22. The work of God may be expressed in three ways: first in terms of essence, concerning whatever a thing is, and in whatever genus, be it substance or accident; second, in terms of actuated essence, and this applies to substance alone; third, in terms of essence made in the likeness of God, and such is the spiritual creature. Over all these the wisdom of God is spread out in so far as they are His work. 22. Opus autem Dei tripliciter dicitur: primo modo essentia, quodcumque illud sit et in quocumque genere sive substantiae, sive accidentis; alio modo essentia completa, scilicet sola substantia; tertio modo essentia ad imaginem Dei facta, ut spiritualis creatura, -- Super has effusa est sapientia Dei, sicut super opera sua.
23. There is a certain order in these things. For God creates all essences by measure and number and weight. And by giving these, He gives mode, species, and order. Mode is that by which a thing exists; species, that by which it is distinct; order, that by which it is fitting. For there is no creature that is not endowed with measure, quantity, and inclination. And in this a trace may be seen, and wisdom is manifested, as the foot is shown by the trace. And this trace leads to that Wisdom in whom there is mode without qualification, number without quantity, and order without ordination. Now, in substance there is a higher trace that represents the divine essence. For every created substance has matter, form, and composition: the original principle or foundation, the formal complement, and the bond. It has substantial existence, power, and operation. And in these the mystery of the Trinity is represented: the Father as the origin, the Son as the image, and the Holy Spirit as the bond. 23. Est autem ordo in his. Deus enim creat quamcumque essentiam in mensura et numero et pondere^ et dando haec, dat modum, speciem et ordinem; modus est, quo constat; species, qua discernitur; ordo, quo congruit. Non est enim aliqua creatura quae non habeat mensuram, numerum et inclinationem; et in his attenditur vestigium, et manifestatur sapientia, sicut pes in vestigio; et hoc vestigium in illam sapientiam ducit, in qua est modus sine modo, numerus sine numero; ordo sine ordine. -- In substantia autem est altius vestigium, quod repraesentat divinam essentiam. Habet enim omnis creata substantia materiam, formam, compositionem: originale principium seu fundamentum, formale complementum et glutinum; habet substantiam, virtutem et operationem. -- Et in his repraesentatur mysterium Trinitatis: Pater, origo; Filius, imago; Spiritus sanctus, compago.
24. In creatures, there is a distinction between the original principle and the formal complement: not a hypostatic distinction as in the Godhead, nor an accidental distinction, but a distinction as between principles, one of which is active and the other passive. And to deny this to the creature is to deny that it represents the Trinity: as if it were said, for instance, that the creature is pure act, and not a composite. 24. Ratio autem originalis principii a formali complemento habet distinctionem in creatura, non quidem hypostaticam, ut est in divinis, nec accidentalem, sed sicut principiorum, quorum unum activum, alterum passivum. Et hoc tollere a creatura est tollere ab ea repraesentationem Trinitatis; ut dicere, quod creatura sit purus actus et non habeat compositionem.
25. Nor is it correct to say that it is a composite because it receives its existence from another, because contingent existence does not [necessarily] produce composition, for then the Son would be composite since He is contingent upon the Father, and the Holy Spirit upon both. The divine being alone is simple, for in it, there is no difference between being, being such, and being fittingly. Hence "To Be" is called a name of God, for "To Be" in the case of God is that which God is. 25. Nec valet id quod dicitur, quod composita est, pro eo quod est ab alio, quia esse ab alio compositionem non dicit; quia tunc Filius esset compositus, cum sit a Patre, et Spiritus sanctus ab utroque. Solum enim esse divinum simplex est; nec differt in eo esse et sic esse et bene esse. Et ideo esse dicitur nomen Dei , quia esse in Deo est id quod est Deus. In creatura autem differt esse et bene esse et sic esse.
