THE LIFE OF GIOVANNI PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA

The eloquence of the Old Law: Augustine, Septimus [Tertullian], Eusebius, Cassiodorus, Tertullian....shorter, and not intentionally stuffed with the riches of the Egyptians A common metaphor in early Christian writing for using pagan philosophy and rhetoric—the "spoils of Egypt"—to serve the truth of Scripture.. Furthermore, he used to proclaim that all the utterances of the Old Law were full of the most consummate science and wisdom. Among others, Augustine shows this brilliantly in his book On Christian Doctrine. Septimus Tertullian, Eusebius Pamphili, and Cassiodorus likewise affirm that the grammarians, rhetoricians, orators, and all the ancient philosophers drank the currents of their own eloquence and learning from the fountains of the Divine Scriptures. Pico himself pursued this duty for other reasons, part of which may be seen in the famous prefaces of the Heptaplus Pico's work providing a seven-fold explanation of the six days of creation in Genesis. and in the prologue of the second exposition, which is well worth the effort to read. Amidst so many constant studyings of the Divine Law, in the second year after the publication of the Heptaplus, he completed a small work titled On Being and the One, which was divided into ten chapters. It was brief in physical size, but great in its power.

The booklet "On Being and the One"Yet it was sprinkled throughout with the deepest doctrines of the philosophers and theological insights. In this work, he demonstrated that "the One" is not superior to "Being," but that they correspond to one another and are equal in scope. He reviewed the controversy held on this matter by the followers of Plato and Aristotle, asserting that those Academics who contended for the contrary had not truly grasped Plato's doctrine. He intended to show that there was no lack of a total commonality of meaning between Aristotle and Plato regarding "the One" and "Being"—as with other matters in general—even if their words seemed to disagree. Finally, in the last chapter of the work, he turned the entire discussion toward the instruction of life and the emendation of morals, doing so with no less genius than religious devotion.

Note

Antonius FaventinusAgainst this work, Antonius Faventinus Antonio Costanzi of Faenza, a contemporary philosopher.—otherwise an excellent philosopher—brought forth several objections in four letters. Pico himself responded to three of these; to the fourth, however, he made no mention that I am aware of—either because it was not faithfully delivered, or because he thought it could be answered from what he had already written, or for some other reason which must be believed to be just. After he departed this life, I myself took up the duty of responding, so that no occasion might be given to the malicious for barking falsehoods, or to the unlearned for believing something sinister. I took the greatest care to show that the response had, for the most part, already been provided by Pico's own preceding statements.

Some Platonic thingsWe have also seen several Platonic works composed by him in the vernacular original: "vernaculo sermone," referring to Italian., in which many things are found that serve to explain ancient theology, and many thoughts of the wise are recounted, hidden in riddles and "scirpi" A Latin term for complex riddles or word-puzzles.. Perhaps, if I obtain greater leisure, I will attempt to render these into Latin, so that the towering doctrine of such a man on these matters might not be tossed before the eyes of the common people in a way that is too easily accessible. Thus far concerning the completed labors which he had sent out before his death—they were like messengers and forerunners of the noble works he had conceived and was forging.

The Old Testament interpretedFor he had already illuminated the Old Testament with the torches of interpretation, and was girding himself to perform the same service for the New. He did not merely bring forth those meanings which the literal series of the text could carry, but upon those places, he built up three other meanings proper to the divine utterances. He compared the discordant readings of our manuscripts with the Greek and Hebrew copies. But this was planted most deeply in his mind—this sat most profoundly among all the projects he had conceived in the genre of commentary: that he would not bring forward the doctrines of others (since they were already possessed, read, and known), but would instead set forth his own entirely original discoveries and meditations. He wished to satisfy hungry souls seeking truth with his own resources, not those of others, to the best of his ability.

Booklet on the truth of Jerome's translationAfter these things, being proficient in the Hebrew idiom, he published a booklet on the truth of Jerome's translation against the calumnies of the Jews. He also wrote a defense for the Seventy Interpreters The Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. regarding the Psalms against the same critics. Booklet on the true reckoning of times Likewise, he wrote a booklet on the true reckoning of times. Finally, to vanquish the seven ho... Likely "Against the seven enemies of the Church" or the beginning of his work against Astrology.

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