CHAPTER I

Dionysius the Presbyter, to his fellow-Presbyter Timothy.⁴⁵⁴⁵The name of St. Paul’s companion is intended to give colour to the writer’s pseudonym. See Introduction, p. 1; cf. iii. 2.

What is the purpose of the discourse, and what the tradition concerning the Divine Names.

1. Now, Blessed Timothy, the Outlines of Divinity⁴⁶⁴⁶This work is lost being ended, I will proceed, so far as in me lies, to an Exposition of the Divine Names. And here also let us set before our minds the scriptural rule that in speaking about God we should declare the Truth, not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the power which the Spirit⁴⁷⁴⁷1 Cor. ii. 4. stirred up in the Sacred Writers, whereby, in a manner surpassing speech and knowledge,⁴⁸⁴⁸τοῖς ἀφθέγκτοις καὶ ἀγνώστοις ἀφθέγκτως καὶ ἀγνώστως συναπτόμεθα. See Intr. on “Unknowing,” p. 32. we embrace those truths which, in like manner, surpass them, in that Union which exceeds our faculty, and exercise of discursive, and of intuitive reason.⁴⁹⁴⁹κατὰ τὴν κρείττονα τῆς καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς λογικῆς καὶ νοερᾶς δυνάμεως καὶ ἐνεργείας. D. frequently distinguishes between the discursive and the intuitive reason. Together they cover the whole of the intellect, cf. Wordsworth, Prelude, xiv. 119, 120:    “Hence endless occupation for the soul,
   Whether discursive or intuitive.” The former gives us deductions, the latter the axioms on which these are based. See Intr., p. 26. We must not then dare to speak, or indeed to form any conception, of the hidden super-essential⁵⁰⁵⁰See Intr., p. 4. Godhead, except those things that are revealed to us from the Holy Scriptures.⁵¹⁵¹D. is here contrasting the Affirmative Path of Knowing with the Negative Path of Unknowing. The former has a value as leading up to the latter; but it is only safe so far as we keep within the bounds of Scripture. Unscriptural conceptions of God are false; Scriptural conceptions are true as far as they go; but their literal meaning must be transcended. See Intr., p. 41 f. 52For a super-essential understanding of It is proper to Unknowing, which lieth in the Super-Essence Thereof surpassing Discourse, Intuition and Being; acknowledging which truth let us lift up our eyes towards the steep height, so far as the effluent light of the Divine Scriptures grants its aid, and, as we strive to ascend unto those Supernal Rays, let us gird ourselves for the task with holiness and the reverent fear of God. For, if we may safely trust the wise and infallible Scriptures, Divine things are revealed unto each created spirit in proportion to its powers, and in this measure is perception granted through the workings of the Divine goodness, the which in just care for our preservation divinely tempereth unto finite measure the infinitude of things which pass man’s understanding. For even as things which are intellectually discerned ⁵²⁵²i. e. The Transcendent Truths which are beyond ordinary knowledge.    νοητά. The word νοῦς = Mind in the sense not merely of abstract intellect but of the spiritual personality. Hence the word is often used to = an angel; and νοητός is often used as = spiritual, instead of πνευματικός, which D. does not employ. This use of νοῦς and its derivatives is ultimately due to the influence of Aristotle. (Cf. the use of νοῦς in Plotinas.) St. Thomas Aquinas regards intellectus as = “personality.” But here the reference is perhaps rather to the province of abstract intellect. cannot be comprehended or perceived by means of those things which belong to the senses, nor simple and imageless things by means of types and images, nor the formless and intangible essence of unembodied things by means of those which have bodily form,⁵³⁵³Apparently this is the same thought repeated in three different ways. The formless essence (ἀμορφία) of a thing is simple and imageless—a Platonic idea—perceived by the mind; things which have bodily form are, as it were, types and symbols perceived by the senses. by the same law of truth the boundless⁵⁴⁵⁴Or “indeterminate.” Super-Essence surpasses Essences, the Super-Intellectual Unity surpasses Intelligences, 53the One which is beyond thought surpasses the apprehension of thought, and the Good which is beyond utterance surpasses the reach of words.⁵⁵⁵⁵Thus the three grades are: (1) the material world; (2) the spiritual world of truths, personality, etc.; (3) the Godhead which is, so to speak, supra-spiritual. Yea, it is an Unity which is the unifying Source of all unity and a Super-Essential Essence,⁵⁶⁵⁶i. e. A Supra-Personal Personality. See Intr., p. 4 f. a Mind beyond the reach of mind⁵⁷⁵⁷νοῦς ἀνοητός. Probably not ” Irrational Mind” (as Dr. Inge translates it). Maximus takes it passively, as translated above. and a Word beyond utterance, eluding Discourse, Intuition, Name, and every kind of being. It is the Universal Cause of existence while Itself existing not, for It is beyond all Being and such that It alone could give, with proper understanding thereof, a revelation of Itself.

