The Seventh Book.
His Secret Sermon in the Mount
Of Regeneration, and the Profession of Silence.
To His Son Tat.
2.
And when I did humbly entreat thee, at the going up the
Mountain after thou hadst discoursed unto me, having a
great desire, to learn this Argument of Regeneration ;
because among all the rest, I am ignorant only of this thou
toldst me thou wouldst impart it unto me, when I would
estrange myself from the World: whereupon I made myself
ready, and have vindicated the understanding that is in me,
from the deceit of the World.
3. Now then fulfill my defects, and as thou saidst instruct
me of Regeneration, either by word of mouth or secretly;
for I know not, O Trismegistus, of what Substance, or what
Womb or what Seed a Man is thus born.
4. Hermes. O Son, this Wisdom is to be understood in
silence, and the Seed is the true Good.
5. Tat. Who soweth it, O Father . for I am utterly ignorant
and doubtful.
6. Hermes. The Will of God, O Son.
7. And what manner of Man is he that is thus born? for in
this point, I am clean deprived of the Essence that
understandeth in me.
8. Hermes. The Son of God will be another, God made the
universe, that in everything consisteth of all powers.
9. Tat. Thou tellest me a Riddle, Father, and dost not
speak as a Father to his Son.
10. Hermes. Son, things of this kind are not taught, but
are by God, when he pleaseth, brought to remembrance.
11. Tat. Thou speakest of things strained, or far fetched,
and impossible, Father; and therefore I will directly
contradict them.
12. Hermes. Wilt thou prove a stranger, Son, to thy
Father's kind.
13. Do not envy me, Father, or pardon me, I am thy Natural
Son; discourse unto me the manner of Regeneration.
14. Hermes. What shall I say, O my Son? I have nothing to
say more than this, that I see in myself an unfeigned sight
or spectacle, made by the mercy of God, and I am gone out
of myself into an immortal body, and am riot now what I was
before, but was begotten in Mind.
15. This thing is not taught, nor is it to be seen in this
formed Element; for which the first compound form was
neglected by me; and that I am now separated from it ; for
I have both the touch and the measure of it, yet am I now
estranged from them.
16. Thou seest, O Son, with thine eyes; but though thou
look never so steadfastly upon me, with the Body, and
bodily sight, thou canst not see, nor understand what I am
now.
17. Tat. Thou hast driven me, O Father, into no small fury
and distraction of mind, for I do not now see my self.
18. Hermes. I would, O Son, that thou also wert gone out of
thyself, like them that dream in their sleep.
19. Tat. Then tell me this, who is the Author and Maker of
Regeneration ?
20. Hermes. The child of God, one Man by the Will of God.
21. Tat. Now, O Father, thou hast put me to silence for
ever and all my former thoughts have quite left and
forsaken me, for I see the greatness, and shape of all
things here below, and nothing but falsehood in them all.
22. And since this mortal Form is daily changed, and turned
by this time into increase, and diminution, as being
falsehood; what therefore is true, O Trismegistus?
23. Trismegistus. That, O Son, which is not troubled, nor
bounded; not coloured, not figured, not changed; that which
is naked, bright, comprehensible only of itself,
unalterable, unbodily.
24. Tat. Now I am mad, indeed, Father; for when I thought
me to have been made a wise man by thee, with these
thoughts thou hast quite dulled all my senses.
25. Hermes. Yet is it so, as I say, O Son, He that Looketh
Only upon that which is carried upward as Fire, that which
is carried downward as Earth, that which is moist as Water,
and that which bloweth or is subject to blast as Air; how
can he sensibly understand that which is neither hard, nor
moist, nor tangible, nor perspicuous, seeing it is only
understood in power and operation; but I beseech and pray
to the Mind which alone can understand the Generation,
which is in God.
26. Tat. Then am I, O Father, utterly unable to do it.
27. Hermes. God forbid, Son, rather draw or pull him unto
thee (or Study to Know Him) and he will come, be but
Willing, and it shall be done; quiet (or make idle) the
Senses of the Body, purging thyself from unreasonable
brutish torments of matter.
28. Tat. Have I any revengers or tormentors in myself,
Father ?
29. Hermes. Yes, and those, not a few, but many and fearful
ones.
