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.
6. Again, it is by a Differentiated act of God’s benevolence that the Super-Essential Word should wholly and completely take Human Substance of human flesh and do and suffer all those things which, in a special and particular manner, belong to the action of His Divine Humanity. In these acts the Father and the Spirit have no share, except of course that they all share in the loving generosity of the Divine counsels and in all that transcendent Divine working of unutterable mysteries which were performed in Human Nature by Him Who as God and as the Word of God is Immutable! So do we strive to differentiate the Divine Attributes, according as these Attributes are Undifferenced or Differentiated.2
7. Now all the grounds of these Unifications, and Differentiations in the Divine Nature which the Scriptures have revealed to us, we have explained in the Outlines of Divinity, to the best of our abilities, treating separately of each. The latter class we have philosophically unravelled and unfolded, and so have sought to guide the holy and unspotted mind to contemplate the shining truths of Scripture, while the former class we have endeavoured (in accordance with Divine Tradition) to apprehend as Mysteries in a manner beyond the activities of our minds.3 For all Divine things, even those that are revealed to us, are only known by their Communications. Their ultimate nature, which they possess in their own original being, is beyond Mind and beyond all Being and Knowledge.1 For instance, if we call the Super-Essential Mystery by the Name of “God,” or “Life,” or “Being,” or “Light,” or “Word,” we conceive of nothing else than the powers that stream Therefrom to us bestowing Godhead, Being, Life or Wisdom ;2 while that Mystery Itself we strive to apprehend by casting aside all the activities of our mind, since we behold no Deification,3 or Life, or Being, which exactly resembles the altogether and utterly Transcendent Cause of all things. Again, that the Father is Originating Godhead while Jesus and the Spirit are (so to speak) Divine Off-shoots of the Paternal Godhead, and, as it were, Blossoms and Super-Essential Shinings Thereof we learn from Holy Scripture; but the states and names of Gods, and Sons of Gods, and Fathers of Gods, such paternity and sonship being perfected in a spiritual manner (i. e. incorporeally, immaterially, and invisibly) because the Divine Spirit setteth above all invisible Immateriality and Deification, and the Father and the Son, supernaturally transcend all spiritual fatherhood and sonship.1 For there is no exact similitude between the creatures and the Creative Originals ;2 for the creatures possess only such images of the Creative Originals as are possible to them, while the Originals Themselves transcend and exceed the creatures by the very nature of Their own Originality. To employ human examples, we say that pleasant or painful conditions produce in us feelings of pleasure or pain while yet they possess not these feelings themselves ; and we do not say that the fire which warms and burns is itself burnt or warmed. Even so if any one says that Very Life lives, or that Very Light is enlightened, he will be wrong (according to my view) unless, perchance,
1 Redemption is a work performed by the whole Trinity through the Second Person. (So, too, is Creation. Cf. p. 65, n. 2). 2 i. e. We strive to distinguish the two planes of Being in God. Cf. Athan. Creed: “Neither confounding the Persons,” etc. 3 Undifference belongs to the ultimate Godhead, Differentiation to the distinction between the Three Persons of the Trinity. The former is the sphere of Mystical Theology, the latter is that of Dogmatic Theology. The former implies the Via Negativa the latter the Via Affirmativa.
6. Again, it is by a Differentiated act of God’s benevolence that the Super-Essential Word should wholly and completely take the Human Substance of human flesh, and do and suffer all those things that belong, in a special and particular manner, to the action of His Divine Humanity. In these acts the Father and the Spirit have no share, except of course that they all share in the loving generosity of the Divine counsels and in all that transcendent Divine working of unutterable mysteries which were performed in Human Nature by Him Who, as God and as the Word of God, is Immutable.1 So we strive to differentiate the Divine Attributes, according as these Attributes are Undifferenced or Differentiated.2
7. Now all the grounds of these Unifications and Differentiations in the Divine Nature which the Scriptures have revealed to us, we have explained in the Outlines of Divinity, to the best of our abilities, treating each separately. The latter class we have philosophically unravelled and unfolded, and so have sought to guide the holy and unspotted mind to contemplate the shining truths of Scripture; the former class we have endeavoured (in accordance with Divine Tradition) to apprehend as Mysteries, in a manner beyond the activities of our minds.3 For all Divine things, even those that are revealed to us, are known only by their Communications. Their ultimate nature, which they possess in their own original being, is beyond Mind and beyond all Being and Knowledge.1
For instance, if we call the Super-Essential Mystery by the Name of “God,” or “Life,” or “Being,” or “Light,” or “Word,” we conceive of nothing else than the powers that stream from It to us, bestowing Godhead, Being, Life or Wisdom;2 while that Mystery Itself we strive to apprehend by casting aside all the activities of our mind, since we behold no Deification,3 or Life, or Being, which exactly resembles the altogether and utterly Transcendent Cause of all things.
Again, we learn from Holy Scripture that the Father is Originating Godhead, while Jesus and the Spirit are (so to speak) Divine Off-shoots of the Paternal Godhead, and, as it were, Blossoms and Super-Essential Shinings of It; but as for the states and names of Gods, and Sons of Gods, and Fathers of Gods, such paternity and sonship being perfected in a spiritual manner (i. e. incorporeally, immaterially, and invisibly), because the Divine Spirit is set above all invisible Immateriality and Deification, and the Father and the Son supernaturally transcend all spiritual fatherhood and sonship.1 For there is no exact likeness between the creatures and the Creative Originals;2 the creatures possess only such images of the Creative Originals as are possible to them, while the Originals Themselves transcend and exceed the creatures by the very nature of Their own Originality.
To use human examples: we say that pleasant or painful conditions produce in us feelings of pleasure or pain, although they do not possess these feelings themselves; and we do not say that the fire which warms and burns is itself burnt or warmed. Even so, if anyone says that Very Life lives, or that Very Light is enlightened, he will be wrong (in my view) unless, perhaps,
1 Redemption is a work performed by the whole Trinity through the Second Person. (So, too, is Creation. Cf. p. 65, n. 2.) 2 i.e. We strive to distinguish the two planes of Being in God. Cf. Athan. Creed: “Neither confounding the Persons,” etc. 3 Undifference belongs to the ultimate Godhead, Differentiation to the distinction between the Three Persons of the Trinity. The former is the sphere of Mystical Theology, the latter that of Dogmatic Theology. The former implies the Via Negativa, the latter the Via Affirmativa.