E P I S T O L A.

When I compared [the text] primarily with the Aldine The Aldine Press was a famous Venetian printing house known for its Greek editions. and German copies, I discovered it was mutilated in several places, corrupted in many, with much changed and a great deal added. Indeed, who can be found with such keen eyesight original: "lynceus" - referring to Lynceus of Greek myth, famous for his sharp vision. that he would stumble over nothing in such great darkness, or never run into an obstacle? Therefore, I thought it most consistent with my duty—and most beneficial for those unacquainted with Greek literature and medicine (for whom alone these works were prepared)—to emend that version as far as possible. This was done both by faithfully rendering the Greek passages that lacked their own interpretation word-for-word, and by adding annotations where the subject matter itself seemed to require it.

Furthermore, we have employed a slightly different arrangement in certain parts, and we have seen to it that the version be renewed in a new and somewhat more convenient format. We have done all these things with such zeal so that the work might come into the sight and hands of men both more adorned and more accessible. Whether I have achieved this or not, I would prefer the judgment to be that of others rather than my own.

I certainly undertook this labor all the more willingly because I seemed to understand that this particular kind of study was greatly approved by you. In these studies, I myself have undoubtedly found—not what "boys find in a bean" A Latin proverb referring to finding a trivial prize or a hidden trifle.—but what is commonly called a sea of blessings original: "ἀγαθῶν θάλασσαν" (agathōn thalassan); I mean a most rich treasury of all things. For I ask you, have you ever read or heard of anyone more diligent in investigating matters than Galen Claudius Galenus, the most influential physician of the Roman Empire. himself, or anyone better instructed in every branch of learning? What necessary species of animal, what part of those very creatures, what kind of earth, what genus of metals, or what stone [did he not investigate] by the method of experience...