The literary theme of the discovery of Hermes' hidden wisdom can be found in other Arabic texts from around the tenth century. The introduction of the Book of Crates provides one such example. In the narrative a Greek philosopher named Crates is praying in the temple Sarapieion. While in prayer he has a vision of the ancient sage. It reads:
A third Latin version can be found in an alchemical treatise likely from the twelfth century. This latter, most circulated version is called the vulgate, as it was widespread and formed the subsequent basis for all later editions and translations into European vernacular languages. It is found in an anonymous compilation of commentaries on the Emerald Tablet, translated from a lost Arabic text–variously called the Book of Hermes on Alchemy, the Book of Dabessus, or the Book of the Rebis. Its translator has been tentatively identified as Plato of Tivoli, who was active in c. 1134–1145. However, this is merely conjecture, and although it can be deduced from other indices that the text dates to the first half of the twelfth century, its translator remains unknown.
In the fifteenth century an anonymous French version, set in verse, appeared. A revised 1621 sonnet version by Clovis Hesteau de Nuysement [fr] reads:
Latin paraphrase of an Arabic expression like لوح الزمرد (lawḥ al-zumurrudh, lit. 'the tablet of emerald', Arabic pronunciation: [lawħ az.zu.mur.ruð]).[1] /wiki/Translation#Equivalence
Principe 2013, pp. 31–32. - Principe, Lawrence M. (2013). The Secrets of Alchemy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226103792.
Kraus 1943, pp. 274–275; Weisser 1980, p. 46. - Kraus, Paul (1943). Jâbir ibn Hayyân: Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam: Jābir and Greek Science Jâbir et la science grecque [Jābir ibn Ḥayyān: Contribution to the History of Scientific Thought in Islam]. Mémoires de l'Institut d'Égypte (in French). Vol. 45/II. Cairo: Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale. https://archive.org/details/MIE_45/page/n1/mode/2up
Kahn 1994, pp. XIX, 41; Mandosio 2004b, p. 683; Caiazzo 2004, pp. 700–703; Colinet 1995. - Kahn, Didier (1994). La table d'émeraude et sa tradition alchimique [The Emerald Tablet and Its Alchemical Tradition] (in French). Paris: Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 9782251470054.
Principe 2013, p. 32; Debus 2004, p. 415; Ruska 1926, pp. 193, 209. - Principe, Lawrence M. (2013). The Secrets of Alchemy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226103792.
Debus 2004, p. 415; Principe 2013, p. 31; Linden 2003, p. 27; Kahn 2017, pp. 324–325. - Debus, Allen G. (2004). Alchemy and Early Modern Chemistry: Papers from Ambix. Jeremy Mills Publishing. ISBN 9780954648411.
Faivre 1988, p. 38. - Faivre, Antoine (1988). Présences d'Hermès Trismégiste [Presences of Hermes Trismegistus]. Cahiers de l'Hermétisme (in French). Éditions Albin Michel.
Steele & Singer 1927, p. 485/41; Slavenburg 2012, p. 166. - Steele, Robert; Singer, Dorothea Waley (1927). "The Emerald Table". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 21 (3): 41–57/485–501. doi:10.1177/003591572802100361. PMC 2101974. PMID 19986273. https://doi.org/10.1177/003591572802100361
Kraus 1943, pp. 270–303; Weisser 1980, pp. 52–53. - Kraus, Paul (1943). Jâbir ibn Hayyân: Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam: Jābir and Greek Science Jâbir et la science grecque [Jābir ibn Ḥayyān: Contribution to the History of Scientific Thought in Islam]. Mémoires de l'Institut d'Égypte (in French). Vol. 45/II. Cairo: Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale. https://archive.org/details/MIE_45/page/n1/mode/2up
van Bladel 2009, pp. 170–171; Rudolph 1995, pp. 134–135; Ullmann 1980, pp. 91, 93–94; Ullmann 1981, p. 122. - van Bladel, Kevin Thomas (2009). The Arabic Hermes: From Pagan Sage to Prophet of Science. Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537613-5.
Faivre 1995, p. 19. - Faivre, Antoine (1995). The Eternal Hermes: From Greek God to Alchemical Magus. Translated by Joscelyn Godwin. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Phanes Press. p. 213. ISBN 0-933999-52-6.
Newton 2010. - Newton, Isaac (2010). Newman, William R.; Johnson, John A. (eds.). "Hermes". The Chemistry of Isaac Newton - Indiana University Bloomington. Archived from the original on 15 January 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025. https://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/newton/mss/norm/ALCH00017
The earliest unambiguous evidence dates from the first century BCE, but some texts may go back as far as the second or third century BCE.[13]
Bull 2018, pp. 1–3, 33–38. - Bull, Christian H. (2018). The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom. Religions in the Graeco-Roman World: 186. Leiden: Brill. doi:10.1163/9789004370845. ISBN 978-90-04-37084-5. S2CID 165266222. https://brill.com/view/title/32034
van Bladel 2009, pp. 1–22. - van Bladel, Kevin Thomas (2009). The Arabic Hermes: From Pagan Sage to Prophet of Science. Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537613-5.
van Bladel 2009, pp. 170–171. - van Bladel, Kevin Thomas (2009). The Arabic Hermes: From Pagan Sage to Prophet of Science. Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537613-5.
Steele & Singer 1927, p. 485/41. - Steele, Robert; Singer, Dorothea Waley (1927). "The Emerald Table". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 21 (3): 41–57/485–501. doi:10.1177/003591572802100361. PMC 2101974. PMID 19986273. https://doi.org/10.1177/003591572802100361
Steele & Singer 1927, p. 485/41; Slavenburg 2012, p. 166. - Steele, Robert; Singer, Dorothea Waley (1927). "The Emerald Table". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 21 (3): 41–57/485–501. doi:10.1177/003591572802100361. PMC 2101974. PMID 19986273. https://doi.org/10.1177/003591572802100361
Weisser 1979, pp. 1–2. - Weisser, Ursula (1979). Buch über das Geheimnis der Schöpfung und die Darstellung der Natur (Buch der Ursachen) von Pseudo-Apollonios von Tyana [Book on the Secret of Creation and the Representation of Nature (Book of Causes) by Pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana]. Sources and Studies in the History of Arabic-Islamic Science. Aleppo: Institute for the History of Arabic Science. OCLC 13597803. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/13597803
Kraus 1943 dates this text to c. 813–833.[20] Weisser 1980 dates it to c. 750–800.[21] An earlier dating attempt by Ruska 1926 placed it between the sixth and eighth centuries CE.[22] - Kraus, Paul (1943). Jâbir ibn Hayyân: Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam: Jābir and Greek Science Jâbir et la science grecque [Jābir ibn Ḥayyān: Contribution to the History of Scientific Thought in Islam]. Mémoires de l'Institut d'Égypte (in French). Vol. 45/II. Cairo: Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale. https://archive.org/details/MIE_45/page/n1/mode/2up
Arabic: كتاب سر الخليقة وصنعة الطبيعة, romanized: Kitāb Sirr al-Khalīqa wa-Ṣanʿat al-Ṭabīʿa also known as the كتاب العلل, Kitāb al-ʿilal, 'Book of Causes'.
Kahn 1994, p. XII; Weisser 1980, pp. 10–21, 46. - Kahn, Didier (1994). La table d'émeraude et sa tradition alchimique [The Emerald Tablet and Its Alchemical Tradition] (in French). Paris: Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 9782251470054.
