On the Divine Names

Dionysius the Areopagite

On the Divine Names

Dionysius the Areopagite

Περὶ θείων ὀνομάτων

On the Divine Names (De divinis nominibus) is the chief theological treatise of the Christian Neoplatonist writing under the name Dionysius the Areopagite, probably in the late fifth or early sixth century. Addressed to Timothy, it unfolds the names predicated of God — Good, Light, Beauty, Love, Being, Life, Wisdom, Power, Justice, and the rest — through thirteen chapters, grounding each name in Scripture and in the tradition of Hierotheus. Its account of divine procession, participation, and the beautiful-and-good became foundational for Byzantine and medieval Latin theology, and it is among the authorities Aquinas cites most. Schola presents the Greek text with the Latin translation of Balthasar Corderius and the English translation of John Parker (1897).


CAPUT I. Quis libri finis, et quae e divinis nominibus prodita tandem esse, et ex rebus sensibilibus non posse cognosci

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CAPUT II. unio et distinctio.

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CAPUT III. Quae sit vis orationis, et de beato Hierotheo, de religione et conscriptione theologica.

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CAPUT IV. De bono, luce, pulchro, amore, exstasi, zelo; et quod malum neque ens sit, neque ex entibus, neque in entibus.

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CAPUT V. De ente, in quo etiam de exemplaribus.

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CAPUT VI. De vita.

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CAPUT VII. De sapientia, mente, ratione, veritate, fide.

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CAPUT VIII. De potentia, justitia, salute, redemptione; ubi etiam de inaequalitate.

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CAPUT IX. De magno, parvo, eodem, alio, simili, dissimili, statu, motu, aequalitate.

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CAPUT X. De omnitenente, antiquo dierum; in quo etiam de aevo seu aeternitate et tempore.

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CAPUT XI. De pace, quidque sibi velit ipsum per se esse, quae sit per se vita, quae vis ipsa per se, et quae illa coordinat atque conciliat, et quinam sint ejus effectus.

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CAPUT XII. De Sancto sanctorum, Rege regum, Domino dominantium, Deo deorum.

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CAPUT XIII. De perfecto et uno.

