“You know, Lord, that a great multitude cannot exist without much diversity”

De Pace Fidei (The Peace of Faith) (1453)
Context: You know, Lord, that a great multitude cannot exist without much diversity and that almost all are compelled to lead a laborious life full of troubles and afflictions, and in servile subjugation must be subject to the kings who rule. Hence it has occurred, that only a few men have enough leisure time to employ the freedom of their will and to gain knowledge of themselves. They are distracted by many corporeal cares and duties. Thus they cannot seek You, who are the concealed God.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "You know, Lord, that a great multitude cannot exist without much diversity" by Nicholas of Cusa?
Nicholas of Cusa photo
Nicholas of Cusa 49
German philosopher, theologian, jurist, and astronomer 1401–1464

Related quotes

Steve Huffman photo

“You cannot build a product that appeals to a diverse set of people without having a diverse set of people designing the product.”

Steve Huffman (1983) American businessman

Business Insider: "After a huge user revolt, nobody wanted to work at Reddit. 3 years later, the CEO explains how the 'front page of the internet' rebuilt the team." https://www.businessinsider.com/how-reddit-hired-engineers-after-revolt-ceo-steve-huffman-interview-2018-9 (9 September 2018)

Thich Nhat Hanh photo

“All phenomena are interdependent. When we think of a speck of dust, a flower, or a human being, our thinking cannot break loose from the idea of unity, of one, of calculation. We see a line drawn between one and many, one and not one. But if we truly realize the interdependent nature of the dust, the flower, and the human being, we see that unity cannot exist without diversity. Unity and diversity interpenetrate each other freely. Unity is diversity, and diversity is unity. This is the principle of interbeing.”

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist

The Sun My Heart (1996)
Context: There is no phenomenon in the universe that does not intimately concern us, from a pebble resting at the bottom of the ocean, to the movement of a galaxy millions of light years away. Walt Whitman said, "I believe a blade of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars...." These words are not philosophy. They come from the depths of his soul. He also said, "I am large, I contain multitudes." This might be called a meditation on "interfacing endlessly interwoven." All phenomena are interdependent. When we think of a speck of dust, a flower, or a human being, our thinking cannot break loose from the idea of unity, of one, of calculation. We see a line drawn between one and many, one and not one. But if we truly realize the interdependent nature of the dust, the flower, and the human being, we see that unity cannot exist without diversity. Unity and diversity interpenetrate each other freely. Unity is diversity, and diversity is unity. This is the principle of interbeing.

Carl Linnaeus photo

“Your works are wonderful, O Lord! In the multitude of Thy virtues you measure those who despise you.”

Praise at the end of the introduction. In Systema Naturae (1758).
Original in Latin: "Terribilia sunt opera Tua, o Domine! In multitude virtutis Tuae, Te metientur contemptores Tui."
Systema Naturae

Jessica Meir photo

“There’s no one path to becoming an astronaut. I think that’s one of the great things about the job these days. You know, originally, all of the astronauts were white male military test pilots. And now the program is much more diverse.”

Jessica Meir (1977) Swedish-American marine biologist and astronaut

Source: As quoted in [Jasper, Marykate, “There’s No One Path” : How Astronaut Jessica Meir Went From Studying Animal Physiology to Training for Space Flight, https://www.themarysue.com/jessica-meir-astronaut-interview/, The Mary Sue, 26 April 2019, November 14th, 2017]

Paulo Freire photo

“Dialogue cannot exist without humility.”

Paulo Freire (1921–1997) educator and philosopher

Pedagogia do oprimido (Pedagogy of the Oppressed) (1968, English trans. 1970)

Benjamin Disraeli photo

“Duty cannot exist without faith.”

Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) British Conservative politician, writer, aristocrat and Prime Minister

Bk. II, Ch. 1.
Books, Coningsby (1844), Tancred (1847)

Freeman Dyson photo

“Without discipline there can be no greatness. Without diversity there can be no freedom. Greatness for the enterprise, freedom for the individual — these are the two themes, contrasting but not incompatible, that make up the history of science and the history of religion.”

Source: Infinite in All Directions (1988), Ch. 1 : In Praise of Diversity
Context: Science and religion are two human enterprises sharing many features. They share these features also with other enterprises such as art, literature and music. The most salient features of all these enterprises are discipline and diversity. Discipline to submerge the individual fantasy in a greater whole. Diversity to give scope to the infinite variety of human souls and temperaments. Without discipline there can be no greatness. Without diversity there can be no freedom. Greatness for the enterprise, freedom for the individual — these are the two themes, contrasting but not incompatible, that make up the history of science and the history of religion.

William Gilbert (astronomer) photo

“Only on the superficies of the globes is plainly seen the host of souls and of animate existences, and their great and delightful diversity the Creator taketh pleasure”

As quoted in Gilbert, William. 2013 ed. De Magnete https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=QsLDAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false. Courier Corporation, pp. 311.
De Magnete (1600)

Rose Wilder Lane photo

“In actual fact, the population of a country is a multitude of diverse human beings with an infinite variety of purposes and desires and fluctuating wills”

Rose Wilder Lane (1886–1968) American journalist

Give Me Liberty (1936)
Context: Representative government cannot express the will of the mass of the people, because there is no mass of the people; The People is a fiction, like The State. You cannot get a Will of the Mass, even among a dozen persons who all want to go on a picnic. The only human mass with a common will is a mob, and that will is a temporary insanity. In actual fact, the population of a country is a multitude of diverse human beings with an infinite variety of purposes and desires and fluctuating wills.

Related topics