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1.mythos

Ficino's understanding of the soul corresponds to the myth said by Socrates in Phaedrus. He depicts souls as chariots, dragged by a pair of winged horses on a celestial sphere. While divine souls have both horses same as well as perfectly bred, human horses are different from each other, one tends to maintain the level of celestial sphere, the second one is weak and lured by lesser spheres, so both drag the chariot in another direction. Charioteer tries to control them both to maintain his flight level, but it's hard for him, because human needs to deal with lesser spheres of the material world as well as contemplate divine ideas, what he cannot do at the same time. Charioteer fails, makes errors, 'loses wings' and falls to the earth.

2.ontological scheme

There is a difference between the ontological conception of the myth by Plato and by Ficino: Plato tried to mention the inability of human to reach some kind of higher existence, while Ficino imagines this mythical chariot as an 'original state' of soul, being spatially positioned on the highest sphere of the universe, in the ptolemaic sense. They agree with each other on the freedom and role of the human will in the descent - it's only human's fault, that it doesn't follow the right way of living, like when drunkard drinks too much even if it is unhealthy for him. It's in human nature, that the soul and body degenerates. Core idea is human irresponsible omission of its tasks in restraining this nature.

3.contemplation/consideration

Ficino and Allen speak of two modes of thinking: contemplative and considerative. As long, as human contemplates the Ideas, which dwell on the highest sphere, he maintains the right flying level. When he, however, starts to think about them and sets an alternative (what's remission), his 'knowledge' of ideas is replaced by only an 'opinion' about them. Thus one may stop desire their fulfillment any more (intermission) or dismiss them wholly. In this we may see how human thinking qualitatively changes in the descent. Remission of higher ideas is a source of their intermission, which is a cause of their dismisal, and thus of soul's descent. Soul doesn't see all higher ideas as equal, but one of them more and others less, while those dominant determinate determinate soul's character, when it is born. The more ideas are remitted, the deeper has the soul 'fallen' into the matter (in a gnostic sense).

4.return

But Ficino retains optimism, and altough a soul has fallen into a material body, it may purify itself from it by a certain cycles of lives and deaths. Freshly descended soul needs 10 (10 is in pythagorean tradition a universal number - 1+2+3+4) lifes (under influence of any of the 9 Ideas - 3^3; 3 is a number of completeness, thus 9 is a "solid" number representing earth and material body). One cycle of a birth, purgation and restitution in another body takes 1000 years (10^3; when 10 it is cubed, one may think of imbuing earth with universality, with Ideas). A good philosopher needs to live only 3000 years (first cycle in a standard, earthly body, next in one made of an impure air, and then finally in an aetheric one). Usually, all souls are born as philosophers at first, but they fail in their tasks and has to live then full 10k years, being purified wholly (inshallah) in the last cycle. After death of a body, its soul is judged to either ascend or remain in the same form. Soul is never judged to descend into a lesser form of body. By remitting perception of Ideas and letting earthly inclinations a soul degenerate as by its own fault (in this way Ficino interpretes Plato's idea of incarnation of human soul into a beast). Right preservence of Ideas leads to correct desires and thus to a positive and helpful ascension. The core idea of Ficino is, that moral life is a thing of creating right habits, more similar to a continuity of a "healthy life" than that of mystical self-forgetting.

Ivan Šimko










1.mýtus o vozatajovi
1.1.dve protichodné sily v duši človeka
1.2.prirodzený charakter ich aktivity
1.3.zapríčinenie pádu
2.ficinovská duša
2.1.zrodenie
2.2.rozvoj
2.3.úpadok
2.4.zlepšenie
2.4.1.matematika idey
2.4.2.prevtelovanie
2.5.beštializácia
2.6.cieľ
2.7.hriech


voz vedeny dusou je tahany dvoma konmi; u bohov su oba skvele, no u ludi je vzdy jeden lepsi, inklinujuci k bohom, a jeden horsi, stahujuci voz k zemi; ulohou duse je obidva zosuladit a doviest ich do ciela, ktorym je kontemplacia sveta

