Marsilio Ficino summary

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Marsilio Ficino, (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.

Roman Catholicism Summary

Roman Catholicism, Christian church that has been the decisive spiritual force in the history of Western civilization. Along with Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism, it is one of the three major branches of Christianity. It is led by the pope, as the bishop of Rome, and the Holy See forms the

Platonism Summary

Platonism, any philosophy that derives its ultimate inspiration from Plato. Though there was in antiquity a tradition about Plato’s “unwritten doctrines,” Platonism then and later was based primarily on a reading of the dialogues. But these can be read in many different ways, often very

soul Summary

Soul, in religion and philosophy, the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being, that which confers individuality and humanity, often considered to be synonymous with the mind or the self. In theology, the soul is further defined as that part of the individual which partakes of divinity and

Latin language Summary

Latin language, Indo-European language in the Italic group and ancestral to the modern Romance languages. Originally spoken by small groups of people living along the lower Tiber River, Latin spread with the increase of Roman political power, first throughout Italy and then throughout most of