On the Impossibility of Nature

original: "de impossibilitate naturæ"

...they [the elements] produce the Seed original: "Sperma" by the will of God and the imagination of nature. For just as the Seed of a man has its center, or the vessel of its seed, in the kidneys, so the four Elements—by an unceasing motion, each according to its own quality—project their Seed into the center of the earth where it is digested and, through motion, is sent outward.

The center of the earth is a certain empty place where nothing can remain at rest. Into this center (so to speak), or rather into the margin and circumference of the center, the four Elements project their qualities, just as a man emits his seed into the womb of a woman. In that womb, nothing of the Seed remains permanently; rather, after the Womb original: "Matrix" receives the required portion, it casts the rest out.

A similar thing happens in the center of the earth: the Magnetic force original: "vis Magnetica" of a particular place attracts a substance to itself that is suitable for bringing something forth, while the rest is ejected outward to become stones and other waste products. For all things have their origin from that fountain, and nothing in the whole world is born except through this source.

For example: imagine a flat table with a small vessel of Water placed in the middle. Around it, let various things and various colors be placed, likewise Salt, and so on, each kept separate. If the Water is then poured out into the middle, you will see that Water flow in different directions; and when one stream touches a red color, it will be made red by it; if it reaches the salt, it will borrow the taste of the salt, and so on for the rest. For the Water does not change the locations, but the diversity of the locations changes the Water. In a similar way, from the center of the earth...