Marsilio Ficino
Encyclopedia
Marsilio Ficino (October 19, 1433 – October 1, 1499) was one of the most influential humanist
philosophers
of the early Italian
Renaissance
, an astrologer
, a reviver of Neoplatonism
who was in touch with every major academic thinker and writer of his day, and the first translator of Plato
's complete extant works into Latin
. His Florentine Academy, an attempt to revive Plato's school, had enormous influence on the direction and tenor of the Italian Renaissance
and the development of European philosophy
.
. His father was a physician 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. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, the Italian humanist philosopher and scholar was another of his students.
During the sessions at Florence of the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438-1445, during the failed attempts to heal the schism of the Orthodox and Catholic churches
, Cosimo de' Medici
and his intellectual circle had made acquaintance with the Neoplatonic philosopher George Gemistos Plethon
, whose discourses upon Plato and the Alexandrian mystics so fascinated the learned society of Florence that they named him the second Plato. In 1459 John Argyropoulos
was lecturing on Greek language and literature at Florence, and Marsilio became his pupil.
When Cosimo decided to refound
Plato's Academy at Florence, his choice to head it was Marsilio, who made the classic translation of Plato
from Greek
to Latin
(published in 1484), as well as a translation of a collection of Hellenistic Greek documents found by Leonardo da Pistoia (monk) called Helmetica later called the Hermetic Corpus - particularly the "Corpus Hermeticum" of Hermes Trismegistos
, and the writings of many of the Neoplatonists, for example Porphyry
, Iamblichus, Plotinus
, et al. Ficino tried to synthesize
Christianity
and Platonism
.
He was a vegetarian. Ficino became a priest
in 1473.
, which landed him in trouble with the Roman Catholic Church
. In 1489 he was accused of magic before Pope Innocent VIII
and needed strong defense to preserve him from the condemnation of heresy
.
Marsilio Ficino, writing in 1492, proclaimed, "This century, like a golden age
, has restored to light the liberal arts
, which were almost extinct: grammar
, poetry
, rhetoric
, painting
, sculpture
, architecture
, music
... this century appears to have perfected astrology
."
His letters, extending over the years 1474 – 1494, survive and have been published. He also wrote De amore
and the influential De vita libri tres
(Three books on life.) De vita, published in 1489, provides a great deal of curious contemporary medical and astrological advice for maintaining health and vigor, as well as espousing the Neoplatonist view of the world's ensoulment and its integration with the human soul. "[...] There will be some men or other, superstitious and blind, who see life plain in even the lowest animals and the meanest plants, but do not see life in the heavens or the world [...] Now if those little men grant life to the smallest particles of the world, what folly! what envy! neither to know that the Whole, in which 'we live and move and have our being,' is itself alive, nor to wish this to be so." One metaphor for this integrated "aliveness" is Ficino's astrology.
In the Book of Life, Marsilio details the interlinks between behavior and consequence. It talks about a list of things that hold sway over a man's destiny.
Ficino introduced the term and concept of "platonic love
" in the West. It first appeared in a letter to Alamanno Donati in 1476, but was later fully developed all along his work, mainly his famous De amore
. He also practiced this love metaphysic with Giovanni Cavalcanti whom he made the principal character in his commentary on the Convivio, and to whom he wrote ardent love letters in Latin which were published in his Epistulae in 1492. Apart from these letters there are numerous indications that suggest Ficino's erotic impulses were directed exclusively towards men. His opinion of women was less favorable: "Women should be used like chamber pots: hidden away once a man has pissed in them." After his death his biographers had a difficult task trying to refute those who spoke of his homosexual tendencies. However his sincere and deep faith, and membership of the clergy, put him outside the reach of gossip and while praising love for the same-sex, he condemned sodomy in the Convivium.
. His memory has been honored with a bust sculpted by Andrea Ferrucci
in 1521, and located in the south side of the nave in the cathedral
of Florence Santa Maria del Fiore
.
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
philosophers
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
of the early Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
, an astrologer
Astrologer
An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an...
, a reviver of Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...
who was in touch with every major academic thinker and writer of his day, and the first translator of Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
's complete extant works into Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. His Florentine Academy, an attempt to revive Plato's school, had enormous influence on the direction and tenor of the Italian Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and the development of European philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
.
Early life
Ficino was born at Figline ValdarnoFigline Valdarno
Figline Valdarno is a comune in the Province of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about 25 km southeast of Florence...
. His father was a physician under the patronage of Cosimo de' Medici
Cosimo de' Medici
Còsimo di Giovanni degli Mèdici was the first of the Medici political dynasty, de facto rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance; also known as "Cosimo 'the Elder'" and "Cosimo Pater Patriae" .-Biography:Born in Florence, Cosimo inherited both his wealth and his expertise in...
, 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. Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, the Italian humanist philosopher and scholar was another of his students.
During the sessions at Florence of the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438-1445, during the failed attempts to heal the schism of the Orthodox and Catholic churches
Western Schism
The Western Schism or Papal Schism was a split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. Two men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance . The simultaneous claims to the papal chair...