1.1.
submerse (úpadok), claudicare (krívanie), victium (pochybenie)
duša sa sklada z dvoch síl, kontemplácie božského a riešenia pozemského
1.2.
nieje ovládaná Bohom, ale sebe vlastnou prirodzenou èinnosou (actio vegetalis)
vô¾a (affectus) a èinnos (actus)
nerozvíjanie (remittere, opak zamýš¾ania - intendere, resp.extremnej formy excitari)
zabrzdenie (intermittere)
zanechanie (dismittere)
1.3.
chybí jazdec, kone to len zneužívajú
pád duše je spôsobený remisiou rozmýš¾ania
oslabujúce sily majú svoj prirodzený priestor
prirodzená nutnos (adrastia)
slabos ako remisia vyšších a intenzifikácia nižších síl
kontemplácia je vyššia èinnos ako rozmýš¾anie


clovek musi svoje chyby, resp.inklinaciu k nim predpokladat; nesmie povolit nizsim silam, aby rozptylovali tie vyssie; hmotne tuzby mozu zvrhnut aj dobry dar idey, vtedy je vedena vyssia cinnost tak, ze kultivuje hmotu, je teda 'rozptylena' niecim nizsim

2.1.
kazda dusa vidi aspon jednu z vyssich idey (bohov) na nu sa viaze a zaklada svoj charakter
niektore duse vidia viac (plura), ine menej (pauciora)
2.2.
vidiet viac z idey znamena aj pochopit ju lepsie, kvalitativne
podobne prepojenie duse a idey nieje u Platona
sedem planetarnych darov (tvorivost, jemnost, laska, proroctvo, odvaha, moc, kontemplacia)
dobre formy rozvoja (kral, filozof, umelec, milovnik)
2.3.
zvrhle formy (lokalny politik, fortune-teller, remeselnik, imitator, sofista, tyran)


zlepsenie stavu duse nastava ocistou; filozof sa ocisti najrychlejsie, za tri vymeny tiel, ostatni ludia potrebuju trochu viac, no vzdy pod mocou jednej vyssej idey

2.4.
výmenou tiel je možné zlepšiť aj dušu
pocet potrebnych zivotov nevychadza z poctu bohov, ale inych cisel
2.4.1.
3 ako prve kompletne cislo, alebo ako pevne cislo (podla 3 rozmerov kocky), zem
10 ako univerzalne cislo, univerzalita cloveka
1000 (10 na 3.) ako univerzalno spojene so zemou (10 'earthed'), cas zlepsenia cloveka
2.4.2.
po smrti su duse sudene, tie dobre dostanu lepsie telo
filozofsky prechod (pozemske telo->vzdusne telo->etericke, ciste vzdusne, telo, 3000 rokov)
normalny prechod (9 zivotov a 10 inkarnacii, 10 000 rokov)
2.5.
moznost skazenia (in bestiarum commertia; to surrender to beastly passions and habits)
metempsychozu vraj priniesol Plotinus
superimpose itself on the soul of beasts do takej miery, ze sa jej dusa pripodobni
ascend je zlozity, lebo ludske duse maju zle telo
2.6.
znovuzískanie krídel a návrat k bohom
jazyk Foriem spred narodenia
duša vidí po ascende to, čo pred pádom (idey)
poznanie je ascend, ascend je poznanie
2.7.
človek nieje k zlu odsúdený ako za hriech, ide o sebazničenie




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al-caid
 al-caid      22.11.2007 - 10:53:31 , level: 1, UP   NEW

1.Preface

"The mind imposes this framework which it calls 'reality'. That arbitrary framework has a tendency to be quite independent of what your senses report." - F.Herbert

We can speak about Renaissance philosophy as characterized by an idea, that human is a reflection of all principles in the universe. Soul and body contain all types of physical forces, all elements of matter, mind and consciousness are also believed to give human a similar role as that of supernatural beings. A human is a microcosm; who would understand the functionality of human, would essentialy know how the whole universe works. It may be read reflectively: researching of natural systems could help us to understand ways of human thinking, possibly even social relations. Human is seen as the main battlefield of various elemental forces, particularily as four humours (blood, phlegm, yellow and black bile), whose equilibrium was thought to be the cause of health; on the other, abstractly, as soul and matter, where angelic origin of the soul tries to restrain demonic flesh from pulling the whole into the hell. As world is a place of contact between spiritual and material, eternal and vicissive, the same goes for human, who is a model of an eternal soul and slowly dying body. Marsilio Ficino, greatest of the renaissantic Platonists, gives a similar theory. Ontology and ethics are mutually interconnected, both finding its final cause in the eternity and stability. The essence of the teaching could be read more poetically than philosophically; we have here a notion of ancient cult of circle, symbolism of stars, eternally orbitting around (or above) the Earth. And also about an Earth trying to liken itself to these stars by catching its light, which, however, quickly fades in the matter.


