It is a truth denyddenied by none that man in his composition
repræsentsrepresents a compendium of the universe, and is destinated to live three kinds
of life, namely a vegetable, in his mothers wombewomb, where indeed heehe growesgrows -
and is encreasedincreased like a plant; a sensible, towittto wit in this world, where for the
most part heehe is led by the Senses, as all other animallsanimals, from which heehe -
differs, in beginning to exercise the understanding, though imperfectly; and
lastly an intelligible, in the other world with God, and the Intelligences,
or good AngellsAngels assistentassistant to him; in this life, the nearer a man comes to the
divine nature, the more dothdoes heehe rejoycerejoice and is delighted in searching out -
things subtillsubtle wonderfullwonderful and rare, by the understanding: and on the contrary,
the more a man declines and degenerates to a bestiallbestial kind, the lesseless is heehe -
affected with them, and is bound to a more corporeallcorporeal sense.* Now to instruct -
and perfect the understanding God hathhas hidden infinite secrets in nature, -
which are forc'dforced out ofby innumerable arts and Sciences, as fire out of a flint, -
and transferrdtransferred to use: amongst these ChymicallChymical 007secrets are not the mea=
nest, but next to the indagation of divine things, the principallprincipal and most -
pretiousprecious of all, not to be investigated by circumforaneous impostors, and -
pseudochymicallpseudochymical drones (who in these things are asini ad Lyram, because -
alltogetheraltogether strangers to all good learning and intention) but by more lofty
wittswits, generously educated, and borneborn to greater things, they being very sub=
tillsubtle, concise, sacred, rare, and abstruse, and therefore to be comprehended
by the understanding sooner than by sense, rather by profound contem=
plation upon the reading of authors, and comparing them together, and -
with the works of nature, than sensitive operation, or manuallmanual experi=
mentation, which is blind without præviousprevious theory: next after such intellec=
tuallintellectual sciences as these are reckoned those which treat of a visible and au=
dible object, as are OpticksOptics, or perspectives, and Picture, which is by some
Poets called mute, as this on the contrary a speaking picture, as allsoalso Mu=
sickeMusic, whether vocallvocal, or instrumentallinstrumental: herein the ancient Philosophers -
did soeso exercise themselves, that heehe was reputed unlearned, and forcdforced
to sing to the Myrtle, who refused the Harp in festivallsfestivals, as is declared of
Themistocles: in MusickeMusic was Socrates instructed, and Plato himselfehimself, who
concluded him not harmoniously compounded, that delighted not in MusicallMusical
harmony: Pythagoras was very famous in the same, who is saydsaid to have used
the symphony of musickemusic morning, and evening to compose the minds of
his disciples: for this is a peculiar virtue of MusickeMusic, to quicken or refresh the
affections by the different musicallmusical measures: SoeSo the Phrygian tune was -
by the GræksGreeks termed warrlikewarlike, because it was sung in warrewar, and upon en=
gagement, and had a singular virtue in stirring up the Spirits of the -
Soldiers; instead of which the JonickeIonic is sometimes used for the same pur=
pose, which was formerly esteemed 008amatory (as the Phrygian is sometimesnow re=
puted) from which weewe gather tunes changdchanged one with another: it is saydsaid that
Timothy Milese used the Phrygian to make Alexander the great more -
SpritefullSpriteful and couragiouscourageous in warlike affairesaffairs, which Cicero takes notice of 2.
