DEDICATION.

a iij

disagreeing, so that what was stated by one
seemed denied by another, and what was built up
here was torn down there.
Therefore, I sought out and scraped together
from every side as many as had written
on this subject—both published works and
manuscripts, even those still being gnawed
by moths and bookworms. The Ancient,
I say, and modern authors, read through
with all the diligence and tireless effort I could
muster, I have turned over with a hand
working by night and by day for twenty-two
years. I studied them, marked them, made
annotations, transcribed those notes, and
arranged the transcriptions into an order
observed by no one until now. I did this
with the intention that this Compendium
Compendium A concise manual or summary that brings together a vast amount of information into a single, organized volume.
would serve as a guiding star Cynosura original: "Cynosurae." Historically, this referred to the constellation of Ursa Minor (the Little Bear), which contains the North Star used by sailors to navigate.
for me in that vast, wandering sea of so many
seemingly conflicting opinions; so that after
having endured original: "exantlatos," a term often used to describe exhausting labors or draining a bitter cup.