The ''Platonic Theology'' (

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 ...

: ''Theologia platonica de immortalitate animorum'') is a work consisting of eighteen books by

Marsilio Ficino Marsilio Ficino (; Latin name: ; 19 October 1433 – 1 October 1499) was an Italian scholar and Catholic priest who was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance. He was an astrologer, a reviver of ...

. Ficino wrote it between 1469 and 1474 and it was published in 1482. It has been described as Ficino's

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

masterpiece.

Content

The main concern of the work is to set forth a rational argument for the immortality of the human soul. Ficino ascribes to the human soul a middle position in a five-part division of things: between God and angelic beings on the one side, and qualities and bodies on the other. Ficino believed that

Platonism Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary platonists do not necessarily accept all of the doctrines of Plato. Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought. Platonism at le ...

was compatible with Christianity, unlike

Aristotelianism Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by deductive logic and an analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics. It covers the treatment of the socia ...

, which, though ambiguous on the subject of immortality, had been philosophically ascendant since the thirteenth century. Ficino's work was also meant to compete with the ancient '' Platonic Theology'' of

Proclus Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor ( grc-gre, Πρόκλος ὁ Διάδοχος, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers ...

. Proclus was widely available to

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

scholars via the thirteenth-century translations of the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

Dominican,

William of Moerbeke William of Moerbeke, O.P. ( nl, Willem van Moerbeke; la, Guillelmus de Morbeka; 1215–35 – 1286), was a prolific medieval translator of philosophical, medical, and scientific texts from Greek language into Latin, enabled by the period ...

. Ficino viewed Proclus as a non-Christian Platonist, and moreover derivative of the "Platonic theology" of

Dionysius the Areopagite Dionysius the Areopagite (; grc-gre, Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης ''Dionysios ho Areopagitēs'') was an Athenian judge at the Areopagus Court in Athens, who lived in the first century. A convert to Christianity, he is venerate ...

. Ficino wanted to offer a similar style of Platonist philosophy which nonetheless affirmed Christian belief.Celenza, §2.1.

Audience and influence

Ficino directed the ''Platonic Theology'' toward his fellow

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

''ingeniosi'', or

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...

s, in the

Republic of Florence The Republic of Florence, officially the Florentine Republic ( it, Repubblica Fiorentina, , or ), was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Flo ...

, including the

political elites Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with Decision-making, making decisions in Social group, groups, or other forms of Power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of res ...

. In agreement with Plato, in the work Ficino argued for the

immortality of the soul Christian mortalism is the Christianity, Christian belief that the human Soul (spirit), soul is not naturally Immortality of the soul, immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the ...

, and the

Fifth Council of the Lateran The Fifth Council of the Lateran, held between 1512 and 1517, was the eighteenth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church and was the last council before the Protestant Reformation and the Council of Trent. It was convoked by Pope Julius II to ...

was probably influenced by this in its decree Apostolici regiminis against

Christian mortalism Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the interm ...

.Allen and Hankins, p. viii.

Notes

Bibliography

* Allen, Michael J. B., "Introduction" in ''Marsilio Ficino: The'' Philebus ''Commentary'' (University of California Press, 1979). * Allen, Michael J. B. and Hankins, James, "Introduction" in ''Platonic Theology, Volume 1, Books I–IV'' (

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, 2001). * Celenza, Christopher S., "Marsilio Ficino" in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (Spring 2012 Edition

* Ficino, Marsilio, ''Platonic Theology''. In six volumes edited by James Hankins with an English translation by Michael J. B. Allen (Harvard University Press, 2001). *{{cite book, author=Stephen Gersh, title=Interpreting Proclus, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fbdUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PR1, date=15 September 2014, publisher=Cambridge University Press, isbn=978-0-521-19849-3 * Lauster, Jörg, "Marsilio Ficino as Christian thinker: The theological aspects of his Platonism" in Allen, Rees, and Davies (eds.), ''Marsilio Ficino: His Theology, His Philosophy, His Legacy'' (

Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes 27 ...

, 2002), pp. 45–70.

External links

* Google Books -
Theologia platonica
', edited by Gilles Gourbin, Paris, 1559 (Latin, full text). Books by Marsilio Ficino Philosophy books Christian theology books 1480s books 15th-century Latin books