hermetic books
Preserved but no longer current.
Forty-two books fabled to have been written from the dictation of Hermes Trismegistus dealing with the life and thought of ancient Egypt. They state that the world was made out of fluid; that the soul is the union of light and life; that nothing is destruc- tible; that the soul transmigrates; and that suffering is the result of motion.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “hermetic books” mean?
Forty-two books fabled to have been written from the dictation of Hermes Trismegistus dealing with the life and thought of ancient Egypt. They state that the world was made out of fluid; that the soul is the union of light and life; that nothing is destruc- tible; that the soul transmigrates; and that suffering is the result of motion.
Is “hermetic books” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.