Compendium of Philosophical History

that the blessed author had himself handed over his entire observations for public use; yet, since God arranges all things best and most wisely, and it becomes us to obey his will, we entirely acquiesce in that pious mind. Nevertheless, so that those who are students and lovers of these letters may enjoy what he left for this purpose, especially since many things in them were told learnedly and solidly, I believed that I would do a work worth doing if I brought these into the public light and in this way rescued them from oblivion. Therefore, the observations on the succinct delineation of philosophical history, prefixed to instrumental philosophy, now come forth, which, just as they exhibit with the delineation itself a most elegant compendium of this history, so I wanted to publish them separately for that purpose. The delineation itself much