The Sincerely Discovered Art of Assaying and Refining of the Venetians

them; also one always comes closer to the truth than the other, indeed, what one has forgotten or overlooked, the other reports; finally, what one has never known, the other has experienced manifoldly. Thus, this small treatise will also show such operations that are partly not known or common to everyone, and partly, because they come from reliable experience, will be highly useful to many. Therefore, mention shall first be made of some assaying matters, confirmed by manifold experience, as are common among the Venetians, namely how they make their tests, assay ores, and refine metals; further, of some ore-etchings, fluxes for the enrichment of ores; likewise, of the improvement of metals and additions, alongside some alchemical processes.