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scarcely able with the highest flower of the mind to comprehend ineffably the unknowing of God, that He ever is, through sincere piety? ,

To conceive something about the super-essential: God is super-essential, as being contemplated above all essence, whether intelligible or intellectual, and much more sensible.

Of super-essentiality: If "essence" is derived from "to be," and "to be" implies a notion of some production, then "essence" cannot properly be said of God. For God is beyond all essence. Being none of the things that are, but above the things that are and from whom the things that are come; for the divinity of the one God, hidden from all, is a God-ruling power, ruling over those called gods, whether angels or holy men, just as she who is in reality from herself and causelessly self-divinity is also creator of the gods who come to be by participation.

To her the super-essential? For to the divinity alone herself are the things concerning herself, as her nature holds, knowable.

A ray of the oracles: He rightly said "ray" and not "sun"; for just as we are not able to gaze upon the sun, but perhaps upon the rays around it, so we cannot contain the thought of God himself.

By the sobriety concerning divine things: For one must not dare theology, but with sober reasoning one must pursue the holiness of reverence for the Divine, uttering and bringing to interpretation only those things concerning God that have been delivered by oracle in Scripture, as he said a little before.

By a most true theology: See how he calls the writing of the divine Paul a true theology, for he is the one who says that 14S_018 according to the measure of each one's capacity the illumination from God is clearly supplied; just as the Lord also makes clear, saying to the more perfect disciples: "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom," since they also attend more intelligently to the divine decrees. And the great Dionysius says this not only concerning men, but also concerning the angels, whom he is accustomed to name "minds" according to some of the pagan philosophers, who are called minds of the higher orders, as being wholly mind in their essence, and knowing all things, the things flowing from God unitively and immediately into them; whence also in the most holy Cherubim they are said to be wholly covered with eyes.

The divine things are revealed: Note that the angels also, according to their own proportion, are deemed worthy of the knowledge of God.

In saving justice: For this reason, he says, God reveals to each according to his capacity, not that He grudges the greater part, but in order to preserve the justice in the measuring of the knowledge of God; for it is the property of justice to measure out to each according to worth. Therefore the knowledge of God is indeed without measure, but we require measures; for if it were revealed to us without measure, we would not be saved, just as the bodily eye cannot receive the whole sun.

The immeasurability in a God-befitting way: By immeasurability he now means the Divine itself and its illumination, as far as possible.

For just as they are incomprehensible: The incomprehensibility of the knowledge of God is demonstrated from this: for if not even simple and formless things, even if they are certain substances, fall under the senses, 14S_020 like angels and souls to bodily things, how much more does God surpass, He who is neither essence, but beyond essence, nor simple, but beyond simplicity, nor mind, but even beyond mind, nor a monad, but even beyond a monad, and neither circumscribed by any limit, but released to the indefiniteness of beings? Hearing then in Scripture of a form of God? and 'shape,' and 'face,' understand it anagogically and beyond bodies, in a manner worthy of God; and hearing 'unity,' not a concourse of different things towards union

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μή μόλις τῷ ἀκροτάτῳ ἄνθει τοῦ νοῦ τήν περί Θεοῦ ἀγνωσίαν, ὅτι ποτέ ἐστι διά τῆς εἰλικρινοῦς εὑσεβείας, ἀλαλήτως συννοεῖν δυνάμενος; ,

Ἐννοῆσαί τι περί τῆς ὑπερουσίου: Ὑπερούσιος ὁ Θεός, ὡς ὑπέρ πᾶσαν οὐσίαν θεωρούμενος, εἴτε νοητήν, εἴτε νοεράν, πολλῷ δέ μᾶλλον αἰσθητήν.

Ὑπερουσιότητος: Εἰ οὐσία λέγεται παρά τό εἶναι, τό δέ εἶναι παραγωγῆς τινος ἔννοιαν ὑπογράφει, οὐκ ἄν λέγοιτο κυρίως οὐσία ἐπί Θεοῦ. Πάσης γάρ οὐσίας ὑπέρκειται ὁ Θεός. Οὐδέν τι τῶν ὄντων ὤν, ἀλλ' ὑπέρ τά ὄντα καί ἐξ οὗ τά ὄντα· ἡ γάρ τοῦ μόνου Θεοῦ πᾶσιν ἀπόκρυφος θεότης θεαρχική δύναμίς ἐστιν, ἄρχουσα τῶν λεγομένων θεῶν, εἴτε ἀγγέλων, εἴτε ἁγίων ἀνθρώπων, καθά καί δημιουργός ἐστι τῶν ἐκ μεθέξεων γινομένων θεῶν ἡ τῷ ὄντι ἐξ ἑαυτῆς καί ἀναιτίως αὐτοθεότης οὖσα.

Αὐτῇ τήν ὑπερούσιον; Μόνῃ γάρ αὐτῇ τῇ θεότητι τά καθ' ἑαυτήν, ὡς ἔχει φύσεως, ἐπιστητά.

