Lumen naturale

Lumen naturale is a term derived from ancient light metaphysics for the finite cognitive faculty of man, in contrast to the supernatural, divine light. The lumen naturale "illuminates" only the elementary logical and empirical truths, as man can only attain higher knowledge through revelation.
Cicero was likely the first to use the expression in his Tusculanae disputationes, calling it lumen naturae. For Augustine, the Word of God is the actual true light that illuminates the whole person. In the Christian faith, the lumen naturale is given by God. In contrast, according to René Descartes, the lumen naturale is an innate property of man to recognize truth intuitively and thus reason.