Abstract
The relationship between music and spirit in the early modern period is essentially to do with health and well-being. This chapter shows the belief that music's sympathetic action on the spirit could restore and maintain well-being was remarkably enduring. It focuses on Francis Bacon's treatment of music and spirit in his Sylva Sylvarum (1626), with a view to showing how on the one hand he drew on an intellectual tradition effectively started by Marsilio Ficino and on the other he was to influence later generations of natural philosophers, including Richard Brocklesby. The chapter highlights that music conceptualizes in the early modern period as an animating principle which shares its characteristics with the life force, a relationship that explains why it can have such an immediate effect on body, soul and spirit. Keywords:early modern period; Francis Bacon; Marsilio Ficino; music; Richard Brocklesby; spirit
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
