The Hid Divinity. of Dionysus the Areopagite / St Denis the Carthusian

Transcription

1 The Hid Divinity of Dionysus the Areopagite / St Denis the Carthusian

2 be my prayer; and for you dear Timotheus, be zealous in contemplation of mystical truth, leaving the sense realm and the absorbing operations of the intellect, and all perceived things of the senses and of the intellect, along with all things that exist in the real world and all things that do not, so that you may resolutely strive beyond such worldly knowing, toward the union of yourself with Him who has existence beyond being and understanding; for by such vigorous renunciation you may in pure abstraction of yourself cast off all things, and being set free from all, aspire to that Sovereign Hid Divinity, which exceeds all existence. However, see that you disclose these things to the uninitiated not. Who live lives of idolatry, cleaving after worldly things, not considering that a real spiritual realm exists beyond nature; who imagine their earth bound understanding knows Him in the dark blackness of His Holy place. With this principle of all mysteries being above their understanding, what should be judged of others who name the First and absolute cause of all to be from the lowest of earthly realms, denying that He has a nature that is above

3 their multiplying ungodly images; He, of whom it should be affirmed is the positive cause of all created things; and as such by the propriety of drawing closer to Himself, should deny those idols, Himself being beyond all; which is a denial that is not a misalliance with either affirmation or negation. So it is also, that the blessed Bartholomew spoke, that Theology is both large and small, and the Gospel truth has both breadth and directness. His Divine insight shows I think, how the First cause of all things is exhortatory and quiescent, as it has fluency, but along with the symbolic union created of silence, being neither mortal speech nor understanding, as He exceeds all in a real and spiritual manner, manifesting His sovereign clearness only to those who pass by impurity and purity, who aspire above the topmost height of the holy ascent, leaving all divine light and sound and heavenly utterances, achieving consummation into that Divine Darkness where, as the scripture says, He truly is, who dwells beyond all things.

4 Further, it was not without symbolic unity that the Lord spoke to the blessed Moses to be sanctified first, then to be separated from the impure; and after all the sanctification, saw many lights with pure and variegated rays and heard the voice of many trumpets; and thereafter was separated from the multitude and came with the Elect elders to the topmost height of the Holy ascent. Nevertheless he attained not to Gods presence; for he saw Him not, that cannot be looked upon, but saw the place wherein He was. This I take to signify that, the divinest and highest of perceived things either visual or intelligible, have a symbolic union that represents Him, although He Himself exceeds beyond them all. Thus, by this symbolic union is shown His presence which passes understanding, and the highest of His Holy places; then those true Initiates freed from those things that are beheld, and from those that behold, enter into that mystical Darkness of Unknowing wherein is renounced all perception of understanding, that abides in the untouchable and invisible, that belongs wholly to Him who is beyond all things and to none other, being in their higher part united to Him who is wholly unknowable, and thus in renunciation of all knowledge, do know Him

5 that dwells in that Sovereign Hid Divinity, passing understanding. THE NEED TO BE UNITED WITH, AND GIVE HOMAGE TO HIM WHO IS THE CAUSE OF ALL THINGS AND ABOVE ALL THINGS. We desire to attain to, and abide in union with, this Darkness that exceeds Light, that in ceasing to see and know, we may come to that Hid Divinity which is beyond all sight and knowledge. This verily is sight and knowledge, to give homage to Him that exceeds beyond all things, in abstraction of all things; as carvers of a great stone block, that remove all that hinders the clean, unmade sight of the latent image within, for by the abstraction of all hindrance is revealed its hidden beauty. Herein, the method of negation must be wholly opposite that used in the books on Divine Outlines; for in the creating of our positive affirmations we did begin at those knowledges furthest from God, and thence to the secondary affirmations, and lastly the particular affirmations in the book of Divine Names; but here we by negation ascend up from the last to the first, arising out of the deep in abstraction of all things, to attain to that Dark Hid Divinity, which in all things is veiled from sight by divers knowledges, then we may behold that sovereign clear realm of darkness which is hid by all the light that is in

6 created things. WHAT ARE THE POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS OF GOD, AND WHAT ARE THE NEGATIVE. In the books of Divine Outlines, namely; in The Hierarchies of Heaven and The Hierarchies of this Fighting Church are declared those subjects that are in the most befitting order for positive affirmations; how God's Holy Divinity is single, and how it is tripartite; how it is that is there named Fatherhood, and Sonship; and how it is concerning the faith in the Holy Ghost; how from the unmade purity of the Hid Divinity are created these pure

