View source for Nicholas of Cusa

{{Short description|German cardinal and philosopher (1401–1464)}}
{{Redirect2|Cusa|Cusanus|the lunar crater|Cusanus (crater)|other uses|CUSA (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox philosopher
| honorific_prefix = [[His Eminence]]
| region           = [[Western philosophy]]
| era              = [[Medieval philosophy]]<br>[[Renaissance philosophy]]
| image            = Nicholas of Cusa.jpg
| caption          = Nicholas of Cusa, by ''[[Master of the Life of the Virgin]]''
| name             = Nicholas of Cusa
| other_names      = Doctor Christianus, Nikolaus Cryfftz, Nicholas of Kues, Nicolaus Cusanus
| module           = {{Infobox Christian leader
| child            = yes
| type = cardinal
| title = [[Bishop of Brixen]]
| church           = [[Catholic Church]]
| ordination       = 1436<ref name=CT>[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bcusa.html Nikolaus ''Cardinal'' von Cusa ]</ref>
| consecration     = 26 April 1450<ref name=CT/>
| cardinal = 20 December 1448
| other_post = [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[San Pietro in Vincoli]]
| consecrated_by = [[Pope Nicholas V]]
| term = 1450–1464
| created_cardinal_by = Pope Nicholas V
}}
| birth_date       = 1401
| birth_place      = [[Bernkastel-Kues|Kues]], [[Electorate of Trier]],<br>[[Holy Roman Empire]]
| death_date       = 11 August 1464
| death_place      = [[Todi]], [[Umbria]],<br>[[Papal States]]
| alma_mater       = [[Heidelberg University]]<br>[[University of Padua]]
| school_tradition = [[Christian Neoplatonism]]<br>[[Renaissance humanism]]<ref name="Fiamma 2017">{{cite journal |author-last=Fiamma |author-first=Andrea |date=June 2017 |title=Nicholas of Cusa and the So-called Cologne School of the 13th and 14th Centuries |journal=Archives d'Histoire littéraire et doctrinale du Moyen Âge, LXXXIV |location=Paris |publisher=Librairie philosophique J. Vrin |volume=84 |issue=1 |pages=91–128 |doi=10.3917/ahdlm.084.0091 |isbn=978-2-7116-2815-5 |issn=2109-9529}}</ref><br>[[Christian humanism]]<ref name="Fiamma 2017"/>
| main_interests   =
{{Flatlist}}
*[[Christian theology]]<ref name="Fiamma 2017"/>
*[[Christian mysticism]]<ref name="Fiamma 2017"/>
*[[Humanism]]<ref name="Fiamma 2017"/>
*Mathematics<ref name="Fiamma 2017"/>
{{Endflatlist}}
| notable_ideas    = [[De Docta Ignorantia|Learned ignorance]], [[Unity of opposites|coincidence of opposites]]
}}

'''Nicholas of Cusa''' (1401 – 11 August 1464), also referred to as '''Nicholas of Kues''' and '''Nicolaus Cusanus''' ({{IPAc-en|k|j|uː|ˈ|s|eɪ|n|ə|s}}), was a German [[Catholic bishop]] and [[polymath]] active as a [[philosopher]], [[theologian]], [[jurist]], mathematician, and astronomer. One of the first German proponents of [[Renaissance humanism]], he made spiritual and political contributions to European culture. A notable example of this is his mystical or spiritual writings on "learned ignorance," as well as his participation in power struggles between [[Roman Curia|Rome]] and the German states of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].

As [[papal legate]] to Germany from 1446, he was appointed [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]] for his merits by [[Pope Nicholas V]] in 1448 and [[Bishopric of Brixen|Prince-Bishop of Brixen]] two years later. In 1459, he became [[vicar general]] in the [[Papal States]].

Nicholas has remained an influential figure. In 2001, the sixth centennial of his birth was celebrated on four continents and commemorated by publications on his life and work.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Izbicki|first=Thomas M.|date=Spring 2007|title=Cusanus: The Legacy of Learned Ignorance|journal=Renaissance Quarterly}}</ref>

==Life==
[[File:Bernkastel Kues Geburtshaus Nikolaus von Kues.jpg|thumb|left|Birthplace in Kues]]
Nicholas was born in [[Bernkastel-Kues|Kues]] ([[Latinisation of names|Latinized]] as "Cusa") in southwestern Germany. He was the second of four children of Johan Krebs (or Cryfftz) and Katherina Roemer. His father was "a prosperous boat owner and ferryman."<ref>Donald F. Duclow, "Life and Works", ''in'' Christopher M. Bellitto, Thomas M. Izbicki, Gerald Christianson (Eds.), ''Introducing Nicholas of Cusa, A Guide to a Renaissance Man'', Paulist Press, 2004, p25</ref> Nicholas entered the [[Faculty of Arts]] of the [[Heidelberg University]] in 1416 as "a cleric of the [[Electorate of Trier|Diocese of Trier]]," studying the [[liberal arts education|liberal arts]]. He seemed to have left Heidelberg soon afterwards, as he received his doctorate in [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|canon law]] from the [[University of Padua]] in 1423. In Padua, he met the later cardinals [[Julian Cesarini]] and [[Domenico Capranica]] and became friends with the mathematician [[Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli]]. Afterwards, he entered the [[University of Cologne]] in 1425 as "a doctor of canon law," which he appears to have both taught and practiced there. In Cologne, he made friends with the scholastic theologian [[Heymeric de Campo]].

