As the years rolled by after his passing from this plane of life
(tradition recording that he 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 made him
one of their many gods--calling him "Hermes, the god of Wisdom." The
Egyptians revered his memory for many centuries-yes, tens of centuries--
calling him "the Scribe of the Gods," and bestowing upon him,
distinctively, his ancient title, "Trismegistus," which means "the
thrice-great"; "the great-great"; "the greatest-great"; etc. In all the
ancient lands, the name of Hermes Trismegistus was revered, the name
being synonymous with the "Fount of Wisdom."

Even to this day, we use the term "hermetic" in the sense of "secret";
"sealed so that nothing can escape"; etc., and this by reason of the
fact that the followers of Hermes always observed the principle of
secrecy in their teachings. They did not believe in "casting pearls
before swine," but rather held to the teaching "milk for babes"; "meat
for strong men," both of which maxims are familiar to readers of the
Christian scriptures, but both of which had been used by the Egyptians
for centuries before the Christian era.

And this policy of careful dissemination of the truth has always
characterized the Hermetics, even unto the present day. The Hermetic
Teachings are to be found in all lands, among all religions, but never
identified with any particular country, nor with any particular
religious sect. This because of the warning of the ancient teachers
against allowing the Secret Doctrine to become crystallized into a
creed. The wisdom of this caution is apparent to all students of
history. The ancient occultism of India and Persia degenerated, and was