A MOST LUCID EXPLANATION OF THE EMBLEM

AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS VOLUME.

AThe ornamental 'A' marks the beginning of the philosophical discourse.t the beginning of the creation of all things, the incomprehensible and almighty Creator of the Macrocosm The "Great World" or the entire universe, as opposed to the "Microcosm" or man. divided the entire mass into three parts differing in purity by His immense power. From the purest part, He ordained that the Cherubim, Seraphim, Archangels, and all orders of other Angels be created; from the less pure, the heavens and the ethereal regions; and from the most impure, the elements and all sublunary Things existing beneath the moon, subject to change and decay. things, by saying: Let them be made, and they were made. However, because of the simple purity of its substance, He placed the first division of matter beyond the comprehension of natural things; for it is metaphysical and supernatural, which modern writers of Philosophy confirm is bounded by the Empyrean Heaven original: "cœlo Empyreo" — the highest heaven, believed to be composed of pure light or fire., that is, the burning and fiery realm.

The remaining parts of the less pure mass, namely the ethereal and the elemental, are rightly called "natural" because they are subject to Nature (the governess of the Microcosm The "Little World," referring to humanity as a reflection of the universe. under GOD). Furthermore, two efficient causes contained within this fabric of the Macrocosm are enumerated: namely, Nature, and her Ape, which we call Art. The Father and Lord of Nature is GOD, the Best and Greatest; she is closest to Him, and we recognize that all her virtues and effects are derived from Him. She is, as it were, the knot and bond of the elements, and she possesses the power of rightly tempering the mixture of elements in their due proportions, mixing them aptly in every compound, and impressing upon each species its congruent form.

Nature is also a certain infinite force procreating like from like, as she is the fertile mother of all qualities and things, which she increases and nourishes. And to describe her in a single word according to the opinions of Zoroaster and Heraclitus, she is an invisible fire; which they themselves call the Soul of the World original: "animam mundi" — the vital force connecting all living beings on Earth.. We, however, have depicted her visibly in almost the same manner as some of the more recent Philosophers; we have done this with the intention that her power might be better understood by the reader's mind.

Thus, we have fashioned a naked virgin of tender and blooming age, praiseworthy for her star-bearing and most beautifully gilded hair and her most clear eyesight, and lovely for the blushing color of her cheeks. The virgin was so remarkable in the whiteness of her whole body, and so sweetly adorned with all the gifts of the greatest Creator, that the Poets could not prefer Pallas, nor Venus, nor Juno, nor any other goddess, however charming, to her beauty. By her singular prudence, the first...