Latin translations of Plato, Alcinous, and Pythagoras, with other humanist translations
Title
Latin translations of Plato, Alcinous, and Pythagoras, with other humanist translations
Description
Impressed by lectures on Neoplatonism given by the Byzantine intellectual Gemisthus Pletho during the Council of Florence, Cosimo de’ Medici installed Marsilio Ficino (1433–99) as the head of a newly founded Platonic Academy in 1462. The Academy’s goal was the promotion of Plato over Aristotle as the philosopher of choice for modern Christians. To achieve this end, Ficino translated the known corpus of Platonic and Neoplatonic works. This manuscript likely belonged to an early member of the Academy. The first section consists of works by Ficino, all produced in the 1460s and 1470s and closely linked to the activities of the Academy. Ficino dedicated four of these translations to his close friend, Giovanni Cavalcanti (1444–1509) and composed a short letter addressed to Cavalcanti on the subject of friendship and the proper use of Plato’s teachings. The manuscript predates the first edition of Plato’s works in Latin by Ficino.
Creator
Translator: Marsilio Ficino; Authors: Plato, Alcinous, and Pythagoras
Date
ca. 1475
Format
Manuscript on paper, 94 fols.
Identifier
University of Pennsylvania, Lawrence J. Schoenberg Collection, LJS 438
Coverage
Florence, Italy
Tags
Citation
Translator: Marsilio Ficino; Authors: Plato, Alcinous, and Pythagoras, “Latin translations of Plato, Alcinous, and Pythagoras, with other humanist translations,” Making the Renaissance Manuscript, accessed May 7, 2024, http://makingrenmanuscripts.exhibits.library.upenn.edu/items/show/57.
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