You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) is a familiar figure to students of Renaissance philosophy, well known as a transmitter of many aspects of the Platonic heritage. It is within these horizons, which kept expanding as Ficino grew as a scholar, that Plato -- in his Pythagorean, Socratic and Platonic roles -- is compared to and even identified with the persona of Christ, who, alone, wears no masks. (p. 57). After discarding less plausible hypotheses, Robichaud argues that it was by following Iamblichus that Ficino arranged the Platonic dialogues he translated for Cosimo de' Medici in the specific order in which they are found in MS. Oxford, Bodleian Library, Canon. Il pensiero filosofico di Marsilio Ficino. ISSN: 1538 - 1617 1433–d. Daarmee droeg hij sterk bij tot de wederopleving van het neoplatonisme en de ontwikkeling van westerse esoterie in de vroegmoderne tijd. Ficino, Conventionally. “Marsile Ficin.” In Centuriae latinae: Cent une figures humanistes de la Renaissance aux Lumières offertes à Jacques Chomarat. Marcel, Raymond. While previous scholarship has focused mainly on the strong criticism provoked by the De vita, Robichaud shows the controversial reception of the De amore. The most important of the Renaissance Neo-Platonists was Marsilio Ficino, who developed original and highly influential ideas from Plato and Neoplatonism. The role of the Platonists of this generation in the shaping of Ficino's philosophy merits a systematic study, to which this chapter, no doubt, makes an initial contribution. [3] However, both here and in chapter 4, Robichaud introduces and discusses important evidence that contributes to our understanding of the formative influence of Iamblichus and Pythagoras on Ficino's thought. In this context, an example, in particular, is especially representative of Robichaud's research approach, which often combines the method of the philologist with that of the historian of philosophy. Marsilio Ficino (b. The choice of this label is especially infelicitous here, as Robichaud makes a convincing case for the fact that in the Renaissance the late ancient philosophers were simply 'Platonists' and he brilliantly describes what being a Platonist meant for Ficino. Introduction. During the second half of the 1400’s Marsilio Ficino translated important ancient texts from Greek into Latin from Plato, Neoplatonism, and the Hermetic writings. He was a priest, a doctor and musician, but is best known for his work as a translator of classic works, author and philosopher. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here. Mainstream history acknowledges Ficino as one person responsible for the diffusion of ancient culture throughout Europe that helped give rise to the modern age. It certainly deserves to be widely read and discussed by scholars and students interested in the complex process of transformation and identity underlying the history of Western philosophy and of its leading and minor actors. Boeken van Marsilio Ficino lezen? Robichaud, unlike other scholars, claims that Ficino's Socrates is not concerned about describing the soul's conversion to the divine (έπιστροφἡ) in terms of a Christian spiritual ascension. Interestingly, Robichaud shows that this persona was not only informed by later interpreters but also by contemporary authors, such as the Pythagorean Philolaus of Croton, not to mention earlier philosophers, such as Zoroaster and Pythagoras himself. In this history, Pythagoras, Socrates, and Plato -- in their masked as well as unmasked identities -- are in constant dialogue and keep informing one another's thought. The originality and pleasure of the book lie in its exploration of the history of philosophy as a dynamic process, in which different traditions of thought are to be regarded as many-sided and multi-layered rather than as monolithic phenomena. However, it was only Plato, that is, Plato behind the mask (or masks), who, for Ficino, could reveal the essential agreement between Platonism and Christianity, philosophical thinking and religious faith, which laid at the core of his philosophical project. Chapter 3, on the role of Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans in shaping some important aspects of Ficino's Platonic persona represents is, I believe, the most original contribution made by this book. By turning inward, the soul could eventually return to the divine, in a distinctively Platonic way. Accused of having made Socrates a rival of Christ, he felt the urge to rewrite the character of Socrates in a letter addressed to the theologian Paolo Ferobanti that can be seen as 'something of an apology for the De amore's portrayal of Socrates' (p. 132). Denis J.-J. Ficino's early acquaintance with De secta Pythagorica had been already demonstrated by Sebastiano Gentile. Reuchlin also claims that they taught their disciples 'clearly following their master Pythagoras . In uncovering Plato's philosophical personality for his Latin readers, Ficino, as Robichaud explains, 'follows not only in Pythagoras's lofty footsteps but also in Socrates's barefoot tracks' (p. 112). 441–476. Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on Robichaud's compelling analysis is further supported by an appendix (pp. This is particularly true for Plato, whose enormous appeal and complex reception history resulted in the creation of a 'Platonic persona' in which his philosophical personality merged with those of his late ancient commentators.