de legibus, but Terpander Lesbius of the JonickeIonic; who being sent for by -
the LacedæmoniansLacedamonians, seditions then raging among them, did by the sweet=
nessesweetness of singing soeso titillate and affect their minds, that they returned -
into freindshipfriendship, and desisted from sedition: upon which consideration the
Lesbian singers were allwayesalways præferrdpreferred in the judgment of the Spartans: -
Fabius saythsays thus of MusickeMusic: MusickeMusic is an honest and pleasant recrea=
tion most proper for generous wittswits: that therefore weewe might have these -
three objects of the more spirituallspiritual senses, namely seingseeing and hearing, as -
allsoalso the understanding itselfeitself, as it were in one view and embrace, and
insinuate all at once into mens minds for the better understanding thereof,
behold weewe have joynedjoined the OptickeOptic together with MusickeMusic, and sense -
with the understanding, that is, things rare to be seen and heard of with
ChymicallChymical emblems, which are peculiar to this Science: for all other arts,
if they represent emblems of manners, or other things, than of the secrets
of nature, this seems different from their scope and end, they being -
willing and requisite to be understood by all men; ChymyChymia not soeso, -
which as a chastchaste virgin ought to be seen through a veileveil, and as Diana,
not without a garment of various colourscolors, for reasons elswhereelsewhere expres=
sed: I say, these fourefour emblematicallemblematical, feigned, poeticallpoetical and allegoricallallegorical, pic=
ted notions, graved in Venus or Copper, not without Venus or elegancy; most
abstruse ChymicallChymical things, and lastly most rare MusicallMusical things to be enu=
cleated by the understanding, you have alltogetheraltogether in one bookebook, and may
as designed apply them to your owneown use, which if it be more intel=
lectuallintellectual, than sensuallsensual, the more profitable 009and delightfulldelightful will it be in time:
but if it be first in bondage to the sense, there is noeno doubt but there will -
be a passage from the sense to the understanding as by a dooredoor: for nothing is
saydsaid to be in the understanding, which had not admission by some sense, -
the understanding of a man new borneborn being supposdsupposed as a smooth table, -
wherein nothing is as yet written, but any thing may be written by the -
helpehelp of sense, as a Style: and it is coḿonlycommonly saydsaid, there is noeno desire of a
thing unknowneunknown, because the senses being inquisitors and messengers must
first convey, and as warders the instruments of a cittycity watching at the gates (their organs) of cittycitythereof
informeinform and impart everything that is to be knowneknown, to the understanding,
as the dictator and arbiter. As to the reason of engraving these Emblems,
lest even they may seem monstrous and incongruous to you, I will add a few
things: Atalanta is renowned by the Poets for speed in running, in which exercise
sheeshe surpassed all her suitors, and therefore, the reward of victory being
propounded, death ensued to those beingthat were overrunneoverrun by the Virgin, till SheeShe
herselfeherself was overcome by Hippomenes, a youth morevery hardy and circumspect,
casting three golden apples at three severallseveral times in her way, which taking up,
SheeShe was in the meanemean time outgone by him, being now near and touching -
the goalegoal: as this Atalanta runnsruns, soeso one MusicallMusical note allwayesalways runnsruns before
1another, 6as 7Hippomenes, 2and 3the 4other 5followesfollows: 8yetanother, and the other follows as Hippomenes, yet they are established and
confirmed in a third, which is single and of one validity, as a golden apple:
This same virgin is merely ChymicallChymical, namely PhilosophicallPhilosophical Mercury -
fixed in flight and restrained by the golden Sulphur, * which if a man -
know how to make stand, heehe will have that Spouse which heehe desires, if -
not, destruction and ruineruin of his affairesaffairs: From Hippomenes and Atalanta
lying together in the temple of the mother of the Gods, that is, a vessellvessel, -
are LyonsLions produced, or they acquire a red colourcolor: 0010This virgin allsoalso obtaindobtained
a victory before men, killing a certainecertain boar of notable bignessebigness, for which
SheeShe was rewarded by Meleager: Striking a rockerock at StethæusStethaeus the temple
of ÆsculapiusAesculapius SheeShe brought forth water, whichwhereof being thirsty, SheeShe drankedrank:
which things being truelytruly allegoricallallegorical and emblematicallemblematical, and noeno way
historicallhistorical, I was willing that this intellectual emblematicallemblematical treatise -
Should indigitate and take notice of them in commemoration of this noble
HeroesseHeroine, especially the apples cast before her being taken out of the -
Hesperian gardens, and administredadministered to Hippomenes by Venus, the GoddesseGoddess
of favourfavor and sweetnessesweetness: in those MusicallMusical measures or flights you see -
this observed, that every distickedistich being conveniently adapted to those three
voycesvoices may be expressdexpressed in singing, in which soeso many varietyesvarieties of flights
being accomodatedaccommodated to one single voycevoice, every wise and intelligent man will
allsoalso thinkethink well of this kind of emblematicallemblematical figuration in them, as -
allsoalso the adaptation in the disticksdistichs to every voycevoice: for if some Merchants
doedo esteemeesteem and buy an artifice of picture with a great summesum of money,
where the eyes alone are deceived, they judging it very near to nature, -
why should not the learned have these figures in good estimation -
which are soeso usefulluseful and serviceable both to the understanding and
many of the senses, that great utility besides delight and recreation -
may be expected from them? Farewell . . . . . . .