Ancient Egypt

Use in the book

The original introduction places Hermes in early Egypt, links him with Abraham through legend, and imagines visitors arriving from India. I broadens the claim into a universal genealogy, naming the pyramids, the Sphinx, temples, and a great lodge of masters. Hermes is placed before Moses and later identified with Thoth.

The authority of the present exposition depends in part on this antiquity. At the same time, the author admits that the details of Hermes' life are lost and repeatedly invokes tradition. Egypt functions as a sacred origin and an image of guarded instruction as well as a geographical location.

Places to read

1. Original Introduction · Block 3… “"scribe of the gods," who dwelt in old Egypt in the days when the present race of men was in its infancy. Contemporary with Abraham, and, if the legends be true,” …
2. Original Introduction · Block 4… “many advanced occultists wandered to the land of Egypt, and sat at the feet of the Master. From him they obtained the Master-Key which explained and reconciled their divergent views, and” …
3. I The Hermetic Philosophy · Block 2“From old Egypt have come the fundamental esoteric and occult teachings which have so strongly influenced the philosophies of all races, nations and peoples, for several thousand years. Egypt, the home” …
4. I The Hermetic Philosophy · Block 3“In ancient Egypt dwelt the great Adepts and Masters who have never been surpassed, and who seldom have been equaled, during the centuries that have taken their processional flight since the” …
5. I The Hermetic Philosophy · Block 4“But among these great Masters of Ancient Egypt there once dwelt one of whom Masters hailed as "The Master of Masters." This man, if "man" indeed he was, dwelt in Egypt” …
6. I The Hermetic Philosophy · Block 5… “lived three hundred years in the flesh), the Egyptians deified Hermes, and made him one of their gods, under the name of Thoth. Years after, the people of Ancient Greece also” …

In this edition

Egyptian names and biblical allusions are retained. They are not assigned dates that the text itself does not establish.

Reading the argument

The detailed genealogy belongs to the book's claims and should be labelled accordingly. The existence of an ancient identification between Hermes and Thoth does not verify the book's proposed biography, chronology, or transmission of its seven principles.

Related texts

A surviving Hermes-Thoth sculpture offers material evidence for the ancient identification of the two gods. It does not document the biography or universal chain of instruction narrated here.⁸

Egypt

“Egypt” — 14 occurrences in 9 text blocks: Intro.3–4; I.2–4; II.13; III.2; VI.13; XIV.19.

Egyptians

“Egyptians” — 4 occurrences in 3 text blocks: I.5–6; III.2.

Pyramids

“Pyramids” — 2 occurrences in 2 text blocks: I.2; III.2.

Sphinx

“Sphinx” — 1 occurrence in 1 text block: I.2.

Abraham

“Abraham” — 3 occurrences in 2 text blocks: Intro.3; I.4.

Moses

“Moses” — 1 occurrence in 1 text block: I.4.

Use in the book

Abdemon journeys toward Egyptian instruction; the procession of sacred books gives that learning an organized form. Later passages locate mysteries near or within the Pyramid and portray Egyptian priests as teachers of visitors from many nations. Egypt can consequently mean a geographical place, a repository of sacred wisdom, or a stage in the claimed movement of the tradition. These senses reinforce one another without supplying equal historical evidence.

Places to read

1. Degrees of the Mystic Oriental Rite · Block 7… “in a wonderful and mysterious manner by an Egyptian during the time he was held in confinement by the Secret Council. Solomon was so pleased with the manuscript that he then” …
2. Degrees of the Mystic Oriental Rite · Block 17… “the sun, moon, and planets, the divisions of Egypt into thirty-six districts, the course of the Nile, the Sacred ornaments, the Holy places, etc. Then comes the stole bearer, who carries” …
3. Masonic Symbolism · Block 28“234. "Egypt was repeopled after the deluge by the sons of Ham, and they made more rapid advances in recovering a knowledge of the arts and science, partially lost by that” …
4. Masonic Symbolism · Block 33… “"The principal seat of the Mysteries was at Memphis, in the neighborhood of the great Pyramid (within the Pyramid). They were of two kinds, the greater and the less; the former” …
5. Masonic Symbolism · Block 154… “account of their numerous hieroglyphics. The Magi of Memphis and Heliopolis were held in such esteem, and their renown was so widespread that the greatest heroes of war, philosophers, and strangers” …

In this edition

Egyptian place names follow the copy text. The entry does not treat the book’s broad comparisons as a modern archaeological chronology.

Reading the argument

The cumulative image is powerful, but the book’s individual claims require individual assessment. A surviving ancient account of sacred books does not authenticate a later Masonic journey placed in the same country. Racial and civilizational rankings in the source remain statements of its writers.

Egypt

“Egypt” — 45 occurrences in 33 text blocks: I.11; D.7, 17; M.4–6, 9, 13–14, 19, 36, 59; F.58, 75, 82, 93, 96, 143, 148, 150; S.6, 28, 30–32, 34–35, 40, 45, 103, 127, 132, 154.

Egyptian

“Egyptian” — 26 occurrences in 25 text blocks: D.7; M.13, 17; F.6, 21, 23, 26, 58, 64, 150–151, 154, 157; S.15, 28, 31, 45, 84, 99, 107, 113, 140, 151, 154; N.65.

Egyptians

“Egyptians” — 10 occurrences in 10 text blocks: M.59, 73; F.7, 94; S.41, 48, 77, 142, 149, 151.

Memphis

“Memphis” — 4 occurrences in 4 text blocks: M.5; S.33, 43, 154.

Heliopolis

“Heliopolis” — 1 occurrence in 1 text block: S.154.