A book definitely recommended for students of the history of philosophy or students of the history of the Renaissance. Most histories, no matter how deep and well-written, can only scratch the surface of this fascinating period. Original works of creativity, autobiography or letters are necessary in order to fill in the gaps that naturally occur to us tourists of these times.

Ficino makes a wonderful guide for the intellectual explorer. He was a major figure of Renaissance thought, marking the transition from the Aristotelianism of the later Middle Ages to a rediscovery of Plato and Neoplatonism. Ficino translated Plato's dialogues, along with many Neoplatonic works, into Latin, making them accessible to Western scholars for the first time. His masterpiece, "Platonic Theology," was a demonstration of his belief that Platonism, unlike Aristotelianism, was compatible with Christian dogma.

The letters of Ficino give us a rare glimpse into the workings of this great mind during the period he was formulating his magnum opus, as well as a window into the political climate of the times. This was an era when the letter was 'the' form of communication and his letters remain as fresh today as they did when they were written, making the book even more compelling, if possible.

A volume that deserves to be in every scholarly library.

It is nothing short of miraculous to "discover" that the last frontier is not outer space after all, but Inner Space ("the things which are seen are but a mirror of the things not seen")...if you are questing for this reality, you might find it helpful to read St. Teresa's book THE INTERIOR CASTLE.

Marsilio Ficino, born in Florence in 1433, was one of the greatest exemplars of the Renaissance as a rebirth of classical learning. Ficino was the leader of the Florentine Platonic Academy and translator of many neo-Platonic and Hermetic works, including at the urging of Cosimo de Medici, the Corpus Hermeticum.

Three Books on Life is not a translation, but an original work by Ficino written for the benefit of scholars and intellectuals, who being under the dominion of Saturn and Mercury, suffer melancholy and related health concerns.

The third book, is however, the most interesting as it details Ficino's world view and gives his methods of astrological magic. Ficino, a priest and devout Christian, saw no real contradiction between the teachings of ancient philosophy and Christianity. He therefore felt free to use astrological magic particularly for healing and other medicinal purposes.

What is most significant about Three Books on Life is Ficino's ability to provide a theoretical framework for astrology and magic as well as practical examples of how to practice astrological magic.

Kaske and Clarke have done an excellent job in the MRTS edition of Three Books on Life. Their introduction is good, despite a few errors only noticeable to an expert on traditional astrology and the text with the Latin original facing the English translation is quite useable. This translation is much better than the Charles Boer's edition.

For those interested in Neo-platonic and Hermetic thought, astrology and magic in the Renaissance this is an essential primary source.

The Italian philosopher Marsilio Ficino, who was renowned for his Latin translations of all Plato's dialogues, set out to prove that the tenets of Platonism, instead of Aristotelianism, were fundamentally compatible with Christianity. He attempted this not only by acting as the primary mover of the Florentine academy, but also through his magnanimous patron Cosimo de' Medici who apportioned Ficino the leisure to commence his monumental work, "The Platonic Theology," which is offered here for the first time in a long-awaited English translation. Marsilio Ficino's work--from what may be seen from the first of five anticipated volumes--is an artful, straightforward representation of the divine philosophy of Plato, magnificently garbed under a brilliant and definitive medieval synthesis. Of the work itself Ficino says, "the Platonic mysteries are set forth as clearly as possible...so that...we may reveal the Platonic teaching, which is in complete accord with the divine law." Like all Christian-Platonists, Ficino used Augustine as a model for his orthodox amalgamation of the teachings of Plato and Christ, and believed so strongly in it that he said, "the Platonic teaching...is related to the divine law of both Moses and Christ as the moon is to the sun." With this in mind, it may be said that the vision of Marsilio Ficino, so clearly manifested in this work, will come as a relief to anyone ardently devoted to the school of Plato and the religion of Christ. The translated works of Ficino are certainly a great benefit to those confined to the English speaking world, and the other up-and-coming volumes in new I Tatti Renaissance Library (Harvard) are likely to produce the same effects. The value of these newly translated masterpieces of western culture cannot be described.

This book is a rather superficial collection of quotations by a great variety of scholars or semi-scholars. The author ssems to be unable to provide a certain coherence or consistency in the work.
The typography is appalling.

Christine Raffini provides an overview of three thinkers who were critical to almost every area of the European Renaissance. Through Raffini's carefully researched account of the evolution of the thought of these men, and through her fine elucidation, the Renaissance is made more accessible to the general reader. As Raffini notes, "if we are to understand Botticelli's "Primavera," the depth of feeling in Maurice Sceve's love poems, the shining enthusiasm in Spencer's hymns...we need to allow Ficino, Bembo, and Castiglione to speak to us and to our times. (145)

I agree wholeheartedly with iamblichos' evaluation of this book. This translation is so confounding that it has taken me years to even broach another text by Ficino. Only the most intrepid Ficino fans could hope to finish this book.

It is with a very heavy heart that I report that Charles Boer's translation of Marsilio Ficino's _Three Books of Life_ (De vita libri tres) is wretched indeed.

Mr. Boer, famous for his 'modern' translations, has buggered poor Ficino's beautiful writing to the point where it is often nigh impossible to decipher the original meaning. He made no effort to learn or utilize even the basic terminology of astrology, rendering Ficino's clear astrological instruction into an incomprehensible muddle. Houses are referred to as 'places', degrees of the zodiac are referred to as 'grades', trines and sextiles become 'third places' and 'sixth places' respectively, and planets have 'coitus' with one another rather than simply being conjunct... O lucky planets! Their supposedly sexual union reflects in heaven what has happened on earth between Mr. Boer and this poor text.

The lack of astrological comprehension is bad enough, but Mr. Boer also seems strangely ignorant of the Neoplatonist philosophy that informs all of Ficino's writings. Although interspersed with practical instructions on how to bring one's life and body into a more healthy alignment with the heavenly powers, this text contains long sections of philosophical theory to show the theoretical underpinnings of the practical work. These theoretical sections are completely incomprehensible; where is Thomas Taylor when we need him? He provided better explanatory notes in the early 1800's than Mr. Boer does in the latter part of the 20th century.

All in all, this work is not for the weak of will; only the stalwart will want to brave the necessary interpretation to get information from this text. To those who are willing to translate the translation, however, this text is a jewel without price - let us hope that it will find a more deserving setting.