Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology · 2 of 11 · tr. C.E. Rolt
Chapter Ib
They are useful and necessary up to a point, but the Truth lies beyond them and is to be apprehended to a supernatural manner by what later writers call “infused” contemplation.
The sum of the whole matter is that God is incomprehensible.
That while it possesses all the positive attributes of the universe (being the universal Cause), yet in a stricter sense It does not possess them, since 193 It transcends them all, wherefore there is no contradiction between affirming and denying that It has them inasmuch as It precedes and surpasses all deprivation, being beyond all positive and negative distinctions?
520 520 On Via Affirmativa and Via Negativa, vide Intr., p.
26 f.
Such at least is the teaching of the blessed Bartholomew.
521 521 No writings of St.
Bartholomew are extant.
Possibly D.
s inventing, though not necessarily.
For he says that the subject-matter of the Divine Science is vast and yet minute, and that the Gospel combines in itself both width and straitness.
Methinks he has shown by these his words how marvellously he has understood that the Good Cause of all things is eloquent yet speaks few words, or rather none; possessing neither speech nor understanding because it exceedeth all things in a super-essential manner, and is revealed in Its naked truth to those alone who pass right through the opposition of fair and foul, 522 522 Vide Intr., p.
21.
“Beyond Good and Evil” (though not in Nietzsche’s sense).
When evil disappears Good ceases to be an opposition to it, and so Good attains a new condition.
and pass beyond the topmost altitudes of the holy ascent and leave behind them all divine enlightenment and voices and heavenly utterances and plunge into the Darkness where truly dwells, as saith the Scripture, that One Which is beyond all things.
For not without reason 523 523 In the following passage we get the three stages tabulated by later Mystical Theology: (1) Purgation, (2) Illumination, (3) Union.
is the blessed Moses bidden first to undergo purification himself and then to separate himself from those who have not undergone it; and after all purification hears the many-voiced trumpets and sees many lights flash forth with pure and diverse-streaming rays, and then stands separate from the multitudes and with the chosen priests presses forward to the topmost pinnacle of the Divine Ascent.
Nevertheless he meets not with God Himself, 194 yet he beholds—not Him indeed (for He is invisible)—but the place wherein He dwells.
And this I take to signify that the divinest and the highest of the things perceived by the eyes of the body or the mind are but the symbolic language of things subordinate to Him who Himself transcendeth them all.
Through these things His incomprehensible presence is shown walking upon those heights of His holy places which are perceived by the mind; and then It breaks forth, even from the things that are beheld and from those that behold them, and plunges the true initiate unto the Darkness of Unknowing wherein he renounces all the apprehensions of his understanding and is enwrapped in that which is wholly intangible and invisible, belonging wholly to Him that is beyond all things and to none else (whether himself or another), and being through the passive stillness of all his reasoning powers united by his highest faculty to Him that is wholly Unknowable, of whom thus by a rejection of all knowledge he possesses a knowledge that exceeds his understanding.
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 transcends all positive and negative distinctions and is incomprehensible.
All passages →◆Body As Obstacleanthropology
The material body viewed as a prison, tomb, or source of error that hinders spiritual knowledge and return.
The text describes plunging into the Darkness where the body's eyes perceive only symbolic language.
All passages →◆Divine Hiddennesstheology
The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.
God is described as invisible and beyond all things, dwelling in Darkness where true initiates plunge.
All passages →◆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.
Evil is said to disappear when Good ceases to be an opposition, implying a lack of positive being.
All passages →◆Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
The text emphasizes that Truth lies beyond ordinary knowledge and is apprehended by supernatural infused contemplation.
All passages →◆Hidden Sayingssoteriology
Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.
The Good Cause of all things is described as eloquent yet speaking few words or none.
All passages →◆Inner Lightanthropology
The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.
The text mentions seeing many lights flash forth during the ascent.
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 walking upon holy places and being revealed in naked truth.
All passages →◆Mystical Unionsoteriology
The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.
The passage describes the initiate being united by his highest faculty to God that is wholly Unknowable.
All passages →◆Opposites Transcendedanthropology
The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.
The text mentions passing beyond the opposition of fair and foul.
All passages →◆Paradox As Teachingethics
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
The Good Cause is described as eloquent yet speaking few words or none.
All passages →◆Pneumatic Electsoteriology
A spiritual elite who possess the divine spark and are predestined for salvation, contrasted with psychic (faithful) and hylic (material) persons.
A distinction is made between the chosen priests and those who have not undergone purification.
