‘He did not say X but Y’: a Byzantine trope that makes negative theology a figure of speech

Abstract

A formula permeates Greek patristic literature in the shape of: ‘he did not say X but Y’.  Even though it is rehearsed hundreds of times and reflects the peculiar apophatic stamp of Byzantine thought, the formula has not hitherto been identified and analysed.  Tracing the development and meaning of the formula, the article proposes that the exegetical template ‘he did not say X but Y’ grammatically embodies the negative impulse in Byzantine theology, building on Jewish tradition in speaking of God by things that God is not.  The expression calls upon the expositor to imagine what a sacred text does not say in order to appreciate better what it does say.  The article argues that it is more than a technique of emphasis but belongs to a way of thinking where imperfect human understanding triangulates holy perfection.