On Divine Filiation. Translation of the Opuscule De filiatione Dei
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Abstract
This is a translation of the opuscule De filiatione Dei by the German Neoplatonic Renaissance thinker Nicholas of Cusa. In preparing this translation, the Latin version of the opuscule published by Felix Meiner was primarily examined, although the German versions by Harald Schwaetzer and Wilhelm Dupré, as well as the English version by Jasper Hopkins, were also consulted. The opuscule is divided into six chapters. The first offers a broad definition of the concept of filiation according to Cusa, identifying it with the terms theosis and deification, and outlining the conditions under which filiation occurs. In the second chapter, Cusa explains what filiation consists of, identifying it with the knowledge of God and the implications of this. The third chapter addresses the accuracy of the knowledge that constitutes divine filiation. According to Cusa, such knowledge can never be entirely perfect, and in this part of the opuscule, he clarifies his reasons for asserting this. In the fourth chapter, continuing from the previous one, Cusa discusses the ineffability of God and the reasons for it. The fifth chapter, still in continuity with the previous two, addresses the divine nature and its relation to the world. In the sixth and final chapter, the author recapitulates what has been said and presents his conclusions on filiation, based on his conception of divine nature.
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