Description of the Most Principal Mineral Ores

R O S O -
A.

[He who] corrects another holds the reins
[The] heir of a famous name,
[Augustus] and Pious,
[By the] hand, and by the types,
[An] envious use
[And] faithful:
[To the] gods, not with an ill-omened spirit,
[The] Lemnian arts referring to Hephaestus/Vulcan, the god of fire and metalworking:
[The] gasping [smiths],
[In the] furnace liquifies
[Whatever] metal:
[Who] in love count as many
[As] are lacking, and by use as teacher.
[I] show the way, which if anyone [can]
[Follow] to some extent: [he might]
[Touch] the desired goal on his course.
[Why] should anyone rashly divulge secret arts?
[When] we see arts cheapened:
[Which] are believed to lose their strength
[By] the indiscriminate masses.
[Yet] if they wish it, and the matter itself demands it,
[I will give] more briefly (if life remains)
[If I] have given. You, candid Reader,
[Farewell] happily, and return thanks to me,
[Not] by speaking, but by acting and possessing.

Christophorus Manlius of Lusatia,
as the press was running, F.

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