P R E F A C E

water, and of every grade and disposition; to also perceive the operations of celestial light upon the ethereal, super-celestial, and in a certain sense, spiritual waters; and by this path, according to the capacity of human possibility, to contemplate the structure of the entire machine The "machine of the world" (machina mundi) was a common Renaissance metaphor for the universe as a divinely designed system. and the various disposition of its parts, and through the final and lesser effects of the principles, to also judge in some way concerning those principles themselves

An ornate woodcut tailpiece in the shape of an inverted triangle. The design features elaborate symmetrical scrollwork, arabesques, and botanical flourishes. At the top center of the decoration is a small, stylized face or mascaron. Two tassel-like ornaments hang from the upper corners, and the piece tapers to a decorative point at the bottom.

Preface original: Prooemium, celestial light original: lux coelestis, machine original: machina, principles original: principia, disposition original: dispositio