A Pious and Useful Admonition Concerning the Brothers of the Rosy Cross

...at the very least, however, they delight in studies, so that they either devote themselves to letters in other schools and academies, or, where they have already laid their own foundations, they provide for themselves through private night-studies and teachers—both "mute" A common scholarly metaphor for books, which "speak" to the reader through text without a physical voice. and through the "living voice" original: "viva voce." This refers to direct, oral instruction from a person.. In this regard, they might seem similar to the Anabaptists A radical sect of the Reformation. The author notes that while they were often seen as being against formal education, they still valued the practical skills of literate converts. who, although they are unwilling to devote effort to formal letters, nevertheless lead those who are literate (once they have been converted or made Anabaptists) toward the mechanical arts original: "artificia mechanica." These are practical trades or manual crafts, which the author contrasts with the "liberal arts" of the university.. Meanwhile, if someone more learned approaches them, they bring forward those whom they judge to be more skilled in letters, as has happened several times and has befallen traveling nobles—I. B. and H. G. K.—along with their tutor and many others.

5. That they delight in studies can be gathered in some way not only from this—that they know how to skillfully transpose or even change their names This refers to the use of anagrams, pseudonyms, or ciphers, which were common among secret societies and scholars of the 17th century. when writing to one another—but also from the fact that they entice learned men wherever they can. For example, not long ago, a certain person from School H. Possibly the Academy at Herborn, a famous center of learning at the time. was summoned under some pretext, who nevertheless, when he [responded] to other letters...