The Preface To The Reader.doc

8/14/2019 The Preface To The Reader.doc

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e&perience 'hose places and men, I had not thehappiness to see, I wrote letters to, fre!uently, earnestlydesiring them to furnish me with those secrets, whichthey esteemed rare; not failing with my entreaties, gifts,commutations, art and industry So that whatsoever wasnotable, and to be desired through the whole world, forcuriosities and e&cellent things, I have abundantly foundout, and therewith beatified and augmented these, myendeavors, in "NATURAL MAGICK", wherefore by earneststudy and constant e&perience, I did both night and dayendeavored to know whether what I heard or read, wastrue or false, that I might leave nothing unassayed; for Ihave oft thought of that sentence ofCicero, It is fit thatthey who desire for the good of mankind, to commit tomemory things most profitable, well weighted andapproved, should make trial of all things 'o do this Ihave spared no pain nor cost, but have e&pended bynarrow fortunes in a large magnificence $or were thelabors, diligence, and wealth, of most famous nobles,potentates, great and learned men, wanting to assist me;especially whom I name for his honor the illustrious andmost reverend Cardinal of Estings: All which did affordthere voluntary and bountiful help to this work I neverwanted for in my house an academy of curious men, whofor the trying of these e&periments, cheerfully disbursedtheir money, and employed their utmost endeavors, in

assisting me to compile and enlarge this volume, whichwith so great charge, labor, and study, I had long beforeprovided

(aving made an end thereof, I was somewhat unwilling tosuffer to appear to the public view of all men "I being nowold, and trussing up my Fardel)for there are many moste&cellent things fit for the worthiest nobles, which shouldignorant men "that were never bred up in the secretprinciples of philosophy# came to know, they would growcontemptible, and undervalued; As Platosaid, to

ion!sis, )'hey seem to makePhiloso#h!ridiculous,who endeavor to prostitute (er e&cellence to profane andilliterate men)

Also here are conceived many hurtful and mischievousthings, wherewith wicked and untutored men maymischief others; what must I do* Let envy be drivenaway, and a desire to benefit posterity, van!uish all other
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thoughts; the most ma+estic wonders of nature are not tobe concealed, that in them we may admire the mightypower of od, his wisdom, his bounty, and thereinreverence and adore him -hatsoever these are, I setthem before you, hat you may discern my diligence andbenevolence towards you; had I withheld these thingsfrom the world, I fear I should have undergone thereproach of a wicked man; for "Ciceroderives his fromPlato# we were not born from ourselves alone, but ourcountry will challenge a part, our parents and our friendsre!uire their parts also from us -herefore such things ashitherto lay hid to the bosom of wondrous nature, shallcome to light, from the store.houses of the mostingenious men, without fraud, or deceit I discover thosethings that have been long hid, either by the envy orignorance of others, nor shall you here find empty trifles,or riddles, or bare authorities of other men I did notthink fit to omit anything by erring honestly, or followingthe best leaders, but such as are magnificent and moste&cellent, I have veiled by the artifice of words, bytransposition and depressions of them; and such thingsas are hurtful and mischievous, I have written obscurely;yet not so, but that an ingenious reader may unfold it,and the with of one that will thoroughly search maycomprehend it I have added some things that areprofitable, and rarely known, because they are most rare

Sometimes from things from most known, and meanlyesteemed, we ascend to things most profitable and high,which the mind can scarce reach unto: /ne0sunderstanding cannot comprehend high and sublimethings, unless it stand firm on most true principles 'hemathematical sciences, rise from some trivial andcommon a&ioms, to most sublime demonstrations-herefore I thought it better to write true things andprofitable, than false things that are great 'rue thingsbe they ever so small, will give occasions to discovergreater things by them 'he infinite multitude of 'hings is

