Abstract

William of Auvergne knew the Asclepius, as well as an assortment of other texts attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, both through first-hand contact and through other sources, such as Augustine. William approached Hermetic texts pragmatically. Although his philosophical system was not based on these writings, they did serve to aid William’s expression of his doctrine of causality and divine will, as well as his view of the nature of the human soul