Pseudo-Dionysius and the Metaphysics of Aquinas [1 ed.] 0268037248, 9780268037246

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Fran O ’ Rourke “This is one of the two or three most important books on Aquinas published in the last fifty years.”  —Al asdair MacInt yre, University of Notre Dame “[T]he completeness of O’Rourke’s survey of the vast quantity of relevant (and often untranslated) text, as well as his extensive knowledge and prudent employment of the multilingual literature, make [the book] genuinely useful resource for scholars. . . . [B]ecause of its exhaustive historical scholarship, its even-handedness, and its continued philosophical cogency, the reissue of O’Rourke’s book can be greeted with applause.” — journal of ec clesiastical hist ory “The substantial and detailed analysis of the texts of both authors will prove an invaluable work of reference for students of Pseudo-Dionysius and Aquinas.” —International Phil osophical Quarterly “Although the argumentation of the book is subtle and profoundly conceived, it is stated with the most lucid and compelling clarity. The book was a labour of love and is certain to remain for many decades or more the standard work in an extraordinarily difficult area of the history of metaphysics.”  —International Journal of Phil osophical Studies “A truly magnificent study.”  —Angelicum Although Pseud o-Dionysius was, after Aristotle, the author whom Thomas Aquinas quoted most frequently, surprisingly little attention has been paid to the role of this Neoplatonist thinker in the formation of Aquinas’ philosophy. Fran O’Rourke’s book is the only available work that investigates the pervasive influence of Pseudo-Dionysius on Aquinas, while at the same time examining the latter’s profound originality. F R A N O ’ RO U RK E is Senior Lecturer in the School of Philosophy at University College Dublin, Ireland.

Universit y of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, IN 46556

o ’ rou r k e   P S E U D O - D I O N Y S I U S a n d t h e M E T A P H Y S I C S o f A Q U I N A S

P S E U D O - D I O N Y S I U S A N D T H E M E TA P H Y S I C S O F A Q U I N A S

fr a n o ’ rou r k e

PSEU DO -DION YSIUS and the

M E TA P H Y S I C S of

AQ U I N A S

undpress.nd.edu C ov e r de si g n b y andrew shurtz

O'Rourke PDMA 2010 cover.indd 1

2/16/10 11:39 AM

PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS AND THE METAPHYSICS OF AQUINAS

PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS AND

THE METAPHYSICS OF AQUINAS

by FRAN O'ROURKE

University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana

O'Rourke reprint

10/4/05

11:51 AM

Page iv

Copyright © 1992, 2005 by Fran O’Rourke Cloth edition published in 1992 by E.J. Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands First paperback edition published in 2005 by the University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, Indiana 46556 www.undpress.nd.edu All Rights Reserved Reprinted in 2010 Manufactured in the United States of America The Press gratefully acknowledges financial support from The National University of Ireland for the publication of this paperback edition. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data O’Rourke, Fran. Pseudo-Dionysius and the metaphysics of Aquinas / by Fran O’Rourke.— 1st pbk. ed. p. cm. Originally published: Leiden ; New York : E.J. Brill, 1992, in series: Studien und Texte zur Geistesgeschichte des Mittelalters ; Bd. 32. Revision of the author’s thesis (Ph. D.)—Hoger Instituut voor Wijsbegeerte, Leuven. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 13: 978-0-268-03724-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)—ISBN 10: 0-268-03724-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?–1274. 2. Pseudo-Dionysius, the Areopagite— Influence. 3. Metaphysics—History—To 1500. I. Title. B765.T54O78 2005 186'.4—dc22 2005025288

∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper.

1 no1lcuuime mo tU1sm1teo1Rf Cao1rhfn .6.SUS ma1Re.6.'0

CONTENTS Preface to the 2005 Reprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

x1 xm xv

PART ONE

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD I

II

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3 3 7 14 16

DIONYSIAN ELEMENTS IN AQUINAS' DISCOVERY OF GOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reason and Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Triplex Via of Divine Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Principle o f Similitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Participation: Ground of Predication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Primacy of Negative Knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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22 22 31 41 44 48

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD IN PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS Reason and Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Causality and the Knowledge of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . Positive and Negative Names of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . Priority of Negation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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PART TWO

TRANSCENDENCE OF BEING AND THE GOOD III

THEARCHIA: THE TRANSCENDENT GOOD Transcendence of God as Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transcendence of God Beyond Being . . . . . . . . . God as Non-Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . God Beyond Being and Non-Being . . . . . . . . . . . The Meaning of 'Non-Being' for Dionysius . . . .

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65 68 76 79 80 82

viii IV

CONTENTS

AQUINA S : BEING, NON-BEING AND THE GOOD The Notion of the Good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aquinas' Interpretation of Dionysius' Non-Being

............

