The General Discourse to Asclepius (Corpus Hermeticum II)
Ancient Greek
1 Πᾶν τὸ κινούμενον, ὦ Ἀσκληπιέ, οὐκ ἔν τινι κινεῖται καὶ ὑπό τινος;Ἀσκληπιός. Μάλιστα.Ἑρμῆς. Οὐκ ἀνάγκη δὲ μεῖζον εἶναι τὸ ἐν ᾧ κινεῖται ἢ τὸ κινούμενον;Ἀσκληπιός. Ἀνάγκη.Ἑρμῆς. Ἰσχυρότερον ἄρα τὸ κινοῦν τοῦ κινουμένου;Ἀσκληπιός. Ἰσχυρότερον γάρ.Ἑρμῆς. Ἐναντίαν δὲ ἔχειν φύσιν ἀνάγκη τὸ ἐν ᾧ κινεῖται τῇ τοῦ κινουμένου;Ἀσκληπιός. Καὶ πάνυ.
2 Ἑρμῆς. Μέγας οὖν οὗτος ὁ κόσμος, οὗ μεῖζον οὐκ ἔστι σῶμα;Ἀσκληπιός. Ὡμολόγηται.Ἑρμῆς. Καὶ στιβαρός· πεπλήρωται γὰρ ἄλλων σωμάτων μεγάλων πολλῶν, μᾶλλον δὲ πάντων ὅσα ἐστὶ σώματα.Ἀσκληπιός. Οὕτως ἔχει.Ἑρμῆς. Σῶμα δὲ ὁ κόσμος;Ἀσκληπιός. Σῶμα.Ἑρμῆς. Καὶ κινούμενον;
3 Ἀσκληπιός. Μάλιστα.Ἑρμῆς. Πηλίκον οὖν δεῖ τὸν τόπον εἶναι ἐν ᾧ κινεῖται, καὶ ποταπὸν τὴν φύσιν; οὐ πολὺ μείζονα, ἵνα δυνηθῇ δέξασθαι τῆς φορᾶς τὴν συνέχειαν καὶ μὴ θλιβόμενον τὸ κινούμενον ὑπὸ τῆς στενότητος ἐπίσχῃ τὴν κίνησιν;Ἀσκληπιός. Παμμέγεθές τι χρῆμα, ὦ Τρισμέγιστε.
4 Ἑρμῆς. Ποταπῆς δὲ φύσεως; τῆς ἐναντίας ἆρα, ὦ Ἀσκληπιέ; σώματι δὲ ἐναντία φύσις τὸ ἀσώματον.Ἀσκληπιός. Ὡμολόγηται.Ἑρμῆς. Ἀσώματος οὖν ὁ τόπος, τὸ δὲ ἀσώματον ἢ θεῖόν ἐστιν ἢ θεός. τὸ δὲ θεῖον λέγω νῦν, οὐ τὸ γεννητόν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀγέννητον.
5 ἐὰν μὲν οὖν ᾖ θεῖον, οὐσιῶδές ἐστιν· ἐὰν δὲ ᾖ θεός, καὶ ἀνουσίαστον γίνεται. ἄλλως δὲ νοητός οὕτω. νοητὸς γὰρ πρῶτος ὁ θεός ἐστιν ἡμῖν, οὐχ ἑαυτῷ. τὸ γὰρ νοητὸν τῷ νοοῦντι αἰσθήσει ὑποπίπτει. ὁ θεὸς οὖν οὐχ ἑαυτῷ νοητός. οὐ γὰρ ἄλλο τι ὢν τοῦ νοουμένου ὑφ' ἑαυτοῦ νοεῖται·
6 ἡμῖν δὲ ἄλλο τί ἐστι, διὰ τοῦτο ἡμῖν νοεῖται. εἰ δὲ νοητὸς ὁ τόπος, οὐχι θεός, ἀλλὰ τόπος· εἰ δὲ καὶ θεός, οὐχ ὡς τόπος, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐνέργεια χωρητική. πᾶν δὲ τὸ κινούμενον οὐκ ἐν κινουμένῳ κινεῖται ἀλλ' ἐν ἑστῶτι· καὶ τὸ κινοῦν δὴ ἕστηκεν· ἀδύνατον γὰρ αὐτῷ συγκινεῖσθαι.Ἀσκληπιός. Πῶς οὖν, ὦ Τρισμέγιστε, τὰ ἐνθάδε συγκινεῖται τοῖς κινουμένοις; τὰς γὰρ σφαίρας ἔφης τὰς πλανωμένας κινεῖσθαιὑπὸ τῆς ἀπλανοῦς σφαίρας.Ἑρμῆς. Οὐκ ἔστιν αὕτη, ὦ Ἀσκληπιέ, συγκίνησις ἀλλ' ἀντικίνησις· οὐ γὰρ ὁμοίως κινοῦνται, ἀλλ' ἐναντίως ἀλλήλαις· ἡ δὲ ἐναντίωσις τὴν ἀντέρεισιν τῆς κινήσεως ἑστῶσαν ἔχει.
