1001Philosophers

John Scotus Eriugena Quotes

John Scotus Eriugena was an Irish theologian and Neoplatonist philosopher active at the court of the Carolingian king Charles the Bald. He produced the first Latin translation of the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, transmitting Eastern Neoplatonic theology to the Latin West. The quotes below are attributed to John Scotus Eriugena, organized by topic.

John Scotus Eriugena on God

  • Attributed to John Scotus Eriugena:

    “We do not know what God is. God himself does not know what he is because he is not anything.”

  • Attributed to John Scotus Eriugena:

    “Every visible and invisible creature is a theophany, a manifestation of God.”

  • Attributed to John Scotus Eriugena:

    “True philosophy is true religion, and true religion is true philosophy.”

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John Scotus Eriugena on Knowledge

  • Attributed to John Scotus Eriugena:

    “Authority is the source of knowledge, but our own reason remains the norm by which all authority must be judged.”

  • Attributed to John Scotus Eriugena:

    “No one enters heaven except through philosophy.”

Read all John Scotus Eriugena quotes on Knowledge