is devoted to the survival and apparent rejuvenation of the temple of Osiris/Serapis in Canopus, in the second half of the 4th century. This case shows that at this late date there were still self-consciously traditionalist devotees of Egyptian gods, though our sources do not permit us to see to what degree their temple-cult corresponded to the old “standard model.” The temple’s alliance with the non-Egyptian Neoplatonist Antoninus suggests that the image of Egypt as the temple of the world is now championed in the language of Hellenism, and Antoninus updates the now nearly two-centuries-old prophecy of Hermes Trismegistus to predict the fall of the Serapis temples in Alexandria and Canopus after his death. Both the Perfect Discourse and Antoninus are testimonies of a literate elite that saw the great temples as the essence of Egyptian religion, and their demise as the end of Egypt and the world.

Classical and Christian Auctoritas in Marsilio Ficino’s preface to the Corpus Hermeticum

Marsilio Ficino’s fame as a translator, not least due to his contributions to theology and the development of hermeticism, has already been established by Frances Yates and debated by Wouter Hanegraaff. For each of his translations of Greek texts, Ficino wrote a preface to guide and to manipulate the reader. This paper presents an analysis of the auctoritas in the paratext of the Corpus Hermeticum, analyzing it as a rhetorical device used by Ficino to express his ideas, particularly the role of Hermes Trismegistus. Ficino used his rhetorical skill not only to translate from Greek to Latin but also to support his theories in commentaries, letters, or, in this case, prefaces.

The Hermetic Logo in the Apology of Arnobius the Elder

This article discusses the attitude of the 3rd-century apologist Arnobius the Elder to the philosophy of ancient Hermeticism and its mythical founder Hermes Trismegistus according to the apologetic essay The Seven Books against the Heathen. Also considered are the reasons for the refusal of the rhetoric from Sikki to abandon the so-called ‘Christian concordism’ with certain provisions of the Hermetic teaching and the dual perception of the image of Hermes Trismegistus.