The Child-Bed of the Philosopher's Stone

then take your refuge in these two heavenly
and highest Directors of nature Likely referring to the Sun and Moon, which in alchemy govern the active and passive principles of the natural world. / there is also a
Middle-thing An intermediate substance that bridges the gap between the spiritual and the physical. / which you should find / because it
must possess something of the body and the spirit / of the visible and invisible
/ at one time / and of the heavenly and
the earthly. Nevertheless, it is in
this beginning / that you will have the greatest difficulty
to overcome / seeking a thing
which is everywhere / and yet is not to be found in the three kingdoms
of nature The traditional divisions of Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral. / does that not seem
as if one is mocking the world? To seek an earthly cave /
which is neither visible nor formally present original: formaliter; existing in its own actual, defined form, neither
in heaven nor on earth / nor in the earth /
does that not seem to be an incredible thing?
But is it not more likely / to find it actually in the
air / in the water / or in the fire? By no
means / as I have told you before / for you should
know / that although it is already spiritually scattered everywhere in the
world / and powerfully poured into all elementary
bodies and elements / it is nonetheless not
individually original: individualiter; as a distinct, separate entity and in actual form at
any particular place / nor in a determined subject original: determinato subjecto; a specific, pre-existing material host,
so even though it is powerfully everywhere /
you will nonetheless not find it everywhere in the state
where it can be extracted for your
use / and your understanding and
ingenious diligence must serve as your midwife /
to draw it out formally from the bowels of nature.
The Cosmopolite A reference to Michael Sendivogius (1566–1636), a famous alchemist who wrote under the pseudonym 'Cosmopolita'. gives a firm testimony
to this truth / when he says with express wor-