“Prophecy is an overflow from God through the intermediation of the Active…” — Maimonides (Guide of the Perplexed II.36 (Pines))

Source and attribution

The archive attributes this English wording to Guide of the Perplexed II.36 (Pines) and files it under Jewish Rationalism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

About Maimonides

Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), known as Maimonides or Rambam, fled Almohad persecution from Córdoba to Fez and finally to Egypt, where he served as a communal leader and court physician. He codified Jewish law in the Mishneh Torah and wrote the Guide of the Perplexed for readers torn between Torah and Aristotelian science.

How to read this passage

Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Anselm of Canterbury and Averroes), faith is framed through Islamic Philosophy and Scholasticism. Some passages define faith; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through faith.

Concepts in this quote

Faith

Faith appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat faith as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.

How to cite this quotation

APA: Maimonides. (n.d.). Prophecy is an overflow from God through the intermediation of the Active Intellect, first to the rational faculty and then to the imaginative faculty. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0593

MLA: Maimonides. “Prophecy is an overflow from God through the….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0593.

Chicago: Maimonides. “Prophecy is an overflow from God through the….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0593.

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