Book Description
A major forgotten work of English alchemy, Fasciculus chemicus was first published in Paris in 1630.It was translated by Ashmole into English in 1650, two years prior to his widely known anthology of English alchemical verse, Theatrum chemicum Britannicum. Dee's work is a compendium, a 'fasciculus' of quintations from the major alchemical writers. He arranged the quotations in chapters according to the order of the opus as a way of illuminating the alchemical process. The authors cited include Lull, Ripley, Dastin, Dunstan, Trevisanus, Arnold of Villa Nova, and Tauladanus. In this edition, the editor identifies the sources of the quotations and contributes the first substantial biography of this fascinating figure. The son of the Elizabethan mathematician, alchemist, and astrologer, Dr. John Dee, Arthur travelled as a boy with his father and Sir Edward Kelly through Bohemia. He was educated at Westminster School and in 1621 became physician to the Tsar of Russia for 14 years. In 1649 he retired to Norwich where he became a close friend of Sir Thomas Browne. Fasciculus chemicus is now made available for the first time since 1650. Index included. ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Italian Culture, published by American Association for Italian Studies on September 22, 2001. The length of the article is 947 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: William Hope. Curzio Malaparte: the Narrative Contract Strained.(Book Review)
Author: Marie Orton
Publication: Italian Culture (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2001
Publisher: American Association for Italian Studies
Volume: 19Issue: 2Page: 145(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
This digital document is an article from Italica, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2006. The length of the article is 7162 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Rime di viaggio per la terra dipinto.(Otto/Novecento)(Critical essay)
Author: Barbara Carle
Publication: Italica (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 83Issue: 3-4Page: 489(16)

Article Type: Critical essay

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Book Description
The Hermetica are a body of mystical texts written in late antiquity, but believed during the Renaissance (when they became well known) to be much older. Their supposed author, a mythical figure named Hermes Trismegistus, was thought to be a contemporary of Moses. The Hermetic philosophy was regarded as an ancient theology, parallel to the revealed wisdom of the Bible, supporting Biblical revelation and culminating in the Platonic philosophical tradition. This new translation is the only English version based on reliable texts, and Professor Copenhaver's introduction and notes make this accessible and up-to-date edition an indispensable resource to scholars. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

scholarly doesn't have to be boring.
Thankfully I got mine used. This translation is good for academics writing a thesis on the subject. To the layman it is completely unreadable. I've read plenty of dry historical texts in my time, and this one ranks up there with the dryest. Much of the book is reference material, also unreadable. Elitists scorn translations written so people can actually understand them, but for my money (a new or even used copy of this book here is, for a paperback, rediculously expensive), I'll take a translation where my eyes don't glaze over every other paragraph. Yawn.

Very good, could have been better...
Copenhaver's new edition and translation of the Greek corpus hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius provide the interested reader with an immensely readable and professionally done English translation, as well as a solid introduction and copious notes.

Copenhaver intends to replace Scott's classic edition and translation, and claims to improve upon what he sees as the rather idiosyncratic Greek and Latin texts which Scott put together and from which he translates. But the extent to which he succeeds is difficult to judge--read on.

The one, major drawback of this volume is that while Copenhaver offers extensive endnotes which fill in--to some extent--for a full critical apparatus, he does not give us the Greek and Latin texts. Without these,it is difficult for a professional scholar or an informed general reader to evaluate Copenhaver's work for him/herself.

In fairness to Copenhaver, it was never his intent to produce a work that could be used in the way I describe. In one sense, then, he succeeds magnificently at what he set out to do. But the addition of facing page texts in the original languages (provided in Scott's classic edition) would have made this book much, much better--and much more useful to a wider audience. Although the size of such an audience is not exactly vast, it may well be greater than Copenhaver imagined.

In short, it's an excellent text for anyone interested in the Hermetica who does not read Greek or Latin. It is a very good text for students and scholars who will find much in Copenhaver's insightful editing, translation, and commentary, but may feel disappointment over the missing original texts and will only be able to use it within its obvious limitations. If he ever puts out a fuller edition with the Greek and Latin, I'll be first in line to buy it.

A Western Spiritual Classic
Modern "occult" and "channeled" works pale before the spiritual sublimity of this all-time Greco-Egyptian classic.In my opinion the Corpus Hermeticum is one of the most galvanizing expressions of spirituality to emerge from the Western tradition (along with Plotinus' Enneads).This is a superb translation of an amazing ancient text.

