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§ 4. And that these things are: The nature of existing things seeks to be, not by choice, but by the necessity and usefulness of existence, and this, therefore, it says, is to be thus, and the power of being sought, as being is necessary from the divine and infinitely powerful essence.

§ 5. And well-ordered positions: It calls well-ordered positions those that have good arrangements, and well-disposed orders the seemly creations, and of angelic unities, the simplicities it says; or it calls unities the simplicities and incorporealities and immaterialities of the essences themselves. But note, that it says the stars are made eternal.

And unchangeable orders: The heavenly essences are unchangeable, you should not understand this as being eternally (for they, according to what is written, are ministering spirits), but understand the unchangeable aspect with respect to the keeping of the bounds set for them by God from the beginning. 'Progressions of time' it calls its length and forward motion, and 'distinction' the marking through the (14S_290> change of seasons, or hours, that is restored again to the same things; wherefore it also called the movement of time 'revolutions'; or it calls 'temporal progressions' the movements of the wandering stars, traversing for a certain number of time the twelve intervals of the so-called houses; and 'restorations' the returnings from a certain point to the same point; for instance, the sun travels through the twelve houses in a year, passing from the so-called Ram to the same Ram, the moon in a month, and the next five likewise; for by these times are measured.

And the powers of fire: Of the ethereal, that is. And it speaks about the four elements, and that the earth is founded on nothing, but Scripture says, "you founded it upon the waters."

The essential: Perhaps all inanimate and insensible things are also called essential, that is, being so called from the fact that they are.

And the deification: The just and the angels are deified, according to, "I said: you are gods."

A complete positing: It calls 'positing' the bringing into being, instead of, That which does not partake of power, is not even in creation.

§ 6. And yet Elymas the magician says: From this is shown the antiquity of this holy man; for he knows what Elymas the magician said, who also opposed holy Paul in Cyprus, of whom the Acts of the holy apostles make mention. However, Arabia has many like Elymas, who say to us when we say that Jesus Christ the God Logos suffered in the flesh for us, but not in divinity, that, 'If you do not accept that he suffered in divinity as (14S_292> he wished, you make God powerless, by asserting that he could not suffer in divinity if he wished.' To them it must be said, that God did not wish this very thing, having in what He could suffer, for it to become contrary to nature, that the divinity, which is impassible by nature, should suffer. See how he interprets the apostolic saying, "God cannot deny himself."

For the denial of himself: What I was saying, Elymas the magician, mocking the divine Paul for saying, "that God cannot deny himself," and that, in Paul's view, God is shown to be powerless, though able to do what He wills, that is, to deny himself, the great Dionysius resolves most philosophically. For he says that God is truth, and truth is being, but falsehood, as unsubstantial, is not even being. If, therefore, God should deny himself, truth, having lied, becomes non-being. And how is it possible for this to happen? The 'cannot', therefore, when applied to God, is a sign of ineffable power. For it is like saying that God is able to make himself not be God, but to pass into non-existence, which along with the impossible also contains the blasphemous. How then shall it be said, He who is will be He who is not? Therefore God cannot, that is

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§ 4. Καί τό εἶναι ταῦτα: Ἡ τῶν ὄντων φύσις τό εἶναι ἐπιζητεῖ οὐ προαιρετικῶς, ἀλλά τῷ ἀναγκαίῳ τε καί χρησίμῳ τῆς ὑπάρξεως καί τοῦτο οὖν φησι τό οὕτως εἶναι, καί τήν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐπιζητεῖσθαι, ὡς ἀναγκαῖον τό εἶναι παρά τῆς θείας καί ἀπειροδυνάμου οὐσίας.

§ 5. Καί εὐθημοσύνας: Εὐθημοσύνας φησί τάς εὖ ἐχούσας θέσεις, καί τάξεις εὐθέτους τάς εὐσχήμους δημιουργίας, ἀγγελικῶν δέ ἑνάδων τῶν ἁπλοτήτων φησιν· ἤ ἑνάδας καλεῖ τάς τῶν οὐσιῶν αὐτῶν ἁπλότητας καί ἀσωματίας καί ἀϋλίας. Σημείωσαι δέ, ὅτι τούς ἀστέρας διαιωνίζειν λέγει.

Καί τάξεις ἀναλλοιώτους: Ἀναλλοιώτους τάς οὐρανίας οὐσίας, μή κατά τό ἀϊδίως εἶναι νοήσῃς (αὐτοί γάρ, κατά τό γεγραμμένον, λειτουργικά πνεύματά εἰσιν), ἀλλά περί τήν φυλακήν τῶν ἐξ ἀρχῆς αὐταῖς ὑπό Θεοῦ τεταγμένων ὅρων τό ἀναλλοίωτον νόησον. 'Προόδους δέ τοῦ χρόνου' τό μῆκος τούτου καί τήν ἐπί τό πρόσω φοράν λέγει, 'διάκρισιν' δέ τήν διά τῆς (14S_290> ἐναλλαγῆς τῶν καιρῶν, ἤτοι ὡρῶν, σημείωσιν πρός τά αὐτά πάλιν ἀποκαθισταμένην· διό καί συνελίξεις ἐκάλεσε τοῦ χρόνου τήν κίνησιν· ἤ 'προόδους χρονικάς' φησι τάς τῶν πλανήτων ἄστρων κινήσεις, ἐπί τινα ἀριθμόν χρόνου διερπούσας τά ιβ' τῶν λεγομένων οἴκων διαστήματα· 'ἀποκαταστάσεις' δέ τάς ἀπό σημείου τινός ἐπί τό αὐτό σημεῖον ἐπαναδρομάς· οἷον ὁ ἥλιος δι' ἑνιαυτοῦ περιπολεῖ τούς ιβ' οἴκους ἀπό τοῦ λεγομένου κριοῦ ἐπί τόν αὐτόν κριόν διερχόμενος, ἡ σελήνη διά μηνός, καί οἱ ἑξῆς ε' οὕτως· ἐκ γάρ τούτων οἱ χρόνοι μετροῦνται.

