Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Descriptive Information

Title

Opera

Description

This volume, printed in 1484 in Florence, contains the Platonis Opera Omnia of Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) – the leading Plato scholar of the 15th century, head of the Platonic Academy in Florence, and first translator of Plato’s complete extant works into Latin. The translation of the Timaeus is prefaced by Ficino’s commentary on the work, titled Compendium in Timeum. It is possible that Ficino chose to publish in 1484 because of its astrological significance – the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter (which he mentions in the argument to one of Plato’s Letters) was supposed to herald great changes in Christianity. The pages displayed translate the portion of the Timaeus in which the lesser gods are created and proceed to create human beings. These pages also bear traces of a later reader. S/he has marked the second column of the left page with marginal lines and an abbreviation meaning Nota bene (“mark well”). The right page includes several corrections written in the text. At the top of the right page, the emender has written a testimony to conscientious reading:
Doctus lector errores vitabit (“The learned reader will shun errors”).

Call Number (click link to view in library catalog)

Incunabula Q. 881 P5.Lf1484

Authors

Plato.

Full Title

Works. 1484

Date

1484-1485

Publisher

Per Laurentium Venetum

Location

Impressum Florentie [Florence]

Language

Latin

Rights

This item is the physical property of the Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Intellectual property rights, including copyright, may reside with the materials' creator(s) or their heirs.
The Rare Book & Manuscript Library's reproduction and publication policies are available here: https://www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/collections/reproduction-services/. The library welcomes requests for reproductions made from works in our collections, though restrictions may apply to certain materials. Please contact the library with any questions at askacurator@illinois.edu.

Type

Text

Medium

Book

Bibliographic Citation

Plato., Marsilio Ficino, Thomas Gaisford, and Ernst Bergmann. Opera. Impressum Florentie [Florence: Per Laurentiu[m] Venetu[m], 1484.