The Thrice-Greatest Intellingencer.

 

The Divine Pymander
of
Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus
in XVII books.

Translated
formerly out of the Arabic into Greek
and thence into Latin and Dutch
and now out of the original into English

By that learned divine
Doctor Everard.

London
Printed by Robert White
for The Brewster and Greg. Moule
at the Three Bibles in the Poultry
under Mildred's Church.

1650

To the Reader

Judicious Reader,

This book may justly challenge the first place for antiquity from all the books in the world, being written some hundreds of years before Moses his time, as I shall endeavour to make good. 

The original - as far as is known to us - is Arabic, and several translations thereof have been published, as Greek, Latin, French, Dutch, &c. but never English before. 

It is a pity the learned translator - Doctor Everard - had not lived and received himself the hounour and thanks due to him from Englishmen, for his good will to and pains for them in translating a book of such infinite worth out of the original into their mother tongue.

Concerning the author of the book itself, four things are considerable, viz. his name, learning, country and time.

The name by which he was commonly styled is Hermes Trimegistus, i.e. Mercurius Ter Maximus, or the thrice-greatest intelligencer. And well might he be called Hermes, for he was the first intelligencer in the world - as we read of - that communicated knowledge to the sons of men by writing or engraving. Her was called Ter Maximus for some reasons which I shall afterwards mention.

His learning will appear, as by his works, so by the right understanding the reason of his name.

For his country, he was king of Egypt. 

For his time, it is not without much controversy betwixt those that write of this divine ancient author, what time he lived in. Some say he lived after Moses his time, giving this slender reason for it, viz. because he was named Ter Maximus for being preferred - according to the Egyptian customs - being chief philosopher to be chief of the priesthood, and from thence to be chief in government or king (Franciscus Flussas). But if this be all their ground, you must excuse my dissent from them, and that for this reason: because according to the most learned of his followers - Geber, Paracelsus, Henricus Nollius, In Theoria Philosophiae Hermticæ Tractatus Priimo - he was called Ter Maximus for having perfect and exact knowledge of all things contained in the world, which things he divided into three kingdoms - as he calls them - viz. mineral, vegetable, animal, which three he did excel in the right understanding of; also, because he attained to and transmitted to posterity - although in an ænigmatical and obscure style - the knowledge of the quintessence of the whole universe - which universe, as I said before, he divided into three parts - otherwise called the great elixir of the philosophers, which is the receptacle of all celestial and terrestrial virtues, which secret, many ignorantly deny, many have chargeably sought after, yet few, but some, yea, and Englishmen - Riply, Bacon, Norton, &c. - have happily found. 

The description of this great treasure is daid to be found engraved upon a smaragdine table in the valley of Ebron, after the Flood; so, the reason before alleged to prove this author to live after Moses seems invalid, neither does it anyway appear he lived in Moses his time, although it be the opinion of some, as of John Functius, who says in his Chronology he lived twenty-one years before the Law was given by Moses in the Wilderness. But the reasons he and others give are far weaker than those I shall give for his living before Moses his time. 

My reasons for that are these.

First, because it is received among the ancients that he was the first that invented the art of communicating knowledge to the world by writing or engraving. Now, if so, then in all probability he was before Moses, for it is said of Moses that he was from his childhood skilled in all Egyptian learning (Acts 7.22), which could not well have been without the help of literature, which we never read of any before that invented by Hermes. 

Secondly, he is said by himself (Chapter 10) to be the son of Saturn, and by others - Sanchoniaton - to be scribe to Saturn. Now, Saturn, according to historians, lived in the time of Sarug, Abraham's great grandfather. I shall but take in Suidas his judgement, and so rest satisfied that he did not live only before, but long before Moses. His words are these: Credo Mercurium Trismegistrum sapientem Egyptium florisse ante Pharaonem.

In this book, though so very old, is contained more true knowledge of God and nature than in the books in the world besides, I except only sacred writ; and they that shall judiciously read it, and rightly understand it, may well be excused from reading many books, the authors of which pretend so much to the knowledge of the Creator and creation. If God ever appeared in any man, he appeared in him, as it appears by this book. 

That a man who had not the benefit of his ancestors' knowledge, being as I said before the first inventor of the art of communicating knowledge to posterity by writing should be so high a divine and so deep a philosopher seems to be a thing more of God, then of man, and therefore it was the opinion of some that he came from Heaven, not born upon Earth.

There is contained in this book that true philosophy without which it is impossible ever to attain to the height and exactness of piety and religion. According to this philosophy - I call him a philosopher - that shall learn and study the things that are and how they are ordered and governed, and by whom, and for what cause or to what end, and he that does so will acknowledge thanks to and admire the omnipotent Creator, preserver and director of all these things; and he that shall be thus truly thankful may truly be called pious and religious, shall more and more know where and what the truth is, and learning that, he shall yet be more and more religious. 

The glory and splnedour of philosophy is an endeavouring to understand the chief Good as the fountain of all good. Now, how can we come near to, or find out the fountain, but by making use of the streams as a conduct to it? The operations of nature are streams running from the Fountain of Good, which is God. I am not of the ignorant and foolish opinion of those that say the greatest philosophers are the greatest atheists, as if to know the works of God, and to understand his goings forth in the way of nature, must necessitate a man to deny God. The Scripture (Job, 38.) disapproves of this as a sottish tenet, and experience contradicts it. For behold! Here is the greatest philosopher, and therefore the greatest divine. 

Read understanding this ensuing book - and for thy help, thou may make use of that voluminous commentary written upon it (Hannibal Rosseli Calabar.) - then it will speak more for its author than can be spoken by any man, least by me.

Thine in the love
of the Truth,

J.F.