Preface.

in the defense of this Art, [they] have written much more clearly
and distinctly than any philosopher before them;
just as Theophrastus Theophrastus Paracelsus (1493–1541), the Swiss physician and alchemist who famously predicted a future "Elias Artista" would reveal alchemical secrets. declared
that before the end of the world, such Art
would be made known and revealed to everyone.

Whether it shall happen at this very time, and
through my unworthy self, is known to
all-wise God alone; for I have resolved
to write about this Art even more clearly (since
I do not wish to bury my talent A reference to the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25), implying a religious duty to share one's God-given knowledge rather than keeping it hidden.) than anyone
before me has ever done; inasmuch as I have
removed the thick-whitewashed and heavily
pitched and smeared covering (with which
the philosophers have covered and guarded the
locks and bolts to the entrance of this mystery)
and have instead drawn across only a transparent,
thin veil original: "Flor," meaning a fine, translucent gauze or crape., so that a diligent observer
can see the keyhole without spectacles;
but the gold- and money-hungry misers original: "Geitz-Hälse," literally "greed-necks," a derogatory term for those seeking only material wealth.
will not heed it, even if they see it, and will
not understand it, even if they read it.
For they will still find obstacles enough:
but he who [approaches] this Art first for the glory of God—