--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is of itself that the divine thought…" description: "\"It is of itself that the divine thought thinks (since it is the most excellent of things), and its thinking is a thinking on thinking.\" — Aristotle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/aristotle-78_divine_it-is-of-itself-that-the-divine-thought_1676360.png" --- # It is of itself that the divine thought thinks (since it… ![“It is of itself that the divine thought thinks (since it is the most excellent of things), and its thinking is a thinking on thinking.” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/aristotle-78_divine_it-is-of-itself-that-the-divine-thought_1676360.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/aristotle-78_divine_it-is-of-itself-that-the-divine-thought_1676360.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/aristotle-78_divine_it-is-of-itself-that-the-divine-thought_1676360.png) > “It is of itself that the divine thought thinks (since it is the most excellent of things), and its thinking is a thinking on thinking.” [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The divine intellect contemplates its own nature, reflecting on the highest form of thought, which is self‑referential thinking. **In simple terms:** Divine mind thinks about its own thinking. Key Takeaway Recognize the value of meta‑cognition. Themes philosophy metaphysics self‑reflection Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - theoretical research - philosophical inquiry - spiritual contemplation Key Concepts self‑cognition divine intellect higher thought Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑reflection deepen insight? - What limits our ability to comprehend higher thought? A Different Perspective Human cognition cannot fully grasp the divine, limiting understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Divinity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divinity/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [“Thought is an acid, eating us away. At first we imagine it will only eat into that which is rotten and sick and must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hjalmar-s-derberg/thought-is-an-acid-eating-us-away-at-first-we-imagine-it-will-only/) [Hjalmar Söderberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hjalmar-s-derberg/) > [No one thought up being. He who thinks he has, step forward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/no-one-thought-up-being-he-who-thinks-he-has-step-forward/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [People go farther than they thought they could when someone else thinks they can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/people-go-farther-than-they-thought-they-could-when-someone-else/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [“But now I want to say things that comfort me and that are a little free. For example: Thursdat is a day transparent as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/but-now-i-want-to-say-things-that-comfort-me-and-that-are-a-little/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) > [Memory is: To think some thoughts I think I've thought but thought those thinks were long forgot when first I'd thought those thinks a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/analeigh-tipton/memory-is-to-think-some-thoughts-i-think-i-ve-thought-but-thought/) [Analeigh Tipton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/analeigh-tipton/) > [“I am a mere breath of air; a formless thought that thinks of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-am-a-mere-breath-of-air-a-formless-thought-that-thinks-of-you/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [The hymns of David, the plays of Shakespeare, the metaphysics of Descartes, the crimes of Borgia, the virtues of Antonine, the atheism of yesterday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/the-hymns-of-david-the-plays-of-shakespeare-the-metaphysics-of/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [God thought and things came to be, in-formed: the divine thought is the complicated womb of all that is. For it's not likely that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-of-nazianzus/god-thought-and-things-came-to-be-in-formed-the-divine-thought-is-the/) [Gregory of Nazianzus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-of-nazianzus/) > [Providence is but another name for natural law. Natural law itself would go out in a minute if it were not for the divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/providence-is-but-another-name-for-natural-law-natural-law-itself/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Be comforted with this divine thought that your spiritual and physical pains are the test of the Divine Will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/be-comforted-with-this-divine-thought-that-your-spiritual-and/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [What is the constitution of the universe? The universe is the manifestation of the divine thought; the thought of God embodies itself in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/what-is-the-constitution-of-the-universe-the-universe-is-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [I am convinced that there are universal currents of Divine Thought vibrating the ether everywhere and that any who can feel these vibrations is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/i-am-convinced-that-there-are-universal-currents-of-divine-thought/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [The great mystery of our metaphysical situation, that God is nearer to us than we are ourselves, is manifest in the fact that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-von-hildebrand/the-great-mystery-of-our-metaphysical-situation-that-god-is-nearer-to/) [Dietrich von Hildebrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-von-hildebrand/) > [The universe is a Divine thought that has taken form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-villoldo/the-universe-is-a-divine-thought-that-has-taken-form/) [Alberto Villoldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-villoldo/) > [Try to practice the things you're thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/onew/try-to-practice-the-things-you-re-thinking/) [Onew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/onew/) ## More by Aristotle > [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. Of the bodily desires, it is the sexual by which they are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/young-men-have-strong-passions-and-tend-to-gratify-them/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The body is at its best between the ages of thirty and thirty-five; the mind is at its best about the age of