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...to bring some work into the public light, they take pains to inscribe and consecrate it to some Great Person Magnati: a person of high rank, wealth, or influence, or a friend, or another patron, and they do this for four reasons in particular: namely, that by this very act they might devote not only their own names, but also the memory of the patron himself to a kind of immortality; next, that they might prepare for themselves a defense patrocinium: the protection, support, or advocacy given by a patron against the envious and biting The Latin "caninosque dentes" literally means "dog-like teeth," a common metaphor for vicious or snarling critics. critics who are always accustomed to gnaw at the works of others while failing to see their own, and who think nothing is right except what they do themselves; furthermore, so that some illustrious name prefixed to that work might be like an ivy-bush In the early modern period, an ivy branch or wreath was the traditional sign hung outside a tavern to indicate that wine was sold within. The author is suggesting the Prince's name acts as a "brand" of quality., under whose sign—as if it were some noble wine—the work may be recognized, praised, and sold; and finally, so that there might be a public monument to testify to the respect and gratitude for favors received, and that the patron's kindness and generosity munificentia: the quality of being lavishly generous, particularly a virtue expected of high-ranking nobility may shine forth.

These very reasons, I say, also impelled me to lead my mind to inscribe and consecrate to Your Highness this inscrutable Chymico-Philosophical: relating to the intersection of alchemy and natural philosophy harmony. For if I wished to recount such great and varied favors of Your Highness toward me, this dedication would grow almost into a volume. Wherefore, in order that in some part...