Marsilio Ficino and Unity

Portrait of Marsilio Ficino by Domenico Ghirlandaio

Marsilio Ficino (1433-99) is the man who gave us Plato. By translating and commenting on the entire Platonic corpus, Marsilio played a major part in turning our attention to the living Tradition of the philosophia perennis, that ever-present teaching which enables us to express our divine nature in thought, word, and action.

This presentation is an opportunity to hear, read, and reflect upon some of Marsilio’s words on the subject of unity, a subject to which the world desperately needs to address itself today. Marsilio reminds us, for example, that ‘There is a single principle of all things, and if that is in place everything is in place, but if it be removed everything perishes’.

Speaker Arthur Farndell is a teacher and translator. For half a century he has enjoyed the privilege of deepening his relationship with Marsilio by translating his words from Latin, both independently and in conjunction with others.

Arthur has presented Ficino in England, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Malta, Greece, and Australia. He currently leads three online courses on various facets of Ficino’s teaching and is always delighted to observe how Marsilio’s words are truly inspirational, enlightening, and transformative.