26. Another trace of this Wisdom is found in substance, power and operation, since power depends upon substance, and operation upon both substance and power. A thing receives its being from substance, its survival from power, and its efficacy from operation. Power, also, is not accidental to substance, although the Philosopher says that natural power is a quality. For he is speaking as expressing a modality of being that follows upon substance: as it is clear that hard or soft express a modality consequent upon substance. 26. Vestigium aliud huius sapientiae est substantia, virtus et operatio; virtus est a substantia, operatio a substantia et virtute; res a substantia habet esse, a virtute vigere, ab operatione efficere. Virtus etiam non est substantiae accidentalis, licet Philosophus dicat, quod naturalis potentia est qualitas. Ipse enim loquitur, prout dicit modum consequentem substantiam; sicut patet, quia durum et molle dicunt modum substantiam consequentem.
27. Again, the creature is made in God's likeness. This may be according to a likeness of nature or a likeness of grace. The former is memory, intelligence, and will in which the Trinity shines forth. The latter signs the soul, and in this signing, it receives immortality, understanding and joy: immortality, in that memory implies eternity; wisdom,! in that truth shines forth in understanding; joy, in that goodness gives pleasure to the will. Now these things are found in reformed intelligences or substances. And so it appears that the whole world is like a single mirror, full of luminaries that stand before divine Wisdom, shedding light as would live coals. 27. Item, est creatura ad imaginem Dei facta; et hoc vel secundum imaginem naturalem, vel gratuitam; illa est memoria, intelligentia et voluntas, in quibus relucet Trinitas; et hac sigillatur anima, et in hac sigillatione recipit immortalitatem, intelligentiam, iucunditatem; immortalitatem, secundum quod in memoria tenetur aeternitas; sapientiam, secundum quod in intelligentia refulget veritas; iucunditatem, secundum quod in voluntate delectat bonitas. Haec quidem sunt in intelligentiis, vel substantiis reformatis. -- Et sic patet, quod totus mundus est sicut unum speculum plenum luminibus praesentantibus divinam sapientiam, et sicut carbo effundens lucem.
28. The fourth face of wisdom is the most difficult, for it is without form. Thus would it seem to destroy the preceding faces, and yet it does not. The Apostle speaks of it in the First Epistle to the Corinthians: "Wisdom, however, we speak among those who are mature, yet not a wisdom of this world.... But we speak the wisdom of God, mysterious, hidden . . . which ... eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man.... But to us God has revealed [it] through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. Paul taught this wisdom to Dionysius and Timothy and other perfect men, but he kept it hidden from others. It is up to us, then, to be perfect in order to reach it. Forgetting what is behind, 1 strain forward to what is before, hoping that I may understand. 28. Quarta facies sapientiae est difficillima, quia est nulliformis, quod videtur destructivum praecedentium, non tamen est. De hac enim dicit Apostolus primae ad Corinthios secundo: Sapientiam loquimur inter perfectos, sapientiam non huius saeculi; sed loquimur sapientiam in mysterio absconditam, quam nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit; nobis autem revelavit Deus per Spiritum suum. Spiritus autem omnia scrutatur, etiam profunda Dei . Hanc sapientiam docuit Paulus Dionysium et Timotheum et ceteros perfectos et ab aliis abscondit. Oportet ergo, nos esse perfectos, ut ad hanc sapientiam veniamus. Quae retro sunty inquit, obliviscens, ad anteriora me extendo, si quo modo comprehendam .
