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CorpusHermeticum
Ficino:ThehighpriestoftheRenaissance
MarsilioFicinowasoneofthemostfamousandinfluentialpeopleoftheItalianRenaissanceyettoday,heishardlya
footnoteinhistory.
PhilipCoppens

MarsilioFicinowasoneofthemostinfluentialhumanistphilosophersofthe early Italian Renaissance,

an astrologer and the first translator of Plato's complete extant works into Latin. His Florentine
Academy,anattempttorevivePlato'sschool,hadenormousinfluenceonthedirectionandtenorofthe
ItalianRenaissanceandthedevelopmentofEuropeanphilosophy.Still,despiteallofthis,heis,when
comparedtothelikesofBotticelli,LeonardodaVinciandthedeMedicifamily,afootnoteinthehistory
books.Historydoesnotaccuratelyreflectthemansimportanceinhisowntime.
FicinowasthecandlethatwaslitbyCosimodeMedici,thepowerfulbankerandmerchantofFlorence.
During the sessions at Florence of the Council of FerraraFlorence in 14381445 (which attempted to
heal the schism of the Latin and Greek Churches), Cosimo de Medici made acquaintance with the
NeoplatonicphilosopherGeorgeGemistosPlethon.DeMediciconvincedPlethontoleavesomeofhis
students behind and so John Argyropoulos began lecturing on Greek language and literature in
FlorenceFicinobecamehispupil.CosimonextdecidedtorefoundPlato'sAcademy(originallyset up
by Plato in a suburb ofAthens) and his choice to head it fell on Ficino. The academy had texts from
Plato and Neoplatonists such as Porphyry, Iamblichus and Plotinus. None of these texts existed in a
Latin version and translating them into Latin meant they exposed the West to this lost source of
knowledge. But as interesting as these documents were, what was lacking was the availability of a
clear,centraldoctrine.ThatarrivedwhenaGreekcopyoftheCorpusHermeticumarrivedinFlorence
Ficino was told to stop all other translation work and focus solely on the translation of the Corpus,
whichwassaidtocontainthecentraltheologyoftheancientEgyptians.Oneofthegreatestrevelations
everwasupontheWesternworldandFicinowasthemanwhoaccomplishedit.
But Ficinos mission was much more than merely a translator he was also an interpreter and following suggestions by Plethon, he tried to
synthesizeChristianityandPlatonism,thuscreatinganewreligionwhichwouldbecomethefoundationoftheRenaissance.Assuch,thenewwind
oftheRenaissancethatsweptthe15thcenturywasFicinoschild.HewouldalsobecomethechieftutortothedeMedicifamily'schildren, especially
Lorenzo.
Inhissynthesisofthetworeligions,Ficinowroteatreatiseontheimmortalityofthesoul(TheologiaPlatonicadeimmortalitateanimae). In De Vita
libri tres (Three books on life), published in 1489, he talked about the world's ensoulment and its integration with the human soul. It may seem
unremarkable,butweneedtounderlinethatFicinowasapriest

ItisclearthatFicinoschosenpathwouldleadhimintotrouble.In1489, he was accused of magic before

Pope Innocent VIII and needed strong defence to preserve him from the condemnation of heresy. Still,
today, there is a bust of Marsilio Ficino, made by Andrea Ferrucci, in Florence's Cathedral, showing the
ironyoffate.
PartoftheproblemwasthatFicinosnewreligionreliedonamuletsandtalismansformagicalpurposes,a
practicethathadexistedinancientEgyptandwhichwaspartoftheHermetictradition. Ficino reintroduced
thisscienceandspecificallyadapteditsothatitwouldworkinpaintingseventhoughhehimselfdid not
paint.
Jean Seznec has noted that a key document in using paintings as talismans in the Renaissance was the
Picatrix,abookthatwaspartoftheHermetictradition,whichfocusedparticularlyontalismans,andwhichit
compared to the alchemical elixir. Through the proper design and construction of a talisman and proper
performanceoftheritualsassociatedwithit,themagiciancouldcontroltheenergyemanatingfromheavenlyspheres.