, Cosimo de' Medici
Cosimo de' Medici
Còsimo di Giovanni degli Mèdici was the first of the Medici political dynasty, de facto rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance; also known as "Cosimo 'the Elder'" and "Cosimo Pater Patriae" .-Biography:Born in Florence, Cosimo inherited both his wealth and his expertise in...
and his intellectual circle had made acquaintance with the Neoplatonic philosopher George Gemistos Plethon
Gemistus Pletho
Georgius Gemistus — later called Plethon or Pletho — was a Greek scholar of Neoplatonic philosophy. He was one of the chief pioneers of the revival of Greek learning in Western Europe...
, whose discourses upon Plato and the Alexandrian mystics so fascinated the learned society of Florence that they named him the second Plato. In 1459 John Argyropoulos
John Argyropoulos
John Argyropoulos was a Greek lecturer, philosopher and humanist, one of the émigré scholars who pioneered the revival of Classical learning in Western Europe in the 15th century...
was lecturing on Greek language and literature at Florence, and Marsilio became his pupil.
When Cosimo decided to refound
Platonic Academy (Florence)
The Platonic Academy was a 15th century discussion group in Florence. It was founded after Gemistus Pletho reintroduced Plato's thoughts to Western Europe during the 1438 - 1439 Council of Florence. It was sponsored by Cosimo de' Medici and led by Marsilio Ficino...
Plato's Academy at Florence, his choice to head it was Marsilio, who made the classic translation of Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
to Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
(published in 1484), as well as a translation of a collection of Hellenistic Greek documents found by Leonardo da Pistoia (monk) called Helmetica later called the Hermetic Corpus - particularly the "Corpus Hermeticum" of Hermes Trismegistos
Hermetica
The Hermetica are Greek wisdom texts from the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, mostly presented as dialogues in which a teacher, generally identified with Hermes Trismegistus or "thrice-greatest Hermes", enlightens a disciple...
, and the writings of many of the Neoplatonists, for example Porphyry
Porphyry (philosopher)
Porphyry of Tyre , Porphyrios, AD 234–c. 305) was a Neoplatonic philosopher who was born in Tyre. He edited and published the Enneads, the only collection of the work of his teacher Plotinus. He also wrote many works himself on a wide variety of topics...
, Iamblichus, Plotinus
Plotinus
Plotinus was a major philosopher of the ancient world. In his system of theory there are the three principles: the One, the Intellect, and the Soul. His teacher was Ammonius Saccas and he is of the Platonic tradition...
, et al. Ficino tried to synthesize
Syncretism
Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and Platonism
Platonism
Platonism is the philosophy of Plato or the name of other philosophical systems considered closely derived from it. In a narrower sense the term might indicate the doctrine of Platonic realism...
.
He was a vegetarian. Ficino became a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in 1473.
Work
Marsilio Ficino's main original work was his treatise on the immortality of the soul (Theologia Platonica de immortalitate animae). In the rush of enthusiasm for every rediscovery from Antiquity, Marsilio exhibited a great interest in the arts of astrologyAstrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
, which landed him in trouble with the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. In 1489 he was accused of magic before Pope Innocent VIII
Pope Innocent VIII
Pope Innocent VIII , born Giovanni Battista Cybo , was Pope from 1484 until his death.-Early years:Giovanni Battista Cybo was born at Genoa of Greek extraction...
and needed strong defense to preserve him from the condemnation of heresy
Christian heresy
Christian heresy refers to non-orthodox practices and beliefs that were deemed to be heretical by one or more of the Christian churches. In Western Christianity, the term "heresy" most commonly refers to those beliefs which were declared to be anathema by the Catholic Church prior to the schism of...
.
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology and legend and refers to the first in a sequence of four or five Ages of Man, in which the Golden Age is first, followed in sequence, by the Silver, Bronze, and Iron Ages, and then the present, a period of decline...
, has restored to light the liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
, which were almost extinct: grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
, painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
... this century appears to have perfected astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
."
His letters, extending over the years 1474 – 1494, survive and have been published. He also wrote De amore
De amore
De amore may refer to:* De amore * De amore by Marsilio Ficino...
and the influential De vita libri tres
De vita libri tres
The De vita libri tres or Three Books on Life was written in the years 1480-1489 by Italian Platonist Marsilio Ficino. It was first circulated in manuscript form and then published in 1489...
(Three books on life.) De vita, published in 1489, provides a great deal of curious contemporary medical and astrological advice for maintaining health and vigor, as well as espousing the Neoplatonist view of the world's ensoulment and its integration with the human soul. "[...] There will be some men or other, superstitious and blind, who see life plain in even the lowest animals and the meanest plants, but do not see life in the heavens or the world [...] Now if those little men grant life to the smallest particles of the world, what folly! what envy! neither to know that the Whole, in which 'we live and move and have our being,' is itself alive, nor to wish this to be so." One metaphor for this integrated "aliveness" is Ficino's astrology.
In the Book of Life, Marsilio details the interlinks between behavior and consequence. It talks about a list of things that hold sway over a man's destiny.