Kraus 1943, pp. 270–303; Weisser 1980, pp. 52–53. - Kraus, Paul (1943). Jâbir ibn Hayyân: Contribution à l'histoire des idées scientifiques dans l'Islam: Jābir and Greek Science Jâbir et la science grecque [Jābir ibn Ḥayyān: Contribution to the History of Scientific Thought in Islam]. Mémoires de l'Institut d'Égypte (in French). Vol. 45/II. Cairo: Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale. https://archive.org/details/MIE_45/page/n1/mode/2up
van Bladel 2009, pp. 170–171; Rudolph 1995, pp. 134–135; Ullmann 1980, pp. 91, 93–94; Ullmann 1981, pp. 122. - van Bladel, Kevin Thomas (2009). The Arabic Hermes: From Pagan Sage to Prophet of Science. Oxford Studies in Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537613-5.
Arabised name Arabic: بلينوس, romanized: Balīnūs or Arabic: بليناس, romanized: Balīnās.[26] /wiki/Arabic_language
A list of other Arabic texts attributed to Apollonius with brief discussions may be found in Weisser 1980, pp. 28–39. - Weisser, Ursula (1980). Spies, Otto (ed.). Das "Buch über das Geheimnis der Schöpfung" von Pseudo-Apollonios von Tyana ["The Book on the Secret of Creation" by Pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana]. Berlin: De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783110866933. ISBN 978-3-11-086693-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=DZFZzxgiUqAC
Kahn 1994, pp. XII–XV; Raggetti 2019, pp. 156–157. - Kahn, Didier (1994). La table d'émeraude et sa tradition alchimique [The Emerald Tablet and Its Alchemical Tradition] (in French). Paris: Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 9782251470054.
Kahn 1994, p. XIII; Weisser 1980, pp. 10, 21; Kraus 1943, pp. 275–278. - Kahn, Didier (1994). La table d'émeraude et sa tradition alchimique [The Emerald Tablet and Its Alchemical Tradition] (in French). Paris: Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 9782251470054.
Imperative directed at a male recipient. /wiki/Arabic_verbs#Mood
This translation was prepared by Wikipedia editors. A translation based on the superseded edition of Ruska 1926, pp. 158–159 may also be found in Rosenthal 1975.[29] - Ruska, Julius (1926). Tabula Smaragdina. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der hermetischen Literatur [Tabula Smaragdina: A Contribution to the History of Hermetic Literature] (in German). Heidelberg: Winter. OCLC 6751465. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6751465
Arabic: صاحب الطلسمات, romanized: sāḥib al-ṭilasmāt.[30] /wiki/Arabic_language
"The Lineage and Cause of the Wisdom of Balīnūs
Now I shall inform you of my origin and the cause of my wisdom. I was an orphan from among the people of Ṭuwāna (Arabic: طوانة), possessing nothing. In my city stood a statue of Hermes, erected upon a column of glass. Upon it was inscribed in the primordial tongue:
“I am Hermes Trismegistus (Arabic: هرمس المثلث بالحكمة, romanized: Hirmis al-Muthallath bi-'l-Ḥikma). I manifested this sign openly, and veiled it through my wisdom, so that none may reach it except a sage like myself.”
And upon the front of the column was written:
“Whosoever desires to know the Secret of Creation (Arabic: سر الخليقة, romanized: sirr al-khalīqa) and the Craft of Nature (Arabic: صنعة الطبيعة, romanized: ṣanʿa al-ṭabīʿa), let him look beneath my feet.”
The people paid no attention to these words and merely gazed beneath the statue’s feet, yet they saw nothing.
As for me, I was weak in nature, but when I grew and my nature matured, and I read the inscription on the column, I grasped its meaning. I went and stood beneath the column, and behold—I discovered a dark subterranean passage, a lair (Arabic: سرب, romanized: sarab), into which no sunlight penetrated.
When I attempted to enter it, turbulent winds arose within, unceasing, so that I could not enter due to the darkness, and my flame would not remain lit because of the force of the wind.
This troubled me deeply, and sorrow filled my heart. Overcome by fatigue and reflection upon my hardship, I fell asleep, burdened and distressed.
Then, in my dream, I saw an old man resembling me in form and appearance. He said to me:
“O Balīnūs, arise and enter this lair, that you may reach the knowledge of the Secret of Creation and perceive the Craft of Nature.”
I said: “I cannot see in its darkness, and my fire does not remain lit because of the wind.”
He replied:
“O Balīnūs, place your light in a clear vessel (Arabic: إناء صاف, romanized: ināʾ ṣāfin), so that the wind may not reach it. Thus, you will see by it in the darkness.”
This delighted me, and I realised that I had attained my goal.
I asked him: “Who are you, that you have bestowed this grace upon me?”
He said: “I am your Perfect Nature (Arabic: طبيعتك التامة, romanized: ṭabīʿatuka al-tāmma).”
I awoke full of joy, placed my flame in a clear vessel as instructed, and entered the passage. There I saw an old man seated upon a throne of gold. In his hand was a tablet of green emerald (Arabic: زبرجد أخضر, romanized: zabarjad akhḍar or Arabic: زمرذ أخضر, romanized: zumurrudh akhḍar), upon which was written:
“This is the Craft of Nature.”
And in front of him lay a book bearing the inscription:
“This is the Secret of Creation (Arabic: سر الخليقة, romanized: sirr al-khalīqa) and the Knowledge of the Causes of Things (Arabic: علم علل الأشياء, romanized: ʿilm ʿilal al-ashyāʾ).”
I took the book and the tablet with a tranquil heart and departed from the passage.
From the book, I learned the Secret of Creation, and from the tablet, I comprehended the Craft of Nature. I acquired the Science of the Causes of Things (Arabic: علم علل الأشياء, romanized: ʿilm ʿilal al-ashyāʾ), and my name rose to prominence through wisdom. I created talismans and marvels, and came to understand the temperaments of the four natures (Arabic: الطبائع الأربع, romanized: al-ṭabāʾiʿ al-arbaʿ), their compositions, their oppositions, and their harmonies."[31] /wiki/Arabic_language
Ebeling 2007, pp. 46–47, 96. - Ebeling, Florian (2007). The Secret History of Hermes Trismegistus: Hermeticism from Ancient to Modern Times. Translated by Lorton, David. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-4546-0. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt1ffjptt. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt1ffjptt
Kahn 1994, pp. XIII–XIV. - Kahn, Didier (1994). La table d'émeraude et sa tradition alchimique [The Emerald Tablet and Its Alchemical Tradition] (in French). Paris: Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 9782251470054.
Ruska 1926, p. 115. - Ruska, Julius (1926). Tabula Smaragdina. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der hermetischen Literatur [Tabula Smaragdina: A Contribution to the History of Hermetic Literature] (in German). Heidelberg: Winter. OCLC 6751465. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6751465
Steele & Singer 1927, pp. 488/44; Arié 1990, p. 159; Lindsay 1986, p. 202. - Steele, Robert; Singer, Dorothea Waley (1927). "The Emerald Table". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 21 (3): 41–57/485–501. doi:10.1177/003591572802100361. PMC 2101974. PMID 19986273. https://doi.org/10.1177/003591572802100361
Kahn 1994, pp. XVI–XVII. - Kahn, Didier (1994). La table d'émeraude et sa tradition alchimique [The Emerald Tablet and Its Alchemical Tradition] (in French). Paris: Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 9782251470054.
Mandosio 2004b, pp. 682–683, 686; Kahn 2016, pp. 22–23. - Mandosio, Jean-Marc (2004b). "La Tabula smaragdina nel Medioevo latino, I. La Tabula smaragdina e i suoi commentari medievali" [The Tabula Smaragdina in the Latin Middle Ages, I. The Tabula Smaragdina and Its Medieval Commentaries]. In Lucentini, P.; Parri, I.; Perrone Compagni, V. (eds.). La tradizione ermetica dal mondo tardo-antico all'umanesimo. Atti del Convegno internazionale di studi, Napoli, 20–24 novembre 2001 [Hermetism from Late Antiquity to Humanism]. Instrumenta Patristica et Mediaevalia (in Italian). Vol. 40. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 681–696. doi:10.1484/M.IPM-EB.4.00121. ISBN 978-2-503-51616-5. https://doi.org/10.1484/M.IPM-EB.4.00121
Kahn 2016, pp. 22–23. - Kahn, Didier (2016). Le fixe et le volatil: chimie et alchimie, de Paracelse à Lavoisier [The Fixed and the Volatile: Chemistry and Alchemy from Paracelsus to Lavoisier]. Histoire de sciences (in French). Paris: CNRS éditions. ISBN 978-2-271-08985-4.
