Marsilio Ficino (;
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
name: ; 19 October 1433 – 1 October 1499) was an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
scholar
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researc ...
and
Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
who was one of the most influential
humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "human ...
philosophers
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
of the early
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
. He was an
astrologer, a reviver of
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some i ...
in touch with the major academics of his day, and the first translator of
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
's complete extant works into
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. His
Florentine Academy
The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze ("academy of fine arts of Florence") is an instructional art academy in Florence, in Tuscany, in central Italy.
It was founded by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1563, under the influence of Giorgio Vasari. ...
, an attempt to revive Plato's
Academy
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
, influenced the direction and tenor of the Italian Renaissance and the development of
European philosophy
Western philosophy encompasses the philosophical thought and work of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the pre-Socratics. The word ' ...
.
Early life
Ficino was born at
Figline Valdarno
Figline Valdarno () is a ''frazione'' in the ''comune'' of Figline e Incisa Valdarno in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence. It is the birthplace of Marsilio Ficino.
It was a s ...
. His father, Diotifeci d'Agnolo, was a
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
under the patronage of
Cosimo de' Medici, who took the young man into his household and became the lifelong patron of Marsilio, who was made tutor to his grandson,
Lorenzo de' Medici
Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (; 1 January 1449 – 8 April 1492) was an Italian statesman, banker, ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic and the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Also known as Lorenzo ...
.
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (24 February 1463 – 17 November 1494) was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, he proposed to defend 900 theses on religion, philosophy, ...
, the Italian humanist philosopher and scholar was another of his students.
Career and thought
Platonic Academy
During the sessions at Florence of the
Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438–1445, during the failed attempts to heal the
schism of the Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Catholic) churches,
Cosimo de' Medici and his intellectual circle had made acquaintance with the Neoplatonic philosopher
George Gemistos Plethon
Georgios Gemistos Plethon ( el, Γεώργιος Γεμιστός Πλήθων; la, Georgius Gemistus Pletho /1360 – 1452/1454), commonly known as Gemistos Plethon, was a Greek scholar and one of the most renowned philosophers of the late Byza ...
, whose discourses upon Plato and the Alexandrian mystics so fascinated the humanists of Florence that they named him the second Plato. In 1459
John Argyropoulos
John Argyropoulos (/ˈd͡ʒɑn ˌɑɹd͡ʒɪˈɹɑ.pə.ləs/ el, Ἰωάννης Ἀργυρόπουλος ''Ioannis Argyropoulos''; it, Giovanni Argiropulo; surname also spelt ''Argyropulus'', or ''Argyropulos'', or ''Argyropulo''; c. 1415 – 2 ...
was lecturing on Greek language and literature at Florence, and Ficino became his pupil.
![Corpus Hermeticum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Corpus_Hermeticum.jpg)
When Cosimo decided to
refound Plato's Academy
The Academy (Ancient Greek: Ἀκαδημία) was founded by Plato in c. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years (367–347 BC) before founding his own school, the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic p ...
at Florence, he chose Ficino as its head. In 1462, Cosimo supplied Ficino with
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
manuscripts of Plato's work, whereupon Ficino started translating the entire corpus into
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
(draft translation of the dialogues finished 1468–9; published 1484). Ficino also produced a translation of a collection of Hellenistic Greek documents found by
Leonardo da Pistoia later called
Hermetica
The ''Hermetica'' are texts attributed to the legendary Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. These texts may vary widely in content and purpose, but are usually subd ...
, and the writings of many of the Neoplatonists, including
Porphyry,
Iamblichus, and
Plotinus
Plotinus (; grc-gre, Πλωτῖνος, ''Plōtînos''; – 270 CE) was a philosopher in the Hellenistic tradition, born and raised in Roman Egypt. Plotinus is regarded by modern scholarship as the founder of Neoplatonism. His teacher wa ...
.
Among his many students was
Francesco Cattani da Diacceto, who was considered by Ficino to be his successor as the head of the Florentine Platonic Academy. Diacceto's student,
Giovanni di Bardo Corsi, produced a short biography of Ficino in 1506.
Theology, astrology, and the soul
![Angel Appearing to Zacharias (detail) - 1486-90](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Angel_Appearing_to_Zacharias_%28detail%29_-_1486-90.JPG)
Though trained as a physician, Ficino became a priest in 1473. In 1474 Ficino completed his treatise on the immortality of the soul, ''
Theologia Platonica de immortalitate animae''
[ (Platonic Theology).] In the rush of enthusiasm for every rediscovery from Antiquity, he exhibited a great interest in the arts of astrology
Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...
, which landed him in trouble with the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. In 1489 he was accused of heresy
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
before Pope Innocent VIII[ and was acquitted.
