The Divine names: and the Mystical theology

276 Pages·2011·11.639 MB·English

by  Jones, John D.;the Areopagite. Pseudo-Dionysius

MEDL£VAL PHILOSOPHICAL TEXTS IN TRANSLATION
No. 21
James M. Robb, L.S.M., Ph.D., Editor
PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS AREOPAG ITE
THE DIVINE NAMES
and
THE MYSTICAL THEOLOGY
Translated from the Greek
with an Introductory Study
by
JOHN D. JONES
PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY, MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY
REPRINTED WITH
ERRATA CORRIGENDA
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY PRESS
MILWAUKEE WISCONSIN
Library of Congress Catalogue Number: 80-82362
© 1999, The Marquette University Press
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
ISBN 0-87462-221-2
To
my
Mother
ACKNO~EDGEMENTS
Many individuals are due my thanks for their help and support in this
venture, only a few can be here acknowledged. I am particularly grateful to
Dr. Norman Wells for his generous and critical direction of the original, dis
sertation version of this work and for the freedom with which he allowed me
to pursue my investigations. I would also acknowledge Dr. Lynne Ballew for
supervising the original version of the translation. My colleague, Dr. Mary
Rousseau read a completed version of the "Introduction" and offered many
suggestions for clarifying a number of passages. In addition to their excellent
craftsmanship, Mr. Norbert Peck and Mr. Oswald Berg offered much good
natured patience and abundant and helpful advice throughout the printing
of the book for which I am very thankful. Ms. Brooke Barker, my proof reader
and general assistant, deserves very special recognition and thanks for her
unfailingly competent and diligent help.
I would also acknowledge the editor of the Proceedings of the American
Catholic Philosophical Association for letting me reproduce in Section IV B
of the "Introduction" substantial portions of my article "The Character of
Negative (Mystical) Theology for Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagite," PACPA, LI
(1971), pp. 68-75
Finally, I acknowledge with great love my wife, Eileen, for her love and
support of this venture and, most especially, for our mutual growth in and
deepened conversations about the matters which this volume seeks to bring
to thought and expression.
Milwaukee 1980
The list of Corrigenda for this reprint was compiled by Kristin Schaupp.
Milwaukee 1999
Errata corrigenda
p. 6, l. 42: Untersuchugen = Untersuchungen
p. 6. l. 42: uber = uber
p. 6, l. 43: Glaubwurdikeit = Glaubwurdigkeit
p. 6, l. 43: Names = Namen
p. 6, l. 44: Des = Der
p. 6, l. 45: dionsysischen = dionysischen
p. 7, l. 39: for =f or
p. 7, l. 39: Katholicshe = Katholische
p. 8, l. 2: orthodox = orthodoxy
p. 8, l. 38: Beziehungeng = Beziehungen
p. 8, l. 39: Neuplatonismun = Neuplatonismus
p. 8, l. 41: soggen. = sogen.
p. 8, l. 42: vum = vom
p. 8, l. 42: Ubel = Ubel
p. 9, l. 12: signinficant = significant
p. 9, l. 20: enshrounds = enshrouds
p. 9, l. 34: exampels = examples
p. 13, l. 20: outia = ousia
p. 21, l. 17: wtih = with
p. 31, l. 9: super essential = super-essential
p. 34, l.34: differennced = differenced
p. 38, l. 20: absolished = abolished
p. 42, l. 35: Dogmengeschicte = Dogmengeschichte
p. 49, l. 4: divinty = divinity
p. 50, l. 13: are = our
p. 73, l. 35: sagen = sogen.
p. 73, l. 36: Ubel = Ubel
p. 74, l. 38: aprocryphal = apocryphal
p. 81, l. 33: Pseudo-Dinoysius' = Pseudo-Dionysius'
p. 81, l. 35: Pseulo-Dionysius = Pseudo-Dionysius
p. 95, l. 24: expresison = expression
p. 110, l. 5: celebation = celebration
p. 111, l. 33: analagously = analogously
p. 116, l. 24: uniniated = uninitiated
p. 129, l. 16: statment = statement
p. 173, l. 3: participte = participate
p. 178, l. 35: indissoluable = indissoluble
p. 180, l. 16: self separation = self-separation
p. 233, 1. 1: scriptual = scriptural
p. 261, 1. 37: Schrifton = Schriften
p. 263, 1. 10: bie = bei
p. 263, 1. 15: Einwerkung = Einwirkung
p. 263. 1. 23: Sitzungberichte = Sitzungsberichte
p. 264, 1. 1: Einfuhrung = Einfiihrung
p. 264, 1. 5: for =f or
p. 264, 1. 19: Bosen = Bosen
p. 264, 1. 31: Unterschungen = Untersuchungen
