Encyclopedia

Palaces

In the context of Indian astrology and geomancy, these refer to the specific houses or divisions of the zodiac that govern different aspects of life.

4 books · 54 mentions

Personification

The attribution of human characteristics to abstract concepts or inanimate objects, a central device in Renaissance allegory and iconography. It was systematically codified in works like Cesare Ripa's Iconologia to represent virtues, vices, and natural forces.

4 books · 54 mentions

Privation of Good

The theological doctrine that evil is not a positive force but rather the absence or corruption of the inherent good in a being.

4 books · 54 mentions

Paganism

A term used in early modern scholarship to categorize the diverse religious traditions of the ancient world outside of the Abrahamic faiths.

4 books · 53 mentions

Pope Clement

An early Christian bishop often associated with the pseudo-Clementine literature, which was highly influential in Western esotericism for its purported preservation of secret apostolic teachings.

4 books · 52 mentions

Polyphemus

The giant Cyclops from Homer's Odyssey who was blinded by Odysseus; he represents brute force and uncivilized nature in classical and early modern thought.

4 books · 52 mentions

Pietro Pomponazzi

An Italian Renaissance philosopher known for his controversial Aristotelian commentaries on the mortality of the soul and naturalistic explanations for magic.

4 books · 51 mentions

Postulates

Fundamental assumptions or propositions required as a basis for reasoning or geometric proof, most famously defined in Euclid's Elements.

4 books · 51 mentions

Patroclus

The close companion and squire of Achilles in the Iliad, whose death and relationship with Achilles are analyzed in Plato's Symposium and Republic.

4 books · 50 mentions

Phantasy (Phantasia)

In Neoplatonic and Renaissance psychology, the faculty of the soul responsible for forming mental images and mediating between the senses and the intellect.

4 books · 49 mentions

Propertius

A Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age whose works were rediscovered and heavily commented upon by Renaissance humanists for their mythological depth.

4 books · 49 mentions

Pure Act (Actus Purus)

A Scholastic and Neoplatonic term for God as absolute being, devoid of any potentiality or change, representing the perfection of existence in the metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas and Marsilio Ficino.

4 books · 49 mentions

Peter Martyr

Likely referring to the 16th-century Reformed theologian Peter Martyr Vermigli, whose views on the supernatural and sacraments were highly influential in early modern thought.

4 books · 49 mentions

Pesaro

An Italian city on the Adriatic coast that served as a cultural hub during the Renaissance under the rule of the Sforza and Della Rovere families.

4 books · 48 mentions

Polygraphia

4 books · 48 mentions

Panaetius

A Stoic philosopher of the 2nd century BCE whose work 'On Duties' served as the primary model for Cicero's influential 'De Officiis.'

4 books · 47 mentions

Picardy

A historical province in northern France that was a frequent setting for political and intellectual developments during the early modern period.

4 books · 46 mentions

Prisca Theologia

The doctrine that a single, true theology exists which threads through all religions and was anciently given by God to prophets and sages like Hermes Trismegistus and Zoroaster.

4 books · 46 mentions

Pope Sixtus V

A 16th-century Pope known for his significant urban reforms in Rome and the publication of the Sixtine Vulgate Bible.

4 books · 46 mentions

Polyclitus

A celebrated Greek sculptor of the 5th century BCE, famous for his Canon, a treatise on the ideal mathematical proportions of the human figure. He is frequently cited by Renaissance art theorists like Lomazzo as the supreme authority on symmetry and form.

4 books · 46 mentions

Pepin

Refers to Pepin the Short, King of the Franks and father of Charlemagne, often cited in historical and legal treatises regarding the foundations of European monarchy.

4 books · 46 mentions

Paradigm

In Platonic and Neoplatonic philosophy, a paradigm refers to the eternal, intelligible Archetype or Form according to which the demiurge fashions the sensible world.

4 books · 46 mentions

Polydamas

A famous Greek athlete and pancratiast known for his immense strength, mentioned by Plato in the Republic as an example of physical prowess and dietary needs.

4 books · 45 mentions

Pentagon

A five-sided polygon of significant importance in Euclidean geometry and Renaissance occultism, where it is often linked to the pentagram and the five elements.

4 books · 42 mentions

Plainchant

A body of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the western Christian Church, characterized by free rhythm following the accentuation of the Latin text.

4 books · 41 mentions

Peloponnesus

The large peninsula in southern Greece that was the site of many key events in classical history and the Byzantine Empire.

