An ornamental woodcut header features two winged cherubs, or putti, reclining amidst acanthus-leaf scrolls, flanking a central grotesque mask crowned with a basket of fruit.

OF THE GREAT ULYSSES ALDROVANDI

CITIZEN OF BOLOGNA

METALLIC MUSEUM

BOOK ONE.

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THE REASON FOR THE ORDER.

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We consider that no part of philosophy pertaining to singular and sensible things is more difficult than that which encompasses all metallic matters. For although treatises on animals and vegetables, as well as minerals, require daily observation and frequent annotation, this history of minerals is pressed by no small difficulty in distinguishing them from one another due to their confused generation. Be that as it may, we shall imitate the goldsmith, or rather the Dactyliurgus a craftsman of small objects, specifically rings, who, when about to make a jeweled ring, first forms the hoop out of refined, unworked gold, then decorates it with enamel, and finally fits a transparent stone into the bezel, according to the well-known couplet:

The gold is beaten first so a ring may be made,
A shining gem is what makes it look beautiful.

Similarly, the reason for the order we present now suggests itself to us: beginning with metals, we should descend through other fossils in this context, "fossils" refers to all substances dug from the earth, including minerals, stones, and ores that share a nature midway between metals and stones and provide material for the art of enameling, so that we may finally conclude this curious doctrine with stones and gems. Furthermore, by following this order, we shall trace the footsteps of our common teacher, who prescribed that more well-known things should be examined first; since metals, in comparison to other fossils, are considered sufficiently known due to their frequent use in coinage.

A row of six decorative floral fleuron ornaments.