Gardens of Philosophy

Ficino Ficino, Arthur Farndell

• Publisher: Shepherd Walwyn Publishers
• ISBN:
  9780856833656
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Philosophers

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

PART-ONE

Summaries of Twenty-five
Dialogues of Plato

Translator’s Notes to Part One

1. The word which Ficino uses to name a summary is ‘epitome’.
   
2. Part One contains twenty-five of these summaries or short commentaries.
   
3. Ficino’s longer works on individual dialogues are not included in this volume.
   
4. Ficino uses ‘commentarium’ to refer to an extended commentary, such as his work on Parmenides.
   
5. For the reader who wishes to consult English works on the longer commentaries to Plato’s dialogues, the following are available:
   Commentary on Plato’s Symposium on Love , translated by Sears Jayne, Spring Publications, 1999.
   The Philebus Commentary , M.J.B. Allen, University of California Press, 1975; reprinted Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 2000.
   Marsilio Ficino and the Phaedran Charioteer , M.J.B. Allen, University of California Press, 1981.
   Icastes: Marsilio Ficino’s Interpretation of Plato’s ‘Sophist’ , M.J.B. Allen, University of California Press, 1989.
   
6. Ficino’s commentaries to the following dialogues are not yet available in English: Parmenides , Timaeus , Republic , Laws, and Epinomis.
   
7. It is not the aim of the translator to enter into the centuries-old debate concerning the authenticity of the works traditionally attributed to Plato. Almost every dialogue has been challenged at some time or another. The approach here is to present them all (including the somewhat mysterious Philosophy , alternatively called The Lover ) with the spirit of simple acceptance which characterised Ficino’s own approach.
   
8. Part One begins with a Preface in which Ficino dedicates to Lorenzo de’ Medici all of his work on Plato. The relief by Nathan David on which the jacket illustration is based was inspired by words from this Preface (see page 6).
   

The Preface to the Commentaries on Plato
by Marsilio Ficino of Florence,
Addressed to the Magnanimous
Lorenzo de’Medici

Magnanimous Lorenzo:

DIVINE PROVIDENCE , which touches all things with its power and arranges them harmoniously, has resolved not only to arm holy religion with the Prophets, the Sibyls and the venerable Fathers, but also to bestow on her alone the grace of a virtuous and excellent philosophy, so that virtue herself, the source of everything good, would at last go forth fearlessly among all who profess wisdom and eloquence, just as she dwells safely and peacefully in the heart of the household.

For it was proper that religion, the only path to happiness, should be accessible to the sophisticated, just as she is to the simple. Under her guidance it is easier and safer for us to reach that bliss by whose grace we have been born, that bliss which we are all striving to attain.

And so, at the appointed time, almighty God sent down the divine spirit of Plato from on high to shed the light of holy religion among all nations through his wonderful life, innate powers, and eloquence. But since the Platonic sun even up to our own time had not yet risen fully upon the Latin-speaking peoples, Cosimo, the glory of Italy and a man of outstanding devotion, striving to spread the Platonic light – a light which is very propitious for religion – from the Greeks to those who speak Latin, chose me, who had received much instruction within his own household, for this great work. Now although I have been a follower of the Platonic teaching from an early age, I entered upon this serious task, not under my own auspices, but under those of your grandfather Cosimo, trusting that divine aid would not be lacking for so vital and godly an undertaking.

So, encouraged above all by this trust, I entered the Academy, and before Cosimo’s death it was from there that I rendered ten of our Plato’s dialogues into Latin for him. After Cosimo’s death I gave your father, Piero – a most outstanding man – nine more dialogues to read. But after Piero had departed this life, fortune, often envious of noble works, dragged me away, against my will, from the work of translation. But you, a devotee of religion and a patron of philosophy, called me back, with every favour and assistance, to the task I had started. With fortune thus once more on my side, I returned to the undertaking; and I not only translated Plato’s thought but sometimes I also summarised its content, and at other times, as far as I could, I explained it with brief commentaries.