Καί τάς τοῦ πυρός δυνάμεις: Τοῦ αἰθερίου δηλονότι. Φησί δέ περί τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων, καί ὅτι ἡ γῆ ἐπ' οὐδενός τεθεμελίωται, ἡ δέ Γραφήν φησιν, «ἐπί ὑδάτων ἐθεμελίωσας».

Τάς οὐσιώδεις: Ἴσως οὐσιώδη λέγονται καί τά πάντα ἄψυχα καί ἀναίσθητα, δηλονότι ἀπό τοῦ εἶναι οὕτω λεγόμενα.

Καί τήν θέωσιν: Ἐκθεοῦνται οἱ δίκαιοι καί οἱ ἄγγελοι, κατά τό «Ἐγώ εἶπα· θεοί ἐστε».

Παντελῶς θέσις: Θέσιν καλεῖ τήν εἰς τό εἶναι παραγωγήν, ἀντί τοῦ, Ὅ μή μετέχει δυνάμεως, οὐδέ ἐν δημιουργίᾳ ἐστί.

§ 6. Καίτοι φησίν Ἐλύμας ὁ μάγος: ∆είκνυται ἐντεῦθεν τοῦ ἁγίου τούτου ἀνδρός ἡ ἀρχαιότης· ἅ γάρ εἶπεν Ἐλύμας ὁ μάγος, ὅς καί ἀντέστη τῷ ἁγίῳ Παύλῳ ἐν Κύπρῳ, γινώσκει, οὗ αἱ Πράξεις τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων μέμνηνται. Ὅμως πολλούς ὁμοίους τῷ Ἐλύμᾳ ἡ Ἀραβία ἔχει, οἵ φασι πρός ἡμᾶς λέγοντας, Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν τόν Θεόν Λόγον σαρκί παθεῖν ὑπέρ ἡμῶν, ἀλλά μή θεότητι, ὅτι, 'Εἰ μή δέχεσθε αὐτόν θεότητι παθεῖν ὡς (14S_292> ἠθέλησεν, ἀδύναμον ποιεῖτε τόν Θεόν, φάσκοντες μή δύνασθαι θεότητι παθεῖν εἰ ἐθέλοι'. Προς οὕς λεκτέον, ὅτι αὐτό οὐκ ἠβουλήθη ὁ Θεός, ἔχων εἰς τί πάθοι, τό παρά φύσιν γενέσθαι, ἵνα ἡ θεότης πάθοι ἡ κατά φύσιν ἀπαθής. Ὅρα πῶς ἑρμηνεύει τό ἀποστολικόν ρητόν, «οὐ δύναται ὁ Θεός ἑαυτόν ἀρνήσασθαι».

Ἡ γάρ ἑαυτοῦ ἄρνησις: Ὅπερ ἔφην, Ἐλύμας ὁ μάγος σκώψας τόν θεῖον Παῦλον εἰπόντα, «μή δύνασθαι ἀρνήσασθαι ἑαυτόν τόν Θεόν», καί τό γε ἐπί Παύλῳ ἀδύνατον δείκνυσθαι τόν Θεόν, δυνάμενον ἅ βούλεται, τουτέστιν ἀρνήσασθαι ἑαυτόν, φιλοσοφώτατα λύει ὁ μέγας ∆ιονύσιος. Φησί γάρ, ὅτι ὁ Θεός ἀλήθειά ἐστιν, ἡ δέ ἀλήθεια ὄν ἐστι, τό δέ ψεῦδος, ὡς ἀνυπόστατον, οὐδέ ὄν ἐστιν. Ἐάν οὖν ἀρνήσηται ἑαυτόν ὁ Θεός, ἡ ἀλήθεια ψευσαμένη, μή ὄν γίνεται. Καί πῶς οἷόν τε τοῦτο συμβῆναι; Τό οὖν 'μή δύνασθαι', ἐπί Θεοῦ ταττόμενον, ἀφάτου δυνάμεώς ἐστι σημεῖον. Ὅμοιον γάρ ἐστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι δύναται ὁ Θεός ἑαυτόν ποιῆσαι μή εἶναι Θεόν, ἀλλά χωρῆσαι εἰς ἀνυπαρξίαν, ὅ μετά τοῦ ἀδυνάτου καί τό βλάσφημον ἔχει. Πῶς τοίνυν λεχθήσεται, ὁ ὤν ἔσται μή ὤν; Οὐ δύναται τοίνυν ὁ Θεός, τουτέστιν