Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names · 11 of 16 · tr. C.E. Rolt
Chapter 2, Section 1k
Indeed, He is not an unity in this sense, and doth not participate in unity nor possess it; 224 224 These two phrases well express the meaning of the title “Beyond things and supernally infusing Unity” (ὑπερηνωμένη), which I have generally translated, like ἡνωμένη, as “Undifferenced.” but He is an Unity in a manner far 80 different from this, above all unity which is in the world; yea, He is an Indivisible Plurality, insatiable yet brim-full, producing, perfecting, and maintaining all unity and plurality.
Moreover, since many, through Deification from Him, are made Gods 225 225 τῇ ἐξ αὐτοῦ θεώσει .
.
.
θεῶν πολλῶν γιγνομένων.
See Intr., p.
43.
(so far as the Godlike capacity of each allows), there thus appears to be what is called a Differentiation 226 226 Cf.
p.
71, n.
1.
and a Reduplication of the One God, yet none the less He is the primal God, the Supra-Divine and Super-Essentially One God, who dwells Indivisibly within the separate and individual things, being an Undifferenced Unity in Himself and without any commixture or multiplication through His contact with the Many.
227 227 The fullness of God’s Unity is manifested, (1) in all the multiplicity of the material world, (2) after a higher manner in the deified souls of men and in angels.
And supernaturally perceiving this, thus speaketh (by inspiration, in his holy writings) that Guide unto Divine illumination by whom both we and our teacher are led, that mighty man in things Divine, that Luminary of the world.
For though (saith he) there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many and lords many).
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.
For in divine things the undifferenced Unities are of more might than the Differentiations 228 228 Each deified soul is a differentiation of God (cf.
p.
71, n.
i); yet the Unity of God transcends them all, even after God has thus poured Himself into them.
and hold the foremost place and retain their state of Undifference even after the One has, without departing from Its oneness, entered into Differentiation.
These Differentiations or beneficent Emanations of the whole 81 Godhead—whereby Its Undifferenced Nature is shared in common 229 229 i.
e.
These active Manifestations whereby God enters into each part of the universe, yet without loss of Unity.
—we shall (so far as in us lies) endeavour to describe from the Divine Names which reveal them in the Scriptures, having now made this clear beforehand (as hath been said): that every Name of the Divine beneficent Activity unto whichever of the Divine Persons it is applied, must be taken as belonging, without distinction, to the whole entirety of the Godhead.
230 230 See the beginning of this chapter.
Themes
◆Apophatic Theologytheology
Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.
The text extensively uses negation to describe God's nature, stating He does not participate in unity nor possess it in the ordinary sense.
All passages →◆Divine Hiddennesstheology
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
God is described as 'Beyond things' and 'Undifferenced', indicating a radical concealment beyond ordinary categories.
All passages →◆Divine Lighttheology
The uncreated luminous quality of the divine, sometimes experienced directly in mystical states; illumination as revelation.
The passage explicitly references the 'Luminary of the world' and divine illumination as a guiding force.
All passages →◆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 text mentions 'beneficent Emanations' and 'active Manifestations' flowing from the Godhead into the universe.
All passages →◆Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
The passage emphasizes 'supernaturally perceiving' the divine nature through revelation rather than ordinary means.
All passages →◆Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
God is described as actively producing, perfecting, and maintaining all unity and plurality.
All passages →◆Monadcosmology
The absolutely simple, undivided first principle from which all multiplicity and existence flows.
The concept of 'Undifferenced Unity' in God suggests a simple first principle underlying existence.
All passages →◆Mystical Unionsoteriology
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
The text states that 'we in Him' and God dwells within separate things, implying a deep union between the divine and the created.
All passages →◆Paradox As Teachingethics
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
The passage presents the paradoxical nature of God as an 'Indivisible Plurality' that produces both unity and plurality.
All passages →◆Pleromacosmology
The divine fullness or totality of the highest realm, populated by aeons and divine attributes, contrasted with the deficient material world.
The concept of God's 'fullness' and 'Undifferenced Nature' aligns with the idea of divine totality.
