PREFACE

sophy, Medicine explains Medicine, law explains law, and Chemistry explains and unlocks Chemistry. Expect nothing in this work that is foreign to the original authors; for these are their very words original: "ipsissima verba"; a common scholarly phrase meaning the precise words spoken or written by the source.: I have added absolutely nothing of my own. Only the labor of researching, the night-watches original: "vigiliæ"; referring to the dedicated hours spent working by candlelight while others sleep. in compiling, and the zeal in organizing and arranging are mine. I had indeed collected these things for my own benefit and for a more convenient use; however, moved by compassion for those who seek such sublime matter Sublime matter: in an alchemical context, "sublime" refers to substances that have been purified or elevated through chemical processes like sublimation, but also implies the high spiritual value of the material., since the right side of Scylla Scylla was a mythical sea monster from the Odyssey. Navigating the "right side of Scylla" refers to the dangerous "strait" of alchemical practice where one must avoid the "rocks" of error and the "whirlpool" of Charybdis.