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]

References

^ ^a ^b "Anselmus Cantuariensis - Proslogion, 1" (in Latin). The Latin Library. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
^ ^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.
^ "Anselmus Cantuariensis - Proslogion, Proemium" (in Latin). The Latin Library. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
^ "Sermo 43, 7,9" (in Latin). Retrieved 21 October 2020.
^ 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.
^ Nash, Ronald H., Faith and Reason, p. 88.
^ TeSelle, Eugene. "Crede ut intellegas". Zentrum für Augustinus-Forschung. Archived from the original on 2023-05-15. Retrieved 2023-05-16.

[TLL-1] "Anselmus Cantuariensis - Proslogion, 1" (in Latin). The Latin Library. Retrieved 10 August 2019.

[MF-2] 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.

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