Delos, Latona, Apollo, and Diana

Meaning

Delos, Latona, Apollo and Diana are interpreted as figures of fixation and contained solar-lunar powers. The island's acquired immobility, rather than its geography, gives the passage its operative meaning.

II.4.24 makes dissolved matter stable again and explains it as containing the philosophical Sun and Moon. Latona's relation to the two offspring participates in this local genealogy. The argument should not be replaced by a different mythological retelling or expanded into a literal transformation of an island. It follows the distinction between rising as increased purity and merely travelling upward, while preparing the subject for further union and effect.

The English Delos corresponds to the printed Isle de Delle. Apollo and Diana retain their philosophical solar and lunar roles in the author's explanation; they are not silently equated with ordinary gold and silver in every occurrence.