2.Manicheism and Neoplatonism

At least two great traditions are known in the history of european thought, which developed a resistance against the material world, namely the Manicheism and Neoplatonism. Manichees succeeded the movement of Gnosis, syncretic religion whose creed combined greek and egyptian pagan rites with contemporary philosophy, Christianity and especially Zoroastrism. At least in the case of Christianity, the influence was mutual, while Mání considered himself to be a christian prophet*. Mání was an iranian priest of 3rd century AD, whose followers spreaded the believe as far as China and Rome. The teaching had many followers in armed forces, however emperors of both Rome and Iran were often repressing it. The core of the teaching was dualism: two ontologic powers, light and darkness, were thought to mix themselves in what we call the world, while trying to suppress each other. Moral teaching was an eschatological one, calling humans to support the light. By cleansing the own body from material delusions one cleansed also a part of the world of darkness. The strength of the teaching was its dialectics: one could have not argued against their creed without being automatically declared a supporter of the devil, of darkness. Already the existence of an opposite view of their creed could have been used as a theologic proof. Thus Christianity and perhaps even more intesively Islam were in general very hostile towards Manichees as well. Yet in 10th century, Muhammad al-Máturídí in Samarqand wrote an essay** against "Dualists", who were to think, that world is everlasting and thus islamic eschatology would lose sense; in next centuries, traces of Manichees vanish even from this region. There are only fragments left of Mání's scriptures, but numerous theologic critics show much about them. Some foundations of believe could be seen already in Avesta°, including the idea of two external powers of good and evil, trying to get control of a human mind. Ficino mentions Zoroastrian faith in his Commentary too; identifying its "hypostatical trinity" of Ohrmuzd, Mithra and Ahriman with that of Neoplatonists°°.

Plotinus, a contemporary of Mání of egyptian origin, founded a greek philosophical school in Rome. His teaching is summarized in Enneads, mystical scripture, whose first modern translation into Latin was done by Ficino himself. The term "Neoplatonism" is in fact an invention of 19th century; the distinction between the ideas of Plotinus and Plato could be expressed not more than "late Platonism". Unlike Mání, Plotinus is a monist. The first principle is thought to be one, indefinable, it can't be described by any worldly cathegory. He calls it God, but he doesn't think He was fully hidden from human knowledge. God pereives and affects only Himself, what causes an universal Intellect composed of primal ideas to exist. This also cannot think about something else than itself, and in this way it creates a World Soul, which develops the ideas of Intellect. World Soul is then the creative cause of the world, being contained in everything heavenly or earthly***. It's a principle of quantification, which refines the ideas of Intellect into a material form, into Cosmos. Plotinus saw Cosmos as something eternal, or more accurately, everlasting. Everlasting were also motions of heavenly bodies like stars or planets, as well as natural circulation of water and air in the sublunar world****. But even these phenomena don't last forever because of some inherent force, they endure only thanks to their eternal source, the Soul*****. Similarily, he thought there was an individual soul in a human, emanated by the World Soul and animating his material body. Plotinus thought about a certain connection between body and soul, which was to be a source of the feelings and also of evil******. Evil is roughly an ignorance of good; thus a human character is composed of desires, which aim his awareness to the matter and of soul, which leads it to the good*******. The idea is hierarchic here: soul is a higher form of existence, commanding the body, while desire is something lesser, more seducing than forcing it.

* Besides Augustine and the others, who with their criticism helped the distintion between catholic christian and manichean creed, Manichees influented many smaller churches of the East. Of these, for example, the Sabeans, worshipping John the Baptist as the true Son of God, were accepted by muslim authorities as "People of the Book" and tolerated. In the western Christianity, there were only few sects teaching dualist doctrines, like Bogomils and Albigenes.
** Kitáb at-Tawhíd, Book of Unity
° Y 30,4-7: "Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves in vision as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action. And between these two the wise ones chose aright, the foolish not so. And when these twain Spirits came together in the beginning, they created Life and Not-Life, and that at the last Worst Existence shall be to the followers of the Lie, but the Best Existence to him that follows Right. Of these twain Spirits he that followed the Lie chose doing the worst things; the holiest Spirit chose Right, he that clothes him with the massy heavens as a garment. So likewise they that are fain to please Ahura Mazda by dutiful actions. Between these twain the Daevas also chose not aright, for infatuation came upon them as they took counsel together, so that they chose the Worst Thought. Then they rushed together to Violence, that they might enfeeble the world of men. And to him (i.e. mankind) came Dominion, and Good Mind, and Right and Piety gave continued life to their bodies and indestructibility, so that by thy retributions through (molten) metal he may gain the prize over the others."
°° Ficino, p.50; It's correctness may be doubted, however it is interesting that World Soul is identified with the archdevil.
*** Enneads V,1,2
**** Enneads II,1,3
***** Enneads, II,1,6: "On this principle, nothing possesses an essential-nature of its very own; every several thing is a blend, and its name is merely an indication of the dominant constituent."
****** Enneads, I,1,9
******* Goodness is the essence of the World Soul, also the goal of human individuality is its reunion with it, as written in Enneads I,1,12: "When we tell of the sinless Soul, we make Soul and Essential-Soul one and the same: it is the simple unbroken Unity." Beings without an individual soul are animated directly by the World Soul, a human must try to be influented by it. The question, why were human souls individualized and not held within the single existence, is partly solved by Ficino's ideas, tough in a more dualist view.


