The Mystical Theology · Περὶ μυστικῆς θεολογίας

Written by Saint Dionysius the Areopagite · Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης

Translated by Clarence Edwin Rolt (1920 Edition)

In his book On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, Martin Luther said:

"I completely disapprove of giving so much credence to this Dionysius, whoever he was, since there is practically no solid learning to be found in him. Take, for instance, the fabrications about the angels in his Celestial Hierarchy (a book much sweated over by people of a curious or superstitious temperament). By what authority or reason, I ask, does he prove any of this? If you read and evaluate this honestly, are not all these things his own dreamlike musings? On the other hand, in his Mystical Theology (so highly praised by some of the most ignorant theologians), he is most dangerous, speaking more like a Platonist than a Christian."