Le tableau des riches inventions qui sont representees dans le songe de Poliphile

...languages known only to scholars, and mixing it with all the finest parts of ancient mythology. He wrote to his compatriots without communicating his intentions to them, so that his Italian work is properly nothing but a naked painting to those who have not been raised in the places where science is acquired. As an Italian, he wrote to the Italians, but intended to be received only by those most delicate in intelligence. Having considered this along with the first ones who gave us this volume in French, we did not wish to imitate his shrouded ways of speaking, which are full of strange features for the common person. Indeed, by comparing the two copies, I have left out what the first had omitted, while adding here and there what was too truncated. In making it familiar to our language, I followed the original intention of that Knight of Malta who showed it to our people, following his simplicity as much as possible. It is not fitting to obscure what one wants to clarify, especially when giving it to the French, who have enough merit to share in beautiful secrets. This book, having previously fallen into the hands of that gentleman, he drew out its substance (especially regarding Architecture, where he shows his knowledge) and put it into our language, not as a translation, but as an imitation and discourse drawn from this beautiful subject. This was shared with Mr. Jean Martin, who revised it, but, with all due respect, without noticing several details that had to be restored. He dedicated this work in the year 1546 to Monsieur the Count of Nanthueil, Henri de Lenoncourt, to whom and to the Reader he gives a brief discourse on the contents of the book, which we will also redraw, but more proportionately, so as not to be tedious when tracing what is full of abstruse and secret knowledge. Since then, in the year 1561, Mr. Jacques Gohorry glanced over it somewhat, as it appears, for he did not change a single syllable, nor did he notice the error at the beginning of the book, which I will let you judge. It said, One morning in the month of April around daybreak, this Poliphilus was in my bed without other company, etc. And at the end of the book, he ends thus: I heard the sweet Philomela or nightingale, etc. And then, having recovered himself, he says that it was the first day of the month of May. If Gohorry had paid attention, he would have seen that the author says he dreamed before daybreak, then having dreamed he recovered himself at the song of the Nightingale, not in April. This should have been considered. This also alerts me to the little care Gohorry took, who in total added only a small Latin notice, where he said the same as Martin: that the author had put his name in the first letters of the chapters. It would have been desirable if he had done the same in all the French books of Philosophy that he had us reprint and spoil. He was a man of merit and knowledge, but he was wrong to change and overturn

the meaning in several places, to the detriment of readers and the dishonor of authors. I say this to give warning, as otherwise his work is praiseworthy, for everyone does what they can. Now, let this be said with good grace and full preservation of everyone's merits. Since then, as virtuous curiosities excite souls, and because all desiring spirits want to know, Master Matthieu Guillemot—recognized among Booksellers as one of the most honorably curious and well-deserving of the printing trade and the public—wishing to represent this treasure to the French, placed it in my hand to revise it and make it speak more politely. I have tried to do this most exactly, comparing it to the original, in which the author, having hidden his name on the title of the book, had inserted it in the beginnings thus: original Latin: "Poliam frater Franciscus Columna peramauit" Brother Francesco Colonna loved Polia intensely. Wishing to imitate and not translate this, just as the whole is but an imitation, I have placed in the first letters: Francesco Colonna, faithful servant of Polia. This is more suitable and beautiful for a Gentleman than calling him a monk, which this Colonna became after the death of his mistress. While she was alive and he was still a layman, he traced several ordinances of love under the name of Polia, who was formerly the beautiful Lucrezia Trevisan. He transformed his pursuit of her, which was full of flames, making these sweet loves of worldly delights become fruitful affections for non-perishable subjects, which are obtained through the searches for virtue and are found in the light of the sciences. These are the true loves of fine hearts, such as our old Poet recites, saying:

Those who possessed science:
And yet in their old days
They enjoyed their loves.

Meanwhile, you will notice that the book has remained French, imitated from the Italian, as appears by the title, Discourse on the Dream of Poliphilus. Keeping it as it was for the main body, we did not wish to insert the fables we found in the Italian, following as simply as possible what presented itself. As for the design of the whole, it is diverse, for one sees much architecture, in which the Knight of Malta sometimes exaggerated. One encounters beautiful gardens, fountains, and many ancient sculptures, where here and there we have slightly expanded what was too shortened, forgetting, however, the imitation of the language, which, if we had practiced it, would have had very bad grace, considering that to obsess over the literal scraping of terms and phrases would smell of...