To the Reader.
work, propound to thy ſelfe what thou ſeekeſt for, and enter not upon the practicke til thou art firſt wel verſed in the theory, for it is much better to learn with thy braines, and imagination, then with thy hands, and coſts, and eſpecially ſtudy nature wel, and ſee if thy propoſlals be agreeable to the poſſibility thereof.
3. Diligently read the ſayings of true philoſophers, read them over again and againe, and meditate on them, and take heed thou doeſt not read the writings of impoſters inſtead of the Books of the true Philoſophers. Compare their ſayings with the poſſbility of
Nature, and obſcure places with cleare, and
where Philoſophers ſay they have erred doe thou beware, and conſider wel the general axioms of Philoſophers, and read ſo long til thou ſeeſt a ſweet Harmony, and conſent in the ſayings of them.
4. Imagine not high things, but in all things imitate nature, viz. in matter; in removing what is Heterogeneous; in weight, in colour; in fire; in working; in ſlowneſſe of working; and let not thy operations be vulgar, neither
