COUNSEL OF Marsilio Ficino of Florence, against the pestilence.

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CHARITY toward my fatherland moves me to write some counsel against the pestilence, and so that every Tuscan person may understand it and be able to use it to heal themselves, I shall omit subtle and lengthy disputations, and furthermore, I shall write in the Tuscan language. It is enough to know that whatever I approve, although for brevity I do not recount it at length, is nonetheless approved by many reasons and authorities of all ancient and modern doctors, and by the experiences of many, and especially of our father, Master Ficino, a singular physician, who healed the greater part of the diseased. We pray to God, the giver of life and the revealer of true and life-giving medicines, that He may reveal to us sufficient remedies against the plague, and preserve for us His vital gift to His praise and glory.

What thing is pestilence. Chapter one.

Circular ink library stamp of the Biblioteca Nazionale Firenze, dated 1872.

What pestilence may be

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THE pestilence is a poisonous vapor generated in the air, hostile to the spirit