The library's collections

A brief introduction to the library's principal collecting areas

The Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica brings together manuscripts and printed works in the field of the Hermetic tradition, more specifically the 'Christian-Hermetic' tradition. The term 'Christian-Hermetic' serves as a reminder that the Hermetic works were commented on and/or absorbed in the Christian context, initially in the works of the Church Fathers, notably Augustine and Lactantius. After a long spell of neglect, the Hermetic treatises now known as the Corpus Hermeticum were re-discovered in the Renaissance when philosophers like Marsilio Ficino and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola sought to harmonise (Neo)platonism, Pythagoreanism, and other philosophies regarded as part of a prisca theologia, with the prevailing Christian heritage. The other well-known Hermetic text Asclepius continued to circulate in the Latin West in the Middle Ages and had a notable impact in the so-called 'Renaissance of the 12th century'.

Following the 'ad fontes' principle, the library tries to collect the oldest instances of works which fall within its sphere of interest, that is to say: manuscripts or first and early editions, without, however, ignoring subsequent written and printed sources. To date, the library holds more than 22,000 volumes: ca. 700 manuscripts (85 of which date before 1550), ca. 5,000 books printed before 1800 (305 of which are incunables, books printed before 1500) and ca. 17,000 books (primary and secondary sources) printed after 1800.

Hermetica


The term 'Hermetica' is used to cover a heterogeneous body of works attributed to the legendary philosopher Hermes Trismegistus, which are mostly philosophical, theosophical, astrological, magical or alchemical in nature. The treatises we now call the Corpus Hermeticum, which is today perhaps the best-known Hermetic work, were compiled mainly in the 2nd-3rd centuries CE and have been preserved in Greek codices (although Coptic fragments have also been recovered in Nag Hammadi in 1945). In the Middle Ages, only one Hermetic work, the Latin Asclepius (its Greek original is lost) was widely known. This changed when Marsilio Ficino in 1463 translated fourteen Greek Hermetic texts into Latin at the request of his patron Cosimo de Medici. The title he gave to this work was: Pimander, sive De potestate et sapientia Dei. 'Pimander' was the protagonist of the first treatise, after whom Ficino subsequently named the entire translation. He also believed the Corpus Hermeticum to be a single work instead of a body of separate treatises. The (incomplete) codex from which Ficino translated had been brought to Florence from Macedonia by an Italian monk, Leonardo di Pistoia, and aroused great interest, since Hermes Trismegistus at the time was perceived to be a pagan contemporary of the law-giver Moses. Consequently, the wisdom and revelations Hermes Trismegistus transmitted were pre-Christian, and yet seemed to announce Christianity: as a result, Hermes was celebrated as a pagan prophesying the coming of Christ.

The Hermetic treatises in Corpus Hermeticum and the Asclepius are not uniform in tone: they contain demonstrably Greek, gnostic and Jewish elements (e.g. discussions on the soul, or the parallel with Genesis in CH I, the nous in CH IV corresponding with the pneuma which characterizes the gnostic). In addition, the treatises are also inspired by Egyptian traditions, as witnessed by the element of the transmission of teachings by a 'father' to his 'son'; as in Egyptian hymns, there is mention of a God who is 'All and One'. It is a postulate found in most of the Hermetic texts that because of his (divine) intellect, man is capable to behold the Cosmos in his mind, to comprehend the divine essence of nature and to imprint it on his soul. By beholding the Cosmos it is possible to know God: the universe is thus often presented as a text or a book which must be read or deciphered. A very representative Hermetic dictum is: 'God is an immortal man, man is a mortal god'.

Alchemy


It is difficult to define alchemy, the more so because in the course of its two-thousand year-old existence it underwent considerable change. Change perhaps comes closest to a definition: alchemy is the science of change. It is concerned with the question of processes, be it in man or in nature. To understand these processes and to use them for the well-being of man was the highest objective of alchemy. Alchemy was invariably concerned with a change for the better, whether it was to change lead into gold, or for man to grow towards the divine. In 1330 Petrus Bonus from Ferrara called the alchemist’s work the search for what not yet is.
Hermes is already presented in the early Lullian Testamentum as 'Philosophorum et Alchymistarum pater', father of the philosophers and alchemists, while the practitioners of alchemy were traditionally known as the sons of Hermes: 'filii Hermetis'.
The first alchemical book to be introduced to the Latin West was Morienus' De compositione alchemiae, which was translated from the Arabic into Latin by Robert of Ketton in 1144, in which the art of alchemy is invariably called 'Magisterium Hermetis'. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, alchemy was part of the scientific framework, and it flourished as a method of inquiry into the processes and substance of nature, as an exploration of the very act of creation itself: the alchemist in his laboratory re-created the act of creation, and God was seen as the proto-alchemist ('solve et coagula'). The Great Work, the Opus Magnum in the laboratory, formed a reflection of the cosmos in which the creation was fulfilled anew.