Λογίων ἀκτίς: Καλῶς εἶπεν ἀκτίς καί οὐχ ἥλιος· ὥσπερ γάρ τῷ ἡλίῳ ἐνατενίσαι οὐ δυνάμεθα, ἀλλ' ἴσως ταῖς περί αὐτόν ἀκτῖσιν, οὕτω Θεόν αὐτόν νοῆσαι οὐ χωροῦμεν.

Τῇ περί τά θεῖα σωφροσύνῃ: Οὐ γάρ κατατολμητέον θεολογίας, ἀλλά σωφρονοῦντι λογισμῷ μετιτέον τήν περί τό Θεῖον σέβας ὁσιότητα, μόνα φθεγγομένους καί πρός ἑρμηνείαν ἄγοντας ἐκεῖνα τά περί τοῦ Θεοῦ κατά τήν Γραφήν χρησμῳδηθέντα, ὡς πρό μικροῦ εἶπεν.

Ἀληθεστάτῃ θεολογία: Ὅρα πῶς ἀληθῆ θεολογίαν καλεῖ τήν τοῦ θείου Παύλου Γραφήν αὐτός γάρ ἐστιν ὁ λέγων, ὅτι 14S_018 κατά τό μέτρον τῆς ἑκάστου δυνάμεως ἡ παρά Θεοῦ χορηγεῖται σαφῶς ἔλλαμψις· ὥσπερ καί ὁ Κύριος δηλοῖ λέγων τοῖς τελειοτέροις μαθηταῖς· «ὑμῖν δέδοται γνῶναι τά μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας», ἅτε καί νουνεχέστερον προσέχουσι τοῖς θεσπιζομένοις. Οὐ μόνον δέ τοῦτο περί ἀνθρώπων φησί διαλέγεσθαι ὁ μέγας ∆ιονύσιος, ἀλλά καί περί τῶν ἀγγέλων, οὕς εἴωθεν ὀνομάζειν κατά τινας τῶν τῆς ἔξω φιλοσοφίας νόας, οἵτινες τῶν ἄνω ταγμάτων νόες εἴρηνται, ὡς τό πᾶν νοῦς οὐσιωμένως ὄντες, καί πάντα νοοῦντες, ἑνιαίως τά ἐκ Θεοῦ ρέοντα προσεχῶς εἰς αὐτούς· ὅθεν καί ὅλοι ὅλως κατομματοῦσθαι λέγονται ἐν τοῖς ἁγιωτάτοις χερουβίμ.

Ἀνακαλύπτεται τά θεῖα: Σημείωσαι, ὅτι καί οἱ ἄγγελοι κατά τήν οἰκείαν ἀναλογίαν τῆς θεογνωσίας ἀξιοῦνται.

Ἐν σωστικῇ δικαιοσύνῃ: ∆ιά τοῦτο, φησίν, ἑκάστῳ κατά τήν αὐτοῦ δύναμιν ὁ Θεός ἀποκαλύπτει, οὐχ ὅτι φθονεῖ τοῦ πλείονος, ἀλλά διά τό σῶσαι τήν ἐν τῇ μετρήσει τῆς θεογνωσίας δικαιοσύνην· δικαιοσύνης γάρ ἴδιον τό κατ' ἀξίαν ἐπιμετρεῖν ἑκάστῳ· τοιγαροῦν ἀμέτρητος μέν ἡ περί Θεοῦ γνῶσις, ἡμεῖς δέ μέτρων δεόμεθα· εἰ γάρ ἀμέτρως ἡμῖν ἀπεκαλυπτετο, οὐκ ἄν ἑσώθημεν, ὡς οὐδέ σωματικός ὀφθαλμός ὅλον ἥλιον δεχόμενος.

Τήν ἀμετρίαν θεοπρεπῶς: Ἀμετρίαν νῦν λέγει αὐτό τό Θεῖον καί τήν αὐτοῦ κατά τό δυνατόν ἔλλαμψιν.

Ὥσπερ γάρ ἄληπτα: Τό ἀκατάληπτον τῆς περί Θεόν γνώσεως ἐντεῦθεν παρίσταται· εἰ γάρ οὐδέ τά ἁπλά καί ἀσχημάτιστα, κἄν οὐσίαι τινές ὦσι, ταῖς αἰσθήσεσιν ὑποπίπτουσιν, 14S_020 ὡς ἄγγελοι καί ψυχαί τοῖς σωματικοῖς, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὑπερέχει ὁ Θεός, ὁ μήτε οὐσία, ἀλλ' ὑπέρ οὐσίαν, μήτε ἁπλοῦς, ἀλλ' ὑπέρ ἁπλότητα, μήτε νοῦς, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ νοῦν, μήτε ἑνάς, ἀλλά καί ὑπέρ ἑνάδα, καί οὔτε ὅρῳ τινί περιγραφόμενος, ἀλλ' ἀοριστίᾳ τῶν ὄντων ἀφειμένος; Ἀκούων οὖν ἐν τῇ Γραφῆ μορφήν Θεοῦ; καί 'εἶδος', καί 'πρόσωπον', δι' ἀναγωγῆς καί ὑπέρ τά σώματα ἀξίως Θεοῦ νόει· 'ἑνότητα' δέ ἀκούων, μή διαφόρων τινῶν πρός ἕνωσιν συνδρομήν