Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names · 12 of 16 · tr. C.E. Rolt
Chapter 2, Section 1l
166 περὶ ἡνωμένης καὶ διακεκριμένης θεολογίας καὶ τίς ἡ θεία ἕνωσις καὶ διάκρισις.
167 The point of this section is that God’s Nature is not a sum total of separate Attributes.
Therefore when we say that the Scriptural titles of God are only symbols and that the ultimate Godhead transcends them, we do not mean that they express only a part of His Nature (for His Nature has no parts), but that they dimly suggest His whole Nature.
Hence, too, we cannot say that some of God’s titles belong only to one separate Person of the Trinity and others only to the other Persons severally—e.
g.
The Trinity, and not the Father alone, is the Creator of the world.
“The one world was made by the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Ghost” (St.
Aug., Com.
on St.
John, Tr.
XX.
9).
168 The title “Good ” is applied to the whole Godhead.
And if that title, then others too.
Cf.
Matt.
xix.
17 .] 169 John x.
11 .
170 Ps.
cxliii.
10 .
This is a further argument arising out of what has been said above.
The point here is that we cannot limit the title “Good” to one Person of the Trinity.
(The notion that the Father is stern and the Son mollifies His sternness is false.) The rest of the section takes other titles and shows how they are common to all Three Persons of the Trinity.
171 Ex.
iii.
14 .
172 Rev.
i.
4 .
173 Ps.
cii.
27 .
174 John xv.
26 .
175 John v.
21 .
176 John vi.
63 .
177 2 Cor.
iii.
17 .
178 1 Chron.
xxix.
14 .
179 Rom.
xi.
36 .
180 Ibid.
181 Ps.
civ.
30 .
182 John x.
30 .
183 John xvi.
15 .
184 John xvii.
10 .
185 i.e.
That we are seeking to destroy the distinction between the Persons of the Trinity.
186 The method of Undifference applies to the ultimate Godhead, that of Differentiation to the emanating Godhead.
The absolute and the relative planes of Being both belong to God.
On the absolute plane all distinctions are transcended, and the Persons exist in a manner in which They would appear to us to be merged, but on the relative plane we see that They are eternally distinct.
See Intr., p.
8.
187 Because we see things which are good, fair, existent, etc., we apply to God, their ultimate Cause, the titles “Good,” “Fair,” “Existent,” etc.
See p.
36, n.
6.
188 i.
e.
Only the Second Person was Incarnate, was crucified, etc.
‘Mysteries of Love and Being” = φιλανθρωφίας οὐσιώδη μυστήρια.
189 προόδους τε καὶ ἐκφάνσεις,—sc.
the Persons of the Trinity.
See Intr., p.
16.
190 The received text reads: Φᾶσι .
.
.
§ 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 text argues that Scriptural titles are symbols that dimly suggest God's whole Nature rather than expressing parts of it.
All passages →Divine Hiddennesstheology
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
The ultimate Godhead transcends the symbols and titles applied to it.
All passages →Divine Simplicitytheology
The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.
The passage explicitly states that God's Nature has no parts and is not a sum total of separate Attributes.
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 distinction between the ultimate Godhead and the emanating Godhead is noted in the commentary on absolute vs. relative planes.
All passages →Hidden Sayingssoteriology
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
Scriptural titles are described as symbols that dimly suggest the divine nature rather than express it directly.
All passages →Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
Attributes like 'Good' and 'Creator' imply an active, dynamic divine presence.
All passages →Opposites Transcendedanthropology
The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.
The text discusses transcending distinctions between Persons of the Trinity on the absolute plane.
All passages →Paradox As Teachingethics
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
The text uses the paradox that God's Nature has no parts yet is expressed through titles.
All passages →Sacred Namestheology
Divine names or formulas that carry ontological power, used in prayer, liturgy, or magical practice.
The passage centrally discusses Scriptural titles of God as symbols that dimly suggest His whole Nature.
All passages →Unity Of Beingtheology
The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.
The text asserts that God's Nature is not a sum total of separate Attributes but suggests His whole Nature through symbols.
All passages →Related passages · 15 of 52 parallels
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“Section 2 2.
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neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 111
“Section 8 8. Soul, then, in the same way, is intent upon a task of its own; alike in its direct course and in its divagation it is the cause of all by its possession of the Thought of the First Principle: thus a Law of Justice goes with all…”
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Shared concept: Divine Simplicity — The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 144
“Section 5 5. How can we talk of it? How can it be the Matter of real things? It is talked of, and it serves, precisely, as a Potentiality. And, as being a Potentiality, it is not of the order of the thing it is to become: its existence is n…”
Shared concept: Divine Simplicity — The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 154
“Section 1 1. Seen from a distance, objects appear reduced and close together, however far apart they be: within easy range, their sizes and the distances that separate them are observed correctly. Distant objects show in this reduction beca…”
Shared concept: Divine Simplicity — The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being. (derived)
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“The more perfect the man, the more compliant he is, even towards his fellows; we must temper our importance, not thrusting insolently beyond what our nature warrants; we must allow other beings, also, their place in the presence of the Godh…”
Shared concept: Divine Simplicity — The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 215
“Section 1 1. Some Existents [Absolute Unity and Intellectual-Principle] remain at rest while their Hypostases, or Expressed-Idea, come into being; but, in our view, the Soul generates by its motion, to which is due the sensitive faculty- th…”
Shared concept: Divine Simplicity — The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 234 (part 2)
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Shared concept: Divine Simplicity — The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 238 (part 1)
“Section 6 6.
the Intellectual Essence, wholly of the order of Ideal-form, must be taken as impassive has been already established.
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Shared concept: Divine Simplicity — The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being. (derived)