Ruska 1926, p. 167. - Ruska, Julius (1926). Tabula Smaragdina. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der hermetischen Literatur [Tabula Smaragdina: A Contribution to the History of Hermetic Literature] (in German). Heidelberg: Winter. OCLC 6751465. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6751465
Along similar lines, Wilhelm Ganzenmüller [de] had argued that all of Arab alchemy was built on a mix of pre-Islamic traditions from north-eastern Iran and the land route to India, with other influences from gnostic Christians and ancient Egypt.[40] /w/index.php?title=Wilhelm_Ganzenm%C3%BCller&action=edit&redlink=1
Tzu-Kung 1972; Needham et al. 1980, p. 370. - Tzu-Kung, Chang (1972). "Taoist Thought and the Development of Science: A Missing Chapter in the History of Science and Culture-Relations". M & B Pharmaceutical Bulletin. 21 (7, 20). May & Baker Ltd.
Needham et al. 1980, pp. 412. - Needham, Joseph; Ping-yü, Ho; Gwei-djen, Lu; Sivin, Nathan (1980). Science and Civilisation in China. Volume 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Part IV: Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus, Theories and Gifts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-08573-X. LCCN 54-4723. OCLC 7814708. https://lccn.loc.gov/54-4723
Needham et al. 1980, p. 372. - Needham, Joseph; Ping-yü, Ho; Gwei-djen, Lu; Sivin, Nathan (1980). Science and Civilisation in China. Volume 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Part IV: Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus, Theories and Gifts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-08573-X. LCCN 54-4723. OCLC 7814708. https://lccn.loc.gov/54-4723
The crux of which is reproduced by Needham et al. 1980 using Ruska's translation.[44] - Needham, Joseph; Ping-yü, Ho; Gwei-djen, Lu; Sivin, Nathan (1980). Science and Civilisation in China. Volume 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Part IV: Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus, Theories and Gifts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-08573-X. LCCN 54-4723. OCLC 7814708. https://lccn.loc.gov/54-4723
Needham et al. 1980, p. 370. - Needham, Joseph; Ping-yü, Ho; Gwei-djen, Lu; Sivin, Nathan (1980). Science and Civilisation in China. Volume 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Part IV: Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus, Theories and Gifts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-08573-X. LCCN 54-4723. OCLC 7814708. https://lccn.loc.gov/54-4723
Read 1937, p. 54; Needham et al. 1980, p. 370. - Read, John (1937). Prelude to Chemistry: An Outline of Alchemy, Its Literature and Relationships. New York: Macmillan. OCLC 1564590151. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1564590151
Chinese: 管子, romanized: Guǎn Zǐ More specifically, Tzu-Kung believed to have found the origin of the Tablet in chapter 49, called 'Inward Training' (內業, Nèiyè). This section is a text of rhymed prose on ataraxy, cosmic harmony, and breathing aspects of internal alchemy.[47][48] There are, however, no direct parallelisms between this text and the Tablet. /wiki/Chinese_language
However, he fundamentally agreed with the idea that the Tablet could have some relation to Chinese thought.[49] Additionally, he suggested that other parts of the Secret of Creation might have Chinese origins, but he lacked access to the Arabic text to explore this further.[50]
Needham et al. 1980, p. 373. - Needham, Joseph; Ping-yü, Ho; Gwei-djen, Lu; Sivin, Nathan (1980). Science and Civilisation in China. Volume 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Part IV: Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Apparatus, Theories and Gifts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-08573-X. LCCN 54-4723. OCLC 7814708. https://lccn.loc.gov/54-4723
Commonly known in Europe by the latinised name Geber. On the dating of the texts attributed to Jābir, see Kraus 1943.[52] /wiki/Latinisation_of_names
Zirnis 1979, pp. 64–65, 90. - Zirnis, Peter (1979). The Kitāb Usṭuqus al-uss of Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (Unpublished PhD diss.). New York University.
Holmyard 1923; cf. Ruska 1926, p. 121. - Holmyard, Eric J. (1923). "The Emerald Table". Nature. 112 (2814): 525–526. Bibcode:1923Natur.112..525H. doi:10.1038/112525a0. https://doi.org/10.1038%2F112525a0
Latin: Secretum Secretorum; Arabic: سرّ الأسرار, romanized: Sirr al-Asrār. Arabic text edited by Badawi 1954.[55] /wiki/Latin_language
On the dating of this work, see Manzalaoui 1974.[56] - Manzalaoui, Mahmoud (1974). "The Pseudo-Aristotelian Kitāb Sirr al-asrār: Facts and Problems". Oriens. 23/24: 147–257. doi:10.2307/1580104. JSTOR 1580104. https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1580104
Though the wording by Ibn Juljul could suggest this framing was a non-essential addition to the treatise.[57] /wiki/Ibn_Juljul
Manzalaoui 1974, pp. 158–159, 164, 167, 193. - Manzalaoui, Mahmoud (1974). "The Pseudo-Aristotelian Kitāb Sirr al-asrār: Facts and Problems". Oriens. 23/24: 147–257. doi:10.2307/1580104. JSTOR 1580104. https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1580104
Badawi 1954, pp. 166–167. - Badawi, Abd al-Rahman (1954). al-Usūl al-Yūnāniyya li-l-naẓariyyāt al-siyāsiyya fī al-islām الأصول اليونانية للنظريات السياسية في الإسلام [The Greek Foundations of Political Theories in Islam] (in Arabic). Cairo: Maktabat al-Nahḍa al-Miṣriyya. OCLC 12629786. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/12629786
Arabic: كتاب الماء الورقي والأرض النجمية, romanized: Kitāb al-Māʾ al-Waraqī wa-'l-Arḍ al-Najmiyya. /wiki/Arabic_language
Whose name is at time latinised to Senior Zadith. /wiki/Latinisation_of_names
Stapleton, Lewis & Taylor 1949, p. 81. - Stapleton, H. E.; Lewis, G. L.; Taylor, F. Sherwood (1949). "The sayings of Hermes quoted in the Māʾ al-waraqī of Ibn Umail". Ambix. 3 (3–4): 69–90. doi:10.1179/amb.1949.3.3-4.69. https://doi.org/10.1179%2Famb.1949.3.3-4.69
Ibn Umayl 1933, pp. 117–118. - Ibn Umayl, Muḥammad (1933). Ṭurāb ʿAlī, Muḥammad (ed.). Three Arabic Treatises on Alchemy. Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Vol. 12. Translated by Stapleton, H. E.; Hidāyat Ḥusain, Muḥammad. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal. pp. 1–213.
