(for the Book of Hermes Trismegistus, addressed to Cosimo de Medici, father of his country.)

At the time when Moses was born, there flourished Atlas the Astrologer, brother of Prometheus the physicist and maternal uncle of the elder Hermes whose nephew was Hermes Trismegistus. This at least is what Augustine writes of him, although Cicero and Lactantius claim that there were five Hermeses, the fifth of whom was called Theut by the Egyptians, and gave them laws and writing. (He invented written characters in the forms of animals and trees, (or hieroglyphs)). He was held in such veneration by men that he was counted among the number of the gods, and a great number of temples were built in honor of his divinity. Because of a certain sense of awe, it was forbidden to speak his real name publicly or lightly. The first month of the Egyptian year is called after him; a city was founded by him, which even today is called in Greek "Hermopolis", i.e. Hermes' city. 

They called him Trismegistus, or "thrice greatest", because he was at once a very great philosopher, a very great priest, and a very great king. It was the custom of the Egyptians (as Plato writes) to choose priests from the ranks of the philosophers, and kings from the priestly caste (coetus). Just as he had outshone all philosophers in intellect and learning, just so, when he became a priest, he excelled all priests in holiness of life and service of the gods; and when finally he assumed royal dignity, he eclipsed the glory of all earlier kings in his achievements and his administration of law. So he deserved the title "thrice greatest". 

He was the first among philosophers to desert the physicists and mathematicians for the contemplation of divine things; he was the first to discuss--with great wisdom--the majesty of God, the order of demons (daemones) and the transmigration (mutationes) of souls. That is why he is called first author of Theology. Orpheus followed him and earned the second place in ancient theology. Then Aglaophemus, initiated into the sacred teaching of Orpheus, was succeeded in theology by Pythagoras; this disciple was Philolaus, the teacher of our divine Plato. So one ancient theology, in all respects consistent within itself, was put together by six theologians in a marvelous succession, beginning with Hermes and brought to perfection by the divine Plato. 

Hermes wrote a great many books on the subject of the knowledge of divine things, in which, Immortal God!, what arcane mysteries, what astonishing oracles are laid bare. And he speaks not just a a philosopher, but very often as a prophet. This man foresaw the downfall of the old religion, the birth of the new faith, the coming of Christ, the judgement that is to come, the resurrection of the dead, the glory of the blessed, the punishment of sinners. So it was that Aurelius Augustine was in doubt whether he had this knowledge from the stars or by the revelations of demons; Lactantius did not hesitate to number him with the Sibyls and Prophets.  

Of Hermes' many books, two are almost divine, one on the divine will, the other on the power and wisdom of God. The former book is called Aesclepius, the latter Pimander. Apuleius the Platonist translated Aesclepius into Latin; Pimander, until recently preserved among the Greeks, has now been brought out of Macedonia into Italy and has reached us through the good offices of Leonard of Pistoia, a learned and holy monk. When, at your insistence, excellent Cosimo, I determined to translate the book form Greek into Latin, I thought it would be only right to dedicate my little work to you. Since it was by your aid and your library that I embarked on my Greek studies, it is only right that I should offer you the first fruits of those Greek studies. Further, the work of so wise a philosopher, so pious a priest, so powerful a king, ought to be dedicated only to someone who himself excels in piety, wisdom and power. 

To turn then to Herme's book: its title is Pimander, since of the four persons who take part in the dialogue, Pimander takes the first part. He wrote the book in the Egyptian language; and, being fluent in Greek, communicated the Egyptian mysteries to the Greeks by translating it. The purpose of the book is to discuss the power and the wisdom of God. The operations (operationes) of these are two-fold (literally "twin"): one remains within the nature of God and creates (concipit) a first and eternal world; the second reaches out to external things and creates a second, temporal world. Consequently he discusses very difficult questions about the two operations and the two worlds: what does god's power create, and what does his wisdom create? By what order do they create within themselves, and by what steps do they give external birth? Further, how do their creations behave towards each other, how are they similar, how do they differ, and finally in what manner do they look back to their author?  

The arrangement of the book is as follows: I divide it into fourteen dialogues. Pimander is the first speaker, Trismegistus the second, Aesculapius the third and Tatius the fourth. Hermes, then, assumes that Aesculpius and Tatius are learned about divine things. The person who has not learned about divine things cannot teach them, and with or human intelligence alone we cannot discover things which are above nature. Divine light is therefore needed, so that we may look at the sun by the sun's own light. But the light of the divine mind is never poured into a soul unless that soul is completely turned towards the mind of God, like the moon towards the sun. A soul is not turned towards a mind unless it becomes mind itself. And a mind does not come into being until it has laid aside the deceits of the senses and the clouds of fantasy. 

That is why Hermes now throws off the senses and the mists of fantasy, bringing himself back to the threshold of mind. Then Pimander, that is, the divine mind, flows into him, and as a result Hermes can contemplate the order of all things, both those existing within God and those emanating from him. Then at last he reveals to the rest of mankind what has been revealed by the divine will.  

This, then, is the title of the book, its theme and its order of contents. Read it, excellent Cosimo, to your advantage, and live long, that our country too may live long.

(Our thanks to Philippa Gould for the major part of this translation. For a paraphrase of the Argumentum by Yates, see pp.12-17 of Giordano Bruno. For the original Latin version, see Marsilio Ficino, Opera omnia, Bale, 1576, p.1836.)