Ficinowroteextensivelyaboutthesetechniques,wherebyplanetarypowersweretobeinvokedbytheprinciplesofHermeticanalogy.Chieflyaccused
ofbeinghisfollowerandthemanwhoincorporatedthisknowledgeinhispaintingswasSandroBotticelli.Hisapplicationofthismethodologyismost
visible in the Minerva and the Centaur, The Birth of Venus and the Primavera. They were all commissioned for Lorenzo de Medici. All three
paintings deal with occult themes and represent the magical practice of drawing down planetary influences into images, as outlined by Ficino. It is
knownthatforthePrimavera,BotticellidirectlyconsultedFicino.FrancesYatescommented:"inthecontextofthestudyofFicino'smagicthepicture
begins to be seen as a practical application of that magic, as a complex talisman, an image of the world arranged so as to transmit only healthful,
rejuvenating,antiSaturnianinfluencestothebeholder."AlongwithMercury(i.e.Hermes),thePrimaverafeaturesthethreegraces,aboutwhichFicino
hadthistosay:Therearethreeuniversalandsingularcoloursoftheworld:green,goldandsapphire,andtheyarededicatedtothethreeGracesof
heaven. Green, of course, is for Venus and the Moon, moist, as it were, for the moist ones, and appropriate to things of birth, especially mothers.
ThereisnoquestionthatgoldisthecolouroftheSun,andnostrangertoJoveandVenuseither.Butwededicatethesapphirecolour especially to
Jove, to whom the sapphire itself is said to be consecrated. This is why lapis lazuli was given its colour (sapphire), because of its Jovial power
againstSaturn'sblackbile.Ithasaspecialplaceamongdoctors,anditisbornwithgold,distinctwithgoldmarks,soitisacompanionofgoldjustas
JupiteristhecompanionoftheSun.ItisclearthatthereismoretoBotticellispaintingthanjustwhatisimmediatelyvisibletotheeyeandcontains
levelsofdetailthatfarexceedanypopularinterpretationofLeonardoDaVincispaintingsasdonebythelikesofDanBrown.

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Speaking of Javier Sierra in The Secret Supper has speculated about a relationship between Ficino and Leonardo Da Vinci. Sierra has cleverly
suggestedthiswasasecretrelationship,forindeedthereisnoevidencetosuggestthatLeonardowasoncloseorfriendlytermswithFicino.Allthe
evidence suggests that the two were not friends, with Leonardo hardly making a dent in Florence and never admitted to the Platonic Academy,
eventually seeking his employment elsewhere, and Ficino being one of the towns most respected and known people how the following centuries
haverepaintedhistory!Still,itisclearthatLeonardowasachildofhistimeandawareoftheHermeticaandinfluencedbyitstraditionandthetrend
theRenaissancethatsweptthroughFlorenceandsoonelsewhereasthetrendrippledthroughItalyandFrance,Leonardorodethewave,whereas
many members of the Platonic Academy largely remained in Florence. For them, Florence was the place to be Some evidence of Da Vincis
exposure to the Hermetica can be seen in the seating arrangement of the disciples in The Last Supper: they are grouped in four groups of three,
talkingonlyamongthemselves,correspondingtothefourelementsintheZodiac,withChristinthemiddle,representingtheSun.Astowhyachalice
maybemissing:apossibleexplanationmaybefoundinchapterfouroftheCorpusHermeticum.
Ficinos influence was much wider than just Botticelli and Leonardo Da Vinci. Studies have shown that the German Renaissance artist Albrecht
Drer took his inspiration from Ficino. The figure in the Melancholia of Drer symbolises the "children of Saturn", who meditate on the secrets of
wisdom.MichelangelotoomayhavebeeninfluencedbyFicino'sideas,definitelyhavingbeenexposedtothemduringhispresenceatthecourtofthe
Medicis.Inshort,nameanyRenaissancepainterandyouwillseetheguidinghandofFicinobehindthepainter,eitherdirectlyorindirectly.Hepainted
throughothers
Ficino was a walking library, full of knowledge of the ancient world, more so than most men ever to
come after him. He also subscribed to the notion that there was hope for world renovation (best
remembered in the word Renaissance rebirth itself), which would occur through art, science and
technology. This new hope was his new religion, the infusion of PlatonicHermetic thought within
Christianity, which was creating a manifesto for a new Christian Church. He declared that religions
basishadtobephilosophy(whichwaslargelyabsentfromChristianity)andbelievedthatPlatoshould
be read in the churches. Such integration would, by default, not go smoothly. For one, Ficino
considered the human soul to be both immortal and divine, made in the image of God, which was a
contradictionoftheBiblethatclaimedthatthesoulwasnotnaturallyimmortalandcouldonlybecome
so through Christianity. In his introduction to the translation, he stated that the Logos, the Word, was
thebasisofapeacefulphilosophy,inwhichexperiencingthedivinenatureofthesoulwastheultimate
goalforMan.ItisclearthatthemarriageofthesepagandivinitieswithChristwasnotastraightforward
task.Another problem was that Plato was a pagan and the Hermeticum was believed to contain first
hand knowledge of the Egyptian pagan religion. Christianity had stated that all all of this
heretical knowledge had been made redundant with the birth of Christ so there was no need to
consider,letaloneintroduce,letaloneallow,ittobereadinchurches.
