Author's Preface

—stirs up for itself, by its own industry, ideas that are as congruent as possible with the things it reads. It then joins, separates, and compares these ideas, drawing from them consequences—whether suitable or unsuitable—and amplifies them, reasoning about them more and more. Yet, if a person employs nothing else than his own human Reason humanam Rationem; the logical, analytical mind as opposed to spiritual intuition acting in this manner, he labors entirely in vain.

Through this method, he will more often than not manufacture only empty fictions and absurd chimeras for himself, even from the most diligent reading of the Most Holy Scriptures original: Sanctiſſimorum ſcriptorum; this refers to the Bible and perhaps the writings of the Church Fathers. This occurs, of course, because of the immense depravity and corruption of our Reason. Consequently, it is inevitable that such a person will not only remain ignorant of divine realities original: res diviniores, but will even reject them. In the end, he becomes a shameless mocker and a singular adversary of these truths and their divine Authors.

Indeed, even if this same person were able to form the most accurate ideas of all spiritual things original: spiritalium through his own reasoning—though this is, in fact, impossible—he would still achieve nothing but empty shadows and pictures that are utterly sterile and devoid of life. These are so far from [nourishing] his soul— The text ends mid-word at ani-; the catchword mam on the next page completes animam, or "soul."