No More Learning

in Merc. 14, Il. ii. 26, xxiv, 343,
and in this capacity he appears even in the Homeric &c. ) Another important function of Hermes was
poems; his original character of an ancient Pe to conduct the shades of the dead from the upper
lasgian, or Arcadian divinity of nature, gradually into the lower world, whence he is called yuxa
disappeared in the legends. As the herald of the | πομπός, νεκροπομπός, ψυχαγωγός, &c (Hom. Οd.
gods, he is the god of skill in the use of speech and / xxiv. 1, 9, Hymn. in Cer. 379, &c. ; Eustath. ad
of eloquence in general, for the heralds are the Hom. p. 561 ; Diog. Laërt. viii. 31 ; Hygin. Fab.
public speakers in the assemblies and on other oc- | 251. )
casions. (1l. i. 333, iv. 193, vii. 279, 385, viii. The idea of his being the herald and messenger
517, xi. 684 ; comp. Orph. Hymn. 27. 4 ; Aelian, of the gods, of his travelling from place to place
H. A. x. 29; Hor. Carm. i. 10. 1. ) As an and concluding treaties, necessarily implied the .
adroit speaker, he was especially employed as mes- notion that he was the promoter of social inter-
senger, when eloquence was required to attain the course and of commerce among men, and that he
desired object. (Od. i. 38, n. xxiv. 390; Hom. was friendly towards man. (Od. xix. 135, Il. xxiv.
Hynn. in Cer. 335. ) llence the tongues of sacri- 333. ) In this capacity he was regarded as the
ficial animals were offered to him. (Aristoph. Pax, maintainer of peace, and as the god of roads, who
1062; Athen. i. p. 16. ) As heralds and messen-protected travellers, and punished those who re-
gers are usually men of prudence and circumspec- fused to assist travellers who had mistaken their
tion, Hermes was also the god of prudence and way. (11. vii. 277, &c. ; Theocrit. xxv, 5; Ari-
skill in all the relations of social intercourse. (n. stoph. Plut. 1159. ) Hence the Athenian generals,
xx. 35, xxiv. 202, Od. ii. 38. ) These qualities on setting out on an expedition, offered sacrifices to
were combined with similar ones, such as cunning, I Hermes, surnamed Hegemonius, or Agetor ; and
1
1
1
1
2
@
1


