Letters of Marsilio Ficino Vol 4

The letters in this volume cover the period from September 1477 to April 1478, months which culminated in the Pazzi Conspiracy, when Guiliano de' Medici was assassinated in Florence Cathedral, and from which his brother Lorenzo only just escaped. Ficino, a non-political philosopher with no worldly amibitions, found himself advising the two main factions struggling for political power in Florence. His appeal for respect for both human and divine law, and thus for a reawakening of spirituality was in marked contrast to the prevailing atmosphere of lawlessness and greed. It was symptomatic that those most involved in the conspiracy included a pope, a cardinal, an archbishop and two priests. In his letter to the Venetian ambassador, Bernardo Bembo, Ficino commends him more than any of his correspondents for his humanity.

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