Chapter One.

...defense of the Christian faith, as well as the union of two fires, the heavenly and the earthly; sometimes [represented by] a Pelican sitting beneath a cross adorned with roses, opening its breast to nourish its young with its blood The Pelican is a classic symbol of Christ's sacrifice, but in alchemy, it represents "circulation"—the process of distilling a substance and letting it drip back onto itself to "nourish" and refine the material, signifying our redemption and the heavenly Tincture of souls, as well as, on the other hand, the concentrated Tincture Tincture: In alchemy, a potent liquid substance capable of "tingeing" or transforming both the human soul (spiritually) and base metals (physically) into a higher state used to color other imperfect metals; again, a cross marked with four chemical fires $Δ$: The alchemical symbol for Fire, where the points meet in the center, and the Astral, Vegetable, Animal, and Mineral realms are understood, while the eight corners represent the eight Beatitudes The Beatitudes are the eight blessings preached by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (e.g., "Blessed are the poor in spirit"); sometimes a dove, sometimes an eagle, sometimes steel and stone, and the like, bearing the same meaning as the above, which have been preserved for a long time.

Since they lacked neither money nor excellent medicine, they also built during that time (for the education of youth, the advancement of the sciences and the faith, as well as the care of the poor) the most magnificent foundations, churches, and hospitals, in which these laudable knights served with such philanthropy, kindness, gentleness, and humility that even the lowliest persons felt themselves put to shame by the most noble, and the wildest spirits were softened, alongside many other great and numerous deeds and good works performed in private original: "en particulier". But even of these, through time and war, the core has been lost, and only the shells remain,