Marsilio Ficino- Italian philosopher, Neoplatonist, humanist, one of the key figures of the early Renaissance, founder and director of the Platonic Academy in Florence, one of the most prominent representatives of Florentine Platonism - a philosophical movement characterized by a revival of interest in the ideas of Plato, opposing itself to scholasticism, mainly Aristotelian.
Ficino was born on October 19, 1433 near Florence in Figline Valdarno. His father served as a family physician for a very famous person - Cosimo de' Medici. This circumstance played a certain role in Ficino’s biography. He studied at the University of Florence, where he studied mainly philosophy, Latin and Greek, and medicine. When the de facto ruler of Florence, the Medici, decided to recreate the Platonic Academy in the city, he decided to entrust this matter to the young educated Marsilio Ficino. The Academy was founded in 1459 and existed until 1521.
In 1462, Ficino received an estate from the Medici as a gift, which was located not far from the patron’s possessions. In addition, he received Plato's manuscripts in Greek, as well as works by a number of other authors. M. Ficino began to teach Lorenzo de' Medici, who was Cosimo's grandson.
In the early 60s. The philosopher became closely involved in translation activities, starting with the processing of authors representing ancient theology. In 1463, he began translating Plato's famous dialogues and by 1468 he had completed all the works of this outstanding philosopher and began commenting. His notes, as well as a number of works (“Plato’s Theology on the Immortality of the Soul” (1469-1474), “On the Christian Religion” (1476) and a number of others) became the expression of a philosophical system that attempted to bring together and harmonize Christianity and ancient, i.e. . pagan wisdom.
In 1473, Marsilio Ficino became a priest and subsequently repeatedly occupied significant church positions. His activities at the Platonov Academy continue and are of great interest to the public. Under his leadership, the academy turned into one of the largest intellectual centers of its historical period. Under its auspices people of various social classes, professions, income levels, etc. gathered.
In the 80-90s. His work continues to translate ancient authors into Latin. This period of his biography was marked by the emergence of a special interest in astrology. The astrologer-medical treatise “On Life,” published in 1389, significantly complicated relations with the higher clergy and Pope Innocent VIII himself. Charges of heresy were avoided only thanks to influential patrons.
At the end of his life, in 1492, the treatise “On the Sun and Light” was published from the pen of M. Ficino. While in a villa near Florence, on October 1, 1499, Marsilio Ficino died while writing commentaries on the Epistles of the Apostle Paul.
The influence of Ficino's ideas on the philosophy of the Renaissance turned out to be very significant. Under their influence, the worldview of Giordano Bruno, Pico della Mirandola and other thinkers was formed. His idea of a “common religion” was turned to in the 16th-17th centuries. representatives of the so-called natural religion.
Biography from Wikipedia
Marsilio Ficino, Marsilio Ficino(lat. Marsilius Ficinus; October 19, 1433, Figline Valdarno, near Florence - October 1, 1499, Villa Careggi, near Florence) - Italian philosopher, humanist, astrologer, Catholic priest, founder and head of the Florentine Platonic Academy. One of the leading thinkers of the early Renaissance, the most significant representative of Florentine Platonism - a movement associated with renewed interest in the philosophy of Plato and directed against scholasticism, especially against the scholastic teachings of Aristotle.
In 2015, documentary evidence appeared that Ficino is credited with the authorship of the Tarot of Marseilles.
early years
Father Ficino was the family physician of Cosimo de' Medici and was part of the intellectual circle of this major banker and virtually the sovereign ruler of Florence, who was attempting to overcome the division of churches into Latin (Catholic) and Greek (Orthodox). After these attempts failed, the attention of Cosimo de' Medici and the members of his circle focused on the teachings of the Byzantine thinker George Gemistus Pletho, who actively promoted Greek philosophy and was called the “second Plato” for this. Based on a rethinking of Platonism, Plithon sought to construct a new universal religious system that would become a real alternative to existing monotheistic faiths (primarily Christianity) and open the way to genuine truth.
Ficino was educated at the University of Florence, where he studied Greek and Latin, philosophy and medicine. When Cosimo de' Medici decided to recreate Plato's Academy in Florence, his choice fell on Marsilio. In 1462, the Medici gave Ficino an estate located not far from his own, as well as Greek manuscripts of the works of Plato and some other ancient authors. Ficino became the home teacher of Cosimo de' Medici's grandson Lorenzo de' Medici. Among Ficino's other students was the outstanding humanist philosopher Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.
