Synopses & Reviews
What made the Renaissance tick? Why had it such a force that its thinking spread from a small group of scholars in Florence, working in their own brilliant ways but coming together in a small villa on the Florentine hillside where dwelt Marsilio Ficino (1433-99), supported by the powerful but highly intelligent Medici family so that it affected the thinking of the whole of Europe, and eventually of America, for five hundred years and is continuing to do so?This is the first English translation of some of the key works: Marsilio Ficino, having translated all the extant works of Platos Greek philosophy for the first time into Latin, absorbs their wisdom and here, in forty short articles, presents to the Medici family, as his patrons and sponsors, his commentaries on the meaning and implications of twenty-five of Platos Dialogues and of the twelve Letters traditionally ascribed to Plato.The book puts you, the reader, into the moment of history when Cosimo de Medici and his family were given the opportunity which good rulers have sought, from the earliest Greek state to today, to unite power with wisdom!Here is that extraordinary tsunami of human thought and endeavour and sheer vital power that was the Renaissance, caught for us in its early stirrings of new thought. For those general readers with some interest in this phenomenon, this is a book of deep wisdom for reflection, as well as a glimpse of mankind awakening once more to its true potential.
Review
"This long awaited translation of a key Renaissance work will prove invaluable to scholars and fascinating to the general reader." Michael Shepherd, editor, Friend to Mankind: Marsilio Ficino 14331499
Review
"This is philosophy with a mystical dimensionone that is crucial to the original Socratic and Platonic teaching." Faith and Freedom
Review
"These prefaces [to Ficino's dialogues and letters] will interest intellectual and cultural historians and students of philosophy, religion and literature." Renaissance Quarterly
Review
"The distilled conciseness of these writings gives us, more vividly perhaps than any other source, a sense of what Plato's wisdom meant to [Ficino] who became his apostle to the Renaissance." Temenos Academy Review
Synopsis
Under the patronage of the Medici family, Marsilio Ficino translated into Latin and commentated on the meaning and implications of key works by Platoincluding 25 of Platos dialogues and 12 letters ascribed to the philosopher. The 40 concise articles in this collection comprise the first English translation of Ficinos works and provide an insightful glimpse into the philosophy that contributed to the Renaissance.
Synopsis
Marsilio Ficino translated into Latin and commentated on the meaning and implications of key works by Plato. The 40 concise articles in this collection comprise the first English translation of Ficino's works and provide an insightful glimpse into the philosophy that contributed to the Renaissance.
About the Author
Arthur David Farndell is a translator and the author of A Mahabharata Companion.