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Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica
J.R. Ritman. Preface to Christ, Plato, Hermes Trismegistus, The dawn of printing. Catalogue of the incunabula on the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica. Vol. 1, pt. 1 (1990).
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A source within Hermetic Christianity
It is by no means a coincidence that in 1989 twenty-five years of activity in assembling a library containing thousands of documents centered on Hermetic Christianity are crowned. It is a radiant crown with many shining documents with rich spiritual contents of which the nobility and great age of the first printed writings, published from the year 1455 onwards, have put a lasting stamp on the spiritual history of our western culture. The title of this catalogue declares the hidden connection between three major spiritual sources of power brought together here: the Christ, Plato and Hermes Trismegistus. An exhibition of incunabula in the arrangement chosen has enabled us to grasp the roots of a tradition which is active in our library, that of Hermetic Christianity.
One of the principles upon which the library operates is the notion 'ad fontes': to the source, or, to put it more accurately perhaps: back to the source. In the fifteenth century we retrieve this source in an almost perfect and uncorrupted form in the basic writings of the prominent spiritual thinkers of mankind. The valuable manuscripts and the spiritual testimonies they contain, cherished for centuries in private and monastic libraries and treated with the utmost care, came into the possession of a group of people who, at that time, brought about a renaissance, a rebirth of wisdom, thus creating a new era.
Christ - Plato - Hermes Trismegistus, they are the representatives of movements of thought which established the basis for spiritual life in the western world. They spring from pre- and early Christian philosophic views which, in merging at the beginning of the Christian era in Alexandria in Egypt, meant a new culmination in the field of spiritual progress. Within the cultural history of the western world these movements of thought symbolized the heartbeat of a hidden knowledge, a hidden wisdom, explaining the special relationship which exists among God, man and the cosmos. Not in vain did Hermes Trismegistus declare: 'Man, O Asclepius, is a great miracle.' And in the words of the Christ (Corinthians 3:16) it says 'Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?'
Hermetic philosophy relates man as microcosm to the macrocosm in a direct covenant with the Creator of life, who is defined in all existing notional systems of thought on this globe as God. This is seemingly an abstract definition, if we take the word as it is. Its effectiveness, however, changes entirely if we see it as Creation and as force, indeed as energy in which and through which all aspects of life come into being, and man, the very crown upon Creation, is brought into being. Classical explanations in the ancient writings are full of the genesis of Creation, Creation itself, man's place in Creation, and aspects of life and death. To Hermetic philosophy, to the early gnostic, it is a matter of reality unlimited by the notion 'life', or the notion 'death'; it is a reality determined by human consciousness in relation to Creation, to God, to human life. Therefore, the question of the gnostic, the Hermetic philosopher, 'where do I come from, why am I here, and what is my future?' can only be answered by asking, 'what is God, who is that Creator, what is the meaning of life, yes, what is the meaning of dying?' These questions refer to that very special process within man himself, which Christ calls the rebirth from water and from spirit, whereas Plato talks about an activity of the world-spirit, ether, the fifth element which represents the animation of life in total, and which Hermes Trismegistus explains as the force and the wisdom of God, operating within man and which he may receive, if he is able to perceive that activity and see it rightly. This process of perceiving is not just the spiritual ecstasy of the medieval mystic, it is not just the reason out of intelligence from the ancient Greeks and their wisdom; it is first and foremost the total world of Hermetic philosophy, in which all aspects of life coincide within the center of perception and action of man, who arrives at a direct relationship with the divine world. That world, which does not let itself be limited by man, which does not let itself be limited by time and space, that world is divine life, infinite in itself. It is the reality of an existence which explains all life, and to which all life returns. The road back to this origin, the return to this fulfillment, is that very special relationship of man and his Creator, God, the architect of the universe. This concerns an age-old tradition, a force of light, a force of wisdom of imperishable caliber, which exalts far above and beyond our conception, and which appeals to the inner man, to the spiritual divine spark which lies hidden within each of us.