And so this entire work, now completed through the help of God, I gladly dedicate to you.

These things, too, which were written for your forebears, belong by right of inheritance to you, the direct heir of your grandfather’s excellence in cultivating our native land.

Now among the dialogues of Plato you will also read Plato’s funeral oration, which was dedicated to your noble brother, Giuliano. Besides, when you come to the Statesman you will see that Federico, Duke of Urbino, was honoured by me on the day he himself paid homage to your palace.

However, not only do the thirty-seven books inscribed with your name belong to you, but so do all the others as well, since they were all completed by your grace; and I, too, am yours.

But I do not claim to have fully expressed Plato’s language in these books, nor do I believe that it can ever be fully expressed by anyone, however learned. I say that his language resembles a divine pronouncement rather than human speech: often thundering on high, often flowing with the sweetness of nectar, but always encompassing the heavenly mysteries.

Indeed, just as the world is endowed with three gifts in particular – usefulness, order, and embellishment – and through these gives witness to us of the divine craftsman, so Plato’s language, containing the creation, rejoices in three special gifts: the philosophical usefulness of its judgements, the rhetorical order of its structure and flow, and the embellishment of its floral poetry. At all points Plato’s language calls upon divine witnesses and provides irrefutable proof of God, the architect of creation.

Therefore, magnanimous Lorenzo, may all prosper greatly who earnestly seek from Plato the most detailed regulations for the upbringing of the young. Let others instruct the less mature, and let the enlightened eventually approach the Platonic gateway, so that they may finally bring back from there divine mysteries rather than childish instruction. I have just said ‘finally’, Lorenzo, for prior to setting forth the divine pronouncements, our Plato, to prevent what is sacred from becoming available to the profane, leads the minds of his heroes step by step to the summit of the threefold pathway of purification, detachment, and return to source.

Thus Plato’s words have much on purifying souls of disturbances; more on detaching minds from the senses; and most of all on turning minds both to themselves and to God, the Author of all. Once duly turned to Him, as if to the sun, they are blissfully enlightened by the rays of truth which they have been seeking.

However, while our Plato often describes the true function of man in a veiled manner, he is seen at times to jest and play games; but Plato’s games and jests carry far more weight than the serious discourses of the Stoics. For he does not scorn to touch upon what is lowly in any place, provided that, by captivating his more lowly hearers in a gentle way, he may lead them the more easily to the heights.

With weighty intent he often mixes the useful with the sweet, so that by the gentle charm of persuasive words he may through the very bait of pleasure entice to wholesome food those minds which by nature are rather inclined to pleasure.

Plato often tells fables in the manner of a prophet, since his style seems to be not so much that of a philosopher as that of a prophet. For from time to time he rages and rambles like a prophet, following no human pattern but one that is prophetic and divine. He plays the part not so much of a teacher as of a priest and a prophet, sometimes raving but sometimes purifying others and carrying them off into the same divine frenzy. But in all this he clearly uses fables for one particular purpose: that while all may find delight among the varied flowers of the Academy, only the purified may gather the fruits and enjoy their sweet taste, their easy assimilation, and the perfect nourishment they provide.

Now Plato presents everything in dialogues so that the living word may bring the speakers before our eyes, to persuade us more powerfully and move us more deeply. Moreover, in his dialogues Plato takes the opportunity to honour his friends as is fitting, naturally commending many of them to posterity. Again, in a dialogue it is easier to examine different views on a particular subject. I should add that a dialogue gives delight through its wonderful richness, and through its attractive power it holds both hearer and reader.

But why spend longer on trivial details?

Magnanimous Lorenzo, Wisdom born from Jove’s head alone was with him from the beginning, fashioning all things. Like her father, she too gave birth to a daughter from her head alone, a daughter named Philosophy, who would delight in being with the sons of men.

So this is why, in former times, men of true worth everywhere strove to attain her as she travelled through the different nations upon earth. Of all these men our Plato not only strove after her but was the first and only one to worship her fully. For in acknowledging her holiness, he was the first to wreathe her brow with the priestly garland and to robe her in a gown worthy of the noble daughter of Minerva. Then he anointed her head, hands, and feet with fragrant perfumes. Finally, wherever the spirit of Philosophy trod, he strewed her path with a colourful carpet of flowers.

