PG 4 · cols. 416–432

S. Maximus Confessor, Scholia in librum De mystica theologia

Editors' preface

ΤΟΥ ΑΓΙΟΥ ΜΑΞΙΜΟΥ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΗΣ ΜΥΣΤΙΚΗΣ ΘΕΟΛΟΓΙΑΣ ΣΧΟΛΙΑ

OF SAINT MAXIMUS, SCHOLIA ON THE [BOOK] ON MYSTICAL THEOLOGY

ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛ Αʹ.

ON CHAPTER I.

§ 1. Ἔνθα τὰ ἁπλᾶ. Ἁπλᾶ καὶ ἀπόλυτά εἰσι τὰ δίχα συμβόλων νοούμενα καὶ ἐποπτευόμενα ὡς ἔχουσιν, οὐ μὴν παραβολικῶς. Ἀπόλυτα οὖν ἔφη τὰ μὴ κατὰ ἀνάπτυξιν ὀνομάτων [ἢ συμβόλων λεγόμενα, ἀλλὰ τῇ ἐκ πάντων τῶν ὄντων], καὶ τῇ τῶν νοήσεων ἀποπαύσει καὶ ἀπολύσει συναγόμενα, ἥντινα ἀνενεργησίαν τῆς ἱερᾶς κινήσεως ἐν μὲν τοῖς πρὸ τούτου

§ 1. Where the simple things. Simple and absolute are the things that are understood and contemplated without symbols, as they are, and not by way of parable. So he called absolute the things that are not [spoken] by an unfolding of names [or symbols, but by the [withdrawal] from all beings], and are gathered by the cessation and release of intellections; which inactivity of the sacred motion in the things before this

Editors' notes and page, col. 416

Footnotes

[Heading printed above the note: VARIAE LECTIONES ET CORRECTIONES. > Variant readings and corrections.] (printed under page 222)

(21) ‹anchor: τῆς θεολογικῆς› · call in col 416 (call printed in the Greek only)

γρ. συμβολικῆς.

Variant reading (γρ., "it is written" in another copy): συμβολικῆς ("symbolic").

(printed under page 222)

Page

running head: [AD] OPERA S. DIONYSII AREOPAGITÆ. 416 (left part of the head lies on the col 415 half, not in these images)
marginal letters: A Τῶν ἑαυτῇ συμφύλων (previous unit); B τῷ ἱερῷ ἀνδρὶ Τιμοθέῳ (previous unit); C (none seen); D (none seen)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: paras 1-6 above the title band (Τῶν ἑαυτῇ συμφύλων … Ἐπὶ δὲ τὴν συμβολικὴν θεολογίαν … λόγου) are the end of the Divine Names scholia, previous unit, not set here. Band position confirmed on the image: mid-page, below the heading VARIAE LECTIONES ET CORRECTIONES (foot-apparatus heading of the previous unit, left to pass 2). Title band set once, full_width; only its right half is in the column images; "ΤΟΥ ΑΓ" and "ΠΕΡΙ ΤΗΣ" are read on the page-foot image (p222_footL) and set as printed (Q1). The Latin half of the band (SANCTI MAXIMI SCHOLIA IN LIBRUM DE MYSTICA THEOLOGIA … Petro Lansselio et Societate Jesu interprete) is the facing version's title, not set. Breathing of ἁπλᾶ/Ἁπλᾶ UNSURE at this resolution (looks smooth in both places); set rough. The column's Greek ends mid-sentence after τούτου; nothing further below in this column.

PG 4:417

⟨…⟩ ἐκάλεσεν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ σκοτεινότατον γνόφον ⟨…⟩τον κατὰ τὸν Ψαλμῳδόν. Νεφέλη καὶ γνό⟨…⟩λῳ αὐτοῦ· καὶ, Ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν ⟨…⟩

⟨…⟩ he called; but here [he calls it] the darkest gloom ⟨…⟩ according to the Psalmist: Cloud and gl⟨…⟩ [round] about Him; and: He made darkness His hiding place ⟨…⟩

⟨…⟩ ἀνομμάτους νόας. Οὐ γὰρ αἰσθητῶν ὀφθαλ⟨…⟩ι μεστοὶ, ἀλλ' ἐστὶν αὐτῶν ἡ οὐσία, ἅτε ζῶν⟨…⟩λη ὀφθαλμὸς ὀξυδερκέστατος· ὅθεν καὶ πο⟨…⟩τοι λέγονται ἐν τῇ Γραφῇ.

⟨…⟩ eyeless minds. For they are not full of perceptible eyes ⟨…⟩, but their essence, inasmuch as ⟨…⟩ living, is ⟨…⟩ a most sharp-sighted eye; whence they are also called many⟨-eyed⟩ in Scripture.

⟨…⟩τὰς αἰσθήσεις ἀπόλειπε. Ἐκ παραλλήλου ⟨…⟩ δηλοῦται· τὰ γὰρ αἰσθητὰ αὐτὰ καλοῦσιν οἱ ⟨…⟩ μὴ ὄντα, ἅτε μεταβολῆς ἁπάσης μετέχοντα, ⟨…⟩ ὡσαύτως ἀεὶ ὄντα· τὰ δὲ νοητὰ, ὡς ἀεὶ ὄντα ⟨…⟩ βουλήσει τοῦ ποιήσαντος καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν μὴ ⟨…⟩λοντα, λέγουσιν ὄντα. Ταῦτα δὲ πολλάκις ⟨…⟩καμεν ἐν τῷ Περὶ θείων ὀνομάτων λόγῳ.

⟨…⟩ leave the senses behind. By juxtaposition ⟨…⟩ is made plain; for the ⟨…⟩ call the sensible things themselves non-beings, inasmuch as they partake of every change, ⟨…⟩ always being in the same way; but the intelligible things, as always being ⟨…⟩ by the will of Him who made them and not ⟨…⟩ their essence, they call beings. These things we have ⟨…⟩ often in the treatise On the Divine Names.

⟨…⟩ πᾶσαν οὐσίαν. Τὴν ἁπλότητα καὶ ὑπὲρ ⟨…⟩νάδα. Πῶς δὲ ἀγνώστως ἀνατείνεταί τις πρὸς ⟨…⟩ καὶ ἐν τῷ Περὶ θείων ὀνομάτων κεφαλαίῳ ⟨…⟩ εἴρηται, καὶ ἐνταῦθα μετὰ βραχέα εὑρήσεις.

⟨…⟩ all essence. The simplicity and beyond ⟨…⟩nad. How one is unknowingly lifted up towards ⟨…⟩ has been said also in the chapter of On the Divine Names ⟨…⟩, and here too you will find it a little further on.

⟨…⟩τῳ καὶ ἀπολύτῳ. Ἄσχετον ἔκστασίν φησι ⟨…⟩χώρησιν πάσης σχέσεως, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἵνα μηδε⟨…⟩έχοιτο σχέσει, μήτε πρὸς αὐτὸν, μήτε πρός τι ⟨…⟩σμάτων.

⟨…⟩ and absolute. By unrelated ecstasy he means ⟨the with⟩drawal from every relation, that is, so that [one] be ⟨held⟩ by no relation, neither towards oneself nor towards any ⟨…⟩.

⟨…⟩ους ἀκτῖνα. Καὶ ἐνταῦθα σκότος τὴν παντελῆ ⟨…⟩ψίαν ἔφη.

⟨…⟩ ray. Here too by darkness he meant the complete ⟨…⟩.

Μηδεὶς τῶν ἀμυήτων. Σημείωσαι ὅτι ἀμυή⟨…⟩σὶ τοὺς μὲν τῶν μυστικῶν ἀμετόχους, τοῖς ⟨…⟩ητοῖς ἐνειλουμένους, καὶ οὐδὲν ὑπὲρ τὰ ὄντα ⟨…⟩ανταζομένους. Ἀμέλει περὶ τῶν καθόλου ⟨…⟩ν εὐθὺς παρακατιών φησι. Καὶ σημείωσαι ⟨…⟩ους τοὺς ἀμυήτους λέγει καὶ ἄλλους τοὺς ἀμύ⟨…⟩ ἤγουν ἀμυσταγωγήτους.

Let none of the uninitiated. Note that by uninitiated he ⟨means⟩ those who have no share in the mystical things, wrapped up in ⟨…⟩ things, and ⟨imagining⟩ nothing beyond beings. Indeed, going on a little further, he speaks straightway about the universal ⟨…⟩. And note that he calls ⟨some⟩ the uninitiated and others the ⟨…⟩, that is, those not led into the mysteries.

