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: “Asclepius, doesn't everything that moves move in something and by something?”Asclepius: “Certainly.”Hermes: “And mustn't the thing in which it moves be larger than the thing that moves?”Asclepius: “It must.”Hermes: “Then what moves it is stronger than what is moved?”Asclepius: “Yes, stronger.”Hermes: “And mustn't the nature of the thing in which it moves be opposite to that of the moving thing?”Asclepius: “Absolutely.”
2 Hermes: “Then the universe is large, and there is no larger body?”Asclepius: “We agree on that.”Hermes: “And it is solid. It is filled with many other large bodies—indeed, with all the bodies there are.”Asclepius: “That is so.”Hermes: “And the universe is a body?”Asclepius: “A body.”Hermes: “And it moves?”
3 Asclepius: “Certainly.”Hermes: “Then how big must the place in which it moves be, and what must its nature be? Mustn't it be much larger, so that it can make room for the universe's continuous movement, without squeezing it so tightly that its movement stops?”Asclepius: “It must be something immensely large, Trismegistus.”
4 Hermes: “And what is its nature? The opposite nature, surely, Asclepius? The opposite of a body is something without a body.”Asclepius: “Agreed.”Hermes: “So place has no body. And what has no body is either divine or God. By ‘divine’ here I mean what was not born, not what was born.”
5 “If it is divine, then it has a real substance. But if it is God, then it is without substance. There is another way to understand how it can be grasped by thought. For us, God is the first thing that can be grasped by thought, though he is not such a thing to himself. What can be grasped by thought comes within the awareness of a thinker. So God cannot grasp himself by thought: he does not think of himself as something different from the thing he thinks about.
6 “But he is something different from us, and that is why we can grasp him by thought. If place can be grasped by thought, it is not God but place. Even if it is God, it is God not as a place but as a power that can hold things. Everything that moves does not move in something moving, but in something still. And whatever sets it moving is itself still; it cannot move along with what it moves.”Asclepius: “Then how can things here move along with moving things, Trismegistus? You said that the wandering spheres are moved by the sphere that does not wander.”Hermes: “Asclepius, this is not movement together but movement against each other. They do not move in the same way, but in opposite directions. Their opposition keeps the resistance to their movement still.”
7 “For resistance is a stopping of movement. That is why the wandering spheres move opposite to the non-wandering sphere: each is moved by the other in their opposing encounter, around the very point of opposition, by what remains still. It cannot happen any other way. Take the two northern constellations you see, which neither set nor rise but turn around the same point. Do you think they move, or stay still?”Asclepius: “They move, Trismegistus.”Hermes: “What kind of movement, Asclepius?”Asclepius: “Turning around the same points.”Hermes: “Rotation around the same point is movement held in place by stillness. Movement around a point prevents movement beyond that point. When movement beyond it is checked, it is held to movement around it. In this way, motion in the opposite direction also remains firmly in place, supported by that opposition.”
8 “I'll give you an example you can see on earth. Think of a land animal, a person, swimming. The water flows, but the resistance of the person's hands and feet holds the person steady, so that the water does not carry the person away or pull them under.”Asclepius: “That is a very clear example, Trismegistus.”Hermes: “So every movement takes place in stillness and is moved by something still. The movement of the universe and of every living thing made of matter is not caused by anything outside its body. It is caused by something inside, which moves the outside: a soul, a breath, or something else without a body. A living body does not move another body. In fact, no body does so, even a lifeless one.”
9 Asclepius: “What do you mean, Trismegistus? Aren't pieces of wood, stones, and all the other lifeless things bodies that move things?”Hermes: “Not at all, Asclepius. The thing inside the body that moves a lifeless object—isn't it something other than a body that moves both bodies, the one carrying and the one carried? That is why a lifeless thing cannot move a lifeless thing. You can see how heavily the soul is burdened when it has to carry two bodies on its own. So it is clear that things that move do so in something and are moved by something.”
10 Asclepius: “But must moving things move in empty space, Trismegistus?”Hermes: “Well said, Asclepius. Nothing that exists is empty. Only what does not exist is empty and has no part in existence. What exists could not exist if it were not full of existence. For what exists can never become empty.”Asclepius: “Aren't there some empty things, then, Trismegistus? An empty bucket, an empty jar, an empty well or vat, and other things like them?”Hermes: “How mistaken you are, Asclepius! You think things that are completely full are empty?”
11 Asclepius: “What do you mean, Trismegistus?”Hermes: “Isn't air a body?”Asclepius: “It is.”Hermes: “And doesn't that body pass through everything that exists and fill everything it passes through? Isn't a body made up of the four elements mixed together? So everything you call empty is full of air, and if it is full of air, it is full of the four elements as well. This also shows the reverse of what you say: everything you call full is empty of air, because other bodies crowd the air out and leave no room for it in their place. You should call the things you say are empty ‘hollow,’ not ‘empty.’ They exist, and they are full of air and breath.”
12 Asclepius: “There is no arguing with that, Trismegistus. Air is a body. This body passes through everything that exists and fills everything it passes through. So what should we call the place in which the whole universe moves?”Hermes: “Something without a body, Asclepius.”Asclepius: “Then what is something without a body?”Hermes: “It is entirely mind and reason, containing itself completely within itself. It is free of every body, does not wander, cannot be affected or touched, and remains still within itself. It can hold all things and keep everything that exists safe. Its rays, so to speak, are the good, truth, the original light, and the original form of the soul.”Asclepius: “Then what is God?”Hermes: “He is none of these things, but he is the cause of their existence, of everything's existence, and of the existence of every single thing.”
13 “God has left nothing over to nonexistence. Everything that comes into being comes from things that exist, not from things that do not exist. Things that do not exist have no natural ability to come into being; their nature is that they cannot become anything. Conversely, things that exist cannot by nature cease to exist.”
14 Asclepius: “What do you mean by saying they cannot cease to exist?”Hermes: “God, then, is not mind, but the cause of mind's existence. He is not breath, but the cause of breath's existence. He is not light, but the cause of light's existence. So we must honor God by two names that belong to him alone and to no one else. None of the other beings called gods, no human, and no divine spirit can be good to any degree. Only God can, and he is nothing other than good. Everything else is separate from the nature of the good: they are body and soul, and have no room to hold the good.
15 “The good is as great as the whole existence of everything there is, both things with bodies and things without bodies, things we can sense and things we can grasp by thought. This is the good; this is God. So do not call anything else good, or you are showing disrespect to God. And do not call God anything other than the good alone, or again you are showing disrespect to him.
16 “Everyone speaks about the good, but not everyone understands what it is. For that reason, not everyone understands God either. Out of ignorance people call the gods and some humans good, though they can never be or become good. They are as far from God as can be. The good cannot be separated from God, because God himself is the good. All the other gods are called immortal and given the name ‘god’ as a mark of honor. But God is the good not by honor but by nature. God and the good have a single nature and a single kind, from which all kinds come. Whoever is good gives everything and takes nothing. So God gives everything and takes nothing. God, then, is the good, and the good is God.
17 “His other name is Father, because he is the maker of everything. Making is what a father does. That is why, for sensible people, having children is the most important and most holy concern in life. It is the greatest misfortune and an offense against God for a person to leave human life without children. After death that person is punished by the divine spirits. The punishment is this: the childless person's soul is sentenced to enter a body whose nature is neither male nor female. That body is cursed by the sun. So, Asclepius, don't congratulate anyone who has no children. Instead, pity that person's misfortune, knowing what punishment awaits. Let these words, Asclepius, serve as a first understanding of the nature of everything.”