The introduction merely calls him "the sage" but it is later stated that Hermes has many names, a few of which are listed, the first being "the sage", the same identification is made again later in the text.[62]
Stapleton, Lewis & Taylor 1949, p. 81. - Stapleton, H. E.; Lewis, G. L.; Taylor, F. Sherwood (1949). "The sayings of Hermes quoted in the Māʾ al-waraqī of Ibn Umail". Ambix. 3 (3–4): 69–90. doi:10.1179/amb.1949.3.3-4.69. https://doi.org/10.1179%2Famb.1949.3.3-4.69
"We went towards the Pyramid (Birbāʾ) which the keepers opened, and I saw on the roof of the galleries1 of the Pyramid a picture of Nine Eagles with out-spread wings, as if they were flying, and with outstretched and open claws. In the claw of each of the eagles was a thing like the fully-drawn bow which is used by soldiers (Jund: MSS. P. and L. Ḵẖail ‘cavalry’). On the wall of the gallery on the right side of any one entering the Pyramid, and on the left side, were pictures of people standing, most perfect in shape and beauty, wearing clothes of various colours and having their hands stretched out towards a figure seated inside the Pyramid, near the pillar of the gate of the Hall. The image was situated to the left hand of whoever desired to enter into the Hall, facing the person who entered from the gallery. The image was (seated) in a chair, like those used by physicians, the chair being separate from the figure. In its lap, resting on the arms—the two hands of the figure being stretched out on its knees—was a stone slab (balāṭah)—also separate—the length of which was about 1 cubit, and the breadth about 1 span. The fingers of both its hands were bent behind the slab, as if holding it. The slab was like an open book, exhibited to all who entered as if to suggest that they should look at it. On the side, viz., in the Hall (riwāq) where the image was situated, were different pictures, and inscriptions in hieroglyphic (bīrbāwī) writing. The tablet which was in the lap of the image was divided into two halves by a line down the middle: and on one half of it towards the bottom, was a picture of two birds having their breasts (contiguous) to one another. One of them had both wings cut off, and the other had both wings (intact). Each of them held fast the tail of the other by its beak as if the flying bird wished to fly with the mutilated bird, and the mutilated bird wished to keep the flying bird with itself. These two linked birds that were holding one another appeared like a circle, a symbol of 'Two in One'. Above the head of the one that was flying was a circle and, above these two birds, at the top of the tablet close to the fingers of the image (sic!), was the representation of the crescent moon (hilāl). At the side of the Moon was a circle, similar to the circle near the two birds at the bottom. The total (of these symbols) is Five—3 at the bottom, viz., two birds and the circle: and, above, the figure of the Crescent Moon and another circle."[64]
Ibn Umayl 1933, pp. plate I-II. - Ibn Umayl, Muḥammad (1933). Ṭurāb ʿAlī, Muḥammad (ed.). Three Arabic Treatises on Alchemy. Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Vol. 12. Translated by Stapleton, H. E.; Hidāyat Ḥusain, Muḥammad. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal. pp. 1–213.
Arabic: قراطس, romanized: Qarāṭas.[66] Possibly a corrupted Arabic version of the name Democritus.[67] /wiki/Arabic_language
Arabic: ساراوندين, romanized: Sārāwandīn. Faivre 1988 and Houdas 1893 merely translate this to mean the Temple of Serapis.[68] But Ruska points out that Sārāwandīn is the Arabised version of Sarapieion and that Arabic: سَرافِيل, romanized: Sarāfīl is the Arabised version of Serapis—with the particle īl being reminiscent of the Arabisation of Hebrew angel names like Arabic: جبريل, romanized: Jibrīl, lit. 'Gabriel'.[69] /wiki/Arabic_language
Ruska 1926, pp. 137–139; Ruska 1924, p. 16; Faivre 1988, p. 98. - Ruska, Julius (1926). Tabula Smaragdina. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der hermetischen Literatur [Tabula Smaragdina: A Contribution to the History of Hermetic Literature] (in German). Heidelberg: Winter. OCLC 6751465. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6751465
Houdas 1893, pp. 46–47. - Houdas, Octave (1893). "Le livre de Cratès" [The Book of Crates]. In Berthelot, Marcellin (ed.). Histoire des sciences. La chimie au Moyen Âge, vol. III: L'alchimie arabe [History of Science. Chemistry in the Middle Ages, Vol. III: Arabic Alchemy] (in French). Paris: Imprimerie nationale. pp. 44–75. https://archive.org/details/b24877797_0003/page/n7/mode/2up
Titled Latin: Liber de secretis naturae, lit. 'Book of the Secrets of Nature'; An edition of the text was published by Françoise Hudry.[72] /wiki/Latin_language
A Latin edition of this text can be found in Hudry 1997–1999. Hudry's version of the Tablet is reproduced in Mandosio 2004b.[73] An English translation of this text may be found in Litwa 2018.[74] - Hudry, Françoise (1997–1999). "Le De secretis nature du ps.-Apollonius de Tyane, traduction latine par Hugues de Santalla du Kitâb sirr al-halîqa" [De secretis naturae by the Pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana, Latin translation by Hugh of Santalla of the Kitāb sirr al-ḥalīqa]. Chrysopoeia (in French). 6: 1–154.
Weisser 1980, pp. 54–55. - Weisser, Ursula (1980). Spies, Otto (ed.). Das "Buch über das Geheimnis der Schöpfung" von Pseudo-Apollonios von Tyana ["The Book on the Secret of Creation" by Pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana]. Berlin: De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783110866933. ISBN 978-3-11-086693-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=DZFZzxgiUqAC
Hudry 1997–1999, p. 152. - Hudry, Françoise (1997–1999). "Le De secretis nature du ps.-Apollonius de Tyane, traduction latine par Hugues de Santalla du Kitâb sirr al-halîqa" [De secretis naturae by the Pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana, Latin translation by Hugh of Santalla of the Kitāb sirr al-ḥalīqa]. Chrysopoeia (in French). 6: 1–154.
Hudry's edition is reproduced in Mandosio 2004b, pp. 690–691. An English translation may be found in Litwa 2018.[77] - Mandosio, Jean-Marc (2004b). "La Tabula smaragdina nel Medioevo latino, I. La Tabula smaragdina e i suoi commentari medievali" [The Tabula Smaragdina in the Latin Middle Ages, I. The Tabula Smaragdina and Its Medieval Commentaries]. In Lucentini, P.; Parri, I.; Perrone Compagni, V. (eds.). La tradizione ermetica dal mondo tardo-antico all'umanesimo. Atti del Convegno internazionale di studi, Napoli, 20–24 novembre 2001 [Hermetism from Late Antiquity to Humanism]. Instrumenta Patristica et Mediaevalia (in Italian). Vol. 40. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 681–696. doi:10.1484/M.IPM-EB.4.00121. ISBN 978-2-503-51616-5. https://doi.org/10.1484/M.IPM-EB.4.00121
Thorndike 1959, p. 25, note 20. - Thorndike, Lynn (1959). "John of Seville". Speculum. 34 (1): 20–38. doi:10.2307/2847976. ISSN 0038-7134. JSTOR 2847976. PMID 19928638. https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2847976
A Latin edition of the text can be found in Steele 1920.[79] Steele's edition is reproduced in Mandosio 2004b.[80] - Steele, Robert (1920). Secretum secretorum cum glossis et notulis. Opera hactenus inedita Rogeri Baconi, vol. V. Oxford: Clarendon Press. OCLC 493365693. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/493365693
Steele 1920, pp. 115–117. - Steele, Robert (1920). Secretum secretorum cum glossis et notulis. Opera hactenus inedita Rogeri Baconi, vol. V. Oxford: Clarendon Press. OCLC 493365693. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/493365693
Although there are no extant manuscripts before the thirteenth or fourteenth century.
Or in Latin: vulgata. /wiki/Latin
Kahn 1994, pp. XIX, 41; Mandosio 2004b, p. 683; Caiazzo 2004, pp. 700–703; Colinet 1995. - Kahn, Didier (1994). La table d'émeraude et sa tradition alchimique [The Emerald Tablet and Its Alchemical Tradition] (in French). Paris: Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 9782251470054.
