Abstract
Well known sentence fides quaerens intellectum often mentioned by St. Augustine of Hippo and very popular in medieval theology is often understood in such a way, that act of faith must be prior to rational cognition. Faith is understood in this sentence, as acceptance of Christian Revelation and natural cognition seems to be impossible without prior act of faith. The purpose of this article is to show, that faith or belief is present in the writings of pagan philosophers (especially Plato and Plotinus) as the necessary stage of the process of cognition. It can be seen especially in the context of philosophical life understood as seeking happiness. To enter the path of philosophical life it is necessary for the pupil to listen and believe in the words of the master. Pupil believing in authority of the master must obtain the conviction, that entering the path of the true philosophy is worth the effort and that it is possible to have the higher understanding and knowledge. At the end of the path belief disappears, because pupil can penetrate the higher truth and understand it himself. Analysis of mutual relation of faith and understanding in pagan philos ophers shows that it is not sufficient to point out the priority of faith to classify Christian writers (especially St. Augustine) as theologians rather then philosophers, since this sequence could occur at natural level.
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