p. 264, 1. 33: Philosphie = Philosophie
p. 265, 1. 14: offentlichen = offentlichen
p. 265, 1. 18: for = for
p. 265, 1. 20: sogen, = sogen.
p. 265, 1. 21: Ubel = Ubel
p. 265, 1. 22: Losung = Losung
p. 265, 1. 26: for = for
p. 266, 1. 4: be = bei
p. 266, 1. 7: Erolser = Erioser
p. 266, 1. 9: Schopfungsund = Schopfungs- und
p. 266, 1. 10: Offenbarunglehre = Offenbahrungslehre
p. 266, 1. 14: uberwesenliche = iiberwesenliche
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE................................................ 1
INTRODUCTION ........................................ 15
I. The Nature of Theology ............................. 15
A. Affirmative and Negative Theology ................ 15
B. Divine Unity and Difference ..................... , 27
II. Divine Causality .................................... 41
A. The Nature of Abiding, Procession, and Reversion ... , 41
B. The Divine Powers: A General Discussion ... . . . . . .. 46
C. The Divine Powers: An Analysis of Selected Divine
Names ......................................... 55
1. Good, Beauty, and Eros ...................... , 56
2. Be-ing ...................................... 61
3. Power, Justice, Preservation, Redemption, and
Peace ....................................... 63
D. The Representation of Divine Causality in Terms of
Virtical and Circular Imagery ..................... 66
III. The Problem of Evil ................................. 73
A. Evil Itself ...................................... 73
B. Evil and Beings ................................. 78
IV. The Divine Darkness of Unknowing ... , . " ........... , 89
A. Beyond Cause ................................... 89
B. The Denial of All Logos ......................... , 95
THE DIVINE NAMES .................................... 107
I. Concerning the Intention of Our Discourse and the Tra-
dition Regarding the Divine Names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 107
II. Concerning Unified and Differentiated Theology and
What the Divine Unity and Divine Difference Are ..... , 117
III. The Power of Prayer. Concerning the Blessed Hiero-
theous and the Piety and Covenant of Theology ....... , 129
IV. Concerning the Good, Light, Beauty, Love, Ecstasis,
and Zeal. That Evil is Neither Be-ing, Nor From Be-ing,
N or in Beings ....................................... 133
V. Concerning Be-ing and Paradigms ..................... 163
VI. Concerning Life .................................... 173
VII. Concerning \Visdom, Intellect, Logos, Truth, and Faith .. 175
VIII. Concerning Power, Justice, Salvation, and Redemption;
in \Vhich Inequality is Discussed ......... . . . . . . . . . . . .. 181
IX. Concerning [The Names] Great, Small, Same, Other,
Like, Unlike, Rest, Motion, and Equality ............... 187
X. Concerning the Almighty, Ancient of Days; in Which
Eternity and Time [Are Considered] .................. 193
XI. Concerning Peace and What is Meant by Being Itself,
Life Itself, Power Itself, and Others That Are Said in a
Similar Way ........................................ 195
XII. Concerning Holy of Holies, King of Kings, Lord of
Lords, and God of Gods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 201
XII I. Concerning the Complete and the One ................ , 203
THE NIYSTICAL THEOLOGY ............................. 211
I. The Divine Dark .................................... 211
II. How It Is Necessary to Dedicate Hymns and Be United
to the Cause of A1 1 and Beyond All .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 215
III. The Affirmative and Negative Theologies .............. 217
IV. In Preeminence, the Cause of All That Is Sensible Is Not
Anything Sensible ................................... 219
V. In Preeminence, the Cause of All That Is Intelligible Is
Not Anything Intelligible ............................ 221
APPENDIX: LETTERS I -V ................................ 225
ANALYTIC TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR DIVINE NAAfES,
.\/YSTICAL THEOLOGY, AND LETTERS 1-V .............. 229
INDEX VEHBOHUM ..................................... 241
GENE HAL INDEX 253
INDEX LOCORUM 257
SELECTED BIBLIOGHAPHY ............................. 261