 However, the Gnostics often held a pessimistic view of mankind as a result while the Hermetic belief is generally positive towards mankind just the same.Rather, Hermetists believed that the human body was not bad in itself, but materialistic impulses such as sexual desire were the cause of "evil" in the world.In 830 CE, a group of Hermetic pagans in Harran needed protection by being either Muslim, Christian, Jewish, or Sabian.