But there was hope. Many of the Hermetic writings closely resemble portions of the Gospel of John,
one of the few if not only Christian texts cherished by the medieval Cathars. Later, Martin Luther
actuallybelievedthattheauthoroftheCorpushadmerelycopiedthewritingsofJohntheEvangelist.A
veryoldEgyptiantextsays:InthebeginningwasThothandThothwasinAtum andThothwasAtum
intheunfathomablereachesofprimordialspace.ThePrologueofJohnsGospel,beginningwithThe
Word was with God and The Word was God, closely resembles the actions of Thoth and Thoth was the Egyptian name of Hermes, the god of
Wisdom. Ficino himself did not fail to see the similarities between the Corpus Hermeticum and Johns Gospel and even stressed these in his
introductiontohistranslation.
ItisclearthatFicinowasplayingadangerousgame.Whatinspiredhim to live so dangerously?The answer seems to be that either Pleton and his
schoolknewthatChristianitywasnotasoriginalastheWesternChurchthoughtitwas,orFicinoworkeditoutonhisown.Buttheendconclusionis
simple:FicinorealisedthatChristianitywasavariationaninterpretationofagroupoffollowersoftheCorpusHermeticum,specificallythe cult of
Serapis.HisnewreligionwasnothingmorethanrestoringChristianitytoitsroots.
ThecultofSerapiswasspecifically,asmanyEgyptologistshavepointedout,thecultofthedeadOsiris,whichwasalsoknownastheArkiteworship
ofOsiris.Osiris,almosteveryonenowseemstoknow,sharesmanycharacteristicswithJesus,bothascendingtoresideasKingoftheOtherworld
fromtheWorldoftheDead.
ThereligionofSerapiswasawisdomcult,whichmeansitmusthavehadabodyofliterature.Butwhatwasthatbodyofliterature?BoththeSerapis
CultandtheHermeticliteraturearededicatedtotheEgyptiangodThoth,theGreekHermes,fromwhichtheHermeticliteraturetakesitsname.When
Champolliontranslatedthehieroglyphicscriptinthe19thcentury,hestatedthattheCorpuscontainedtheancientEgyptiandoctrine.Accordingtotwo
prominentscholars,BloomfieldandStricker,theCorpusHermeticumwasindeedthebibleoftheEgyptianmysteryreligionofSerapis.Interestingly,
thisisexactlywhatFicinohimselfbelieved.ButhealsobelievedthatwiththeCorpusHermeticum,theFlorentineAcademyreceivedthetruebible,
i.e.thesacredliteraturewhichhadbeenusedinthetrainingofJohntheBaptistandJesusitwasthebibleoforiginalChristianity,theSerapiscult.In
short,therevolutionthatFicinotriedtoachievewastodoawaywithcenturiesofcorruptionofChristianityandreturnthereligiontoitstrueroots.The
problemwasthatthismeantthathewouldhavetodoawaywithmostofChristianity

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When we explore the contents of this original Christian bible, we find that it specifically reflects the
new belief system of the Renaissance, which called for a direct experience of the divine. The central
mythicalimageofHermeticism,describedinthefirsttreatiseoftheCorpusHermeticum,Poimandres,
theShepherdofMen,istheascentofthesoulafterdeath,anditspassagethroughthespheresofthe
sevenplanets.WhenenteringtheEighthSphere(theFixedStars),itjoinsthecompanyoftheBlessed.