Matter as Non-Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . God as Non-Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Potency as Non-Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Being as First Desired

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Goodness , Being and Causality Primacy of Being

85 85 89 89 94 95 97 99 1 09

PART THREE

TRANSCENDENT CAUSALITY AND EXISTENCE V

UNITY OF DIVINE CAUSATION IN DIONYSIUS . . . . . . .

Dionysius, A quinas and Exodus 3, 14

VI

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DIONYSIAN ELEMENTS IN AQUINAS' NOTION OF BEING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Universal Being: the First Created Perfection

. . . . . . . Dionysius, Source of A quinas' Intensive Notion of Being .

VII

1 17 1 30

............. The Meaning of Esse Commune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Esse Commune and Ipsum Esse Subsistens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virtus Essendi: Intensive Being in Dionysius and Aquinas . Virtual Quantity: the Language of Esse Intensivum . . . Virtual Intensity of Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Esse Intensivum: Primary Act and Perfection . . . . . . . . .

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GOODNESS OF GOD AS SUBSISTENT BEING

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... .......... Divine Perfection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aquinas and the Good beyond Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Divine Identity, Simplicity and Immutability

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1 33 1 33 1 43 1 48 1 55 1 56 1 67 1 74 1 80

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1 88 1 97 1 98 20 1

PART FOUR

CREATIVE DIFFUSION OF THE GOOD VIII

PSEUDO-DIONYSIUS: THE CYCLE OF CREATION

215

IX

CONTENTS

IX

CREATIVE DIFFUSION IN AQUINAS Divine Good as Origin of Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Emanation and Return of Creatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diffusion of the Good: Efficient or Final Causation? God's Creative Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Presence and Transcendence of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hierarchy and Order of Beings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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EPILOGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . INDEX OF PROPER NAMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

225 225 234 241 250 255 260

275 277 299

PREFACE TO THE 2005 REPRINT

Shortly after Pseudo-Dionysius and the Metaphysics ofAquinas was first pub­ lished in 1 992, the senior editor at E.J. Brill confidently stated that there were sufficient copies in stock to meet demands 'well into the next century' . He could not have been as surprised as the author, however, by the deletion ofthe title from the catalogue within halfa decade. I am grateful to the University of Notre Dame Press for their willingness to issue a reprint, following many re­ quests that it be made available again. I am most grateful also to those col­ leagues who reviewed the book on its appearance, or who critically engaged with it subsequently in the literature. It is not my purpose here to proffer a reply since I am, for the most part, happy to accept their criticism and com­ ments as legitimate. Aside from some minor emendations the text remains un­ altered. In lieu ofrevision I take the liberty oflisting here some recent articles of mine on Plato, Neoplatonism, and Aquinas. Hopefully they will provide elaboration on aspects of the background against which Aquinas articulated his understanding ofDionysius. 'Via causalitatis; via negationis; via eminentiae' , Historisches Worterbuch Band 1 1 [U-V]. Basel: Schwabe Verlag, 200 1 , 1 03 4-3 8.

der Philosophie,

'Plato's Approach to Being in the Theaetetus and Sophist, and Heidegger's At­ tribution ofAristotelian Influence', Diotima 3 1 (2003 ), 47-58. 'Aquinas and Platonism', Contemplating Aquinas. On the Varieties of Inter­ ed. Fergus Kerr. London: SCM Press, 2003 , 247-79.

pretation,

'Jacques Maritain and the Metaphysics of Plato' , in Approaches to Meta­ ed. William Sweet. Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2004, 229 -48.

physics,

'Unity in Aquinas' Commentary on the Liber de Causis', Pensees de /' dans l 'histoire de la philosophie. E tudes en hommage au professeur Werner Beierwaltes,

ed. Jean-Marc Narbonne and Alfons Reckermann. Paris: V rin, 2004, 230-7 1 .

ABBREVIATIONS Pseudo-Dionysius DN CH Ep. MT PG

Divine Names Celestial Hierarchy Letters Mystical Theology Patrologia Graeca

St Thomas Aquinas Comp. Theo!. De Reg. Princip. De Spirit. Creal. De Subst. Separ. In Roeth. de Trin. In de Causis In DN In Metaph. In Peri. Herm. In Physic. In Poster. Anal. In Sent. ST

Compendium Theologiae De Regimine Principum Quaestio disputata de spiritualibus crea turis De substantiis separatis In librum Boethii de Trinitate expositio In librum de causis expositio In librum Dionysii de divinis nominibus expositio In duodecim libros Metaphysicorum Aristotelis expositio In libros Peri Hermeneias Aristotelis expositio In octo libros Physicorum Ari stotelis expositio In libros Posteriorum Analyticorum Aristotelis expositio Scriptum super Sententiis magistri Petri Lombardi Summa Theologiae

