Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names · 2 of 3 · tr. C.E. Rolt

Chapter 12, Section 1b

Which meaneth that just as things that have no substantial Being 490 490 i.

e.

The material things (cf.

Myst.

Theol.

I.).

This is the ordinary meaning of the phrase in D.

are transcended by things that have such Being, together with Sanctity, Divinity, Dominion, or Royalty; and just as the things that 183 participate in these Qualities are transcended by the Very Qualities themselves—even so all things that have Being are surpassed by Him that is beyond them all, and all the Participants and all the Very Qualities are surpassed by the Unparticipated 491 491 Material things are surpassed by angels and perfected human souls, anal these by the Divine Grace which they all share; and this, together with the whole creation on which it is bestowed, is surpassed by God from Whom it emanates.

For while this emanation can be communicated the Godhead cannot.

(Cf.

Via Negativa.

See esp.

Myst.

Theol.

I.).

Creator.

And Holy Ones and Kings and Lords and Gods, in the language of Scripture, are the higher Ranks in each Kind 492 492 i.

e.

The higher ranks whether among angels or among human souls.

(Cf.

“I have said, ‘Ye are gods,’” “hath made us kings and priests,” etc.) through which the secondary Ranks receiving of their gifts from God, show forth the abundance of that Unity thus distributed among them in their own manifold qualities—which various qualities the First Ranks in their providential, godlike activity draw together into the Unity of their own being.

493 493 The highest ranks (i.

e.

the Seraphim and the Contemplative Saints) have a direct version of God, Whom they behold by an act of complete spiritual contemplation.

Others, learning from them, behold God truly but less directly—by knowing rather than by Unknowing, by discursive Meditation rather than by intuitive Contemplation—or are called to serve Him chiefly in practical works.

Contemplation is a complete activity of the concentrated spirit, unifying it within itself and uniting it to all kindred spirits (for true Mysticism is the same in every age and place).

Meditation and practical works are partial activities which imply a succession of different images in the same mind and a shifting variety of different mental types and interests in the same Community.

486 D.

holds that God’s dominion is an absolute quality in Himself apart from all reference to the creation.

The Greek word, as he truly says, supports his view.

The Latin Dominus , on the other hand, implies the notion of governing, and so has a necessary reference to the creation.

Hence St.

Augustine says that God could not actually be spoken of as “Lord” before the world or the angels were made.

Eckhart says that before the creation God was not God, ” Er war was Er war.

“ D.

holds that the title “God” is relative to us.

But then he holds—and here explains—that the roots of this relationship exist timelessly in the undifferentiated Godhead.

487 “Transcendent,” “Supreme,” “Simple,” all express the same fact—that, being Super-Essential, it is above the multiplicity of the creatures.

488 Cf.

Shelley, Adonais: “That Light whose smile kindles the universe.” 489 “Holiness” especially contains the notion of Transcendence.

490 i.

e.

The material things (cf.

Myst.

Theol.

I.).

This is the ordinary meaning of the phrase in D.

491 Material things are surpassed by angels and perfected human souls, anal these by the Divine Grace which they all share; and this, together with the whole creation on which it is bestowed, is surpassed by God from Whom it emanates.

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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 discusses the 'Via Negativa' and how God transcends all positive categories like Being, Sanctity, or Dominion.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

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

God is described as being beyond all things and transcending even the highest Ranks of angels and human souls.

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Divine Lighttheology

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

The phrase 'That Light whose smile kindles the universe' is cited as an illustration of divine illumination.

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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 describes a clear hierarchy where material things are surpassed by angels and perfected souls, which in turn are surpassed by God from Whom creation emanates.

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Evil As Privationtheology

Augustinian and Plotinian doctrine that evil has no positive being of its own but is a lack, distortion, or absence of the good — denying ontological dualism while preserving moral seriousness.

Material things are described as having no substantial Being and being transcended by higher qualities, implying a deficiency of true existence.

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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 highest ranks behold God truly through complete spiritual contemplation rather than discursive meditation.

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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 referred to as the 'Creator' and 'Unparticipated', implying an active, personal divine reality distinct from static attributes.

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Meditationpraxis

Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting.

The text distinguishes between contemplation and meditation as different activities of the mind that lead to varying degrees of divine knowledge.

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Monadcosmology

The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.

The passage refers to 'the First Ranks' drawing together into the 'Unity of their own being', implying a singular first principle from which multiplicity flows.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

The highest ranks are said to behold God by an act of complete spiritual contemplation that unifies them with the divine.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

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

The text uses the phrase 'Er war was Er war' to illustrate the timeless existence of God's relationship with creation.

