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Rereading Book III of the Corpus Hermeticum (CH III) again, as is my wont. I just realized that the opening lines of the text actually describe the rest of the text; the introduction really does summarize and highlight the essential themes of the rest, short though it is.
The text ends its first section (CH III.1) with the last of three aphorisms:
ἀρχὴ τὸ θεῖον καὶ φύσις καὶ ἐνέργεια καὶ ἀνάγκη καὶ τέλος καὶ ἀνανέωσις.
"[The] beginning is [that which is] the Divine, [which is] Nature, Working, Necessity, End, and Renewal."
ἀρχὴ τὸ θεῖον καὶ φύσις καὶ ἐνέργεια καὶ ἀνάγκη καὶ τέλος καὶ ἀνανέωσις.
"[The] beginning is [that which is] the Divine, [which is] Nature, Working, Necessity, End, and Renewal."
III.2 describes the creation of Nature.
III.3 (1st half) describes the activities (Working/ἐνέργεια) of the gods to create life in Nature.
III.3 (2nd half) describes the purpose (End/τέλος) of humanity.
III.4 describes how Renewal occurs and that it is mandated by Necessity.
III.3 (1st half) describes the activities (Working/ἐνέργεια) of the gods to create life in Nature.
III.3 (2nd half) describes the purpose (End/τέλος) of humanity.
III.4 describes how Renewal occurs and that it is mandated by Necessity.
The text ends with the last statement of CH III.4:
τὸ γὰρ θεῖον ἡ πᾶσα κοσμικὴ σύγκρασις φύσει ἀνανεοθμένη. ἐν γὰρ τῷ θεῖῳ καὶ ἡ φύσις καθέστηκεν.
"For the Divine is the whole cosmic combination renewed by Nature, for the Nature is established in the Divine."
τὸ γὰρ θεῖον ἡ πᾶσα κοσμικὴ σύγκρασις φύσει ἀνανεοθμένη. ἐν γὰρ τῷ θεῖῳ καὶ ἡ φύσις καθέστηκεν.
"For the Divine is the whole cosmic combination renewed by Nature, for the Nature is established in the Divine."
The end echoes the beginning, and the beginning anticipates the end. It really is a whole summary of (proto-)Hermetic belief regarding the creation, function, and functioning of the cosmos and humanity's role within it, and the beauty in its condensed simplicity is just amazing.
Sure, I might be reading into it a bit more than others have or might suggest, but I think this structure raises such a possibility quite strongly that it's a lot more than some pseudo-philosophical devotional whimsy.
While not as enigmatically and symbolically dense as the much more famous Emerald Tablet, I think it's as meaningful and worth at least as much contemplation.
It is, however, still dense, and the condition of the original text leaves much to be desired. Not fully satisfied with the existing translations of this text, I made my own translation earlier this year, with my own analysis and thoughts. Take a look! https://digitalambler.com/2020/06/09/on-the-third-book-of-the-corpus-hermeticum-summary/
