PREFACE.

perfection consists, provided they proceed by the Royal Road original: "via Regia." The "King's Highway" or most direct, natural path in alchemy., which Nature prescribes in all her operations.
Therefore, I would wish the sincere reader to be warned here, that he may understand my writings not so much from the husk of the words, but from the forces of Nature, lest he later deplore time, labor, and expense spent in vain. Let him consider that this is the science of the Sages original: "Sophorum." From the Greek "sophoi," meaning wise men or masters of the art., not of the unskilled: And that the meaning of the Philosophers is far too different for it to be perceived either by boastful braggarts original: "Thrasones." A reference to Thraso, a character of a swaggering soldier in Roman comedy; used here to describe arrogant, loud-mouthed amateurs., or learned mockers, or those corrupted against their own conscience (who, since they cannot rise by their virtues, attempt to do so through crimes and slanders against honest men), or unskilled mountebanks original: "circumforanei." Literally "market-crawlers"; traveling quacks or street-peddlers who sold fraudulent medicines and alchemical secrets., who with their whitenings original: "dealbationibus." Superficial chemical processes used to give base metals a silver-like appearance without changing their true nature. and reddenings original: "rubefactionibus." Superficial processes used to give metals a gold-like tint., to the most unworthy defamation of the highly praised chemical science, have deceived almost the whole world. For it is the gift of GOD, since it can be reached by nothing except the grace of God alone illuminating the intellect, through patient and religious humility, or through the visual demonstration of an experienced teacher.

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