To be known is the Good's own nature — the vision that does not blind but fills with immortality
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Hermes — οὕτως ἄρα ταῦτα τῷ δυναμένῳ ἰδεῖν· καὶ γὰρ τοῦτο θέλει εἶναι, καὶ ἔστι καὶ αὐτῷ, μάλιστα δὲ αὐτό. καὶ γὰρ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα διὰ τοῦτον ἔστιν… ἴδιον γὰρ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τὸ γνωρίζεσθαί ἐστι τὸ ἀγαθόν, ὦ Τάτ.
Tat — ᾿Επλήρωσας ἡμᾶς, ὦ πάτερ, τῆς ἀγαθῆς καὶ καλλίστης θέας καὶ ὀλίγου δεῖν ἐσεβάσθη μου ὁ τοῦ νοῦ ὀφθαλμὸς ὑπὸ τῆς τοιαύτης θέας.
Hermes — Οὐ γάρ, ὥσπερ ἡ τοῦ ἡλίου ἀκτίς, πυρώδης οὖσα, καταυγάζει καὶ μύειν ποιεῖ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, οὕτω καὶ ἡ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ θέα· τοὐναντίον ἐκλάμπει καὶ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον, ἐφ' ὅσον δύναται ὁ δυνάμενος δέξασθαι τὴν ἐπεισροὴν τῆς νοητῆς λαμπηδόνος· ὀξυτέρα μὲν γάρ ἐστιν εἰς τὸ καθικνεῖσθαι, ἀβλαβὴς δὲ καὶ πάσης ἀθανασίας ἀνάπλεως,
So then these things are for the one able to see; for this he wills to be, and it is, even for him, and most of all itself; for indeed all other things exist because of this one. For it is proper to the Good to be known — that is, the Good, O Tat. — You have filled us, father, with the good and fairest vision, and my mind's eye was well-nigh brought to worship by such a vision. — For it is not as the sun's ray, which, being fiery, blazes down and makes the eyes close; so too is the vision of the Good — on the contrary, it shines forth, and to as great a degree as the one able is able to receive the inflow of the intelligible radiance; for it is sharper to penetrate, yet harmless and brimful of all immortality.
So these things are for the one able to see, Hermes says; for God wills to be, and is, and above all is himself — and all other things exist because of him. For it is proper to the Good to be known: the Good is knowability itself. Tat breaks in: 'You have filled us, father, with the good and fairest vision — the eye of my mind was almost brought to worship.' Hermes answers: unlike the sun's fiery ray, which dazzles and forces the eyes shut, the vision of the Good does the opposite — it shines forth, harmless, to whatever degree one can receive the inflow of the intelligible radiance, a light sharper to penetrate yet brimful of all immortality.
The section makes 'to be known' the Good's own signature: 'it is proper to the Good to be known (ἴδιον γὰρ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τὸ γνωρίζεσθαι) — that is, the Good.' Where CH VI and the negative theologians stress that God is beyond knowing, 'The Key' insists on the complementary truth: the Good, by its nature, gives itself to be known. Knowability is not something added to the Good; it is what the Good is. This is why the whole treatise can be an epitome offered to a son — the Good wants to be found.
Then the treatise's most beautiful image, and its correction of the oldest metaphor in philosophy. Plato had compared the Good to the sun (Republic VI); here Hermes takes the comparison and turns it inside out. The sun's ray 'being fiery (πυρώδης οὖσα) blazes down and makes the eyes close (μύειν ποιεῖ)' — physical light wounds, forces the shutting of the very organ that would see. The vision of the Good does 'the contrary (τοὐναντίον)': it 'shines forth (ἐκλάμπει)' in exact measure to the seer's capacity 'to receive the inflow of the intelligible radiance (τὴν ἐπεισροὴν τῆς νοητῆς λαμπηδόνος).' It is 'sharper to penetrate (ὀξυτέρα εἰς τὸ καθικνεῖσθαι)' than sunlight — it goes deeper — 'yet harmless (ἀβλαβής), and brimful of all immortality (πάσης ἀθανασίας ἀνάπλεως).' The light that would blind the body is the light that immortalizes the soul. And Tat's response — 'my mind's eye was well-nigh brought to worship (ὀλίγου δεῖν ἐσεβάσθη)' — shows the vision doing its work: not blinding, but bending the seer toward adoration.
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