2

The first way first and foremost signifies Him in Being itself, saying

He Who Is is the primary name of God. The second signifies Him in His

goodness, saying this [goodness] is the primary name of God. The former

refers above all to the Old Testament, which preaches the unity of the

divine essence, whence it was said to Moses, "I am Who I am." The second

refers to the New Testament, which lays down the plurality of the Persons,

by baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy

Spirit. Therefore our Master Christ, wishing to elevate the youth who had

served the law to evangelical perfection, attributed the name of goodness

principally and precisely to God. No one, He said, is good but God alone

[Luke, 18, 19]. Damascenus ["De fide orthodox.," 1, 9] therefore, following

Moses, says that "He Who Is" is the primary name of God. Dionysius,

following Christ, says that goodness is God's primary name.