Though Mazzoni considered himself primarily a philosopher (Adams, 178), his major work of philosophy – an attempt to reconcile the theories of Plato and Aristotle called "De Triplici Hominum Vita, Activa Nempe, Contemplativa, et Religiosa Methodi Tres" ("On the Three Ways of Man’s Life: the Active, the Contemplative, and the Religious", published in 1576) – is not widely read. Mazzoni is most known for his work on literary criticism, particularly his defenses of Dante’s Divine Comedy, "Discorso in Difesa Della Commedia Della Divino Poeta Dante" ("The Discourse in Defense of the Comedy of the Divine Poet Dante"), published in 1572 and a second effort, "Della Difesa Della Comedia Di Dante" ("On the Defense of the Comedy of Dante"), which was not published until 1688.