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measuring the truth by their own opinion and not knowing the difference between things that are in the proper sense and things that are homonymously, of essences and of him who is above beings, wherefore also he is super-essential. Such men, therefore, as uninitiated in the higher things, suppose that in truth there is darkness, this lightless shadow among us, covering God and hiding him from the sight of all, from which disease in truth many even among us suffer, since they do not know that the unsurpassable light darkens all vision. If, therefore, he says, there are such men among us, what might we say about idolaters who are entirely without share in any mysteries and are amazed at wooden images? Therefore, intelligible things are beings in the proper sense, but perceptible things are homonymously so. But that which is beyond these, that is, the faithful, who are held in corruptible things.

What is fitting for it: As being all things in a manner befitting God and being nothing super-essentially; for this is both affirmation and negation, since both are said in the proper sense of the divine majesty. But what the negations of the removals are and the affirmations of the (14S_388> positions, and what the privations are, is also clarified here, and especially in the third chapter, and in the discourse *On the Divine Names* we have set them forth in various ways and at length.

To be opposed: That in the case of God, negations are not opposed to affirmations; for God is beyond all removal and position. Read also in the writings *On the Celestial Hierarchy* a little after the beginning.

§ 3. Thus, then, the divine Bartholomew: Note from this too the unfeigned nature of these divine compositions being from the great Dionysius. For in addition to those in the former discourses of which he made mention of usages of some of those who were with the apostles, now similarly he brings a usage of the divine Bartholomew, as the word "says" indicates; for if he had taught unwrittenly, he would have said, 'he said'. But note that he brings forward a usage of the holy Bartholomew, how theology is both much and very little.

That he is also wordy: `Polylógos`, accented on the penult, is he who says many things, while `pólylogos`, accented on the antepenult, is he who requires many words; just as `prōtótokos`, accented on the antepenult, is the first-born, but `prōtotókos`, accented on the penult, is the woman who has borne for the first time, as also in Homer.

"Kinyre, bearing for the first time, who before had not known childbirth." Who has neither word: That is, representative of his own nature in things outside.

Similarly also it must be understood concerning intellection. All divine lights and sounds: He calls the things concerning God sounds and heavenly words

spoken in the Scriptures, as not according to human and earthly thought, but spoken and handed down according to divine thought.

The divine Moses: Note how he goes through the things concerning (14S_390> Moses, that, having ascended the mountain and entered into the darkness, he saw God, as is possible for a man. Note also the order of the things accomplished for Moses, before he was deemed worthy to enter into the divine darkness.

But the place where he stood: What is the place in which God stood for Moses, and what is the summit of intelligible things, and what of visible things, we have gone through in the work *On the Celestial Hierarchy* at the end of the first chapter.

Hypothetical: He calls hypothetical reasonings descriptive ones, or as contemplative of beings, which he said are subject to God; for through them, that is, by their permanence and preservation, we are taught that he is present to all things, not by moving from place to place, but providentially; and he calls intelligible summits the celestial and intellectual essences that are around God, which he also named his most holy places, which he also transcends, or as he is released, resembling them in no way at all.

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συμμετρούντων τῇ οἰκείᾳ δόξῃ τήν ἀλήθειαν καί μή εἰδότων διαφοράν ὄντων κυρίως καί ὁμωνύμων ὄντων, οὐσιῶν καί αὐτοῦ τοῦ ὑπέρ τά ὄντα, διό καί ὑπερουσίου. Οἱ γοῦν τοιοῦτοι, ὡς ἀμύητοι, τῶν ὑψηλοτέρων ὑπολαμβάνουσι κατά ἀλήθειαν σκότος εἶναι τό ἀφεγγές τοῦτο τό παρ' ἡμῖν σκίασμα καλύπτον τόν Θεόν καί ἀποκρύπτον αὐτόν τῆς ἁπάντων θέας, ὅπερ ὡς ἀληθῶς νοσοῦσι πολλοί καί ἐν ἡμῖν, ἅτε μή γινώσκοντες τό ἀνυπέρβλητον φῶς πᾶσαν ὅψιν σκοτίζειν. Εἰ οὖν εἰσι, φησίν, ἐν ἡμῖν τοιοῦτοι, τί ἄν εἴποιμεν περί εἰδωλολατρῶν τῶν παντάπασι πάντων μυστικῶν ἀμετόχων καί πρός ξόανα τεθηπότων; Κυρίως μέν οὖν ὄντα τά νοητά, ὁμωνύμως δέ τά αἰσθητά. Τό δέ ὑπέρ τούτους, τούς πιστούς δηλονότι, τούς ἐν τοῖς φθαρτοῖς ἐνισχημένους.