forty-nine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-body-is-at-its-best-between-the-ages-of-thirty-and-thirty-five/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The ensouled is distinguished from the unsouled by its being alive. Now since being alive is spoken of in many ways, even if only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-ensouled-is-distinguished-from-the-unsouled-by-its-being-alive/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Although it may be difficult in theory to know what is just and equal, the practical difficulty of inducing those to forbear who can,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/although-it-may-be-difficult-in-theory-to-know-what-is-just-and-equal/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The true forms of government, therefore, are those in which the one, or the few, or the many, govern with a view to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-true-forms-of-government-therefore-are-those-in-which-the-one-or/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All men by nature desire to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-men-by-nature-desire-to-know/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [All persons ought to endeavor to follow what is right, and not what is established.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/all-persons-ought-to-endeavor-to-follow-what-is-right-and-not-what-is/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Give a man a poisoned fish, you feed him for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/give-a-man-a-fish-you-feed-him-for-a-day-give-a-man-a-poisoned-fish/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The man who confers a favour would rather not be repaid in the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-man-who-confers-a-favour-would-rather-not-be-repaid-in-the-same/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The mother of revolution and crime is poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-mother-of-revolution-and-crime-is-poverty/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Obstinate people can be divided into the opinionated, the ignorant, and the boorish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/obstinate-people-can-be-divided-into-the-opinionated-the-ignorant-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [To learn is a natural pleasure, not confined to philosophers, but common to all men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/to-learn-is-a-natural-pleasure-not-confined-to-philosophers-but/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/every-virtue-is-a-mean-between-two-extremes-each-of-which-is-a-vice/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) [Explore all 1,545 Aristotle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## More Divine quotes > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word. Its strains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/the-world-s-history-is-a-divine-poem-of-which-the-history-of-every/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. I'd come to think of God in terms like Divine Reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-recent-years-my-understanding-of-god-had-evolved-into-increasingly/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Monsters are divine portents.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/monsters-are-divine-portents/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Miracles are like candles lit up until the sun rises, and then blown out. Therefore, I am amused when I hear sects and churches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/miracles-are-like-candles-lit-up-until-the-sun-rises-and-then-blown/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Evil may mar the divine image and cloud its brilliance, but it cannot destroy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/evil-may-mar-the-divine-image-and-cloud-its-brilliance-but-it-cannot/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [Coercion is the basis of every law in the universe,--human or divine. A law is not law without coercion behind it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/coercion-is-the-basis-of-every-law-in-the-universe-human-or-divine-a/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Silence tells the seeker in us to love, to love himself. It tells us it is wrong to hate ourselves because of our imperfections.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/silence-tells-the-seeker-in-us-to-love-to-love-himself-it-tells-us-it/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) > [Friend, you are a divine mingle-mangle of guts and stardust. So hang in there! If doors opened for me, they can open for anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-capra/friend-you-are-a-divine-mingle-mangle-of-guts-and-stardust-so-hang-in/) [Frank Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-capra/) > [A woman is more influenced by what she divines than by what she is told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ninon-de-l-enclos/a-woman-is-more-influenced-by-what-she-divines-than-by-what-she-is/) [Ninon de L'Enclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ninon-de-l-enclos/) [Browse all 4,543 Divine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is of itself that the divine thought thinks (since it is the most excellent of things), and its thinking is a thinking on thinking.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aristotle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/it-is-of-itself-that-the-divine-thought-thinks-since-it-is-the-most/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Divine" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/it-is-of-itself-that-the-divine-thought-thinks-since-it-is-the-most/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/aristotle-78_divine_it-is-of-itself-that-the-divine-thought_1676360.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/aristotle-78_divine_it-is-of-itself-that-the-divine-thought_1676360.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e0/aristotle-78_divine_it-is-of-itself-that-the-divine-thought_1676360.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is of itself that the divine thought thinks (since it is the most excellent of things), and its thinking…” — Aristotle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Aristotle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is of itself that the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/it-is-of-itself-that-the-divine-thought-thinks-since-it-is-the-most/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/it-is-of-itself-that-the-divine-thought-thinks-since-it-is-the-most/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```