Friedrichstadt Leisure or the Chemical Tantalus

statement of Solomon, who is said to have philosophized original: "philoſophatus" "from the Cedar of Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall," so perhaps the Cedar is the most excellent of all. Yet in the thick volumes of the herbalists there is scarcely any mention of the Cedar, much less of its admirable virtue. But they will perhaps say, it does not grow among us; therefore, let them say, what is the most excellent plant of all plants? In my judgment, the plant that nourishes, the plant that simultaneously heals the diseases of men, is the most excellent of all, to which that is closest which clothes man coming into the world and leaving the world, and covers and adorns his naked body.

The order touches upon Minerals; we shall not be lengthy concerning them, we only recommend those authors who have been occupied with investigating the Nature of Minerals, and who have instituted their anatomy. And since there is a great catalog of these, let each one choose for himself those that are to his taste and liking. Some have examined one or another metal or mineral and have written about it, as is known, and they are worn out by the hands of all learned men. In the same way, there exist commentaries on Gems and Stones by Anselmus de Boot, Gesnerus, Kentmannus, and others. Regarding amber, we have Hartmannus, a physician of Königsberg, an eminent philosopher.

And since Nature has implanted such a delight that anyone can satiate himself with it, just as his own pleasure draws each one; and until now, the Learned have left nothing untouched. Some consign Natural History to literary records; some consign science, that is, Physics concerning natural bodies; some extract Antiquities from the hoariness of ages; some teach how to form the political state; some interpret civil law and the Laws given by Princes; some are occupied with forming the morals of men; some instruct how the diseases of men are to be cured; not to mention the Theologians, who are searchers of the divine Word, to whom the better part of man, that is, the salvation of the Soul, is entrusted. Thus, man is surrounded by all those treasures of natural things, from which he can pluck what is pleasing to his own genius, and besides this, there is an abundance of those learned men who teach how one can use the works of God. For me, as one who has now, by the grace of God, professed Physics for XLIII years, I have chosen as my bride Chemical philosophy original: "ſophiam Chemicam", of which, since I am the least of all suitors, I have therefore also, imbued with its nectar, come forth again into the public sphere, especially since I have been, as it were, forced to spend the entire month of May of the current year in Friedrichstadt; lest