Following a brief period in Cologne, Nicholas returned to his hometown and became secretary to Otto of Ziegenhain, the [[Elector of Trier|Prince-Archbishop of Trier]]. Otto appointed him [[Canon (priest)|canon]] and [[Dean (Christianity)|dean]] at the [[stift]] of [[Florinus of Remüs|Saint Florinus]] in [[Koblenz]] affiliated with numerous [[prebendary|prebends]]. In 1427 he was sent to Rome as an episcopal delegate. The next year he travelled to [[Paris]] to study the writings of [[Ramon Llull]]. At the same time he rejected a calling by the newly established [[Old University of Leuven|University of Leuven]]. He acquired great knowledge in the research of ancient and medieval [[manuscript]]s as well as in [[textual criticism]] and the examination of [[primary source]]s. In 1433 he identified the ''[[Donation of Constantine]]'' as a fake, confirmed by [[Lorenzo Valla]] a few years later, and revealed the forgery of the ''[[Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals]]''. He made friends with the Austrian astronomer [[Georg von Peuerbach]] and advocated a reform of the [[Julian calendar]] and the Easter [[computus]], which, however, was not realized until the introduction of the [[Gregorian calendar]] in 1582.

After the Archbishop Otto of Trier had died in 1430, [[Pope Martin V]] appointed the [[Bishopric of Speyer|Speyer]] bishop Raban of [[Helmstadt-Bargen|Helmstatt]] his successor. Nevertheless, the Electorate was contested by opposing parties, and in 1432 Nicholas attended the [[Council of Florence|Council of Basel]] representing the Cologne dean Ulrich von Manderscheid, one of the claimants,<ref>Donald F. Duclow, "Life and Works", ''in'' Christopher M. Bellitto, Thomas M. Izbicki, Gerald Christianson (Eds.), ''Introducing Nicholas of Cusa, A Guide to a Renaissance Man'', Paulist Press, 2004, pp. 25-56 at pp. 26-29.</ref> who hoped to prevail against the new [[Pope Eugene IV]]. Nicholas stressed the determining influence of the cathedral chapter and its given right to participate in the succession policy, which even places the pope under an obligation to seek a consent. His efforts were to no avail in regard to Ulrich's ambitions; however, Nicholas's pleadings earned him a great reputation as an intermediary and diplomat. While present at the council, he wrote his first work, ''De concordantia catholica'' (''The Catholic Concordance''), a synthesis of ideas on church and empire balancing hierarchy with consent. This work remained useful to critics of the papacy long after Nicholas left Basel.<ref>Paul E. Sigmund, ''Nicholas of Cusa and Medieval Political Thought'', Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1963.</ref>

Initially as [[Conciliarism|conciliarist]], Nicholas approached his university friend Cardinal Julian Cesarini, who had tried to reconcile pope and council, combining reform and hierarchic order. Nicholas supported transfer of the council to Italy to meet with the Greeks, who needed aid against the [[Ottoman Turks]]. He arbitrated in the conflict with the [[Hussite]]s. Between the summer of 1437 and early 1438 he was a member of the delegation sent to Constantinople with the pope's approval to bring back the Byzantine emperor and his representatives to the papally summoned [[Council of Florence]] of 1439, which was attempting to bring the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] into union with the Western [[Catholic Church]]. The reunion achieved at this conference turned out to be very brief. Nicholas would later claim (in the postfaced dedicatory letter of ''On Learned Ignorance'', which Nicholas finished writing on 12 February 1440) that he had chosen to write on this metaphysical topic because of a shipboard experience of divine illumination while on the ship returning from this mission to Constantinople.

After a successful career as a papal envoy, he was made a cardinal by [[Pope Nicholas V]] in 1448 or 1449. In 1450 he was both named [[Bishop of Brixen]], in [[County of Tyrol|Tyrol]], and commissioned as a [[papal legate]] to the German lands to spread the message of reform. In 1444, the [[White Tower (Brixen)|White Tower of Brixen]] caught fire and in 1459 he commissioned its reconstruction in a [[Gothic art|Gothic style]]. This latter role, his 'Great Legation' of 1450–1452, involved travel of almost 3000 miles, preaching, teaching and reforming. He became known as the "Hercules of the Eugenian cause."<ref>Duclow, "Life and Works," pp. 29-38.</ref> His local councils enacted reforms, many of which were not successful. Pope Nicholas canceled some of Nicholas's decrees, and the effort to discourage pilgrimages to venerate the bleeding hosts of [[Wilsnack]] (the so-called [[Holy Blood of Wilsnack]]) was unsuccessful. His work as bishop between 1452 and 1458 – trying to impose reforms and reclaim lost diocesan revenues – was opposed by [[Sigismund, Archduke of Austria|Duke Sigismund of Austria]]. The duke imprisoned Nicholas in 1460, for which [[Pope Pius II]] [[excommunication|excommunicated]] Sigismund and laid an [[Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)|interdict]] on his lands. Nicholas returned to Rome, but was never able to return to his bishopric.