Philosophical views
Domenico Ghirlandaio (1486–1490): Marsilio Ficino (far left) Cristoforo Landino, Angelo Poliziano and Dimitri Chalkondil in fresco Zechariah's Gospel, Santa Maria Novella, Florence
Based on the idea that Plato relied in his work on such representatives of “ancient theology” as Hermes Trismegistus, Orpheus and Zoroaster, Ficino began his translation work with texts attributed to these authors. In the early 1460s. he translated Orpheus' "Hymns" and "Argonautics" from Greek into Latin. Then in 1461 he translated and published the treatises of the Corpus Hermeticum. And only after this did he begin Plato’s dialogues in 1463.
Treatise "Plato's Theology on the Immortality of the Soul"
In 1468, Ficino completed the translation of all of Plato's works into Latin and began commenting on some of them. Between 1469 and 1474 Ficino created his main work - the treatise “Plato’s Theology on the Immortality of the Soul” (published in 1482), in which he tried to “show in everything the consonance of Platonic thoughts with the Divine Law,” that is, to harmonize and reconcile ancient pagan wisdom with Christianity.
According to Ficino, philosophy is “illumination of the mind,” and the meaning of philosophizing is in preparing the soul and intellect to perceive the light of divine revelation. From this point of view, philosophy and religion coincide, and their source is the sacred mysteries of antiquity. The legendary prophets (Hermes Trismegistus, Orpheus, Zoroaster) were at one time “enlightened” by divine light. Subsequently, Pythagoras and Plato came to the same thoughts. The texts of the Corpus Hermeticum, the Platonic tradition, and Christian doctrine, according to Ficino, stem from the one Divine Logos.
Metaphysical reality is a descending sequence of five perfections, which include: God, angel (form an intelligible world); soul (triune “connection node”); quality (form) and matter (constituting the physical world). God is considered by Ficino as an infinite supreme being, whose activity gives rise to the world of things in the process of gradual creation (emanation). Man occupies a special place in the world due to the fact that his soul is in a middle position between the divine and the material. It is the soul that personifies the connection between bodies in nature, helping them rise to the level of angels and even the highest divine being. Thanks to the soul's endowment with the ability to know, all levels of existence can once again return to divine unity. Man is a microcosm cognizing the macrocosm, and the ability to cognition is the main advantage of a person merging with God at the highest level of cognition.
Ficino on the soul:
“As a result, this nature is imputed to the need to obey the following order: so that it follows God and the angels, who are indivisible, that is, beyond time and extension, and who are higher than that which has physicality and qualities, and that which disappears in time and space , it is defined as a person mediated by an adequate term: a term that would in some way express subjection to the flow of time and at the same time independence from space. She is that which exists among mortal things without being mortal herself... And since, while she rules the body, she also adjoins the divine, she is the mistress of the body, and not a companion. She is the supreme miracle of nature. Other things under God, each in itself, are separate objects: she is simultaneously all things. It contains images of divine things on which it depends, and it is also the cause and model for all things of a lower order, which in some way it itself produces. Being the mediator of all things, she has the abilities of all things... She can rightly be called the center of nature, the mediator of all things, the cohesion of the world, the face of everything, the knot and bundle of the world.”
Ficino - commentator on Platonic texts
Ficino completed the translation of all of Plato's works into Latin and brief explanations to them in 1468 (first published in 1484). Then he began commenting on some of Plato's dialogues. Ficino's commentary on Plato's dialogue "The Symposium" (1469, also known as "On Love") was the source of much of the thinking about love among thinkers, poets and writers of the Renaissance. Ficino believed that love is a type of “deification” of the endless game of eternity - the reunification in God of an empirical person with a meta-empirical Idea through a gradual ascent up the ladder of love.
“Although we like bodies, souls, angels, we don’t really like all of these; but God is this: loving the body, we will love the shadow of God, in the soul - the likeness of God; in angels - the image of God. Thus, if in the present tense we love God in all things, we will ultimately love all things in him. For by living this way we will reach the point where we will see God and all things in God. And let us love him in ourselves and all things in him: everything is given by the grace of God and ultimately receives redemption in him. Because everything returns to the Idea for which it was created... The true man and the Idea of man are one whole. And yet none of us on earth is truly man when separated from God: because then he is separated from the Idea, which is our form. We come to true life through divine love.”