⟨…⟩ ὑπὲρ τούτους εἰσί. Τὰ μὲν πρὸ τούτων ἔφη ⟨…⟩ν πιστευσάντων μὲν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ⟨…⟩ ἐπὶ τὴν τελειοτέραν ἐλθόντων γνῶσιν, ἀλλὰ ⟨…⟩ρούντων τῇ οἰκείᾳ δόξῃ τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ μὴ ⟨…⟩ διαφορὰν ὄντων κυρίως καὶ ὁμωνύμων ὄντων, ⟨…⟩ καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ὑπὲρ τὰ ὄντα, διὸ καὶ ὑπερ⟨…⟩ Οἱ γοῦν τοιοῦτοι, ὡς ἀμύητοι, τῶν ὑψηλο⟨…⟩ὑπολαμβάνουσι κατὰ ἀλήθειαν σκότος εἶναι τὸ ⟨…⟩ τοῦτο τὸ παρ' ἡμῖν σκίασμα καλύπτον τὸν ⟨…⟩ καὶ ἀποκρύπτον αὐτὸν τῆς ἁπάντων θέας, ὅπερ ⟨…⟩ηθῶς νοσοῦσι πολλοὶ καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν, ἅτε μὴ ⟨…⟩οντες τὸ ἀνυπέρβλητον φῶς πᾶσαν ὄψιν σκοτί⟨…⟩ Εἰ οὖν εἰσι, φησὶν, ἐν ἡμῖν τοιοῦτοι, τί ἂν ⟨…⟩ν περὶ εἰδωλολατρῶν τῶν παντάπασι πάντων ⟨…⟩ων ἀμετόχων καὶ [πρὸς ξύλα τεθηπότω⟨ν]⟩; ⟨…⟩ μὲν οὖν ὄντα τὰ νοητά· ὁμωνύμως δὲ τὰ αἰ⟨…⟩ Τὸ δὲ ὑπὲρ τούτους τοὺς πιστοὺς δηλονότι, ⟨…⟩ τοῖς φθαρτοῖς ἐνισχημένους.

⟨…⟩ are beyond these. By 'those before these' he meant ⟨those⟩ who believed in the name of Christ, ⟨but did not⟩ come to the more perfect knowledge, but ⟨…⟩ the truth by their own opinion, and not ⟨…⟩ the difference between things that are properly and things that are [so called] by homonymy, ⟨…⟩ and of Him who is beyond beings, wherefore also beyond ⟨…⟩. Such men, then, as uninitiated, ⟨…⟩ of the lofty ⟨…⟩ suppose that the ⟨…⟩ is in truth darkness, this shadow among us covering the ⟨…⟩ and hiding Him from the sight of all; which ⟨…⟩ many even among us suffer from, as not ⟨…⟩ that the unsurpassable light darkens every sight ⟨…⟩. If then, he says, there are such among us, what ⟨…⟩ about idolaters, who have no share at all in all ⟨…⟩ and [gape in awe at wood]? ⟨…⟩ the intelligibles, then, are beings; but the sensibles by homonymy ⟨…⟩. And 'beyond these' [means] plainly the faithful ⟨…⟩ held fast by corruptible things.

⟨…⟩ ἐπ' αὐτῇ. Ὡς πάντα οὔσης θεοπρεπῶς, καὶ ⟨…⟩ οὔσης ὑπερουσίως· αὕτη γὰρ καὶ θέσις ἐστὶ ⟨…⟩όφασις, ἐπεὶ καὶ κυρίως ἀμφότερα ἐπὶ τῆς

⟨…⟩ upon it. As being all things in a manner befitting God, and ⟨…⟩ being superessentially; for it is both position and ⟨…⟩, since both properly ⟨…⟩ upon the

Editors' notes and page, col. 417

Footnotes

(g), (h): the scripture notes for Νεφέλη καὶ γνό⟨…⟩λῳ αὐτοῦ and Ἔθετο σκότος ἀποκρυφὴν are set under col 418 (calls printed in the facing Latin; any Greek calls lie in the cut edge). Pointer only (Q1).

Footnotes

(g) ‹anchor: caligo in circuitu ejus› · call in col 418 (call letter read in the Latin text, Q1)

[P]sal. xcvi, 2.

Psalm 96(97):2.

(printed under page 223)

(h) ‹anchor: Posuit tenebras latibulum suum› · call in col 418

Psal. XVII, 12.

Psalm 17(18):12.

(printed under page 223)

Footnotes

[Heading printed above the notes: VARIAE LECTIONES ET CORRECTIONES. > Variant readings and corrections.] (printed under page 224)

(22) ‹anchor: not visible in the page foot› · call in col 419 (call printed in the Greek, col 420)

γρ. ἐνταῦθα.

Variant reading: ἐνταῦθα ("here").

(printed under page 224)

(23) ‹anchor: not visible in the page foot› · call in col 419 (call printed in the Greek, col 420)

γρ. καθεστάναι.

Variant reading: καθεστάναι ("to have been established").

(*) ‹anchor: οὐ πρὶν εἰδυῖα τόκοιο› · call in col 419 (call printed in the Greek, col 420) Il. xvii, 5.

Iliad 17.5.

(printed under page 224)

(24) ‹anchor: ὡς θεωρητικοὺς› · call in col 419 (call printed in the Greek, col 420)

γρ. ἤγουν θεωρητικούς.

Variant reading: ἤγουν θεωρητικούς ("that is, contemplative").

(printed under page 224)

Page

running head: 419 APPENDIX AD OPERA S. DIO
marginal letters: A niam utraque de; B tholomaei adducit, sicut; C coelestes dicit ea; D Hypotheticas. Ὑποθετικοὺς
old-edition numerals: 233 after in Moyse
other: facing Latin version, not set

PG 4:420

θείας λέγονται μεγαλειότητος. Τί δέ εἰσιν αἱ ἀποφάσεις τῶν ἀφαιρέσεων καὶ αἱ καταφάσεις τῶν θέσεων, καὶ τί αἱ στερήσεις, καὶ ἐνταῦθα σαφηνίζεται, καὶ μάλιστα ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ κεφαλαίῳ, καὶ ἐν τῷ Περὶ θείων ὀνομάτων λόγῳ διαφόρως καὶ πλατέως παρεθέμεθα.

divine majesty. And what the negations of abstractions and the affirmations of positions are, and what the privations are, is both made clear here, and especially in the third chapter, and in the treatise On Divine Names we have set forth variously and at length.

Ἀντικειμένας εἶναι. Ὅτι ἐπὶ Θεοῦ οὐκ ἀντίκεινται αἱ ἀποφάσεις ταῖς καταφάσεσιν · ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν γάρ ἐστιν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ ἀφαίρεσιν καὶ θέσιν. Ἀνάγνωθι καὶ ἐν τοῖς Περὶ τῆς οὐρανίας ἱεραρχίας μετ' ὀλίγον τῆς ἀρχῆς.

To be opposite. That in the case of God negations are not opposed to affirmations; for God is above every abstraction and position. Read also in the book On the Celestial Hierarchy a little after the beginning.

§ III. Οὕτω γοῦν ὁ θεῖος Βαρθολομαῖος . Σημείωσαι καὶ ἐντεῦθεν τὸ ἄπλαστον τοῦ εἶναι ταῦτα τὰ θεῖα συντάγματα τοῦ μεγάλου Διονυσίου. Πρὸς οἷς γὰρ ἐν τοῖς προτέροις λόγοις τινῶν τῶν συνόντων τοῖς ἀποστόλοις μνήμην χρήσεων ἐποιήσατο, νῦν παραπλησίως τοῦ θείου Βαρθολομαίου χρῆσιν ἄγει, ὡς δηλοῖ τὸ φησίν· εἰ γὰρ ἀγράφως ἦν διδάξας, εἰρήκει ἂν, ἔφη. Βημείωσαι δὲ ὅτι τοῦ ἁγίου Βαρθολομαίου χρῆσιν προφέρει, πῶς πολλὴ καὶ ἐλαχίστη ἡ θεολογία.

Section 3. Thus indeed the divine Bartholomew. Note from this too the unfeignedness of these divine treatises being of the great Dionysius. For in addition to having made mention in the former treatises of passages of some of those who were with the apostles, now in like manner he adduces a passage of the divine Bartholomew, as the word says shows; for if he had taught unwrittenly, he would have said, he said. And note that he brings forward a passage of Saint Bartholomew, how theology is both much and very little.

