PREFACE

Impurity, Impudence, Idolatry, Sorcery, Enmity, Murder, Gluttony, Anger, Discord, and other things of that kind—these, without a doubt, are from God and full of His most holy Spirit! The author is using heavy irony here. He lists the "works of the flesh" from Galatians 5:19–21 to sarcastically mock those who might mistake vice for virtue, setting up a contrast with the "brothers" he is about to defend. For these are those infallible signs by which we are taught by the Holy Scriptures to recognize men enlightened by the Holy Spirit and to distinguish them from those of another sort.

Let us now look at the Confession original: confessionem. This refers to the Confessio Fraternitatis (1615), the second of the foundational Rosicrucian manifestos. of the brothers, from which, through a diligent examination made step by step, we gather that the brothers prophesy concerning future things, the cycle of the world, and its renewal; they seem to declare the nature of all things through a new language and secret writings; they speak the truth, because, they say, in our age all falsehood shall cease; they do not resist the word of God, because they lead a sincere life; they observe divine precepts, because they write that they have done this not by the impulse of their own will, but by the Holy Spirit and the warnings of God; they are generous, for they offer to us freely and liberally from their treasures; they are endowed with humanity, since they do not wish to receive anything from us, but invite us to their palaces; they remain free from idolatry, because they embrace Christ purely and sincerely; they cure the sick perfectly, for they propose means to men by which diseases can be healed; they abound in charity, as those who offer all their secrets and treasures to the world and practice healing original: medicationes. While it translates to "medications," in this 17th-century context, it refers to the entire practice of medical treatment and healing. for free.

Having diligently considered these things, we find that very many testimonies of the Holy Spirit in