Erik Huisman

The divine spark

Translation of an article by Erik Huisman which appeared in the Haagsche Courant on Saturday 14 December 2002

The Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica has recently opened a fascinating exhibition which is set in the Renaissance, the time of the invention of the art of printing, an era which witnessed a renewed interest in and revival of enigmatic traditions like Hermetic philosophy, alchemy and nature mysticism.

A drawing of a set of compasses on a circle; in the circle the words 'Theologia' and 'Philosophia'. 'The fixed foot of the compass stands exactly between Theologia and Philosophia; that is also the place of Hermetic philosophy', explains spokeswoman Esther Oosterwijk of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica.

The exhibition Ways of Hermes which opened in the library in Amsterdam on 2 December immerses the visitor in 'a different' world, difficult to describe but intensely beautiful and symbolical: the world of Joost Ritman. In 1957 he founded the BPH, a world-renowned library, now holding more than 20,000, often very rare, works in the areas of Hermetic philosophy, alchemy, mysticism and Rosicrucians. These four main collecting areas are closely related. All four relate to personal, inner spiritual growth. The central idea is that man carries within him a divine spark, and is personally responsible for carrying that spark back to God via an accumulative process, by acquiring 'insight'. Studying these areas of knowledge is not a hobby that attracts a mass following. And yet that 'different' world of Joost Ritman is closer to us than many may think.

People who live according to the principles of Hermetic philosophy don't live for themselves. They are unable to grow without insight in and a greater responsibility for the world around them. This is beautifully expressed in the Asclepius, one of the works attributed to Hermes. 'God is the maker of this Cosmos and all that is in it; but he governs everything together with man. He who assumes this task fully, is seen as a gem for the Cosmos'. As in Judaism, Christendom and the Islam, Hermetic philosophy considers God as the head of creation. However, unlike the geocentric view which prevailed in Christianity (with the earth as the centre of creation), Hermetic philosophy embraced a heliocentric world picture: the sun stands at the centre of the cosmos which has been created by God, and man, the microcosm, is a part of this universe. To follow the 'way of Hermes' is to gain insight in 'the mystery of the relationship between God, Cosmos and Man'.

Hermetism was not propagated in a 'church' or in an institution: dogmas and hierarchy are absent. Although it was not anti-Christian, it did challenge the authority of popes and priests. As a result, Hermetism lived in the margins of established thought. The Church Father Augustine wrote vehemently against Hermes Trismegistus around the turn of the fifth century. Adherents were frequently persecuted; in 1244 for instance more than 200 Cathars were led to the stake from their stronghold Montségur in Southern France. They were prepared to pay the highest price for their ideas.

Hermetic philosophy and other collecting areas within the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica make up a fascinating world of rare old books, first editions and beautifully illuminated manuscripts. As a collector, Ritman likes to return to the oldest known sources. One of these is the Corpus Hermeticum, seventeen treatises written under the name of Hermes Trismegistus in the first centuries CE. Marsilio Ficino first translated it from the Greek into Latin in 1463. When it was printed shortly afterwards, the Corpus Hermeticum enjoyed a wide dissemination and impressed Renaissance philosophers from Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Agrippa von Nettesheim to Giordano Bruno. At that time the Corpus was a fruitful source of knowledge and insight in addition to for instance the Greek and biblical heritage.


Tolerance

That the Netherlands can boast an internationally acclaimed institution like the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica is no coincidence. The Netherlands have always had a reputation for tolerance and Amsterdam in particular offered a safe haven for many German practitioners of the 'secret sciences'. Collectors of undogmatic philosophical theological works also often acted as sponsors to have these works printed. Already in 1957 Ritman clearly saw the purpose of his library. He explained in the April/May 2001 issue of Prana, a Dutch periodical, that 'the heritage of the seekers of the Light can never be lost' and that it is useless to try 'and suppress the power of the Gnosis.'

Over a period of forty years Ritman has managed to build a splendid collection which strives to be as complete as possible. The Amsterdam collector has now acquired more than 500 manuscripts, an equal number of incunables, and thousands of printed works, often first editions, printed before 1800. The collection is also splendid in an artistic sense - especially the very old works are often true works of art. Ways of Hermes offers the discerning visitor a lot of enjoyment in this latter respect.

The exhibition ran from May to September this year in a different format in Venice. It was in Venice that Cardinal Bessarion arrived at the beginning of the Renaissance with his library, which contained more than a thousand manuscripts, including Hermetic works which were not easily reconcilable with official Church doctrine. Bessarion also avidly collected the works of Plato and the neoplatonists. He donated his entire library to the city state of Venice, a gift which lay the foundation for the Biblioteca Marciana. Amongst the works acquired by Bessarion was a complete copy of the Corpus Hermeticum. An earlier, related, exhibition initiated by the BPH, in Florence in 1999, focussed on the work of Ficino, the Renaissance philosopher who was commissioned by the affluent banker Cosimo de Medici to translate an (incomplete) version of the Corpus brought back from Macedonia by the monk Leonardo da Pistoia. The present exhibition, showing eighty manuscripts and printed works, often first editions, tells the story of the impact of Hermes Trismegistus in de period of the Renaissance. Exhibits such as the manuscript of Johannes Siebmacher's Introduction hominis testify to the rebirth of Hermetic thought in the Renaissance, the time when Hermes Trismegistus was regarded as one of the oldest sources of wisdom available to man. Another characteristic of the Renaissance is that the Ancients were no longer blindly accepted, but that there was a willingness to look at other sources with an unprejudiced eye and conduct experiments to advance research into nature. It was a golden age for Hermetic philosophy, alchemy and nature mysticism, a revival of interest which had been reinforced by the availabilty of material made possible by Bessarion's gift of his library and works acquired by the Medici family.


Progress

The exhibition also offers new insights into the history of Hermetism: librarian Carlos Gilly, the chief compiler of the two exhibitions in Florence and in Venice, has established that the movement of the 'Gold- und Rosenkreuzer', which produced what can be regarded as the ultimate manifesto of Hermetism in the Age of Enlightenment, the Geheime Figuren der Rosenkreuzer, did not originate from Silesia, but from Italy: the discovery throws light on the making of the Geheime Figuren. Other puzzles are solved, such as the authorship, hitherto unknown, of an important mystical work, Introduction Hominis, mentioned earlier, which is represented in the exhibition in manuscript and in print.

The interested visitor is offered clear and concise information on the books in the exhibition. The presence of each work in the exhibition is explained and captured in a motto, giving the casual observer an easy first reference. Those who wish to know more will find a somewhat longer explanation concentrating on the contents of the work, often also addressing the artistic context of the work. In addition, the Renaissance period and Renaissance thought is epitomized in nine text panels and finally summarized in a 'Hermetic' chronology running roughly to the year 1800.

Towards the end of the eighteenth century the Hermetic heritage which was rediscovered in the Renaissance produced a last monument. The final part of the exhibition is devoted to the Rosicrucian movement and the Geheime Figuren der Rosenkreuzer. All elements of the Hermetic tradition are brought together in the Rosicrucian impetus. The masterful Figuren attempt to represent all the elements and the world picture of that tradition. These symbolical representations are complex, even though the title of the most beautiful of the copies on show, a manuscript dating to around 1785 suggests otherwise: Physica, Metaphysica et Hiperphysica. Einfältiges A.B.C. Büchlein für junge Schüler - a simple ABC for beginners!