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Ἄλλως τε καὶ τοῦτο ἱστέον, ὅτι κατὰ τὸ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου προεπινοούμενον εἶδος ἡνῶσθαι λέγεται τὰ ἡνωμένα, καὶ πάντων ἐστὶ τὸ ἓν στοιχειωτικόν· καὶ εἰ ἀνέλῃς τὸ ἕν, οὔτε ὁλότης, οὔτε μόριον, οὔτε ἄλλο οὐδὲν τῶν ὄντων ἔσται· πάντα γὰρ ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸ ἓν ἑνοειδῶς προείληφέ τε καὶ περιείληφε. Ταύτῃ γοῦν ἡ θεολογία τὴν ὅλην θεαρχίαν, ὡς πάντων αἰτίαν, ὑμνεῖ τῇ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἐπωνυμίᾳ, καὶ εἷς Θεὸς ὁ Πατὴρ, καὶ εἷς Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, καὶ ἓν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ Πνεῦμα, διὰ τὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν τῆς ὅλης θεϊκῆς ἑνότητος ἀμέρειαν, ἐν ᾗ πάντα ἑνικῶς συνῆκται, καὶ ὑπερήνωται, καὶ πρόσεστιν ὑπερουσίως. Διὸ καὶ πάντα ἐπ' αὐτὴν ἐνδίκως ἀναπέμπεται καὶ ἀνατίθεται, ὑφ' ἧς, καὶ ἐν ᾗ, καὶ εἰς ἣν πάντα ἐστὶ, καὶ συνέστακται, καὶ μένει, καὶ συνέχεται, καὶ ἀποπληροῦται καὶ ἐπιστρέφεται· καὶ οὐκ ἄν εὕροις τι τῶν ὄντων, ὃ μὴ τῷ ἑνὶ καθ' ὃ πᾶσα ἡ θεότης ὑπερουσίως ὀνομάζεται, καὶ ἔστι τοῦθ' ὅπερ ἐστὶ, καὶ τελειοῦται, καὶ διασῴζεται. Καὶ χρὴ καὶ ἡμᾶς, ἀπὸ τῶν πολλῶν ἐπὶ τὸ ἓν τῇ δυνάμει τῆς θεϊκῆς ἑνότητος ἐπιστρεφομένους, ἑνιαίως ὑμνεῖν τὴν ὅλην καὶ μίαν Θεότητα, τὸ πάντων αἴτιον ἓν, τὸ πρὸ παντὸς ἑνὸς καὶ πλήθους, καὶ μέρους καὶ ὅλου, καὶ ὅρου καὶ ἀοριστίας, καὶ πέρατος καὶ ἀπειρίας, τὸ πάντα τὰ ὄντα καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ εἶναι ὁρίζον, καὶ πάντων καὶ ὅλων πάντων, καὶ ἅμα καὶ πρὸ πάντων, καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα, καὶ ἑνικῶς αἴτιον, καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸ τὸ ἓν ὂν, καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ἓν ὂν ὁρίζον, ἐπείπερ τὸ ὂν ἓν, τὸ ἓν ταῖς οὔσιν, ἐνάριθμόν ἐστιν· ἀριθμὸς δὲ οὐσίας μετέχει. Τὸ δὲ ὑπερούσιον ἓν, καὶ τὸ ὂν ἓν, καὶ πάντα ἀριθμὸν ὁρίζει, καὶ αὐτὸ ἔστι, καὶ ἑνὸς, καὶ ἀριθμοῦ, καὶ παντὸς ὄντος ἀρχὴ καὶ αἰτία, καὶ ἀριθμὸς καὶ τάξις. Διὸ καὶ μονὰς ὑμνουμένη, καὶ τριὰς ἡ ὑπὲρ πάντα Θεότης, οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲ μονὰς, οὐδὲ τριὰς ἢ πρὸς ἡμῶν, ἢ ἄλλου τινὸς τῶν ὄντων διεγνωσμένη, ἀλλὰ ἵνα καὶ τὸ ὑπερηνωμένον αὐτῆς καὶ τὸ θεογόνον ἀληθῶς ὑμνήσωμεν, τῇ τριαδικῇ καὶ ἑνιαίᾳ θεωνυμίᾳ, τὴν ὑπερώνυμον ὀνομάζομεν, τοῖς οὖσι τὴν ὑπερούσιον. Οὐδεμία δὲ μονάς, ἢ τριάς, οὐδὲ ἀριθμὸς, οὔτε ἑνότης, ἢ γονιμότης, οὐδὲ ἄλλο τι τῶν ὄντων ᾗ τινι τῶν ὄντων συνεγνωσμένων, ἐξάγει τὴν ὑπὲρ πάντα καὶ λόγον καὶ νοῦν κρυφιότητα τῆς ὑπὲρ πάντα ὑπερουσίως ὑπερούσης ὑπερθεότητος· οὐδὲ ὄνομα αὐτῆς ἐστιν, οὐδὲ λόγος, ἀλλ' ἐν ἀβάτοις ἐξήρηται. Καὶ οὐδὲ αὐτὸ τὸ τῆς ἀγαθότητος, ὡς ἐφαρμόζοντες αὐτῇ, προσφέρομεν, ἀλλὰ πόθῳ τοῦ ἐννοεῖν τι καὶ λέγειν περὶ τῆς ἀρρήτου φύσεως ἐκείνης, τὸ τῶν ὀνομάτων σεπτότατον αὐτῇ πρώτως ἀφιεροῦμεν· καὶ συμφωνήσοιμεν ἂν κἂν τούτῳ τοῖς θεολόγοις, τῆς δὲ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀληθείας ἀπολειφθησόμεθα. Διὸ καὶ αὐτοὶ τὴν διὰ τῶν ἀποφάσεων ἄνοδον προτετιμήκασιν, ὡς ἐξιστῶσαν τὴν ψυχὴν τῶν ἑαυτῇ συμφύλων, καὶ διὰ πασῶν τῶν θείων νοήσεων ἰοῦσαν, ὧν ἐξῄρηται τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα, καὶ πάντα λόγον, καὶ γνῶσιν, ἐπ' ἐσχάτων δὲ τῶν ὅλων αὐτῷ συνάπτουσαν, καθ' ὅσον καὶ ἡμῖν ἐκείνῳ συναπτέσθαι δυνατόν.

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