Credo ut intelligam

Credo ut intelligam, alternatively spelled credo ut intellegam, is a Latin sentence of Anselm of Canterbury (Proslogion, 1). The sentence is a reference to Isaiah 7:9.[1] The sentence translates as: "I believe so that I may understand".

In Anselm's writing, it is placed in juxtaposition to its converse, intellego ut credam ("I think so that I may believe"), when he says Neque enim quaero intelligere ut credam, sed credo ut intelligam[1][2] ("I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but rather, I believe in order that I may understand").[2]

The phrase credo ut intelligam is often associated with Anselm's other famous phrase fides quaerens intellectum[3][2] ("faith seeking understanding").[2]

The phrase is based on a sentence of Augustine of Hippo (crede ut intellegas,[4] lit. "believe so that you may understand")[5][2] to relate faith and reason. Augustine understood the saying to mean that a person must believe in something in order to know anything about God.[6] This sentence by Augustine is also inspired from Isaiah 7:9.[7]

  1. ^ a b "Anselmus Cantuariensis - Proslogion, 1" (in Latin). The Latin Library. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e Folsom, Marty (2016). Face to Face. Volume Three: Sharing God's Life. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-49820761-4.
  3. ^ "Anselmus Cantuariensis - Proslogion, Proemium" (in Latin). The Latin Library. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Sermo 43, 7,9" (in Latin). Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  5. ^ Hütter, Reinhard (2019). Bound for Beatitude. A Thomistic Study in Eschatology and Ethics. Washington, D.C.: CUA Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-81323181-5.
  6. ^ Nash, Ronald H., Faith and Reason, p. 88.
  7. ^ TeSelle, Eugene. "Crede ut intellegas". Zentrum für Augustinus-Forschung. Archived from the original on 2023-05-15. Retrieved 2023-05-16.