VII

the ancients and the moderns, Greeks as well as Arabs and Latins, Germans as well as French and Italians, all harmoniously agreeing. This is most certain: that everyone, without exception, as I have shown in my Hermetic Light original: "LUCE HERMETICA", testifies and asserts with a firm and constant mind that there is only one unique subject under heaven suitable for making their Stone. The reason is this: because the truly universal spirit is found there in its first nature, specified nowhere, and most pure. Such a spirit is found nowhere else in any subject existing under the globe of the moon, nor above nor under the earth. It is truly entirely celestial, fiery, and mercurial, as can be testified by all the common chemists in the world who have left nothing untried to find this spirit. But they have searched in vain, because they never thought upon this wonderful subject, or to put it better, they did not value it, because they are ignorant of its origin.

Therefore, although many describing this art seem to be discordant, and even contradictory because of the multitude of names, nevertheless they all agree on the qualities, origin, weight, flavor, color, and odor, and where it may be found, as we shall demonstrate below. And since this matter is unique—about which unity there is no doubt, since all the wise testify to it—one should not worry about the innumerable names imposed upon it, as long as all the qualities, signs, and counter-signs agree with it. For this reason, Sendivogius Michael Sendivogius, a famous Polish alchemist says along with all the others in