Man wills to create — and leans through the spheres
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κατανοήσας δὲ τὴν τοῦ δημιουργοῦ κτίσιν ἐν τῷ πατρί, ἠβουλήθη καὶ αὐτὸς δημιουργεῖν. καὶ ἀπεχωρίσθη ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρός, γενόμενος ἐν τῇ δημιουργικῇ σφαίρᾳ· ἔχων τὴν πᾶσαν ἐξουσίαν κατενόησε τῶν ἀδελφῶν τὰ δημιουργήματα. οἱ δὲ ἠράσθησαν αὐτοῦ· ἕκαστος δὲ μετεδίδου τῆς ἰδίας τάξεως. καὶ καταμαθὼν τὴν τούτων οὐσίαν, καὶ μεταλαβὼν τῆς αὐτῶν φύσεως ἠβουλήθη ἀναρρῆξαι τὴν περιφέρειαν τῶν κύκλων, καὶ τὸ κράτος τοῦ ἐπικειμένου ἐπὶ τοῦ πυρὸς καταπονῆσαι.
And having observed the Demiurge's creation in the Father, he too willed to create; and he was separated from the Father, coming to be in the demiurgic sphere. Having all authority, he observed the works of his brothers; and they grew enamoured of him, and each gave him a share of his own rank. And having learned their essence and partaken of their nature, he willed to break through the circumference of the circles and to subdue the dominion of the one set over the fire.
Man, contemplating the Demiurge's creation in the Father, wants to make as well. He steps down into the demiurgic sphere; the seven Governors, loving him, each give him a share of their rank. Having taken on their essence and nature, he wills to break through the circumference of the circles.
Man's greatness turns restless. Having seen the Demiurge create, he wants to create too — and so 'separates from the Father,' stepping down into the maker's sphere. The seven Governors, who love him as the Father did, each hand him a share of their rank; he takes on their essence and their nature. The divine Man is now armed with all the powers of the cosmos.
The undercurrent is that the descent begins in strength, not weakness. This is not a fall through sin but through fullness — Man wills downward because he can, breaking through the very circles that bound the lower world. The tragedy of the next sections is prepared here: the same authority that makes him godlike is what carries him toward Nature and the mirror.
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Corpus Hermeticum CH1.13 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/hermetica/CH1.13/