The Letters of Marsilio Ficino: Volume 1 2nd Edition

by Arthur Farndell (Editor)

Overview

Marsilio Ficino of Florence (1433-99) was one of the most influential thinkers of the Renaissance. He put before society a new ideal of human nature, emphasising its divine potential. As teacher and guide to a remarkable circle of men, he made a vital contribution to changes that were taking place in European thought. For Ficino, the writings of Plato provided the key to the most important knowledge for mankind, knowledge of God and the soul. It was the absorption of this knowledge that proved so important to Ficino, to his circle, and to later writers and artists. As a young man, Ficino had been directed by Cosimo de' Medici towards the study of Plato in the original Greek. Later he formed a close connection with Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo de' Medici, under whom Florence achieved its age of brilliance. Gathered round Ficino and Lorenzo were such men as Landino, Bembo, Poliziano and Pico della Mirandola. The ideas they discussed became central to the work of Spenser, Shakespeare, Donne, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, Dürer, and many other writers and artists. The first letter in this volume is from Cosimo to Ficino, inviting him to visit him on his estate at Careggii and to bring with him 'Plato's book on The Highest Good' (the Philebus) which Cosimo had asked him to translate in 1463. Though there is some uncertainty about the precise nature of Ficino's Platonic Academy, in another letter he replies to a correspondent's request for 'that maxim of mine that is inscribed around the walls of the Academy'. This revised edition has corrected errors made in the original translation more than four decades ago, and the notes to the letters and the biographical notes have incorporated much new material from scholarship on the period which has grown enormously in the intervening years and continues to flourish.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780856835162
Publisher:	Shepheard-Walwyn Publishers, Limited
Publication date:	11/01/2018
Series:	The Letters of Marsilio Ficino
Edition description:	Second Edition, Second edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.25(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.25(d)

About the Author

Arthur Farndell has been a member of the team of translators at the School of Economic Science in London for more than 40 years. He is also the translator of many of Marsilio Ficino's commentaries on Plato's Dialogues which have been published in five volumes as All Things Natural, Evermore Shall Be So, Gardens of Philosophy, On the Nature of Love, and When Philosophers Rule.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vi

Letter Titles vii

Introduction xiii

Translators' Note xxi

The Letters 1

Appendix Letters 59

Notes to the Letters 67

Note on the Latin Text 93

The Latin Text 96

Biographical Notes

Notes on Contemporaries 119

Notes on Ancient and Medieval Authorities 134

Notes on Florentine Political Institutions (c. 1480-94) 138

Valori Family Tree 140

Bibliography 141

Index to the Letters 147

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“From every point of view, it is a pleasure to read this perfect introduction to one of the most attractive and influential figures of the Italian Renaissance.”  —C. V. Wedgwood, Daily Telegraph

"All that we regard as the norm of Western European art, Botticelli's paintings, Monteverdi's music, Shakespeare's philosophical lovers . . . has flowered from Ficino's Florence."  —Kathleen Raine, Times

“Undoubtedly these letters comprise one of the “spiritual classics” of the past thousand years.”  —Christopher Booker, Spectator

“So well translated, so well annotated, and so beautifully produced that it is a pleasure to read and possess.”  —Heythrop Journal

Editorial Reviews

“From every point of view, it is a pleasure to read this perfect introduction to one of the most attractive and influential figures of the Italian Renaissance.”  —C. V. Wedgwood, Daily Telegraph

"All that we regard as the norm of Western European art, Botticelli's paintings, Monteverdi's music, Shakespeare's philosophical lovers . . . has flowered from Ficino's Florence."  —Kathleen Raine, Times

“Undoubtedly these letters comprise one of the “spiritual classics” of the past thousand years.”  —Christopher Booker, Spectator

“So well translated, so well annotated, and so beautifully produced that it is a pleasure to read and possess.”  —Heythrop Journal

“... these letters indicate that even an intellectual giant such as Marsilio Ficino had to be careful to secure his position in order to gain the freedom to finish his seminal translations of the Greek philosophers ... it is a fascinating book for historians.”  —Contact

"There is no doubt that without Ficino, the Western World would not have the ready access to priceless, long abandoned works of Greek Philosophers. This is a fascinating book for historians and is an object lesson on how to live in the world and yet not be attached to it. There is a rather beautiful facsimile copy of the original text in Latin included."  —Peter Miodownik, The Study Society

From the Publisher