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Authorities traditions and their reception

Orpheus and divine names

Orpheo; Orpheus; ab Orphicis; infinitus finis; necessitatem; Iovis perfectus oculus; oculus infinitus; Saturni hymno; Apollinis hymno

Orpheus and the Orphics are named authorities for divine descriptions and hymnic sayings.

From the book

Marsilio Ficino’s Platonic Theology, Volume I

Marsilio Ficino · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Orientation

At a Glance

  • The wordOrpheus and the Orphics are named authorities for divine descriptions and hymnic sayings.
  • In the Platonic TheologyThe “infinite end” caps the argument that potential or qualified infinities derive from infinity in act.
  • In this editionThe supplied Latin gives a gloss after each Greek citation, sometimes across editorial units.
  • A place to readInfinite end and universal habitation support infinity and presence

Meaning

Orpheus and the Orphics are named authorities for divine descriptions and hymnic sayings. Finis can be end or goal; necessitas necessity; oculus eye. Their differing senses allow a series of compact divine names rather than one literal description.

Use in the book

The “infinite end” caps the argument that potential or qualified infinities derive from infinity in act. The Saturn hymn supplies an inhabitant of all cosmic parts; the saying about mighty necessity supports God’s necessity of being; the perfect and infinite eyes support comprehensive knowing. Finally, the Apollo hymn describes universal bounds, care for beginning and end, flourishing, and harmony through a resounding lyre.

These citations perform distinct tasks within Ficino’s exposition. Their authority and attribution are reported as he gives them; no independent authorship claim or critical identification of fragments is made here. Likewise, necessity as the name of the self-subsisting source should not be flattened into external coercion, and the eye or lyre should not be read as bodily equipment of the divine cause.

Places to read

  1. II.4.8, II.6.11Infinite end and universal habitation support infinity and presence
  2. II.7.11Mighty necessity accompanies the claim of necessary being
  3. II.9.18, II.9.19, II.9.22Perfect sight and the Apollo hymn support knowledge and ordered harmony
  4. II.10.7The infinite eye names unlimited divine knowledge

Translation in this edition

The supplied Latin gives a gloss after each Greek citation, sometimes across editorial units. Preserve both the attribution and the immediate argument rather than treating the gloss as a new statement independently verified by this lexicon.

habitare

habitare. Printed forms: habitas.

To dwell or inhabit, here second-person singular in an attributed hymn. The Saturn hymn calls its addressee inhabitant of all cosmic parts; habitas belongs to habitare, not the noun habitus. References: II.6.11. See Orpheus and divine names.

Orpheus / Orphici

Orpheus / Orphici. Printed forms: Orpheo; Orpheus; Orphicis.

Named poetic-theological authorities as presented by Ficino. Infinite end, universal habitation, necessity, and infinite eye support different stages of the argument. References: II.4.8, II.6.11, II.7.11, II.10.7. See Orpheus and divine names.