29. This wisdom is veiled in mystery, but how? If it has not entered into the heart of man, how can it be understood, since it is without form? Note that this is the highest state of achievement of Christian wisdom. While Dionysius wrote many books, it is here that he stopped, that is, in Mystical Theology. Hence it is necessary that a man be instructed in many things and in everything that comes before. Concerning Mystical Theology, Dionysius writes: "As for you, then, my friend Timothy, concerning mystical visions, through strong action and contrition give up the senses," etc. What he means is that a man must be free of all the things he enumerates there, and that he reject them all, as if he were saying: "The One I want to love is above any substance or knowledge." And here is an operation that transcends every intellect: a most secret action, which no one knows unless he experiences it. For in the soul there are several apprehensive powers: the sensitive, the imaginative, the estimative, the intellective; and all must be rejected, and at the summit, there is union of love which transcends them all. Hence it is clear that total beatitude is not attained through the intellective power alone. 29. Haec sapientia abscondita est in mysterio . Sed quomodo? Si in cor hominis non ascendit , quomodo comprehendetur, cum sit nulliformis? -- Nota, quod hic est status sapientiae cristianae; unde cum Dionysius multos libros fecisset, hic consummavit, scilicet in Mystica Theologia . Unde oportet, quod homo sit instructus multis et omnibus praecedentibus. De Mystica Theologia Dionysius: «Tu autem, inquit, o Timothee amice, circa mysticas visiones forti actione et contritione, sensus derelinque» etc.; vult enim dicere, quod oportet, quod sit solutus ab omnibus, quae ibi numerat, et quod omnia dimittat; quasi diceret: super omnem substantiam et cognitionem est ille quem volo intelligere. Et ibi est operatio transcendens omnem intellectum, secretissima; quod nemo scit, nisi qui experitur. In anima enim sunt virtutes multae apprehensivae: sensitiva, imaginativa, aestimativa, intellectiva; et omnes oportet relinquere, et in vertice est Unitio amoris, et haec omnes transcendit. -- Unde patet, quod non est tota beatitudo in intellectiva.
30. Now this contemplation comes about through grace, and yet personal effort is helpful, for it separates self from anything that is not God, and if possible, from itself. And that is the supreme union of love. And the Apostle says that it comes about through love alone: So that, being rooted and grounded in love, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth. Such love transcends every intellect and every science. But if it transcends every science, how can this wisdom be seen? That is why the Apostle continues: Now, to him who is able to accomplish all things in a measure far beyond what we ask or conceive, etc. For it does not belong to anyone, but to the man to whom God reveals it. Hence the same Apostle writes: But to us God has revealed it through His spirit. Hence, in this union the mind is joined to God, wherefore in a certain sense it sleeps, while in another it keeps vigil: I was sleeping, but my heart kept vigil. Only the affective power keeps vigil and imposes silence upon all the other powers; then man becomes foreign to his senses: he is in ecstasy and hears secret words that man may not repeat, because they are only in the heart. Hence, because nothing can be expressed unless it is conceived, or conceived unless it is understood, and [here] the intelligence does not speak: it follows that a man can hardly speak or explain anything. And that is a fact. And because this wisdom is attained only through grace, a wise writer attributes all hidden and unforeseeable things to the Holy Spirit and to the Word Himself, as having to be revealed by them. Hence he says: And all such things as are hid and not foreseen, I have learned: for Wisdom, which is the worker of all things, taught me. And he says the same as Paul. For in her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, etc. This spirit lifts up the soul and teaches unforeseen things. This is the finger of God which the Pharaoh's magician cannot touch, that is, our mind. Many wise men possess the first faces of wisdom, but only a few have this one. 30. Haec autem Contemplatio fit per gratiam, et tamen iuvat industria, scilicet ut separet se ab omni eo, quod Deus non est, et a se ipso, si possibile esset. Et haec est suprema Unitio per amorem. Et quod solum per amorem fiat, dicit Apostolus: In caritate, radicati et fundati, ut possitis comprehendere cum omnibus Sanctis, quae sit longitudo, latitudo, sublimitas et profundum Iste amor transcendit omnem intellectum et scientiam. -- Sed si scientiam transcendit, quomodo videri potest sapientia ista? Propter hoc addit Apostolus: Ei autem, qui potens est omnia facere superabundanter, quam petimus, aut intelligimus etc.; quia non est cuiuslibet, nisi cui Deus revelat. Propter quod dicit Apostolus: Nobis autem revelavit Deus per Spiritum suum . Unde cum mens in illa unione coniuncta est Deo, dormit quodam modo, et quodam modo vigilat: Ego dormio, et cor meum vigilat . Sola affectiva vigilat et silentium omnibus aliis potentiis imponit; et tunc homo alienatus est a sensibus et in ecstasi positus et audit arcana verba, quae non licet homini loqui , quia tantum sunt in affectu. Unde cum exprimi non possit nisi quod concipitur, nec concipitur nisi quod intelligitur, et intellectus silet; sequitur, quod quasi nihil possit loqui et explicare. -- Et ita est; et quia ad istam sapientiam non pervenitur nisi per gratiam, ideo auctor sapiens quaecumque sunt absconsa et improvisa sancto Spiritui et ipsi Verbo attribuit revelanda; et ideo dicit: Quaecumque sunt absconsa et improvisa didici; omnium enim artifex docuit me sapientia . Et idem dicit, quod Paulus. Est enim in illa spiritus intelligentiae sanctus, unicus, multiplex, subtilis , etc. Iste spiritus levat animam et docet improvisa. Et hic est digitus Dei , ad quem magus Pharaonis non potest attingere, scilicet intellectus noster. -- De primis sapientes multi habent, de hac autem pauci. ritus subvertens montes et conterens petras etc. Hunc ignem non est in postestate nostra habere; sed si Deus dat desuper, sacerdotis est nutrire et ligna subiicere per orationem.
