Availability:
In Stock
- Pages: 304
- Book Size: 6 x 9
- ISBN-13: 9780892816583
- Imprint: Inner Traditions
- On Sale Date: November 1, 1997
- Format: Paperback Book
This collection of letters between Marsilio Ficino and the influential figures of European history mixes philosophy and humor, compassion and advice. Praised as one of the most profound thinkers in Western culture, Ficino (1433-1499) was the leader of the Platonic Academy in Florence, and has been a guiding light to spiritual seekers for centuries.
The problems that taxed the minds of people during the Renaissance were much the same as those confronting us today. In their perplexity many deep-thinking people sought the advice of Marsilio Ficino, the leader of the Platonic Academy in Florence, and through his letters he advised them, encouraged them, and sometimes reproved them. Ficino was utterly fearless in expressing what he knew to be true. His letters cover the widest range of topics, mixing philosophy and humor, compassion and advice, and offering a profound glimpse into the soul of the Renaissance.
This is the only accessible collection of Ficino's writings available in English.
This is the only accessible collection of Ficino's writings available in English.
Introduction
Translators' Note
The Letters
Truth and Virtue
Human Nature
The Soul
Music, Harmony, and Divine Frenzy
Knowledge and Philosophy
Fortune, Fate, and Happiness
Divine Providence and the Good
The Planets and Astrology
Love, Friendship, and Marriage
Worldly Things and Civic Duty
Notes on the Letters
Notes on Ficino's Correspondents
Bibliography
Index
Marsilio Ficino (1433-99) was a leading thinker in Florence, a magnet for the most brilliant scholars of fifteenth-century Europe, where the Italian Renaissance derived its impulse and direction, and where the West was awakened to a new realization about itself. In devoting most of his life to the study and translation of the great dialogues of Plato and the Neoplatonists, Ficino and his colleagues were midwives to the birth of the modern world.
"Marsilio Ficino was at the very fountainhead of some of the most characteristic and influential aspects of the Italian Renaissance."
Times Literary Supplement
"Certainly among the most important philosophers of European history, Marsilio Ficino represents the reinterpretation of platonism and, in concert with this, is a central figure in what has come to be known as the Renaissance."
Parabola
"This book is a profound service to the student of Renaissance culture and to those interested in spirituality."
Library Journal
Times Literary Supplement
"Certainly among the most important philosophers of European history, Marsilio Ficino represents the reinterpretation of platonism and, in concert with this, is a central figure in what has come to be known as the Renaissance."
Parabola
"This book is a profound service to the student of Renaissance culture and to those interested in spirituality."
Library Journal