Ὅτι καὶ πολυλόγος. Πολυλόγος παροξυτόνως ὁ πολλὰ λέγων· πολύλογος δὲ προπαροξυτόνως ὁ πολλῶν λόγων δεόμενος· ὡς καὶ πρωτότοκος προπαροξυτόνως ὁ πρώτως τεχθείς· πρωτοτόκος δὲ παροξυτόνως ἡ πρώτως τεκοῦσα γυνὴ, ὡς καὶ Ὅμηρος·

Because both speaking much. Polulogos with acute on the penult is he who says many things; whereas polulogos with acute on the antepenult is he who stands in need of many words; as also prototokos with acute on the antepenult is he who is born first; whereas prototokos with acute on the penult is the woman who gives birth for the first time, as Homer also says:

Πρωτοτόκος Κινύρη, οὐ πρὶν εἰδυῖα τόκοιο.

First-bearing, whining, not before having known childbirth.

῾Ος οὔτε λόγον. Δηλαδὴ τῆς οἰκείας φύσεως παραστατικὸν ἐν τοῖς ἔξωθεν. Ὁμοίως καὶ περὶ νοήσεως νοητέον.

As having neither speech. Namely, expressive of its own nature in outward things. Similarly also must one understand concerning conception.

Πάντα θεῖα φῶτα καὶ ἤχους. Ἤχους καὶ λόγους οὐρανίους φησὶ τὰ περὶ Θεοῦ ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς εἰρημένα, ὡς μὴ κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην καὶ γηΐνην ἐπίνοιαν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ θείαν ἐπίνοιαν λεχθέντα καὶ παραδοθέντα.

All divine lights and sounds. By heavenly sounds and words he means the things spoken concerning God in the Scriptures, as having been spoken and handed down not according to human and earthly invention, but according to divine invention.

Ὁ θεῖος Μωϋσῆς. Σημείωσαι, πῶς διεξέρχεται τὰ περὶ Μωϋσεος, ὅτι, ἐν τῷ ὅρει ἀνελθὼν καὶ εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὸν γνόφον εἶδεν, ὡς ἐφικτὸν ἀνθρώπῳ, τὸν Θεόν. Σημείωσαι καὶ τὴν τάξιν τῶν τελεσθέντων ἐπὶ Μωσεῖ, πρὶν ἀξιωθῆναι εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὸν θεῖον γνόφον.

The divine Moses. Note how he goes through the things concerning Moses, that having gone up on the mountain and entered into the gloom he saw, so far as is attainable by man, God. Note also the order of the things accomplished in the case of Moses, before he was deemed worthy to enter into the divine gloom.

Ἀλλὰ τὸν τόπον οὗ ἔστη. Τίς ὁ τόπος ἐν ᾧ ἔστη ὁ Θεὸς ἐπὶ Μωϋσέως, καὶ τί ἐστιν ἀκρότητος νοητῶν, καὶ τί ὁρατῶν, ἐν τῷ Περὶ τῆς ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἱεραρχίας εἰς τὸ τέλος τοῦ πρώτου κεφαλαίου διεξήλθομεν.

But the place where He stood. What the place is in which God stood in the time of Moses, and what belongs to the summit of intelligible things, and what of visible things, we have gone through in the book On the Celestial Hierarchy at the end of the first chapter.

Ὑποθετικούς · Ὑποθετικοὺς λόγους φησὶ , τοὺς ὑπογραφικοὺς, ἢ ὡς θεωρητικοὺς τῶν ὄντων, ἅπερ ὑποβεβλημένα ἔφη τῷ Θεῷ εἶναι· δι' αὐτῶν γὰρ, ἤγουν τῆς τούτων διαμονῆς, καὶ συντηρήσεως, τοῖς πᾶσιν αὐτὸν παρεῖναι διδασκόμεθα, οὐ μεταβατικῶς, ἀλλὰ προνοητικῶς· νοητὰς δὲ ἀκρότητας τὰς οὐρανίας, καὶ νοερὰς οὐσίας τὰς περὶ Θεὸν οὔσας καλεῖ, ἃς καὶ τόπους αὐτοῦ ἁγιωτάτους ὠνόμασεν· ὧν καὶ αὐτῶν ὑπέρχεται, ἢ ὡς ἀπολύεται, κατὰ μηδὲν αὐτοῖς ὅλως προσεοικώς.

Hypothetical. By hypothetical reasons he means the descriptive, or as contemplative of the things that are, which he said are subjected to God; for through them, that is, through their permanence and preservation, we are taught that He is present to all things, not by transition, but providentially; and he calls intelligible summits the heavenly and intellectual essences that are around God, which he also named His most holy places; which very ones also He transcends, or as it were is released from, in no way at all resembling them.

Editors' notes and page, col. 420

Page

running head: OPERA S. DIONYSII AREOPAGITÆ. 420
marginal letters: A θείας λέγονται μεγαλειότητος.; B παραπλησίως τοῦ θείου; C οὐρανίους φησὶ τὰ; D Ὑποθετικούς · Ὑποθετικοὺς
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: (none)

PG 4:421

Καὶ τότε καὶ αὐτῶν ἀπολύεται. Τὴν κατὰ σύνθεσιν τοῦ ῥητοῦ ἐξήγησιν οὕτω νοητέον, ὅτι ὁ Μωϋσῆς, θεωρήσας τὸν τόπον οὗ εἱστήκει ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ τότε ἀπολυθεὶς τῶν τε ὁρωμένων, τουτέστιν αἰσθητῶν ἁπάντων, καὶ τῶν ὁρώντων, ἀντὶ τοῦ λογικῶν ἁπάντων, νοητῶν τέ φημι καὶ νοερῶν οὐσιῶν, μεθ' ὧν καὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν, τηνικαῦτα εἰς τὸν γνόφον εἰσῆλθε, τουτέστιν εἰς τὴν περὶ Θεοῦ ἀγνωσίαν, ἔνθα, πάσας ἀπομύσας τὰς γνωστικὰς ἀντιλήψεις, ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἀναφεῖ τῷ νῷ καὶ ἀοράτῳ, πασῶν ἀντιλήψεων γνωστικῶν τοῦ πέρα πάντων Θεοῦ, καὶ ἑνωθεὶς διὰ τοῦ τοιούτου τρόπου τῇ ἀγνωσίᾳ καὶ ἀνενεργησίᾳ, οὐ λέγω τῇ περὶ αὐτοῦ ἀνενεργησίᾳ τοῦ ἰδίου νοῦ, οὔτε τῇ ἑτέρου ἀνενεργησίᾳ ἐν τῷ μήτε αὑτὸν, μήτε ἕτερόν τι νοεῖν, ἀλλ' ἑνωθεὶς τῷ παντελῶς ἀγνώστῳ πάσης γνώσεως τοῦ πάντων ἐπέκεινα τότε τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ τὸ πᾶν ἔγνω. Σημείωσαι δὲ, ὡς γνόφον τὴν ἀγνωσίαν ἐνόησε. Πῶς δι' ἀγνωσίας ὁ Θεὸς γινώσκεται, καὶ ὧδέ φησι, καὶ ἐν τῷ Περὶ θείων ὀνομάτων λόγῳ. πλατύτερον διεξήλθομεν ἐν κεφαλαίῳ βʹ. Χρὴ δὲ εἰδέναι, ὡς ἐν τῇ Ἐξόδῳ, ἔνθα γέγραπται, ὅτι εἰσῆλθε Μωϋσῆς εἰς τὸν γνόφον οὗ ἦν ὁ Θεὸς, τὸ μὲν Ἑβραϊκὸν ἔχει ἀραφὲλ· οἱ δὲ Ἑβδομήκοντα, καὶ Ἀκύλας, καὶ Θεοδοτίων τὸ ἀραφὲλ γνόφον ἐξέδωκαν . Σύμμαχος μέντοι ὁμίχλην τὸ ἀραφὲλ ἡρμήνευσεν. Ὁ δὲ Ἑβραῖος λέγει τὸ ἀραφὲλ, ὄνομα εἶναι στερεώματος εἰς ὃ ἔφθασε Μωϋσῆς· ἑπτὰ γὰρ στερεώματά φασιν, ἃ καὶ οὐρανοὸς καλοῦσι, καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα λέγουσιν· ὧν μνημονεῦσαι νῦν οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον. Ἀνέγνων δὲ τοῦτο ἑπτὰ οὐρανοὺς καὶ ἐν τῇ συγγεγραμμένῃ Ἀρίστωνι τῷ Πελλαίῳ διαλέξει Παπίσκου καὶ Ἰάσονος, ἣν Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεὺς ἐν ἕκτῳ βιβλίῳ τῶν Ὑποτυπώσεων τὸν ἅγιον Λουκᾶν φησιν ἀναγράψαι . Ὅμως τὸ περὶ τοῦ γνόφου, εἰς τὴν θείαν ἀγνωσίαν θεωρούμενον, θειότερον πεφιλοσόφηται καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς αὐτοῦ· ἐν τῇ πέμπτῃ δὲ τελείως περὶ τούτου γράφει.