Writing in 1492 Ficino proclaimed:
Ficino's letters, extending over the years 1474–1494, survive and have been published.][ He wrote ''De amore'' (Of Love) in 1484. '']De vita libri tres
The ''De vita libri tres'' (''Three Books on Life'') or ''De triplici vita'', was written in the years 1480–1489 by Italian Platonist Marsilio Ficino. It was first circulated in manuscript form and then published on December 3, 1489. It was cons ...
'' (Three books on life), or ''De triplici vita'' (The Book of Life), published in 1489, provides a great deal of medical and astrological advice for maintaining health and vigor, as well as espousing the Neoplatonist
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some id ...
view of the world's ensoulment and its integration with the human soul:
One metaphor for this integrated "aliveness" is Ficino's astrology. In the ''Book of Life'', he details the interlinks between behavior and consequence. It talks about a list of things that hold sway over a man's destiny.
Medical works
Probably due to early influences from his father, Diotifeci, who was a doctor to Cosimo de' Medici, Ficino published Latin and Italian treatises on medical subjects such as ''Consiglio contro la pestilenza'' (Recommendations for the treatment of the plague) and ''De vita libri tres'' (Three books on life). His medical works exerted considerable influence on Renaissance physicians such as Paracelsus, with whom he shared the perception on the unity of the microcosmos and macrocosmos, and their interactions, through somatic and psychological manifestations, with the aim to investigate their signatures
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...
to cure diseases. Those works, which were very popular at the time, dealt with astrological and alchemical concepts. Thus Ficino came under the suspicion of heresy; especially after the publication of the third book in 1489, which contained specific instructions on healthful living in a world of demons and other spirits.
Platonic love
Notably, Ficino coined the term Platonic love, which first appeared in his letter to Alamanno Donati in 1476. In 1492, Ficino published ''Epistulae'' (Epistles), which contained Platonic love letters, written in Latin, to his academic colleague and life-long friend, Giovanni Cavalcanti, concerning the nature of Platonic love. Because of this, some have alleged Ficino was a homosexual, but this finds little basis in his letters. Regardless, Ficino's letters to Cavalcanti resulted in the popularization of the term Platonic love in Western Europe.
Death
Ficino died on 1 October 1499 at Careggi. In 1521 his memory was honored with a bust sculpted by Andrea Ferrucci, which is located in the south side of the nave in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
Florence Cathedral, formally the (; in English Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower), is the cathedral of Florence, Italy ( it, Duomo di Firenze). It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and was structurally co ...
.
Publications
* '' Theologia Platonica de immortalitate animae'' (Platonic Theology). Harvard University Press, Latin with English translation.
** vol. I, 2001.
** vol. II, 2002.
** vol. III, 2003.
** vol. IV, 2004.
** vol. V, 2005.
** vol. VI with index, 2006.
* ''The Letters of Marsilio Ficino''. Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers. English translation with extensive notes; the Language Department of the School of Economic Science
The School of Philosophy and Economic Science (SPES), also operating under the names the School of Philosophy and the School of Practical Philosophy and legally named the School of Economic Science (SES), is a worldwide organisation based in ...
.
** vol. I, 1975.
** vol. II, 1978.
** vol. III, 1981.
** vol. IV, 1988.
** vol. V, 1994.
** vol. VI, 1999.
** vol. VII, 2003
** vol. VIII, 2010
** vol. IX, 2013
* ''Commentaries on Plato''. I Tatti Renaissance Library. Bilingual, annotated English/Latin editions of Ficino's commentaries on the works of Plato.
** vol. I, 2008, ''Phaedrus'', and ''Ion'', tr. by Michael J. B. Allen,
** vol. II, 2012, ''Parmenides'', part I, tr. by Maude Vanhaelen,
** vol. III, 2012, ''Parmenides'', part II, tr. by Maude Vanhaelen,
* ''Icastes. Marsilio Ficino's Interpretation of Plato's ''Sophist'','' edited and translated by Michael J. B. Allen, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
*''The Book of Life'', translated with an introduction by Charles Boer, Dallas: Spring Publications, 1980. ISBN 0-88214-212-7
* ''De vita libri tres
The ''De vita libri tres'' (''Three Books on Life'') or ''De triplici vita'', was written in the years 1480–1489 by Italian Platonist Marsilio Ficino. It was first circulated in manuscript form and then published on December 3, 1489. It was cons ...
'' (''Three Books on Life'', 1489) translated by Carol V. Kaske and John R. Clarke, Tempe, Arizona: The Renaissance Society of America, 2002. With notes, commentaries, and Latin text on facing pages.
**
* ''De religione Christiana et fidei pietate'' (1475–6), dedicated to Lorenzo de' Medici.
* ''In Epistolas Pauli commentaria'', Marsilii Ficini Epistolae (Venice, 1491; Florence, 1497).