Latin: Liber Hermetis de alchimia. /wiki/Latin_language
Latin: Liber dabessi. /wiki/Latin_language
Latin: Liber rebis. /wiki/Latin_language
Mandosio 2004b, p. 683. - Mandosio, Jean-Marc (2004b). "La Tabula smaragdina nel Medioevo latino, I. La Tabula smaragdina e i suoi commentari medievali" [The Tabula Smaragdina in the Latin Middle Ages, I. The Tabula Smaragdina and Its Medieval Commentaries]. In Lucentini, P.; Parri, I.; Perrone Compagni, V. (eds.). La tradizione ermetica dal mondo tardo-antico all'umanesimo. Atti del Convegno internazionale di studi, Napoli, 20–24 novembre 2001 [Hermetism from Late Antiquity to Humanism]. Instrumenta Patristica et Mediaevalia (in Italian). Vol. 40. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 681–696. doi:10.1484/M.IPM-EB.4.00121. ISBN 978-2-503-51616-5. https://doi.org/10.1484/M.IPM-EB.4.00121
Plato of Tivoli collaborated with Abraham bar Ḥiyya. One reason given for this speculative identification by Steele & Singer 1927 is the presence of Hebraised names in the text.[85] /wiki/Abraham_bar_%E1%B8%A4iyya
Steele & Singer 1927, p. 45/489. - Steele, Robert; Singer, Dorothea Waley (1927). "The Emerald Table". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 21 (3): 41–57/485–501. doi:10.1177/003591572802100361. PMC 2101974. PMID 19986273. https://doi.org/10.1177/003591572802100361
For further information about this text see Colinet 1995 and Caiazzo 2004, pp. 700–703. - Colinet, Andrée (1995). "Le livre d'Hermès intitulé Liber dabessi ou Liber rebis" [The book of Hermes titled Liber dabessi or Liber rebis]. Studi medievali (in French). 36 (2): 1011–1052.
Mandosio 2004b, p. 683. - Mandosio, Jean-Marc (2004b). "La Tabula smaragdina nel Medioevo latino, I. La Tabula smaragdina e i suoi commentari medievali" [The Tabula Smaragdina in the Latin Middle Ages, I. The Tabula Smaragdina and Its Medieval Commentaries]. In Lucentini, P.; Parri, I.; Perrone Compagni, V. (eds.). La tradizione ermetica dal mondo tardo-antico all'umanesimo. Atti del Convegno internazionale di studi, Napoli, 20–24 novembre 2001 [Hermetism from Late Antiquity to Humanism]. Instrumenta Patristica et Mediaevalia (in Italian). Vol. 40. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 681–696. doi:10.1484/M.IPM-EB.4.00121. ISBN 978-2-503-51616-5. https://doi.org/10.1484/M.IPM-EB.4.00121
Extant manuscripts are listed in Steele & Singer 1927.[88] Their edition of the Tablet itself is reproduced in Mandosio 2004b.[89] A transcription of the Tablet from the manuscript Arundel 164 is given by Selwood 2023—who erroneously believes Steele & Singer 1927's edition to be a mere transcript of a singular manuscript; his attribution of the text's origin to the Secret of Secrets is likewise incorrect. - Steele, Robert; Singer, Dorothea Waley (1927). "The Emerald Table". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 21 (3): 41–57/485–501. doi:10.1177/003591572802100361. PMC 2101974. PMID 19986273. https://doi.org/10.1177/003591572802100361
Itself from Ancient Greek: τελέω, romanized: teleō, lit. 'to perform; accomplish; consecrate; initiate'. /wiki/Ancient_Greek_language
Mandosio 2005, pp. 140–141. - Mandosio, Jean-Marc (2005). "La création verbale dans l'alchimie latine du Moyen Âge" [Verbal Creation in Latin Alchemy of the Middle Ages]. Archivum Latinitatis Medii Aevi (in French). 63: 137–147. doi:10.3406/alma.2005.894. https://doi.org/10.3406/alma.2005.894
Kahn 2016, pp. 22–23. - Kahn, Didier (2016). Le fixe et le volatil: chimie et alchimie, de Paracelse à Lavoisier [The Fixed and the Volatile: Chemistry and Alchemy from Paracelsus to Lavoisier]. Histoire de sciences (in French). Paris: CNRS éditions. ISBN 978-2-271-08985-4.
Linden 2003, p. 27. - Linden, Stanton J. (2003). The Alchemy Reader: From Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781107050846. ISBN 0-521-79234-7. https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9781107050846
Latin: De essentiis. /wiki/Latin_language
Calvet 2022, p. 140. - Calvet, Antoine (3 August 2022). "L'alchimie médiévale est-elle une science chrétienne ?" [Is Medieval Alchemy a Christian Science?]. Les Dossiers du Grihl (in French) (Hors-série n°3). doi:10.4000/dossiersgrihl.321. Retrieved 7 May 2025. https://journals.openedition.org/dossiersgrihl/321
"Th"-initial spellings represent a corruption.
Mandosio 2005, pp. 140–141. - Mandosio, Jean-Marc (2005). "La création verbale dans l'alchimie latine du Moyen Âge" [Verbal Creation in Latin Alchemy of the Middle Ages]. Archivum Latinitatis Medii Aevi (in French). 63: 137–147. doi:10.3406/alma.2005.894. https://doi.org/10.3406/alma.2005.894
Latin: De mineralibus. /wiki/Latin_language
Which he mistakenly identifies as from the Latin: secretum secrelissimorum ie the Secret of Secrets. /wiki/Latin_language
Mandosio 2004b, pp. 686–687. - Mandosio, Jean-Marc (2004b). "La Tabula smaragdina nel Medioevo latino, I. La Tabula smaragdina e i suoi commentari medievali" [The Tabula Smaragdina in the Latin Middle Ages, I. The Tabula Smaragdina and Its Medieval Commentaries]. In Lucentini, P.; Parri, I.; Perrone Compagni, V. (eds.). La tradizione ermetica dal mondo tardo-antico all'umanesimo. Atti del Convegno internazionale di studi, Napoli, 20–24 novembre 2001 [Hermetism from Late Antiquity to Humanism]. Instrumenta Patristica et Mediaevalia (in Italian). Vol. 40. Turnhout: Brepols. pp. 681–696. doi:10.1484/M.IPM-EB.4.00121. ISBN 978-2-503-51616-5. https://doi.org/10.1484/M.IPM-EB.4.00121
Particularly his belief in astrology and natural magic.
Bacon 1920, p. XIII. - Bacon, Roger (1920). Steele, Robert (ed.). Secretum Secretorum cum glossis et notulis [Secret of Secrets with Glosses and Notes]. Opera hactenus inedita (in Latin). Vol. 5. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
"I, called Hortulanus, named from the horti maritimi [incomprehensible term, later variants change it to named from the garden or from the seaside field], wrapped in Jacobin skin, unworthy to be called a disciple of philosophy. Moved by the love of my dear one. The most certain declaration of the speech of the father of philosophers, Hermes, I intend to speak. Which speech, although it may be hidden, nevertheless the exercise of the true work, in the fatigue of my fingers, has most truly declared the whole exposition. For the concealment of the philosophers in speeches profits nothing, where the doctrine of the Holy Spirit operates."[97]
Ruska 1926, pp. 197, 202–204. - Ruska, Julius (1926). Tabula Smaragdina. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der hermetischen Literatur [Tabula Smaragdina: A Contribution to the History of Hermetic Literature] (in German). Heidelberg: Winter. OCLC 6751465. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6751465
Debus 2004, p. 415. - Debus, Allen G. (2004). Alchemy and Early Modern Chemistry: Papers from Ambix. Jeremy Mills Publishing. ISBN 9780954648411.