2. Now concerning this hidden Super-Essential Godhead we must not dare, as I have said, to speak, or even to form any conception Thereof, except those things which are divinely revealed to us from the Holy Scriptures. For as It hath lovingly taught us in the Scriptures concerning Itself⁵⁸⁵⁸Ps. cxlv. 3; Matt. xi 27; Rom. xi. 33; I Cor. ii. 11; Eph. iii. 8. the understanding and contemplation of Its actual nature is not accessible to any being; for such knowledge is superessentially exalted above them all. And many of the Sacred Writers thou wilt find who have declared that It is not only invisible and incomprehensible, but also unsearchable and past finding out, since there is no trace of any that have penetrated the hidden depths of Its infinitude.⁵⁹⁵⁹ὡς οὐκ ὄντος ἴχνους τῶν ἐπὶ τὴν κρυφίαν αὐτῆς ἀπειρίαν διεληλυθότων. Two interpretations of this passage are possible: (1) Those who have penetrated the hidden Depths cannot describe the Vision (cf. Dante, Par. xxxiii. 55–66) ; (2) Nobody has ever penetrated into the ultimate Depths of Deity. Not that the Good is wholly incommunicable to anything; nay, rather, while dwelling alone by Itself, and having there 54firmly fixed Its super-essential Ray, It lovingly reveals Itself by illuminations corresponding to each separate creature’s powers, and thus draws upwards holy minds into such contemplation, participation and resemblance⁶⁰⁶⁰θεωριά, κοινωνία, δμοίωσις. These are three elements of one process. Resemblance is the final goal, cf. I John iii. 2. D. defines Deification as “a process whereby we are made like unto God (ἀφομοίωσις) and are united unto Him (ἕνωσις) so far as these things may be.” (Eccl. Hier. I. 4. Migne, p. 376, A.) of Itself as they can attain—even them that holily and duly strive thereafter and do not seek with impotent presumption the Mystery beyond that heavenly revelation which is so granted as to fit their powers, nor yet through their lower propensity slip down the steep descent,⁶¹⁶¹Two kinds of danger: (1) spiritual presumption; (2) the temptations of our earthly nature. In dealing with the first D. warns us against leaving the Affirmative Path until we are ready. The Negative Path goes on where the Affirmative Path stops. St. John of the Cross and other spiritual writers insist that, though contemplation is a higher activity than meditation through images, yet not all are called to it, and that it is disastrous prematurely to abandon meditation. S. John of the Cross, in the Dark Night of the Soul, explains the signs which will show when the time has come for the transition. Note the spiritual sanity of D. His Unknowing is not a blank. but with unwavering constancy press onwards toward the ray that casts its light upon them and, through the love responsive to these gracious illuminations, speed their temperate and holy flight on the wings of a godly reverence.

