'Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this
world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political
greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who
pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand
aside, cities will never have rest from their evils, - no, nor the
human race, as I believe, - and then only will this our State have
a possibility of life and behold the light of day' - Republic, Book
V With these words Plato expressed his ideal form of government.
Often dismissed as unrealizable, they have appealed down the ages
to men of goodwill. Having translated all of the Dialogues from
Greek into Latin, at the request of his Medici patrons, Ficino was
asked to prepare summaries by Lorenzo de' Medici, the de facto
ruler of the republic of Florence, who aspired to be the kind of
enlightened ruler Plato described. Marsilio Ficino (1433-99) was
one of the most influential thinkers of the Renaissance. He put
before society a new ideal of human nature, emphasising its divine
potential. As head of the Platonic Academy in Florence, and as
teacher and guide to a remarkable circle of men, he made a vital
contribution to the changes that were taking place in European
thought. With the collapse of the global economy calling the wisdom
of our political leaders into question, this publication is a
timely reminder of those principles which have formed the basis of
good government and inspired statesmen down the ages. This
four-volume series consists of Gardens of Philosophy, 2006,
Evermore Shall Be So, 2007 and All Things Natural, 2010, and
contains all Ficino's commentaries not previously translated into
English. As Carol Kaske of Cornell University wrote when reviewing
Gardens of Philosophy in Renaissance Quarterly, these translations
fill 'A need. Even those Anglophone scholars who know Latin still
need a translation in order to read quickly through a large body of
material'.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
