Ripley reviv'd: or, an exposition upon sir George Ripley's hermetico-poetical works (1677-78) - Page 16

⚠This page is a front-facing page (recto) with heavy bleed-through from the back side (verso), making the text on the reverse leaf visible as a mirror-image. The only correctly-oriented text intended for this specific page is the catchword at the bottom.

MA This is a catchword, a common feature in early printing where the first word of the following page is printed in the bottom margin to help the binder assemble the pages in the correct order. Here, "MA" anticipates the word "Man" which begins the preface on the next page.

The mirror-image text visible through the thin paper is the beginning of a preface, likely from a 17th-century alchemical work such as those attributed to Geber. The text on the reverse leaf reads:

The Author's Preface.

Man, and discern that both [he] and I were truly, and not deceptively original: sophistically, entrusted with this Divine Science and Art; in which it is not theoretical original: notional; existing only in theory or the mind rather than in reality., as many may conceive the Art to be; but real experiments of nature, taught to me by the only God and Master of Nature, who was my guide. I have seen and created the Secret Water of the Philosophers The "Secret Water" (often called "Philosophic Mercury") is a foundational solvent in alchemy used to break down substances into their primary matter., and known the effect of it by firsthand observation original: ocular experience, leading to the production of the wonderful Elixir The Elixir is the final product of the alchemical Great Work, believed to transform base metals into gold or to function as a universal medicine.. Read these writings carefully original: peruse, for they are not mere fantasies original: fancies, and so with the help of the Most High, you shall achieve your desire.