And then he is released even from them. The explanation according to the composition of the text is to be understood thus: that Moses, having contemplated the place where God had stood, and then having been released both from the things seen, that is, all sensible things, and from the things that see, instead of all rational things, I mean both intelligible and intellectual essences, with which also from our souls, then entered into the gloom, that is, into the ignorance concerning God, where, having shut out all cognitive apprehensions, he came to be in the intangible and invisible to the mind, of God Who is beyond all cognitive apprehensions, and having been united through such a manner to ignorance and inactivity, I do not say to the inactivity of his own mind concerning Him, nor to the inactivity of another in neither understanding himself nor anything else, but having been united to the wholly unknown of all knowledge of Him Who is beyond all things, he then by ignorance knew the whole. And note that he understood ignorance as gloom. How God is known through ignorance, he both says here, and in the treatise On Divine Names we have gone through more at length in Chapter 2. And one must know that in Exodus, where it is written that Moses entered into the gloom where God was (Exod. 20:21), the Hebrew has araphel; and the Seventy, and Aquila, and Theodotion rendered araphel as gloom. Symmachus, however, interpreted araphel as mist. And the Hebrew says that araphel is the name of a firmament unto which Moses reached; for they say there are seven firmaments, which they also call heavens, and they tell their names; which it is not necessary to mention now. And I read this, seven heavens, also in the disputation of Papiscus and Jason written by Aristo of Pella, which Clement of Alexandria in the sixth book of the Outlines says Saint Luke recorded. Yet the matter concerning the gloom, contemplated with reference to the divine ignorance, he has philosophized more divinely in his epistles as well; and in the fifth he writes completely concerning this.

Τῆς πάσης γνώσεως ἀνενεργησίᾳ . Σημείωσαι ὅτι τῇ πάσης γνώσεως ἀνενεργησίᾳ τῷ ἀγνώστῳ ἑνούμεθα.

By the inactivity of all knowledge. Note that by the inactivity of all knowledge we are united to the Unknown.

ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛ. Βʹ.

On Chapter II.

Κατὰ τοῦτον ἡμεῖς. Καὶ ἐνταῦθα περὶ θείου γνόφου καὶ τῆς ἀγνωσίαν λέγει . Καὶ σημείωσαι ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ὑπὸ τὸν θεῖον γνόφον γενέσθαι, τὸ δι' ἀβλεψίας καὶ ἀγνωσίας ἰδεῖν καὶ γνῶναι τὸ ὑπὲρ θέαν καὶ γνῶσιν, κατ' αὐτὸ τὸ μὴ ἰδεῖν μηδὲ γνῶναι· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι, φησὶ, τὸ ὄντως ἰδεῖν καὶ γνῶναι· οὐδαμοῦ δὲ οὕτω σωφηνίζει τὴν ἐν ἀγνωσίᾳ γνῶσιν. Ἀνάγνωθι δὲ καὶ τὴν εʹ πρὸς Δωρόθεον ἐπιστολήν.

According to this we. Here too he speaks concerning divine gloom and ignorance. And note that this is what it is to come to be under the divine gloom: through non-seeing and ignorance to see and to know That which is above sight and knowledge, by the very fact of neither seeing nor knowing; for this, he says, is truly to see and to know; and nowhere does he thus make clear the knowledge in ignorance. Read also the fifth epistle to Dorotheus.

Διὰ τῆς πάντων τῶν ὄντων. Τουτέστι διὰ τοῦ μηδὲν τῶν ὄντων προσφυὲς αὐτῷ νοεῖν· τοῦτο γὰρ ἀφαίρεσιν ὠνόμασεν Αὐτοφυὲς δὲ ἄγαλμά φησιν, ὃ γίνεται ἐν ὕλῃ ἀτμήτῳ, οἷον ἐν πέτρᾳ ὁλοκλήρῳ, ἐν

Through that of all the things that are. That is, through understanding none of the things that are as naturally attached to Him; for this he named abstraction. And he calls a self-grown statue that which is made in uncut matter, such as in an entire rock, in

Editors' notes and page, col. 421

Footnotes

[Heading printed above the notes: VARIAE LECTIONES ET CORRECTIONES. > Variant readings and corrections.] (25?) ‹anchor: not visible in the page foot› · call in col 422 (call printed in the Greek, col 421) [γρ]. ἐκάλεσε.

Variant reading: ἐκάλεσε ("he called").

(*) ‹anchor: ἀραφέλ› · call in col 422 (call printed in the Greek, col 421) ערפל Ex xx, 21.

ʿărāpel ("thick darkness"), Exodus 20:21.

(printed under page 225)

(26) ‹anchor: τῶν ὄντων› · call in col 422 (call printed in the Greek, col 421)

γρ. τῶν πάντων.

Variant reading: τῶν πάντων ("of all things").

(printed under page 225)

Footnotes

[Heading printed above the notes: VARIAE LECTIONES ET CORRECTIONES. > Variant readings and corrections.] (printed under page 226)

(27) ‹anchor: not visible in the page foot› · call in col 423 (call printed in the Greek, col 424)

ζωΐδιόν τι.

"some small figure" (a reading for the passage).

(printed under page 226)

(28) ‹anchor: not visible in the page foot› · call in col 423 (call printed in the Greek, col 424)

βαθυχλοχούσης·

A reading, as printed: "βαθυχλοχούσης" (apparently for "deep-green").

(printed under page 226)

(29) ‹anchor: not visible in the page foot› · call in col 423 (call printed in the Greek, col 424)

μελαγκρατής τε ὑάκ.

"and dark-tempered [?] hyac[inth]" (a reading for the passage; the abbreviation ὑάκ. probably stands for ὑάκινθος, not certain).

(printed under page 226)

(30) ‹anchor: Πατέρες τινὲς ὁμοούσιον› · call in col 423 (call printed in the Greek, col 424)

τριακόσιοι δεκαοκτὼ ὁμοούσιον.

"three hundred and eighteen: homoousion" (i.e. the 318 Fathers [of Nicaea], for "certain more recent Fathers").

(printed under page 226)

Page

running head: 423 APPENDIX AD OPERA S. DIONY
marginal letters: A tantum quantum est,; B ἀγλάϊσμα, splendidum; C Τί εἰσι θέσεις et ἀφαιρέσεις; D recentiores quidam Patres
old-edition numerals: 235 before Jaspidis obscure
other: facing Latin version, not set

PG 4:424

ὅσῳ ἕστηκεν, ὅταν γλύψῃ τις ζῶόν τι, ὡς δηλοῖ καὶ Εὐριπίδης ἐν Ἀνδρομέδᾳ·

so far as it stands, when someone carves some living creature, as Euripides also shows in Andromeda:

Παρθένου τ' εἰκόνα τινὰ Ἐξ αὐτομόρφων λαΐνων τειχισμάτων, Σοφῆς ἄγαλμα χειρός

And a certain image of a maiden out of self-formed stone walls, a statue of a wise hand.

Αὐτόμορφον γὰρ ἄγαλμα τῆς πέτρας τὸ αὐτοφυὲς εἶπεν· ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅταν μέρος τι τοῦ δένδρου γλύψῃ ἑστωτος καὶ ἀνθοῦντος, καὶ μέρος κλίνης ποιήσῃ, ὅπερ ὥς φησιν Ὅμηρος ἐν Ὀδυσσείᾳ ἐποίησεν Ὀδυσσεύς· ἢ καὶ ἐν τῷ τοιούτῳ δένδρῳ ἔγλυψε τρόπαιον νίκης. Φησὶ δὲ καὶ τιμίας λίθου ἀγάλματα οἷον ὅταν ἡ σμάραγδος, ἀποκαθαρθεῖσα τοῦ περιέχοντος γεώδους, αὐτὴ ἀναφανῇ ἄγαλμα, τουτέστιν ἀγλάϊσμα · πρὸς ὃ μάλιστα νῦν βλέπων εἶπε τὸ προκείμενον, ὡς Διονύσιος ὁ ποιητὴς ἐν βʹ βιβλίῳ Λιθικῶν·

For he called the self-grown a self-formed statue of the rock; and moreover when one carves some part of a tree standing and blooming, and makes part of a bed, which as Homer says in the Odyssey Odysseus did; or even in such a tree carved a trophy of victory. And he also speaks of statues of a precious stone, such as when the emerald, having been cleansed of the surrounding earthy matter, itself appears as a statue, that is, a splendid ornament; looking towards which especially now he spoke what is set before us, as Dionysius the poet in the 2nd book of the Lithica:

Τῆς βαθυχλοάοντος ἰάσπιδος, ἢ ἀμεθύστου Πορφυρόεντος ἄγαλμα , μελαγκρατέτης ὑάκινθος.

