Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology · 7 of 11 · tr. C.E. Rolt

Chapter IV

That He Who is the Pre-eminent Cause of everything sensibly perceived is not Himself any one of the things sensibly perceived. We therefore maintain 536 536 Being about to explain, in these two last chapters, that no material or mental qualities are present in the Godhead, D. safeguards the position against pure negativity by explaining that they are not absent either. The rest of this chapter deals with the qualities (1) of inanimate matter; (2 ) of material life. that the universal Cause transcending all things is neither impersonal nor lifeless, nor irrational nor without understanding: in short, that It is not a material body, and therefore does not possess outward shape or intelligible form, or quality, or quantity, or solid weight; nor has It any local existence which can be perceived by sight or touch; nor has It the power of perceiving or being perceived; nor does It suffer any vexation or disorder through the disturbance of earthly passions, or any feebleness through the tyranny of material chances, or any want of light; nor any change, or decay, or division, or deprivation, or ebb and flow, or anything else which the senses can perceive. None of these things can be either identified with it or attributed unto It. 200

Themes

◆Apophatic Theologytheology

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

The passage centrally argues that God transcends all positive categories like shape, quality, or quantity by negation.

All passages →

◆Body As Obstacleanthropology

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

It explicitly states that God does not possess outward shape or intelligible form and is not a material body.

All passages →

◆Cosmic Dualismtheology

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

The text contrasts the transcendent God with the deficient material world possessing senses and qualities.

All passages →

◆Divine Hiddennesstheology

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

The divine is described as not being perceived by sight or touch and lacking local existence.

All passages →

◆Divine Simplicitytheology

The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.

The text emphasizes that God is not any one of the things sensibly perceived and lacks composite 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 term 'universal Cause transcending all things' implies a hierarchical structure where God stands above all created beings.

All passages →

◆Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The author asserts that the universal Cause is neither impersonal nor lifeless but possesses understanding and is not a material body.

All passages →

◆Monadcosmology

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

The 'Pre-eminent Cause' functions as a singular first principle from which all existence flows.

All passages →

Related passages · 7 parallels

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 130

“Section 8 8. What, then, is this Kind, this Matter, described as one stuff, continuous and without quality? Clearly since it is without quality it is incorporeal; bodiliness would be quality. It must be the basic stuff of all the entities o…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the ultimate reality or principle, emphasizing that it is devoid of material qualities, quantity, and form. They both argue for a formless, quality-less principle that underlies all sensible things.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 135

“Section 13 13. Are we asked to accept as the substratum some attribute or quality present to all the elements in common? Then, first, we must be told what precise attribute this is and, next, how an attribute can be a substratum. The elemen…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the fundamental substratum or cause, emphasizing that it is not characterized by material or mental qualities. They both argue for a form of negation or absence of qualities in the ultimate reality.

◆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. But Matter also is an incorporeal, though after a mode of its own; we must examine, therefore, how this sta…”

Both passages discuss the nature of authentic existence and the divine, emphasizing that the divine is not material and does not possess physical qualities. They both argue for the immaterial and impassive nature of the highest reality.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 239

“Section 7 7. We are thus brought back to the nature of that underlying matter and the things believed to be based upon it; investigation will show us that Matter has no reality and is not capable of being affected. Matter must be bodiless-…”

Both passages discuss the nature of matter and its relationship to being and reality. They share a conceptual parallel in their exploration of the non-being and formlessness of matter, though they come from different mystical traditions.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 377

“Section 2 2. But if perception does not go by impression, what is the process? The mind affirms something not contained within it: this is precisely the characteristic of a power- not to accept impression but, within its allotted sphere, to…”

Both passages discuss the nature of perception and the distinction between the mind's active role in knowing and the passive reception of sensory impressions. They also explore the idea that higher forms of knowledge are not derived from external impressions but are acts of the soul or intellect.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 385

“Section 6 6. It is easy to show that if the Soul were a corporeal entity, there could be no sense-perception, no mental act, no knowledge, no moral excellence, nothing of all that is noble. There can be no perception without a unitary perci…”

Both passages discuss the nature of the soul or divine cause and argue against it being a material entity. They emphasize the unity and non-material qualities of the soul or divine cause, though they come from different mystical traditions.

◆western_esoteric|Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky)|Chapter XIX (part 4)

“We constantly observe the conditions of materiality in those cases in which we must create in our life a sequence of phenomena or are obliged to select , because our matter does not permit us to juxtapose in a definite interval of time more…”

Both passages discuss the limitations of materiality and the conditions of perception. Passage A explores the constraints of objective knowledge within a three-dimensional sphere, while Passage B describes the transcendence of material qualities in the Godhead. Both emphasize the need to move beyond material conditions to achieve higher understanding.