The Earth is its nurse.

A hand-colored engraving from an emblem book. In the center, a woman stands with a large terrestrial globe as her torso; she is breastfeeding a small infant. To her left, a goat stands while a human infant nurses from it. To her right, a wolf lies on the grass while two human infants (representing Romulus and Remus) nurse from it. The scene is set in a rolling landscape with mountains in the distance and various buildings and castles. A small circular orange library stamp with the initials "B.R." is located just below the central figure.

B.R. These initials represent the Bibliothèque Royale, a library mark added to this specific copy of the manuscript.

EPIGRAM II.

Romulus is said to have pressed the teats of a shaggy wolf, but

Jupiter those of a goat; and credit is given to these deeds:

original: "Romulus hirta lupa pressisse, sed ubera capræ / Jupiter, & factis fertur adesse fides." This refers to the mythical nursing of Rome's founder by a wolf and the king of the gods by the goat Amalthea. *What wonder is it, if we say that the* **EARTH** *has nourished the tender*

vitals of the OFFSPRING original: "prolis." This "offspring" or "child" is the alchemical Stone in its early, "mercurial" state. of the WISE with her own milk?

If a small beast fed such great Heroes,

HOW GREAT shall he be, for whom the EARTHLY GLOBE is the NURSE?

Emblem (a symbolic picture with accompanying text), Nurse (the provider of early nourishment), Earth (the element of stability and nourishment), Epigram (a short, stinging poem explaining the image), Romulus (founder of Rome), She-wolf (symbol of wild nature), Jupiter (the highest deity), Of the Wise (referring to the Alchemists), Offspring (the alchemical product), Earthly Globe (the whole world as a source of power).