MY FRIEND,
KNOWING thee to be a curious searcher after those sciences which are out of the common track of study, (I mean the art of foretelling events, magic, telismans, &c.) I am moved spiritually to give thee my thoughts upon them, and by these ideas here written, to open to thine eye (spiritual) as much information as it seems necessary for thee to know, by. which thou mayest be led by the hand into the delectable field of nature; and to give thee such documents as, guided by the supreme wisdom of the Highest, thou mayest refresh thy soul with a delicious draught of knowledge; so that after recreating thy spirit with the use of those good gifts which may please God to bestow on thee, thou mayest be wrapped up into the contemplation of the immense wisdom of that great munificent Being who created thee.
Now, art thou a man, in whose soul the image of Divinity is sealed for eternity, think first what is thy desire in the searching after these mysteries! Is it wealth, honour, fame, power, might, aggrandizement, and the like? Perhaps thy heart says, All! all these I would gladly crave! If so, this is my answer,--seek first to know thyself thoroughly, cleanse thy heart from all wicked, vain, and rapacious desires. Thinkest thou, oh man! to attain power to gratify thy lusts, to enrich thy coffers, to build houses, to raise thyself to the pinnacle of human admiration; if these are thy hopes and desires, thou hast reason to lament thy being born: all such desires are immediately from