3.ontologenesis

Ficino used the Plato's charioteer allegory from Phaedrus to describe the process of creation of an individual soul. Socrates is describing a human soul to the young man; soul is like a flying chariot for him, dragged by two very different winged horses. When the charioteer makes a slight error while driving, whole chariot is in trouble, as both horses drag it naturaly in another direction. The idea is bound here to that of perfect motion of stars in the heaven. Human, individualized souls are those, which had made this error and fell from the eternal, predestined orbits to become flesh. However, the meanings of Plato's original and Ficino's interpretation seem to be distinct. Plato seems to show how we are affected by moral dilemmas, seductions of daily life, such as Phaedrus could be for Socrates in the scene. Ficino sees it as an ontogenetic phenomenon, ascribing an angelic origin to human and error, which leads to life as an individual. From ethical viewpoint, Plato speaks about human limitations, imperfection, which makes him distinct from celestial gods; Ficino, quite inversely, describes it as a primal fall, which implies a possibility of return to the original divine state by a ascent, rediscovery and acceptance of ideas, which hold this state. His genuine interpretation of this myth has roots in a different view of human psychic structure, but there is primarily a difference in ethics. Ficino's interpretation eschatologic. That also shows, why the difference between Plato and Plotinus, temporarily only about half millenium, seems to be wider than that between Plotinus and Ficino.

While soul origins in a parting from an eternal whole, there remains a question how a body is created. Ficino described the process as parallel: a body is made in its mother during the conception and soul parts from the whole in the same moment. Body attracts the soul by having similar properties, what causes it to "fall" from eternity and conjoin with the body, thus creating a human*. Here we can see three sources of motives for human: at first there is the "white horse", nature of soul, which is the return to the eternity; then there is its attraction by matter, body, which tries to liken to it; and in the end the character of human, a "charioteer", which tries to hold them in a harmony. Attraction and ability to control himself are all determined by many, widely by astrological factors. Soul descends always under an influence of a certain eternal idea. Body, conceived under a certain astral constellation, attracts a soul with properties characterized by it. If a soul would fall trough the sphere of Jupiter, one can expect the kid to become temperament and clever; it could fall trough Saturn, making it deep thinking and contemplative; or trough Venus, to make it ardent, devoted lover**. The spheres of heaven (planets and stars) are reflections of eternal ideas, which were also to be reflected in pagan pantheons. These ideas are not perceived by the soul, it is the idea which reflects on the soul, which forms it. Soul then reflects this idea on a body. When a soul falls, it is like apraising an own work; like some narcisstic Pygmalion. According to Ficino, we can say about the whole world, that it is a reflection of an idea of good. Goodness (reflection of the One) reflects itself on truth (equalled to the neoplatonic Intellect), this on beauty (World Soul) and finally on the material world. With every reflection, the original idea is modified, weakened, until it loses itself in the matter.

* Ficino, p.76; for comparision Enneads I,1,12: "Thus the Life is one thing, the Act is another and the Expiator yet another. The retreat and sundering, then, must be not from this body only, but from every alien accruement. Such accruement takes place at birth; or rather birth is the coming-into-being of that other [lower] phase of the Soul. For the meaning of birth has been indicated elsewhere; it is brought about by a descent of the Soul, something being given off by the Soul other than that actually coming down in the declension."
** Ficino, p.97; The soul, when born in the heavens, is at first unable to comprehend the full splendor of its creator, God. It finds a clue about him in the dim reflection of him, in the beauty of matter.