3. In obedience to these divine behests which guide all the holy dispositions⁶²⁶²τὰς ὅλας . . . τῶν ὑπερουρανίων τάξεων ἁγίας διακοσμήσεις. of the heavenly hosts, we worship with reverent silence the unutterable Truths and, with the unfathomable⁶³⁶³A depth opens up in the heart of man corresponding to the depth of the Godhead. Deep answers unto deep. Cf. I Cor. ii. 10, 11. and holy veneration of our mind, approach that Mystery of Godhead which exceeds all Mind and Being. And we press upwards to those beams which in the Holy Scripture shine upon us; wherefrom we gain the light which leads us unto 55the Divine praises⁶⁴⁶⁴πρὸς τοὺς θεαρχικοὺς ὕμνους. Either (1) “leads us to declare the Divine praises”; or (2) “leads us to apprehend the Divine praises as sung by angels,” etc. being supernaturally enlightened by them and conformed unto that sacred hymnody, even so as to behold the Divine enlightenments the which through them are given in such wise as fits our powers, and so as to praise the bounteous Origin of all holy illumination in accordance with that Doctrine, as concerning Itself, wherewith It hath instructed us in the Holy Scriptures. Thus do we learn⁶⁵⁶⁵In the whole of this passage God is spoken of as at the same time Efficient, Formal and Final Cause of the soul’s activity. D. teaches that God is present in all things, but not equally in all. Cf. Intr., p. 14 that It is the Cause and Origin and Being and Life of all creation.⁶⁶⁶⁶Gen. i. And It is unto them that fall away from It a Voice that doth recall them and a Power by which they rise; and to them that have stumbled into a corruption of the Divine image within them, It is a Power of Renewal and Reform; and It is a sacred Grounding to them that feel the shock of unholy assault, and a Security to them that stand: an upward Guidance to them that are being drawn unto It, and a Principle of Illumination⁶⁷⁶⁷Three stages may be traced here corresponding to Purgation, Illumination and Union. I have tried to indicate the transitions from one stage to the next by the punctuation. to them that are being enlightened: a Principle of Perfection to them that are being perfected;⁶⁸⁶⁸τῶν τελουμένων τελεταρχία. “Perfect” (τέλειος) and the words connected with it were technical terms in the Greek Mysteries. Possibly there are traces of this technical use in St. Paul’s Epistles (e.g. I Cor. ii. 6; Phil. iii. 15). a principle of Deity to them that are being deified;⁶⁹⁶⁹τῶν θεουμένων θεαρχιά. See Intr., p. 39. and of Simplicity to them that are being brought unto simplicity;⁷⁰⁷⁰The soul must turn away from the complex world of sense and have only one desire—the desire for God. Thus it becomes concentrated as it were, and so is in a simple and unified state. Cf. Matt. vi. 22. See Intr., p. 25 and of Unity 56to them that are being brought unto unity. Yea, in a super-essential manner, above the category of origin, It is the Origin of all origin, and the good and bounteous Communication (so far as such may be⁷¹⁷¹i. e. So far as we are capable of receiving this communication.) of hidden mysteries; and, in a word, It is the life of all things that live and the Being of all that are, the Origin and Cause of all life and being through Its bounty which both brings them into existence and maintains them.

4. These mysteries we learn from the Divine Scriptures, and thou wilt find that in well-nigh all the utterances of the Sacred Writers the Divine Names refer in a Symbolical Revelation⁷²⁷²ἐκφαντορικῶς καὶ ὑμνητικῶς. to Its beneficent Emanations⁷³⁷³i.e. God’s differentiated activities. Since the ultimate Godhead is ineffable, Scripture can only hint at its Nature by speaking of Its manifestations in the relative sphere. See Intr., p. 8. Wherefore, in almost all consideration of Divine things we see the Supreme Godhead celebrated with holy praises as One and an Unity, through the simplicity and unity of Its supernatural indivisibility, from whence (as from an unifying power) we attain to unity, and through the supernal conjunction of our diverse and separate qualities are knit together each into a Godlike Oneness, and all together into a mutual Godly union⁷⁴⁷⁴God is ineffable and transcends unity, see Intr., p. 5. But, since His presence in man produces an unity in each individual (and in human society), Scripture calls Him “One.” And It is called the Trinity because Its supernatural fecundity is revealed in a Threefold Personality,⁷⁵⁷⁵The ineffable Godhead transcends our conception of the Trinity. But we call Him a Trinity because we experience His trinal working—as our ultimate Home, as an Individual Personality Who was once Incarnate, and as a Power within our hearts. See Intr., p. 7. wherefrom all Fatherhood in heaven and on earth exists and draws Its