__Laus Platonici Philosophi__: Marsilio Ficino and his Influence

This collection of essays honours Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) as a Platonic philosopher. Ficino was not the first translator of Plato in the Renaissance, but he was the first to translate the entire corpus of Platonic works, and to emphasise their relevance for contemporary readers. The present work is divided into two sections: the first explores aspects of Ficinos own thought and the sources which he used. The second section follows aspects of his influence in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The papers presented here deepen and enrich our understanding of Ficino, and of the philosophical tradition in which he was working, and they offer a new platform for future studies on Ficino and his legacy in Renaissance philosophy. Contributors include: Unn Irene Aasdalen, Constance Blackwell, Paul Richard Blum, Stephen Clucas, Ruth Clydesdale, Brian Copenhaver, John Dillon, Peter J. Forshaw, James Hankins, Hiro Hirai, Sarah Klitenic Wear, David Leech, Letizia Panizza, Valery Rees, and St?©phane Toussaint. Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 8 Notes on Contributors......Page 10 Introduction......Page 14 Part I The Philosophy of Marsilio Ficino......Page 24 Ficino and the God of the Platonists......Page 26 Monstrous Melancholy: Ficino and the Physiological Causes of Atheism......Page 38 Quo vertam oculos ut te laudem? Aspects of Praise in Ficino’s Writing......Page 58 The First Pico–Ficino Controversy......Page 80 ‘Et nuper Plethon’—Ficino’s Praise of Georgios Gemistos Plethon and his Rational Religion......Page 102 Zoroaster and the Flying Egg: Psellos, Gerson and Ficino......Page 118 ‘Jupiter tames Saturn’: Astrology in Ficino’s Epistolae......Page 130 Ficino’s Hymns and the Renaissance Platonic Academy......Page 146 Part II The Influence of Marsilio Ficino......Page 162 Studied as an Oration: Readers of Pico’s letters, Ancient and Modern......Page 164 Platonic Love on the Rocks: Castiglione Counter-Currents in Renaissance Italy......Page 212 John Dee’s Annotations to Ficino’s Translation of Plato......Page 240 Marsilio Ficino and the Chemical Art......Page 262 Earth’s Soul and Spontaneous Generation: Fortunio Liceti’s Criticism of Ficino’s Ideas on the Origin of Life......Page 286 Ficinian Influence on Henry More’s Arguments for the Soul’s Immortality......Page 314 Neo-Platonic modes of concordism versus definitions of difference: Simplicius, Augustinus Steuco and Ralph Cudworth versus Marco Antonio Zimara and Benedictus Pererius......Page 330 Bibliography......Page 356 Index......Page 382 This collection of essays honours Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) as a Platonic philosopher. Ficino was not the first translator of Plato in the Renaissance, but he was the first to translate the entire corpus of Platonic works, and to emphasise their relevance for contemporary readers. The present work is divided into two sections: the first explores aspects of Ficino's own thought and the sources which he used. The second section follows aspects of his influence in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The papers presented here deepen and enrich our understanding of Ficino, and of the philosophical tradition in which he was working, and they offer a new platform for future studies on Ficino and his legacy in Renaissance philosophy. Contributors include: Unn Irene Aasdalen, Constance Blackwell, Paul Richard Blum, Stephen Clucas, Ruth Clydesdale, Brian Copenhaver, John Dillon, Peter J. Forshaw, James Hankins, Hiro Hirai, Sarah Klitenic Wear, David Leech, Letizia Panizza, Valery Rees, and Stéphane Toussaint. This collection of essays honours Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) as a Platonic philosopher. Ficino was not the first translator of Plato in the Renaissance, but he was the first to translate the entire corpus of Platonic works, and to emphasise their relevance for contemporary readers. The present work is divided into two sections: the first explores aspects of Ficino s own thought and the sources which he used. The second section follows aspects of his influence in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The papers presented here deepen and enrich our understanding of Ficino, and of the philosophical tradition in which he was working, and they offer a new platform for future studies on Ficino and his legacy in Renaissance philosophy. Contributors include: Unn Irene Aasdalen, Constance Blackwell, Paul Richard Blum, Stephen Clucas, Ruth Clydesdale, Brian Copenhaver, John Dillon, Peter J. Forshaw, James Hankins, Hiro Hirai, Sarah Klitenic Wear, David Leech, Letizia Panizza, Valery Rees, and St phane Toussaint. This collection of essays presents new work on the Renaissance philosopher Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) which explores aspects of Ficino’s own thought and the sources which he used, and traces his influence on the philosophy of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Edited By Stephen Clucas, Peter J. Forshaw, Valery Rees. Proceedings Of A Conference Held In Sept. 2004 At Birkbeck College. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [343]-367) And Index.