Ruska 1926 points out that this passage and interpretation bear great resemblance to a much earlier Hermetic work transmitted in Greek by Zosimos of Panopolis.[100] - Ruska, Julius (1926). Tabula Smaragdina. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der hermetischen Literatur [Tabula Smaragdina: A Contribution to the History of Hermetic Literature] (in German). Heidelberg: Winter. OCLC 6751465. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6751465
Ruska 1926, pp. 193, 209. - Ruska, Julius (1926). Tabula Smaragdina. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der hermetischen Literatur [Tabula Smaragdina: A Contribution to the History of Hermetic Literature] (in German). Heidelberg: Winter. OCLC 6751465. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6751465
"It is written afterward: Pater omnis telesmi totius mundi est hic — that is to say, in the work of the Stone is found the final path. And note that the Philosopher calls the operation “father of all telesma,” that is to say, of every secret or of all the treasure of the entire world — that is, of every stone discovered in this world. It is here. As if he were saying: behold, I show it to you."[102]
Mandosio 2005, p. 140. - Mandosio, Jean-Marc (2005). "La création verbale dans l'alchimie latine du Moyen Âge" [Verbal Creation in Latin Alchemy of the Middle Ages]. Archivum Latinitatis Medii Aevi (in French). 63: 137–147. doi:10.3406/alma.2005.894. https://doi.org/10.3406/alma.2005.894
Latin: Aurora consurgens. /wiki/Latin_language
Obrist 2003, pp. 151–155. - Obrist, Barbara (2003). "Visualization in Medieval Alchemy" (PDF). International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry. 9 (2): 131–170. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 December 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20241222233722/https://www.hyle.org/journal/issues/9-2/obrist.pdf
Principe 2013, p. 31; Linden 2003, p. 27; Kahn 2017, pp. 324–325. - Principe, Lawrence M. (2013). The Secrets of Alchemy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226103792.
Latin: Qui fuerint primi inventores hujus artis. /wiki/Latin_language
"Now the very first inventor of this science—or of the mechanical alchemical art, as one reads in several of his own books—was HERMES, who was surnamed Triplex. And this was so because in the threefold philosophy—namely in the mineral, the vegetable, and the animal—he was highest and most perfect in this art of archimia, whether conjointly or separately in the Operation of the Sun. Who, under another name and according to some, is called HERMES TRISMEGISTUS. And therefore he is called Trismegistus, because among these three—namely fluency (Latin: facundia), eloquence (Latin: eloquentia), and knowledge (Latin: scientia)—he was above all others in his day most eminent and perfect. And this same one—because he was the very first inventor of this alchemical art—is continually called Latin: PATER NOSTER, lit. 'OUR FATHER'."[108] /wiki/Latin_language
Kahn 2017, pp. 314–315. - Kahn, Didier (2017). "Généalogie de l'alchimie et interprétation alchimique de la Bible au XIVᵉ siècle : « Qui fuerint primi inventores hujus artis »" [Genealogy of Alchemy and Alchemical Interpretation of the Bible in the 14th Century: ‘ Qui fuerint primi inventores hujus artis’]. Archives d'histoire doctrinale et littéraire du Moyen Âge (in French). 84. Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin: 313–347. JSTOR 45134421. Retrieved 12 May 2025. https://www.jstor.org/stable/45134421
Telle 1984, p. 132; Telle 1988, pp. 185–186; Kahn 2017, pp. 314–315. - Telle, Joachim (1984). "Paracelselsistische Sinnbildkunst: Bemerkungen zu einer pseudo-„Tabula Smaragdina" des 16. Jahrhunderts" [Paracelsian Symbolic Art: Remarks on a Pseudo-"Tabula Smaragdina" of the 16th Century]. In Seidler, Eduard; Schott, Heinz (eds.). Bausteine zur Medizingeschichte [Building Blocks of Medical History] (in German). Wiesbaden: Steiner. pp. 129–139.
Latin: Opus praeclarum de imaginibus astrologicis. /wiki/Latin_language
Or in the work attributed to Albertus Magnus Latin: tabula zatadi, lit. 'zatadi tablet'. Meaning a tablet made of emerald but merely transliterating the Arabic: زبرجدي, romanized: zabarjadī, lit. '(made of) emerald; peridot'.[111] /wiki/Albertus_Magnus
Latin: Symbola Aureae Mensae. /wiki/Latin_language
Latin: Liber de secretis chymicis. /wiki/Latin_language
Faivre 1988, p. 38. - Faivre, Antoine (1988). Présences d'Hermès Trismégiste [Presences of Hermes Trismegistus]. Cahiers de l'Hermétisme (in French). Éditions Albin Michel.
Latin: Atalanta Fugiens. /wiki/Latin_language
The current scientific consensus favours Matthaeus Merian as the sole author.[113] A seventeenth-century text by Stanislas Klossowski de Rola asserts de Bry however, leading Godwin 2007 to suggest that, if the busy de Bry had any role to play in the creation of the engravings, it most likely would have been the figures.[114]
Hasler 2011, pp. 137–138; Kahn 1994, pp. 59–74. - Hasler, Johann F. W. (2011). "Performative and Multimedia Aspects of Late-Renaissance Meditative Alchemy: The Case of Michael Maier's Atalanta Fugiens (1617)". Revista de Estudios Sociales (39): 135–144. doi:10.7440/res39.2011.11. hdl:10495/4984. https://doi.org/10.7440%2Fres39.2011.11
Latin: De alchemia. /wiki/Latin_language
Gilly 2003, p. 451; Kahn 2007, p. 101. - Gilly, Carlos (2003). "On the genesis of L. Zetzner's Theatrum Chemicum in Strasbourg". In Gilly, Carlos; van Heertum, Cis (eds.). Magia, alchimia, scienza dal '400 al '700. L'influsso di Ermete Trismegisto [Magic, alchemy and science 15th–18th centuries. The influence of Hermes Trismegistus]. Florence: Centro Di. ISBN 8870383857.
Polydorus 1541, pp. 363–373. - Polydorus, Chrysogonus (1541). De alchemia [Of Alchemy]. Nuremberg: Iohannes Petreius. doi:10.3931/e-rara-5596. Retrieved 14 May 2025. https://viewer.zb.uzh.ch/uv/index.html#?manifest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.e-rara.ch%2Fi3f%2Fv20%2F1719033%2Fmanifest&c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=388&xywh=-827%2C-31%2C3714%2C2119
Debus 2004, p. 415. - Debus, Allen G. (2004). Alchemy and Early Modern Chemistry: Papers from Ambix. Jeremy Mills Publishing. ISBN 9780954648411.
Latin: De luce naturae physica. /wiki/Latin_language
Forshaw 2007, p. 31. - Forshaw, Peter J. (2007). "Alchemical Exegesis: Fractious Distillations of the Essence of Hermes". In Principe, Lawrence M. (ed.). Chymists and Chymistry: Studies in the History of Alchemy and Early Modern Chemistry. Sagamore Beach, MA: Science History Publications/USA. pp. 25–38. ISBN 978-0-88135-396-9.
As attested by marginal notes of a 1586 manuscript.
Latin: tria prima. /wiki/Latin_language
Telle 1984, pp. 132–136. - Telle, Joachim (1984). "Paracelselsistische Sinnbildkunst: Bemerkungen zu einer pseudo-„Tabula Smaragdina" des 16. Jahrhunderts" [Paracelsian Symbolic Art: Remarks on a Pseudo-"Tabula Smaragdina" of the 16th Century]. In Seidler, Eduard; Schott, Heinz (eds.). Bausteine zur Medizingeschichte [Building Blocks of Medical History] (in German). Wiesbaden: Steiner. pp. 129–139.
Latin: Aureum vellus. /wiki/Latin_language
This first edition of the poem and emblem were published in Switzerland in vol. III of this treatise.[121]
Telle 1988, pp. 185–187. - Telle, Joachim (1988). "L'art symbolique paracelsien: remarques concernant une pseudo-Tabula smaragdine du XVIe siècle" [Paracelsian Symbolic Art: Remarks on a Pseudo-Tabula Smaragdina of the 16th Century]. In Faivre, Antoine (ed.). Hermès et l'hermétisme [Hermes and Hermetism] (in French). Éditions Albin Michel. pp. 184–222.
