Symbols of the Golden Table of the Twelve Nations

PREFACE TO THE READER.

...[striving for] utility and working together with one mind for the advancement of their neighbor’s good; may He grant this, from whom, as the Father of Lights Pater Luminum A reference to the Epistle of James 1:17: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights." Maier frequently emphasizes that alchemical knowledge is not merely a human achievement but a divine gift granted to the pious., all good and perfect gifts descend.

A decorative woodcut tailpiece follows the text, featuring a central foliate figure or satyr holding platters of fruit, flanked by lions and scrolling acanthus-like patterns. In early modern printing, such ornaments signified the end of a major section, such as this preface.