Universal Music-making (Musurgia Universalis), Volume I

Then, in the rich kingdom of minerals,
Nature constructs wondrous works,
where naturalists will find profound knowledge
of memorable harmonies.

It will tell how one Element shares its quality
with another, and how it then passes
with rhythmic, harmonious steps
to create the noble harmony original: "concento" (a musical term for voices singing in concord). of mixed things. In the 17th century, "mixts" referred to physical substances formed by the blending of the four elements (earth, air, fire, water).

And how, from the ethereal fields
of those beautiful bodies adorned with splendor,
the flashes of light descend here below
with a steady and ordered rhythm. This refers to the "influences" or "radiations" of the planets and stars upon the terrestrial world.

And how, finally ascending to the Creator
from the contemplation of created music:
no living thing is found here below
that does not sing of its Maker, even if it be mute.

How, with ineffable harmony,
that divine Trinity original: "Ternario." is united as one,
and how our Soul enjoys
that eternal good in supreme melody.

Why does that noble hand delay any longer,
and not yet reveal its illustrious labors?
My Muse prays to you in the name of the world,
to grant them to us: now let this prayer not be in vain.

But I hear already that the printing press original: "torchìo" (the press used for printing books).
is pressing the fortunate sheets original: "lini" (linens), referring to the linen-rag paper used in early modern book production. for the common good:
let Rome now rejoice, and the farthest provinces,
in these revealed harmonies, lofty and divine.

You, magnanimous LEOPOLD, while
ATHANASIUS prepares the learned pages for you,
hear and welcome with a gracious ear
(whatever it may be) the song of my Muse. Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (1614–1662) was the patron and dedicatee of this work.