Abstract

The influence of the Middle Platonism on Pico’s thought hasn’t been investigated yet. Even though Pico doesn’t mention explicitly many authors belonging to that philosophical orientation, the inventory of his library, recently re-inspected by Giovanna Murano, shows a remarkable availability and knowledge of it. The goal of this paper is to show how the Count recovers from Middle Platonism, especially from Alcinous, Apuleius and Plutarch, two pivotal motifs of his thought: 1) the unity of the Academy’s history, including its ‘sceptical’ phase from Arcesilaus to Carnead, in this case De Pace’s interpretation is re-discussed; 2) the concord between Plato and Aristotle. Related to the later motif is the doctrine of ideas, conceived as God’s thoughts. Such a doctrine permits to harmonize the Platonic One with the Aristotelian unmoved mover.