## p. 413 (#429) ############################################

AERMES.
HERMES.
413
numerous statues of the god were erected on roads, | Hermae) were extremely numerous in Greece. The
at doors and gates, from which circumstance he de Romans identified him with Mercury. [MERCU-
rived a variety of surnames and epithets. As the rius. ] Among the things sacred to him we may
god of commerce, he was called Slépettopos, éuto mention the palm tree, the tortoise, the number
λαιος, παλιγκάπηλος, κερδέμπορος, αγοραίος, &c. . four, and several kinds of fish; and the sacrifices
(Aristoph. Plut. 1155; Pollux, vii. 15; Orph. offered to him consisted of incense, honey, cakes,
Hymn. xxvii. 6 ; Paus. i. 15. $ ! , ii. 9. $. 7, iii. pigs, and especially lambs and young goats. (Paus.
11. & 8, &c. ); and as commerce is the source of vii. 22. $ 2; Aristoph. Plut. 1121, 1144 ; Hom.
wealth, Hermes is also the god of gain and riches, Od. xiv. 435, xix, 397 ; Athen. i. p. 16. )
especially of sudden and unexpected riches, such as The principal attributes of Hermes are: 1. A
are acquired by commerce. As the giver of wealth travelling hat, with a brond brim, which in later
and good luck (THOUTODÓTys), he also presided times was adorned with two little wings; the latter,
over the game of dice, and those who played it however, are sometimes seen arising from his locks,
threw an olive leaf upon the dice, and first drew his head not being covered with the hat. 2. The
this leaf. (Hom. ll. vii. 183; Aristoph. Par, staff (bábsos or OK TT pov): it is frequently men-
365; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 675. ) We have al- tioned in the Homeric poems as the magic staff by
ready observed that Hermes was considered as the means of which he closes and opens the eyes of
inventor of sacrifices, and hence he not only acts mortals, but no mention is made of the person or
the part of a herald at sacrifices (Aristoph. Pax, god from whom he received it, nor of the entwining
433), but is also the protector of sacrificial animals, serpents which appear in late works of art. Ac-
and was believed in particular to increase the ferti- cording to the Homeric hymn and Apollodorus, he
lity of sheep. (Hom. Hymn. in Merc. 567, &c. , received it from Apollo ; and it appears that we
n. xiv. 490, xvi. 180, &c; Hes. Theog. 444. ) must distinguish two staves, which were afterwards
For this reason he was especially worshipped by united into one : first, the ordinary herald's staff
shepherds, and is mentioned in connection with (11. vii. 277, xviii. 505), and secondly, a magic
Pan and the Nymphs. (Hom. Od. xiv. 435; Eu- staff, such as other divinities also possessed. (Lu-
stath. ad Hom. p. 1766; Aristoph. Thesm. 977; cian, Dial. Deor. vii. 5; Virg. Aen. iv. 242, &c. )
Paus. viii. 16. & 1; ix. 34. & 2; Schol. ad Soph. The white ribbons with which the herald's staff
Philoct. 14, 59. ) This feature in the character of was originally surrounded were changed by later
Hermes is a remnant of the ancient Arcadian re- artists into two serpents (Schol. ad Thuc. i. 53;
ligion, in which he was the fertilising god of the Macrob. Sat. i. 19; comp. Hygin. Poet. Astr. ii. 7;
earth, who conferred his blessings on man; and Serv. ad Aen. iv. 242, viü. 138), though the an-
some other traces of this character occur in the cients themselves accounted for them either by
Homeric poems. (1. xxiv. 360, Od. viii. 335, tracing them to some feat of the god, or by regard-
xvi. 185, Hymn. in Merc. 27. )
ing them as symbolical representations of prudence,
Another important function of Hermes was his life, health, and the like. The staff, in later times,
being the patron of all the gymnastic games of the is further adorned with a pair of wings, expressing
Greeks. This idea seems to be of late origin, for the rapidity with which the messenger of the gods
in the Homeric poems no trace of it is found ; and moved from place to place. 3. The sandals
the appearance of the god, such as it is there de (T6B1Aa. ) They were beautiful and golden, and
scribed, is very different from that which we might carried the god across land and sea with the rapi-
expect in the god of the gymnastic art. But as dity of wind; but Homer no where says or sug-
his images were erected in so many places, and gests that they were provided with wings.
The
among them, at the entrance of the gymnasia, the plastic art, on the other hand, required some out-
natural result was, that he, like Heracles and the ward sign to express this quality of the god's san-
Dioscuri, was regarded as the protector of youths dals, and therefore formed wings at his ancles,
and gymnastic exercises and contests (Pind. Nem. whence he is called atnVOTédiaos, or alipes.
x. 53), and that at a later time the Greek artists (Orph. Hymn. xxvii. 4 ; Ov. Met. xi. 312. ) In
derived their ideal of the god from the gymnasium, addition to these attributes, Hermes sometimes
and represented him as a youth whose limbs were holds a purse in his hands. Several representations
beautifully and harmoniously developed by gym- of the god at different periods of his life, as well as
nastic exercises. Athens seems to have been the in the discharge of his different functions, have
first place in which he was worshipped in this come down to us. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. i. p. 63,
capacity. (Pind. Pyth. ii. 10, Isthm. i. 60; Ari- &c. )
[L. S. ]
stoph. Plut. 1161. ) The numerous descendants HERMES, a Greek rhetorician, who is men-
of Hermes are treated of in separate articles. It tioned in the work ad Herennium (i. 11), where
should be observed that the various functions of the he is called doctor noster, and an opinion of his is
god led some of the ancients to assume a plurality quoted. The MSS. of that passage, however, vary,
of gods of this name. Cicero (de Nat. Deor. ii. sone having Hermes, and others Hermestes. Some
22) distinguishes five, and Servius (ad Aen. i. 301, critics have conjectured Hermagoras, but the opi-
iv. 577) four; but these numbers also include nion quoted in the work ad Herennium does not
foreign divinities, which were identified by the agree with what we know to have been the opinion
Greeks with their own Hermes.
of Hermagoras.
[L. S. ]
The most ancient seat of his worship is Arcadia, HERMES and HERMES TRISMEGISTUS
the land of his birth, where Lycaon, the son of ('Epuñs and 'Epuñs TpouéYLOTOS), the reputed
Pelasgus, is said to have built to him the first author of a variety of works, some of which are
temple. (Hygin. Fab. 225. ) From thence his still extant. In order to understand their origin
worship was carried to Athens, and ultimately and nature, it is necessary to cast a glance at the
spread through all Greece. The festivals celebrated philosophy of the New Platonists and its objects.
in his honour were called "Epuara. (Dict. of Ant. The religious ideas of the Greeks were viewed as
3. v. ) His temples and statues (Dict. of Ant. s. v. in some way connected with those of the Egyptians

