Description
Book SynopsisPlatonic Theology is the visionary and philosophical masterpiece of Marsilio Ficino (14331499), the Florentine scholar-philosopher-magus largely responsible for the Renaissance revival of Plato. This work, translated into English for the first time, is a key to understanding the art, thought, culture, and spirituality of the Renaissance.
Trade ReviewThe I Tatti project represents a major contribution to Renaissance studies, as it becomes increasingly necessary to produce reliable editions and translations of works of the Italian Renaissance written in Latin. By providing an accurate text and a readable translation in an elegant yet affordable format, this [edition] will benefit both scholars and students, who might not be familiar with Ficino's sometimes difficult and elliptical Latin. It will interest not only those who are working on Ficino and Italian humanism but also anyone who is concerned with the history of Platonism and Neoplatonism. No doubt this edition will stimulate further studies on Ficino's
Platonic Theology, which will in turn enlighten significant aspects of Ficino's thought, identify new sources and provide a comprehensive exegesis of this fundamental text. -- Maude Vanhaelen * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
Ficino set out to show that the ancient Neoplatonic philosophy embodied a "gentile theological tradition," one that complemented the Mosaic revelation to the Jews and prepared its devotees for the final truths of Christianity. Ficino worked in full knowledge of the internal complications of Neoplatonism. He wrote and argued in styles that ranged from the logical and synthetic to the poetic and evocative, as he struggled to find ways to prove that the universe was orderly and governed by a Creator and to lay out the place within it of the immortal human soul. -- Anthony T. Grafton * New York Review of Books *
Allen's translation of Ficino's work is a crucial contribution to Renaissance studies. -- Daniel B. Gallagher * Aestimatio *