Of deep-green jasper, or of purple amethyst a statue, and black-mingled hyacinth.

Ταῦτα γὰρ πάντα δείκνυσι τὸ πολυμαθὲς τοῦ ἁγίου τούτου ἀνδρός.

For all these things show the great learning of this holy man.

Χρὴ δὲ, ὡς οἶμαι, τὰς ἀφαιρέσεις. Τὸ παρὸν χωρίον ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς αὐτὸς ὁ Πατὴρ σαφηνίζει. Θέσεις μὲν οὖν εἰσιν, ὅσα οἰκείως ἐπὶ Θεοῦ λέγεται, [ὅτι ἐστὶν] οἷον τὸ ὢν, τὸ ζωὴ, τὸ φῶς, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα· ἀφαιρέσεις δὲ, ὅσα ὡς ἀλλότρια Θεοῦ ἀποφάσκεται· οἷον ὅτι οὐ σῶμα ὁ Θεὸς, οὐ ψυχὴ, οὐδέ τι τῶν γνωστῶν, ἢ τῇ νοήσει ὑποπιπτόντων. Ἄλλως· Τί εἰσι θεσεις καὶ αἱ ἀφαιρέσεις, ἐν τῷ Περὶ θείων ὀνομάτων λόγῳ διαφόρως ἔγνωμεν.

And one must, as I think, the abstractions. The Father himself makes clear the present passage in what follows. Positions, then, are all the things that are fittingly spoken in the case of God, [that He is] such as He Who is, life, light, and the rest; whereas abstractions are all the things that are denied as foreign to God; such as that God is not a body, not a soul, nor any of the things known or falling under conception. Otherwise: What positions and abstractions are, we have variously learned in the treatise On Divine Names.

Ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσιν. Αἱ τῶν ὄντων γνώσεις, φησὶ, τὸ περὶ Θεοῦ ἄγνωστον οὐκ ἐκκαλύπτουσι, καὶ εἰς φανέρωσιν ἄγουσιν· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον συγκαλύπτουσι καὶ ἀποκρύπτουσι Τὸ δὲ ἐν τοῖς οὖσι φῶς ὑποληπτέον τὸ γνῶναι τὰ ὄντα ᾗ ὄντα ἐστὶ, καθὼς καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς εὑρίσκομεν.

In all the things that are. The knowledges of the things that are, he says, do not uncover the unknowable concerning God and bring it into manifestation; but rather cover it over and hide it. And the light in the things that are must be understood as knowing the things that are in so far as they are things that are, as we also find in what follows.

ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛ. Γʹ.

On Chapter III.

Πῶς ἡ θεία καὶ ἀγαθὴ φύσις. Τί περιέχει ὁ λόγος τῶν Θεολογικῶν ὑποτυπώσεων. Ἰδοὺ θεολογίας ὑποθῆκαι καὶ ἀφορμαὶ, πάσης ἐχόμεναι θείας καὶ πεφωτισμένης γνώσεως καὶ ὀρθοδοξίας· τὸ εἰδέναι, πῶς ἑνικὴ ἡ θεία φύσις, οἱ νεώτεροι Πατέρες τινὲς ὁμοούσιον προσεῖπον · πῶς τριαδικὴ, ὃ φαμεν τρισυπόστατον, καὶ τὸ εἰδέναι τῶν προσώπων τὰς ἰδιότητας, καὶ τί δηλοῦσιν · οἷον πατρότητα, καὶ υἱότητα· καὶ τίς ἡ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος ἁγιαστικὴ δύναμις καὶ θεολογία · καὶ πῶς εἴρηται τὸ, ἐξηρεύξατο ἡ καρδία μου λόγον ἀγαθόν · καὶ πῶς περὶ τοῦ προσκυνητοῦ Ηνεύματος εἴρηται, ὅπερ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορεύεται· καὶ πῶς ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ ἐν αὑτοῖς, καὶ ἐν ἀλλήλοις, ὁ Υἱὸς, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα συναϊδίως καὶ ἀσχίστως καὶ ἀδιαιρέτως ἐν μονῇ εἰσιν ἀνεκφοιτήτῳ. Δεῖ δὲ εἰδέναι,

How the divine and good nature. What the treatise of the Theological Outlines contains. Behold the principles and starting-points of theology, cleaving to all divine and enlightened knowledge and orthodoxy: to know how the divine nature is single, which some more recent Fathers have called consubstantial; how triadic, which we call tri-hypostatic, and to know the properties of the persons, and what they signify; such as fatherhood, and sonship; and what is the sanctifying power and theology of the divine Spirit; and how that has been said, My heart has poured forth a good word (Ps. 44:2); and how concerning the adorable Spirit it has been said, Who proceeds from the Father (John 15:26); and how in the Father, and in Themselves, and in one another, the Son and the Spirit are co-eternally and inseparably and indivisibly in an abiding without going forth. And one must know,

Editors' notes and page, col. 424

Page

running head: PERA S. DIONYSII AREOPAGITÆ. 424
marginal letters: A ὅσῳ ἕστηκεν, ὅταν; B ἀγλάϊσμα · πρὸς ὃ; C Τί εἰσι θεσεις; D τέρες τινὲς ὁμοούσιον
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: ink blots at right edge of lines in 424_1 and 424_2 supplied in angle brackets

PG 4:425

ὅτι μονὴ καὶ στάσις ταυτόν εἰσι · κίνησις δὲ ἕτερόν ἐστι τῆς μονῆς. Φησὶν οὖν ὅτι, καὶ ἐν μονῇ ἀκινήτῳ ἀεὶ οὖσα ἡ θεία φύσις, δοκεῖ κινεῖσθαι ἐν τῇ ἐν ἀλλήλοις χωρήσει.

that abiding and standing are the same; whereas motion is other than abiding. He says, then, that even while always being in an unmoved abiding, the divine nature seems to be moved in the mutual indwelling in one another.

Καὶ τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐν αὑτοῖς. Οὗτος ὁ νοῦς τῶν εἰρημένων · συναΐδιος, φησὶν ἡ ὕπαρξις τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος, καὶ οὐχ ἑτέρως μὲν ὑπῆρξεν, ἑτέρως δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα κατέστη · ἢ χωρισμόν τινα ἢ μεταβολὴν ἔσχηκεν, ἀλλ' ἅμα καὶ κατὰ ταυτὸν τό τε ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς εἶναι τὸν Υἱὸν καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, καὶ οὐ μετ' αὐτόν.

Both of that in Himself and in Themselves. This is the meaning of the things said: co-eternal, he says, is the existence of the Holy Trinity, and it did not exist in one way and afterwards come to be established in another way, or have some separation or change, but at once and in the same way both the Son and the Holy Spirit are from the Father, and not after Him.

Πῶς ὁ ὑπερούσιος Ἰησοῦς. Σημείωσαι κατὰ Νεστοριανῶν καὶ Ἀκεφάλων.

How the super-essential Jesus. Note against the Nestorians and the Acephali.

Πῶς ἀγαθός. Τί περιέχει ὁ Περὶ θείων ὀνομάτων λόγος.

How good. What the treatise On Divine Names contains.

Καὶ γὰρ ἐχρῆν. Διὰ τί αἱ θεολογικαὶ Ὑποτυπώσεις καὶ ὁ Περὶ θείων ὀνομάτων λόγος ὀλιγόστιχοί εἰσι μᾶλλον ἢ ἡ Συμβολικὴ θεολογία.

For indeed it was necessary. Why the Theological Outlines and the treatise On Divine Names are of fewer lines rather than the Symbolic Theology.

Τῆς συμβολικῆς. Τῶν πρώτων τὰ τῆς Συμβολικῆς θεολογίας φησί.

Of the symbolic. He says the things of the Symbolic Theology belong to the first things.

Ταῖς συνόψεσι τῶν νοητῶν. Συνόψεις τῶν νοητῶν τὰς τῇ ἀΰλῳ αὐτῶν ἁπλότητι πρεπούσας θεωρίας ἐκάλεσε. Τὸ δὲ περιστέλλονται ἀντὶ τοῦ συστέλλονται τέθεικεν.

By the synopses of the intelligible things. He called synopses of the intelligible things the contemplations befitting their immaterial simplicity. And he has put are wrapped up instead of are contracted.

