Preface.

...be hatred, envy, enmity, ingratitude, deceit, pride, and other wicked malice.

We shall now move away from this and return once more to one curiosity or another, in order to give the gracious reader original: "G. Leser," likely "Günstiger Leser"; a standard polite address to the reader a sudden courage for reading and purchasing this work right here in the preface. For instance, when one of my gentleman correspondents once wrote to me: " " " regarding the Hellwigian Vessel original: "Testa Hellwigiana"; likely referring to a specific alchemical preparation or vessel designed by the author Christoph von Hellwig, though everything is done through God’s help, it is quite successful in the curing of diseases; however, the crystals obtained from it are even better, though there are but few of them. Another writes: — — — I have set our microcosmic matter Microcosmic matter|original: "Materiam nostram Microcosmicam"; in alchemy, the "microcosm" refers to the human body, and this matter usually refers to substances like urine or blood used as starting materials for putrefaction Putrefaction|The process of allowing a substance to rot or ferment in a gentle heat to break it down in horse dung original: "in fin. equin.", likely "in fimo equino"; horse manure was used as a natural, steady heat source for alchemical digestion, and subsequently poured it into a transparent, well-sealed glass and placed it calmly in the air. Without applying any external elemental fire, it now shows me wonderful phenomena, as it begins to look like the most beautiful gold at the bottom, while on the walls of the glass, it presents all sorts of the most imaginable colors that could ever be drawn from metals, so that the matter sufficiently shows and testifies to what is hidden within it.

Item. Another: I once distilled one and a half pounds of our menstruum Menstruum|original: "Menstruo"; not a bodily fluid in this context, but a powerful alchemical solvent used to "dissolve" solid matter that had turned to earth, whereupon first a watery spirit...