According to Jean-Pierre Mahé, these aphorisms contain the core of the teachings which are found in the later Greek religio-philosophical Hermetica (writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus).[1]
Dating
The work has mainly been preserved in a sixth-century CE Armenian translation, but the Greek original likely goes back to the first century CE.[2] As such, it is the oldest of the religio-philosophical Hermetica, which were mainly written between c. 100 and c. 300 CE.[3] The main argument for the early dating of the Definitions is the fact that some of its aphorisms are cited in multiple independent Greek Hermetic works.[4]
^Bull 2018, p. 9. Note, however, that some of the so-called 'technical' Hermetica may go back as far as to the second or third century BCE; see Copenhaver 1992, p. xxxiii; Bull 2018, pp. 2–3. Fowden 1986, p. 3, note 11 is somewhat more cautious, noting that our earliest testimonies date to the first century BCE.
Mahé, Jean-Pierre (1978–1982). Hermès en Haute-Egypte. Vol. I–II. Quebec: Presses de l'Université Laval. ISBN9780774668170. (critical edition of the Armenian text)
Mahé, Jean-Pierre (1999). "The Definitions of Hermes Trismegistus to Asclepius". In Salaman, Clement; van Oyen, Dorine; Wharton, William D.; Mahé, Jean-Pierre (eds.). The Way of Hermes. London: Duckworth Books. pp. 99–122. ISBN9780892811861. (English translation, with introduction)