Ficino - priest and head of the Platonic Academy
Ficino was ordained a priest in 1473 and subsequently held a number of important ecclesiastical positions. In his treatise “On the Christian Religion” (1474), he actually resumed the tradition of early Christian apologetics.
Ficino's activities caused a wide public outcry. A group of like-minded people formed around him, a kind of scientific fraternity, which became known as the Platonic Academy. The Academy became one of the most important intellectual centers of the Renaissance. It included people of various ranks and occupations - aristocrats, diplomats, merchants, officials, clergy, doctors, university professors, humanists, theologians, poets, artists.
last years of life
De triplici vita, 1560
In the 1480-90s. Ficino continues to explore the tradition of “pious philosophy”: he translates into Latin and comments on the Enneads of Plotinus (1484-90; published in 1492), as well as the works of Porphyry, Iamblichus, Proclus, Dionysius the Areopagite (1490-1492), Michael Psellus and others. Inspired by the rediscovery of antiquity, Ficino showed great interest in astrology and published the medical and astrological treatise “On Life” in 1489. This brings him into conflict with the highest clergy of the Catholic Church, in particular with Pope Innocent VIII. And only high patronage saves him from accusations of heresy.
In 1492, Ficino wrote the treatise “On the Sun and Light” (published 1493), and in 1494 he completed extensive interpretations of several of Plato’s dialogues. Ficino died commenting on the Epistle to the Romans of the Apostle Paul.
Ficino's influence
Ficino’s influence on the worldview of the Renaissance was so significant that, for example, Giordano Bruno, while lecturing at Oxford University, presented the third part of his treatise “On Life,” dedicated to the problems of magic and the magical, as his own original work.
Thanks to the translations of the works of Plato, the Neoplatonists and other works of antiquity from Greek into Latin, Ficino contributed to the revival of Platonism and the fight against scholastic Aristotelianism. The premises of pantheism contained in his writings, but not developed by him, had a significant impact on the philosophical views of Pico della Mirandola, Patrizi, Giordano Bruno and others. The apology of earthly beauty and human dignity contributed to overcoming medieval asceticism and influenced the development of fine arts and literature . Ficino’s idea of a “universal religion”, not constrained by cult, ritual and dogmatic differences, influenced the formation of the doctrine of “natural religion” in the philosophy of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Marsilio Ficino (years of life - 1433-1499) was born near Florence, in the town of Figline. He was educated at the University of Florence. Here he studied medicine and Marsilio Ficino, and some facts from his biography will be presented in this article.
Marsilio wrote his first independent works already in the early 50s of the 15th century, which were marked by the influence of the ideas of various philosophers of antiquity. A little later, he studies Greek and also begins to translate. During these same years, Ficino became secretary to the head of the Florentine Republic.
Image of Marsilio Ficino
Marsilio is generally a generalized image, a kind of symbol of a humanist philosopher, in whose worldview various philosophical and religious traditions are mixed. As a Catholic priest (Ficino was ordained at the age of 40), he was fascinated by the ideas of ancient thinkers, dedicating some of his sermons to the “divine Plato” (image shown below), and even placed a candle in front of his bust at home. At the same time, Ficino was also involved in magic. These seemingly contradictory qualities for the philosopher himself, on the contrary, were inseparable from each other.
Ficino - humanist
Ficino clearly showed in his work the main feature of the humanistic movement, since, like most representatives of subsequent eras, he believed that it was possible to develop new ideals only when the Christian doctrine was re-founded with the help of magical and mystical ideas of antiquity, as well as on the basis of ideas Plato, whom he considered the successor of Zoroaster, Orpheus and Hermes Trismegistus. It should be noted that for Ficino, as well as for other humanists, Platonic philosophy and Neoplatonism were a single teaching. It was only in the 19th century that the difference between Neoplatonism and Platonism was first realized.
