Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names · 1 of 15 · tr. C.E. Rolt
Chapter 1, Section 1a
51 CHAPTER I Dionysius the Presbyter, to his fellow-Presbyter Timothy.
45 45 The name of St.
Paul’s companion is intended to give colour to the writer’s pseudonym.
See Introduction, p.
1; cf.
iii.
2.
What is the purpose of the discourse, and what the tradition concerning the Divine Names.
1.
Now , Blessed Timothy, the Outlines of Divinity 46 46 This work is lost being ended, I will proceed, so far as in me lies, to an Exposition of the Divine Names.
And here also let us set before our minds the scriptural rule that in speaking about God we should declare the Truth, not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the power which the Spirit 47 47 1 Cor.
ii.
4 .
stirred up in the Sacred Writers, whereby, in a manner surpassing speech and knowledge, 48 48 τοῖς ἀφθέγκτοις καὶ ἀγνώστοις ἀφθέγκτως καὶ ἀγνώστως συναπτόμεθα.
See Intr.
on “Unknowing,” p.
32.
we embrace those truths which, in like manner, surpass them, in that Union which exceeds our faculty, and exercise of discursive, and of intuitive reason.
49 49 κατὰ τὴν κρείττονα τῆς καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς λογικῆς καὶ νοερᾶς δυνάμεως καὶ ἐνεργείας.
D.
frequently distinguishes between the discursive and the intuitive reason.
Together they cover the whole of the intellect, cf.
Wordsworth, Prelude, xiv.
119, 120: “Hence endless occupation for the soul, Whether discursive or intuitive.” The former gives us deductions, the latter the axioms on which these are based.
See Intr., p.
26.
We must not then dare to speak, or indeed to form any conception, of the hidden super-essential 50 50 See Intr., p.
4.
Godhead, except those things that are revealed to us from the Holy Scriptures.
51 51 D.
is here contrasting the Affirmative Path of Knowing with the Negative Path of Unknowing.
The former has a value as leading up to the latter; but it is only safe so far as we keep within the bounds of Scripture.
Unscriptural conceptions of God are false; Scriptural conceptions are true as far as they go; but their literal meaning must be transcended.
See Intr., p.
41 f.
52 For a super-essential understanding of It is proper to Unknowing, which lieth in the Super-Essence Thereof surpassing Discourse, Intuition and Being; acknowledging which truth let us lift up our eyes towards the steep height, so far as the effluent light of the Divine Scriptures grants its aid, and, as we strive to ascend unto those Supernal Rays, let us gird ourselves for the task with holiness and the reverent fear of God.
For, if we may safely trust the wise and infallible Scriptures, Divine things are revealed unto each created spirit in proportion to its powers, and in this measure is perception granted through the workings of the Divine goodness, the which in just care for our preservation divinely tempereth unto finite measure the infinitude of things which pass man’s understanding.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
The passage explicitly warns against forming conceptions of the hidden super-essential God that surpass human reason.
All passages →Divine Hiddennesstheology
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
The text emphasizes that God's truths surpass speech and knowledge, residing beyond ordinary perception.
All passages →Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
The passage advocates for a form of knowing that transcends discursive reasoning and relies on intuitive insight rather than man's wisdom.
All passages →Mystical Unionsoteriology
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
The text describes an 'Union which exceeds our faculty' that surpasses speech and knowledge.
All passages →Return To Sourcesoteriology
The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.
The passage urges the reader to 'lift up our eyes towards the steep height' and strive to ascend unto the Supernal Rays.
All passages →Sacred Namestheology
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The title and opening sentence explicitly center on the exposition of the 'Divine Names' as a primary subject of discourse.
All passages →Spiritual Ascentpraxis
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
The text repeatedly uses imagery of ascending toward the steep height and Supernal Rays with divine aid.
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“Lanzone, op.
cit., tav.
336, No.
3.] } scarabs which are found in tombs of all ages in Egypt, and also in the Greek islands and settlements in the Mediterranean, and in PhÅnicia, Syria, and elsewhere.
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Shared concept: Sacred Names — Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice. (derived)
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2.
The chief variant readings are ###.
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British Museum papyrus No.
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Shared concept: Sacred Names — Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice. (derived)
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“PLATES XXXV.
AND XXXVI.
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Shared concept: Sacred Names — Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice. (derived)
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“Zeitschrift , Bd.
XXXI., p.
i (Die Darstellung innen verzierter Schalen auf aeg.
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