He died at [[Todi]] in [[Umbria]] on 11 August 1464. Sigismund's capitulation came a few days after Nicholas's death.<ref>Duclow, "Life and Works," pp. 38-48.</ref>
[[File:S. Pietro in Vincoli 021.JPG|thumb|225px|Tomb in [[San Pietro in Vincoli]], Rome, with the relief "Cardinal Nicholas before St Peter" by [[Andrea Bregno]] ]]

Upon his death, Nicholas's body was interred in the church of [[San Pietro in Vincoli]] in Rome, probably near the relic of Peter's chains; but it was later lost. His monument, with a sculpted image of the cardinal, remains. Two other tombstones, one medieval and one modern, also are found in the church. In accordance with his wishes, his heart rests within the chapel altar at the [[Cusanusstift]] in Kues. To this charitable institution that he had founded he bequeathed his entire inheritance; it still stands, and serves the purpose Nicholas intended for it, as a home for the aged. The Cusanusstift also houses many of his manuscripts.[https://www.cusanus.de/]

==Philosophy==
Nicholas's ''[[De Docta Ignorantia]]'' ('Of Learned Ignorance') is an epistemological and metaphysical treatise. He maintains the finite human mind cannot fully know the divine, infinite mind ('the Maximum'). Nonetheless, he holds that the human intellect can become aware of its limitations in knowing God and thus attain "learned ignorance". His theory shows the influence of [[neoplatonism]] and [[Apophatic theology|negative theology]], and he frequently cites [[Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite]].

Nicholas was noted for his deeply [[mysticism|mystical]] writings about [[Christianity]]. He wrote of the enfolding of creation in God and their unfolding in creation. He was suspected by some of holding [[pantheism|pantheistic]] beliefs, but his writings were never accused of being [[heresy|heretical]].<ref>Jasper Hopkins, ''Nicholas of Cusa's Debate with John Wenck: A Translation and an Appraisal of ''De Ignota Litteratura'' and ''Apologia Doctae Ignorantiae'' '', 3rd ed., (Minneapolis, MN: Banning, 1988).</ref> Nicholas also wrote in ''De coniecturis'' about using conjectures or surmises to rise to better understanding of the truth. The individual might rise above mere reason to the vision of the intellect, but the same person might fall back from such vision.

Theologically, Nicholas anticipated the implications of Reformed teaching on the [[harrowing of Hell]] (Sermon on Psalm 30:11), followed by [[Pico della Mirandola]], who similarly explained the ''descensus'' in terms of Christ's agony.

==Science and mathematics==
Most of Nicholas's mathematical ideas can be found in his essays, ''[[De Docta Ignorantia]]'' (''Of Learned Ignorance''), ''De Visione Dei'' (''On the Vision of God'') and ''De coniecturis'' (''On Conjectures''). He also wrote on [[squaring the circle]] in his mathematical treatises.

Mathematics plays a key role for Cusanus in orienting the human mind towards God. Mathematical figures provide a means for the mind to consider how figures may be deformed and transformed, and thus prepares the mind to reach the "coincidence of opposites" in the "Absolutely maximal Being". 

From the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' (1913 edition):
<blockquote>The astronomical views of the cardinal are scattered through his philosophical treatises. They evince complete independence of traditional doctrines, though they are based on symbolism of numbers, on combinations of letters, and on abstract speculations rather than observation. The earth is a star like other stars, is not the centre of the universe, is not at rest, nor are its poles fixed. The celestial bodies are not strictly spherical, nor are their orbits circular. The difference between theory and appearance is explained by relative motion. Had [[Nicolaus Copernicus|Copernicus]] been aware of these assertions he would probably have been encouraged by them to publish his own monumental work.<ref name=cathen>{{cite encyclopedia | author=Hagen, J.|title = Nicholas of Cusa | encyclopedia =The Catholic Encyclopedia | volume =11 | publisher =Robert Appleton Company | year =1911 | url =https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11060b.htm | access-date =2008-10-13}}</ref></blockquote>