Translation activities
Marsilio Ficino, having many hobbies, was engaged in the following three most important ones. He became famous, first of all, as a translator. In 1462-1463, it was Marsilio who translated the works attributed to Hermes Trismegistus into Latin, as well as the Commentaries on Zoroaster and the Hymns of Orpheus. Over the next fifteen years, he published in Latin almost all of Plato's dialogues, as well as the works of Plotinus, late ancient philosophers and the Areopagitica (80-90 years of the 15th century).
Philosophical writings
Another Ficino was associated with philosophy. He created two works: "Plato's Theology and On the Christian Religion." Ficino, drawing on the works written by Hermes Trismegistus, argued that the main stages of the development of philosophy appear as "illumination", so its meaning is to prepare the human soul to the perception of revelation.
Religious ideas
The Florentine thinker, in fact, did not separate philosophy and religion, like many other philosophers of the 15th century. In his opinion, they originate in the mystical teachings of antiquity. The Divine Logos was given as a revelation to Zoroaster, Orpheus and Hermes Trismegistus. After this, the baton of divine secret knowledge was passed on to Plato and Pythagoras. By His appearance on earth, Jesus Christ already embodied the Logos-Word. He also conveyed Divine revelation to all people.
Therefore, both Christian teaching and have a common source - the Divine Logos. For Ficino himself, therefore, the pursuit of philosophy and priestly activity were presented in an inextricable and absolute unity. He believed, moreover, that it was necessary to develop some kind of unified philosophical and religious concept, to combine the teachings of Plato, ancient mysticism with the Holy Scriptures.
The concept of "universal religion"
In Ficino, in accordance with this logic, the so-called concept of universal religion arises. He believed that God initially gave the world religious truth, which, due to imperfection, people cannot fully understand, so they create all kinds of religious cults. Various thinkers representing the main stages of the development of philosophy also make attempts to approach it. But all these beliefs and ideas are just a manifestation of a single “universal religion”. Divine truth in Christianity has found its most reliable and accurate expression.
Ficino, trying to reveal the meaning and content of “universal religion,” follows the Neoplatonic scheme. In his opinion, the world consists of the following five levels: matter, quality (or form), soul, angel, god (ascending). The highest metaphysical concepts are god and angel. They are infinite, immaterial, immortal, indivisible. Matter and quality are lower concepts associated with the material world, therefore, they are limited in space, mortal, temporary, divisible.
The main and only connecting link between the lower and higher levels of existence is the soul. She, according to Ficino, is triune, since she has three hypostases: the soul of living creatures, the soul of the heavenly spheres and the soul of the world. Arising from God, it animates the material world. Marsilio Ficino literally glorifies the soul, arguing that it is the soul that is the connection of everything, since when it inhabits one thing, it does not leave the other. In general, the soul supports everything and penetrates everything. Ficino therefore calls her the knot and bundle of the world, the face of everything, the mediator of all things, the center of nature.
Based on this, it becomes clear why Marsilio pays so much attention to the soul of an individual. Adjacent to the divine, in his understanding she is the “mistress of the body” and controls it. Therefore, knowing your soul should become the main occupation of any person.
The theme of the essence of human personality
Ficino continues the theme of the essence of the personality of an individual in his discussions of “Platonic love.” By the concept of love, he means the reunion in God of the carnal, real person with the idea of him. Ficino, in accordance with Christian-Neoplatonic ideas, writes that everything in the world comes from God and will return to him. Therefore, in all things one must love the Creator. Then people can rise to love in the god of all things.
The true man and the idea of him, therefore, are one whole. But there is no true man on earth, since all people are separated from each other and from themselves. Here divine love comes into force, with the help of which one can come to true life. If all people are reunited in it, they will be able to find the path to the Idea. Consequently, by loving God, people themselves become loved by him.
The preaching of “Platonic love” and “universal religion” became very popular in the 15th century. It later retained its attractiveness for many Western European thinkers.
Treatise "On Life"
In 1489, Ficino's medical treatise "On Life" was published, in which he relied on astrological laws, like other representatives of the Renaissance. The basis of medical prescriptions at that time was the belief that parts of the human body are subordinate to the signs of the zodiac, and different temperaments are associated with different planets. It was shared by many Renaissance thinkers. The opus was intended for scientists who, due to diligent studies, often fall into melancholy or fall ill. Ficino advises them to avoid minerals, animals, herbs, plants related to Saturn (this planet has a melancholic temperament), to surround themselves with objects related to Venus, Jupiter and the Sun. The image of Mercury, as this thinker argued, develops memory and intelligence. It can also ward off fevers if placed on a tree.
