Marsilio Ficino translated the entirety of Plato's works into Latin, singularly reviving Platonism and setting in motion its penetration of all the arts as well as of philosophy during the Renaissance. Jayne's authoritative translation and his thoughtful Introduction prove Ficino's Commentary on Plato's Symposium on Love to be as much about the idealization of love found in passages of Plato's dialogue as about Ficino's idea of personal love as "part of a natural cosmic process," as he follows the emanative system of Plotinus.

Ficino is widely acknowledged as the godfather of archetypal psychology. Ficino turned Western Europe on its psychological ear. His esoteric visions of eros and beauty influenced not only Botticelli and Michelangelo but everyone else since then who cares about love and soul.