7 ἡ γὰρ ἀντιτυπία στάσιςφορᾶς ἐστί· δὶ ὃ καὶ αἱ πλανώμεναι σφαῖραι ἐναντίως κινούμεναι τῇ ἀπλανεῖ, ὑπ' ἀλλήλων τῇ ἐναντίᾳ ὑπαντήσει περὶ τὴν ἐναντιότητα αὐτὴν ὑπὸ τῆς ἑστώσης κινοῦνται· καὶ ἄλλως ἔχειν ἀδύνατον. τὰς γὰρ ἄρκτους ταύτας ἃς ὁρᾷς μήτε δυνούσας μήτε ἀνατελλούσας, περὶ δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ στρεφομένας, οἴει ἢ κινεῖσθαι ἢ ἑστάναι;Ἀσκληπιός. Κινεῖσθαι, ὦ Τρισμέγιστε.Ἑρμῆς. Κίνησιν ποίαν, ὦ ᾿Ασκληπιέ;Ἀσκληπιός. Τὴν περὶ τὰ αὐτὰ ἀναστρεφομένην.Ἑρμῆς. Ἡ δὲ περιφορὰ τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ ἡ περὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κίνησις ὑπὸ στάσεως κατεχομένη. τὸ γὰρ περὶ αὐτὸ κωλύει τὸ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸ. κωλυόμενον δὲ τοὺς τὸ ὑπὲρ αὐτό εἰ ἔστηκεν εἰς τὸ περὶ αὐτό, οὕτω καὶ ἡ ἐναντία φορὰ ἕστηκεν ἑδραία, ὑπὸ τῆς ἐναντιότητος στηριζομένη.
8 παράδειγμα δέ σοι ἐπίγειον τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἐμπῖπτον περὶ τούτο φράσω· τὰ ἐπίγεια ζῷα, οἷον τὸν ἄνθρωπον λέγω θεώρει νηχόμενον. φερομένου γὰρ τοῦ ὕδατος, ἡ ἀντιτυπία τῶν ποδῶν καὶ τῶν χειρῶν στάσις γίνεται τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, τοῦ μὴ συγκατενεχθῆναι τῷ ὕδατι μήτε δῦναι ὑπ' αὐτό.Ἀσκληπιός. Σαφέστατον παράδειγμα εἶπες, ὦ τρισμέγιστε.Ἑρμῆς. Πᾶσα οὖν κίνησις ἐν στάσει καὶ ὑπὸ στάσεως κινεῖται. ἡ οὖν κίνησις τοῦ κόσμου καὶ παντὸς ζῴου ὑλικοῦ οὐχ ὑπὸ τῶν κατἐκτὸς τοῦ σώματος συμβαίνει γίνεσθαι, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τῶν ἐντὸς εἰς τὸ κατἐκτός, ἤτοι ψυχῆς ἢ πνεύματος, ἢ ἄλλου τινὸς ἀσωμάτου. σῶμα γὰρ ἔμψυχον οὐ κινεῖ, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τὸ σύνολον σῶμα, κἂν ᾖ ἄψυχον.
9 Ἀσκληπιός. Πῶς τοῦτο λέγεις, ὦ τρισμέγιστε; τὰ οὖν ξύλα καὶ τοὺς λίθους καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ἄψυχα οὐ σώματά ἐστι τὰ κινοῦντα;Ἑρμῆς. Οὐδαμῶς, ὦ ᾿Ασκληπιέ· τὸ γὰρ ἔνδον τοῦ σώματος τοῦ κινοῦντος τὸ ἄψυχον, οὐ σῶμα ἐκεῖνό ἐστι τὸ ἀμφότερα κινοῦν, καὶ τὸ τοῦ βαστάζοντος καὶ τὸ τοῦ βασταζομένου; διόπερ ἄψυχον οὐκ ἄψυχον κινήσει· ὁρᾷς οὖν καταβαρουμένην τὴν ψυχήν, ὅταν μόνη δύο σώματα φέρῃ. καὶ ὅτι μὲν ἔν τινι κινεῖται τὰ κινούμενα καὶ ὑπό τινος, δῆλον.