The significance of Ficino's activities
Renaissance thinkers held Marcilio in high esteem. He made a major contribution to the culture of Florence in the last third of the 15th century, especially in the development of a new type of Platonism. Among his friends were the greatest representatives of the Renaissance in various fields: philosophers, politicians, poets, artists and other outstanding personalities.
Through his environment, Ficino influenced many areas of the spiritual life of Florence, in particular the fine arts, since at that time clients usually drew up a literary program of works. The influence of his ideas can be traced in “The Birth of Venus” and “Pan” by Signorelli, as well as in the cycle of paintings “The History of Vulcan” by Piero di Cosimo and others. They are also reflected in the subsequent biography and ideas of this thinker, briefly described by us, that still arouse great interest today.
This interpretation of Christianity was not widespread, unlike Plato’s views. It was Platonism that was destined to play the most decisive role in the philosophy of the Renaissance and in the influence that this philosophy had on subsequent philosophy and science. In this aspect, mention should be made first of all of the so-called Florentine Platonic Academy, among whose representatives three thinkers stand out: George Gemistus Plithon, Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola.
Georgy Gemist Plifon
Plithon (1355–1452) - an Orthodox priest from Constantinople, participated in the famous Florentine Uniate Council and after it remained in Rome, where he preached his views, which were not shared by Constantinople. The treatise “Laws” of Plitho was burned by order of the patriarch; only some excerpts from it have reached us. Plithon was distinguished by his free-thinking, despite the fact that he was an Orthodox priest and belonged to the highest strata of the clergy. He was interested in other religions and ancient culture (the title of the treatise “Laws” was clearly inspired by Plato’s “Laws”).
In his works, Plithon abandons many Christian positions in favor of Platonic and Neoplatonic ones. Thus, he prefers the emanation vision of the world to creationism (the timeless, eternal generation of the world from a certain origin through the mystical outflow of the energy of the Divine). Plytho calls his teaching Hellenic theology. The universe cannot be created, for it is divine, therefore, like God, eternal; God always produces the universe according to the principle described by Plotinus, and the transition from Divine unity to the diversity of the earthly world occurs through the pagan gods. In Plyphon’s “Laws” the names of these gods are often mentioned, although he himself did not believe in them and considered them just convenient names: he often calls the highest god Zeus (it is he who is the timeless creator of nature and absolute being).
Marsilio Ficino
Plitho found followers, among whom Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) is usually singled out. He is considered a unique figure not only in the history of the Renaissance, but also in world culture in general. He was a short man, almost a hunchback, and very ugly. But the influential Florentine Cosimo Medici developed an extraordinary sympathy for Marsilio for his intelligence and ability to work. Seeing his interest in Platonic philosophy, the Medici bought a villa next to his home and gave it to Ficino so that he could always have the pleasure of talking with the wise philosopher. And in order for Ficino to better understand Plato’s philosophy, the Medici gave him a complete codex of all Plato’s works in Greek (a gift no less valuable than the villa, since it existed in a single copy).
It was in this villa that Ficino created many of his masterpieces. He translated into Latin all of Plato, all of Plotinus, Porphyry, Proclus, Iamblichus, Dionysius the Areopagite, Hermes Trismegistus (Three-Majestic; the legendary anonymous Greek philosopher). And he translated in such a way that these translations are still considered classics and are revered on a par with the originals themselves. By the way, there is still no complete translation of Plotinus in Russian, although many philosophers and philologists have taken on this work. Ficino translated, besides Plotinus, all the Neoplatonists, who were much more prolific than Plotinus.
He also writes his own works: “On the Christian Religion”, “Plato’s Theology on the Immortality of the Soul”, “On Life”, an interpretation of Plato’s “Symposium”, etc. In particular, in his first work Ficino expresses the idea that there is a certain universal religion, all other religions are involved in it to one degree or another, and Christianity is its highest and best manifestation. Thanks to the patronage of the Medici, Marsilio Ficino became a Catholic priest, which, however, did not stop him from preaching sermons about the divine Plato and lighting candles in the temple in front of his bust, so great was his love for this Greek philosopher.
