From Poimandres to Jacob Böhme: Gnosis, Hermetism, and the Christian tradition Edited by Roelof van den Broek and Cis van Heertum

From Poimandres to Jacob Böhme: Gnosis, Hermetism, and the Christian tradition Edited by Roelof van den Broek and Cis van Heertum 

The studies collected in this volume deal with ancient, medieval and early modern forms of Gnosis — the inner experience of ultimate reality — and the diverse expressions of their myths, rites, ideas and expectations. They have been written with empathy for the gnostic and Hermetic tradition in western culture but in a strictly historical and critical vein.

The studies on Hermetism and Gnosticism in Antiquity unmistakably show the paradigm shifts caused by the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library in 1945. In the middle of the 20th century, the monumental work on ancient Hermetism by A.-J. Festugière seemed to have settled most of the questions raised by the then known Hermetic literature. According to this great French scholar, the Hermetic view of God, world and man was no more than a compilation of popular Greek philosophical ideas, there was no connection at all with ancient Egyptian beliefs and practices and the alleged mysteries of Hermes did not exist in reality but only in the minds of the authors. The discovery of three Hermetic texts in Codex vI of Nag Hammadi, especially the previously unknown On the Ogdoad and the Ennead, and also the publication of the Armenian Hermetic Definitions, have given a new impetus to the study of Hermetism. This has resulted in a new understanding of the genesis of the Hermetic treatises, a better appreciation of the esoteric meaning of these seemingly superficial philosophical writings, a more positive evaluation of the Egyptian background of Hermetism, and strong arguments in favour of the real existence of Hermetic groups in which initiation into the mysteries of Hermes, prayers, hymns, and vegetarian meals played a central part.

With respect to Gnosticism and its relation to early Christianity it has become increasingly clear that the gnostic movement of the first three centuries of our era was much more variegated than the polemics of the Church Fathers had suggested. And also that the clear distinction they made between orthodox Christianity and heretical Gnosticism did not correspond to the reality of their days. There was a broad scala of' gnostic' ideas which ran from emphasis on Gnosis as an intimate saving knowledge, as in the Gospel of John (17,3: 'This is eternal life: to know thee who alone art truly God') to elaborate systems which explained the nature of God and man, the origin of evil, and the way of salvation through Gnosis, as in the Apocryphon of John. As a corollary, the whole notion of Gnosticism has become problematic in recent research. Gnosticism can no longer be seen as an isolated phenomenon; the ideas which are usually called gnostic have to be studied within the cultural and religious context in which they appear. The Nag Hammadi Library is of great importance for our understanding of the history of early Christianity. We now see much better than before the crucial role second-century gnostics played in the rise of Christian theology, especially with regard to such important items as christology and the interpretation of the Hebrew bible. Several Nag Hammadi writings, the esoteric Gospel of Thomas in particular, proved of paramount importance for the study of the earliest tradition of the sayings of Jesus. It is beyond any doubt that the gnostic ideas on God and man reached their acme within the context of early Christianity. Because of this evident fact, there is a tendency in recent scholarship to assign a Christian origin to Gnosticism in general and to the Nag Hammadi writings in particular, even to those which do not show any Christian influence whatsoever. This seems to me a too limited perspective, since it does not account for obvious non-Christian forms of 'Gnosticism' like that of Mandæism. The gnostic frame of mind was able to adapt itself to various religious myths, like those of Judaism and Christianity, and philosophical patterns of thought, like those of Neoplatonism.

Students of ancient Gnosticism and Hermetism often tend to forget that the ideas they are studying, especially those of Hermetism, did not disappear with the ancient world but remained an active religious and cultural force in western civilization up to the present day. This observation does not only hold for the contents of the so-called philosophical Hermetica, which are almost exclusively dealt with in this book, but also for the more 'practical' Hermetica which included magic, alchemy and astrology. The influence of Hermes Trismegistus as an inspired teacher of divine wisdom and practical science continued during the Middle Ages and reached its culmination in the Italian Renaissance. In the subsequent centuries the Hermetic tradition developed into various directions which resulted in a broad spectrum of diverse but at the same time closely interrelated systems of thought, belief and practices. This new development has been aptly characterized as Hermeticism, in order to distinguish it from the less complicated Hermetism of the classical and the medieval world. But the central idea of ancient Hermetism, the fundamental unity of God, cosmos and man, remained the driving force in all modern offshoots of the Hermetic tradition. Several studies of this volume testify to the vitality of this tradition, up to the theosophy of Jacob Böhme and the magic romanticism of Novalis.

The editors are grateful that the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica has been willing to include the present volume in its series 'Pimander'. This library, founded by Joost R. Ritman, contains the world's largest collection of manuscripts and printed books relevant to the Hermetic tradition in the broadest sense of the word. The library has already published a number of important catalogues and scholarly works dealing with central issues related to its collecting area. The activities of the library with respect to book acquisition and making accessible its resources have greatly enhanced the interest of scholars and a wider public in the Hermetic tradition and its ramifications. Recently, the University of Amsterdam established a new chair for the History of Hermetic philosphy and related currents, especially since the Renaissance. It may be expected that a close co-operation between the two Amsterdam institutions will be fruitful for further scholarly research as well as for a more general fascination for this inspiring aspect of our culture.

Details

• Hardcover 
• Condition: Very good, no notes/stamps 
• IBSN: 9071608107 - 9789071608100
  
• Publishing House: Amsterdam In de Pelikaan 2000