Latin: Supplementum Aurei Velleris. /wiki/Latin_language
Faivre 1988, p. 38; Telle 1984, p. 132; Telle 1988, pp. 185–186; Kahn 2017, pp. 314–315. - Faivre, Antoine (1988). Présences d'Hermès Trismégiste [Presences of Hermes Trismegistus]. Cahiers de l'Hermétisme (in French). Éditions Albin Michel.
Telle 1988, pp. 185–186, 209–222. - Telle, Joachim (1988). "L'art symbolique paracelsien: remarques concernant une pseudo-Tabula smaragdine du XVIe siècle" [Paracelsian Symbolic Art: Remarks on a Pseudo-Tabula Smaragdina of the 16th Century]. In Faivre, Antoine (ed.). Hermès et l'hermétisme [Hermes and Hermetism] (in French). Éditions Albin Michel. pp. 184–222.
Kahn 1994, pp. 31, 37; Ruska 1926, pp. 214–215. - Kahn, Didier (1994). La table d'émeraude et sa tradition alchimique [The Emerald Tablet and Its Alchemical Tradition] (in French). Paris: Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 9782251470054.
Ruska 1926, pp. 212–213, Ebeling 2007, p. 96; Matton 1993, p. 124. - Ruska, Julius (1926). Tabula Smaragdina. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der hermetischen Literatur [Tabula Smaragdina: A Contribution to the History of Hermetic Literature] (in German). Heidelberg: Winter. OCLC 6751465. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6751465
Ebeling 2007, p. 96. - Ebeling, Florian (2007). The Secret History of Hermes Trismegistus: Hermeticism from Ancient to Modern Times. Translated by Lorton, David. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-4546-0. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt1ffjptt. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt1ffjptt
Referring to terms like Latin: fatitudo fortis which is a corrupted variant of Latin: fortitudo fortis, lit. 'power of all powers' and also focussing in on the aforementioned Latin: tabula zatadi, lit. 'zatadi tablet'.[128] /wiki/Latin_language
He addressed them mockingly as Latin: Cimiastorum, lit. '(of) mixers' instead of the more neutral Latin: Alchemistarum, lit. '(of) Alchemists' in the tractate. In the preceding one he lampooned modern alchemists as describing the philosopher's stone with "useless prolixity and a ludicrous structure" and generally being wrong and misguided about most things.[129] /wiki/Latin_language
Ruska 1926, pp. 216–219; Stolzenberg 2013, pp. 222–223. - Ruska, Julius (1926). Tabula Smaragdina. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der hermetischen Literatur [Tabula Smaragdina: A Contribution to the History of Hermetic Literature] (in German). Heidelberg: Winter. OCLC 6751465. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6751465
Latin: De ortu et progressu chemiae. /wiki/Latin_language
Ruska 1926, p. 220. - Ruska, Julius (1926). Tabula Smaragdina. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der hermetischen Literatur [Tabula Smaragdina: A Contribution to the History of Hermetic Literature] (in German). Heidelberg: Winter. OCLC 6751465. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6751465
Ruska 1926, pp. 220–223; Kriegsmann 1684 cited by Faivre 1988, pp. 42, 48. - Ruska, Julius (1926). Tabula Smaragdina. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der hermetischen Literatur [Tabula Smaragdina: A Contribution to the History of Hermetic Literature] (in German). Heidelberg: Winter. OCLC 6751465. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6751465
Ruska 1926, pp. 1, 220–223. - Ruska, Julius (1926). Tabula Smaragdina. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der hermetischen Literatur [Tabula Smaragdina: A Contribution to the History of Hermetic Literature] (in German). Heidelberg: Winter. OCLC 6751465. https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6751465
Dobbs 1988; Newton 2010. - Dobbs, Betty Jo Teeter (1988). "Newton's Commentary on the Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus: Its Scientific and Theological Significance". In Merkel, Ingrid; Debus, Allen G. (eds.). Hermeticism and the Renaissance: Intellectual History and the Occult in Early Modern Europe. Washington, D.C.: Folger Books. pp. 182–191.
Friesen & Patton 2023, pp. 100, 104–107. - Friesen, Izzy; Patton, Paul (2023). "Discipline Dynamics of Chymistry and Rejection of Alchemy". Scientonomy: Journal for the Science of Science. 5: 1–22. doi:10.33137/js.v5i.42268. Retrieved 10 May 2025. https://scientojournal.com/index.php/scientonomy/article/view/42268
Kahn 2016, p. 175. - Kahn, Didier (2016). Le fixe et le volatil: chimie et alchimie, de Paracelse à Lavoisier [The Fixed and the Volatile: Chemistry and Alchemy from Paracelsus to Lavoisier]. Histoire de sciences (in French). Paris: CNRS éditions. ISBN 978-2-271-08985-4.
Faivre 1994, p. 88. - Faivre, Antoine (1994). Access to Western Esotericism. SUNY Series in Western Esoteric Traditions. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-2178-3.
"Nothing surpasses, nor equals, as a synthesis of all the
doctrines of the ancient world, those few sentences engraved
on a precious stone by Hermes and known under
the name of the Emerald Tablet; the unity of being and the unity
of harmonies—whether ascending or descending—
the progressive and proportional scale of the Word; the
immutable law of equilibrium and the proportional advancement of
universal analogies; the relation of the idea to the Word, estab
lishing the measure of the relationship between creator and created;
the mathematics of the infinite, demonstrated through
the measures of a single corner of the finite—all of this is ex
pressed in that single proposition of the great Egyptian
hierophant: […] The Emerald Tablet is all of magic in a single
page."[138]
Faivre 2005, p. 540 - Faivre, Antoine (2005). "Hermetic Literature IV: Renaissance – Present". In Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (ed.). Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 533–544. ISBN 978-90-04-14187-2.
It is for this reason that his work can be seen as the first step towards the 20th-century scholarly approaches of Richard Reitzenstein, Walter Scott, Arthur Nock, André-Jean Festugière, Gilles Quispel, Roelof van den Broek,
Jean-Pierre Mahé, and Brian Copenhaver.[140] /wiki/Richard_August_Reitzenstein
Faivre 2005, p. 541. - Faivre, Antoine (2005). "Hermetic Literature IV: Renaissance – Present". In Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (ed.). Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 533–544. ISBN 978-90-04-14187-2.
Goodrick-Clarke 2013, pp. 287; Prophet 2018, pp. 87, 91; Blavatsky 1891, pp. 507–514. - Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2013). "Western Esoteric Traditions and Theosophy". In Hammer, Olav; Rothstein, Mikael (eds.). Handbook of the Theosophical Current. Leiden: Brill. pp. 259–307. doi:10.1163/9789004235977_015. ISBN 9789004235960. https://doi.org/10.1163%2F9789004235977_015
Prophet 2018, pp. 87, 91. - Prophet, Erin (2018). "Hermetic Influences on the Evolutionary System of Helena Blavatsky's Theosophy". Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies. 3 (1): 84–111. doi:10.1163/2451859X-12340050. https://doi.org/10.1163%2F2451859X-12340050
Which is often speculated to be the work of William W. Atkinson, a New Thought pioneer.[144] /wiki/William_Walker_Atkinson
Horowitz 2019, p. 195. - Horowitz, Mitch (2019). "The New Age and Gnosticism: Terms of Commonality". Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies. 4 (2): 191–215. doi:10.1163/2451859X-12340073. S2CID 214533789. https://doi.org/10.1163%2F2451859X-12340073
Horowitz 2019, pp. 193–194. - Horowitz, Mitch (2019). "The New Age and Gnosticism: Terms of Commonality". Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies. 4 (2): 191–215. doi:10.1163/2451859X-12340073. S2CID 214533789. https://doi.org/10.1163%2F2451859X-12340073
Nenzén 2020, p. 66. - Nenzén, Niklas (2020). "Mystik och polemik: Hur begreppet gnosis förstås och används av Lectorium Rosicrucianum" [Mysticism and Polemics: How the Concept of Gnosis Is Understood and Used by the Lectorium Rosicrucianum]. AURA – Tidsskrift for akademiske studier av nyreligiøsitet (in Swedish). 11 (1): 52–80. doi:10.31265/aura.358. https://journals.uis.no/index.php/AURA/article/view/358
Faivre 2005, p. 542. - Faivre, Antoine (2005). "Hermetic Literature IV: Renaissance – Present". In Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (ed.). Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 533–544. ISBN 978-90-04-14187-2.