Ficino viewed philosophy as the sister of religion, and the world as modeled on the Platonists, considering it hierarchically ordered. The hierarchy of the world, according to Ficino, has five steps: God, angels, soul, qualities and matter. The soul is in the middle of this hierarchy and connects all its links. Thus, the center of the hierarchy is not God, but man. This picture is not pantheistic, but rather penentheistic, for everything comes from God and God embraces everything with Himself. Qualities are a certain stage of transition to the plurality of the world, something that gives qualitative diversity to the objects of the world.
The world is in constant motion, which is inherent only in animate beings, therefore the world is the movement of the soul, which is the connecting element of the world. The soul is everywhere in nature, everything is connected by the soul. The world is in unity because it originates from God. Since the world originates from God, it is embraced by beauty; since the world is bound by God, it is bound by love; since the world will eventually unite with God, it is bound by pleasure.
Ficino often compared this unusual interpretation of the Divine Trinity with the three hypostases of Plotinus, believing that the justification of the three hypostases in Plotinus is the justification of the Christian Trinity. Thus, in Ficino we see a complete merging of ancient, primarily Neoplatonic, philosophy with Christianity.
Marsilio Ficino was born in the town of Figline near Florence. He received his education at the University of Florence, where he studied philosophy and medicine. Already in the early 50s of the 15th century, he wrote his first independent works, marked by the influence of the ideas of ancient philosophers. A little later, Ficino studies Greek and begins to work on his first translations. During these same years, Ficino became secretary to the head of the Florentine Republic, Cosimo Medici.
In general, Marsilio Ficino is, as it were, a generalized image, a symbol of a humanist philosopher, in whose worldview completely different philosophical and religious traditions were mixed. As a Catholic priest (he was ordained at the age of forty), Ficino was passionate about ancient philosophy, dedicated some of his sermons to the “divine Plato,” and at home he even lit a candle in front of his bust, and at the same time practiced magic. At the same time, all these seemingly contradictory qualities for Ficino himself were, on the contrary, inseparable from each other.
Marsilio Ficino in his work clearly showed the main feature of the entire humanistic movement, for, like most humanists subsequently, he believed that the development of new humanistic ideals is possible only if the Christian faith is re-founded with the help of ancient mystical and magical teachings, as well as with the help of the philosophy of Plato, whom he recognized as a kind of successor of Hermes Trismegistus, Orpheus and Zopoact. It should be noted that for Ficino and other humanists, the philosophy of Plato and Neoplatonism seemed to be a kind of unified philosophical doctrine. In general, for the first time the difference between Platonism and Neoplatonism was realized in Europe only in the 19th century.
In all the varied activities of Marsilio Ficino, three most important activities can be distinguished. First of all, Marsilio Ficino became famous as a translator. It was he who in 1462–1463. translated into Latin the works attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, the Hymns of Orpheus, as well as the Commentaries on Zoroaster. Then, over the course of fifteen years, Ficino translated almost all of Plato's dialogues. In the 80-90s. XV century he translated the works of Plotinus and other late ancient philosophers, as well as the Areopagitica.
The second area of activity of Marsilio Ficino is related to philosophy. He wrote two philosophical works: “On the Christian Religion” and “Plato’s Theology on the Immortality of the Soul.”
Based on the works of Hermes Trismegistus, Ficino argued that philosophy is born as “illumination” and therefore the meaning of any philosophy is to prepare the soul for the perception of Divine revelation.
In fact, the Florentine thinker did not separate religion and philosophy, for, in his opinion, both originate in ancient mystical teachings. Hermes Trismegistus, Orpheus and Zoroaster were given the Divine Logos, precisely as a Divine revelation. Then the baton of secret Divine knowledge was passed on to Pythagoras and Plato. Jesus Christ, by his appearance on earth, has already brought the Logos-Word to life and revealed Divine revelation to all people.
Consequently, both ancient philosophy and Christian doctrine stem from one Divine source - the Logos. Therefore, for Ficino himself, priestly activity and philosophical studies were presented in absolute and indissoluble unity. Moreover, he believed that it was necessary to develop a unified religious and philosophical concept, to combine ancient mysticism, the philosophy of Plato with the Holy Scriptures.
