--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With the senses man measures perceptible…" description: "\"With the senses man measures perceptible things, with the intellect he measures intelligible things, and he attains unto supra-intelligible things tran..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_intellect_with-the-senses-man-measures-perceptible_2083264.png" --- # With the senses man measures perceptible things, with the… ![“With the senses man measures perceptible things, with the intellect he measures intelligible things, and he attains unto supra-intelligible things transcendently.” quote by Nicholas of Cusa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_intellect_with-the-senses-man-measures-perceptible_2083264.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_intellect_with-the-senses-man-measures-perceptible_2083264.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_intellect_with-the-senses-man-measures-perceptible_2083264.png) > “With the senses man measures perceptible things, with the intellect he measures intelligible things, and he attains unto supra-intelligible things transcendently.” [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. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) [Intellect Measures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect-measures-4079254/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senses/) [Senses Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senses-man-1824603/) [Things Intellect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-intellect-1540539/) ## Related quotes > [It is all, as usual, paradox. I have to use what intellect I have in order to write books, but I write the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/it-is-all-as-usual-paradox-i-have-to-use-what-intellect-i-have-in/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [For Plotinus, what really exists are the Platonic forms, so the true nature or form of things like justice, beauty, maybe numbers, things like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-adamson/for-plotinus-what-really-exists-are-the-platonic-forms-so-the-true/) [Peter Adamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-adamson/) > [You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-can-t-reason-with-your-heart-it-has-its-own-laws-and-thumps-about/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-powell-hubble/equipped-with-his-five-senses-man-explores-the-universe-around-him-2/) [Edwin Powell Hubble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-powell-hubble/) > [Insofar as he makes use of his healthy senses, man himself is the best and most exact scientific instrument possible. The greatest misfortune of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/insofar-as-he-makes-use-of-his-healthy-senses-man-himself-is-the-best/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Genius awaits him who listens. The messages of genius are for the Soul of man. The senses of man comprehend them not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/genius-awaits-him-who-listens-the-messages-of-genius-are-for-the-soul/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) > [Taste is one of the five senses, and the man who tells us with priggish pride that he does not care what he eats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-benson-2/taste-is-one-of-the-five-senses-and-the-man-who-tells-us-with/) [E. F. Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-benson-2/) > [“The man who cannot believe his senses, and the man who cannot believe anything else, are both insane, but their insanity is proved not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-k-chesterton/the-man-who-cannot-believe-his-senses-and-the-man-who-cannot-believe/) [G.K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-k-chesterton/) > [Know thou the self (spirit) as riding in a chariot, The body as the chariot. Know thou the intellect as the chariot-driver, And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/know-thou-the-self-spirit-as-riding-in-a-chariot-the-body-as-the/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [There are four Powers: memory and intellect, desire and covetousness. The two first are mental and the others sensual. The three senses: sight, hearing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/there-are-four-powers-memory-and-intellect-desire-and-covetousness/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Stanley Kubrick, I had been told, hates interviews. It's hard to know what to expect of the man if you've only seen his films.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/stanley-kubrick-i-had-been-told-hates-interviews-it-s-hard-to-know/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [Creation is a book proclaiming the Creator. It is a book of beauty that our intellect reads, but through the passageways of our five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dubay/creation-is-a-book-proclaiming-the-creator-it-is-a-book-of-beauty/) [Thomas Dubay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dubay/) > [All observers not laboring under hallucinations of the senses are agreed, or can be made to agree, about facts of sensible experience, through evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-wright/all-observers-not-laboring-under-hallucinations-of-the-senses-are/) [Chauncey Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-wright/) > [The rich and luxurious may claim an exclusive right to those pleasures which are capable of being purchased by pelf, in which the mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/the-rich-and-luxurious-may-claim-an-exclusive-right-to-those/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [“Nothing is in the intellect that was not first in the senses, except the intellect itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottfried-wilhelm-leibniz/nothing-is-in-the-intellect-that-was-not-first-in-the-senses-except/) [Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottfried-wilhelm-leibniz/) ## 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 Intellect quotes > [“Your mind has the intellect to lift the world, your heart has the wisdom to better the world, and your soul has the genius…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/your-mind-has-the-intellect-to-lift-the-world-your-heart-has-the/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [We do not claim that punning is legitimate wit. 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There's no magic there; it's information, and it's work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/there-s-nothing-more-special-than-intellect-and-labour-that-makes/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [I collect my tools: sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing, intellect. Night has fallen...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/i-collect-my-tools-sight-smell-touch-taste-hearing-intellect-night/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [Plato compared the intellect to a charioteer guiding the powerful horses of the passions, i.e., he gave it both the power of perception and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-cattell/plato-compared-the-intellect-to-a-charioteer-guiding-the-powerful/) [Raymond Cattell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-cattell/) > [I believe in a world where there are no heroes, and I've read and know humanity a lot. 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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/) [Browse all 2,026 Intellect quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellect/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With the senses man measures perceptible things, with the intellect he measures intelligible things, and he attains unto supra-intelligible things transcendently.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicholas of Cusa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/with-the-senses-man-measures-perceptible-things-with-the-intellect-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Intellect" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/with-the-senses-man-measures-perceptible-things-with-the-intellect-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_intellect_with-the-senses-man-measures-perceptible_2083264.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_intellect_with-the-senses-man-measures-perceptible_2083264.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/nicholas-of-cusa-14312_intellect_with-the-senses-man-measures-perceptible_2083264.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“With the senses man measures perceptible things, with the intellect he measures intelligible things, and he…” — 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": "With the senses man measures perceptible...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/with-the-senses-man-measures-perceptible-things-with-the-intellect-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-of-cusa/with-the-senses-man-measures-perceptible-things-with-the-intellect-he/#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 } } ] } ```