Tři knihy o životě

Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) is best known as an important translator and commentator on Plato and the Neo-Platonists. Platonic philosophy, however, did not stand alone with him, but was to form a supporting pillar of Christianity, shaping Christian Platonism along with it. If, however, we are to understand Ficino's thought in its fullness, we cannot neglect his medical interests, which only add to its specific colour and fullness. It is this area that he devotes himself to in his three-volume treatise On Life (1489), which became the author's most widely read work in its day. On Healthy Life, On Long Life and On Life According to Heaven are primarily dedicated to scholars who (like Ficino himself) were particularly threatened by melancholy in their research; it is therefore the first ever work devoted to occupational diseases. Although these are health-science texts with a practical orientation, the third book develops a theoretical system of so-called natural magic (magia naturalis), which draws on the earlier magico-astrological tradition, while at the same time extending its influence far beyond the realm of mere medicine. Because of their complex nature, which mirrors the full range of interests and themes not only of Ficino but also of his ideological contemporaries, On Life can be considered a unique gateway to the world of Renaissance thought.

Latin-Czech edition.