Oration on the Dignity of Man

Introduction

Pico wrote the Latin speech in 1486 to open a public disputation in Rome on his 900 theses drawn from philosophical, theological, Kabbalistic and Hermetic sources. The disputation never took place: Pope Innocent VIII suspended it, and a commission condemned thirteen theses. The speech was first printed in 1496, after Pico’s death, by his nephew Gianfrancesco; the title “On the Dignity of Man” was added later. Its first part has God tell Adam that he has given him no fixed seat or form. The second, longer part defends drawing on every tradition, since Pico held that they agree in the truth.

Read the full text

• Wikisource (Latin)

Free full text, often an older edition or translation

Connections

Builds on

• Platonic Theology1482 · Marsilio Ficino