A decorative woodcut headpiece consisting of a horizontal frieze of repeating interlocking circular patterns and flourishes.

OF SOPHIA OR ETERNAL WISDOM,

O Eternal Wisdom [a], you brightness of eternal light, Mirror without blemish of the majesty of God, and image of His goodness; you who, though you are one, can do all things, and remaining in yourself, you make all things new, and through every age you pass into holy souls, making them friends of God and prophets. O [b] the one and only Truth (I say); O [c] Christ, the fountain of life, who are all in all; [d] in whom are hidden all the treasures of Wisdom and Science; [e] since you uphold all things by the word of your power. You (I say), [f] who are a shield for the righteous and a glory, g Psalm 28:7. h Psalm 7:12. lifting up his head; O my strength, O my shield and my God, who, since you are a just and strong judge, are indeed [h] a fair searcher of hearts and kidneys original: "animorum & renum." This is a literal translation of a biblical idiom (found in Psalm 7:9) referring to a person’s innermost thoughts and secret emotions.. Behold, I, a man most unworthy of all, humbly beseech you, that [i] i Psalm 18:34. you might deign to enter into and look upon this cause of mine, as one who is a just judge, a rock, a cliff, a bulwark, a shield, and a horn of salvation for those who [l] l Psalm 9:5. m Psalm 7:15. take refuge in you and trust in you. Consider this cause of mine, O just judge [l], who sit on the highest tribunal, and deliver me from the judgments of the perverse and iniquitous men of this glorious world, who are puffed up with vain pride; [m] since it is their way to labor with injustice, to conceive sorrow, and to bring forth iniquity. Let this cause of mine (I say) be conducted before you, who are accustomed to repay each person according to [n] n Psalm 72:7. their merits. For [n] you will judge the poor of the people, and you will save the son of the poor, and you will humble the slanderer who attempts to either impose the crime of Atheism upon him, or at least to feign him its supporter, and to defile his name with the stain of heresy, and even to smear him before the world with the poison of impious Magic.

How far the edge of my mind has always been from the crime of atheism, and how remote even the suspicion of it has been among my countrymen, you alone—from whom the imaginations of men cannot be hidden—are a faithful witness. For from you it cannot be concealed how great my zeal toward you, my God, has always been, and with what devotion I have celebrated your most worthy praises in my labors and midnight studies, according to that talent of intellect which you granted me by your grace [Gen. 1. Ps. 22:4. Ps. 68:34. Col. 3.]. In these works, I have acknowledged, preached, and proclaimed to the world you alone as God and Jehovah, who made heaven and earth; you as the sacrosanct, abiding, and perfect praise of Israel; you as the God of Gods, sitting upon the heaven of heavens; you as the animator and life-giver of all virtues; and indeed, you as all in all. I have sounded this forth everywhere against the insane assertion of the slanderer. Therefore, be a witness for me [Ps. 13:1.], whether I have said in my heart, like the fool, "There is no God."

Furthermore, I should not be considered a heretic rather than a Catholic simply because I am not Roman. It is yours primarily (O most holy spirit of discipline) to examine and debate; it is yours (I say) to judge, since to you alone does this pertain. For you are that Catholic Fludd uses "Catholic" in its original Greek sense of "Universal," arguing that the true Church is the entire world inhabited by God's spirit, not just the institution of Rome. spirit of God filling all things, inhabiting that universal temple or Catholic Church—and not solely the Roman one—insofar as it is not assigned to or contracted within any specific place.

As for what concerns a disposition toward Magic in me: you, whose role it is to search the hearts and kidneys of men, you alone (I say, O just God) be witness and judge, whether I have not always held any member of Cacomagia Evil magic or sorcery, often involving deals with demons. or commerce with the worst and malignant demons in horror and hatred. But truly, if because your testimonies are my meditation, and your com—