the luminous and the earthly human—to attain gnostic recognition of Him. Thus, He had no need to establish an attribute by which He would be recognized, nor a name by which He would be called.
Rather, the names and attributes were established and designated solely for the realizations of the gnostics, while He remains exalted above them in both His manifestation and His hiddenness. This is because He makes Himself known to His creation however He wills, producing within the created eyes looking upon Him and within [the intellects] 1 that which the rational person realizes Him by. Consequently, the ignorant person mistakenly assumes that He is actually described by those very features in which he beholds Him—such as a head, a forehead, a hand, a foot, or as one riding or walking in the marketplaces. This, indeed, is infidelity and blindness after having possessed insight.
[Rather] 2 , the one looking upon Him only perceives according to their capacity, and each intellect perceives in proportion to the purity of its essence,