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.
That Master of the Schoolmen, that #%eologiæ apex, who solved the hardest problems in theology more easily than Alexander cut the Gordian knot, did not hesitate to say that Dionysius habitually suffered from obscurity of style. This obscurity was not due to lack of skill, but to the deliberate design of concealing truth from the ridicule of the profane. It was also due to his use of platonic expressions which are unfamiliar to the modern mind. Sometimes the Areopagite is, in the opinion of St. Thomas, too concise, wrapping too much meaning into a solitary word. Sometimes, again, he errs the opposite way, by the over-profuseness of his utterances. Nevertheless, this profuseness is not really superfluous, for those who completely scrutinize it become aware of its solidity and its depth. The fact is, adds Father Lanssel, as Isaac Casaubon asserted, the Aeropagite invents new words, and unusual unheard-of and startling expressions. The Confessor Maximus admitted that his Master obscures the meaning of the superabundance of his phraseology.
When we come to the nineteenth century we find the Treatises of the Areopagite criticized, not only, or chiefly, for their form and style, but also for their fundamental principles.
The System of the Areopagite was subjected to a very searching critical analysis by Ferdinand Christian Baur. (Christliche Lehre von der Dreteinigheit und Menschwerdung Gottes, 1842; Bd. II. 207-251.)
That Master of the Schoolmen, that summit of theology, who solved the hardest problems in theology more easily than Alexander cut the Gordian knot, did not hesitate to say that Dionysius habitually suffered from obscurity of style. This obscurity was due not to lack of skill but to a deliberate design of concealing truth from the ridicule of the profane. It was also due to his use of Platonic expressions which are unfamiliar to the modern mind. Sometimes, in St. Thomas’s opinion, the Areopagite is too concise, packing too much meaning into a single word. Sometimes, again, he errs the opposite way, through the over-abundance of his utterance. Yet this abundance is not really superfluous, for those who scrutinize it thoroughly become aware of its solidity and depth.
The fact is, Father Lanssel adds, as Isaac Casaubon asserted, that the Aeropagite invents new words and unusual, unheard-of and startling expressions. The Confessor Maximus admitted that his Master obscures his meaning by the superabundance of his phraseology.
When we come to the nineteenth century we find the Treatises of the Areopagite criticized not only, or chiefly, for their form and style, but also for their fundamental principles.
The System of the Areopagite was subjected to a very searching critical analysis by Ferdinand Christian Baur (Christliche Lehre von der Dreieinigkeit und Menschwerdung Gottes, 1842; Bd. II. 207-251).