An identical journey is described in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, where the soul must traverse the
severalhallsoftheOtherworldandbeweighedagainstafeather(anactperformedbyThoth),beforeit
can enter the Paradise of Osiris. Furthermore, Thoth and his Hellenised counterpart Hermes were the
messengers of the gods, those who travelled between Heaven, the Kingdom of God, and Earth, the
Realm of Man. In Christianity, this mediator role was Christ and Christ alone. After finishing his
translation, Ficino exclaimed: the Renaissance expresses, by a new song of joy from the soul
descendingfromtheCreator,theenthusiasmofthespiritreceivingthelight.
There is more: Ficino correctly stated that the Christian cross, the symbol of Christianity par
excellence,wasoriginallythesymbolofthepaganEgyptiangodSerapis.ButhowtoalignSerapisand
HermeswithChrist?FicinostatedthatHermeshadforeseentheadventofChrist,whichmeantthathe
had an excuse to study Hermes, as he had been a pagan prophet of the coming of Christ. It is,
however, highly doubtful that Ficino truly believed this it was just a clever ploy to stop people
meddling with his interest. But there is, of course, an interesting little joke in there: the Serapis cult,
withHermes,andJesuswereverycloselyrelatedandstatingthatHermeswasoneofthosewho had
foreseentheadventofChristwasanoveltheorybutonethatwasmoretruethanthoseFicinosaidit
toprobablyrealised.
TheFlorentineAcademyactuallypossessedtheritualsoftheSerapis cult.ThewritingsoftheRoman
author Apuleius were cherished reading for the Platonic Academy. Apuleius gave many detailed
accounts of the Mysteries of Isis and Osiris. He wrote how, in the procession of the Initiates of Isis,
theyfollowedachestorark,magnificentlyornamented,containinganimageoftheorgansofgeneration
(i.e. the phallus) of the dead Osiris. These ceremonies represented the death of [Osiris], slain by his
brother[Seth].FicinostranslationsofApuleiusthereforegavetheAcademydetailedaccountsoftheritualsoftheSerapiscult.
FicinorealisedthatChristianitywasaslightlymodifiedcontinuationofthecultofSerapis.Manyhistorianshaveobservedandwonderedaboutthe
apparent duality of Ficino in being both a priest in fact the chief priest of the Florentine Cathedral and a Hermeticist. He seemed to link pagan
HermeticthinkingtoChristianity,whichseemonthesurfaceincompatible.Inhistime,Ficinosopponentscriticised:Wouldyou think this man is a
priestofGodashewishedtoappear,andnotratherthepatronandhighpriestofEgyptianmysteries?It therefore seems that even his opponents
knewthetruthaboutFicinostrueallegianceandwhathetrulybelieved.ButwhenweacceptthathesawthecultofSerapisasoriginalChristianity,
thisapparentdualitydisappears
ThelinkbetweentheCorpusHermeticum,JohntheBaptistandtheSerapisCultisabletoansweroneofthemostnaggingquestionsofthehistory of
theundergroundstream,aquestionthatPicknettandPrincesbookTemplarRevelationposedwhenitshowedthatthepeoplewhoworshippedJohn
theBaptistwerealsoHermeticists.They,likemanyotherswhobroughtupquestionsandlinksbetweenheresyandtheHermeticumwereneverable
toexplainwhythiswouldbethecase.Butnowthisquestioncanbeanswered.AstheCorpusHermeticumandtheSerapiscultwere the same, and
asthereisevidencethatJohntheBaptistwasapriest of Serapis, it follows that those who held John in high esteem would do this because of his
particulardoctrine,whichwastheHermeticum.ThisalsoexplainswhytherediscoveryoftheknowledgeoftheCorpusHermeticumhappenedwithina
group of people, the Florentine Academy, who had been driven to understand the true origins of the Baptists message. It may also explain why
LeonardoDaVinciwasfascinatedwithJohntheBaptistandwhyFlorencewasspecificallycherishedasbeingthecapitalof the Renaissance, for
JohntheBaptistwasthecityspatronsaint.
Most historians have underestimated the true heresy of the Renaissance as its leader never openly attacked Jesus central position, which would
seemtohavebeenthelogicalscenarioifitwasaheresy.Butsurelymenwiththepoliticalandcommercialknowledgeandexpertisesuchasthede
Medicifamilymusthaverealisedthat if they tried to do just that, their public stance would immediately condemn them to prison or worse. Public
discreditingofJesusneverledtoanythingpositivewitnesstheCatharcrusade.