name. And It is called the Universal Cause⁷⁶⁷⁶God is not a First Cause, for a cause is one event to a temporal series, and God is beyond Time and beyond the whole creation. Yet in so far as He acts on the relative plane He may, by virtue of this manifestation of Himself in the creation, be spoken of as a Cause. since all things came into being through Its 57bounty, whence all being springs; and It is called Wise and Fair because all things which keep their own nature uncorrupted are full of all Divine harmony and holy Beauty;⁷⁷⁷⁷Beauty is a sacrament and only truly itself when it points to something beyond itself. That is why “Art for Art’s sake” degrades art. Beauty reveals God, but God is more than Beauty. Hence Beauty has its true being outside itself in Him. Cf. Intr., p. 31. and especially It is called Benevolent⁷⁸⁷⁸Love is the most perfect manifestation of God. Yet God is in a sense beyond even love as we know it. For love, as we know it, implies the distinction between “me” and “thee,” and God is ultimately beyond such distinction. See Intr., p. 35. because, in one of Its Persons, It verily and wholly shared in our human lot, calling unto Itself and uplifting the low estate of man, wherefrom, in an ineffable manner, the simple Being of Jesus assumed a compound state,⁷⁹⁷⁹ὁ ἁπλοῦς Ἰησοῦς συνετέθη. Cf. Myst. Theol. III., “Super Essential Jesus.” and the Eternal hath taken a temporal existence, and He who supernaturally transcends all the order of all the natural world was born in our Human Nature without any change or confusion of His ultimate properties. And in all the other Divine enlightenments which the occult Tradition of our inspired teachers hath, by mystic Interpretation, accordant with the Scriptures, bestowed upon us, we also have been initiated: apprehending these things in the present life (according to our powers), through the sacred veils of that loving kindness which in the Scriptures and the Hierarchical Traditions,⁸⁰⁸⁰ἱεραρχικῶν παραδόσεων, i. e. Ecclesiastical Tradition. enwrappeth spiritual truths in terms drawn from the world of sense, and super-essential truths in terms drawn from Being, clothing with shapes and forms things which are shapeless and formless, and by a variety of separable symbols, 58fashioning manifold attributes of the imageless and supernatural Simplicity. But hereafter, when we are corruptible and immortal and attain the blessed lot of being like unto Christ, then (as the Scripture saith), we shall be for ever with the Lord,⁸¹⁸¹I Thess. iv. 16. fulfilled with His visible Theophany in holy contemplations, the which shall shine about us with radiant beams of glory (even as once of old it shone around the Disciples at the Divine Transfiguration); and so shall we, with our mind made passionless and spiritual, participate in a spiritual illumination from Him, and in an union transcending our mental faculties, and there, amidst the blinding blissful impulsions of His dazzling rays, we shall, in a diviner manner than at present, be like unto the heavenly Intelligences.⁸²⁸²ἐν θειοτέρᾳ μιμήσει τῶν ὑπερουρανίων νοῶν—i. e. the angels. For, as the infallible Scripture saith, we shall be equal to the angels and shall be the Sons of God, being Sons of the Resurrection.⁸³⁸³Luke xx. 36 But at present we employ (so far as in us lies), appropriate symbols for things Divine; and then from these we press on upwards according to our powers to behold in simple unity the Truth perceived by spiritual contemplations, and leaving behind us all human notions of godlike things, we still the activities of our minds, and reach (so far as this may be) into the Super-Essential Ray,⁸⁴⁸⁴Meditation leads on to Contemplation; and the higher kind of Contemplation is performed by the Via Negativa. wherein all kinds of knowledge so have their pre-existent limits (in a transcendently inexpressible manner), that we cannot conceive nor utter It, nor in any wise contemplate the same, seeing that It surpasseth all things, and wholly exceeds our knowledge, and super-essentially contains beforehand (all conjoined within Itself) the bounds of all natural sciences and forces (while yet 59Its force is not circumscribed by any), and so possesses, beyond the celestial Intelligences,⁸⁵⁸⁵i.e. The Angels. I have throughout translated ὑπερουράνιος “celestial” instead of “super-celestial.” Presumably the meaning is “beyond the material sky,” or “celestial in a transcendent sense.” Its firmly fixed abode. For if all the branches of knowledge belong to things that have being, and if their limits have reference to the existing world, then that which is beyond all Being must also be transcendent above all knowledge.⁸⁶⁸⁶The whole of this passage shows that there is a positive element in Unknowing.