Ἀλλ' ἀλογίαν παντελῆ. Ἀλογίαν φησὶ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι λόγῳ παραστῆσαι τὰ ὑπὲρ λόγον · καὶ ἀνοησίαν οὖν τὸ ἀνεννόητον, καὶ ὃ μὴ δύναταί τις νοῆσαι, ὡς ὑπὲρ νοῦν.

But utter speechlessness. By speechlessness he means not being able by speech to present the things above speech; and by non-understanding, therefore, the inconceivable, and that which one cannot understand, as being above mind.

Κἀκεῖ μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄνω. Ἐπειδὴ τὰ νοητὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ νοῦν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἑνάδες εἰσὶ, καὶ ἓν ὁ Θεὸς, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ὑπὲρ τὸ ἕν · εἰκότως συνέσταλται, ἅτε καὶ ἀμερὲς καὶ ἀπλήθυντον. Τὰ δὲ μετὰ Θεὸν, ὅσῳ μᾶλλον κάτεισιν ἐπὶ τὰ αἰσθητὰ, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον ὁμιλοῦνται τοῖς μεριστοῖς καὶ σκεδαστοῖς, καὶ πεπληθυσμένοις συμπληθύεται αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὸν μερισμὸν καὶ τὸ πολυσχιδὲς τῶν αἰσθητῶν. Πρὸς τὰ ἔσχατα δὲ, τουτέστιν ἀπὸ τῆς θεολογικῆς ὑποτυπώσεως.

And there indeed from above. Since the intelligible and super-mental things of God are henads, and God is one, or rather even above the One; reasonably it is contracted, inasmuch as it is both partless and unmultiplied. Whereas the things after God, the more they descend to the sensible things, the more they associate with divisible and dispersible things, and with multiplied things it is multiplied together with them towards the division and the many-branched character of the sensible things. And towards the last things, that is, from the Theological Outlines.

Ἀπὸ τοῦ πρωτίστου. Πρωτίστου φησὶ τοῦ μᾶλλον οἰκειοτέρου καὶ τῇ ἐννοίᾳ προεισβάλλοντος, οἷον ὅτι ὢν ὁ Θεὸς, ὅπερ ἑαυτὸν ὠνόμασεν.

From the very first. By very first he means that which is more akin and enters first into conception, such as that God is He Who is, which He named Himself.

Ὅτι τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν. Πῶς δεῖ κεχρῆσθαι ταῖς θέσεσι καὶ ταῖς ἀφαιρέσεσιν ἐπὶ Θεοῦ · καὶ ὅτι τὰς μὲν θέσεις ἀπὸ τοῦ πρωτίστου καὶ μᾶλλον συγγενοῦς τῷ Θεῷ ποιούμεθα · τὰς δὲ ἀφαιρέσεις ἀπὸ τῶν ἐσχάτων καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτοῦ διεστηκότων.

Because That which is above all. How one must use positions and abstractions in the case of God; and that we make positions from the very first and what is more akin to God, whereas abstractions from the last things and those standing further apart from Him.

Τὴν ὑποθετικὴν κατάφασιν. Κατάφασίς ἐστι λόγος ἀποφαντικὸς ἢ τοῦ καθόλου, ἢ τοῦ μαχομένου, ἢ συμπλεκομένου τινὸς, ἢ συγκρινομένου· οἷον, ὁ Θεὸς ζωή ἐστιν, ὁ Θεὸς ἀγαθότης ἐστίν. Ὑποθετικὴ δέ ἐστι λόγος ἀποφαντικὸς ἢ τοῦ καθόλου, ἢ μαχομένου τινὸς, ἢ συμπλεκομένου δηλωτικός. Ἡ οὖν

The hypothetical affirmation. An affirmation is a declarative statement either of the universal, or of the conflicting, or of something conjoined, or compared; such as, God is life, God is goodness. And a hypothetical one is a declarative statement indicative either of the universal, or of something conflicting, or conjoined. Therefore the

Editors' notes and page, col. 425

Footnotes

[Heading printed above the note: VARIAE LECTIONES ET CORRECTIONES. > Variant readings and corrections.] (31-32) ‹anchor: not visible in the page foot› · call in col 426 (calls printed in the Greek, col 425) τί περιέχει ὁ τῆς Συμβολικῆς θεολογίας λόγος.

"What the treatise of the Symbolic Theology contains."

[Signature line at the page foot, not a note: PATROL. GR. IV. — 14] (printed under page 227)

Footnotes

(none for this column) — Q1: the foot images p228_footL/R are blank renders, but the column image c427_1 shows the page foot: heading VARIÆ LECTIONES ET COR[RECTIONES] and notes 33 ταῦτα δέ. 34 δυνάμεις. 35 ἐπὶ τῆς. 36 ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου. 3[7 …] (cut at the right). Their calls stand in the Greek of col 428 (call 34 visible after …σεις); they belong to n428, not here. Pointer only. (printed under page 228)

Page

running head: (none)
marginal letters: D ditorem suum confirmat,
old-edition numerals: 238 before quia omnem mentem
other: facing Latin version, not set; top of column cropped/blank above tractio.

PG 4:428

Ἢ ἀὴρ καὶ λίθος. Ἀὴρ μὲν, κατὰ τὸ ἐν Βασιλείαις εἰρημένον, ἐν αὔρᾳ λεπτῆ · λίθον δὲ ὁ προφήτης εἶδε. Τούτων οὖν οἰκειότερον μᾶλλον θέσεις καὶ δηλώσεις ἐπὶ Θεοῦ ἡ ζωὴ καὶ ἡ ἀγαθότης. Ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἀφαιρέσεως ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐναντίου, οἷον τὸ κραιπαλᾷν καὶ μηνιᾷν, πόῤῥω Θεοῦ καὶ ἀλλότρια · τὸ δὲ μήτε λέγεσθαι μᾶλλον πρέπον Θεῷ καὶ ἐγγυτέρω, διὰ τὸ ὑπὲρ πάντα νοῦν τε καὶ λόγον.

Or air and stone. Air indeed, according to what is said in Kings, in a gentle breeze (1 Kgs 19:12); and the prophet saw a stone (Zech. 3:9). More fitting than these, therefore, as positions and declarations in the case of God are life and goodness. Just as, therefore, also from abstraction in the case of the opposite, such as to be drunken and to be wroth, they are far from God and foreign; whereas not even to be spoken of is more befitting God and nearer, on account of being above every mind and word.

ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛ. Δʹ.

On Chapter IV.

Οὐδὲ ἐν τόπῳ ἐστίν. Ἀναγκαίως ὁ Πατὴρ διὰ τούτων προσησφαλίσατο τὸν ἀκροατὴν, ὥστε μὴ ταῖς ἑξῆς ἀποφάσεσιν οἴεσθαι ὅλως μὴ εἶναι τὸ θεῖον · ἀλλ' ἐν τούτοις μὲν τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸ ὑπέθετο, ἐν ἐκείνοις δὲ τὸ καὶ μηδὲν τῶν ὄντων εἶναι, ἀλλ' ὑπερούσιον.

Nor is it in a place. Necessarily has the Father through these things secured the hearer beforehand, so as not by the following negations to suppose that the divine does not exist at all; but in these indeed he laid down that it exists, while in those that it is not even any of the things that are, but super-essential.

ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΚΕΦΑΛ. Εʹ.

On Chapter V.

Ὡς οὔτε ψυχή ἐστιν, οὔτε νοῦς. Διαφέρει ταῦτα ἀλλήλων, ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἀνωτέρω δεδήλωται, φαντασία, δόξα, λόγος, νόησις, ἃ κατὰ τὸν νοῦν θεωρεῖται.

As being neither soul nor mind. These differ from one another, as has been shown above: imagination, opinion, reason, conception, which are contemplated in relation to the mind.

Editors' notes and page, col. 428

Footnotes

Variae lectiones et correctiones (calls 34–38 in this column; the page-foot crops are blank, the notes read from the foot line visible in the column image; 34, 35 and the start of 36 are cut at the image edge). - 36 ⟨…⟩ τοῦ ἐναντίου. — ⟨…⟩ of the opposite. - 37 μήτε νοεῖσθαι. — nor to be understood. - 38 περί. — about.

