- Ferdinando de’ Medici (9 August 1663 – 31 October 1713) was the eldest son of Cosimo III de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Marguerite Louise d’Orléans. Ferdinando was heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, with the title Grand Prince, from his father’s accession in 1670 until his death in 1713. He is remembered today primarily as a patron of music. An excellent musician himself (sometimes called “the Orpheus of princes”), he attracted top musicians to Florence and thus made it an important musical center. Through his patronage of Bartolomeo Cristofori, Ferdinando made possible the invention of the piano.
- Hebrews in Greek (ancientlibrary.net)
Composed in the most polished Greek of the New Testament, Hebrews is an anonymous first-century homily-like epistle written in Koine Greek. Reading Christ through the institutions of Israel’s scriptures, it presents him as the great high priest whose single sacrifice surpasses the old covenant, and it exhorts wavering believers to persevere in faith.