FICINUS, MARSILIUS, a celebrated Italian, was born at Florence in 1433, and educated at the expence of Lawrence de Medicis. He attained a perfect knowledge of the Greek and Latin tongues, and became a great philosopher, a great physician, and a great divine. He was in the highest favour with Laurence and Cosimo de Medicis, who made him a canon of the cathedral church of Florence. He applied himself intensely to the study of philosophy; and while others were striving who should be the deepest read in Aristotle, who was then the philosopher in fashion, he devoted himself wholly to Plato. He was indeed the first who restored the Platonic philosophy in the west; for the better effecting of which, he translated into Latin the whole works of Plato. There goes a story, but we know not how true it is, that when he had finished his translation, he communicated it to his friend Marcus Musurus, to have his approbation of it; but, that Musurus disliking it, he did it all over again. He next translated Plotinus; and afterwards the works, or part of them at least, of Proclus, Iamblicus, Porphyrius, and other celebrated Platonists.—In his younger years, Ficinus lived like a philosopher; and too much so, as is said, to the neglect of piety. However, Savonarola coming to Florence, Ficinus went with every body else to hear his sermons; and while he attended them for the sake of the preacher's eloquence, he imbibed a strong sense of religion, and devoted himself henceforward more especially to the duties of it. He died at Correggio in 1499; and as Boroniis assures us upon the testimony of what he calls credible authors, appeared immediately after his death to his friend Michael Mercatus: to whom, it seems, he had promised to appear, in order to confirm what he had taught concerning the immortality of the soul. His writings, sacred and profane, which are very numerous, were collected and printed at Venice, in 1516, at Basil in 1561 and 1576, and at Paris 1641, in two vols. folio. Twelve books of his Epistles, among which are many treatises, were printed separately in
folio at Venice 1495, and at Nuremberg, 1497, in 4to.