Nature is an infinite sphere, whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere
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| :The definition of God as 'an infinite sphere, whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere' has its roots in the [[Liber XXIV philosophorum]], a Latin booklet by an anonymous author, which consists of 24 commented [[definitions of what God is]]. It has been ascribed to the fourth-century grammarian and philosopher [[Marius Victorinus]], but the earliest extant manuscript dates back to the beginning of the thirteenth century.[http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/iatl/funding/fundedprojects/studentperformance/addivinola/] | :The definition of God as 'an infinite sphere, whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere' has its roots in the [[Liber XXIV philosophorum]], a Latin booklet by an anonymous author, which consists of 24 commented [[definitions of what God is]]. It has been ascribed to the fourth-century grammarian and philosopher [[Marius Victorinus]], but the earliest extant manuscript dates back to the beginning of the thirteenth century.[http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/iatl/funding/fundedprojects/studentperformance/addivinola/] | ||
| ==Cusanus== | ==Cusanus== | ||
| - | During the [[Late Middle Ages]], Cardinal [[Nicholas of Cusa]] in his ''[[De Docta Ignorantia|Learned Ignorance]]'' asked whether there was any reason to assert that the Sun (or any other point) was the center of the universe. In parallel to a mystical definition of God, Cusa wrote that "Thus the fabric of the world (''machina mundi'') will ''quasi'' have its center everywhere and circumference nowhere." | + | During the [[Late Middle Ages]], Cardinal [[Nicholas of Cusa]] in his ''[[De Docta Ignorantia]]'' asked whether there was any reason to assert that the Sun (or any other point) was the center of the universe. In parallel to a mystical definition of God, Cusa wrote that "Thus the fabric of the world (''machina mundi'') will ''quasi'' have its center everywhere and circumference nowhere." |
| - | :With Pascal, the saying, "Nature is an infinite sphere whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere,"44 ceases to be an objective statement. ... Nicholas of Cusa altered the famous saying and transferred it to the Cosmos in his [[De Docta Ignorantia]]' of 1440 (see the ... The concept, in Cusanus' version, became basic for Giordano Bruno, for whom the innumerable worlds are all divine | + | The concept became basic for Giordano Bruno, for whom the innumerable worlds are all divine. |
| :Thus, as [[Walter Pagel]] writes in ''[[Paracelsus]]'' (2nded., 1982), "[[Cusanus]] demolished the whole concept" of the medieval cosmos "based on the ancient doctrine of 'a closed finite system of spheres," and to that extent paved the way for the infinite [[Copernican universe]] of [[Bruno]] and [[Pascal]] (if not of Copernicus himself).[http://books.google.be/books?id=uc246yZO0qEC&pg=PA708&lpg=PA708&dq=%22Copernican+universe+of+Bruno+and+Pascal+(if+not+of+Copernicus+himself).%22&source=bl&ots=aQqxTPAiDZ&sig=vLYiQ5mAxinIcwvdRyEZPgPR6Dk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sfOpUY2fN8fdOs7SgdAD&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Copernican%20universe%20of%20Bruno%20and%20Pascal%20(if%20not%20of%20Copernicus%20himself).%22&f=false] | :Thus, as [[Walter Pagel]] writes in ''[[Paracelsus]]'' (2nded., 1982), "[[Cusanus]] demolished the whole concept" of the medieval cosmos "based on the ancient doctrine of 'a closed finite system of spheres," and to that extent paved the way for the infinite [[Copernican universe]] of [[Bruno]] and [[Pascal]] (if not of Copernicus himself).[http://books.google.be/books?id=uc246yZO0qEC&pg=PA708&lpg=PA708&dq=%22Copernican+universe+of+Bruno+and+Pascal+(if+not+of+Copernicus+himself).%22&source=bl&ots=aQqxTPAiDZ&sig=vLYiQ5mAxinIcwvdRyEZPgPR6Dk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=sfOpUY2fN8fdOs7SgdAD&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Copernican%20universe%20of%20Bruno%20and%20Pascal%20(if%20not%20of%20Copernicus%20himself).%22&f=false] | ||
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Nature is an infinite sphere, whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere is a dictum by Blaise Pascal from his Pensées.
- [l'univers :] c'est une sphère infinie dont le centre est partout, la circonférence nulle part.[1]
Liber XXIV philosophorum
- The definition of God as 'an infinite sphere, whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere' has its roots in the Liber XXIV philosophorum, a Latin booklet by an anonymous author, which consists of 24 commented definitions of what God is. It has been ascribed to the fourth-century grammarian and philosopher Marius Victorinus, but the earliest extant manuscript dates back to the beginning of the thirteenth century.[2]
Cusanus
During the Late Middle Ages, Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa in his De Docta Ignorantia asked whether there was any reason to assert that the Sun (or any other point) was the center of the universe. In parallel to a mystical definition of God, Cusa wrote that "Thus the fabric of the world (machina mundi) will quasi have its center everywhere and circumference nowhere."
The concept became basic for Giordano Bruno, for whom the innumerable worlds are all divine.
- Thus, as Walter Pagel writes in Paracelsus (2nded., 1982), "Cusanus demolished the whole concept" of the medieval cosmos "based on the ancient doctrine of 'a closed finite system of spheres," and to that extent paved the way for the infinite Copernican universe of Bruno and Pascal (if not of Copernicus himself).[3]
See also
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