The Asclepius, also known as the Perfect Discourse (from the Greek Logos teleios),[a] is a religio-philosophical Hermetic treatise. The original Greek text, which was likely written in Alexandria between 100 CE and 300 CE,[1] is largely lost and only a few fragments remain. However, the full text is extant in an early Latin translation, and fragments from a Coptic translation have also been found among the documents discovered in Nag Hammadi.[2]

Contents

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The text takes the form of a dialogue, set in the sanctuary of an Egyptian temple, between Hermes Trismegistus and three of his students: Asclepius (a grandson of the Greek god and physician Asclepius), Tat, and Hammon.[3]

Legacy

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Medieval Latin readers had access to many Hermetic treatises of a 'technical' nature (astrological, alchemical, or magical, often translated from the Arabic).[4] However, the Asclepius was the only Hermetic treatise belonging to the 'religio-philosophical' category that was available in Latin before Marsilio Ficino's (1433–1499) and Lodovico Lazzarelli's (1447–1500) translation of the 17 Greek treatises that constitute the Corpus Hermeticum.[5] During the Middle Ages, the Asclepius was falsely attributed to the Middle Platonist philosopher Apuleius (c. 124 – after 170).[6]

The text of the Asclepius was used by the philosopher Peter Abelard (1079–1142) and his student Robert of Melun (c. 1100–1167) as a means to prove that knowledge of the Trinity was naturally available to pagans.[7] Albertus Magnus (c. 1200–1280) praised the idea developed in the Asclepius that the human being forms a link between God and the world, uniting in themselves both the spiritual nature of divine beings and the corporeal nature of the material world.[8]

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Alternative translations of the Greek title include the Perfect Word and the Perfect Teaching, in Latin Sermo perfectus.

Citations

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  1. ^ Salaman 2007, p. 11.
  2. ^ Robinson 1990, pp. 12–13; Copenhaver 1992, pp. xliii–xliv. Critical editions of the Latin text in Nock & Festugière 1945–1954 and Stefani 2019; English translations of the Latin in Copenhaver 1992 and Salaman 2007; English translation of the Coptic fragments in Brashler, Dirkse & Parrott 1990.
  3. ^ Hanegraaff 2022, p. 49.
  4. ^ See, e.g., Burnett 2004; Matton 2004. On the Arabic Hermetica, see Van Bladel 2009.
  5. ^ Copenhaver 1992, p. xlvii.
  6. ^ Ebeling 2007, p. 54; Copenhaver 1992, p. 214.
  7. ^ Ebeling 2007, p. 54.
  8. ^ Ebeling 2007, p. 55.

Bibliography

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Translations and editions

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  • Brashler, James; Dirkse, Peter A.; Parrott, Douglas M. (1990). "Asclepius 21–29 VI,8". In Robinson, James M. (ed.). The Nag Hammadi Library in English (3rd ed.). New York: HarperCollins. pp. 330–338. ISBN 978-0060669355. (English translation of the Coptic fragments)
  • Copenhaver, Brian P. (1992). Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a New English Translation, with Notes and Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-42543-3. (English translation of the Latin text)
  • Gall, Dorothee, ed. (2021). Die göttliche Weisheit des Hermes Trismegistos: Pseudo-Apuleius, Asclepius. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. doi:10.1628/978-3-16-160108-8. ISBN 978-3-16-160108-8. (German translation of the Latin text by Gall and of the Coptic fragments by Joachim F. Quack)
  • Mahé, Jean-Pierre (2019). Hermès Trismégiste. Paralipomènes: Grec, copte, arménien. Codex VI de Nag Hammadi - Codex Clarkianus 11 Oxoniensis - Définitions hermétiques - Divers. Vol. V. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 9782251006321. (edition of the Coptic fragments, with French translation)
  • Nock, Arthur Darby; Festugière, André-Jean (1945–1954). Corpus Hermeticum. Vol. I–IV. Paris: Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 9782251001371. (critical edition of the Latin text)
  • Salaman, Clement (2007). Asclepius: The Perfect Discourse of Hermes Trismegistus. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 9780715635643. (English translation of the Latin text)
  • Stefani, Matteo (2019). Pseudo-Apuleius (Hermes Trismegistus): Asclepius. Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis. Vol. 143. Turnhout: Brepols. ISBN 978-2-503-58477-5. (new critical edition of the Latin text)

Secondary literature

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