Our intention is not to build a new Temple of Knowledge, but to place in the hands of the student a Master Key with which he can open all the internal doors leading to the Temple of Mystery whose portals he has already entered.No fragment of the occult knowledge possessed by the world has been so zealously guarded as the fragments of the Hermetic Teachings which have come down to us through the centuries past from the time of their great settler, Hermes Trismegistus, the messenger of the gods, who lived in ancient Egypt when the present human race was in its infancy. Contemporary of Abraham, and if the legend is true, instructor of this venerable sage, Hermes was and is the Great Central Sun of Occultism, whose rays have illuminated all the teachings which have been published since his time. All the fundamental and basic precepts introduced into the esoteric teachings of each race have been formulated by Hermes. Even the oldest precepts of India had undoubtedly their source in the original Hermetic Teachings.Hermes' work seems to have been done in order to plant the great Seed-Truth that developed and germinated in so many strange forms, faster than a school of philosophy would have been established that would dominate the world's thinking. But the original truths taught by him were kept intact in their original purity by a small number of men, who, rejecting a great number of undeveloped students and disciples, followed the hermetic custom and reserved their truths for the few who were prepared to understand and direct them. From the lips to the ears the truth has been transmitted among these few. There have always existed, in every generation and in various countries of the earth, some Initiates who kept alive the sacred flame of the Hermetic Teachings, and always employed their lamps to rekindle the lesser lamps of the profane world, when the light of truth began to dim and go out because of their neglect, and their wicks became entangled with foreign substances. There was always a handful of men to care for the altar of Truth, where they always kept the Perpetual Lamp of Wisdom burning. These men dedicated their lives to that work of love which the poet described very well along these lines: "Oh! do not let the flame out! Kept From century to century In this dark cave, in this sacred temple! Sustained by pure ministers of love! Let not this divine flame go out!"In this work we strive to offer you an idea of the fundamental precepts of the Caibalion, seeking to give you the Triggering Principles and leaving you the work of studying them, rather than dealing with their teachings in detail. If you are true students you will be able to understand and apply these Principles; if you are not you should develop them, because otherwise the Hermetic Teachings will be to you only words, words, words! ...