Customer Reviews

Hermetica, Part 1: The Ancient Greek and Latin Writings Which Contain Religious or Philosophic Teachings Ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you just want to read the Hermetica, read Brian Copenhaver's translations, which are much better than Scott's. And of course, these aren't by Sir Walter Scott (of Ivanhoe fame) anyway, if you're interested in him for some reason, but by a quite different Walter Scott.

Scott's translations are still valuable for the specialist. You should be able to find used copies of the trade paperback edition (Hermes House, at one point), though, which are rather better bound than these Kessinger xeroxes.

If you have Copenhaver, you'll probably want these, although I'd recommend a different printing.

I like this book for a study on Hermetics...I read "The Kybalion" The Hermetica" and am also reading "Initiation into Hermetics " by Franz Bardon. The only thing i didn't care for in the book was the Christian overtone at some points of the book. This is not the fault of the translator as far as I can tell and may just be this readers opinion.
I have one other translation by Brian Copenhaver. His introduction to the Hermetica is more on a college level and was harder for this reader to understand, where as this version was much better for this reader. For a study about Hermetics I recommend buying this book.