Ornamental woodcut header with symmetrical scrolling floral and leaf patterns

TREATISE

ON THE WEAPON

SALVE original: "Unguento Armario." The "Weapon Salve" or "Armary Ointment" was a famous 17th-century "sympathetic" medicine. It was applied not to the wound itself, but to the weapon that caused the injury, based on the belief that a natural magic or "sympathy" existed between the blood on the blade and the blood in the body..

Decorative woodcut initial Q featuring stylized floral motifsSince it is an old and praiseworthy custom of this famous Academy likely the University of Marburg, most distinguished listeners, that those who are chosen for the College of Professors should produce some sample of their professional skill, or deliver an Oration on a subject appropriate to the "Sparta" Sparta: Derived from the Greek proverb "You have obtained Sparta, now adorn it." In an academic context, it refers to the specific chair, office, or field of study a professor has been assigned to manage. entrusted to them, I felt I must not act in such a way that this excellent institution of our ancestors—which arose from the most honorable causes and reasons—should seem to be neglected by me.

Instead, I believed it my duty to first speak a few words of introduction before [approaching] the [public duty] entrusted to me...