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 describes Deification from God where many are made Gods through His grace.
All passages →◆Sacred Namestheology
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The passage explicitly instructs the reader to describe divine reality 'from the Divine Names which reveal them in the Scriptures'.
All passages →◆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 text centrally discusses how many are made Gods through Deification from God.
All passages →Related passages · 40 parallels
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter Vb
“Again, however, according to another mode of considering the subject, it is necessary to ascribe to the Gods the whole of that which is united, of whatever kind it may be; that which is firmly established in itself, and which is the cause o…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and the soul, emphasizing the unity and multiplicity of the divine, and the relationship between the divine and the soul. They explore the concepts of unity, differentiation, and the divine's interaction with the world and souls.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XVIIIb
“A certain thing of this kind also may take 71 place in the harmony and crasis of the universe: for the same things may be the salvation of the whole, through the perfection of the things inherent and the recipients; but may be noxious to th…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and its relationship to the world, emphasizing the unity and perfection of the divine while acknowledging the multiplicity and imperfection of the parts. They both explore the idea of the divine being beyond corruption and mutability, and how the divine interacts with the world without being affected by its imperfections.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter VII
“The discussion therefore requires that we should show what it is through which sacrifices are effective of things, and are suspended from the Gods, the precedaneous causes of 234 effects. If then we say that the communion of similar powers,…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and its relationship to the world, emphasizing the transcendence and unity of the divine essence. They explore how the divine interacts with the world without being bound by its physical or natural laws.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XII
“For, in short, the vehicle [108] which is subservient to dæmons neither consists of matter, nor of the elements, nor of any other of the bodies known to us. What perfect supply of food, therefore, can there be from one essence to another [s…”
Both passages discuss the transcendence of the divine and the process of deification or assimilation to the divine. They explore the relationship between the material and immaterial, and the unity and plurality of the divine nature.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter VIIIj
“the connective, perfective, demiurgic, assimilative, and such others as are celebrated posterior to these; so that all are in all, and yet each is at the same time separate and distinct.
“Indeed we obtain this knowledge of their union and…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine unity and multiplicity, exploring how the divine can be both undifferentiated and present in many forms. They share a mystical approach to understanding the nature of the divine, emphasizing the transcendence and immanence of the divine unity.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 112 (part 2)
“For the Universe is in truth a thing of blend, and if we separate from it that separable Soul, the residue is little.
The All is a God when the divine Soul is counted in with it; "the rest," we read, "is a mighty spirit and its ways are su…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine and its relationship to the universe and individual souls. They explore the concepts of unity and multiplicity within the divine, and how the divine interacts with and permeates the world and individual beings.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 115
“Section 12 12. All that thus proceeds from the supernal combines into a unity and every existing entity takes something from this blended infusion so that the result is the thing itself plus some quality. The effluence does not make the hor…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a transcendent unity that emanates and infuses into the multiplicity of existence. They share the idea of a higher principle that influences and perfects individual entities without altering their fundamental nature.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 157 (part 1)
“Section 1 1.
We have seen elsewhere that the Good, the Principle, is simplex, and, correspondingly, primal- for the secondary can never be simplex- that it contains nothing: that it is an integral Unity.
Now the same Nature belongs to the…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the ultimate principle or God, emphasizing unity and simplicity. They explore the relationship between the ultimate principle and other divine realities, such as the Intellectual Principle or deified souls, highlighting the transcendence and immanence of the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 189
“Section 2 2. By derivation from that Authentic Kosmos, one within itself, there subsists this lower kosmos, no longer a true unity. It is multiple, divided into various elements, thing standing apart from thing in a new estrangement. No lon…”
Both passages discuss the concept of unity and multiplicity in the context of divine emanation and creation. They explore how a singular divine principle gives rise to a diverse and sometimes discordant universe, while maintaining an underlying harmony and order.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 274 (part 2)
“The Intellectual-Principle on the other hand was never merely the Principle of an inviolable unity; it was a universal as well and, being so, was the Intellectual-Principle of all things.
