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Although original copies of the "De Oculis" are to be found in all our large libraries, and Albertotti and others have given a wide choice of published Latin texts, a translation into English was a desideratum. Mediaeval Latin is not the Latin of our school books; it bristles with difficulties of nomenclature and derivation, of punctuation and of abbreviation. Time and training are necessary for an extensive perusal of its texts. A translation is essential to leisurely reading. Thanks to Dr. Wood, the "De Oculis" now lies open for easy study by his Englishspeaking colleagues.
The printing press was set up at Ferrara in 1471. Three years later what is known as the Ferrara edition of the "De Oculis" was struck off, and it is this edition, one of the longest, that was chosen for translation. After the elimination of repeated phrases and sentences and irrelevant admonitions, the