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Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology · 1 of 11 · tr. C.E. Rolt

Chapter I-a

Wheat is the Divine Gloom. T rinty, which exceedeth all Being, Deity, and Goodness! 514 514 Lit. “Super-Essential, Supra-Divine, Super-Excellent.” Thou that instructeth Christians in Thy heavenly wisdom! Guide us to that topmost height of mystic lore 515 515 Lit. “Oracles” i. e. to the most exalted and mystical teaching of Holy Scripture. which exceedeth light and more than exceedeth knowledge, where the simple, absolute, and unchangeable mysteries of heavenly Truth lie hidden in the dazzling obscurity of the secret Silence, outshining all brilliance with the intensity of their darkness, and surcharging our blinded intellects with the utterly impalpable and invisible fairness of glories which exceed all beauty! Such be my prayer; and thee, dear Timothy, I counsel that, in the earnest exercise of mystic contemplation, thou leave the senses and the activities of the intellect and all things that the senses or the intellect can perceive, and all things in this world of nothingness, or in that world of being, and that, thine understanding being laid to rest, 516 516 Gk. ἀγνώστως refers to a transcendent or spiritual Unknowing (as disinguished from mere ignorance). thou strain (so far as thou mayest) towards an union with Him whom neither being nor understanding can contain. For, by the unceasing and absolute renunciation 192 of thyself and all things, thou shalt in pureness cast all things aside, and be released from all, and so shalt be led upwards to the Ray of that divine Darkness which exceedeth all existence. 517 517 “The Super-Essential Ray of Divine Darkness.” These things thou must not disclose to any of the uninitiated, by whom I mean those who cling to the objects of human thought, and imagine there is no super-essential reality beyond; and fancy that they know by human understanding Him that has made Darkness His secret place. 518 518 i. e. Philosophers and unmystical theologians. And, if the Divine Initiation is beyond such men as these, what can be said of others yet more incapable thereof, who describe the Transcendent Cause of all things by qualities drawn from the lowest order of being, while they deny that it is in any way superior to the various ungodly delusions which they fondly invent in ignorance of this truth? 519 519 i. e. Those who accept “popular theology.” The first stage of theistic Religion is anthropomorphic, and God is thought of (like Jehovah) as a magnified man of changing moods. Popular religion seldom rises above this level, and even gifted theologians often sink to it. But it is, D. tells us, the lowest stage. Then comes a metaphysical stage. God is now thought of as a timeless Being and therefore changeless, but the conception of a magnified man has been refined rather than abolished. The ultimate truth about God and our relation to Him is held to be that He is a “Person” and that He has “made” the world. (This attitude is seen at its worst in Unitarian theology. Bradley’s criticisms on Lotze show how this fails on the intellectual side. The Doctrine of the Trinity, by insisting on an unsolved Mystery in God, prevents Orthodox theology from resting permanently in this morass, though it often has one foot there.) And non-Christian thinkers, in opposition to this conception, regard the ultimate Reality as impersonal, which is a worse error still. We must get beyond our partial conceptions of “personality,” “impersonality,” etc.
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Themes
Apophatic Theologytheology

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

The text repeatedly describes God by negation, stating He exceeds light, knowledge, and being.

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Body As Obstacleanthropology

The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.

The passage instructs the reader to leave the senses and activities of the intellect as impediments to ascent.

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Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

The text contrasts the realm of being with the world of nothingness and describes divine darkness that exceeds existence.

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Detachment Gelassenheitpraxis

Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.

The passage explicitly commands the renunciation of self and all things to achieve union with God.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

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

The text emphasizes that mysteries lie hidden in the 'dazzling obscurity' of secret Silence beyond light.

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Divine Lighttheology

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

Light and brilliance are used as comparative terms to describe the intensity of divine darkness.

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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 passage defines the goal as reaching 'topmost height of mystic lore' through direct experiential knowledge.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

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

The text warns that these mystical teachings must not be disclosed to uninitiated persons.

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Inner Silencepraxis

The practice of stilling the mind and speech to open receptivity to divine knowledge or presence.

The 'secret Silence' is presented as a medium where mysteries lie hidden and intellects are blinded.

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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 passage explicitly instructs the practice of 'mystic contemplation' as a disciplined inward attention.

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Mystical Unionsoteriology

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

The goal is described as an 'union with Him' that transcends being and understanding.

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Paradox As Teachingethics

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

The text uses the paradoxical image of 'Divine Gloom' to describe the divine nature.

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Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

The passage includes a direct prayer addressed to God for guidance and enlightenment.

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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 instruction is to be 'led upwards' to the divine source beyond existence.

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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 a movement from the world of nothingness to the 'topmost height' of divine knowledge.

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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 goal is described as being released from all and led upwards to the divine Ray.

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