10 Ἀσκληπιός. Ἐν κενῷ δὲ δεῖ κινεῖσθαι τὰ κινούμενα, ὦ τρισμέγιστε;Ἑρμῆς. Εὖ φῄς, ὦ Ἀσκληπιέ. οὐδὲ ἓν τῶν ὄντων ἐστὶ κενὸν· μόνον δὲ τὸ μὴ ὄν κενόν ἐστι καὶ ξένον τῆς τῆς ὑπάρξεως, τὸ δὲ ὂν οὐκ ἂν ἠδύνατο εἶναι ὄν, εἰ μὴ μεστὸν τῆς ὑπάρξεως ἦν· τὸ γὰρ ὑπάρχον κενὸν οὐδέποτε γενέσθαι δύναται.Ἀσκληπιός. Οὐκ ἔστιν οὖν κενά τινα, ὦ τρισμέγιστε, οἷον κάδδος κενὸς καὶ κέραμος κενὸς καὶ φρέαρ κενὸν καὶ ληνὸς καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ παραπλήσια;Ἑρμῆς. Φεῦ τῆς πολλῆς πλάνης, ὦ Ἀσκληπιέ. τὰ πληρέστατα καὶ μεστότατα ἡγῇ κενὰ εἶναι;
11 Ἀσκληπιός. Πῶς λέγεις, ὦ τρισμέγιστε;Ἑρμῆς. Οὐ σῶμά ἐστιν ὁ ἀήρ;Ἀσκληπιός. Σῶμα.Ἑρμῆς. Τοῦτο δὲ τὸ σῶμα οὐ διὰ πάντων διήκει τῶν ὄντων, καὶ πάντα διῆκον πληροῖ; σῶμα δὲ οὐκ ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων κεκραμένον συνέστηκε; μεστὰ οὖν πάντα ἐστίν, ἃ σὺ φῂς κενά, τοῦ ἀέρος, εἰ δὲ τοῦ ἀέρος, καὶ τῶν τεσσάρων σωμάτων· καὶ συμβαίνει ὁ ἐναντίος λόγος ἐκφαίνεσθαι, ὅτι ἃ σὺ φῂς μεστά, ταῦτα πάντα κενά ἐστι τοῦ ἀέρος, ἐκείνων ὑπ' ἄλλων σωμάτων στενοχωρουμένων καὶ μὴ ἐχόντων δέξασθαι τὸν ἀέρα ἐν τόπῳ αὐτῶν. ταῦτα οὖν, ἃ σὺ φῂς εἶναι κενά, κοῖλα δεῖ ὀνομάζειν, οὐ κενά· ὑπάρχει γὰρ καὶ μεστά ἐστιν ἀέρος καὶ πνεύματος.
12 Ἀσκληπιός. Ἀναντίρρητος ὁ λόγος, ὦ τρισμέγιστε. σώμά ἐστιν ὁ ἀήρ. τοῦτο δὲ τὸ σῶμα, ὃ διὰ πάντων διήκει τῶν ὄντων, καὶ πάντα διῆκον πληροῖ. τὸν οὖν τόπονἐν ᾧ τὸ πᾶν κινεῖται, τί εἴπομεν;Ἑρμῆς. Ἀσώματον, ὦ Ἀσκληπιέ.Ἀσκληπιός. Τὸ οὖν ἀσώματον τί ἐστι;Ἑρμῆς. Νοῦς καὶ λόγος ὅλος ἐξ ὅλου ἑαυτὸν ἐμπεριέχων, ἐλεύθερος σώματος παντός, ἀπλανής, ἀπαθής, ἀναφής, αὐτὸς ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἑστώς, χωρητικὸς τῶν πάντων καὶ σωτήριος τῶν ὄντων, οὗ ὥσπερ ἀκτῖνές εἰσι τὸ ἀγαθόν, ἡ ἀλήθεια, τὸ ἀρχέτυπον φῶς, τὸ ἀρχέτυπον τῆς ψυχῆς.Ἀσκληπιός. Ὁ οὖν θεὸς τί ἐστιν;Ἑρμῆς. Ὁ μηδὲ ἓν τούτων ὑπάρχων, ὢν δὲ καὶ τοῦ εἶναι τούτοις αἴτιος, καὶ πᾶσι καὶ ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ τῶν ὄντων πάντων.
