________________
REVIEWS OF BOOKS AND PERIODICALS 205 highest experiences are those wherein it glimpses the Supreme Beauty,
The Divine Pymander of Hermes Trismegistus by the Editors of the Shrine of Wisdom, published by The Shrine of Wisdom. Price Rs. 2/3. This Manual endeavours to systematize and to unlold something of the significance of the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. The numerous profound truths, which the Corpus Hermeticum contains, are not easily recognizable from a general perusal of them in the form in which they are usually presented. Many of the early Church fathers accepted the Trismegistic writings as being both ancient and authoritative, sometimes utilizing them to support Christian doctrines ; while the Philosophers, in whose works they appear, did not question their authenticity. Some of those who quoted from them were : lamblichus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, St. Cyprian, Eusebius Pamphilus, Clement of Alexandria, Suidas. and Julian the Emperor. And nearly all the Spiritual Humanists of the Middle Ages ranked them, especially the Pymander, in the very first list of religious literature.
The Extracts contained in this Manual are not from any one particular version, but are the result of a comparion of three English Translations.
It was believed that the Supreme Lord appeared as the Divine Pymander, “Shepherd of men" to Hermes Trismegistus, the mighty Egyptian Hierophant, called also Mercurius Termaximus, and revealed to Hermes truths about God, Cosmos and Man,
According to the Pymander, God is the Father, the First Principle and Idea, Who produces and contains all things. Nous is full of God, and as the Mind of God, it is not only the Image of God, but also the Archetype of all things which are expressed in the Cosmos.
The Perfect Cɔsmos gives expression to what is in the Mind or Nous of God and in that of all His Ministering Intelligences. It is a mighty System of Orders superimposed upon orders, of orders within orders, of worlds within worlds. Thus, in the Cosmic sense, it truly embraces all things and all the seven
primal conditions of existence. Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
