Those women, which prostitute themselves to variety of men, doedo sel=
domeseldom conceive lively children through the confusion of diversdiverse seeds: -
for nature in the generation of man and the most part of animallsanimals ad=
mittsadmits noeno superfœtationsuperfetation, except perhaps very rarely: and therefore -
every offspring is produced from one onelyonly father and mother, whether
it be one or more, as is allsoalso manifest by historyeshistories and the event of -
some supposing otherwise; in the first place of MargarettMargaret the wife of
Herman EarleEarl of Henneberge, who, in the year 1276, brought forth
three hundred and sixty five children, which were all baptized, -
and the males called by the name of John, and the females Eliza=
beth, their grave being dead is yet to be seen in the Church of Laus=
dune, one mile distant from the Hague towards the Sea in Holland,
together with the brazen bason, in which they were baptized, and an
inscription of the story: The cause alleadgdalleged was, that the CountesseCountess,
seingseeing a poor woman carry two children twinnstwins in her armesarms, calldcalled her
adulteresseadulteress, as if it was impossible for more children to be borneborn at one
conception by one man, but necessarily by severallseveral: Whereupon an im=
precation being made by the poor woman, who knew her selfeself clear -
of that accusation, the CountesseCountess conceived in her wombewomb at one time
and by one man soeso many children, as there are dayesdays in the year:
This is indeed a miracle, but a naturallnatural workework, which happened -
through the vengeance of God: But in the PhilosophicallPhilosophical workework-
that, which is otherwise contrary to nature, is easily admitted under
the veyleveil of an allegory: For here one infant is saydsaid to have three fa=
thers, or allsoalso two, as allsoalso mothers: Hereupon saythsays Raymund cited by the -
Rosary; Our infant hathhas two fathers and two mothers, and because heehe
with his whole substance is tenderly nourished in fire, heehe therefore -
never dyesdies: SoeSo Dionysus or Bacchus is saydsaid to have two mothers, who -
was rip'dripped out of his mothers belly (being burned) before the time of his
maturity, and matured in his fathers thigh, soeso that the father became
a mother: But these things are better declared in the conception of -
Orion, who is saydsaid to be produced from the seed of Apollo, Vulcan,
and Mercury mixdmixed together, and præservdpreserved in the hide of an OxeOx for
the space of tenneten monethsmonths: These things would be alltogetheraltogether mon* =
strous, not onelyonly fabulous, if a secret of nature were not compre=
hended under these shrouds, not obvious to all men. Lully in the-
TheorickeTheoric of his Testament attributes to the same PhilosophicallPhilosophical -
infant soeso many and allmostalmost the same fathers, namely Sol, who
is Apollo,

or the cœlestiallcelestial Sol is the first author of this generation, -
who by his ineffable virtue occult or astrallastral power operates upon a -
certainecertain matter knowneknown to the Philosophers, as upon the matrix -
of a woman, and therein producethproduces a SonneSon or infant like to himselfehimself,
to whomewhom afterwards heehe will leave and resigneresign his armesarms and ensigns -
of virtues, by paternallpaternal right, that is, the faculty of maturing things im=
mature, and the energy of tinging and purging things not tinged nor
purged. For whatsoever Sol is able to perfect in a thousand years, that
will his SonneSon performeperform in halfehalf an hourehour; That therefore virtue -
may be made a thousand times stronger in him, than in Sol, his fa=
ther delivers him to Vulcan and the Artist together for education, that -
his generous disposition may be polished and multiplydmultiplied in virtues by
their means; for manifest it is that to practice from a child conducethconduces
much: SoeSo Achilles, Jason, Hercules were coḿittedcommitted to Chiron to be in=
structed for the same end. For Milo the Crotonian, who being a boy -
carryedcarried a calfecalf, when a man carryedcarried an OxeOx by customecustom. Besides Sol,
Vulcan and the artist are not erroniouslyerroneously reputed the fathers of this
child, because as heehe was the first, they made him to be such and soeso
great: NoeNo æquivalentequivalent compensation can be made to Masters for in=
stitution, as neither reward to parents for generation. These compose
the body, those the mind. If the mind be better than the body, noeno
lesseless recompencerecompense is due to those, than to these. In the production of -
Orion Mercury contributed matter, Apollo formeform, and Vulcan heat, or
the externallexternal efficient cause: SoeSo allsoalso in the PhilosophicallPhilosophical workework
it is proper for three fathers to be seen to have conspired for the pro=
creation of one infant, in whomewhom the Philosophers take great delight.