The Universal Art of Music, Volume II

...so that one whose mind was set on searching more deeply into the innermost secrets of Music would find that, in the intent of execution, theory did not fail practice, nor practice theory. The arrogant reproach of purely practical musicians added a stimulus to carry out this proposal; for they think it impossible for a theorist to compose a melody with the skill, elegance, and grace that modern music rightly requires. Indeed, asserting the contrary with laughter and derision, I sought to show that this reproach of theirs was false and unjust. For many years now I have applied myself seriously to this task, leaving nothing untried by which I might discover some Art through which anyone, however unskilled in Music, could achieve in a short space of time and without labor that which practical composers hardly achieve in many years.

Therefore, having learned through frequent musical experience and noting the great power of combinations hidden beneath musical intervals and the diversity of tones, I approached the principles of the whole musurgical combination by the aid of analytical art. I reduced the more excellent and necessary metatheses Original: "metatheses"; here referring to the rearrangement or transposition of musical elements. of harmonic relations into tables with truly great labor, using such a disposition of secret skill that, in whatever position the Melotactic column A term coined by Kircher for his "arrangement of melody" system. was ordered, a new harmony would always emerge. While this truly wonderful Melotactic combination—still wailing, as it were, in its first cradle in simple counterpoint—obtained its own successful results, I was immediately carried away by an intellectual fervor. Not content with these, I applied my mind to bringing forth a universal method of Melothesia The art of composing melodies or setting text to music.. In this, I seem indeed to have succeeded so well as to exhibit all harmonic beauty and grace together with the appropriate artifice of words.

Though these things seemed at first paradoxical original Greek: "παράδοξα" and truly miraculous to musicians, they nonetheless learned to have faith in this Art—whose principles they did not yet understand—once the experiment was performed by various illustrious men. Now, this new Musurgy of ours consists chiefly in the ingenious combination of Melotactic Tables; by which, however they are arranged, a new harmony must necessarily emerge. Thus, since compositions of this kind are nearly infinite, an infinite diversity of harmonic concert is also born. Therefore, whoever knows how to adapt our Melotactic Tables according to the rules to be prescribed by us shortly, and knows how to rightly transfer the harmonic numbers into the melotactic scale, will also know that they will compose with the same ease—in whatever tone and with whatever texts of words are given—any ingenious songs: simple, composite, florid, diminished, syncopated, interwoven with ingenious ligatures Notes tied together, indicating they should be sung to a single syllable or played smoothly., and following one another in the manner of fugues.

For just as in Algebra a Logista A practitioner of logistical calculation or algebra., by following the course of a rule, completes the explanations of paradoxical questions with such ease that the operator himself does not know how he has done it—and thus an unexpected effect comes forth while the calculator is scarcely thinking—so here, for those composers following the course of the prescribed rules, the desired harmony will come forth, whether performed by those skilled in music or those ignorant of it, even children and women. Certainly, the vows and effective prayers of our Fathers migrating to the most remote Indies were able to do much to make this secret public. Since the attraction of unlearned people consists in the frequent practice of music and divine praises, and neither printed books nor composers are always present, they believed this Musurgy would be of the greatest use to them. For with this, they will produce not only the desired songs in the Latin language, but also in any proposed language—even Indian and however "barbarian" an idiom—as will be discussed at length later.

His Catchword: "To these..." or "With these..."