31. Now such love divides, puts to sleep, and lifts up. It divides, since it cuts away from any other love because of the single love for the Spouse; it puts to sleep and appeases all the powers and imposes silence; it lifts up, since it leads to God. And so man is as dead, wherefore it is said: Love is strong as death, because it cuts away from all things. Man, then, must die of this love in order to be lifted up. Hence no man sees Me and still lives. Then, in this union, the power of the soul is recollected, and it becomes more unified, and enters in its intimate self, and consequently it rises up to its summit: for according to Augustine, the intimate self and the summit are the same. It is of this summit that the Canticle speaks: I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,... that you stir not up nor awake my beloved, till she please. Iste autem amor est sequestrativi, soporativus, sursumactivus. Sequestrat enim ab omni affectu alio propter sponsi affectum unicum; soporat et quietat omnes potentias et silentium imponit; sursum agit, quia ducit in Deum. Et sic est homo quasi mortuus; et ideo dicitur: Fortis ut mors dilectio quia separat ab omnibus. Oportet enim, hominem mori per illum amorem, ut sursum agatur. Unde non videbit me homo et vivet . Et tunc in tali unione virtus animae in unum colligitur et magis unita fit et intrat in suum intimum et per consequens in summum suum ascendit; quia idem intimum et summum, secundum Augustinum. De illo summo dicitur in Cantico: Adiuro vos, filiae Ierusalem, ne suscitetis neque evigilare faciatis dilectam, donec ipsa velit .
34. This sleep signifies the death of Christ, the burial of Christ, the passage of the Red Sea, the entrance into the Promised Land. That the Holy Spirit once more prompted such a move may be seen in Moses, whom the fire led to the inner parts of the desert, where he received enlightenment. The inner parts are the form of wisdom; the enlightenment is mental ecstasy. 32. But in order to reach such a summit, it is good for us to be carried above every sense, every rational operation related to the imagination, even to dismiss the angelical intelligences, so that it may be said: The watchmen came upon me as they made their rounds of the city:... I had hardly left them when I found Him whom my heart loves. And this is what Dionysius teaches, to dismiss sensible and intellectual things, beings and non-beings—and by non- beings, he means temporal things because they are in a constant state of flux—thus to enter into the radiance of darkness. It is called darkness because it does not bear upon the intelligence, and yet the soul is supremely flooded with light. And because this cannot be had without prayer, Dionysius begins with prayer, saying: "Supersubstantial Trinity, super-divine and super-good." And understand that it is said, not in regard to God, but in regard to our intellect, for the Trinity is substance to a greater degree than our intelligence can perceive, and so is it God, and so also the other attributes. And later, "turning away the eyes of the mind," for the mind cannot see it with intellectual eyes, and so they must be turned away. Hence it is said in the Canticle: Turn away thy eyes from me, for they have made me flee away. For Christ goes away when the mind attempts to behold this wisdom through intellectual eyes; since it is not the intellect that can go in there, but the heart. Hence again in the Canticle: You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride; you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes — for the heart reaches down into the depths of Christ — with one hair of thy neck — for the hair refers to the height of mental thoughts. And Dionysius continues: "As for you, then, my friend Timothy, concerning mystical visions, through strong action and contrition, give up ... intellectual operations," etc. And he