∆έον ἐπ' αὐτῇ: Ὡς πάντα οὔσης θεοπρεπῶς καί μηδέν οὔσης ὑπερουσίως· αὕτη γάρ καί θέσις ἐστί καί ἀπόφασις, ἐπεί καί κυρίως ἀμφότερα ἐπί τῆς θείας λέγονται μεγαλειότητος. Τί δέ εἰσιν αἱ ἀποφάσεις τῶν ἀφαιρέσεων καί αἱ καταφάσεις τῶν (14S_388> θέσεων, καί τί αἱ στερήσεις, καί ἐνταῦθα σαφηνίζεται, καί μάλιστα ἐν τῷ τρίτῳ κεφαλαίῳ, καί ἐν τῷ Περί θείων ὀνομάτων λόγῳ διαφόρως καί πλατέως παραθέμεθα.

Ἀντικειμένας εἶναι: Ὅτι ἐπί Θεοῦ οὐκ ἀντίκεινται αἱ ἀποφάσεις ταῖς καταφάσεσιν· ὑπέρ πᾶσαν γάρ ἐστιν ὁ Θεός καί ἀφαίρεσιν καί θέσιν. Ἀνάγνωθι καί ἐν τοῖς Περί τῆς οὐρανίας ἱεραρχίας μετ ' ὀλίγον τῆς ἀρχῆς.

§ 3. Οὕτω γοῦν ὁ θεῖος Βαρθολομαῖος: Σημείωσαι καί ἐντεῦθεν τό ἄπλαστον τοῦ εἶναι ταῦτα τά θεῖα συντάγματα τοῦ μεγάλου ∆ιονυσίου. Πρός οἶς γάρ ἐν τοῖς προτέροις λόγοις τινῶν τῶν συνόντων τοῖς ἀποστόλοις μνήμην χρήσεων ἐποιήσατο, νῦν παραπλησίως τοῦ θείου Βαρθολομαίου χρῆσιν ἄγει, ὡς δηλοῖ τό «φησίν»· εἰ γάρ ἀγράφως ἦν διδάξας, εἰρήκει ἄν, 'ἔφη'. Σημείωσαι δέ ὅτι τοῦ ἁγίου Βαρθολομαίου χρῆσιν προφέρει, πῶς πολλή καί ἐλαχίστη ἡ θεολογία.

Ὅτι καί πολυλόγος: Πολυλόγος παροξυτόνως ὁ πολλά λέγων, πολύλογος δέ προπαροξυτόνως ὁ πολλῶν λόγων δεόμενος· ὡς καί πρωτότοκος προπαροξυτόνως ὁ πρώτως τεχθείς, πρωτοτόκος δέ παροξυτόνως ἡ πρώτως τεκοῦσα γυνή, ὡς καί Ὅμηρος.

«Πρωτότοκος Κινύρη, οὐ πρίν εἰδυῖα τόκοιο». Ὅς οὔτε λόγον: ∆ηλαδή τῆς οἰκείας φύσεως παραστατικόν ἐν τοῖς ἔξωθεν.

Ὁμοίως καί περί νοήσεως νοητέον. Πάντα θεῖα φῶτα καί ἤχους: Ἤχους καί λόγους οὐρανίους φησί τά περί Θεοῦ

ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς εἰρημένα, ὡς μή κατά τήν ἀνθρωπίνην καί γηΐνην ἐπίνοιαν, ἀλλά κατά θείαν ἐπίνοιαν λεχθέντα καί παραδοθέντα.

Ὁ θεῖος Μωϋσῆς: Σημείωσαι, πῶς διεξέρχεται τά περί (14S_390> Μωϋσέως, ὅτι, ἐν τῷ ὄρει ἀνελθών καί εἰσελθών εἰς τόν γνόφον εἶδεν, ὡς ἐφικτόν ἀνθρώπῳ, τόν Θεόν. Σημείωσαι καί τήν τάξιν τῶν τελεσθέντων ἐπί Μωσεῖ, πρίν ἀξιωθῆναι εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τόν θεῖον γνόφον.

Ἀλλά τόν τόπον οὗ ἔστη: Τίς ὁ τόπος ἐν ᾧ ἔστη ὁ Θεός ἐπί Μωϋσέως, καί τί ἐστιν ἀκρότητος νοητῶν, καί τί ὁρατῶν, ἐν τῷ Περί τῆς ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἱεραρχίας εἰς τό τέλος τοῦ πρώτου κεφαλαίου διεξήλθομεν.

Ὑποθετικούς: Ὑποθετικούς λόγους φησί τούς ὑπογραφικούς, ἤ ὡς θεωρητικούς τῶν ὄντων, ἅπερ ὑποβεβλημένα ἔφη τῷ Θεῷ εἶναι· δι' αὐτῶν γάρ, ἤγουν τῆς τούτων διαμονῆς καί συντηρήσεως, τοῖς πᾶσιν αὐτόν παρεῖναι διδασκόμεθα, οὐ μεταβατικῶς, ἀλλά προνοητικῶς· νοητάς δέ ἀκρότητας τάς οὐρανίας καί νοεράς οὐσίας τάς περί Θεόν οὔσας καλεῖ, ἅς καί τόπους αὐτοῦ ἁγιωτάτους ὠνόμασεν, ὧν καί αὐτῶν ὑπέρκειται, ἤ ὡς ἀπολύεται, κατά μηδέν αὐτοῖς ὅλως προσεοικώς.