Hinge and center

Use in the book

The hinge or pivot, cardo, describes a governing point through which many subordinate movements are coordinated. God is the universal hinge, turning the subsequent orders of essence, life, mind, soul, nature, and matter. Ficino conditionally elaborates a Platonist formulation in which each order has its own proper hinge. The mechanical display driven by a single ball gives a concrete comparison for varied motion directed from one source.

The center image has more than one application. In II.13.14, God is the simplest center from which dependent realities issue like lines. In III.223456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930, a circle's center illustrates how an undivided point can stand in relation to many radii, unlike a point fixed to one peripheral location. This supports the account of soul's undivided presence without making soul into a geometrical object. Calling soul the center of nature at III.2.23 then emphasizes its mediating position. A shared image therefore need not assign God and soul the same metaphysical status; the local relation being explained determines its force.

Further passage references. II.13.12–1423; III.2.13–19234567, 23.

Places to read

1. II.8.5The simplest center and dependent lines illustrate effortless action through being
2. II.13.12The universal hinge coordinates subordinate orders, with a conditionally introduced Platonist elaboration
3. II.13.14The center image recurs after the single-ball display
4. III.2.19Soul is compared with a center related to every line and the whole circle

Translation in this edition

The English “hinge” emphasizes coordinated turning; “center” emphasizes a single source’s relation to many lines. The formula already occurs at II.8.5 and is repeated at II.13.14 with an explicit reference back. The conditional “as a Platonist might say” at II.13.12 qualifies the elaborated hierarchy of hinges.

cardo

cardo. Printed forms: cardinem; cardines; cardo.

Hinge or governing pivot. God’s being turns subordinate hinges, each corresponding to an order; the metaphor explains coordinated hierarchy. References: II.13.12. See Hinge and center.

cardo / fundamentum

cardo / fundamentum. Printed forms: cardinem; fundamentum.

A hinge or pivot, and a foundation. Stable substance grounds changing accidents; the material images identify an enduring reference and cause, not a literal joint inside the soul. References: I.3.13. See Hinge and center.

ducere / deducere / trahere

ducere / deducere / trahere. Printed forms: deducta; deducuntur; ducatur; duci; trahuntur.

To lead, draw, or derive. Causal dependence is portrayed as derivation from a source, while lines drawn from a center illustrate related effects. References: II.2.12, II.3.2, II.3.8, II.8.5. See Hinge and center.

nutus / vibrare / centrum

nutus / vibrare / centrum. Printed forms: centrum; nutu; vibrat.

Nod, setting in motion, and center. A simple center with dependent lines models effortless divine direction without literal bodily gesture. References: II.8.5. See Hinge and center.

Turning through an everlasting pivot (Greek quotation)

ἀενάῳ στροφάλιγγι θοὸν ῥῦμα δινεύουσα

The Orphic line is glossed through the language of a perpetual hinge or pivot and a swift impulse. Ficino uses it in a sustained explanation of effortless divine governance through subordinate orders. The apparatus reports adopting volutans rather than voluntas in the Latin gloss: turning, not merely a coincidental occurrence of the noun will.

Place. II.13.12. See Hinge and center.

On the World (authorities and cited works)

On the World. Ficino attributes this work to Aristotle when explaining coordinated divine governance. The supplied edition's apparatus notes that the work is generally regarded as pseudo-Aristotelian. II.13.12; apparatus. See Hinge and center; Providence.