The Ecstatic Journey

Preface

...I earnestly beg the same, that he does not allow the shadow of some sinister suspicion to settle in his mind concerning me;
and therefore, let him not accuse me of any rashness, as if
I were claiming for myself something higher than what is human, or,
as a new prophet, were attempting to more confidently push a new
apocalypse apocalypsin (Greek: apokalypsis): a revelation or unveiling of hidden things, often referring to prophetic visions of revelations inspired from heaven upon the World, or
as if I wished to claim more than is right that I had been present
at the secret council of the Divine Numinis: referring to the Divine Power or Godhead: far be it! For how much the ambition
of such idle original: "maleferiatorum" — literally "badly holiday-making," meaning those who waste time in vanity or mischief men is abhorrent to my soul,
is known by those who know me and all my works.
The end and sole intention of the undertaken Work was, therefore,
to follow that method in this little book which
long ago the ancients, such as Trismegistus Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary figure to whom various mystical and scientific writings were attributed, Plato, Lucian A satirist known for his fictional "True History," which includes a voyage to the moon, and many in succeeding centuries—both
Poets and Orators—held with a truly praiseworthy custom;
a method, I say, which a pleasant, delightful style of speaking,
suited to the reader’s taste, would adorn, while the allegorical allegorica: symbolic or metaphorical narrative used to convey deeper truths
coverings of the descriptions would gently balance the light
and color, like the shaded strokes of a drawing.
So too, the wonder-working Thaumaturgicæ: relating to the performance of wonders or miracles, here likely referring to the marvels of nature and science operations, described
in a poetic style, would seize the reader’s mind, stimulated by a
certain curiosity, and carry it with a gentler force toward the
pondering of the matters proposed; thus, there is no
mystery here, no rapture or [revelation] of the divine Power...