PREFACE

In all sects original: sectis; here referring to various schools of philosophical or religious thought., however, I will conduct myself in such a way that anyone will discover for themselves that I am devoted to none, and that I have sworn allegiance to the words of absolutely no master original: nullius plane magistri me iurasse in verba. This is an allusion to the Roman poet Horace, signaling the author’s commitment to intellectual independence and the "eclectic" method of seeking truth wherever it is found.. For it can scarcely happen that one performs the duty of a historian correctly here, unless he brings with him a mind equally free of hatred and of love. Therefore, I have determined to set forth impartially both what seems to deserve praise and what deserves blame. And this, unless I am mistaken, I have already sufficiently demonstrated by the example of the first specimen which I am now publishing.

For it is abundantly clear that the true seat of true wisdom was among the Hebrew people original: gente ebraea, so much so that the dogmas received among them—before they were tainted by the corruption of the age and lost the purity of wisdom along with their piety—must be regarded as monuments of a doctrine divinely channeled to mortals; this cannot be denied by any reasoning. To this extent, therefore, I praise Hebrew philosophy original: philosophiam ebraeam, and I contend with all the strength I can muster that it must be followed and unearthed from the darkness in which it lies buried.

But once it has been corrupted by the empty inventions of mortals, there is certainly a need for caution, lest we embrace folly instead of wisdom, or a cloud instead of Juno original: pro Iunone nubem. A classical reference to the myth of Ixion, who was tricked by Jupiter into embracing a cloud shaped like the goddess Juno. It serves as a metaphor for pursuing a deceptive illusion instead of the truth.. And I do not hide this fact, so that everywhere those things which please...