THE LIFE OF GIOVANNI PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA, A MAN MOST ACCOMPLISHED IN EVERY BRANCH OF LEARNING, PUBLISHED BY GIOVANNI FRANCESCO, SON OF THE ILLUSTRIOUS PRINCE GALEOTTO PICO.

As I begin to write the life of my uncle Giovanni Pico, I consider it essential to first state to my readers—lest they suspect that I, as his nephew or his student, might say anything out of favor or in the manner of a flatterer—that nothing here is granted to friendship, nothing to family, and nothing is repaid in fictitious praise for the great benefits he indeed bestowed upon me. For my narrative is as far removed from adulation as was the necessity for flattering him; and I have taken great care that readers do not judge me to have lied or been excessive in my praise. If I had committed to writing everything I had conceived of him, perhaps there would be a danger that the high virtues themselves, or those who defend them, might prove me to have been too sparing. This can be seen by this argument: many most polished writings by the learned men of our age, and indeed by the most prominent among them, have not only provided the richest testimony to what we are about to say, but also, while he enjoyed this life and after he exchanged it for a better one, they excelled in their proclamations of his character and learning. I have ordered several of these to be added at the end of this book, after his own commentaries, so that a trust supported by witnesses outside of his family might be established.

Setting aside his paternal lineage (although it is recorded in memory that he drew his origin from the Emperor Constantine through his great-grandson Pico, from whom the surname of the entire family is derived), we shall begin with the time of his birth. This is partly because he perhaps brought no less honor to the family than he received from it, and partly because I have judged it necessary to reveal the particular gifts of his mind and the remaining sequence of his entire life and death—things which I have drawn either from my own eyes and ears or received from the most serious witnesses. Thus, the family tree and the famous deeds of his ancestors are set aside for the following account. In the year 1463 from the birth of the Virgin i.e., 1463 AD, while Pope Pius II was the head of the Church and Frederick III held the reins of the Roman Empire:

His mother Julia, from the noble family of the Boiardi The Boiardo family were the lords of Scandiano; Julia was the aunt of the famous poet Matteo Maria Boiardo, gave birth to him, her final child, for his father Giovanni Francesco. For she had already given birth to Galeotto the elder (from whom I was born) and Antonio Maria, and two sisters. One of these, Leonello being her husband, gave birth to Alberto Pio, one of the princes of Carpi, and is now the consort of Prince Rodolfo Gonzaga. The other, after the death of Pino Ordelaffi, Prince of Forlì, to whom she had previously been married, entered into a second marriage with the Count of Monteagone.

No small omen appeared before his birth. Indeed, a circular flame was seen to stand over the chamber of the mother as she was giving birth, and then soon to vanish. This was perhaps suggesting to us that he would be most like the perfection of a circular figure In Renaissance thought, the circle was the symbol of divine perfection and the intellect in his understanding, as one who would be brought forth among mortals in that same hour; and that he was to be celebrated everywhere for the excellence of his name across the entire globe. His mind was always destined to seek heavenly things, like fire, and his ignited eloquence, in harmony with his flaming mind, would one day celebrate with all its strength our God, who is a "consuming fire"; but like that flame, he would vanish from the sight of men all too soon. Indeed, we read that unusual signs have sometimes preceded or followed the births of the most learned and holy men, just as at their...