Furthermore,itshouldbenotedthattheyhadnothingagainstJesus,whotheyafterallconsideredtohavebeenaSerapispriest.Their problem was
with what had become of his Church and its dogma, which was not in line with Jesus or the Serapis teachings. Rather than a wisdom cult,
Christianitywasadogmaticcult.
Soratherthanattack,theyredefined.ThoughthefigureofChristmaintaineditscentralposition,theimageofChristastheSonofGodwhosuffered
onthecrossforhumanityhadbeenreplacedbythefigureofamortalmanwhowastheessenceofperfectionandharmony,whohadachievedto
use Ficinos wording his God Potential. Ficinos student Pico della Mirandola viewed man as a magus, equipped with a divine creative power,
giving him control over his own destiny through science. He believed that nothing was more convincing of Christs divinity than magic. Priests of
SerapisweremagiciansandFicinoclaimedthatJesuswasamagician, as such identifying the former Son of God with a priest of a pagan belief.
Ficino tried to be like he believed Jesus had been: a magician. And that is why he gave to Botticelli and others magical information, which they
workedintotheirpaintings.

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Inretrospect,theAcademyhadverylittledirecteffectonthethinkingofthegeneralpublic,not
even in Florence.And that is why Ficino the man has largely become a footnote in history.
Butitwouldbewrongtosuggesttheydidnothaveanyeffectthekeywordisdirecteffect
indirectly,theAcademy broughtabouttheRenaissanceandthetransformationofEurope,the
discoveryofAmericaandthebirthofscience.
With the translation of the Corpus Hermeticum, they had the necessary material in hand to
discover what society original Christianity wanted to establish. In 1492, Ficino wrote that an
Age of Gold was upon Mankind.The first sign would be the revival of arts, which had been
turnedintoaliberatingtechniquetoliberateMansGodPotential,thedivinesparkthatwasin
eachofus.Thatproject,aswenowknow,wasasuccess.
On the surface, it might seem that their revolution was merely a purely artistic one. History,
however, has only chosen to remember these attempts (perhaps because they were
successful), but there were also political attempts to bring about social change. History has
chosentoforgetthese.Ficinohimselfmentionedthattherevolutionofartwasmerelythefirst
step. He wrote that the revolution of the communication technology (printing) was the key to
theApocalypse,whichwouldleadtothisAgeof Gold,inwhicharebirthofChristianitywould
occur.The Academy thus became the breeding ground of a conspiracy to try and overthrow
theCatholicChurch.Itwasaboldattempttoreformfromwithin,covertly,ratherthanfromthe
outside,openlyandaggressively.
Intheseattempts,theyrequiredtheassistanceofbrightyoungmen,whowerewillingtotake
centre stage. A young priest steeped into occult knowledge, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola,
was such a man. Pico had arrived in Florence on the day when Ficino had completed the
translations of Platos writings. With all the necessary ammunition to mount their attack
thereforeavailableinLatin,FicinoandothermembersofthePlatonicAcademypushedPico to
formulateacompendiumofninehundredpropositionsamanifesto.Itwasthebattleplanwith
which the Medicicircle wanted to attack the outdated dogma of the Church.The propositions
areclearlyHermeticinoriginandwerepresentedtoandseenbythePopeasachallenge
toChurchandChristianity.Unsurprisingly,theattemptfailedquitemiserably:PopeInnocent
VIIIdidnotindulgesuchpaganinspiredthinkingandplacedPicoswritingsonthePapalIndex,threateningPicowithexpulsion.
Thenextstepinanyconspiracywasgettinginfiltratorsintotheenemycamp.ThoughFicinoandmostmembersoftheAcademywerepriests,none
heldhighenoughpositionsintheChurchandweretoovisibleontheradartopullthisoff.Therefore, LorenzodeMediciengineeredthepromotionof
oneofhissonstothepositionofCardinal,thusclearingthefirsthurdleinasuccessfulracetothePapaloffice.Itopenedupapotential,butone
whichintheendwasnevertrulyrealisedandwhichFicinoneverwouldlivetoseeanyway.
Ficinowastheheraldofanewage.Morethanaherald,helaidthefoundationandmadesurethathischildwouldnotwantforanything.Hehadhigh
aspirationsforhisoffspring,whichintheend,itsfosterparentscouldnotaccomplish.Still,theRenaissancewasnotafailureitwasatransformation
andremainsaparadigmshiftforWesternsociety.Butthechildbecamesofamous,thatnoonepaysduereverencetoitsfather.

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