5. But if It is greater than all Reason and all knowledge, and hath Its firm abode altogether beyond Mind and Being, and circumscribes, compacts, embraces and anticipates all things⁸⁷⁸⁷παντῶν . . . προληπτική—i.e. contains them eternally before their creation. while Itself is altogether beyond the grasp of them all, and cannot be reached by any perception, imagination, conjecture, name, discourse, apprehension, or understanding, how then is our Discourse concerning the Divine Names to be accomplished, since we see that the Super-Essential Godhead is unutterable and nameless? Now, as we said when setting forth our Outlines of Divinity, the One, the Unknowable, the Super-Essential, the Absolute Good (I mean the Trinal Unity of Persons possessing the same Deity and Goodness), ‘tis impossible to describe or to conceive in Its ultimate Nature; nay, even the angelical communions of the heavenly Powers Therewith which we describe as either Impulsions or Derivations⁸⁸⁸⁸ἃς εἴτε ἐπιβολὰς εἴτε παραδοχὰς χρῆ φάναι—i. e. according as we describe the act from above or below. God sends the impulse, the angels receive it. from the Unknowable and blinding Goodness are themselves beyond utterance and knowledge, and belong to none but those angels who, in a manner beyond angelic knowledge, have been counted worthy 60thereof. And godlike Minds,⁸⁹⁸⁹οἱ θεοειδεῖς . . . νόες—i.e. human minds. angelically⁹⁰⁹⁰ἀγγελομιμητῶς. “In a manner which imitates the angels.” Cf. Wordsworth, Prelude, xiv. 108, 102: “Like angels stopped upon the wing by sound of harmony from heaven’s remotest spheres.” entering (according to their powers) unto such states of union and being deified and united, through the ceasing of their natural activities, unto the Light Which surpasseth Deity, can find no more fitting method to celebrate its praises than to deny It every manner of Attribute.⁹¹⁹¹This shows that the Via Negativa is based on experience and not on mere speculation. For by a true and supernatural illumination from their blessed union Therewith, they learn that It is the Cause of all things and yet Itself is nothing, because It super-essentially transcends them all. Thus, as for the Super-Essence of the Supreme Godhead (if we would define the Transcendence of its Transcendent Goodness⁹²⁹²ὅ τι ποτέ ἐστιν ἡ τῆς ὑπεραγαθότητος ὑπερύπαρξις.) it is not lawful to any lover of that Truth which is above all truth to celebrate It as Reason or Power or Mind or Life or Being, but rather as most utterly surpassing all condition, movement, life, imagination, conjecture, name, discourse, thought, conception, being, rest, dwelling, union,⁹³⁹³“Union” (ἕνωσις). This word has more than one meaning in D., and hence occasional ambiguity. It may = (1) Unity (i. e. that which makes an individual thing to be one thing); (2) Mental or Spiritual intercourse; (3) Physical intercourse; (4) Sense perception. Here it = either (1) or (2), probably (1). limit, infinity, everything that exists. And yet since, as the Subsistence⁹⁴⁹⁴ἀγαθότητος ὕπαρξις—i. e. the ultimate Essence in which goodness consists. of goodness, It, by the very fact of Its existence, is the Cause of all things, in celebrating the bountiful Providence of the Supreme Godhead we must draw upon the whole creation. For It is both the central Force of all things, and also their final Purpose, and is Itself before them all, and they all subsist in It; and 61through the fact of Its existence the world is brought into being and maintained; and It is that which all things desire—those which have intuitive or discursive Reason seeking It through knowledge, the next rank of beings through perception, and the rest through vital movement, or the property of mere existence belonging to their state.⁹⁵⁹⁵Man—Animal—Vegetable—Inorganic Matter. For the thought of this whole passage, cf. Shelley, Adonais: “That Light whose smile kindles the universe.” “The property of mere existence” = οὐσιώδη καὶ ἑκτικὴν ἐπιτηδειότητα. οὐσία = an individual existence. Its highest meaning is a “personality,” its lowest a “thing.” οὐσιώδης refers generally to its lowest meaning and = “possessing mere existence,” i. e. “belonging to the realm of inorganic matter.” See Intr., p. 4. Conscious of this, the Sacred Writers celebrate It by every Name while yet they call It Nameless.⁹⁶⁹⁶This shows that there is a positive element in D.‘s Via Negativa.