4.ethics

Matter is for a character a seduction, but the eternal ideas may be seen in the same way. The principle is dualist here: matter is a dirt, from which a soul has to clean itself of, altough it may find it interesting at first. Manichean and christian teachings in general are close to each other in this point. Evil attracts humans by its immediate offer, which may be considered as a gain even if it would do more damage later. Good is characterized vice versa by a temporary sacrifice and gain in the long run. Ficino shows such a long-term plan not only for a whole life, but already for ten of them*. The soul would not be directly judged by God after its death; it remains on Earth to be reborn in a new, possibly higher form of body, deeper in thoughts and more resistant to seductions. Matter itself isn't purely negative here. Ethics is bound to an idea of remembrance: material, particularily visual beauty may inspire a human to search for a higher, ideal beauty**. Beauty in any form is a reflection of eternal ideas, in the same way as a human character reflects the astrologic constellation during his birth. As a human may by self-examination come to understand the ideas, which determined his character, thus by contemplating beauty may he understand the other ideas in their abstraction. To know the idea of beauty leads to knowledge of truth; what leads to knowledge of good, the goal of ethics and way to ascendancy.

Ficino understood beauty primarily as the cause and main object of love***; for the commented Symposium, it was personified in goddess Venus. On her he again mentiones the dualism of soul and matter. As we have these two forms of existence, so we have also two types of beauty and two of love; two Venuses. On the one hand, we have Venus, which is a part of Intellect (as mythical daugther of Uranus), without any matter or mother at all. On the other hand, there is one parted from the Intellect as a World Soul**** (as a daughter of Jupiter and Dione), bound with matter and sensuality. One inspires the reason, leading it to knowledge of truth and God by contemplating beauty; another acts by activising and seducing body, causing sexual desire****. Ficino doesn't think of the latter to be "true" love, however its power is the same as of the former, if not greater. As a soul can't comprehend God during its birth, so also when living we cannot comprehend the "real" love so easily. A soul is adult when (and only when, read as equivalence), when it searches for God behind the beauty of the beloved. What restrains is is something "unknown", desire. which erased all original knowledge of God****** already during the birth with senses, like the Manichean bodily prison. The problem would be, however, a question whether this "unknown" cause of sensual love isn't more fundamental for love than reason. Another problem is the definition of beauty: do we search for an "engraved image" of ourselves*******, what Ficino doesn't even consider a question? Or even if beauty activies love, is it the only property of the beloved, which preserves it? Perhaps reason searches for common traits in the beloved, but the desire in most cases doesn't, quite oppositely. Love is also weakened, when it searches for its cause beyond the beloved. Inside the Ficino's system, however, it seems that when not searching for it, one is unable to love at all.

* All referring to Allen, ch.7.
** Ficino, p.191
*** Ficino, p.58: "For love is the desire of enjoying beauty."
**** Good reminder on devil Ahriman.
***** Ficino, p.54
****** Ficino, p.76
******* Ficino, p.90


5.conclusion

Ficino's system seems to show human as not the one forming knowledge, but only unraveling it. The problem is of the teaching is, that it it is a closed system, where every part passes to each other, but all unpassing elements are simply ignored or avoided. He doesn't consider senses to be relevant even for a sensual experience. Altough the world is essentialy beautiful and coherent, any fact blurring this beauty or clearness would be thought to be a seduction by matter, short-termed bait. There lurks a very strong, but hidden idea, that if a human doesn't uncover some fact, he would have to accept it later. It's a cyclical system, where every knowledge serves to support the hypothesis. If it was contradicting it, Ficino wouldn't change the premises, but the conclusion, which in an ideal case should be the same as the hypothesis. It is no system to discover new facts, but to reformulate the old ones. In the ethics it is a perfect one to support a present situation, to prevent any criticizm. Of course, it seems Ficino was in no way a reformer, just he tried to show what he considered to be an eternal truth in "modern" terms.



literature


Avesta, tr.K.Kanga, http://www.avesta.org/yasna/yasna.htm, 26.10.2007
Plato - Phaedrus, tr.B.Jowett, http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/phaedrus.html, 26.10.2007
Plato - Symposium, tr.B.Jowett, http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/symposium.html, 26.10.2007
Plotinus - Enneads, tr.S.MacKenna and B.S.Page, http://classics.mit.edu/Plotinus/enneads.html, 26.10.2007
Ficino, Marsilio - Commentary on Love, tr.by S.Jayne, 2002
Allen, Michael - The Platonism of Marsilio Ficino

