PREFACE.

...and perceive: nor should you think it out of place that I have done this, lest the profane crowd, not yet initiated into the sacred mysteries of philosophy, might be able to attain these things, or lest, having fallen into their hands, they become cheapened—especially regarding those things which are harmful or of greater weight. The author refers to the "profane crowd" (original: "prophana turba"), a common term in Renaissance esotericism for those who lack the moral or intellectual preparation to handle powerful natural secrets safely. You, however, who hold this treasure in your hands: add to it, take away from it, and as it is easy for you, extract the true sense; and if experiments occur that are either common or well-known, let them be passed over without disgust; for we have not written for you, but for others, so that each may draw for himself the food he has sought.

Receive therefore, eager readers, these long labors, produced not without zeal, sleepless nights, expense, and many inconveniences, with the same spirit in which they are bestowed; and cast away all ambiguity of the intellect and soul, as well as envy, which are accustomed to dazzle the sharpness of the mind and hinder the truth. Weigh these matters with a right judgment while you test what we have written, for by discovering the truth, you will perhaps be more favorable to my studies. Although it does not escape me that many ignorant people will be present—those idle from every serious matter—who will shudder at these things and envy them; they will rashly affirm that these things are not only false, but cannot even be done. While they strive to extract the truth through arguments and infinite disputes, they "act so as to understand nothing by their understanding," original: "faciunt ne intelligendo, vt nihil intelligant"; a quote from the Roman playwright Terence, suggesting that critics often over-analyze a subject until they lose the basic truth of it. and their ignorance is betrayed. Such people, like the profane, ought to be kept away from the thresholds of our Magic. Magic: in this context, "Magiæ" refers to Natural Magic—the study of the hidden powers of plants, minerals, and animals—rather than sorcery. For those who do not give credit to the miracles of nature are, in a certain way, attempting to abolish philosophy itself.

A decorative typographical woodcut ornament featuring a symmetrical arrangement of scrolling leaves and floral flourishes around a central spiral motif.