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This complete edition of the Corpus Hermeticum, which introduces in
eighteen chapters the religious and philosophical principles of
Hermetics, was translated by G. R. S. Mead. Hermetics is a
religious, philosophical, and esoteric practice based around the
beliefs and writings of the pagan priest Hermes Trismegistus.
Influential for its distinct beliefs and characteristics,
Hermeticism carried a profound influence over the Renaissance in
Europe. Many Christian believers paid it heed, with much art
depicting the Hermetic belief system appearing between the 14th and
17th centuries in particular. Notably, Hermetics claims to be a
descended version of the prisca theologia - a principle which
affirms there is but one, true theology in the world. This essence
of the divine is present in all religions, and was according to
legend given to mankind in distant antiquity. This belief,
discussed by Hermes Trismegistus, has led many scholars of
philosophy and religion to examine Hermetics in detail.
Pistis Sophia: A Gnostic Gospel, translated by G.R.S. Mead. The
Gnostics were composed of a number of early Christian mystical
sects. Their teachers were persecuted and documents destroyed
because the Church desired a uniform set of beliefs to operate
under. Only now have we begun to better appreciate these early
Christian mystics. Pistis Sophia was the most important Gnostic
document until the discovery and publication of The Nag Hammadi
Library. This work remains an important milestone in Gnostic
research, on par with Nag Hammadi, and should be part of any
serious study. It is the story of how we, as spiritual beings, have
fallen into the world of physical creation. The soul is asleep
here, bogged down in physical surroundings, unaware of its true
nature. The purpose of this gospel is to awaken us, and aid in the
process of spiritual freedom.
George Robert Stow Mead (1863 1933) was for twenty-five years a
prominent member of the Theosophical Society and worked closely
with its founder, Helena Blavatsky. He was fascinated both by
eastern religions and by western esotericism, including gnosticism,
and published widely in these areas. Pistis Sophia, an important,
probably second-century, text preserved in a Coptic manuscript,
presents complex gnostic teachings in 'gospel' format, as having
been addressed by Jesus Christ to his disciples after the
resurrection. This translation, based on a Latin version published
in 1851, appeared in 1896 and was the first English version of a
major gnostic work. The book also includes passages from the Books
of the Saviour found in the same manuscript. Mead's introduction
discusses the origin of the texts and highlights their difficulty.
It also describes the upsurge of scholarly interest in Gnosticism
in the mid-nineteenth century and the mysterious history of the
manuscript itself.
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