TO THE READER.

...through their own imprudence they turn it into poison and destruction for themselves. But enough regarding these matters. There remains the final part of our warning original: "commonitionis": namely, that we should also briefly give an account of those notes written in the margins and the few observations original: "animaduersiones" and diagrams original: "schematismi"; refers to the visual aids or cipher wheels common in this era added at the end. For while reading through this most difficult subject matter, the person whose help we employed The publisher is likely referring to an anonymous editor or scholar who helped prepare the manuscript for press. wrote these notes down in passing for the sake of easier understanding and memory, and he generously granted the power to publish them together with these books.

This was done so that, if they might happen to be of use, they would be available to others. However, if it should seem otherwise to more learned men with more abundant leisure, or to Master The "D." stands for "Dominus," a title of respect similar to Master or Lord. Porta himself, and if more certain information is discovered by them, these notes can be treated as if they were never written, and the author will not object. Since this is how things stand, we hope that readers will interpret everything favorably original: "aequi boni consulturos"; a standard Renaissance phrase asking the reader to be kind in their judgment, and we trust that Master Porta will also hold us excused. We have followed the custom original: "iure" now commonly accepted by printers original: "typographis", as we were unable to take any counsel from him due to the excessive distance between our locations Porta lived in Naples, while many major scientific publishers were located in cities like Venice, Strasbourg, or Frankfurt..