Page

running head: (none)
marginal letters: D τούτων προσησφαλίσατο τὸν
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: top of column lost/blank above Ἢ ἀὴρ καὶ; damaged words in first four lines (scan damage) set from the other copy (PG004.pdf) on repair, no brackets left; footnote calls 34 (δηλώσεις), 35 (τῆς), 36 (ἐναντίου), 37 (λέγεσθαι), 38 (κατὰ) printed in the Greek

PG 4:429

Προσεπινοητέον δὲ τὸ κατὰ τὸν ἡμέτερον λόγον μὴ ἔχειν λόγον· ὁμοίως καὶ νόησιν κατὰ τὴν ἐν τοῖς νοεροῖς κτίσμασι· καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς δὲ οὕτως ἐκδέχεσθαι χρή. Ἄλλως· Καὶ ἐπὶ τούτων ὁμοίως τὸ ὡς ἡμᾶς εἰδέναι θετέον· τῶν μετ' αὐτὴν δὲ, δηλαδὴ τὴν θείαν φύσιν, τουτέστι τῶν κτισμάτων τὰς θέσειν ποιεῖσθαι φησὶν ἐν τῷ λέγειν ζωὴν ἢ φῶς κατὰ τὰ ἐν τοῖς γεννητοῖς θεωρούμενα, ἐξ ὧν τὸν ταῦτα ὑποστήσαντα ἐννοοῦμεν καὶ οὐ τῆς αὐτοῦ φύσεως διὰ τούτων θέσιν τινὰ εἰσάγομεν· καὶ πάλιν ἀφαίρεσιν ποιοῦμεν τῷ κατὰ μηδὲν τούτων εἶναι λέγειν τὸ θεῖον.

And one must understand in addition that it does not have reason according to our reason; similarly also conception according to that in intellectual creatures; and the things that follow one must also take thus. Otherwise: In the case of these too one must similarly put as far as we know; and of the things after it, namely the divine nature, that is, of the creatures, he says that the positions are made in saying life or light according to the things contemplated in generated things, from which we conceive Him Who gave substance to these things, and we do not through these introduce any position of His nature; and again we make an abstraction by saying that the divine is according to none of these things.

Οὐδὲ ἕν, οὐδὲ ἑνότης. Διαφέρουσιν ἀλλήλων ἓν καὶ ἑνότης· τὸ μὲν γὰρ δηλοῖ τὸ ὑποκείμενον, τὸ δὲ τὴν τοιαύτην ποιότητα, ὥσπερ λευκὸν καὶ λευκότης, ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἀγαθότης. Σημείωσαι δὲ ὅτι οὔτε ἡ θεότης οὐσία ἐστὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ἕν τι τῶν εἰρημένων, οὐδὲ τῶν ἐναντίων αὐτοῖς· διὸ οὐδὲν αὐτῶν ἐστιν. Οὐ γάρ ἐστι ταῦτα οὐσία αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ δόξα περὶ αὐτόν· Οὕτω καὶ Σέξτος ὁ ἐκκλησιαστικὸς φιλόσοφος εἶπε, καὶ ὁ θεολόγος Γρηγόριος ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ τῶν Θεολογικῶν αὐτοῦ, ὡς οὔτε [ἡ] θεότης, οὔτε τὸ ἀγέννητον, οὔτε ἡ πατρότης οὐσίαν σημαίνουσι Θεοῦ.

Neither one, nor oneness. One and oneness differ from one another; for the former signifies the subject, and the latter such a quality, just as white and whiteness, good and goodness. And note that neither is deity the essence of God, just as not even any one of the things said, nor of the opposites to them; wherefore He is none of them. For these are not His essence, but glory around Him. Thus both Sextus the ecclesiastical philosopher said, and Gregory the Theologian in the third of his Theological Orations, that neither deity, nor the unbegotten, nor fatherhood signifies the essence of God.

Οὐδὲ θεότης, ἢ ἀγαθότης. Σημείωσαι δὲ καὶ ὅτι οὐδὲ Πνεῦμά ἐστιν, ὡς ἡμᾶς εἰδέναι, οὔτε υἱότης, οὔτε πατρότης. Καὶ τὸ ὡς ἡμᾶς εἰδέναι ἐπὶ πάσης τῆς ἐν τοῖς προκειμένοις ἀποφάσεως λαβέ· δηλοῖ δὲ τὸ κατὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν εἴδησιν.

Neither deity, nor goodness. And note also that neither is He Spirit, as far as we know, nor sonship, nor fatherhood. And take the phrase as far as we know in the case of every negation in the things set before us; and it signifies according to our knowledge.

Οὐδὲ τὰ ὄντα γινώσκει . Μή σε ταρασσέτω τὸ κεφάλαιον τοῦτο καὶ νομίσῃς βλασφημεῖν τὸν θεῖον τοῦτον ἄνδρα · σκοπὸς γὰρ αὐτῷ δεῖξαι τὸν Θεὸν μηδὲν τῶν ὄντων ὄντα, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τὰ ὄντα· εἰ γὰρ τὰ πάντα αὐτὸς δημιουργήσας παρήγαγε, πῶς ἔχει εὑρεθῆναι ἕν τι τῶν ὄντων ; εἶπε γὰρ, ὅτι οὐδὲ τὰ ὄντα γινώσκει τὸν πάντων αἴτιον Θεόν· τοῦτο δὲ ἀπώλεια σαφὴς, τὸ μὴ γινώσκειν Θεόν· ἀλλὰ ταχέως αὐτὸ ἐσαφήνισεν, εἰπὼν ᾗ αὐτός ἐστι, τουτέστιν, οὐδὲν τῶν ὄντων γινώσκει Θεὸν, καθ' ὃ αὐτός ἐστιν, ἀντὶ τοῦ τὴν ἀνεννόητον καὶ ὑπερούσιον οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ, ἢ ὕπαρξιν καθ' ἣν ὑπάρχει · εἴρηται γάρ· Οὐδεὶς γινώσκει τὸν Υἱὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ Πατὴρ, οὐδὲ τὸν Πατέρα τις ἐπιγινώσκει, εἰ μὴ ὁ Υἱός. Καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου ἐπάγει ὁ μέγας Διονύσιος, καί φησιν, [καὶ ὅτι οὐδεὶς γινώσκει τὸν Θεὸν ᾗ ἐστὶν,] οὐδὲ αὐτὸς ὁ Θεὸς γινώσκει τὰ ὄντα ᾗ ὄντα ἐστὶ, τουτέστιν οὐκ οἶδεν ἐπιβάλλειν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς αἰσθητῶς, ἢ ταῖς οὐσίαις ὡς οὐσίαις. ἀνοίκειον γὰρ τοῦτο Θεῷ· οἱ γὰρ ἄνθρωποι τὰ αισθητὰ ἢ διὰ θέας, ἢ γεύσεως, ἢ ἁφῆς νοοῦμεν τί εἰσί· τὰ δὲ νοησὰ ἀπὸ μαθήσεως, ἢ διδασκαλίας, ἢ ἐλλάμψεως καταλαμβάνομεν. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς οὐδὲ ἐξ ἑνὸς τρόπου τοιούτου οἶδε τὰ ὄντα ἀλλὰ γνῶσιν ἔχει τὴν αὐτῷ πρέπουσαν· τοῦτο γὰρ αἰνίττεται τὸ ῥητὸν τὸ λέγον, Ὁ εἰδὼς τὰ πάντα πρὶν γενέσεως αὐτῶν, ὅπερ δηλοῖ ὅτι οὐ κατὰ τὸν λόγον τῆς γενέσεως τῶν

Nor does He know the things that are. Let not this chapter trouble you and do not think that this divine man blasphemes; for his aim is to show that God is none of the things that are, but above the things that are; for if He Himself having fashioned all things brought them forth, how can He be found to be any one of the things that are? For he said that neither do the things that are know God the cause of all; and this is clear perdition, not to know God; but he quickly made it clear, saying in so far as He is, that is, none of the things that are knows God according as He is, instead of His inconceivable and super-essential essence, or existence according to which He exists; for it has been said: No one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son (Matt. 11:27). And from the opposite the great Dionysius adds, and says, [and that no one knows God in so far as He is,] nor does God Himself know the things that are in so far as they are things that are, that is, He does not know how to apply Himself to sensible things sensibly, or to essences as essences. For this is unbefitting God; for we men understand what sensible things are either through sight, or taste, or touch; and intelligible things we comprehend from learning, or teaching, or illumination. Whereas God knows the things that are from not even one such manner, but has the knowledge befitting Himself; for the text hints at this which says, Who knows all things before their coming into being (Dan. 13:42), which shows that not according to the principle of the coming into being of the

Editors' notes and page, col. 429

Footnotes

(i-k) ‹anchor: nisi Filius› · call in col 430 Matth. XI, 27.

Matthew 11:27.