Like [[Nicole Oresme]], Nicholas also wrote about the possibility of the plurality of worlds.<ref>Dick, Steven J. Plurality of Worlds: The Extraterrestrial Life Debate from Democritus to Kant. Cambridge University Press (June 29, 1984). pgs 35-42.</ref><ref>"Medieval & Renaissance Astronomy", Australia Telescope National Facility. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Retrieved from http://www.atnf.csiro.au/outreach/education/senior/cosmicengine/renaissanceastro.html on March 14, 2014.</ref>

[[Sir Norman Moore, 1st Baronet|Norman Moore]] tells us in The Fitz-Patrick Lectures of 1905:

<blockquote>
In medicine he introduced an improvement which in an altered form has continued in use to this day. This improvement was the counting of the pulse which up to his time had been felt and discussed in many ways but never counted. ...Nicholas of Cusa proposed to compare the rate of pulses by weighing the quantity of water run out of a water clock while the pulse beat one hundred times. ...The manufacture of watches with second-hands has since given us a simpler method of counting, but the merit of introducing this useful kind of observation into clinical medicine belongs to Nicholas of Cusa.<ref>{{cite web|last=Moore|first=Norman, M.D.|title=The Fitz-Patrick Lectures for 1905|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HbZMAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA1525|work=The Lancet, Vol.2, Part 2, p.1525 (Oct-Dec, 1905)|publisher=J. Onwhyn|access-date=3 May 2013|year=1905}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Politics==
In 1433, Nicholas proposed reform of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and a method to elect [[Holy Roman Emperors]]. Although it was not adopted by the Church, his method was essentially the same one known today as the [[Borda count]], which is used in many academic institutions, competitions, and even some political jurisdictions, in original form and a number of variations. His proposal preceded [[Jean-Charles de Borda|Borda]]'s work by over three centuries.<ref>Gunter Hagele and Friedrich Pukelsheim, "The electoral systems of Nicholas of Cusa in the Catholic Concordance and beyond," in ''The Church, the Councils, & Reform: The Legacy of the Fifteenth Century'', ed. Gerald Christianson, Thomas M. Izbicki and Christopher M. Bellitto, Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2008, pp. 229-249.</ref>

Nicholas's opinions on the Empire, which he hoped to reform and strengthen, were cited against papal claims of temporal power in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Protestant writers were happy to cite a cardinal against Rome's assertions. Protestants, however, found his writings against the [[Hussites]] wrong. Nicholas seemed to Protestants to give the church too much power to interpret Scripture, instead of treating it as self-interpreting and self-sufficient for [[salvation]], the principle of ''[[sola scriptura]]''.<ref>Thomas M. Izbicki, "'Their Cardinal Cusanus': Nicholas of Cusa in Tudor and Stuart polemics," in Izbicki, ''Reform, Ecclesiology, and the Christian Life in the Late Middle Ages'', Aldershott: Variorum, 2008, IX, pp. 1-30.</ref>

Nicholas's own thought on the church changed with his departure from Basel. He tried arguing that the Basel assembly lacked the consent of the church throughout the world, especially the princes. Then he tried arguing that the church was unfolded from Peter (''explicatio Petri'').<ref>Izbicki, "The Church," in ''Introducing Nicholas of Cusa'', pp. 113-140.</ref> This allowed him to support the pope without abandoning ideas of reform. Thus, he was able to propose to Pius II reform of the church, beginning with the pope himself. Then it was to spread through the [[Roman curia]] and outward throughout Christendom.<ref>Morimichi Watanabe and Thomas M. Izbicki, “Nicholas of Cusa: A General Reform of the Church,” in ''Nicholas of Cusa on Christ and the Church: Essays in Memory of Chandler McCuskey Brooks for the American Cusanus Society'', ed. Gerald Christianson and Thomas M. Izbicki (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1996), pp. 175-202.</ref>

Nicholas noted that government was founded on the [[consent of the governed]]:
:Accordingly, since by nature all men are free, any authority by which subjects are prevented from doing evil and their freedom is restrained to doing good through fear from penalties, comes solely from harmony and from the consent of the subjects, whether the authority reside in written law or in the living law which is in the ruler. For if by nature men are equally strong and equally free, the true and settled power of one over the others, the ruler having equal natural power, could be set up only by the choice and consent of the others, just as a law also is set up by consent.<ref>''De concordantia catholica'' II xiv</ref><ref>[[George Holland Sabine]] (1937) [[A History of Political Theory]], p 319, [[Holt, Rinehart and Winston]]</ref>