incomprehensible, and more than a man may be able tocontemplate

In our method I shall observe what our ancestors havesaid; then I shall show by my own e&perience, whetherthey be true or false, and last of all my own inventionsthat learned men might see how e&ceedingly this laterage has surpassed anti!uity %any men have written
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what they never saw, nor did they know the $i%#lesthatwere the ingredients, but they set them down from othermen0s traditions, by ignorance and importunate desire toadd something, so errors are propagated by successionand at last grow infinite, that not so much as the prints ofthe former remain 'hat not only the e&periment will bedifficult, but also a man can hardly read them withoutlaughter %oreover, I pass by many men, who havewritten wonders to be delivered to posterity, promisinggolden mountains, yet write otherwise then they thought(ence most ingenious men, and desirous to learn, aredetained for a very long time "and when they despair ofobtaining what they seek for, they find that they spendtheir time, pains, and charge in vain# and so driven todesperation, they are forced to repent by leisure; othersgrown wise by other men0s harms, learn to hate thosethings before they know them I have divided thesesecrets into several classes, that every man finds what helikes Lastly, I should willingly pass by the offending ofyour ear, if I had no care to retell the calumnies ofdetractors and envious men, that most immodestlywound me, calling me a $orcerer, a Con&rer, which namefrom my tender youth I have abhorred Indeed I alwaysheld my self to be a man sub+ect to errors and infirmities;therefore desired the assistances of many learned men,and that if I had not faithfully interpreted, they would

reprove me; but what I always feared cam to pass, that Ishould fall into the hands of some vile and hateful men,who by doing in+ury to others, +ustly or un+ustly, labor towin the popular and base approbations, and applause ofthe vulgar, by whose venomed teeth, hose that arewounded do not consume, but by resorting the venomback upon them, they overthrow their own honorAcertain French%anin his book called "ae%ono%ania)" terms me a Magician, a Con&rer, and thinks this book ofmine, long since printed, should be burned, because Ihave written of the )Fairies 'int%ent,) which I set forth

only in detestation of the frauds of devils and witches;that which comes by nature is abused by theirsuperstitions, which I borrowed from the books of themost commendable divines -hat have I offended herein,that they should call me a Con&rer* 1ut when I in!uiredof many noble and learned Frenchmen that were pleasedto honor me with their visits, what that man was, theyanswered he was a heretic, and that he had escaped from
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being cast headlong from a tower, upon $aint(artholo%ehis day, which is the time appointed for thedestruction of such wicked men In the meantime I shalldesire the grate and good od "as it becomes a noble and2hristian man to do# that he may be converted to the2atholic faith, and may not be condemned while he livesAnother Frenchman who unworthily reviled all thelearned men of his age, +oins me among them, and holds,that only three physicians are his friends, are praise.worthy, as the most learned of all men of our times; andamong them he reckons up himself; for the book ispublished in his name, it is a wonder what inventions thatman has found out to win praise, who having no man tocommend him, nor is he worthy of commendations, yet hehas undertaken to commend himself I pass over othermen of the same temper, who affirm that I am a *itchand a Con&rer+whereas I never wrote here norelsewhere, what is not contained within the bounds ofnature -herefore, studious readers, accept my longlabors, that cost me much study, travel, e&pense, andmuch inconvenience, with the same mind that I publishthem; and remove all blindness and malice, which arewont to da33le the sight of the mind, and hinder thetruth; weigh these things with a right +udgment, whenyou try what I have written, for finding both truth andprofit, you will think better of my pains 4et I am assured

there will be many ignorant people, void of all seriousmatters, that will hate and envy these things and willrashly pronounce, that some of these e&periments arenot only false, but impossible to be done; and while theystrive by arguments and vain disputes, to overthrow thetruth, they betray their own ignorance; Such men, as vile,are to be driven from the limits of ourNATURAL MAGICKFor they that believe not natures miracles, do, after amanner, endeavor to abolish Philoso#h! If I have over.passed some things, or not spoken so properly of them asI might; I know there is nothing so beautiful, but it may

be adorned; nor so full, but it may be augmented

,-(-P-

EN 'F "The Preface To The Reader"
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The Preface To The Reader.doc