30. Tat. I do not know them, Father.
31. Hermes. One Torment, Son, is Ignorance, a second,
Sorrow, a third, Intemperance, a fourth Concupiscence, a
fifth, Injustice, a sixth, Covetousness, a seventh, Deceit,
an eighth, Envy, a ninth, Fraud or Guile, a tenth, Wrath,
an eleventh, Rashness, a twelfth, Maliciousness.
32. They are in number twelve, and under these many more;
some which through the prison of the body, do force the
inwardly placed Man to suffer sensibly
33. And they do not suddenly, or easily depart from him,
that hath obtained mercy of God; and herein consists, both
the manner and the reason of Regeneration.
34. For the rest, O Son, hold thy peace, and praise God in
silence, and by that means, the mercy of God will not
cease, or be wanting unto us.
35. Therefore rejoice, my Son, from henceforward, being
purged by the powers of God, to the Knowledge of the Truth.
36. For the revelation of God is come to us, and when that
came all Ignorance was cast out.
37. The knowledge of Joy is come unto us, and when that
comes, Sorrow shall fly away to them that are capable of
it.
38. I call unto Joy, the power of Temperance, a power whose
Virtue is most sweet; Let us take her unto ourselves, O
Son, most willingly, for how at her coming hath she put
away Intemperance.
39. Now I call the fourth, Continence, the power which is
over Concupiscence. This, O Son, is the stable and firm
foundation of Justice.
40. For see, how without labour, she hath chased away
injustice and we are justified, O Son, when Injustice is
away.
41. The sixth Virtue which comes into us, I call Communion,
which is against Covetousness.
42. And when that (Covetousness) is gone, I call Truth ;
and when she cometh, Error and Deceit vanisheth.
43. See, O Son, how the Good is fulfilled by the access of
Truth; for by this means, Envy is gone from us; for Truth
is accompanied with the Good, together also with Life and
Light.
44. And there came no more any torment of Darkness, but
being overcome, they are all fled away suddenly, and
tumultuarily.
45. Thou hast understood, O Son, the manner of
Regeneration; for upon the coming of these Ten, the
Intellectual Generation is perfected, and then it driveth
away the twelve; and we have seen it in the Generation
itself.
46. Whosoever therefore hath of Mercy obtained this
Generation which is according to God, he leaving all bodily
sense, knoweth himself to consist of divine things, and
rejoiceth, being made by God stable and immutable.
47. Tat. O Father, I conceive and understand, not by the
sight of mine eyes, but by the Intellectual Operation,
which is by the Powers. I am in Heaven, in the Earth, in
the Water, in the Air, I am in living Creatures, in the
Plants, in the Womb, everywhere.
48. Yet tell me further, this one thing, How are the
torments of Darkness, being in number Twelve, driven away
and expelled by the Ten powers. What is the manner of it,
Trismegistus?
49. Hermes. This Tabernacle, O Son, consists of the
Zodiacal Circle; and this consisting of twelve numbers, the
Idea of one; but all formed Nature admit of divers
Conjugations to the deceiving of Man.
50. And though they be different in themselves, yet are
they united in practice (as for example, Rashness is
inseparable from Anger) and they are also indeterminate:
Therefore with good Reason, do they make their departure,
being driven away by the Ten powers; that is to say, By the
dead.
51. For the number of Ten, O Son, is the Begetter of Souls.
And there Life and Light are united, where the number of
Unity is born of the Spirit.
52. Therefore according to Reason, Unity bath the number of
Ten, and the number of Ten hath Unity.
53. Tat. O Father, I now see the Universe, and myself in
the Mind.
54. Hermes. This is Regeneration, O Son, that we should not
any longer fix our imagination upon this Body, subject to
the three dimensions, according to this Speech which we
have now commented. That we may not at all calumniate the
Universe.
55. Tat. Tell me, O Father, This Body that consists of
Powers shall it ever admit of any Dissolution?
56. Hermes. Good words, Son, and speak not things
impossible; for so thou shalt sin, and the eye of thy mind
grow wicked.
57. The sensible Body of Nature is far from the Essential
Generation; for that is subject to Dissolution, but this
not; and that is mortal, but this immortal. Dost thou not
know that thou art born a God and the Son of the One, as I
am.
58. Tat. How fain would I, O Father, hear that praise given
by a Hymn, which thou saidst, thou heardst from the Powers
when I was in the Octonary.
59. Hermes. As Pimander said by way of Oracle to the
Octonary, Thou dost well, O Son, to desire the Solution of
the Tabernacle, for thou art purified.
