Including a modern analysis on theosophical divine wisdom traditions *** This edition includes all three books. The so-called Hermetic writings have been known to Christian writers for many centuries. The early church Fathers (Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria) quote them in defense of Christianity. Stobaeus collected fragments of them. The Humanists knew and valued them. They were studied in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and in modern times have again been diligently examined by many scholars. G. R. S. Mead has issued a translation of the whole body of extant literature, with extended prolegomena, commentary, etc. There is a wide difference of opinion as to the date at which this literature was produced. Mead believes that some of the extant portions of it are at least as early as the earliest Christian writings, while von Christ assigns them to the third Christian century, and thinks that they show the influence of neo-Platonism. To affirm that they influenced New Testament usage would be hazardous, but they perhaps throw some light on the direction in which thought was moving in New Testament times. *** Echoes of the Eternal is a monumental series that brings together the defining texts of the world's spiritual, religious, and mythic heritage. From the sacred scriptures of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and other global faiths, to the mystical writings of saints and sages, the myths of ancient civilizations, and the arcane literature of secret societies and occult traditions-this collection explores the full spectrum of humanity's search for the divine, the mysterious, and the transcendent. Each volume shapes spiritual consciousness and cultural identity across time. Whether it is the poetic wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, the visionary revelations of the Qur'an, the esoteric allegories of the Kabbalah, the shamanic myths of indigenous peoples, or the secret doctrines of the Rosicrucians and Freemasons, this series revea