[Heading printed above the next note: VARIAE LECTIONES ET CORRECTIONES. > Variant readings and corrections.] (printed under page 229)

(39) ‹anchor: ἐλλάμψεως καταλαμβάνομεν› · call in col 430 (call printed in the Greek, col 429)

καταλαμβάνονται.

Variant reading: καταλαμβάνονται ("they are apprehended").

(printed under page 229)

Footnotes

(l) ‹anchor: not visible in the page foot› · call in col 431

Dan. XIII, 42.

Daniel 13:42.

[Heading printed above the next notes: VARIAE LECTIONES ET CORRECTIONES. > Variant readings and corrections.] (printed under page 230)

(40) ‹anchor: not visible in the page foot› · call in col 431 (call printed in the Greek, col 432)

ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς.

Variant reading: ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς ("from the very …").

(printed under page 230)

(41) ‹anchor: ὡς ἐν οὐσίαις› · call in col 431 (call printed in the Greek, col 432)

ὡς αἱ οὐσίαι.

Variant reading: ὡς αἱ οὐσίαι ("as the essences").

(printed under page 230)

Ancient version (Latin)

contrario, ex errore qui erat virtute veritas mutatus est in veritatem actualem. Haec enim omnia sunt ipso posteriora, cum ab ipso providendi facultate processerint : nihil igitur est eorum quae ab ipso.

Page

running head: APPENDIX AD OPERA S. DIONYS
marginal letters: A ent (l), quod declarat; B dixerit Deum ignorare; C illum tuetur dicere,
old-edition numerals: 240 after non enim sumus ex
other: facing Latin version, not set; last three lines run across full page width into col 432

PG 4:432

ὄντων οἶδεν αὐτὰ ὁ Θεὸς [ὅπερ ἐστὶν αἰσθητῶς, ἀλλὰ] καθ' ἕτερον γνώσεως τρόπον. Οἱ ἄγγελοι δὲ γνωστικῶς αὐτὰ καὶ ἀΰλως γινώσκουσιν , οὐχ ὡς ἡμεῖς αἰσθητῶς . Οὕτως οὖν καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἀσυγκρίτως καὶ ὑπεραναβεβηκότως, οὐ μὴν ταῖς οὐσίαις ἐπιβάλλων οἶδε τὰ ὄντα. Ἄλλως· Τὰ ὄντα, ἤγουν τὰ κτίσματα ὑπὲρ τὴν ἑαυτῶν φύσιν ἐκταθῆναι ταῖς νοήσεσιν οὐ δύναται· εἰκότως οὖν εἰς ἑαυτὰ βλέποντα ἀγνοεῖ τὴν θείαν φύσιν, καθ' ὃ αὐτή ἐστιν. Οὕτως οὖν καὶ ἡ θεία φύσις, [εἰς] ἑαυτὴν βλέπουσα, οὐκ οἶδεν ἐν ἑαυτῇ εἶναι τὰ ὄντα κατὰ τὸν τῆς οὐσίας [αὐτῶν] λόγον· τοῦτο γὰρ ἐδήλωσεν εἰπὼν, ᾗ ὄντα ἐστὶν, ἐπειδὴ ὑπὲρ πάντα τὰ ὄντα καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ εἶναι κέκτηται ὑπερουσίως· ἑτέρως γὰρ οὐκ ἄν τις εἴποι ἀγνοεῖν τὸν Θεὸν τὰ ἑαυτοῦ κτίσματα. Εἰς τὸ αὐτό. Ὅτι οὐδεὶς γινώσκει τὴν ἄχραντον Τριάδα, καθ' ὃ αὐτή ἐστιν, ἀντὶ τοῦ, οὐδέν ἐστιν ὡς αὐτὴ, ἵνα καὶ γινώσκῃ αὐτὴν ὡς αὐτή ἐστιν· ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ γινώσκομεν τί ἐστιν ἀνθρωπότης, ἐπειδὴ ἄνθρωποί ἐσμεν· τὴν δὲ ὕπαρξιν τῆς ἀχράντου Τριάδος οὐκ ἴσμεν τί ἐστιν· οὐ γὰρ ἐσμεν ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῆς· οὕτως οὐδὲ ὁ Θεὸς εἶδε τὰ ὄντα ᾗ ἐστὶ, καθὼς ἡμεῖς οὐ γάρ ἐστί τι τῶν ὄντων ἢ κατ' αὐτά· κἂν γὰρ αὐτὸς πνεῦμα ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ τὸ ἅγιον μέντοι Πνεῦμα οὕτως ὠνόμασται, ἀλλ' [οὐκ] ἐστι πνεῦμα γνώριμον ἡμῖν, ἢ ἀγγέλοις. Τί δὲ ἀνωτέρω εἰπὼν, οὐκ ἔστι φῶς, οὐδε ἀλήθεια, ὑποκαταβὰς πάλιν λέγει, οὐκ ἔστι σκότος, οὐδὲ φῶς, οὐδὲ πλάνη, οὐδὲ ἀλήθεια ; Δυνατὸν οὖν ἐπιχειροῦντα εἰπεῖν, ὅτι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον περὶ τοῦ ἀπολύτως φωτὸς λέγει, οὐδὲ πλάνη ὡς ἐν οὐσίαις τῶν ἀγγέλων, καὶ ἀλήθειαν τὴν αὐτοαπολελυμένως καὶ ἀναιτίως ἀλήθειαν· τὰ δὲ ἐφεξῆς, ὅτι οὔτε τῶν πρός τι, οἷον ἐκ σκότους μεταβάλλων φῶς, ὡσανεὶ ἐκ τοῦ δυνάμει, φωτὸς εἰς τὸ ἐνεργείᾳ φῶς μεταβάλλων ἐκ τῶν σχετικῶν εἰς ἄλληλα φῶς καὶ σκότος· οὔτε γὰρ γνόφος ἐστὶν, οὔτε πολὺ φῶς, οὕτως οὔτε ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου, ἐκ τοῦ λατὰ δύναμιν πλάνην εἶναι εἰς ἀλήθειαν ἐνεργείᾳ μετέβαλε· πάντα γὰρ ταῦτα, δεύτερα αὐτοῦ, ἐξ αὐτοῦ προνοητικῶς ἐκφοιτήσαντα. Οὐδὲν οὖν ἐστι τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ.

things that are does God know them [which is sensibly, but] according to another manner of knowledge. And the angels know them cognitively and immaterially, not as we do sensibly. Thus, therefore, God also incomparably and transcendently, and not by applying Himself to their essences, knows the things that are. Otherwise: The things that are, that is, the creatures, cannot be stretched out in their conceptions above their own nature; reasonably, therefore, looking unto themselves they are ignorant of the divine nature, according as it is. Thus, therefore, the divine nature also, looking [unto] itself, does not know the things that are to be in itself according to the principle of [their] essence; for he showed this by saying, in so far as they are things that are, since it possesses super-essentially even being itself above all the things that are; for otherwise no one would say that God is ignorant of His own creatures. To the same effect: That no one knows the immaculate Trinity, according as it is, instead of, nothing is as it is, so that it might also know it as it is; for we indeed know what humanity is, since we are men; whereas what the existence of the immaculate Trinity is we do not know; for we are not of its essence; thus neither did God know the things that are in so far as they are, as we do, for He is not any of the things that are or according to them; for even if God Himself is spirit, and the Holy Spirit indeed has been so named, yet He is [not] a spirit familiar to us, or to angels. And why, having said above, He is not light, nor truth, descending a little does he again say, He is not darkness, nor light, nor error, nor truth? One attempting an explanation, then, can say that first indeed he speaks concerning light absolutely, nor error as in the essences of the angels, and truth the self-absolutely and causelessly truth; and the things next in order, that He is neither of the things relative to something, such as changing from darkness into light, as if changing from potential light into actual light out of the things relative to one another, light and darkness; for He is neither gloom, nor much light; thus neither from the opposite did He change from being potentially error into truth in actuality; for all these things are secondary to Him, having gone forth providentially from Him. He is therefore none of the things that are from Him.

Editors' notes and page, col. 432

Footnotes

[Heading printed above the note: VARIÆ LECTIONES ET CORRECTIONES. > Variant readings and corrections.] (printed under page 230)

(40) ‹anchor: ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῆς› · call in col 432 (call printed in the Greek only)

ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς.

Variant: "from that very" (ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς [οὐσίας], "of its very [essence]").

(printed under page 230)

(41) ‹anchor: ὡς ἐν οὐσίαις› · call in col 432 (call printed in the Greek only)

ὡς αἱ οὐσίαι.

Variant: "as the essences".

(printed under page 230) (l) Dan. XIII, 42 stands at the foot of the facing Latin (col 431); not this column. (Q1)