On the Divine Names and the Mystical Theology — trans. C. E. Rolt
The translator’s English as printed (C. E. Rolt). The original-language text is not held; names are romanised as the translator printed them.
Now, when the Particular stream begins to mingle with the Universal, it naturally mingles first with that current of it which, being most universal, ranks the highest and so is nearest the Source. It is only along that current that it can advance to the others which are further away. And that current is Being (avtoetvat). Thus the world-process begins (as Dionysius had learnt from Genesis and from the teaching of Plato) at the level of dead solid matter, to which he gives the name of “merely existent” (ovoiw0d7c). Thence, by participating more and more in the Universal stream, it advances to the production of plant and animal and man, being by the process enriched with more and more qualities as Life (attoCwy), Wisdom (αὐτοσοφία), and the other currents of the Universal stream begin to permeate it one by one.
Thus the separate individuals, according to the various laws (Adyot) of their genera and species, are created in this world of Time. And each thing, while it exists in the world, has two sides to its existence: one, outside its created being (according to the sense of the word “outside” explained above), in the Super-Essence wherein all things are One Thing (as all points meet at infinity or as according to the neo-Platonic simile used by Dionysius, the radii of a circle meet at the centre), and the other within its own created being on this lower plane where all things are separate from each other (as all points in space are separate or as the radii of the circle are separate at the circumference). This paradox is of the very utmost importance.
Now when the Particular stream begins to mingle with the Universal, it naturally mingles first with that current of it which, being the most universal, ranks highest and so is nearest the Source. Only along that current can it advance to the others, which are further away. And that current is Being (avtoetvat). Thus the world-process begins (as Dionysius had learnt from Genesis and from the teaching of Plato) at the level of dead solid matter, which he calls “merely existent” (ovoiw0d7c). From there, by participating more and more in the Universal stream, it advances to the production of plant, animal, and man, being enriched in the process with more and more qualities as Life (attoCwy), Wisdom (αὐτοσοφία), and the other currents of the Universal stream begin to permeate it one by one.
Thus the separate individuals are created in this world of Time according to the various laws (Adyot) of their genera and species. And each thing, while it exists in the world, has two sides to its existence. One is outside its created being (in the sense of the word “outside” explained above), in the Super-Essence, where all things are One Thing (as all points meet at infinity, or as, in the neo-Platonic simile used by Dionysius, the radii of a circle meet at the centre). The other is within its own created being on this lower plane, where all things are separate from one another (as all points in space are separate, or as the radii of the circle are separate at the circumference). This paradox is of the very utmost importance.