First Complete Latin Philo

...stars, the Most Reverend Lord William of Poupet, Abbot of Balme, Bas-Lerne, and Goille; and the brother of this illustrious man, Lord John de la Chaux, one of the intimates of the Imperial Court, and deservedly most dear to such a great monarch. Therefore Philo comes to you, bringing with him that most ancient Moses, born in the Ogygian age and far superior to Cadmus, since the chronographers testify that in his time Greece was so illiterate. Moreover, these men bring divine decrees and their interpretations according to the opinion of the ancients. Yet there is no reason why this majesty of things should frighten you; rather, let it allure you, especially since, being destined for sacred offices, you ought even now to prepare yourself for them and, as you are doing, fulfill the hope conceived of your character. Many things will be found here which reveal sacred meanings more surely—not so much obscured by any darkness as dazzling the eyes of the mind with an excessive brilliance. Here it will also be possible to recognize many things which the greatest theologians later thought fit to transfer into their own commentaries. Certainly, the reading of this work ought not to be unwelcome, since even theologians admit into the schools Plato (who does not approach so nearly to our own faith), and the more alien Aristotle, and Averroes, who is a barbarian in his writings and religion. One must only take account of the times, and reflect that these things were written when the light of the Gospel was not yet widely known. Piety and religion also had their infancy, youth, and maturity, and at one time seemed to verge toward old age; but an immortal thing, most dear to God, knows no old age. As for what kind of man and how great this Philo was, the several testimonies subjoined will show. He was certainly a leading man among his people, the brother of Tiberius Alexander the Alabarch (for so they call the supreme magistrate of the Jews in Egypt), who had a statue in Rome among the consular friends of Vespasian, as Juvenal mentions with resentment—a man no less celebrated for his learning than his brother was for his wealth. Whence that common saying: Either Philo platonizes, or Plato philonizes. To me, Plato seems rather to "philonize"—that is, to emulate Moses, of whom Philo was a disciple. For it is well established that Plato traveled in Egypt, and there heard the sacred scribes of the Jews no less than those of the Egyptians. I have chosen to preface these things to you, noble youth, that you may be more greatly kindled with a desire to examine the work, which will remind you of our most favorable disposition toward you.