a


## p. 414 (#430) ############################################

414
HERMES.
HERMES.
at a comparatively early period. Thus the Greek megistus, has been the subject of much controversy,
Hermes was identified with the Egyptian Thot, or but the most probable opinion is, that they were
Thent, as early as the time of Plato. (Philcb. productions of New Platonists. Some of them
$ 23; comp. Cic. de Nat. Deor. iii. 22. ) But the appear to have been written in a pure and sober
intermixture of the religious ideas of the two coun- spirit, and were intended to spread the doctrines of
tries became more prominent at the time when the New Platonists, and make them popular, in
Christianity began to raise its head, and when opposition to the rising power of Christianity, but
ragan philosophy, in the form of New Platonism, others were full of the most fantastic and vision-
made its last and desperate effort against the ary theories, consisting for the most part of astro-
Christian religion. Attempts were then made to logical and magic speculations, the most favourite
represent the wisdom of the ancient Egyptians in top of New Platonism. Several works of this
a higher and more spiritual light, to amalgamate it class have come down to our times, some in the
with the ideas of the Greeks, and thereliy to give Greek language and others only in Latin trans-
to the latter a deep religious ineaning, which made lations ; but all those which are now extant are of
them appear as a very ancient divine revelation, an inferior kind, and were, in all probability, com-
and as a suitable counterpoise to the Christian re- posed during the later period of New Platonism,
ligion. The Egyptian Thot or llermes was con- when a variety of Christian notions had become em-
sidered as the real author of every thing produced bodied in that system. It may be taken for granted,
and discovered by the human mind, as the father on the whole, that none of the works bearing the name
of all knowledge, inventions, legislation, religion, of Hermes, in the form in which they are now before
&c. Hence every thing that man had discovered us, belongs to an earlier date than the fourth, or
and committed to writing was regarded as the perhaps the third, century of our era, though it
property of Hermes. As he was thus the source of cannot be denied that they contain ideas which
all knowledge and thought, or the dóyos embodied, may be as ancient as New Platonism itself. We
he was termed opis péyiotos, Hermes Trismegistus, here notice only the principal works which have
or simply Trismegistus. It was fabled that Py- been published, for many are extant only in MS. ,
thagoras and Plato had derived all their knowledge and buried in various libraries.
from the Egyptian Hermes, who had recorded his 1. Λόγος τέλειος, perhaps the most ancient
thoughts and inventions in inscriptions upon pillars. among the works attributed to Hermes. The
Clemens of Alexandria (Strom. vi. 4. p. 757) Greek original is quoted by Lactantius (Div. Instit.
speaks of forty-two books of Hermes, containing vii. 18), but we now possess only a Latin trans-
the sum total of human and divine knowledge and lation, which was formerly attributed to Appuleius
wisdom, and treating on cosmography, astronomy, of Madaura. It bears the title Asclepius, or
geography, religion, with all its forms and rites, Hermetis Trismegisti Asclepius sive de Natura De-
and more especially on medicine.
There is no orum Dialogus, and seems to have been written
reason for doubting the existence of such a work shortly before the time of Lactantius. Its object
or works, under the name of Hermes, at the time is to refute Christian doctrines, but the author bas
of Clemens. In the time of the New Platonists, at the same time made use of them for his own
the idea of the authorship of Hermes was carried purposes. It seems to have been composed in
still further, and applied to the whole range of Egypt, perhaps at Alexandria, and has the form of
literature. Tamblichus (De Myst. init. ) designates a dialogue, in which Hermes converses with a dis-
the sum total of all the arts and sciences among the ciple (Asclepius) upon God, the universe, nature,
Egyptians by the name Hermes, and he adds that, &c. , and quite in the spirit of the New Platonic
of old, all authors used to call their own productions philosophy. It is printed in some editions of Appu-
the works of Hermes. This notion at once exo leius, and also in those of the Poemander, by
plains the otherwise strange statement in lambli- Ficinus and Patricius. The latter editions, as well
chus (De Myst. viii. 1), that Hermes was the as the Poemander, by Hadr. Turnebus, contain
author of 20,000 works ; Manetho even speaks of 2. “Οροι 'Ασκληπίου προς 'Αμμωνα βασιλέα, which
36,525 works, a number which exactly corresponds is probably the production of the same author as the
with that of the years which he assigns to his preceding work. Asclepius, who here calls Hermes
several dynasties of kings. lamblichus mentions his master, discusses questions of a similar nature,
the works of Hermes in several passages, and such as God, matter, man, and the like.
speaks of them as translated from the Egyptian 3. Ερμού του τρισμεγίστου Ποιμανδρης, is a
into Greek (De Myst. viii. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7); Plutarch work of larger extent, and in so far the most im-
also (De Is. et Os. p. 375, e. ) speaks of works at- portant production of the kind we possess. The
tributed to Hermes, and so does Galen (De Simpl. title Iocuávôpns, or Poemander (from Toluñv, a
Ned. vi. 1) and Cyrillus (Contr. Jul. i. 30). The shepherd, pastor) seems to have been chosen in
existence of works under the name of Hermes, as imitation of the mouth, or Pastor of Hermas (HER-
carly as the second century after Christ, is thus MAS], who has sometimes even been considered as
prored beyond a doubt. Their contents were the author of the Poemander. The whole work
chiefly of a philosophico-religious nature, on the was divided by Ficinus into fourteen, but by Pa-
nature and attributes of the deity, on the world tricius into twenty books, each with a separate
and nature ; and from the work of Lactantius, who heading. It is written in the form of a dialogue,
wrote his Institutes chiefly to refute the educated and can scarcely have been composed previous to the
and learned among the pagans, we cannot help fourth century of our era. It treats of nature, the
perceiving that Christianity, the religion which it creation of the world, the deity, his nature and at-
was intended to crush by those works, exercised a tributes, the buman soul, knowledge, and the like;
considerable influence upon their authors. (See and all these subjects are discussed in the spirit of
e. g. Div. Instit. i. 8, ii. 10, vii. 4, 13. )
New Platonism, but sometimes Christian, oriental,
The question as to the real authorship of what and Jewish notions are mixed up with it in a re-
are called the works of Hermes, or Hermes Tris- markable manner, showing the syncretism so pe