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al-caid
 al-caid      25.01.2008 - 14:28:14 , level: 2, UP   NEW


Reason and Love


1.Preface

Personality of Marsilio Ficino is, and surely will be, respected as the one, who presented ideas of Plato to the intellectual society of Renaissance. However, it isn't the translation in focus of this text, but Ficino's genuine Commentaries on them; especially the one on the Phaedrus dialogue. Michael Allen in his work "Platonism of Marsilio Ficino" tried to construct a complex cosmology based on its ideas, as well as to show influences from various ancient sources, which, sometimes covertly, sometimes openly, entered the whole. Among these, the most contrasting are the ideas of Plotinus, whose works have been translated by Ficino too. But also, while opening the questions of psychology, variety of spiritual beings and material beauty, the Neoplatonic system doesn't dominate any more. Ficino was a Christian priest, and it was important for him to describe these phenomena in a way, which would correspond that of the Catholic tradition 1.

From Allen's viewpoint it would seem, that Ficino had chosen a very hard way, combining more different theologies - Greek polytheism, Neoplatonism, Christianity - compromising the aspects which are contradictive. In the centre of both works, Ficino's and Allen's, lays the Charioteer myth. This myth shows a human soul as some incomplete thing, which has to be improved not only "directly" through reason, but also by material means, contemplation of beauty, love. Being aware of ethical meaning of matter in the previously mentioned traditions of theology, which come up in that of Ficino, we may look into a fourth system, Manicheism, as well as its (quite vaguely definable) predecessor, Gnosticism. Adversity of both Neoplatonic and Christian writers created quite a large number of critical works, thanks to which we are aware of its former existence on the Western religious scene. Questions are, into what extent was Ficino aware of its teachings and how he handled them in his Commentaries.

1 - Allen, p.15


2.Manicheism

Mání was an Iranian priest of 3rd century AD, whose followers spreaded the believe as far as China and Rome. The teaching had many followers in armed forces, however emperors of both Rome and Iran were often repressing it. The core of the teaching was dualism: two ontologic powers, Light and Darkness, were thought to mix themselves in what we call the world, while trying to suppress each other. Moral teaching was an eschatological one, calling humans to support the light. They believed in a primordial state, when both Light and Darkness were perfectly distinguished until the Darkness attacked the realm of Light and the present world was created. By cleansing the own body from material delusions one cleansed also a part of the world of Darkness. They believed, that by this way, the Light will once suppress the Darkness completely. This third era will, then, last forever 1.

The strength of the teaching could have been its dialectics: one couldn't have argued against their creed without being automatically declared a supporter of the devil, of darkness. Already the existence of an opposite view of their creed could have been used as a theologic proof. Thus Christianity and perhaps even more intesively Islam were in general very hostile towards Manichees as well. Yet in 10th century, Muhammad al-Máturídí in Samarqand wrote an essay 2 against "Dualists", who were to think, that world is everlasting and thus any eschatology would lose sense 2 ; in next centuries, traces of Manichees vanish even from this region. Some foundations of believe could be seen already in Avesta 4, including the idea of two external powers of good and evil, trying to get control of a human mind. Ficino mentions Zoroastrian faith in his Commentary too; identifying its "hypostatical trinity" of Ohrmuzd, Mithra and Ahriman with that of Neoplatonists.

But the Zoroastrian aspects are not very relevant for the topic. In Christianity, Manichee movement is seen as an important part of the enviroment of young St.Augustine. According to him, Manichees saw human as a mere mixture of two opposite realities - material and spiritual - while both were to be of the same nature as that of their Gods 5. Augustine, who sees this as a certain sign of their "pride", argues generally in two ways. First, that human as a whole complex can't be reduced to its constituent elements 6; last, the nature of human soul is different from God's as it is subject of change and as itself could bear vices 7. In the Manichean view (or more correctly, Augustine's understanding of it), a soul itself cannot commit sins, only the body does, if not restrained by it; soul is a part of God and same as the spirit, which Augustine distinguishes from each other (and God as well). Interesting is, that is the similarity between God and human spirit which he finds to be the core of the Manichean heresy towards Christian creed 8 instead of their dualism, criticized by Muslim theologians. Question is, how far Ficino saw the human as a complex and (to various living elements) irreducible being like Augustine.

