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.
The Super-Essential Godhead is, in fact, precisely that which modern philosophy describes as the Absolute. Behind the diversities of this world there must be an Ultimate Unity. And this Ultimate Unity must contain in an undifferentiated condition all the riches of consciousness, life, and existence which are dispersed in broken fragments throughout the world. Yet It is not a particular Consciousness or a particular Existence. It is certainly not Unconscious, Dead or, in the ordinary sense, non-Existent, for all these terms imply something below instead of above the states to which they are opposed.
Nevertheless It is not, in Its Ultimate Nature, conscious (as we understand the term) for consciousness implies a state in which the thinking Subject is aware of himself and so becomes an Object of his own perception. And this is impossible in the ultimate Nature of the Undifferentiated Godhead where there is no distinction between thinking Subject and Object of thought, simply because there is at that level no distinction of any kind whatever. Similarly the Godhead does not, in the ordinary sense, live (for life is a process and hence implies distinctions) nor does It even (in our sense) exist, for Existence is contrasted with non-Existence and thus implies relationship and distinctions. Consciousness, Life, and Existence, as we know them, are finite states, and the Infinite Godhead is beyond them. We cannot even, strictly speaking, attribute to It Unity, for Unity is distinguished from Plurality. We must instead describe It as a Super-Unity which is neither One nor Many and yet contains in an undifferentiated state that Numerical Principle which we can only grasp in its partial forms as Unity and Plurality.
The Super-Essential Godhead is, in fact, exactly what modern philosophy calls the Absolute. Behind the diversities of this world there must be an Ultimate Unity. And this Ultimate Unity must contain, in an undifferentiated condition, all the riches of consciousness, life, and existence that are scattered in broken fragments throughout the world. Yet It is not a particular Consciousness or a particular Existence. It is certainly not Unconscious, Dead, or, in the ordinary sense, non-Existent, for all these terms imply something below, rather than above, the states to which they are opposed.
Nevertheless It is not, in Its Ultimate Nature, conscious (as we understand the term), for consciousness implies a state in which the thinking Subject is aware of himself and so becomes an Object of his own perception. And this is impossible in the ultimate Nature of the Undifferentiated Godhead, where there is no distinction between thinking Subject and Object of thought, simply because at that level there is no distinction of any kind whatever. Similarly, the Godhead does not live in the ordinary sense (for life is a process and therefore implies distinctions), nor does It even exist (in our sense), for Existence is contrasted with non-Existence and so implies relationship and distinctions.
Consciousness, Life, and Existence, as we know them, are finite states, and the Infinite Godhead is beyond them. Strictly speaking, we cannot even attribute Unity to It, for Unity is distinguished from Plurality. We must instead describe It as a Super-Unity which is neither One nor Many, and yet contains in an undifferentiated state that Numerical Principle which we can grasp only in its partial forms as Unity and Plurality.