A legend says that Marsilio Ficino (1433 – 1499), the son of Cosimo de' Medici's doctor, died more than a century old thanks to a miraculous knowledge of which he held the secret...
But this is probably not the case since the Florentine died at the age of seventy after having brought to the Italian humanist movement a large number of translations of Plato's texts.
This taste for ancient texts goes back to his early youth:during his studies, he devoted himself to reading Plato, to whom he devoted a real cult.
His work:
Translate Plato
A better knowledge of ancient texts, the Italian humanist movement
Following the Council of Florence, several Greek scholars settled in Tuscany. Ficino knew how to share his enthusiasm for the great philosopher of Antiquity with his protector, Cosimo de' Medici, who financed the famous Platonic Academy in Florence and entrusted him with its presidency.
From there, the philosopher was able to translate, interpret, then disseminate ancient works. He edited in Latin, that is to say, he allowed the dissemination in the West, of Plato, Plotinus and many others.
He helped to fuel the humanist studies of his time through the contribution of ancient thought. A European network of correspondents formed around this academy and many erudite minds came with the hope of gaining access to Plato's science.
He edited many ancient authors and published the Corpus hermeticum . This set of 2nd century texts is attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, legendary founder of the Egyptian religion, contemporary of Pythagoras and Moses.
Marsile Ficino puts melancholy among the five evils that strike the “studious”. The Italian poet and philosopher tells us in “De triplici vita” (The three books of life), a way to “preserve the health of the studious”. “In other professions, everyone takes care of his tools, the painter washes his brushes, the blacksmith maintains his hammer, his anvil, his forge, the plowman repairs his plow and sharpens his hatchet when it is blunt, the falconer or the hunter takes special care of his falcons, his dogs, his horses, etc., the musician disassembles and reassembles the strings of his lute, etc., but men of letters neglect their working tools, I mean the brain and the spirit which they use daily and thanks to which they travel the whole world; abusive studies end up consuming them” He indicates, in De vita sana, that scholars must lead a healthy life with the help of good habits and an appropriate diet. De vita coelitus comparanda (How to organize your life in a celestial way) suggests drawing strength on Earth from celestial objects. The frequentation of the gardens, thanks to the perfume of the flowers, makes it possible to restore the soul through it with the body. Similarly, to combat this exhaustion (of sedentary life), music is a good means:Musical sound, through the movement of purified air, excites the aerial spirit, which constitutes the link between the body and the soul, by means of emotion it acts on the senses and at the same time on the soul.” (De sanitate studiosorum tuenda).In the quest to return to Antiquity, Marsilio Ficino took a great interest in astrology, which led him to come into conflict with the Roman Church. In 1489, he was accused of witchcraft by Pope Innocent VIII and narrowly escaped the rigors of the Inquisition.
"Of all the intellectual influences that were to act, in Italy and abroad, during the Renaissance, the strongest was undoubtedly that of Marsilio Ficino," says A. Rivaud
Ordained a priest, he also wrote works in which he demonstrated the links between Christianity and Neoplatonism. He thus declared that “with some changes, the Platonists would be Christians”.
Until the end of his life, Ficino taught and he had as a pupil the future sovereign Lorenzo the Magnificent. It is with playing cards that he transmitted his teaching! According to some, the name “tarots de Marseille” would refer not to the city but to Marsile.
His life in a few key dates:
1459:Ficin is a pupil of John Argyropoulos who taught Greek language and literature
1474:De christiana religione
1482:Theologia platonica
1489:De triplici vita (The three books of life. Three treatises:De Vita Sana (Of the healthy life), De Vita Longa (Of the long life), De Vita Coelitus Comparanda (How to organize one's life in finally, in the same year, Ficino escaped the Inquisition
Find out more:
Commentary on Plato's Banquet of Love, Marsilio Ficino (2002)
Marsilio Ficino:Platonisms in the Renaissance (2001)
Marsilio Ficino and Art (1996)