The' ^reside*

That not ones the Experiment witlbe difficult-, hut a man can bardlj reade themwithout hughter. ■ .

Moreover, 1 pasby many men , who have written Wonders to le d Uvered toPosterity, promising Golden Mount add , yet Write otherwise then they .th ought.Hence most'ingenious meH , and defiraw to learn, are detainedsor a very long time( and when they despair of ohtaining whatthey seek for, they finde that (hey spent theirtime, pains,- and charge in vain) and so driven ro'desparation , they are forced torepent by leisure: Others grown wife hy other wens harms, learn to Bate those Thingsbefore they know them. '

I have divided tbef ? Secrets into several Classes, that every man may finde whathe likes ses,

Lafl ly, I should willingly pas" by the offending of your Ears } if I had no care to re-sell the'Calumnies of detractors and envious men j that most immo- eslywoundme,calling me a Sorcerer, a Conjurer, which names from my tender Youth I have ab-horred. Indeed I always held my self to be a man JubjeB to Errors and Infirmities ;therefore desired the afi'ifiances of many Learned men, and that if I had not faith-fully interpreted, they would reprove me ; But what I always feared came to pass,that I should fall into the hands of some vile and hateful men ,who by doing injury toothers, juflly or unjustly , labour to win the popular and base Approbation, and Ap-plause of the Vulgar, by whose venomd Teeth, those that are wounded do not con-sume, but by ret-orting the venomeback-upontfm, tirey&verthrow their own Honor 1 ,

A certain Frenchmah inhis Book call eds) S monorria n ia, T'edrmine d Magi-cian, a Conjurer,and thi/. ks this Book of mine,long fince Printed, worthy to le burnt,because I have written theFaines Oyntment, which I set forth onely in detestationof the frauds of Divels and witches ; That which comes by Nature is abused by theirsuperstition, which I borrowed srotn the Books os the most commendable Divines,what have I ofended herein, that they should call me a C onjurer I But when I en-quired of many Noble and Learned Frenchmen , that were pleased to Honour mewith their Vi/its, what that man was, they answered that he was an Heretick, andthat he had escaped from being cast headlong from a Tower, upon Saint Bartholo-mew hts day , which is the time appointed for the deflruBion of such wicked men .In ;the mean time I fall de fire the great and'good God (as it becomes a Noble and(Christian man to doj that he may Le converted to the Cathchke Faith, and may mtbe condemned whilst he lives.

Another Frenchman who unworthily reviled all the Learned me nos his Age,jcynsme amongst them, and holds, that onely three Phyftians,that are his Friends,are Praise-worthy, as the most Learned of all men of our T imes ; and amongst themhe reckons up himself', for the Book is publistjed in bis Name, it is a wonder whatInventions that man hath found out to win prase, who having no man to commendhim, nor is he worthy commendations, yet he hath undertaken to commend him-self. I pas over other men of the fame temper , who astirm that I am a witch anda Conjurer, whereas I never Writ here nor elfwhere, what is not contain d within

tste bounds <£ Nature. . .. . ; . -

stfhefefo'seyStudious Keafiers, accept my song Lab outs' that eofl me much Studs,Travel, Fxpence, and much Inconvenience , with the same Minde that I pub-lish them ; and remove all Blindness and Malice, which are wont todaz-le the sghtof the Minde, and hinder the Truthweigh these Things with a right Judgement,when you try what I have Written , for finding bpth Truth and Profit, you will (itmay les think better of my Pairs. Yet I am afffiked there will be many ignorantpeople j void of all serious* Matters 3 that will IIate and Envy these Things ^ and