==Other religions==
Shortly after the [[Fall of Constantinople]] in 1453, Nicholas wrote ''De pace fidei'', ''On the Peace of Faith''. This visionary work imagined a summit meeting in [[Heaven]] of representatives of all nations and religions. Islam and the [[Hussite]] movement in [[Bohemia]] are represented. The conference agrees that there can be ''una religio in varietate rituum'', a single faith manifested in different rites, as manifested in the eastern and western rites of the Catholic Church. The dialogue presupposes the greater accuracy of Christianity but gives respect to other religions.<ref>Thomas P. McTighe, "Nicholas of Cusa's Unity-Metaphysics and the Formula Religio una in rituum varietate", in Gerald Christianson and Thomas M. Izbicki (edd.), ''Nicholas of Cusa in Search of God and Wisdom: Essays in Honor of Morimichi Watanabe by the American Cusanus Society'', ed. Gerald Christianson and Thomas M. Izbicki (Leiden: Brill, 1991), pp. 161-172.</ref> Nicholas's position was for Europeans not to retake Constantinople but simply to trade with the Ottomans and allow them their conquests. Less irenic but not virulent, is his ''Cribratio Alchorani'', ''Sifting the Koran'', a detailed review of the [[Koran]] in Latin translation. While the arguments for the superiority of Christianity are still shown in this book, it also credits Judaism and Islam with sharing in the truth at least partially.<ref>Jasper Hopkins, “The Role of ''Pia Interpretatio'' in Nicholas of Cusa’s Hermeneutical Approach to the Koran,” in Gregorio Piaia ed., ''Concordia discors: Studi su Niccolò Cusano e l’umanesimo europeo offerti a Giovanni Santinello'' Padua: Antenore, 1993, pp. 251-273.</ref>

== Influence ==
Nicholas was widely read, and his works were published in the sixteenth century in both Paris and Basel. Sixteenth-century French scholars, including [[Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples]] and [[Charles de Bovelles]], cited him. Lefèvre even edited the Paris 1514 ''Opera''.<ref>''The Prefatory Epistles of Jacques Lefévre D'Etaples and Related Texts'', ed. Eugene F. Rice, New York: Columbia University Press, 1972; P. M. Sanders, "Charles de Bovelle's Treatise on Regular Polyhedra," ''Annals of Science'' 41 (1984): 513-566.</ref> Nonetheless, there was no Cusan school, and his works were largely unknown until the nineteenth century, though [[Giordano Bruno]] quoted him, while some thinkers, like [[Gottfried Leibniz]], were thought to have been influenced by him.<ref>Leo Catana, "The Meaning of ''contractio'' in Giordano Bruno's ''Sigillus sigillorum''." In ''Giordano Bruno: Philosopher of the Renaissance'', ed. Hilary Gatti, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2002, pp. 327-341; Thomas P. McTighe, "Nicholas of Cusa and Leibniz's Principle of Indiscernibility," ''The Modern Schoolman'' 42 (1964): 33-46.</ref> [[Neo-Kantian]] scholars began studying Nicholas in the nineteenth century, and new editions were begun by the ''[[Heidelberg Academy for Sciences and Humanities|Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften]]'' in the 1930s and published by Felix Meiner Verlag.<ref>Morimichi Watanabe, "The origins of modern Cusanus research in Germany and the establishment of the Heidelberg ''Opera Omnia''," in ''Nicholas of Cusa: In Search of God and Wisdom: Essays in Honor of Morimichi Watanabe by the American Cusanus Society'', ed. Gerald Christianson and Thomas M. Izbicki (Leiden: Brill, 1991), pp. 17-42.</ref> In the early twentieth century, he was hailed by [[Ernst Cassirer]] as the "first modern thinker,"<ref>Ernst Cassirer, ''Individuum und Kosmos in der Philosophie der Renaissance'', (1927).</ref> and much debate since then has centered around the question whether he should be seen as essentially a medieval or Renaissance figure. What is more, Cassirer presented Cusanus as the main focal point (''einfachen Brennpunkt'') of Italian Renaissance philosophy. Eminent scholars like Eugenio Garin and Paul Oskar Kristeller challenged Cassirer’s thesis, and went so far as to practically deny any considerable link between Nicholas of Cusa and Marsilio Ficino or Giovanni Pico.<ref>Eugenio Garin, "Cusano e i platonici italiani del Quattrocento." In ''Niccolò da Cusa: Atti del Convegno Interuniversitario di Bressanone nel 1960'', ed. G. Flores D’Arcais, Florence: Sansoni, 1962, pp. 75-96; Paul Oskar Kristller, "Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and his sources." In ''L’opera e il pensiero di Giovanni Pico della Mirandola nella storia dell’ umanesimo. Convegno internazionale Mirandola 15-18 settembre 1963. Vol. I'', Florence, Sansoni, 1965, p. 66.</ref> In the following decades, new hypotheses on the relationship between Cusanus and Italian humanists appeared, more balanced and focused on the sources.<ref>Kurt Flasch, "Nikolaus von Kues und Pico della Mirandola," ''Mitteilungen und Forschungsbeiträge der Cusanus-Gesellschaft'' 14 (1980): 113-120; {{cite web|last=Bastitta Harriet|first=Francisco|title=Coincidentia philosophorum. La unidad de la verdad y la pluralidad de las filosofías en Nicolás de Cusa y Giovanni Pico|url=https://www.academia.edu/60812597|work=In Nicolás de Cusa: Unidad en la Pluralidad. Homenaje a Jorge Mario Machetta, vol. I, ed. Claudia D’Amico, Gianluca Cuozzo and Nadia Russano|publisher=Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, UBA|access-date=24 November 2021|year=2021|pages=147–187}}</ref>

Societies and centers dedicated to Nicholas can be found in Argentina, Japan, Germany, Italy and the United States. His well-known quote about the infinity of the universe is found paraphrased in the Central Holy Book of the [[Thelema|Thelemites]], The Book of the Law, which was "received" from the Angel Aiwass by Aleister Crowley in Cairo in April 1904: "In the sphere I am everywhere the centre, as she, the circumference, is nowhere found."

