The Renaissance Philosophy of Man : Petrarca, Valla, Ficino, Pico, Pomponazzi, Vives

Rating:
Summary: "A Work Benevolent in Intent and Fullfilling in Content"
Review: This work attempts to resurface pieces of encrypted Renaissance literature which have unjustly passed out of the philosophical circles of the recent modern world and does so in a fashion which will be quite beneficial for the student of the Italian Renaissance or for well-versed philosophers who have either passed these texts by accident or sheer intent. Of the works displayed here the reader will find Petrarch in all his refined literary grace and splendor; and the inquirer will no doubt be left impressed with his sharp exposition of suggestive ideas. The great Lorenzo Valla also stands out in all his unique vigor, using the courteous method of the dialouge to impart his opinions on free will. Giovanni Pico Della Mirandola, the youthful champion of liberal studies, is found here as well, spinning the artful web-of-a-work, Oration on the Dignity of Man. A small portion of the giant corpus of Marsilio Ficino's works may also be digested: of the Latin scion of Plato's writings his Five Questions Concerning the Mind will only be discovered here. At last, the Aristotelian Pompanazzi's essay concerning immortality and Juan Luis Vives short work, A Fable About a Man, will be found here as well. Overall, the editors and translators should receive a gold-star for their efforts; the great men who wrote these treasured texts also deserve a place of precedence in the hall of histories men of literary and philosophical genius. A lover of literature, classic or contemporary, should come to grips with this compendium of Renaissance texts.