That is why we speak of a Christocentric library, because its inspiration, its matrix, is that one cornerstone, Jesus the Christ, on which many philosophers within western world history have continued to build. We speak also of a Hermetic library, because in Hermes Trismegistus' wisdom the mystery of God, his power, his wisdom, and his basic formula anchored in the axiom 'so above, so below', is discussed unveiled. This key formula appeals to the power of the spirit which lies hidden in every man as a seed, and, if brought to germinate in the proper way, calls forth a divine power within man and brings him to gnosis, yes, to true knowledge, to behold the power and wisdom of God which continually concerns itself with us. When we mention the name of the Greek philosopher Plato, we call forth the thousands of years of spiritual wisdom which formerly inspired Plato's academy in Athens and which became operational again during the first three centuries in Alexandria in Egypt as Neoplatonism. This Platonic wisdom was the hidden source of inspiration for the start of the Florence academy, founded by Cosimo de Medici and guided by Marsilio Ficino, translator of the works of Hermes Trismegistus, Plato and Plotinus, and which found its culmination and patron in Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo de Medici, il Magnifico.
Therefore again, Christ, Plato, Hermes Trismegistus: three spiritual sources of power, who found a thousand-fold reflection in the writings they left behind, and who inspired a countless host of philosophers, who, each in his own way, testified to their alliance with their Creator. In that relationship, therefore, are you to consider the four pillars on which our library rests: Hermetic philosophy, mysticism, alchemy and the Rosicrucians.
Our library is furthermore open to scientific, historical and spiritual research into the Hermetic-Platonic -Christian range of ideas, with the emphasis on renewal and revaluation of ancient sources of information. We know that the holy river of spiritual wisdom keeps in pace with human development. Indeed, man is invited to bathe in that river of wisdom. Or, as Hermes says, 'Into that crater, the vessel of fiery wisdom, immerse', with the task to bring about a renewal of human consciousness, indeed, to arrive at gnosis, knowledge, in beholding that wisdom.
The majesty of this spiritual reality awakened in me, the founder of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, almost 33 years ago. At the age of sixteen I suddenly experienced a wave of inexpressible force which did not spring from a source within this world. Following that current of Wisdom, I was brought into direct contact with its representatives through the documents they left behind with their rich, spiritual contents and tradition, and it pointed out to me the need to found anew a board of researchers, of people who have their basis in a strong spiritual source. By searching for and working with that source, the library brought about a testimony of the many light-bearers of the spiritual light from that source. Indeed, it is the force of the living water, like the Word of God which flows from that source without end. Reference to the Christ, to Plato, to Hermes Trismegistus, therefore, draws no boundary-lines. On the contrary, it places in the center the Patriarchs, the Hierophants of light, in between a flock of thousands of followers. The mysteries of Hermetic philosophy, the mysteries of Christ and his followers, await followers in our own day also, followers, indeed, who see and accept as a new responsibility the possession of, and having at their disposal, this so very rich spiritual wisdom in the new age which is at hand for the world and for mankind: the third millennium.
The Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica considers it its responsibility to introduce and propagate in a new way that two thousand year old tradition of Hermetic Christianity within the western world. The relationship man - God - cosmos demands a new view in a new era. A new triumph of the light must become active. Knowledge indeed, self-knowledge, will have to lead to a dynamic process of awakening, yes, to gnosis. Inner contemplation, in which the ratio of human thought and the intuition of inner life work within man, must recreate a new and imperishable life on the basis of a process of reincarnation within man. It is the germination of the spiritual spark which changes into a blazing flame, elevating the human status into the realm of the spirit. It is a process of transfiguration. On this basis does the present writer, as founder, see the realization of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica. It is an invitation to all to realize an academy, a community of wisdom which follows the tracks of the many philosophers and enlightened people who have gone before us. Ad fontes, to the source, back to the source indeed, through which the light will be victorious again and a cause for celebration.