Iamblichus: On the Mysteries · 20 of 218 · tr. Thomas Taylor
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. Hence they do not subsist as if they were externally derived, or were the effect of violence, but after such a manner as the good ought to be from necessity, so the Gods entirely exist, and are by no means otherwise disposed. This necessity, therefore, is mingled with beneficent will, and is the friend of love; through an order adapted to the Gods, possesses identity and immutability; and because it is contained in one boundary, abides in this, and never departs from it. Hence, 60 through all these particulars, the contrary to what you infer takes place. For it happens that a divine nature is incapable of being allured, is impassive and uncompelled, if there are in reality such powers in theurgy, as we have demonstrated there are.
§ Ask Guru about this passage →Themes
Divine Simplicitytheology
The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being.
The text emphasizes that God's nature is incapable of being allured and possesses identity and immutability.
All passages →Living Godtheology
The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.
The Gods are described as possessing identity and immutability rather than being passive or external.
All passages →Theurgypraxis
Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone.
The passage explicitly discusses the existence of powers in theurgy and argues that divine nature is incapable of being allured by them.
All passages →Related passages · 5 parallels
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 2, Section 1a
“65 CHAPTER II Concerning the Undifferencing and the Differentiation in Divinity, and the Nature of Divine Unification and Differentiation.
166 166 περὶ ἡνωμένης καὶ διακεκριμένης θεολογίας καὶ τίς ἡ θεία ἕνωσις καὶ διάκρισις.
I.
’ Tis th…”
Shared concept: Divine Simplicity — The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|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 o…”
Shared concept: Divine Simplicity — The doctrine that God has no parts, divisions, or composite attributes; pure undivided being. (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 3)
“This other will is the sensitivity and conceivability of the primordial will, by means of which that which is nothing finds itself to be something.
By so doing the inconceivable causeless will issues by means of that which it has eternally…”
Shared concept: Living God — The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality. (derived)
western_esoteric|The Secret Teachings of All Ages (Manly P. Hall)|The Bembine Table of Isis-b
“Laurentius Pignorius reproduced the Tablet in connection with a descriptive essay in 1605, but his timidly advanced explanations demonstrated his ignorance concerning the actual interpretation of the figures.
THE BEMBINE TABLE OF ISIS.
Co…”
Shared concept: Theurgy — Iamblichean ritual practice that engages the gods directly through consecrated material symbols and actions, on the premise that divine power descends into properly prepared matter — distinct from philosophical contemplation alone. (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 11 (part 1)
“p.
224 CHAPTER XI.
INCARNATION—THE CELESTIAL VIRGIN.
The doctrine of the incarnation of Christ, or, to express it in other words, of the awakening of the germ of divine self-knowledge in man, is so grand, that it is impossible to form a…”
Shared concept: Living God — The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality. (derived)