Commentary on Plotinus, Volume 5

Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) was the leading Platonic philosopher of the Renaissance and is generally recognized as the greatest authority on ancient Platonism before modern times. Among his finest accomplishments as a scholar was his 1492 Latin translation of the complete works of Plotinus (204-270 CE), the founder of Neoplatonism. The 1492 edition also contained an immense commentary that remained for centuries the principle introduction to Plotinus´s works for Western scholars. At the same time, it constitutes a major statement of Ficino´s own late metaphysics. The I Tatti edition, planned in six volumes, contains the first modern edition of the Latin text and the first translation into any modern language. The present volume also includes a substantial analytical study of Ficino´s interpretation of Plotinus´ Fourth Ennead.