The publication of the Discussiones did not by any means signal an end to Patrizi's broader literary and historical interests, however. In 1583 he published a major study on the ancient Roman army, based on his reading of Polybius, Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus, following it up a decade later with a two-volume comparison of ancient Roman military tactics and strategies with those of his own day, probably in attempt to encourage an improvement in Italian military standing. He translated works of Platonic thinkers such as Proclus, the pseudo-John Philoponus, and various tracts in magical philosophy, now recognized as spurious, which were associated with the ancient Egyptian sage Hermes Trismegistus and his followers. His attention to the latter sources placed him in the middle of the growing debate on the authenticity and philosophical merit, if any, of the “ancient theology” and the practice of spiritual and demonic magic by such contemporary thinkers as the unfortunate Giordano Bruno. [see section 4].