PREFACE.

ores are found that allow themselves to be cast and melted—such as bismuth A brittle, silvery-white metal often found in silver mines; early miners called it "white lead.", sulfur, antimony original: "Spießglas"; a semi-metal used in metallurgy and medicine, historically called stibnite or "glass of antimony.", and others of their kind—nevertheless, the aforementioned seven [metals] The seven traditional metals of antiquity: gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, lead, and mercury. are placed above all other minerals as the most principal and fundamental. Among those seven, gold is regarded as the very best, most worthy, most important, most beautiful, and most noble metal. Just as the sun is the brightest, most beautiful, and most magnificent light among the other planets and stars—standing quite magnificently and gracefully in the middle of the firmament, giving off its shine, and thereby illuminating not only the other planets and stars but also the entire earthly sphere, sharing its light with them—and just as the sun refreshes, awakens, and brings to life all things on Earth with its natural, heavenly power and warmth, and also performs its God-ordained course and activity until the end without any change or decline, so too is gold the most powerful and wholesome metal. It is a true cordial A medicinal tonic intended to invigorate and strengthen the heart. and preventative original: "Preseruatiiff"; a medicine or substance used to ward off disease before it takes hold. against many kinds of poisonous and dangerous illnesses. It is such a metal that never loses its luster, shine, or clarity in fire, water, or earth, nor is it consumed or destroyed by any impurity. It also endures all assays Tests performed to determine the purity of a metal., cementing original: "Ziment"; a dry refining process where gold is heated with additives to purge it of silver and other base metals., hammer blows, punctures, and the streak test original: "stich vnnd strich"; the method of testing gold's purity by the color of the mark it leaves on a touchstone. without being diminished in the slightest. I must mention and report this here, firstly, so that one may see the excellent properties, power, and effectiveness of gold, and learn to distinguish it from the other metals (by whatever names they may be called), which in themselves are more imperfect, lesser, darker, more brittle, harder, more impure, and more unstable and volatile in the fire—though one more so than another.

Secondly, gold is understood to represent and is compared to Imperial Majesty, preeminence, nobility, and dignity within the political government original: "Regiment"; referring to the social and political order of the state..