Excellent scholarly collection of the Hermetic Corpus
The Hermetica is a corpus of mystical-theological-philosophical literature on diverse themes which was originally believed to have been supernatural wisdom passed down to man by the mysterious Egyptian deity Thoth.It was initially thought these works pre-dated the Bible and also the works of Plato and Aristotle, though it is now accepted they were written in about the 3rd century CE.

The Hermetica contain thirteen diverse discourses between divine figures or teachers and various initiates.They cover several themes, including God and his relationship to humans, the relationship between the world and the divine, practices of mystery religions, the nature of true reality, mystical Gnosis and ethics.At times the literature can rise to beautiful heights, but at many others it is deeply incoherent and overall, the Corpus is not self-consistent and often contains contradictory notions about the world and the divine.

Nevertheless it is an important document from the ancient world and worth studying by anyone interested in this time.

better than Scott's
Although I enjoy the poetic spirit of Walter Scott's translation, this is undeniably a superior translation and is important for reasons aptly mentioned by other reviewers.I think this is the definitive translation. Superb. ... Read more

Book Description
T Allen Greenfield's new book is a revolutionary volume that shines the light on a most interesting phenomenon in the western esoteric tradition - The Hermetic Brotherhood of Light.

This group of illuminated scholars created an order and formulated a body of esoteric wisdom whose impact can still be felt today in many active magical orders and traditions.

For instance, the magico-sexual theories of one of the order's main protagonists, Paschal Beverly Randolph, influenced groups such as the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), which became Aleister Crowley's main order in the public world.

Full of intelligent and illuminating overviews and penetrating comments by Greenfield, this book also contains truly unique archive material never before presented in such a cohesive way. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Valuable documents and documentation
Despite the pans of other reviewers, objectively, this book is very interesting on several levels.

One wonders if most of the other reviewers even bothered to read the book, or merely panned it on sight due to their personal hostilties with the author, admittedly a sometimes controversial figure in UFOlogy and the Occult.

This book concerns itself with the Georgia mystic society, the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light. It speculates quite successfully its possible connection with the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor, briefly biographs its somewhat enigmatic founder, and prints several documents of the Brotherhood of Light, showing their derivation and indebtedness to from the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor and Dr. Paschal Beverly Randolph. Furthermore, it reprints Dr. P.B. Randolph's rarely seen "Ansairetic Mysteries", allowing the reader to contrast and compare them to the Brotherhood of Light's monographs. Such comparison is quite fascinating: one could hardly otherwise believe that the secrets of sexual magick taughtby a mid-19th century mulatto were later promulgated (in a milder form) by a white rural Georgia secret society.

It also, interestingly, shows correspondence between Dr. Randolph's widow, and R. Swineburn Clymer, showing how little Clymer's claimed authorities from her actually amounted to, and that neither Clymer or Mrs. Randolph were in possession of Dr. Randolph's "word", the utterance of which caused him to be recognized as "Master of the Dome" during a European Roscicrucian Conference in 1852. While this document, probably due to its importance, has been transcribed, there are also several pages of handwritten letters and instructions reproduced in miniature that one wishes had been similarly transcribed. This is the *only* flaw in this otherwise fascinating history of this otherwise little-known secret society.

While his own editorializing and actual authorship in this book is fairly minimal, Bishop Greenfield is to be congratulated for introducing the world to the history and teachings of this society. One can only hope that further documents concerning its teachings may surface, and the origins, history and dogma of the Hermetic Brotherhood of Light be further and more completely illuminated for posterity.

Why?
Again one must ask "Why does this guy bother writing when he could be breaking down boxes in a hot, sweaty warehouse and making a REAL contribution?"Allen pulls out the most banal tidbits of information and rubs his nose sagaciously as he takes yet another public domain work, slaps some worthless adjectives on it, and pawns it off as his own.

drivel
Horrible.Terrible.Not good at all!Simply another rip-off only this time, instead of the dead hand of Charles S. Jones, Greenfield has elected to rip-off John Yarker.

A Delightful Book Plagued With Bad Review(s)
To my surprise, I found this HB of L history to be quite interesting and well written. The previous bad reviews appear to be the same person from the terminology they have used, and with more an axe to grind with the author than any real reading or comprehension skills on their part. That would handily explain why the reviewer(s) found this tome to be "boring".

Ugh
I should've listened to the two honest reviewers here and NEVER have bought this book (or the other two offerend by Greenfield.)The "scholarship" in this work consists of poor photocopies of irrelevant documents and receipts.Boring, boring, boring.... A real snoozer. ... Read more