Intellect Quote by Nicholas of Cusa
“With the senses man measures perceptible things, with the intellect he measures intelligible things, and he attains unto supra-intelligible things transcendently.”
About This Quote
Source Philosophy: De Docta Ignorantia (On Learned Ignorance), 1440
Human knowledge progresses from sensory data to intellectual concepts, ultimately aiming at transcendent truths beyond rational grasp.
In simple terms: We move from senses to intellect to the beyond.
Key Takeaway
Seek higher understanding beyond ordinary reasoning.
Themes
epistemology
spirituality
philosophy
Mood
contemplative
inquisitive
Type
philosophical
theoretical
When to use this quote
- academic study
- meditative practice
- scientific inquiry
- spiritual contemplation
Key Concepts
transcendence
knowledge hierarchy
Questions to Reflect On
- Can we ever truly know the transcendent?
- What role does humility play in learning?
A Different Perspective
Limits of language may restrict expressing the supra‑intelligible.
![“Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this [step by step, from humans to apes to monkeys to lemurs] - leading us insensibly from the crown and summit of the animal creation down to creatures, from which there is but a step, as it seems, to the…” quote by Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f0b/thomas-huxley-1183_animal_perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us_3051.jpg)
