Hermesian

English

Etymology 1

From Hermes +‎ -ian after Georg Hermes.

Adjective

Hermesian (comparative more Hermesian, superlative most Hermesian)

2. Pertaining to the theological writings of Georg Hermes, especially in the attempt to reconcile faith with Kantian reason.
   • 1840 August, Joseph Go:rres, “Art V. - Athanasius”, in The Dublin Review, volume 9, number 17, page 137:

     The measure taken by Mgr. de Droste, against the publication of Hermesian writings, is thus most fully justified, not only by the dictate of his own conscience, and by the canons of the Catholic Church, but also by the civil law, where the rights of the archbishop are laid down with the utmost clearness and precision.

   • 1913, The Catholic Encyclopedia:

     He ended the heretical dissensions created by the Hermesian School by suspending the refractory Hermesian professors Braun and Achterfeldt of Bonn; and he reorganized the theological faculty of that university by calling in as professors Dieringer and Martin, men of unsuspected orthodoxy.

   • 2005, Hans Schwarz, Theology in a Global Context: The Last Two Hundred Years, page 417:

     Eventually German bishops succeeded to "purify" the centers of Hermesian thought such as Bonn, Munich, and Breslau.

Noun

Hermesian (plural Hermesians)

1. A follower of the theology of Georg Hermes.
   • 1951, James Hastings, John Alexander Selbie, Louis Herbert Gray, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics - Volumes 5-6, page 625:

     Hermesians declare that what was condemned at Rome was not Hermes' teaching, but a libellous caricature of it. He himself always protested that his system did not touch any point of the Catholic faith.

   • 1968, History of Germany in the Nineteeth Century, page 245:

     The Hermesians offered a welcome target for the fierce clericalist hatred which found expression in such writings.

   • 2011, The Conversation of Faith and Reason, page 80:

     Back in Germany, the Hermesians reacted to the Brief by deeming the pope ill-informed, a “mere marionette of German intriguers.”

   • 2018, Ferdinand Christian Baur, Peter C. Hodgson, Church and Theology in the Nineteenth Century, page 265:

     The very bishops who, as friends of Hermes and his school, could have provided the most specific information about the orthodoxy of the Hermesians, had not been asked about it.

Etymology 2

From Hermes +‎ -ian after Hermes Trismegistus.

Adjective

Hermesian (comparative more Hermesian, superlative most Hermesian)

2. Pertaining to the Hermetic Corpus, Hermes Trismegistus, or the associated form of mysticism.
   • 1806, Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī ibn Qays al-Kasdānī Abū Bakr Ibn Waḥšiyyaẗ, Ancient Alphabets and Hieroglyphic Characters Explained:

     These are the figures of such of the celestial hieroglyphics, as we have been able to find and make out; and now we are going to represent the three other classes, according to promise, with all the different figures of the Hermesian alphabets, or hieroglyphics.

   • 1869 June, Nomad, “The Governor's Guard”, in Colburn's United Service Magazine, volume 3, page 215:

     At the present day in India, Hermesian paganism vastly predominates, and it was, therefore, quite in consonance with Brahman ideas to decree, on this fitting occasion, special honour to the house-cat.

   • 2000, Antoine Faivre, Eternal Hermes: From Greek God to Alchemical Magus:

     And Hermesian reading is an open, in-depth reading, one that lays bare the metalanguages for us, that is to say, the structures of signs and correspondences that only symbolism and myth make it possible to conserve and transmit.

   • 2011, Gary Lachman, The Quest For Hermes Trismegistus:

     The Hermesian spirit, then, is a call to widen our perspectives to include as much of the world as possible, and to believe that not only nature, but the man-made world too, has a spiritual character.

Noun

Hermesian (plural Hermesians)

1. A gnostic who contributed to writing the Hermetic Corpus.
   • 1806, Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī Ibn Waḥshīyah, Ancient Alphabets and Hieroglyphic Characters Explained:

     Our object is only to mention the most celebrated of these alphabets of the Hermesians, ( or hieroglyphics, ) and to indicate their particular qualities; for nobody is capable of giving a satisfactory explanation of them all.

   • 1824, The Classical Journal - Volumes 1-2, page 117:

     Their secrets, however, were expressed in the hieroglyphics, invented by Hermes, and understood by his descendants, called Hermesians.

   • 2006, Yoel Natan, Moon-o-theism, Volume II of II, page 301:

     The ciphers were said to have been used by Greek philosophers and others who predated Islam such as the Sabeans, Nabateans, Chaldeans and the Hermesians. The Hermesians were Gnostics whose mythical leader was Hermes Trismegistos (meaning “Mercury, the Thrice Great”).

Etymology 3

From Hermes +‎ -ian after the Greek god Hermes.

Adjective

Hermesian (comparative more Hermesian, superlative most Hermesian)

2. Pertaining to the Greek god Hermes.

   Near-synonym: mercurial

   • 1929, Victor L. Berger, Voice and Pen of Victor L. Berger:

     We must change this "Hermesian" psychology, of course, before we can have a better world. I use the word "Hermesian" because Hermes was the god of commerce and thievery for the ancient Greeks.

   • 1938, The Journal of Hellenic Studies, page 104:

     He finds, after a minute enquiry, that there are traces of horns and of a wreath of ivy; that the ears were once pointed, but have been made less Pan-like and more Hermesian by retouching and recutting;

   • 2004, Metka Zupanc̆ic̆, Hermes and Aphrodite Encounters, page vii:

     Detailed textual analyses remain relatively few: in many ways, the writer has managed to perform a number of Hermesian tricks, creating major exposure for herself while remaining obscure, even unknown.