--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When Eternity is considered to be the…" description: "\"When Eternity is considered to be the Beginning, then our speaking of the Beginning of the Begun is nothing but our speaking of the Eternity of the Ete..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00b/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_eternal_when-eternity-is-considered-to-be-the-be_1312865.png" --- # When Eternity is considered to be the Beginning, then our… ![“When Eternity is considered to be the Beginning, then our speaking of the Beginning of the Begun is nothing but our speaking of the Eternity of the Eternal or our speaking of the Eternity of the Begun.” quote by Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00b/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_eternal_when-eternity-is-considered-to-be-the-be_1312865.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00b/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_eternal_when-eternity-is-considered-to-be-the-be_1312865.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00b/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_eternal_when-eternity-is-considered-to-be-the-be_1312865.png) > “When Eternity is considered to be the Beginning, then our speaking of the Beginning of the Begun is nothing but our speaking of the Eternity of the Eternal or our speaking of the Eternity of the Begun.” [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote explores the paradox that if eternity is the beginning, then discussing the start of anything is merely describing eternity itself. **In simple terms:** Discussing beginnings is like describing eternity. Key Takeaway Embrace the mystery of origins. Themes philosophy theology paradox Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical theoretical When to use this quote - spiritual contemplation - academic discourse - personal reflection Key Concepts eternity beginnings metaphysics Questions to Reflect On - What does eternity mean to you? - Can beginnings be fully understood? A Different Perspective The concept can be abstract and hard to apply practically. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eternal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) [Eternal Speaking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal-speaking-4349156/) [Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity/) [Eternity Begun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity-begun-4349155/) [Eternity Considered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternity-considered-4349154/) [Speaking Eternity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speaking-eternity-4349153/) ## Related quotes > [Time is eternity begun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-montgomery/time-is-eternity-begun/) [James Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-montgomery/) > [Nonsense, it was all nonsense: this whole damned outfit, with its committees, its conferences, its eternal talk, talk, talk, was a great con trick;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/nonsense-it-was-all-nonsense-this-whole-damned-outfit-with-its/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Your problems are temporary but God is eternal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myah/your-problems-are-temporary-but-god-is-eternal/) [Myah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myah/) > [Men are tending to materialism. Houses, lands, and worldly goods attract their attention, and as a mirage lure them on to death. Christianity, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/men-are-tending-to-materialism-houses-lands-and-worldly-goods-attract/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Truth crushed to earth shall rise again,- The eternal years of God are hers; But Error, wounded, writhes with pain, And dies among his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-bryant/truth-crushed-to-earth-shall-rise-again-the-eternal-years-of-god-are/) [William C. Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-bryant/) > [Time is the eternal now, seen through the narrow slit of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-spira/time-is-the-eternal-now-seen-through-the-narrow-slit-of-the-mind/) [Rupert Spira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-spira/) > [I love to think of the whole universe together as one eternal fact. I love to think that everything is alive; that crystallization is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/i-love-to-think-of-the-whole-universe-together-as-one-eternal-fact-i/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [When the Son on the Cross promises paradise in his company to the good thief, when he promises the future feast in Heaven to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-von-speyr/when-the-son-on-the-cross-promises-paradise-in-his-company-to-the/) [Adrienne von Speyr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-von-speyr/) > [The time will come when every change shall cease, This quick revolving wheel shall rest in peace: No summer then shall glow, not winter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/the-time-will-come-when-every-change-shall-cease-this-quick-revolving/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [We are travelers on a cosmic journey,stardust,swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-are-travelers-on-a-cosmic-journey-stardust-swirling-and-dancing-in/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“It is a moment, and it is eternity. It is the centre of the universe and it is the universe itself. The eternal light…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-nesbit/it-is-a-moment-and-it-is-eternity-it-is-the-centre-of-the-universe/) [Edith Nesbit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-nesbit/) > [And people who do not know the Lord ask why in the world we waste our lives as missionaries. They forget that they too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-saint/and-people-who-do-not-know-the-lord-ask-why-in-the-world-we-waste-our/) [Nate Saint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-saint/) > [All that is not eternal is eternally out of date.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-that-is-not-eternal-is-eternally-out-of-date/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) ## More by Nicholas of Cusa > [God says to man: 'Be thou thyself, and I shall be thine.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/god-says-to-man-be-thou-thyself-and-i-shall-be-thine/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [All visible things would not claim as their king some color of their region, which is actually among the visible things of this region,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/all-visible-things-would-not-claim-as-their-king-some-color-of-their/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [There are not many beginnings but there is a single Beginning, prior to multitude. But if you were to say that the beginnings are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/there-are-not-many-beginnings-but-there-is-a-single-beginning-prior/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [Within itself the soul sees all things more truly than as they exist in different things outside itself. And the more it goes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/within-itself-the-soul-sees-all-things-more-truly-than-as-they-exist/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [Divinity is in all things in such a way that all things are in