Hermes the Architect, or Hermetistic Harmony

The rich symbolism of this passage invites an interesting histori- 

It is a lively description, which in few words sketches the whole scene with its several tableaux. The citizens, presumably numerous, cover the distance between the temple and the forum with their fingers in their ears, then mingle with the crowd and await their illumination. This is the image that Maier passed on to his late Renaissance contemporaries. But in the Renaissance itself, there is no lack of Hermes figures connected with the town. Many of them illustrate Hermes s euphemization, his transition to the status of a psychological type or a decorative motif. In his posthumous Hymn to Hermes, Ronsard places him in the crossroads of the city, where he performs his sleight-of-hand tricks like the Conjuror of the Tarot  

Tu es des charlatans le seigneur, et de ceux Qui des peuples beans amusent autour d eux Vendeurs de theriaque, et de ceux qui aux places fouants des gobelets font tours de passe-passe 

You re the lord of all charlatans, and of those Amused by the faces that gape all around them,  

Of theriac hawkers, and those in the squares Who play with the cups and do conjuring tricks.  

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