THE PREFACE OF MARSILIO FICINO THE FLORENTINE TO THE BOOKS OF PLATO, ADDRESSED TO LORENZO DE' MEDICI, A MAGNANIMOUS MAN.

Divine Providence, which strongly reaches all things and disposes them sweetly original: "fortiter attingens omnia, suauiterq; disponens" — a reference to Wisdom 8:1, magnanimous Lorenzo, has decreed that holy religion should be armed not only by prophets, Sibyls, and priestly teachers, but also uniquely adorned by a certain pious and elegant philosophy. This was done so that piety itself, the origin of all good things, might finally walk as securely among all professors of wisdom and eloquence as it rests safely among its own household. For it was necessary that religion (which is the only way to happiness) be common not only to the unlearned, but also to the more skilled. With this as our guide, we might all more easily and safely reach that blessedness for the sake of which we were born, and toward the attainment of which we labor with effort and zeal. Therefore, Almighty God, at the appointed times, sent down the divine soul of Plato from on high, so that he might illuminate sacred religion among all nations through his life, genius, and marvelous eloquence.

When, however, the Platonic sun had not yet clearly risen for the Latin peoples until this present age, Cosimo Cosimo de' Medici (1389–1464), Lorenzo’s grandfather and Ficino's first patron, the glory of Italy and a man of distinguished piety, striving to propagate the Platonic light—so beneficial to religion—from the Greeks to the Latins, destined me especially for such a great work, having been raised largely within his own household. I, however, although a devotee of the Platonic name from a tender age, undertook a matter so grave not by my own merits, but under the prosperous auspices of your grandfather Cosimo, hoping that divine aid would not fail so necessary and pious a duty. Led primarily by this hope, I entered the Academy; and I made ten of our Plato’s dialogues Latin i.e., translated them into Latin for Cosimo before he yielded to nature. After his death, I gave nine dialogues to be read by your father Piero Piero de' Medici (1416–1469), known as 'the Gouty', a most excellent man. But after Piero departed from this life, Fortune, often envious of noble works, tried to drag me away from the duty of translation against my will. Yet you, both a devotee of religion and a patron of philosophy, recalled me to the undertaking with all your favor and help.

For this reason, I have returned to the assigned task under happy auspices once more. I have not only translated, but have also partly touched upon the Platonic mind with arguments, and partly explained it as far as I could with brief commentaries. Thus, the whole work, now finished by divine aid, I most freely dedicate to you. To you also belong by hereditary right those works inscribed to your ancestors; for you are truly the heir of your grandfather’s and father’s virtue in honoring the fatherland. You will read among the dialogues a funeral oration of Plato dedicated to your pious brother Giuliano Giuliano de' Medici, assassinated in the Pazzi Conspiracy of 1478. Furthermore, when you come to the book On Kingship, you will see that Federico, Duke of Urbino, was honored by me on that day when he honorably visited your home. Not only are the thirty-seven books marked with your title alone yours, but all of them are ultimately yours, since all were completed for your sake, and I myself am yours. Nor do I claim to have fully expressed the Platonic style in these books; nor again do I believe it could ever be expressed by anyone, however much more learned.

On the Platonic style.

I speak of a style not so much like human eloquence as like a divine oracle: often thundering from on high, often flowing with nectarean sweetness, but always embracing heavenly secrets. Indeed, just as the world is fortified by three principal gifts—utility, order, and ornament—and through these testifies to us of a divine craftsman, so the Platonic style abounds in three gifts: the philosophical utility of its thoughts, the oratorical order of its arrangement and elocution, and the poetic ornament of its flowers. Everywhere it uses divine witnesses and offers the most certain testimony concerning God, the architect of the world.

Plato should be read by the learned.

Farewell then, Magnanimous Lorenzo; let all those stay far away who demand from Plato only the most minute rules for educating children. Let others instruct the unlearned; but let the learned finally approach the Platonic doors, to carry away from there not so much childish rudiments as divine mysteries.

Plato’s preparations.

I said "finally," Lorenzo, for a reason. For our Plato, before he pours forth divine oracles, lest sacred things become common to the profane, leads the minds of his listeners gradually to the highest path by a threefold way: purification, resolution, and conversion. For this reason, many things are read in Plato pertaining to purifying minds from disturbances. More things, again, pertain to releasing minds from the senses. Most of all pertain to converting them, both toward themselves and toward God, the author of all things; toward whom, as toward the sun, once rightly converted, they may be happily illuminated by the desired rays of truth. Meanwhile, our Plato, while he treats in hidden ways the duty necessary for the human race, sometimes seems to jest and play. But the Platonic games and jests are far weightier than the serious matters of the Stoics. Nor does he disdain to wander through certain humbler things, provided that by gradually capturing his humbler listeners, he may more easily lead them back to the heights. He frequently mixes the useful with the sweet with a very grave purpose: so that by the modest charms of speech, he may entice minds naturally prone to pleasure, using the bait of pleasure itself to lead them to the food of salvation. He also often fashions fables in the poetic manner; since the style of Plato itself is not so much philosophic—