Divinity and the divine · Lexicon

From the book

Marsilio Ficino’s Platonic Theology, Volume I

Marsilio Ficino · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Orientation

At a Glance

The wordDivinitas is divinity; divinus can describe God, a created thing’s relation to God, or an honorific religious quality.
In the Platonic TheologyThe Proem identifies the divinity of souls, together with worship of God, as a principal benefit of reading Plato.
In this editionDo not omit “created” in Proem.7.
A place to readPlato’s return of every subject to contemplation and worship explains the divine title.

Meaning

Divinitas is divinity; divinus can describe God, a created thing’s relation to God, or an honorific religious quality. Creatae mentis divinitas expressly qualifies the mind’s divinity as created.

Use in the book

The Proem identifies the divinity of souls, together with worship of God, as a principal benefit of reading Plato. Ficino then specifies the “divinity of the created mind.” The qualification matters: the mind can be divine in dignity, likeness, or participation while remaining created and dependent. It is not thereby identical with the supreme God. The five-level structure makes this distinction explicit, placing both soul and angel below God. Divine vocabulary can also serve honorific or interpretive uses. Plato is called divine, and his teaching theology, because Ficino presents his inquiries as returning to contemplation and worship of God. An occurrence can therefore describe God, a created being's relation to God, or a philosopher's religious orientation. Created mind remains distinct from the divine origin of mind.

Further passage references. Proem.3–Proem.72 3 4 5; I.1.1–I.1.72 3 4 5 6 7; I.6.5–I.6.132 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Places to read

Proem.3Plato’s return of every subject to contemplation and worship explains the divine title.
Proem.5–72 3Divinity of souls becomes an organizing benefit and the created mind a divine mirror.
I.6.5–132 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Divine simplicity and qualified intellectual names distinguish God from created mind.

Translation in this edition

Do not omit “created” in Proem.7. Plato being called “divine” and the soul possessing “divinity” do not make either identical with the supreme first principle; the following hierarchy explicitly preserves their dependence.

rapere / includere

rapere / includere. Printed forms: inclusit; rapuit.

Snatch away / enclose. The attributed saying figures God’s transcendence as withdrawal beyond the following mind’s capacity to contain his fire. References: III.1.21. See Divinity and the divine.