(:) iij

To the Kindhearted

Reader.

It is a common custom to place a preface or dedication before all treatises and books that are published, partly to bring the work and the author into public renown, partly to obtain a patron, friend, protection, grace, and favor, and partly to give thanks for benefits either already shown or hoped for.

For these and similar conditions original: "Conditionen", no preface original: "Præfation" is necessary in this case: for the subject matter itself—namely, the Secret Chancery and Council Chambers of Anhalt—in which the wretched Bohemian disaster original: "Böhaimbische Vnfall." This refers to the 1620 Battle of White Mountain, a pivotal defeat for the Protestant cause that led to the exile of the "Winter King" Frederick V and the escalation of the Thirty Years' War. and, because of it, the misery currently unfolding before our eyes in German and other lands, as well as a nearly universal movement original: "ac motus quasi universalis" were debated, consulted upon, decided, and truly put into action. Likewise, [no preface is needed because] such hidden, important secrets original: "Secreta", which unexpectedly