Amphitheater of Eternal Wisdom

A detailed engraving serves as the frontispiece, featuring a central oval portrait of Heinrich Khunrath at the age of 42 in the year 1602. Khunrath is depicted with a beard and short hair, wearing a high-collared, fur-lined mantle over a decorative doublet. He sits at a desk, holding a quill in his right hand over a paper, while his left hand rests near his chest. A small dog is tucked under his right arm, peering forward.

The desk holds several symbolic objects: a pair of compasses, an inkwell, and an open book. The open book features a German inscription from Psalm 71:18. The legs of the compass are inscribed with the words "DEO DVCE" (With God as Leader).

The portrait is encircled by an oval border containing a Latin biographical inscription. Surrounding the oval are various elements:

• Top Left: A coat of arms featuring a crested helmet.
• Top Center: A laurel wreath containing a short Latin dedication.
• Top Right: A radiant sun containing the Hebrew Tetragrammaton (the name of God), with a Latin inscription below it.
• Left Side: A stack of five large books labeled with the core subjects of Khunrath's study: History, Alchemy, Magic, Kabbalah, and the Bible.
• Right Side: Books labeled Medicine and Physics (Natural Philosophy).

Below the oval is a rectangular panel containing a twelve-line Latin acrostic poem. The panel is flanked by two standing figures: on the left is Mercury (Hermes) with a caduceus, and on the right is a personification of Nature (Artemis of Ephesus) with multiple breasts.

At the very bottom of the engraving are the engraver's signature and a small boxed printer's mark ("E P").

The following poem is an acrostic. The first letter of each line spells out "CONSILIVM DEI," which means "The Counsel of God."

Critic, do not blame the books of THIS MAN, I tell you:
Oh, let your own labor yield to the AMPHITHEATER of HEINRICH!
Naturally, he has performed his work rightly by divine inspiration;
Surely these writings are never contrary to the TRUTH;
Indeed, because he defends and prays for Sincere WISDOM,
Lovely joy he restores, illustrating and purging away abuse.
In life, he wished to serve both Man and GOD,
Virtuously, so that by equal reason, the Name and Omen of KHUNRATH,
MIGHTY IN COUNSEL, might celebrate the gifts of JEHOVAH.
Doubtless, nothing remains unless he scorns the mockeries of Momus Momus was the Greek god of satire and unfair criticism.;
Ever THUS by writing may he continue to benefit many:
Ingenious as he is in talent, and refined in the Art.