Being, thus, all things and the Principle of all, i…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as a unity that encompasses plurality and multiplicity. They explore the idea of a single principle that includes and sustains all things without being diminished or divided.
30 more
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 275 (part 2)
“In its character as Life, as emanation, as containing all things in their precise forms and not merely in the agglomerate mass- for this would be to contain them imperfectly and inarticulately- it must of necessity derive from some other Be…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a singular, undifferentiated source or principle from which all things emanate or derive. They explore the nature of this principle as being beyond multiplicity and unity as commonly understood, emphasizing its primacy and simplicity.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 285 (part 2)
“The magnitude present in any mass is definitely one thing, yet its identity from part to part does not imply any such community as would entail common experience; within that identity there is diversity, for it is a condition only, not the…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and divisibility in a divine or transcendent context. They explore how a singular essence can be present in multiple bodies or entities without losing its unity, reflecting a genuine conceptual parallel across different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 286 (part 2)
“In the case of things not endowed with intelligence, the "leading-principle" is their mere unity- a lower reproduction of the soul's efficiency.
This is the deeper meaning of the profound passage [in the Timaeus], where we read "By blendin…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and multiplicity in relation to the divine and the soul. They explore how the divine unity can manifest in a pluralistic manner, showing a conceptual parallel in their mystical insights.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 444 (part 1)
“Section 12 12.
But why, after all, should it not be such a manifold as long as it remains one substantial existence, having the multiplicity not of a compound being but of a unity with a variety of activities?
Now, no doubt, if these vari…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the ultimate reality (The One in Plotinus and the Indivisible Plurality in the second passage) and its relationship to multiplicity and unity. They explore the idea of a single, undifferentiated source from which all things emanate, while maintaining the primacy and simplicity of this source.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 447 (part 1)
“Section 15 15.
Conferring- but how?
As itself possessing them or not?
How can it convey what it does not possess, and yet if it does possess how is it simplex?
And if, again, it does not, how is it the source of the manifold?
A single,…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine unity and its relationship to multiplicity and emanation. They explore how the One can be the source of many while remaining simple and transcendent, showing a genuine conceptual parallel across different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 447 (part 2)
“We may take it as proved that the emanation of the Transcendent must be a Not-One something other than pure unity, but that it is a multiplicity, and especially that it is such a multiplicity as is exhibited in the sequent universe, this is…”
Both passages discuss the concept of unity and multiplicity in relation to a transcendent divine principle. They explore how the One can manifest as many, and the nature of this emanation or differentiation.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 452 (part 2)
“And again, if that secondary is all things, and if above its multiplicity there is a unity not ranking among those things, once more this unity transcends Real Being and therefore transcends the Intellectual-Principle as well.
There is thu…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a transcendent unity that is beyond the intellectual principle or differentiation. They explore the idea of a supreme, undifferentiated unity that encompasses and transcends all things, though they use different terminology and frameworks.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 457
“Section 4 4. We have said that all must be brought back to a unity: this must be an authentic unity, not belonging to the order in which multiplicity is unified by participation in what is truly a One; we need a unity independent of partici…”
Both passages discuss the concept of the One or Unity in a mystical context, emphasizing its purity, independence, and transcendence. They explore the relationship between the One and multiplicity, though from different philosophical and religious perspectives.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 470
“Section 3 3. We may be told that nothing prevents an identity being thus multiple. But there must be a unity underlying the aggregate: a manifold is impossible without a unity for its source or ground, or at least, failing some unity, relat…”
Both passages discuss the concept of unity and multiplicity, exploring the idea of a singular, self-existent unity that underlies all things. They both delve into the nature of this unity and its relationship to the manifold, though from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 500
“Section 8 8. If, then, the Intellection is an act upon the inner content [of a perfect unity], that content is at once the Idea [as object: eidos] and the Idea itself [as concept: idea]. What, then, is that content? An Intellectual-Principl…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and the divine, exploring the relationship between the One and the Many, and the concept of an undifferentiated unity that is also pluralistic. They share a mystical approach to understanding the divine essence and its manifestations.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 506
