Commentaries by Ficino on Plato's Writing

Under the patronage of the Medici family, Marsilio Ficino translated into Latin and commentated on the meaning and implications of key works by Plato-including 25 of Plato's dialogues and 12 letters ascribed to the philosopher. The 40 concise articles in this collection comprise the first English translation of Ficino's works and provide an insightful glimpse into the philosophy that contributed to the Renaissance.

Featuring philosophical commentary from Marsilio Ficino-a leading scholar of the Italian Renaissance who translated all the works of Plato into Latin-this work is the first English translation of Ficino's commentary of Plato's dialogue between the philosopher Parmenides and the youthful Socrates. In the scene, the older man instructs his student on the use of dialectic to draw the mind away from its preoccupation with the realm of matter and attract it towards contemplation of the soul.

Featuring philosophical commentary from Marsilio Ficino-a leading scholar of the Italian Renaissance who translated all the works of Plato into Latin-this work is the first English translation of Ficino's commentary of Plato's dialogue between the philosopher Parmenides and the youthful Socrates. In the scene, the older man instructs his student on the use of dialectic to draw the mind away from its preoccupation with the realm of matter and attract it towards contemplation of the soul.

Searching for a definition of good government, this commentary from Marsilio Ficino examines three Platonic dialogues that have had a profound effect on Western statesmen and jurists. A leading scholar of the Italian Renaissance-who translated all the works of Plato into Latin-Ficino prepared these notes for Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of the republic of Florence, who aspired to be the kind of enlightened ruler Plato described.

Marsilio Ficino, a leading scholar of the Italian Renaissance who translated all the works of Plato into Latin, examines Plato's Timaeus, the most widely influential and hotly debated of the Platonic writings. Offering a probable account of the creation and nature of the cosmos, the discussion incorporates such questions as What is the function of arithmetic and geometry in the design of creation? What is the nature of mind, soul, matter, and time? and What is our place in the universe? To his main commentary Ficino adds an appendix, which amplifies and elucidates Plato's meanings and reveals fascinating details about Ficino himself.