Attentiveness is the natural prayer of the Soul.
Nicolas MalebrancheRead
You will not dishonor the divine perfections by judgments unworthy of them, provided you never judge of Him by yourself, provided you do not ascribe to the Creator the imperfections and limitations of created beings.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that one should not judge the divine based on human imperfections and limitations.
In this quote, Nicolas Malebranche emphasizes the importance of perceiving divine perfection without projecting human flaws onto it. He warns against evaluating the Creator through the lens of human experiences and shortcomings, promoting an understanding that the divine operates beyond human comprehension and limitation.
Themes
DivinePerfectionJudgmentHumanImperfections
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical discussion about the nature of God and human perception, this quote can highlight the distinction between human and divine qualities.
More from Nicolas Malebranche
All quotes →Our soul is not united to our body in the ordinary sense of these terms. It is immediately and directly united to God alone.
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As our bodies live upon the earth and find sustenance in the fruits which it produces, so our minds feed on the same truths as the intelligible and immutable substance of the divine Word contains.
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Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to create.
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