On What Cannot Be Said

Apophasis has become a major topic in the humanities particularly in philosophy religion and literature. This monumental two-volume anthology gathers together most of the important historical works on apophaticism and illustrates the diverse trajectories of apophatic discourse in ancient modern and postmodern times. William Franke provides a major introductory essay on apophaticism at the beginning of each volume and shorter introductions to each anthology selection. The first volume Classic Formulations offers excerpts from Plato Plotinus Damascius the Bible Gregory of Nyssa Augustine Pseudo-Dionysius Maimonides Rumi Thomas Aquinas Marguerite Porete Dante Teresa of Ávila John of the Cross and more.