Most Noble Lord,

Lord Godfather, to be eternally

honored,

Non credo original: "Non credo," the start of the main dedication text I do not believe that any age in the history of the world has labored so strenuously to demonstrate the undeniable foundations of true Physics In the 17th century, "Physics" referred to "Natural Philosophy"—the study of the laws of nature and the physical world. as our own current era. The English Society A reference to the Royal Society of London, founded in 1660 to promote experimental natural philosophy. strains every nerve for this cause. The Curious Academy of the Roman Empire The Academia Naturae Curiosorum, founded in 1652 in the Holy Roman Empire; it is now known as the Leopoldina. pursues the same goal tirelessly. The learned Colleges of the Danes, the French, and the Italians do not yield a hair’s breadth original: "ne latum cedunt unguem," a Latin idiom meaning to not budge or deviate in the slightest. in this pursuit. And what of the fact that so many individuals step forth into the public arena who attempt to complete this task alone—a task which, here and there, a great number of scholars, even with their reason and experience united, have not yet been able to accomplish. There is, however, among those individuals, in my judgment,