13 οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲν ὑπέλιπε πλέον τὸ μὴ ὄν, πάντα δέ ἐστι τὰ ἐκ τῶν ὄντων γινόμενα οὐχὶ ἐκ τῶν μὴ ὄντων. τὰ γὰρ μὴ ὄντα οὐ φύσιν ἔχει τοῦ δύνασθαι γενέσθαι, ἀλλὰ τοῦ μὴ δύνασθαί τι γενέσθαι καὶ πάλιν τὰ ὄντα οὐ φύσιν ἔχει τοῦ μηδέποτ' εἶναι.
14 Ἀσκληπιός. Τί οὖν φῂς τοῦ μὴ εἶναί ποτε;Ἑρμῆς. ὁ οὖν θεὸς οὐ νοῦς ἐστιν, αἴτιος δὲ τοῦ εἶναι νοῦν, οὐδὲ πνεῦμα, αἴτιος δὲ τοῦ εἶναι πνεῦμα, οὐδὲ φῶς, αἴτιος δὲ τοῦ φῶς εἶναι· ὅθεν τὸν θεὸν δυσὶ ταύταις ταῖς προσηγορίαις σέβεσθαι δεῖ, ταῖς μόνῳ αὐτῷ προσῳκειωμέναις, καὶ ἄλλῳ οὐδενί. οὔτε γὰρ τῶν ἄλλων λεγομένων θεῶν οὔτε ἀνθρώπων οὔτε δαιμόνων τις δύναται κἂν καθ' ὁποσονοῦν ἀγαθὸς εἶναι ἢ μόνος ὁ θεός, καὶ τοῦτό ἐστι μόνον καὶ οὐδὲν ἄλλο· τὰ δὲ ἄλλα πάντα χωριστά ἐστι τῆς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ φύσεως· σῶμα γάρ εἰσι καὶ ψυχή, τόπον οὐκ ἔχοντα χωρῆσαι δυνάμενον τὸ ἀγαθόν.
15 τοσοῦτον γάρ ἐστι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τὸ μέγεθος, ὅσον ἐστὶν ὕπαρξις πάντων τῶν ὄντων, καὶ σωμάτων καὶ ἀσωμάτων, καὶ αἰσθητῶν καὶ νοητῶν· τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ἀγαθόν, τοῦτό ἐστιν ὁ θεός. μὴ οὖν εἴπῃς ἄλλο τι ἀγαθόν, ἐπεὶ ἀσεβεῖς, ἢ ἄλλο τί ποτε τὸν θεὸν ἢ μόνον τὸ ἀγαθόν, ἐπεὶ πάλιν ἀσεβεῖς.
16 λόγῳ μὲν οὖν ὑπὸ πάντων λέγεται τὸ ἀγαθόν, οὐ νοεῖται δὲ τί ποτέ ἐστιν ὑπὸ πάντων. διὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ ὁ θεὸς νοεῖται ὑπὸ πάντων, ἀλλ' ἀγνοίᾳ καὶ τοὺς θεοὺς καί τινας τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀγαθοὺς ὀνομάζουσι, μηδέποτε δυναμένους μήτε εἶναι μήτε γενέσθαι ἀν. ἀλλοτριώτατοι γάρ εἰσι τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸ δὲ ἀγαθὸν ἀχώριστον τοῦ θεοῦ, ὡς αὐτὸς ὁ θεὸς ὢν τὸ ἀγαθόν. θεοὶ μὲν οὖν οἱ ἄλλοι πάντες ἀθάνατοι λέγονται τετιμημένοι τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ προσηγορίᾳ· ὁ δὲ θεὸς τὸ ἀγαθόν, οὐ κατὰ τιμήν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ φύσιν. μία γὰρ ἡ φύσις τοῦ θεοῦ τὸ ἀγαθόν καὶ ἓν γένος ἀμφοτέρων, ἐξ οὗ τὰ γένη πάντα. ὁ γὰρ ἀγαθὸς ἅπαντά ἐστι διδοὺς καὶ μηδὲν λαμβάνων. ὁ οὖν θεὸς πάντα δίδωσι καὶ οὐδὲν λαμβάνει. ὁ οὖν θεὸς τἀγαθόν, καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ὁ θεός.