6o. Pimander, the Mind of absolute Power and Authority,
hath delivered no more unto me, than those that are
written; knowing that of myself, I can understand all
things, and hear, and see what I will. And he commanded me
to do those things that are good; and therefore all the
Powers that are in me sing.
6i. Tat. I would hear thee, O Father, and understand these
things.
62. Hermes. Be quiet, O Son, and now hearken to that
harmonious blessing and thanksgiving: the hymn of
Regeneration, which I did not determine to have spoken of
so plainly, but to thyself in the end of all.
63. Wherefore this is not taught, but hid in silence.
64. So then, O Son, do thou standing in the open Air,
worship looking to the North Wind, about the going down of
the Sun, and to the South, when the Sun ariseth; And now
keep silence, Son.
The Secret Song.
The Holy Speech.
65. Let all the Nature of the world entertain the hearing
of this Hymn.
66. Be opened, O Earth, and let all the Treasure of the
Rain be opened.
67. You Trees tremble not, for I will sing and praise the
Lord of the Creation, and the All and the One.
68. Be opened you Heavens, ye Winds stand still, and let
the Immortal Circle of God receive these words.
69. For I will sing, and praise him that created all
things, that fixed the Earth, and hung up the Heavens, and
commanded the sweet Water to come out of the Ocean; into
all the World inhabited, and not inhabited, to the use and
nourishment of all things, or men.
70. That commanded the fire to shine for very action, both
to Gods and Men.
71. Let us altogether give him blessing, which rideth upon
the Heavens, the Creator of all Nature.
72. This is he that is the Eye of the Mind, and Will accept
the praise of my Powers.
73. O all ye Powers that are in me, praise the One and the
All.
74. Sing together with my Will, all you Powers that are in
me.
75. O Holy Knowledge, being enlightened by thee, I magnify
the intelligible Light, and rejoice in the Joy of the Mind.
76. All my Powers sing praise with me, and thou my
Continence, sing praise my Righteousness by me; praise that
which is righteous.
77. O Communion which is in me, praise the All.
78. By me the Truth sings praise to the Truth, the Good
praiseth the Good.
79. O Life, O Light from us, unto you comes this praise and
thanksgiving.
8o. I give thanks unto thee, O Father, the operation or act
of my Powers.
8i. I give thanks unto thee, O God, the power of my
operations.
82. By me thy Word sings praise unto thee, receive by me
this reasonable (or verbal) sacrifice in words.
83. The powers that are in me cry these things, they praise
the All, they fulfil thy Will; thy Will and Counsel is from
thee unto thee.
84. O All, receive a reasonable Sacrifice from all things.
85. O Life, save all that is in us: O Light enlighten, O
God the Spirit; for the Mind guideth or feedeth the Word ;
O Spirit bearing Workman.
86. Thou art God, thy Man crieth these things unto thee
through by the Fire, by the Air, by the Earth, by the
Water, by the Spirit, by thy Creatures.
87. From eternity I have found (means to) bless and praise
thee, and I have what I seek, for I rest in thy Will.
88. Tat. O Father, I see thou hast sung this Song of praise
and blessing with thy whole Will; and therefore have I put
and placed it in my World.
89. Hermes. Say in thy intelligible World, O Son.
90. Tat. I do mean in my Intelligible World, for by thy
Hymn and Song of Praise my mind is enlightened: and gladly
would I send from my Understanding a Thanksgiving unto God.
91. Hermes. Not rashly, O Son.
92. Tat. In my mind, O Father.
93. Hermes. Those things that I see and contemplate, I
infuse into thee; and therefore say, thou son Tat, the
Author of thy succeeding Generations, I send unto God these
reasonable Sacrifices.
94. O God, Thou art the Father, Thou art the Lord, Thou art
the Mind, accept these reasonable Sacrifices which Thou
requirest of Me.
95. For all things are done as the Mind willeth.
96. Thou, O Son, send this acceptable Sacrifice to God, the
Father of all things; but propound it also, O Son, by Word.
97. Tat. I thank thee, Father, thou hast advised and
instructed me thus to give praise and thanks.
98. Hermes. I am glad, O Son, to see the Truth bring forth
the Fruits of Good things, and such immortal branches.
99. And learn this of me: Above all other virtues entertain
Silence, and impart unto no man, O Son, the tradition of
Regeneration, lest we be reputed Calumniators; For we both
have now sufficiently meditated, I in speaking, thou in
hearing. And now thou dost intellectually know thyself and
our Father.