The Chemical Theater

... we have also presented this to eager readers at the threshold of the Fifth Volume as a greeting. We soon follow this with the Most Secret Discourse, or the commentator on the assembly original: "Sermonem secretissimum, seu commentatorem turbae"; likely referring to a commentary on the Turba Philosophorum, one of the oldest and most influential Latin alchemical texts, which takes the form of a debate among assembly of philosophers., which has never before been set in type; as well as the writing of the Allegory of Micreris (or Myretis), Plato’s Stellica (or the Book of Quarters), and the Three Words of Calid original: "tria verba Calidi"; referring to Khalid ibn Yazid, an early Umayyad prince often credited as one of the first historical figures to practice alchemy in the Arabic tradition..

Next follow the very ancient writings of Senior original: "Senioris"; referring to Senior Zadith, the Latinized name of the 10th-century Arabian alchemist Ibn Umail., Michael Scot’s Question on Nature, and an anonymous work titled Counsel on the Marriage of the Sun and Moon—the Sun and Moon being the leaders coryphæi|The leading members of a choir or group; here used metaphorically to describe the Sun (representing Gold or the active principle) and Moon (Silver or the passive principle) as the primary actors in the alchemical process. of this dance.

The reader should value the inclusion of the Golden Fleece and the Precious Pearl as gems, inserted like coral beads between joints with a kind of careful negligence; and the Fish of the Zodiac is an inestimable treasure. There is little need for us to specifically describe or praise the remaining minor treatises original: "succenturiatos tractatulos"; literally "reserve or substitute treatises," suggesting additional supporting texts added to fill out the volume.; for they are truly the most choice of the choice. We were pleased to attach at the end original: "ad calcem"; literally "at the heel" or the bottom of the work. Roger Bacon’s Wonderful Epistle on the Marvelous Power of Nature and Art. This is not the "naked" version provided by the editors in Basel, but rather one clothed in the very polished commentaries of John Dee original: "Joannis Dee"; the famous Elizabethan mathematician, astronomer, and occultist who claimed to have discovered the "Monas Hieroglyphica.", adorned with most learned reasoning, and indeed fortified with the strongest arguments. We conclude with a dialogue by Christopher Horn that is both scholarly and delightful.

We hope the kind reader will be satisfied with this arrangement, and will consider that just as in theatrical performances original: "Theatralibus actionibus"; the editor is playing on the title of the collection, the Theatrum Chemicum or "Chemical Theater," suggesting the book is a stage where various authors perform. not only the characters of kings, nobles, and princes are introduced, but often peasants and laborers—and not infrequently beggars, lepers, and fools—so too in this theater of chemical authors...