“Section 14 14. There is, thus, a Nature comprehending in the Intellectual all that exists, and this Principle must be the source of all. But how, seeing that the veritable source must be a unity, simplex utterly? The mode by which from the…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and multiplicity in relation to a divine principle. Plotinus explores the Intellectual-Principle and its relationship to unity and multiplicity, while the second passage discusses the One God and Its undifferenced unity and differentiation. Both texts grapple with the concept of how a singular divine principle can encompass and produce multiplicity.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 511
“Section 3 3. But perhaps we should rather speak of some single category, embracing Intellectual Substance, Matter, Form, and the Composite of Matter and Form. One might refer to the family of the Heraclids as a unity in the sense, not of a…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and substance, exploring how different things can be derived from a single, primary source. They both delve into the concept of unity and how it relates to multiplicity and differentiation, though from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 540
“Section 2 2. In asserting that Being is not a unity, we do not mean to imply a definite number of existences; the number may well be infinite: we mean simply that it is many as well as one, that it is, so to speak, a diversified unity, a pl…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and plurality in the context of divine being. They explore how the One can manifest as many and the relationship between unity and multiplicity, showing a genuine conceptual parallel across different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 541
“Section 3 3. We assert, then, a plurality of Existents, but a plurality not fortuitous and therefore a plurality deriving from a unity. But even admitting this derivation from a unity- a unity however not predicated of them in respect of th…”
Both passages discuss the concept of unity and plurality, exploring how a transcendent unity can manifest as multiple existents or entities. They both delve into the nature of the One and its relationship to the many, albeit from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 547 (part 2)
“In sum, the unity exhibited in Being on the one hand approximates to Unity-Absolute and on the other tends to identify itself with Being: Being is a unity in relation to the Absolute, is Being by virtue of its sequence upon that Absolute: i…”
Both passages discuss the concept of unity and plurality in relation to a divine absolute. They explore how unity can be both indivisible and capable of emanating plurality, reflecting a common mystical theme across different traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 548
“Section 10 10. In what sense is the particular manifestation of Being a unity? Clearly, in so far as it is one thing, it forfeits its unity; with "one" and "thing" we have already plurality. No species can be a unity in more than an equivoc…”
Both passages explore the concept of unity and its relationship to multiplicity and being. They discuss the nature of unity as it manifests in different levels of existence, though from different philosophical and theological perspectives.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 549 (part 1)
“Section 11 11.
We are bound however to enquire under what mode unity is contained in Being.
How is what is termed the "dividing" effected- especially the dividing of the genera Being and unity?
Is it the same division, or is it different…”
Both passages explore the concept of unity and its relationship to being and perfection. They discuss the nature of unity in different realms and its aspiration towards a higher, more perfect state, though they do so within different philosophical and theological frameworks.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 560 (part 1)
“Section 22 22.
We may here adduce the pregnant words of Plato: "Inasmuch as Intellect perceives the variety and plurality of the Forms present in the complete Living Being...." The words apply equally to Soul; Soul is subsequent to Intelle…”
Both passages discuss the concept of unity and plurality within a divine or intellectual framework, exploring how unity can manifest as plurality and the relationship between the two. They share a mystical perspective on the nature of reality and the divine, though they come from different traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 613
“Section 6 6. The Intellectual Beings, thus, are multiple and one; in virtue of their infinite nature their unity is a multiplicity, many in one and one over many, a unit-plurality. They act as entire upon entire; even upon the partial thing…”
Both passages discuss the concept of unity and multiplicity within a divine context, exploring how the one can manifest as many without losing its unity. They share a mystical perspective on the omnipresence of the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 616
“Section 9 9. The elements in their totality, as they stand produced, may be thought of as one spheric figure; this cannot be the piecemeal product of many makers each working from some one point on some one portion. There must be one cause;…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and multiplicity in a divine context, exploring how a single, undivided principle can manifest in diverse forms without losing its essential unity. They share a mystical perspective on the relationship between the One and the many.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 625