7 Lights, which yet abide within that Divinity, coexisting in harmony and multiplying according to their principles; how Jesus earthly life, though the son of god in being, became the images of mortal earthly life, that die to themselves and toward God; and how the books of Divine Outlines have expounded many things found in the Scriptures. Then, in the book of Divine Names are expounded, how God is called Goodness, how Being, how Life, how Wisdom, how Salvation in Virtue, and of other heavenly thrones affirmed in relation to Him. Finally, the book of Symbolic Divinity shows what unity those names from the realms of the senses have with God's Divinity; what names we use to represent images of His forms, His functions and instruments, His places and adorning robes, His anger, grief and His indignation, His drunkenness and wrath; His oaths and curses, His sleeping and waking, and other epithets of symbolical union. Methinks you will have observed the greater diffusion of words used in the last, than those used in the first; for the books of Divine

8 Outlines; The Heirarchies of Heaven and The Hierarchies of this Fighting Church, along with the book of Divine Names, use fewer words than in the book on Symbolic Divinity. For in a balanced progression when ascending on high, our speech becomes the briefer, being words created of a purely abstracted conception; here, when entering that Dark Divinity beyond knowing, we reduce ourselves not just in brevity of speech but even to silence itself, that is beyond the abilities of speech and thought! So, in all other books we were moved from highest to lowest, and did affirm an expanding conception of sight and knowledges; but in this book we aspire from the lowest to the highest, negating by an abstract conception that is born of Unknowing; and having completed ascending, our speech and thought will altogether cease, being sealed by His Sovereign Divinity in a pure heavenly consummation. But why is it, you ask, that we affirm in the first and then in an opposite fashion negate in the last? In the principle of affirmations, the Divinity of the Godhead being highest, we affirmed a likeness by knowledge to that which is beyond affirmation, and then assumed the whole generation, and in the principle of negating, to attain that which is beyond negation, we begin at the lowest of

9 affirmations, and in abstracting it and henceforth all other, are brought near from far off. For most surely God is nearer those intelligible affirmations, life and goodness, than those sensible things, air or stone, and to negate that drunkenness and wrath are Godly attributes, would be simpler than to negate that He can reason or understand? THAT HE WHO IS THE FIRST CAUSE OF ALL SENSIBLE THINGS IS HIMSELF BEYOND THOSE THINGS.

10 We do affirm however, that the First cause of all things, who is Hid beyond all things, is not without goodness, or life, or reason, or intelligence; but that He is not body; and therefore not an outward form or shape, nor quality or quantity and so has no solid weight; nor is He a seen thing, nor has He sensible contact, nor is He sensations of touch, nor what is sensed; nor is He vexed or suffers confusion or is disturbed from material passions; nor is He powerless or subjected to the tyrannies of sensible things.

11 THAT HE WHO IS THE FIRST CAUSE OF ALL INTELLIGIBLE THINGS IS HIMSELF BEYOND THOSE THINGS. Ascending yet higher, we also affirm that the First cause of all things, who is Hid beyond all things, is not soul or angel; nor has He imagination or opinion nor reason or understanding; nor is He reason or understanding, and is not by reasoning describable nor by perception understood; for, beginning our negations from high things to low, He has no number, nor order, nor greatness or smallness, nor equality or inequality; nor is He unmovable, nor in motion, nor rest; and here, finalising our negations in the highest of matters, we affirm that He has not virtue, nor is virtue; nor is He light, nor living or life; nor is He being, nor eternity or time; nor is He graspable by the intellect; nor is He knowledge or truth, nor royalty or wisdom; nor is He one or unity, nor divinity or goodness; nor is He a spirit as we understand it, as He is not fatherhood or sonship; nor any other thing either known by us or known to any other being; nor of any existent things that are, or of nonexistent things, that are not; nor is He known to existent beings as He is, nor does He know them as they are; nor can He be named by reasoning, nor be known; nor is He darkness or light, nor truth or error; nor can we affirm any affirmation which describes Him or by creating negations destroy Him; for we

12 affirmed or negated those created things that He is not, but to Himself neither affirm or negate; for the Perfect and Sovereign, First cause of all is beyond all affirmation; and that which exceeds beyond all, exceeds all negation, in its simple and absolute abstraction He surpasses every limit, being beyond them all. <end of file>