In Calumniatorem Platonis V

Sergei Mariev, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany.

Bessarion (1408-1472) was the foremost authority on Byzantine philosophy during the 15th century. His major philosophical work, the In Calumniatorem Platonis, was written and published in Italy more than a decade after the fall of Byzantium. This work is of paramount importance to our understanding of Byzantine philosophical traditions and the history of their dissemination in the West. In spite of its significance, only books 1-4 and 6 have previously been accessible to scholars as a critical text. The present volume contains the editio princeps of both the Latin and Greek versions of the fifth book. The "Translationis Legum Platonis examinatio et errorum eius declaratio", as it is entitled in Latin, is Bessarion's learned review of the Latin translation of Plato's Laws made by George of Trebizond. Bessarion, a student of Plethon and himself a translator of the Metaphysics of Aristotle into Latin, takes here an in-depth look at George's translation, exposing a large number of mistranslated passages, omissions and distortions. Bessarion's review is an impressive testimony to his efforts to promulgate knowledge of Platonic philosophy among Western scholars.