Gemistus, George

, an eminent Greek philosopher, palled also Pletho, was born at Constantinople, in 1390, He was a zealous advocate for Platonism, and maintained a violent controversy with the Aristotelians. He was a strenuous defender of the Greek church against the Latins, and was consulted as an oracle on the points in debate, being unquestionably a man of learning and acuteness. He is principally noticeable as being the first Greek who |

gave occasion to the revival of Platonism in Italy, where he made many illustrious converts, and was the means of laying the foundation of a Platonic academy at Florence. He afterwards returned to Greece, where he died at the advanced age of nearly one hundred and one years. His heretical and philosophical writings afford unquestionable proofs of his learning, and particularly of his intimate knowledge of the Alexandrian philosophy. In his “Kxplanation of the Magic Oracles of Zoroaster,” Gr. and Lat. Paris, 1599, 8vo, and Lond. 1722, 4to, he exhibits twelve fundamental articles of the Platonic religion, and gives an elegant compendium of the whole Platonic philosophy. His other philosophical writings are, “On the Virtues,” Oxon. 1752, 8vo; “On the difference between the Platonic and Aristotelian Philosophy,” Paris, 1541, 8vo; and il Natural arguments concerning God.“He had a profound acquaintance with Grecian history, as appears by his” De iis qu post pugnam ad Mantinaam gesta sunt,“printed with the Venice edition of” Herodian,“1503, foL and with the Aldus” Xenophon" of the same year. ¹