PREFACE

...more excellent works, if God grants us leisure and our friends provide help, to bring them into the light: so that men eager for this most excellent and useful art art: the "Hermetic Art" or alchemy, which aimed at both the transmutation of metals and the creation of life-extending medicines might use and enjoy them.

But someone will say that through these editions of mine I bring more harm than benefit to the Commonwealth Commonwealth: original "Reipubl." (Respublica), referring here to the "Republic of Letters" or the general public good, since the art is empty and the science is non-existent; seeing as it deals not with matters that are entirely certain, but with those that are uncertain and only rarely occurring—indeed, most rarely, or perhaps never—but rather treats the mere opinions of many men.

For [they say] no one, in our own or the preceding century, has performed those things which the writers of this art so magnificently and diversely promise. Since it therefore lacks its intended purpose original: "fine." In Renaissance logic, a true "art" or "science" had to have a "finis" (an end or goal) that was actually achievable., and all things are done for the sake of a purpose, it follows that it is neither an art nor a science, and that those who study these things or believe in lazy imposters are ridiculous and foolish.

To these critics, it has been more than sufficiently answered with certain proofs by excellent and most learned Philosophers, and the truth of this art has been proven (especially indeed by the most celebrated Phi- The text ends mid-word. The catchword "lofopho" at the bottom of the page indicates the word is "Philosopho" (Philosopher).