1 - On Genesis (intro), p.33
2 - Kitáb at-Tawhíd; Rudolph, p.284
3 - Rudolph, p.284; a similar problem is in the Enneads II,9,§7
4 - Y 30,4-7: "Now the two primal Spirits, who reveal themselves in vision as Twins, are the Better and the Bad, in thought and word and action. And between these two the wise ones chose aright, the foolish not so. And when these twain Spirits came together in the beginning, they created Life and Not-Life, and that at the last Worst Existence shall be to the followers of the Lie, but the Best Existence to him that follows Right. Of these twain Spirits he that followed the Lie chose doing the worst things; the holiest Spirit chose Right, he that clothes him with the massy heavens as a garment. So likewise they that are fain to please Ahura Mazda by dutiful actions. Between these twain the Daevas also chose not aright, for infatuation came upon them as they took counsel together, so that they chose the Worst Thought. Then they rushed together to Violence, that they might enfeeble the world of men. And to him (i.e. mankind) came Dominion, and Good Mind, and Right and Piety gave continued life to their bodies and indestructibility, so that by thy retributions through (molten) metal he may gain the prize over the others."
5 - On Genesis, II,§11, p.78; The passage deals with Gn 2,7: "And He blew into him the spirit of life and the man was made into a living soul." which Manichees seem to interprete in a way, that a part of God, "His breath", entered a body, which was at first a mere bunch of mud. Augustine argues (§10) at first, that the body had even before this blewing of spirit a certain soul, which animated the body. "Spiritus hominis" than may denote a certain state of bliss, attained by the position of a human in the Paradise or simply the reasoning power of soul, what he supports with the Bible.
6 - On Genesis, II,§9, p.77
7 - On Genesis, II,§11, p.78
8 - On Genesis, II,§38, p.79


3.Neoplatonism

On the other hand, Plotinus was a contemporary of Mání, his teaching developed parallely. However, he dealed with a wider field of Gnosticism, similar to Manichean creed in many factors. 9th tractate of the Second Ennead was dedicated to the Gnostic understanding of the material world. In fact, cosmology of the Enneads is based on a trinity of idealistic hypostases - One (God), Mind (containing ideal forms, Reason) and universal Soul 1, while the matter is a substance to be formed; in essence it is pure and simple, incorporeal 2. As it is always being formed by some higher Reason, ideal forms, it doesn't exist at all in its essential form 3. Thus the higher Reason, by means of the universal Soul, is omnipresent in the Cosmos 4. Matter itself doesn't seem to be active, nor existent principle, quite incapable of affecting beings of immaterial nature - like ie human soul. Gnostic hostility towards the world, seems to Plotinus to be an effect of ignorance of the cosmic order 5. For Gnostics, matter is seen as some kind of illusion, which would then have to be created by souls. Similarily as Manichees, they believed the substance of the world was Darkness, which is so powerful, that the Light of God simply gets lost in it 6.

For Plotinus, matter is dark as well, but "Matter (as a recipient) to the Supreme Intelligence, is also noble as being at once informed by divine intellect and uncompounded" 7. In both Gnosticism and Manicheism, soul of man is of a divine nature, not only origin, like in the Enneads 8. Divinity is clearly distinguished from the nature of souls, in a fashion (perhaps) adopted by Augustine too: God doesn't change, souls (and the universal Soul) do 9. We can say, for both Neoplatonist and Gnostic/Manichean understanding, the matter was of same (very low) value, but one couldn't say it about the world as a whole. Unlike Gnostics, Plotinus disagreed with any notion of an "evil divine being", which would exist within the universe 10; divinity is a similar notion as eternity, evil can occur only in the level of time. In the Manichean view, there is an absolute time, in which interactions of both principial powers occur 11. Only time itself is understood as eternal; possible victor in the eternal struggle between Light and Darkness would be for Plotinus (or Augustine) merely everlasting.

