DEDICATION.

...by which Harmonies original: "Harmoniis" was the attempt made, and by which Physician? original: "Medico" And how I even depicted this man in vivid colors long ago in my book on the New Star? Kepler refers to his 1606 work De Stella Nova, which discussed the supernova of 1604 and its astrological/providential significance. But what reward will there be if, while reaching for Harmony with my own private noise, I fail to overcome the public clamor due to the weakness of my lungs, and only increase the annoyance of this absurd concert in my own ears? It must indeed be confessed, alas, that the "crossed" wound—or if we prefer a more sacred and auspicious word, the cruciform cross-shaped; Kepler is likely using the shape of a surgical incision as a metaphor for the religious divisions of the Reformation, symbolized by the Cross wound—still swells with its many edges. None of them are closing, and the medicine has so far been ineffective and mocked by all sides. This is because the Physician, in order to slip a deceptive remedy to a delirious patient, adds many things at once that seem to stray far from sound reason.

I am refreshed, however, by this very thought: that the supreme Healer original: "Curator" of our wounds is certain of his art and applies nothing in vain. Therefore, He who has already begun the cure, who has already prepared and shown to the world these healing medicines; meanwhile, He makes use of the "corrosives" substances used to eat away dead tissue of public calamities until the putrid and wild flesh—the flesh of extinguished charity—is eaten away, and a sense of pain reaches down into the depths of the living flesh. Without a doubt, that same Healer will soon use soothing treatments to reduce the swelling, so that those healing medicines can finally take effect. At last, this long-lasting Dissonance (to return to my original example) will end in pure and lasting Harmony.

I am confirmed in this hope, even against hope, not only by the success of my Harmonic speculations—where my good fortune has far exceeded my daring in the search—but also by this very fact: that among the other things necessary for the perfection of this Work that have remained in their original place for so many years, I have seen Your Royal Majesty, to whom I had destined the patronage of this work before it even began, remain safe and flourishing to this day. I shall not cease to petition the God of Peace and Concord, their author, with devoted prayers, so that...