Ficino introduced the term and concept of "platonic love
Platonic love
Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
" in the West. It first appeared in a letter to Alamanno Donati in 1476, but was later fully developed all along his work, mainly his famous De amore
De amore
De amore may refer to:* De amore * De amore by Marsilio Ficino...
. He also practiced this love metaphysic with Giovanni Cavalcanti whom he made the principal character in his commentary on the Convivio, and to whom he wrote ardent love letters in Latin which were published in his Epistulae in 1492. Apart from these letters there are numerous indications that suggest Ficino's erotic impulses were directed exclusively towards men. His opinion of women was less favorable: "Women should be used like chamber pots: hidden away once a man has pissed in them." After his death his biographers had a difficult task trying to refute those who spoke of his homosexual tendencies. However his sincere and deep faith, and membership of the clergy, put him outside the reach of gossip and while praising love for the same-sex, he condemned sodomy in the Convivium.
Death
Ficino died at CareggiVilla Medici at Careggi
The Villa Medici at Careggi is a patrician villa in the hills near Florence, Tuscany, central Italy.-History:The villa was among the first of a number of Medici villas, notable as the site of the Platonic academy founded by Cosimo de' Medici, who died at the villa in 1464...
. His memory has been honored with a bust sculpted by Andrea Ferrucci
Andrea Ferrucci
Andrea Ferrucci , also known as Andrea di Piero Ferruzzi and as Andrea da Fiesole, was an Italian sculptor who was born in Fiesole, Italy in 1465...
in 1521, and located in the south side of the nave in the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
of Florence Santa Maria del Fiore
Santa Maria del Fiore
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church of Florence, Italy. The Duomo, as it is ordinarily called, was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi...
.
Publications
- Theologia Platonica de immortalitate animae (Platonic Theology). Harvard University Press, Latin with English translation.
- vol. I, 2001. ISBN 0-674-00345-4
- vol. II, 2002. ISBN 0-674-00764-6
- vol. III, 2003. ISBN 0-674-01065-5
- vol. IV, 2004. ISBN 0-674-01482-0
- vol. V, 2005. ISBN 0-674-01719-6
- vol. VI with index, 2006. ISBN 0-674-01986-5
- The Letters of Marsilio Ficino. Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers. English translation with extensive notes; the Language Department of the School of Economic ScienceSchool of Economic ScienceThe School of Economic Science , a registered charity based in Mandeville Place, near Oxford Street in London, provides courses in what it calls "Practical Philosophy" and "Economics with Justice". The courses are based on the Hindu philosophy of Advaita Vedanta, which sees an underlying unity in...
.- vol. I, 1975. ISBN 0-85683-010-0
- vol. II, 1978. ISBN 0-85683-036-4
- vol. III, 1981. ISBN 0-85683-052-6
- vol. IV, 1988. ISBN 0-85683-070-4
- vol. V, 1994. ISBN 0-85683-129-8
- vol. VI, 1999. ISBN 0-85683-167-0
- vol. VII, 2003 ISBN 0-85683-192-1
- vol. VIII, 2010 ISBN 0-85683-242-1
- Icastes. Marsilio Ficino's Interpretation of Plato's Sophist, edited and translated by Michael J. B. Allen, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989.
- De vita libri tresDe vita libri tresThe De vita libri tres or Three Books on Life was written in the years 1480-1489 by Italian Platonist Marsilio Ficino. It was first circulated in manuscript form and then published in 1489...
(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. ISBN 0-86698-041-5 - 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. ISBN 0-89281-658-9. 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, tr. by Sears Jayne. Spring Publications, 2nd edition, 2000. ISBN 0-88214-601-7
- Collected works: Opera (Florence,1491, Venice, 1516, Basel, 1561).
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. ISBN 0-520-08143-9
- Ernst CassirerErnst CassirerErnst Cassirer was a German philosopher. He was one of the major figures in the development of philosophical idealism in the first half of the 20th century...
, Paul Oskar KristellerPaul Oskar KristellerPaul Oskar Kristeller 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 Columbia University in New York, where he mentored both Irving Louis Horowitz and A...
, John Herman Randall, Jr.John Herman Randall, Jr.John Herman Randall Jr. was an American philosopher, New Thought author, and educator.-Life:Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan as the son of a Baptist minister, he graduated from Morris High School in New York City and obtained his A.B. from Columbia University in 1918. He obtained an A.M...
, 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) ISBN 0-14-025274-6
- Paul Oskar KristellerPaul Oskar KristellerPaul Oskar Kristeller 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 Columbia University in New York, where he mentored both Irving Louis Horowitz and A...
, 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. ISBN 0-8204-3023-4
- Robb, Nesca A., Neoplatonism of the Italian Renaissance, New York: Octagon Books, Inc., 1968.
- 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.ISBN 9004118551
External links
- Platonis Opera Omnia (Latin)
- http://www.renaissanceastrology.com/ficino.html Short Biography of Ficino
- Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911: Ficino
- Catholic Encyclopedia entry
- The Influence of Marsilio Ficino
- www.ficino.it Website of the International Ficino Society