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 outlines a holy ascent where the soul plunges into Darkness to reach God's dwelling place.
All passages →◆Ritual Puritypraxis
The maintenance of a state of cleanliness—physical, moral, or spiritual—required for encounter with the divine.
Moses is bidden first to undergo purification before hearing the trumpets and seeing lights.
All passages →◆Spiritual Ascentpraxis
A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.
The text details a 'holy ascent' with stages of purification and illumination toward the Divine Ascent.
All passages →Related passages · 30 parallels · 1 contrast
◆buddhism|Vajrakkhedika (Diamond Cutter)|Section 1l
“All these beings, O Subhûti, will equally remember the Bodhi (the highest Buddha-knowledge), will recite it, and understand it.
And why?
Because it is not possible, O Subhûti, that this treatise of the Law should be heard by beings of lit…”
Both passages emphasize the incomprehensibility of the ultimate reality (Buddha-knowledge in Passage A and God in Passage B) and the transcendent nature of the divine. They also highlight the limitations of human understanding and the need for a supernatural or infused contemplation to grasp the truth.
◆gnosticism|Pistis Sophia|Document SECOND
“Answered Jesus, said he to Iohannes, Fairly (done) however at least because ye seek after everything in an exactness with a certainty.
[189 ] But now therefore, Johannes hear, that I may speak with thee, Every one who receiveth mystery of…”
Both passages discuss the hierarchical nature of spiritual knowledge and the limitations of understanding within different levels of mystical experience. They emphasize the incomprehensibility of the divine and the progressive nature of spiritual ascent.
◆hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 11: The Hymn|Section 1e
“And, thus, think from thyself, and bid thy soul go unto any land, and there more quickly than thy bidding will it be.
And bid it journey oceanwards; and there, again, immediately 'twill be, not as if passing on from place to place, but as…”
Both passages emphasize the transcendence of the divine and the need for the individual to transcend their physical and mental limitations to comprehend the divine. They also share the idea that the divine is beyond human understanding and can only be known through a process of purification and union.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter III
“In the first place, therefore, you say, “ it must be granted that there are Gods .” Thus to speak, however, is not right on this subject. For an innate knowledge of the Gods is coexistent with our very essence; and this knowledge is superio…”
Both passages discuss the incomprehensibility of the divine and the limitations of human knowledge in understanding it. They emphasize the need for a higher, more direct form of knowledge or contemplation that transcends rational thought and dialectical processes.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter IXa
“I consider you, therefore, as asking, for it is your inquiry, “ Why, since the Gods dwell in the heavens alone, there are invocations by theurgists of terrestrial and subterranean Gods?
” For 45 what you assert in the beginning is not true…”
Both passages discuss the transcendence and immanence of the divine, emphasizing that the divine is beyond human comprehension and yet present in all things. They share a mystical perspective on the nature of the divine, though they come from different traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XIV
“Farther still, with respect to “ what are called the necessities of the Gods ,” the whole truth of this is, that necessities are peculiar to, and subsist in such a way as accords with the nature of, the Gods. [34] Hence they do not subsist…”
Both passages discuss the nature of the divine as transcendent and beyond human comprehension, emphasizing the limitations of human understanding in grasping the divine essence. They also highlight the necessity and beneficence inherent in the divine nature.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XX
“After this, you again resume the same inquiries, of which what has been already said may be considered as a sufficient solution. Since, however, it is necessary, according to the proverb, frequently to speak of and consider things that are…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine beings and their relationship to lesser spiritual entities, emphasizing the transcendence and incomprehensibility of the divine. They explore the hierarchical structure of spiritual realms and the limitations of human understanding in apprehending the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XIa
“In what follows, in which you think that ignorance and deception about these things are impiety and impurity, and in which you exhort us to the true developement of these particulars, is not, indeed, attended with any ambiguity, but is ackn…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of human understanding and knowledge in approaching the divine. They emphasize that true union or knowledge of the divine transcends intellectual comprehension and is achieved through higher, often ineffable means.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XIb
“Those assertions, also, of yours pertain to the same thing, in which you say, “ that the science of the Gods is sacred and useful, and call the ignorance of things honourable and beautiful darkness, but the knowledge of them light; and also…”
Both passages discuss the concept of divine knowledge and the limitations of human understanding in approaching the divine. They emphasize the transcendence of the divine and the need for a higher, mystical understanding beyond ordinary knowledge.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XIII
“Let us, therefore, now direct our attention to another species of divination, which is not public, but of a private nature, concerning 147 which you say, “ that some become enthusiastic by standing on characters, as those that are filled fr…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of human understanding and the need to transcend conventional methods to apprehend the divine. They emphasize the incomprehensibility of the divine and the necessity of a higher, mystical experience to grasp it.
