ABSTRACT
The revival of Greek learning which he had desired was pushed forward by his successors, and simultaneously the prestige of Plato grew among Italian scholars. The greatness of Plato’s art, and the beauty and variety of his style laid their spell on the humanists before his ideas had penetrated very deeply into their thought. Pleasure in literary and philosophical discussion was very general all through the fifteenth century and was fostered in courts and the homes of private citizens and in a number of more or less informal “academies” or literary circles. Plato was rather a symbol of the peculiar humanity and wisdom of the ancient world than a philosopher scientifically studied. The humanists divined in him the qualities that they themselves prized most highly; freedom from the rigidity of the schools, and delight in the beauty and variety of the world, combined with serenity and self-command.