In accordance with this logic, Ficino comes up with the concept of a “universal religion.” According to his conviction, the world was originally given by God a single religious truth, which people, due to their imperfections, cannot fully understand, and therefore create separate religious cults. However, all the different religious beliefs are just manifestations of the “universal religion.” In Christianity, the single religious truth found its most accurate and reliable expression.
Trying to show the content and meaning of a single “universal religion,” Ficino follows the Neoplatonic scheme already known to us. From this point of view, the world consists of five descending levels: God, angel, soul, quality (or form), matter.
God and angel are the highest metaphysical concepts. They are indivisible, immortal, immaterial, infinite. Quality and matter are lower concepts associated with the material world, therefore they are divisible, temporary, mortal, and limited in space.
The only and main connecting link between the higher and lower levels of existence is the soul. The soul, according to Ficino, is triune, because it appears in three hypostases - the soul of the world, the soul of the heavenly spheres and the soul of living creatures. Arising from God, the soul animates the material world. Ficino literally glorifies the soul, arguing that it is the true connection of everything, for when it inhabits one thing, it does not leave the other. The soul in general penetrates everything and supports everything. Therefore, Ficino calls the soul “the center of nature, the mediator of all things, the cohesion of the world, the face of everything, the knot and bundle of the world.”
Based on all that has been said, it is quite clear why Marsilio Ficino pays so much attention to the soul of an individual thinking person. In his understanding, the soul, adjoining the Divine, controls the body, is the “mistress of the body.” Therefore, knowledge of one’s own soul, which manifests itself in bodily expression, is the main occupation of every person.
Ficino continues the theme of the individual person, the essence of the human personality, in his discussions of “Platonic love.” By the concept of people, he means the reunification in God of a real, carnal person with the idea of a person. In accordance with his Christian-Neoplatonic ideas, Ficino writes that everything in the world comes from God and everything in the world will return to God. Therefore, it is necessary to love God in all things, and then people will rise to love all things in God. “Everything returns to the Idea for which it was created,” says the thinker.
Consequently, the true man and the Idea of man are also one whole. However, there is no true man on earth, for all people are separated from themselves and from each other. This is where Divine love comes into force, through which people come to true life: if all people are reunited in love, then they will find their way to the Idea, and that means, loving God, people themselves become beloved by Him.
The preaching of “universal religion” and “Platonic love” became very popular in XVb. and later retained its attractiveness for many thinkers in Western Europe.
But Marsilio Ficino himself did not stop at purely theoretical discussions about the essence of God, the world and man. He tried to comprehend the mysteries of the world in all ways available to him, including with the help of magical rituals. And the third area of activity of the Florentine humanist is connected with this.
In general, Ficino believed that magic is one of the areas of “universal religion” and does not contradict Christianity. In his treatise “On Life,” he, mentioning the well-known gospel story of the Magi’s worship of the newly born Christ, asks: “What, if not magic, was the one who first worshiped Christ doing?” Ficino himself, recognizing the presence of the Divine soul in all things (“God in all things”), sought to know and open this soul and therefore performed magical actions on stones, herbs, and shells. Under the influence of Pythagoreanism, Ficino, with the help of some magical music and Orphic hymns, tried to hear the secret “harmony of the spheres” and thereby capture the sound of the soul of the world. And he did all this in order to find ways by which the human soul could merge with the Divine soul.
Almost all forms and directions of development of humanistic thought in Western Europe - philosophy, religion, magic, literary pursuits - were reflected in the activities of Marsilio Ficino, as if in focus. And therefore it is quite legitimate to admit that Marsilio Ficino is one of the central figures of the entire philosophy of the Renaissance.
Marsilio Ficino (lat. Marsilius Ficinus) is an Italian scientist and Catholic priest, one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance, the author of a number of works that describe the principles of Renaissance magic, whose use of planetary influences for the benefit of the operator. The most significant of Marsilio Ficino's works is De vita libri tres (Three Books of Life). This work includes many tips on how a person can live a long and happy life by attracting the influence of benefic Planets and avoiding the influence of malefic Planets. Marsilio Ficino can rightfully be considered a pioneer who revived the classical principles of magical art and ennobled them with a Christian essence.
