On what Cannot be Said: Apophatic Discourses in Philosophy, Religion, Literature, and the Arts

407 Pages·5.386 MB·English

by  William Franke

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    
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O N W H AT C A N N OT
B E S A I D
Apophatic Discourses
in Philosophy, Religion, Literature,
and the Arts
 .  
Edited with Theoretical and Critical Essays by
William Franke
University ofNotre Dame Press
Notre Dame,Indiana
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University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 
www.undpress.nd.edu
All Rights Reserved
Copyright ©  by University of Notre Dame
Published in the United States of America
Reprinted in 
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
On what cannot be said : apophatic discourses in philosophy, religion, literature,
and the arts : vol. : Classic formulations / edited with theoretical and critical
essays by William Franke.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
-: ---- (cloth : alk. paper)
-: --- (cloth : alk. paper)
-: ---- (pbk. : alk. paper)
-: --- (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-268-07058-8 (web pdf)
. Mysticism. . Negative theology. . Speeches, addresses, etc. I. Franke,
William.
. 
—dc

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council
on Library Resources.
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To my engenderers,
nameless and many
—nevertheless,namely,
Barbara and Paul
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CONTENTS
Hymn to the Transcendence ofGod x
Preface:Apophasis as a Genre of Discourse 
Introduction:Historical Lineaments of Apophasis 
T I O
. Plato,Parmenidesb–e 
. Plotinus,The EnneadsV.v.;VI.ix.–,,;V.iii., 
. Porphyry?,Commentary on Plato’sParmenides,Fragments I–VI 
. Proclus,Commentary on the Parmenides,BookVII,K–K 
. Damascius,Doubts and Solutions Concerning First Principles,
Part I,chaps.– 
T N G
. Bible:Kings:–(Elijah onMount Horeb);Corinthians
:–(Paul rapt to the third heaven) 
. Philo,On Cain’s Posterity–;On Change ofNames–;
Onthe Law ofAllegory III,–;OnDreamsI,–,– 
. Corpus HermeticumV.,–;Asclepius 
. Tripartite TractateI,–(Gnostic text from the Nag
Hammadi Library) 
. Clement of Alexandria,StromateV,chap.XII,.–. 
. Gregory ofNyssa,The Life ofMoses,Book II,–;On
Virginity.–;Commentary on Ecclesiastes,Sermon ,
.– 
. Augustine,Confessions,Book IX.x.xxiii–xxv
(The Visionat Ostia) 
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viii Contents
. Dionysius the Aeropagite,Divine Names,chaps.I and VII,;
Mystical Theology 
. Johannes Scotus Eriugena,The Division ofNatureI,
d–d 
. Moses Maimonides,Guide ofthe PerplexedI,
chaps.,,– 
. Kabbalah:Azriel of Gerona,“Ein Sof,”“The Annihilation of
Thought,”and “Being and Nothingness”;ZoharIII,b;Isaac the
Blind,“Beyond Knowing”;from Embellishments on the Zohar;
Joseph Gikatilla,“The Name of Nothingness”;David ben Abraham
ha-Lavan and Asher ben David,“Ayin”;Moses of Léon,“The
Wisdom of Nothingness”and ”Ripples” 
. Ibn al-‘Arabi,from “The Wisdom of Exaltation in the Word of
Noah”and “The Exaltation of Light in the Word of Joseph”
in The Bezels ofWisdom 
. Rumi,“The Reed Flute’s Song”;“The World Which Is Made of
Our Lovefor Emptiness”;“Quietness” 
. Albert the Great,Commentary on Dionysius’Mystical Theology,
chap. 
. Thomas Aquinas,Summa theologiae Ia,q.,arts.–,–
