From the book
Marsilio Ficino’s Platonic Theology, Volume I
Marsilio Ficino · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordCor, attested as corde, means heart.
- In the Platonic TheologyThe closing example of II.623456789101112131415161718192021222324 distinguishes a mind’s own location-belief from the range of its presence.
- In this editionThe phrase “according to many philosophers” modifies the heart illustration and should not disappear.
- A place to readThe heart comparison distinguishes actual presence in the account from a mind’s belief about itself
Meaning
Cor, attested as corde, means heart. Putare is thinking or supposing; tantum limits the supposition to the heart alone. Regere and gubernare concern directing or governing, while vivificare gives life.
Use in the book
The closing example of II.623456789101112131415161718192021222324 distinguishes a mind’s own location-belief from the range of its presence. A mind may suppose it exists only in the body it governs although, according to the theory under discussion, it reaches beyond that body. The comparison is to our mind, described as present throughout the body yet, “according to many philosophers,” thinking itself confined to the heart.
The text thus contains two qualifications: a reported theory about immensity and an appeal to what many philosophers say about self-location. It is neither a direct observation of cardiac cognition nor a medical recommendation. The important lexical point is that governing a region, appearing more active there, and supposing oneself there are three different relations.
Places to read
- II.6.24The heart comparison distinguishes actual presence in the account from a mind’s belief about itself
Translation in this edition
The phrase “according to many philosophers” modifies the heart illustration and should not disappear. Putat is rendered “thinks itself,” preserving the possibility of mistaken self-description.
cor / putare
cor / putare. Printed forms: corde; putat; putet.
Heart; to think or suppose. The heart illustration separates a mind’s belief about its location from the theory’s claim about its actual presence. References: II.6.24. See Heart and mistaken location.