==Works==
Nicholas wrote a large number of works, which include:
*''De auctoritate praesidendi in concilio generali'' (1434), a proposal for resolving the question of presidency over the deliberations of the Council of Basil.
*''De concordantia catholica'' (''The Catholic Concordance'') (1434), a synthesis of ideas on church and empire balancing hierarchy with consent.<ref>English translation in ''De concordantia catholica (The Catholic Concordance)'', tr. P Sigmund, Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought, (Cambridge: CUP, 1991).</ref>
*''Reparatio kalendarii'' (1434/5), a plan for reforming the church's calendar.
*''[[De Docta Ignorantia|De Docta ignorantia]]'' (''On Learned Ignorance'') (1440).<ref name="Bond, H. Lawrence 1997">English translation in Bond, H. Lawrence (ed.), ''Nicholas of Cusa: Selected Spiritual Writings'', Classics of Western Spirituality, (New York: Paulist Press, 1997).</ref>
*''De coniecturis'' (''On Conjectures'') (1441-2)
*''Dialogus concludens Amedistarum errorem'' (1441), an ecclesiological explanation of his papal advocacy.
*''De Deo abscondito'' (''On the Hidden God'') (1444/5)<ref name="Bond, H. Lawrence 1997"/>
*''De quaerendo Deum (On Seeking God)'' (1445)<ref name="Bond, H. Lawrence 1997"/>
*''De date patris luminum'' (''On the Gift of the Father of Lights'' (1445/6)
*''De transmutationibus geometricis''
*''De arithmetricis complementis'' (1445)
*''De filiatione Dei'' (''On Divine Sonship'')
*''De genesi'' (''On Genesis'')
*''Apologia doctae ignorantiae'' (''The Defense of Learned Ignorance'') (1449), a response to charges of heresy and pantheism by the Heidelberg scholastic theologian John Wenck in a work entitled ''De ignota litteratura'' (''On Unknown Learning'').<ref name="Bernard McGinn 2005 p435">Bernard McGinn, ''The Harvest of Mysticism'', (2005), p435.</ref>
*''Idiota de mente'' (''The Layman on Mind'') (1450). This is formed of four dialogues: ''De Sapientia'' I-II, ''De Mente'' III, and ''De staticis experimentis'' IV.
*''De visione Dei (On the Vision of God)'' (1453), completed at the request of the monks of the Benedictine abbey at [[Tegernsee]].
*''[https://jasper-hopkins.info/DePace12-2000.pdf De pace fidei]'' (1453), written in response to the news of the fall of Constantinople to the Turks.
*''De theologicis complementis'', in which he pursued his continuing fascination with theological applications of mathematical models.
*''De mathematicis complementis'' (1453)
*''Caesarea circuli quadratura'' (1457)
*''Excitationum ex sermonibus'' (1457)
*''De beryllo'' (''On the Beryl'') (1458), a brief epistemological treatise using a beryl or transparent stone as the crucial analogy.
*''De aequalitate'' (1459)
*''De principio'' (1459)
* ''Reformatio generalis'', (1459) a treatise on the general reform of the church, written at the request of [[Pope Pius II]], but generally ignored by the Pope and cardinals.<ref name="Bernard McGinn 2005 p435"/>
*''De possest'' (1460)
*''[https://jasper-hopkins.info/CAI-12-2000.pdf Cribratio Alkorani]'', a Christocentric evaluation of the [[Koran]] written at the request of [[Pope Pius II]], based on the twelfth-century translation of [[Robert of Ketton]].
*''De non aliud'' (''On the Not-Other'') (1462)
*''De venatione sapientiae'' (1462)
*''[[De ludo globi]]'' (1463)
*''Compendium'' (1463)
*''De apice theoriae'' (''On the Summit of Contemplation'') (1464), his last work.<ref name="Bond, H. Lawrence 1997"/>

