TO THE VENERABLE LORD IN CHRIST,

THE PRIEST, PAUL AN-

GELUS, DESCENDED FROM THE ONCE IMPERIAL

BYZANTINE LINEAGE,

BROTHER SYLVESTER OF CAS-

TILIONE OF AREZZO, OF THE AU-

Decorative drop-cap 'M' featuring an engraved scene with several figures in a classical or biblical setting; one figure stands on the left while others appear seated or in the background.

You will perhaps wonder, chosen
Priest of God, leading a
celibate life in the
midst of a wicked nation original: "in medio nationis pravae," a common biblical idiom used to describe living among the ungodly or in a corrupt environment,
what especially
has impelled me, a lowly man homuncionem: literally 'little man,' a standard self-deprecating rhetorical device used by authors to express humility before a patron,
gifted with no skill in speaking,
joined to you by no
familiarity—indeed,
entirely unknown, and of obscure lot and
learning—that I should write to you of my own accord,
and wished to make myself known to you
by this unrefined and tasteless letter.
But indeed, you will cease to wonder, if... The sentence continues on the following page.