Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names · 8 of 15 · tr. C.E. Rolt
Chapter 1, Section 1h
that which makes an individual thing to be one thing); (2) Mental or Spiritual intercourse; (3) Physical intercourse; (4) Sense perception.
Here it = either (1) or (2), probably (1).
limit, infinity, everything that exists.
And yet since, as the Subsistence 94 94 ἀγαθότητος ὕπαρξις—i.
e.
the ultimate Essence in which goodness consists.
of goodness, It, by the very fact of Its existence, is the Cause of all things, in celebrating the bountiful Providence of the Supreme Godhead we must draw upon the whole creation.
For It is both the central Force of all things, and also their final Purpose, and is Itself before them all, and they all subsist in It; and 61 through the fact of Its existence the world is brought into being and maintained; and It is that which all things desire—those which have intuitive or discursive Reason seeking It through knowledge, the next rank of beings through perception, and the rest through vital movement, or the property of mere existence belonging to their state.
95 95 Man—Animal—Vegetable—Inorganic Matter.
For the thought of this whole passage, cf.
Shelley, Adonais: “That Light whose smile kindles the universe.” “The property of mere existence” = οὐσιώδη καὶ ἑκτικὴν ἐπιτηδειότητα.
οὐσία = an individual existence.
Its highest meaning is a “personality,” its lowest a “thing.” οὐσιώδης refers generally to its lowest meaning and = “possessing mere existence,” i.
e.
“belonging to the realm of inorganic matter.” See Intr., p.
4.
Conscious of this, the Sacred Writers celebrate It by every Name while yet they call It Nameless.
96 96 This shows that there is a positive element in D.‘s Via Negativa.
6.
For instance, they call It Nameless when they say that the Supreme Godhead Itself, in one of the mystical visions whereby It was symbolically manifested, rebuked him who said: “What is thy name?” 97 97 Judges xiii.
18 .
and, as though bidding him not seek by any means of any Name to acquire a knowledge of God, made the answer: “Why askest thou thus after My Name seeing it is secret?” Now is not the secret Name precisely that which is above all names 98 98 Phil.
ii.
9 ; Eph.
i.
21 .
and nameless, and is fixed beyond every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come?
On the other hand, they attribute many names to It when, for instance, they speak of It as declaring: “I am that I am,” 99 99 Ex.
iii.
14 .
or “I am the Life,” 100 100 John xiv.
6 .
or “the Light,” 101 101 John viii.
12 .
or “God,” 102 102 Gen.
xxviii.
13 .
or “the Truth,” 103 103 John xiv.
6 .
and when the Inspired Writers themselves celebrate the Universal Cause with many titles drawn from the whole created 62 universe, such as “Good,” 104 104 Matt.
xix.
17 .
and “Fair,” 105 105 Ps.
xxvii.
4 .
and “Wise,” 106 106 Rom.
xvi.
27 .
as “Beloved,” 107 107 Isa.
v.
The doctrine that the divine is present within all things and the universe itself, pervading creation rather than remaining solely transcendent above it. Distinct from unity_of_being (the general claim that all existence is one substance, agnostic about whether that substance indwells its parts) and from kingdom_within (the divine present specifically IN THE INDIVIDUAL human, accessible without mediation) — divine_immanence is the general pervading-presence claim applied to all of creation, not a human-specific indwelling.
The passage states that 'they all subsist in It' and that God is 'both the central Force of all things,' indicating the divine pervades and sustains all of creation rather than remaining solely transcendent.
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
The passage states that God is the 'Cause of all things,' the 'Central Force,' and the 'Providence' that brings the world into being.
The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.
God is presented as a single undivided 'ultimate Essence' that is simultaneously the central Force, the final Purpose, the cause, and the sustainer of all things without internal differentiation.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
It outlines a hierarchy of beings (Man-Animal-Vegetable-Inorganic Matter) seeking God through different faculties.
The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.
It describes beings as seeking God through knowledge, perception, or vital movement due to their distance from Him.