PREFACE

The sun, Aquinas remarks in his Commentary on the Divine Names, is itself too powerful to look at, and is best viewed as it is reflected upon the moun­ tain peaks or fills the clouds with light. The Holy Mountain of Athos was re­ splendent in the first light of dawn and the clouds were filled with ochre rays from the sun which was not yet visible. The small cai:que had left the pier below the Monastery of Megiste Lavra while it was still dark and made its way slowly southwards along the coast. Out of the shelter of the isthmus the craft was hit by the fury of a sudden storm, and thrown from the crest to trough by wave after wave which crashed with fury from the west. One re­ called the fate of Xerxes' fleet as it sailed around this same promontory. Re­ lieved to dock in the nearest harbour, we made our way up the steep and rocky-but altogether safe-path to the Monastery of Saint Dionysius, which was perched like a fortress some hundreds of feet above the ocean. The reading at mealtime in the Trapezaria an hour later held no spe­ cial significance at first, but on hearing the words 'Ayw; L1wvvcrzo;, 6 'Atr6crwA,o; IlavA,o;, f\yvwo"roq 8eiJ;, even the name of Ilp6x:Aoq, I was seized with excitement and curiosity-a frisson more overwhelming than the fear of the early morning. A friendly monk explained that the reading concerned the life of an ancient bishop ofAthens who had been a disciple of St Paul; he was a sacred writer, renowned for his treatises on contemplation and the life of monks. The text explained that a writer of the fifth century had relied greatly upon these writings but lacked the grace to acknowledge his debt. Today the feast of this holy man was being celebrated. But surely, I exclaimed, no one still believed that this writer was the disciple of St Paul! Had not modem research, with all its means of historical critique, shown beyond doubt that these writings belonged to a later writer who had indeed relied upon the work of Proclus. My question offended; ' Man of little faith!' I was guilty of blasphemy­ whether by irreverence or disbelief I was unsure-and judged that courtesy to my host called for silence. I nodded in agreement that science is no measure in matters of belief. Reason must bow before the testimony of faith and tradition. Indeed, if proof were needed, I was

xvi

PREFACE

told, were not some bones of Saint Dionysius, including his skull, still pre­ served in another monastery on Athos, to be venerated on that very day? I examined the lectionary as soon as I could. 1 The page was opened at October 3rd! Had I lost track of the days, thinking it was October 1 6th? I recalled the difference between the calendars of East and West. At the ceremony in the afternoon the monks intoned the life and ecomium of Dionysius, relating among other things his presence with the apostles at the dormition of the Blessed Virgin. 2 Listening to the monks chant the solemn hymns in praise of Dionysius, my appreciation of his work was transformed. The myth still survived in this remote haven of fervour and devotion, palpably attested to by the scent of incense and the glow of oil-lamps before the icons of this holy man. It survived, not as a myth, but as a history of love and veneration. For how many centuries had these hymns been sung in unbroken tradition? Dionysius assumed for me at that moment a new significance and actuality. I had a forceful appreciation of the significance of Dionysius for Aquinas, who was profoundly influenced by his writings and personality. Like the monks of Athas, whose veneration of Dionysius now seemed so strange, so Aquinas had also experienced the draw of the ancient writer. I saw that, regardless, of its authorship, the Corpus Dionysiacum was still a living tradition, with a power for truth and inspiration. Despite the falsehood of their apostolic authority, the works of Dionysius have a timeless message and a quiet power to draw those who read them closer to the divine secrets of the universe. One of the many questions which I do not touch upon in the present study is the identity of the Pseudo-Dionysius. My interest is directed exclusively toward the philosophic vision of his writings and their influence upon Aquinas. Aquinas' interest in Dionysius is itself many­ sided, extensive and profound. He refers to the Corpus Dionysiacum in his elucidation of many theological doctrines; his speculations both on evil and aesthetic beauty are largely derived from Dionysius. Most of the literature on Dionysius and Aquinas deals with the question of knowledge and language about God. Few deal with the global influence of Dionysius on the metaphysics of Aquinas; this influence, however, extends to such central questions as the very nature of existence, the hierarchy of beings, the nature of God and the theory of creation. It is my aim to show that, in the encounter of Aquinas with Dionysius, there emerges an integral and comprehensive vision of existence, a 1 'O Meyar; Lvva4apumjpijr; 'OpBo&gov 'EK'dl}aiar;, I, Athens, 1981, pp. 62-109. 2This is printed in PG IV, 577-84: Bior; K'al eyK'WJtwv wii 'Ayiov Liwvvaiov 'Apewirayiwv. 'fa: r