Introduction to the History of Hebrew Philosophy

defenders, or to mark its corruptors with a black stone original: "atro notare lapillo"; an ancient Roman custom of using a black stone to indicate a vote for condemnation or to mark an unlucky day.; indeed, everyone will easily grant that whoever considers these things of little consequence, or persuades himself or others that they can safely be ignored, should rightly be judged to have declared war on wisdom and true learning itself.

But since wisdom has never fixed for itself a certain seat anywhere, but has wandered through all parts of the world, finding folly as its companion everywhere, he who desires to catch her certain traces must travel entirely through the annals of all nations and the monuments of both the ancients and the moderns.

These traces, unless I am entirely mistaken, are nowhere found more clearly than among the Hebrew people, with whom it seemed quite right to begin the chronology of philosophy original: "philosophiae fastos"; "fasti" refers to the official calendars or records of events in ancient Rome..

Therefore, I am not ashamed—however obscure original: "umbratica"; literally "in the shadows," often referring to the secluded, private life of a scholar compared to public life. and trivial this treatise might seem to many—to place your names at its head. For I know well that no one has a more correct estimation of wisdom than one who has proved by his deeds and his whole life that he is ruled by her and driven by her love toward every excellence.

For I believe those idle men, who feed themselves and others on sweet dreams and empty inventions, are utterly unworthy of the name of philosophers. To me, that man alone is wise and a lover of wisdom who...