Credenza e consuetudo nel De Christiana religione di Marsilio Ficino

Abstract

This paper explores the concepts of belief and consuetudo in Marsilio Ficino’s De Christiana religione, showing how Ficino’s notion lies at the intersection of philosophical anthropology and theology. After outlining the lexical framework in which the doctrine of fides developed, the essay analyses the function of docta religio as a synthesis between rational knowledge and supernatural grace, the distinction between fides, credulitas and opinio, and the conception of faith as fundamentum scientiae. The paper highlights the internal tension between the anthropological universality of belief and the soteriological uniqueness of the Christian faith, revealing how, for Ficino, belief is not a ‘blind’ act, but a path to truth and salvation that unites intellect, will and worship.