Ficino, Marsiglio

Sopra lo Amore o ver' Convivio di Platone

      Florence:: Neri Dortelata,, 1544.. First Italian Edition.. Later vellum, yapp fore-edge, old owner's notes on f.f.e.p., marginal dampstains, foxing. corner of N1 elaced with some text loss, a few old notes, large copy with ample margins.. 8vo.. Large printer's device of Noah's ark with Janus head on t.p. (T23 - V67 - Z155) and last leaf Ficino (1433-1499) son of the physician to Cosimo d'Medici, dedicated himself to the study of Plato and neo-Platonic thought. His translations of the whole of Plato and Plotinus into Latin were key elements in the Renaissance rebirth of Platonic thought. His interest in Porphyry, Proclus, Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite, and the Hermetic corpus were likewise the basis for occult investigations into neo-Platonism. #11;"He took over and reinterpreted Plato's theory of love...and combined it with ancient theories of friendship that were known to him primarily through Aristotle and Cicero; he also tried to identify it with the Christian love (charitas) praised by St. Paul. He even added some touches from the tradition of medieval courtly love as it was known to him through Guido Cavalcanti, Dante, and other early Tuscan poets. This doctrine of love, which exercised a tremendous influence during the sixteenth century..." [Ency.of Philosophy.] EDIT 16 cnce 18943. BM STC (Ital.) 249. Gamba 1097. Hoffmann III,323. Schweiger I,253. Haym 509:1 "rarissimo, ed assai ricercato da'curiosi". Caillet 3896 (French ed.)