P R E F A C E .

-tory of the first World, and all circumstances are presented here for instruction, drawn both from meditations and reflections as well as from the sequence of the HistoriesDutch: "Historien." In this context, it refers to the chronological narrative accounts or stories found in sacred and ancient texts., which are made known to us in the Bible and also in part from other ancient writers. And if anyone should think that things have gone a bit too far here, they should know that it is a common practice that when one wishes to present a subject for InstructionDutch: "Leeringe." Lessons or moral guidance intended to edify the reader's soul., one expands upon it as much as possible by considering the details: just as we see that preachers, rhetoriciansDutch: "Rethorizinen." Scholars or speakers skilled in the art of persuasive and elegant language., poets, and painters do their utmost to represent the matter before them vividly, and to impress it upon the heart through the surrounding circumstances;