THE SACREDNESS OF THE CORPUS HERMETICUM

DIVINE AND HUMAN COMMUNICATION IN HERMETIC TEXTS

Abstract

Hermetic texts express sacred words (of the revelation of the sacred) through a philosophical language. The attempt here is to determine whether these texts were received as divinely inspired. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the primary role of Hermes Trismegistus as a charismatic, mythical, authoritative, inspiring persona and transmitter of Gnōsis and Eusebeia in the Corpus Hermeticum. Moreover, it is impossible to comprehend these texts as inspired without reflecting on the hermeneutic approach that must be applied to identify their sacredness, with details that are more sacred, profane, immanent, transcendent, optimistic, pessimistic, etc. This article reviews the understanding of the Corpus Hermeticum not as a merely philosophical work, but as a Sacred Text.