Marsilio Ficino was born on October 19, 1433 in Figline Valdarno, a commune in Italy located in the Tuscany region, in the province of Florence. His father Diotifeci d'Agnolo was a doctor who was patronized by Cosimo de' Medici, who also became the patron of the young Marsilio Ficino and patronized him all his life. Cosimo de' Medici was an outstanding man of his time - a prominent statesman, politician, philanthropist and humanist. The Palace of Cosimo de' Medici was the first major humanist center in Florence. Thanks to his patronage of artists, philosophers, scientists, many masterpieces of the Renaissance were created, but, most importantly in the context of this article, classical Greek texts came to life for the scientific community, being found and translated into Latin, and through them the magical art of the Renaissance.
During the meetings of the Council of Ferrara-Florence, held in Florence in 1438–1445, when attempts were made to resolve the schism between the Orthodox and Catholic churches, Cosimo de' Medici and his intellectual circle met the Neoplatonic philosopher George Gemistus Pletho, whose stories about Plato and The Alexandrian mystics so fascinated the learned society of Florence that he was called the second Plato. In 1459, John Argyropoulos lectured on Greek language and literature in Florence, and Ficino began to study with him.
When Cosimo de' Medici decided to restore Plato's Academy in Florence, he put Marsilio Ficino at its head, considering him the most worthy. In 1462, Cosimo provided Ficino with Greek manuscripts of Plato's works, and he began translating them into Latin. Ficino also translated a number of Hellenistic Greek documents, which Leonardo da Pistoia later called the Hermetica, as well as many Neoplatonist works, including the works of Porphyry, Iamblichus and Plotinus.
Marsilio Ficino's innovative approach captured the minds of thinking and searching people; he had many students, in particular Cosimo de' Medici's grandson Lorenzo, as well as Francesco Cattani da Diacceto, in whom Ficino saw his successor as head of the Platonic Academy in Florence. Diacceto left behind some very interesting reflections on the magical methods used by himself and his teacher, which shed light on the practice that brought into action the theory of magic of the Renaissance expounded by Marsilio Ficino. Diacceto's student, Giovanni di Bardo Corsi, wrote a short biography of Ficino in 1506.
In 1473, Ficino became a priest, and the following year, 1474, he completed his treatise on the immortality of the soul, entitled Theologia Platonica de immortalitate animae. In 1484 he wrote the work “De amore”, and in 1489 his work “De vita libri tres” (“Three books about life”) was published. Ficino's extreme passion for astrology and information about how to interact with planetary forces caused problems in his relationship with the Catholic Church. In the same year, 1489, in which De vita libri tres was published, he was charged with practicing magic before Pope Innocent VIII, and he needed a strong defense to avoid being convicted of heresy. Ficino did not openly write about communication with Planetary Spirits, the use of magical seals and names to consecrate talismans. On the contrary, he was very careful when describing methods for achieving “harmony” with favorable Planets. He wrote about the use of clothing in colors corresponding to the planets (for example, elderly scientists are not recommended to wear black clothes corresponding to Saturn, since they are already dominated by the influences of Saturn, which must be interrupted by the influences of planets such as Venus, the Sun and Jupiter for life to be long and happy), incense, medicines made from plants, drinks, food, stones. However, he does not write about special verbal and ritual consecrations, the drawing of incomprehensible symbols, the evocation of planetary spirits and communication with them. Yes, he speculates that it would be possible to create a Talisman that would attract all the favorable planetary influences at once, and gives information about how the ancients created their talismans to gain good luck. However, this information was enough for Ficino to become suspicious of heresy, because of which he had to write apologies for himself.
Marsilio Ficino also wrote a treatise “Consiglio contro la pestilenza” (“Recommendations for curing the plague”). His books had a significant influence on Renaissance doctors, such as Paracelsus, with whom he shared views on the unity of the microcosm and macrocosm, their interaction, as well as the goal of exploring the signatures of bodily and mental manifestations for the treatment of diseases.
In 1492, Ficino proclaimed: “This age, like the Golden Age, has restored the free arts, which had almost disappeared: grammar, poetry, rhetoric, fine arts, sculpture, architecture, music... this age seems to have perfected astrology.”
Marsilio Ficino died on October 1, 1499 in Careggi. In 1521, Andrea Ferrucci sculpted a bust of Marsilio Ficino, which is located on the south side of the nave in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. However, Marsilio Ficino's works of Renaissance magic serve as a living monument to their creator. This is a living tradition that is still practiced today.
