Seek in lesser things and honour the greater

Meaning

The Hermetic judgement’s compressed advice joins inquiry with deference. The supplied translation takes it as seeking in lesser things and honouring the greater, consonant with the text’s valuation of humble matter. Its note also allows an admonition to restrain inquiry and respect elders. The phrase therefore should not be turned into a fully explicit hierarchy of chemical substances or a single certain social rule. Its clear rhetorical role is to qualify knowledge-seeking with discipline and respect inside a guarded address to a friend.