Preface.

A sailor, pursued by winds and raging sea waves, seeks to reach a rock or land—as an earthly creature—to save himself. If the sea is an allegory for the inconstant course of the world, in which everything is fleeting, then where should man, pursued by the raging waves of his desires, find a safer port than upon the hard rib, which draws him to itself through the magnetic needle of innate love? And such a blessed shipwreck must surely be praised, through which the entire human essence must necessarily be preserved.

Your recent description of yourself, my dear Epictetus, I accept as the greatest praise of this high lineage, as you call it a human thrall. For this should be the opinion of all the world, but according to my understanding, it—

The catchword "ret" indicates the continuation of the word "gehöret" on the following page.