"Then, from the throng withdrawn,
he comes,
the chosen priests his entourage,
to the topmost peak of the divine ascent.
Yet he encounters God not,
he sees God not
(for God cannot be seen),
but sees alone the place on which He dwells.
This is the sign, I think,
that the most divine
the most sublime
one can see or know
are symbols only,
subordinate to Him who is Himself
transcendent to them all;
that they are pointers to His presence
who is beyond comprehending..."

--Pseudo-Dionysius, 6th century Syrian monk