The Secret History of Hermes Trismegistus: Hermeticism from Ancient to Modern Times. Foreword by Jan Assman. Translated by David Lorton

Abstract

After a foreword by Jan Assmann, the book is organized by chapters along an increasingly specific chronological framework: early origins and ancient Hermetica, followed by chapters on the Hermetica in the Middle Ages, in the Renaissance, in the 17th century, in the 18th and 19th centuries, and in the 20th century. The treatment is most convincing, and contributes the most, in the half of the book comprising the third, fourth, and fifth chapters: Hermeticism from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment is clearly the author’s strength.