Chapter VII

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

The passage centrally argues that the divine essence is defined by itself and has nothing in common with physical necessities or powers.

The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.

The text describes a 'sympathy' pervading things most remote that coexcites adapted similars throughout the universe.

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

The divine essence is described as having nothing in common with physical necessities and powers, implying a radical concealment from material reality.

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

The divine essence is defined by itself independently of physical or cosmic powers, suggesting an undivided nature.

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 'precedaneous causes' and 'effects' implies a causal order within the divine realm.

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.

The text contrasts the divine essence with physical necessities and powers, implying that evil or deficiency is absent in the divine nature.

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

The passage refers to 'Gods' as active entities that are suspended from and effective through sacrifices.

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

The divine essence is described as defined by itself independently of all other powers or causes, aligning with the concept of a singular first principle.

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

The passage mentions 'communion' between powers and Gods as a necessary accompaniment to sacrifices.

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 text asserts that the divine essence is not coexcited by physical passions but defined by itself independently, implying a state of divine perfection.

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

The passage describes a 'sympathy' pervading all things with one life and one sympathy, suggesting an underlying unity of existence.