Divine Infinitude and Mystical Vision in Nicolas of Cusa

Abstract

Employing his unitary manner of thinking, which is simultaneously philosophical and theological, Nicolas of Cusa did not cease to deal with the question of the mystical in relation to the infinite, a theme that was very central for him. Such question constituted the pivotal point of the reflections in his De visione Dei, which he dedicated and sent to the Benedictine monks of Tegernsee, and in his correspondences with them. In these works, Nicolas provided an in-depth treatment of «seeing,» a«seeing» of God and of man in a mutual and different relation. It is the divine infinitude itself that converts divinity in Nicolas, in the «invisibility of the visible». The present article analyzes the connection between Nicolas’ thinking and the mystical theology of Pseudo-Dionysius The Areopagite, the link between knowledge and affectivity in the mystical dimension within the context of the discussions about this matter during his time, and, in general, the relation among Nicolas’ mystical concept, his own systematic philosophy, and his Christian vision of the world.