Mysticism


The BPH collects in particular medieval and later western mystics with a demonstrable affinity with Hermetic thought: these include Meister Eckhart, Suso and Tauler, but also Jacob Böhme and his followers, for whom the Dutch Republic for more than a century (1630-1735) was to become a safe haven and a centre of spiritual activities. This collecting area also holds numerous works of 16th-century spiritualists such as Sebastian Franck, Miguel Servet, Sebastian Castellio and David Joris.

Rosicrucians


The three Rosicrucian Manifestoes, Fama fraternitatis, Confessio fraternitatis and Chymische Hochzeit, published in the years 1614-1616, proposed a general reformation of society on all levels, social, spiritual, scientific and artistic. The Rosicrucian Brotherhood which addressed its reform proposals to all the learned men of Europe, triggered a considerable response not only in the German lands, but also in other European countries. The appeal for reform obviously struck a chord: many readers, like the authors of the Manifestoes, were disappointed in the Lutheran and Calvinist reformations, the Catholic Counter-reformation, and felt that Christianity should be about living a true Christian life, in daily practice. The Rosicrucian Manifestoes also advocated actual practice and innovative research into nature as part of an authentic exploration of nature as the work of God - the Fama fraternitatis explicitly referred for that reason to the 'Vocabulario of Theophrastus Paracelsus of Hohenheim'. Those who believed in independent thought, and placed experimental experience above the authority of Aristotle or Galen, were also among the enthusiastic readers of the Rosicrucian Manifestoes. Following the publication of the Rosicrucian Manifestoes, an intense debate ensued which left its traces in print: a flood of responses, pro and contra, issued from the presses between 1615-1660.

The library also collects a number of modern Rosicrucian movements which feel an affiliation with the principles that inspired the legendary Brotherhood. Most of these modern movements originated in Europe and the United States at the turn of the nineteenth century.

Gnosis & Western Esotericism


This principal collecting area includes various currents which in addition to Hermetism, Alchemy, Mysticism and Rosicrucians, express a spirituality mainly manifesting itself outside the confines of the institutionalized religions. At the same time they feed and reinforce the core of the collection.


Comparative Religion Studies


The rapidly increasing literary and scholarly interest in Greek and Roman mythologies, religions and cults in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries gave rise to the discipline of Comparative religion studies. This collecting area, subdivided in Egyptology, pre-Christian Cults and Early Christianity, offers an important general historical context for the study of Hermetica and gnosis.

Gnosis


The discovery of gnostic texts at Nag Hammadi in 1945 naturally proved to be a strong boost for the study of gnosis, although before that time a few incidental gnostic texts had also been discovered and published in the modern period. Traditionally, gnostic fragments survived in the works of the Church Fathers, who quoted substantial passages of the gnostics only to refute them. As there are strong gnostic influences in some of the Hermetic works, this collecting area serves to inform and supplement the main collecting area Hermetica.

Manicheism


Manicheism, a religion named after its founder Mani (ca. 215 - 276) may be characterized as dualistic and gnostic. Its gnostic aspect is revealed in the promise of salvation through the achievement of a special knowledge of spiritual truth. Its dualistic aspect is evident in the Manichean belief that the universe is based on the opposition of two principles, good and evil. Manicheism exerted a great appeal on contemporaries: the Church Father Augustine was a follower of Mani before he converted to Christianity. The BPH collects modern editions of major Manichean texts, including the Cologne Mani Codex.

Cathars


The section on (neo-) Cathars can be seen in the context of the Christian Middle Ages and in the light of the dualistic world religion of Manicheism. Cathar thought can be traced to the Byzantine and Slavonic Bogomils and the Manicheans of Late Antiquity, perhaps even to Zoroaster. This interpretation sees Catharism as a Gnostic branch of the Eastern and non-Christian tradition. But the Cathars (as also the Albigenses and the Waldenses) can also be placed in the Western and Christian context of the struggle against the Roman-Catholic Church. In this interpretation, the emphasis is less on the Gnostic character of the movement and more on the Christian influences (for instance from Syria). The modern movement of Catharism or Neo-Manicheism has been of influence on modern Rosicrucian movements.

Grail


The Grail romances flowered between 1180 and 1240, at the time when the movement of the Cathars in Southern France was at its zenith. After the thirteenth century no new material was added to the Grail tradition. The romances dealing with the Quest of the Grail, amongst which Chrestien de Troyes' Conte del Graal and continuations, Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, and the Lancelot-Grail cycle (based on Robert de Boron) are amongst the earliest in the tradition and are collected in the library in modern editions. The symbolism of the Grail has a strong esoteric appeal: Robert de Boron's Joseph of Arimathea, the first part of his trilogy, explains that the mystery of the Grail is the inner teaching of Christianity.

Knights Templar


In Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival the tale of the Holy Grail is related to that of the Knights Templar, who according to legend were the keepers of the Grail. The library has a modest section on Knights Templar, historiographical works of the eighteenth through the twentieth centuries.

