GIORDANO BRUNO OF NOLA original: "PH. IORD. BR. NOL."; an abbreviation for Philippus Iordanus Brunus Nolanus. TO THE FRIENDLY

AND STUDIOUS

Reader.

It is set in high relief,
the face of Diana in Chios, Bruno references a famous statue on the island of Chios mentioned by the Roman naturalist Pliny. The statue was sculpted such that its expression seemed to change based on the viewer's position.
Which seems sad to those entering the temple,
But joyful to those leaving.

And the letter of Pythagoras, The Greek letter 'Y' (Upsilon). Pythagoras used it as a symbol for the path of life, which forks into two directions: the easy path of vice and the difficult, narrow path of virtue.
Driven by a two-pronged division,
Which shows a grim face on the right-hand path:
Yet bestows the finest end.

Of the Shadows, which from the deep
Darkness have emerged,
In the end they shall become pleasing, though now harsher
Both the face and the letter. Bruno is warning the reader that his book, "On the Shadows of Ideas," will be difficult and "grim" at first, much like the path of virtue or the entrance to Diana's temple, but will prove rewarding to those who persevere.