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.
Give LER OTT Concerning the Undifferencing and the Differentiation in
Divinity, and the Nature of Divine Unification and
Differentiation +
1. TIS the whole Being of the Supernal Godhead (saith the Scripture) that the Absolute Goodness hath defined and revealed? For in what other sense may we take the words of Holy Writ when it tells us how the Godhead spake concerning Itself, and said: “Why asketh thou me concerning the good? None is good save one, that is, God.” Now this matter we have discussed elsewhere, and have shown that all the Names proper to God are always applied in Scripture not partially but to the whole, entire, full, complete Godhead, and that they all refer indivisibly, absolutely, unreservedly, and wholly to all the wholeness of the whole and entire Godhead. Indeed (as we made mention in the Outlines of Divinity), if any one deny that such utterance refers to the whole Godhead, he blasphemeth and profanely dares to divide the Absolute and Supreme Unity. We must, then, take them as referring unto the entire Godhead. For not only did the goodly Word Himself say: “I am Good,” 4 but also one of the inspired prophets speaks of the Spirit as Good.1 So, too, of the words “I Am that I Am”? If, instead of applying these to the whole Godhead, they wrest them to include only one part Thereof, how will they explain such passages as: “Thus saith He that is and was and is to come, the Almighty,” or: “ Thou art the same,” or “The Spirit of Truth that is, and that proceedeth from the Father” ?® And if they deny that the whole Godhead is Life, how can that Sacred Word be true Which declared : “As the Father raiseth the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will,” § and also, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth”?7 And as to the Dominion over the whole world belonging to the whole Godhead, it is impossible, methinks, to say (as far as concerns the Paternal and the Filial Godhead) how often in the Scriptures the Name of “Lord” is repeated as belonging both to the Father and to the Son: moreover the Spirit, too, is Lord.® And the Names “Fair” and “Wise” are given to the whole Godhead ; and all the Names that belong to the whole Godhead (e. g. “Deifying Virtue” and “Cause”) Scripture introduces into all its praises of the Supreme Godhead comprehensively, as when it saith that “all things are from God,’® and more in detail, as when it saith that “through Him are and to Him are all things created,” 1 that “all things subsist in Him,” 4 and that “Thou shalt send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created.”12 And, to sum it all in brief, the Divine Word Himself declared : “I and the Father are one,’ ! and “ All things that the Father hath are mine, ? and “All mine are thine, and thine are mine.”3 And again, all that belongeth to the Father! and to Himself He also ascribes in the Common Unity to the Divine Spirit, viz. the Divine operations, the worship, the originating and inexhaustible creativeness and the ministration of the bountiful gifts. And, methinks, that none of those nurtured in the Divine Scriptures will, except through perversity, gainsay it, that the Divine Attributes in their true and Divine signification all belong to the entire Deity. And, therefore, having here briefly and partially (and more at large elsewhere) given from the Scriptures, the proof and definition of this matter, we intend that whatever title of God’s Entire Nature we endeavour to explain be understood as referring to the Godhead in Its entirety.
* The point of this section is that God’s Nature is not a sum total of separate Attributes. Therefore when we say that the Scriptural titles of God are only symbols and that the ultimate Godhead transcends them, we do not mean that they express only a part of His Nature (for His Nature has no parts), but that they dimly suggest His whole Nature. Hence, too, we cannot say that some of God’s titles belong only to one separate Person of the Trinity and others only to the other Persons severally—e. g. The Trinity, and not the Father alone, is the Creator of the world. “The one world was made by the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Ghost” (St. Aug., Com. on St. John, DER 9).
3 The title “Good” is applied to the whole Godhead. And if that title, then others too. Cf. Matt. xix. 17.
CHAPTER II Concerning the Undifferencing and the Differentiation in
Divinity, and the Nature of Divine Unification and
Differentiation +
1. It is the whole Being of the Supernal Godhead (says the Scripture) that the Absolute Goodness has defined and revealed. For in what other sense may we take the words of Holy Writ when it tells us how the Godhead spoke concerning Itself and said: “Why do you ask me concerning the good? None is good save one, that is, God.” We have discussed this matter elsewhere, and have shown that all the Names proper to God are always applied in Scripture not partially but to the whole, entire, full, complete Godhead, and that they all refer indivisibly, absolutely, unreservedly, and wholly to all the wholeness of the whole and entire Godhead. Indeed (as we mentioned in the Outlines of Divinity), if anyone denies that such language refers to the whole Godhead, he blasphemes, and profanely dares to divide the Absolute and Supreme Unity.
We must, then, take them as referring to the entire Godhead. For not only did the goodly Word Himself say, “I am Good,” 4 but one of the inspired prophets also speaks of the Spirit as Good.1 So too with the words “I Am that I Am.” If, instead of applying these to the whole Godhead, they twist them to include only one part of It, how will they explain such passages as “Thus says He that is and was and is to come, the Almighty,” or “You are the same,” or “The Spirit of Truth that is, and that proceeds from the Father”?5 And if they deny that the whole Godhead is Life, how can that Sacred Word be true which declared, “As the Father raises the dead and quickens them, even so the Son quickens whom He will,” § and also, “It is the Spirit that quickens”?7
And as to the Dominion over the whole world belonging to the whole Godhead, it is impossible, I think, to say (as far as the Paternal and the Filial Godhead are concerned) how often in the Scriptures the Name of “Lord” is repeated as belonging both to the Father and to the Son; moreover, the Spirit too is Lord.8 The Names “Fair” and “Wise” are given to the whole Godhead; and all the Names that belong to the whole Godhead (e. g. “Deifying Virtue” and “Cause”) Scripture introduces into all its praises of the Supreme Godhead, both comprehensively, as when it says that “all things are from God,”9 and in more detail, as when it says that “through Him are and to Him are all things created,” 1 that “all things subsist in Him,” 4 and that “You shall send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created.”12
To sum it all up briefly, the Divine Word Himself declared: “I and the Father are one,”1 and “All things that the Father has are mine,”2 and “All mine are yours, and yours are mine.”3 And again, all that belongs to the Father and to Himself He also ascribes, in the Common Unity, to the Divine Spirit: namely, the Divine operations, the worship, the originating and inexhaustible creativeness, and the ministration of the bountiful gifts. And I think that none of those nurtured in the Divine Scriptures will, except through perversity, deny that the Divine Attributes, in their true and Divine signification, all belong to the entire Deity. Therefore, having here briefly and partially (and more fully elsewhere) given from the Scriptures the proof and definition of this matter, we intend that whatever title of God’s Entire Nature we endeavour to explain be understood as referring to the Godhead in Its entirety.
* The point of this section is that God’s Nature is not a sum total of separate Attributes. So when we say that the Scriptural titles of God are only symbols and that the ultimate Godhead transcends them, we do not mean that they express only a part of His Nature (for His Nature has no parts), but that they dimly suggest His whole Nature. Hence, too, we cannot say that some of God’s titles belong only to one separate Person of the Trinity and others only to the other Persons severally. For example, the Trinity, and not the Father alone, is the Creator of the world: “The one world was made by the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Ghost” (St. Aug., Com. on St. John, DER 9).
3 The title “Good” is applied to the whole Godhead. And if that title, then others too. Cf. Matt. xix. 17.