affirms that this ascent comes about through the power and the strongest motion of the Holy Spirit, as it is said of Elias: A great and strong wind ... overthrowing the mountains, and breaking the rocks in pieces. It is not for us to have this fire within our power; but if God gives it from above, it is the priest's duty to nourish it and to throw wood on it by means of prayer.33. But this ascent comes about by affirmation and negation. By affirmation, by going from the summit to the depth; by negation, by going from the depth to the summit: and the latter mode is the best, for instance, He is not this, He is not that. In so doing I do not deprive God of what is His or within Him, but I attribute it in a higher and better manner than I am able to understand. Love is always preceded by negation (removal). Hence, Moses was first separated from the elders, then he went up the mountain, and finally entered the cloud. Another example: a sculptor never adds anything, on the contrary, he removes matter," leaving the noble and beautiful form in the stone. Likewise, the notion of God obtained through removal (negation) leaves in us the most noble disposition. Iuvat autem nos ad veniendum ad illum somnum superferri omnibus sensibus, omnibus operationibus intellectualibus, quae sunt cum phantasmatibus annexis, dimittere etiam Angelicas Intelligentias, ut dicatur: Invenerunt me vigiles, qui custodiunt civitatem; paululum cum pertransissem eos, inveni quem diligit anima mea®. Et hoc docet Dionysius, dimittere sensibilia, intellectualia, entia, non entia; et vocat temporalia non entia, quia sunt in continua variatione; et sic intrare in tenebrarum radium. Dicitur tenebra, quia intellectus non capit; et tamen anima summe illustratur. Et quia hoc non habetur nisi per orationem, ideo Dionysius incipit ab oratione dicens: «Trinitas supersubstantialis, superdea, superbona»; et intellige quod hoc dicitur non respectu Dei, sed respectu intellectus nostri; quia magis est substantia, quam intellectus noster capiat, et magis Deus; et sic de aliis. Et post: «amoventes oculos mentis», quia mens oculis intellectualibus aspicere non potest, et ideo amovendi sunt. Et ideo dicitur in Cantico: Averte oculos tuos a me, ipsi me avolare fecerunt . Tunc Christus recedit, quando mens oculis intellectualibus nititur illam sapientiam videre, quia ibi non intrat intellectus, sed affectus. Unde in Cantico: Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea, sponsa; vulnerasti cor meum in uno oculorum tuorum y quia affectus vadit usque ad profundum Christi; et in uno crine colli tui; crinis significat elevationem mentalium considerationum. -- Et post Dionysius: «Tu autem, amice Timothee, circa mysticas visiones, forti contritione et actione sensus derelinque et intellectuales operationes» etc. Et innuit, quod iste ascensus fit per vigorem et commotionem fortissimam Spiritus sancti; sicut dicitur de Elia: Ecce, spi- 33. Iste autem ascensus fit per affirmationem et ablationem: per affirmationem, a summo usque ad infimum; per ablationem, ab infimo usque ad summum; et iste modus est conveniens magis, ut: non est hoc, non est aliud; nec privo ego a Deo quod suum est, vel in ipso est, sed attribuo meliori modo et altiori, quam ego intelligo. -- Ablationem sequitur amor semper. Unde Moyses primo a senioribus sequestratus secundo ascendit in montem, tertio intrat caliginem. Aliud exemplum: qui sculpit figuram nihil ponit, immo removet et in ipso lapide relinquit formam nobilem et pulcram. Sic notitia Divinitatis per ablationem relinquit in nobis nobilissimam dispositionem.34. Istud somnium significat mors Christi, sepultura Christi, transitus maris rubri, transitus in terram promissionis. -- Quod iterum Spiritus sanctus commoveat ad hoc, nota de Moyse, quem duxit ignis ad interiora deserti , ubi accepit illustrationes. Ista ergo est sapientiae forma; isti sunt excessus mentales.