An ornate rectangular headpiece depicting a group of figures in classical or academic attire, possibly scholars or deities, gathered in a grand architectural setting with columns and books, framed by baroque scrolls and floral decorations.

I. GENERAL PART.

I. SECTION

On the Protestant Church.

A decorative square initial block featuring the letter 'L' surrounded by intricate geometric and floral patterns.

The Plate which stands at the head of the entire work, titled: Tableau of the principal Religions of the World;
This is an ingenious representation, which is left to each person’s own speculation. The main objects presented there are (a) in the middle of the plate: on one side, the Sovereign Pontiff of the Roman Church, invested with his power and accompanied by Cardinals, Bishops, Jesuits, and other members of religious orders, to whom the Greek Patriarch takes an oath—though smiling and covering his forehead with a mask. On the other side are the Protestants, whose Religion is represented by an open Bible, the Reformation by a pruning hook original: "Serpette", and its effect by a neatly trimmed tree. The figures one can distinguish there are the principal Reformers, such as Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Melanchthon, Jan Hus, Henry VIII King of England, Cranmer original: "Kramer"; Thomas Cranmer (1489–1556), Archbishop of Canterbury, Peter Martyr, Bucer, etc. Not far from there stands Menno Simons original: "Mennon Simon"; the radical reformer from whom the Mennonites take their name, who receives an adult girl into his communion, and seated beside him in ecstasy is a Quaker, representing the Enthusiasts. (b) At the bottom of the plate appears Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, central to Shia Islam, who explains the Quran original: "Alcoran" to the Turks, Tartars, and Blacks, where also a Persian holds in his hands the fundamental maxims of his religion, and where the annual sacrifice of those of that nation—consisting of a camel—is represented by that animal. (c) Finally, in the distance and in the empty spaces, appear the Mexicans, Peruvians, Southern Indians, and other Pagan and Idolatrous nations.

(a) This is an allusion to the subject of the first general Part.
(b) This is an allusion to the subject of the second general Part.
(c) This is an allusion to the subject of the third general Part.

The Portrait of Bernard Picart original: "Bernard Picard"; 1673–1733, the famous French engraver known for this work, called "the Roman," etc. The explanation is at the bottom of the plate itself. This plate serves as the title for the first Section, bearing at the top the motto: Things heard stir the mind more slowly than those seen original Latin: "Segnius irritant animos &c."; a quote from Horace's Ars Poetica suggesting that visual images are more impactful than words. At the bottom: Truth must be investigated original Latin: "Exploranda eſt veritas &c.".

The German inscription of this plate reads: Sacred and Religious Ceremonies of the Christians of all the Earth, engraved according to the invention of the famous Picart, by David Herrliberger, and accompanied by a historical explanation. First Section, containing the ceremonies of the Lutherans of the Augsburg Confession, the Reformed of the Dutch Churches, and others. The motto on the right is: The Light of Truths. That on the left: The Witness of Times.