Kabbalah and Judaica


Kabbalah was studied in the Renaissance by humanist scholars together with other traditions which they considered part of the prisca theologia, expressing their belief that there existed a body of pristine theological and philosophical revelations to the great sages, amongst whom Hermes Trismegistus. Kabbalah was often interpreted in a Christian sense; Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, who coined the word 'Kabbalah' for the West, claimed that magic and Kabbalah were the two instruments best fitted to prove the divinity of Christ. The BPH has a small number of seminal kabbalistic works in Hebrew, amongst which Sefer Yetzirah and Sefer ha Zohar; also works by Christian Kabbalists.

Other works of Jewish mysticism (Hekalot mysticism) and works on the Jewish tradition are found in the adjoining section Judaica; a separate section is devoted to the find at Qumran.

Freemasonry


Although some masonic societies in the eighteenth century made use of the symbolism of the Rosycross, there is no direct connection between masonic and Rosicrucian movements. The works belonging to the 18th-century Gold- und Rosenkreuzer, a movement with ties to Masonry and Illuminati, are placed under Rosicrucians. The actual masonic movements and their history has also been awarded a separate section in the library, with standard historiographies such as R.F. Gould's History of Freemasonry.

Theosophy


Within the context of the Hermetic tradition of the Latin West, the collecting area Theosophy remains a fairly small one because a major part of the theosophical movement is focused on the East. However, as both the theosophical and antroposophical movements have informed modern Rosicrucian thought, a number of the best known theosophers from the beginning of the movement (late nineteenth century) are collected.

The work of the Indian spiritual thinker Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) has been placed separately. Krishnamurti was invited to England by the English Theosophical Society and hailed as a messiah, but he severed his ties with the theosophical movement in 1929 and was to keep aloof from any religious, political or philosophical system for the rest of his life.

Anthroposophy


Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) founded the antroposophical movement, which he termed a 'spiritual philosophy'. Initially Steiner was interested in theosophy (he became general secretary of Theosophy's German branch in 1902), but he left that movement to found his own. Unlike theosophy, which leaned towards Eastern philosophy, Steiner's search for a universal 'science of the spirit' was more informed by Christianity and Rosicrucianism.

Steiner's works on Christian Rosenkreutz therefore receive special interest in that context.

Western Esotericism


A critical selection of works in the varied western esoteric and spiritualist movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries can be found in the esotericism section which is organized in subsections according to language areas (German, Dutch, English (and American), French, Italian and Slavic). General works on modern esotericism and works of the more influential esoteric writers such as René Guénon, Stanislas de Guaita, Eliphas Lévi, Papus (France), Manley P. Hall (United States) and others may be found in these sections. The English writer Arthur Edward Waite has been placed in a separate section, in which all of Waite's publications and textual editions have been placed together.

Non-western Philosophy and Religion


This section brings together philosophical, religious and mystical sources and a number of studies on texts from oriental and other non-western traditions - Bhagavad-Gita, the Upanishads, Lao-Tse. These are divided in a number of smaller subsections: Hinduism, Buddhism, China, Persia, Babylon, and the religious tradition of Islam. Especially collected are studies of those texts that have been associated with Hermetic and gnostic sources in the Western tradition.

Sufi


A small collection of books and studies on Sufism, the mysticism of Islam, is available in the library with general studies of the movement and its sources, amongst them works by Ibn Arabi, and a few modern authors such as Hazrat Inayat Khan and Idries Shah. Sufism echoes similar movements such as Kabbalah in Judaism and Gnosticism in Christianity.


Prints and Engravings


There are many engravings of theologians, philosophers (real or legendary), scholars, physicians, and other worthies from the sixteenth century on, which sometimes served as basis for frontispieces of editions of their (collected) works, or which were issued separately. The BPH possesses a small number of engravings of men and women whose work has special relevance for the library, and who were often famous (or infamous) in their days. Some may now perhaps be known to a specialist audience only, such as Johannes Faulhaber (1580-1635), engineer, mathematician and chiliast, one of whose portraits bears the legend: 'Aigendtliche Bildnuss dess ehrnvösten und weitberühmbten Herren Johannis Faulhaber'. Others, such as Anna Maria van Schurman, of whom the library holds an engraving after a self-portrait ('se ipsum pinxit') were renowned in their time and are still known today. Amongst the engravings owned by the BPH one small category deserves special mention: that of Jacob Böhme and his followers (Abraham von Franckenberg, Quirinus Kühlmann).

Incidentally, not all engravings are portraits; there is also a remarkable mystical engraving by the Dutch seventeenth-century female mystic Tanneke Denys, which was inspired by Böhme's theosophy; and an extremely rare seventeenth-century engraving by Richard Dey, 'The order of the universe', printed by Samuel Baker in London in 1637.


The library has brought out a guide, in English and in Dutch, under the title Hermetically Open, presenting a bird’s eye view of the collecting areas, with selective lists of major authors within each area.