Organic Metaphors in “De concordantia catholica” of Nicholas of Cusa

This article highlights the organic metaphors in “De concordantia catholica” of Nicholas of Cusa. Using these metaphors, he describes the functions of power, as well as the relations between pope and emperor and the relations between king and emperor; furthermore he wants to illustrate the crucial role of the concepts of “hierarchy” and “unity” inside the Church. In “De concordantia catholica” are found important examples of the transposition of the metaphor of corpus mysticum from the Church to the empire. Indeed, according to the theory of Ernst Kantorowicz, this metaphor expresses a deeply rooted vision of political theology and the passage from the ecclesiastical world to secular world.