TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS

AND MOST REVEREND

THE LORD CARDINAL CAETANO.

A large, square decorative woodcut initial 'E' containing swirling acanthus leaf motifs and floral patterns.

IT IS INCREDIBLE how much the ease of Printing has complicated the business of printing; because this [invention], from death to life, has not only resurrected the writings of the most famous ancient Scholars original: "Letterati"—which were already consumed by old age and torn by time—but it has filled the World with such a great quantity of new ones that lovers of good letters have been able to provide themselves with a very numerous collection of books for very little money. This circumstance has caused the number of Virtuosi In the 17th century, "Virtuosi" referred to dedicated scholars, scientists, or men of letters who pursued knowledge and the arts with passion. to increase infinitely. Because the pen has been so successfully handled by them, they have occupied every possible subject of writing, even the most specialized; and because the perpetual thirst for knowledge among Scholars is fueled rather than extinguished by the multitude of subject matters, the infinite volumes of others' learned labors have caused the taste of these intellectuals to reach not only an excessive refinement—