## p. 415 (#431) ############################################

HERMES
415
HERMESIANAX.
a
a
culiar to the philosophy of the period to which we Some of the works bearing the name of Hermes
have assigned this work. It was first published in seem to be productions of the middle ages, such
a Latin translation by Ficinus, under the title as, —
Mercurä Trismegisti Liber de Potestate et Sapientia 8. Tractatus vere Aureus de Lapidis Philosophici
Dei, Tarvisii, 1471, fol. , which was afterwards Decreto, that is, on the philosopher's stone. The
often reprinted, as at Venice in 1481, 1483, 1493, work is divided into seven chapters, which are
1497, &c. The Greek original, with the translation regarded as the seven seals of llermes Trismegis.
of Ficinus, was first edited by Hadr. Turnebus, tus. It was published in Latin by D. Gnosius,
Paris, 1554, 4to. , and was afterwards published Leipzig, 1010, and 1613, 8vo.
again in Fr. Flussatis, Candallae Industria. Bor- 9. Tabula Smaragdina, an essay, professing to
deaux, 1574; in Patricius' Nova de universis Phi- tench the art of making gold, was published at
losophia Libris quatuor comprehensa, Ferrara, 1593, Nürnberg, 1541 and 1545, 4to. , and at Strassburg,
fol. , and again in 161), fol. , and at Cologne in 1566, 8vo.
1630, fol. , with a commentary by Hannibal Ro- 10. Περί βοτανων χυλώσεως is only a fragment,
bellus.
but probably belongs to an carlier period than the
4. Ιατρομαθηματικά ή περί κατακλίσεως νοσούν- two preceding works, and treats of similar subjects
των προγνωστικά εκ της μαθηματικής επιστήμης | as the Kυρανίδες. It is printed at the end of ikoe-
Após "Auuwva Airúttlov, is a work of less import- ther's edition of L. Lydus, de Mensibus, with notes
ance, and contains instructions for ascertaining the by Baehr.
issue of a disease by the aid of mathematics, that 11. Nepl celouwv, on earthquakes, or rather on
is, of astrology, for the author endeavours to show the forebodings implied in them. It is only a
that the nature of a disease, as well as its cure and fragment, consisting of sixty-six hexameter lines,
issue, must be ascertained from the constellation and is sometimes ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus,
under which it commenced. The substance of and sometimes to Orpheus. It was first edited by
this work seems to have been unknown to Fir- Fr. Morel, with a Latin translation by F. A. Bair,
micus (about the middle of the fourth century), Paris, 1586, 4to. , and afterwards by J. S. Schoder,
and this leads us to the supposition that it was 1691, 4to. It is also contained in Maittaire's
written after the time of Firmicus. The work was Miscellanea, London, 1722, 4to. , and in Brunck's
published in a Latin translation in Th. Boder's De Analecta, iii. p. 127.
Ratione et Usu Dierum Criticorum, Paris, 1555, For a more detailed account of the works bearing
4to. , and in Andr. Argolus' De Diebus Criticis Libri the name of Hermes Trismegistus, see Fabric. Bivi.
dus, Patavii, 1639, 4to. The Greek original was Graec. vol. i. pp. 46-94; and especially Baum-
published by J. Cramer (Astrolog. No. vi. Norim- garten-Crusius, De Librorum Hermeticorum Origine
bergae, 1532, 4to. ), and by D.