Marsilio Ficino

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Marsilio Ficino

1433–1499

Philosopher and translator

Platonic Academy. As the son of the physician of Cosimo de Medici, Marsilio Ficino was also intended for a medical career, and he received an excellent education at Florence and Bologna. He was distracted from medicine by developing a strong interest in Plato, and in 1456, Cosimo provided him support to learn Greek. Previously the city of Florence had hosted a meeting of leaders of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in hopes of bringing about church reunion, and it stimulated Greek studies in the city. After the fall of Constantinople (1453) many Greek scholars fled to Florence, and Cosimo was eager to enhance his city's reputation as the center of Greek learning in Italy. By 1462 Ficino had become fluent enough in Greek that Cosimo commissioned him to translate all of Plato's works into Latin, working from a complete manuscript of the ancient scholar's writings that Cosimo had received from the Byzantine emperor in 1439. Cosimo also gave him a villa in which to do his work. A group of like-minded scholars began to meet at Ficino's villa, and it became known as the Platonic Academy of Florence. Ficino served as its leader and carried on an enormous correspondence across all of Europe that helped spark interest in Plato and other Greek philosophers.

Ancient Mysteries. Ficino had barely started translating Plato's dialogues, when Cosimo asked him to turn to translating a Greek manuscript that one of his agents had acquired in Greece. It supposedly was written by Hermes Trismegistus, who was believed to be Moses' contemporary and credited with being the source of eloquence and reason and the inventor of language and writing. (Two centuries later the text was shown to have been written about 400 C.E.). The Corpus Hermeticum, as the work became known, was seen as the link between the Bible and the learning of the ancient world. It appeared to show that Greek philosophy and Christianity had a common source, and for Ficino it explained why Plato seemed so often to have foreseen Christian doctrine. Much of the Corpus Hermeticum was devoted to examining the forces of the universe and unveiling the secrets of controlling those forces, that is, magic. It gave a powerful boost to the occult sciences such as alchemy, and although Ficino believed in these disciplines, he was not a practicing astrologer or alchemist.

Major Works. Ficino finished translating the Corpus Hermeticum in 1464 and returned to Plato's works, completing them in 1470 although they were not printed until 1484. By then Ficino had been ordained a priest (1473) and received a position in the cathedral of Florence. While he continued to translate other Greek philosophers into Latin, he also turned his attention to writing his own works. In 1474 he finished his major work, the Theologica Platonica (Platonic Theology), which was printed in 1482. Its purpose was to provide a synthesis of Platonic philosophy and Christian theology. He called it the prisca theologia, which predated the coming of Christ. Also in 1474 after a serious illness, Ficino published a smaller but similar book, Liber de Christiana religione (The Christian Religion), to show the relationship between Plato's philosophy, Christianity, and the other religions of the world. Ficino of course believed that Christianity was the best religion, but he found ideas of value in the others. A major concern for Ficino was the immortality of the individual human soul, which Aristotle had denied and on which not all the scholastic theologians had agreed. It was only at the Fifth Lat-eran Council (1512–1517) that the Catholic Church proclaimed it an official doctrine, in part because of Ficino's influence. His commentary on Plato's On Love can be seen as almost an original work since it went well beyond simply commenting on Plato's work. It became one of the best-known works on the theme of love and is largely responsible for the concept of Platonic love.

Synthesis. Ficino's last significant work was De vita libri tres (On Life, 1489). It was intended to bring together all the themes that had appeared in his earlier writings and the works that he had translated. It shows his interest in astronomy and mathematics, largely for their value for astrology and natural magic. The forces of nature for which they provide knowledge are benevolent, not evil. His vision of humanity was that of the great chain of being in which humans stand halfway between the physical world and the spiritual, capable of understanding and being influenced by both.

Fall from Grace. Ficino led a busy life outside of his scholarship. He served as tutor to Cosimo's grandson Lorenzo, who continued to give him patronage when he became head of the Medici family. When there was an outbreak of plague in Florence in 1478, Ficino wrote a guide to its treatment. Written in Italian to be of use to his fellow citizens, the treatise remained a standard medical work for several centuries. When the Medici fell from power in Florence in 1494, Ficino also lost his posts. At the time of his death, he was working on a commentary to St Paul's Epistle to the Romans.

Significance. Ficino was one of the first scholars to have his works printed on the newly developed printing press, and large numbers of printed copies of his books were distributed across Europe, helping to spread his ideas and his reputation. He can be described as the first intellectual with European-wide readership, despite having never traveled outside of Italy. The influence of his translations, works, and correspondence permeated the sixteenth century.