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Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names · 13 of 15 · tr. C.E. Rolt

Chapter 1, Section 1m

65 In the whole of this passage God is spoken of as at the same time Efficient, Formal and Final Cause of the soul’s activity. D. teaches that God is present in all things, but not equally in all. Cf. Intr., p. 14 66 Gen. i. 67 Three stages may be traced here corresponding to Purgation, Illumination and Union. I have tried to indicate the transitions from one stage to the next by the punctuation. 68 τῶν τελουμένων τελεταρχία. “Perfect” (τέλειος) and the words connected with it were technical terms in the Greek Mysteries. Possibly there are traces of this technical use in St. Paul’s Epistles (e.g. I Cor. ii. 6 ; Phil. iii. 15 ). 69 τῶν θεουμένων θεαρχιά. See Intr., p. 39. 70 The soul must turn away from the complex world of sense and have only one desire—the desire for God. Thus it becomes concentrated as it were, and so is in a simple and unified state. Cf. Matt. vi. 22. See Intr., p. 25 71 i. e. So far as we are capable of receiving this communication. 72 ἐκφαντορικῶς καὶ ὑμνητικῶς. 73 i.e. God’s differentiated activities. Since the ultimate Godhead is ineffable, Scripture can only hint at its Nature by speaking of Its manifestations in the relative sphere. See Intr., p. 8. 74 God is ineffable and transcends unity, see Intr., p. 5. But, since His presence in man produces an unity in each individual (and in human society), Scripture calls Him “One.” 75 The ineffable Godhead transcends our conception of the Trinity. But we call Him a Trinity because we experience His trinal working—as our ultimate Home, as an Individual Personality Who was once Incarnate, and as a Power within our hearts. See Intr., p. 7. 76 God is not a First Cause, for a cause is one event to a temporal series, and God is beyond Time and beyond the whole creation. Yet in so far as He acts on the relative plane He may, by virtue of this manifestation of Himself in the creation, be spoken of as a Cause. 77 Beauty is a sacrament and only truly itself when it points to something beyond itself. That is why “Art for Art’s sake” degrades art. Beauty reveals God, but God is more than Beauty. Hence Beauty has its true being outside itself in Him. Cf. Intr., p. 31. 78 Love is the most perfect manifestation of God. Yet God is in a sense beyond even love as we know it. For love, as we know it, implies the distinction between “me” and “thee,” and God is ultimately beyond such distinction. See Intr., p. 35. 79 ὁ ἁπλοῦς Ἰησοῦς συνετέθη. Cf. Myst. Theol. III., “Super Essential Jesus.” 80 ἱεραρχικῶν παραδόσεων, i. e. Ecclesiastical Tradition. 81 I Thess. iv. 16.
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Themes
Apophatic Theologytheology

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

The passage explicitly states that God is ineffable and transcends unity, emphasizing the limits of human language to describe the divine.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

God is described as ineffable and transcending unity, indicating a radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge.

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Divine Lighttheology

The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.

Beauty is described as a sacrament that reveals God, linking divine illumination to the manifestation of truth.

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Divine Simplicitytheology

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

The text emphasizes God's ineffable nature and transcendence of unity, aligning with the doctrine of pure undivided being.

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Emanation Hierarchycosmology

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.

The passage references stages of purification and union corresponding to Purgation, Illumination, and Union, implying a hierarchical descent from the divine source.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

The text discusses the soul's communication with God and the revelation of God's Nature through Scripture.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

Scripture is described as hinting at God's Nature by speaking of its manifestations rather than revealing it directly.

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Inner Lightanthropology

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

The text mentions God's presence within the human heart and the soul's desire for Him as a source of illumination.

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Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

God is described as present in all things, including within the human heart, suggesting the divine realm is accessible internally.

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Ladder Of Lovesoteriology

Diotima's staged ascent from love of beautiful bodies → beautiful souls → beautiful pursuits → beautiful knowledge → Beauty itself; the canonical scala amoris that grounds Plotinus's On the Beautiful and Bruno's Eroici Furori — distinct from generic spiritual_ascent in that eros is the specific motive force.

The passage describes stages of purification and union that mirror the ascent from love of beauty to union with God.

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Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

God is described as actively present in all things and acting on the relative plane through His differentiated activities.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

The passage explicitly describes the soul's journey toward union with God as a state of simple and unified being.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

The text uses apparent contradictions such as God being both ineffable and called 'One' to convey deeper truths.

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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 outlines a staged journey of the soul back to its divine origin through purification and union.

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Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

The text describes stages of purification and union that constitute an upward movement toward the divine source.

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Theosis Deificationsoteriology

The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.

The passage speaks of the soul becoming concentrated in a simple and unified state through union with God.

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Related passages · 13 parallels
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Shared concept: Emanation Hierarchy — 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. (derived)
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Shared concept: Ladder Of Love — Diotima's staged ascent from love of beautiful bodies → beautiful souls → beautiful pursuits → beautiful knowledge → Beauty itself; the canonical scala amoris that grounds Plotinus's On the Beautiful and Bruno's Eroici Furori — distinct from generic spiritual_ascent in that eros is the specific motive force. (derived)
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