...God does not possess a private knowledge of Himself and a separate knowledge of all the creatures in common. The universal Cause, by knowing Itself, can hardly be ignorant of the things which proceed from It and of which It is the source. This, then, is how God knows all things, not by understanding things, but by understanding Himself.
Interpretation
This quote implies that God's understanding of the universe stems from His understanding of Himself.
In this quote, Pope Dionysius articulates a profound theological perspective on the nature of God's knowledge. It suggests that rather than having a detached awareness of His creation, God comprehensively understands all that exists because He fully understands His own essence. This intrinsic self-awareness allows God to be the source of all knowledge, linking the divine nature with the entirety of creation. Thus, God's knowledge is interconnected and holistic, arising from a deep self-recognition which encompasses everything that emanates from Him.
In practice
In a philosophical debate about the nature of divine knowledge.
[God] is perfect not only insofar as He is absolute perfection, defining perfection in Himself and from His singular existence and total perfection, but also because He is far beyond being so. He sets a boundary to the boundless and in His total unity He rises above all limitation. He is neither contained nor comprehended by anything. He reaches out to everything and beyond everything and does so with unfailing generosity and unstinted activity.
The fact is that the more we take flight upward [to God], the more our words are confined to the ideas we are capable of forming; so that now as we plunge into that darkness which is beyond intellect, we shall find ourselves not simply running short of words but actually speechless and unknowing.
...if we know God our knowledge of... everything will be brought to perfection, and, in so far as is possible, the infinite, divine and ineffable dwelling place (cf. Jn. 14:2) will be ours to enjoy. For this is what our sainted teacher said in his famous philosophical aphorism: 'Then we shall know as we are known' (I Cor. 13:12), when we mingle our god-formed mind and divine reason to what is properly its own and the image returns to the archetype for which it now longs.
Below a certain point, if you keep too quiet, people no longer see you as thoughtful or deep; they simply forget you.
We must have a real living determination to reach holiness. ''I will be a saint'' means I will despoil myself of all that is not God; I will strip my heart of all created things; I will live in poverty and detachment; I will renounce my will, my inclinations, my whims and fancies, and make make myself a willing slave to the will of God.
The world is nothing but my perception of it. I see only through myself. I hear only through the filter of my story.
Intelligence is characterized by a natural incomprehension of life.
The rationality of the ruled is always the weapon of the rulers.
The characteristic human trait is not awareness but conformity, and the characteristic result is religious warfare. Other animals fight for territory or food; but, uniquely in the animal kingdom, human beings fight for their 'beliefs.'
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