(“Denominibus Dei”) 
I-, I- S
. Marguerite Porete,from The Mirror ofSimple Souls,
chaps., 
. Meister Eckhart,German Sermons and ;Commentary on
Exodus,sections –;Granum sinapis,stanzas VII and VIII 
. Dante,Paradiso,Canto XXXIII,– 
. GregoryPalamas,Triads in Defenceofthe Holy Hesychasts,
I.iii,chaps.,,– 
. The Cloud ofUnknowing,chaps.,, 
. Nicholas ofCusa,Dialogue on the Hiddenness ofGod;
On Learned Ignorance,Book I,chaps.– 
. Teresa ofÁvila,Interior Castle,Sixth Mansions,
from chaps.and  
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Contents ix
. John ofthe Cross,Spiritual Canticle,Prologue,sections and ;
The Dark Night,Book II,chap.XVII,–;Ascent ofMount Carmel,
Book I,chap.XIII,;“The Dark Night”(poem);“Stanzas
Concerning an Ecstasy Experienced in High Contemplation” 
. Jakob Böhme,On the Election ofDivine Grace,chap. 
. Silesius Angelus,selections from The Wandering Cherub 
Permissions and Acknowledgments 
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+Ymnoq e˝q Ueøn
=V påntvn ®p™keina? tº gÅr u™miq “llo se m™lpein;
P©q løgoq Êmn¸sei se; SÂ gÅr løgÛ oªdenÁWhtøq.
Mo†noq ®◊n “frastoq? ®peÁ t™xeq Œssa lale¡tai.
P©q nøoq “ur¸se se; SÂ gÅr nøÛ oªdenÁlhptøq.
Mo†noq ®◊n “gnvstoq? ®peÁ t™xeq Œssa noe¡tai.
Pånta se kaÁ lal™onta, kaÁ oªlal™onta ligaºnei?
Pånta se kaÁ no™onta kaÁ oª no™onta geraºrei.
JynoÁ går te pøuoi, jynaÁ d| ∫d¡neq Öpåntvn
|AmfÁ s™? soÁ d‚ tÅ pånta prose¥xetai? e˝q s‚ d‚ pånta
S¥nuema sØn no™onta lale¡ sig√menon ‹mnon.
SoÁ ®nÁ pånta m™nei? soÁ d|Ωurøa pånta, kaÁ uoåzei,
KaÁ påntvn t™loq ®ssº, kaÁ eµq, kaÁ pånta kaÁ oªd™n
Oªx ’n ®◊n, oª pånta? |An√nyme, p©q se kal™ssv
TØn mønon Ωkl¸›ston; Êperfan™aq d‚ kal¥ptraq
Tºq nøoq oªranºdhq e˝sd¥setai; +Ilaoq e¬hq,
=V påntvn ®p™keina? tº gÅr u™miq “llo se m™lpein;1
. Greek text from Proclus,Hymnes et prières,ed.Henri D.Saffrey (Paris:Arfuyen,
),p..I have preserved the punctuation of the hymn as it appears in Patrologia
Graeca,vol.,p.,ed.J.-P.Migne (Turnholti: Brepols,),where it is wrongly
attributed to Gregory Nazianzus.
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Hymn to the Transcendence of God
Oyou,beyond all things! For how else is it fitting to sing you?
How can words hymn you? For you are expressed by no word.
You alone are unutterable,though all that is spoken is from you.
How can mind perceive you? For you are grasped by no mind.
You alone are unknowable,since all that is known is from you.
All that speaks and does not speak proclaims you.
All that thinks and does not think honors you.
Foralldesires and all travailings ofall things
are directed toward you.All things pray to you,and to you
all who know your cipher sing a silent hymn.
Inyou alone all things abide,to you all together rush.
For you are the end ofall,the one,the all,the nothing,
being not one,not all.Nameless,what shall I call you?
The onlyunnameable? What celestial spirit
could penetrate your more-than-light darknesses? Be gracious,
Oyou,beyond all things! For how else is it fitting to sing you?2
. Asomewhat different translation ofthe first several verses ofthe hymn is offered
by Deirdre Carabine,The Unknown God: Negative Theology in the Platonic Tradition,
Plato to Eriugena,Louvain Theological and Pastoral Monographs (Louvain:Peeters
Press,),p..
Throughout,translations not attributed to other sources are my own.
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