4 books · 40 mentions

Pamphylia

An ancient region in southern Asia Minor, notable in Platonic studies as the home of Er, the protagonist of the myth that concludes the 'Republic'.

4 books · 40 mentions

Palabha (Equinoctial Shadow)

The length of the shadow cast by a vertical gnomon at midday during the equinox, used in Indian astronomy to determine latitude.

4 books · 40 mentions

Pythodorus

An Athenian politician and general who served as the host of the philosophical discussion recounted in Plato's Parmenides.

4 books · 39 mentions

Pyriphlegethon

One of the rivers of the Greek underworld, described in Plato's Phaedo as a stream of fire that purifies or punishes souls according to their earthly deeds.

4 books · 38 mentions

Pierre d'Ailly

A French cardinal, theologian, and astrologer whose geographical writings influenced Christopher Columbus and the Conciliar movement.

4 books · 36 mentions

Pamphilus the martyr

A 3rd-century Christian scholar and martyr of Caesarea, known for his devotion to the works of Origen and his extensive library. He is cited in Renaissance texts as a model of scholarly piety and a preserver of ancient wisdom.

4 books · 36 mentions

Porphyrius

A Neoplatonic philosopher and student of Plotinus whose writings on logic, vegetarianism, and theurgy had a profound influence on Western esotericism and Christian theology.

4 books · 35 mentions

Phædrus

An ancient Athenian aristocrat and associate of Socrates, best known as the namesake and interlocutor in Plato's dialogue concerning eros and the art of rhetoric.

4 books · 34 mentions

Prelates

High-ranking members of the Christian clergy, such as bishops or abbots, who held significant ecclesiastical and often political authority in medieval and early modern society.

4 books · 33 mentions

Plukenet

An English botanist and Royal Professor of Botany to Queen Mary II, known for his monumental Phytographia. His work provided detailed illustrations of exotic plants that were widely cited by contemporary naturalists.

4 books · 33 mentions

Privation and Habit

A pair of scholastic concepts derived from Aristotle, referring to the absence or presence of a natural quality or form in a subject.

4 books · 31 mentions

Power (potentia)

A fundamental metaphysical and political concept referring to the capacity or potentiality of an entity to act or be acted upon, central to the works of Ramon Llull.

4 books · 31 mentions

Paul Hermann

A German-born physician and botanist who served as the director of the Hortus Botanicus Leiden and conducted extensive botanical research in Ceylon. His herbarium and descriptions were foundational for the development of Linnaean taxonomy.

4 books · 31 mentions

Pleasure (Voluptas)

In the Platonic and Neoplatonic traditions, Voluptas represents the sensory pleasure that must be moderated or transcended to achieve intellectual or divine union.

4 books · 27 mentions

Palinodia (Recantation)

A formal retraction or recantation of a previous statement, often used as a rhetorical device in classical and early modern literature.

4 books · 27 mentions

Phantasia

The psychological faculty responsible for the formation and retention of mental images, serving as a crucial intermediary between sensory perception and intellectual thought in classical and Renaissance philosophy.

4 books · 26 mentions

Phocylides

An archaic Greek gnomic poet whose moral maxims were highly regarded and frequently cited by Renaissance humanists and Neoplatonists.

4 books · 25 mentions

Pride

One of the seven deadly sins in Christian theology, characterized by an excessive belief in one's own abilities or status, often considered the root of all other sins.

4 books · 24 mentions

Pimander

4 books · 24 mentions

Penia

The personification of poverty in Greek mythology, famously described in Plato's Symposium as the mother of Eros through her union with Poros.

4 books · 21 mentions

Passions of the Soul

3 books · 119 mentions

Ptolemy

A Greco-Egyptian polymath whose geocentric model of the universe and astrological 'Tetrabiblos' served as the authoritative framework for astronomy and astrology for over a millennium.

3 books · 106 mentions

Prithuyashas

3 books · 106 mentions

Potiphar

3 books · 106 mentions

Pyrotechny

3 books · 98 mentions

Penetrability

3 books · 98 mentions

Percolation

3 books · 96 mentions

Prognostics

3 books · 95 mentions

Piombino

3 books · 91 mentions

Phlogiston

3 books · 88 mentions

Phalanx

A rectangular mass military formation, usually composed of heavy infantry, significant in classical warfare and discussed in Renaissance military theory.

3 books · 88 mentions

Paris (76 Seine Street)

3 books · 86 mentions