This belongs to the Library of Saint Francis of Granada, from the testament of the Most Illustrious and Reverend Lord ...? Ascanio Rinati, 1662. This is a provenance note indicating the book was bequeathed to a Franciscan monastery in Spain nearly a century after its publication. An elaborate architectural and grotesque woodcut border. At the top center, a framed vignette depicts a lynx standing in a landscape. Above the lynx is a scroll with the motto "He beholds and he looks within" original: "ASPICIT ET INSPICIT". The border features various botanical elements like acorns and flowers, interspersed with hybrid figures, masks, and winged creatures. At the bottom center, a seated allegorical female figure resides within a decorative niche. The lynx is the symbol of the Accademia dei Lincei, one of the world's first scientific academies, of which Porta was a prominent member. The motto suggests that the scientist does not just see the surface of nature, but peers into its hidden secrets.

PHYTOGNOMONICA A term coined by the author, meaning "The Law of Knowing Plants" or "Plant Physiognomy."

BY GIAMBATTISTA DELLA PORTA OF NAPLES

CONTAINED IN EIGHT BOOKS.

IN WHICH A NEW AND MOST EASY

method is proposed, by which—from the first

inspection of the outward appearance of plants,

animals, metals, and indeed of all things—

anyone may understand their

hidden powers.

IN ADDITION TO THESE ARE ALMOST

infinite and choice secrets, investigated and

tested with the greatest labor, loss of

time, and sacrifice of

expense, to confirm these findings.

WITH PRIVILEGE. A 16th-century form of copyright protection granted by legal authorities.

NAPLES, At the House of Horatio Salviano. 1588.