Abstract
Anywhere a man is, he will believe himself in the center.
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Notes
- 1.
Nicolaus Cusanus (1440) De Docta Ignorantia. The Fr. Germain Heron English translation will be normally used (and referred to as De Docta Ignorantia); however, the Cusanus thought is particularly difficult to pin down, and interpretations differ markedly; thus, in the case of the above quotation and some others, I have preferred (mostly for clarity and/or compactness) to modify the wording in the G. Heron translation with help from the French translation of L. Moulinier, or from the large fragments given in the chapter Nicolas de Cues of Pierre Duhem’s (1959) Système du Monde, X, 247–347; or from those given by Alexandre Koyré (1957) From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe. Both Duhem and Koyré have been taken as main guides to the Cusanus philosophy and cosmology; the Introduction to the Heron translation by J.B. Hawkins has also been helpful.
- 2.
Cusanus himself writes that “the Aristotle sect holds as heresy the meeting of contraries; but admitting their concurrence is the beginning of our ascension towards Mystic theology.” (Apologia Doctae Ignorantiae, quoted by Duhem 1959, X, 261)
- 3.
Descartes, Principes de philosophie (1647) § 27. For the Cusanus-Descartes connection, see Koyré (1957), 19.
- 4.
De Docta Ignorantia, 47. About Hermes Trismegistus, see Note 1 by Koyré (1957) p. 30.
- 5.
Cusanus (1453), De Pace Fidei, translation and analysis by Jasper Hopkins. See also his Cribratio Alkorani (literally: passing the Quoran through a sieve) of 1460/1. Judging from the volume of modern bibliography, the religious views of Cusanus are presently attracting far more interest than the cosmological ones.
- 6.
As recalled in the Notes, many texts in various languages are now available in fac-simile and a large number in world-processor form) from Gallica.bnf.fr, and other WEB sites. They are indicated by ∗ for Gallica, ° for Google Books and + for others.
Bibliography
As recalled in the Notes, many texts in various languages are now available in fac-simile and a large number in world-processor form) from Gallica.bnf.fr, and other WEB sites. They are indicated by ∗ for Gallica, ° for Google Books and + for others.
Ancient Authors
+Cusanus, N. (1440) De Docta Ignorantia Libri Tres, 1440; translated as On Learned Ignorance by Fr. Germain Heron (1954) with Introduction by J.B. Hawkins), New Haven Yale University Press, by J. Hopkins (1985) as Nicholas of Cusa on Learned Ignorance, A.J. Benning, ed., and in French by L. Moulinier (1930) as De La Docte Ignorance, Editions de la Maisnie, Paris, 1930. (with Introduction by Abel Rey).
+Cusanus, N. (1453) De Pace Fidei, translated with an Introduction by Jasper Hopkins (1990), Banning Press, Minneapolis.
Historians and Modern Authors
∗Duhem, P. (1959) Le Système du Monde, Histoire des doctrines cosmologiques de Platon à Copernic (10 vol.), Hermann, Paris.
°Koyré, A. (1957) From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe, Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore.
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Connes, P., Lequeux, J. (2020). Nicolaus CUSANUS: The Homogeneous Cosmos. In: Lequeux, J. (eds) History of the Plurality of Worlds. Historical & Cultural Astronomy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41448-1_6
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