Chapter XIX

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

The author explicitly condemns attributing human cares and reasonings to the Gods.

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

The passage centrally argues that God cannot be described through middle instruments or human categories like generation.

A state of awareness transcending ordinary human consciousness, often involving unity with the universe or higher dimensions.

God is described as actively filling all things with himself and being the sole worthy object of attention.

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

The divine mode of production is described as very different from human understanding and not to be rejected through ignorance.

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

The passage defends the concept of providence against those who abolish it due to ignorance of the divine mode of production.

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

God is described as unbegotten and not led by periods of generation or other causes.

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 mention of 'more excellent natures' implies a hierarchy of being descending from the divine source.

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.

Humanity is characterized as vile and of no account when compared to the divine, implying a lack of true excellence.

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

The text emphasizes that divine works are not effected through human causes but through modes known only to the Gods.

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

The passage warns against rejecting the divine mode of production due to ignorance, implying esoteric knowledge is necessary.

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

God is portrayed as active, able to effect all things, and worthy of sedulous attention.

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

The reference to the 'unbegotten' suggests a singular first principle from which all things flow.

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

God is described as filling all things with himself and being the sole worthy object of attention.

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

The author uses the statement that God is 'all things' to emphasize his omnipresence and power.

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

The passage begins with a discussion of invoking God through prophets.

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The text advocates for sedulous attention to God as the source of all being rather than human causes.

The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.

Humanity is contrasted negatively with the divine, implying a state of exile or deficiency from true excellence.

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 works which are effected in theurgy and defends them against those who abolish providence due to ignorance.