Preface.

A iij

Almighty power is wonderfully hidden in herbs, precious stones, and many other things. As it is rightly written in the Psalms:

God is great, who alone performs great wonders. original: "Magnus est Deus, qui fecit mirabilia magna solus." A paraphrase of Psalm 136:4. Therefore, let us allow God to be the sovereign here, who acts even against the laws of nature.

And Nature is wonderful in her works, especially in the work of generationoriginal: "opere generationis"; refers to the biological process of procreation and development., in the procreation and birth of various creatures.

Now, since Nature is never idle, she can and may bring about such miraculous works in animals, precious stones, and others, etc., by herself. Therefore, it is customary to say:

God and Nature do nothing in vain (unless Nature is hindered, as can be seen in monstersoriginal: "monstris"; in a historical context, this refers to biological anomalies or "prodigies" that deviate from the natural order.). original: "Deus & natura... nihil faciunt [frustra]." A common Scholastic axiom derived from Aristotle.