6. For instance, they call It Nameless when they say that the Supreme Godhead Itself, in one of the mystical visions whereby It was symbolically manifested, rebuked him who said: “What is thy name?”⁹⁷⁹⁷Judges xiii. 18. and, as though bidding him not seek by any means of any Name to acquire a knowledge of God, made the answer: “Why askest thou thus after My Name seeing it is secret?” Now is not the secret Name precisely that which is above all names⁹⁸⁹⁸Phil. ii. 9 ; Eph. i. 21. and nameless, and is fixed beyond every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come? On the other hand, they attribute many names to It when, for instance, they speak of It as declaring: “I am that I am,”⁹⁹⁹⁹Ex. iii. 14. or “I am the Life,”¹⁰⁰¹⁰⁰John xiv. 6. or “the Light,”¹⁰¹¹⁰¹John viii. 12. or “God,”¹⁰²¹⁰²Gen. xxviii. 13. or “the Truth,”¹⁰³¹⁰³John xiv. 6. and when the Inspired Writers themselves celebrate the Universal Cause with many titles drawn from the whole created 62universe, such as “Good,”¹⁰⁴¹⁰⁴Matt. xix. 17. and “Fair,” ¹⁰⁵¹⁰⁵Ps. xxvii. 4. and “Wise,”¹⁰⁶¹⁰⁶Rom. xvi. 27. as “Beloved,”¹⁰⁷¹⁰⁷Isa. v. 1. as “God of Gods” and “Lord of Lords”,¹⁰⁸¹⁰⁸Ps. cxxxvi. 2, 3. and “Holy of Holies,”¹⁰⁹¹⁰⁹Isa. vi. 3. as “Eternal,”¹¹⁰¹¹⁰Deut. xxxiii. 27. as “Existent”¹¹¹¹¹¹Ex. iii. 14. and as “Creator of Ages,”¹¹²¹¹²Gen. i. 1–8. as “Giver of Life,”¹¹³¹¹³Gen. i. 20; ii. 7; Job x. 12; John x. 10. as “Wisdom,”¹¹⁴¹¹⁴Prov. viii. as “Mind,”¹¹⁵¹¹⁵I Cor. ii. 16. as “Word,”¹¹⁶¹¹⁶John i. 1. as “Knower,”¹¹⁷¹¹⁷Ps. xliv. 21. as “possessing beforehand all the treasures of knowledge,”¹¹⁸¹¹⁸Col. ii. 3. as “Power,”¹¹⁹¹¹⁹Rev. xix. 1. as “Ruler,”¹²⁰¹²⁰Rev. i. 5. as “King of kings,”¹²¹¹²¹Rev. xvii. 4. as “Ancient of Days;”¹²²¹²²Dan. vii. and as “Him that is the same and whose years shall not fail,”¹²³¹²³Ps. cii. 25. as “Salvation,”¹²⁴¹²⁴Ex. xv. 2. as “Righteousness,”¹²⁵¹²⁵Jer. xxiii. 6. as “Sanctification,”¹²⁶¹²⁶I Cor. i. 30. as “Redemption,”¹²⁷¹²⁷I Cor. i. 30. as “Surpassing all things in greatness,”¹²⁸¹²⁸Isa. xl. 15. and yet as being in “the still small breeze.”¹²⁹¹²⁹I Kings xix. 12. Moreover, they say that He dwells within our minds, and in our souls¹³⁰¹³⁰John xiv. 17. and bodies,¹³¹¹³¹I Cor. vi. 19. and in heaven and in earth,¹³²¹³²Isa. lxvi. 1. and that, while remaining Himself, He is at one and the same time within the world around it and above it (yea, above the sky and above existence); and they call Him a Sun,¹³³¹³³Ps. lxxxiv. 11. a Star,¹³⁴¹³⁴Rev. xxii. 16. and a Fire,¹³⁵¹³⁵Deut. iv. 24. and Water,¹³⁶¹³⁶Ps. lxxxiv. 6. a Wind or Spirit,¹³⁷¹³⁷John iv. 24; Acts ii. 2. a Dew,¹³⁸¹³⁸Hosea xiv. 5. a Cloud,¹³⁹¹³⁹Ex. xiii. 21. an Archetypal Stone,¹⁴⁰¹⁴⁰Ps. cxviii. 22. and a Rock,¹⁴¹¹⁴¹Ps. xxxi. 2,3. and All Creation, ¹⁴²¹⁴²I Cor. xv. 28. Who yet (they declare) is no created thing.