===Modern editions===
*''Opera omnia'', ed. E Hoffmann et al., (Hamburg: Felix Meiner, 1932–2006) [The modern critical edition, begun under the editorship of Ernst Hoffmann and [[Raymond Klibansky]]]
*''Acta Cusana'', ed Erich Muethen and Hermann Hallauer, (1976–) [A series designed to publish all extant documents, letters, deeds and other materials in which Cusanus and his activities are mentioned]
*''On Learned Ignorance'', tr. Jasper Hopkins, (Minneapolis, MN: Banning, 1985)
*Jasper Hopkins, ''Nicholas of Cusa's Dialectical Mysticism: Text, Translation, and Interpretive Study of ''De Visione Dei'' '', (Minneapolis, MN: Banning, 1985)
*''Dialectical Mysticism'', tr. Jasper Hopkins, (Minneapolis, MN: Banning, 1988)
*''De auctoritate praesidendi in concilio generali'', tr. HL Bond et al., ''Church History'' 59, (1990), 19-34
*''De concordantia catholica (The Catholic Concordance)'', tr. P Sigmund, Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought, (Cambridge: CUP, 1991)
*''A Miscellany on Nicholas of Cusa'', tr. Jasper Hopkins, (Minneapolis, MN: Banning, 1994)
*''On Wisdom and Knowledge'', tr. Jasper Hopkins, (Minneapolis, MN: Banning, 1996)
*''Metaphysical Speculations'', tr. Jasper Hopkins, 2 vols, (Minneapolis, MN: Banning, 1997–2000) [Contains translations of: Vol 1: ''De apice theoriae''; Vol 2: ''De Coniecturis'' and ''De Ludo Globi'']
*Bond, H. Lawrence (ed.), ''Nicholas of Cusa: Selected Spiritual Writings'', Classics of Western Spirituality, (New York: Paulist Press, 1997). {{ISBN|0-8091-3698-8}} [Contains translations of ''On Learned Ignorance, Dialogue on the Hidden God, On Seeking God, On the Vision of God'', and ''On the Summit of Contemplation''.]
* Hopkins, Jasper (ed.), ''Complete philosophical and theological treatises of Nicholas of Cusa'', 2 vols., (Minneapolis: AJ Banning Press, 2001)
* Izbicki, Thomas M., ed., ''Nicholas of Cusa, Writings on Church and Reform'', (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008).

==See also==
*[[Ground of the Soul]]
*[[List of Roman Catholic scientist-clerics]]
*[[Absolute (philosophy)]]
*[[I know that I know nothing]]
*[[Berthold of Moosburg]], an estimator of his comment on the ''[[Elements of Theology|Elementatio Theologica]]'' of [[Proclus]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
'''English language'''
* [[Werner Beierwaltes|Beierwaltes, Werner]], 'Cusanus and Eriugena', ''[[Dionysius (journal)|Dionysius]]'', 13 (1989), pp.&nbsp;115–152.
* Bellitto, Christopher, Thoma M Izbicki and Gerald Christianson, eds, ''Introducing Nicholas of Cusa: A Guide to a Renaissance Man'', (New York: Paulist Press, 2004).
*{{Cite journal |last=Biechler |first=James E. |date=1975 |title=Nicholas of Cusa and the End of the Conciliar Movement: A Humanist Crisis of Identity |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0009640700031784/type/journal_article |journal=Church History |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=5–21 |doi=10.2307/3165095 |jstor=3165095 |s2cid=159964085 |issn=0009-6407|url-access=subscription }}
*{{Cite book|last=Campbell|first=Tony|title=The Earliest Printed Maps 1472-1500|publisher=The British Library|year=1987|location=London|pages=35–55}}
* Catà, Cesare, 'Perspicere Deum. Nicholas of Cusa and the European Art of Fifteenth Century', ''Viator'' 39 no. 1 (Spring 2008).
*{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Cross |editor-first=F. |title=Nicholas of Cusa |encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press|location= |id= |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2021/entries/cusanus/ }}
* Harries, Karsten Nicholas of Cusa's ''On Learned Ignorance'': A Commentary on ''De doctrina ignorantia''. Washington DC, [[Catholic University of America Press]], 2024.
*{{Cite book |last=Hopkins |first=Jasper |title=The History of Western Philosophy of Religion |publisher=Acumen Publishing |year=2009 |editor-last=Oppy |editor-first=Graham |chapter=Nicholas of Cusa |pages=235–250 |doi=10.1017/UPO9781844654642.019 |isbn=9781844654642 |chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/history-of-western-philosophy-of-religion/nicholas-of-cusa/CFCBFABE61728B9AD38C662E061CFE90}}
* McGinn, Bernard, ''The Harvest of Mysticism'', (2005), pp.&nbsp;432–483.
* Meuthen, Erich, ''Nicholas of Cusa: A Sketch for a Biography''. (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2010).
* Miller, C. Lee, ''Reading Cusanus: Metaphor and Dialectic in a Conjectural Universe'', (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2003).
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Miller |first=Clyde Lee |title=Cusanus, Nicolaus [Nicolas of Cusa] |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy  |date=2021 |publisher=Stanford University|location= |id= |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2021/entries/cusanus/ }}
*{{Cite book |last=Moran |first=Dermot |title=The Cambridge Companion to Renaissance Philosophy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2007 |editor-last=Hankins |editor-first=James |chapter=Nicholas of Cusa and Modern Philosophy |pages=173–192 |doi=10.1017/CCOL052184648X.009 |isbn=9780521846486 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1017/CCOL052184648X.009}}
* Theruvathu, Prasad J.N., "Ineffabilis, in the Thought of Nicholas of Cusa, (Münster: Aschendorff, 2010)
* Yamaki, Kazuhiko, ed., ''Nicholas of Cusa: A Medieval Thinker for the Modern Age'', (Routledge, 2001).

