the mystical theology of valentin weigel - DataSpace at Princeton ...
the mystical theology of valentin weigel - DataSpace at Princeton ... the mystical theology of valentin weigel - DataSpace at Princeton ...
Dionysius’ very first Greek reader, John of Scythopolis, is said to have introduced “significant changes” that cleansed Dionysius’ writings from the taint of Origenism (considered a fearsome heresy in the early Church). 409 An alternate branch of the Corpus’ textual transmission (in Syrian rather than in Greek), by contrast, has not been tampered with, and so can serve as a point of access to a “more faithful, if indirect, witness to that original text” that is “replete with Origenistic influences.” 410 Moreover, it has been suggested that Dionysius might even have welcomed the veils that his earliest readers drew across his work, proposing that the Corpus Dionysiacum was never intended for a general audience, “but rather [was] produced for a select, esoteric audience of Origenists.” 411 On this account, John of Scythopolis did not misinterpret Dionysius so much as transform an esoteric text into an exoteric one. Perhaps this new theory about the ambiguity that presides over Dionysius’ very early reception history can serve as a model for his subsequent reception, which also oscillates between radical and conservative. So far the discussion has focused on those for whom Dionysius is radical and heterodox. Against this strand of scholarship that claims Dionysius for heterodoxy are those who think that there is something inherently conservative about Dionysius’ thought. Steven Ozment, for instance, writes that “Dionysian mysticism, with its strong sense of established hierarchy, could be enlisted to promote a very conservative ‘descending’ view of political authority.” 412 Setting aside the question of whether an idea can be inherently conservative or radical regardless of context or deployment, Dionysius’ texts have indeed 409 István Perczel, "The Earliest Syriac Reception of Dionysius," Modern Theology 24, no. 4 (October 2008): 571. 410 Ibid, 557-558. 411 Ibid, 565. 412 Steven E. Ozment, Mysticism and Dissent: Religious Ideology and Social Protest in the Sixteenth Century (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1973), n. 25, 12. 156
served as cornerstones in defences of ecclesiastical hierarchy and justifications of ecclesiastical power. 413 One salient example in favour of this view of Dionysius might be the papal bull Unam Sanctam (1302), a document proclaiming that only the Roman Church can offer salvation, and that the Pope presides supremely over this church with a power greater than all secular powers. Dionysius’s name appears to authorize the Bull’s underlying assumption that hierarchy is the natural order of things: “For, according to the Blessed Dionysius, it is a law of the divinity that the lowest things reach the highest place by intermediaries. Then, according to the order of the universe, all things are not led back to order equally and immediately, but the lowest by the intermediary, and the inferior by the superior.” 414 By denying the possibility of any immediate contact between highest and lowest (which is always mediated by hierarchy), Dionysius seems to be exempting the Pope from all judgement by any inferior powers, serving here as the chief advocate for ecclesiastical—specifically papal—authority (Dionysius is the only authority cited in the Bull other than Scripture). Dionysius Becomes Pseudo-Dionysius Indeed, it was not only the Pope in Rome who pressed Dionysius’ fondness for (celestial) hierarchies into service in authorizing his (ecclesiastical) power, but also the 413 Bewes expresses this idea succinctly when he reverses Walter Benjamin’s dictum on the philosophy of history: “If every document of civilization is also a document of barbarism, as Benjamin claims, the conclusion is inescapable that every document of barbarism is also a document of civilization.” Timothy Bewes, "Reading with the Grain: A New World in Literary Criticism," differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies 21, no. 3 (2010): 18. 414 “Nam secundum beatum Dionysium, lex divinitatis est, infima per media in suprema reduci.Non ergo secundum ordinem universi omnia aeque ac immediate, sed infima per media, et inferiora per superiora ad ordinem reducuntur.” The reference to the Bull was first found in Yves Congar, L'Eglise de saint Augustin à l'époque moderne (Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 1970), 272. 157
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served as cornerstones in defences <strong>of</strong> ecclesiastical hierarchy and justific<strong>at</strong>ions <strong>of</strong><br />
ecclesiastical power. 413 One salient example in favour <strong>of</strong> this view <strong>of</strong> Dionysius might be<br />
<strong>the</strong> papal bull Unam Sanctam (1302), a document proclaiming th<strong>at</strong> only <strong>the</strong> Roman<br />
Church can <strong>of</strong>fer salv<strong>at</strong>ion, and th<strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> Pope presides supremely over this church with a<br />
power gre<strong>at</strong>er than all secular powers. Dionysius’s name appears to authorize <strong>the</strong> Bull’s<br />
underlying assumption th<strong>at</strong> hierarchy is <strong>the</strong> n<strong>at</strong>ural order <strong>of</strong> things: “For, according to<br />
<strong>the</strong> Blessed Dionysius, it is a law <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> divinity th<strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> lowest things reach <strong>the</strong> highest<br />
place by intermediaries. Then, according to <strong>the</strong> order <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> universe, all things are not<br />
led back to order equally and immedi<strong>at</strong>ely, but <strong>the</strong> lowest by <strong>the</strong> intermediary, and <strong>the</strong><br />
inferior by <strong>the</strong> superior.” 414 By denying <strong>the</strong> possibility <strong>of</strong> any immedi<strong>at</strong>e contact between<br />
highest and lowest (which is always medi<strong>at</strong>ed by hierarchy), Dionysius seems to be<br />
exempting <strong>the</strong> Pope from all judgement by any inferior powers, serving here as <strong>the</strong> chief<br />
advoc<strong>at</strong>e for ecclesiastical—specifically papal—authority (Dionysius is <strong>the</strong> only<br />
authority cited in <strong>the</strong> Bull o<strong>the</strong>r than Scripture).<br />
Dionysius Becomes Pseudo-Dionysius<br />
Indeed, it was not only <strong>the</strong> Pope in Rome who pressed Dionysius’ fondness for<br />
(celestial) hierarchies into service in authorizing his (ecclesiastical) power, but also <strong>the</strong><br />
413 Bewes expresses this idea succinctly when he reverses Walter Benjamin’s dictum on <strong>the</strong> philosophy <strong>of</strong><br />
history: “If every document <strong>of</strong> civiliz<strong>at</strong>ion is also a document <strong>of</strong> barbarism, as Benjamin claims, <strong>the</strong><br />
conclusion is inescapable th<strong>at</strong> every document <strong>of</strong> barbarism is also a document <strong>of</strong> civiliz<strong>at</strong>ion.” Timothy<br />
Bewes, "Reading with <strong>the</strong> Grain: A New World in Literary Criticism," differences: A Journal <strong>of</strong> Feminist<br />
Cultural Studies 21, no. 3 (2010): 18.<br />
414 “Nam secundum be<strong>at</strong>um Dionysium, lex divinit<strong>at</strong>is est, infima per media in suprema reduci.Non ergo<br />
secundum ordinem universi omnia aeque ac immedi<strong>at</strong>e, sed infima per media, et inferiora per superiora ad<br />
ordinem reducuntur.” The reference to <strong>the</strong> Bull was first found in Yves Congar, L'Eglise de saint Augustin<br />
à l'époque moderne (Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf, 1970), 272.<br />
157
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