Thus, then, the Universal and Transcendent Cause must both be nameless and also possess the names of all things in order that It may truly be an universal Dominion, the Centre of creation on which all things depend, as on their Cause and 63Origin and Goal; and that, according to the Scriptures, It may be all in all, and may be truly called the Creator of the world, originating and perfecting and maintaining all things; their Defence and Dwelling, and the Attractive Force that draws them: and all this in one single, ceaseless, and transcendent act.¹⁴³¹⁴³God is above Time. For the Nameless Goodness is not only the cause of cohesion or life or perfection in such wise as to derive Its Name from this or that providential activity alone; nay, rather does It contain all things beforehand within Itself, after a simple and uncircumscribed manner through the perfect excellence of Its one and all-creative Providence, and thus we draw from the whole creation Its appropriate praises and Its Names.

8. Moreover, the sacred writers proclaim not only such titles as these (titles drawn from universal¹⁴⁴¹⁴⁴e. g. “I am that I am,” “Good,” “Fair.” or from particular¹⁴⁵¹⁴⁵e. g. Sun,” c c Star,” “Rock,” etc. providences or providential activities¹⁴⁶¹⁴⁶ἀπὸ τῶν . . . προνοιῶν ἢ προνοουμένων. The first are the faculties of acting or being revealed in a certain way; the second are the results or manifestations of these faculties when in action.), but sometimes they have gained their images from certain heavenly visions¹⁴⁷¹⁴⁷Thus the complete classification is: (1) Analogies drawn from the material world, (a) universal, (b) particular; (2) psychic visions. (which in the holy precincts or elsewhere have illuminated the Initiates or the Prophets), and, ascribing to the super-luminous nameless Goodness titles drawn from all manner of acts and functions, have clothed It in human (fiery or amber) shapes¹⁴⁸¹⁴⁸Ezek. i. 26, 27. or forms, and have spoken of Its Eyes,¹⁴⁹¹⁴⁹Ps. x. 5. and Ears,¹⁵⁰¹⁵⁰James v. 4. and Hair,¹⁵¹¹⁵¹Dan. vii. 9. and Face,¹⁵²¹⁵²Ps. xxxiii. 17. and Hands,¹⁵³¹⁵³Job x. 8. and Wings,¹⁵⁴¹⁵⁴Ps. xci. 4. and Feathers,¹⁵⁵¹⁵⁵Ibid. and Arms,¹⁵⁶¹⁵⁶Deut. xxxiii. 27. and Back Parts,¹⁵⁷¹⁵⁷Ex. xxxiii. 23. and Feet;¹⁵⁸¹⁵⁸Ex. xxiv. 10. and fashioned such mystical 64conceptions as its Crown,¹⁵⁹¹⁵⁹Rev. xiv. 14.and Throne,¹⁶⁰¹⁶⁰ Ezek. i. 26, 27. and Cup,¹⁶¹¹⁶¹Ps. lxxv. 8. and Mixing Bowl,¹⁶²¹⁶²Prov. ix. 5. etc., concerning which things we will attempt to speak when we treat of Symbolical Divinity. At present, collecting from the Scriptures what concerns the matter in hand, and employing as our canon the rule we have described, and guiding our search thereby, let us proceed to an exposition of God’s Intelligible¹⁶³¹⁶³τῶν νοητῶν θεωνυμιῶν—i. e. the Names belonging to God when revealed in the relative sphere; not those which belong to the ultimate Godhead as such. In fact, the Godhead, as such, is Nameless. See Intr., p. 7. Names; and as the Hierarchical Law directs us in all study of Divinity, let us approach these godlike contemplations (for such indeed they are¹⁶⁴¹⁶⁴κυρίως εἰπεῖν—i. e. actually godlike because man is deified by them.) with our hearts predisposed unto the vision of God, and let us bring holy ears to the exposition of God’s holy Names, implanting holy Truths in holy instruments according to the Divine command, and withholding these things from the mockery and laughter of the uninitiate, or, rather, seeking to redeem those wicked men (if any such there be) from their enmity towards God. Thou, therefore, O good Timothy, must guard these truths according to the holy Ordinance, nor must thou utter or divulge the heavenly mysteries unto the uninitiate.¹⁶⁵¹⁶⁵See Myst. Theol. I. 2; and cf. Matt. vii. 6. And for myself I pray God grant me worthily to declare the beneficent and manifold Names of the Unutterable and Nameless Godhead, and that He do not take away the word of Truth out of my mouth.