sig. ij

TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS

AND GENEROUS PRINCE,

Lord Otto Henry, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, his most Clement Prince and Lord, Cyriacus Jacobus the Printer

If anyone were to examine the secrets of nature with just reason, most illustrious Prince, he would find many things which he could admire, which are highly necessary for human use, and useful for maintaining and prolonging the health of the human body. In consideration of this, the ancients, with no vain hope of profit or affectation of empty glory, sought the ultimate essence of gold and silver. Just as these were previously wrapped in the bowels of the earth and perfected by natural cooking over a long progression of time, so also a certain celestial and airy power is contained within them, vegetating and producing all created things. This is believed to be more noble than the virtues of other metals, just as it is joined to more perfect bodies. Seeing that this is free from all corruption, the ancients held the opinion that...