17 ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα προσηγορία ἐστὶν ἡ τοῦ πατρός, πάλιν διὰ τὸ ποιητικὸν πάντων. πατρὸς γὰρ τὸ ποιεῖν· διὸ καὶ μεγίστη ἐν τῷ βίῳ σπουδὴ καὶ εὐσεβεστάτη τοῖς εὖ φρονοῦσίν ἐστιν ἡ παιδοποιΐα· καὶ μέγιστον ἀτύχημα καὶ ἀσέβημά ἐστιν, ἄτεκνόν τινα ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀπαλλαγῆναι· καὶ δίκην οὗτος δίδωσι μετὰ θάνατον τοῖς δαίμοσιν. ἡ δὲ τιμωρία ἐστὶν ἥδε· τὴν τοῦ ἀτέκνου ψυχὴν εἰς σῶμα καταδικασθῆναι μήτε ἀνδρὸς μήτε γυναικὸς φύσιν ἔχοντος, ὅπερ ἐστὶ κατηραμένον ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου. τοιγαροῦν, ὦ Ἀσκληπιέ, μηδενὶ ὄντι ἀτέκνῳ συνησθῇς, τοὐναντίον δὲ ἐλέησον τὴν συμφοράν, ἐπιστάμενος οἵα αὐτὸν μένει τιμωρία. τοσαῦτά σοι καὶ τοιαῦτα λελέχθω, ὦ Ἀσκληπιέ, προγνωσία τις τῆς τῶν πάντων φύσεως.
English
1 Hermes: “Everything that moves, Asclepius, moves within something and is moved by something, does it not?”Asclepius: “Certainly.”Hermes: “And must not that within which it moves be greater than the thing moving?”Asclepius: “It must.”Hermes: “Then what moves it is stronger than what is moved?”Asclepius: “Stronger indeed.”Hermes: “And must not the nature of that within which it moves be opposite to the nature of the thing moving?”Asclepius: “Absolutely.”
2 Hermes: “This cosmos, then, is vast: there is no body greater than it?”Asclepius: “Agreed.”Hermes: “And solid: it is filled with many other great bodies—or rather, with all the bodies there are.”Asclepius: “So it is.”Hermes: “And the cosmos is a body?”Asclepius: “A body.”Hermes: “And in motion?”
3 Asclepius: “Certainly.”Hermes: “How immense, then, must the place be in which it moves, and of what nature? Must it not be much greater, so that it can accommodate the unbroken course of its movement, and the moving body, uncramped by confinement, can continue to move?”Asclepius: “Something immeasurably vast, Trismegistus.”
4 Hermes: “And of what nature? Of the opposite nature, Asclepius, surely? The nature opposite to body is the incorporeal.”Asclepius: “Agreed.”Hermes: “Place, then, is incorporeal. And the incorporeal is either divine or God. By ‘divine’ I mean here not what is born, but what is unborn.”
5 Hermes: “If it is divine, then it has substance; but if it is God, it is beyond substance. In another sense, too, it is intelligible. For God is intelligible first to us, not to himself: what is intelligible falls within the perception of the one who understands. God, then, is not intelligible to himself, for he is not something other than the thing understood, and so cannot be understood by himself.”
6 Hermes: “To us, however, he is something other, and therefore we can understand him. If place is intelligible, it is not God but place; and if it is also God, it is not so as place, but as an active power that contains. Everything in motion moves not within something moving, but within something still; and the mover too is still, for it cannot be carried along in the same motion.”Asclepius: “How, then, Trismegistus, can things here move together with the things that move? For you said the wandering spheres are moved by the sphere that does not wander.”Hermes: “That is not motion together, Asclepius, but counter-motion. They do not move in the same way but in opposite directions; opposition holds the resistance to their motion steady.”
7 Hermes: “For resistance is a stilling of motion. Thus the wandering spheres, moving opposite to the unwandering sphere, are moved by one another, through their opposing encounter, around that very opposition, by what stands still; and it cannot be otherwise. Consider those Bears you see, neither setting nor rising, but turning about the same point. Do you suppose they move or stand still?”Asclepius: “They move, Trismegistus.”Hermes: “What kind of motion, Asclepius?”Asclepius: “One that revolves about the same point.”Hermes: “And revolution about the same point, motion around a center, is held fast by stillness. Movement around itself prevents movement beyond itself. Checked from passing beyond itself, it stands still in its movement around itself. So too the opposing course stands firm, held steady by opposition.”
8 Hermes: “I will give you an earthly example you can see with your own eyes. Consider an animal on earth—a man swimming. As the water flows, the resistance of his hands and feet becomes a point of rest for him, so that he is neither swept along with the water nor submerged beneath it.”Asclepius: “A perfectly clear example, Trismegistus.”Hermes: “Every motion, then, moves within stillness and is moved by stillness. The motion of the cosmos and of every material living creature comes about not from things outside the body, but from what is within it acting outward—whether soul, breath, or some other incorporeal thing. For a body with a soul does not move anything; indeed, no body at all does, even if it is soulless.”
