  What were some of the major advantages Patrizi felt Platonism had over Aristotelianism and how does his own scientific-philosophical synthesis reflect this conviction?  This is best illustrated in his major work, the Nova de universis philosophia (Patrizi 1591, reprint with variants dated 1593). The work consists of four major parts, combining, as he claims in the title, Aristotelian, Patrizian and Platonic methods to produce a new philosophy. This new system involves three stages, initially ascending, as Aristotle's had, to the First Cause, but not by using motion to reach the “Unmoved Mover”, but rather by employing light (lux) and illumination (lumen) to attain to the Father of Lights. Then the Patrizian method will provide an analysis of the Divinity, followed by the employment of a Platonic method to show how all creation is derived from God. Although on the surface such a program could be seen as falling within the boundaries of the conciliatory model which many of his contemporaries used to incorporate both Platonic and Aristotelian elements into their thought, a closer analysis reveals the underlying Platonic nature of his undertaking.