Such was, and still is, the appearance and apparel of this goddess walking within the precincts of the Academy. But whenever she strays outside the gardens of the Academy, not only does she always lose her perfumes and flowers, but – horrible to relate! – she often falls among thieves, and losing the trappings of priesthood and dignity, she wanders hither and thither, naked and as if unholy; and she appears so marred that she is no longer pleasing to her companions, Phoebus and Mercury, or approved of by her grandfather, Jove, or by her mother, Minerva. Yet when she follows her mother’s counsel and takes refuge within the walls and gardens of the Academy, she recovers her former dignit...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• The Historical Context
• Translator’S Introduction
• Acknowledgements
• Socrates
• Plato
• Welcome
• Part One Summaries Of Twenty-Five Dialogues Of Plato
• Translator’s Notes to Part One
• The Preface to the Commentaries on Plato by Marsilio Ficino of Florence, Addressed to the Magnanimous Lorenzo de’ Medici
• Summary of Plato’s Hipparchus
• Summary of Plato’s Book on Philosophy or The Lover
• Summary of Theages, Concerning Wisdom
• Summary of Meno, Concerning Virtue
• Summary of Alcibiades I, Concerning the Nature of Man
• Summary of Alcibiades II, Concerning Prayer
• Summary of Minos, Concerning Law
• Summary of Euthyphro, Concerning Holiness
• Hippias or On the Beautiful and Noble: Summary Dedicated to Piero de-Medici, Father of His People
• Plato’s Lysis or Concerning Friendship: Summary Dedicated to Piero de-Medici, Father of His People
• Summary of Plato’s Theaetetus, a Work on Knowledge, Dedicated to Piero de-Medici, Father of His People
• Summary of Plato’s Ion or On Poetic Frenzy, Dedicated to the Magnanimous Lorenzo de-Medici
• Summary of Plato’s Statesman
• Summary of Protagoras
• Summary of Euthydemus
• Summary of the Lesser Hippias
• Summary of Charmides, Concerning Temperance
• Summary of Laches, Concerning Courage
• Summary of Cratylus, Concerning the True Principle of Names
• Summary of Gorgias
• Summary of the Apology of Socrates
• Summary of Crito, Dedicated to the Magnanimous Lorenzo de-Medici
• Summary of Phaedo
• Summary of Menexenus, Dedicated to the Magnanimous Lorenzo de-Medici
• Summary of Critias, or the Account of Atlantis
• PART TWO Discussions of the Twelve ‘Letters of Plato
• Translator’s Notes to Part Two
• Discussion of the First Letter, Written by Dion
• Discussion by Marsilio of the Second Letter, which Plato wrote to Dionysius, Tyrant of Syracuse
• Discussion by Marsilio of the Third Letter, Written by Plato to the Tyrant Dionysius
• Discussion by Marsilio of the Fourth Letter, Written by Plato to Dion of Syracuse
• Discussion of the Fifth Letter
• Discussion by Marsilio of the Sixth Letter, Written to Hermias, Erastus, and Coriscus
• Discussion by Marsilio of the Seventh Letter
• Discussion by Marsilio of the Eighth Letter, Written to the Same Relatives and Friends of Dion
• Discussion by Marsilio of the Ninth Letter
• Discussion by Marsilio of the Tenth Letter
• Discussion by Marsilio of the Eleventh Letter
• Discussion by Marsilio of the Twelfth Letter
• PART THREE Appendices
• Translator’s Notes to Part Three
• Introduction by Marsilio Ficino of Florence to the Ten Dialogues of Plato, Translated for Cosimo de-Medici, Father of His Country
• The Preface of Marsilio Ficino of Florence to his Commentaries on Plato, Addressed to Niccola Valori, a Citizen Endowed with Foresight and Great Worth
• Index