9 Asclepius: “What do you mean, Trismegistus? Are wood and stones and all the other lifeless things not bodies that cause movement?”Hermes: “Not at all, Asclepius. What lies inside the body that moves a lifeless thing—is that not what moves both bodies, the one that carries and the one that is carried, rather than the body itself? Hence a lifeless thing cannot move another lifeless thing. You see how heavily the soul is burdened when it alone carries two bodies. Clearly, then, moving things are within something and are moved by something.”
10 Asclepius: “But must moving things travel through a void, Trismegistus?”Hermes: “Well said, Asclepius. Not one of the things that exist is empty. Only what does not exist is empty and devoid of existence; what exists could not exist if it were not full of existence. What has existence can never become empty.”Asclepius: “Then are there no empty things, Trismegistus—an empty bucket, an empty jar, an empty well or winepress, and the like?”Hermes: “What a profound mistake, Asclepius! You call the fullest and most replete things empty?”
11 Asclepius: “What do you mean, Trismegistus?”Hermes: “Is air not a body?”Asclepius: “A body.”Hermes: “And does this body not pass through all existing things and fill them as it passes through? And is a body not composed of the four elements? All the things you call empty, then, are full of air; and if of air, then of the four bodies. Indeed, the contrary follows from this argument: all the things you call full are empty of air, since other bodies crowd out the air and leave no room for it in their place. What you call empty, then, should be called hollow, not empty: they exist and are filled with air and breath.”
12 Asclepius: “The argument cannot be refuted, Trismegistus. Air is a body, and this body passes through all existing things and fills them as it passes through. What, then, should we call the place in which the All moves?”Hermes: “Incorporeal, Asclepius.”Asclepius: “And what is the incorporeal?”Hermes: “Mind and reason, whole and wholly embracing itself, free of every body, unerring, impassible, untouchable, standing in itself, able to contain all things and preserving all that exists. Its rays, as it were, are the Good, truth, the primal light, and the archetype of the soul.”Asclepius: “Then what is God?”Hermes: “He is none of these things, but the cause of their existence, and of the existence of all things, each and every one.”
13 Hermes: “For nonbeing has left nothing further behind: everything that comes into being comes from things that exist, not from things that do not. What does not exist has no nature capable of coming into being, but rather an incapacity to become anything; and, conversely, what exists has no nature that could make it cease to exist.”
14 Asclepius: “What do you mean by ‘cease to exist’?”Hermes: “God, then, is not mind, but the cause of mind’s existence; not breath, but the cause of breath’s existence; not light, but the cause of light’s existence. Therefore we must revere God by these two names, which belong to him alone and to no other. For none of the other beings called gods, nor any human being or spirit, can be good in even the smallest measure: only God can, and he is nothing other than this. All other things are separate from the nature of the Good; they are body and soul and have no room capable of containing the Good.”
15 Hermes: “For the Good is as vast as the existence of all that is—of bodies and incorporeal things, of things perceived and things understood. This is the Good; this is God. Do not, then, call anything else good, for that would be impious; nor ever call God anything but the Good, for that too would be impious.”
16 Hermes: “Everyone speaks of the Good, but not everyone understands what it is. For that reason, not everyone understands God; in ignorance they call gods and certain human beings good, though these could never be or become good. They are utterly unlike God, while the Good is inseparable from God, since God himself is the Good. All the other gods are called immortals, honored with the name of god; but God is the Good not by title, but by nature. For God and the Good have one nature, one lineage from which all kinds of things arise. What is good gives all things and receives nothing. God gives everything and receives nothing. Therefore God is the Good, and the Good is God.”
17 Hermes: “His other name is Father, because again he is the maker of all things. Making is the work of a father. Therefore, for those who think rightly, the greatest and most devout undertaking in life is to have children; and for a person to depart this world childless is the greatest misfortune and impiety. Such a person pays a penalty to the spirits after death. The punishment is this: the soul of the childless is condemned to a body having the nature of neither man nor woman, a thing cursed by the sun. Therefore, Asclepius, do not rejoice with anyone who is childless; instead, pity that misfortune, knowing what punishment awaits that person. Let these words, and words of this kind, serve you, Asclepius, as a foreknowledge of the nature of all things.”