Marsilio Ficino the Florentine humbly commends himself to the Most Reverend Father in Christ, Lord Giovanni de' Medici, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church.

When I had decided to write a letter to you to congratulate you on the Cardinal’s dignity recently bestowed upon you, and was considering to whom I might best give it to be delivered to you—someone who would make our congratulation much more pleasing—I suddenly betook myself to the Academy. The "Academy" refers to the Platonic Academy in Florence, a circle of scholars led by Ficino under Medici patronage. I hoped that in its inner chambers, at least, some greeter most acceptable to you would not be lacking. There, by a certain divine chance, the first to meet me was Iamblichus, nicknamed "the Divine" among the Platonists, and a great priest there. To him I said: "Greetings, Iamblichus, great priest. At present (as you see), I am about to congratulate Giovanni de' Medici, the new high priest of the Christian religion. Giovanni de' Medici, the future Pope Leo X, had just been made a Cardinal at a very young age. I pray you, if my request is just, that you will make our otherwise meager congratulation fuller with your divine words and mysteries." He nodded to my prayers, and with this sentiment he comes to you: "Giovanni, great priest, that Great Priest comes to you." Receive, then, such a great greeter with joy, and after the first greeting, after the letter has been read, listen more attentively (if you please) to what that divine man says. For he promised that—in words equally worthy of his person and yours—he would express to you in brief what the Egyptian and Assyrian priests thought concerning religion and divine matters.

ARGUMENT ON THE BOOK OF IAMBLICHUS.

Porphyry, who is called "the Philosopher" among the Platonists because of his excellence, sent a long letter to Egypt to Anebo the priest. It was full of various and weighty questions regarding all parts of philosophy, especially concerning God, and angels, spirits, and souls; original: "dæmonéſq;." Ficino uses the term daemon to refer to intermediary spirits, not necessarily evil beings. concerning providence; concerning fate; prophecies; magic; miracles; sacrifices; and vows. Iamblichus, his pupil, responded to Porphyry’s questions. Iamblichus introduces Abammon, an Egyptian priest, as the one responding on behalf of his student Anebo, to whom Porphyry had sent the letter. Of this entire inquiry and truly divine response—as if I were still too occupied with Plotinus—I have translated almost the meanings rather than the words. original: "nō uerba, ſed ſenſa traduxi." This reflects Ficino's philosophy of translation, prioritizing the spirit and philosophical sense over a literal word-for-word rendering. Thus, it should not be thought strange if the speech seems broken in places, especially among the very principles of the dispute where the loss of words is slighter. From here on, the flow of words will appear more continuous. I was, however, forced at times to interpose some word of my own for the sake of continuity or understanding. Furthermore, Pierleoni—a man most eager for all secrets—was a cause for this swifter edition. Pierleoni refers to Pierleone Leoni, a famous physician and scholar who served the Medici family. Truly, what I especially admire is that he always seems to strive for those things which he already possesses; for by a certain divinity of character, he grasps the secrets of philosophers, both Greek and foreign, even before they are read.