To the Most

Radiant, Most Mighty,

Most Illustrious Prince and Maxi-?

milian the Second, Archduke /

Emperor, at all times Increaser of the Empire /?

of Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia etc. /?

Archduke of Austria, Margrave /

Duke of Burgundy, Luxembourg /

Margrave in Lusatia, and?

Tyrol etc., My most gracious

Lord.

A large, ornate calligraphic woodcut initial 'A' featuring intricate floral flourishes and vine-like scrollwork.

Most radiant,
most mighty,
most invincible Roman Em-?
peror, most gracious Lord. To Your
Roman Imperial Majesty etc. and to all the world
it is known and manifest that after
GOD the Almighty created the first
human on earth, He previously, through
His unspeakable wisdom and goodness, for his bodily
preservation, needs, and use, not only
ordained all manner of living animals, fish, birds, trees, herbs, grain,
leaves, and grass, etc., to grow,
made them subject to him, but also hid all sorts of
bodies of various metals, minerals and?
juices, and whatever else belongs to these things, into the earth
and into the waters, which man and
his descendants [could use] for many necessary things ...?