Translator's Note: This page continues the introductory front matter of the 1771 edition of The Hermetic North Star. While the previous page established a biblical defense for alchemy, this page transitions into the editor's specific reasons for publishing this collection, citing the authority of famous alchemists like Paracelsus and Sendivogius.

A decorative woodcut headpiece consisting of three rows of repeating ornamental patterns including geometric cross-hatching and stylized floral elements.

Editor’s Preface.

Kind reader, I hereby present to you a small treatise, German: "Tractätlein" about which I have nothing further to say (for the work praises the master itself) other than that it is one of the most sincere and useful. And since this author not only mentions the Eternal Wisdom In Hermetic thought, "Eternal Wisdom" often refers to Sophia, the divine feminine aspect of God or the spiritual insight required to understand nature's secrets. once within it, but also mentions seeking and practicing it here and there with brief words, I also recalled that I have a short discussion of it in one of my own books. I have therefore wished to include it here for a better understanding of the author, alongside three small treatises by Theophrastus Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, known as Paracelsus (1493–1541), a foundational figure in toxicology and occult chemistry. that have become very rare. Of one of these, the excellent Sendivogius Michael Sendivogius (1566–1636), a renowned Polish alchemist and physician credited with discovering oxygen long before Priestley, though he called it the "food of life" in the air. himself speaks thus in his second epistle:

Paracelsus, whose writings are divine lights; yet, if you can find a certain supplement original: "Codicill," referring to a small instructional book or appendix. called the Chemical Psalter, or Manual of Paracelsus original: "Psalterium Chymicum seu Manuale Paracelsi.", you will [discover] all the secrets of the most hid-