It is also notable for the scholars it has attracted to its editorial board such as Frans A. Janssen [nl] and Carlos Gilly [de].[149] /w/index.php?title=Frans_A._Janssen&action=edit&redlink=1
Faivre 2005, p. 542. - Faivre, Antoine (2005). "Hermetic Literature IV: Renaissance – Present". In Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (ed.). Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 533–544. ISBN 978-90-04-14187-2.
Faivre 2005, p. 542; ; Burckhardt 1960, pp. 219–225. - Faivre, Antoine (2005). "Hermetic Literature IV: Renaissance – Present". In Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (ed.). Dictionary of Gnosis & Western Esotericism. Leiden: Brill. pp. 533–544. ISBN 978-90-04-14187-2.
Williams 2016, p. 73. - Williams, K. L. (2016). "Turning Toward Earth: Themes, Sources, and Influences in the Emerald Tablet". Psychological Perspectives. 59 (1): 71–80. doi:10.1080/00332925.2016.1134208. Retrieved 11 May 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332925.2016.1134208
Exhibiting a particular textual preference for the 1541 Nuremberg edition.
Williams 2016, pp. 73, 76, 79-80. - Williams, K. L. (2016). "Turning Toward Earth: Themes, Sources, and Influences in the Emerald Tablet". Psychological Perspectives. 59 (1): 71–80. doi:10.1080/00332925.2016.1134208. Retrieved 11 May 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332925.2016.1134208
Williams 2016, pp. 79-80. - Williams, K. L. (2016). "Turning Toward Earth: Themes, Sources, and Influences in the Emerald Tablet". Psychological Perspectives. 59 (1): 71–80. doi:10.1080/00332925.2016.1134208. Retrieved 11 May 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332925.2016.1134208
Marvell 2013, pp. 519–520; Mandosio 2003, pp. 22–25. - Marvell, Leon (2013). "Take Two Emerald Tablets in the Morning: 518 Surrealism and the Alchemical Transubstantiation of the World". The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies. 15 (1–2): 139–154. doi:10.1558/pome.v15i1-2.139 (inactive 23 May 2025). ISSN 1528-0268. https://doi.org/10.1558%2Fpome.v15i1-2.139
Marvell 2013, p. 520. - Marvell, Leon (2013). "Take Two Emerald Tablets in the Morning: 518 Surrealism and the Alchemical Transubstantiation of the World". The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies. 15 (1–2): 139–154. doi:10.1558/pome.v15i1-2.139 (inactive 23 May 2025). ISSN 1528-0268. https://doi.org/10.1558%2Fpome.v15i1-2.139
"Everything suggests that there exists a certain point in the mind from which life and death, the real and the imaginary, the past and the future, the communicable and the incommunicable, high and low cease to be perceived as contradictory. It is in vain, moreover, that one would seek any other motive for surrealist activity than the hope of determining this point."[157]
Kahn 1994, p. XXII. - Kahn, Didier (1994). La table d'émeraude et sa tradition alchimique [The Emerald Tablet and Its Alchemical Tradition] (in French). Paris: Les Belles Lettres. ISBN 9782251470054.
Opposition to this view is voiced by Béhar 1990:
"Lacking humor, this is what Breton would accomplish for surrealist morality in his Second Manifesto. He prepared it during the summer in the solitude of the Île de Sein, rereading Hegel in Vera’s French translation, deepening his understanding of Marx and Engels. [...]It is understood that Surrealism cannot be confined to the sole social structures analyzed by Marxists: its elucidative effort focuses on the superstructures, on human expression in all its forms. Its quest is therefore akin—mutatis mutandis—to that of the alchemist: both involve a similar state of fervor, requiring a certain secrecy, a withdrawal from the public eye, in order to preserve their integrity and to uncover that point of the mind “from which life and death, the real and the imaginary, the past and the future, the communicable and the incommunicable, the high and the low cease to be perceived in contradiction.”"[159] - Béhar, Henri (1990). André Breton: Le grand indésirable [André Breton: The Great Undesirable] (in French). Paris: Calmann-Lévy. ISBN 978-2-7021-1584-8. Retrieved 8 May 2025. https://archive.org/details/andrbretonlegr00bh
Polizzotti 1999, pp. 368–369; Breton 1988, pp. 1594–1595. - Polizzotti, Mark (1999). André Breton (in French). Paris: Gallimard. ISBN 978-2-07-073298-2.
Marvell 2013, p. 528, Mandosio 2003, pp. 103–104. - Marvell, Leon (2013). "Take Two Emerald Tablets in the Morning: 518 Surrealism and the Alchemical Transubstantiation of the World". The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies. 15 (1–2): 139–154. doi:10.1558/pome.v15i1-2.139 (inactive 23 May 2025). ISSN 1528-0268. https://doi.org/10.1558%2Fpome.v15i1-2.139
"The bird’s vertical flight and the lift sinking ever deeper down the mine-shaft, then rising to the surface again, determined between them a hitherto unsuspected meeting-place where there clashed and blended together the shapes of the sidereal bestiary, of germination, of mechanical traction, of blossoming crystals, as well as, devil take it, some designs from the wallpaper from my room and the bundle of shadows that falls from my hat. First Commandment: Everything should be freed from its shell (from its distance, its comparative size, its physical and chemical properties, its outward appearance). Never believe in the interior of a cave, always in the surface of an egg."[162]
Marvell 2013, pp. 530–533. - Marvell, Leon (2013). "Take Two Emerald Tablets in the Morning: 518 Surrealism and the Alchemical Transubstantiation of the World". The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies. 15 (1–2): 139–154. doi:10.1558/pome.v15i1-2.139 (inactive 23 May 2025). ISSN 1528-0268. https://doi.org/10.1558%2Fpome.v15i1-2.139
Treece 2021, pp. 420–421. - Treece, David (2021). "Música Popular Black and anti-racist struggles: musical cosmopolitanism and the soul aesthetic in Brazil (1963–1978)". Brasiliana: Journal for Brazilian Studies. 10 (2): 412–433. doi:10.25160/bjbs.v10i2.128090. https://doi.org/10.25160%2Fbjbs.v10i2.128090
Velly 2001, pp. 6–7, 321–347. - Velly, Jean-Jacques (2001). Le dessous des notes : voies vers l'ésosthétique. Hommage au professeur Manfred Kelkel [Beneath the Notes: Paths Toward Esosthetics. Tribute to Professor Manfred Kelkel] (in French). Paris: Presses Paris Sorbonne. p. 442. ISBN 2-84050-209-7.
Nguyen 2017. - Nguyen, Hanh (8 December 2017). "Netflix's 'Dark': Theories and Burning Questions About Jonas' Tattoo, the Wallpaper, and More". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2025. https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/netflix-dark-theories-burning-questions-jonas-tattoo-wallpaper-1201905484/
Newell 2017. - Newell, C.H. (4 December 2017). "Dark – Season 1, Episode 6: "Sic Mundus Creatus Est"". Father Son Holy Gore. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2025. https://fathersonholygore.com/2017/12/04/dark-season-1-episode-6-sic-mundus-creatus-est/