The purpose of this Part is to examine the ideas of Nicholas of Cusa in respect to unity and the Divine. It will lay the basic metaphysical groundwork for understanding Cusa's philosophy and will provide the foundation for Part II of this work which will deal with how Cusa's unique metaphysical insight can illuminate some contemporary ethical issues. In order to do this it must first set the historical context of the concept of unity so that one can understand the philosophical circumstances in which Cusa's thought evolved. It will also outline the methodology of this overall work.