TO THE MOST SERENE

FERDINAND II

GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY

An ornamental woodcut drop cap 'P' contains a small landscape scene with a building and a bridge.

That great poet and philosopher original: "vates, ac philosophus." This refers to the Roman poet Lucretius. seems to me to have expressed the foremost and most excellent of human happinesses in these verses:

But nothing is more pleasant than to hold the serene temples, built high and well-fortified by the teaching of the wise. original: "Sed nil suauius est, bene-quàm munita tenere / Edita doctrina sapientum templa serena." This is a quote from the Roman poet Lucretius, from his work On the Nature of Things, Book II.

Truly, a sacred and divine temple is built and dedicated to divinity and eternity by the teaching of the wise. In this temple, one remains unmoved by any disturbance of storms or tempests. One continues there in the sweetest serenity and uninterrupted happiness. The great Galileo produced a similar temple through his brilliant and admirable teaching. He raised it from its foundations in the royal and glorious Medici name. He did not build it in these lowest and earthly regions, but in the highest Heaven itself and upon the throne of Jupiter. The "throne of Jupiter" refers to the planet Jupiter, around which Galileo discovered the four moons he named the Medicean Stars in honor of his patrons. He dedicated this to your most glorious lineage. He consecrated your fame and most noble name to endure forever in that serene and blessed region. Nor do you boast without merit of the most wise... original: "sapientiffi-." This is a catchword, the beginning of the word sapientissimi, meaning "most wise." It alerts the reader to the first word of the next page.