ABSTRACT
Since the nature of the Divine, if it exists, is so different from the nature of the physical objects and mental concepts about which people commonly talk, it is often talked about in non-literal language. The negative way is a way of talking about the Divine by saying what it is not. The influence of Plotinus can be seen in the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius, an unknown author who may have lived in Syria towards the end of the fifth century. In On the Divine Names, Pseudo-Dionysius suggests that God's names cannot literally describe God because human language is unable to describe something which is perfect and unique. The negative way does, at least, remind people that the nature of the Divine, if it exists, is very difficult to describe in human language. It is, nonetheless, the case that many religious believers do think that it is possible to speak of God in more positive terms.
