A Course of Chemistry

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...worthy that He should entrust me with the priestly care for the salvation of certain souls; a calling for which I have otherwise sought to make myself capable through my prayers and studies, with His assistance and amid His many temptations. Nevertheless, I might be excused in this regard for having, as a student of the visions of the Lord, also looked around a bit in the Book of Nature A theological concept suggesting that God's will and character can be understood by studying the natural world as if it were a second volume of scripture alongside the Bible. This is especially true when one considers how the finger of God is found expressed in all of nature's operations, and how His ways in the Realm of Grace The spiritual sphere of faith and the church draw the most beautiful illustrations from the threefold Realm of Nature Referring to the traditional classification of the natural world into the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. Therefore, even the most eminent men of God among us—Arndt, Gerhard, and Scherzer Johann Arndt (1555–1621), Johann Gerhard (1582–1637), and Johann Adam Scherzer (1628–1683) were influential Lutheran theologians who integrated natural observation and personal piety into their works—could formerly be found in this school of thought. However, some might still attribute it to me as an imprudence that I attach your highly praised names, high-commanding, gra- The word "gnädige" (gracious) is interrupted here by the page break