'''Other languages'''
* Catà, Cesare, 'La Croce e l'Inconcepibile. Il pensiero di Nicola Cusano tra filosofia e predicazione', ''EUM, Macerata'' (2009).
* D'Amico, Claudia, and Machetta, J., eds, 'El problema del conocimiento en Nicolás de Cusa: genealogía y proyección', ''Editorial Biblos'', (2004).
* Flasch, Kurt, ''Nikolaus von Kues: Geschichte einer Entwicklung'', (Georg Olms Verlag: 1998).
* [[Johannes Hoff|Hoff, Johannes]], ''Kontingenz, Berührung, Überschreitung. Zur philosophischen Propädeutik christlicher Mystik nach Nikolaus von Kues'', (Alber: Freiburg/Br. 2007) [''Contingency, Tangency, Transgression. A Philosophical Propaedeutics of Christian Mysticism subsequent to Nicholas of Cusa'']
* [[Karl Jaspers|Jaspers, Karl]], ''Nikolaus Cusanus'', (München, 1964).
* Kern, Ralf, ''Wissenschaftliche Instrumente in ihrer Zeit'', 4 Bde. (Köln: Walther Koenig, 2010).
* Kijewska, Agnieszka, Roman Majeran, Harald Schwaetzer (eds), ''Eriugena Cusanus''. (Lublin, 2011).
* Rusconi, Cecilia, "El uso simbólico de las figura matemáticas en la metafísica de Nicolás de Cusa", Buenos Aires, 2012.
* Schulte, Petra, ed. ''Geld und Arbeit: Nikolaus von Kues und das ökonomische Denken im 15. Jahrhundert''. (Köln: Böhlau Verlag, 2024.) 
* Wilkołek, Rafał, ''Poszerzając granice racjonalności. Epistemologiczna teologia Mikołaja z Kuzy.'' (Kraków, 2023).

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Nicholas of Cusa}}
* {{Internet Archive author |name=Nicolaus Cusanus}}
* {{Librivox author |id=12850}}
* [https://archive.org/details/TheVisionOfGodByNicholasOfCusa-OphthalmosAploisOrTheSingleEye-_327 ''The Vision of God''] Free audio in English
* [https://www.cusanus-hochschule.de Cusanus University]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120819232148/http://en.bernkastel.de/holiday-region/bernkastel-kues/nicholas-of-cusa.html Bernkastel-Kues tribute to Nikolaus von Kues]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141021123330/http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Cusa.html MacTutor biography, focusing on mathematical achievements]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060516215808/http://cla.umn.edu/sites/jhopkins/CusaScribner%27s.pdf A biography of Nicholas of Cusa]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121106050238/http://www.haverford.edu/library/reference/mschaus/cusanus/cusanus_chrono.html Chronological list of the works of Nicholas of Cusa]
* [https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernp11100gut ''History of Modern Philosophy: From Nicolas of Cusa to the Present Time''] Richard Falckenberg 1893
* [https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11060b.htm Catholic Encyclopedia article on Nicholas of Cusa]
* [https://www.cusanus.de Website of the Cusanusstift] {{in lang|de}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080616115145/http://www.haverford.edu/library/reference/mschaus/cusanus/cusanus.html American Cusanus Society]
* [http://www.cusanus-portal.de/ Cusanus-Portal] (DFG-Project by the Institut für Cusanus-Forschung and the Center for Digital Humanities at the university of Trier with a digitized version of the ''Opera Omnia'', the critical edition of the Latin texts from Nicholas of Cusa, published by the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences, with the English translations of Jasper Hopkins, several German translations, a German encyclopedia and an international bibliography)
* [https://jasper-hopkins.info/ Jasper Hopkins, Ph.D.] has produced English translations with some commentary of much of Nicholas's work. PDF versions are available at this site.
* [http://www.schillerinstitute.org/transl/cusa_p_of_f.html Cusa's Peace of Faith]
* {{DNB-Portal|118588095}}
* {{DDB|Person|118588095}}
* {{Geschichtsquellen Person|118588095}}
* Rolf Schönberger (ed.): [http://www-app.uni-regensburg.de/Fakultaeten/PKGG/Philosophie/Gesch_Phil/alcuin/philosopher.php?id=1583 ''Nicolaus Cusanus''.] In: ''Alcuin. Infothek der Scholastik'' (Regensburg).

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