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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 highest ranks behold God directly by an act of complete spiritual contemplation that unifies them with the divine source.

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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 outlines a hierarchy where beings are surpassed by higher Ranks and ultimately by God from Whom creation emanates.

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Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

The passage emphasizes that all the Participants and Very Qualities are surpassed by the Unparticipated Creator, implying a singular divine unity beyond multiplicity.

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Related passages · 15 of 62 parallels

neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 448

“Section 16 16. We have, of course, already seen that a secondary must follow upon the First, and that this is a power immeasurably fruitful; and we indicated that this truth is confirmed by the entire order of things since there is nothing,…”

Shared concept: Monad — The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows. (derived)

neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 451

“Section 1 1. Anything existing after The First must necessarily arise from that First, whether immediately or as tracing back to it through intervenients; there must be an order of secondaries and tertiaries, in which any second is to be re…”

Shared concept: Monad — The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows. (derived)

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“But why am I prolix about these particulars? For I have abundantly shown, in what has been before said, the transcendency of divine above human divination. It is better, therefore, in compliance with your request, “ to point out to you the…”

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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“Herbert Spencer has of late so far modified his Agnosticism, as to assert that the nature of the "First Cause,"* which the Occultist more logically derives from the "Causeless Cause," the "Eternal," and the "Unknowable," may be essentially…”

Shared concept: Unity Of Being — The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim. (derived)

neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XX

“Omitting, therefore, these things, we may reasonably adduce a second cause, assigned by you, of the above mentioned particulars: viz. “ that the soul says and imagines these things, and that they are the passions of it, excited from small i…”

Shared concept: Gnosis Direct Knowledge — Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone. (derived)

western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 13)

“Then the understanding of such a man receives from the Holy Spirit the highest and hidden mysteries which according to the divine Paul, neither the human eye can understand nor the human reason comprehend unaided. (Ii Corinthians ii, 9).…”

Shared concept: Divine Light — The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation. (derived)

egyptian|The Egyptian Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani)|Chapter 43 (part 69)

“unity of a supreme and self-existent being, his eternity, his almightiness, and external reproduction thereby as God; the attributing of the creation of the world and of all living beings to this supreme God; the immortality of the soul, co…”

Shared concept: Divine Hiddenness — The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father. (derived)

western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Mysteries and Their Emissaries-a

“DID that divine knowledge which constituted the supreme possession of the pagan priestcrafts survive the destruction of their temples? Is it yet accessible to mankind, or does it lie buried beneath the rubbish of ages, entombed within the…”

Shared concept: Gnosis Direct Knowledge — Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone. (derived)

hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 7

“This threefold power, of Attention, Meditation, Contemplation, is more interior than the means of growth previously described. Very naturally so; because the means of growth previously described were concerned with the extrication of the sp…”

Shared concept: Meditation — Disciplined inward attention — sitting, focused, or open-awareness practice — as a stand-alone term that umbrellas active_contemplation, inner_silence, and dhyana-style sitting. (derived)

renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|First Dialogue-m

“Thus everything has an impetus towards its beginning retrogressively, and progressively towards its end and perfection, as Empedocles well said, and from which sentence I think may be inferred that which the Nolan said in this octave: The s…”

Shared concept: Spiritual Ascent — A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source. (derived)

western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|Atlantis and the Gods of Antiquity-g

“At the first gate the great crown is removed from her head, at the second gate the earrings from her ears, at the third gate the necklace from her neck, at the fourth gate the ornaments from her breast, at the fifth gate the girdle from her…”

Shared concept: Spiritual Ascent — A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source. (derived)

hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book III|Sutra 3

“When the perceiving consciousness in this meditative is wholly given to illuminating the essential meaning of the object contemplated, and is freed from the sense of separateness and personality, this is contemplation (samadhi). Let us revi…”

finnic|The Kalevala|Rune L-a

“—WAINAMOINEN'S DEPARTURE. Mariatta, child of beauty, Grew to maidenhood in Northland, In the cabin of her father, In the chambers of her mother, Golden ringlets, silver girdles, Worn against the keys paternal, Glittering upon her bosom; Wo…”

hinduism|The Bhagavad Gita|Chapter XVIII, Section 1b

“That action is called good, which is prescribed, which is devoid of attachment, which is not done from (motives of) affection or aversion, (and which is done) by one not wishing for the fruit. That is described as passionate, which (occasi…”

hinduism|Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Book I|Sutra 13

“The right use of the will is the steady, effort to stand in spiritual being. We have thought of ourselves, perhaps, as creatures moving upon this earth, rather helpless, at the mercy of storm and hunger and our enemies. We are to think of o…”