33. Bessarion. In calumniatorem Platonis libri quatuor (1503).

Bessarion of Trebizond (1403-1472) enjoyed a remarkable career, not only as a cleric in both the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches, but as an influential humanist, patron of humanists, and Neoplatonic philosopher. He financed many Greek scholars who sought refuge in Italy and also promoted the study of Greek by Westerners. Perhaps his most important contribution lay in his remarkable collection of manuscripts. In 1468, four years before his death, he donated this outstanding collection of 752 manuscripts (including 482 Greek items) to the city of Venice, where they became the foundation of the Biblioteca Marciana.

In calumniatorem Platonis is an attempt to reconcile Plato with Christianity as well as to reconcile Plato with Aristotle and find the appropriate place for both of them in Christian philosophy.