INTRODUCTION 367
known as “syncretism.” Syncretism holds that all schools of philosophy have
some truth and so should be examined and defended; but no system of thought
has all the truth, and so one must also expose the errors in each scheme.
Applying his philosophy of syncretism, in 1486 Pico drew up a list of nine hun-
dred true theses (or propositions), using various Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, and Roman
thinkers who summarized his views. He invited scholars from all over Europe to
come to Rome, where he would defend his positions against all challengers.
However, the disputation never occurred. Pope Innocent VIII suspended the debate
and appointed a commission to investigate the nine hundred theses. Seven of the
propositions were subsequently declared unorthodox and six more held to be dan-
gerous. Pico publicly protested the decision by publishing a defense of his posi-
tions. This succeeded only in infuriating the pope. The pope condemned all nine
hundred propositions, reportedly commenting, “That young man wants someone to
burn him.” Pico fled to France but was arrested there by papal envoys. Through the
intervention of friends in Italy, Pico was released by the French king. He spent the
rest of his short life in Florence under the protection of the powerful Medici family.
The Oration on the Dignity of Manwas intended as an introductory speech for
the proposed debate in Rome. In the selection reprinted here, translated by
Charles Glenn Wallis, Pico exhibits his syncretistic willingness to draw from
many different sources. Quoting from a wide variety of writings, he argues that
God has given all creatures besides humans a unique, fixed nature. They have a
certain kind of being that they cannot change. But we as human beings do not
have a given being—we alone have the freedom to choose what we will become.
Even though we can choose to become animals or “couch potatoes” or angelic
philosophers, it is the ability to choosethat gives us dignity.
Pico’s life was chronicled by his nephew in the difficult-to-find Giovanni
Francesco Pico,Giovanni Pico della Mirandola: His Life by His Nephew
Giovanni Francesco Pico,translated by Sir Thomas More, edited by J.M. Rigg
(London: D. Nutt, 1890). For a general overview of Pico, see William G. Craven,
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Symbol of His Age: Modern Interpretations of a
Renaissance Philosopher(Geneve: Droz, 1981). For a collection of essays, see
M.V. Doughtery, ed.,Pico della Mirandola: New Essays(Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2008).
For collections of primary source readings in Renaissance philosophy, see Ernst
Cassirer, Paul O. Kristeller, and John H. Randall, Jr., eds.,The Renaissance
Philosophy of Man(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948), and Arturo
B. Fallico and Herman Shapiro, eds.,Renaissance Philosophy,two volumes
(New York: Random House, 1967–1969). For general studies of Renaissance
thought, see Ernst Cassirer,The Individual and Cosmos in Renaissance Philosophy,
translated by Mario Domandi (New York: Harper & Row, 1963); Paul O. Kristeller,
Renaissance Thought and Its Sources(New York: Columbia University Press,
1979); Charles B. Schmitt, Quentin Skinner, and Eckhard Kessler, eds.,The
Cambridge History of Renaissance Philosophy(Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1988); and Brian P. Copenhaver and Charles B. Schmitt,Renaissance
Philosophy,Vol. 3 of History of Western Philosophy(Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 1992).