THE LIFE OF GIOVANNI PICO OF MIRANDOLA

Celestine

Pico had read that the most holy Celestine Pope Celestine V (1215–1296), famous for his "Great Refusal," abdicated the papacy in 1294 to return to his life as a hermit. had abdicated the power of the high pontificate and had shaken off the burden of the entire Christian commonwealth from his shoulders. It was a burden indeed, for which the greatest reward is prepared for those who undergo it; but for those who are unwilling, and who embrace it only for the sake of obedience and helping others, it was most pervasive. To a philosopher, it was not a matter of praise to have accumulated riches, nor to have sought honors, but rather to have rejected them. And by rejecting original: "umbratilem... gloriam" shadowy glory, he sought to attain the true glory which always follows virtues like an inseparable companion and attendant.

Despiser of human glory

He held human glory as next to nothing. He said quite often that fame would benefit the living a little, but the dead not at all. We recognize that he valued his own learning only insofar as it served the utility of the Church and was conducive to eliminating and exploding opposing errors. Furthermore, we perceive that he had reached such a goal of perfection that he cared little if his commentaries were published under his own name or not;

Note

provided that the work done under Pico's name brought some benefit to men. He was very little affected by other books besides the Old and New Testaments, and he had decided to spend the remainder of his life always turning over their pages, unless public utility spurred him otherwise—seeing that so many great things he had conceived and "given birth to" were not only being demanded by everyone everywhere, but were being required even before they were fully mature.

The true instruction of a Christian mind

He valued even the tiniest bit of devotion toward God—whether of a simple person or a little old woman—more than all his own knowledge of human and divine things. He very often advised his friends during conversation that they should notice how much mortal things struggle and falter, and how fleeting and flowing is this life we live, yet how firm and stable is that which we are to become—whether we are cast down to the lower regions or raised up to the heavens.

What he judged concerning loving and knowing God in this life

He urged them to turn and incite their minds toward loving God, for this work outweighed any knowledge we could have in this life. This he also carried out most brilliantly in his book On Being and the One original: "de ente et uno"; Pico’s philosophical treatise attempting to reconcile Plato and Aristotle. when, in the midst of the discussion, turning to Angelo Poliziano A renowned poet and scholar who was Pico's closest intellectual companion. to whom he dedicated the book, he spoke these words:

But see, my Angelo, what madness holds us: while we are in the body, we can love God more than we can either speak of Him or know Him. By loving Him, we benefit ourselves more, we labor less, and we obey Him more. Yet we always prefer, through knowledge, never to find what we seek, rather than to possess through love that which, without love, would even be found in vain.

A saying he frequently had on his lips

That saying of Saint Francis was also frequent in his mouth:

A man knows only as much as he puts into practice.

Excessive generosity

Furthermore, his generosity alone exceeded all measure; he was so far from applying any care to earthly things that he was even spotted with the blemish of negligence. We have found that he was often warned by his friends not to despise riches entirely, asserting that it brought him reproach since it was common knowledge—whether true or false—that he provided his stewards with the opportunity for theft. Nevertheless, that mind, which was always intent on contemplating and searching out the designs of all nature, could not easily lower itself to weigh these lowest and most abject matters. I remember while I was staying with him in Ferrara, a steward presented a small page and sought approval for the expenses. Seeing this, I was struck with wonder and asked if he had finally applied his mind to that which he had neglected in times past. A friend replied that he had not only requested it from him, but demanded that he undertake this duty, which he had done to satisfy custom; but he had only as much care for it as he had before. Moreover, when his primary steward interrupted him to ask that he order an accounting of the money he had handled for many years, so that he might settle his conscience, and brought such books before him, we heard that he replied with these words: "I know that I have very often [received] from you..."