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◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXVI
“There are many other contentious innovations also, which may be the subject of wonder. But some one may justly be astonished at the contrariety of opinions produced by admitting either that the truth of divination is with enchanters, the wh…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine knowledge and the limitations of human understanding. They emphasize the transcendent and incomprehensible nature of the divine, highlighting the need for a higher, mystical understanding beyond ordinary perception and reasoning.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXXIb
“Hence this genus of divination is undefiled and sacerdotal, and is truly divine.
This, also, does not, as you say it does, require me, or any other as an arbiter, in order that I may prefer it to a multitude of other things; but it is itse…”
Both passages discuss the transcendence of the divine and the limitations of human understanding in apprehending it. They also emphasize the need for purification and ascent to reach a higher, more divine state of knowledge.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XX
“Being impelled, therefore, from another principle, viz. from the world and the mundane Gods, from the arrangement of the four elements in the world, and the association of the elements according to [appropriate] measures, and also 259 from…”
Both passages discuss the transcendence of the divine and the limitations of human understanding and ritual in approaching the divine. They emphasize the need to go beyond ordinary means to achieve a higher, mystical union with the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXI
“I think, therefore, that all who are lovers of the contemplation of theurgic truth will acknowledge this, that the piety which pertains to divine natures ought not to be exercised towards them partially or imperfectly. Hence, since prior to…”
Both passages discuss the complexity and completeness required in religious or mystical practices. Iamblichus emphasizes the need to honor all divine powers to achieve perfection in theurgic rituals, while the second passage discusses the necessity of transcending all knowledge and distinctions to apprehend the incomprehensible nature of God. Both highlight the importance of completeness and the limitations of partial understanding in their respective mystical traditions.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter XXII
“What then [it may be said], does not the summit of the sacrific art recur to the most principal one of the whole multitude of Gods, and at one and the same time worship the many essences and principles that are [rooted and concentred] in it…”
Both passages discuss the ultimate nature of the divine and the limitations of human understanding and ritual in approaching it. They share a mystical perspective that emphasizes the transcendent and incomprehensible nature of the divine, beyond the reach of ordinary human comprehension and ritual practices.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter IV
“If, however, it be necessary, dismissing these particulars, to speak what appears to me to be the truth, you do not rightly infer “ that a knowledge of this mathematical science [143] cannot be obtained, because there is much dissonance con…”
Both passages discuss the limitations of human understanding and the transcendent nature of divine knowledge. They emphasize that divine truth is beyond mere human comprehension and that the path to understanding involves moving beyond conventional knowledge and purification.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter V
“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…”
Both passages discuss the transcendence of the divine and the path to union with the divine through knowledge and purification. They emphasize the limitations of human understanding and the need for a higher, mystical experience to comprehend the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter VIII}
“The nature of the one , as it is all-receptive , and all-productive ( πανδεχης και παντοφυης ) exhibits in itself a certain representation and indication of multitude; for it is all things prior to all.
40 .
For the Gods are essentialized…”
Both passages discuss the transcendence and incomprehensibility of the divine, emphasizing that the ultimate reality is beyond human understanding and description. They also touch on the idea of divine dreams or visions and the purification process required to approach the divine.
◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 708
“Section 4 4. The main part of the difficulty is that awareness of this Principle comes neither by knowing nor by the Intellection that discovers the Intellectual Beings but by a presence overpassing all knowledge. In knowing, soul or mind a…”
Both passages discuss the ineffable nature of the divine and the limitations of human understanding and language in comprehending it. They emphasize the need to transcend ordinary knowledge and intellectual processes to attain a direct, unmediated experience of the divine.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fifth Dialoguen
“Of necessity, one is according to the sum of the other, seeing that where things are finite it may result in this, that it is more wise than beautiful or good, more good and beautiful than wise, more wise and good than powerful, and more po…”
Both passages explore the concept of the divine as infinite and incomprehensible, emphasizing the limitations of human understanding and the transcendent nature of the divine essence. They both discuss the idea of divine perfection and the aspirational pursuit of understanding this perfection.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|First Dialogueg
“Wherefore not only can we never discourse about things divine, but we cannot even think of them without detracting from, rather than adding to the glory of them; so that the best thing to be done with regard to them is, that man, in the pre…”
Both passages discuss the incomprehensibility of the divine and the limitations of human understanding and language in describing the divine. They also emphasize the need for silence and a transcendent experience beyond ordinary knowledge.
◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|Second Dialoguec
“Therefore in this present time it is proper that noble spirits equipped with truth and enlightened with the Divine intelligence, should arm themselves against dense ignorance by climbing up to the high rock and tower of contemplation.[L] [L…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of transcending mundane concerns and intellectual pursuits to attain a higher spiritual understanding. They both advocate for a form of contemplation or mystical experience that goes beyond ordinary knowledge and understanding.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIII (part 8)
“They may vary infinitely, i.e., may seem various, ever new from some new standpoint, but they cannot utterly vanish, any more than they can cease, come to an end.
All that is highest to which we shall come in the understanding of the meani…”
Both passages explore the idea of transcending ordinary understanding to grasp a higher or divine reality. Passage A discusses the infinite nature of phenomena and the possibility of viewing them from a higher standpoint, while Passage B talks about the incomprehensibility of God and the need for infused contemplation to understand the divine.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXI (part 3)
“All attempts to penetrate mentally into that higher, noumenal world, or world of causes, by means of the logic of the phenomenal world, if they did not fail altogether, or did not lead to castles in the air , gave only one result: in becomi…”
Both passages describe the experience of encountering the divine or noumenal world, emphasizing the dissolution of familiar reality, the sense of infinity, and the ineffable nature of the divine. They also highlight the transformative and challenging nature of this encounter.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 10)
“But it does not bear fruit presently; and, though it blossoms, they fall off; also many a cold wind, frost and snow, puff upon it, before it comes to any growth and bearing of fruit.
Boehme's books are full of wonderment before these myste…”
Both passages discuss the mystical experience of transcending the self and the senses to encounter the divine. They emphasize the need to go beyond ordinary perception and understanding to achieve a direct, unmediated experience of the divine reality.
◆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).…”
Both passages discuss the incomprehensibility of divine truth and the limitations of human reason and language in grasping it. They also describe the transformative experience of union with the divine, which transcends ordinary understanding.
◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XXII (part 14)
“How many arguments, how many religious struggles, how much of violence toward the thoughts of others would be rendered unnecessary and impossible if men would only understand that nobody possesses truth, but all are seeking for it, each in…”
Both passages discuss the ineffable nature of the divine and the limitations of human language and understanding in describing the ultimate reality. They share a mystical perspective that emphasizes the transcendence of the divine beyond human concepts and names.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi)|Introductionk
“The Kabalah alone consecrates the alliance of universal reason and the Divine Word; it establishes by the counterpoise of two forces in apparent opposition, the eternal balance of being; it alone reconciles reason with faith, power with lib…”
Both passages discuss the pursuit of divine knowledge and the limitations of human understanding. They emphasize the need for initiation, purification, and the transcendence of ordinary knowledge to grasp the divine, though they use different traditions (Kabbalah in Passage A and Christian mysticism in Passage B).
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi)|9. The Ceremonial Of Initiatesb
“Taken literally and understood materially, such books could be only an inconceivable tissue of absurdities and scandals, as the school of Voltaire has demonstrated but too well.
It is the same with all the ancient dogmas, the brilliant the…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of transcending literal interpretations and material understandings to grasp deeper truths. They also highlight the necessity of purification, initiation, and the renunciation of worldly desires to achieve a higher state of being or understanding, which is a genuine conceptual parallel.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic II: The Ritual (Éliphas Lévi)|22. The Book Of Hermesm
“Where now will the destroyed prince of perdition dare to show himself?
It remains for us to state our conclusions and to define the end and import of this work in the religious and philosophical order, and in the order of positive and mate…”
Both passages discuss the nature of divine truth and the limitations of human understanding. They emphasize the incomprehensibility of the divine and the need for a higher, mystical understanding beyond ordinary knowledge.
◆western_esoteric|Transcendental Magic I: The Doctrine (Éliphas Lévi)|IntroductionfCONTRASTS
“Here I must pause, and I fear that already I have said too much.
I testify in fine that there is one sole, universal and imperishable dogma, strong as supreme reason; simple, like all that is great; intelligible, like all that is universal…”
Both passages discuss the attainment of divine knowledge and powers through mystical means. Passage A outlines the privileges and powers of the Magus, while Passage B describes the process of divine contemplation and the ultimate union with the divine. Both emphasize the transcendence of human understanding and the attainment of supernatural knowledge.