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Authorities traditions and their reception

John and Amelius

Ioannis apostoli theologia; theologorum omnium divinissimi; Platonicus Amelius; amplectitur; principii rationem; principii rationalis amorem

Ioannis apostoli identifies John the apostle; Amelius is called a Platonist.

From the book

Marsilio Ficino’s Platonic Theology, Volume I

Marsilio Ficino · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Orientation

At a Glance

  • The wordIoannis apostoli identifies John the apostle; Amelius is called a Platonist.
  • In the Platonic TheologyFicino brings John’s theology and Amelius’s reception into his identification of unity, truth, and goodness as one divine substance.
  • In this editionThe English “gladly embraces” preserves the receptive force of amplectitur.
  • A place to readJohn’s theology and Amelius’s acceptance accompany the principle–reason–love alignment

Meaning

Ioannis apostoli identifies John the apostle; Amelius is called a Platonist. Amplecti literally evokes embracing and here conveys welcoming or accepting a teaching. Ratio in principii rationem is the reason of the principle, within a theological sequence of principle, reason, and love.

Use in the book

Ficino brings John’s theology and Amelius’s reception into his identification of unity, truth, and goodness as one divine substance. He aligns unity with principle, truth with the principle’s reason, and goodness with the love of the rational principle. He does not introduce three independent first causes. The surrounding inversions, true good unity, one good truth, and one true goodness, insist on the identity of the substance under these descriptions.

The names function as attributed authorities within Ficino’s synthesis. The supplied passage gives neither a direct Johannine chapter reference nor a work-title for Amelius. It should not be expanded into a verified history of transmission or a quotation of a specific biblical verse without further evidence.

Places to read

  1. II.3.10John’s theology and Amelius’s acceptance accompany the principle–reason–love alignment

Translation in this edition

The English “gladly embraces” preserves the receptive force of amplectitur. The apparatus explains that the translation makes unitatem vocat passive to avoid imposing an uncertain personal subject after the Johannine parenthesis. “Reason” translates ratio; inserting “Word” as though it were the printed Latin would obscure the difference from verbum in the later mental-presence account.

amplecti

amplecti. Printed forms: amplectitur.

To embrace or welcome a teaching. Amelius is said gladly to embrace John’s theology; the verb reports reception, not the details of a lost textual exchange. References: II.3.10. See John and Amelius.

Ioannes / Amelius

Ioannes / Amelius. Printed forms: Amelius; Ioannis.

John the apostle and Amelius, named as theological authority and Platonist recipient. Ficino aligns principle, reason, and love with unity, truth, and goodness without supplying an external history of transmission. References: II.3.10. See John and Amelius.