Ficino, Marsilio (märsē`lyō fēchē`nō), 1433–99, Italian philosopher. Under the patronage of Cosimo de' Medici, Ficino became the most influential exponent of Platonism in Italy in the 15th cent. He translated many of the Greek classics into Latin, among them Plato's dialogues and the writings of Plotinus. Chosen by Cosimo to head a new Platonic academy at Florence, he was important in the development of Renaissance humanism. His chief original work was Theologica Platonica (1482), in which he combined Christian theology and Neoplatonic elements.

Bibliography

See studies by M. J. Allen (1989) and K. Eisenbichler and O. Pugliese, ed. (1989).

Ficino, Marsilio

(born Oct. 19, 1433, Figline, Republic of Florence—died Oct. 1, 1499, Careggi, near Florence) Italian philosopher, theologian, and linguist. His translations and commentaries on the writings of Plato and other Classical Greek authors marked the beginning of the Florentine Platonist Renaissance. In conceiving the universe as a hierarchy of substances that descends from God to matter, he was strongly influenced by Neoplatonism and medieval views. The Cambridge Platonists and related movements in France and Italy reflect Ficino's interpretation of Platonism. Of his original writings, Platonic Theology (1482) and Book on the Christian Religion (1474) are most significant.