1 - Enneads V,1,§1
2 - Enneads II,4,§8
3 - Enneads II,4,§16
4 - Enneads V,1,§2; or II,9,§11: "An image of Soul could not demand darkness or Matter, but wherever formed it would exhibit the character of the producing element and remain in close union with it."
5 - Enneads II,9,§13
6 - Elsas, p.112
7 - Enneads V,1,§3
8 - Enneads I,1,§8
9 - Enneads I,2,§3
10 - Enneads III,1,§6
11 - On Genesis, p.33 (intro)


4.Ficino

In many conflicting questions, Ficino prefers Neoplatonist solutions instead of those of dualism. In the ideas of soul's descent 1 (and new ascent), however, the both paradigms seem to merge. The three eras of Manichean universe - perfect order, mixture and cleansing - are similarily reflected on the way, which the human souls experience on their way to Salvation. It is in the nature of a "less perfect" human soul, that it can be seduced by matter, which exists in the lowest sphere of the cosmos. A soul doesn't have only reason, but also love; which Ficino presents as an appreciation of beauty of an object, which consequently causes desire for it 2. Unlike Manichees, the Earth in no way intervenes in the celestial sphere materially; the highest sphere remains intact. However, by any influence of it on the Earth, it creates an image of itself. Earth has an ability to bear an image of divinity and thanks to it, it may become in certain way active, enchanting the souls with its beauty.

As the souls of men are imperfect, they may be deceived by these images, and forget to compare it with their higher divine archetype. It is knowledge about these archetypes, which held the soul in the right sphere. However, there may come up a sudden fascination, metaphorically not different from fall in love, with the image, so beautiful, that it resembles the archetype. In this moment, the "black steed" of the Chariot takes over 3 and the soul an ability to hold its sphere, "falling" to the Earth. In this, it is mixed with the body and has to withstand a number of reincarnations, during which the soul may refine the matter of its body into better substance (air, aethyr) by amassing knowledge of all kinds. As it conjoins love and reason again, seeing trough beauty of the images the beauty of their archetypes 4, the soul finally frees itself, joining the eternal sphere of heavens again 5.

Ficino remains a Christian and a Platonist in his monotheism, understanding of only one spiritual principle. Good, Truth and Beauty 6 - the goals of soul's activity (in general, of reason and of love) - are eternal archetypes, which seem to represent the Mind hypostasis of Neoplatonic hierarchy. However, as the cosmology of the Spheres 7 implies eternity of the world, there remains a question if he beared Christian (or Augustinian) thoughts about time and creation of man in mind when commenting Phaedrus. The Salvation, as fortunate result of the soul's descent, doesn't include some repentance of sins and it's based on an astrological setting, which would allow the human to make right discoveries 8. And as the astral sphere is of a divine character, it could be said, that this Salvation occurs through both Gnosis and divine Mercy 9 at once.

1 - Allen, p.165-184
2 - Allen, p.56
3 - Allen, p.167
4 - Allen, p.176: "The lover and the poet-musician are subdivisions of the philosopher, defined as the lover of wisdom and abstract beauty; for whereas the lover loves visual beauty and the musician audible beauty, the philosopher is born to examine all beauty."
5 - Allen, p.181
6 - Allen, p.185
7 - Allen, p.144-164
8 - Allen, p.182
9 - or also mystical unity with God in love


5.Conclusion

We can speak about philosophy of Renaissance as characterized by an idea, that human is a reflection of all principles in the universe. Soul and body contain all types of physical forces, all elements of matter, mind and consciousness are also believed to give human a similar role as that of supernatural beings. A human is a microcosm; who would understand the functionality of human, would essentialy know how the whole universe works. It seems to be typical for a Renaissance philosopher - and especially for a follower of Plato - to prefer coherence of his theory before its correspondence to sensual reality. An idealistic construction, anthropomorphous metaphysics, was thus a mutual goal of not only Mání and Plotinus, but also of Ficino.

The solution is, that his system tries to show human being as not the one who forms the knowledge, but rather one who unravels it. The problem of the teaching is, that it is a closed system, where every part passes to each other, and many incompatible elements are ignored or avoided. He doesn't consider senses to be relevant even for a sensual experience. Altough the world is essentialy beautiful and coherent, any fact blurring this beauty or clearness would be thought to be a seduction by matter, short-termed bait. There lurks a very strong, but not explicitly formulated idea, that if a human doesn't uncover some fact, he would have to accept it later. It's a cyclical system, where every knowledge serves to support the hypothesis. If it was contradicting it, Ficino wouldn't change the premises, but the conclusion, which, in an ideal case, should be the same as the hypothesis. It is no system to discover new facts, but to reformulate the old ones - and even the mutually contradicting ones. Of course, it seems Ficino was in no way a reformer, just he tried to show what he considered to be an eternal truth in "modern" terms; what makes of his texts an interesting reading.











literature


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Augustinus Aurelius - On Genesis, tr.by E.Hill OP, NY: New City Press, 2002
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Allen, Michael - The Platonism of Marsilio Ficino, LA: University of California Press, 1984
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