divinity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/divinity-is-in-all-things-in-such-a-way-that-all-things-are-in/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [In humility alone lies true greatness, and knowledge and wisdom are profitable only in so far as our lives are governed by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/in-humility-alone-lies-true-greatness-and-knowledge-and-wisdom-are/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [All we know of the truth is that the absolute truth, such as it is, is beyond our reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/all-we-know-of-the-truth-is-that-the-absolute-truth-such-as-it-is-is/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [You are therefore able to run on this path, on which God is found above all vision, hearing, taste, touch, smell, speech, sense, rationality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/you-are-therefore-able-to-run-on-this-path-on-which-god-is-found/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [Thou art merciful; when all my endeavour is turned toward Thee because all Thy endeavour is turned toward me; when I look unto Thee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/thou-art-merciful-when-all-my-endeavour-is-turned-toward-thee-because/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [Through itself the soul arrives at all harmony that is perceptible in otherness-just as through what is internal the soul arrives at what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/through-itself-the-soul-arrives-at-all-harmony-that-is-perceptible-in/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [We see that God has implanted in all things a natural desire to exist with the fullest measure of existence that is compatible with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/we-see-that-god-has-implanted-in-all-things-a-natural-desire-to-exist/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [The rational is apprehended through the intellect, however, the intellect is not found in the region of the rational; the intellect is as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/the-rational-is-apprehended-through-the-intellect-however-the/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [All things are in the intended endpoint, and this mode of being is called will or desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/all-things-are-in-the-intended-endpoint-and-this-mode-of-being-is/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [ Every angle acknowledges that it is a likeness of true angularity, for \[each angle\] is angle not insofar as angle exists in itself but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/every-angle-acknowledges-that-it-is-a-likeness-of-true-angularity-for/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) > [For reason's measurements, which attain unto temporal things, do not attain unto things that are free from time-just as hearing does not attain unto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/for-reason-s-measurements-which-attain-unto-temporal-things-do-not/) [Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) [Explore all 47 Nicholas of Cusa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/) ## More Eternal quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [“Please not yet. Those are the three eternal words. Please not yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/please-not-yet-those-are-the-three-eternal-words-please-not-yet/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-lopez/i-remain-an-eternal-optimist-about-love-i-believe-in-love/) [Jennifer Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-lopez/) > [The writings of latter-day prophets clearly teach that the sorrows and sufferings endured by Adam and Eve upon their leaving the Garden of Eden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-k-judd/the-writings-of-latter-day-prophets-clearly-teach-that-the-sorrows/) [Daniel K Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-k-judd/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [The time has come for us to understand that the Eternal Feminine is the greatest power in this Universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samael-aun-weor/the-time-has-come-for-us-to-understand-that-the-eternal-feminine-is/) [Samael Aun Weor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samael-aun-weor/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [We are eternal. All this pain is an illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/we-are-eternal-all-this-pain-is-an-illusion/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [In some respects I will never die. Because art is immortal. What we leave behind and what we create - the energy that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madonna-ciccone/in-some-respects-i-will-never-die-because-art-is-immortal-what-we/) [Madonna Ciccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madonna-ciccone/) > [The only way to have eternal love is to never let your heart forget what it’s like to live without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/the-only-way-to-have-eternal-love-is-to-never-let-your-heart-forget/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [In the course of our eternal existence, we spend infinitely more time in the spirit world on the other side than we spend in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/in-the-course-of-our-eternal-existence-we-spend-infinitely-more-time/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [The propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-propitious-smiles-of-heaven-can-never-be-expected-on-a-nation/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) [Browse all 3,280 Eternal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eternal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When Eternity is considered to be the Beginning, then our speaking of the Beginning of the Begun is nothing but our speaking of the Eternity of the Eternal or our speaking of the Eternity of the Begun.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicholas of Cusa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/when-eternity-is-considered-to-be-the-beginning-then-our-speaking-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eternal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/when-eternity-is-considered-to-be-the-beginning-then-our-speaking-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00b/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_eternal_when-eternity-is-considered-to-be-the-be_1312865.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00b/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_eternal_when-eternity-is-considered-to-be-the-be_1312865.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/00b/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_eternal_when-eternity-is-considered-to-be-the-be_1312865.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When Eternity is considered to be the Beginning, then our speaking of the Beginning of the Begun is nothing…” — Nicholas of Cusa", "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": "Nicholas of Cusa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-of-cusa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When Eternity is considered to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/when-eternity-is-considered-to-be-the-beginning-then-our-speaking-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/when-eternity-is-considered-to-be-the-beginning-then-our-speaking-of/#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 } } ] } ```