We continue my English translation of Dionysius’ Mystical Theology.
Now I am praying thus, in these words, but do you, Timothy my brother, in your study of throngs of mystical/symbolic visions, leave even the senses and the operation of all conventional words; and again, [leave] all [those] natures [which are] perceptible and knowable; and all which is and all which is, [but rather] as far as possible, reach for the incomprehensible (lit. what is beyond the senses), towards unity with he who is above all being and all knowledge.
It seems to me that Dionysius is not telling Timothy that he should not be concerned with his study of “symbols” (and there is a question of what is meant by this, but we can leave that for the time being); but rather, that they should be the point of departure for going further. It seems to me that the Luibheid translation of the Greek differ from the Syriac in making it appear that Timothy is only a beginner, and hence that this advice is suitable for everyone. I see it quite differently: I think that Timothy has attained to much, and now his teacher is showing him how to go further. This is not a quibble: the advice given here is not for general consumption.
Dionysius then indicates something of what will be found if Timothy makes the effort he (Dionysius) describes in general terms:
For by separation of yourself from yourself – the separating of holiness/purity – and {separation) from all else, you are raised toward the eternal (i.e. eternally existing) beam (flash of light ) of the divine utter-darkness (3amțōnō). When you have cast off from yourself all natural dispositions, then you are loosed from everything, and are lifted up.
The critical thing here is that the Syriac is much clearer than the Greek that Timothy is being told that at a certain point one can separate oneself from oneself, and that this is done through the search for holiness, for “holiness” or “purity” is by its very nature other than what is profane and impure – this being separate, it seems, is the etymological root of the prime Syriac root for “holy” and allied concepts: qdš. Neither the Parker translation “divine darkness” nor Luibheid’s “divine shadow” is, I think sufficient for the Syriac. First, Syriac has other words for darkness, not least He.šou.kō and Hoob.yō. But 3amțōnō is “deepest darkness” in one word. Second, a “shadow” is not only too weak a word, but it implies a source of light casting the shadow, and shadows are often temporary.
But above all, the Syriac presents a path, and not just a somewhat vague notion of a movement upwards. I think it fair to put this in Gurdjieff’s terms: “me,” my false personality, is – from the perspective of the higher worlds – unreal. That is, nothing of the higher worlds is included in its make-up. We do wrong to identify with it: we should, rather, separate. As he said, the key to everything is to remain separate. By seeking a holy life, we prepare the ground for this. But we also need to know that at a certain point one must make an act of will to separate out from the dispositions of our (lower) nature.