“Section 5 5. What then is the veritable nature of Number? Is it an accompaniment upon each substance, something seen in the things as in a man we see one man, in a being one being and in the total of presentations the total of number? But h…”
Both passages explore the concept of unity and plurality in a metaphysical context. Passage A discusses the nature of number and unity in relation to substances, while Passage B delves into the idea of an undifferenced unity and its relationship with multiplicity and deification. Both texts grapple with the nature of unity and its manifestation in various forms.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 630
“Section 10 10. When it takes lot with multiplicity, Being becomes Number by the fact of awakening to manifoldness;- before, it was a preparation, so to speak, of the Beings, their fore-promise, a total of henads offering a stay for what was…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and multiplicity, exploring how unity precedes and underlies multiplicity. They share a metaphysical inquiry into the relationship between the one and the many, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 631
“Section 11 11. It may be suggested that the decad is nothing more than so many henads; admitting the one henad why should we reject the ten? As the one is a real existence why not the rest? We are certainly not compelled to attach that one…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and multiplicity in a divine context, exploring how a singular, undifferentiated unity can manifest in multiple forms or entities. They share a mystical approach to understanding the relationship between the One and the Many, though they come from different philosophical and religious traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 632
“Section 12 12. We may be told that unity and monad have no real existence, that the only unity is some definite object that is one thing, so that all comes to an attitude of the mind towards things considered singly. But, to begin with, why…”
Both passages discuss the concept of unity and its relationship to existence and multiplicity. Passage A explores the idea of unity as an inherent concept within the mind, while Passage B discusses the nature of divine unity and its manifestation in multiplicity. Both texts grapple with the abstract nature of unity and its role in understanding reality.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 633 (part 1)
“Section 13 13.
It cannot reasonably be thought that the notion of unity is derived from the object since this is physical- man, animal, even stone, a presentation of that order is something very different from unity [which must be a thing…”
Both passages explore the concept of unity and its relationship to multiplicity and existence. They discuss the primacy of unity and how it underlies all things, though they approach the topic from different philosophical and theological perspectives.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 634
“Section 14 14. To the argument touching relation we have an answer surely legitimate: The Unity is not of a nature to lose its own manner of being only because something else stands in a state which it does not itself share; to stray from i…”
Both passages discuss the nature of unity and plurality, exploring how unity can exist without division and how plurality can emerge without altering the fundamental unity. They both delve into metaphysical concepts of unity and multiplicity, though from different philosophical and theological perspectives.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 656
“Section 17 17. But in what mode are these secondaries, and Intellectual-Principle itself, within the First? They are not in the Filling Principle; they are not in the filled since before that moment it did not contain them. Giving need not…”
Both passages discuss the concept of a supreme, undifferentiated unity that transcends multiplicity and gives rise to differentiated beings. They explore the relationship between the One and the many, and the nature of the emanation or differentiation from the supreme principle.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 706
“Section 2 2. It may be suggested that, while in the unities of the partial order the essence and the unity are distinct, yet in collective existence, in Real Being, they are identical, so that when we have grasped Being we hold unity; Real…”
Both passages explore the concept of unity and being, discussing the distinction between unity and multiplicity, and the nature of the divine as a transcendent unity. They both delve into the idea of the divine being beyond mere unity and multiplicity, yet encompassing both.
◆taoism|Tao Te Ching|Chapter 51
“All things are produced by the Tao, and nourished by its outflowing operation. They receive their forms according to the nature of each, and are completed according to the circumstances of their condition. Therefore all things without excep…”
Both passages describe a divine principle (Tao in Passage A and God in Passage B) that creates, nourishes, and maintains all things without claiming possession or control. They emphasize the mysterious and undifferentiated nature of this principle, which transcends and yet is immanent in all creation.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi)|2. The Pillars Of The Templec
“The undiscerning disciples of Zoroaster divided the duad without referring it to unity, thus separating the Pillars of the Temple and endeavouring to halve God.
Conceive the Absolute as two, and you must immediately conceive it as three to…”
Both passages discuss the concept of unity and plurality within the divine, exploring how the singular divine essence can manifest in multiple forms or aspects. They both delve into the idea of differentiation and unity, albeit from different religious perspectives.