* ''Meditations on the Soul: Selected letters of Marsilio Ficino'', tr. by the Language Department of the School of Economic Science, London. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International, 1996. . Note for instance, letter 31: ''A man is not rightly formed who does not delight in harmony'', pp. 5–60; letter 9: ''One can have patience without religion'', pp. 16–18; ''Medicine heals the body, music the spirit, theology the soul,'' pp. 63–64; letter 77: ''The good will rule over the stars'', p. 166.
* ''Commentary on Plato's Symposium on Love'', translated with an introduction and notes by Sears Jayne. Woodstock, Conn.: Spring Publications (1985), 2nd edition, 2000.
* ''Collected works: Opera'' (Florence,1491, Venice, 1516, Basel, 1561).
See also
References
Further reading
*
* Allen, Michael J. B., ''Nuptial Arithmetic: Marsilio Ficino's Commentary on the Fatal Number in Book VIII of Plato's Republic''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.
* Ernst Cassirer
Ernst Alfred Cassirer ( , ; July 28, 1874 – April 13, 1945) was a German philosopher. Trained within the Neo-Kantian Marburg School, he initially followed his mentor Hermann Cohen in attempting to supply an idealistic philosophy of science.
A ...
, Paul Oskar Kristeller
Paul Oskar Kristeller (May 22, 1905 in Berlin – June 7, 1999 in New York, United States) was an important scholar of Renaissance humanism. He was awarded the Haskins Medal in 1992. He was last active as Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Colu ...
, John Herman Randall, Jr., ''The Renaissance Philosophy of Man.'' The University of Chicago Press (Chicago, 1948.) Marsilio Ficino, ''Five Questions Concerning the Mind'', pp. 193–214.
*
* Anthony Gottlieb, ''The Dream of Reason: A History of Western Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance'' (Penguin, London, 2001)
* James Heiser, ''Prisci Theologi and the Hermetic Reformation in the Fifteenth Century'' (Repristination Press, Malone, Texas, 2011)
* Paul Oskar Kristeller
Paul Oskar Kristeller (May 22, 1905 in Berlin – June 7, 1999 in New York, United States) was an important scholar of Renaissance humanism. He was awarded the Haskins Medal in 1992. He was last active as Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Colu ...
, ''Eight Philosophers of the Italian Renaissance.'' Stanford University Press (Stanford California, 1964) Chapter 3, "Ficino," pp. 37–53.
* Raffini, Christine, "Marsilio Ficino, Pietro Bembo, Baldassare Castiglione: Philosophical, Aesthetic, and Political Approaches in Renaissance Platonism", Renaissance and Baroque Studies and Texts, v.21, Peter Lang Publishing, 1998.
* Robb, Nesca A., ''Neoplatonism of the Italian Renaissance'', New York: Octagon Books, Inc., 1968.
* Reeser, Todd W. ''Setting Plato Straight: Translating Ancient Sexuality in the Renaissance.'' Chicago: UChicagoP, 2016.
* Field, Arthur, ''The Origins of the Platonic Academy of Florence'', New Jersey: Princeton, 1988.
* Allen, Michael J.B., and Valery Rees, with Martin Davies, eds. ''Marsilio Ficino : His Theology, His Philosophy, His Legacy.''Leiden : E.J.Brill, 2002. A wide range of new essays.
* Voss, Angela, ''Marsilio Ficino,'' Western Esoteric Masters series. North Atlantic Books, 2006.
External links
*
''Platonis Opera Omnia'' (Latin)
*
*
Marsilio Ficino
entry by James G. Snyder in ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''
www.ficino.it Website of the International Ficino Society
Online Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries
High resolution images of works by and/or portraits of Marsilio Ficino in .jpg and .tiff format.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ficino, Marsilio
1433 births
1499 deaths
15th-century astrologers
15th-century Italian philosophers
15th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests
15th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians
15th-century Italian writers
15th-century Latin writers
15th-century non-fiction writers
15th-century philosophers
15th-century translators
Book and manuscript collectors
Catholic philosophers
Christian humanists
Commentators on Plato
Cultural critics
Epistemologists
Greek–Latin translators
Italian historians of religion
Italian astrologers
Italian essayists
Italian ethicists
Italian letter writers
Italian male non-fiction writers
Italian philosophers
Italian Renaissance humanists
Italian translators
Literacy and society theorists
Literary theorists
Medieval letter writers
Metaphilosophers
Metaphysicians
Metaphysics writers
Moral philosophers
Mystics
Neoplatonists
Ontologists
People from the Province of Florence
Perennial philosophy
Philosophy writers
Renaissance philosophy
Rhetoric theorists
Rhetoricians
Social commentators
Social critics
Social philosophers
Writers about activism and social change
Writers about religion and science