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 wordVertere and versare concern turning; dirigere directing; ducere leading.
- In the Platonic TheologyThe compact contrast between God’s versatur secum and versat externa joins self-contemplation with the ordering of external things.
- In this editionThe translation appropriately uses “regards” for some occurrences of respicit, especially the differing respects of one divine act at II.12.13.
- A place to readVersatur secum contrasts with versat externa.
Meaning
Vertere and versare concern turning; dirigere directing; ducere leading. Respicere can mean looking toward or regarding an object or respect; referre can refer something to a cause or end. These need not denote travel through space.
Use in the book
The compact contrast between God’s versatur secum and versat externa joins self-contemplation with the ordering of external things. The grammatical change from a verb of being occupied with oneself to active turning matters. Later, mind turns toward possibilities and agents turn toward action. Divine guidance leads things toward ends while preserving their particular modes of motion. Soul’s return into itself unfolds and refolds powers rather than moving a little object through a bodily orbit. The same family can therefore express a celestial rotation, an intellectual orientation, a causal reference, or a psychic return. One must identify the subject and the object before importing the physical sense into the metaphysical claim.
Selected annotated passages.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
The translation appropriately uses “regards” for some occurrences of respicit, especially the differing respects of one divine act at II.12.13. Replacing each occurrence with “sees” would conceal the distinction of reference; replacing every turning verb with bodily rotation would conceal intellectual activity.
rotare
rotare. Printed forms: rotat.
Turn or rotate. The attributed saying contrasts the world’s rotation with the mover’s preserved immobility. References: II.11.16. See Turning and direction.
tractus / trahere
tractus / trahere. Printed forms: tractu; trahunt.
Pull or drawing / draw. A single drawing of the imagined sinew coordinates differentiated movements; elsewhere dragging is contrasted with persuasion of souls. References: II.13.12, II.13.26. See Turning and direction.
versari / versare
versari / versare. Printed forms: versat; versatur.
Be occupied or turn oneself / turn other things. The change of grammatical voice joins divine self-contemplation to governance of external things. References: II.11.15. See Turning and direction.