I. Whosoever attempteth the search of our glorious ston«$

he ought in the first place, to implore the assistance of the aH
powerful Jehova, at the throne of his mercy, who is the true
and sole author of all mysteries of nature; the monarch of
heaven and earth, the king of kings, omnipotent, most true and
most wise; who not only makcth manifest in the macrocosm,
the truth of every science to worthy philosophers, and liberally
bestoweth both natural and divine knowledge on the deserving
and faithful; but also layeth open his treasures of health and
riches which are locked up in the abyss of nature to those who
devoutly worship him. And for as much as none arc permitted
to touch the mysteries of nature with foul fingers; therefore it
behoveth all who attempt such matters, to lay aside their natural
blindness from which, by the light of the holy scripture and a
stedfast faith, they may be freed that being the means by which
the holy spirit doth clearly make manifest the most profoundly
hidden light of nature; which light alone lays open the way to
the wisdom of nature, and to unlock the most abstruse mysteries
thereof.