PREFACE

...or what things are displeasing, which I consider to be true documents of the ancient philosophy of the Hebrews original: antiquae philosophiae Ebraeorum; the author is referring to the "primordial wisdom" believed to have been held by biblical patriarchs, and which I consider to be spurious and the fictions of more recent authors, I may declare openly and without ambiguity.

Meanwhile, Hebrew philosophy possesses this particular and unique quality: it leads us to the knowledge of certain matters that would be sought in vain from the philosophers of other nations. For all knowledge of all things, both divine and human, proceeds from a twofold source: reason and tradition original: ratione & traditione. In this context, "reason" refers to what can be figured out by logic, while "tradition" refers to knowledge handed down through history or divine revelation..

In those matters that can be known through the power of reason and human understanding, there is no reason for us to look toward the Hebrews more than the Greeks. For a more accurate knowledge of the things themselves—whichever side the truth might favor—immediately makes this clear. Just as all philosophers of all nations can stray from the right path in their reasoning, so too do there exist people among any nation who observe these laws of logic, though it may be done more accurately by some than by others.

But then again, there are other matters into whose innermost recesses the power of human reason cannot penetrate, unless their first origin, or other things that depend on tradition and the monuments of history, become known to us. Concerning...